This morning at 7:31 you announced your excitement this way: "Ooooh boy! A real humdinger of a 'Cut today".
That's right, the matchup that was supposed to happen last year but didn't because Strasburg came down with some ailment or malady, a problem with his neck if I recall correctly. Checking the internet, I find that it was an upper back strain that scratched Strasburg from a showdown with Kershaw in June of 2016.
Strasburg enters the game at 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings. Kershaw brings a season line of 7-2 with a 2.28 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 92 strikeouts in 83 innings. The game begins in just about an hour and a half.
On the kitchen radio the Indians go quietly in the first in Colorado, Kyle Freeland on the mound. Lindor is in a massive slump it seems.
Strasburg, from the stretch to the stirruped Chris Taylor. On a check swing, 3-U. Zimmermann had to dive to his left to make the play. Trevor Bauer for Cleveland fans Charlie Blackmon, who is fourth in the NL in RBI. Corey Seager swings at 92 sliding in, 2-and-2. He swings through the fastball, middle third, at 97—Adrián González singles to left. Grandal is in the hole 0-and-2 with two out. Arenado fanned four times last night but leads the NL in extra-base hits. Grandal fouls a couple. A fastball up at 95 coaxes a Grandal foul behind the plate, 2. Scoreless in Denver after one as well.
Mark Reynolds sits at 16 HR and 51 RBI. The home runs were tied for the lead in the NL (along with Schebler and Bour) until Zimmermann took the lead just now. The RBI total leads all of baseball.
As I watched this spot over and over, at every commercial break during every game for a week, this gal's fake freak overreaction became something I looked forward to. That spot has now disappeared. I've seen ads for Home Depot—don't be a bad son, get your father something nice for Father's Day—Verizon Wireless, Signature Kitchen and Bath (very heavy of late). There's a BP ad that makes bizarre analogies about its gasoline—it's like the cupcake on this girl's face and the other gasoline you could buy is like Big Dog Baxter's tongue...I can't figure it out.
Harper attacks the first pitch, an 89 mph slider, whiff. Then a curve at 73. Harper is ahead of it and front-foots a foul. 1-and-2. He looks at 94 mph on the outside corner. Cardinals mower commercial. Papa Johns. Salvador Perez in an Ortho "Defend your Home against Bugs" commercial. IHOP, then Applebee's, owned by the same parent. Then all of a sudden the plug is pulled right in the middle of the Applebee's ad, a common occurrence with these ads. The "Commercial break in progress" screen makes a cameo.
Rendon walks, his second of the game, Kershaw's third.
The game is knotted at four, the bottom of the ninth is nearly underway. At this particular moment in my life these day games are my panacea, my blood fuel, my crutch and, at least today, my epicenter. There are day games tomorrow and that is all I need to know in order to think forward to tomorrow with excitement.
The weather is pleasant again today. I've had the back door open, the front window ajar and the AC has not kicked on all day although I did just adjust its trigger temp up to 80° from 78°. Yet, the days ahead appear to be packing the year's first heat wave. In the 10-day forecast there are some 95°s and some 96°s. So this weather today is special and ephemeral, perhaps not to be had again until September. Hopefully not, but it is certainly possible.
This game is going to go into extras but we're not yet bridging because Indians at Rockies is still going (8-1 Rockies, top 9).
At 17:59, the Bridge failed.
At 18:08, Mookie Betts steps in against CC Sabathia. Maybe a fast car with a ramp could've jumped that span but I wouldn't have chanced it, if it were me and my car, personally.
Hosmer, oh, he just took the S out of his name. Take the S out and whaddya get?
Preview
I began parsing your thinking. Was there some special event slated for the day? Did it have something to do with Scooter Gennett's four homers last night? Were you being sarcastic? How long has it been since Kershaw pitched? Then I thought...Are the Dodgers still playing the Nationals? Maybe, but ScherZer has already thrown.... And then it hit me: Strasburg.That's right, the matchup that was supposed to happen last year but didn't because Strasburg came down with some ailment or malady, a problem with his neck if I recall correctly. Checking the internet, I find that it was an upper back strain that scratched Strasburg from a showdown with Kershaw in June of 2016.
Strasburg enters the game at 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings. Kershaw brings a season line of 7-2 with a 2.28 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 92 strikeouts in 83 innings. The game begins in just about an hour and a half.
Getting Back to Baseball Writing
It's time for me to get back to writing. There's no better foyer than this Nats at Dodgers tilt. Harper down 1-and-2 to Kershaw. Fastball low and away at 94, 2-and-2. A curve at 74 misses just in. Fastball outer fifth at 94, fouled. Harper chases 89 low and away, K. A fastball I guess. Not quite a slider to my eye, cut a bit I suppose.On the kitchen radio the Indians go quietly in the first in Colorado, Kyle Freeland on the mound. Lindor is in a massive slump it seems.
Strasburg, from the stretch to the stirruped Chris Taylor. On a check swing, 3-U. Zimmermann had to dive to his left to make the play. Trevor Bauer for Cleveland fans Charlie Blackmon, who is fourth in the NL in RBI. Corey Seager swings at 92 sliding in, 2-and-2. He swings through the fastball, middle third, at 97—Adrián González singles to left. Grandal is in the hole 0-and-2 with two out. Arenado fanned four times last night but leads the NL in extra-base hits. Grandal fouls a couple. A fastball up at 95 coaxes a Grandal foul behind the plate, 2. Scoreless in Denver after one as well.
Zimmermann and Reynolds on the Leaderboards
I left the room for half a minute and missed Ryan Zimmermann's 17th home run. 1-0 Nats. The homer went down the left-field line on a 92 mph slider. Murphy popped out. Rendon is hitting .488 against lefties this year. Kerhsaw has allowed 12 home runs this year after allowing only 8 all of last year (yeah, I know he missed time, but still). Rendon holds up on a slow curve in the dirt, the count goes full. Up and away at 92 and Rendon has walked.Mark Reynolds sits at 16 HR and 51 RBI. The home runs were tied for the lead in the NL (along with Schebler and Bour) until Zimmermann took the lead just now. The RBI total leads all of baseball.
Attack of the MLB.TV Commercials
There has been a negative development on MLB.TV: attack of the commercials. It started right after Memorial Day. Some are targeted based on ISP locale, e.g. a Cardinals-themed riding lawnmower. Another example, a seatbelt public service announcement sponsored at least in part by the Missouri highway safety authorities, with the tagline of "That's just crazy!" The spot starts with a gal at a table in her home with a sewing machine. She says, "I'm going skydiving ... I'm making my own parachute." Then it goes to a young man in a black and red flannel who is holding an axe and proclaiming his intent to cut down a tree all by himself. Zoom out, it's a large tree (but not a really large tree). Then a different guy says how it's just not smart not to wear a seatbelt. Then it goes to a gal standing on a sidewalk holding a cell phone. She continues the admonishment by saying the other driver could get a text and go into the intersection and—! She doesn't finish the thought because she then gets a text and is seized by a mini-spasm of distracted pleasure, quite over-acted.As I watched this spot over and over, at every commercial break during every game for a week, this gal's fake freak overreaction became something I looked forward to. That spot has now disappeared. I've seen ads for Home Depot—don't be a bad son, get your father something nice for Father's Day—Verizon Wireless, Signature Kitchen and Bath (very heavy of late). There's a BP ad that makes bizarre analogies about its gasoline—it's like the cupcake on this girl's face and the other gasoline you could buy is like Big Dog Baxter's tongue...I can't figure it out.
Top 3 in LA, still 1-0 Nats.
Kershaw works to Strasburg. He walks him, the second for Kershaw. Here's Trea. Sick curve at 75. Fastball is over, a bit low, but it's called strike three. Ryan Raburn in the two-hole today. He gets jammed, 8. That's Chris Taylor out there in center. I didn't figure him when I wondered aloud in these pages who might play center for the Dodgers.Harper attacks the first pitch, an 89 mph slider, whiff. Then a curve at 73. Harper is ahead of it and front-foots a foul. 1-and-2. He looks at 94 mph on the outside corner. Cardinals mower commercial. Papa Johns. Salvador Perez in an Ortho "Defend your Home against Bugs" commercial. IHOP, then Applebee's, owned by the same parent. Then all of a sudden the plug is pulled right in the middle of the Applebee's ad, a common occurrence with these ads. The "Commercial break in progress" screen makes a cameo.
Toothpick sighting!
Dusty was the 1977 NLCS MVP. He is a three-time National League Manager of the Year: 1993, 1997, and 2000. He started with the Giants in 1993? Man, time flies.Tom Hamilton Gets Loud
Trevor Bauer has walked three in this inning and four in the game. The Cleveland bullpen stirs in the third inning, bases loaded, Rockies already leading 2-0. Bauer's curve, which he has begun to rely upon more heavily, is missing left and right. The count 3-and-1 to Mark Reynolds. "This is the ballgame right here," says Tom Hamilton. He calls what first appears to be ball four but is then belatedly called strike two. Now Bauer fans him and Tom Hamilton gets loud.An Ode to Batting Average
Daniel Murphy reaches out and drops one into left center. Murphy and González chat at first. That will raise Murphy's .332 batting mark. Yes, I still care about batting average. I care about how many hits a guy gets, hard soft or medium contact. Whether that hit results from a good pitch or a bad pitch. Whether that hit is a single a double or a triple. Whether that hit occurs in the first inning or the last inning. Whether that hitter hit into good luck or bad luck. Can the guy get a hit? What is he batting?Rendon walks, his second of the game, Kershaw's third.
Later. The Dodgers Won.
Strasburg needed 36 pitches to get through the six, during which he allowed two runs: one was earned (a Corey Seager solo shot) and one was unearned on a Grandal double. Kershaw went seven, yielding to Báez followed by shut-down Jansen. Turner tripled to lead off the eighth but he was caught coming home when Harper hit one sharply up the middle that Báez snared. Jansen went an inning and one-third. Strasburg threw 104 pitches, Kershaw 95.Ken Korach
Now I've got Blue Jays at A's on Oakland radio. The Oakland broadcast has become one of my favorite. Ken Korach does the play-by-play. He's got a great voice and there is almost zero Rooney-Horton-esque grabass.The game is knotted at four, the bottom of the ninth is nearly underway. At this particular moment in my life these day games are my panacea, my blood fuel, my crutch and, at least today, my epicenter. There are day games tomorrow and that is all I need to know in order to think forward to tomorrow with excitement.
The weather is pleasant again today. I've had the back door open, the front window ajar and the AC has not kicked on all day although I did just adjust its trigger temp up to 80° from 78°. Yet, the days ahead appear to be packing the year's first heat wave. In the 10-day forecast there are some 95°s and some 96°s. So this weather today is special and ephemeral, perhaps not to be had again until September. Hopefully not, but it is certainly possible.
This game is going to go into extras but we're not yet bridging because Indians at Rockies is still going (8-1 Rockies, top 9).
21 Minutes to Cover
At 17:40 central daylight, Blue Jays at A's has gone Suspension Bridge. But—Donaldson has just homered, following a Pillar hit-by-pitch, making it a 6-4 game. Red Sox at Yankees begins in 24 minutes. The A's will need to make some noise if this bridge is going to reach its culmination—the other edge of the ravine, the other side of the river, the façade of the building one over. In Oakland, the other side of the bay. 21 minutes to cover.At 17:59, the Bridge failed.
At 18:08, Mookie Betts steps in against CC Sabathia. Maybe a fast car with a ramp could've jumped that span but I wouldn't have chanced it, if it were me and my car, personally.
Take the S Out of His Name
Brian McCann homers. B says Jason Vargas looks strung out. Bregman now. Hitting .247. The count is 2-and-2 after he swings at a curve. A curve misses, the count is full. Fastball, foul. He walks.Hosmer, oh, he just took the S out of his name. Take the S out and whaddya get?
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