The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

Guardians fouled off 37 pitches against Grayson Rodriguez in 5 innings. Scored twice with a walk and two soft contact hits. They suck but can beat you anyway. Fucking 1970s National League team.

 

Funny. The Astros are half a game up in the AL West. (That still feels funny to write.) They're dead even at home, 39-39, but they're 46-29 on the road.

 

I'd throw Kevin Gausman into the maybe pile. He's halfway there and seems to be getting better at 32. Unlikely, but possible.

I both think it's possible we've seen the last 3,000-strikeout guy but also reasonably confident there's another couple guys who will get there soon-ish. Kershaw is no sure thing to come back, though I think he will. I could also see Greinke surprising everyone and coming back...he likes being in KC and the Royals have NOBODY to sop up innings, so paying Greinke a few mil to go four or five innings 25 times next season wouldn't be the craziest thing. Cole should get there with good health, but 800+ strikeouts are still a lot. I don't think Sale will come close, but who knows, with his K rate, he could be at 2700+ with three 150-inning seasons.

 

Brewers magic number …

 

I see what you Giants fans have been writing about. Tied game in the sixth, kid CF dives for a ball, has it in his glove and it shoots out, giving Will Smith a triple. Next batter hits a ball to shallow right and Yaz, thinking there are two outs, nonchalants it, allowing Smith to tag and score and the Dodgers go up 3-2.
Next inning, Giants fail to make two makeable plays before two wild pitches make it 5-2.
So, unless something changes in the ninth, instead of picking up a game in the wildcard race they will stay the same with one less day on the schedule.
As a Dodgers fan, I say what a shame.

 

Magic number is still 7 and the Rays have to play the Blue Jays six more times. With Baltimore's schedule, I feel confident they'll get there.

 

The guys who have been consistent in the bullpen suddenly aren't, though. Perez and Webb both came up weak last night. You don't know what you're going to get with Fujinami, Baumann or Lopez.

 

My weird concern is that the O's have fallen flat on their faces when they've been on national TV of late. Playoff games aren't gonna be on MASN...

 

I am convinced that one of the minor but real factors in the Phillies' run to the World Series last year was that a lot of their playoff games were daytime starts because the first rounds had New York teams in them and so along with three West Coast teams, prime time was preempted. With no New York teams this year, I wonder how the schedule will be made up for the wild card round.
PS: As of now, there won't be any Eastern time zone teams hosting wild card games. Phillies and Orioles-Rays runners-up would be only East time zone teams in the round.

 

Rays bringing up 20-year-old SS from Double-A.
Is he postseason eligible? ESPN story says yes.

Even though he was not in the big leagues by Sept. 1, Caminero will be eligible to join the Rays' postseason roster because he was already in the organization.

That suggests that anyone in an organization before Sept. 1 is eligible. Regardless of whether the player was on the 40-man roster ?

This baffles me. A reading of the mlb rules suggests it’s not that simple.

Definition
In a typical season, any player who is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 is eligible for the postseason.

Those on the restricted list at that point are also eligible if they haven't been suspended for performance-enhancing drugs during that season. (All players who have served a suspension for PEDs in a given season are ineligible for postseason play that year.)

A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible.

The latest Rays star was not on the 40. Maybe he’s going to replace an injured player. But the ESPN story doesn’t address that issue.

 

I mean, if that's the case, Tyler Wells could be called up sometime next week and be good to go for the playoffs. Or, heaven forbid, Jackson Holliday.