2013 MLB Regular Season running thread

Yes, we are, because far too many people at SportsJournalists.com have no standards whatsoever when it comes to lobbing around steroid accusations.

There is no legitimate reason to make such an accusation about Gomez, who was always projected as a power/speed guy. He's a talented guy who finally started to put it together as a hitter in 2012 at age 26, not an odd age at all for some hitters to mature.

People here are acting as if this type of behavior is something new for Gomez. which just shows the accusations are coming from a place of ignorance. I heard Willie Randolph on the radio yesterday and one of the things he was asked about was the incident with Gomez. Randolph was managing the Mets when Gomez first came up to the majors in 2007 and said the kid has always thrown ridiculous tantrums.

 

Great wild-card race going on in the AL. Rays up by one on the Indians, who are up one on the Rangers.

Rays & Indians have both won seven straight, while Rangers have won four straight. The first one to screw up and lose a game might cost themselves a playoff spot.

 

Tremendous moment when Jeter and Pettitte came in to give Rivera the hook for the final time at Yankee Stadium.

There was some definite Bill Murray to Scarlett "what was he whispering in his ear" during the long, teary embrace.

Took this shot of the TV when Mariano scooped handfuls of Bronx to take with him.



While in Brattleboro I photographed a Yankees-Red Sox game from the 3B pit. Good Friday the 13th, full moon over Fenway.

Manny drilled one between Mariano's legs to score Everett and Nixon for a 3-2 win.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200104130.shtml

 

Indians came DAMN close to blowing it last night against the Twins. Up 6-1 going into the 9th, hold on to win 6-5. (I believe Twins had two on when the final out was recorded.)

 

The father of the accused killer in the Dodgers fan's death says his son was stabbing in self-defense, and that the victim was fully engaged in the brawl to the point that he swung a chair and hit the other guy in the head.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Father-says-fan-s-slaying-was-self-defense-4848223.php

I am of course skeptical that this just happened to an innocent kid who oh by the way was carrying a knife around. But the location, six blocks away from the stadium, is somewhat odd.

 

So the Braves managed to do what they did this year despite having the two worst-hitting players in the majors with at least 400 ABs. BJ Upton, the highest-paid player in team history, is hitting .184 and Dan Uggla (he of the LASIK surgery that apparently didn't work) is hitting .181.

I cannot stand the Braves, but goddamn, that's amazing. Hat tip to those guys.

 

Of Mariano (and saves):

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9718373/mariano-rivera-overrated-well-beloved-respected?src=mobile

 

Harold Reynolds cited that in explaining why he'd give Freddie Freeman the MVP nod. I have to admit it is a compelling case.

 

Without hearing it I have trouble imagining Harold Reynolds can make a compelling case for anything.

 

He knows what he's talking about sometimes despite himself. I think there's video out there somewhere of him hyping Trout as the best player in the draft that year.

 

Now this was strange -- though perhaps not unexpectedly so considering it was Brian Wilson. After the Giants beat the Dodgers last night, while they were doing their on-field handshake, Wilson came across the field to yell at Giants president Larry Baer. He was steamed about never getting his World Series ring. Giants say they've called him many times and even invited him to the ceremony early in the season (when he was still a free agent). After last night, they just sent the ring to the Dodgers' clubhouse and told them to give it to Wilson, which is pretty un-Giant-like as they have become known for making a decent-sized deal (publicly or privately) of giving the rings to players who are no longer with the team.

http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2013/09/26/tim-lincecum-goes-out-strongly-in-possible-sf-giants-farewell/

Anyway, he's a weirdo, so not unexpected, but still a somewhat entertaining spectacle.

 

Considering the Giants send out team executives for postgame dinner ceremonies to give World Series to minor league affiliate folks, yeah, this seems a bit off. I know that at Double-A Richmond, the CEO, AGM, manager, coaches and about a dozen others (including a Giants-employed video coordinator who films every Flying Squirrels game home and road) received them in early June. But none of those folks are weird like Wilson.