MLB 2014 season thread

Right. They know something close to 90 wins will do it. And down the stretch they were just making sure their guys got extra rest instead of extra wins. That they are an 88-win team, ranking as the fifth-best in the NL, is as reflective of the new system as it is of their ability.

If there were some incentive to getting to 92 wins, I'm sure they could have done that. But they played the final two weeks much like an NFL team that starts its backup quarterback for the final game because the playoff spot is already locked up, and thus finishes 9-7 instead of 10-6.

 

Like I said, I admire they can stretch their talent- and since '10 they are ousting the very teams that can't stretch theirs.
Other teams are copying the model.
Beane stuck Jesse Chavez into his rotation. He was their Vogelsong and giving them great production before he and them turned into a pumpkin.
Beane has been finding Vogelsongs for years.
At some point before their 15-30 finish, I believed Beane could pull two guys off a BART train, make them platoon-mates and they'd rake.

 

0 comments on game since first pitch.
These teams bore the fuck out of people- those proportions are accurate.

 

Boy I don't like this, Peacy facing Carpenter with bases loaded.

EDIT: Whew.

Thanks to Matheny for having Molina bunt with two on and nobody out!

 

Pulling Peavy after 4 innings is a perfect example of what makes Bochy different (in a good way) from virtually every other manager.

Another manager would have been so chained to the idea of leaving Peavy in long enough to qualify for the win that he'd let him bat in the fifth with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Peavy would have likely struck out, and then if Blanco gets out as well, the Giants get no runs instead of one.

 

Molina hurt (that could last for the series, it looks bad) ... first batter four-pitch walk ... First pitch Cruz sees with a runner on hits his glove for a passed ball.

#EvenYear

 

Strained oblique for Molina. Can't imagine he plays again this postseason.

 

Nothing like corked bats for the playoffs. #PlayTheRightWay

And how upset would the Cardinals be if an opposing player flipped the bat the way Adams did?

 

But Adams is flipping to acknowledge the fans. So that's different.

Bochy has developed a weird obsession with Strickland being his best option, even though he finds out otherwise every time he goes to him.

 

Strickland needs to understand that location matters in the big leagues. Pros will mash his 98 heater if it's cock high and cutting the plate in half.

Locate your pitches or become the next Tom Niedenfuer. (apologies if spelled wrong)

 

Full count, wild pitch lets the runner take two bases.

#EvenYear

 

Rossenthal just screwed that up.