Other Baseball

Game 7! What's not to like... Which "curse" will end tonight? I can guarantee one of the will win! Here are the lineups: CUBS Dexter Fowler CF Kyle Schwarber DH Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Ben Zobrist LF Addison Russell SS Willson Contreras C Jason Heyward RF Javier Baez 2B SP: Kyle Hendricks CLEVELAND Carlos Santana DH Jason Kipnis 2B Francisco Lindor SS Mike Napoli 1B Jose Ramirez 3B Lonnie Chisenhall RF Rajai Davis CF Coco Crisp LF Roberto Perez C SP: Corey Kluber

The series shifts back to Cleveland for at least one more game. What's going to happen after an off day yesterday? Here are the lineups: Cubs Dexter Fowler CF Kyle Schwarber DH Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Ben Zobrist LF Addison Russell SS Willson Contreras C Jason Heyward RF Javy Baez 2B SP: Jake Arrieta Cleveland Carlos Santana DH Jason Kipnis 2B Francisco Lindor SS Mike Napoli 1B Jose Ramirez 3B Lonnie Chisenhall RF Coco Crisp LF Tyler Naquin CF Roberto Perez C SP: James Tomlin

Torey Lovullo has been hired to be the next manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. If I remember correctly, his name was brought up as a possible hire for manager before we got Molitor. It will be interesting to see how he does.

I just realized I did not see Jim Thome anywhere on the World Series coverage...any one know why not? Or did I miss him?

Game 5, Sunday night in Chicago. Cleveland leads the series 3 games to 1. Here are the lineups: Cubs Dexter Fowler CF Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Ben Zobrist LF Addison Russell SS Jason Heyward RF Javier Baez 2B David Ross C Jon Lester SP Cleveland Carlos Santana LF Jason Kipnis 2B Francisco Lindor SS Mike Napoli 1B Jose Ramirez 3B Lonnie Chisenhall RF Roberto Perez C Tyler Naquin LF Josh Tomlin SP

Last night, Cleveland won 1-0 to take back home-field advantage over the Cubs. Tonight, the teams square off at Wrigley Field in Game 4. It was seem to be pretty nearly Must-Win for the Cubs. Kluber is again going on short rest, so we'll see how that plays out. Here are the lineups. No Mike Napoli for Cleveland, so Carlos Santana is back at first base. Jason Heyward is in the lineup for the Cubs. Cleveland Rajai Davis LF Jason Kipnis 2B Francisco Lindor SS Carlos Santana 1B Jose Ramirez 3B Lonnie Chisenhall RF Roberto Perez C Tyler Naquin CF Corey Kluber SP Cubs Dexter Fowler CF Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Ben Zobrist LF Willson Contreras C Addison Russell …

Chicago won Game 2 to take back home field advantage. It is now a Best of 5 series with the first three games being played in Chicago. It's Kyle Hendricks taking the mound against Josh Tomlin. The DH is gone in the National League park. The story is that Kyle Schwarber was not cleared to play in the field at this time, so he is only available to DH these next three games. Cleveland can't use the DH either, so Mike Napoli is in the field which pushes Carlos Santana out to left field. Should be interesting! What'll happen? Here are the lineups: Chicago: Dexter Fowler CF Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Ben Zobrist LF Willson Contreras C Jorge Soler RF Javier Baez 2B Addi…

Chicago is in Cleveland for Game 1 of the World Series. Feel free to discuss throughout the game. Lineups: CUBS: Dexter Fowler CF Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Ben Zobrist LF Kyle Schwarber DH Javier Baez 2B Chris Coghlan RF Addison Russell SS David Ross C Jon Lester P Jason Heyward, who signed a 10-year, $184 million deal with the Cubs last offseason, is again out of the lineup, benched for Chris Coghlan. Of course, the Schwarber decision is very interesting. After being hurt in the 2nd game of the season, he had surgery, rehabbed, and was activated last week. He played a game or two in the AFL, and now is batting 5th in the World Series. CLEVELAND: Raja…

I would have liked the Twins to take a free flyer on him. Former top 60 prospect not to long ago. Put up an .843 OPS with 18 stolen bases in AAA last year, but finished the year battling injuries.

Who among us are SABR members? Is anybody going to the fall meeting on October 29th? I just moved back to Minnesota last month. I'm interested in joining, but haven't done so yet. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on it. I'm definitely interested in hearing Dick Stigman speak at the meeting. Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.

http://www.baseballessential.com/news/2016/10/07/fundamental-flaws-youth-players-theyre-not-watching-enough-baseball/ Baseball Essentials has a very interesting article on youth baseball. Takes a bit to get there, but the theme is basically that kids today don't sit around and watch enough baseball.Watching MLB games on TV can help a young player better understand strategy and encourage preparedness. Baseball is a thinking man's game. Whether we like things like bunting or hit-and-runs and such, the game is full of strategy, and seeing it in action. As the writer says of himself, I used to sit and organize baseball cards while watching the Braves or Cubs and somet…

Well, I was feeling bad about hijacking Van's "Who Will Win the World Series" poll/thread. So, here we go. I've seen three of the four games so far, and I am reminded that good baseball teams are fun to watch. Golldangit. Stupid Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Dallas, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and to a lesser extent Baltimore and New York! Why do they have all the luck? I am almost certainly not authorized to post Game Threads without a thumbs-up from the Mod Squad, but I'm feeling saucy today. Here are some cities to think about: 1. Boston When I think of Boston, I think of one of my very favorite all-time television shows: Cheers. I love Ch…

The CBA is up for renegotiation after this season. One of the things being discussed, and reportedly closer than ever before, is implementing an International Draft. "Buster Olney reports that, as the proposal currently stands, the draft would begin in March of 2018. It would last ten rounds. The minimum age for draft-eligible players would be 18 years old by 2021. Signing bonuses would be pegged at an amount roughly corresponding to the current slots U.S., Canadian and Puerto Rican players receive when drafted today." Craig Calcaterra is arguing against this idea, as this takes away their freedoms to negotiate on the free market. Your thoughts?

Who's going to win it all?

Reusse wrote a blog on baseball's pace of game and how it is turning him to watching hockey. Specifically, he talked about the game the other night that was 4:32 for a nine-inning game and its 1:06 seventh inning. I completely agree... but then again, I haven't watched more than 15 total innings of playoff baseball over the last few years. So, it'd be a bit hypocritical of me to disagree with him. http://www.startribune.com/baseball-s-pace-drives-baseball-lover-to-hockey/397200271/

http://deadspin.com/astros-apologize-for-minor-leaguers-****headed-tweet-1787473609 So, if you're a 23 year old light hitting IF who is hitting .220/.310/.350 in high A ball, you probably don't want to say things that can be deemed sexist and stupid. And certainly not publically through your own twitter account. Someone forgot to tell Brooks Marlow, a 29th round pick who thinks women shouldn't be on ESPN discussing baseball.

We don't have one yet, so here's your thread for all things NOT Twins-related... First, to start...Clayton Kershaw - still f'ing good.

Pitched a gem the other night for them. $20 says he becomes a solid #2 for them for the next 4-5 years.

So we're rumbling along at 82 CG in all of MLB this year. Here are some of the excuses I've heard over the past x amount of years about why the pitcher can't go the distance: 1) Pitcher is too young 2) Pitcher is too old 3) Too early in the season, his arm isn't ready 4) Too late in the season, his arm is tired 5) Game is a blowout, no point in running him out there more 6) Game is too close, he can't be trusted to continue 7) It's a save situation 8) Pitcher is at or near 100 pitches 9) Need to get the bullpen some work 10) Pitcher had a previous injury- no point in risking it 11) It's too hot 12) It's too cold 13) Pitcher sat in the dugout too long between innings 1…

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17653491/washington-nationals-announce-star-catcher-wilson-ramos-torn-acl As the big free agent catcher available in the offseason, what does this do to his chances of a big pay day?

Wow. Died in a boating accident late last night. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17632541/miami-marlins-ace-jose-fernandez-dies-boating-accidentWow.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/the_next_20/2016/09/fire_joe_morgan_and_the_moneyball_revolution.html

'"Obviously, Theo and the guys he brought with him five years ago took the organization down to the studs and started rebuilding," Ricketts said. "I give a lot of credit to Theo and Jed and everybody on that team, but I also give a lot of credit to all of our fans who basically heard our story, listened to us throughout. I think the time and energy to do it the right way has paid off with a team that should be successful for years to come."' http://m.mlb.com/news/article/203881276/cubs-announce-extension-for-theo-epstein/ Good for him. He's done great work.

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2016/9/22/13023742/steve-clevenger-tweeted-like-an-idiot As a general rule, players as bad as Clevenger shouldn't attract attention to themselves for off the field stupidity but he did. From the article, "backup catcher Steve Clevenger, who is by most accounts a bad baseball player, who was already arguably Jerry Dipoto’s worst trade prior to using Twitter to say breathtakingly insensitive things about complex, difficult subjects his no doubt extremely small, ignorant brain grasps about as well as a three-week old comprehends shapes, decided to tweet:" (It was something dumb). The Mariners are currently considering their options.

"When Vin Scully first walked into the Dodgers' broadcast booth, Winston Churchill hadn't started his second stint as the prime minister of Great Britain." http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17595432/the-man-voice-stories

Parmelee Leads RailRiders to AAA Crown The International League Champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) defeated the Pacific Coast League Champion El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 3-1 on Tuesday to win the AAA National Championship. Parmelee's 3-run homer in the first inning accounted for all the SWB runs.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15955489/james-shields-traded-chicago-white-sox-san-diego-padres-erik-johnson-fernando-tatis-jr Shields to the South Side for SP Erik Johnson and SS Fernando Tatis Jr.

Last night Granderson hit a homer in the 11th and then another in the 12th. That combination can't be very common. Anybody have an idea when was the last time someone hit solo homers in consecutive innings after the 9th?

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17554327/san-diego-padres-face-discipline-hiding-players-medical-information-mlb-database Pretty big problem. "In a significant deviation from standard practice within the sport, San Diego Padres officials instructed their organization's athletic trainers to maintain two distinct files of medical information on their players -- one for industry consumption and the other for the team's internal use, multiple sources have told ESPN. Trainers were told in meetings during spring training that the distinction was meant to better position the team for trades, according to two sources with direct knowledge of what was said." The old medical…

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-dividends-of-alex-bregmans-non-adjustment/ 'While trolls and naysayers on Twitter were crying bust after Houston Astros’ top prospect Alex Bregman began his major-league career by going 0-for his first 17 and 1-for his first 32, manager A.J. Hinch was moving him up to bat in the most important spot in his team’s lineup. At the time, Hinch cited his contact rate and exit velocity as indicators that Bregman’s at-bats were better than the results indicated.'