In the bottom of the 8th inning in today’s Nats/Mets game, Nats batter Adrian Sanchez came to the plate with a 6-4 lead and a man on third.
On the first pitch, he attempted a bunt but got drilled in the chest by a 96-mph fastball. He lay on the ground for several minutes, and was not awarded first base, because the swing took precedence.
Sanchez got up, retrieved a new bat from the dugout for some reason, and worked the count to 2-2 before driving in an RBI single to make it 7-4.
“YEAH! YEAH!” I screamed.
After a couple of pitches to the subsequent batter, Sanchez was pulled for a pitch-runner; he was still favoring his chest. Hope he’s okay. Bet THAT ends up on SportsCenter tonight!
The Twins as of now have the 2nd wild card berth and if they hold on and get in likely by winning the one off game, we may very well see 44 year old Bartolo Colon start a playoff game.
He had an 8.14 ERA in 63 innings earlier this year with the Braves. And I thought Jamie Moyer at age 46 was an oddity.
I’ve been watching baseball for over 30 years. Just saw my first triple play during a game I was watching during this Cubs game. 7-4-3 on a weird catch that looked like it might have been a non-catch.
The Indians look like a playoff team right now. Three consecutive shutouts of a quality Royals ballclub. The Royals are now sitting on their longest streak of scoreless innings in their history at 34.
As with the Dodger discussion above, I assume nothing once the playoffs start. But the Indians have looked a hell of a lot better in the last month-plus than they did to start this season. If we can get Miller and Kipnis and Chisenhall (and, dare I say, Brantley?) back healthy heading into October, I like their chances. A lot.
Besides the Yanks making a run at the Division and holding a small lead in the Wild Card there is very good news in the minors. All 4 full season teams from Low A to AAA are in 1st and in the playoffs.
I’m not sure that means a lot anymore at the AAA level, which is, more than ever, a depository for backups and organization men. If you look at who’s playing well for Columbus, nobody is a really interesting prospect except for Miguel Andujar. Jake Cave could be a major leaguer but the Yankees don’t need him and I’d project him to be something like, I dunno, Frank Catalanotto, if things go right. Mike Ford can hit homers, but at his age, size and defensive limitations, you can’t call him a very thrilling prospect.
AA and high A going well, however, is very excellent news indeed. The Yankees have a broad base of young talent, especially in the pitching staffs. There are some really good arms down there, many of them starters, which is exciting.
Sorry, of course I meant Scranton-WB. I am old, and I still think of Columbus as a Yankee affiliate, SWB as a Phillies affiliate, and so on. I have to keep reminding myself my own favourite team’s AAA affiliate is in Buffalo, not Syracuse.
Scherzer is back for the Nats and so is Jason Werth. Trea Turner returns tonight. Once Harper comes back the Nats are close to whole again with the exception of Eaton who probably won’t be back even in October. It’s been fun watching them cobble together wins with a bunch of bench guys, but now let’s hope they get back their edge in time for the playoffs.
There is some sort of mystery about Adams. Cashman tried to include him in the Sonny Gray trade, but Beane insisted on Kaprielian. It’s possible that Kaprielian has a higher ceiling, but looking at what Adams has done in the minors, it’s hard to figure out why he hasn’t been given a spot start instead of Mitchell or Cessa. I hope he’s called up in September and gets some innings. Come to think about it, I’d be delighted if they gave him a shot instead of Jaime Garcia.
Every report I see on him, is that he is still working on his 3rd & 4th pitch and the Yanks are in no hurry to start the clock on him. The results have been very promising so far, he is pitching great at AAA & previously at AA while he was working on the additional pitches. He’s 23 and has a much higher end then someone like Cessa, Mitchell or Green. Though you’re correct Kaprielian has been rated higher. With his injury record so far though, I was favoring Adams over Kaprielian.
After winning 5 in a row, including a sweep of the Red Sox, the Orioles are back over .500 and within 1.5 games of the second Wild Card spot. I’m still not holding my breath, because they’ve managed to hang onto hope while being completely mediocre all year long, but one decent month could now see them in the playoffs again.
