Blue Jays Banter writer Matt W says the Jays are still on the hook for the remainder of the contract.
I’m not sure about the DH thing. My take is that the new pitcher came in at the same moment that the first pitcher went to 1B, so essentially it’s a double switch and the manager can designate who bats in which slot. More on that, I’ve never seen the logic on the DH spot being locked in the lineup, it seems to me that you should be able to pull a double switch and say have someone bat for the DH and play right field and have the new DH bat in the old RF slot in the lineup. But for some reason, the baseball gods couldn’t handle that possibility.
I’m not enjoying this season that much and I should, what with the Yankees up 10 games in the East. It feels like a joke, like the worst of the so-called steroid era. I guess some people liked the London series and the recent NY vs. Minnesota video game extravaganza, but I’m not one of them. Fix the damn ball. If I see one more just-stick-the-bat-out opposite field homer I’m gonna barf.
Evidently (according to the Nats’ announcers anyway), Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers committed an “intentional balk” with Trea Turner on second in the ninth inning, moving him to third. They are saying that it’s known that Jansen dislikes having a runner on second behind him. Can’t say as I’ve ever seen one of those before.
Did he do it again tonight? He also did it against the Cubs about a month ago. That was the first time I’d ever seen it happen.
I think this is too complicated. The DH bats in place of the pitcher. A team did X which caused them to forfeit the DH, therefore the pitcher must bat for himself. Who is the pitcher? Roe. Therefore, he must bat in the lineup instead of the DH.
However, Hernandez used the double switch language and said since the manager did not designate their spots, he chose them. MLB seems to be saying that a manager can designate, but it really isn’t a double switch because only 1 new player is coming in the game.
HA-ha!
19 to 3 or 10 to 5. I’ll take two wins and a chance to give Yankee fans a raspberry any way I can get it!
AL wildcard is shaping up to be one of the better races in recent memory - four teams on a pace for 89 wins or more, two of which will miss the playoffs. (Minnesota could also easily miss the playoffs, and Houston and New York are both looking fairly safe but could lose their leads with a bad two weeks).
Losing 9 to 5
As the Red Sox keep on winning!
And the Boston fans
Just watch and keep on grinning!
Cubs creep back into a tie for first in the NLC after Kyle Schwarber crushes a 473-ft grand slam (the longest of the Statcast era), then launches a 3-run shot two innings later. They also acquired Derek Holland for bullpen help (for cash considerations), and announced that Ben Zobrist has said that he wants to rejoin the team.
So I’m still trying to understand Mets acquiring Marcus Stroman. The only weakness they don’t have is starting staff. Defense, Offense and Bullpen are areas that could use addressing.
And they’re *still *talking about dealing Thor and Wheeler. Are you in or out, guys?
I’m pretty sure at this point that Brodie van Wagenen is just a the AI that baseball video games use to determine what trades and signings CPU-controlled franchises will make, ported into a robot shaped like an 80’s movie villain.
The Mets are looking with an eye to next year: Wheeler is likely going, trade or not, so he needs to be replaced. Vargas, though playing well of late, is iffy (his BABIP is ridiculously low). Syndergaard might be gone for prospects. You may get more for any of them in a trade if Stroman is off the market.
The Mets have traded away four of their top prospects, but they added three in their place in the recent draft, and there are several names in the lower minors that look very promising. So picking up some other team’s top prospects will refill the system and they’ll get more for Syndergaard than anyone else.
Max Scherzer back to the IL as the Nationals have a brutal schedule in front of them
Not actually about MLB but thought I’d share: I saw a no-hitter last night in person.
Hardly anybody cared, however.
It was the very low minors (short-season A), where most fans don’t care much about the score. Plus which, the home team was the one no-hit. And the attendance was only about 3,000. Maybe most important, there were four pitchers involved: the first guy went six (and walked five), three others followed with an inning each. Turns out that when the no-hitter is a team effort it’s hard to get quite as excited about it.
Certainly a contrast to the only other no-hitter I have seen to date, which was a) in the major leagues, b) an individual effort, c) thrown by the home team’s pitcher, d) in front of a standing room only crowd, and e) in the heat of the pennant race. The fans, as they say, went wild. Not like last night.
Oh well. It was cool anyhow, and the visiting team did get excited, mobbing the final pitcher after the last guy was called out on strikes. And now I can say I’ve seen two no-hitters.
That’s really cool. And good on you for giving the low minors some love.
The biggest milestone I’ve seen in person was Sammy Sosa’s 350th career homer. It was in a losing effort, though. And it happened at Wrigley Field.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the Cubs win at Wrigley. Only win I ever saw was in Cincinnati, with Steve “Human Rain Delay” Trachsel on the mound.
Do me a favor and stay away from Wrigley for the next…ohhh…3 months or so, would ya? 
I’ve been to Wrigley twice. Once back in the 90s. Grad school road trip to Chicago. No one else was interested, but as a huge Cubs fan I could not pass up the opportunity. It was April and I walked up and bought a bleacher seat ticket for $6. Cubs were playing the Braves.
Braves hit 3 HRs in the first inning, and the score was 7-0 before the Cubs even came up to bat. And it got worse from there. The final score was 19-7, if I recall. (I’m sure about the 19). Not much to do in the bleachers except drink and heckle Deion Sanders in the outfield. Somewhere, I saved next day’s sports page and box score.
The second time was a playoff game during their 2016 World Series run. The NL Division series against the Giants. Home win of 1-0! Very exciting.
That is not a coherent plan, it a series of random events. Why pay deadline prices for Stroman when you aren’t competing this year? Do they think they are competing? Well then why sell Vargas to a division rival. He isn’t great, but we got nothing back, and it isn’t like we are swimming in pitching depth. They think Stroman is a particularly great fit? The groundball pitcher on the team that can’t field ground balls?
They want to get better next year? So they are shopping a younger better pitcher with more years control? Sure you might get a better prospect haul. That happens when you trade better players away then you receive back. Unlike to match the package we sent for Diaz/Cano though.
I’d understand if the Mets went all in on next year, as there team is built to win now and really just needs help around the edges. I understand blowing thing up if they went that route. The Mets however are just doing a little of everything and making their team worse in the short and long term.