Astros 4, Phillies 1: And that, as they say, is that.
Maybe that was that when Yordan Álvarez hit the three-run homer in the sixth. That was probably cosmically that when Kyle Schwarber attempted to bunt with two strikes on him in the top of the eighth. That was officially that after Nick Castellanos fouled out to Kyle Tucker for the third out in the top of the ninth.
As for analysis, one may ask whether, with two on and one out, Phillies manager Rob Thomson should’ve lifted Zack Wheeler for José Alvarado. One might suppose that Alvarado enjoyed a platoon advantage against Álvarez, but Álvarez actually had no platoon splits of consequence this past season, hitting lefties and righties almost equally as hard. Still, while Wheeler had been cruising, he did put two on and if he had given up runs in that situation everyone would’ve been on Thomson’s butt about Alvarado being ready in the pen. Sometimes, I suppose, you just get got.
At the end of the day the Astros pitching — which all of us cited at the outset of this series as their strength — is what made the difference in this Series. Over the final three games Astros pitching limited the Phillies to a total of three runs, two of which came on Schwarber solo homers. You can argue about lifting starters and going to the pen all day long but if you don’t score you can’t win and the Phillies barely scored in Games 4, 5, and 6.
We have a new World Series champion which you can properly call a dynasty. Dusty has his ring and, if he hadn’t already, he has punched his ticket to Cooperstown. Jeremy Peña is the World Series MVP.
Congrats Stros ! Thankfully, the Philly fans can go away now and enjoy the rest of the offseason with the ABT and Yankee fans who I no longer have to listen to either. Time to move on.
Ah, another member of the "What Extra Hour of Sleep" Club is here!
Disappointed that we didn't get a Game Seven, and just a bit underwhelmed by the overall playoffs. Oh, lots of great moments and great games, but it was never as out and out competitive as I would have liked. A lot of that, though, is because, like it or not, Houston is just that good.
Congrats Houston. Very proud team. After a postseason filled with upsets, the World Series clearly went to the strongest club.
Congrats Dusty. Maybe he isn’t a tactical genius but players love him and that has resulted in a fine, fine career.
Congrats Phils. Not a great team by any stretch of the imagination. Probably not even a very good one. But phun phor the phans.
And mostly congrats Cup of Coffee host & crew. You guys’ and gals’ comments were often informative and usually entertaining. And Dugout clearly showed a lot of heart! Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me each morning.
Genius? Who knows. But many managers have made their bones more on strategic or tactical choices both in game and - before GMs completely took over - roster construction. People like Earl Weaver, Whitey Herzog, Tony LaRussa, Leo Durocher, or in the non-HOF category, Gene Mauch or Buck Showalter. Others have been fiery personalities that lead through aggression and fear - Billy Martin is the archtype. Then there are the calm, stabilizing, player first personas like Joe Torre. Dusty Baker fits firmly into this category.
I'm old too (70), and saw all those guys manage. I tend to give managers the benefit of the doubt. They are in the clubhouse. They know the players. Most moves work out and I'm OK with the ones that don't If I understand (maybe not agree with) the logic. As fans we remember the moves that don't workout (leaving Buckner in at 1B instead of Stapleton). In today's game with all the relievers necessary to finish a game the vast majority of the moves are successful. After a reliever blows a hold or save, then the criticism begins. F*ck don't know how I'm going to make it to April. . .:) For me, NBA/NFL season starts now
Hard to discern a tactical genius from outside. Mauch was widely regarded as one because he specialized in small-ball offense. Now we know that it was those genius moves that helped his teams lose more than they otherwise would have. Genius Weaver did indeed use great platooning tactics - Lowenstein/Roenicke for example - but his most consistent strategy was "pitching, defense and the 3-run homer." Of course he was a leadership genius - "The key to leadership is keeping the guys who hate your guts away from the guys who haven't made up their minds yet."
Tactics are, like rotary dial and winning the pennant with your league's best W-L, are so last century. Now it's the quants off-field that methodically squeeze out the potential for surprises and gut feelings, well in advance of the games being played. Of the skippers listed below, probably Weaver is the only one left with a mostly unimpeachable record -- though his Orioles didn't win enough WSs to suit the Keepers Of The One True History -- but that was him mastering an era when you could build and keep a team together for a while. Also, he was almost certainly a petulant pain in the ass to be around every day, like most human beings (full stop) that have had some success doing things their own way.
Baker isn't perfect but he's stayed in the game long enough that his strengths outlasted his deficiencies. When your players like playing for you, it's possible to keep finding work. With Dusty, it's been both possible and desirable. I hope he comes back with a big fat raise or fucks right off to Costa Rica, or whatever pleases him.
#teamupearly was under the weather this week and this Cup did in fact hit before I'd finished my first cup of coffee, so congrats on "that" first graf requiring a second read.
So that is about 105 weekday mornings. Perhaps our host takes a brief holiday break or life intervenes. So 100 issues of CoC. What a way to spend a Winter!
Does anyone know when Dusty started appending Jr to the back of his jersey? Not that I pay much - or nearly any - attention but last night was the first time I saw it.
“On Thursday, Baker said the idea came to him “in the middle of the night” shortly after accepting the Astros job. A surge in the use of suffixes among young players in football and basketball was his original impetus. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Baker’s father’s death, making his decision easy.”
Go Astros! I listened to 70-ish games a year on the radio when the Astros were loosing 100+ and probably watched some or all of about 100 games this year. To now see a dynasty win it all again is a great feeling.
I spent the entire day Saturday with my 8 week old who has RSV in the ER. It was an incredibly shitty and hard day, but we finally got a room about 2 minutes before Yordan went yard. It was a really special thing to get to see and a reminder of why I love baseball. Sports are ultimately meaningless but the glimpses of joy and entertainment they give us can be really magical. (Little guy is doing fine and just need some extra oxygen)
Thanks for a great season of the newsletter Craig. Anyone have the countdown until pitchers and catchers report?
Best wishes to your little one. My wife works in daycare and RSV and flu are decimating the preschools and schools right now. One local high school had 50% kids out with flu like symptoms this week.
It’s gotten bad. The local ERs are totally out of beds. In a sense we got lucky he’s so young. The 2-3 year olds here with RSV/flu were looking at 20+ hour waits for beds, we “only” had to wait about 3 hours to see a Dr and another 6 to get a bed
Congrats to the Astro's. That team is pretty damn solid. I am a Todd Kalas fan from his time here with the Rays. Happy the team he is calling games for won the big one again. I think they won his first year with them. Kinda neat they beat the Phillies, the team his father called games for most of his career.
I once had a night in the mid-90’s where I was one of eight people crammed in a Honda Accord, and oddball New Zealand musician Chris Knox (of Tall Dwarfs “fame”) was one of the eight. He was lying atop the laps of everyone in the backseat, and every time we passed a pedestrian, he’d stick his head out the window and yell “You’re Chrissy Hynde!!!”
I don’t know what that has to do with anything, other than that it’s the first thing that comes to mind every time I encounter the name Chrissy Hynde.
Kevin Cash redux. Same bad decision. Hitter has no platoon split, so you pull your best pitcher, who is carving the Astros up but for the Peña single, in favor of…your 5th or 6th best pitcher? Who had just imploded in a similar situation three days prior? So what if he was being consistent with what he had done the rest of the postseason? Doesn’t make it the right decision.
For what it's worth, Alvarado's splits appear to be slightly worse vs. LHP. Though maybe being the go to guy for the Phillies when an extremely dangerous lefty bat like Alvarez comes up could skew his numbers I guess. And the bad lefty hitters get pinch hit for. So I don't know if it means anything.
Not a fan of the Astros at all but was ok with them winning since it gave Dusty Baker his ring and they really are the best team in the game right now. As much as I love upsets, I feel like order is restored to the universe in a way when the best team actually becomes the champ.
Thank you to my Mets who gave me the most entertaining season in a long time and somewhat reinvigorated my interest in baseball this year.
I don’t know about anyone else, but for me the offseason is like a cease-fire in terms of team rivalries… I’m sure I will LOLMets again next season but for now I’m happy for them and for you.
Thanks, Craig, for another wonderful baseball season full of all you do, man. I know you’ve endured a LOT in 2022 and I want nothing more for you and your family than peace and strength. You’re appreciated. Your work is appreciated. If you’re ever in San Diego, first bourbon is on me. (But, be cool, Craig. None of that top shelf shit.)
Think either of these managers has heard of the Third Time Through the Order penalty? Whether this is due to batters 'learning' or pitcher fatigue is still under debate (the latest Bayesian analysis: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.06724 ), but the data are pretty clear that batters gain ~10% in OPS (e.g., .700 to .770) by the 3rd viewing of the pitcher.
Just saw this in the Washington Post: Wheeler yielded a .609 on-base-plus-slugging percentage against teams the first time through, a .722 OPS the third time.
Some gratuitous observations (the best kind): (,1) Feelies fans had barely enough time to ripen into the boorish, knuckledragging cloacas they're famous for being. It's even possible they'll behave like advanced hominids for a few games into the 2023 season. After that, expect their transformation into beercan throwing borstal boys to make Craigster's transition from watching backandforthandbackandforthandbackandforthball to Neanderthalhitterball seamless come next April. (2) speaking of which, contemplating the few minutes of relatively civil Feelies fans behavior I bothered to watch produced an epiphany almost as momentous as Kekule's dream of the ouroboros. Although it told me nothing about the benzene molecule, it did explain soccer riots. See, we always knew hoons get frisky watching backandforthandbackandforthandbackandforthball to stave off boredom but we never really understood the mechanism behind it. Well, here it is: because soccer is so monotonous, it gradually stuns the conscious mind into a condition akin to brumation, whereupon monsters from the id can slip by the torpid checks and balances of the civilized superego and reestablish control of what had passed for personality. Simple, eh? (3) Craigster is now out of excuses to avoid reading that copy of "Cloud Atlas" I sent him.
Yep. *Cloud Atlas* would be a good off-season discussion group. It's one of the few things I've read lately that's stuck with me enough that I could discuss months later.
Craigster's hilarious reports of his travails on Britain's chaotically privatised rail system last summer reminded me of Timothy Cavendish's equally hilarious experiences with the trains while trying to flee the relatives of his author and make it to his brother's home. Pre-COVID I was a regular visitor to Blighty - the wife's from north London and I've got much beloved family there -and I've butted heads meself with British Rail in the old days and Virgin Rail, amongst others, in the new. I couldn't resist, and sent the novel to him. Aside from the follies of Cavendish it's a bloody masterpiece; I was only sorry the train episode didn't make it into the otherwise brilliant film version. Ah well.
Anyway, I will definitely be up for talking about it. Mitchell, aside from the also brilliant "Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet," has chosen to discharge his prodigious writerly talents on a lot of predictable Ann Rice knockoff vampire, werewolf and changeling stories, which is fine if you're into that stuff but boring as Neanderthalhitterball if you're not.
So yeah, Alice, let's pester Craig to peek through the looking glass and read the book. Then we can get going.
Much like Jim Fregosi in the 1993 World Series, Rigid Rob Thomson was married to "what got him there," even though there was strong evidence that "what got him there" was no longer working. Alvarado was very shaky lately, and Wheeler was dealing. Even if Alvarado got out of it, you still needed 3 more innings from the pen. Rigid Rob also refused to juggle his lineup, even though Rhys Hoskins and Nick Castellanos were automatic outs and killed just about any possible big inning involving Schwarber and Harper. After Fregosi went down with the Mitch Williams ship in '93, it took another 15 years before we got another shot. Who knows how long it will take to get back? They had a golden opportunity to win only their 3rd championship in their 139-year history. They had a 2-1 series lead and they let is slip away. Very hard to take.
One final "WTF John Smoltz" from me. From the Times gamer:
Winning a second title does not change history, but it helps isolate the cheating scandal as a one-time event, as far as people know, and not a crutch on which Houston rested its only title. For some neutral observers, it banishes the dark clouds for good. “It goes away forever,” John Smoltz, the Hall of Fame pitcher who was broadcasting the Series for Fox, said after Game 5. “To win this one would be the greatest relief in the world.”
Ok, the second things is probably true. And I kinda liked watching this 'Stros team this postseason; lots of exciting games! But the first thing is crap. The 2017 title is tainted and always will be. That doesn't go away.
Dynasty?? Seriously?? There have two dynasties in the history of American professional sports. From 1936 to 1964 the New York Yankees (and you don't know how it pains me to write this) won 22 pennants and 16 world Series. From 1957 to 1964 Bill Russel's Boston Celtics went to NBA finals 12 times and won 11 of them, including an incredible 8 in a row.
Congrats to the Astros. I'm thrilled for Dusty. But maybe we wait until the 'Stros have won at least back-to-back untainted titles before we trot out the "D" word.
The phrase "punched his ticket" to Cooperstown, Poughkeepsie, or wherever should be banished from polite conversation forever and relegated to the Hall of Trite immediately.
January 2020: Houston owner Jim Crane escapes punishment for sign-stealing. Says the MLB report: "Astros owner Jim Crane and his senior executive team spent their energies focused on running the business side of the Club while delegating control and discretion on the baseball side to [Jeff] Luhnow."
October 2022: Houston owner Jim Crane is, predictably, selected to receive the trophy from the Commissioner. Well done, Jim! Great job you did there. Congratulations on your win.
The Astros certainly looked to be the better team overall. But not by all that much. The Phillies absolutely could have won both of the last two games. If there were just slightly different outcomes for maybe five at-bats total (if that first inning fly-out was pulled by just a little bit more than it was, for instance) we’d be having a different discussion today about Bryce Harper’s first championship.
Oh, thank goodness. Another offseason without the Yankees or Phillies or Braves celebrating winning the World Series. I wish I were mature enough that it shouldn’t matter, but I’m not. Maybe some day, but probably not. If my team can’t win it, then it better be a team I have no beef with. Sign stealing scandal? I blame the Yankees. Speaking of which, I think the Astros really blew an opportunity to make people’s heads explode by not banging on garbage cans during the locker room celebration. That’s a damn good team whether they cheat or not.
Congrats to Baker and Jeremy Pena is a good story. Otherwise meh. As for Thomson, that's managing - you may make the "right" move that gets blown up by someone getting a hit or the "wrong" move that somehow pays off when mighty Casey strikes out.
On the final Dodger broadcast each season for years, when it was just the two of them, Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett would summarize the past season and talk about the future. Then Vin would say, "Any final words?" and Jerry would say, "When does spring training start?"
It's less than 100 days. Let's go!
A couple of other things.
First, someone tweeted, "Congratulations to Dusty Baker and only Dusty Baker." That covers it. The moment when Fox replayed (they should have cut straight there instead of to players jumping around) Dusty seeing the final out and everybody in the dugout nearly beating him to death was actually beautiful.
Second, second-guess Rob Thomson all you want, but if he doesn't become manager, the Phillies aren't there in the first place.
Third, Old Hoss Radbourn tweeted, "Combined no-hitter? No thank you." But the night before, according to the "experts" who think they can figure out the strike zone, plate umpire Pat Hoberg worked a perfect game himself--not one missed call. And he is an outstanding young umpire.
Finally, I am glad that the country got to see why we Dodger fans feel so blessed that they chose Our Young Man Joe Davis as the successor to the greatest ever to sit behind or wear a microphone.
Congratulations to the Dusty Baker Nine! Actually, this Astros team is just plain fun to watch. They're damn good, ya know?
In 2018, Ryan Pressly was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Houston Astros for two apparent human baseball beings named Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino, the latter of whom committed one of the most embarrassing defensive double-error plays in the outfield in his first major league game (if my memory of watching the horror unfold on television holds). Now Ryan's got a ring, and Carlos Correa is going to opt out of his "multi-year" deal, and the Twins find yet another way to look like doofuses in comparison to some other team.
Craig, no mention of Framber and his complete turn around from last postseason? Who doesn't love a lefty who can go to 97 with a wipe out slider. And he, Javier, Garcia and Urquiddy are all back for next year. Amazing.
Congrats Stros ! Thankfully, the Philly fans can go away now and enjoy the rest of the offseason with the ABT and Yankee fans who I no longer have to listen to either. Time to move on.
Ah, another member of the "What Extra Hour of Sleep" Club is here!
Disappointed that we didn't get a Game Seven, and just a bit underwhelmed by the overall playoffs. Oh, lots of great moments and great games, but it was never as out and out competitive as I would have liked. A lot of that, though, is because, like it or not, Houston is just that good.
To be honest, I thought there was a very real chance they would run the table so the fact that the Series went six games is pretty impressive.
Congrats Houston. Very proud team. After a postseason filled with upsets, the World Series clearly went to the strongest club.
Congrats Dusty. Maybe he isn’t a tactical genius but players love him and that has resulted in a fine, fine career.
Congrats Phils. Not a great team by any stretch of the imagination. Probably not even a very good one. But phun phor the phans.
And mostly congrats Cup of Coffee host & crew. You guys’ and gals’ comments were often informative and usually entertaining. And Dugout clearly showed a lot of heart! Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me each morning.
Who is a tactical genius?
Genius? Who knows. But many managers have made their bones more on strategic or tactical choices both in game and - before GMs completely took over - roster construction. People like Earl Weaver, Whitey Herzog, Tony LaRussa, Leo Durocher, or in the non-HOF category, Gene Mauch or Buck Showalter. Others have been fiery personalities that lead through aggression and fear - Billy Martin is the archtype. Then there are the calm, stabilizing, player first personas like Joe Torre. Dusty Baker fits firmly into this category.
I'm old too (70), and saw all those guys manage. I tend to give managers the benefit of the doubt. They are in the clubhouse. They know the players. Most moves work out and I'm OK with the ones that don't If I understand (maybe not agree with) the logic. As fans we remember the moves that don't workout (leaving Buckner in at 1B instead of Stapleton). In today's game with all the relievers necessary to finish a game the vast majority of the moves are successful. After a reliever blows a hold or save, then the criticism begins. F*ck don't know how I'm going to make it to April. . .:) For me, NBA/NFL season starts now
Hard to discern a tactical genius from outside. Mauch was widely regarded as one because he specialized in small-ball offense. Now we know that it was those genius moves that helped his teams lose more than they otherwise would have. Genius Weaver did indeed use great platooning tactics - Lowenstein/Roenicke for example - but his most consistent strategy was "pitching, defense and the 3-run homer." Of course he was a leadership genius - "The key to leadership is keeping the guys who hate your guts away from the guys who haven't made up their minds yet."
Durocher a strategic genius? He was classy Billy Martin.
Tactics are, like rotary dial and winning the pennant with your league's best W-L, are so last century. Now it's the quants off-field that methodically squeeze out the potential for surprises and gut feelings, well in advance of the games being played. Of the skippers listed below, probably Weaver is the only one left with a mostly unimpeachable record -- though his Orioles didn't win enough WSs to suit the Keepers Of The One True History -- but that was him mastering an era when you could build and keep a team together for a while. Also, he was almost certainly a petulant pain in the ass to be around every day, like most human beings (full stop) that have had some success doing things their own way.
Baker isn't perfect but he's stayed in the game long enough that his strengths outlasted his deficiencies. When your players like playing for you, it's possible to keep finding work. With Dusty, it's been both possible and desirable. I hope he comes back with a big fat raise or fucks right off to Costa Rica, or whatever pleases him.
#teamupearly was under the weather this week and this Cup did in fact hit before I'd finished my first cup of coffee, so congrats on "that" first graf requiring a second read.
Congratulations Dusty - hopefully he can just retire now before Jim Crane invents some reason not to bring him back.
Only 145 days (check my math) until Opening Day.
So that is about 105 weekday mornings. Perhaps our host takes a brief holiday break or life intervenes. So 100 issues of CoC. What a way to spend a Winter!
Does anyone know when Dusty started appending Jr to the back of his jersey? Not that I pay much - or nearly any - attention but last night was the first time I saw it.
Was there ever a time when the former American League President wasn't referenced as Dr. Bobby Brown?
Lol But that’s so we don’t confuse him with Whitney Houston’s ex.
The NFL is so awful, in so many ways...
“On Thursday, Baker said the idea came to him “in the middle of the night” shortly after accepting the Astros job. A surge in the use of suffixes among young players in football and basketball was his original impetus. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Baker’s father’s death, making his decision easy.”
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Why-Astros-manager-Dusty-Baker-added-Jr-to-jersey-15029647.php
Thanks!
Damn, I really thought this was the meteor’s year.
At least since the Mookie Betts trade, my hobby has been being happy for players the Red Sox should not have traded, so hurray for Christian Vazquez!
Go Astros! I listened to 70-ish games a year on the radio when the Astros were loosing 100+ and probably watched some or all of about 100 games this year. To now see a dynasty win it all again is a great feeling.
I spent the entire day Saturday with my 8 week old who has RSV in the ER. It was an incredibly shitty and hard day, but we finally got a room about 2 minutes before Yordan went yard. It was a really special thing to get to see and a reminder of why I love baseball. Sports are ultimately meaningless but the glimpses of joy and entertainment they give us can be really magical. (Little guy is doing fine and just need some extra oxygen)
Thanks for a great season of the newsletter Craig. Anyone have the countdown until pitchers and catchers report?
Best wishes to your little one. My wife works in daycare and RSV and flu are decimating the preschools and schools right now. One local high school had 50% kids out with flu like symptoms this week.
It’s gotten bad. The local ERs are totally out of beds. In a sense we got lucky he’s so young. The 2-3 year olds here with RSV/flu were looking at 20+ hour waits for beds, we “only” had to wait about 3 hours to see a Dr and another 6 to get a bed
Hoping for the best for your little one. There’s nothing worse than a sick child too young to understand what is happening.
Amen to this. Best wishes to you all & get well soon little guy!
Yeesh, dude. Good thoughts. Congrats on the title.
I am sorry your little one is so sick. I will be hoping, and if you wish sending prayers, for a quick recovery. Best to your whole family.
Congrats to the Astro's. That team is pretty damn solid. I am a Todd Kalas fan from his time here with the Rays. Happy the team he is calling games for won the big one again. I think they won his first year with them. Kinda neat they beat the Phillies, the team his father called games for most of his career.
Best band from Ohio....Wussy.
Wussy is great! Don't see myself taking them over Guided by Voices of the Isley Brothers at this point, though!
I once had a night in the mid-90’s where I was one of eight people crammed in a Honda Accord, and oddball New Zealand musician Chris Knox (of Tall Dwarfs “fame”) was one of the eight. He was lying atop the laps of everyone in the backseat, and every time we passed a pedestrian, he’d stick his head out the window and yell “You’re Chrissy Hynde!!!”
I don’t know what that has to do with anything, other than that it’s the first thing that comes to mind every time I encounter the name Chrissy Hynde.
Kevin Cash redux. Same bad decision. Hitter has no platoon split, so you pull your best pitcher, who is carving the Astros up but for the Peña single, in favor of…your 5th or 6th best pitcher? Who had just imploded in a similar situation three days prior? So what if he was being consistent with what he had done the rest of the postseason? Doesn’t make it the right decision.
For what it's worth, Alvarado's splits appear to be slightly worse vs. LHP. Though maybe being the go to guy for the Phillies when an extremely dangerous lefty bat like Alvarez comes up could skew his numbers I guess. And the bad lefty hitters get pinch hit for. So I don't know if it means anything.
Not a fan of the Astros at all but was ok with them winning since it gave Dusty Baker his ring and they really are the best team in the game right now. As much as I love upsets, I feel like order is restored to the universe in a way when the best team actually becomes the champ.
Thank you to my Mets who gave me the most entertaining season in a long time and somewhat reinvigorated my interest in baseball this year.
I don’t know about anyone else, but for me the offseason is like a cease-fire in terms of team rivalries… I’m sure I will LOLMets again next season but for now I’m happy for them and for you.
The only place where I would not stop the dislike is if I can be snide to the Yankees if Judge doesn't come back. Though I think he will.
Thanks, Craig, for another wonderful baseball season full of all you do, man. I know you’ve endured a LOT in 2022 and I want nothing more for you and your family than peace and strength. You’re appreciated. Your work is appreciated. If you’re ever in San Diego, first bourbon is on me. (But, be cool, Craig. None of that top shelf shit.)
Think either of these managers has heard of the Third Time Through the Order penalty? Whether this is due to batters 'learning' or pitcher fatigue is still under debate (the latest Bayesian analysis: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.06724 ), but the data are pretty clear that batters gain ~10% in OPS (e.g., .700 to .770) by the 3rd viewing of the pitcher.
Valdez vs Schwarber for the 3rd time.
Wheeler vs Altuve and Pena for the 3rd time.
Just saw this in the Washington Post: Wheeler yielded a .609 on-base-plus-slugging percentage against teams the first time through, a .722 OPS the third time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/06/rob-thomson-zack-wheeler/
Some gratuitous observations (the best kind): (,1) Feelies fans had barely enough time to ripen into the boorish, knuckledragging cloacas they're famous for being. It's even possible they'll behave like advanced hominids for a few games into the 2023 season. After that, expect their transformation into beercan throwing borstal boys to make Craigster's transition from watching backandforthandbackandforthandbackandforthball to Neanderthalhitterball seamless come next April. (2) speaking of which, contemplating the few minutes of relatively civil Feelies fans behavior I bothered to watch produced an epiphany almost as momentous as Kekule's dream of the ouroboros. Although it told me nothing about the benzene molecule, it did explain soccer riots. See, we always knew hoons get frisky watching backandforthandbackandforthandbackandforthball to stave off boredom but we never really understood the mechanism behind it. Well, here it is: because soccer is so monotonous, it gradually stuns the conscious mind into a condition akin to brumation, whereupon monsters from the id can slip by the torpid checks and balances of the civilized superego and reestablish control of what had passed for personality. Simple, eh? (3) Craigster is now out of excuses to avoid reading that copy of "Cloud Atlas" I sent him.
Yep. *Cloud Atlas* would be a good off-season discussion group. It's one of the few things I've read lately that's stuck with me enough that I could discuss months later.
Craigster's hilarious reports of his travails on Britain's chaotically privatised rail system last summer reminded me of Timothy Cavendish's equally hilarious experiences with the trains while trying to flee the relatives of his author and make it to his brother's home. Pre-COVID I was a regular visitor to Blighty - the wife's from north London and I've got much beloved family there -and I've butted heads meself with British Rail in the old days and Virgin Rail, amongst others, in the new. I couldn't resist, and sent the novel to him. Aside from the follies of Cavendish it's a bloody masterpiece; I was only sorry the train episode didn't make it into the otherwise brilliant film version. Ah well.
Anyway, I will definitely be up for talking about it. Mitchell, aside from the also brilliant "Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet," has chosen to discharge his prodigious writerly talents on a lot of predictable Ann Rice knockoff vampire, werewolf and changeling stories, which is fine if you're into that stuff but boring as Neanderthalhitterball if you're not.
So yeah, Alice, let's pester Craig to peek through the looking glass and read the book. Then we can get going.
Much like Jim Fregosi in the 1993 World Series, Rigid Rob Thomson was married to "what got him there," even though there was strong evidence that "what got him there" was no longer working. Alvarado was very shaky lately, and Wheeler was dealing. Even if Alvarado got out of it, you still needed 3 more innings from the pen. Rigid Rob also refused to juggle his lineup, even though Rhys Hoskins and Nick Castellanos were automatic outs and killed just about any possible big inning involving Schwarber and Harper. After Fregosi went down with the Mitch Williams ship in '93, it took another 15 years before we got another shot. Who knows how long it will take to get back? They had a golden opportunity to win only their 3rd championship in their 139-year history. They had a 2-1 series lead and they let is slip away. Very hard to take.
One final "WTF John Smoltz" from me. From the Times gamer:
Winning a second title does not change history, but it helps isolate the cheating scandal as a one-time event, as far as people know, and not a crutch on which Houston rested its only title. For some neutral observers, it banishes the dark clouds for good. “It goes away forever,” John Smoltz, the Hall of Fame pitcher who was broadcasting the Series for Fox, said after Game 5. “To win this one would be the greatest relief in the world.”
Ok, the second things is probably true. And I kinda liked watching this 'Stros team this postseason; lots of exciting games! But the first thing is crap. The 2017 title is tainted and always will be. That doesn't go away.
Thank you, Craig. Fire up the Hot Stove.
Dynasty?? Seriously?? There have two dynasties in the history of American professional sports. From 1936 to 1964 the New York Yankees (and you don't know how it pains me to write this) won 22 pennants and 16 world Series. From 1957 to 1964 Bill Russel's Boston Celtics went to NBA finals 12 times and won 11 of them, including an incredible 8 in a row.
Congrats to the Astros. I'm thrilled for Dusty. But maybe we wait until the 'Stros have won at least back-to-back untainted titles before we trot out the "D" word.
The phrase "punched his ticket" to Cooperstown, Poughkeepsie, or wherever should be banished from polite conversation forever and relegated to the Hall of Trite immediately.
And it can take the phrase "punched her ticket" as well.
January 2020: Houston owner Jim Crane escapes punishment for sign-stealing. Says the MLB report: "Astros owner Jim Crane and his senior executive team spent their energies focused on running the business side of the Club while delegating control and discretion on the baseball side to [Jeff] Luhnow."
October 2022: Houston owner Jim Crane is, predictably, selected to receive the trophy from the Commissioner. Well done, Jim! Great job you did there. Congratulations on your win.
The Astros certainly looked to be the better team overall. But not by all that much. The Phillies absolutely could have won both of the last two games. If there were just slightly different outcomes for maybe five at-bats total (if that first inning fly-out was pulled by just a little bit more than it was, for instance) we’d be having a different discussion today about Bryce Harper’s first championship.
Oh, thank goodness. Another offseason without the Yankees or Phillies or Braves celebrating winning the World Series. I wish I were mature enough that it shouldn’t matter, but I’m not. Maybe some day, but probably not. If my team can’t win it, then it better be a team I have no beef with. Sign stealing scandal? I blame the Yankees. Speaking of which, I think the Astros really blew an opportunity to make people’s heads explode by not banging on garbage cans during the locker room celebration. That’s a damn good team whether they cheat or not.
Nice post. When I first moved to Miami, the Orioles did spring there. Saw Weaver a bunch. Even saw him manage a few senior league games.post Orioles.
I missed seeing the Schwarber bunt attempt. I thought Craig was joking !
WTF? A guy with 6 postseason HRs and one in his previous at bat?
Congrats to Baker and Jeremy Pena is a good story. Otherwise meh. As for Thomson, that's managing - you may make the "right" move that gets blown up by someone getting a hit or the "wrong" move that somehow pays off when mighty Casey strikes out.
On the final Dodger broadcast each season for years, when it was just the two of them, Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett would summarize the past season and talk about the future. Then Vin would say, "Any final words?" and Jerry would say, "When does spring training start?"
It's less than 100 days. Let's go!
A couple of other things.
First, someone tweeted, "Congratulations to Dusty Baker and only Dusty Baker." That covers it. The moment when Fox replayed (they should have cut straight there instead of to players jumping around) Dusty seeing the final out and everybody in the dugout nearly beating him to death was actually beautiful.
Second, second-guess Rob Thomson all you want, but if he doesn't become manager, the Phillies aren't there in the first place.
Third, Old Hoss Radbourn tweeted, "Combined no-hitter? No thank you." But the night before, according to the "experts" who think they can figure out the strike zone, plate umpire Pat Hoberg worked a perfect game himself--not one missed call. And he is an outstanding young umpire.
Finally, I am glad that the country got to see why we Dodger fans feel so blessed that they chose Our Young Man Joe Davis as the successor to the greatest ever to sit behind or wear a microphone.
Congratulations to the Dusty Baker Nine! Actually, this Astros team is just plain fun to watch. They're damn good, ya know?
In 2018, Ryan Pressly was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Houston Astros for two apparent human baseball beings named Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino, the latter of whom committed one of the most embarrassing defensive double-error plays in the outfield in his first major league game (if my memory of watching the horror unfold on television holds). Now Ryan's got a ring, and Carlos Correa is going to opt out of his "multi-year" deal, and the Twins find yet another way to look like doofuses in comparison to some other team.
Darkness warshed over the Dude. Darker'n a black steer's tookus on a moonless prairie night. There was no bottom.
A little disappointed about the ending but I enjoyed the heck out of this very unexpected Phillies run. And that Harper homer will be legendary.
Craig, no mention of Framber and his complete turn around from last postseason? Who doesn't love a lefty who can go to 97 with a wipe out slider. And he, Javier, Garcia and Urquiddy are all back for next year. Amazing.