12/21/24
September 11, 2014
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Yeah, his whole year has been bad; shades of Willie Mays playing past his prime.
And yet we know that won't happen- although not impossibly far back at 4.5 back on September 11, the Yankees chances were already minimal; ESPN had them at 1.8% to even get into the wildcard game. This season was basically meant as a lap around the league for Jeter, and they can't very well sit him since he might be the biggest reason for ticket sales in away cities.
Which I'm totally cool with, because with Boston also sucking hard this year it's nice to see some new teams in the hunt in the AL. I can take some small comfort that the local Mariners team still has a decent and totally unexpected shot to make the playoffs. It'd be a tough path, since Detroit and KC might be splitting the AL Central/one wild card spot, so unless Seattle can push past both of them and/or Oakland, there's no room.
Not that anyone in this town cares anyway, with the Seahawks back on the field and not missing a step from their title run just a few months ago. :)
posted by hincandenza at 05:29 PM on September 11, 2014
As Yankee fan I have no problem letting him ride out the retirement tour. Even if they were to squeak into the final WC slot, they won't get far. Might as well wallow in the pomp and circumstance while it lasts.
posted by goddam at 05:39 PM on September 11, 2014
Antonio Brown has been fined ~$8,000 for that amusing karate kick to the facemask of Browns' Punter Spencer Lanning.
I'd like to point out, again, that this is $2,500 less than Frank Gore was fined last year for having sloppy socks.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:17 PM on September 11, 2014
In his and the NFL's small defense, the karate kick did look like an accident when he failed to leap over a guy he thought was going to tackle his legs. Whereas at least the sloppy socks is a dress code violation that is preventable.
posted by hincandenza at 12:39 AM on September 12, 2014
In a bizarre moment of umpiring, a Brewers pitcher was awarded a strikeout...after hitting two different Marlins batters...in the same at-bat.
posted by grum@work at 12:53 AM on September 12, 2014
Practice safe socks
And don't smoke weed
Or you will be broke
And out of the league
posted by beaverboard at 09:16 AM on September 12, 2014
In a bizarre moment of umpiring, a Brewers pitcher was awarded a strikeout...after hitting two different Marlins batters...in the same at-bat.
I have never heard of a strike being called on a pitch that hit the batter, though I suppose it is not unreasonable. Is this a common occurrence? Looking at the videos, I think the strike call against Stanton looks to be correct. The strike called on Johnson is less clear, in both how far he swings and in that he was trying to get out of the way--albeit late. Also, can a ball be called foul if it hits your hand?
posted by bender at 10:59 AM on September 12, 2014
I have never heard of a strike being called on a pitch that hit the batter
The rule is that if the pitch hits the batter while or after the pitch has entered the strike zone the ball is dead, no runners may advance, a strike is charged to the batter, and he is not awarded first base. Similarly, whether or not the pitch is in the strike zone, if the batter is deemed to have swung at the pitch, it is a strike, and the same rules apply. The plate umpire did the correct thing to confer with the base umpire to determine whether or not the batter had swung. It is unusual to have a strike called on a hit batsman, not so unusual to have the pitch called a ball but the batter ordered to stay at the plate because the batter did not attempt to get out of the way. To have two hit batsman and a strikeout during the same at bat is unheard of, at least to me.
posted by Howard_T at 05:22 PM on September 12, 2014
That's just unbelievable. I think that's the argument, but I think it's the right call, although Howard T should chime in on this one. I believe if you swing and don't make contact- including if it hits you, whether on the body, hands, or even face- it's a swinging strike.
posted by hincandenza at 05:28 PM on September 12, 2014
One other thing on a hit batsman. If the batter is hit on the hand while the hand grips the bat, and he is not swinging, he is deemed to have been hit by the pitch. As long as the batter tried to get out of the way and the pitch is not in the strike zone, he is awarded first base. If the batter is determined to have swung, the result of the pitch (fair or foul, out or reaching base) will stand, and the hand is considered a part of the bat.
posted by Howard_T at 09:14 PM on September 12, 2014
So the pitch to Johnson should have been called foul rather than strike 3, right?
posted by bender at 01:12 PM on September 13, 2014
I have not seen the video of Johnson's HBP, so I cannot judge. If the pitch hit his hand first, the it should have been called a foul ball. If it hit any other part of his body, including his wrist or arm, before hitting his hand on the bat, then it is a swinging strike.
posted by Howard_T at 09:10 PM on September 13, 2014
As the New York Yankees fight for a final wild card spot, their glorious captain is turning into a albatross in their lineup, and someone should seriously consider asking him to "rest" for most of the remaining season if they want to remain competitive.
Of all players that started at least 20 games in MLB in August (201 of them), Jeter has the 9th worst OPS (.487). It's the worst OPS of any player that started that many games for a team with any reasonable hope of a playoff spot.
And it's gotten worse in September, as he's currently hitting even worse (.426 OPS) for September.
If the Yankees don't care about the playoffs, then there isn't any problem with leaving Jeter out there until the end.