Fear The Chorizo

Was watching last night's game and put a bit of my focus on how long it was taking between pitches - particularly as the game moved into the mid-late innings and bullpens got involved.... Most relievers were taking well over 20 seconds between pitches when nobody was on base - once guys got on base it was like adding 5-6 more seconds between each pitch. What was the most egregious to me with relievers is how many of them have a pronounced/prolonged process to get themselves from the stretch into getting set before delivering the pitch after getting the sign from the catcher. I don't mind a bunch of tosses over to 1st and some added time to try and hold guys from stealing - that's part of the game. But I really don't want to have to watch a pitcher act like he's got to go through that elaborate of a routine just working out of the stretch. I get that most of that might be part of a pitcher's routine to emphasize something mechanical in the actual delivery of a pitch (i.e., Kenley Jansen's leg rocking multiple times as he slowly comes set is a reminder to keep his front side closed as he releases a pitch)....but it's basically the same time lag as hitters that would parade out of the box and reset their batting gloves between every pitch as part of their routine. I can accept that October baseball might be a bit different in ratcheting up the pressure and allow for those games to extend a bit longer because of it - but to be honest even last night's great game is sort of scarred by the fact it took 4 hours and 15 minutes to go 9 innings despite a total of only 4 runs and 12 hits. During the regular season, these pitching routines - particularly for many relievers - take just as long, and that's gotten to be a bigger problem in terms of extending game length than the number of pitching changes. They all don't have to go full on Raptor and work as fast as Suter, but the game pace gets excruciatingly slow once relievers enter.

Not sure how you can state that after tonight's game - if Muncy isn't able to go that lineup doesn't look nearly as imposing. It took them having a guy in a horrible slump hitting a cement mixter slider he never should have been thrown in the bottom of the 9th to prevent the game going to extras at 1-1, and they would have had to use one of their starters out of the bullpen in the 10th. Don't get me wrong, the Dodgers are a great team - but certainly not invincible over a best of 5 or 7.

That's a pretty perfect way to end the Cards' season. I constantly hear about how great Reyes' stuff is....seems like it winds up in the seats an awful lot

Dodgers are hitting seeds off this guy

Here we go...

This has O'Neill ducksnort all over it to score the second run right here

I'm sorry, I know he gets a ton of flack - some deservedly so - but Joe West can be awesome, too

I'm trying not to actively root for either team to win...because I'm certain whichever team I side with at any point is going to instantly have a play happen that loses them the game and I don't want to ruin what is a very entertaining 1-1 game to watch

They are showing that box on close pitch replays...last curve was a ball

Me neither. You gotta have a better angle than that...there are sooo many cameras. MLB replay, man. This always bugs me. NFL knows that critical plays happen on sidelines and end zones, so they have those areas plastered with cameras. Why can't MLB figure out that bases are where their critical plays happen, and should be covered all the time for replay purposes? The only counterargument I can think of is that it only reinforces a trend to challenge and litigate bang-bang plays that may be soul-deadening to the sport, but I mean, that genie is already out of the bottle. Why not get the call definitively right? Aside from replay - what is the mechanism of the ump actually having to make the call that the runner is out? Does the defense have to appeal or go and tag the guy back at 1st, or as soon as he doesn't retouch the bag the ump would call him out if he see him miss it? Just curious, because honestly what else does Diaz have to be looking for as the 2nd base ump in that spot?

Me neither. You gotta have a better angle than that...there are sooo many cameras. MLB replay, man. He didn't retouch the bag - that was a break. If he did even the view looking at second from home plate would have showed his foot shift a bit if he did get the side of the bag.

Carlson about to be summarily executed for not following the Cardinal way... Edit....never mind, Cards voodoo put a hex on camermen to actually get a good shot and have Diaz be the ump responsible for actually paying attention, lol.

Yeah, but it also helps that Treinen missed his spot by about a foot - took advantage of the overshift by just putting the bat on the ball on what was still a tough pitch to drive on the outside corner.

Haven't seen every pitch tonight, but from what I have it seems like big Joe West is having himself a pretty good night behind the plate calling balls/strikes. Hope I just didn't jinx it....

Part of me thinks it's pretty cool to see Juan Soto in the stands actively rooting on Trea Turner... the other part of me is nervous for when the Dodgers find a way to acquire him for a validated stadium parking ticket and sneak him into their dugout for extras

I just have this feeling a hanging slider is going to get put in the seats by someone pretty soon

Cardinals have burned through about all of their 9 lives with some of those plays that baseball randomly forces to not go your way...problem is they seemingly have unlimited lives.

No matter what, it adds more talent to the MLB room in Green Bay, which is always a good idea. Maybe they catch lightning in a bottle and the difference in scheme fits Smith better than being considered the lead dog of a linebacking corps at this stage in his career.

voodoo.... seriously

I don't care who wins tonight as long as the Giants beat them. Not because I fear Cardinal voodoo per se, moreso based on roster matchups and thinking the Brewers have the best chance to beat the Giants in a 7 game NLCS. I don't like the fact the Cards could toss Wainwright + a bunch of scrub lefty starters at a Brewer lineup that has proven to be inept at doing damage against that type of pitching - plus I think the Cards' lineup is plenty potent enough to score enough runs on the Brewers. Dodgers are simply the most talented team in the NL, and it'd be nails trying to beat them over 7 games. Brewers played the Giants very well during the season, and I think that would have a good chance to continue if they meet for a ticket to the WS. Not saying I would give up if facing either the Dodgers or Cards in the NLCS, it would be sweeter beating either of them in the playoffs...

Even if there was minimal violations identified once MLB started trying to inspect/crack down on foreign substances, I think that had an impact overall to improve offensive output of teams. The yearlong MLB average for runs scored per team per game was 4.53, which is right in the middle of where runs scored has been for the past 40+ years aside from the late 1990s-early 2000s stretch that is now the outlier (i.e. blatant steroid era). The bigger problem MLB still has from a gameplay standpoint is pace of play and overall length of games - I believe this year still set the overall record of average time of game (3:11), so whatever MLB has tried up to this point in terms of # of batters a reliever needs to face or batters stepping in/out of the box, mound visits, etc. just isn't working. The quick and easy answer to this is implementing a pitch clock - and I think it's time something along those lines is seriously considered. The amount of dead time that goes between each pitch and frankly each at bat of a game has gotten completely out of hand - particularly once runners get on base. As for the shifting - I think we are already seeing some slight changes to hitting approaches for younger players that over time its benefit is going to be reduced naturally without having to make rules specific to how teams line up defenders. That should remain part of the natural evolution of the game and not forced out of it by unneccessary rules.

Carolina has alot of cap room in-season to pick up a player like Gilmore and give him a good sized contract without having to do funny money cap gymnastics to make it work longterm, so that fit makes sense. What's interesting is if they indeed traded for him, Gilmore will need to stay on the PUP list a couple more weeks....had no trade happened and the Pats just released him, Gilmore could have signed elsewhere and been eligible to play as soon as this weekend.

Yeah...no matter the outcome I'm just hoping for chaos and at least something to happen that really handcuffs the winning team - tonight I'll be happy because one of those teams loses no matter what. And then I'll put my Giants fanboy hat on in a big way for the NLDS - both because I loathe both wildcard teams and because I think the Giants would be the best matchup for the Brewers to get past and head to the world series.

This is where I'm at too. I'm going to be both satisfied and frustrated regardless of the result of tonight's game. I think in my perfect world, the Dodgers win tonight because I just want to be rid of watching/caring about STL - but are then handicapped with not being able to start Scherzer until game 3 against the Giants in the NLDS - and not having him available to start 2 of the games in a 5 game series is enough for the Giants to knock them off.

According to "over the cap", GB actually has more available cap room at the moment than Tampa (~$7.2M vs $3.5M), but if Gilmore is truly looking for that last big bite of the contract apple he didn't get in New England, there are some other more likely destinations that have more cap room and also aren't a dumpster fire of a team for him to consider going to a contender. Thinking Carolina, Denver, Cincy, Seattle, San Diego... Agreed it's at least worth kicking the tires, but frankly I'd rather save that cap room to try and work an extension for Jaire towards the end of the season. Gilmore is 31 and Green Bay already has big cap problems heading into 2022 so I doubt it's a fit. It also sounds like there isn't a shortage of teams already lining up, so somebody is going to pay him more than what the Packers can offer. Tampa does desperately need help in the secondary after all their injuries - I just don't see them having enough room financially to bring him there unless Tom Brady sells Gilmore his wife's yacht for $1 to let him resell for a crazy high profit off the field.