pebadger

I really dislike having to wonder if a third run here by Houston is probably enough to win the game.

Jose Altuve is so excited about this two-game series that he let everyone know the moment the Brewers arrived in Houston. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTJDxoIUJ8Dc3xYH7kJA09CoV1uoDs5IM79REImZuYyx7UiAxAEsQ

No individual is bigger than their concern over a certain view of "the integrity of the game". There is NOBODY who won't get thrown under the bus to "protect the shield" (to borrow a term that the NFL loves to throw around). Players are 100% expendable to protect the brand. You can argue about whether the league has lost perspective on how to handle this particular issue (in my view it's a toxic blend of overreaction mixed with a fair degree of ignorance), but their chief focus is protecting the MLB brand. Pro sports leagues in the US have the money and clout to really take a fresh look at how to build better systems for doping control and adjudication processes, but they simply don't want to get involved. That is so, in my opinion, because if they actually did do anything procedurally to even the playing field they'd take a huge amount of flak about "caving" to the dopers. MLB's chief concern is putting on a convincing enough show that they care about doping control, so as to keep Congress and USADA out of the picture. If you start imposing two-year bans on players for first offenses (as would be the norm under a USADA regime), or if you create a system in which guys can inform on other guys to get leniency for thier own transgressions (as would also be the norm), you would have an unmitigated disaster on your hands as MLB. So they adopt the broad framework of international standards, adopt the "if we say you're guilty, you're guilty" mindset and say the right things publicly to appear "tough on crime". This provides them with political cover and allows them to run their own show. Whoever ends up in the way of that train is collateral damage in the larger battle of MLB retaining its autonomy in this area.

I have a dream that one day JL will hit in the top half of the order on a regular basis. Maybe when this team demonstrates that it has trouble scoring runs.

The sad/scary thing is that MLB's process is MORE fair than the process used in Olympic sports.

Yes, the athlete in these cases can strike names from the list of third party arbitrators, but that doesn't mean a whole lot given the way these things work. Basically, the police get to pick the jury, and they can fill the jury with policemen. If the defendant complains and gets rid of one, they just get another policeman. If the defendant keeps holding up the procedure by striking jurors, he's the one who ends up looking bad and he looks bad already by virtue of the fact that he's there.

First MLB quashes the written decision, which means that the unconfirmed speculation that this case was about "nothing more" than procedural errors is allowed to continue to exclusively dominate media reports. Next, MLB fires a the very highly respected "independant" arbitrator who cast the deciding vote in the case. Think about that: MLB has the ability to fire the "independant" arbitrator. I think it's fair to say that MLB at the very least looks like it has something to hide and very well may have something to hide here. Even if they don't, this action exposes the appeals process for the sham that it is, mostly by revealing what it isn't. It's not a judicial process that is any way interested in a search for truth; it's a mostly meaningless construct that is there for public appearances more than anything else. It's that fact that makes Braun's victory so improbable. The entire post-award chain of events, from the way the decision was predictably attacked all the way through today's events just serves to continue to confirm everything I've posted here since December about the integrity, or disturbing lack thereof, of this process.

Me too. On a somewhat related note, I normally like Rock anyway, but when he called the FOX game last week I thought he did a really good job. I hadn't heard the stories of all the other stuff going on around the team last night.

After last night it's fair to ask: Is 6 runs enough to win?

Good for him.

I've seen 12and under teams work that rundown situation better. Thanks, Cubs!

It seems like you can count on two hands the number of of guys on the roster (both position and pitchers) to whom this wouldn't apply.

HBP: A hopeful solution for the Brewers offense?

Soto's immediate reaction on the Braun HBP was pretty funny.

This is rapidly evolving into something similar to one of those contests where the guy who can stand and keep his hand on the 56" TV longest wins the TV. And it's getting about as riveting to watch, too.

12:05 start tomorrow. Should give them about the same turnaround time as a doubleheader.

How long until we get the obligatory between-innings shot of some guy dozing off in the stands?

You know, I was thinking the same thing.

At the start of the inning the win probability split was 50/50, but I would have guessed it was somewhere closer to 35/35.

I'm not sure about "we", but I'm virtually certain about "someone".

Game will end on 16 straight balls.

This game HAS to end in some sort of bizarre fashion, doesn't it? I'll feel cheated if it doesn't.

Welcome Back Parra.

Take a look at the Fangraphs chart on this thing.

Well, I was wrong, but I knew he wasn't hitting it hard anywhere. At this point I'm more interested in what happens in the aggregate over the next few weeks than any specific game. I just want to see if this team is going to have enough fight to keep this from becoming a completely unsalvageable disaster.