MLB Season 2024

[Westheim]

Snakes-Cubs underway, which means baseball is baaaaaack!

And boy, did I miss it this week.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by kq76

Although I think some of us already suspected it, it's interesting to find out that some players think it to... Angel Hernandez Theory

I wouldn't put it past him.

[Cobra Mgr]

Ending of AZ/KC game

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

White Sox Watch: Since I last checked, the Pale Hose have gone 1-4, meaning that they now sit at 21-60 on the season.

This means that their record since that scorching 14-30 (.318) start is now 7-30, which is a tepid .189. (A little better than the 6-26 it had been, but not much.)

Should the Sox continue at .189 the remainder of the season, they would go 15-66 over second half, finishing at 36-126 and presumably salving the egos of the descendents of the 1916 Philadelphia A's (36-117)

Should they level off at their halfway pace of 21-60, that puts them at 42-120 for the season, putting them even with the 1962 Mets for the record number of losses, but a couple of wins to the better.

And should they get back the old .318 mojo, they will surge to a 26-55 closure, finishing at 47-115, up among the rarefied air of the 2018 Orioles.

(I actually expect the law of averages to kick in and the ChiSox to scramble up to 51-111 or something run-of-the-mill terrible like that, but the plain math is darn depressing, I'll allow.)

Since that previous update, the Pale Hose have gone 6-19 (.240), reaching an impressive mark of 27-79. (They actually had a nicely-mediocre 6-7 skein, before remembering who they were and embarking on the current 12-game skid.)

56 games left. If the Sox keep going at the .240 since last update, they will go 13-43, which is 40-122, breaking the 1962 Mets' record for losses.

Should the Southsiders revert back to that .259 pace they were on in the first half, that would be 15-41 down the stretch, nosing out the Mets by finishing 42-120.

And should they regain the hot start they had (14-30, .318), that puts them on pace for a blazing 18-38 climax, reaching the 45-117 heights of a .278 winning percentage, tying the 1942 Phillies (42-109) for merely being the 9th-worst team of the modern era.

To quote Edwin Starr, "Good God, y'all!"

Erick Fedde, 7-3
Drew Thorpe, 3-2

Everyone else, 17-74. Holy Rudy Meoli!

[Westheim]

Shoutout to Garrett Crochet, who is hugging .500 (6-7) on 2.5 runs of support per game.

What was the argument again that pitchers shouldn't bat regularly anymore?

[Le Grande Orange]

MLB released its 2025 schedule back on July 18th.

Interleague games increase slightly from 46 to 48 as the contests between traditional rivals goes from two 2-game series to two 3-game series. This means two fewer games against non-division opponents. The Dodgers and Cubs open the season in Tokyo on March 18-19, with the main opening taking place on March 27 with 15 games. Proceedings come to a close on September 28.

[Westheim]

I haven't seen blood gush from somebody's nose quite as frantically as out of James McCann's after taking Yariel Rodriguez' 43rd pitch of the first inning of the first game of a double-header right to his face.

That's a lot to unpack for one sentence, and they're still trying to stuff paper towels up his exploded nose.

I hope you weren't having lunch right now.

Edit: McCann stays in the game.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I haven't seen blood gush from somebody's nose quite as frantically as out of James McCann's after taking Yariel Rodriguez' 43rd pitch of the first inning of the first game of a double-header right to his face.

That's a lot to unpack for one sentence, and they're still trying to stuff paper towels up his exploded nose.

I hope you weren't having lunch right now.

Edit: McCann stays in the game.

Nice he had the ability to tough it out. But I want my manager to put more of premium on my well-being than my guts.

Video

[dsvitak]

Cardinals got a very good pitcher, and Tommy Pham. They traded Edman, and some used catcher's gear.

I love the pitcher, but do NOT like Pham. He has played for about 25 teams in the last 12 year, for a reason.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Nice he had the ability to tough it out. But I want my manager to put more of premium on my well-being than my guts.

Video

No-no, you don't understand; Adley Rutschman had the first game off because pretty boy needed the rest and the schedule is so tough and something. The Orioles broadcasters were making up excuses as they went, at times a tad embarassed.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Nice he had the ability to tough it out. But I want my manager to put more of premium on my well-being than my guts.

Video

Schilling had a bloody sock. That was NOTHING compared to taking a fast ball to the face.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Schilling had a bloody sock. That was NOTHING compared to taking a fast ball to the face.

Not to mention one of 2 games in July has a lot less meaning than a playoff game in October.

[Cobra Mgr]

Stat of the day: The Marlins current payroll is less than half of what the A's players are currently getting.

[Cobra Mgr]

One call can make all the diff.

[Cobra Mgr]

I thought spitballs were illegal.

[Cobra Mgr]

Worst called strikeouts for July or..............maybe there is a reason why the Marlins suck.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Shoutout to Garrett Crochet, who is hugging .500 (6-7) on 2.5 runs of support per game.

What was the argument again that pitchers shouldn't bat regularly anymore?

It turns out that Crochetty Crochet was letting it be known that he didn't want to be traded to any team that wasn't going to sign him to an extension. No rentals allowed.

So that Sox kept him right home at Cellphone Stadium or whatever that place is called nowadays. Garrett did not look happy on that Wednesday pregame I saw, with various "exit interview" reactions played for contrast.

(Michael Kopech looked bummed, realizing that this meant he was never going to be the Savior of the Sox as he had been touted. And Fedde was pretty much in tears, since he had been reduced to playing abroad before Chris Getz and the Sox took a chance on him and brought him back, and he really wanted to stay and repay their faith. Meanwhile, Crochet was reduced to "it is what it is" and the like, perhaps realizing what he did to himself.)

20* consecutive losses brings the record to 27-87, .236. On pace for 38-124, which would be the all-time worst since 1900. (38-124 actually comes to .2346, whereas the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics' 36-117 is .2353.)

Come on guys, you're better than this. (Or at least I'd hope so.)

(*Turns out that I'd gotten ahead of myself. When I originally did these calculations, the then-18-game losing streak had merely dropped the Sox to 27-85. But they're 27-87 now, so I'll just claim prescience and take the win.)

[Amazin69]

So to consider something that might be better history for the Sox, is the biracial John Schriffen MLB's first "black" (or mixed) PbP guy?

Obviously, plenty of African-American analysts (going back to Bill White) have handled the middle innings while nominally the analyst, but I can't recall any non-whites leading a broadcast team. Hate to think it's taken this long for this kind of a barrier to be broken, but good on John if he is.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

So to consider something that might be better history for the Sox, is the biracial John Schriffen MLB's first "black" (or mixed) PbP guy?

Obviously, plenty of African-American analysts (going back to Bill White) have handled the middle innings while nominally the analyst, but I can't recall any non-whites leading a broadcast team. Hate to think it's taken this long for this kind of a barrier to be broken, but good on John if he is.

Found an article on Dave Sims who has been w/Seattle 18 years. In the article it says there were 6 others besides he & White.

As one of eight Black announcers in league history, according to a list he had readily prepared.......

[Amazin69]

Hm, I'm surprised if there are only eight in total, counting the analysts. Let's see…

Bill White (Yankees)
Ken Singleton (Blue Jays, Expos, Yankees)
Rod Allen (Tigers)
Craig Monroe (Tigers…albeit not exactly a fan favorite, to judge by the Tigers thread)
Darrin Jackson (White Sox)
Garry Matthews Sr. (Phillies)

Surely there must have been more ex-jocks hired by teams, I would think. (Surprised to learn that Harold Reynolds went directly to ESPn, rather than breaking in with a team.) Wow, that's a bummer.

Unless Sims has an entire file of PbP guys I'm blanking on though, he's still the first to hold that distinction. (And if Schriffen is only the second, that's still not good. I mean, the NFL had Jim Hill calling play-by-play in 1977, if not before.)

Of course, I can hardly claim expertise, given that Sims has apparently had his job for 18 seasons. I still think of Dave Niehaus, and he's dead. Clearly, I'm not paying attention to the Mariners' booth.

(Did not know that Chip Caray had called Mariners games in the early 1990s, for one thing.)

Apparently Ozzie Smith was part of the Cardinals' broadcast team from 1997-1999, but I don't know if he was the full-time analyst, or just filled in for Hrabosky. But that's still far too few, anyhow.