David Ross gets the job in Chicago and Joe Girardi the one in Philadelphia. Jayce Tingler is the new manager of the San Diego Padres. His playing career topped out at AA but he has been in a variety of coaching and front office positions, most recently for the Texas Rangers. An intriguing choice, someone without Ross' name recognition or Girardi's résumé. (Joe Maddon was hired by the LA Angels in case you missed that story.)
Joe Espada is a name that keeps showing up. Apparently he is using his off-day (he's the bench coach for the Astros) to interview with the Giants.
I didn't think I'd see the Nats up 2-0, and especially not with a blowout win. Washington's 'pen was supposed to be the weak link, and Houston's starters the difference-makers. We'll see if the underdog can finish it out at home. I think the entire post-season has featured some gripping baseball, even in the lopsided contests. If there is any decline in the audience for these games, it is not because the players and teams aren't putting on a good show. I should note that the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks completed their sweep of the Yomiuri Giants to take the Japan Championship (a three-peat for them). The Doosan Bears are up 2-0 over the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Series.
--M.C.
8 comments:
I think Washington's and Houston's starters match up well, with the edge possibly going to Washington because of Sanchez (Houston does not seem to have a fourth starter). I would have liked to see match-ups of the grizzled vets (Scherzer vs Verlander), the K artists (Strasburg vs Cole), and the snakes-gone-to-better-places (Corbin vs Greinke), but that's not the way the pairings worked out. Washington's pen has not had to do too much yet, but they have done enough. And if their starters continue to make quality starts, that might be enough.
5 IP from Scherzer and 6 IP from Strasburg means 7 IP for the bullpen. That's a lot of chances to screw up and they've only allowed three runs. And one of those was with a 10-run lead! They've held on to the lead in both games although I thought they were ready to lose it in Game One but the Astros came up short.
Only seven runs allowed by the Nats so far. The Astros averaged 5.68 rpg in the regular season, but scored 19 in 5 games against the Rays (3.8) and 22 in 6 (3.7) against the Yanks. That's a lot of good pitching against them but they still won.
Anibal Sanchez pitched a beautiful game against the Giants in the 2012 World Series only to be un-done by a superb Vogie-Timmy-Sergio combined shutout. That was Game Three and the Giants had won Game Two by the same score.
They wont do the the astros what the giants did to Detroit, but Detroit was favored to win the WS the year that they lost in a sweep to Sergio Romo, Pablo Sandoval and the Giants. That year, even before the WS, reminded me of the 1954 pre-world series, when Cleveland was the odds on favorite. That is why baseball is such a great sport.
It won't be Ron Wotus at the helm, apparently. Some guys it seems make better lieutenants than captains. At least that's what the league thinks of Wotus. There are only 30 managing jobs--that's not very many. Just being in the running is like being a boxer but never being "a contenduh." You're still an elite pro, but you don't get the shot at fame and glory.
It seems that now Bob Geren is on the list. Interesting. He managed in Oakland and is currently with the Dodgers as a bench coach.
Ron Fairly passed away. He was the Voice of the Giants from 1987-1992 on KNBR. He didn't have the best voice and wasn't the slickest talker but he was a baseball lifer who loved the game and I appreciated his enthusiasm. He was certainly better than Al "I can't wait to leave this one-horse town" Michaels. Man, I hated that guy's broadcasts! I also liked Fairly better than both David Glass and Lindsey Nelson.
Rockies lefty starter Tyler Anderson was claimed after he was DFAd by the Rockies. Former 1st-rounder (#20) from the U of O Ducks in 2011. Gerrit Cole was #1 that year, Anthony Rendon #6. Giants took Tyler Beede #21.
Anderson had a good season in 2018 but was limited by injury in 2019. Giants need lots of rotation help so I expect a lot more moves like this one. Speaking of Cole, he's a free agent, and the Giants have the money to take a run at him. I think they should. I'm worried he will go to the Dodgers as he was born and raised in Orange County, so the Giants should strike first.
he is Brandon Crawford's brother-in-law. Sign him up.
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