Braves score 4 runs tonight- and Santana implodes in the 1st and Braves still lose....

Pirates lose to the Phillies...

So if the Marlins can hold on to beat the brewers... all of a sudden the Marlins are only 3.5 games out of the 2nd wild card slot. with Braves and Brewers 1.5 games out.

wow Brewers tie it up but then can't score bases loaded 8th inning- and after Stanton walks in the 9th Casey McGehee hits 2 run homer and then Ozuna hits a rope to get a 9th inning lead 6-3.

I'll say this as a Nats fan- I don't know if I want to see the Marlins in the playoffs.

(09-09-2014 10:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  wow Brewers tie it up but then can't score bases loaded 8th inning- and after Stanton walks in the 9th Casey McGehee hits 2 run homer and then Ozuna hits a rope to get a 9th inning lead 6-3.

I'll say this as a Nats fan- I don't know if I want to see the Marlins in the playoffs.

Don't worry, you won't

(09-09-2014 11:27 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(09-09-2014 10:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  wow Brewers tie it up but then can't score bases loaded 8th inning- and after Stanton walks in the 9th Casey McGehee hits 2 run homer and then Ozuna hits a rope to get a 9th inning lead 6-3.

I'll say this as a Nats fan- I don't know if I want to see the Marlins in the playoffs.

Don't worry, you won't

we shouldn't- but given how poorly Atlanta and Milwaukee are- and the fact that Pittsburgh you just don't know about- 3 1/2 games with 19 to go is not that big of a gap right now. Especially given that Miami has the best player maybe in the entire NL- definitely in the top 5. The only winning team the Marlins play after Thursday are the 8 games with the Nats(who could easily clinch before the 1st game of the 8 now with magic number down to 10). Other than that it's 6 with Philly and 3 with the Mets.

I know I've been talking a lot about the Braves- but man the Brewers have just gone into the tank. lost 13/14, 16/19, and since they were 51-32 on June 28- they've gone 23-39 in the last 62 games(a 60-102 pace).

Atlanta- since the start of that west coast swing- they were 58-48 entering that- they are 16-23(a 66-96 pace). Since late April they are 57-64.

Pittsburgh- since all star break- they are 26-23- and have picked up lot of ground

All star break-
Mil 53-43 up 1 on St Louis in Central
Atl 52-43 tied with Nats in East
Pit 49-46 down 3.5 in Central
Mia 44-50 down 7.5 in east

since:
Mia 27-22
Pit 26-23
Atl 22-28
Mil 21-28

I know we talk a lot about the NL on here (rightfully so), but *** **** the Orioles are looking sharp and I don't know how they do it. They've had the best record since late June and are doing it with Weiters out 4 months, Machado out 1 month and Chris Davis turning into a glorified Adam Dunn.

They've gotten so much from what appeared (at the beginning of the season) to be a collection of #3 starters and AAAA players (seriously, who the hell is Steve Pearce and Caleb Joseph?). Like in 2012, their bullpen has been outstanding, their record in 1 run games 29-20 leads the majors and their fielding is very good. Is this team an example of what a great manager can do with a decent squad? No way any but Showalter gets AL Manager of the Year.

The O's are an old Earl Weaver type team... Pitching, Fielding, and 3 run homers. Hit 28 more homers than any other team. feasted against the AL East- the best record of any team in division this year in the AL(36-22). With the pen the way it is- if O's are up after 6 innings, it's close to game over.

what's amazing is what they've done with all the injuries that you mentioned- plus one of their top prospects still not back from Tommy John yet. Just not really below average in anything is huge.

(09-10-2014 10:53 AM)stever20 Wrote:  The O's are an old Earl Weaver type team... Pitching, Fielding, and 3 run homers. Hit 28 more homers than any other team. feasted against the AL East- the best record of any team in division this year in the AL(36-22). With the pen the way it is- if O's are up after 6 innings, it's close to game over.

what's amazing is what they've done with all the injuries that you mentioned- plus one of their top prospects still not back from Tommy John yet. Just not really below average in anything is huge.

Buck Showater has done a great job with the team and Adam Jones is turning into a star. The only question I have is how long Crush Davis' slump is going to last.

Speaking of cratering teams, WTF happened to the A's? Cespidas couldn't have been that crucial to the general cohesiveness of Oakland. Though to be fair, the Angels are knocking the wrapping off the ball these days.

(09-10-2014 03:31 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(09-10-2014 10:53 AM)stever20 Wrote:  The O's are an old Earl Weaver type team... Pitching, Fielding, and 3 run homers. Hit 28 more homers than any other team. feasted against the AL East- the best record of any team in division this year in the AL(36-22). With the pen the way it is- if O's are up after 6 innings, it's close to game over.

what's amazing is what they've done with all the injuries that you mentioned- plus one of their top prospects still not back from Tommy John yet. Just not really below average in anything is huge.

Adam Jones is turning into a star.

i have a problem with the recent uptick in Adam Jones d*ck sucking. His OPS+ and wRC+ have gone down each of the last two seasons. His HR are down, his walks are down and his SB are down. The only thing that's improved is his fielding and I'm skeptical about that huge increase, as he was rated as a negative on defense for 5 straight seasons before becoming a pretty big positive this season. IMO Jones is a very good CF, but definitely not a star. Amongst qualified CF's, his overall offensive numbers are equal to Ellsbury and Span. BTW, his assists are down and his errors are way up.

just looking- his numbers are really tilted wins/losses
wins- .334/.368/.565/.933 OPS
losses- .208/.236/.314/.549 OPS

last year he was a smidge better in wins, but much better in losses- .648 OPS(in obviously more losses)...

So he's looking better in wins which the O's have a ton of.

(09-10-2014 04:30 PM)stever20 Wrote:  just looking- his numbers are really tilted wins/losses
wins- .334/.368/.565/.933 OPS
losses- .208/.236/.314/.549 OPS

last year he was a smidge better in wins, but much better in losses- .648 OPS(in obviously more losses)...

So he's looking better in wins which the O's have a ton of.

not really sure what this means, his numbers are his numbers. I don't think he performed poorly because they lost

John Lackey was ejected today after complaining about the strike zone which was inconsistent. From the tv broadcast it didn't seem like he said any magic words that earn you an ejection.

(09-10-2014 07:28 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(09-10-2014 04:30 PM)stever20 Wrote:  just looking- his numbers are really tilted wins/losses
wins- .334/.368/.565/.933 OPS
losses- .208/.236/.314/.549 OPS

last year he was a smidge better in wins, but much better in losses- .648 OPS(in obviously more losses)...

So he's looking better in wins which the O's have a ton of.

not really sure what this means, his numbers are his numbers. I don't think he performed poorly because they lost

I don't think normal players are that huge of a difference between winning/losing. Mike Trout for instance is .989 ops when the Angels win, but .815 when they lose. That's a .174 difference- compared to Jones at a .384 difference. So Jones overall numbers are going to look worse because he's so bad when they lose- but fans are seeing all the highlights the nights they win.

(09-10-2014 08:19 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-10-2014 07:28 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(09-10-2014 04:30 PM)stever20 Wrote:  just looking- his numbers are really tilted wins/losses
wins- .334/.368/.565/.933 OPS
losses- .208/.236/.314/.549 OPS

last year he was a smidge better in wins, but much better in losses- .648 OPS(in obviously more losses)...

So he's looking better in wins which the O's have a ton of.

not really sure what this means, his numbers are his numbers. I don't think he performed poorly because they lost

I don't think normal players are that huge of a difference between winning/losing. Mike Trout for instance is .989 ops when the Angels win, but .815 when they lose. That's a .174 difference- compared to Jones at a .384 difference. So Jones overall numbers are going to look worse because he's so bad when they lose- but fans are seeing all the highlights the nights they win.

oh so you're saying one of the reasons for the constant praise is the highlights in all the games they've won? I can see that

Marlins lose, Pirates win. 4.5 back with 18 left. Are we done with them yet?

(09-10-2014 10:33 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  Marlins lose, Pirates win. 4.5 back with 18 left. Are we done with them yet?

not yet just because of the schedule. 8 games left with the Nats who would have clinched possibly before any of those games. And besides that only tomorrows game is with a team who is over .500. It's not easy but it's not impossible either.... 4 in the loss column has happened not often but occasionally with 2 1/2 weeks to go...

Aren't the nats interested in getting the best record?

(09-10-2014 11:56 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  Aren't the nats interested in getting the best record?

For who? For what? Is there anyone at this point the Nats should be scared of in the NL?

(09-10-2014 03:44 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(09-10-2014 03:31 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(09-10-2014 10:53 AM)stever20 Wrote:  The O's are an old Earl Weaver type team... Pitching, Fielding, and 3 run homers. Hit 28 more homers than any other team. feasted against the AL East- the best record of any team in division this year in the AL(36-22). With the pen the way it is- if O's are up after 6 innings, it's close to game over.

what's amazing is what they've done with all the injuries that you mentioned- plus one of their top prospects still not back from Tommy John yet. Just not really below average in anything is huge.

Adam Jones is turning into a star.

i have a problem with the recent uptick in Adam Jones d*ck sucking. His OPS+ and wRC+ have gone down each of the last two seasons. His HR are down, his walks are down and his SB are down. The only thing that's improved is his fielding and I'm skeptical about that huge increase, as he was rated as a negative on defense for 5 straight seasons before becoming a pretty big positive this season. IMO Jones is a very good CF, but definitely not a star. Amongst qualified CF's, his overall offensive numbers are equal to Ellsbury and Span. BTW, his assists are down and his errors are way up.

I think with the crackdown on PEDs, and increased pitching staff and a generous strike zone, fans need to recalibrate our expectations of what should be considered great stats. I've heard that they are even toying with the idea of banning the defensive shift. So while Jones might be over hyped, for the era he's playing in the superlatives may be warranted.

(09-10-2014 11:56 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  Aren't the nats interested in getting the best record?

I think they'll be more concerned getting some guys a break. LaRoche, Werth, Desmond come to mind. Also giving some of the pen a bit of a break.

Also if it comes down to it- the last weekend is a dh on the Friday night. You pretty much know if the Nats have clinched, one of those games the Nats are throwing out there a AAA lineup basically.