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Wednesday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for NFL teams:
— Cincinnati Bengals, 6.5, -125
— Cleveland Browns, 10,-150
— Dallas Cowboys, 9.5, +110
— Denver Broncos, 8.5, -140
— Detroit Lions, 5, +125
— Green Bay Packers 9, -115
Remember, this year it is a 17-game schedule for first time.
Quote of the Day
“Despite not looking so good, I feel as close to normal as possible. … I feel good. I feel lucky.”
Mets’ OF Kevin Pillar, who got hit in the face with a pitch Monday, suffering nasal fractures
Wednesday’s quiz
Before the Texas Rangers moved to the Lone Star State, where did they play?
Tuesday’s quiz
From 1975-84, Biff Pocoroba was a catcher for the Braves.
Monday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was Seattle Mariners’ manager last time they made the playoffs, in 2002.
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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) I have a suggestion that I think would help our country; instead of Presidents having four-year terms, and being limited to two terms, I suggest that they serve only one term, but the term would be six years long. That way, they just do the work, and don’t worry about re-election.
What do you think?
12) Baseball analytics people have defenses shifting a lot, which puts players in places on the field that they’re not used to being, and that weakens the defense. I’m sure someone keeps track of this, but hits saved/hits given up by the shift would be an interesting statistic to study.
There have to be pitchers who lose their mind when they give up a soft ground ball to the opposite field, and it goes thru the infield for a hit. I’m thinking of Madison Bumgarner; he gave up one of those Monday night in LA, and he didn’t look very happy about it.
11) Genius alert: Braves rookie pitcher Huascar Ynoa broke his right (pitching) hand when he punched the dugout bench following a poor start at Milwaukee Sunday. Not good.
Ynoa had the lowest ERA on the Braves’ staff; he is out for couple months.
10) Umpire Joe West worked a Giants’ game the other night, with Mike Yasztrzemski playing for San Francisco. West has been around so long, he was in the big leagues the last eight years that Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski played in the majors— that’s Mike’s grandfather.
Giants have homered in 15 consecutive road games, by the way.
9) Detroit Tigers re-did their TV crew last season, and improved it greatly; now the analysts are Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson or Dan Petry- they’re all very good, especially Morris. Listening to him is like taking a college course on pitching. He speaks his mind, good or bad.
8) Last week was the anniversary of a game where the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in Wrigley, on a day when the wind was blowing out, obviously.
— For some reason, Larry Bowa batted 2nd for Philly, ahead of Pete Rose/Mike Schmidt. A career .260 hitter with no pop (15 homers in 16 years), he would definitely bat 8th these days.
— Bob Boone caught for Philly, hit a homer; his son manages the Bronx Bombers now.
— Tug McGraw pitched in relief that day; his son Tim is a very famous singer.
— Bill Buckner was 4-7, knocked in seven runs that day.
— Dave Kingman hit three homers for the Cubs.
7) Baseball stuff:
— Mike Trout (calf strain) is out 6-8 weeks
— Mets acquired Cameron Maybin to give them some OF depth
— Braves put P Huascar Ynoa (hand) on the IL
6) Since the start of the 2018 season, Aaron Judge/Giancarlo Stanton have played on the same day only 163 of 426 games, 38.2% of the time.
Two of the best abilities: availability, durability.
5) Cincinnati Reds are 11-2 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on; Chicago White Sox are 2-8 in those games.
4) Dodgers lost their last eight one-run games, not a good thing.
3) Not to be the old guy on his lawn, but……..
— In Larry Bird’s first seven NBA seasons, he missed a total of 13 games
— Artis Gilmore was a very good 7-foot-2 center; in his first eight years as a pro, he didn’t miss a game, and the ABA played 84 games, not 82. Teams didn’t have private jets, either.
— In 2012-13, the year Kevin Durant scored 28.1 ppg, while shooting 41.6% on arc, 53.9% inside arc and 90.5% from the line, he played in 81 games, missing only one.
My point here is that NBA players today are soft; they take nights off when they’re not hurt.
2) RIP to the great actor Charles Grodin, who passed away at age 86. Funny man.
RIP to former big league infielder Rennie Stennett, 72, who played on two World Series title teams with the Pirates.
1) In 1975, Stennett went 7-7 in a game at Wrigley Field. 7 for freakin’ 7.
— Pirates won the game 22-0, scoring 9 times in first inning.
— Stennett scored five runs that day; when he was taken out of the game, a young 2B named Willie Randolph pinch-ran for him
— Pete LaCock was an OF for the Cubs that day; his dad was Peter Marshall, host of the Hollywood Squares, a very popular game show back in the day.
— Rick Reuschel started game for the Cubs; his brother Paul mopped up last two innings.
Over/under win totals for NFL teams:
— Cincinnati Bengals, 6.5, -125
— Cleveland Browns, 10,-150
— Dallas Cowboys, 9.5, +110
— Denver Broncos, 8.5, -140
— Detroit Lions, 5, +125
— Green Bay Packers 9, -115
Remember, this year it is a 17-game schedule for first time.
Quote of the Day
“Despite not looking so good, I feel as close to normal as possible. … I feel good. I feel lucky.”
Mets’ OF Kevin Pillar, who got hit in the face with a pitch Monday, suffering nasal fractures
Wednesday’s quiz
Before the Texas Rangers moved to the Lone Star State, where did they play?
Tuesday’s quiz
From 1975-84, Biff Pocoroba was a catcher for the Braves.
Monday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was Seattle Mariners’ manager last time they made the playoffs, in 2002.
********************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) I have a suggestion that I think would help our country; instead of Presidents having four-year terms, and being limited to two terms, I suggest that they serve only one term, but the term would be six years long. That way, they just do the work, and don’t worry about re-election.
What do you think?
12) Baseball analytics people have defenses shifting a lot, which puts players in places on the field that they’re not used to being, and that weakens the defense. I’m sure someone keeps track of this, but hits saved/hits given up by the shift would be an interesting statistic to study.
There have to be pitchers who lose their mind when they give up a soft ground ball to the opposite field, and it goes thru the infield for a hit. I’m thinking of Madison Bumgarner; he gave up one of those Monday night in LA, and he didn’t look very happy about it.
11) Genius alert: Braves rookie pitcher Huascar Ynoa broke his right (pitching) hand when he punched the dugout bench following a poor start at Milwaukee Sunday. Not good.
Ynoa had the lowest ERA on the Braves’ staff; he is out for couple months.
10) Umpire Joe West worked a Giants’ game the other night, with Mike Yasztrzemski playing for San Francisco. West has been around so long, he was in the big leagues the last eight years that Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski played in the majors— that’s Mike’s grandfather.
Giants have homered in 15 consecutive road games, by the way.
9) Detroit Tigers re-did their TV crew last season, and improved it greatly; now the analysts are Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson or Dan Petry- they’re all very good, especially Morris. Listening to him is like taking a college course on pitching. He speaks his mind, good or bad.
8) Last week was the anniversary of a game where the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in Wrigley, on a day when the wind was blowing out, obviously.
— For some reason, Larry Bowa batted 2nd for Philly, ahead of Pete Rose/Mike Schmidt. A career .260 hitter with no pop (15 homers in 16 years), he would definitely bat 8th these days.
— Bob Boone caught for Philly, hit a homer; his son manages the Bronx Bombers now.
— Tug McGraw pitched in relief that day; his son Tim is a very famous singer.
— Bill Buckner was 4-7, knocked in seven runs that day.
— Dave Kingman hit three homers for the Cubs.
7) Baseball stuff:
— Mike Trout (calf strain) is out 6-8 weeks
— Mets acquired Cameron Maybin to give them some OF depth
— Braves put P Huascar Ynoa (hand) on the IL
6) Since the start of the 2018 season, Aaron Judge/Giancarlo Stanton have played on the same day only 163 of 426 games, 38.2% of the time.
Two of the best abilities: availability, durability.
5) Cincinnati Reds are 11-2 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on; Chicago White Sox are 2-8 in those games.
4) Dodgers lost their last eight one-run games, not a good thing.
3) Not to be the old guy on his lawn, but……..
— In Larry Bird’s first seven NBA seasons, he missed a total of 13 games
— Artis Gilmore was a very good 7-foot-2 center; in his first eight years as a pro, he didn’t miss a game, and the ABA played 84 games, not 82. Teams didn’t have private jets, either.
— In 2012-13, the year Kevin Durant scored 28.1 ppg, while shooting 41.6% on arc, 53.9% inside arc and 90.5% from the line, he played in 81 games, missing only one.
My point here is that NBA players today are soft; they take nights off when they’re not hurt.
2) RIP to the great actor Charles Grodin, who passed away at age 86. Funny man.
RIP to former big league infielder Rennie Stennett, 72, who played on two World Series title teams with the Pirates.
1) In 1975, Stennett went 7-7 in a game at Wrigley Field. 7 for freakin’ 7.
— Pirates won the game 22-0, scoring 9 times in first inning.
— Stennett scored five runs that day; when he was taken out of the game, a young 2B named Willie Randolph pinch-ran for him
— Pete LaCock was an OF for the Cubs that day; his dad was Peter Marshall, host of the Hollywood Squares, a very popular game show back in the day.
— Rick Reuschel started game for the Cubs; his brother Paul mopped up last two innings.
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