gehringer_2

sure, but he can block once he has the ball and if you hit him high then I believe it's a violation - I think....

Got him out before he could lose the game. Fair enough. Lets see if someone in this BP can erase a runner.

Manning amped up to finish. 96 on the FB there --- but he lost him.

yup.

I guess he gets away with it because he hits some of the terrible pitches he chases.

I suppose the risk under the current rule is If you don't slide and run into the catcher they're going to call you out.

right in the corner of the sign, about a ball's width below the yellow line.

heads up play by Haase if it stands.

yeah - hate to say it but Kreidler is looking overmatched so far.

That inning went downhill fast.

Recovery after getting behind and giving up the dinger was pretty good.

Obtained from the Didgers for ....Josh Fields. Who knew you can find a top player without tanking for a draft pick?

it was a good throw, but pretty short - actually from that distance it takes good control not to airmail it.

Vierling maybe makes it if he slides a little later - he lost a lot of speed on that last 5 feet.

OK - maybe not!

that's two.

Another one I don't get it. If Schoop and Kreidler are both in the game what is gained putting Schoop at 2B? I can believe they may think Kreidler is already a better 2B than Schoop, but I have a hard time believing they think that what they gain at 2b isn't less than what they lose at 3b.

How does Abreu get an IF hit?

I think one problem is the dislocation streakiness produces in the lineup. If the guy puts up good numbers - goes to the top of the line-up, then crashes between the team's other high OBP hitters, he effectively spikes more rallies than if were batting 7th where his end of season numbers would have put him, or vice versa, the #7 hitter is suddenly hot and 5/6 don't gett on base and 8/9 don't drive him in so he ends up a LOB stat all the time. I don't have any math to prove it, but given that performance distribution in baseball is asymmetric around the mean and there is a strong non-linearizing BaBIP contraint on the upper limit, it just seems to me that consistent performance is going to allow for the best line-up optimization and thus the most runs through the season.

Ooops - you mean that wasn't a freebie?

the catch would have been hard because Austin didn't approach it optimally. A better OF gets to the wall, leaves himself a step so he can make the jump to adjust to the ball. Meadows certainly is capable of making that jump, he couldn't because he had already pinned himself against the wall. IOW, he was fielding the ball in a reactionary way instead of having been able to anticipate the play he should have made. And yes, that is exactly the difference between a plus OF and an average one.

that's what Schoop does. Hot and cold streaks

After Wentz's good outing and with Lorenzen almost ready, Manning may be pitching for his job. We'll see if he rises to the occasion.

OTOH, I don't imagine a reliever that throws the other team's most dangerous hitter a batting practice pitch with two men on is likely to get too many more chances to do it again - even from the Tigers.

Hope springs eternal, but I think Weaver is already about 2yr past his sell date.