MLB 2019

[Hot Pepsi]

Apparently there was also a second release where they didn’t really apologize but said the language was inappropriate, etc. As if her problem with it was that he said a swear word.

Just poor PR management all the way around.

Especially since at least some of the people who signed off on the original statement probably knew or strongly suspected that their man had directed his tirade at those women.

I doubt he did it because she was wearing a purple bracelet. Who even notices something like that? Had she previously criticized the organization or asked pointed questions about Osuna? I haven’t read that, but perhaps.

[danielmak]

I don't know the answer to that. Obviously the guy was an idiot. If he believed that Osuna needed his ego pumped up a bit after blowing a save and knowing that Osuna will be needed to the win the WS. And if he believed Osuna has made positive steps that will help repeat past mistakes while also doing what needed to be done to make restitution for the original mistakes,** then I can see why the dude would want to make a little performance to other members of the team and front office that Osuna is an important reason why the Astros won 107 and were going to another WS. But none of that would require a move to specifically berate specific reporters in anger. The reporters did what they do: report. The reporters didn't make Osuna abuse his partner.

**I have no idea what happened with that investigation of Osuna by the Toronto PD (or another local pd) nor do I know what MLB concluded, so all of those statements are just general statements about people changing, helping others to change, and a general drive to do onto others...

[Hot Pepsi]

My understanding is that the accuser went back to Mexico so Canadian authorities had to drop the case. Perhaps she was paid off.

[ursus arctos]

I've been involved professionally with corporate entities who have "retracted" press releases. It isn't at all common, but it does happen.

[danielmak]

Tonight was supposed to be a bullpen game for the Astros, which had me wondering why (again) they didn't put Wade Miley on the roster. But Irquidy is 5 2/3 as I write this, which is going to work wonders for the Astros unless the danielmak jinx kicks in and Irquidy melts down with one of those viral days where the bullpen also meltsdown. I'd think, if the Astros maintain this lead and win, this one will go 7. Cole will be better than he was in Game 1. Verlander has looked tired/had problems starting well, so could be beat. Then we'll see if Greinke can pitch like a top 10 pitcher.

[Hot Pepsi]

I've been involved professionally with corporate entities who have "retracted" press releases. It isn't at all common, but it does happen.

The Astros press department isn’t that sophisticated.

When she asked for a retraction, they could have said “we already did, didn’t we?” But they didn’t even do that, as far as anyone seems to know.

[ursus arctos]

The Astros are run by a mafia of McKinsey alumni who all made a lot of money telling "unsophisticated" companies what to do.

They know exactly what she was asking for, and now they have finally done it.

https://twitter.com/stephapstein/status/1188501342756769793

[WOM]

My understanding is that the accuser went back to Mexico so Canadian authorities had to drop the case. Perhaps she was paid off.

Without admitting guilt, he pled to staying away from her for one year and continuing counseling. She's the mother of his child. One of the top sports writers in Toronto said that the cops told him the photographic evidence of his girlfriend was 'grim', so it was more than a he-said she-said, even if unofficially.

[Hot Pepsi]

The Astros are run by a mafia of McKinsey alumni who all made a lot of money telling "unsophisticated" companies what to do.

They know exactly what she was asking for, and now they have finally done it.

https://twitter.com/stephapstein/status/1188501342756769793

There’s no good reason why this took so long.

[Incandenza]

Well, good job to the Nats fans booing Trump. I can't believe that Washington is really going to blow this, however.

[danielmak]

I can't think of many instances in life where one would wish that someone ends up getting fired: sports, politics (via being voted out), maybe some scoundrel CEO. But the Yankees have announced that Larry Rothschild will not return next year. I'll let you read the second sentence through the context of the first.

[ursus arctos]

You were literally the first person I thought of when I saw that news.

[jefe]

Between MLB, the NHL, and the NBA, there have been 1,420 best of 7 series.

This is the first time the road team has won the first 6 games.

[danielmak]

I have no idea what to think about this series. I made a screenshot of a text exchange with a friend of mine and sent it back to him with my prediction that Verlander probably would wear out in the game 6 and that this would go to 7, but I'm shocked that the road teams have won every game. Game 7 would normally be set up for a lot of pitching energy but I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of runs. Mad Max is coming back from an injury (and this isn't a fake bloody sock haha) while Greinke has not shown that his skills in the regular season translate to the playoffs.

Then there's the insanity of the first base rule. The base is in fair territory but the players are expected to run in a lane that is in foul territory. It is literally impossible to stay in foul territory and touch the base. I get why the base is where it is in terms of balls hitting the base and then having it be fair. But given everything that has changed in this game, MLB can't find a solution to this problem and the problem with players injuring themselves coming down on these slick bases?

I don't know what y'all think but my move would be to use a base that is the same substance as home plate (sunk into the ground) and that square base would be half in play and half out of bounds. There would be a painted line right down the middle of the thing. As with VAR in football, a player should treat the ball as if it is live. Then if there's a discrepancy about fair our foul/safe or out, the umps go to replay.

[San Bernardhinault]

I’m very pleased about this, and don’t really know why.

[ursus arctos]

You are just really fucking happy that the Astros got Osuna

[danielmak]

This was an interesting world series. It was set up to be an all-time great series for pitching but that never played out. Game 7 was probably the most exciting, but even that's a bit relative. Houston was cruising, Greinke shook off the catcher twice, gave up a home run, walked a guy. And that was basically that. After Harris gave up the 2-run HR, the game was over. I think that was the 6th inning. For me it was an interesting WS on paper but not a very interesting WS in terms of game action, although I guess I wasn't feeling that in the moment during each game because I always thought there was an opportunity for more drama. That drama just never transpired. All games had very uneven scorelines.

I'll take KC-Mets, Cubs-Cleveland, and Rangers-Cardinals over this one easily. I had a horse in the race with Dodgers-Astros in 2017, and even with some painful Dodgers losses, that series was more interesting. I'd assume that series was also more exciting for a neutral baseball fan. I'm sure there have been other 7 game series that were a bit of a snore in retrospect but I'm having a hard time remembering one.

[ad hoc]

Never has the unofficial meaning of "interesting" been clearer. danielmak begins with "This was an interesting world series" and then proceeds to write two paragraphs about how in fact it was not interesting.

[danielmak]

Never has the unofficial meaning of "interesting" been clearer. danielmak begins with "This was an interesting world series" and then proceeds to write two paragraphs about how in fact it was not interesting.

Actually an extension of a recurring problem that stems from spending way too much time on the computer each day: my mind moves faster than my fingers. The missing phrase in that first sentence: was set up to be--This was set up to be an interesting series. But it wasn't.

[imp]

My team won. Yay!

I should add that I did go to the Nats several times over the course of my DC years. Did I pay any attention to them after I left town? Not saying. Did I start paying attention to them when they made the playoffs. A bit. Did I get up this morning in my pyjamas at 3.30am and finally watch some of the action? Hell yeah!

[WOM]

Our chosen team won. Couldn't be happier. Houston just seemed like a douche bro organization and the Nationals did it without Harper. Win win all around. And all 7 games won on the road. Wtf?

[Greenlander]

I'm goning to have to dig out my decade old, faded and paint splattered Nationals cap, bought for the sole reason that I needed something to cover my head sharpish and my sister had previously worked for a few years at the British Embassy in Washington. Go Nats!

[imp]

I'm goning to have to dig out my decade old, faded and paint splattered Nationals cap, bought for the sole reason that I needed something to cover my head sharpish and my sister had previously worked for a few years at the British Embassy in Washington. Go Nats!

We've got one of those in the cupboard somewhere too, bought one stifling day at the stadium when I forgot to take head cover. Cost five bucks, it's the most uncomfortable head item I own. In fact I hate baseball caps full stop - they look extra dorky on me.

[San Bernardhinault]

The first baseball games I went to were Nationals ones, so today I consider myself a lifelong fan.

[Hot Pepsi]

My team won. Yay!

I should add that I did go to the Nats several times over the course of my DC years. Did I pay any attention to them after I left town? Not saying. Did I start paying attention to them when they made the playoffs. A bit. Did I get up this morning in my pyjamas at 3.30am and finally watch some of the action? Hell yeah!

IMP and I went to a rain-delayed, not-well-attended-from-the-start, Nats-Reds game in 2009 on the night of the draft where the Nats got Strasburg. They showed the draft on the big screens during the delay and were handing out t-shirts commemorating the event of his draft, trying to convince people that it would be a moment to remember for the Nats in the future. Turns out they were right, but I doubt many people still have that shirt.

IMP didn't stay until the end. I did. The Reds won, but it wasn't impressive. I'd say there were only about 1,000-2,000 people there at the end, including all the players and the stadium staff. I was supporting the Reds, who weren't bad at that time, but it was still a depressing scene. It felt like I was witnessing the end of baseball itself.