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bukie

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Everything posted by bukie

  1. bukie
    Anyone have a reason Almora was pulled in the 2nd? Seems like odd timing.
  2. bukie
    Sometimes logical, reasonable decisions simply don't work. That doesn't mean they were bad decisions. For example, putting in Lester in the 5th. Joe didn't want Hendricks facing Kipnis a 3rd time, he said as such, and that he was their most dangerous hitter in the series, so he switched it up and brought in Lester because he thought Kipnis would be less likely to hit Lester hard. So Kipnis hit the ball 10 feet, and Ross threw the ball away then took a WP off the head that allowed 2 runs to score. Ross simply throws the ball cleanly and the inning is over (and the game, likely, it being 5-1 at that point). I don't think it can be understated the sheer volume of low-percentage occurrences the Indians benefited from in game 7 that kept the game close.
  3. bukie
    I'd tend to agree. I mean, the only way he makes the team without injury is if the Cubs decide 100% they're done with La Stella and use him as the backup IF. But based on the franchise generally not wanting to throw away assets in general, plus La Stella's LH bat offering a little balance to the offense, I'd guess the chances of that are slim unless La Stella specifically asked to be let go or moved.
  4. bukie
    No, by all means contribute, everyone contribute. Reading me having a discussion with myself is boring. I'm setting up a blind selection for the top 8 based on everyone's thoughts for the 12 best teams.
  5. bukie
    #35: Cubs Offense Puts Game 4 Away in 6th Why on the list? - Sure, it was a tense game early, since the Cubs hadn't scored in two games. Then there was the controversial play at the plate in the 2nd. Then the Cubs pushed across 4 runs in the 4th, followed by Rizzo's HR in the 5th. But then the Dodgers came back against Lackey with 2 runs in the 5th, so the Cubs switched him out for Montgomery before the end of the 5th to make sure they kept the lead. Then the Cubs came up to bat in the 6th, and the game was over. The Cubs got a run on a Fowler single, 2 on a Rizzo single, and 2 on a Baez SF thanks to more poor defense by the Dodgers (seriously, the entire series is a case study on how important defense is, the Cubs were great and the Dodgers were awful.). However, before all those runs scored, this happened to start things off: Who else remembered that Montgomery had a single in the playoffs?
  6. bukie
    That's why it's open discussion because the past two years the secret balloting achieved little when I was doing everything myself. I have a plan, though.
  7. bukie
    ETSU is in the Southern final against top seed UNC-Greensboro, meaning ETSU has done basically everything they can to earn themselves an at-large bid at this point, so if the resume still isn't good enough, it's not happening.
  8. bukie
    Another team that should be eliminated from contention: - Ohio State - Just didn't do well enough in conference, and no signature wins out of conference. As for teams in consideration, both UNC Wilmington and Charleston made the Colonial final. Monmouth lost in the MAAC semis, which would make any at large consideration tough to justify.
  9. bukie
    It's pointless to read anything into spring training results at any level. They'll continue to work on hitting throughout the spring, and we'll see how things shake out when the season starts.
  10. bukie
    Florida Gulf Coast wins the Atlantic Sun. Wichita State wins the MVC.
  11. bukie
    Winthrop wins the Big South.
  12. bukie
    Also, teams I think could be eliminated from the consideration list: - Under .500 teams: Texas, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Pittsburgh - UNC Asheville, Valpo: Just not enough there to offset the bad losses, couldn't get eliminated in the quarters - Vermont, UT Arlington: There's just no path to an at-large bid in the AEast or Sun Belt, since not getting the auto bid means they take a bad loss, and that's the only thing propping up their profile right now. - Belmont: Can't lose in the OVC semis. Quality team, not good enough profile to get an at-large bid - New Mexico State: The WAC is awful, awful, awful. If you can't win that, you can't get an at-large bid. - Clemson: Yes, they have good wins and a decent net efficiency margin, but they went 6-12 in the ACC. Not enough wins in conference. - Georgia Tech: They had a good week. They are the Jack Morris of candidates. They aren't in the top 70 of ANY metric, and yet they're in a field of 68? Yeah, no.
  13. bukie
    So, then, to kick off the next discussion, here's my initial pass for the protected seeds: 1. Gonzaga 2. Villanova 3. Kansas 4. North Carolina 5. Kentucky 6. Louisville 7. UCLA 8. West Virginia 9. Florida 10. Oregon 11. Baylor 12. Duke 13. Virginia 14. Purdue 15. Florida State 16. Arizona
  14. bukie
    Heh, I initially had a shorter clip in there that just showed the play, but then I thought to myself "No, Gonzalez's reaction is what made that moment stick out. It should be there."
  15. bukie
    Like with any position outside C and maybe CF, Baez is the primary backup, it just might not be him playing the position. You can put Baez on the IF and move Bryant/Zobrist to LF and Schwarber to 1B. If not that, then Bryant would likely be at 1B. He started 6 of the 11 games at 1B Rizzo didn't start, and 2 of those other 5 were days Bryant also had off. Yeah, I'd imagine it'd be Bryant to 1B, Baez to 3B for the vast majority of any games without Rizzo.
  16. bukie
    Was going to do 2 yesterday, 2 today but oh well, 4 today it is. That leaves 28 days for 35 moments, so basically on target.
  17. bukie
    #36: Russell Finally Joins the Postseason Party Why on the list? - Addison Russell had been having a rough playoffs. Going into this PA, Russell was 1 for 25 in the postseason with a HBP and no extra base hits or RBI. He was bad enough that he was lifted in the NLDS for Coghlan (and then Contreras) in that memorable comeback. This time, though, the comeback happened with Russell, and he showed he was just as important to this team as anyone in the lineup. After this, Russell went on a tear, and people finally stopped trying to get him benched at SS.
  18. bukie
    #37: Cubs Finally Find a Way to Score Why on the list? - After a 21-inning scoreless drought, the Cubs finally broke through against Julio Urias in the 4th, Zobrist started things off with a bunt single that the Dodgers D had no hope of getting to. Baez followed with a single to LF, and then Contreras finally broke through with a single to shallow LF that Zobrist was able to score on because, again, Dodger D. That error allowed the runners to get to 2nd and 3rd, which allowed Heyward's potential DP ball to instead be a run scoring groundout. Sure, if the Dodgers could play even passable defense, that may have been the inning (Zobrist thrown out at home, Heyward DP), but instead it only set the stage for what happened next...
  19. bukie
    #38: Cubs Keep Dodgers off Board Early in Game 4 Why on the list? - The Cubs hadn't scored in two full games at this point, and down 2-1 in the series with the offense scuttling, the defense kept things rolling early in game 4 to keep the Dodgers off the board. And yes, you have to actually touch the plate to be safe, Adrian Gonzalez.
  20. bukie
    #39: Cubs Break Open Game Five With Five-Run Eighth Why on the list? - What had been a tense game in a 2-2 series was suddenly a laugher as the gap between the Cubs and Dodgers in defensive acumen came to light, and then Baez cleared the bases to really put it away. Even before all of this, though, Russell started the tone of the inning by making an easy play hard and getting on base:
  21. bukie
    Busy day yesterday in college basketball: - Illinois took a bad loss to Rutgers - Valpo took a bad loss to Milwaukee in the Horizon quarters - Jacksonville State won the OVC bid (and beat Belmont on the way) - Illinois State and Wichita State are in the MVC finals - Gonzaga, St. Mary's and BYU all made the WCC semis
  22. bukie
    Illinois State avoids a bad loss against Evansville, advanced to the MVC semis.
  23. bukie
    There's probably 11 B1G teams for which you could find an argument for the NCAA tournament if you squint hard enough.
  24. bukie
    #40: Lester Shuts Down Dodgers Twice Why on the list? - Lester was NLCS MVP for a reason. During the NLDS and NLCS, Lester had 3 starts, allowing 0 runs through 8, then 1 run through 6, then 1 run through 7, each outing giving the Cubs the lead in the series. It's not flashy, but Lester took much of the nervousness out of the games for fans, because they knew the game would never be out of reach if Lester was on the mound.
  25. bukie
    #41: Baez Hustles to Turn a Popup Into a Trip Around the Bases Why on the list? - After Heyward led of the inning with a triple, the Dodgers brought the infield in against Baez, who popped up to shallow center. At regular infield depth, it's probably an out, but Baez out-hustled the Dodgers and turned it into a double. From there, he took third on a passed ball, and then while Lester was trying to squeeze bunt, Dodgers catcher Carlos Ruiz tried to pick Baez off third, but rather than making him run back to the bag he just threw right away. Baez, knowing he was too far up the line anyway, just broke for home and beat the return throw, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
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