Transmogrified Tiger

so Javy enters now so Chapman can slot in for Coghlan, right? Mayyybe Soler instead?

http://33.media.tumblr.com/c0dc597706db29ab4b46839d9d44722d/tumblr_inline_naelcqq6491qg7pj1.png

I for one am very ready for Ross to drive in the go ahead run

I think Montgomery is the failsafe if it goes extras, he and Chapman are the only other 2 available relievers. If Smith got Holliday I bet Joe would've let him pitch around Moss and attack the RH after, but since Smith is bad today he has to try to preserve the tie with Grimm.

In a tie game with Edwards and Rondon unavailable, I think you have to stick with Smith. If he throws anything near the plate to Moss imma be upset though.

one of these days Siegrist is going to get so sick of giving up home runs to Rizzo that he's gonna retire on the spot stay tuned to see if that night is tonight

maybe worth the aggravation to set an MLB record for face-tags in an inning

I get going lefty when Garcia and Carpenter are 2 of the 4 due up, but maybe Montgomery should get one of those shots in the near future

There's one other and I can't remember who he is Nick Ahmed EDIT: nevermind not this year, looks like we solved that particular mystery

I had to honestly stop and think if Montgomery was still on the roster

also let's get the disappointment out of the way, Edwards is almost certainly not pitching today

Hot night, Lester at 91 pitches, 7-8-9 due up for the Cards, and a chance to step on their throat with an XBH. I get it.

/dead from mirth

Why is Chris recoiling from pitches on the outer half

Yes, Piscotty is not throwing him out at 2nd from the wall, making 2nd is basically a layup.

It took the ball hitting the underside of the basket to not be either a flyout or a HR. Tagging is the percentage play there, and makes a big difference considering the gap in man on 1st, 2 out, and man on 2nd, 2 out. Or With the pitcher due up, and a notoriously bad hitting one at that, he coould've just stayed halfway and waited for the result instead of assuming a ball that was still being tracked at the warning track would be caught. I'd chance a 1-1 tie over 2 outs and a runner on 2nd with the pitcher up 11 times out of 10 Again, if you're tracking that fly ball, you're very certain it's caught or a HR, it was hit straight in the air and Piscotty was right under it. I don't want Coghlan gambling on the 1 in 20(1 in 50) chance that it happens to catch the basket AND bounds away from Piscotty so that Coghlan has the chance to get 3 bases if he doesn't tag.

Seriously. That's some of the worst base running I've seen all year It took the ball hitting the underside of the basket to not be either a flyout or a HR. Tagging is the percentage play there, and makes a big difference considering the gap in man on 1st, 2 out, and man on 2nd, 2 out.

Really great slide from Coghlan Really wish he didn't need it but I get that he was gonna tag given the arc of that fly ball

Bryant double clutched that one and almost threw it away

5 pitches per PA is a ton for a full trip through the order, wouldn't be surprised to see the 3rd time thru the order penalty bumped up to 2nd as a result.

Bryant has done a nice job of removing the double clutch from this throws.

I imagine they'll add a LH OF if they don't bring back Fowler, could be a CF or a corner OF depending on how they feel about Heyward in CF. That gives a lot of flexibility to mix and match to shield Baez, Almora, the LH OF, even Schwarber.

It's too bad they have a 2 person per country limit on the gymnastics all-around, would've been cool to see the US sweep the medals. As it stands, Raisman was better than 3rd place by 1.433, the same as the gap between 3rd and 11th. And Biles was 2.100 better than Raisman!

To be fair, the Cards defense sucks no matter what combo they put out there. Do they get much better with Grischuk or Wong playing? I know Carpenter's health is a consideration, but swapping his position with Gyorko's, and letting an actual CF play CF(with Piscotty moving to a corner) makes a big difference. Especially against Lester, where it's easy to justify sitting Moss(.570 OPS v. LHP).

How is this a bad thing? We have a 12 game lead and a relief pitcher who's had injuries in the past. We have a manager is concerned with not burning guys' arms out. It has nothing to do with the Carl Edwards part of the quote. I'm just not a fan of Joe Smith. Ultimately, it doesn't matter right now, but I will be disappointed if Smith makes the playoff roster at the expense of a guy like Grimm. Think of the playoff roster this way. With a shorter rotation and extra days off, there's no need for a long man that's currently in the bullpen. Chapman, Rondon, Edwards, Strop, and I guess Wood stand to get the overwhelming majority of high leverage innings. That means that the last spot or two are best offered to a true specialist, someone with a narrow role that you can be pretty confident that he can fulfill that role. I say that as an extended prologue to the possibility that Smith is a better fit than Grimm. Grimm has been very good recently, but his career is rife with inconsistency in throwing strikes, and while he has a bit of a platoon split this year he historically is pretty similar against both RH and LH. He's not going to be a burden on a playoff pen, but it's not unfair to say he's a guy who is more useful in a 162 game season than a 5-7 game series. Smith might be the opposite, even with his struggles this year he's been almost as good against RH hitters as Grimm, and he has far more historical success against them. I say 'might' because relievers of Smith's age and stuff are flirting with the line between useful and bad, but he does have the delivery/deception aspect that should age better than your average RHRP too.