World Series Game 5 Live Blog

by Jeff Sullivan

October 28, 2013

5:00	David Temple: Hello, all. Jeff should be here shortly. Get your questions in now.

5:01	Jeff Sullivan: I’m right here guys

5:01	Jeff Sullivan: I got confused because David opened this before I did

5:01	Jeff Sullivan: WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO DO THAT

5:01	David Temple: Early bird and whatnot

5:01	Jeff Sullivan: oh right I did

5:02	Jeff Sullivan: time for the obligatory polls!

5:02	David Temple: I will have the alternate commercial viewings starting the next go-round

5:02	Comment From Aussie Mariner Did you bring strong opinions Jeff?

5:03	Jeff Sullivan: My opinion is I really hope this game is interesting

5:03	Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV Pro-tip of the night: Do not chicken fry steak without wearing a shirt.

5:03	Jeff Sullivan: Several of these words are unnecessary

5:03	David Temple: You can’t smell handsome.

5:04	David Temple: Handsomeness reflects visual appeal.

5:05	Comment From St. Elsewhere Is anyone trying to pass off milk cartons with Shelby Miller’s likeness as WS memorabilia?

5:05	David Temple: I may buy that.

5:08	Comment From Marco In what situation would you send in Mujica, if you were the Cardinals’ manager?

5:08	David Temple: Up or down by … 7.

5:09	Jeff Sullivan: Someone’s going to have to explain to me the Silverado Strong scandal

5:09	Comment From Catoblepas what’s wrong with Mujica? His regular season numbers don’t look that bad

5:09	David Temple: I believe it is some sore ot marketing malarkey.

5:09	Jeff Sullivan: They claim he’s fatigued, just like they say about Miller. Yet they remain on the roster anyway

5:10	David Temple: That looked like a gift?

5:10	David Temple: Nope. Good pitch.

5:11	Comment From Aussie Mariner Where does Wainright’s curve rank for you in terms of aesthetically pleasing pitches to watch?

5:11	David Temple: It’s up there. Along with Harvey’s two-seam thing. (RIP)

5:11	Jeff Sullivan: I prefer watching Kershaw’s curve, but he throws it a lot less often

5:12	Jeff Sullivan: One of the amazing things about Wainwright’s is the frequency

5:13	David Temple: Pasta diving Craig.

5:13	Jeff Sullivan: I feel like the Cardinals should pitch to Ortiz better

5:13	Jeff Sullivan: Just keep trying to pick Ortiz off until he gets tired

5:14	Comment From Sgt. Pepper Can we get a desired potential crazy endings poll? Walk off suicide squeeze, walk off bean etc..

5:14	Jeff Sullivan: Way too many options!

5:14	Jeff Sullivan: defensive interference defensive interference defensive interference defensive interference defensive interference defensive interference defensive interference

5:15	Comment From Lyle Current bet on WS MVP? Papi?

5:15	David Temple: Walk-off balk

5:15	Jeff Sullivan: hell, even if they lose

5:15	Comment From Scruffy, the janitor More handsome, CJ Wilson or Josh Hamilton?

5:15	Jeff Sullivan: Wilson in some parts of the country, Hamilton in others

5:15	Jeff Sullivan: mostly the more liberal parts

5:15	Jeff Sullivan: well that was a spicy meatball

5:16	David Temple: Rare Daniel Nava sighting.

5:16	Jeff Sullivan: Didn’t even realize he was a switch-hitter until the other ady

5:16	Jeff Sullivan: *day

5:17	Jeff Sullivan: Who would want to try to hit a cantaloupe?

5:17	David Temple: I meant rare in the general sense of the postseason, by the way.

5:17	Jeff Sullivan: Ouch!!

5:17	Comment From St. Elsewhere Gallagher

5:17	David Temple: Ya’ll wanna smash some fruit?!

5:18	Comment From Swon Jeff! You didn’t cover the Buccholz start! I thought that was your thing!

5:18	Jeff Sullivan: He did a great job of staying down

5:18	Comment From Swon Top 3 players in the series you’d want on your side in a bench clearing brawl-

5:18	Jeff Sullivan: Gomes and Molina to fight, Descalso to sacrifice

5:19	David Temple: Zing.

5:19	David Temple: Alternate commercial viewing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga0ohgZFVqc

5:19	Jeff Sullivan: Perfect last pitch of the inning

5:20	Jeff Sullivan: Ramona Falls, of Portland, OR!

5:20	David Temple: Womp it up!

5:21	Comment From Catoblepas How much do you believe Napoli’s defensive ratings from this year? is there an argument for him coming in as a defensive-sub for Ortiz late in the game?

5:22	Jeff Sullivan: I believe he improved a lot once he was able to concentrate on 1B full-time instead of part-time catching. Yes, that argument exists and is valid under certain circumstances

5:23	Comment From GEJ Wainwright now at 270 innings for the year. At what point does that start to matter? Completely depend upon the player?

5:23	David Temple: Pretty much. I think that’s something people are trying to figure out all the time.

5:23	Jeff Sullivan: Have to imagine it’s a factor in there somewhere. He can’t be 100%

5:24	Jeff Sullivan: But keep in mind, he was awesome right before this WS, in which he’s facing the best offense in baseball

5:24	David Temple: I think it’s fair to assume that many innings wears a pitcher down no matter what. To what degree is the question.

5:24	Comment From Jake I wonder what it is like to watch the team you root for play in October. I hate you Mariners.

5:24	Jeff Sullivan: I watched a team I root for play in October on Sunday. They lost to the San Jose Sharks 🙁

5:25	David Temple: I’m hoping the Timberwolves make that a reality this year.

5:25	Comment From Jim What the worlds needs now is another indie band like I need a hole in my head!

5:25	David Temple: Meaning getting knocked out in the first round. But still.

5:25	Jeff Sullivan: Ramona Falls has been around for years

5:26	Comment From Guest Has anyone done a study on the effectiveness of World Series pitching staffs in the year after the WS? Seems like the weeks of lost rest and the extra innings would hurt performance, but do the numbers support that idea?

5:26	Jeff Sullivan: and there’s a partial defensive run saved for Jon Lester

5:26	David Temple: This sounds like a weekend piece I need to start tomorrow.

5:26	David Temple: No promises, though.

5:26	Comment From Playoff Towel Is Rosenthal that short or is everyone he interviews super tall?

5:26	David Temple: He’s quite petite.

5:27	Jeff Sullivan: he’s 5’4.5″

5:27	Jeff Sullivan: Also, the championship hangover effect is a popular theory in the NHL, re: fatigue

5:27	David Temple: Short people love breaking it down by half inch.

5:27	David Temple: (phrasing)

5:28	Jeff Sullivan: Holliday sure does make a habit of swinging under the ball

5:28	David Temple: Feel free to touch that dial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DO3BwRZpZo

5:28	Comment From Nick Is there a way to view a player’s stats for just the World Series? I’m curious what Ortiz’s wRC+ is right now.

5:29	Comment From Gila Monster Why do people in Boston still think Lester is an ace despite him being barely better than Rick Porcello?

5:29	David Temple: I think FG only breaks it down by Postseason/Regular Season

5:29	Jeff Sullivan: Because he used to look like an ace, he still looks like an ace sometimes, and people have trouble letting go

5:29	Jeff Sullivan: No, Nick, that is not possible

5:30	Comment From Sgt. Pepper I’m just gonna watch that Russian song from a few chats ago a few dozen times

5:30	David Temple: Yes. Do that.

5:30	David Temple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-CnWwbeetE

5:30	David Temple: I’m convinced they broke into that condo to film that.

5:32	David Temple: Bogaerts can strike out in four different languages.

5:33	Jeff Sullivan: First three whiffs of the game for Wainwright

5:33	Comment From Ryan When you have a serious rooting interest in a game, do you actually watch it? Virtually no one in my family can stand to watch their favorite teams in the playoffs.

5:33	Jeff Sullivan: I can only relate to this with hockey, but the answer is yes, I plan around the games

5:34	Comment From SK Shane Robinson has actually hit worse against LHP in his career than RHP. Seems like another example of Matheny’s “recency” bias Dave Cameron has been talking about.

5:35	Jeff Sullivan: Tiny little samples, though. Can’t conclude a whole lot

5:35	Comment From guest What do you guys think of BA’s farm system rankings that came out today?

5:36	Jeff Sullivan: On the other hand, Robinson was bad against LHP in the minors, too!

5:36	Jeff Sullivan: So…!

5:36	David Temple: I take any prospect stuff with some grains of salt, but I always like reading them. The Astros system is bonkers.

5:36	David Temple: Whether you like their plan or not, they are executing it, it seems.

5:37	Comment From Nippon The ridiculous thing is that the Cardinals could be even better next year with no big signings

5:37	David Temple: Also true.

5:37	David Temple: This has been making the rounds today, but if you missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNe0ZUD19EE

5:37	Jeff Sullivan: And that’s how you respond to speculation that innings have worn you down

5:38	Comment From Rob Lowe How much do the Astro’s impact the A’s playoff seeding? win/loss record

5:38	David Temple: Haven’t looked, but they certainly helped the Rangers.

5:38	Jeff Sullivan: We’ve written about this a few times

5:38	Jeff Sullivan: It was a matter of like 2 or 3 or 4 games

5:38	David Temple: There you go.

5:39	Comment From Sgt. Pepper I’m surprised that overhead marching band formations hasn’t morphed into a genre of porn

5:39	David Temple: I know hard core marching dudes. It basically has.

5:39	Comment From Matt Do batters hit better against a pitcher the second time around in a series?

5:39	Jeff Sullivan: Can’t tell if serious…

5:40	David Temple: Hehe

5:40	Jeff Sullivan: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lester-wainwright-and-world-series-repeat-starters/

5:40	David Temple: Carlos! Did you put your retainer in?!

5:40	David Temple: (that was his mom)

5:40	Jeff Sullivan: So much for the no-hitter you guaranteed, Lester.

5:41	David Temple: I bet his ribs hurt all the time, Tim.

5:41	Comment From Frank Just got here. Have you guys ranted enough about Robinson batting second?

5:41	Jeff Sullivan: No. Ranting is unprofessional! And implies emotional investment.

5:41	David Temple: IT’S TERRIBLE. FIRE EVERYONE!

5:42	Comment From Guest Hey Jeff, how were you able to go back and see individual at-bats in MLB Gameday view to use in your articles? I can get the pitch-by-pitch listing but not the actual graphic.

5:42	Jeff Sullivan: Classic tab

5:42	Jeff Sullivan: if that ever goes away I’m lighting my own apartment on fire

5:42	David Temple: Trade secret.

5:42	David Temple: You can stay with me.

5:42	Jeff Sullivan: I’ll just stay in my apartment and die.

5:43	Comment From Brian what kind effect do you think buzzing ortiz with a couple pitches would have? he’s awfully comfortable at the plate

5:43	David Temple: Fair enough.

5:43	Jeff Sullivan: It would cost the Cardinals some balls

5:43	Comment From Aussie Mariner Have you ever seen a reverse platoon split over a big enough sample to think it might be real?

5:43	Jeff Sullivan: I think Ichiro? Haven’t checked in a while though in case that reversed

5:43	Comment From Josh Is there anything — anything at all — to catchers’ ERA? It does seem like Ross is better for the pitchers. Does it show up in statistics?

5:43	Jeff Sullivan: The metric itself isn’t really useful, but the concept makes sense

5:44	Jeff Sullivan: Ross is an excellent receiver; don’t know about his game-calling

5:44	Jeff Sullivan: There’s that outer-edge cutter

5:44	Comment From Lyle Will Cards address the SS situation or will Kozma still have his job next season?

5:44	David Temple: Dang.

5:44	Jeff Sullivan: They are most certainly getting somebody new

5:45	David Temple: They got the $$.

5:45	Comment From Aussie Mariner Ichiro, 114 wRC+ vs lefties, 104 vs righties.

5:45	David Temple: There you go.

5:45	Comment From Yo-Yo They have money, but there isn’t much to spend it on. Drew? Peralta?

5:46	David Temple: Peralta makes sense.

5:46	David Temple: Depending on years.

5:46	David Temple: Commercial alternative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE3Ydz9ld_A

5:47	Jeff Sullivan: Wainwright: 37 pitches, five curveballs

5:48	Comment From Ryan So, any idea what the record is for most Ks by a team in a world series game?

5:48	Jeff Sullivan: 17!

5:48	Jeff Sullivan: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196810020.shtml

5:48	David Temple: That’s so many.

5:48	Jeff Sullivan: Only game at 17. No games at 16.

5:48	David Temple: GAH!

5:49	David Temple: Pitcher hitting!

5:49	Jeff Sullivan: Watching playoff baseball always informs me of popular television shows that are on that I”ve never heard of before

5:50	Comment From Greg Any idea who has the highest single-game WPA in a World Series game?

5:50	David Temple: David Freese. 2011.

5:50	Jeff Sullivan: And now Jon Lester is hitless in 41 career plate appearances

5:50	David Temple: At least for hitters.

5:50	Comment From Joe Wait, Lester guaranteed a no-hitter?

5:51	Jeff Sullivan: Yeah it was all over the internet, what a jerk

5:51	Comment From Rob Lowe You think the players hate McCarver’s and Bucks comment as much as most of us? I know LoMo has said some things

5:51	David Temple: Highest WPA in a WS for a pitcher was Babe Ruth, btw.

5:51	Jeff Sullivan: I doubt very many of them care or pay attention, but some of those on Twitter have made their remarks

5:51	David Temple: 1916. Game 2.

5:52	Comment From Gila Monster What are your thoughts on Lester? #2 on most pitching staffs?

5:52	Jeff Sullivan: Sounds about right

5:52	David Temple: This game is flying by. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DS3wmldJYw

5:53	Jeff Sullivan: /is on pace for ordinary three-hour game

5:53	Comment From Shannon Wouldn’t catcher’ xFIP be a better stat if for no other reason than that xFIP is a much better stat than ERA?

5:53	Jeff Sullivan: It would probably be better, but something to be said for calling the right pitches/locations that keep people off balance

5:53	Comment From Tim Does Fangraphs’ stats page have any way to look at a pitcher’s pitch type frequency base on who is caatching?

5:53	Jeff Sullivan: Nope 🙁

5:53	Comment From Meano Eno Is an injured Craig the better option than Adams?

5:54	Jeff Sullivan: Against Lester, yeah, probably. But I don’t know to what extent his swing is restricted

5:55	Comment From Gila Monster True or False: Lester’s success depends on his changeup more than any other pitch

5:55	Jeff Sullivan: I’m going with cutter due to recency bias

5:55	Jeff Sullivan: If I recall he barely used his changeup in the first game

5:56	Jeff Sullivan: There’s one nice and unsatisfying hit for David Freese

5:56	Comment From GEJ In my experience, most players are more like McCarver than McCarthy.

5:56	Comment From Reese Walk Ortiz regardless of circumstances next AB?

5:56	Jeff Sullivan: Don’t think I can ever get behind that approach

5:57	Jeff Sullivan: I mean you’ve got Adam Wainwright on the mound

5:57	Jeff Sullivan: Kinda looked like Kozma was safe?

5:57	Jeff Sullivan: nope

5:57	Comment From Swon Can anything tonight top Cody Ross’s twitter performance last night?

5:57	Jeff Sullivan: I have absolutely no idea what you mean

5:58	Comment From SK What are the ideas bouncing around on how to develop a metric for measuring catcher play calling?

5:58	Jeff Sullivan: If there are any good ones, I haven’t heard of them

5:58	Comment From Scruffy, the janitor Cody Ross retweeted a bunch of tweets where people mistook David Ross for him.

5:59	Jeff Sullivan: Easy mistake to make

5:59	Comment From Gila Monster Jeff, Can we have a chat with Appelman? Tog suggest features and chance for Fangraphs?

5:59	Jeff Sullivan: Just bother Dave about suggestions in all of his chats. Email him and call him personally after hours too

5:59	David Temple: If you can penetrate his crystal palace, go for it.

6:00	Comment From Catoblepas bunting in front of the pitcher? really?

6:00	Jeff Sullivan: Also basically bunting with a pitcher

6:00	David Temple: First one to PayPal me $100 gets Cameron’s phone number.

6:00	Comment From Frank Tango’s walk Bonds chart- http://tangotiger.net/walkbondschart.html

6:00	Jeff Sullivan:

6:01	Comment From Kimball If Kozma hadn’t ducked and the ball had hit him, he would have been out?

6:01	Jeff Sullivan: I believe only if the umpire deemed it intentional

6:02	Comment From Scruffy, the janitor Is Appelman a real person or just a computer AI?

6:02	Jeff Sullivan: Convincing and clammy hologram

6:03	David Temple: Zoinks.

6:03	Jeff Sullivan: Well that sure didn’t look like much of a strike

6:03	Jeff Sullivan: Holy actual shit

6:03	Jeff Sullivan: Ross’d

6:03	David Temple: Classic commercial alternative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTH71AAxXmM

6:03	Jeff Sullivan: That wasn’t even over the blurry Gameday strike zone line

6:04	Comment From Frank Way inside. Didn’t come close to cutting the plate

6:04	Comment From Brian he called that same exact pitch a ball 3 pitches earlier

6:05	Comment From Catoblepas great pitch

6:05	David Temple: Is it that thing where the batter takes off for first right away? Do umps really hate that?

6:05	Jeff Sullivan: I’m sure they don’t like it, but if that informs the calls they make, they really suck then

6:06	Comment From Kimball Has anyone tried to make a FIP using HitTracker’s SOB/VLA/HLA instead of HR?

6:06	David Temple: I think both are true.

6:06	Jeff Sullivan: How would that work? And no, not to my knowledge

6:06	Jeff Sullivan: lol

6:06	Jeff Sullivan: Ortiz…

6:06	Jeff Sullivan: awful pitch though

6:07	Jeff Sullivan: well, not awful, but not good

6:07	David Temple: These interviews are the worst, right?

6:07	Comment From Catoblepas Can someone working for fangraphs be bullied into looking at at-bats where the batter preemptively runs towards first, and see if that affects umpire calls?

6:07	David Temple: I used to not care. But now I care and I don’t like them.

6:07	Jeff Sullivan: Good god know. I mean, lovely idea, but good luck, researcher!

6:08	Jeff Sullivan: I liked the interview with Fister they did in the ALCS. But by and large, yes, waste of everybody’s time

6:08	David Temple: It’s more that the camera stays on them. I’d like to watch the game.

6:09	Jeff Sullivan: I like looking at Chris Carpenter

6:09	Jeff Sullivan: Gomes sure does have a short swing

6:09	Comment From Robert Hover over the player search, 10 common searches lately: 8 players in the WS right now, Mike Trout, ……….and Sergio Santos

6:09	David Temple: For those interested, coming into today, Ortiz has a 2.114 OPS in the WS.

6:10	Comment From lowercase jeff are players and managers somewhat obligated to do these god-awful interviews?

6:10	Jeff Sullivan: They get managers betewen innings, then players who’re uninvolved. I don’t know how they get hooked up but I imagine there’s a semi-obligation

6:10	Jeff Sullivan: like, you can volunteer, but ultimately someone has to do it

6:10	David Temple: One more White Stripes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlcMRq3gb1s

6:11	Comment From Jim No kidding. no follow through at all!!

6:11	Jeff Sullivan: re: Gomes. His homer swing yesterday was just like swinging an axe

6:11	Comment From SK Re: Santos. An MLB team’s analytics dept doing research on a potential trade with the Jays?

6:11	David Temple: That would be cool.

6:11	Comment From The Stranger Do you think the fact that watching network broadcasts makes fans less informed hurts the long-term popularity of the game?

6:12	Jeff Sullivan: No, because the NFL is more popular than ever, and NFL announcers are complete idiots

6:12	Jeff Sullivan: mostly because they played in the NFL

6:12	Jeff Sullivan: and the NFL renders one mentally handicapped

6:13	Comment From person hscer Could Ortiz possibly get the World Series MVP award if the Cardinals win the series?

6:13	Jeff Sullivan: I think he definitely could!

6:14	Jeff Sullivan: I doubt the Cardinals would mind, either, if this keeps up

6:14	Comment From Ben re: player interviews mid-game. Verlander’s a good interview usually

6:14	Jeff Sullivan: CUTTER

6:14	David Temple: Dirty.

6:14	Jeff Sullivan: NOTHING YOU CAN DO

6:15	Comment From NatsonVacation So if axe-swinging Gomes faces hachet-throwing Collmenter does the ball go right back to him?

6:15	Jeff Sullivan: I think both players are simultaneously murdered

6:15	David Temple: Clutch.

6:15	Jeff Sullivan: DING DONG

6:16	David Temple: Sure, NOW they cheer.

6:16	Jeff Sullivan: slamma lamma-

6:16	Comment From Guest TIE GAME!

6:16	Comment From Frank CRUSHED

6:16	David Temple: Oh boy.

6:17	Jeff Sullivan: aww

6:17	Jeff Sullivan: I mean, /unbiased

6:17	Comment From Rob Lowe and think if beltran were batting second probably a 2 run dinger

6:17	Jeff Sullivan: Not really how all this works

6:17	Comment From Adam can a FG researcher figure out if stadiums that pour smoke after HRs have fewer back-to-backs hit at home?

6:17	David Temple: I’ll text Eno.

6:18	Jeff Sullivan: For the record, all that smoke is really just in the outfield

6:18	David Temple: Spiderman!

6:18	Jeff Sullivan: Doubt it affects hitters at all

6:18	David Temple: Commercial alternative, because I miss him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHQ7FwJQtN8

6:19	Comment From Robert http://diamonddiariesdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/holliday-forearms.jpg

6:19	Comment From Brian the holliday pitch didnt cut b/c it wasnt a cutter…

6:20	Comment From J6takish Long foul flies correlate to home runs later in the at bat?

6:20	Jeff Sullivan: Not one clue! Wish I could investigate

6:20	Comment From stevenchoi How are the TV ratings for this World series so far?

6:20	Jeff Sullivan: Fine and low at the same time

6:20	Comment From paul Cardinals hit Lester hard that inning, couple of loud outs and nice defense. Can’t defend against the HR though.

6:20	Jeff Sullivan: Signs of life against a lefty, which is rare for them

6:21	Comment From Scruffy, the janitor Calcaterra had good article on HBT regarding ratings today.

6:21	Comment From Shawn TV rating are pretty terrible according to Olbermann

6:21	Jeff Sullivan: And it still doesn’t matter

6:21	Comment From williams .482 Who is the best single player on either team? Yadi?

6:21	Jeff Sullivan: That’s my pick. David?

6:22	David Temple: Sorry. Beer run. Uh, yeah. That seems reasonable.

6:23	Jeff Sullivan: by the way, here’s a working WE% chart http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-10-28&team=Cardinals&dh=0&season=2013

6:23	Comment From Ezequiel Carrera Is Yadier Molina going to be HOFer? His counting stats aren’t that impressive

6:23	Jeff Sullivan: Drew with the Pete Kozma special from the other day

6:23	David Temple: If writers are still voting when he’s eligible? Yes.

6:23	Jeff Sullivan: Molina’s case is going to depend on advances in catcher evaluation over the next couple decades

6:23	David Temple: Good point. The voters of now won’t be voting then. Didn’t think that through.

6:24	David Temple: Classic Temple.

6:24	Comment From Hockey Beard And why don’t ratings matter?

6:24	Jeff Sullivan: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/28/doomsayers-be-damned-baseball-is-healthy-and-ratings-are-strong/

6:25	Jeff Sullivan: Yadier Molina drops ball. Runners don’t advance. Gets strike anyway. Remember this moment

6:26	Comment From Brian who has the brightest future out of anyone on the rosters? Bogaerts?

6:26	Jeff Sullivan: oh yes

6:26	Jeff Sullivan: Really trying to get Lester to bunt at a curve

6:27	Comment From Shawn Article about ratings: http://www.businessinsider.com/keith-olbermann-why-no-one-watches-baseball-2013-10

6:27	David Temple: Price is Right noise.

6:27	Jeff Sullivan: How did something called Business Insider get all clicky and Internetty?

6:27	David Temple: Yeah. It’s like a BuzzFeed clone now.

6:27	Jeff Sullivan: When did that happen? Was it always like that? Why is it called that then?

6:28	Jeff Sullivan: It’s such trash! Jesus!

6:28	David Temple: I noticed it not that long ago.

6:28	Jeff Sullivan: It’s all such trash!

6:28	David Temple: Does culture reflect what’s on the Internet, or vice versa?

6:28	Jeff Sullivan: Oh, don’t get me wrong, we’re all trash.

6:28	Jeff Sullivan: The internet just holds up the mirror 🙁

6:29	Comment From Mr. Wrestling IV Poll idea: What is the gender breakdown of the FG Chats?

6:29	Jeff Sullivan: That poll would have one option

6:29	David Temple: Tune in tomorrow for German media theory chat.

6:29	Comment From Curtis Leskanic Did you guys know that Curtis Leskanic used to shave his arm. He thought it made him throw faster

6:30	Jeff Sullivan: What was that noise just now?

6:30	Jeff Sullivan: Anyone?

6:30	Jeff Sullivan: Whooooooosh

6:30	David Temple: Big wiffah!

6:30	Comment From Frank How does the rulebook classify the difference between bunting on 2 strikes and a weak swing? Seems like it would be hard

6:31	Jeff Sullivan: Off the top of my head: hand position? Or umpire judgment. Generally pretty easy to tell

6:31	David Temple: Commercial alternate from when MTV played videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjutUbgpH8

6:31	Comment From Guest who has the bleakest future? Most likely to produce less then 0 war for the remainder of there career? Carlos Beltran?

6:31	Jeff Sullivan: Tony Cruz

6:31	Comment From Brian david do you actually watch the game or spend the whole time finding commercial alternatives

6:31	David Temple: I prep most before hand.

6:32	David Temple: beforehand

6:32	Jeff Sullivan: Going back a few minutes in the chat:

6:32	Comment From Kimball It’s always been like that. It was started by a douche with an Internet business plan, and he just got lucky.

6:32	Comment From Andrew In 2014, everything will be an infographic.

6:32	Comment From Sean I really wish Buzzfeed would cease to exist.

6:32	Comment From Sgt. Pepper Brian Kenney bitching on twitter about Lester bunting. Seems like he’s taking the killthebunt thing a little too far he’s a pitcher.

6:33	Jeff Sullivan: Yeah, I don’t know what he wants. Lester has never had a hit ever

6:33	Comment From Kimball Is that true? Can most pitchers not throw curves out of the stretch? That seems crazy.

6:33	Jeff Sullivan: I assume it’s McCarver nonsense, with a 5% chance of being somewhat legitimate

6:33	David Temple: Research topic!

6:33	Comment From GEJ How many curveballs now for Wainwright?

6:34	Jeff Sullivan: 17 out of 70

6:34	Jeff Sullivan: which means 12 out of last 33

6:34	Comment From person hscer True or false: Tonight’s pitchers are okay.

6:34	Jeff Sullivan: Love a good duel

6:35	Comment From Robert there is always a relevant one – http://xkcd.com/1273/

6:35	Comment From Kimball I’m very bad at research. Does someone offer a tutorial on Play Index?

6:35	Jeff Sullivan: Somebody should. I fell in love with the event finder, but no one ever told me of how much it is capable.

6:35	Comment From Brian this is what game 1 was supposed to be

6:36	Jeff Sullivan: Remember Lee vs. Lincecum?

6:36	Comment From Catoblepas If Lester goes 1-2-3 this inning, do you pinch hit for Wainwright in bottom of 6th? I know Matheny doesn’t, but would you?

6:36	Jeff Sullivan: Depends a little on other circumstances, but probably

6:36	Comment From gump Wainwright pitching better, worse, or equal to game 1?

6:36	Jeff Sullivan: Considerably better

6:37	Comment From stevenchoi If you had to pitch the whole game with one pitcher’s pitch only (ie. Jeff Sullivan’s Changeup), which would it be?

6:37	Jeff Sullivan: I’ll concede that I can’t say Rivera’s cutter anymore since he’s retiring

6:37	Jeff Sullivan: So Kenley Jansen’s cutter

6:38	Jeff Sullivan: Hey, a Vince Vaughn movie! He’s making millions for this!

6:38	Comment From Meano Eno Now Lester has thrown the most pitches of any pitcher this season, just passing Verlander

6:38	Comment From Joe McCarver still talking about that cutter to Holliday that wasn’t a cutter…

6:39	Comment From GEJ Is there any difference in pitch speed between Wainwright’s game 1 and game 5?

6:39	Jeff Sullivan: nothing that I see

6:39	Comment From Brian what would jeff sullivan’s changeup be clocked at? 55?

6:39	Jeff Sullivan: around there, if it went in the direction of the radar gun, which it wouldn’t. changeups are so hard!

6:39	Comment From Yo-Yo What is your fave recent playoff duel? I’ve got Carpenter and Halladay in 2011.

6:39	Jeff Sullivan: Crowdsource!

6:40	Comment From Ben Ortiz hasn’t made any defensive mistakes in St. Louis, right?

6:40	Jeff Sullivan: Nothing major that I’ve seen

6:40	Comment From Kimball Who went further in (playing) baseball, Cameron or Sullivan?

6:40	Jeff Sullivan: I think I did

6:40	Comment From Robert Lester has only thrown 59 pitches. Any chance he goes the distance due to somewhat thin bullpen?

6:41	Jeff Sullivan: Doubt it, given the offday

6:41	Comment From Nick What would Jeff Sullivan’s peak fastball be clocked at?

6:41	Jeff Sullivan: somewhere in the 70s 🙁

6:41	Comment From Shannon Bout the only misplay so far for him is failing to pick that Bogaerts throw yesterday, and that wasn’t particularly egregious.

6:41	Comment From Brian carp vs halladay has to be the best duel since morris vs smoltz

6:41	Comment From Neil Verlander/Gray!

6:41	Comment From Andrew do the cardinals have any plans for shelby miller in the series?

6:41	Jeff Sullivan: Not on the field

6:41	Comment From person hscer were you a pitcher? I think Cameron was a catcher. what would your meetings on the mound be like?

6:42	Jeff Sullivan: I was a LHP. Our meetings would be high-schooly, because we’d be in high school

6:42	Comment From Brian circumstances gives carp vs halladay the edge

6:42	Jeff Sullivan: Time for Ortiz!

6:43	Jeff Sullivan: Don’t throw a fastball over the plate this time!

6:43	Jeff Sullivan: So far, punished two inner-half fastballs

6:43	Jeff Sullivan: aaaaand a cutter right down the middle.

6:44	Jeff Sullivan: That was below the belt, McCarver.

6:44	Comment From James That was Napoli who didn’t field the Bogaerts throw.

6:44	Comment From person hscer 1-2 count!

6:45	Comment From Guest great pitch

6:45	Comment From Radio Feed Jeff, I’m listening to the radio. What did McCarver say that was below the belt?

6:45	Jeff Sullivan: He said a pitch below the belt was high out of the zone

6:45	Jeff Sullivan: Oh, he didn’t say anything indecent

6:46	Jeff Sullivan: McCarver with the mechanical insight!

6:46	Comment From GEJ This is an awesome battle.

6:46	Comment From Brian did either of you catch the mccarver interview on MLB network? he basically said that he doesnt think before he speaks

6:46	Jeff Sullivan: Who does, honestly?

6:46	Jeff Sullivan: Curveball lineout. Nobody wins

6:46	Comment From Catoblepas Why did WE go up for the Red Sox when Pedroia grounded out? Over the history of baseball, teams with nobody on and nobody out won less than teams with nobody on and… one out in the top of the sixth?

6:47	Jeff Sullivan: It didn’t

6:47	Comment From Radio Feed The Red Sox radio feed had discussion on how Wainwright was changing windup speed to disrupt Ortiz.

6:47	Jeff Sullivan: McCarver was on it too!

6:48	Jeff Sullivan: Maybe something to write about later

6:48	Jeff Sullivan: No way is Wainwright about to get PH for

6:48	Jeff Sullivan: it helps that the bench is just terrible

6:49	Comment From Meano Eno Eno just retweeted someone who says Waino does this all the time

6:49	Jeff Sullivan: Think Wainwright’s doing ok

6:49	Comment From person hscer Matheny definitely won’t PH for Wainwright, and maybe he’d be right, but probably not?

6:49	Jeff Sullivan: To be honest, with an effective Wainwright and a terrible bench, I’d probably just leave him be for now

6:49	David Temple: OK. Sorry about the absence, but for those interested, from 2007-2012, 42% of curveballs have been thrown with at least one runner on base.

6:50	David Temple: That’s the best I could do for from-the-stretch data

6:50	Jeff Sullivan: Thanks David!

6:50	David Temple: That took too long.

6:50	Comment From Rob Lowe Wainwright changes where he starts on the rubber and his glove positioning throughout the game. He is resorting to new tricks because his normal system isn’t enough right now

6:50	Comment From Brian wainwright does the little hesitation thing all the time

6:50	Comment From person hscer that thing Eno RT’ed – “McCarver is completely wrong, as usual. Wainwright varies his windup ALL THE TIME.”

6:51	Comment From Frank If Adams were to face a righty, and there was a runner on, I think you PH for Waino, but short of that not really.

6:51	Comment From Nick I rarely miss a Cardinals game. While Wainwright may vary his wind up speed a little to throw the hitters off, I don’t remember him doing it like that

6:51	Jeff Sullivan: Nuaaannnncceee

6:51	Jeff Sullivan: Cardinals at 57% WE% by the way

6:51	David Temple: Not to brag, but my wife looks like that Kindle lady

6:52	David Temple: NO

6:52	Comment From MJ is she just as sweet?

6:55	Comment From williams .482 Why is the cardinals WE 1.2% higher than it was at this point last inning?

6:55	Jeff Sullivan: Greater ratio of remaining outs

6:55	David Temple: I feel like turnover might not be the best descriptor.

6:55	Jeff Sullivan: haha Lester tripped like some idiot

6:55	Comment From AJT Heyman’s last tweet is a fun one.

6:55	Comment From Cory Jon Heyman ?@JonHeymanCBS 1m theres still folks who say theres no such thing as clutch in baseball. in basketball yes, but not baseball. come on. #papi

6:56	David Temple: #papi

6:56	Comment From bob Does Win expectancy take into account a teams struggle against say lefties? And is there a right up on how it is calculated i’m intrigued.

6:56	Jeff Sullivan: No, it is not that complex

6:56	Jeff Sullivan: It’s all just run-scoring probabilities based on averages

6:56	David Temple: That’s some next level shiz.

6:57	Comment From Joe is it just me or does Ortiz look not half bad at first base?

6:57	Jeff Sullivan: Red Sox fans say he’s actually perfectly capable out there

6:57	David Temple: There was just a local news promo about a dog’s fight for its life.

6:57	David Temple: I live in a major metropolitan city.

6:57	Comment From Zack Minnesota had the same commercial

6:58	David Temple: That’s where I live!

6:58	Comment From Crusty David hates dogs!!!!!!

6:58	Comment From Greg Shouldn’t ellsbury bunt at craig?

6:58	David Temple: FALSE

6:58	Comment From Guest jeff where did you go to college

6:58	Jeff Sullivan: Trinity College in CT

6:58	Comment From Matt Minnesota is a major metropolitan city?

6:59	David Temple: It was the Minneapolis news. That’s what I assumed he meant.

6:59	Comment From Meano Eno RISP two outs does Lester bat???

6:59	David Temple: Probably shouldn’t?

7:00	Jeff Sullivan: In that situation you have to PH

7:00	Comment From Cory Has anyone ever hit a walkoff dong in game 7 of the World Series?

7:00	Jeff Sullivan: Maz!

7:00	Comment From Frank David does it bother people in Minneapolis that there are no teams that just rep the city, only the state at large?

7:01	David Temple: I don’t think so. I mean, they all play in MSP. But I’m not from here.

7:01	David Temple: The Lakers used to.

7:01	Comment From Lyle This game has moved along at a fairly good pace.

7:01	Jeff Sullivan: I’m as surprised as you are

7:01	Jeff Sullivan: except, tied

7:01	Comment From divcoman and Joe Carter, no?

7:01	Jeff Sullivan: Game 6

7:01	Comment From kp what’s the most Ks in a WS game?

7:01	Jeff Sullivan: 17, by Bob Gibson

7:02	Comment From Meano Eno Bogaerts has looked silly in all his at bats against Waino

7:02	Jeff Sullivan: Boy is there egg on your face!

7:02	David Temple: GROSS!

7:02	Comment From paul Cardinals might want to start playing Boegarts up the middle

7:02	Comment From Bob Well he did look silly in his first at bat! so Hah!

7:03	Comment From Paul Who is the MLB equivalent to Calvin Johnson? In that they’re just a complete physical/athletic freak. Trout probably?

7:03	David Temple: That’s a good comp. Puig?

7:03	Comment From Zack Bo Jackson

7:03	Comment From Scruffy, the janitor Cespedes?

7:03	Comment From Sgt. Pepper David Wells?

7:04	David Temple: OK. You seem to like that question.

7:04	Comment From Adam Matt Holliday’s forearms

7:04	Comment From Kimball I appreciate well-gifed articles are much as the next guy, but if any of your lives turn into that guy’s from Deadspin, please quit. It’s not worth it.

7:04	David Temple: That dude is a machine. And he owns many machines.

7:05	David Temple: It’s like the desk of the worst super villain.

7:05	Comment From Brian Who would be Lebron’s baseball comp?

7:05	David Temple: N/A

7:05	Jeff Sullivan: Deadspin dude seems to have the worst life

7:06	Jeff Sullivan: I mean, I don’t think he realizes it, but good god damn

7:06	Comment From Frank Lebron would be like if Trout also pitched.

7:06	Jeff Sullivan: We could have that Lester situation in a minute…

7:06	Comment From Japes oh god what do you do with lester

7:07	Jeff Sullivan: You need to PH if he bats with the game tied. If Ross drives a run home here, you probably just keep him

7:08	David Temple: Drama.

7:08	Jeff Sullivan: and now Lester bats

7:08	Jeff Sullivan: controversy-free

7:08	Jeff Sullivan: somewhat controversy-free

7:08	Comment From Tim Squeeze play with Lester?

7:09	David Temple: No.

7:09	David Temple: Oh man. Has there ever been a pinch bunt? There has to have been, right?

7:10	David Temple: Like in the 30s or whatever?

7:10	Jeff Sullivan: And that happened

7:10	Jeff Sullivan: Should not be Wainwright here

7:11	Jeff Sullivan: Should not be Wainwright here…

7:11	David Temple: Waiting….

7:11	Jeff Sullivan: haha

7:11	David Temple: Waiting…

7:11	David Temple: Damn.

7:12	Jeff Sullivan: It’s not like Ellsbury has a huge platoon split but damn

7:12	Jeff Sullivan: Lookie look

7:12	Jeff Sullivan: Matheny burned AGAIN. Amazing.

Five Notable Steamer MLEs from 2013 (Batters)

Lester, Wainwright, and World Series Repeat Starters

Jeff made Lookout Landing a thing, but he does not still write there about the Mariners. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not.

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SeaBass

10 years ago

Best anthem so far. Short, sweet, and to the point.

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