35 thoughts on “August 19, 2020: Square Deal”

    1. Gyorko's lack of concentrate on the bases must have squeezed whatever positivity he had out of him and then beaten it to a pulp.

    1. I’m embracing the weird in all its facets. (I think beau said something like that earlier this pandemic)

  1. Did anyone else follow the Brewer's substitutions in the 10th and 11th innings last night? I know Dick was going on about it, but when I looked back at the box score, it made no sense to me.

    Pinch Hitter Arcia went in for the RF Gamel, playing SS. SS moves to 3B. 3B Sogard comes out, pitcher goes in for him (because DH moved to cover RF). But 3B Sogard didn't come out until the bottom half of the inning - after he batted. It was like a slow-moving change. Maybe it could be pulled off because defensive replacements didn't happen until the bottom half of the inning?

    But then, to make matters worse, they started the 11th with the pitcher - in for 3B Sogard - at 2nd base, then subbed him out for a pinch runner. Then in the bottom half of the inning they pulled their 2nd baseman - again, after he batted - and moved the pitcher's spot in the batting order from the #9 slot to the #3 slot.

    Effectively, they pulled double switches by only switching out one player, and then later on switching out a different player?

    No way this was legal, right?

    1. Here's what BR lists for it:

      Top of 10th
      Orlando Arcia pinch hits for Ben Gamel (RF) batting 7th

      Arcia isn't playing any position until the bottom of the inning, so that's when most of the movement happens.
      Bottom of 10th
      Josh Hader replaces Eric Sogard (3B) pitching and batting 9th
      Luis Urias moves from SS to 3B
      Orlando Arcia moves from PH to SS
      Ryan Braun moves from DH to RF (team loses DH)

      Top of 11th
      Brock Holt pinch runs for Josh Hader (P) batting 9th
      Brock Holt running at second base to start the extra inning

      Bottom of 11th
      David Phelps replaces Keston Hiura (2B) pitching and batting 3rd
      Luis Urias moves from 3B to 2B
      Brock Holt moves from PR to 3B

      Read like that, it looks legal. I wasn't watching so I don't know who was actually in the field for the bottom halves.

      1. How can Brock Holt move from PR to 3B? PR is not a defensive position. At a minimum, that part is still isn't okay, right?

        Same with Arcia moving from PH to SS.

        1. I wasn't watching the game, so I'm just going by what's written above. But certainly, a pinch-runner or a pinch-hitter can move to a defensive position. And once the DH is out, the pitcher's spot is treated just like any other spot in the batting order.

          1. I mean, they can go into the game defensively, yes, but unless a double switch is made, they do so for the person whose spot in the order they took over for, right?

            1. I wanted to emphasize Jeff's point that once the DH is out, the pitcher's spot is treated like any other spot in the batting order. So by the top of the 11th, the defensive positions are essentially irrelevant.

              Brewers lineup starts the game as:
              1. Garcia
              2. Yelich
              3. Hiura
              4. Smoak
              5. Braun (DH)
              6. Narvaez
              7. Gamel
              8. Urias
              9. Sogard

              Their lineup stayed that way going into the top of the 9th, and they introduced two pinch hitters, making their order in the middle of the 9th:
              1. Garcia
              2. Yelich
              3. Hiura
              4. Gyorko
              5. Braun (DH)
              6. Pina
              7. Gamel
              8. Urias
              9. Sogard

              That order remains going into the top of the 10th, when Arcia pinch hits, so going into the middle of the 10th, the order is:
              1. Garcia
              2. Yelich
              3. Hiura
              4. Gyorko
              5. Braun (DH)
              6. Pina
              7. Arcia
              8. Urias
              9. Sogard

              Next, going into the bottom of the 10th, Hader replaces Sogard in the lineup and also replaces Devin Williams as pitcher. From a batting order perspective, the only thing that actually changes is that Hader replaces Sogard.
              1. Garcia
              2. Yelich
              3. Hiura
              4. Gyorko
              5. Braun (not DH)
              6. Pina
              7. Arcia
              8. Urias
              9. Hader

              Going into the top of the 11th, Brock Holt replaces Hader in the 9th spot of the lineup -- none of the defensive positions matter because there is no DH.
              1. Garcia
              2. Yelich
              3. Hiura
              4. Gyorko
              5. Braun (not DH)
              6. Pina
              7. Arcia
              8. Urias
              9. Holt

              Going into the bottom of the 11th, Phelps replaces Hiura in the 3rd spot of the lineup -- none of the defensive positions matter because there is no DH.
              1. Garcia
              2. Yelich
              3. Phelps
              4. Gyorko
              5. Braun (not DH)
              6. Pina
              7. Arcia
              8. Urias
              9. Holt

              For the most part, all of the defensive position switching is just noise -- especially once they lose the DH, the players can essentially freely interchange in the field, with the exception of the pitcher needing to face at least three hitters under the new rules, I suppose.

        2. Arcia is position-less because he came in while his team was batting. If nothing happens, he would be the RF once the Brewers take the field. Same thing with Holt. He pinch ran for Hader so he's a PR until the team takes the field when he would become the pitcher by default.

          1. Effectively, this was a slow-moving double switch then, right? I'm reading more about that, and it does appear to be permitted.

            1. Yes, because we think of a double switch happening after the team has batted to move the pitcher into a different spot in the batting order. In this case, it was sort of self-inflicted by having an infielder pinch hit for an outfielder and not wanting the infielder to play the outfield for the first time.

              1. It's especially weird because they lost the DH in the process too, but somehow that didn't mean the pitcher was batting in the DH spot.

                1. The pitcher bats in the spot of the player he takes over. If the player at the DH moves to the field, his spot in the order doesn't and cannot suddenly switch. See when Mauer moved from DH to C when Redmond had to leave the game. Redmond had to be replaced so Garza took his spot and was obligated to stand in the batter's box instead.

      1. That's a better record than when he hits a home run. Must be those new-fangled analytics at work.

  2. 45 years ago today Penn and Teller performed together for the first time... at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

      1. Gotta give him credit for hubris, though. He knew he was wearing a body cam and he still sued Ujiri. Also, pretty neat that the sheriff requested that Ujiri be charged with battery of a peace officer. Because it's not the system that stinks, it's just a few bad apples.

  3. A wildfire ignited about a mile from my house this afternoon. There were at least two helicopters and an airplane circling for about two and a half hours, dropping water and flame retardant. It looks like they got it knocked down quickly, and it's only around 3-5 acres, thankfully. It was right on the boundary between houses and the wild brush on the mountains, so if it had spread, there would be a lot of fuel that could go up quickly.

    1. the parents of my main IT staffer had their house burn down last night. Presumably a consequence of one of the MANY fires up here.

      The sky has been an eerie color all day (as it was yesterday). Our ground is covered with biggish ash flakes even though the nearest fire is probably 30 miles away.

      1. I wish the good vibes i had for you fellas was enough to cool the flames. Thinking good thoughts, tho.

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