The Glade 4.0

LINK

The title says it all.

Didn't stay up for this one. I was tired and went to bed when it was tied in the 8th.

Game ended around 1:30 this morning and the Phils came out of the marathon with a win.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

Wow, fantastic. I saw a headline somewhere else, didn't put 2 + 2 together. I **** love baseball.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

And from the quirky statistics file.

Wilson Valdez has 1 win. Ubaldo Jimenez has zero. =)

Fantastic moment for the game, and really special if you are a Phillies fan.

Even more so for those who stuck it out long enough to be there live at the end.

I've always agreed with the old baseball axiom, "If you really pay attention, you'll get to see something you've never seen before in every single game."

This is one of those rarer than rare snake-eyes rolls that you almost never get to see.

I **** love baseball.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

19 innings is a good thing? Having to resort to a second baseman to pitch?

Ridiculous. That'd be like an NFL game going for 8 hours and putting the punter in as QB because your 3rd string passed the hell out an hour ago.

If its tied after 10... call it a tie and go the hell home. Its not like one game *really* matters in baseball

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Holy shitsnacks!

That's really awesome.

I remember back when the Jays had John Olerud, I was always hoping they'd run into a situation where they ran out of pitchers, because he would have been the first guy they'd turn to. In college (he skipped the minor leagues) he went 15-0 with 113 strikeouts and a 2.49 ERA as a pitcher. (Wiki is great.) I don't think he ever pitched in a major league game, though.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

See, this is the difference between baseball and football. Baseball never gets boring, and in fact revels in the absurdity of a lengthy game like this. Talk to those guys in 20 years, this will be the one game they remember, most likely, except for maybe All-Star games and World Series, if they're lucky. To this day, I remember a NY Mets game in the summer of 1986 that was still going on when I got home after work at 11:30 - and it went on for another hour and half or something. (Best thing Tim McCarver ever said: At midnight, after a commercial break, "If you're just tuning in ... " (hesitates) " ... Call us up and tell us why!"

So, for the fans, it was like getting two games for the price of one. And, it points up the beauty of the generalist (baseball) vs. the specialist (football). In baseball, you can put your 2nd baseman in to pitch if you need to. In football, once you're out of quarterbacks, forget it. No one else has taken the time to figure out the 5000-page playbook that you need to be able to run a team.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Yeah, the idea that someone must win, no matter what results attrition brings is a special part of baseball.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Because it already is Just like fish can't get wet.

Although, I watched some women's college softball, and it was interesting. Because there were hot chicks playing.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Wasn't watching in the 19th. I probably would've had a heart attack if I did, so that's good. But man... :p

Turns out he actually wasn't horrible. Hit 89 mph and, frankly, got out one of the toughest stretch of hitters the game can offer at the moment. You'd be worried with a real pitcher in the game up against those guys. I'm pretty sure anyone watching at the time felt like the game was over when he took the mound. :p

Definitely a lot of luck, especially given that ball hit near (to?) the warning track. But it's just so... ridiculously unbelievable. And yes, have to love that.

I was keeping track of the game loosely via Gameday and came to the decision that I didn't care who won or lost at that point. 19 innings! So great.

What is that statistic... first time a starting position player got a Win in a game since Babe Ruth in 1921? Granted I don't know the number of times it was attempted, and wins can be tricky to get to begin with, but random fun statistics are random and fun!

Interesting stat - and Ruth started out as a pitcher, so it's not like he hadn't done it before at that level.

I like your point about how there has to be a winner in baseball, too, Vindi. None of this tie-stuff.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Actually, although rare, it happens with more frequency than that. The most recent occurrence, prior to Valdez, was Colorado Rockies catcher Brent Mayne, who beat the Atlanta Braves on August 22, 2000. In an ironic twist, Tom Glavine was used as a pinch hitter to lead off the inning against Mayne (Glavine always had a very good approach at the plate), and grounded out back to the pitcher. Although after that, Mayne went on to face possible future HOFers Andruw and Chipper Jones, getting the latter out to end the game.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

The difference in Valdez's case is that he started the game as a position player then went on to get the win, as opposed to coming in off the bench specifically to pitch. Just makes it all the more strange.

Ah, OK, now I see the distinction. A starting position player got the win, as opposed to one coming off the bench. Huh. Great story about Mayne, too.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge