things I learned about in baseball this week/how i learned to stop worrying and love baseball

Kirk or Raleigh? I have to admit I love watching Kirk run the bases

Kirk rounding 3rd base is one of my favourite things in baseball. But Cal is the way to go if your thinking of getting me a poster for my birthday!

I thought Blue Jays fans feared Cal Raleigh!

It can be both!

Came home today & found this:

https://i.postimg.cc/43RcD9cc/IMG-8956.jpg
on my desk, part of a really thoughtful gift from clemenza.

Article should in theory be display on the vault, but none of this issue is.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1977/07/18/43697

I’m going to read it tomorrow, and will report back. I need to work out how to handle and take care of it properly since this magazine is quite literally older than I am. Clemenza also sent me an incredible amount of baseball cards which I’ll go through and photograph my faves off tomorrow for that thread. There’s an incredible Bumgarner rookie card in there which reminds me of this:

https://i.postimg.cc/PxQYd5Hq/IMG-7275.jpg

Since starting this thread I’ve been the recipient of incredible generosity from posters across ILBB and it means the world to me that you’re all so willing to share your knowledge, trivia and baseball cards with me. Thank you so, so much. ❤️

It can be both!

I love this.

aww <3

Also by this time next week I will be in Pittsburgh! I just checked and Brayan Bello is lined up for a start in that series which is great, hopefully Devers is back from his shoulder injury. Too bad about Story, guess I’m going to hope the bats have woken up by then and that clown fielding doesn’t dominate as it has all week (it will).

i realize the chances of this happening are infinitesimal, but as john sterling will tell you, you can't predict baseball

if you find yourself in a situation where a ball is coming your way, and you are standing anywhere near zack hample, it is your duty to prevent him from getting that ball by any means necessary

i think he only cares about home run balls, so if you're sitting in left field, be aware (tbf he was in pittsburgh last weekend, so you're probably safe)

I’m aware of Zack Hample but I also do not want to be on TV elbowing him out of the way

you would be a hero to millions tho

most importantly, to me

162 is hard! It’s wild to read and read about seasons past when teams were slumping and got out of it, because the time that must have lasted eternally for them passes in an instant for you looking back, but even when they’re playing every day, it’s tough.

I remember, perhaps even at the very beginning of this thread, someone very wisely advising me to not pay close attention. Reader, I wish I had taken (or even was capable of taking - ocd) said advice, but alas.

The only part of the season that really matters is in aggregate when it’s over. Does it mean anything that George Kirby had two terrible starts and two good ones? Who knows/cares, it’s four games. Does it mean anything that Raffy Devers may be rusty because he missed six games due to a sore shoulder? Who the fuck cares? Yet these questions and more, the trivia and the detail of the almost meaningless fraction of the season? They plague me.

I’m sure this is something people who follow from childhood get out of the way very quickly. You learn not to live and die on every pitch, you stop paying attention for weeks or even months. Maybe you’re like Tracer Hand claimed he was and only check in once it’s summer. But man, it is painful atm and I’m very glad to have this thread. How do you care less?

To end this, a list of things I have enjoyed at this early part in the season:

Justin “I can’t believe the Mets traded him” Slaten:

Justin Slaten's Filth

5Ks in 2 innings. pic.twitter.com/dWS2hl3wKK

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 7, 2024

Some catch probability numbers on Ceddanne Rafaela this season:

1) Rafaela diving forward to rob Cal Raleigh - 35%

2) Game-saving grab against Shea Langeliers - 50%

3) Leap against the wall to take a hit away from Brent Rooker - 95% pic.twitter.com/qbc8hbdtr1

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) April 6, 2024

Wilyer Abreu's catch and Kutter Crawford's amazed reaction. pic.twitter.com/S0JyQolzyX

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 15, 2024

Jung Hoo #Lee’s double !! 👏🏻 5-game hitting streak 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/Ex76dU4MDK

— Joseph Kim (@blackwings2011) April 13, 2024

OH YEAH HOW DID I FORGET TO POST ROMAN ANTHONY

Roman Anthony hits his second homer of the day pic.twitter.com/tF8cO17Eag

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) April 14, 2024

I blame you and your great posts for caring this early lol

You blame me but you should really blame him

Triston Casas on going for the Red Seat.

Said he's not sure if it's a myth or not, but 429 FT is all he had. pic.twitter.com/rA4UhNH0nQ

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) April 13, 2024

oh man you will die if you hang on every pitch for six months. not even the players do that (apart from The Captain, Derek Jeter)

as earl weaver said, 'this ain't a football game; we do this every day'

I know, clearly I need to Make The Adjustment ☹️

And as everyone who’s had the ad repeatedly pumped into their brane for months on end knows, it’s “The Captain, Derek Sanderson Jeter.”

And as everyone who’s had the ad repeatedly pumped into their brane for months on end knows, it’s “The Captain, Derek Sanderson Jeter.”

My favourite players on teams I don’t follow (non exhaustive list):

- Kodai Senga (pls be healthy for London)
- Kerry Carpenter
- Mason Miller
- Tatis Jr
- Bobby Witt Jr
- Brandon Pfaadt
- Christopher Morel
- Lars Nootbaar
- Nolan Jones
- Yainer Diaz
- Francisco Lindor
- Andre Gimenez
- Nico Hoerner

Good nonfollow choices.

Wishing yinz wicked safe travels to your first MLB games on North American soil. Enjoy!

DO NOT be tempted by the Primanti Bros. sandwich at PNC park, it's a faint shadow of their off-stadium locations which I would highly recommend instead.

anyone recommending primanti bros is just recommending the pittsburgh equivalent of the cincinnati chili

i have said this before: it's a gimmick, and not actually pittsburgh lore

i'm told there's some kind of hot dog-pierogie thing though, which would be vaguely lore but nevertheless not something i can recommend

clark bar is lore but i'm not sure it even exists anymore

also my mom worked for heinz when i was born, so i support ketchup on everything

You guys are jaded rusted-out souls. Absolute madness.

#freeippeei

i had a primanti brothers sandwich in state college in high school. still remember/think about it to this day. probably because my brain was young and malleable then. i'm sure i'd find it more average now.

it's a good candidate for PASTA SANDWICH

I appreciate all the recommendations and will report back laterback!

I appreciate all the recommendations and will report back laterback!

Thanks phone/slow brain

Sox are injured/bad but Bello is pitching and I love him so much 🥺

This game ruled. Bello was missing his spots early on but still getting outs and then he settled and started striking guys out. My large adult son Wilyer Abreu hit a fucking moonshot that I honestly thought went into the Allegheny; after that Triston Casas hit a bomb with a crack of the bat that was probably audible a mile away and it was oppo. Cook!

Felt sorry for the Pirates pitcher especially cos after he gave up the home run to Abreu a fan across the aisle stood up and yelled, Welcome to the big leagues, kid! Same fan also shouted “Go Bobby D, ya finally got a hit, no more 0-21, go Bob!”

We were sitting near first base and Casas was constantly throwing balls into the crowd. I witnessed a grown man with a glove rush forward and plead for a ball, crying “Triston throw me a ball baby!”

I didn’t know that they don’t play walk up songs for the road team.

Cam Booser, who the Sox just called up from triple A, made his big league debut and struck out Cutch. He gave up a triple and a run scored but was able to get three outs to end the game. After the game his family came forward and onto the field and he embraced them and was crying. He’s got a really interesting story and he’s been shoving in triple A so hopefully he sticks.

This followed years of obstacles in Booser’s development, including Tommy John surgery, labrum surgery, a broken back following a bike accident, a 50-game suspension for testing positive for marijuana and self-admitted attitude problems. After the 2017 season, Booser decided to call it quits.

So instead of building a career as a pitcher, Booser moved home to Seattle and built something else: acoustical ceilings.

Booser joined the Northwest Carpenters Union in the area, Local 41, to work for the company that his father had worked at for many years. He admits that in terms of construction, he was a Minor Leaguer compared to his coworkers who could “do it in their sleep.”

Sweet stuff :)

Mitch Keller tomorrow and he’s a great pitcher

he absolutely is not. he's 28 years old and has a 4.70 ERA (90 ERA+) over 104 career starts

in scouting terms, he 'flashes' 'top stuff' before reality sets in. but i thank you for throwing me a bone

Ok, he’s fine. He’s got a FIP of under 4 his last three seasons though!

smdh

The scoreboard said Cutch is one single away from 1000 so hopefully we get to see that

Best game report/posts on here in years, tyvm gyac.

🫡
A no doubter home run off the bat sounds unmistakeable. You hear commentators talk about it all the time but it’s something you need to experience irl. And there were three in this game! The Abreu home run didn’t sound like this on TV but it was unmistakable irl:

Rob Refsnyder (1)
2-Run Home Run

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher: Quinn Priester
Date: 4/19/24 pic.twitter.com/MA3utJFeLZ

— Red Sox Home Runs (@RedSox_HR) April 20, 2024

Wilyer Abreu (1)
Solo Home Run

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher: Quinn Priester
Date: 4/19/24 pic.twitter.com/HKn1vm6tah

— Red Sox Home Runs (@RedSox_HR) April 19, 2024

Ceddanne Rafaela (1)
Solo Home Run

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher: Roansy Contreras
Date: 4/19/24 pic.twitter.com/R2yR7hLAkr

— Red Sox Home Runs (@RedSox_HR) April 20, 2024

Oh yeah the Refsnyder one is not a no doubter; it was only gone in 9/30. This was a no doubter.

Triston Casas (6)
Solo Home Run

Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher: Quinn Priester
Date: 4/19/24 pic.twitter.com/iVe2du98xU

— Red Sox Home Runs (@RedSox_HR) April 19, 2024

Oh yeah, video I got of our view which I forgot about until I got back. I checked already and we’re not in view at any point, but we had a great one.

https://streamable.com/u7ea2a

Yay!

Man oh man. Casas drew a walk in the first inning, then had clutched at his side and was subbed out after the inning.

Me: 🙃

To recap, the starting infield for this team:

SS: Trevor Story - season ending injury
2B - Vaughn Grissom - groin strain in spring training, working through a rehab assignment
3B - Rafael Devers - sore shoulder, bone bruise on knee
1B - Triston Casas - “left field with left rib discomfort”

Fucking brutal. Hopefully he doesn’t miss too much time, but at least I got to see him hit a home run yesterday.

Saw Yoshida go 3-4 with a home run today and he was great. Kutter Crawford got into a jam in the sixth inning, Cora left him in and he got out of it. Joely Rodriguez came in to pitch the seventh and I was looking on my phone for Casas and when I heard Joely was coming in, I went, FUCK! I was right though.

Kenley came in for a save and was actually fine. Pirates manager got tossed for arguing an automatic strike call. Please don’t miss too much time, Casas!

gyac please stop killing my hometown baseball team

my man Mitch Keller might have injured the least healthy infielder

btw I cheered for Cutch when he came on to pinch hit

Also I talked to lots of Pirates fans

<3

Surprise win today with a patchwork lineup. Have I mentioned that on all three days that we were sitting in seats that we ended up realising were the wrong ones on two separate occasions and having to move? I have not.

Today Wilyer Abreu went 3-5 and drove in two runs; as someone who’s a nl Abreu truther based on his eye and his arm (both great), this was incredible for me. Ceddanne playing shortstop was great too; it remains to be seen if he’ll be as good there as at CF but I definitely felt good about him fielding the position and he made some plays.

Connor Wong was catching today and he was fine. He played well too.

Reese McGuire pinch hit and drove in two runs; did this prevent us from making fun of him? Reader, it did not.

Oh yeah, Aroldis Chapman came on to pitch and I booed him. I could not have told you I had that in me.

Various pictures that are mainly zoomed the fuck in or moving closer to the field when the game ended/before it started, so sorry for the mostly poor quality. I regret not being able to get a video of Bello dancing in the dugout:

https://i.postimg.cc/KcD5q11z/IMG-9511.jpg
Bello! I love him so much and I was glad I was there to see him pitch well. Today he was in the dugout wearing his hoodie up and dancing to music played between innings. He’s adorable.

https://i.postimg.cc/HsS9mF41/IMG-9518.jpg
The man himself on the right.

https://i.postimg.cc/5y48dmXt/IMG-9665.jpg
Our view before we realised we were sitting in the wrong section (!) and had to move.

https://i.postimg.cc/3JrFP3GZ/IMG-9679.jpg
Kutter Crawford after his first win of the year (his ERA over five starts is like 0.77).

https://i.postimg.cc/26FnKt8J/IMG-9704.jpg
Alex Cora today. He was out throwing batting practice earlier and will sometimes join in with the infielders as well.

https://i.postimg.cc/BnXcnNML/IMG-9711.jpg
Andrew Bailey and Jason Varitek going to the bullpen before the game.

https://i.postimg.cc/tg63hJ09/IMG-9727.jpg
Connor Wong.

https://i.postimg.cc/GmVP8Y5M/IMG-9734.jpg
Chris Martin, ???, Kenley Jansen. Possibly the middle guy is Bailey, I know all the relievers on this roster and I can see Joely Rodriguez and Bernie in the background. Everyone else was used.