NL takes home field advantage in the World Series

[shago]

Byrd should have been an out. McCann is clutch, always has been

[Heads22]

I could care less what he did in this game as long as he comes back healthy and rested.

[Rowand44]

No biggy. At least when we sweep the World Series this year we can win it at home.

[SoxAce]

I could care less what he did in this game as long as he comes back healthy and rested.

 

Not to mention mentally fresh. I hate seeing guys (Dan Uggla quickly comes to mind) who had a poor all-star game effect him the remainder of the season. (sad to even say but even professional baseball players are mentally weak)

[greg775]

That was quite a shot down the line. Did McCann face Thornton in the Sox-Braves series this year? Surprising he could smash it like that off Matt.

I doubt he'll let this carry over. Can't imagine Matt Thornton being fragile mentally.

I thought it was a dull game but I was somewhat distracted during the game. Didn't seem like a classic of any kind to me.

[southsideirish71]

This is an exhibition game. The intelligent thing would be to award home field based on the overall interleague results. However due to a silly tie and our comiish being reactionary we have an exhibition game being turned into an exhibition game that has some extra meaning for no apparent reason.

 

Anyone projecting anything from any individual results are stretching at best. Its a carnival, that guys get to play in. If this was the twins series and Thornton gave it up, I am sure he would be livid. But the fact that he gave it up in the carnival, oh well.

 

 

[bschmaranz]

So I guess we open up the world series in Cincinnati then, oh well.

[greg775]

This is an exhibition game. The intelligent thing would be to award home field based on the overall interleague results. However due to a silly tie and our comiish being reactionary we have an exhibition game being turned into an exhibition game that has some extra meaning for no apparent reason.

 

Anyone projecting anything from any individual results are stretching at best. Its a carnival, that guys get to play in. If this was the twins series and Thornton gave it up, I am sure he would be livid. But the fact that he gave it up in the carnival, oh well.

 

Great post.

I just wanted the AL to keep winning so the commish would eventually have to do something. It's wrong the WS opens in AL parks every year.

It is ridiculous this game counts for home field. The managers again did a nice job of getting almost everybody in the game. It's really a crapshoot as to which pitcher(s) don't have it since they use so many on both sides.

It's a disgrace this carnival is for home field. What a joke. Just watching the postgame interview of Torii Hunter showed how he didn't give a f*** the AL lost.

How can you care about a "game" like that?

 

I'm also sick of these games starting in twilight with the shadows. Predictably, nobody could hit the ball tonight.

Edited July 14, 2010 by greg775

[Wanne]

I think the hole thing is a farce...like every other all-star game. Plus...I can only watch about 2 batters to the HR contest...good lord. I hope those guys wore themselves out personally. Nobody really gives a crap...and it does suck there is a meaning to the result. Let's get back to the real stuff.

[SouthsideDon48]

I actually think it's a good thing the NL won, cause I think it increases the Sox's chances of winning.

 

This means that if the Sox makes the World Series, and has to play 7 games, they have a better chance with an NL line-up in an NL park without Ozzie starting Vizquel, Kotsay, or Jones. Ozzie will have to utilize them as bench players for once.

[KipWellsFan]

Where the heck was the pinch runner? A-Rod???? Hellllooooo!!!

 

I'm gonna have to play the devil's advocate on this one. I enjoy the All-Star game, and like that some of the players actually seem to care about the game. Only major sports all-star game that's worth watching IMO.

 

 

[knightni]

Where the heck was the pinch runner? A-Rod???? Hellllooooo!!!

That was my thought as well. "Why's ARod not pinch running for Ortiz?"

[Wanne]

That was my thought as well. "Why's ARod not pinch running for Ortiz?"

 

he had a bruised labia majora was the report from the dugout....

[chetkincaid]

he had a bruised labia majora was the report from the dugout....

 

 

Hahaha nice..

[Balta1701]

That was quite a shot down the line. Did McCann face Thornton in the Sox-Braves series this year? Surprising he could smash it like that off Matt.

I doubt he'll let this carry over. Can't imagine Matt Thornton being fragile mentally.

I thought it was a dull game but I was somewhat distracted during the game. Didn't seem like a classic of any kind to me.

Thornton seemed like he wasn't totally up for that game or at least not warmed up when he came in. He couldn't get the fastball down, esp. to Byrd, and he left it out over the plate to McCann. He also didn't throw anything offspeed the whole time. McCann started swinging early to catch up with the pitch and caught one right down the middle.

[Pants Rowland]

Like the 2010 Chicago White Sox (at least through May), the AL lost last night's game because they failed to capitalize on the few opportunities they had.

 

Yes, they might have won 1-0 if Thornton could have gotten that last out, but in reality, Girardi made some bad decisions last night. He used up his bench despite history telling him to save some players. Then he decided to save the last player on the bench (to possibly hit a game winning HR) rather than pinch running for Ortiz. He also brought in Thornton to exploit the lefty lefty s*** we all love here but forgot that in an All-Star game there is usually no shortage of quality players on either bench to compensate.

 

So Matt comes out and fortunately gets Young to pop out, but then has to take care of another righty, who he walks. Now the bases are loaded and there is no margin for error. Matt typically can get out of such jams but it didn't happen last night. I know he can be as tough as anyone on any hitter, but maybe there is a reason middle relievers rarely are selected to these squads. I know many will disagree with me here, but I think Girardi outsmarted himself in picking Thornton to begin with. He thought that would be his ace in the hole as he secured home field for his Yankees but forgot that it is a lot easier to counter the tough lefty in the ASG than it is when you have only one or two marginal right handers on a normal bench.

[scenario]

I was dumbfounded at the pitch calling for Thornton.

 

Fastball... fastball... fastball.

 

In an all-star game, the odds of guys being able to turn on a fastball are pretty good... especially if they know what's coming.

 

[chw42]

Phil Hughes got the loss, so when people look at the box score, they won't even remember Matt Thornton.

[LittleHurt05]

I'm a fan of a lot of Joe Posnanski's work, but he wasn't happy with Thornton in the game last night:

 

 

[chw42]

Thornton's been off ever since that elbow issue he had. That's part of the reason why I didn't want to see him pitch in last night's game.

 

Let's take a look at these numbers.

 

Thornton's April: 0.8 FIP, 1.85 xFIP, 25% LD Rate, 37.5% FB Rate, 13.89 K/9, 69% strikes

Thornton's May: 1.39 FIP, 2.25 xFIP, 10% LD Rate, 35% FB Rate, 11.45 K/9, 68% strikes

Thornton's June: 3.61 FIP, 3.13 xFIP, 34.6% LD Rate, 23.1 FB Rate, 11.7 K/9, 63% strikes

Thornton's July: 1.86 FIP, 3.57 xFIP, 36.4% LD Rate, 45.5% FB Rate, 9K/9, 72% strikes

 

I see a very, very scary trend going here. The high FIP was due to that one outing against Detroit, mainly. But it's clear that ever since June, he's not been the same pitcher. He went from a 1 FIP/2 xFIP pitcher to a 3 FIP and 3 xFIP pitcher, that's a huge difference. One states dominance, the other just states that he's good.

 

However, the issue is in the line drive rate and his K/9. Look at the increase LD% took in June and July. I think we've seen lots of this. Balls have been hit hard off Matt, but usually, they're right at people. This is simply a scary trend, because your luck can only run for so long. He's also starting to miss bats less, his K rate in July is only 9 Ks per 9, down from his dominant 14K/9 early on in the year. Plus, go look at his strike%. It's up in July, but we're only half-way through, but we obviously saw a big dip in June.

 

I'm not too optimistic about what's to come for Thornton, he needs rest, he needs to regain that dominance he had earlier in the year. If these trends that I put up continue, Thornton might end up with some very bad outings in the future in some big games. We don't want that.

 

 

[elrockinMT]

No biggy. At least when we sweep the World Series this year we can win it at home.

 

 

My feelings also. I would love to see the Chicago reaction

[LittleHurt05]

I'm not too optimistic about what's to come for Thornton, he needs rest, he needs to regain that dominance he had earlier in the year. If these trends that I put up continue, Thornton might end up with some very bad outings in the future in some big games. We don't want that.

 

The last game before our streak started comes to mind, when he came in a 2-2 game vs. DET and just got blown up. The thing is, he didn't pitch for a week after that and hasn't given up a run since.

[scenario]

Take out the Detroit game and see how the numbers look.

 

[chw42]

Take out the Detroit game and see how the numbers look.

 

xFIP and FIP aren't exactly dependent on runs scored. That one home run he gave up definitely hurt, but that wasn't the main point for why Thornton's been regressing. The big line drive rate is the first thing that is scary. The second thing is the lack of Ks and his decrease in strikes thrown.

 

If you watch the guy pitch, you can tell he's not the same dominant guy from earlier in the year.

[NorthSideSox72]

I'm a fan of a lot of Joe Posnanski's work, but he wasn't happy with Thornton in the game last night:

The article was actually pretty good, and I tend to agree with him. But his tweets are what got him in trouble, and those were just dumb. Which was a point he was trying to make as well.