caulfield12

So much for Giolito's ERA this season....seems he went the entire first half last year giving up 7 total runs. Grandal struggling a bit defensively. Need to somehow escape this inning.

Gio Gonzalez next man in...finally will appear in a Sox uni. Or Lambert.

Smart move by Baldelli to play infield in...saved a big run there. Twins’ announcers quickly picked up on annoying/talkative AJ Pierzynski figure posed behind the plate...“fans would be on the edge of their seats here in the bottom of the 9th, if they weren’t cardboard cutouts instead.”

We have enough bats to carry Engel and Madrigal as long as we get solid D from those guys. Feels like 2006 offense (and arguments) with Brian Anderson/Mackowiak all over again.

Piranhas: The Sequel Better off facing Buxton.

Thanks Leury and Bill Welke. This will be one of those games they can’t get back later in the season due to Madrigal service time issues. Not feeling optimistic with second half Giolito (where did his slider and curve go?) and no Kopech.

Matty Davidson starting DH for Reds tonight, couldn’t continue OD homer string with the bases loaded against DET.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/7/24/21336960/cubs-comcast-marquee-sports-reach-a-deal The Tribune's report does not say what — if any — cost will be passed along to Xfinity subscribers. Other providers carrying the channel have increased rates about $2 a month for customers with eligible packages to receive the channel.

The rain-shortened opening game between the New York Yankees and World Series champion Washington Nationals drew an audience of 4 million viewers, according to Nielsen fast nationals. That's the largest audience for an opening night game ever, breaking the previous record of 3.7 million viewers in 2017 (Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals). Thursday's game, which was cut short by rain in Washington, was also the most watched regular season MLB game on any network since 2011 — a span of nine years. It was way up from ESPN's opening night game last year: That contest between the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners drew just 1.19 million viewers. A late game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants delivered 2.76 million viewers, the largest ESPN audience ever for a late night (in the Eastern time zone) game. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/major-league-baseball-opener-sets-ratings-record-espn-1304386

https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds They have White Sox, Red Sox, Angels and Rangers fighting for 3 of 4 spots With Trout on the shelf though, huge advantage to both Sox and the Rangers if they can ever get fans into new ballpark.

https://theathletic.com/1948343/2020/07/24/sarris-which-mlb-teams-should-be-most-excited-about-the-expanded-playoffs/?source=dailyemail FGs: White Sox, Red Sox and Angels to finish at .500, #6-8 in playoff hunt ahead of Rangers, NL even more of a battle with 11 teams in contention

Fox Sports exec Michael Mulvihill is on record as saying he expects the network’s first weekend of games to increase 40 percent over last year’s openers. The first FOX window last year had a 1.5 rating, so that means a 2.1. If you’re expecting big growth, then that fits the bill. If you’re expecting record ratings or some otherwise historic turnout, not so much. Say Thursday’s Yankees-Nationals opener doubles last year’s comparable Opening Night window, a Red Sox-Mariners game that had just a 0.8. That 1.6 rating would mark a three-year high (Cardinals-Cubs had a 2.1 in 2017). Ratings would have to nearly triple in order to reach a 12-year high (Braves-Nationals had a 2.4 in 2008). Even with substantial growth, expect ratings to be closer to typical than historic. Predictions: 1.7 and 1.2. https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/07/mlb-opening-night-ratings-predictions-nba-nascar-wnba-nwsl/ One key indicator is going to be the early TV ratings...granted, August is normally a "dead time" in terms of ratings and family vacations/back to school....but this year will be fascinating to watch play out with the new playoff format and quick as a whistle trade deadline.

But is there any entertainment product that has really been forced to compete/become more affordable? I guess you can argue internet rates, airline tickets/vacation packages and cable TV, but if you look at things like concert tickets, the costs across pretty much any sports product (even the lower/est tier seats), etc., movie tickets, they've all been rapidly advancing since at least the 1980's. Maybe with all the industries related to work having to adjust (e.g., less commercial real estate demand, more WFH, less need for business clothing or even eating out in general)...everyone's going to have adjustments eventually, right? What's driving the salaries higher? Continually increasing revenues....related to drivers outside of traditional metrics like attendance, souvenirs, concessions and parking, as well as the increasing number of billionaires or investment groups competing for professional sports franchises, that seems likely to continue as a trend as wealth/income inequality continues to separate the middle and upper class families as consumers, as well. On the plus side, there are still more ways to take in the sport (setting aside the blackout rules) than ever before. So, just like the cruise/tour/travel industries, the education industry and some of the other examples from above are going to have to adapt to survive, sports will, too, right?

Tried to get through Irresistible and only made it halfway.... Avatar pulled from August 21st, third schedule change this year. No new date announced. Nothing on Tenet yet. Avatar and Star Wars sequels pushed back a year. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/23/media/disney-mulan-star-wars-avatar-delays/index.html

I'm sure we aren't going to hear any more "death panels" attacks from the right in this election. Blaming Bill/Hillary and ObamaCare for the rationing/triage effect of caregiving in the middle of this current wave after spending years trying to tear down the current health care system without a viable replacement in sight, well, the emperor has no clothes anymore on that particular issue. https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/anthony-fauci-threats-coronavirus-095008504.html “I’ve seen a side of society that I guess is understandable, but it’s a little bit disturbing,” Fauci told CNN political commentator David Axelrod on the latest episode of “The Axe Files” podcast. “I mean, really? Is this the United States of America?” he asked.

Obviously also comes down to depth of pitching vs. having two guys like Schilling and Big Unit that could go so often in a seven gamer, or, another example, Bumgarner in 2014 vs. the Royals.

And yet the sudden death wild card games have been quite popular. Think back to the last ten days of the 2008 season. Some combination that protects the top 2-3 teams while giving more shots at underdog teams is a nice combination. I mean, it’s not like the Twins’ fans enjoy getting demolished any more by the Yankees in 2, 3 or 4 games...

Somehow our old friend Emilio Bonifacio earned a spot at age 35 on the Nationals' roster.

At least they should keep either 154 or no less than 140 games. The length of the season and the pace of a 6 month season has always been one of the most unique aspects of the sports...and playing from spring through summer into the late fall. No other team sport has that unique combination, other than soccer. If nothing else, the White Sox and Padres break their playoff-less strings and Thad Bosley has to develop a new and improved line of attack on ownership. In actuality, this is THE one season where White Sox attendance will be the least discussed issue surrounding the organization. That’s going to be a quite pleasant change. Wish Farmio was around to witness it after suffering through the last decade.

In the end, it means more new fans, and more interest. Less tanking. Making the sport a bit more national and less regional again. Baseball faces a direct threat from the NBA due to increased head-to-head scheduling the next two years as well as the CBA negotiations. Time to respond. There’s also an opportunity, as football of all kinds will definitely struggle this fall.

If they finish close to .500 and don’t show significant positive progress, sure. But there are so many wild cards with this, and losing Kopech wasn’t an insignificant blow right out of the gate. We’re really lacking in that true TOR shutdown guy, unless you’re counting on Giolito replicating last year instead of doing a post-2008 Gavin Floyd trajectory. Now it might be Cease, and Law’s predicting that, but we’ll just have to wait and see. At any rate, firing a manager after a 60 game stretch just doesn’t make sense unless a no-brainer suddenly becomes available.

Employee-Owned. State that gave Trump a 9% margin, although only 1.5% right now.

But but but...their uniquely advantageous media rights deals make the Dodgers and Yankees exceptions to any rule of economics if they really want a player.

We also have the countdown to extra $600 payments ending on July 31st (next FRI) and then numerous rent and mortgage collection amnesty periods expiring simultaneously.