Battle to the Max

Any complaints about Fried’s performance last night? Not perfect, but everyone can’t be Max Sherzer. I’ve heard Leo Mazzone say 15 pitches per inning is a good average. Fried averaged 16.5 last night. Two left on base by Fried over 6 innings. Fried faced 22 hitters, just 4 over the minimum. Struck out nine. Pitches per batter was 4.5. Batters these days don’t swing as often as they used to, driving up pitch counts. The great Sherzer faced 21 batters.

Fried last night

6 innings

99 pitches (16.5 pitches per inning).

2 earned runs

3 hits

1 walk

9 strikeouts

3.51 era for the year

Sherzer last night

6 innings

76 pitches

0 runs

3 hits

0 walks

9 strikeouts

2.40 ERA for the year

Charlie Morton had a good start the night before, as did Ian Anderson on Sunday. Touki has been better than before. Smyly has lost his starting role. It's not the starters. The relievers continue to be the weak link. Another reliever (Newcombe) was just called up today, replacing one put on the DL (Martin?).

Wednesday night I worked past 5:30. Stopped at Moe’s for a burrito to split with Ceil. She called to say she was extra hungry, so I stopped by El Porton for beans & rice and salsa & chips. Also stopped by Zaxbys to cash in a coupon for 3 free cookies. And stopped by the bank to boot.

Ceil had picked up W&MC’s dog Okie from Anna. Of course our puppy Winnie was super excited to host Okie. She wouldn’t leave him alone. W&MC headed out to Oklahoma for the wedding. I hadn’t realized they spent Tuesday night with Catherine Norman in Memphis. They arrived late in the evening.

For lunch today I ate Chinese with two coworkers.

Coined two new phrases:

1. I spit him up and chewed him out.

2. Nip it in the same bud. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone.

TONY KUBEK  [SABR Bio] was the youngest New York Yankee player to win the Rookie of the Year, in 1957 at age 21. Dave Righetti & Derek Jeter and were the next youngest, both 22 at the time. Kubek homered in his last at-bat in the majors, in the 9th inning on 03-Oct-1965 off Boston’s Dick Radatz. Neither NYY nor BOS reached the postseason that year, so both were headed home the next day. In four out of his first five seasons he had at least 10 sacrifice hits, leading the league in that category in his third year, with 13 in 1959. Kubek was on the way to the hospital when Mazeroski homered. In game seven of the 1960 World Series, Kubek was bending down to field a grounder hoping to double up Bill Virdon when the ball struck a pebble and struck Kubek in the throat. As he was on his way to be treated, the Pirates won the Series in dramatic fashion.

Man Denison’s columns are long. Good stuff, but you have to concentrate. I slice and dice the best parts, and edit down just so I can understand.

Denison: Israel made headlines this week when it began allowing Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, an area previously reserved for prayer only for Muslims.

Denison: nearly six in ten Americans (including one in three pro-choice advocates) oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortion. But abortion advocates in the House seem intent on ignoring the wishes of the majority of Americans by adopting unprecedented taxpayer abortion funding. How could this happen in a nation founded on the principle that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator" with the "unalienable" right to "life"?