The Departed

[mouse]

Just checking to see if Shelton was on here yet. I guess not. I'll check back later.

[fjk090852-7]

Martin Perez has a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. He could miss much of this season.

[PooperScooper !]

Andujar playing solid for the A`s with 790 ops as bench guy. He would have been much better than the scrubs BC has brought in last 2 seasons. Damn shame.

[Possum]

Andujar playing solid for the A`s with 790 ops as bench guy. He would have been much better than the scrubs BC has brought in last 2 seasons. Damn shame.

Yep!

[Bobster]

Goose Gossage spent only 1 season with the Pirates but it was one of the most incredible seasons a reliever ever had. 1977 was prior to the creation of the "closer" role, in which the top reliever is reserved almost exclusively to enter in the 9th inning to protect a lead and get a save. Gossage had 26 of the team's 39 saves that year but his role was more important. He was called upon when the game was on the line anytime from the 7th inning on. He made 72 appearances and pitched more than 1 inning in 48 of them. He went 2.2 innings or more 17 times including four 4-inning stints and one 5-inning outing.

Gossage's 72 outings totaled 133 innings. He led the team with 155 strikeouts, which was 11th best in the NL, without starting a game. The 10 pitchers ahead of him all made at least 31 starts. He gave up only 78 hits in those 133 innings. That rate of 5.3 hits per 9 innings was the best in baseball that year for any pitcher with more than 10 innings. His 1.62 ERA that year would be the 2nd best of a 22-year career and the only one better was his 0.77 ERA in 1981 when he pitched only 46.2 innings in a strike-shortened season.

The Pirates won 96 games that year with a starting rotation of Candelaria (20-5, NL leading 2.34 ERA), Reuss, Rooker and Kison and a BP that also included Teke (10-1, 3.06 ERA 7 saves) and Grant Jackson. But the Phillies won 101 games so the Pirates didn't even make the playoffs. But that season was the best of Gossage's HOF career.

[3pirates3]

https://x.com/YankeesPR/status/1918012936074756455

[Bobster]

Jack Wilson's son Jacob had 4 hits today for the A's. He's batting .359.

[Doc]

Now that Shelton's gone, we'll see if it's Cherington or the pencil-necked geeks in the back room who've been creating the line-ups. If they continue to be head-scratching, then we'll know Shelton wasn't responsible.