Quote of the day
Learn to control your emotions or they will control you.
~Edgar Martinez

Learn to control your emotions or they will control you.
~Edgar Martinez
Due to inclement weather, Game 2 of the Yankees-Guardians series was postponed from yesterday to today. Aside from that, the remain games of the Division Series now have start times! Here is how the updated schedule is looking — all times Eastern.
Friday, October 14th
Game 2: Guardians vs. Yankees, 1:07 p.m., TBS
Game 3: Braves vs. Phillies, 4:37 p.m., FS1
Game 3: Dodgers vs. Padres, 8:37 p.m., FS1
Saturday, October 15th
Game 4: Braves vs. Phillies, 2:07 p.m., FS1
Game 4: Dodgers vs. Padres, 9:37 p.m., FS1
Game 3: Yankees vs. Guardians, 7:37 p.m., TBS
Game 3: Astros vs. Mariners, 4:07 p.m., TBS
Sunday, October 16th
Game 4: Yankees vs. Guardians (if necessary), 7:07 p.m., TBS
Game 4: Astros vs. Mariners 4 (if necessary), 3:07 p.m., TBS
Game 5: Braves vs. Phillies (if necessary), 4:37 p.m., FS1
Game 5: Dodgers vs. Padres (if necessary), 9:07 p.m., FS1
Monday, October 17th
Game 5: Yankees vs. Guardians (if necessary), 7:37 p.m., TBS
Game 5: Astros vs. Mariners (if necessary), 5:07 p.m., TNT
In case you missed it, Twitter blew up a bit yesterday with the news that former pitcher Randy Johnson now makes a living as a professional photographer.
learned today that randy johnson is now a professional photographer (??) and shoots nfl games (???) pic.twitter.com/P714LxY6hH
— Sophie Kleeman (@sophiekleeman) October 12, 2022
A detail that makes this information even more fun is the logo for Randy Johnson Photography, clearly a tribute to that time that Johnson accidentally killed a bird with a fastball.
If you’re interested in exploring further, you can check out some of Randy Johnson’s work at Randy Johnson Photography – Photography from Hall of Fame Pitcher Randy Johnson (rj51photos.com).
The Wild Card round is now over, and it is on to the American League and National League Division Series. Congrats to the Phillies, Padres, Mariners, and Guardians on advancing! Here are how the schedules for the ALDS and NLDS are looking thus far. Unfortunately, times have only been set for Games 1 and 2 in the series. All times are Eastern.
Tuesday, October 11th
Game 1: Braves vs. Phillies, 1:07 p.m., Fox
Game 1: Astros vs. Mariners, 3:05 p.m., TBS
Game 1: Yankees vs. Guardians, 6:38 p.m., TBS
Game 1: Dodgers vs. Padres 9:37 p.m., FS1
Wednesday, October 12th
Game 2: Braves vs. Phillies, 4:35 p.m., Fox
Game 2: Dodgers vs. Padres, 8:37 p.m., FS1
Thursday, October 13th
Game 2: Astros vs. Mariners, 3:37 p.m., TBS
Game 2: Yankees vs. Guardians, 7:37 p.m., TBS
Friday, October 14th
Game 3: Braves vs. Phillies, TBD, FS1
Game 3: Dodgers vs. Padres, TBD, FS1
Saturday, October 15th
Game 4: Braves vs. Phillies (if necessary), TBD, FS1
Game 4: Dodgers vs. Padres (if necessary), TBD, FS1
Game 3: Yankees vs. Guardians, TBD, TBS
Game 3: Astros vs. Mariners, TBD, TBS
Sunday, October 16th
Game 4: Yankees vs. Guardians (if necessary), TBD, TBS
Game 4: Astros vs. Mariners 4 (if necessary), TBD, TBS
Game 5: Braves vs. Phillies (if necessary), TBD, FS1
Game 5: Dodgers vs. Padres (if necessary), TBD, FS1
Monday, October 17th
Game 5: Yankees vs. Guardians (if necessary), TBD, TBS
Game 5: Astros vs. Mariners (if necessary), TBD, TBS
The 2022 MLB regular season has come to an end, and with some recent major changes within the Royals organization, including the firing of Mike Matheny, there is finally a glimmer of hope visible for Kansas City fans. But for now, the Royals’ season is done for the year, and the world of Major League Baseball turns its attention to the playoffs. The Wild Card Series begins today, and MLB has released the schedule for the series taking place throughout the weekend. All times Eastern.
Friday, October 7th
Rays @ Guardians, Game 1, 12:07 p.m., ESPN
Phillies @ Cardinals, Game 1, 2:07 p.m., ABC
Mariners @ Blue Jays, Game 1, 4:07 p.m., ESPN
Padres @ Mets, Game 1, 8:07 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, October 8th
Rays @ Guardians, Game 2, 12:07 p.m., ESPN2
Mariners @ Blue Jays, Game 2, 4:07 p.m., ESPN
Padres @ Mets, Game 2, 7:37 p.m., ESPN
Phillies @ Cardinals, Game 2, 8:37 p.m., ESPN2
Sunday, October 9th
Mariners @ Blue Jays, Game 3, 2:07 p.m., ABC (if necessary)
Rays @ Guardians, Game 3, 4:07 p.m., ESPN (if necessary)
Padres @ Mets, Game 3, 7:37 p.m., ESPN (if necessary)
Phillies @ Cardinals, Game 3, 8:37 p.m., ESPN2 (if necessary)
Times for Game 3 on Sunday are subject to change, depending on whether all games are needed, and if not, which ones are left.
The openers of all four AL and NL Division Series are scheduled for Tuesday, October 11th. The NLCS will then begin on Tuesday, October 18th, and the ALCS is set to begin on Wednesday, October 19th. Game One of the World Series will take place on Friday, October 28th.
My freshman year of high school, I played on the JV softball team. But whenever the JV team wasn’t playing, I was effectively the backup 2nd baseman for the varsity team. And while this meant I got to travel with the team for varsity tournaments, it also meant I rode the bench a lot for those games.
One game, we found ourselves without a scorekeeper. There were no parents willing to do it (or who knew how), and the JV coach was acting as 1st base coach for this varsity contest. Faced with limited options, the varsity coach called me over, sat me down with the scorebook, and gave me a crash course in scorekeeping. For the rest of the year, I also became the backup scorekeeper for the varsity team. From my sophomore year on, when I was a true member of the varsity squad, I became the backup scorekeeper for the JV team.
Equipped with this new know-how, I began keeping score whenever I’d listen to Royals games on the radio late at night in my room. My pencil-and-spiral-notebook system of scorekeeping was a much-simplified system compared to what I knew could be done in a true scorebook, but I still found it a great way to stay engaged with the ballgame.
My habit of keeping score for Royals games became sporadic, at best, after graduating high school, until the practice became virtually nonexistent. Today, however, I sat down with a notebook in the minutes prior to the start of the Royals-Mariners contest and I created that same, crude little table I used to make on those late nights as a teenager. I filled in the lineups for both teams, and as the game commenced, I tracked the results of each at-bat.
The ghost runner didn’t exist the last time I scored a game, so that was a new experience — I created the not-so-imaginative notation “GR” to note the ghost runner. I really thought I was going to have to start a new page when I used up the last player spot for Royals pinch hitters, but the conclusion of the game in the 12th sadly prevented that from becoming a necessity.
I’m pretty heartbroken that the Royals ended up losing in extra innings (and got swept by Seattle in the process). But I rediscovered how much I enjoy keeping score and the act of watching every at-bat with so much intent. I definitely need to reignite this practice as a habit, and hopefully it won’t take too long before I get to score a Royals ‘W’.
Personally, I don’t like the term ‘success.’ It’s too arbitrary and too relative a thing. It’s usually someone else’s definition, not yours.
~Ichiro Suzuki
On May 18, 2004, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson threw a perfect game, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-0 at Turner Field in Atlanta before a crowd of 23,381. Johnson, at 40 years old, was the oldest pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game, surpassing Cy Young who was 37 when he threw his perfect game in 1904. The game was also Johnson’s second career no-hitter, the first taking place on June 2, 1990 against the Detroit Tigers when Johnson was pitching for the Seattle Mariners.
I enjoyed watching Edgar Martinez play while growing up. I would say that watching and hearing about Edgar was how I truly came to understand what a designated hitter was.