MLB World Series 2018: Eh. Dodgers/Boston. Eh.

[Timby]

So the "court of blog" is enough for you?

It's one thing when Melisa Reidy-Russell's friend says that he beat the tar out of her, but Reidy-Russell declines to cooperate with the investigation (which is common with victims of abuse).

It's another thing when, a year later, Reidy-Russell herself confirms the allegations and goes into detail about just how horrific it was.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It's one thing when Melisa Reidy-Russell's friend says that he beat the tar out of her, but Reidy-Russell declines to cooperate with the investigation (which is common with victims of abuse).

It's another thing when, a year later, Reidy-Russell herself confirms the allegations and goes into detail about just how horrific it was.

A year later, in a fucking blog? If it smells like BS....

Obviously it could all be true, but calling the cops a year or more ago would've been the right thing to do.

Why wait a year? She could be missing the $$$$ of being a major leaguer's wife for all we know.

 

[Timby]

I grew up in a home in which my father was verbally abusive to my mother and physically and verbally abusive to me and my siblings; my mother never said a word to anyone, and it took me breaking down, utterly, one morning at high school after a particularly brutal incident for me to even tell a few of my friends what had happened. When you are victimized and gaslighted, you begin to think that it's all your fault and that you could have prevented it if you had been somehow "better" or whatever. Hell, it took six years of therapy for me to acknowledge that I had had the tar beaten out of me as a child, because I had repressed that shit.

So, yeah, I'm absolutely going to believe Melisa Reidy-Russell's account.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I grew up in a home in which my father was verbally abusive to my mother and physically and verbally abusive to me and my siblings; my mother never said a word to anyone, and it took me breaking down, utterly, one morning at high school after a particularly brutal incident for me to even tell a few of my friends what had happened. When you are victimized and gaslighted, you begin to think that it's all your fault and that you could have prevented it if you had been somehow "better" or whatever. Hell, it took six years of therapy for me to acknowledge that I had had the tar beaten out of me as a child, because I had repressed that shit.

So, yeah, I'm absolutely going to believe Melisa Reidy-Russell's account.

A shame anyone has to go through that, I'm sorry you had to. But, I'm not going to let my lack of that kind of bad experience make me think it can't be the case here, because it obviously does happen. I'm not jumping to a conclusion either way, but the means this woman used (a blog) is always going to seem fishy to me.

We're still letting the court of the internet influence us too much. If she can talk about it in a blog, she should've been able to tell the same story to the cops well before turning it into a social media shitstorm.

 

[Timby]

There's a reason that roughly two-thirds of domestic violence incidents go unreported.

Your "it seems fishy" attitude is part of it.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

There's a reason that roughly two-thirds of domestic violence incidents go unreported.

Your "it seems fishy" attitude is part of it.

What's "fishy" is how some go about reporting it. It's a symptom of where our society is, that social media is the way to do it.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

If she can talk about it in a blog, she should've been able to tell the same story to the cops well before turning it into a social media shitstorm.

Yes, because talking to the police—who often react to accusations of abuse with indifference—is such an easy thing to do. Let’s not presume to tell victims of domestic violence how they should handle their business. I believe Melisa Reidy-Russell, and I’m extremely disappointed that the Cubs chose to drag their feet on this. They’ve known for some time that Russell has anger-management issues. Why is it that he’s being disciplined only now?

What's "fishy" is how some go about reporting it. It's a symptom of where our society is, that social media is the way to do it.

Major League Baseball has acted on the report, which means they likely have information substantiating Ms. Reidy-Russel’s claims. They probably won’t take further action until an investigation is completed, but it seems clear Addison Russell is culpable in this.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Ar-Pharazon, what you're not seeing is the level of fear victims feel, rational or otherwise. Fear of retaliation. Fear of making it public. Fear of actually facing the situation because that makes it all the more real. Even when you're faced with the direct and "easy" path of speaking out against the abuse, that fear overwhelms and overcomes any kind of rational sense. It's not as simple as going to the police and filing a report. There are many good reasons why so many victims take years to report abuse, no matter what form it takes.

I say all of that as someone who is also a victim of child abuse.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I’d like to give a shout out to Khris Davis for his walkoff home run last night. He won’t win the MVP, but he should definitely get some votes. He’s had a great run with the A’s.

 

[Use of Time]

Braves clinch. If you would have told me that Atlanta would not only win the division but run away with it, I’d have called you crazy. I don’t think this team is quite ready to make much noise in the post season but it’s really been enjoyable.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Yeah, same here. Their biggest issue is their rotation, which is still just plain weird to me. I grew up on the Big Three (plus Avery for a few years) when it was their hitting (aside from McGriff) that was often lacking. The complete reversal with today's team continues to throw me off.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Braves clinch. If you would have told me that Atlanta would not only win the division but run away with it, I’d have called you crazy. I don’t think this team is quite ready to make much noise in the post season but it’s really been enjoyable.

Yeah, same here. Their biggest issue is their rotation, which is still just plain weird to me. I grew up on the Big Three (plus Avery for a few years) when it was their hitting (aside from McGriff) that was often lacking. The complete reversal with today's team continues to throw me off.

Congrats to the Braves on clinching the NL East. As a Phillies fan, I’m disappointed to see Philadelphia fall short of the post-season after spending a portion of the season in first place. However, I don’t think the current group would have fared well in the playoffs, so it’s probably just as well they’ll be spending October at home.

 

[Timby]

The Phillies made great strides this year, though, and they have a whole bunch of legitimate talent coming up through the minors. It's not outside the realm of possibility that Sixto Sanchez breaks spring training with the major-league club (at the very worst he's starting the season in AAA), and he's got ace-level stuff, while Adonis Medina absolutely clowned fools in High-A this year. I'm also genuinely interested to see what Adam Haseley and to a lesser extent Alec Bohm can do at the plate; Bohm is more highly ranked but he's got bigger warning signs, while Haseley has every projection of being a corner outfield rock for a decade or more.

I said it before that every executive in the NL should have said, "Oh, shit," when it was announced that Pat Gillick and Andy MacPhail were now in charge of the Phillies' operations, and now their work is beginning to bear fruit.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^I’m very excited about the Phils’ prospects but would like to see Klentak make a run at Machado and/or Harper, as they’re in dire need of a middle-of-the-order bat. Patrick Corbin would also be a nice addition to their starting rotation, whose back end struggled mightily in the second half. Arrieta’s been on the decline since 2015, but his performance this season was somewhat underwhelming.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Should the MVP award be split between first half of the season and second half of the season?

 

[Yanks]

The Phillies will be spending this offseason too... and there is going to be some ripe fruit waiting for someone to pick.

Yanks clinched last night. Almost kept the Red Sox from celebrating in Yankee Stadium but couldn't get the sweep.

I think I'd start Happ in the Wild Card play-in game.

Should be an interesting post season. Not sure the Yankees are going as far as they did last year.

 

[Timby]

Arrieta’s been on the decline since 2015, but his performance this season was somewhat underwhelming.

Arrieta is definitely no longer an ace, but he can still be a valuable part of the rotation. The issue is his approach. When he rediscovered his sinker with the Cubs, he was able to blow people away. But he's lost about 3mph from his sinker, and when you're throwing a fastball at 92 and your changeup at 88, you aren't going to be fooling very many batters anymore. He needs to re-adjust and start pitching to contact as opposed to trying to rack up strikeouts.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^No argument here, though I should point out that the Phillies have the second-worst defense in the National League. Only the Cardinals have been worse. Some of the analytics guys don’t seem to realize that shifts don’t work if infielders can’t actually catch the ball and throw it to the right base.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Wow, every AL playoff team has better record than every NL team.

I wonder how long until baseball gets its "Reseed all the qualified teams" debate like basketball has.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Wow, every AL playoff team has better record than every NL team.

I wonder how long until baseball gets its "Reseed all the qualified teams" debate like basketball has.

The idea of abolishing the leagues and going to a four-division format has been discussed but probably won’t happen unless two teams are added. I wouldn’t mind seeing Montreal get a team, and I think several other cities would support one, as well. I don’t like the idea of abolishing the AL and NL, however.