Game 237 - Lewisberry, Pennsylvania vs. Tokyo, Japan

August 30 at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

A light day of Baseball Phrases from this one, an 18-11 win for Tokyo in the LLWS championship game.

"backs against the wall"
"off the bat, Dylan knew that he left"
"that's a two-strike approach"

Game 234 - Barquisimeto, Venezuela vs. Tokyo, Japan

August 26 at Howard J. Lamade in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

The return of Karl Ravech!













"Kikuchi, painting"
"Good morning, good afternoon and good night"
"Bundle of energy"
"We got somethin' cookin'!"
"Reach out and touch someone single"
"Yeiner Fernandez also, left the building"
"To overshadow the nob" (?)
"A whale of a baseball game"
"The 3-0 threshold" (?)

* Ravech also said after a second-inning single: "good pinch hit home run single...pinch hit home run single."


That's a finalist! We'll let you know if you're a winner at the end of the season, Karl!

Game 233 - Houston Astros at New York Yankees

August 26 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

Day game following a night game in which the Yankees lost 15-1 and the HIGHLIGHT was infielder Brendan Ryan pitching two scoreless innings? Sure, it's time for another Mute Mix!


Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Brahms Symphony No. 2
Bela Fleck - Daybreak
Dave Matthews Band - Live at Irving Plaza, 7/28/94
Har Mar Superstar - random tracks
Radiohead - The Bends
Miles Davis - Live at Carnegie Hall
Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire
Jelly Roll Morton & James Johnson - Jelly & James


By the way, Wednesday's highlight? Brendan Ryan's two scoreless innings from Tuesday.

Game 232 - Bonita, California vs. Bowling Green, Kentucky

August 25 at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

A few Baseball Phrases/Nonsense from this one, an 11-3 win for Bonita.

Karl Ravech

"He went yard on a granny"
"Swinging for the downs"
"Having a convo"
"Two 2-0 titans clashing on the field"

Also heard:

"Student of the game"
"Bringing the gas"

Game 231 - Houston Astros at New York Yankees

August 25 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

Game 230 - St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks

August 24 at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ
ESPN

Baseball phrases, nothing but Baseball phrases! tonight. 


Let's take a look at a spectacular night from the ESPN crew:

"he's a heart and soul guy"
"change the culture"
"demanding respect"
"passing of the torch"
"to the tune of a .500 record"
"he finds a way to the grass"
"I'm gonna let the hands do the work"
"a guy who can rake"
"what a savvy at bat"
"taking a middle oppo approach"


MIDDLE OPPO


"he can have that yes, yes, no mentality"
"good hard 90 out of the box"
"release point"
"answer the bell"
"wiggling out of jams"
"all the wheels are turning here in Arizona"/"trying to keep the wheels churning"
"scoreboard watching"
"those are the things that don't show up in the box score"
"gap shot"

Game 229 - Houston Astros at New York Yankees

August 24 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

Nathan Eovaldi: 8 IP, 4 H, 7 K

Yankees 1, Astros 0

Game 228 - Taylors, SC vs. Bowling Green, KY

August 24 at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

Kentucky stayed alive with a 4-3 win in an elimination game, thanks in large part to Eli Burwash. One of the newest members of the Webb Bobo All Stars got Kentucky started with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, then closed out the victory with a scoreless sixth.

Webb Bobos, continued

Maddox Burr - Kentucky 3B

Nicknames that aren't really nicknames

South Carolina

Kip Johnson - "Kipper"
Braden Buffington - "Buff"
Bradley Lewis - "B-Rad"

Kentucky

Tayshaun Jones - "Tay"

And let's not forget Karl Ravech

The ESPN "broadcaster" said "Surfin' USA!" and "a little 280-foot yard work", which means he's down 0-2 in the count.

Game 227 - Portland, OR vs. Santiago de los Caballero, Dominican Republic

August 24 at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

Quite a day for Emmanuel Rodriguez, the center fielder for the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez hit a pair of solo home runs and went 4-for-4 in DR's 7-3 victory in a consolation game. In three tournament games, Rodriguez went 5 for 6 with four walks in 10 plate appearances.

* During the top of the third, commentator Kyle Peterson said "get on board the bacon train", and we obviously can't let him get away with that.

Game 226 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros

August 23 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX
TBS

Game 225 - Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees

August 23 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

STATS WE DON'T NEED

Take it away, YES:

Brett Gardner
2-for-3 (.667) lifetime
vs. Kyle Crockett

Game 224 - Barquisimeto, Venezuela vs. Kampala, Uganda

August 23 at Volunteer Stadium in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

Baseball Phrase of the Season Nominee

Commentator Joe Belisle:

"Special moments, special players"


Thanks, Joe! We'll let you know soon if you've won!

Game 222 - White Rock, British Columbia vs. Mexicali Baja California, Mexico

Little League World Series opening round
August 21 at Volunteer Stadium in Williamsport, PA
ESPN

The first little league game of the year here at 300 Game Season and it was an excellent one. Daniel Zaragoza was dominant on the mound, then delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth as Mexico won 1-0.

New Webb Bobo All Star Raul Leon started the sixth with a triple and scored the winning run when Zaragoza slapped a single through the hole between third base and shortstop.

Canada starter Matt Wilkinson was also outstanding, striking out 16 in just five innings.

* Prior to the top of the first, ESPN was going through the Canadian lineup and each player was saying who his favorite MLB player. One player's reply: Justin Smoak.

Justin Smoak?!

Are you his son/his nephew/a member of his boy scout troop?!

I understand Canadian baseball fans cheer for the Bluejays, but JUSTIN SMOAK?

Game 221 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Oakland A's

August 19 at O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, CA
Comcast Sportsnet

Game 220 - Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

August 19 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

Time for another Mute Mix!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Shaka Zulu
CSNY - Deja Vu
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Miles Davis - Sorcerer
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Beethoven Symphony No. 6
Chick Corea Akoustic Band - Alive
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
Aretha Franklin - Greatest Hits
Dave Matthews Band - acoustic show, 5/10/95
The Who - Who's Next

Game 219 - Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

August 18 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

In the third inning, Ken Singleton was talking about how Twins' catcher Kurt Suzuki was born in Hawaii and that when Suzuki took a trip to the island this year he found out (Singleton) "they keep track of all the players born in Hawaii."

(Singleton talking about himself) "I thought that was kind of neat."

The people who live in Hawaii follow the baseball careers of people who were born in Hawaii. Is that neat?

And also

Who is 'they'?

Game 218 - Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

August 17 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
WPIX

Game 217 - Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals

August 16 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO
ESPN

The sound was on, but I really didn't listen much or write anything down during the broadcast. Although I have obtained a transcript of one of the booth conversations:

John Kruk: "If you're a pitcher, sometimes giving up a solo home run is better than allowing a walk."

Curt Schilling: "Krukie!"

Game 216 - Arizona Diamondbacks at Atlanta Braves

August 16 at Turner Field in Atlanta, GA
Fox Sports South

Went with a silent broadcast and what I like to call the Mute Mix - tracks from a bunch of great albums - for this one, a 2-1 Braves win in 10 innings (Cameron Maybin walk-off hr).

Jimmy Cliff - Give Thanx
Yes - Close to the Edge
The Cars - Heartbeat City
John Coltrane - Blue Train
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Chicago Symphony - Brahms Symphony No. 2
Pearl Jam - Ten
Mott the Hoople - Greatest Hits
The Who - The Who by the Numbers
The Chief - Surround Sounds

Game 215 - New York Yankees at Toronto Bluejays

August 16 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada
Sportsnet

Games 213 & 214 - New York Yankees at Toronto Bluejays

August 14-15 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada
YES

Carlos Beltran go-ahead, three-run, eighth-inning home run on 8/14, total views (including replays): 40

During 8/15 game: 1


[Last updated 9/23 at approximately 3:15 pm]

Game 212 - Chicago Cubs at Chicago Whitesox

August 14 at US Cellular Field in Chicago, IL
WGN

My first time this season listening to Ken Harrelson. It's always a pleasure, and by 'pleasure' I mean 'the worst part of my day'.

Harrelson's the ultimate homer. He's such a homer you can sometimes hear him keeping his being a homer in check just slightly, then a few seconds later he goes right back to yelling for a rally to continue.

Some Ken Harrelsons from Friday's game, a 6-5 Cubs win.

"Good guys"
(Cubs hit) "Uh oh"
"Don't stop now boys!"
"And we lead it 2-1"
"Atta boy, Gio!"
"There's a strike, didn't get it"
"That pitch was not a strike, called a strike, full count"
"Alright boys, we got to get some wood work going"
 "Ramirez, Sanchez and Soto for us here in our half of the second inning"
"Get in the hole!"
"4-4-0 for them, 2-2-0 for us"
"Come on Adam, pick him up"
"5-7-0 for us, 4-5-0 for them"
"Carlos 2-for-2, picks up our fifth hit"
"And the Sox lead it 5-4, mercy!"
"No activity in our bullpen"
"Atta boy, Tyler"
"We need some runs, boys"
"And you can put it on the board, yes!"
"He gone" (said eight times)


Harrelson also said "you can chuck and duck" and I don't know what that means.

Game 211 - Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants

August 13 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA
NBC Bay Area

Ryan Vogelsong gave a up a home run to Yunel Escobar on the first pitch of the game, but that was it for the Nationals. Vogelsong settled in to pitch five innings and the Giants' bullpen tossed four scoreless, led by a dominant Hunter Strickland (perfect 6th/7th) in a 3-1 victory.

Mike Krukow

We've heard from Krukow before, though Thursday's game he had a couple specific goals. Let's take a look:

1. Mike wants us to know that Stephen Strasburg (6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K) is challenging San Francisco hitters.

"A challenge, get-it-over fastball"
"3-2 challenge fastball"
"A challenge fastball right up above the belt"
"95 mile an hour challenge"

2. He also wants us to know "(Strasburg is) not a bad hitter."

Yes he is, Mike.

He's a pitcher hitting .150/.150/.150 this season and is a .148/.199/.197 career hitter coming into the night. He's the exact definition of a bad hitter.

3. Couple other Krukows:

"He's a little goosey right there"
"Those are macho strike outs"

Game 209 - Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers

August 11 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA
Sportsnet

Vin Scully!












Always nice to get a change of pace and listen to the Vin. 


Some things just sound better coming out of Vin Scully's mouth, such as:

"It looked like a high slider, good bye high slider"
"You have a rabbit like Rollins"
"Into the pavilion"
"So Robinson 2 for 3 with the bat, 0 for 1 with the glove"
"RBIs to you and me, bread and butter to Puig"
"And that'll be that"
"From all of us to all of you, good evening everybody"

Some random thoughts and hilarity as well from Vin, who told us home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor has a bachelor's degree in recreation therapy, and said this about Washington's Anthony Rondon:

"His parents said he started hitting rocks and pine cones and he just never stopped."

I think Vin meant Rondon just never stopped HITTING, as in baseballs with an aluminum/wooden bat. But this sounds like Rondon has never stopped hitting rocks and pine cones. That's hilarious to think about if he's doing it, say, in the clubhouse before games.

Game 208 - New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians

August 11 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH
Fox Sports Indians

Just a real quick thought from this five-hour pudding fight, which the Indians won in 16 innings.

Cleveland 3B Giovanny Urshela made a nice play on a ground ball by Brett Gardner in the fourth, ranging to his right and jumping to throw out the speedy/once really speedy/am I speedy? Gardner by a step. I don't know the names of the Cleveland announcers, but one of them said this during one of the 11 replays they showed: "that's a very athletic play."

They're all athletic plays.

It's right there in the name: MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball.

If this was 25-over Poughkeepsie Adult League Baseball, then you could blurt that out, sure. Tommy Michonelli and his 33-year old knees making that play is probably an entirely different story.

Games 206-207 - Toronto Bluejays at New York Yankees

August 8/9 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

Is six hits, all singles, in 18 offensive innings good?

I feel like that might be pretty darn good.

Game 203 - Boston Redsox at New York Yankees

August 5 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

Good night for 21-year old Luis Severino, who made his major league debut for the Yankees and pitched five innings of one-earned run ball, striking out seven. Unfortunately, Stephen Wright's knuckle ball was better (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 9 K) in a 2-1 Boston win.

Yes, Wright throws a knuckle ball. "Knuckle ball", "Knuckle balls", "Knuckler", "Knuckle baller", those four things were said 23 times in Wright's eight half-innings of work, an average of nearly three per inning.

Also: John Flaherty called Mike Napoli getting hit by a pitch in the seventh inning "old school".

Sir, what are you talking about?

Getting hit by pitches is old school?!

"This current generation of players, they don't get hit with pitches like they used to. That's old school!"

And will close this one out by taking a look at some intense cotton candy guzzling (ICCG).














Game 202 - Seattle Mariners at Colorado Rockies

August 5 at Coors Field in Denver, CO
ROOT Sports

The Rockies' scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game against Fernando Rodney, then Michael McKenry hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th off Mayckol Guaipe for a 7-5 win.

It was the second come back for Colorado as right fielder Carlos Gonzalez launched a long, three-run home in the sixth to tie things up at 3-3. Gonzalez's nickname is "CarGo", and how do we know this? Because the Rockies' announcers, Drew Goodman & George Frazier, say it constantly. Let's take a look at Wednesday afternoon's CarGo count.


Total CarGos: 47
[42 in nine innings, 5 in extra innings]

Average CarGos/inning: 4.2
[4.6 average in nine innings]

Number of times said during second-inning at bat: 11

Some CarGos

"CarGo going to cruise into second"
"CarGo hitting .280"
"Bump in the road in the sixth, a three-run home run by CarGo"
"This ball lined toward CarGo"
"CarGo's on deck"/"You have CarGo on deck"/On deck, CarGo" (all said during an eighth inning at bat by Nolan Arenado)
"In the air to CarGo in right, he's got it"
"Not a bad time for CarGo to bunt"

Game 201 - Boston Redsox at New York Yankees

August 4 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
MASN & YES Network

First, I'd like to come clean and say that I originally wrote Boston Tedsox, instead of Boston Redsox, so I'm going to continue to call them the Tedsox. It's only fair to guys named Ted/Red. And it's also great because

1. It isn't the actual name of the team, and it's really funny to mispronounce their name (other good examples include Fredsox, Holysox, Beverlysox)
2. Tedsox is actually a better nickname than Redsox


Final score: Yankees 13, Tedsox 3


Alright, let's move on to a segment I like to call DON'T SAY THESE THINGS.

We'll start with MASN for the first three innings, which included color commentator Dennis Eckersley.

"That's decent cheese"
"Gone bridge"


Let's switch over to YES for the final six innings.

Michael Kay, take it far, far away:

"Gives the Yankees a bit of bulge"
"That's a pretty gauky number for the Yankess"

I'm sorry, GAUKY?

Games 198-200: New York Yankees at Chicago Whitesox

July 31-August 2, 2015 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, IL
Comcast Sports Net

Baseball Phrases by Michael and Paul O'Neill

Kay

"He was really geeked up"
"A lot of the game is mental, and if the wiring is frayed you could have problems"
"Heat-seeking missile"
"Bases jammed"

O'Neill

"No-win situation"
"Find grass"
"Power pitchers"