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If Brasier has an option left, this is easy IMO…

Sean Kazmar. 13 years between games. That’s the Braves infielder I couldn’t think of…

But Minoso would just reappear to play in more decades. That was straight up PR stuff and not a guy making a serious comeback or displaying any measure of persistence….

Yeah that’s the point. The list of players who went 7 years between MLB appearances is extremely short. Maybe just Bard and that Braves’ utility infielder from a couple years ago who went (I think) 11 years. But unlike Bard, that guy was a minor leaguer the whole time. Bard was completely out of organized baseball save a couple dozen minor league innings in 2016-17…

It did look like Bard was instrumental in the 2011 collapse as he posted a 6.95 ERA over the last 2 months of the season, but his FIP and .650 OPSA suggest he may have pitched better. At any rate, the guy took a borderline unprecedented hiatus of 7 years between MLB games, pitching on very briefly in the minors for the Mets and Cardinals. That he was able to come back at all was pretty remarkable. That he took so long to come back probably indicates more physical issues than anything else. Plenty of other closers had brief flirtations with the rotation that ended badly. But none needed 7 years to get back in the game. He went to the rotation because he wanted to and because the Sox wouldn’t pay for starters, opting instead to deal for closers like Andy Bailey. He flopped miserably. But good for him for bouncing back. And it’s really fun to think he has now outlasted former college teammate Andrew Miller in MLB…

That website maybe isn’t trustworthy in that it lists Penn State as an Ivy League school. Penn State is in the Big 10 and is a state school. University of Pennsylvania - a completely different school - is in the Ivy League, and is not a state school but a private institution.

… and causes concussions at a far greater rate than the other sports…

It replaces the old WAFL - Wins Above Felipe Lopez…

Vazquez and Arauz both out with COVID. Refsnyder to join Hernandez in Boston. The Rob Refsnyder Era begins…

So are they both coming up? If so, that probably means Vazquez was exposed….

The NBA will always be in the running as long as Kyrie Irving is still active. I will put this out there - I bet MLB gets more grads/alum from Ivy League schools than the NFL and NBA. I have no data to back this up, however…

B&M Baked Beans!!!

So… Vazquez or Wong?

Houck? Verdugo?

In fact, I think “Ghost Runner” would make for a great baseball-themed coming of age movie. Picture the trailer - a young Jarren Duran (played by Charlie Tahan) on the Worcester Red Sox breaks for second base. When halfway there he sees the ghost of the Stolen Base King himself!! “Stop Jarren!” “Rickey? Rickey Henderson? Did you die? I thought you were still alive!” “Rickey’s alive. Rickey is just sick of watching other people break Rickey’s records!” “But you were the greatest. Teach me!” So Spirit Rickey (played by Morris Chestnut) and Jarren going on Training Montage where Rickey runs through walls while Jarren slams into them hard. And they do all kinds of weird exercises. Then they have another montage where they go and try on hats while the soundtrack blares “Semi-Charmed Life,” because no one who has ever used that song in a movie has listened to the lyrics. Anyway, Rickey teaches Jarren to Use the Course, mostly for reasons related to copyrights. Jarren succeeds as goes to Fenway. In the last scene, just as Jarren is called up to the plate, we see Spirit Rickey in the stands, where he is joined by Real Rickey!! Jarren promptly fouls a pitch at them, which Spirit Rickey tries to catch, but it passes through his hands and strikes Real Rickey - killing him instantly. A Second Spirit Rickey emerges from the deceased body, thus spawning multiple opportunities for dual-ghost themed titles for the sequel. Whaddaya think?

Boo! I like the term “Ghost Runner.” It gives a touch of the macabre. I would also accept Phantom Runner, and maybe even Shadow Runner. But Freebie Runner sounds like it was coined by 6 year olds…

Not true. A lot of them wind up on the Phantom IL….

Again, true. Obviously the Jays are 100% vaxxed. As I said before, the scenario that the Sox have to play game 7 in Toronto isn’t wholly unrealistic. So what do they do if it’s Tanner’s turn in the rotation?

That’s certainly influenced by an abbreviated spring training. MLB has tried to help teams in this regard with 2 extra roster spots (used almost exclusively for pitchers) for the first month, and also with the use of ghost runners…

True. The vaccine doesn’t hermetically seal your body to prevent the ingress of foreign viruses; it just sets up your defenses if they come. (I welcome/encourage any and all corrections from medical personnel.)

Holy crap iortiz. 5 pitchers on IL and 6 players postponed!

Bold prediction -he won’t finish there. But I still think this was a smart trade for multiple reasons…

You sure Margo couldn’t cook? She had to be able to do something right to land a Hall of Famer and future star of Swamp Shark. Not like she was all that attractive…

I don’t know. Did he ever do that? Are we going to impose our standards on him? The Chickens and Beer crowd didn’t even watch games. Is that really a big deal?

I just don’t like the “he was sulking in the dugout while Jeter was diving into the stands” story. First of all, could Jeter have taken more steps between his catch and dive? The only players I’ve ever seen catch a ball and run further before jumping into the stands all just caught TD passes from Aaron Rodgers. Second, Nomar was injured. That’s why he was out in the dugout and probably why he was upset. But hey, Steve “The Pointless Vendetta” Buckley didn’t think that made for a good story…