jsnpritchett

The absolute last thing the broadcast needs is footage of Patrick O'Neal in the stands.

He had off-days (either team-based or scheduled rest days) on the 13th, 17th, and 21st--and they're off on Monday, too.

cc @Chico

-0.1 in bWAR and fWAR.

He's just a random guy. I don't think his signing has any bearing one way or the other on any potential trades. He hit .162/.302/.400 last year and struck out 113 times in 210 AB.

Yeah, I was expecting at least a couple of "scheduled off-days" today. Good to see that's not the case!

He's 5 for 12 with 5 singles and 5 K. I don't exactly think that's evidence that he's turned the corner or anything.

For what it's worth, last year after becoming a starter (or bulk guy in one instance) full-time in June, he pitched 91 2/3 IP. Of those innings, they were exactly split between opponents who were (in my opinion) still in contention and those who weren't (including two starts against the A's and one against each of Boston, Baltimore, Kansas City, Detroit, Minnesota, and Texas). In the starts against the non-contenders, he had a 2.17 ERA. Against the contenders, his ERA was 4.92. (Standard caveats about sample sizes apply here, obviously...Just thought it was interesting that those start/bulk appearances coincidentally ended up being the exact same in terms of innings pitched...)

Ha. I was never a fan, unfortunately. Something about him has always bugged me.

Nice win! Tonight's reading material for the bullpen:

I heard him talking about "cousin Tony" a few days ago when he was umping first base (I think?). I thought he was just joking about him being his cousin! Funny to see they really are related.

It's definitely slower-paced than most games this season have been. Not entirely sure why, as there haven't been a ton of walks or runs.

We need him always.