Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

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OrangeSAM
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by OrangeSAM »

TenPoundHammer wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 2:10 pm
seaborgium wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:12 am
TenPoundHammer wrote: Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:45 pm I also thought the Rowling category was extremely YEKIOYD. I doubt anyone's gonna know the Snitch or Dementors unless they're a superdork who's read every book 500 times.
I got the Snitch and Dementors without having read or watched a Harry Potter installment in its entirety. I knew the Snitch was an important item in Quidditch, and I knew Dementors were a thing in the HP universe without knowing exactly what they were, and their respective clues spurred me to guess them.
I actually read the first four books and while I remember a surprising amount of details, I don't remember the Dementors.
Hey, look at the bright side: only 499 tomes to go! :P
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Peter the accountant »

R: 35, W: 3, costing 4000
Coryat: 25,800
FJ: :mrgreen:
DD: 3/3
LT: Rolaids, blown save, Braves, Jerusalem, Paul, Army Corps of Engineers, (esprit de corps), alb

The play time of the game wasn't significantly different from an average. (6:43 for J!, 6:34 for DJ) So even though they were going to get all 61 clues revealed, it didn't take any unusually creative work in the edit bay to get there.

I didn't realize it until I scored my game, but I ran the Corps category. 4/5 in baseball and Bible Women. Fell for the adverb negbait at the bottom of A-B.

My gut reaction to FJ was LBJ, then had to spend 25 seconds trying to figure out if it was wrong. Quickly eliminated Ford (lost the election) and Truman (FDR died too soon in his last term). Wondered about Teddy Roosevelt, but time ran out about then. Forgot there was another one to consider.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Anachronism »

trainman wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:59 pm
CasketRomance wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:35 ami have actually found so far this year that on nationally televised games, the breaks between half innings are shorter than in the previous years...
Yes, that's a change they made to speed up the game this season, along with limiting the number of mound visits.

Have you been to an MLB game in the past few years? There are clocks in the stadium to time the between-inning breaks now (something that was previously added to speed up the game -- they're just putting a bit less time on those clocks this season).
I think it's been about 15 years for me. And I've probably been to about 200 in my life. I mostly enjoyed going, but that was predicated on knowing the players. The telecasts simply became unbearable and I stopped knowing all the local players. You can get up and do something between innings. But it's constant delays in-game. Part of it is the game slows to a crawl just when it should become most exciting. And part of it is telecasts are really poorly done. No imagination. Just constant closeups of people chewing and chewing and dribbling and chewing and spitting up. Just because you have the technology to give fans a 100x closeup of the texture of some manager's enormous wad of sticky chewing gum doesn't mean you have to do it ten thousand times an hour. If I enjoyed that stuff, I would have paid more attention at mealtimes when my son was a baby. Eventually, you teach them to chew with their mouths closed. I'm not sure baseball players have parents.

Each sport probably has a different ideal length. I love watching the World Cup in soccer because they just play. And then I can turn it off it gets annoying because one team is stalling to shorten the clock. But if they broke it up with commercials or "goalkeeper conferences" every five minutes, I'd probably give it up entirely. Hockey is really good about limiting delays - plus each team only gets one time out the entire game. Basketball is almost as bad as baseball.

I grew to love baseball when the average game was under 2:30. Now it's over 3:00. I don't think slightly shorter inning breaks is going to cut it. This will require a complete culture change and some hard work to undo all the damage done by technology.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Bamaman »

For years I watched every Braves game on TV and watched the playoffs and followed the game in general.

But I haven’t watched any in several years. I couldn’t tell you who any of the top players are. Part of that is due to lifestyle changes. But the game has changed for me. Interleague play has ruined the mystique of the All Star Game and World Series. The separate leagues used to mean something, now they are just names.

Last year, they eliminated the intentional walk being something you had to throw four pitches to do. Now, the minors are starting extra innings with a man on second base.

Guess I’m just an old fogey, but it has passed me by and I miss it.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by CasketRomance »

tiwonge wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:31 pm
Anachronism wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:28 am Quidditch, the imaginary pastime of elite Brits, generated plenty of enthusiasm and a full run. I did give my son a copy of the Hogwarts collection when he was younger. It's really good stuff compared to most YA. You don't need to have read the books 500 times to get those questions - they were pretty basic to the series.
Imaginary, you say? We've got a quidditch team here at the university, and they play tournaments against teams from other universities.
indeed...middlebury college used to rule the quidditch world until uni of michigan somehow won the national championship to dethrone them a few years back
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Anachronism »

CasketRomance wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:07 pm
tiwonge wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:31 pm
Anachronism wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:28 am Quidditch, the imaginary pastime of elite Brits, generated plenty of enthusiasm and a full run. I did give my son a copy of the Hogwarts collection when he was younger. It's really good stuff compared to most YA. You don't need to have read the books 500 times to get those questions - they were pretty basic to the series.
Imaginary, you say? We've got a quidditch team here at the university, and they play tournaments against teams from other universities.
indeed...middlebury college used to rule the quidditch world until uni of michigan somehow won the national championship to dethrone them a few years back

I'm a purist. If you're not flying through the air and breaking multiple bones in pursuit of the snitch, it's not real imaginary quidditch.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by mxc_takeshi »

38 right.

Rowling (4), Landmarks (3), Dorm Life (1), Stitch (4), Saves (4), 9-Letter Words (3)
Science (1), Dual Citizens (4), South America (5), Women in the Bible (3), Corps (3), A to B (3)

Lach Trash: Plymouth Rock, Rolaids, blown save, Hiroshima, Atlanta Braves, St. Paul, alb

Instaget FJ.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by twelvefootboy »

Bamaman wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:51 am
But I haven’t watched any in several years. I couldn’t tell you who any of the top players are. Part of that is due to lifestyle changes. But the game has changed for me. Interleague play has ruined the mystique of the All Star Game and World Series. The separate leagues used to mean something, now they are just names.

Last year, they eliminated the intentional walk being something you had to throw four pitches to do. Now, the minors are starting extra innings with a man on second base.
I'm just poaching this baseball thread, which reflects my dismay as well. I could fix baseball and make it watchable. First thing is to throw out the idea that nothing can be changed because of "tradition". We don't miss leather helmets in football or the 17 yard PAT. I like the little tweaks MLB has made and don't miss the separate leagues. I really like the end of the "neighborhood" play and the phantom tag.

The downhill slide began with the "bullpen by committee" tactics of Whitey Herzog (I think). My rule - a pitcher stays in the game until he gives up a baserunner. If a reliever is injured first, walk a batter and you get to make a change. At least you get some potential action for your wasted time.
Next - eliminate sign stealing. There's no entertainment value in this constant arms race. Solve it with technology - buzzers in the socks or whatever.
Consider this rule - if you take a 2-0 or 3-0 called strike you now have two strikes. If the pitcher "wastes" a pitch on 0-2, it counts as two balls. Umpires - call the actual strike zone; technology has helped on this.
I'm not sure what to do about the modern trend of strikeout/HR with uppercut swings, but it's probably OK for the game if it JUST GOES FASTER!!
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

twelvefootboy wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:01 pm Consider this rule - if you take a 2-0 or 3-0 called strike you now have two strikes. If the pitcher "wastes" a pitch on 0-2, it counts as two balls.
Don't like it at all. The goal of a batter is to get on base and the goal of the pitcher is to keep batters off base, so why would we want to discourage batters and pitchers from maximizing their ability to achieve these goals?
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by twelvefootboy »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:38 am
twelvefootboy wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:01 pm Consider this rule - if you take a 2-0 or 3-0 called strike you now have two strikes. If the pitcher "wastes" a pitch on 0-2, it counts as two balls.
Don't like it at all. The goal of a batter is to get on base and the goal of the pitcher is to keep batters off base, so why would we want to discourage batters and pitchers from maximizing their ability to achieve these goals?
But swinging at strikes and throwing strikes is the job description. This wrinkle was made up on the spot when I thought about the moments I dread in a baseball game. A time of play analysis would probably not justify messing with it. That said, I absolutely dread the 0-2 count and the inevitable slog to 1-2. Sometimes something happens, usually not. Likewise on 3-0, although this crop of players probably is sitting on a pitch that comes into their wheelhouse. (deep thought - Why is it called "taking" a pitch when you don't intend to hit it? )

I encountered something similar playing adult men's softball (not remotely like baseball) where every batter starts with a 1-1 count. Huge improvement to the game flow at virtually no opportunity cost.

The game COULD be fixed. But it won't be. Baseball is headed to Boxing, Horse Racing, and Tennis obscurity (and my beloved Track and Field). BTW - I can fix football too - helmets with 2-3" foam shells so everybody looks like a Q-tip. It would look stupid for a while, and in a generation, the old highlights will look like leather helmets or baseball gloves with no thumbs.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Anachronism »

I agree that baseball is on a path to relative obscurity along with a lot of sports. Still don't like the rule proposal - if you're really going to take every 0-2 pitch, that's a great opportunity to try and hit a corner. Why remove the advantage gained by aggressive pitching? It would just add to the slog in the long run. Plus, whatever baseball has left is in major part due to its consistency. A rule change like that would alter the year-to-year numbers and take even more people out of the game (just like the juice era did when they altered the baseballs and force-fed steroids to most players).

The key in reducing game time is in reducing time between pitches. Batters who leave the batter's box get a strike called. Pitchers who refuse to throw the ball get a ball called. No catcher conferences without that mound trip charged. No more commercials with a pitching change - you're warm, you get three warmup pitches and that's it. If a manager leaves the dugout and it's not a charged mound trip, he's ejected. If a player argues with an umpire, he's ejected. If a cameraperson lingers on gratuitous mastication, mouth wide open, he or she is ejected as well.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Volante »

twelvefootboy wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:05 pm
This Is Kirk! wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:38 am
twelvefootboy wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:01 pm Consider this rule - if you take a 2-0 or 3-0 called strike you now have two strikes. If the pitcher "wastes" a pitch on 0-2, it counts as two balls.
Don't like it at all. The goal of a batter is to get on base and the goal of the pitcher is to keep batters off base, so why would we want to discourage batters and pitchers from maximizing their ability to achieve these goals?
But swinging at strikes and throwing strikes is the job description. This wrinkle was made up on the spot when I thought about the moments I dread in a baseball game. A time of play analysis would probably not justify messing with it. That said, I absolutely dread the 0-2 count and the inevitable slog to 1-2. Sometimes something happens, usually not. Likewise on 3-0, although this crop of players probably is sitting on a pitch that comes into their wheelhouse. (deep thought - Why is it called "taking" a pitch when you don't intend to hit it? )


The game COULD be fixed. But it won't be. Baseball is headed to Boxing, Horse Racing, and Tennis obscurity (and my beloved Track and Field). BTW - I can fix football too - helmets with 2-3" foam shells so everybody looks like a Q-tip. It would look stupid for a while, and in a generation, the old highlights will look like leather helmets or baseball gloves with no thumbs.
Not quite the job description. Getting balls in play includes making contact on what would otherwise be a ball defines the batter. Preventing the batter from putting the ball in play defines the pitcher. If the pitcher can fake out the batter making him swing at balls in the dirt, that's part of the job description too.

A 3-0 count isn't as cut and dried as you may think either:
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/ ... e-sluggers
Pitchers have thrown a ball 33% of the time in a 3-0 count. And even if they throw a strike, a 3-1 count is still an advantage for the hitter
2-3" of foam isn't enough of a crumple zone for the NFL either. As long as the brain keeps moving after the skull stops, it'll have the same problem as every other helmet.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by opusthepenguin »

A hitter should be measured by his success in that which he is trying to do, and that which he is trying to do is create runs. It is startling, when you think about it, how much confusion there is about this. I find it remarkable that, in listing offenses, the league will list first--meaning best--not the team which scored the most runs, but the team with the highest batting average. It should be obvious that the purpose of an offense is not to compile a high batting average.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Volante »

opusthepenguin wrote: Fri Apr 13, 2018 10:21 am A hitter should be measured by his success in that which he is trying to do, and that which he is trying to do is create runs. It is startling, when you think about it, how much confusion there is about this. I find it remarkable that, in listing offenses, the league will list first--meaning best--not the team which scored the most runs, but the team with the highest batting average. It should be obvious that the purpose of an offense is not to compile a high batting average.
  • Bill James - 3rd annual Baseball Abstract, 1979
True...don't need to get hits to get runs...
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bbird »

Anachronism wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:21 pm If a cameraperson lingers on gratuitous mastication, mouth wide open, he or she is ejected as well.
I'm picturing a literal ejector seat catapulting the cameraperson out of the stadium.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by twelvefootboy »

Volante wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:29 pm
A 3-0 count isn't as cut and dried as you may think either:
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/ ... e-sluggers
Pitchers have thrown a ball 33% of the time in a 3-0 count. And even if they throw a strike, a 3-1 count is still an advantage for the hitter
According to the citation, it's exactly as cut and dried as I thought. Batters swing 7% of the time and it is very controversial when they do. The walk ratio is slightly higher than I thought, maybe the data includes the "intentional unintentional walks". (edit- on re-read, it does indeed - it should be filtered for the first base open runners on base scenario). If he's willing to groove the pitch, I give MLB pitchers a 90+% success rate. I'm fine with a skilled batter drawing a walk, just do it faster. I even like watching great pitches fouled off in the process.

I would not like to see phantom waves at pitches to avoid the double strike pitch, so I'm not that sold on it. I'd love to see different game strategies, and Bill James can easily catch up. Remember how much fun stolen bases were before the sabermetricians got involved?

These are just musings, and a moderator will probably spank us soon, so I'll go dead.
Volante wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:29 pm 2-3" of foam isn't enough of a crumple zone for the NFL either. As long as the brain keeps moving after the skull stops, it'll have the same problem as every other helmet.
There's a lot going on in the sub-concussive mode as well. It's not just motion but also shock waves which I assume the suspension is designed to mitigate. I'm sure the designers and engineers can make good use of a 2" exterior shell whether it's urethane foam or spray on hair. If you have an additional 4" (both players in helmet to helmet), you can go from 30 mph to zero with about 6 g's in 3 milliseconds (hasty calculation advisory). I'd worry more about potential neck injury from the extra leverage of a big dome (whiplash).
What I'd really like is a rule makes offending corners and safeties (and Gronk) have to wear bigger and bigger dunce helmets each time they lead with their helmet :lol: . When they play a full game without an infraction, they can go back to the next size helmet.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

I've got to say I like the automatic intentional walk. It just seemed so wrong when I first heard about it, but in practice it simply keeps the game moving.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Volante »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 13, 2018 1:32 pm I've got to say I like the automatic intentional walk. It just seemed so wrong when I first heard about it, but in practice it simply keeps the game moving.
Blah. It's not that much faster. Plus it's great when either the pitcher turns it into a wild pitch and a run scores OR the hitter just reaches across and puts the ball in play anyway. Crazy baseball is best baseball.

What's really killer, IMO, is all the live inning pitching changes. Mid-innings are okay, but that's a 3-5 minute sink if a batter's up.

I had the pleasure of being at a 2 hour game three years ago:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxe ... 5210.shtml
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

Volante wrote: Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:01 pm What's really killer, IMO, is all the live inning pitching changes. Mid-innings are okay, but that's a 3-5 minute sink if a batter's up.
Agreed. It might be a hard sell, but maybe they need a hard limit on the total number of pitching changes allowed during a nine inning game.
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Re: Monday, April 9, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Volante »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:41 pm
Volante wrote: Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:01 pm What's really killer, IMO, is all the live inning pitching changes. Mid-innings are okay, but that's a 3-5 minute sink if a batter's up.
Agreed. It might be a hard sell, but maybe they need a hard limit on the total number of pitching changes allowed during a nine inning game.
They have put a cap on visits that don't result in a change, so that's a start.

Also, we need bullpen carts back.
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