Yeah, fans may not like them, and they were rightfully punished, but you have to respect what the Astros are doing. No Verlander, no Cole, no Hinch, and they’re back in the ALCS.
I respect NOTHING. Because if they win the 2020 World Series, in this ridiculous year, after getting caught blatantly cheating, it is officially proof we're in a simulation.Yeah, fans may not like them, and they were rightfully punished, but you have to respect what the Astros are doing. No Verlander, no Cole, no Hinch, and they’re back in the ALCS.
It might be about the Rays.I don’t think Michael Lewis will ever be writing a Moneyball sequel.
2020 sucksPotential exists for today being YED.
Make it happen, make it so.
Never pitched on 3 days rest, right?Cole has dominated Tampa in his last three postseason starts against them going back to last year. Tampa missed their chance tonight.
Yes it does and to make things worse,. the Yankees have their ace going tomorrow.2020 sucks
This Braves team is kind of funwrong thread
but if i were to say some, it would be that Braves, Dodgers, Astros, Yankees would be exceptionally boring
Yeah, that would be my rooting interestThis Braves team is kind of fun
Freddie Freeman seems like a genuinely likeable guy. And a good story, starting the season with a bad case of CVYeah, that would be my rooting interest
Yup, that's my team from here on out, if tonight's score holds up, it's shaping up to be a great series.Yeah, that would be my rooting interest
No other games today. Already a game thread for this game. terrynever and jon abbey are very classy for allowing us in there. Wingack and Pride and Coup and Brand Name are good people, too.No game thread today was weird, but you can’t argue with results. Happy YED (almost) everyone!
The only reason there in is because of the expanded playoffs. I hope you're not forgetting they were 2 games under .500Yeah, fans may not like them, and they were rightfully punished, but you have to respect what the Astros are doing. No Verlander, no Cole, no Hinch, and they’re back in the ALCS.
Not that I necessarily disagree with your overall premise, but how many of the playoff games so far were commentated on by announcers not physically in the ballpark? I know ESPN was using a lot of remote commentators during the first round, and there's really no way to judge how hard a ball is hit and whether or not it's going to leave the park when you're not there in person to hear the bat crack and follow the trajectory. Certainly, you'd much rather sound surprised by a ball leaving the yard than the other way around - making a shallow fly to right sound like a homer off the bat. (I'm due to call my first remote baseball games at the Olympics in Tokyo, and this absolutely frightens the heck out of me.)I've watched a half dozen playoff games and in just about every one there's been a ball hit that carried out of the park that shocked the announcers. The ball's juiced. Get your head out of your ass, Rob Manfred and return a semblance of balance to the game.
Just listen to some old Jerry Trupiano audio, you'll be fineNot that I necessarily disagree with your overall premise, but how many of the playoff games so far were commentated on by announcers not physically in the ballpark? I know ESPN was using a lot of remote commentators during the first round, and there's really no way to judge how hard a ball is hit and whether or not it's going to leave the park when you're not there in person to hear the bat crack and follow the trajectory. Certainly, you'd much rather sound surprised by a ball leaving the yard than the other way around - making a shallow fly to right sound like a homer off the bat. (I'm due to call my first remote baseball games at the Olympics in Tokyo, and this absolutely frightens the heck out of me.)
I don't know. I guess I thought most of them were in the park but I'm not sure.Not that I necessarily disagree with your overall premise, but how many of the playoff games so far were commentated on by announcers not physically in the ballpark? I know ESPN was using a lot of remote commentators during the first round, and there's really no way to judge how hard a ball is hit and whether or not it's going to leave the park when you're not there in person to hear the bat crack and follow the trajectory. Certainly, you'd much rather sound surprised by a ball leaving the yard than the other way around - making a shallow fly to right sound like a homer off the bat. (I'm due to call my first remote baseball games at the Olympics in Tokyo, and this absolutely frightens the heck out of me.)
The really stupid part is that no one takes advantage of the extreme shifts by bunting for hits. I won't be able to list the examples, but I noticed this failure time and again in this series.This style of baseball with almost every batter try to jack the ball out of the park and every pitcher trying to K every hitter is boring.
Yes.The really stupid part is that no one takes advantage of the extreme shifts by bunting for hits. I won't be able to list the examples, but I noticed this failure time and again in this series.
I think it's a chicken and egg thing to an extent, most of these pitchers are too good to string together three runners against, homers are the only way teams can score against them. Look at Verlander last year or Cole this year, most of the runs they allowed were on homers. You can say that this is because everyone just goes for homers now, but they do that in large part because elite pitchers are that good.Rob Manfred and his juiced ball have funneled all the possible strategies down into one option. Duel of the launch angles! Appointment viewing!
It’s now a game of the Three Boring Outcomes, the three plays where no one on the field ever runs or even hurries.Yes.
And, I'll blather some more. To me, the most interesting games in any sport are when two organizations with different conceptions of how to play clash. In baseball, those 1980's Cardinal teams playing the Mets of that era. The early 2000's moneyball Red Sox against the "productive out" Angels of that time. The 1990 Giants against the 1990 Bills. The spread the wealth across the roster, outdoor team Patriots against the pay for Peyton and his weapons dome Colts. Etc etc etc.
But when the ball is juiced, there's pretty much only one way to play. There's no significant difference in offensive philosophy between any two teams. And why should there be? You'd be stupid to be sacrificing and moving guys over if your team is likely to hit 240 homers. You'd be stupid to be focused on stealing bases when your team is going to hit 240 homers. You'd be stupid to not make 4 - 5 pitching changes a game when the average opponent you face is going to hit 240 homers and take your starter deep if you let him face their batters a third time.
Rob Manfred and his juiced ball have funneled all the possible strategies down into one option. Duel of the launch angles! Appointment viewing!
Hitters are ahead of the pitchers this early in the season
My impression is that the Rays won with better relief pitching. Not that the Brousseau (sp?) HR wasn't key, but they way that Chapman pitched, and the way that Sanchez received the ball in that inning were even more important. (I missed one of the games owing to a power outage, but that is the way I saw the others.)Hitters are ahead of the pitchers this early in the season