MLB

[Simple Torture]

10 in a row for the BoSox heading into the break. The Ewing Theory Committee is on standby.

[spike]

10 in a row for the BoSox heading into the break. The Ewing Theory Committee is on standby.

[Simple Torture]

How dare you

[lennytheweedwhacker]

NL starting lineup is sick.

So glad they're back to players in their team jerseys

[doug rr]

NL starting lineup is sick.

So glad they're back to players in their team jerseys

are you wearing a buster posey uniform and having a beer?

[lennytheweedwhacker]

NL starting lineup is sick.

So glad they're back to players in their team jerseys

are you wearing a buster posey uniform and having a beer?

Not wearing a shirt and drinking water, so you're not far off.

[doug rr]

NL starting lineup is sick.

So glad they're back to players in their team jerseys

are you wearing a buster posey uniform and having a beer?

Not wearing a shirt and drinking water, so you're not far off.

Pete Alonzo with the opposite field power..you cant teach that

[lennytheweedwhacker]

NL starting lineup is sick.

So glad they're back to players in their team jerseys

are you wearing a buster posey uniform and having a beer?

Not wearing a shirt and drinking water, so you're not far off.

Pete Alonzo with the opposite field power..you cant teach that

You can teach how to spell his name correctly though.

[Matters]

I feel like I follow baseball pretty closely but it’s humbling that there are players in the All-Star game that I’ve never heard of before.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

I feel like I follow baseball pretty closely but it’s humbling that there are players in the All-Star game that I’ve never heard of before.

How often do you think about Andres Galarraga?

[Matters]

I feel like I follow baseball pretty closely but it’s humbling that there are players in the All-Star game that I’ve never heard of before.

How often do you think about Andres Galarraga?

Every 2-8 weeks. What a badass.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

I feel like I follow baseball pretty closely but it’s humbling that there are players in the All-Star game that I’ve never heard of before.

How often do you think about Andres Galarraga?

Every 2-8 weeks. What a badass.

[Matters]

The 1987 All-Star game is a great baseball game from start to finish. If you’re bored one day and want something to do, give it a watch. Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola on the call. The game starts about 30 minutes in.

[lvc]

1) That Schwarber home run to clinch the swing-off or whatever they called it was pretty awesome. To get three swings--at BP speed after facing actual MLB pitchers--and hit three home runs is super clutch.

2) Depressed at challenging strike/ball calls. I'd rather they drop the strike zone box from TV footage and let everyone cry into their beers if they don't like a call. I will forever be on team "if it's 1/8 of an inch off the plate, you're a professional baseball player and should have swung".

3) Trying to decide if it's irritating that Misiorowski was the only person who had to answer the question of "people didn't think you belong here". Pretty sure if he played for the Yankees or Dodgers nobody would have asked that. At least not to his face on camera.

[Chris_H_2]

2) Depressed at challenging strike/ball calls. I'd rather they drop the strike zone box from TV footage and let everyone cry into their beers if they don't like a call. I will forever be on team "if it's 1/8 of an inch off the plate, you're a professional baseball player and should have swung".

the problem is the strike zone is different for every ump, and for every one of those umps, his own strike zone changes from pitch to pitch. it's the lack of consistency, which means little to no learning curve for batters. so what was a ball on that 1/8 of an inch off the plate before is suddenly called a strike.

[lvc]

2) Depressed at challenging strike/ball calls. I'd rather they drop the strike zone box from TV footage and let everyone cry into their beers if they don't like a call. I will forever be on team "if it's 1/8 of an inch off the plate, you're a professional baseball player and should have swung".

the problem is the strike zone is different for every ump, and for every one of those umps, his own strike zone changes from pitch to pitch. it's the lack of consistency, which means little to no learning curve for batters. so what was a ball on that 1/8 of an inch off the plate before is suddenly called a strike.

But baseball has always been like that. You listen to older players talk and they knew which umps they needed to be in swing mode with. It was just part of the game. Granted now that every pitcher is throwing 95-100 consistently, it's way harder to be a hitter. But I still value the human element. And each team has something like 150 pitches in a game to do something with. Games aren't won or lost on a single pitch.

I could get behind doing something behind the scenes where you grade an umpire on their consistency and start to have higher standards for being allowed behind the plate (though the union would likely strike before letting that happen).

[doug rr]

I still remember my favorite umpire from college ball..bob homolka..super smart guy..a teammate coined the term "bend over and use your good eye" when we argued calls..he always got a laugh out of that

[lvc]

I still remember my favorite umpire from college ball..bob homolka..super smart guy..a teammate coined the term "bend over and use your good eye" when we argued calls..he always got a laugh out of that

Curious, would you have wanted the ABS system when you were playing for pay? I can imagine the desire to perform well enough to move up through the farm system would be substantial and a tool to get on base/not strike out might be attractive.

[doug rr]

I still remember my favorite umpire from college ball..bob homolka..super smart guy..a teammate coined the term "bend over and use your good eye" when we argued calls..he always got a laugh out of that

Curious, would you have wanted the ABS system when you were playing for pay? I can imagine the desire to perform well enough to move up through the farm system would be substantial and a tool to get on base/not strike out might be attractive.

I'll always be old school human element..let an ump be an ump..its not a fun job

[Chris_H_2]

2) Depressed at challenging strike/ball calls. I'd rather they drop the strike zone box from TV footage and let everyone cry into their beers if they don't like a call. I will forever be on team "if it's 1/8 of an inch off the plate, you're a professional baseball player and should have swung".

the problem is the strike zone is different for every ump, and for every one of those umps, his own strike zone changes from pitch to pitch. it's the lack of consistency, which means little to no learning curve for batters. so what was a ball on that 1/8 of an inch off the plate before is suddenly called a strike.

But baseball has always been like that. You listen to older players talk and they knew which umps they needed to be in swing mode with. It was just part of the game. Granted now that every pitcher is throwing 95-100 consistently, it's way harder to be a hitter. But I still value the human element. And each team has something like 150 pitches in a game to do something with. Games aren't won or lost on a single pitch.

Baseball: where, because we've been getting it wrong this whole time, we shall continue to get it wrong.