Hit and Run

[Reciprocity]

Wow .... Dodgers gone too now! Very strange night. Astros face their game 5 challenge later today.

[Reciprocity]

Meanwhile, in Churchill Manitoba, a Polar Bear charges the pitcher's mound 

[Boo]

5 hours ago, reciprocity said:

Meanwhile, in Churchill Manitoba, a Polar Bear charges the pitcher's mound 

 

I don't care if he is hogging the plate, you don't throw high and tight at a polar bear.

 

Pick your battles.

[Reciprocity]

32 minutes ago, Boo said:

 

I don't care if he is hogging the plate, you don't throw high and tight at a polar bear.

 

Pick your battles.

No sh*t eh?

They look pretty like an oversize stuffed toy but they's nasty mo-fo's, especially when they're hungry and .... they're always hungry 

[Boo]

On 10/15/2019 at 3:59 PM, reciprocity said:

They look pretty like an oversize stuffed toy but they's nasty mo-fo's, especially when they're hungry and .... they're always hungry 

 

Polar bears have the best public relations in the entire animal kingdom.  Between the toys, Christmas cards, and those Coca-Cola commercials, people think polar bears are cute and cuddly.  In reality, polar bears are more aggressive and every bit as vicious as brown bears.  Black bears are timid by comparison and mostly just want to be left alone.

 

You better stay away from him, he'll rip your lungs out Jim, I'd like to meet his publicist...

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Boo

[notsmokinjo]

Mate....they even have the Aussie Rum market on a lock down

 

 

[Reciprocity]

Oh my .... Deja vu with the last Braves Game but this time it's the Cards  Wow! 7-0 top of 1st? 

I would have bet money that the Cards would have handled the Nationals. Nationals/Astros World Series?

The big $$ advertising machine won't like that match-up  

[notsmokinjo]

@garry mhudsonm I promise I'm not barracking for the Cards and giving them my kiss of death...I figured I'd barrack for the Yankees seeing as everyone I've followed this year in ever sport has walked away with donuts....sorry @Boo

Edited October 16, 2019 by notsmokinjo

[Reciprocity]

Yanks are in tough against the Astros who are no slouches so we'll see. Also interested to see how the layoff effects Washington. I'm surprised they have come this far. Idleness for more than a day or two in playoff sports is usually not a good thing for the mental game!

[notsmokinjo]

Our sport down here doesn't do playoffs....we have finals but they are all do or die, you get one game, lay it all on the line, I'm not a fan of the playoff as anything other than a money spinner.

[garry mhudson]

Yuck! been a long time since I saw a Cardinal team look that bad in the post season. Hats off to the Nats.

[Reciprocity]

Yeah, I was kind of shocked that the Nats took it 4 straight  I do think the wait for who they're gonna play in the World Series will hurt them though. I don't care how much you practice, you can't simulate a high level playoff game situation.

 

Both playoff systems have their merit and both have drawbacks I think Jo. In a playoff series the best team should win because they get more chances if they have an off game. In the do or die, you never know who might have that great game and who will not. Either way, it's an exciting time to bury yourself on the sofa and be entertained.

I do agree the playoff series structure is a cash grab but hey, they pay these players crazy amounts of $$ to play so it's gotta come from somewhere I suppose.

[johnny5]

Former Cubs manager Joe Maddon is now manager of the Angels.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/angels-to-hire-joe-maddon.html

 

[Boo]

3 hours ago, reciprocity said:

Yeah, I was kind of shocked that the Nats took it 4 straight  

 

The Nationals played great during the second-half of the season.  That being said, I didn't think they would take down the Dodgers and then sweep the Cardinals.  Washington got hot at the perfect time.

 

I wonder how the fortunes of the Nationals this season affects general managers around the league who are thinking of making a splash on the free agent market by giving a boatload of money to one guy.  The Nationals lost Bryce Harper before the season when the Phillies made him, at the time, the richest player in the history of baseball.  Washington having lost one big star used the extra money to beef up the bullpen and add a couple of key pieces.  Their starting rotation was one of the best in the league as is with Scherzer, Strasburg, and company.  The money freed up when Harper left town allowed them to address a few key issues and now...they are World Series bound.

 

It was a case of addition by subtraction that worked out very well for the Nationals.

 

4 hours ago, notsmokinjo said:

Our sport down here doesn't do playoffs....we have finals but they are all do or die, you get one game, lay it all on the line, I'm not a fan of the playoff as anything other than a money spinner.

 

I'll defend the playoffs in baseball.  The pitching rotation and the very nature of the game make a five or seven game series a better gauge for determining a champion at the end of a 162 game season.

 

Now if we're talking NBA playoffs...those are absolutely ridiculous.  Of course, the NBA has bigger issues right now with the whole China thing.  When the biggest star in the league is having to explain that he doesn't actually support the tyranny and oppression of a brutal dictatorship...you might say the NBA shit the bed on this one.

[Reciprocity]

Astros vs Nationals in the World Series. I can hear the advertisers crying all the way from Canada 

[johnny5]

A lot going on with the Cubs today.  It was announced that David Ross will be the new Cubs' skipper.  This is his first managerial job. 

 

He is a fan favorite not only with the Cubs but also with quite a few other teams that he played for in his long journeyman career.  Heck, my parents know who he is and they don't even follow baseball - they know him from Dancing with the Stars.

 

I do hope things go well for him and I do expect there to be some significant roster changes in the offseason.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/latest-on-david-ross-cubs.html

 

Also of note, Cubs star third baseman Kris Bryant will be having his grievance hearing held sometime this week with Major League Baseball. 

 

His argument, for those who haven't followed it, is that his promotion to the major league team from the minors was purposely delayed for a few weeks into the 2015 season so the Cubs could keep him for one more year under salary control.  It is obvious the Cubs did this but the bs reasons they came up with are legit enough arguments in my opinion.  I don't think Bryant wins but I could very well be wrong.

 

It is kinda complicated and I'm not good at explaining the full details of this.  The cusp is that if Bryant wins his grievance hearing, the Cubs will have him for one more year before he becomes a free agent.  If he loses, the Cubs will have him for two more years...unless they trade him.  More details below...

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/kris-bryant-grievance-to-be-heard-this-week.html

 

I'm happy about the Ross signing.  Bryant is a great talent but I kinda hope they trade him if they can find the right deal.

 

Oh, I just can't get into an Astros/Nationals World Series so I already consider this the offseason.

Edited October 23, 2019 by johnny5

[Reciprocity]

29 minutes ago, johnny5 said:

Oh, I just can't get into an Astros/Nationals World Series so I already consider this the offseason.

LOL 

I'm using the series as a night time sedative  I know .... I know .... the Nationals used to be Montreal Expos  Please stop shoving that down my throat Canadian Sports channels  I really don't care

[Boo]

3 hours ago, johnny5 said:

Oh, I just can't get into an Astros/Nationals World Series so I already consider this the offseason.

 

First pitch isn't thrown out until after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  The games run longer as the network gets in as many commercials as possible.  I only made it to the top half of the seventh before falling asleep last night.

 

I'm not getting any younger over here...I need my sleep.

 

[johnny5]

The Atlanta Braves just signed Cole Hamels to a 1 year deal.  Sounds like a good pickup.  I wish him luck against everyone but the Cubs.

Edited December 4, 2019 by johnny5

[Boo]

2 hours ago, johnny5 said:

The Atlanta Braves just signed Cole Hamels to a 1 year deal.  Sounds like a good pickup.  I wish him luck against everyone but the Cubs.

 

Solid signing, low risk at one year, and much needed.  It would be nice if we had Dallas Keuchel for another season, but that seems very unlikely now.  A healthy Hamels should be a solid fourth in the rotation behind Soroka, Foltynewicz, and Fried.

 

Still have my fingers crossed that we get one more year of Josh Donaldson in Atlanta.

[johnny5]

I do miss Major League Baseball as it has been sidelined by the Coronavirus.

 

I just started watching Korean Baseball (KBO) in short stints on ESPN as South Korea seems to have the virus somewhat under control and has opened its season yesterday with no fans in the stands with the exception of cheerleaders.  It is an odd thing for me to watch but it does remind me how much I miss sports. 

 

Korean baseball is a bit different.  If anyone is watching this on ESPN, I found this interesting video on baseball in Korea under normal situations.  Bat flips, cheer squads, fights, etc.  The talent might not be on par with MLB but the passion for the game is impressive.

 

 

[Boo]

Watched the documentary "Fastball" last night.  It is a deep-dive into the fastball from the perspective of pitchers, batters, and umpires.  The film breaks down the physics of the pitch, the physiology of the pitch, and the psychology of the pitch.  The film even goes into the neuroscience involved in a batter reacting to a fastball.

 

It's not all science stuff.  Fastball goes into detail about who threw the fastest pitch on record.  The fastball Aroldis Chapman threw that was clocked at 105 miles-per-hour was thought to be the gold standard of fastballs.  However, Chapman's pitch was clocked fifty feet from home plate.  Back in 1974 when they used radar to clock Nolan Ryan's fastball at 100.8 miles-per-hour the pitch was measured ten feet from home plate.  A physicist made the adjustments necessary to figure out how fast Ryan's pitch would have been travelling at a distance of fifty feet from home plate (where Chapman's pitch was measured) and estimated that Ryan's fastball was travelling at 108 miles-per-hour.

 

This film isn't for everybody, but if you're a bit of a baseball geek and find yourself missing the game more and more with each passing day, I highly recommend giving Fastball a watch.

 

[johnny5]

Feels good to be able to watch baseball again.

 

 

[Reciprocity]

I see the Braves managed to squeak out a win against the Marlins yesterday. A real pitcher's battle  

 

[johnny5]

Just finished watching the Cubs/Brewers game.

 

Journeyman Cubs pitcher Alec Mills, who was acquired from the Royals for a marginal prospect and has come close to being placed on waivers in the past, just pitched a no-hitter.  

 

It is nice to see players like this have these type of moments.