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slikmar

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    slikmar got a reaction from Matt the Bruins in DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...   
    They showed the Black Adam trailer during thursday night football. I liked it and looks good. Loved the Justice Society.
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    slikmar reacted to Cygnia in "Neat" Pictures   
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    slikmar reacted to Cygnia in Creepy Pics.   
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    slikmar reacted to unclevlad in General Sports Thread   
    And they're railing about a letter from 16 years ago...and in fact, Serena was having problems.  December, 2005, she was #11.  By March, #58.  Bottomed out in July, #140.  Ended the year at #95.  From the French Open 2005 through the US Open 2006, she skipped 3, and didn't make it past the 4th round in the other 4.  She'd pulled off the Serena Slam in 2002-3, but in that stretch, she was playing badly.  So if anything, I'd read it as tough love, and entirely deserved.
     
    But we are all too aware that ANY criticism of an icon, justified or not, will be met with derision and denial, *forever*.  
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    slikmar reacted to Starlord in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
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    slikmar reacted to unclevlad in 2022 Baseball Thread   
    I've seen shifts against certain right-handers.  It's not common;  generally it's the lumbering types, IIRC, who hammer the ball but also take forever to get down the line.  Catchers, for example.
     
    They were talking about this during the games today, and afterward on MLB Network.  A big factor was BABiP, batting average on balls in play...has been dropping, because the radical shift...SS or 3rd base 2-3 steps on the right side of 2nd, 2nd baseman 7-10 steps into the outfield.  Note that also means the 2nd baseman's countering a number of fly balls, AND is allowing the right fielder to play deeper.  So...yeah, I can see it.  They were saying it was a pretty sizable drop.  They also mentioned the immobile, or less mobile, 2nd baseman.  This might be more common than one would think at first glance...because no slap hitters are allowed.  So 2nd basemen today are...I don't think the size of 3rd basemen of 25 years ago, but maybe?  Can't say as I really looked.  We KNOW shortstops are consistently bigger...let's leave Oneal Cruz out of this for the moment, he's an aberration no matter what, but there's 9 shortstops right now with 15+ HRs.  And base stealing is way down...that's another classic 2nd baseman angle.  So, maybe the mobile 2nd baseman is much less common.
     
    I HATE the change because, as far as I'm concerned, any tactical choices should be allowed.  Smart play...shifting properly...should never be banned.  OTOH, I agree that the game is SERIOUSLY boring because there's so little action...along with, at times, horribly slow pace of play.  I still don't know how much banning shifts will help, but clearly it will...or it wouldn't be league-wide.
     
    Oh, the reason why, I think, it's "feet on the dirt" is because without it, you would probably see quite a bit of pushing the limits...shortstop as close to 2nd as allowed, AND leaning towards 1st.  (I'm not sure when the infielders are allowed to move, but I suspect it's when the pitch is released.)  With the 2nd baseman in about his same position as npw, perhaps a step or two towards 2nd...he'll still get to many sharp 2-hoppers that get past the first baseman, he still covers the mid-depths, he still allows the right fielder to play deeper.  Force his feet onto the dirt, and none of that's possible.
     
    I don't think the larger bases will make any difference on steals...at least not tactically.  90 feet is 1080 inches.  We're talking 4 1/2 inches shorter, base edge to base edge, so that's 1 part in 240.  If stealing a base takes 3 seconds, we're talking about 1/100th of a second.  Yeah, on occasion, that will come into play, but tactically?  Meaningless.  Other factors will matter more...such as, if mobility becomes more valued, if the singles and doubles hitters' value increases, if the game moves away from "all I do is hit dingers"...steals will be more valuable.  I believe there's been *some* move in that direction, by some teams, anyway.  Another angle:  the Yankees' major issues last year were:
    --all blasters, no one getting on base first (the Dodgers are THE model here)
    --serious defensive limitations, if not downright deficiencies.
     
    They'd seemingly addressed those when they were running away with everything...but more recently?  No one's getting on, AND they're not blasting that much.  Running creates more scoring chances, and it forces defensive mistakes.  The analytics guys tend to miss that latter.  
     
    Tell ya one thing my sadistic streak is looking forward to.  The veteran pitcher who's never dealt with the pitch clock...who's done it His Way for 10 years...then gets called for ball 4 because he takes too long.  I'm looking forward to the blow-up on the field...even if he can't argue, there's a real good chance it'll rattle him *good*...and then the post-game meltdown.  BTW, this was, from reports, part of the reason why the players *didn't* vote for the pitch clock.  Tough noogies, kiddies.  Cope.  This is in your control.
  8. Like
    slikmar reacted to unclevlad in 2022 Baseball Thread   
    Rules changes have been made official today.
    https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-2023-rule-changes-pitch-timer-larger-bases-shifts
     
    --Pitch clock, including a rule that the batter has to be in the box.  Love this.  Super-fidgety hitters and slow pitchers are incredibly annoying.
    --The infield shift is out.  Hate this.  Just caves in to robotic hitting.  OTOH, the fact is...that's how it's taught ALL the way back to elementary schoolers (a comment I've heard a few times) so expecting hitters to adjust is impractical.
     
    The bases go from 15 to 18 inches as well.  Fundamentally, the goal here is safety, to help avoid collisions and tripping, particularly at 1st.
     
    So pretty much what's been discussed all year, I think.  
     
    EDIT:  ....how much ya wanna bet that the conspiracy theory types will argue favoritism...that the clock's started slower for Yankee pitchers, for example.  One thing that MIGHT happen...if this is operated by the home team, then there's a more plausible case for favoritism.  Not sure who'll run this, tho.
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    slikmar reacted to Lord Liaden in "Neat" Pictures   
    Americans and football. Yes, I believe it.
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    slikmar reacted to Pariah in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
    Sometimes the genius lies in knowing that you know.
     

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    slikmar reacted to Cygnia in Creepy Pics.   
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    slikmar reacted to Certified in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
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    slikmar reacted to death tribble in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
    Nope
     
    Black Canary said the line.
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    slikmar reacted to Logan D. Hurricanes in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
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    slikmar reacted to Logan D. Hurricanes in Jokes   
    I was confused when my printer started playing music.
     
    Until I realized the paper was jamming.
     
     
     
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    slikmar reacted to BoloOfEarth in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
    I didn't even need to click the link to know to which music you were referring.
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    slikmar got a reaction from Lawnmower Boy in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
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    slikmar got a reaction from Lord Liaden in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase Three and BEYOOOOONND   
    Yeah, but your not hiring an actress as talented as Tatiana Maslany to play half a part.
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    slikmar reacted to Ockham's Spoon in Jokes   
    Pornography gives people an unrealistic and unhealthy idea of how quickly a plumber will come to your house.
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    slikmar reacted to Logan D. Hurricanes in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
    Cosplay done right. 
     

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    slikmar reacted to Certified in Funny Pics II: The Revenge   
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    slikmar reacted to unclevlad in 2022 Baseball Thread   
    Walk Judge and you have runners on 1st and 2nd, none out.  What's the run expectation in that situation?  OTOH, *if you can get Judge out* you're in great shape.  That's the analytical though process...and its flaw, to overvalue the self-validating outcome and undervalue all others, and to lose the individual player impact in the sea of numbers.  
     
    Now...what was the actual strategy?  I was loosely watching.  The pitches weren't that close.  So, was it a semi-pitch around?  Pitch carefully, don't give him anything to hit, if you walk him...not great but manageable?  That's just a recipe for disaster.  And when you get to 3-1, WALK HIM.  Because at 3-1 the hitter's waiting for a mistake.  Was it pitches just missing from the start?  Still get to the point that at 3-1, disaster's looming, and the worst-case scenario is becoming too likely.
     
    The Twins are not a good team, either.  Yeah, fine, they're fighting for a division, but in a bad division.  Cleveland is 5 over...8 over against the division.  Minnesota is 3 over...and 9 over versus the division.  They're staying alive by feasting on Detroit...23-38 in the division.  KC to a lesser degree, they're 26-30.  The division as a whole is a collective 50 games under .500.  311-361, .462 win percentage.  That would slot them between the D'Backs and Angels.  (The NL Central is about as bad, tho, because they've got 3 very bad teams.)
     
    So, yeah...I'll agree that stupidity is the norm in sports.  Or maybe brainlock.  The numbers are used badly.  And they got burned.
     
     
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    slikmar reacted to unclevlad in 2022 Baseball Thread   
    MLB wants Judge in a major market, but they're not gonna worry about *which* that much.  Plus, is anyone else really viable?  How many teams can afford him?  And what would be wrong with Boston?  Hey, the buzz!!!! Reverse-Ruth man!!!  Dodgers are likely out...not necessarily, but with their massive payroll already, the luxury tax hit would be crushing.  Cubs, no.  I don't see Judge going there, but again...MLB would be happy.  Big PR there.  
     
    It simply does not make enough difference that MLB would risk the *entire integrity of the sport* to do this.  If anyone could PROVE MLB was complicit?  My god, it would make Black Sox look like tampering over a minor leaguer.  It would be a crushing blow that would damage the game for *years*.
     
    A recurring comment from the people on MLB Network has been that the managers have little or nothing to do with the game, on most teams.  All decisions are driven by the analytics people.  I'm an analytics guy.  It's just way, way too easy to fall into traps...in basketball, the Rockets fell into the massive trap in the past, of layups or 3-pointers only.  They don't realize that the mid-range threat improves the 3 point looks.  In football, it's stuff like the pitch play in the FSU-LSU game that gave LSU the ball back.  In poker, always making the mathematically correct play does NOT win...because it gives too much info to your opponent when you fail to vary your play.  Analytics can be extremely short-sighted and miss nuance because it fails to shape the question properly.
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