YouTube shows several games for free and also provides good highlights from all the games so I have been able to follow the season a bit. Astros vs Yankees was a wild one yesterday. Are the Astros that hated by other teams as well? Also, who do you pick to win it?
Houston Astros are the most hated team in baseball history because they cheeted to win their title, and the commissioner Rob Manfred refused to strip them of said title, stating "It's just a piece of metal"
I don't watch baseball like I used to but still support my Chicago Cubs. I did see them sweep the Doyers last week. I kind of miss traditional baseball (traditional line ups, set up men, closers, etc) but I am also kind of fascinated with the way stats and research have changed the game. There is no more "lead off man" or "clean up hitter" in new baseball.
Have these changes happened because of some rule changes or simply because this new approach is more effective (I'm asking since I know nothing about baseball)?
A new approach. I'll expand on it more when I have time. But there has always been a traditional approach to putting together a batting line up. For the last twenty years or so, stat geeks have been telling them they've got it all wrong and they have the numbers to prove it. Now some teams still use more traditional line ups and some use a newer approach. The Tampa Bay Rays are by far the most non traditional team. Everything they do is dictated by the numbers. Even the way they use their bullpen (which has also changed on many teams.)
Sabermetrics, Which Billy Beane is Largely Credited w/Bringing to MLB... Brad Pitt Portrayed the Role of Beane in the Movie "Money Ball"... REED
I am familiar with the book (and the movie) and the logic behind it, I just thought if there has been some other explanation offered. Personally I am a firm believer in development of sports and I do think changes happen for a reason. In soccer for example, the amount of passing has increased a lot and the individual creativity has made way for more advanced team tactics. Some want to explain the change with reduction of skills, but the truth is the modern way of playing wins more games. Same with basketball, the 3-ball and fishing for free throws.
REED is Cool w/Most of the Basketball Changes - The 90's Bad Boy Pistons, New York Knicks and Miami Heat REDUCED the Game to Tough Man Contests, Placing Less of a Premium on SKILL... REED Also Doesn't Mind the Drastic Increase in 3-Ball Reliance; w/Out the Rule Changes that Frowned Upon the OVERT Physicality of the 90's, Steph Curry as We Know Him Probably DOESN'T Exist...Instead, He'd Be Oft-Injured, He'd NEVER Drive to the Basket and He'd Be Hand Checked By Bigger, Stronger Perimeter Players... What REED DISLIKES About 3-Ball Reliance is it's Reduced the BIG MAN to a Bit Player...If a BIG Can't Shoot 3's at All, It's Hard to Justify a Spot on Most NBA Teams These Days, Which is Bullshit...Dudes Like Tacko or Boban are LITERALLY Unguardable, Yet Neither Gets Meaningful NBA Minutes.... Shaquille O'Neal Shot Nearly 60% from the Field for his Career...If You've Got a BIG Making 6 Out of Every 10 2-Pointers, Who Gives a Fuck if He Can't Shoot the 3-Ball... REED Wonders How a Physical SPECIMEN w/Shaq's Combination of Size, Strength and Agility Would Be Used in TODAY's NBA???...Actually, REED's SCARED of How a Physical Specimen Like Shaq Would Be Used in Today's NBA... Probably Similar to Tacko and Boban, Sadly REED
My favorite rule in baseball is that if the game is still tied after nine innings, the extra innings open up with an automatic runner on 2nd base
Yeah. I am on a Cubs facebook page. The old school fans have a tough time with that and the 7 inning games for double headers. Both started during the COVID-19 season but are probably here to stay.
agREED... Baseball's Biggest Obstacle is the Way Games Draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag Out...Extra Innings are Cool, But Nobody Wants to Watch a 20 Inning Game... Automatic Runner on 2nd SPEEDS Shit UP... REED
It used to be that NFL coaches would scoff at the idea of using college football schemes on offense no matter how successful they are. In the last ten years or so that attitude has wilted. We've seen pro teams run the wildcat, the triple option and way more QB runs by design. And when the Cardinals drafted Murray a couple of years ago, they hired a college coach with the intention of building the offense around Murray's strengths. A far cry from the old NFL attitude of, "Well he won a lot in college but can he adapt to a pro system?"
Baseball is the Most UNBENDING of All Major American Sports, Easily...Toooooo Ol' School for its Own Good @ Times... Griffey Jr. was RIPPED for Wearing His Hat Backwards in Batting Practice...Jose Bautista was Public Enemy # 1 Via Bat-Flip, etc... Fortunately, Outward Displays of SWAG Are Becoming the NORM in MLB... As Loooooooooooooong as You're Not Pointing AT a Particular Pitcher or the OPPOSING Team's Dug Out, REED's Fine w/Bat Flips, Slow Trots After Home-Runs, etc...That Moment is MEANT to Be Enjoyed... Don't Like It? Don't Let Him Go YARD On Your Ass... REED
One thing I have wondered is how much of this evolution of basketball would have eventually happened even without the rule changes, because of sabermetrics. It is obvious that the defensive rule changes gave NBA the decisive push to this direction, although it took years from the teams to adjust. However the changes that have happened (ball movement, higher pace, speed instead of strength, counting percentages) are exactly the same type that have happened in soccer and hockey too, even though the rules of those sports haven't changed in similar manner.
Ugo, here's one example of how sabermetrics changed baseball line ups. Traditionally, you have your fastest player in the starting line up (unless he's your best all around hitter, then he'd most likely bat third) batting first. A guy who can steal bases and get in scoring position. Usually they were second basemen, shortstops, or center fielders. Never catchers or first baseman (non speed positions.) But a lot of teams' best base stealers were mediocre hitters. Some struck out a lot. Some were quick on the trigger and didn't work the count. The stat geeks laid it out how this was a flawed philosophy. If your lead off hitter is not working the count and doesn't have a high on base percentage he's hurting the team. Because although he may only lead off one or maybe two innings per game, he is going to get the most at bats for your team. And you want to make those count. You can bat a guy sixth or seventh and he can still steal bases for you. And he may end up leading off more innings than the lead off hitter. So nowadays you see more reliable hitters who draw more walks hitting lead off no matter their foot speed. The Tampa Rays' lead off hitter is a Korean first baseman who is 6'2" 260. Unheard of ten years ago.
DOPEST Moment of the 2021 MLB Season, Thus Faaaaaaaaaaaaaar.... Castellanos' TIMING, Crossing His Arms as the Cincy Fan Said "Rob Manfred's Face", is Fucking PRICELESS!!!...GANGSTA!!!... REED
plus guys dont steal bases much anymore so whats the point of putting speed guys at the top of the line up
Lack of Baseball IQ... You Never, EVER Have to Physically TAG a Hitter Running to 1st Base...Touch the Fucking Bag, Don't CHASE Him... Baseball 101.. REED
Especially with two outs. I saw this play and thought "what a fuckwit" & then learned there were two outs. Holy shit what a moron. Any force out negates a run being scored no matter what. That being said, had the second baseman covered first instead of standing there with his thumb up his ass, they could have thrown Baez out and the run still wouldn't have counted. All around mental mistakes plus physical mistakes = shitshow in Pissburgh.
The Next FACE of Baseball if he Remains Consistent... REED Watched (& Liked) Tatis Sr. as a Texas Ranger, @ the Beginning of His Career...Then he Wound Up w/the St. Louis Cardinals... Having Been BORN in St. Louis, RESIDING In Texas, Those Have Always Been REED's 1st and 2nd Favorite Baseball Teams...So He Kept His Eye on Tatis Sr. for a Few YEARS... Sr. was Considerably SMALLER than Fernando Tatis Jr. Though...5'11, 185 vs. 6'3, 215-220...Dad's Baseball Genes in a BIGGER Body... REED Loooooooooovees What he's Seen from Tatis Jr. Thus Faaaaaaaar.... REED
If you like baseball, women's college softball is also entertaining. It has a lot if the fundamentals and strategies of baseball. And a few bonuses: Smaller field, more action. Shorter games, less games that drag on and on. Less pitching changes. More emotion from the players. ASS EVERYWHERE !!!
More CONSISTENTLY Entertaining than Baseball, for Sure... REED Respects No-Hitters/Perfect Games, etc., But it's BORING AF Watching an Entire Team NOT Get a Hit for an Entire Game...Not Nearly as Many of Such in Softball... The Women are Definitely More SPIRITED, as You Alluded To and There's a Good Cross Section of Body Types...More Than In Any Other Female Sport... You've Got GIRLY Girls, Butch Lesbians, Taller Girls w/Ass, Shorter Girls w/Ass, Girls w/Big Tits, Small Tits...You've Got Girls That Would Look GREAT In a 2-Piece and You've Got Women of SIZE...All on the Same Field... REED
