shysocks

Rangers bullpen is last in the AL in some very important categories. Get 'em.

Thanks for bunting against our running-on-empty starter, guys.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ May 11, 2016 -> 03:00 PM) Saladino is going to get a hit here.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ May 11, 2016 -> 02:26 PM) Hawk says his teeth went through his lips OWWWWWWWWWWWW

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ May 11, 2016 -> 02:21 PM) He had some air on that dive into the seats and came down with quite a bit of force straight on his face (not to mention his knee knock the hell out of the concrete rail, though I don't think that hurt him). If it was his mouth he landed on, he prob lost a few teeth. If it was his nose, it's definitely broke badly. Gaaah my head hurts just reading this.

There's yer lead Mat.

You just can't stop the Ryan Rua onslaught. Don't even try.

I've been to the future. Latos throws a QS today. The last time I made a prediction from the future I was 100% correct. Do not reply to this post.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 11, 2016 -> 11:34 AM) Yeah I love those players. Machado is so key for me being able to use him as SS/3b, and Daniel Murphy is listed as almost every position. I always end up with some utility guy and they always perform better than I hoped for. This year I have Brock Holt, who is Yahoo eligible EVERYWHERE except catcher.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 11, 2016 -> 10:31 AM) Where the hell were petricka and putnam? Your mopup man is not the guy you EVER want starting the 8th up five runs. He should only be used to mop up early in games where the starter s*** the bed. Awful managing. You say this like it's some universally accepted axiom. Carroll has like a 4.50 career ERA. He should have been able to get this done. Petricka is on the DL. Putnam threw 20 pitches the night before.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 11, 2016 -> 09:52 AM) Do you make this post in every game thread Had the same thought. Bolstered by walkapalooza last night, the Sox now have the third highest walk rate in the AL. Every regular except Austin Jackson and Dioner Navarro is above his career averages, many by a significant amount. I do wonder how long that'll continue.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 11, 2016 -> 06:15 AM) How do you envision this being implemented? A light goes on somewhere? Everyone turns to the scoreboard? Is the technology really that accurate? We accept that it is because it gives us this really nice graphic. I wonder just how accurate it truly is. I would have a lot more questions before being able to get 100% behind the idea. But I do think it is something that should be seriously looked at. Especially if it speeds up play. You could do it almost seamlessly. Give the home plate ump a device that vibrates on a strike and an earpiece with a line to the control room in NY in case the buzzer stops working, and have him vocalize balls and strikes just like he does now. That's the only thing that would have to be different, except you'd get fewer arguments from players and managers. As for your questions about accuracy, before looking anything up, I have a feeling that PITCHf/x (which is the system that lends its information to broadcasts) is far more accurate than umpires. The complaints about the TBS strike zone from last year's playoffs that DA brings up were more a cause of the size of the box they displayed than some bias in the measurements, if I remember right. This is an old study on the system's accuracy. There's a lot of complex stuff in there that I don't really understand. It does state that the error fluctuates by ballpark and game-to-game, but the takeaway is this. Based upon the level of accuracy in PITCHf/x plate locations and our ability to apply corrections to the errors in these locations, what can we conclude? Most of the errors are less than an inch or two and thus probably of little effect on most batter and pitcher measurements. Errors in plate location measurements have a corresponding effect on the spin deflection measurements for pitchers, but again, errors of less than an inch or two are fairly small when most pitch clusters are five inches or more apart in the spin deflection space. One arena where the implications of PITCHf/x plate location accuracy are larger is in umpire evaluation. Errors of an inch or two are sizable when grading umpire performance, and corrected location data would be useful in that application. I do not know if the system has undergone improvement since that study was published before the 2011 season, but I have to imagine it has, and if MLB was going to make a huge leap and use PITCHf/x as its official ump, there would be enormous pressure to make sure it is perfect. QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ May 11, 2016 -> 07:58 AM) So, despite last night, I'm all for umpires calling balls and strikes. For better or worse, I enjoy the human element of the game, even when the incorrect call is made, and I would miss the interaction between umps, players, and coaches. In any other sport, I'd be fine with using technology to ensure that the right call is made each and every time. Just not baseball. I can see why people feel this way, but man, I just can't get behind it. I couldn't disagree more. There are certain baseballisms that I'm in love with, like different ballpark dimensions, but this unpredictable strike zone from night to night is a detriment. It's not good that a game can hinge on the whims of an official. We have the capability to do it better, so let's do it. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 11, 2016 -> 08:11 AM) If they aren't going to do anything about it, they probably should ban pitch trax. All it does is makes the umpires look bad. And these are the best in the world. It shows just how tough of a job it is. I agree, I don't think it does MLB any good. Keep using it to evaluate umps privately, but the fans don't need to see it. It just makes us mad and gives us excuses. As I said in the OP, it's analogous to other sports keeping a box in the corner that just says "Referee mistakes this game: 14." QUOTE (bighurt574 @ May 11, 2016 -> 09:19 AM) Any automated system would have to take into account the height of the batter, right? Probably not terribly difficult, but does the current technology do that? PITCHf/x does account for batter height.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 10, 2016 -> 10:46 PM) I like to see the Royals losing like this, but I'm a bit scared by the Yankees bats coming alive just in time for our trip to Yankee Stadium. They did this against Chris Young and Kris Medlen, with an assist from Joakim Soria.

Since that 8th inning apocalypse probably doesn't happen if Carroll's first hitter is correctly called out on strikes, I figured now was as good a time as any to make this thread. I have been rapidly losing patience with the umpiring behind home plate this season and it boiled over tonight. Is it any worse this year than in years prior? Probably not, but it has never been more obvious that umps are bad at their jobs, with Pitch Trax and browser apps like Gameday shoving every poor call in our face. Why is this acceptable? We watch every game and just accept that this ump's zone is six inches wider tonight except for when it's not and that's fine because the human element. Somebody viewing their first ever baseball game would see one inning with Pitch Trax on the side of the screen and think it is abjectly ridiculous that we allow this. What if NFL broadcasts just had a permanent tally of missed holding calls in the corner? And I get it! It's a hard job to call balls and strikes! That's why we should use the technology we have to make sure it's done perfectly. The umps can still keep their jobs, so there's no need to rile up the union. We still need guys making calls at the bases, judging check swings, and incorrectly applying new tag and slide rules. It will cause disruption. Players will be slow to get accustomed because they are used to the incorrect way we have done things for a century, but it will be an improvement and eventually we will all wonder how we ever did it the old way. Let's just please use the tools we have already. It will make the sport better. Can anyone offer a compelling reason that MLB shouldn't make this change? I'm talking beyond the logistics; I know the umps are resistant to the idea. (And in anticipation of such comments, no, I am not blaming this loss on the umpire, it was just the catalyst for me to post)

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ May 10, 2016 -> 11:48 PM) If you think after this display this team is going to win anything this year you're out of your mind. Everyone in the pen is overrated, half the rotation is overrated... the pendulum swings back starting tonight and its gonna be f***ing brutal. It was a fun first 40 days, but the party ends now. This post is embarrassing. And the thing is you say this type of s*** all the time, at the slightest hint of adversity. Get a grip.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 10, 2016 -> 12:52 PM) Not really defending MJ's voters, just seems like the common reaction everywhere has been to imply Curry doesn't deserve to get unanimous MVP because Jordan never did, and that strikes me as dumb 1980s BBWAA HOF voting logic. The MLB HoF is a similar case, and I agree with your sentiment. If a guy is the clear best choice, then I don't care if nobody was unanimous before, vote for him. But Y2J specifically expressed his disbelief over MJ or LeBron never earning the honor themselves, and I agree with that sentiment as well.

MJ in 1996 led a record-setting team, put up a PER that was then in the top-15 all-time, had a higher win share than Steph (not that these were things back then), and made first defensive team. I'm not trying to cheapen what Curry has done, but I don't see why his season has justified a unanimous vote where that MJ season didn't. Why defend MJ's voters? They were pretty bad.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 10, 2016 -> 12:31 PM) Those two simply never had a year like Curry has this year. Shaq was robbed by that one idiot in 2000 though. Michael Jordan never had a year like this. Really.

QUOTE (Dunt @ May 10, 2016 -> 12:13 PM) Problem with an add like that is who do you take ABs away from? Unless you move Eaton back to CF and Reddick to RF, you will be taking ABs away from either Melky or Avi. Both of which are hitting exceptionally well right now. They need improve out of SS the most IMO. Which is true today, but coming into the season very few people would have agreed. Let's see where we're at in July and if short is still our greatest need on offense or if Avi pulls the rug out again and leaves us wanting a DH. We can afford to be patient at SS - the only other contender who would be eager to upgrade there is Washington, if the current landscape holds. The Rays and Tigers have underwhelming guys in Miller and Iglesias, but they're also invested in those guys. Texas won't want to wave the white flag on Andrus yet.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ May 10, 2016 -> 11:50 AM) @obxleatherman Every team who has played at Turner Field this season has won at least two games there, except the Braves. LOL holy s***

QUOTE (South Sider @ May 8, 2016 -> 03:25 PM) I like Overwatch, but I'm not sure how much I'd like having to seriously think about team composition and play defense/support roles. I do like MOBA type games but they can be incredibly annoying if your skill level isn't honed. I'm not the type of guy to spend a bunch of time getting good at PVP games so I can imagine playing against those who do would be bothersome. They did have a mode that picked a random hero for you after each death, which is just total chaos. I had a blast with the beta. Not all the characters were for me but they all feel unique and you can easily see the way each one can dominate a match in the right conditions, how they counter each other, etc. It's a very impressive game. There were some moments that sent me into storm of curse words, like you allude to a little. Most of them involved dying to Bastion, who is basically a character designed to sit in a corner and hit a key/button to spit high-damage laser-accuracy death at everyone. f*** that.

FASTBALL

He's doing a couple of the things he needed to do, like hit it on the ground less and swing at less junk. A 19.6% HR/FB rate is the stuff of top power hitters, but plenty of guys pull it off every year. Hopefully he keeps it up because it'd be nice for the front office to be able to devote its attention to the starting rotation.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ May 5, 2016 -> 08:33 PM) I'm trying to plan a honeymoon for next March, but we're really struggling. We fear Aruba may be too hot (like way too hot) although we did find nonstop flights roundtrip plus a resort on the beach for a solid price. We thought about Grand Turk, St Kitts or Barbados but all of those are 2-stop flights and require hours of layovers. Then, we thought maybe a cruise which combines a lot of these islands, but it seems too casual. Hawaii is cool, but Honolulu is essentially Miami minus the extreme nightlife and Kauai is another layover filled trip. Ideas? Vegas has decent weather in March. It's not for everyone, of course, but if it appeals to the two of you at all, it's a decent option.

Danny O'Dwyer ‏@dannyodwyer 2h2 hours ago @realDonaldTrump C'mon man, even your Mexican food has a wall.