86 thoughts on “October 1, 2014: Wild Card, Indeed”

  1. I stayed up to listen to that game. WOW! I thought the Royals were done after being down 7-3. Hearing them come back the way they did, they got some real resiliency. I'm excited to see this team in the next round. (Not that I wouldn't have been excited if the A's had won). I hope they take it to the Angels.

    1. I was getting notifications for the game on my phone. It would have been great to be able to actually watch the game, but we cut the cord and apparently giving MLB $120 every year isn't enough dough to watch the playoffs.

        1. I was thinking about this last night. It would be cool if fans could designate their primary team rooting interest at the beginning of the season. If that team finishes last in the regular season, those fans get free playoff game access.

          It'll never happen, but I think that would probably be a low-risk way of enticing people to keep their MLB.tv packages for the next season.

      2. Yep and yep to bS's comment.
        And crap, all of the LDSs are on cable?
        TBS gets the ALDSs, and Fox shunting off the NLDSs to FS1 (which I feel should only cover international open-wheel racing with that name).
        ALCS is also on TBS, and NLCS is on "Fox/FS1".
        Not til the World Series can my kids and I watch.

        1. Looked into it.
          NLCS games 1 and 6* are on Fox, rest on FS1.
          *If necessary.

          So, basically the entire playoffs are unwatchable.

          1. Say what you will about the NFL. Turns out they're the only sport I get to watch.
            I think there may be more European-style football on network TV these days than baseball. (Or hockey, basketball...)

            1. So I take my kids out birding, I guess.
              Way different than when (at least some) games were broadcast. Then, that was the plans for the night.
              The kids watched the All-Star Game this year, but didn't really know anybody, just the laundry.

        2. It is kind of hard to fathom that the broadcast networks don't see the playoffs as worth showing (or rather, worth more than the cable partners are paying), what with the live eyeballs and such (as opposed to time-shifting viewers skipping commercials). But then, viewership for MLB is more like NBA than NFL. Or maybe like NFL preseason. 🙁

          1. I was so disappointed that I couldn't follow the game last night (or playoffs in general) on 'regular' television that my wife and I had a conversation about upping our cable package. MLB, combined with the imminent maternity leave, may have tilted the board. I've said no to expanded cable for almost two years, but then Aug 1 hit and our cheaper package and free DVR service expired; bill bounced up 29%! Adding channels and getting another "deal" may reduce the overall pricetag. We need internet and get a better deal when coupled with cable so we've been exploring our options.

              1. I end up having a lot of these conversations at work, CoC, and while I can't officially suggest anything, I'm not going to tell you to not do what bS is suggesting.

                1. When I called to cancel our package they did try to sell me on a "bundle" that would have kept our cable TV. Thing is, I try not to watch much broadcast TV. I've got Netflix for shows or films I haven't yet watched, and MLB.tv for baseball. The only thing I'm missing is the playoffs and paying for many hours wasted mindlessly half-watching shows I really don't care about.

                  So, the difference between the 6-month cable+Internet "bundle" discount and just 60mbps Internet access alone was something like $5 per month. I think I figured out who is paying for the "bundle" discounts.

                  1. We've probably got a similar setup. I get most of what I want on Netflix/hulu/MLB and have no discernible need for cable, other than for playoff baseball.

                    1. Yep. Cable is one of those temptations I certainly feel I don't need. There's a reason I don't buy doughnuts or baked goods in bulk, too.

                2. Perhaps my wife just got connected to a terrible customer service rep, but when she called to complain about the bump in cost from "introductory" to "standard" package and threatened to cancel, she basically got a, "Good luck with that. There's nothing we can do for you."

                  I've never been particularly impressed with Comcast/Xfinity/WhateverItsCalled, but Dish/Direct don't seem to offer internet where we're at and I haven't spent time looking at other options. I don't watch television, but my wife operates best when "mindlessly half-watching" broadcast TV, so not having something is a nonstarter.

                  1. she basically got a, "Good luck with that. There's nothing we can do for you.

                    That's generally how they start, because this tactic isn't exactly unknown. If you keep politely insisting, the wheels will often times eventually start moving.

                    1. Yeah, I think that's been the case for me . I just have so little to do with the TV/internet that I asked her to take care of it. I think I'll make the next call.

                    2. Yes, the Mrs has had to be increasingly insistent on talking to the appropriate rainmaker in these oh-so-effing-regular discussions.

                      Why the fuh they can't just offer a fair price/deal to ongoing customers and be done with it is ... well, not beyond me, because I understand why. But annoying as hell.

                    3. What really annoys me is that rather than try to keep the customers that they have, they're trying to take other people's customers. That makes plenty of sense in some ways, but the whole "HD For Life" thing bothered me. If I left for Dish, I could get free HD. If a Dish customer came over to DirectTV, they'd get free HD. If I left for a contract-length period of time and then returned, I could get free HD.

                      What I was offering them was to keep paying them money for two years while getting the same thing they were already giving random people off the street. Absurd.

                    4. When I left DirecTV to cut the cord, their pitch to try to keep me around felt really weird. They never actually tried to give me a better price, but kept trying to give me more channels for the same price while trying to trash the Netflix's/Hulu's of the world. I had to keep insisting that I was already paying them $120/month for a bunch of crap I don't watch and more crap wasn't going to hook me. I don't think those ideas made it any further up.

      3. Are you sure, CH? I was able to watch "companion coverage" of the game as part of my subscription last night. I don't know if it's available on every device, but I was watching it on my laptop.

        1. I tried to watch via the MLB.tv app on my Apple TV. I was given the option of "watching" the radio feeds for either team. I didn't try checking to see if I could watch a TV stream on my iPad or laptop (and re-stream it to my TV over AirPlay) because the message I got didn't suggest the game was even available on other platforms. Frankly, nobody should have to jump through that many hoops to watch a stupid ballgame.

            1. I'll check that out. Too bad the best game of the post-season is (possibly) already over.

              1. You can watch the game as an archive. I tried to watch tonight's game, and it told me I could watch it approximately 90 minutes after it was over. Yesterday's game also has a condensed game that you can watch in 15-20 minutes.

    3. bS - I read with interest your discussion with The Roommate. Though the linked article is only tangentially related to that topic, I hadn't thought about Costco as a competitor, but it makes sense.

      1. thanks for the link.

        Costco, Target, and Walmart are, I think, all substantial threats to dedicated bookstores, [making shit up mode: ON] because they can focus very narrowly (e.g., on best sellers). By doing so, they can skim important business (high-turnover items).

        I lament the loss of local bookstores, but markets don't stand still. Maintaining a diverse inventory is expensive for any business. And unlike, say, plumbing parts, not many consumers are in such a rush to buy a book that they are willing to pay a premium to get their hands on it right now when they can get it in a couple of days by mail-order. So I think the business model is screwed. Squeezed on the one side by public libraries, on another by big box stores, and on the largest front by Amazon.

        1. I should add that one area where bookstores still have vitality is in book resales (i.e., used book stores). But those don't help authors much. The actual economic analysis is a little murky, but used book sales probably reduce new book sales of the same titles somewhat, which eventually means that books go out of print a little earlier than they would in the absence of re-sales. And authors certainly don't get a piece of the resales.

            1. Yes. Like I said, the economic analysis is a little murky.

              Undoubtedly, the existence of a secondary market means that some primary sales happen that would not have otherwise (because the buyer knows that the retail price is not the true out-of-pocket net cost for the good). Also, as you point out, the secondary market exposes potential buyers to new authors at a low cost, which implies that they will be willing to try more authors than they would at the full retail price. In the long run, this probably widens the market for books, perhaps by reducing sales of best sellers somewhat.

              On the other hand, some primary sales won't happen that would have in the absence of a secondary market because some buyers will wait to purchase on the secondary market. Like, say, me, sometimes.

            2. also, the strongest negative (for authors) in resales probably applies to college textbooks. That's a weird market. Narrow markets, in many cases. Really high retail prices for some new textbooks, which naturally fuels a secondary market, which in turn fuels textbook publishers to pay authors to put out new editions. The churn of editions is bad for students, indifferent to bad for education.

              1. I hated the semi-annual textbook purchase day. Some of my favorite professors were the ones who said, "8-10th Edition will work in lieu of 11th Edition" thereby saving me $45.

          2. It's tough, because I really like the idea of an independent bookstore, but in practice, the vast majority of my purchases are at used bookstores or Goodwill/Salvation Army. If I really want something that I can't find in those places, I'll look to Target & Amazon. If I really want to read something and don't care if I own it, the library is the way to go (though their hours of operation generally leave much to be desired). My primary reason for going to independent bookstores is for things like book-signings/readings by authors or other events. I wish that weren't the case, but if I'm being honest, I have to admit that price generally trumps supporting these businesses.

            1. if I'm being honest, I have to admit that price generally trumps supporting these businesses

              Obviously, you are not alone.

              I love books, so I love bookstores, libraries, and Amazon. Because they give me choices. But, as I may have mentioned once or a thousand times on the Bookface, I don't fetishize bookstores (independent or otherwise).

              2. I don't fetishize bookstores (independent or otherwise).

                I've been shouted down several times when taking this stance.

            2. I am not sure independent bookstores are doomed--things were looking pretty dire for a while, but I think the indies that are still around are in many cases finding ways to offer something of value that customers can't get elsewhere (whether it's events, personalized book recommendations, etc.). Articles like this one give me some cause for optimism.

              1. In my case - for most things - I would rather support a local business than a big, national retailer. Could just be nostalgia, an affinity or pride in something 'produced' locally, could even be naiveté. With books, the product is so often treated like a commodity, I must have internalized it or something.

                In The Bookcase article I linked to, they pointed to shifting buying habits as one of the culprits. What I found more compelling was the disruptions and road-closures as Wayzata works to redevelop its downtown. Living & schooling in St. Paul, I know Midway Book Store suffered a pretty serious decline in business with the construction of the Green Line.

              2. One of the most popular features of the Phoenix store is its First Draft bar, which extends into the events space. Shanks estimated that it, along with packaged liquor, accounted for 20% to 25% of sales. People not only buy a drink and talk to the bartender about books—they also buy more books because of it.

                Mmmm, get 'em liquored up, then push books on 'em!!!!111one1111!!!

                I still think that the business model is in serious trouble.

                By its very nature, a bookstore has to invest in significant inventory and storage space for same. In order to be browsable, the inventory has to be fairly spread out, which just jacks up the square footage required, raising rents (all else constant). But if you have to have event space in order to draw in the traffic, you need even more space. At any one time, all that inventory and storage space is just sitting there, not generating revenue. But you can't get rid of it and still serve the browsing customer, who is essential to your business model.

                In contrast, Amazon gets to compact its inventory into very compact warehouse space.

                This article, which was cool, points at several examples of bookstores engaging in ancillary entertainment business activities, such as personal appearances (by authors, usually) and selling booze. Borders/Barnes & Noble, of course, tried very hard to integrate coffee shops into their business model, and ended up failing to make it work for very long. Maybe independents are different, or the market has changed enough that this strategy will work now.

  3. I'm dragging this morning, but you'll get no complaints from me. That game was well worth staying up for.

  4. Just used my wildcard transfer and blew up FC Des Moines.

    Players in Players out
    Ivanovic Cahill
    Fábregas Ramsey
    Dyer Schürrle
    Sterling Taylor-Fletcher
    Ulloa Lukaku

    In other soccer news, Fulham are second from bottom in the Championship. I'm starting to fear my team will not exist in 5 years.

  5. Whew, fun day today. We just found out that the company I work for (that has been owned by the same family for over 100 years) will be sold. It is to a company in the same industry that only has slight overlap in products with us, so I'm staying positive that it will be good in the long run. I went through this once before, though that one ended poorly, but for good reason and this is a much different situation. Either way, though, good times!

    1. I've been with the same company for 22 years, and it's been merged, gone public, merged, gone back private, spun off, merged again ad nauseum since I first started. Good news is that as a consultant, I'm a commodity, not an employee, so no fear of being fired. Bad news is that benefits don't necessarily improve with larger companies. Still, no sense worrying about it until you know otherwise; here's hoping things work out well for you.

      1. I'm staying positive about it and just going about my day as normal. I'm doing my best, while talking with co-workers, to try to keep the negative thoughts from taking too much hold because a lot of people around here are already doing that. It's a weird day, for sure.

        1. I'm definitely the calm one in our family. It bothers me when wife and/or daughter sweat about things without letting them play out a bit first, and almost always it just ends up as unwarranted stress.

          1. That's funny because I'm most definitely not the calm one at home. I stress out about things all the time that end up working out ok. At work, though, I'm the opposite.

      1. Heh, if things go wonky that might just be something I seriously consider, although the idea of living with my mom until we can find a place/sell our house most likely terrifies my wife.

        2. You can always come to Austin, everyone else is. Come be part of the problem with me.

          1. No way could I ever move any further south than where I am now. Too damn hot all the time.

    3. Hopefully, the company buying is wanting to expand instead of just wanting to buy out the competition, which happened to the company I was working for a couple years ago. Turned out to be the best thing for me, but it sure didn't seem like it at the time.

  6. MLB to test some time-related rules at the AFL this year. Short list of the rules.

    * The Batter’s Box Rule
    * No-Pitch Intentional Walks
    * 20-Second Rule [AT 17 SALT RIVER FIELDS HOME GAMES ONLY]
    * 2:05 Inning Break Clock
    * 2:30 Pitching Change Break Clock
    * Three “Time Out” Limit

    I like the batter's box rule. I think the time saved will be small, but the pace should improve. I don't like the no-pitch intentional walks as sometimes strange things happen on those "easy" pitches. Unsure how I feel about the pitch clock. It only applies when the bases are empty, so limiting the time there is reasonable. The inning/pitching change limits are kind of pointless. The breaks are already a set time and that set time will increase as more ads need to be shown. Limiting pitcher/coach conferences seems to have small value. Limiting the times of pitcher and catcher conferences would be nice.

    1. My favorites are batter box and mound conference limits. I think the intentional walk thing is fine, though unnecessary.

    1. My favorite comment:

      Good news! If Mauer suffers further damage to his brain, it will do not harm his chances of meaningful employment at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

  9. Holy Crap! I just realized that Morneau won the NL Batting Title*...and Revere & Span placed 5th & 6th respectively!

    *a year after Cuddyer did it for the same team!

    1. Lowest BA to win a batting title since before Ol' Hoss Radbourn had a twitter in his eye.

  11. So it's been a month since my log-in hasn't worked with Baseball-Reference. I have e-mailed them on three separate occasions, each e-mail getting increasingly more assertive. I have heard nothing from them. I'm practically apoplectic at this point, paying for a service that isn't working and getting no response. Does anyone have any suggestions? They don't have a user forum that I can tell, and I also can't find Sean Forman's personal cell phone.

            1. I can say from personal experience that Sean Forman is a great, great dude, so I'm not sure how your complaints got lost in the tubes over there.

              I also know (Mags alert) that he's in the early stages of beta testing a global soccer site of some sort that he doesn't expect to be able to launch until next summer. I fully expect it to be amazing.

              1. He seems like a great guy. I figured it was more likely my emails got lost than poor customer service. I just didn't know how to contact anyone.

              2. Holy crap. Can you pull some strings and get me a job working on it? A big ask, I know, but I have faith in you.

  12. Both Souhan and Hartman agree that Molitor should be the next Twins manager. To me, that means it will be pretty much a foregone conclusion and that it will be an unmitigated disaster. Maybe Gardy will pull a Bud/TR and return to save the team.

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