Made my weekly stop at the LCS* yesterday afternoon for my fix of testosterone; among the discussion with the owner was robo-umps. I gave it some more thought, and now I'm even more in favor of it.
- while the vertical edges of the strikezone are fixed, the horizontal depends on the height of the batter. Why not measure the batter at some point ahead of time, and then you will have a calibrated bottom and top of the strikezone for that batter from then forward.
- maybe the vertical edges aren't fixed; maybe the commissioner reviews the previous season and decides more/fewer balls should have been put in play and tweaks the strikezone inward/outward by a few millimeters.
- pitch framing becomes a lost art
- one more thing for the Cardinals' front office to hack
*local card shop -- you should know this by now
btw, I know how much we all love trying to identify the play on a baseball card, but the Twins cards the last couple years have been pretty poor. So far the only card that has any kind of identifiable play is this year's Dozier card in the flagship series one set, but even it's too vague:
One caveat with #3: catchers don't need to actually catch the ball. Blocking it is all that's required. I suspect the threat of stolen bases will prevent catchers from deviating too wildly from the current method of catching the ball though.
I didn't say pitch blocking becomes a lost art, only pitch framing, but that is a good point.
Question for you (and anyone else):
What do I do with all the Twins stuff my dad dumped on me? Most has marginal financial value but someone might want it. I just want to get it to people that might want it and not have it take up space in my house.
Examples:
Limited edition giant buttons of the 1987 and 1991 team pictures.
Team yearbooks.
Random autographs.
Old baseball cards.
what kind of condition are the yearbooks in?
what do you consider "old" baseball cards?
Old isn't that old. Late 80s to early 90s.
Yearbooks are in excellent condition. Cards are mixed.
Donate the cards to a children's hospital. They're from the "Junk Wax Era", sorry to say.
I'd actually be interested in the yearbooks, maybe. The autographs are keepsakes; I'd hang on to them.
I'll send you pictures.
Electronic Bay
really depends on what you want for it, and the condition it's in. If you're going that route, probably be best to just bundle it all up and sell it as a lot, because it's probably not worth the hassle to sell and ship them individually.
(also, it's uploaded correctly, but for whatever reason it pops up 90 degrees clockwise for some reason, so flip it a little to the left in your head)
Is that [redacted]?
Yeah.
I saw a moose munching on the side of the road and hour ago. That was pretty cool.
A couple of turkeys have been hanging around my bus stop yesterday and this morning. Definitely makes the wait for the bus more interesting.
A bonus from Gleeman’s BP review of the Hughes-to-the-Padres move:
***
Minnesota Twins claimed IF/OF-R Taylor Motter off waivers from Seattle Mariners. [5/28]
My Dear Twins Fans,
I have read reports that the early season has brought with it some grave calamities and misfortunes, and am writing to lift your spirits. Although spring is typically a lean season in the Pacific Northwest, climate change and an unprecedented crop of good luck have seen us with an abundance of sunshine from which to share. It thus gives me great pleasure to enclose with this missive one (1) utility infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter.
Please note a few key qualities of Mr. Motter:
-From May through September of 2017, he hit .187/.246/.246 in 203 plate appearances. His defense was, hmm, not sufficient to make that palatable.
-He was allowed to perform so poorly for so long because in March/April of 2017 he hit .225/.286/.535 with 12 extra-base hits, including five home runs. If you throw a bad pitch to Taylor Motter, he will hit it very hard.
-He has long hair, and is quite fond of it.
-Of those two wildly disparate slash lines, Mr. Motter is of the belief his true talent is far closer to the latter than the former. Despite hitting .197/.279/.367 in Triple-A Tacoma this year, he was somewhat vocal with his displeasure when he was passed over for promotion for Gordon Beckham.
-He was passed over for promotion for Gordon Beckham.
We acknowledge that this offering appears meager, and may in fact do little to help you in your plight. However, we remind you of our own decades-long drought, and that it’s only recently that we have even the slightest surplus from which to share. We are not without compassion, but our duty and obligation is to our own.
We encourage you to take heart. Your foes appear weakened and vulnerable. Think not on your own pains, but strive to extract as much as possible from them.
In friendship,
Seattle Mariners Fans
—Nathan Bishop
I’m so detached I didn’t even remember that Hughes still pitched for the twins.
Made my weekly stop at the LCS* yesterday afternoon for my fix of testosterone; among the discussion with the owner was robo-umps. I gave it some more thought, and now I'm even more in favor of it.
- while the vertical edges of the strikezone are fixed, the horizontal depends on the height of the batter. Why not measure the batter at some point ahead of time, and then you will have a calibrated bottom and top of the strikezone for that batter from then forward.
- maybe the vertical edges aren't fixed; maybe the commissioner reviews the previous season and decides more/fewer balls should have been put in play and tweaks the strikezone inward/outward by a few millimeters.
- pitch framing becomes a lost art
- one more thing for the Cardinals' front office to hack
*local card shop -- you should know this by now
btw, I know how much we all love trying to identify the play on a baseball card, but the Twins cards the last couple years have been pretty poor. So far the only card that has any kind of identifiable play is this year's Dozier card in the flagship series one set, but even it's too vague:
One caveat with #3: catchers don't need to actually catch the ball. Blocking it is all that's required. I suspect the threat of stolen bases will prevent catchers from deviating too wildly from the current method of catching the ball though.
I didn't say pitch blocking becomes a lost art, only pitch framing, but that is a good point.
Question for you (and anyone else):
What do I do with all the Twins stuff my dad dumped on me? Most has marginal financial value but someone might want it. I just want to get it to people that might want it and not have it take up space in my house.
Examples:
Limited edition giant buttons of the 1987 and 1991 team pictures.
Team yearbooks.
Random autographs.
Old baseball cards.
what kind of condition are the yearbooks in?
what do you consider "old" baseball cards?
Old isn't that old. Late 80s to early 90s.
Yearbooks are in excellent condition. Cards are mixed.
Donate the cards to a children's hospital. They're from the "Junk Wax Era", sorry to say.
I'd actually be interested in the yearbooks, maybe. The autographs are keepsakes; I'd hang on to them.
I'll send you pictures.
Electronic Bay
really depends on what you want for it, and the condition it's in. If you're going that route, probably be best to just bundle it all up and sell it as a lot, because it's probably not worth the hassle to sell and ship them individually.
Yes. I'm not looking for a part-time job.
got my mags map in the mail today. lookin pretty spiffy, you guys.
(also, it's uploaded correctly, but for whatever reason it pops up 90 degrees clockwise for some reason, so flip it a little to the left in your head)
Is that [redacted]?
Yeah.
I saw a moose munching on the side of the road and hour ago. That was pretty cool.
A couple of turkeys have been hanging around my bus stop yesterday and this morning. Definitely makes the wait for the bus more interesting.
A bonus from Gleeman’s BP review of the Hughes-to-the-Padres move:
—Nathan Bishop
I’m so detached I didn’t even remember that Hughes still pitched for the twins.
Some would say he didn't.
slowclap.gif