22 thoughts on “June 12, 2023: Simple Innovations”

    1. Love it! I coached my son's baseball team for 6 years. The first year I told all parents at the beginning of the season that if I heard complaining about umpires or yelling at kids from the stands, they would be banished to beyond the centerfield fence for the rest of the year. A set of grandparents broke the team rule early in the season and I followed through with the threat. After that, I never had a single instance from fans of any of my teams. I was fortunate that the board of directors backed me up when challenged, because I was pretty unorthodox in most things coaching. For example, I did waaaay more whiffle ball batting practices than live batting practice (more reps). I gave every kid who wanted to pitch at least a couple outings to give it a try.

      1. My dad coached me for five. He was similar. Every kid gets to try every position at least once if they want. When the minimum was 2 innings per game for every kid, he made it 3. He sometimes flipped the lineup around to humble the good kids and give some confidence to the not so good ones. And he wouldn't change this approach even when it was an "important game." We made it to two championships, won one, and had winning records the other two years. And everybody had a blast.

        He also banned parents from practice and if they yelled at him during a game he threatened to ban them from games. It worked, probably because the league president supported him.

        1. I'm really struggling with this issue this year. Neitzsche's team has a coach who professes this, but hasn't followed it. Same top 6 or 7 in the lineup every time. Same 6 or 7 play 4+ innings in the infield every game, leaving maybe 1 inning for each of the other players to rotate through. He seems to forget that if a kid pitches 2 innings, that counts as infield too... so switching your SS and pitcher doesn't really mean you're giving everyone a chance...

          I'm trying to figure out how to say something - I've been helping coach, but it's seeming like my help is less and less appreciated.

          1. That's tough. In my experience it rarely helps to say something to the coach, because that type of coach will not change his mindset during a season. I have talked to coaches after the season to let them know my feedback on stuff like that. It really needs to be addressed at the organizational level. I have met with governing boards to help spell out expectations for the league. Is the number one goal to develop players (and instill passion for the game), or is it winning? If it is not winning, then the organization needs to do a better job communicating to coaches the expectations. Unfortunately, coaches like the one you describe chase kids out of the sport before we really know if they will be good or great.

            1. This coach did a much better job last year in coach pitch - of course, there were more dads around helping to make sure positions got switched up, and things were way less formal with regard to positions.

              Unfortunately, coaches like the one you describe chase kids out of the sport before we really know if they will be good or great.

              Aquinas had a similar experience, largely born of the fact that the grades both above and below him have very talented players. So his grade got far fewer opportunities. All but 4 players from his grade have been chased away, including some who probably would have developed some skill. He probably won't play again next year (I was amazed he played this year...), so they'd be down to 3. That's absurd. They're only going to be 8th graders.

    2. Love the parent who was like, "Yeah, I'm mouthy. What am I supposed to do? They get calls WRONG"

  4. 4 20X20X2 MERV 13 furnace filters go for around $64 on Amazon these days and should last 3-6 months, depending on smoke levels, in a Corsi-Rosenthal box. That's plenty to get you through most of fire season for an air cleaner adequate for a large-ish room. And relatively quiet.

  5. The Athletic is slashing staff (gifted link to WAPO)

    The note described an evolving approach to coverage. The NFL and English Premier League dominate reader interest, it said, and staffing for those leagues remains mostly unchanged. Because NHL and Major League Baseball audiences are more local, those leagues will have some beats eliminated. The company’s overall investment in the newsroom would still grow this year, according to the note, and the company will still have more than 100 beat writers covering specific teams. But a new focus of the site will be stories that appeal to wider audiances.

    1. I read 4% cut which isn't exactly slashing but is further moving from their specialist coverage. First was increased rates, then ads, now cutting coverage. The entire point of The Athletic is comprehensive sports coverage.

      1. Yea, 4 pct of reporters cut, another 4 pct reassigned to more general(?) beats.

        The quote I pulled seems pretty clear that _certain_ baseball markets will see degraded coverage.

          1. My guess is the Judge articles will be ones that "appeal to wider audiences", and so won't be affected.

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