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Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

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    #26
    Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

    AJ Pollock broke his elbow sliding into home tonight; surgery upcoming.

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      #27
      Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

      Reed John wrote: I think it's going to focus on their relationship.

      I've come to realize that I really love baseball. I don't love many things but this is one. It's so odd because I didn't like it at all from about 1995-2005, and even when I was playing it as a kid - perhaps especially when I was playing it as a kid - I didn't like it as much as I do now. Life is funny that way.
      It's funny because I'm running on a different schedule of sorts. I always liked baseball as a kid but it was miles behind hockey and whatever futbol we could get on TV in the US (at that time Soccer Made in Germany and WC finals). Then around 91 or 92 I became super hooked. I think it's because I had a girlfriend was able to get great seats for free at Dodger Stadium so we'd go a lot. Then I moved to NYC in 92 where baseball was always covered by all of the tabloids and I loved the Yankees radio announcers. Moreover, it was easy to get to Yankee Stadium and Shea. Plus both teams were on over the air TV a lot. So this was a high point for me and baseball. When I moved back to LA I was literally one hill away from Dodger Stadium so we'd go all the time and buy $5 upper deck tickets. From there I moved to Tampa and had the Yankees on the radio again (which always pissed off the Tampa sports talk guys who though it should be all Devil Rays) and the Tampa Yankees were there as well.

      When I left Tampa in 2001 my interest waned a bit. I think it's because there are only so many times I can start following a new team. I could do the MLB package on DirecTV but it has been so long since I've lived in LA or NYC that my connection to the Dodgers and Yankees isn't what it once was. Watching on TV is cool but eventually I want to go to games. I like it when the Cubs and White Sox do well (the former more than the latter) because it's good for the city, but I really don't feel any kind of attachment to either team. So it's ironic that we're out of the steroid era and into a style of baseball (pitching, speed) that I find more attractive but my attachment is less. I still watch MLB Tonight almost every night during the season and watch some of a game here and there each week. But there is now a huge gulf between soccer (1st) and baseball (2nd) and then hockey (3rd) for me. Perhaps this will change if I can ever get back to LA.

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        #28
        Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

        I fell in love with baseball the day I arrived Canada at 23. In I fact loved the idea of baseball well before that. It was a love gleaned entirely from logos and names in my Encyclopaedia of World Sports, and crackly commentaries on AFN shortwave. My first real honest to God affair was with the A’s of the early 70s. They were brash, a bit blowsy but had the right moves for an experienced baseball virgin like me — they also dressed great.

        Then came the Expos, the grand passion. I’ve never truly loved a baseball team since. When they left town my baseball heart shattered. For good. Oh yes, there’s the occasional fling with the Jays, but it’s not the same. Sure it feels good while it’s happening, but it never lasts and I feel kind of empty and cheap afterwards. But they’re available, and we all have needs...

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          #29
          Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

          Scoring 15 runs for Kershaw is just showing off.

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            #30
            Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

            Opening Day walkoff. Yes please.

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              #31
              Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

              They should be entertaining this season

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                #32
                Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                Run support for Kershaw is a strange event.

                Have to say, I enjoy the Padres' new color scheme.

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                  #33
                  Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                  Just got home from work about 30 minutes ago. Stopped off in front of the restaurant/pub/bar between the L and my apartment to watch the last 4 seconds of the NCAA game through the window (which I celebrated since I won bragging rights from my office pool after having watched 0 college games until the tournament started), ate a burrito, and watched a few innings of the Cubs-Angels. Arietta picks up where he left off and I think I heard Len Kasper (sp?) say that 4 walk led to 3 runs (the last coming on a Montero home run. Cubs look good so far.

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                    #34
                    Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                    Oh crap

                    Kershaw has developed a change up.

                    Interesting statoid.

                    The Cubs have scored in the first in seven of Arrieta's starts.

                    He's never given up that lead.

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                      #35
                      Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                      Are there any AL watchers on here at all?

                      Last semester one of my students gave a presentation on the Giants. Someone asked why she watched a team from San Francisco. "Because it's the closest team to Vancouver that plays proper baseball." She's right. In Vancouver, in fact in Canada, the National League is little more than a rumour. It's visibility on TV locally is less than the Bundesliga. I'm pretty sure there's no cable over-spill into Canada from any NL cities. We get Seattle, Winnipeg gets Minnesota, Southern Ontario gets the Tigers and Québec/Maritimes get the Bosox. And of course we all get the Jays 24/7. There's zero National league coverage on TV or print until the play-offs. Interleague games present the only opportunity to see NL players, unless you're dedicated enough to go streaming. It's quite strange, and means I haven't a clue who most of you are talking about on here.

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                        #36
                        Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                        I never thought about that, but it makes sense geographically.

                        Did TBS (Braves) and WGN (Cubs) have Canadian coverage back in the days of "superstations"?

                        ursus minor is a Mariners fan, and jefe roots for the Orioles. I have soft spots for both of those teams (the O's having been my AL team since I was a kid).

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                          #37
                          Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                          Re: the Cubs and Braves. Yes they did but, latterly, they were usually part of a pricier cable bundle, so I doubt found many takers. TBS was available on basic cable in its early years, but so were the Expos.

                          Out of curiosity, why is Ursus Minor a Mariners fan?

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                            #38
                            Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                            He just picked them out of the available choices when he was five or six.

                            I had tried very hard not to have him follow me in the existential angst of supporting the Cubs, and he goes and picks their AL equivalent.

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                              #39
                              Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                              I still follow the Yankees but as I noted in my lengthy response to Reed, I tend to watch nightly highlights more than full games.

                              The best way to get NL games would probably be to sign up for the MLB package, which I assume you can get through your cable/satellite or you can do the on-line version. If that's not available in Canada then the move is to do an IP Proxy to map a US address (esp. an US IP that is not falls firmly outside the territorial rights of any team --maybe somewhere in North Dakota or North Carolina so you don't have blackouts for any games). Of course, none of this helps with the broader geographic issue of Canada not having access to NL teams; rather, I point out how individual baseball fans can gain access to more baseball if they so desire.

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                                #40
                                Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                Speaking of NYY, Carlos Correa just took Tanaka deep to tie the opener at 2.

                                At least half the players are wearing balaclavas

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                                  #41
                                  Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                  Oh yes it can be done, just as I can watch English lower division football if I hunt around for it. It's more that there's no National League conversation or culture here anymore. But hardly anyone — except for dedicated 'pitchers-who-bat' fans like my student — seems to have noticed.

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                                    #42
                                    Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                    The Yankees filed a protest after the Astros went ahead on what seemed to be ruled a throwing error by Betances but the batter ran from home plate to first base on the grass and Betances clearly had no way to throw to first base. MLB won't rule in the Yankees' favor, which begs the question why the option to protest even exists. MLB hasn't sided with the protesting team in what, 35 years? But Gerardi has a case and should have a case since that out would have meant the runner needed to return to 3rd and the game would still be tied at that point.

                                    Cubs continue to score a lot of runs. And the Angles look bad. I had picked them the past couple years to be in the hunt for a playoff spot, but I finally wised up. This is not a good team.

                                    EDIT: Just looked it up. The Giants won a protest in 2014 which meant a game against the Cubs called because of rain would be played to its conclusion. The last protest that was upheld before that one was in 1986. Here's a list of some protests that were upheld:
                                    http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/20481286/successful-protest-rare-but-it-happens

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                                      #43
                                      Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                      I don't think Canadians would have to do any IP-address shenanigans to get the MLB cable or internet package.

                                      All of a sudden - today, as a matter of fact - I'm seeing some idle chatter about Vancouver being a possible expansion team site. The idea is that Montreal could get Expos 2.0 back if they get a stadium worked out and, in order to balance it out geographically at an even 32 teams, Vancouver would make sense. More sense than Portland or Vegas, I guess, because it pulls in western Canada and perhaps open up more marketing opportunities in Asia.

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                                        #44
                                        Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                        Giants win their opener with a blowout (featuring back-to-back-to-back home runs) then win their second game 2-1 with nuevo Gigante Johnny Cueto. I like this trend. Sorry, Brewers.

                                        Also, I can't bring myself to say anything bad about Pablo Sandoval, but after reading recent articles about him, erm, I'm glad another team is dealing with those problems.

                                        And finally, the Giants' batting helmets are matte black now. Is that just San Francisco, or are other teams wearing matte helmets, too?

                                        Comment


                                          #45
                                          Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                          The Padres (who are terrible) had matte brown last night, and a few other teams have sported them so far. The Orioles wore them in Spring Training, so the Giants will have company in the black and orange ranks.

                                          I feel bad for Panda, but it seems to be entirely self-inflicted.

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                                            #46
                                            Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                            Amor is obviously our man on the spot, but I struggle to see how Vancouver is a viable expansion candidate.

                                            It is a beautiful, vibrant and rich city, but it isn't a baseball town at all, and if anything I would say that demographic trends there are making it less of one as time passes.

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                                              #47
                                              Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                              It has some history as a baseball town with minor league* and amateur teams. Justin Morneau is from near there, for example.

                                              It is bigger than several current major league markets and if it brings more MLB to TV subscribers in BC, Alberta, and Alaska, that would be about 10 million people.

                                              It might be a flop, but if MLB really wants to expand, it makes sense to stay at an even number and one in the east and one in the west. Montreal makes more sense than any other option in the East and Vancouver probably makes more sense than any other option in the west.

                                              http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2016/04/vancouver-major-league-baseball-team/

                                              *Unfortunately, Minor league baseball has all but abandoned Canada, unfortunately, because of the weather. It's just hard to get people to show up in April and May when it's 50 degrees or worse. There has been some success with independent league ball which starts later. Vancouver Canadians are short-season, like my hometown Spikes, but in a different league, obviously. There used to be some NYPL teams in Ontario. In fact it used to be called the PONY league. I think Hamilton would be a great place for another NYPL team if somebody wants to build a park.

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                                                #48
                                                Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                                From where I sit, that merely demonstrates that it isn't a baseball town (and was more of one before).

                                                The weather isn't any more of an issue in Vancouver than it is in Seattle (or Tacoma, or Everett).

                                                It sounds very reminiscent of the NHL's lusting after Seattle, which makes sense from a scheduling, divisional balance and television point of view, but which hasn't at all demonstrated a desire for a team.

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                                                  #49
                                                  Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                                  MLB here has been mooted seriously now and again. The last time was in the early 80s. In fact it was a big part of the rationale for building BC Place, with both the NDP mayor and very right wing provincial government behind the idea. They put up the money — with the addition of a big slice of, upcoming, Expo '86 cash from the feds. If we build it, they will come, it was thought. But they didn't. And I doubt they will.

                                                  I don't think weather is the problem, June to October has relatively little rainfall. Nat Bailey (surely one of the best located stadiums in existence) has few rain-outs for minor league ball. In any case BC Place has a closing roof, so it's no worse than Toronto.

                                                  It's more that Vancouver is not really a big sports town period. Even the Canucks struggle to fill seats without a winning team (cf: the season just ending.) If the Lions have another bad year, ownership will be wringing their hands. The 'Caps owners too are very cautious about how much of the stadium they commit to, and their core fans are probably the most loyal. We just don't go indoors to do stuff. If we could, we'd live on the beaches, on the water, or in the mountains all the time. A seriously rubbish Shakespeare Festival, in Vanier Park, has been running successfully for thirty years, but it wouldn't last a week if it was in a proper theatre.

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                                                    #50
                                                    Dudes Dig the Low ERA (MLB 2016)

                                                    Dodgers have now scored 18 runs without one home run.

                                                    It is only the Padres, though.

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