Catching up on things a bit, and I wanted to say, it would have been really easy to mail this in - not that I think you would have mailed it in, Joe, but it's easy to imagine this being just a quick run-down of the 2-homer games. Instead, we got some really funny bits as well as a terrific rundown of stuff happening in the game today. I'm the sort of fan who follows my team intensely, a couple others casually, lets whatever tomfoolery the Mets are up to sink in through osmosis, and mostly misses a lot of the rest. It's been fun getting this daily whirlwind tour through a lot of MLB that I wouldn't ordinarily pay attention to.
I would imagine there are a bunch of other things you had planned to do with the time you spent on this series - promote a new book if you have one, write the next book, finish the Baseball 100, enjoy your summer vacation without the girls saying, "Dad, let's go!" I wouldn't ask you to keep doing this every day. But a weekly tour like this would be awesome.
With this new strategy of sacrificing strikeouts, hits, etc. just to maximize home runs - is it a strategy that players have individually decided on, or are MLB coaches asking their players to take this approach?
That's a good question. It could be that teams are favoring players that already are of this type (good HR hitters) when drafting. And the instructions probably come from the front office, rather than the on-the-field managers.
I believe it does happen sometimes. I think the Astros' front office people talked to Cole and McCullers and other pitchers about which pitches to throw. But it probably goes from the front office to the manager, then the players most of the time. But I'm not sure.
I recommend "Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak" by Travis Sawchik as giving some insight to a modern front office. This book is about the 2013 Pirates. I wish I knew of more books about how front offices work.
I don't buy the evolution argument. A great deal of it is the ball. Just look at the leap in Triple A homers now that they're using the MLB ball. That needs to be fixed. Then we can figure out where we are.
It's not inevitable. Just a few year ago, a KC Royals team that didn't walk or K or HR much, that put the ball in play, played good D, had a great bullpen and super-speed on the basepaths, won two AL pennants in a row and one WS title. And man were they fun to watch.
This post reminds me of the late, great and still beloved Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell. At the start of his broadcast of every Grapefruit League opener he began with this poem:
The only positive about the streak ending is that I may finally get caught up on reading these articles during my lunch break. Once I do, however, I may as well walk into the sea.
I hear the gulls crying. And I have this inexplicable urge to go to the sea- it seems to be calling to me. Perhaps I’ll drive to the coast and then start walking, walking to the sea...
That's a shame, I was really enjoying the posts. Your wallowing in self pity over a self made cage was amusing. Do we still get the surprise over the weekend? I happy to know that the air is nicer and the world a more forgiving place for a decent human being tho :)
Catching up on things a bit, and I wanted to say, it would have been really easy to mail this in - not that I think you would have mailed it in, Joe, but it's easy to imagine this being just a quick run-down of the 2-homer games. Instead, we got some really funny bits as well as a terrific rundown of stuff happening in the game today. I'm the sort of fan who follows my team intensely, a couple others casually, lets whatever tomfoolery the Mets are up to sink in through osmosis, and mostly misses a lot of the rest. It's been fun getting this daily whirlwind tour through a lot of MLB that I wouldn't ordinarily pay attention to.
I would imagine there are a bunch of other things you had planned to do with the time you spent on this series - promote a new book if you have one, write the next book, finish the Baseball 100, enjoy your summer vacation without the girls saying, "Dad, let's go!" I wouldn't ask you to keep doing this every day. But a weekly tour like this would be awesome.
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
And there is much joy in Mudville — no-one hit one out.
h/t Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Rather, "No-one hit two out."
You're absolutely right. It even scans correctly.
I realized that as soon as I pressed POST. And I don't know how to edit a post.
With this new strategy of sacrificing strikeouts, hits, etc. just to maximize home runs - is it a strategy that players have individually decided on, or are MLB coaches asking their players to take this approach?
That's a good question. It could be that teams are favoring players that already are of this type (good HR hitters) when drafting. And the instructions probably come from the front office, rather than the on-the-field managers.
Does that happen where front office talks to players directly about strategy?
I believe it does happen sometimes. I think the Astros' front office people talked to Cole and McCullers and other pitchers about which pitches to throw. But it probably goes from the front office to the manager, then the players most of the time. But I'm not sure.
I recommend "Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak" by Travis Sawchik as giving some insight to a modern front office. This book is about the 2013 Pirates. I wish I knew of more books about how front offices work.
I don't buy the evolution argument. A great deal of it is the ball. Just look at the leap in Triple A homers now that they're using the MLB ball. That needs to be fixed. Then we can figure out where we are.
It's not inevitable. Just a few year ago, a KC Royals team that didn't walk or K or HR much, that put the ball in play, played good D, had a great bullpen and super-speed on the basepaths, won two AL pennants in a row and one WS title. And man were they fun to watch.
I was hoping for 40 to get Joe’s surprise, but also because 40 is a WAY cooler and easier number to remember than 37.
Just think of that British miniseries "37 Days".
This post reminds me of the late, great and still beloved Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell. At the start of his broadcast of every Grapefruit League opener he began with this poem:
For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone
The flowers appear on the Earth
The time of the singing of birds is come
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
Darndest thing this morning, but on my way to work I could have sworn I saw a chimneysweep sell a kite to Joe in the park.
The only positive about the streak ending is that I may finally get caught up on reading these articles during my lunch break. Once I do, however, I may as well walk into the sea.
I hear the gulls crying. And I have this inexplicable urge to go to the sea- it seems to be calling to me. Perhaps I’ll drive to the coast and then start walking, walking to the sea...
I have no reason to wake up tomorrow.
That's a shame, I was really enjoying the posts. Your wallowing in self pity over a self made cage was amusing. Do we still get the surprise over the weekend? I happy to know that the air is nicer and the world a more forgiving place for a decent human being tho :)
I looked forward to these posts. I'm a bit sad that it ended. I was hoping for a late evening, west coast, streak extender. But it was not to be.
But, do we brilliant readers still get our surprise? 🤷 lol
We'll just have to start a new streak tonight.
It would have to start tonight, there's only 39 days left in the season.
Wow, so a new streak starts and then we have to wait an entire offseason for the 40th day surprise?
Congrats on making it through, Joe! From now on I'll always refer to a two-homer game as "a Posnanski."