A Realistic View at 2018: Part II

[Kimmi]

Things could be worse, Kimmi, at least they don't have horrible jokes about them like the ones about lawyers.

 

Q: What's the difference between a dead skunk in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?

A: There are skid marks in front of the skunk.

 

LOL Good point.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

But don't you feel sorry for that ump? It must have been scary to sit there with a 90 mph ball being thrown at him!

 

Tears of rage, but I believe the bad call was on a slider.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

With HP umps I believe the problem is more about consistency than accuracy. If the ump is calling a certain location a strike, even if it's not, as long as he is consistent with his calls. Batters and pitchers can adjust to that during the game. What's been an issue of late is that along with errors in accuracy, there is no consistency.

[oldtimer]

With HP umps I believe the problem is more about consistency than accuracy. If the ump is calling a certain location a strike, even if it's not, as long as he is consistent with his calls. Batters and pitchers can adjust to that during the game. What's been an issue of late is that along with errors in accuracy, there is no consistency.

 

I still play softball, even at my advanced age, and I do know that it is hard to hit a ball that is outside of the strike zone. It must be doubly hard with baseballs that are coming in at very high velocities and have movement. I would think it makes a world of difference to a hitter whether a ball that is 2 inches off the plate is called a strike.

[notin]

thats kind of the point. why continue to allow a human to try and track a 95MPH+ pitch with movement?

the technology is available now to have just about 100% accuracy. it wasn't available for the first 150 years of baseball. but it is now.

i'm impressed a horse and wagon can travel across the USA. i'm still taking a plane.....

 

And a robot could probably hit better than JD Martinez, but it doesn't mean I want to see it happen...

[notin]

One thing I can say for sure is that I could never be a catcher.

 

Never mind all the foul balls off the face mask, etc. Just the squatting for 9 innings would do me in. LOL

 

She had a teammate who could throw close to 50mph underhand - which is pretty shocking for a bunch of 10 and 11 year olds. She absolutely hated catching her. Foul tips off the mask are one thing, but taking a 50mph fastball off the arm is pretty nasty for a little girl...

[Maxbialystock]

And a robot could probably hit better than JD Martinez, but it doesn't mean I want to see it happen...

 

Exactly. Players are nothing if not imperfect. Umpires are far, far closer to "perfect" than the players. More than that, they make decisions quickly and decisively and do their best to keep the game moving along. More to the point, I actually enjoy a good umpire at work because it's a skilled position which requires almost as much training as for players (who obviously have a higher skill level of course).

[mvp 78]

And a robot could probably hit better than JD Martinez, but it doesn't mean I want to see it happen...

 

This is a nonsense argument.

[Slasher9]

And a robot could probably hit better than JD Martinez, but it doesn't mean I want to see it happen...

show me the stats for a robot that hits better than JDM (or any MLB level player). they dont exist.

once this actually exists..we can revisit whether or not i would want players replaced by robots.....

until then. i will take human players playing the game of baseball with robots calling balls and strikes.

[SoxnCycles]

show me the stats for a robot that hits better than JDM (or any MLB level player). they dont exist.

once this actually exists..we can revisit whether or not i would want players replaced by robots.....

until then. i will take human players playing the game of baseball with robots calling balls and strikes.

 

No robot to date can do what JD, (or any other ball player) can do.

Unless one enjoys an even slower version of baseball than what we have now.

[Maxbialystock]

This is a nonsense argument.

 

Not to me. I want human umpires because to me they are part of the game.

 

FWIW, I even get a little nervous about how increasingly important computer programs and "big data" are becoming to MLB and even college teams. They are already the proximate cause for the all those shifts we see now.

 

They are at the heart of the movie Moneyball, which depicts a GM who basically preaches the gospel of Bill James: get a walk because you don't need to hit; don't steal; don't bunt either because outs are precious.

 

Think about that sentence and ask yourself, if Bill James is right and everyone starts applying sabermetrics religiously, is baseball a better game without bunts, without steals, and without hitters who actually want to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely and not just look for a walk?

[dgalehouse]

With robot umps there would still be arguments over ball and strike calls. But a player probably would not get ejected / suspended for making incidental contact with the droid.

[mvp 78]

Not to me. I want human umpires because to me they are part of the game.

 

Umpires are a s***** part of the game that could be better. No one is tuning into a game to watch the umps. I will turn a game off if Angel Hernandez is the ump.

 

Robot umps have NOTHING to do with sabermetrics.

[Slasher9]

FWIW, I even get a little nervous about how increasingly important computer programs and "big data" are becoming to MLB and even college teams. They are already the proximate cause for the all those shifts we see now.

 

/QUOTE]

 

speaking of shifts....for the first time in the History of 12U baseball at Cooperstown NY - last week my ragtag team from NJ instituted The Shift against the powerhouse clubs from California, Texas. the coaches, umpires, fans were blown away. not once did we get beat while in the shift and we took away 8 hits in the 3 games we utilized the shift. shock waves were sent.....

[notin]

Not to me. I want human umpires because to me they are part of the game.

 

FWIW, I even get a little nervous about how increasingly important computer programs and "big data" are becoming to MLB and even college teams. They are already the proximate cause for the all those shifts we see now.

 

They are at the heart of the movie Moneyball, which depicts a GM who basically preaches the gospel of Bill James: get a walk because you don't need to hit; don't steal; don't bunt either because outs are precious.

 

Think about that sentence and ask yourself, if Bill James is right and everyone starts applying sabermetrics religiously, is baseball a better game without bunts, without steals, and without hitters who actually want to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely and not just look for a walk?

 

Yes, baseball is better with advanced metrics, especially if your favorite team is using them. Are you really going to argue that baseball is more exciting with sac bunts?

[Spudboy]

Jason Werth says that stat nerds are killing the game.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24329670/jayson-werth-rails-super-nerds-killing-game

Edited August 9, 2018 by Spudboy

[Kimmi]

With HP umps I believe the problem is more about consistency than accuracy. If the ump is calling a certain location a strike, even if it's not, as long as he is consistent with his calls. Batters and pitchers can adjust to that during the game. What's been an issue of late is that along with errors in accuracy, there is no consistency.

 

I agree. But even when umpires are fairly consistent with something like calling the high strike, what gives an umpire the right to create his own strike zone? There is an MLB regulation strike zone. The pitch is either a strike or it's not. It's not supposed to be subject to the umpire's interpretation.

[Kimmi]

She had a teammate who could throw close to 50mph underhand - which is pretty shocking for a bunch of 10 and 11 year olds. She absolutely hated catching her. Foul tips off the mask are one thing, but taking a 50mph fastball off the arm is pretty nasty for a little girl...

 

No doubt Notin. I have the utmost respect for her and other catchers.

[Kimmi]

Jason Werth says that stat nerds are killing the game.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24329670/jayson-werth-rails-super-nerds-killing-game

 

Ha. I read that article not too long ago.

 

Super nerds get no respect.

 

They are not killing the game.

 

Baseball is still baseball. If you don't like the advanced stats, don't use them. It's as simple as that. Most fans don't.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

oops. Edited August 9, 2018 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[cp176]

Jason Werth says that stat nerds are killing the game.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24329670/jayson-werth-rails-super-nerds-killing-game

 

I read the article and I really would like to know what other players in the game feel.

[moonslav59]

Werth sucks.

 

He's bringing down the game.

[Larry Cook]

At the end of the day, pitching, defense and hitting are the essense if the game. Always have been and always will be.

[moonslav59]

At the end of the day, pitching, defense and hitting are the essense if the game. Always have been and always will be.

 

Exactly. It doesn't matter if the umps are humans or robots, it's all about the players.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Werth sucks.

 

He's bringing down the game.

 

Yup, Werth seems to have forgotten that the players still have to hit, catch, run and throw. Pretty much the same things they had to do after Doubleday invented the game.

[moonslav59]

Yup, Werth seems to have forgotten that the players still have to hit, catch, run and throw. Pretty much the same things they had to do after Doubleday invented the game.

 

Some metrics proved he sucked, and he blamed it on them not his own diminished and putrid skills.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Some metrics proved he sucked, and he blamed it on them not his own diminished and putrid skills.

 

 

This. He doesn't like the advanced stats because it just shows that he is living up to his name Werthless.

[oldtimer]

Ha. I read that article not too long ago.

 

Super nerds get no respect.

 

They are not killing the game.

 

Baseball is still baseball. If you don't like the advanced stats, don't use them. It's as simple as that. Most fans don't.

 

We are living in the virtual world of video gamer's, but I prefer baseball played by real live people with all their strengths and flaws. Those that love to talk in stats can have them. I guess when it comes to paying players there has to be some way to justify the pay differences.

[cp176]

We are living in the virtual world of video gamer's, but I prefer baseball played by real live people with all their strengths and flaws. Those that love to talk in stats can have them. I guess when it comes to paying players there has to be some way to justify the pay differences.

 

I'm with you! I also really don't think that it has anything to do with the fact that I am older and stubborn! lol

[moonslav59]

I'm pretty old, too, but I guess, somehow, I learned to embrace change (or at least not fear it).

 

One job a GM has always had is to assign some sort of value to each of his players and to those he's thinking of acquiring.