Baseball thread 2016

[Johnny75]

True that.

Anyway - Blue Jays held on and a 2-0 lead should see them home against the Rangers in a 5 game series you would think.

Red Sox v Indians just started. I think I fancy Cleveland to just pinch the series but it will be a close one.

I think the Red Sox are too strong for Cleveland this year although I'd really like the Indians to do it, just for Chatlie Sheen..

 

[The Bear]

I tried watching baseball late at night years ago when it used to be on terrestrial TV regularly, and it was only ever just ok. It never hooked me like NFL did and it's nowhere near as exciting.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

But you are an NFL fan. I cannot find anything about NFL to get particularly excited about at all.

 

[Alan]

Can't understand how anyone can watch baseball for the first time and think, "yeah, I'd spend time doing this".

 

[Johnny75]

Can't understand how anyone can watch baseball for the first time and think, "yeah, I'd spend time doing this".

I can only speak for myself and a few of the blokes I was working in the US with and we were all brought up playing cricket and football. It isn't too much a stretch to go from cricket to baseball and baseball is a shorter game. The pitching skills, whilst not comparable in technicality is essentially a bowler and the variations in pitching I find fascinating. The fast pitch, flower, slider, cutter and off speed junk are all variations a bowler would use and the fact you get different heights and specialist pitchers as well as closers and middle inning relief adds to the tactics of the game.

There's a decent amount of thought in the line up like a cricket line up and the different type of batters almost mirror cricket. The on-base specialists, the sluggers and the contact hitters with speed. All in all pretty easy to get into, and the subway series is quality to go to.

I loved the stats behind it and even the fantasy games, still play the Yahoo one some 17 years later.

 

[Alan]

Tactically you could do your head in for hours trying to line up a baseball team for a given situation so I guess I understand that bit. As a spectacle though I just can't focus on it unless I'm really there.

 

[Johnny75]

Tactically you could do your head in for hours trying to line up a baseball team for a given situation so I guess I understand that bit. As a spectacle though I just can't focus on it unless I'm really there.

I can do the TV no problem, but like almost all sport live is best, especially when you can drink copious units of beer in the evening sun.

 

[Johnny75]

Doubled up.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

State of play

Indians lead Red Sox 2-0 (next two games in Boston)
Blue Jays lead Rangers 2-0 (next two games in Toronto)

Dodgers lead Nationals 1-0 (next game in Washington)
Cubs lead Giants 1-0 (next game in Chicago)

 

[Johnny75]

Looks like you were right about Cleveland Pad, battered the Red Sox, which is always nice to see. Your Cubs in a pitching thriller last night?

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Shut outs are always nice!

The scoring will come. Rizzo and Zobrist didn't really get going last night.

 

[The Bear]

But you are an NFL fan.

I was talking about watching baseball years before I was an NFL fan. It still didn't do anything for me.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Each to their own I guess.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Blue Jays put the Rangers out last night (that is a pretty big surprise as the Rangers have been excellent lately). Nationals drew level with the Dodgers and Boston v Cleveland was postponed until today because of rain.

Tonight

Nationals@Dodgers (1-1)
Indians@Red Sox (2-0)
Cubs@Giants (2-0)

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Indians through. Nationals now 2-1 up on Dodgers. Cubs@Giants still going on. 5-5 at the bottom of the 13th.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Giants win in the 13th. Bugger. Should make a good series but I wanted the Cubs to sweep them!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Cubs beat Giants (just) to advance . Dodgers and Nationals will go to a deciding game.

League championship series
Blue Jays @ Indians starting Friday

Dodgers / Nationals @ Cubs starting Saturday.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Dodgers scrape by the Nationals in the fifth game. Slightly surprised by that result.

 

[Alan]

The Nats are extreme choke artists.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

You spelled Cubs wrong...