11/21/24
July 03, 2014
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:36 AM on July 03, 2014
The Algerian WC squad is donating the $9MM they received for making the round of 16 to Gaza because "they need it more".
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:08 AM on July 03, 2014
posted by yerfatma at 11:18 AM on July 03, 2014
So you wanna be a match-fixer? Bill Barnwell offers a primer on how to do it along with a number of interesting links and anecdotes.
posted by yerfatma at 02:37 PM on July 03, 2014
Needs a better ragdoll physics engine. Also, why isn't it out on PS4, XBONE LOSERS!
posted by yerfatma at 03:37 PM on July 03, 2014
posted by rcade at 08:42 PM on July 03, 2014
"I wouldn't have messed it up..."
He's no Hope Solo.
posted by owlhouse at 09:50 PM on July 03, 2014
The World Cup of arm folding.
That was way more entertaining that it should have been!
posted by bender at 10:54 PM on July 03, 2014
The insanity that is instant replay in MLB:
Blue Jays runner is called safe.
Blue Jays ask for instant replay to reverse it and have him called out!
Instant replay confirms he was, in fact, out.
Blue Jays celebrate the decision, but opposition manager officially plays the game under protest!
Confused? Here is the explanation.
posted by grum@work at 11:14 PM on July 03, 2014
I'll swap you a cricket explanation for a baseball explanation.
In that play:
1. Shouldn't the fielder have thrown directly to home, forcing the play, without trying to tag?, and
2. Shouldn't the catcher have tried to tag the base runner heading for home, as well as stepping on the plate, just to be sure?
And a general question - do fielding teams practice these scenarios?
posted by owlhouse at 11:26 PM on July 03, 2014
1. Shouldn't the fielder have thrown directly to home, forcing the play, without trying to tag?
It kind of depends on how much your throw is going to beat the runner at home by. Since there was one out with the bases loaded, the ideal thing to have happen is a double play - no runs score and you get out of a situation where it's pretty easy for the other team to score a run. So, in that way, the first baseman did the correct thing - he had plenty of time to tag the runner on the way to first and still beat the runner going home by a long shot. If he throws home directly, they'll likely only get one out on the play, the bases will still be loaded, and the next guy up could hit a single and score 2 runs or something (I only think the guy will hit a single because I'm a Padre fan and that's the best I can hope for).
posted by LionIndex at 11:48 PM on July 03, 2014
2. Shouldn't the catcher have tried to tag the base runner heading for home, as well as stepping on the plate, just to be sure?
No. His first reaction is to see if there is any other baserunner that they can throw out, and wasting time for the baserunner to get within tagging distance isn't really a smart play (if you assume the umps aren't lying/mistaken on their calls).
I'm just surprised the Blue Jays manager/players were smart enough to make that original challenge (that the tag WAS made) to get the "side effect" of the run scoring. That really isn't an expected maneuver.
I suspect that the rule will be modified to allow for the umpires to "reset" or "adjust" the baserunners as they see fit after a replay. In this case, I would have sent the baserunners (except the one that was tagged) back to their original bases, and the batter would be awarded 1st base. It gives the fielding team the out, but acknowledges that both teams would have had an opportunity to benefit from the correct call (no run scores, but no extra outs are made).
posted by grum@work at 01:09 AM on July 04, 2014
You know what's going through his head here, right?
"I wouldn't have messed it up..."