Screwball

I wonder how much time the staff spends mathing out pitch count/inning/matchup chaos inducing game plans. Other than Skubal, the rest haven't threw much more than their daily routine. I would think most would be available tomorrow.

I'm with ya. I never thought I would see something like this. Guy starts today, 6 pitches, 3 outs. See ya. WHAT? Back in one of the Houston games they give a late hitter (I hardly know anyone) a green light on 3-0 with 2 out and he singles (adding; I don't remember, but that didn't seem to be the the thing to do at the time given the situation). I'm not sure the old guys would have done that. Think of all the old gray hair managers who choked on their beer over this stuff. Wild. I love it. Get the job done tomorrow. At least I can watch instead of playing avoid the world until I see the tape.

So since this is the random thread, I will put this here. A few questions. First, as I said in some other threads, I fell off the wagon and started watching baseball again. Things have changed so much. Some of it is technology, and of course, how they now play the game. 1) I see posts in game threads (post game) showing how well the ump called the game. I hope I said that right. I see a batters box when watching the game so that has something to do with it? Maybe two questions here. 1a) how is this zone electronically created, for lack of a better word. 1b) how accurate is it 1c) who controls the data. In a nutshell, how does that all work. Neat stuff, not that I'm into replacing umps. Just give me a place to start the research and I can go from there. 2) I have read this board for a long time, like 3 boards ago. TigerLee was one of the first guys I talked to many years ago. I remember the arguments way back then between the stat (Sabermetric) guys and the traditionalist old school guys. Fun stuff. Now I see tee shirts that says Gritty, or something like that. Back in those days that would get you ran out of town. Which is my next question. I am the old school guy. A Jim Leyland type of guy. I know I've been away, and have watched a very small sample size of games in the last week (5), but what flavor of baseball is this? It appears to me, it is a mix between both philosophies. All about matchups and odds. I might be wrong, but the guy who started game one, just closed game 3. WTF? Who does that? Well, team Chaos, that's who. The stats tell us what happened as they are a record of history. Also a result of what your game plan was, and how well you executed it. Earl Weaver was known for his index cards. Same stuff. I don't know, because I've been away for a long time, but this current trip we are on looks like they have blown up every rule of baseball, no matter which camp of baseball philosophy you reside in. Or, maybe not. I think there is a thing to this gritty stuff. You can't measure it, but it's there, and it matters. One final observation, again, small sample size. I'm already a big fan of Parker Meadows. Tall, slim, runs like the wind. Love guys like that in the big field at Comerica.

This is my point. If anyone who has played was a switch hitter they would know that batting left against a left is not the same as a right against a right. Due to symmetry one would think it is, but it's not.

Loved him. I remember one night he was going to be pitching and the guy in the booth said; sometime tonight, no matter where you are sitting, Louie is going to look at you. RIP

That has been a thing in baseball since forever it seems, and I'm old. At the same time, there is a difference between a R/R matchup vs. a L/L, in my opinion. Curves are different for one thing. Hard to explain. A right handed curve to a right handed batter is easier to hit than a left handed curve to a lefty. Might sound nuts, symmetry and all. Related, and strange, bowling is the very same way. Southpaws had a natural hook that hit like a truck. Crazy, I know. 🙂

I'm old so I want to protect my money. The market is too risky for me at this point (other than a small fund I play with to get my nuts off). I welcome these higher interest rates. You can do OK just playing short term yields, and completely risk free at the same time. If you get frisky, some corporate bonds can do even better. Funny how the Fed tries to control interest rates, but they (rates) seem to do what they want to anyway. It's almost like there is something other than central planning, or the attempt of...

I fessed up a few days ago as an inverse baseball fan for years, but have been drawn into this Tiger magic recently. My goal today was to avoid news until I could finish my part time job and be able to watch the game when I got home. Fat chance, right? But I did. Wow!!! What an incredible baseball game. It had it all. Drama for 9 innings. Zero runs until the 9th. And against Cleveland - spit - and I live in Ohio. I think I might have tweaked something when Carp hit the homer. I have now watched Skubal a couple of times. Small sample size, I know, but this guy is a Stud, with a capital S (I know, no **** Sherlock). Other than a little bump in the road in the 6th, I think it was, this guy was fricken lights out tonight (well, I guess a couple of timely double plays didn't hurt either). I love watching him. He's got a funny delivery, and it really fits into the fastball/change up thing that serves him so well. Deceptive. Along with a high 90 heater. Not hard to find guys with high 90 heaters, but all high 90 heaters are not the same. I'm guessing his is doing things others don't. This continues to be an incredible story.

I'll use this response but same answer applies to all of the above. Now that I understand how they have been doing things - keep them guessing - that helps it make more sense. Maybe steal game one with chaos and have the Ace for game two? That's part of the fun with these guys, no? I think so, now that I'm paying attention. So does his pitching history, which everyone has explained, and I have also looked into. For example, Verlander had these IP type numbers his first two years. That's two in a row. Skupal doesn't. That matters. This is also my age. Back when I played this was a given, but the game was played different then. I have battled with this game I grew up playing and loving but it's been a love/hate relationship. I have lost track, obviously. It's a different time, the game is played a different way, for better or worse I guess. I'm going to enjoy this (maybe) since it's now a bucket list kind of thing and I'm roped in at this point. I still think what they have done this year is one of the greatest sports stories in a very long time. And given I live in Ohio, in the middle of Indian country.........The story I could tell about the Cleveland drummer in left field. RIP. I know it was a different time, different kind of pitcher, at a different point in his career, but I'm guessing The Mick would say; hold my beer. 1968 WS was one of the neatest things ever. I actually got to see one of McLain's wins that year. Different time and era. Go Tigers!!!!!!!

It is still piling up innings no matter what game it is. The only difference is game 1 would have been on 4 days rest. 5 game series, first to win 3. Best pitcher has to be in 2 of them. I guess I spent too many years watching Billy, Sparky and Smoke.

They owe me nothing, and I don't think it's pretty clear. He threw 88 pitches against Houston. His last start before that game was a week before. That's hardly overworked IMO. He would still be adding innings to his arm on Friday if they get that far, so what's the difference? Difference is, they might be eliminated by Friday.

Short rest or not (only 1 day) - arguably, the best pitcher in baseball should get 2 starts in 3 games in a best of 5 series. If he does his job, you only need one more win, series over. If they didn't want to risk his health, I understand that. I don't know if they gave an explanation.

Maybe you should learn to read - nobody said that, or even insinuated that.

Since I'm new to this, it might sound nuts. What I can't figure out; lets start with numbers and dates. If they lose the next two games, the best pitcher in the American league this year (going with my recent research) will only pitch one game in the series. He goes Monday, therefore, won't be available until Thursday at the earliest. They are already done if they lose on Wednesday. Given you have a dominating Cy Young candidate and then chaos for a pitching staff, you might want to max out his innings. A couple of guaranteed mathematical starts would be a good way to start. This is one of the dumbest things I ever saw. No wonder I quit watching. Maybe I'm missing something.

That's a great point. It seems all the guys loved him. I can understand why. Let me offer this one up; The beauty of all that is how he pumped Gibby, like he needed any pumping. But it was great.

I was a fan of Craig and thought he had more to do with their success than Sparky.

That sounds about right. I was really into it in 84 and I thought he did a bunch of really dumb stuff but came up smelling like a rose. At the same time, those guys just got it done. So it was kind of like the Reds, make out a lineup and let them win games.

Thanks for this. I don't remember the history but I did look. Sparky got the Detroit job in 79 while at the same time Leyland had been in their minor league system for years. Of course Sparky had the name from the Big Red Machine. That drove me nuts. The biggest problem Sparky had every day was finding a pencil to make out the lineup, given their talent. I thought he was a goof. I named a dog after him. He was much smarter. Sparky the baseball manager made me grow old faster.

When I was a kid mowing yards, I saved enough money to buy Baseball Digest each month. I followed him from when he played, then a manager at Lakeland, and beyond. He coached many of the 84 guys. Then Mayo (not sure) left and Sparky got the job. I thought it should be Jim. I was not at all happy. Then years later he goes back there. They get good, my family were huge Tiger fans (required), we were having a ball. Than that debacle. I was so bummed. I want to watch is HOF speech but I can't. I would ball like a baby.

To clarify - to increase profit, not reduce.

You can't negotiate with technology. It will replace the negotiators. 🙂

I'm one of those guys who admit in the beginning of a AA meeting they have a problem. Mine is, I haven't watched a Tiger baseball game in probably 5 years. I found this place three boards ago because of Tiger baseball. I even met some people from here (now all gone). So I was a fan. I was lost in, I think it was around 2013, when they lost to the Sox. The famous Prince Fielder 3rd base blunder. I can still see it. Then within a few days or a week, Jim Leyland retired. He was my guy. He has a field named after him at the high school in Perrysburg, Ohio, about an hour away from me. After all that, I was devastated. I never recovered and lost interest. Then... About 2 weeks ago, I was having a cold one at the local dive bar and they had the Tiger game on. The guy who owns the place starts talking about what they need to do to make the playoffs. WHAT? I remember looking at the standings on my birthday - August 8. They were what, 10 games out? So at this point I had to go do some research and see what is going on. What I find is one of the greatest stories in a long time. If my research is correct, they trade 3 people at the deadline, including their second best pitcher, then go 32-12, or something like that, and here we are. WHAT? That doesn't happen. I can't watch games, but once they got to play Houston I could, so I did. Couple of nail biters those were...Pitch a stud game 1, come back with pitch by committee the next day, anything to create chaos. This is nuts. I remember back three boards ago the Jim Leyland type guys arguing with the number (saber) guys about how to play baseball. These guys don't play it either way. Maybe. This team breaks every rule in the book no matter what side of that argument you are on (2 on, 2 out, 3 and 0 and you give a guy a hit sign). While they are using probabilities, they are also creating chaos. This is a new book. What they have done since mid-August is off the charts incredible, and even more so in the way they have done it. IMO, this is one of the greatest sports stories since the USA hockey team won the 1980 Olympics. I have no regrets for missing what I did, and I'm even happier for the loyal fans who stuck with them through all the tough years. I remember 68 and 84. But another one in the books would be fine. Bucket list thing. Speaking of which; Skubal gets two starts against Cleveland, including game 1, period, end of story.

I haven't followed it very close, but I think this is just an agreement to work, but things are still pending. Could be wrong. What I did find interesting, in these talks, at one time, part of the bargaining was over automation. Ports would be easy to automate given our technology. That reduces cost, therefore prices, and of course profit. At the cost of labor - or the very same people who buy what they just shipped in. Whatever can be automated will be. How does that turn out?

Employment numbers showing a 4-sigma beat to the median estimate is a perfectly normal occurrence.

The bellwether known as Fed Ex getting spanked to the tune of -15% due to poor earnings.