4/8 1:10 White Sox @ Tigers **OPENING DAY 2022**

[Jim Cowan]

I just watched the game, Torkelson made 4 really solid plays and Baez' sliding stop and throw was awesome.  Last year's team gives up 7 runs, maybe 8.

[buddha]

listening to this game on white sox radio and the post game on chicaho sports radio was really fun.  a meltdown culminated by javy baez beating the sox made them so mad.  it was great.

[Kacie]

I think with Shep, he doesn't have that depth perception or whatever to be able to tell how far a ball has been hit.  So many times you just get the ho hum, fly ball to left field and often times you know it's gone before he does.  He doesn't have that "crescendo" thing going on like DD does.  Fly ball!  Way Back!!!  It's deeep!!!  

Don't love Gibby or Morris either.  With Gibby's health, if working games helps his physical condition, it's all good. Some cringey moments for sure with him.  One would think a time will come in the not too distant future when he's unable to continue because of it.  Morris often has good analysis, but his ego/back in my day take gets in the way too often. CMo has improved but he needs better flow and has to get more of his own style instead of a Rod Allen clone.

[Hart]

If Gibby is just a third "wheel", I am okay with it.  But we desperately need a star as either the play by play or color analyst and we have neither.  Shep does have the voice for it but I have serious doubts he can grow into it.  Time will tell.  

[chasfh]

12 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

I think Meadows will be closer to the 2019 version once the shift is greatly modified.  I am thinking the shifting him really dropped his average.    It seems like the shift really started getting used a lot more in 2020 and 2021.   Is there a way to see how many base hits were taken away via the shift?   I bet it's a lot.  

Good observation—last year Meadows had a .402 wOBA when not shifted versus a .304 wOBA against the shift, which he faced 75% of the time. In 2019 he was actually better against the shift (.398, vs .361) when he was shifted only 51% off the time.

If they can address that, Austin Meadows can be an All-Star with us.

Wonder if that will/would have any positive effect on Parker Meadows? ☺️

[mtutiger]

31 minutes ago, Hart said:

If Gibby is just a third "wheel", I am okay with it.  But we desperately need a star as either the play by play or color analyst and we have neither.  Shep does have the voice for it but I have serious doubts he can grow into it.  Time will tell.  

I dont know if it's the relative quality of the product on the field compared to previous years or what, but Shep didn't bother me as much yesterday. 

Agreed on color commentary tho.

Edited April 9, 2022 by mtutiger

[chasfh]

11 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

The most in depth analysis I saw on Meadows was that his FB rate had gone up past optimum and his BaBIP was dropping on too many pop flies, but I didn't make any effort to check the claim independently.

Austin Meadows’s launch angle did go way up, but there was more: his EV, hard hit and barrels all went down, which dropped his xwOBACON from .455 in 2019 to .369 last year. As a result his HR/FB dropped by a full third, and when you hit fly balls that don’t go out of the park, they usually get caught for outs. That’s a big drag on BABIP, batting average, SLG, and ultimately run production.

Not for nothing, Austin also started chasing outside the zone more and making contact out there less, perhaps in frustration from popping up too much and falling short of the wall a lot more. Perhaps he started pressing to make things happen to change his luck.

Austin spent his entire spring with another team, so I really don’t know what he worked on all camp. But hopefully they identified the problem as trying to lift the ball too much, so if he can direct his efforts toward switching out some of his fly balls for line drives, we can see lots of good things from him.

[chasfh]

11 hours ago, lordstanley said:

I think Gibby and Morris are even more of a drag than Shepard. I don’t like Gibby talking over the PBP (“get going, get going”) even on routine RBIs.  I sync the radio broadcast when I’m watching on my PC, but haven’t figured out how to do that through the MLB app on my Samsung tv 

Run a VPN through your router, if you have one. I don’t know if you can apply a VPN directly to the box you get from your ISP—you can’t with AT&T’s gateway—but you can do so on any decent router you lay on top of that, like an ASUS or a Linksys.

I have NordVPN and they have easy step by step instructions on their website on how to apply it to your router. I have New York, Seattle, Dallas and Toronto on mine, so just in case one is struggling, I have three others I can try.

That’s how I could get the game on MLB.tv although I should have been blacked out from doing so.

[lordstanley]

1 hour ago, Kacie said:

I think with Shep, he doesn't have that depth perception or whatever to be able to tell how far a ball has been hit.  So many times you just get the ho hum, fly ball to left field and often times you know it's gone before he does.  He doesn't have that "crescendo" thing going on like DD does.  Fly ball!  Way Back!!!  It's deeep!!!  

Don't love Gibby or Morris either.  With Gibby's health, if working games helps his physical condition, it's all good. Some cringey moments for sure with him.  One would think a time will come in the not too distant future when he's unable to continue because of it.  Morris often has good analysis, but his ego/back in my day take gets in the way too often. CMo has improved but he needs better flow and has to get more of his own style instead of a Rod Allen clone.

And you’d have to think that on radio, Jim Price’s time in the booth is drawing near to the end.  When that happens, will be bad if they can’t find a decent color replacement for him. 

[lordstanley]

2 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Run a VPN through your router, if you have one. I don’t know if you can apply a VPN directly to the box you get from your ISP—you can’t with AT&T’s gateway—but you can do so on any decent router you lay on top of that, like an ASUS or a Linksys.

I have NordVPN and they have easy step by step instructions on their website on how to apply it to your router. I have New York, Seattle, Dallas and Toronto on mine, so just in case one is struggling, I have three others I can try.

That’s how I could get the game on MLB.tv although I should have been blacked out from doing so.

Thanks, I’m well out of market in Vancouver, so blackouts aren’t the issue. I can watch the game fine and get the tv commentary sound. It’s trying to get the radio sound through my tv. I guess I could just lay on the couch with earbud in listening to game on my phone while watching on tv, but might be easier way. Maybe I can get my Bose soundbar to connect to phone instead of tv.  

[chasfh]

2 hours ago, Kacie said:

I think with Shep, he doesn't have that depth perception or whatever to be able to tell how far a ball has been hit.  So many times you just get the ho hum, fly ball to left field and often times you know it's gone before he does.  He doesn't have that "crescendo" thing going on like DD does.  Fly ball!  Way Back!!!  It's deeep!!!  

Don't love Gibby or Morris either.  With Gibby's health, if working games helps his physical condition, it's all good. Some cringey moments for sure with him.  One would think a time will come in the not too distant future when he's unable to continue because of it.  Morris often has good analysis, but his ego/back in my day take gets in the way too often. CMo has improved but he needs better flow and has to get more of his own style instead of a Rod Allen clone.

Maybe other teams do this too, but the Ilitch Tigers seem to have this thing where, when they know the team is going to be bad, they pull in some 1984 Tigers to distract us from that. In 2003, when they knew they team would be just dreadful, they brought Trammell in to manage and hired Gibson and Parrish to coach with him. When it looked like there was light at the end of the tunnel, it was time to broom those guys and bring in a real manager and coaching staff.

So maybe when the team started going through the horrible rebuild they appear to be just now emerging from, after Mario and Rod imploded, they decided they could deflect from the terrible on the field by getting Gibson, Morris, and Petry in the broadcasting fold, and hey, how about a hero from 2006 (Monroe) working the desk as well? Yes, that should tide the rubes over … 😉

So maybe now that the is going to start winning more and everyone is going to start paying attention again, they’ll decide to get a real broadcasting team. We can hope …

[chasfh]

5 minutes ago, lordstanley said:

Thanks, I’m well out of market in Vancouver, so blackouts aren’t the issue. I can watch the game fine and get the tv commentary sound. It’s trying to get the radio sound through my tv. I guess I could just lay on the couch with earbud in listening to game on my phone while watching on tv, but might be easier way. Maybe I can get my Bose soundbar to connect to phone instead of tv.  

I don’t know about the MLB.tv app directly on a Samsung TV, but most units MLB.tv  runs through, such as Apple TV or Roku or the MLB app on phones, have a radio overlay available so you can switch to the radio call right on your app without having to coordinate the radio from another app or device.

Next time a game is on, see whether you can pull up an options menu while the game is going. If you can, there should be audio options available, and if there is, switching to the radio feed should be one of them.

[casimir]

1 hour ago, Hart said:

If Gibby is just a third "wheel", I am okay with it.  But we desperately need a star as either the play by play or color analyst and we have neither.  Shep does have the voice for it but I have serious doubts he can grow into it.  Time will tell.  

I thought he would grow into it as well.  I think early on it was obvious that he was very fanboy sitting next to Morris and I wonder if that limits him.

[mtutiger]

20 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I don’t know about the MLB.tv app directly on a Samsung TV, but most units MLB.tv  runs through, such as Apple TV or Roku or the MLB app on phones, have a radio overlay available so you can switch to the radio call right on your app without having to coordinate the radio from another app or device.

Next time a game is on, see whether you can pull up an options menu while the game is going. If you can, there should be audio options available, and if there is, switching to the radio feed should be one of them.

They have started offering this functionality on cell phones this year as well, which has come in handy. (Although they seem to be working out the bugs still)

[mtutiger]

10 minutes ago, casimir said:

I thought he would grow into it as well.  I think early on it was obvious that he was very fanboy sitting next to Morris and I wonder if that limits him.

I dont know who the person (unicorn) is, but I'm increasingly convinced if you managed to pair Shep with a good color commentator, he'd be no worse than Mario. 

He has the broadcasting skill and seems like he puts the work in to be familiar with the team and stats, the overall composition of the crew leaves a lot to be desired tho.

Edited April 9, 2022 by mtutiger

[casimir]

30 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

I dont know who the person (unicorn) is, but I'm increasingly convinced if you managed to pair Shep with a good color commentator, he'd be no worse than Mario. 

He has the broadcasting skill and seems like he puts the work in to be familiar with the team and stats, the overall composition of the crew leaves a lot to be desired tho.

That's a really good way to put it.  I don't think there is a lack of effort there, and with all of the different assignments that Shepard has had in his career, he has the resume for being a part of an MLB broadcast.  But is that role play-by-play, is there a dynamic with the current situation that is holding him back?

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Austin Meadows’s launch angle did go way up, but there was more: his EV, hard hit and barrels all went down

Not specific to Meadows, but in general, aren't those two things linked by the physics? Energy transfer to the ball is the is the sum of momentum of the bat + ball times the cosine of the angle between the swing plane and the inclination of the pitch. As the flight of the batted ball diverges away from the input path of the pitch, the energy available to the flight of the ball goes down. TL, DR version. physics says you shouldn't be able to hit a pop up as hard as line drive.

Edited April 9, 2022 by gehringer_2

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, lordstanley said:

Thanks, I’m well out of market in Vancouver, so blackouts aren’t the issue. I can watch the game fine and get the tv commentary sound. It’s trying to get the radio sound through my tv. I guess I could just lay on the couch with earbud in listening to game on my phone while watching on tv, but might be easier way. Maybe I can get my Bose soundbar to connect to phone instead of tv.  

The radio broadcast is always available on MLB and the gameday radio subscription is only something around $25 for the year. If you take the audio on the stream, you can adjust it's time delay there, since usually it's still way ahead of steamed video. I can usually get it pretty close that way, though still not ideal.

[lordstanley]

6 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

The radio broadcast is always available on MLB and the gameday radio subscription is only something around $25 for the year. If you take the audio on the stream, you can adjust it's time delay there, since usually it's still way ahead of steamed video. I can usually get it pretty close that way, though still not ideal.

Yeah it’s funny, must be something specific to the MLB app for the Samsung smart tvs. Because radio definitely does come up as option in MLB app on my iPhone, iPad and PC. It was only when opening the MLB app on my Samsung tv (for those who don’t know, Samsung smart tvs basically come with an App Store) that I was only given a home telecast or away telecast option to choose from, no audio choice.  I was signed in to my regular MLB account that I use for my other devices.  

[gehringer_2]

56 minutes ago, mtutiger said:

I dont know who the person (unicorn) is, but I'm increasingly convinced if you managed to pair Shep with a good color commentator, he'd be no worse than Mario. 

He has the broadcasting skill and seems like he puts the work in to be familiar with the team and stats, the overall composition of the crew leaves a lot to be desired tho.

I also think this is true. Shep knows a lot of baseball is fine for the PBP, but he is so deferential to the ex player and spends so much time and obvious effort trying set them up instead of just conversing with them that it tends to ruin the broadcast. I'm assuming as he spends more time with Morris/Petry/Gibson that deference should naturally start to fall away and the broadcast improve --- I hope. That said, I've never been that big a fan of Gibson or Morris. Not so much because of their polish as broadcasters, but because their content added doesn't do much for me. Heck Kaline never did develop much polish as a broadcaster but he was still part of a great broadcast. Petry is a problem the other way, I like his commentary but he's just hard to listen to.

Craig Monroe has improved by miles and miles since he started, IDK - he might yet get to good. Other than that they should be looking for new talent....

[Motor City Sonics]

Austin Meadows probably experienced something he hasn't in a long time.   A full stadium - actually rooting for the home team.    Had to lift the adrenaline, don't ya think? 

If the Tampa Bay Rays were hosting Chicago for Opening Day, it would have been about 60% full and half of those people would be transplanted Chicagoans or Chicagoans on a vacation in FLA.     MOVE THE RAYS !   The franchise is very well-run and deserves a fan base to appreciate it. 

[mtutiger]

Yesterday somehow continues to get worse for the Sox 

[gehringer_2]

Last point on the broadcasts is that I think on television, if you can get two ex-players, one doing PBP, you have an advantage over one broadcast pro and one player because the two players will talk back and forth about the game in ways a player and broadcaster can't. I noticed that listening to Cone and Flarhety for the Yankees and of course it was true for George and Al, and even Hawk and Steve Stone. Of course good ex-player PBP guys don't exactly grow on trees.....

[Motor City Sonics]

12 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Last point on the broadcasts is that I think on television, if you can get two ex-players, one doing PBP, you have an advantage over one broadcast pro and one player because the two players will talk back and forth about the game in ways a player and broadcaster can't. I noticed that listening to Cone and Flarhety for the Yankees and of course it was true for George and Al, and even Hawk and Steve Stone. Of course good ex-player PBP guys don't exactly grow on trees.....

What if you get one professional broadcaster,  one ex-player and one rock musician who gets mad at the Black Keys for "copying" him even though that's what he's doing with old blues musicians?       

(I am a fan of his, but his hypocrisy makes me roll my eyes at him a little bit).  

Edited April 9, 2022 by Motor City Sonics

[Motor City Sonics]

Back to Austin, the real prize was the extra pick Tampa got.   I think Austin will have a better career than Isaac.   I think Isaac potential is to be Jhonny Peralta, which ain't too bad.    I think Meadows potential is probably to be Bobby Higginson, maybe with a little more power, and I know a lot of people hate Higginson, but he had some solid seasons on some bad teams.  A career where the average is 22 home runs a .272 BA and OBP of .358 wouldn't be too bad.  Take the last 3 years away from Higginson and he had  solid numbers. (.281/.364/.839).   I'll take that.