I've got wood!!!!! (off topic)

[Cubswin]

CUBS WIN CUBS WIN CUBS WIN!!!!

[crockpot]

did you see his girl in the crowd?

i know who will really be getting wood tonight.

cubs all the way!!

[ohkanada]

Go TWINS!!!

[kdog]

Good luck to all you Cubs fans unless you play the Red Sox in the series. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[GuyOnTilt]

Go 'stros!

[lorinda]

All gone a little quiet?

I like your next three matchups, good luck.

Lori

[Simon Diamond]

I'm always the same when my teams lose...

Simon

[Wad]

[ QUOTE ]
Go TWINS!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll second this one!! Go TWINS!!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Cubswin]

I need some viagra i guess. Hey lorinda, are you originally from the UK or an ex-pat? If you are the former i am quite impressed with your baseball knowledge.

regards
cubswin

[JohnShaft]

We get a 'lot' of baseball here cubswin.
Well, two live games a week, on Free TV.

I was watching the Cubslose last night sadly, being a fan of them myself. Football, and the Bears are my true love though.

[Simon Diamond]

Can you explain something for me? I checked out the Cubs vs Braves page on Yahoo, and it has the pitching matchups listed for the next three games - how come they are announced beforehand?

In the UK teams/positions are usually decided right before the game, not in advance.

Simon

[lorinda]

Hi Cubs. Although we only get two shows, the presenters are very informative.

I also follow games live on Espn.com because I lay bets on these games.

I don't need to know much about the game, to know a reasonable (for a brit) amount about the stats of the game.


Simon. The starters tend to start, but they are still provisional, like you, I have always found this a bit weird, but tomorrow's pitching lineups look rather tasty to me /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Lori

[SamJack]

Those damn Red Sox. I can't believe I was up until 3 am! Well at least I got to play poker while watching my team blow a game.

Yawn....

Sam

[lorinda]

Did you Red Sox fans ever find that piano?

Lori

[SamJack]

Simon, the listed starters are 'probable' starters. It may change. The final selections are given to the umpires right before the game.

Sam

[SamJack]

I think it was more like a big metal safe full of rocks.

Sam

[Simon Diamond]

Thank you Sam/Lori - seemed strange to have the starting pitchers confirmed this far in advance.

Baseball goes over my head a bit - I'm more of a basketball man.

GO SPURS!!

Simon

[J.R.]

Basically, teams use a rotation of five starters who pitch every fifth day. Starting pitchers throw a lot of pitches, which puts a strian on their arms, and they need to take 3-4 days off after hurling perhaps 100+ pitches in a game. Since baseball plays so many games, unliek football, there are nto days off to rest, and somebody has to pitch.

So one can predict, based on when a pitcher last pitched, when that pitcher will start again. This is not set in stone, as in the playoffs a pitcher might pitch on 3 days reat instead of four days rest, but is generally how it works. You will note these future matchups are typicall referred to as pitching "probables". Most managers freely discuss this topic with the media, since choosing who pitches when is the most significant decision a manger makes.

[Cubswin]

Hey Simon

"We get a lot of baseball here"

When i was living in the UK i thought the only days there was baseball was sunday night and it wasx really really late. The programming was quite funny though....there was this british bloke who was trying his hardest to really understand the intricacies of the game and this young american college aged kid teaching him all he knew. Together though, I found that they did a pretty good job of explaining and selling the game (some might even call it a sport). I guess the reason i missed all the games though was because i didnt have a tv in october.

As far as your question about the pitching matchups....im not sure about your level of knowledge of the game so forgive me if this seems dumbed down. The season is 162 games long and they basically play 6 games a week. Pitchers can throw upwards of 120 pitches a game which can put quite a strain on the arm. Because of this pitchers need 4-5 days rest between starts or else they will burn out. To ensure that this does not happen they use a "rotation" of pitchers. Each team typically has 5 pitchers and they take their turn in this rotation. Because of this, the pitching matches become quite predictable....though sometimes the rotation might be tweeked. This can happen quite often in the playoffs when the games are more important and there are more off day because of the increased travel. Because of this you will often see some teams go to a 4 man rotation in the playoffs to ensure that their best pitchers are playing. Also, the managers of the teams usually make it know who will be pitching ...though they are always welcome to change their minds up unitl the time they present their lineup cards before the game.

OK....i have a question now.....why in cricket do they break for tea and sandwiches? ;-)

regards
cubswin

[Simon Diamond]

This is an aspect of American sport which makes me laugh at the whinging English sportsmen in this country - constantly complaining about too many matches.

Teams in baseball, hockey and basketball play around 100 games a season (more in baseball I think), with very little time between games to rest. Add in to the mix the long distance travelling across America and you have a pretty tough schedule.

English footballers (soccer) and cricketers complain about having to play about 40 games a season. Bah! Hard life isn't it? I wish I got paid to sit on my arse half the week. (oops I do /images/graemlins/smile.gif)

Simon

[Simon Diamond]

LOL - so you are familiar with the fantastic broadcasters on Channel 5. The guy with the beard who used to summarise was my favourite (Todd Macklin???)

I am aware baseball seasons are long with a lot of matches, but I didn't realise they had so many pitchers.

Cricket - tea and sandwiches... It's a gentlemans game - I assume it is a tradition that has been around since the start. I think a better question is why do American sports insist on having advert breaks between every pause in play?!

Saying that, the situation is getting more like that over here. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

Simon

[lorinda]

OK....i have a question now.....why in cricket do they break for tea and sandwiches? ;-)

This is to allow the crowd enough time to get so drunk that the game no longer seems boring.


A Test Match in cricket takes 30 hours, spread into 15 2 hour sessions over five days.

Although this seems ridiculous, it is not all that different from a five game baseball series.

Lori

[Simon Diamond]

A Test Match in cricket takes 30 hours, spread into 15 2 hour sessions over five days.

Unless England have a traditional mid innings collapse and then you can shave a couple of days off that. I missed the fourth day of a test match at Edgbaston once cos of those muppets!

Simon

[lorinda]

The layout of the show is pretty much the same, except now we get live games Sunday and Wednesday, and some non live action too.

The silly idiot guy has actually learned quite a lot and is one of our better sports presenters IMO.

Also, we no longer have the lovely rules inserts, and although following all the pinch hitters/runners/pitchers etc got a little hectic to the untrained eye last night, I usually find that I can follow the action well.

What decides if a DH is used in the world series, my understanding is that it depends on the home side, and the home side in game one is the one that represents the league that won the all star game.
This sounds way too messy, is it correct?

Lori

[Cubswin]

How else are you going to pay for those 100 million dollar contracts?

[sachinag]

[ QUOTE ]
The layout of the show is pretty much the same, except now we get live games Sunday and Wednesday, and some non live action too.

The silly idiot guy has actually learned quite a lot and is one of our better sports presenters IMO.

Also, we no longer have the lovely rules inserts, and although following all the pinch hitters/runners/pitchers etc got a little hectic to the untrained eye last night, I usually find that I can follow the action well.

What decides if a DH is used in the world series, my understanding is that it depends on the home side, and the home side in game one is the one that represents the league that won the all star game.
This sounds way too messy, is it correct?

Lori

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right, although people prefer to think that the team from the league that won the ASG gets game 7. But the team that gets game 7 gets games 1, 2, and 6, as well.

[Cubswin]

I almost forgot about that home field advantage rule.... the purist of the game hate that rule....me included. The winner of the all star game gets home field advantage. As far as the DH rule....Basically, if they play the game in an american league park the DH is in effect....in the national league parks it is not.

Dont feel bad if you have a hard time following the pinch hitters/runners/ relief pitchers changes....80% of the people who watch the games have no clue either and i bet 95-98% could not tell you what a double switch is but yet these same people complain that the manager is a moron.

The sunday wednesday thing sounds about right.....if i remember right channel 4 uses the ESPN feed and ESPN has two programs cleverly called wednesday night baseball and sunday night baseball.

OK....now after all of this talk about the channel 4 and cricket im longing to return to the UK... i had the time of my life over there working and going to Uni and hope someday i can return. You know of anybody there that can get me a job and a work permit?

regards
cubswin

[westmt01]

As a Bears fan myself, I find them to be too brutal to watch this year. So I've been catching English Football on Fox Sports World as much as possible. What's up with Chelsea? Has Abromovich really turned them around, or will their hot start fade? Is this guy the George Steinbrenner of the Premier League or what?!

[westmt01]

OK....i have a question now.....why in cricket do they break for tea and sandwiches? ;-)

For the same reason that Antonio Alfonseca breaks for Krispy Kremes at the 7th inning stretch.

[Simon Diamond]

Only time will tell re: Chelski. Our papers had a field day with them after they slumped to a 2-0 home defeat in the Champions League last night - and that is their first defeat in 10 games this season I think.

My money would still be on Manchester United - been there, done it and got the t-shirt many times.

Simon

[JohnShaft]

Yeah the Bears are pretty brutal this year. This looks like it could easily turn into the worst season I've seen, in my 20 years of following them. They need to clear house and start again. Again.

Chelsea? I dunno man. Has Abromovich turned them around? Maybe but when you spend, what, £150 million, in a year you better turn them into one of the best teams in the world. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the way the Premiership is going. It's getting more money orientated by the year. The clubs without a bucketload of money just cannot compete.
IMO it's in desperate need of a salary cap, like the NFL has, or it's going to turn into Formula One (you have the best car you win every year).
Money is the root of all evil.

[Cubswin]

Because they all have 6 fingers?

[Simon Diamond]

OK....i have a question now.....why in cricket do they break for tea and sandwiches? ;-)

LOL - here are some comments I found on another forum whilst searching for an answer (I assume they are from an American)

<font color="blue">Can you believe if they hit the ball they can run back and forth and stuff? weeeeeeeee!!</font>

<font color="green">Tea breaks rock, I cant tell you how many times I have been playing basketball finish banging around under the boards and think to myself "Man I'd fancy a cup of tea now.."</font>

<font color="red">Seriously I dont understand the game at all and it seems like it makes golf look really exciting by comparison.</font>

Simon

[westmt01]

Note to Dusty Baker: Last night you brought a guy with AA talent into a tie game in the 8th inning with a chance to rescue a game that should have been won 7 innings earlier and a golden opportunity to tomahawk chop the Braves toward their 11th postseason disappointment in 12 tries. And you started the inning with Antonio Alfonseca and his grapefruit machine of an arm warming up in the bullpen. Just to clarify: NOT a good thing.

Thank God for Mark Prior. And Maalox.

[Simon Diamond]

or it's going to turn into Formula One (you have the best car you win every year).

In fairness, I would say the cars have been pretty equal this season. As a proud Brit it hurts to praise a German, but Michael Schumacher is a genius.

But I agree about a salary cap in football - Look at the amount of teams sliding into administration. Farcical.

Simon

[westmt01]

Yes, it seems like the Premier League is following the same path the National Hockey League here has been on for about 10 years: the richest teams spend huge sums of money to buy the best players, and so the league seperates into the "haves" and "have nots". In the NHL a salary cap is coming, probably at the cost of a bitter labor war and the loss of a season. I hope the Premiership can avoid that.

[Simon Diamond]

The entry in the laws of cricket regarding tea intervals/breaks etc.

Law 15 (Intervals) (http://www.lords.org/cricket/lw_0000000041.asp)

In case you were really interested in knowing why cubs. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Simon

[lorinda]

(you have the best car you win every year).

They have got around this rule now by disqualifying the best car in most races and giving the race to the second best team.

This gives everyone the problem of having a really good car, but not too good.

Lori

[Cubswin]

OK....no you are really making me long for living in the uk....I use to live 5 minutes from Lord's... can someone in the UK make me a job offer....please!!!! I have mad skills :-)

[Simon Diamond]

Perhaps we could swap lives? You come and live in England and I will live in the States. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Simon