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Fun article by Jeff Sullivan on baseball dorking. The title's a little misleading - it's about the moments in a baseball game that geek you out, not about whether you and I are nerds (of course, we Are). We understand that OSU students self-identify as unicorns and stuff (yes, really). But do you, the SSI denizen, self-identify as a pitcher, hitter, or fielder type of fan?
Sully gives that he'd rather see a no-hit bid than a 10-8 baseball game. Hm. For all the time SSI spends on pitching mechanics, I'd much rather go to an "Arena Baseball" game. Tell me that my $27 ticket is going to get me a 2-1 final score, or a 14-11 final score, and you won't even see my hand move as I grab the pinball-machine scoreboard ticket.
Hadn't realized that, before Sully's article. Kewl! Which is what makes him Jeff Sullivan. His aving to grind his posts out hasn't done him too much worse for the wear, has it.
But you know what? That would be a pretty good add to the postgame articles, wouldn't it? In Thursday's TV game, Luis Sardinas pushed a swwwwooooooooon me over 70-foot bunt hit at the second baseman. That was my geek-out moment of the game. Which brings us to an ethical dilemma the likes of which Ted Cruz has never fathomed. Which is: what would you have Dr. D call this shtick in his postgames article?
BASEBALL DORKING
GEEKING OUT
LOOOOK AT IT LOOOOK AT IT ... now reeSPECKT it
ENGAGING IN DISCUSSION OF BASEBALL-RELATED ACCOMPLISHMENTS OBSESSIVELY AND WITH GREAT ATTENTION TO TECHNICAL DETAIL
NONE OF THE ABOVE
ALL OF THE ABOVE
Last game, Taijuan's splitter geeked out at least one person I'm aware of. Dae-Ho Lee's RBI single up the middle on a slow curve outside did so, similarly. Ketel Marte's grab-and-spin up the middle on Thursday. Who knew he could do that? Lookout Landing's posted tables on Leonys' Martin rifle shots from center field stopped us short. All videos of Nate Karns curve balls from last season are well worth the obsession.
Best of all, this is inherently a participatory kind of shtick. Can't think of a better postgame thread than seven different dorkings lined up on my monitor. ... oh yeah. Gotta say, if there's one place the Mainframe has been surprised this first week, it's with that Sardinas kid. uh-HUH.
Baseball is life,
Dr D
...spectacular fielding plays, come from behind efforts (even if they fall short, I like watching an underdog battle back from way down in a game or from behind in the standings over the course of a stretch drive), strikeouts well executed and brilliant pitch sequences...and heady, intelligent play.
hadn't thought of that. But yeah. Down a run or two, coupla runners get on in the 8th or 9th, middle of the order hitter comes up ... almost as good as an interception in football :- )
I geek out pretty hard when I see a pitcher executing the classic big overhand yakker/high heat pitching attack. It's just...ridiculous.