Duren, Duren

Trout missed a fat pitch right down the middle, waist high. 

The challenge system works pretty good in hockey. Both for goals and off sides. But you need indisputable video evidence. Often from different angles and high zoom capacity cameras. And even then there are some calls that just can't be confirmed because of obstructions blocking the cameras. 

Hockey is a fast action sport,  With balls/strikes everything is much more static. There are built in problems though with late moving pitches, hitters stance, the angle the ump stands at. The question is how close to 100% do they want the calls to be? Traditionally it's always been accepted that each ump has his own strike zone. But that just admits that there is no absolute way calls will always be totally accurate. 

The technology seems to be there for the robo system, though I haven't looked at the details in depth. Presumably it would come closer to 100% over the long haul. But it would radically change the heart of the game.  However, big mistakes really do affect entire games and have repercussions for the standings over a season. 

And what about non ball/strike situations? They allow challenges for safe/out calls on the bases and fielding plays. Those seem to be accepted and are non controversial. So it seems balls/strikes are the final frontier. 

I would keep the umps, but really judge them more harshly. And add a number of challenges per game. 

A great start got the team going. Jumped on Houck early, who was let down by his defense. Detmers did the rest. And a mix of hitters padded the cushion. 

A rare game that never was in doubt from the first inning on. Given how Detmers pitched. 

Now let's start moving further ahead of .500. 

Staff ace. With Anderson, a nice 1 - 2 combo. Though for how long remains to be seen.

ward is dialed in this season!

They are having some sort of charity/fundraising event on the Sox broadcast. Of course, tied in with betting (Draftkings). Which is what it is. But it completely has taken over their broadcast. Split screens, cutaways, obligatory interviews, urging people to try for the jackpot in the middle of the action. Baseball broadcasts in most cities do this to some degree. But It varies in the way it interfers with the actual enjoyment of the game. 

been part of 

One thing about the Red Sox. It really is cool seeing a game at Fenway. You don't get the actual feel of what it's like otherwise. I've been there a few times sitting in different sections and you are right on top of the action behind home, along the bases and in right field.I once sat near the "Pesky Pole" and watched an easy fly ball just bend around it for a homer. The Green Monster was just an old style wooden wall from the outside. Back in the Fred Lynn/Jim Rice days of my youth! 

Detmers down to 72 mph on his curve. Just about equal to Herget's fastball. 

Sox broadcasters chastising Rendon for just jogging to second and keeping Schanuel from getting a double. And bringing up all the Rendon controversy. Seems this will follow him everywhere. 

Batting practice! 

Now Detmers has a 20 mph difference in speeds. 74-94. This is great when he keeps his control. 94 seems to be his ceiling but it must seem faster after the slow stuff. 

So far, solid ball/strike calls. But it's early. 

Detmers mixing speeds nicely. Between 77-94. 

Sox defense. "A comedy of errors" as their broadcasters said. 

Hicks with some well hit balls tonight.

Should be an infield hit but Sox are on an error streak.

Nice couple of dps keeping the bases empty.

Lucky the Sox suck on defense. Inning should have been over without any runs. Even Hicks gets in on things. Houck not pitching badly but behind 3 - 0. 

Rendon turning the corner slowly? 

I guess they expect some hot licks from Aaron Hicks. (A play on the old music group Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks.) 

Speaking of old music, the Sox are wearing their mellow yellow jerseys. 

Unfortunately on the road I have to ensure the home broadcasters. Today it's the NESN group.

MLB and the Dodgers are desperate to protect Ohtani's stature into the future. I have a feeling that they aren't passively sitting back. I would guess that they are proactive protecting his image and in spinning the story with damage control the top priority. 

How they interface with the legal, financial and investigative institutions would be interesting to know. 

At the least, even if totally innocent Ohtani does have his image damaged. Who could believe that he has such a cavalier detached approach to his elementary banking data? It's not bonds, securities, or other investments that are the issues. Just money regularly being drained over an extended period. 

Forty Niners QB of the nineties Steve Young just threw his cheques into a drawer without cashing them according to his room mate Harris Barton and others. It was treated as a joke by all concerned, showing that Young didn't need the money immediately and was only focussed on football. There were no ramifications or problems. But even that is still a far cry from having discreet large sums regularly disappearing over time. Young was a very smart guy and I doubt he would have been oblivious the way Ohtani is being portrayed. 

No matter how innocent Ohtani may be he still comes of as anything but a role model. 

Seems Ippei had a constant cash flow coming in for other purposes despite his constant gambling. 

I wonder what his relationship was with the different vendors of the collectible merchandise? Auctions have to be paid for before the merchandise is delivered. Did he buy from a select few or spread the money around? Did any of them know who he was and get suspicious because of his connection to Ohtani. If any of them knew rumors could have been spread. Even for bragging rights amongst sellers. 

Sports collectibles aren't a sure thing investment wise. Putting it mildly. I know people who went all in on guys who had great rookie seasons but flamed out early. And they were stuck with things of little value in short time.  But iconic players usually appreciate in value over time. And Ohtani certainly already has established himself as a historic figure. 

The more complex and weirder this gets you'd have to suspect some sort of cover up or wild spin. Ultimately to protect Ohtani and his persona. 

Even if he was an innocent victim, it doesn't reflect very well on him as a mature or smart person, oblivious to four years of continuous, ongoing theft. 

At the least it seems like a cavalier attitude, being completely oblivious to his own private financial affairs. Even with accountants and advisors you would think that he would want to know periodically his updated financial status. 

He was very pro active in picking his teams and doing due diligence with his contracts. We know how he has laser focus on baseball and health details. It just seems really curious that he was entirely out of his own financial loop. Not even knowing his bank balances semi regularly? 

And wouldn't his wife want to be privy to how his finances stood? 

Seems the spin is to make him out as some kind of savant. Detached from the real world and only a baseball phenom. 

Maybe not an exact thread for the subject, but Perry has to work within the parameters that Arte sets. And Arte is not popular in baseball.  Speaking of ownership and management, this again is not very flattering regarding Arte. 

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2024-04-10/rod-carew-angels-arte-moreno

I still think of Carew primarily as a Twin and not really a core Angel icon though he certainly was a great player. Same with many of their former big name acquisitions who were long time greats on other teams. 

I was out of the house since the second inning. Snuck in a few updates on the ESPN pitch by pitch site. 

Looked like a really frustrating game. Pitching didn't allow a walk. The wild pitch and horrible ball/strike calls seemed to be the main factors. Plus more anemic clutch hitting. 

Oh well, it is what it is. .500 is alright at the present. 

These umps seem to have no accountability. Year in, year out they rarely get better. I'd love to see them watch some of those 3D graphics of their bad calls. You can live with marginal close ones, but we see more really game changing bad calls. Betting connections? These days nothing can be overlooked.