Thursday, April 08, 2010

AN EXPLANATION & SOME ARGUMENTS

***A SIMULATED GAME***
You generally hear about simulated games in the spring and early season or when a pitcher is rehabbing. How exactly is this done? A pitcher will throw to 3 or 4 volunteer batters with a catcher calling balls and strikes. The batters are allowed to swing, and a coach determines whether a batted ball is a hit or an out. Batters take their base and run just like in a regular game. After 3 outs, the pitcher sits down and waits a specified time just as though "his team" is at bat. They stop when the "game" is over or he has thrown a pre-set number of pitches.
I wonder if there are any arguments about tag plays on the bases.

***THE COST OF A BASEBALL GAME***
This time of year, some organization with time on their hands determines the 'average cost' of a baseball ticket for each team. They take into account seat location and what is being referred to as "premium games." Those are games against the Yankee, Red Sox or any natural rivalry, for which a club feels they can gouge a little more money out of the sucke...er, fans. The highest ATP (average ticket price) this year is $52.56. Can you guess who holds that distinction?
That's right: the Cubs. Fooled you, didn't I? Second, at $52.32 is...Boston. Wait, we're getting to it. #3 is the Yanks at $51.83. The lowest ATP belongs to the Pirates at $26.79, which is why I like to see games in Pittsburgh, plus you can get a footlong hot dog with everything for $6.00.

The other number they compute is the cost of a family of 4 attending a game. This is called the Fan Cost Index. It includes: 4 tickets, 2 small beers, 4 small soft drinks, 4 hot dogs, 2 programs, parking and 2 adult-sized caps. This time Boston wins @ $334.00. (Just think: take the family to all 81 home games and it'll run you in excess of $27,000). By the way, if you buy your caps at the stadium, you're probably dumb enough to pay $27,000 and see all the games. (Of course you'll end up with 162 caps!) And why would you buy 2 programs? In case you wanted to read an article 2nd time? Oh, and McDonalds are everywhere; eat before the game.

***WHAT'S A YANKS-SOX GAME WITHOUT A BEANBALL WAR?***
We started early: Youkilis gets hit in the head and then Jeter gets it in the back. In neither case was it in a situation where you could afford to put a man on base, but the umpires gave their warning anyway. Where's Pedro Martinez when you need him?

***JOE WEST SHOOTING HIS MOUTH OFF AGAIN***
Joe called the Yanks-Red Sox "silly and embarrassing" because of the slow play. This is only fair because we've been calling Joe West silly and embarrassing for years. He should concentrate on being a better umpire and maybe losing a few pounds and then he should still shut up. He's terrible at calling balls and strikes, can't move in the field and picks fights all the time. His nickname is "Country Joe" and I think it's a reference to his size.

***A READER COMMENT***
You mentioned UConn. The UConn women’s basketball team has been on an unbelievable run for two years! The way they played in the first half versus Stanford, however, made me believe that their winning streak would come to an end. I can’t wait until next season to see just how much longer their streak will last.
They are losing Tina Charles next year, so it will be a lot tougher. If the women follow the men's lead, and schedule a lot of softies in the beginning, they will probably keep the streak alive long enough to reach 89 wins in a tow..



CP-

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