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26

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 16, 2012, 02:24:05 pm »

Wait, so you are allowed to slide/tackle a baseman to prevent him from throwing the ball? Because that's what I get their intent was.

Yes, though you're supposed to stay in the basepath. Some of these slides take liberty with the width of the basepath, though. I wouldn't be surprised if these slides end up being as big of a discussion as the catcher/homeplate fiasco caused last year when Buster Posey got trucked. It's dangerous, yes, but baseball is steeped in tradition. You play the game the "right" way. Look how long it's taken to add any type of instant replay, which we definitely need more of.

27

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 08, 2012, 10:57:17 am »

I like baseball. Not too much coverage here, though. I do remember an unassisted triple play a few years back that was pretty cool.

Were you referring to the one that Phillies future Hall of Famer Eric Bruntlett (read: a terrible terrible player) pulled off to end the game vs the Mets a few years ago? Man, that was awesome. Mostly because it was against the Mets.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=6256159

28

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 07:09:36 pm »

That's true. I do like that it puts emphasis on winning your division. I just think it really sucks for the first wild card team who gets penalized for playing in a good division (in this case the Braves). It's a little unfortunate to have to play a 1 game series when a team with a worse record gets a free pass into the first real round. You are absolutely right about sample size and the best team not always winning (just look at the Cardinals barely squeaking in last year and going all the way through).

I think my biggest problem with the 1 game format is how the pitching rotations line up. You could potentially have a case like Justin Verlander vs a 4th/5th starter.

If I had to choose I don't know how I would determine the format. I like how the NHL does it, but I also like how baseball is the hardest sport to make the playoffs in. The biggest thing I'd like to change is to make the division series 7 games. Maybe this wild card round could be extended to 3 games. It's a tough call.

29

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 06:50:34 pm »

I understand why MLB added this extra round and boy did it work out well for the league. I really don't like this 1 game playoff though... Baseball is a grind. A 5 game series is enough of a crapshoot. It's like a dominion tournament where you play one game. How do you resolve 1st player advantage? BAM! Baseball and dominion intertwined.

30

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 06:30:46 pm »

I really do feel bad about the Mets' financial situation. I want to beat you guys, but I want to beat you at your best. I've also really felt bad about Santana's injuries. I like Johan and was happy for his no hitter.

31

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 06:24:53 pm »

At least we don't have to suffer through the announcing stylings of Joe Buck...

Oh yeah jonts, do you think you guys have any hope of keeping Wright after this year?

32

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 06:16:45 pm »

I have mixed feelings about this. I want the Braves to lose but I don't want to see Chipper go out like this. That error was brutal.

33

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 05:13:57 pm »

The Phillies/Mets rivalry is an interesting one. Cause for the longest time, Mets fans only had a passing dislike for the Phils fans. Our big hated rival was the braves. Particularly for me growing up during their ridiculous run in the 90s. Then the mets were sort of good again. Then really good. And then horrendous. And as our star fell, we had to watch those smug, insufferable people from philly rejoice that their once futile attempt at sports competence was no more. Especially as the mets historic collapse of '07 was happening. From then on, Phillies became public enemy number one. I don't like the braves making the playoffs, but better than the phillies with their overrated shortstop and first baseman.

Looks like I stopped being a lurker here at the perfect time! Is Howard overrated? HUGELY. Terrible, terrible contract he's signed to. Is J-Roll overrated? Absolutely not. He puts up very solid numbers for a shortstop and is signed to a very team-friendly deal. He's nowhere near his MVP season form (where he really shouldn't even have been MVP, but that's another discussion), but he's still a very productive bat from a premium defensive position where he performs above-average defensively. He also runs the bases well and is the face of the franchise. According to Fangraphs, Rollins was the 3rd most valuable shortstop in the majors this year after Zobrist and Desmond, even edging out Reyes. Would you rather have had Rollins or Reyes this year, considering salaries?

Next you're going to tell me that Utley is overrated... 

34

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 04:53:08 pm »

I would think that as a Phillies fan you'd at least try to support Cliff Lee for the Cy Young even though you know it'd never happen.

Also, I wasn't aware that anyone hated Mets fans.  Yankees, sure, Red Sox, of course, but Mets?  They're so harmless.

Anybody related to the Phillies hates anybody related to the Mets and vice versa. Such is the way of nature. As for Lee, it certainly was an interesting and unlucky year for him. I'm sure Cole Hamels will get some odd Cy Young votes here and there. It just shows how much the Cy Young award really isn't about overall pitching performance. Lee and Hamels have very similar numbers outside of W-L record. I think awards voters are getting better about forgetting traditional (read: useless) stats, though. King Felix winning the Cy two years ago (with like 11 wins vs CC Sabathia's 20?) was definitely a step in the right direction.

FYI I also hate the Yankees (my girlfriend is a huge Yankees fan, which is wonderful) and the Red Sox. There's just a special spot in the darkest place of my soul for the Mets. For one, the two teams have a long history of never being good at the same time. One has usually been utterly devastated by the other at any given point in time. Both franchises have long long periods of utter suckitude anyway, so there's some type of commiseration between the teams. Somehow that commiseration ends up turning into more pleasure when the other team sucks. My team may have completely fallen apart this year, but I can take comfort knowing that we beat the Mets. It makes following a 102 win season with this load of fail a little easier to swallow.

35

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 03:48:23 pm »

Dickey for President Cy Young!

I'd like to see Dickey win it, as much as it pains me to say that as a Phillies fan. I have a feeling Kershaw might pull it out though, but Dickey is such a great guy AND he's been pitching hurt all year. What a man.

I guess it would naturally follow from me being a Phillies fan that I hope the Nationals, Braves and Giants all crash and burn in the playoffs. And the Cardinals too... So uh, go Reds! In the American league, I'm rooting for the A's, Orioles and Rangers (in that order).

First, as a Phillies fan you are an objectively terrible human being. But if you think Dickey should win, you might not be beyond saving. Second, I think from a purely pitching production standpoint, it's really freaking close between Kershaw and Dickey, with maybe the slightest of edges going to Kershaw. But if you factor in even a fraction of the narrative, Dickey wins in a landslide. Dude is freaking amazing. As for the actual vote, I see no way Kershaw even sniffs the award. While wins are a useless stat, there are still enough voters who care about them to dismiss Kershaw and his 13 outright.

Well, based on that response and your love for Dickey, there's a 99% chance you're a Mets fan. Unfortunately, that means I hate you. But as a saving grace, at least we can join hands and celebrate together the retirement of one of the most soul crushing figures in both of our teams' long history: Chipper Jones. May he live happily ever after at Hooters and never come near our stadiums again.

36

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 03:27:26 pm »

Dickey for President Cy Young!

I'd like to see Dickey win it, as much as it pains me to say that as a Phillies fan. I have a feeling Kershaw might pull it out though, but Dickey is such a great guy AND he's been pitching hurt all year. What a man.

I guess it would naturally follow from me being a Phillies fan that I hope the Nationals, Braves and Giants all crash and burn in the playoffs. And the Cardinals too... So uh, go Reds! In the American league, I'm rooting for the A's, Orioles and Rangers (in that order).

37

General Discussion / Re: Baseball playoffs, 2012!!

« on: October 05, 2012, 01:58:25 pm »

Incidentally you can learn a lot about a baseball fan by asking whether he supports Cabrera or Trout for MVP.

Indeed you can. Unfortunately, Cabrera is going to win even though Trout has been a far better player. The triple crown just carries too much traditional weight for the Baseball Writers Association to not pick Cabrera. The biggest problem with the triple crown is of course the RBI statistic. RBI's really don't say much about the player who has them, but more about the teammates around the player. Mike Trout bats leadoff, which unfortunately for him results in way fewer RBI opportunities. There are other reasons to vote Trout. Center field is a more important defensive position than third base and Trout is an excellent center fielder. Cabrera was an average or worse first baseman, which translates into a below average third baseman. It's amazing that Detroit did this well considering they have a TERRIBLE defense. Trout's stolen bases are HUGE too.

It comes down to the MVP voters not really being sabermetrically-minded. Trout's 10.7 WAR this year puts him in Hall of Fame territory in his rookie(!) year.

38

Dominion General Discussion / Re: my wife is finally going to play dominion with me

« on: October 04, 2012, 08:33:15 am »

You guys with wives that are into dominion are lucky... My girlfriend has zero interest in strategy games. She's the type that goes to the casino and prefers to play the games that are total luck (slots, video poker) rather than any table games with a learning curve. She was nice enough to play Citadels with me once or twice and I think she even may have enjoyed it. I still can't get her to try dominion though...

39

General Discussion / Re: There's gotta be some math whizzes in here.

« on: October 04, 2012, 08:29:33 am »

It's amazing how quickly your math skills deteriorate once you leave the scholastic world. I was a lowly computer engineering major in undergrad, but I still had to take a decent amount of math. Now that I actually have a software engineering job I can't remember the last time I used ANY of the higher level math I had to take (calc 2+, diff eq, that stuff). It's very sad considering I graduated 2 years ago.

40

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Finally purchasing my own Dominion copy - which expansions to pick up?

« on: October 02, 2012, 04:28:05 pm »

I hate alchemist and familiar in Alchemy. They are painful and unintersting. Even if it's very satisfying to win against a familiar.
I don't like transmute too. It's so insignificant.

But on the other hand : Apprentice, Vineyard, Herbalist, Apothecary, Scrying pool, Golem and even the controversial possession are awesome.

First time poster. Yay!

I'm glad I'm not the only person that really likes Alchemy (aside from Familiar of course). I've played a good amount of games both on Iso and IRL and I have to say that Alchemy is one of my favorite expansions, while Prosperity is one of my least favorite. I guess I just don't enjoy the super power cards. To me, any game with King's Court is worse/more boring IRL than any alchemy heavy game I've ever played.