“When you take a dollop out of it and you put it on your hand, it’s just like a nice facial cream and feels smooth,” study co-author and Penn geophysicist Douglas J. Jerolmack tells Popular Science. “It doesn’t feel gritty at all when it’s a dollop of paste in your hand. It’s after you spread it that it dries and feels gritty.”
According to science, it really is magic.
tags: baseball
posted by matt in Monday, November 4, 2024
Our tour guide was a spry 76 year-old who hated the Yankees as much as he loved the Red Sox. He had two World Series rings on and was proud to tell us — “I’ve been a full time employee for years…when they win, I win.”
I'd wear them to work, too.
tags: baseball boston redsox fenwaypark
photo posted by matt in Friday, November 1, 2024
We even had access to the press box. What a view!
tags: baseball boston fenwaypark redsox
photo posted by matt in Friday, November 1, 2024
Renee and I have now toured Wrigley and Fenway together, on our own. Both were great days. As far as the park go, Wrigley is no Fenway.
tags: baseball boston redsox fenwaypark
photo posted by matt in Friday, November 1, 2024
Iconic signage on the press box.
tags: baseball boston redsox fenwaypark
photo posted by matt in Friday, November 1, 2024
We made our way to the top of the Green Monster - the monstah!. Looks like a great place to watch a game, although I bet the sun is brutal at times. I caught it here right on the foul line. Looks fair to me!
tags: baseball boston redsox fenwaypark
photo posted by matt in Friday, November 1, 2024
Joanthan had class until the afternoon, so Renee and I had some time to kill upon arriving in Boston. We decided to head over the Fenway Park and take the tour. We've been to several games there, but have never taken the official tour. Not surprisingly, we had a full group (probably 50-70 people) and the tour was fantastic.
tags: baseball boston redsox fenwaypark
photo posted by matt in Friday, November 1, 2024
Well, Game 1 of the World Series did not disappoint. Renee and I watched late into the night as the game headed into old school extra innings — the kind that don’t start with a runner on second base. I was surprised, really, that it wrapped in ten. Runs did not come easy in the game, and when the Yankees scored in the top of the 10th, I thought there was a real possibility it was over.
And when Ohtani fouled out with runners on the bags in the bottom of the 10th, well, yeah, I thought for sure it was over.
But then Aaron Boone made a decision that will be second-guessed for years to come. With two outs and runners on second and third, a base hit ties the game while any hit for extra bases wins it. Mookie Betts was up, with Freddie Freeman on deck. Boone decided to intentionally walk Betts, effectively betting on the matchup between his pitcher — Nestor Cortes — and Freeman over the Cortes/Betts matchup.
Boone’s bet was an immediate bust. Freeman wasted no time in his at bat, putting the first pitch from Cortes over the wall in right for the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
Incredible.
tags: baseball mlb worldseries
postposted by matt in Saturday, October 26, 2024
Guardians lost today, in what can be described best as a pitching experiment. Offense was productive, but they clearly have some issues to sort out with starting pitchers. Today's experiment, unfortunately, did not seem to provide any answers.
They'll be fine, though.
postposted by matt in Sunday, August 4, 2024
We decided at the last minute to go to the Guardians game today. They're playing the Orioles, with first pitch at 1:40 PM. Cleveland has the best record in baseball, being the first team to reach 67 wins. Baltimore is right behind them, though, with 66 (as are the Yankees). Today's game is the last in a four game series between the two. Cleveland took the first two but was quite anemic in yesterday's game. Hopefully they take the series today.
tags: baseball mlb guardians orioles
postposted by matt in Sunday, August 4, 2024
Great game today — Rays won 5-0. A few home runs, a fantastic pitching performance by the Rays starter, Taj Bradley, and Rays first baseman Isaac Paredes was a single shy of the cycle. He went about it backwards, too, getting the home run, triple, and double in that order. Having the hard work done (the triple!), he only needed a single during his last at bat in the eighth inning. It wasn't meant to be though, as he hit a can of corn to center field to end his offensive day. Still, fun to see.
photo posted by matt in Sunday, June 30, 2024
This photograph is one of two that make my mind's eye view of Willie Mays. It's from the September, 1954 issue of Baseball Digest. Luckily, it's in the public domain. The other is this photo of The Catch, which currently isn't.
photo posted by matt in Tuesday, June 18, 2024
In his 22-year career, Mays was selected to 24 All-Star games.
Read that closely. It may be the most Willie Mays stat of all time.
R.I.P. to the Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays.
tags: sports baseball mlb obituary
posted by matt in Tuesday, June 18, 2024
I've long thought that the map is Snapchat's killer feature. I've used it for years to get "man on the street" video and commentary during hurricane season. During active storms, while we're watching St. Pete Beach from afar, I find it more informative and authentic than the various news and weather outlets. The combination of the Snap Map and any of dozens of decent weather apps turn my phone into a decent storm tracking station.
I haven't had to use the Map for hurricane tracking yet this year (here's hoping I don't have to very much this year!), but I did discover a new use for it tonight. During the Guardians game, a crazy fan ran onto the field and was chased and tackled by the police. The television broadcast did what they always do in these circumstances - refuse to show video of the fan. I get that they don't want to encourage copycats by giving trespassers a stage, but, darn it, I want to see video of that! Was it a streaker? A protestor? We never know, because they won't show them.
Enter the Snap Map! I checked it about an hour after the "incident" in tonight's game and, sure enough, The Map gave me sever clips of the fan posted by people who were actually at the game. Sure the video was low quality and shaky, but that's all I needed. Curiosity satisfied.
Btw, he wasn't a streaker, but did add some flourish to the bit by doing a backflip before getting tased.
tags: tech snapchat mlb baseball guardians
postposted by matt in Tuesday, June 11, 2024
And the follow-through to my post yesterday: Ichiro retired from baseball today, playing in an MLB game in his native Japan. Well played, Mariners…and MLB.
postposted by matt in Thursday, March 21, 2019
If you ever forget that sports leagues and teams are businesses, just remember that Ichiro stepped up to the plate twice in the first game of the 2019 MLB season (officially one at bat, and one walk). In Japan. Can you think of a better way to sell tickets to a game in Japan?
postposted by matt in Wednesday, March 20, 2019
"The condensed 60-game season for the 2020 calendar year for the National League and American League prompted us to think that maybe the shortened Negro League seasons could come under the MLB umbrella, after all," Thorn said.
More good that came from the pandemic. This had to be an incredibly complex and fascinating research effort. Nice work, MLB!
posted by matt in Wednesday, May 29, 2024
The Guardians lost in ten innings last night, but proved my point about them yesterday in the process. They scored five runs in the sixth inning to erase a five run deficit, and held the Astros scoreless from the fifth through the ninth innings. They scored one in the extra frame but couldn't plate the insurance run, which turned out to be the difference. The Astros walked it off on a two run homer.
Tough loss, but boy this team is fun to watch.
postposted by matt in Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Boy the Guardians are fun to watch this year. They're off to a great start — 28 games in, and they're tied for the most wins in baseball (19) and only the Braves have a better win percentage (.704 vs. .679 for Cleveland). Plenty of players with great personalities, too.
postposted by matt in Tuesday, April 30, 2024
I don't know much about cricket, but have often heard the comparison to baseball, which I love. I have to admit I'm a little intrigued by this. I'd like to try to watch some of these matches and learn more about it.
posted by matt in Sunday, April 21, 2024
The amount was pegged at about $4M when the story broke a couple weeks ago as the Dodgers opened the season in Korea. Now federal investigators allege the theft totaled more than $16M. That's an insane amount of money, which makes it more shocking if Ohtani truly was ignorant of the entire thing.
tags: mlb baseball dodgers ohtani gambling
posted by matt in Thursday, April 11, 2024
This has to be the greatest National Siblings Day celebration of all time - Josh and Bo Naylor each homered in the fourth inning of the Guardians game tonight. Cleveland even came back from a 0-5 deficit to win the game…on a walk off single by Bo in the 10th. Incredible.
posted by matt in Wednesday, April 10, 2024
We saw a gem of a game last night (posting this to the day of the game on the following morning). The Guardians came to town and opened a three game series against the Rays.
To start things off, we were a bit conflicted. The Guardians are our team, and the Rays are our second team. Who to root for? Everyone else pulled for the Guardians but I donned my Rays hat and pulled for the home town team. Why? First, we're in St. Pete. Second, and probably more importantly, the Guardians sold at the trade deadline (including Ace pitcher Aaron Civale, to the Rays...and he started tonight). That's a huge signal to me (and the players) that ownership doesn't believe the team has it this year, and they're taking actions to support that lack of faith. Indeed, the starting lineup for the Guards included several players I've never heard of. They've given up on 2023. Meanwhile, the Rays are a legitimate contender this year, and bought at the deadline to solidify that. The Rays still believe, and the Guardians don't. That contrast is clear at the ownership level, and I suspect it will become more clear on the field in coming weeks.
The game itself was incredible, too. Back and forth, with a lot of scoring. And long! More than two and a half hours of baseball, which is rare these days without extra innings.
And speaking of extra innings, we nearly had some free baseball. The Guardians scored four runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game, thanks in large part to some lousy pitching by the Rays closer and some equally lousy catching (several passed balls that let runs in). So, to the bottom of the ninth we went, evened up. Wander Franco of the Rays promptly settled it though, two pitches into the home half with a walk-off home run. Wild finish to a ball game. Certainly the craziest finish I've ever seen in person.
This photo shows the first pitch of the game. Looking back at it, I remember another strange aspect of this game. The Guardians started off with two, back-to-back lead off bunts. Rays pitcher Civale (who played for the Guardians just two weeks ago) botched his fielding assignment on the first one, letting Steven Kwan reach base. In the photo, you can see Kwan showing bunt as Civale prepares to release the first pitch of the game. Second batter Andres Gimenez then bunted Kwan over to second. So the game started almost as weirdly as it ended.
Let's go Rays.
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays clevelandguardians raysup
photo posted by matt in Friday, August 11, 2023
The A's had been looking for a new home for years to replace the outdated and run-down Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. They had sought to build a stadium in Fremont and San Jose before shifting their attention to the Oakland waterfront.
There has been some debate over whether Tropicana Field or the Oakland Coliseum is the worst stadium in baseball. Both are certainly worthy of the title. But now it looks like we're set to see a race between the two teams that call those stadiums home, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland A's, to open new ballparks. The A's will likely win that on paper if expected timelines play out . But, regardless of who wins between the two, the more interesting thing to watch is maybe this—the Rays and A's are likely to go from worst to first over the next few years with the opening of the two newest stadiums in the game.
tags: baseball mlb tampabay oakland
posted by matt in Thursday, April 20, 2023
The Guardians won last night, by the way, sealing yesterday's perfect status. They finished the game before midnight, thanks to the new pitch clock, so I guess I'm a fan of that now.
postposted by matt in Sunday, April 2, 2023
We had a front row seat for the Arozarena show at the Rays game, with seats in the left field boxes just a few rows behind the wall. He's a character, for sure, and was clearly having fun.
As were we and everyone else sitting in his seats.
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays
posted by matt in Thursday, March 30, 2023
The Guardians lost their opener in a game that, I guess, qualifies as a pitching duel.
Castillo was lights out for the Mariners, and Bieber managed to keep things together and avoid damage as the two starters battled to a 0-0 lock until each left the game.
Relievers told a different story, though. Seattle smoothly transitioned to the bullpen, while Cleveland hit a major bump in the eighth when a clearly rattled by the pitch clock Karinchak served up a three run homer, which was the difference.
Guardians lose the opener 3-0.
postposted by matt in Thursday, March 30, 2023
Rays win! The Rays beat the Tigers 4-0 in a game that took just 2 hours and 14 minutes to complete. Pitch clock for the win!
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays
photo posted by matt in Thursday, March 30, 2023
"For the first time since 1968, all 30 teams will play their first games on the same day (March 30), so Thursday will feature hours of nonstop baseball action."
First time in my lifetime then. That's pretty cool.
posted by matt in Thursday, March 30, 2023
It's Opening Day! We've got a great day of baseball planned, too. Renee, Jake, and I will be at Tropicana Field as the Rays open the 2023 campaign against the Tigers. The Guardians are conveniently in Seattle, which will give us plenty of time to get home from a Rays victory (here's hoping!) to watch Cleveland in a late game.
tags: baseball mlb clevelandguardians tampabayrays
postposted by matt in Thursday, March 30, 2023
Aaron Judge, rightfully so, is all the talk on sports radio. Standing at 60 home runs for the season, it's only a matter of time until he catches and passes Roger Maris's single season home run record of 61.
There's another layer to the story, though, that most people aren't talking about. Yet.
Remember that Judge "bet on himself" before the season started, turning down a truckload of money from the Yankees and, in effect, choosing to use this season as a demonstration of his abilities before entering free agency after the season ends.
He's certainly made the best of it, too. The Yankees are now going to need a second truckload of money to keep him in pinstripes. Don't feel too bad for the Bombers, though. The team, no doubt, has loaded several trucks full of cash as Judge put butts in the seats, turned on televisions (and phones and tablets), and sold jerseys, hats, and all the other things.
I don't think Judge is going anywhere. He's a Yankee and will remain a Yankee. It's just a question of how many trucks the team brings to the table.
As a side note, I suspect Lamar Jackson, another superstar athlete who bet on himself by turning down a truckload of money, is watching intently as Judge makes the mold.
tags: sports baseball mlb yankees aaronjudge lamarjackson
postposted by matt in Thursday, September 22, 2022
Huge road win for the Guardians as October looms.
tags: sports baseball mlb guardians cleveland cleguardians
posted by matt in Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Boy the Guardians are playing great baseball. They all but knocked the Twins out of the division race in the last series, taking four out of five. Tonight they kicked off a road series against the White Sox that stands to be the definitive set as the American League Central race winds down.
It took extra innings tonight, but the Guardians settled it in the 11th with an emphatic five run effort, ultimately winning 10-7.
It feels appropriate to say it while they're playing in the south side of Chicago — the kids can play.
Go Guardians!
tags: sports baseball mlb guardians cleveland cleguardians
postposted by matt in Wednesday, September 21, 2022
With the move completed, we went to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play the Rays. It wasn't much of a game, with the Rays winning 12-4. They jumped to an early lead and the Sox struggled to catch up, particularly after the bullpen entered the game.
But, any day at the ballpark is a good day, and any day at Fenway is a great day.
We did get to see five (I think) home runs sail over the Green Monster, which was pretty cool. We also got to see a position player pitching, which I don't think I've seen in person before.
This photo is of Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta serving up the first pitch of the game to Rays third baseman Yandy Diaz.
tags: baseball mlb redsox rays
photo posted by matt in Sunday, August 28, 2022
Rays lose to the dreaded Yankees, 4-5.
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays
posted by matt in Wednesday, June 22, 2022
The Rays beat the Blue Jays 3-2 in a fairly exciting game.
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays
posted by matt in Wednesday, August 3, 2022
There's a lot to criticize about Tropicana Field. It has some positives, though. Just look at this photo–The Trop clearly has the most interesting geometries in all of baseball! Besides the beautiful shapes that all baseball fields share, look at the rings of the catwalks, the radiant supports on the roof, and the way the left field foul pole just stabs through it all.
And a bonus for this game–our seats were ever-so-slightly out of plane with the third base foul line.
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays tropicanafield
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Having Harry with us provided an excuse to visit the Touch Tank at Tropicana Field. We haven't visited that in several years, despite going to several games over those years. I think it's clear from this photo who was most excited about it.
tags: mlb baseball tampabayrays
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, August 3, 2022
We went to the Rays game this afternoon. Nearly missed it, thinking first pitch was at 7 PM. Nope–noon start today! The surprise early start was nice, though, giving the boys a reason to get moving relatively early in the day.
I always want this picture when we're at Tropicana Field–the group selfie in the beautiful atrium of an otherwise less-than-beautiful (but I love it!) stadium. Phone cameras just can't capture it well, though. I need my mirrorless Sony, a tripod, shutter release, and a graduated neutral density filter! Oh well, playing with the editing of the phone versions is fun, and reminds me that there's no perfect way to develop or edit a photo. Have fun with it, and see what comes from it. I love the over exposed, super contrasty, grainy look here. And black and white can always help to recover things in a janky exposure.
tags: stpete baseball tampabayrays mlb
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, August 3, 2022
The Rays jumped out to an early lead but gradually let the Yankees back into the game, eventually losing. We did see Aaron Judge hit two home runs, though, which was pretty cool. He cleared the catwalks on one that actually came right toward our left field bleacher seats. There is no question about his talent–he's an absolute monster; a once in a generation power hitter.
Watching him crush two home runs was special, and will undoubtedly become a baseball memory that I cherish.
But, it's the Yankees in Tampa Bay, which means their fans outnumbered Rays fans in the stadium. I hate that.
So, as a Rays fan, my favorite memory of the night was watching Judge come to the plate with bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning. Yankees fans were confident he was going to crush a grand slam. He had, after all, already hit one of his two homers for the day. They could just feel the grannie in the air. And so could Renee and I, frankly. The guy is flat out fearsome in that situation, and the entire stadium–Yankees fans, Rays fans, and, I suspect, the players, too–felt that.
But the Rays pitcher had nerves of steel and struck him out swinging. Beautiful!
That at bat, with the tension and battle that comes with every pitch and every swing in those situations, is everything I love about baseball.
And, I have to admit, the redemption opportunity baseball gives every player, often later in the same game, is part of it, too, even when it works for the Yankees. Judge did, after all, hit that cat-walk-clearing second home run of the game in the top of the seventh inning, his first at bat following that strikeout in the top of the fifth. Mr. Judge redeemed himself, with emphasis.
tags: baseball mlb rays yankees
postposted by matt in Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Tropicana Field is, without question, the worst stadium in baseball. The facility just doesn't function well, at all. The people are always amazing, though, and make up for the facility in many ways.
tags: mlb baseball tampabay rays tropicanafield stpetersburg
postposted by matt in Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Sure it's the worst stadium in baseball. But, Renee and I are at the ballpark, watching the Rays and rooting against the Yankees. And that makes everything ok.
tags: mlb baseball rays stpetersburg
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Spotted in the parking lot at Publix.
I agree wholeheartedly.
tags: baseball mlb goguardians gorays
photo posted by matt in Tuesday, June 21, 2022
I have a feeling it's going to be a long season for the Cleveland Guardians. There's been a few games worth watching during the first few weeks of this season, but a lot more that have been painful to watch. They're currently on a four game losing streak and, so far, tonight's game feels like it will add to that.
I don't think there's much chance of losing the claim to the longest World Series title drought this year.
I'll still watch, of course. Go Guardians!
postposted by matt in Tuesday, April 26, 2022
This is why they play the games.
No one saw this coming. The Rays were the unbeatable force rolling into the playoffs, and the Red Sox were off the rails a bit. The teams flipped roles in this series though, and now the Rays are headed home and the Red Sox will play for the American League pennant.
Man I love baseball.
posted by matt in Monday, October 11, 2021
The Rays have to be the favorite to win the World Series. And if that happens, Tampa Bay will hold three (NHL, NFL, MLB) of the four (NBA) major sports championships this year. That's incredible. And the city doesn't have an NBA franchise, so it's hard to ding them for that.
postposted by matt in Thursday, October 7, 2021
There's never a good time to punch a wall, but doing it hours after your team clinched a playoff berth is probably the worst possible timing. Alcohol was involved, of course.
tags: baseball
posted by matt in Wednesday, September 29, 2021
I hate the Yankees, but I love a good, late September playoff race!
posted by matt in Sunday, September 26, 2021
#/media/File:The_Catch.png){kind=link}
