NFL. NFL. National Federation of Lacrosse?

http://www.nfl-bay.com/
http://www.nflonline.org/
http://www.nfl.org.au/
http://www.nationalfertilizers.com/

Um. Marching? ;)

Almost.

OK, it's not nearly enough to do that. I'm a liar.

Go Rockiebacks!

This is late in the year for us to be in the playoff chase.

Is this the beginnings of a Mark T.R. Donohue vs. Scott Long Toaster feud?

Arizona
Young CF
Drew SS
Byrnes LF
Jackson 1B
Reynolds 3B
Snyder C
Upton RF
Ojeda 2B
Webb P

Watch him go 3-5 with a walk and 3 runs scored now.

Isn't Spilborghs a better player than Taveras?

20 That must have been some pitch; I thought only someone like maybe Bugs Bunny could pull off such a thing. Owings must be a mound magician!

Remember when we thought Barmes was going to be really good?

I remember like it was 2005.

I want some venison.

The DBacks celebrated a playoff spot first because the Mets lost.

They celebrated the division title the next day before their game began when San Diego lost.

At least I think that color is blue.

Craig Sager's wardrobe.

1) More ad revenue
2) Less people that are sick of Frank TV before it's actually on (it might be a good show, but all these ads have tainted it for me)

This is straight out of the Fox playbook, of overhyping a series during the playoffs to the point of nausea. Most shows flopped (Girls Club, Skin, etc), although I'm not sure how much of that was the fault of the show and how much was Fox's fault. I can't remember if 24 was pre-hyped, but I do remember thinking ill of House right around the 300th time I heard "you're risking a patient's life!" But House turned out alright.

Even though the playing side is based (mostly) on ability, as opposed the nepotistic announcing side.

I guess Prison Break was another.

But I'll never forget "This crowd is up for grabs!" What a maroon.

Hey, do not be like me.

That Hawpe pitch didn't look bad, but he seemed to be looking for it.

"So when you see the ball go in the air to you, turn around four times, then fall over, then get back up run as hard as you can and throw your glove in the air and hope that the ball finds it. I'll hit you some fungoes to practice that."

It turns out that the "note" (med length paper) I wrote for the law review has gotten cited a number of times, and I've even been described and discussed at some length as part of a "movement." This based on a paper I crashed and wrote in about 10 days. Kind of an odd feeling. I agree with what I wrote and all, but I'm sure not manning the barricades or anything.

I've heard Hawpe owns Webb, wow, who knew

That may be the most comparable run to the Rockies. But the 1942 Cardinals went 106-48.

The Cardinals were also big underdogs in the World Series to the Yankees that year because the Yankees hadn't lost in their last eight trips to the World Series.

I had an uncle named Melvin.

Attempting to show both screens at once is pointless as well, as it effectively cuts the baseball action to 20-25% or so of the screen.

The Grabowski Principle: When a pitcher gives allows an inferior hitter to reach base in an unlikely way, then that pitcher is likely to give up a big hit soon after.

Named after former Dodger Jason Grabowski who got a pinch single off of Kevin Jarvis of the Cardinals which was then followed by a home run.

This is the Grabowski Principle game:

http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B05100SLN2005.htm

The top of the sixth is the key.

We just called him "Uncle Mac." He sold tractors and was really rich. Although likely not as rich as BJ Upton.

http://www.timmermannimp.com/

I saw that game.

Hint: I was a very wee lad. It's one of the first postseason games I remember. Although it was a day game, I was home from school to see it. I guess it was on a weekend.

I also didn't go to school for a long time back then.

(I don;t know if this table will come through)

Yr Team W L Last 20 W Last 20 L
1970 Baltimore Orioles 108 54 17 3
1942 St. Louis Cardinals 106 48 17 3
1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 97 65 16 4
1952 New York Yankees 95 59 16 4
1927 New York Yankees 110 44 16 4
1993 Toronto Blue Jays 95 67 16 4

Yr Team W L Last 14 W Last 14 L
1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 97 65 13 1
1952 New York Yankees 95 59 12 2
1934 St. Louis Cardinals 95 58 12 2
1942 St. Louis Cardinals 106 48 12 2
1970 Baltimore Orioles 108 54 12 2
1908 Chicago Cubs 99 55 11 2
1927 New York Yankees 110 44 11 3
1948 Cleveland Indians 97 58 11 3
1951 New York Yankees 98 56 11 3
1975 Cincinnati Reds 108 54 11 3
1986 New York Mets 108 54 11 3
1989 Oakland Athletics 99 63 11 3

Including Chip Caray.

I assume that stretch included September 23, 1908.

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/qhxx

I'm still not comfortable calling Holliday's 2007 "one of the best years in National League history".

Adjusted OPS+

This value is calculated differently from the Total Baseball PRO+ statistic. I chose OPS+ to make this difference more clear. PRO+ as best I can tell is

PRO+ = 100 * ( OBP/lgOBP + SLG/lgSLG - 1)/BPF

Where lgOBP and lgSLG are the slugging and on-base percentage of a league-average player, and BPF is the batting park factor. This takes into account the difference in runs scored in a team's home and road games, so it doesn't depend on how good an offense or defense a team has.

My method is slightly more complicated, but I think it is more correct. The BPF is set up for runs and the way it is implemented in PRO+ applies it to something other than runs.

1. My method Compute the runs created for the league with pitchers removed (basic form) RC = (H + BB + HBP)*(TB)/(AB + BB + HBP + SF)
2. Adjust this by the park factor RC' = RC*BPF
3. Assume that if hits increase in a park, that BB, HBP, TB increase at the some proportion.
4. Assume that Outs = AB - H (more or less) do not change at all as outs are finite.
5. Compute the number of H, BB, HBP, TB needed to produce RC', involves the quadratic formula. The idea for this came from the Willie Davis player comment in the Bill James New Historical Baseball Abstract. I think some others, including Clay Davenport have done some similar things.
6. Using these adjusted values compute what the league average player would have hit lgOBP*, lgSLG* in a park.
7. Take OPS+ = 100 (OBP/lgOBP + SLG/lgSLG* - 1)
8. Note, in my database, I don't store lgSLG, but store lgTB and similarly for lgOBP and lg(Times on Base), this makes calculation of career OPS+ much easier.

It's not like the Dodgers had much of a chance to make the playoffs with all the injuries they had down the stretch anyway.

And they were starting Esteban Loaiza in big games.

Now they are explaining to him that if you're a player whose team is hot, you don't spend any time thinking about the "pixie dust" wearing off.

C - Montero
C - Hammock
IF - Callaspo
1B/3B/PH - Cirillo
1B/PH - Clark
OF - Jeff Salazar

So they could have pinch hit Clark for Ojeda, then brought in Callaspo to play 2B.

I would hate to see what would happen if they were on the end of a call that actually was bad.

I was running on my treadmill & missed all the hoopla, bad call from the umps from what I hear Chip Caray say.

It was almost identical to what Marlon Anderson did to Tadahito Iguchi. Except Anderson did it in the 9th inning.

7.09
It is interference by a batter or a runner when...
(e) If, in the judgment of the umpire, a base runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of his teammate. In no event may bases be run or runs scored because of such action by a runner.

I think the umpires just want to avoid situations that will lead to fights.

I guess your right but I've seen worse slides not get called.

http://tinyurl.com/yrhwhj

Why did the runner who was on his way to third get sent back to second? That makes no sense to me in how the play progressed. If it had been an ordinary double play, it would be runner on third, two out, right?

Maybe they can play the Bruce Chen division winner in the 1st round.

OK, I'm nitpicking here, but Caray is not good.

that's news to me, I didn't realize Herges played for Zona.

No wait. Strike that.

Plan your 2008 fantasy draft accordingly.

And Reggie Abercrombie has been picked up on waivers by Houston.

It's full of Pythagorean goodness!

"I've always thought Coors Field was the biggest home disadvantage..." and proceeds to explain that the Rockies had a big advantage at home.

So, is he saying if they lost more games at home, they would have been better off?

Hurdle is attempting to be the dumbest manager since Bob Brenly in 2001 to lead a team to a World Series win.

"I think we need to start a smear campaign against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Let's start telling everybody horrible rumors, like they grind up the bones of lost kids at Chase Field then spread them on the infield to slow down ground balls for Brandon Webb starts. Or they soak Randy Johnson's elbow in pure heathen stem cells every evening."

Great stuff there.

197 Right, sorry, forgot Fuentes lefty. Brain cramp.

I'm not expecting anyone to prove me wrong right now.

Granted fans were still upset about the strike. It was also the same day the OJ Simpson verdict was handed down (criminal trial). That was probably the most scared I've ever felt at Dodger Stadium by the crowd. People were not acting like normal human beings that day.

Or perhaps they were acting normally and we all just put on a show.

I remember I was inside the Straw Hat Pizza on the UCSD campus ditching class watching the verdict, but I don't remember also driving to LA that same day.

"Can you believe this ?"

Great game for the Rockies!!! and that works for me.

--------------- The trial of the Muslim cleric who tried to blow up the world trade center with fertilizer in the middle nineties was universally ignored.

Go figure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_3)#Breaking_Glass

Everyone must have a little Captin inside.