biggentleben

You must never have seen Cal Ripken, who was well known for adjustments to his batting stance from one at bat to the next, let alone from one game to the next. George Brett was known for having changed his batting stance as part of getting out of slumps. There have been others. Is it frequent and common? No, but it happens enough to ruin accuracy for those players, and then you have a legit reason for the players to never approve such a system.

It has nothing to do with me being a Braves fan. I've been posting with many here for over 15 years, so I would think my objective view of my favorite team has been well established. I do think it's hilarious that you post a video from the 1997 NLCS, where possibly the best argument against human umpires can be found, and it wasn't in Maddux for sure.

Glavine I can get, but you're complaining about Maddux's calls? Really?! You lost credibility going forward in your comment after that cursing quip.

...but what is it? That's the human element that still needs to be there. If a 6'4 guy and a 5'10 guy due to their stances have the same strike zone, the computer umpiring systems I've seen struggle with that. I've also seen the opposite, when a batter squeezes down on a take, and the system does register the squeeze and basically makes it impossible to give him a strike because he's crouched so much. As long as there are humans playing the game, grading the game will require more than a computer system/software to achieve "perfect".

I don't think Williams alone is. I love Smith, but the guy to keep an eye on is true freshman Shannon Brooks from Georgia. It's rare for Kill to keep a true freshman skill guy, but even more so a true freshman, which is why I'm keeping an eye on Brooks and Rashad Still, the wide receiver who flashed some good stuff in the TCU game. I think the running back corps will be solid, even if there isn't a single stud in the group.

I still worry about the exterior of the line. The tackle situation was notably poor, yet TCU's pass defense couldn't put together a solid rush consistently. Whether that's the product of poor TCU front 7 or the product of better cohesion among the whole unit. That said, the tackles, when healthy, should be the centerpiece of the line. Josh Campion is a red shirt senior who was arguably the Gophers best lineman last year, but he was out with a concussion for Thursday's game. That put swing tackle Ben Lauer at left tackle, but he had offseason surgery on his knee, and he was not 100%, and it was clear in the first half. Jonah Pirsig might be the best lineman the Gophers have this year, but they had to move him from his comfortable right tackle spot to the left last night. Add in that I believe you'll see a pair of redshirt seniors eventually give way to two very talented Texan brothers at the guard spots, and the team could end up with two draftable tackles (probably 7th round draftable types, but still...) and two all-conference guards along with their redshirt senior center.

On your last point, I don't think the emphasis on Kill's offense is QB, but his QB needs a very solid line in front of him to produce in that offense. Kill finally has "his guys" on the line after being there a few years.

There are 3-5 "good" QBs in college football on a yearly basis that are not complete garbage either the year before or year after. It's the biggest dearth of a position in college football. I think one of the reviews I saw of the Gophers was great. It said on Leidner, "Gopher fans hate him, Big 10 coaches talk highly of him, Kill loves him, and he's above average as a QB in college football." Encouraging game last night, though I wish the Big 12 officials wouldn't have made it so obvious. That said, the fumble through the end zone and the dropped INT that would have likely been a TD hurt. When you're playing an elite team and trying to pull off the upset, you need little breaks like that going your way, not the other way. See: Penn State and Ohio State back-to-back seasons taking down those two when they were rated #2 in the country - on the road, no less.

This is the biggest issue right now with those in the "robot umpire" crowd, and those who design the pitch recognition systems will acknowledge the issue as well. When a 5'6 (very generously) Jose Altuve has a larger strike zone than a 5'9 Chuck Knoblauch, that tells you that you just can't punch in a guy's height dimension and expect to automatically know the strike zone. Add in that not every player is standing exactly 60'6 away from the pitching rubber due to shifting within the batter's box, and you have some very slight shifts that could mean a world of difference in balls and strikes. The other issue with the software right now is the general disagreement about when a strike needs to be a strike. Is it at the front of the plate? the middle? maybe at the catcher's glove? For those of us watching on TV, many times, the ball isn't for sure through the zone until it's in the catcher's mitt. For those at the plate, it's a strike if it's starting across the plate as such. For the computer systems...well, they're just not sure. So a big looping curve that enters the plate a hair high and is caught by the catcher a hair under the strike zone has traversed the strike zone in its path over home plate, but is that ball a strike or a ball, because at two of the commonly referenced points of travel, it was a ball, and the computer system really cannot guess - it has to be certain.

Neither the Braves nor Braves fans really miss Diamond. Graham is more of a fans missing him than an organization deal. They left him unprotected for a reason. He needed a new start. He's been a below average reliever for the Twins this year, and I believe that he could have used a year or two in the minors to develop as a reliever. He isn't really missed in the system either. He'd not even be a top 10 relieving prospect in the Braves system right now. Gilmartin for Doumit was a poor trade for the Braves, but it was really trading a buffalo chip for a pile of bull crap as far as the Braves were concerned. I'm not sure if the Braves would have made the move of Gilmartin to LOOGY role either.

Just a scant 25 years after the best World Series of my lifetime, if just for arguably the best game 7 of all time, the Twins and Braves will hook up again next season as the NL East and AL Central are interleague foes. The Twins are due to host the Braves, though it hasn't always worked that home sites rotate perfectly with the non-mirror divisions when they pop up every few years. In 2013, the Braves swept a 3-game series in Atlanta May 20-22, outscoring the Twins 18-8. In 2010, the Braves took 2 of 3 in Minnesota June 11-13, outscoring the Twins 11-7 over the three game set. In 2007, the Twins swept a 3-game series in Minnesota June 12-14, outscoring the Braves 16-5 over the set. In 2002, the Braves took 2 of 3 in Minnesota June 10-12, outscoring the Twins 19-8 and playing my favorite game I've ever attended So, since that wonderful 1991 World Series, the Braves and Twins have played 4 times with the Braves holding the edge 7-5 in wins and 53-39 in scoring, though 9 of the 12 games have been played in Minnesota. MLB hasn't released the home opponents for each team yet, but I'm hoping for a Braves visit to Target Field so I can convince my lovely wife to come up to have her first visit of Target Field. You can use this thread to rant, rave, and rip the Braves or Twins, though keeping it civil would be lovely.

I'm blessed to be the fan of a National League team. Any time the Braves play the Dodgers, I tune into MLB.tv and watch the Dodgers feed. It's always well worth my time. My wife even remarked this summer how she liked Vin's stories during games as she wasn't even watching the game, but she was working in the kitchen and heard his announcing.

I'll read this a bit different to agree with it - I don't see a singular best solution to this whole issue. There are many approaches that could have some modicum of success, but each has its downfalls as well, and trying to weigh the downfall of one approach versus another is like comparing which rotting meat is the most appealing for dinner. That said, completely "hands-off" approaches would only be viable if the effects of the issues in the Middle East (and other radicalized regions of the world as the Middle East certainly isn't the only one) weren't already affecting life in the US. There needs to be something done in at least the mode of defense of the country, but I really struggle with any action that leads to offensive movements, whether they be of a military or economic variety.

I used to have the theme song to Carmen San Diego as my ring tone. It made me sad when the clients I worked with swayed young enough that most had no idea where the tune came from... As far as Senna goes, try to find it somewhere. I delayed for a long time watching it after adding it to my queue, but I'm very glad I spent the time on it.

Director Wes Craven dead at 76.

That's where I'm at. When my wife goes to a game (and she went to 10 as part of our honeymoon this summer, so I definitely got an idea of what keeps her eye at a game), scoreboards are a huge thing. For her, she loves finding the one stat that each park keeps that others don't. A very close second for her, however, would be participating in the "fan experience" things - the YMCA, the wave, kiss cam, etc. I enjoy having my wife come to games with me, so if that's what it takes, then wave on...

Or how Tampa Bay was used to pressure owners for decades into building a new stadium, specifically in Seattle, until the Rays came around. Then how Florida was played as a threat against Montreal for so long before Montreal's team was moved from them. It's baseball's constant circle of leaving one viable spot open to use as a pull against those places reluctant to spend taxpayer dollars on their team owned by billionaires.

The Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL are essentially the Oakland Athletics of innovative approaches to health, and they've had very good results in the last few years, with something half of the time of the second place team missed over the last three years by starting players. To me, in baseball, the biggest revolutions will come when we 1) learn how to properly use training - oblique muscles being the issues they are in the game are a sign of terrible full-body approaches to training, and most importantly 2) figure out how to keep arms healthy.

More than anything, Toronto has shown a very good job this year of working around players' limitations. Colabello is being put in the best position to succeed, so it's not surprising that he'd do well. Adam Lind in Toronto is a good example of how they use these guys who are limited in the plate and use them well.

First of all, let me start by thanking you for not only discussing this here, but trusting the members of TD to open your life up like this. That's one of the things that makes a forum great is when the members feel that they can open up without ridicule or embarrassment. So, thank you for sharing that obviously deeply personal reflection. To the meat of why I responded - I think those responses are absolute crap. Pure unadulterated crap. I have studied in seminary and worked in ministry for multiple years, and I still do pulpit supply for rural churches around here who cannot afford a pastor (or cannot afford a clergy replacement when their pastor is on vacation). I would not imagine using such words. My grandfather passed away in June, and while I was blessed with the opportunity to say goodbye, watching him essentially suffocate to death as the most "humane" way of letting the man die was nothing short of infuriating to me. To have someone tell me that it was "God's plan" to have my grandfather die of the unprocessed fluid in his own throat until it filled his lungs and he could no longer breathe is beyond the scope of ignorance to me. The God I studied and worshiped in my life has no resemblance to a god that would plan an ending like that for one of His followers. This week one of my high school friends lost her little brother to a tragic suicide. He was 25. I offered myself - to talk, to hug, to just sit and stare off at the sky, whatever my friend needed. What she needed was someone to talk about heaven with her daughter, who is around the age you were when you had your first real confrontation with religion (She's either going to be 13 or 14 in September). She was amazed when I intentionally told her to start that the place that she was imagining with her uncle winged and playing harps simply didn't exist. I expressed to her what is truly in the Bible about what heaven is, and she appreciated that and it allowed her to process. She also had a very good conversation about the drugs her uncle was using and his mental health issues and seeking appropriate help, no matter the stigma.that may come with seeking that help. In that moment, she didn't need angels and "God's plan", she needed real talk and support in one of the (if not THE) worst moments of her young life. I would hope there are those out there who would offer more than cursory "thoughts and prayers" in the moment of tragedy, regardless of belief, but it is one of those areas in life that make people squirm the most because we as a society have an intense fear of death and do not embrace that it is an inevitable conclusion to human life and to focus on what we can do in the life we have rather than focusing our attention and worry on avoiding the death that will come eventually to us all. I would compare it to the country's squeamish approach to sex and sex education, though we can more accurately see the results of this in the issues we have in our society of teenage and unwanted pregnancy than seeing the results of ignoring the topic of death on our society.

I can't really articulate it perfectly, but not exactly this. I have never had a "fear" of God. More of a respect of the power, akin to respect of the "power" of a political leader, but never really a fear of the person. My parents had a set of rules and I always viewed that as I do local government, dominion over me for this time and this place. God I view as having my eternal home in mind, so the "rules" are not as much cut and dry, action and punishment, as worldly rules are set.

There was a discussion when Ian Desmond was hitting sub-.200, but he's been the hottest hitting shortstop in all of baseball for about 6 weeks, so that doesn't work - and the crazy thing is that his mediocre defense has been grading out at above average in that same time. Turner is expected to provide just below elite defense at the position, so he'd still likely be an upgrade, but then does Desmond's bat respond the same way if he's moved off of short?

Clancy got lazy in the end (and the posthumous books bearing his name are absolute filler trash), but I have an interest and appreciation for military tactics, and he was very good about researching to get those right within his books. I'm finding myself having to create wish lists and buy a book every so often when I go play on Amazon, otherwise, I may spend a house payment on e-books just to have as I travel around.

I have a book sitting by my bedside, but I've found an e-book as I sit in a doctor's office or other tedious times where I have to be present, but I don't have anything i can actively do (like sitting in court with a consumer last week) allows me to do something more productive than playing more games of sudoku as I wait.

And I have never experienced this. The God of my youth is the God I know and experience today in my faith journey, so I've never understood this line of thought as many of my friends growing up and from college echo a similar consistency in God's role in their life. I imagine there are some whose view of God shifts as you describe, but for many, the fact that God's role and person does not change is what adds to an adult belief from a childhood faith.