PHILADELPHIA (Bottom of the Fourth) - Roy Halladay is not used to being penalized for an illegal pitching motion, being one of the most consistent and fastest-working pitchers in the game. So when the Phillies ace was called for a balk in a game Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, he was taken aback. So taken aback, in fact, that he balked at the call.
This sudden change in demeanour for Halladay was enough to make home plate umpire Jim Davidson balk in turn. "Halladay is like a robot," commented Davidson, "he never breaks rhythm. So when he balked at my balk call, it caused me to balk involuntarily."
Both teams could only watch in confusion and fascination as the pitcher and umpire engaged in this strange balk-off for more than 20 seconds. It only got stranger, though, as the balk energies collided halfway between the pitcher's mound and home plate, and spontaneously opened a wormhole.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Bottom of the Fourth's resident scientist, explained the phenomenon. "It's been theorized in the past that the bosons emitted from a balk carry enough energy to open a wormhole, but it takes two parties balking at each other to produce the interference necessary to open the wormhole, and this is the first experimental confirmation of the theory. It's a very exciting day for Balkology."
After a brief delay during which the Phillies' grounds crew attempted to clean up the wormhole only to be sucked into it (only to reappear in Busch Stadium's maintenance area, it was later discovered), the game resumed. The Phillies won 67-54 when it became clear that pitchers would have to lob their pitches over the wormhole to avoid the balls disappearing completely.
Showing posts with label Roy Halladay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roy Halladay. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Could Philadelphia Win Game 1 With 0 Runs?
In their respective National League Division Series, Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum each pitched the first playoff game of their career. Halladay, as you probably know, threw a no-hitter, the second in playoff history. The next day, Lincecum hurled a two-hit shutout while striking out 14 Atlanta Braves. His game score, a statistic designed as a fun way to compare individual games thrown by starting pitchers, was 96, and was actually slightly higher than Halladay's (95). Most years, a game score that high would rank somewhere in the top three games pitched all season, and it happened twice within two days in these 2010 playoffs.
Halladay and Lincecum are scheduled to face each other in game one of the National League Championship Series on Saturday, and ever since that match-up became a reality, fans have been salivating in anticipation. What might happen? Simultaneous no-hitters? 54 strikeouts combined? Will any hitter even make contact? The hyperbole has gotten out of hand.
(Note: the aforementioned out-of-hand hyperbole refers exclusively to that put forth on this blog.)
But here at Bottom of the Fourth, we think the hyperbole is completely justified - that's how good Halladay and Lincecum are. In fact, we believe it isn't yet out-of-hand enough.
So the question must be asked: could the Phillies get shut out and still win this game?
It seems like an impossible task, one that's never been done before. But just because something has never been done doesn't mean it will never happen. Neil Armstrong never said "well, nobody's ever walked on the moon, it must be impossible." No. He went out and walked on the fucking moon. Did the Wright brothers ever think "hey, maybe we shouldn't spend all this time building something that nobody's ever built before"? Of course not. They kept building and flew a fucking plane. And just because no-one had ever filmed a recorder version of My Heart Will Go On by candlelight, that didn't fucking stop Matt Mulholland.
So yeah, I believe the answer to the question is yes, the Phillies could get shut out and still win this game. Now, you may be wondering: why the Phillies and not the Giants? And it's a fair question - it certainly could happen both ways. I just think the Phillies superior offense will enable them to score fewer negative runs.
Which leads us to another question: negative runs? How does that work?
It's actually a little-known rule that has been in the book for many years. It hasn't been applied in recent memory because, well, who actually reads all the rules? That tome is thicker than Ken Griffey Jr.'s head in the Simpsons. Major league umpires simply aren't aware of the rule, so it never gets applied.
That doesn't explain how it works, though, so here is a short primer. Whenever a pitcher induces a batter to strike out in a manner so foolish that an umpire judges it to have been at least "ridiculous", and up to and including "absurd", the batter receives a Reverse Walk. He is sent to third base and is to advance backwards on the base-paths. He doesn't run on balls in play (at least he isn't required to, but he may if he wants, at great disadvantage to his team); he only advances whenever another Reverse Walk is issued, in which case the batter does not go to third base; only the current runner moves up. (i.e. there is only one Reverse Runner on the bases at any one time.)
When a Reverse Runner reaches home plate, his team scores a negative run. This run is taken away from the team's current score, and if that score is already zero, it dips below. Now, the best case scenario for a pitcher in one inning is to induce three strikeouts* greater than or equal to "ridiculous". In this case, the Reverse Runner first goes to third, then second, then first, and cannot reach home plate. However, unlike regular base-runners, Reverse Runners are carried over to the next inning, so a team would be gradually accumulating negative runs throughout the game, if the rule were applied properly.
*Note: like regular strikeouts, it is in fact possible to accumulate four Reverse Walks, and therefore a negative run, in the same inning; it simply requires one of the "ridiculous" strikeout victims to reach first base on a dropped ball by the catcher. This results in the unlikely scenario of runners going to first and third on the same strikeout. A pinch runner is used as the Reverse Runner.
Teams would of course need to be aware of which runners are which. Regular rules don't allow two runners to be at the same base, but that scenario is sometimes unavoidable when Reverse Runners come into play. A team may have two runners at the same base, as long as they're traveling in different directions, but need to be extra cognizant of the situation to ensure that no runner travels in the wrong direction, resulting in the runner being called automatically out. Runners may also not make contact, including anything from incidental base-running-related contact to high-fiving and other celebratory gestures. This temptation can be difficult to avoid in a case such as a walk-off home run because of the finality of the play; however, in this case, a flagrant high-five or pat on the butt by the Reverse Runner results in a reversal of the home run and a penalty out, possibly enough to turn a win immediately into a loss through a simple union of palms.
Both teams in the NLCS have their fair share of Ridiculous Strikers Out (RSOs). Pat Burrell (145), Aaron Rowand (129) and Andres Torres (128) of the Giants were each in the top 10 in the NL in RSO+, a statistic designed to compare the rate of Ridiculous Strikeouts (average is 100). But Philadelphia has a secret weapon. Ryan Howard, while merely very bad as measured by RSO+ (135), is the most prolific Preposterous Striker Out in the history of the game.
Preposterous Strikeouts (PSOs) are a notch above Ridiculous on the Ridiculous-Absurd scale, and statisticians have found that PSOs are much more predictive of future ridiculosity than RSOs. Ryan Howard has led the majors in PSOs each of the last five years, and even holds the major league record for PSOs in a season (63 in 2008) So despite San Francisco's incredibly Ridiculous 2010 outfield, if there's one player who will make a (negative) difference with his bat in this series, it's Howard.
Halladay and Lincecum are scheduled to face each other in game one of the National League Championship Series on Saturday, and ever since that match-up became a reality, fans have been salivating in anticipation. What might happen? Simultaneous no-hitters? 54 strikeouts combined? Will any hitter even make contact? The hyperbole has gotten out of hand.
(Note: the aforementioned out-of-hand hyperbole refers exclusively to that put forth on this blog.)
But here at Bottom of the Fourth, we think the hyperbole is completely justified - that's how good Halladay and Lincecum are. In fact, we believe it isn't yet out-of-hand enough.
So the question must be asked: could the Phillies get shut out and still win this game?
It seems like an impossible task, one that's never been done before. But just because something has never been done doesn't mean it will never happen. Neil Armstrong never said "well, nobody's ever walked on the moon, it must be impossible." No. He went out and walked on the fucking moon. Did the Wright brothers ever think "hey, maybe we shouldn't spend all this time building something that nobody's ever built before"? Of course not. They kept building and flew a fucking plane. And just because no-one had ever filmed a recorder version of My Heart Will Go On by candlelight, that didn't fucking stop Matt Mulholland.
So yeah, I believe the answer to the question is yes, the Phillies could get shut out and still win this game. Now, you may be wondering: why the Phillies and not the Giants? And it's a fair question - it certainly could happen both ways. I just think the Phillies superior offense will enable them to score fewer negative runs.
Which leads us to another question: negative runs? How does that work?
It's actually a little-known rule that has been in the book for many years. It hasn't been applied in recent memory because, well, who actually reads all the rules? That tome is thicker than Ken Griffey Jr.'s head in the Simpsons. Major league umpires simply aren't aware of the rule, so it never gets applied.
That doesn't explain how it works, though, so here is a short primer. Whenever a pitcher induces a batter to strike out in a manner so foolish that an umpire judges it to have been at least "ridiculous", and up to and including "absurd", the batter receives a Reverse Walk. He is sent to third base and is to advance backwards on the base-paths. He doesn't run on balls in play (at least he isn't required to, but he may if he wants, at great disadvantage to his team); he only advances whenever another Reverse Walk is issued, in which case the batter does not go to third base; only the current runner moves up. (i.e. there is only one Reverse Runner on the bases at any one time.)
 |
| An example of a strikeout that is at least "ridiculous" |
When a Reverse Runner reaches home plate, his team scores a negative run. This run is taken away from the team's current score, and if that score is already zero, it dips below. Now, the best case scenario for a pitcher in one inning is to induce three strikeouts* greater than or equal to "ridiculous". In this case, the Reverse Runner first goes to third, then second, then first, and cannot reach home plate. However, unlike regular base-runners, Reverse Runners are carried over to the next inning, so a team would be gradually accumulating negative runs throughout the game, if the rule were applied properly.
*Note: like regular strikeouts, it is in fact possible to accumulate four Reverse Walks, and therefore a negative run, in the same inning; it simply requires one of the "ridiculous" strikeout victims to reach first base on a dropped ball by the catcher. This results in the unlikely scenario of runners going to first and third on the same strikeout. A pinch runner is used as the Reverse Runner.
Teams would of course need to be aware of which runners are which. Regular rules don't allow two runners to be at the same base, but that scenario is sometimes unavoidable when Reverse Runners come into play. A team may have two runners at the same base, as long as they're traveling in different directions, but need to be extra cognizant of the situation to ensure that no runner travels in the wrong direction, resulting in the runner being called automatically out. Runners may also not make contact, including anything from incidental base-running-related contact to high-fiving and other celebratory gestures. This temptation can be difficult to avoid in a case such as a walk-off home run because of the finality of the play; however, in this case, a flagrant high-five or pat on the butt by the Reverse Runner results in a reversal of the home run and a penalty out, possibly enough to turn a win immediately into a loss through a simple union of palms.
Both teams in the NLCS have their fair share of Ridiculous Strikers Out (RSOs). Pat Burrell (145), Aaron Rowand (129) and Andres Torres (128) of the Giants were each in the top 10 in the NL in RSO+, a statistic designed to compare the rate of Ridiculous Strikeouts (average is 100). But Philadelphia has a secret weapon. Ryan Howard, while merely very bad as measured by RSO+ (135), is the most prolific Preposterous Striker Out in the history of the game.
Preposterous Strikeouts (PSOs) are a notch above Ridiculous on the Ridiculous-Absurd scale, and statisticians have found that PSOs are much more predictive of future ridiculosity than RSOs. Ryan Howard has led the majors in PSOs each of the last five years, and even holds the major league record for PSOs in a season (63 in 2008) So despite San Francisco's incredibly Ridiculous 2010 outfield, if there's one player who will make a (negative) difference with his bat in this series, it's Howard.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Five Calls We Would Like to Hear
This afternoon Yunel Escobar hit his first home run as a Toronto Blue Jay, and first in 424 plate appearances, prompting Jordan Bastian of MLB.com to tweet the following:
Esco-bomb! Genius. John Sterling would be proud.
We here (okay, me here) at Bottom of the Fourth are big fans of stupid puns and wish broadcasters would use them with a ridiculous amount of frequency. In fact, if broadcasters spoke only in puns, the world would be a better place. (This might actually be true with regards to certain broadcasters...)
Therefore, Bottom of the Fourth would like to present its list of five calls (not necessarily home run calls) that would give us (me) great pleasure to hear coming over the airwaves, and could feasibly happen, since they involve players in the game today.
---
Well, hope you enjoyed BotF's Five Calls We Would Like to See. As the late, great Fire Joe Morgan showed us, broadcasters have the potential to provide some of the best laughs in baseball, so this is a feature we'll likely be returning to.
Esco-bomb! Genius. John Sterling would be proud.
We here (okay, me here) at Bottom of the Fourth are big fans of stupid puns and wish broadcasters would use them with a ridiculous amount of frequency. In fact, if broadcasters spoke only in puns, the world would be a better place. (This might actually be true with regards to certain broadcasters...)
Therefore, Bottom of the Fourth would like to present its list of five calls (not necessarily home run calls) that would give us (me) great pleasure to hear coming over the airwaves, and could feasibly happen, since they involve players in the game today.
---
- Roy Halladay strikes out any Detroit player, LSU alum, or superstar-golfer-frustrated-by-recent-tumult-in-their-personal-life-looking-to-shake-things-up-by-trying-a-new-sport-a-la-Michael-Jordan:
"Who needs Siegfried! Roy tames the Tiger!"
- Atlanta Braves pitcher Kenshin Kawakami miraculously discovers his power stroke, driving one out for his first career home run. Chris Berman on the mic, finally completing his transition from human to rooster:
"And it's back-back-back-back-back-buck-buck-buck-buck-bKAW! akami!!!"
- David Wright smacks a line drive right back towards Colorado Rockies rookie pitcher Jhoulys Chacin. Chacin, still in the follow-through of his motion, is unable to twist his body quickly enough to escape the rocket, and is struck in the one place that pitchers, fortunately, wear protection. However, the impact is still quite painful, like taking a bullet with a bulletproof vest on. The call:
"Ooh! Wright in the family Jhoulys!"
This, of course, could be followed by:
"I've never Chacin anything like that!"
In the follow-up commentary, the analyst might note:
"It's the first time these two have Met, and let's just say it was a Rockie first encounter for the young pitcher."
Later, while being attended to by the team doctor:
"Well, there won't be any permanent damage, but you might want to reNew Yo(u)r Konsumption of painkillers; your testicles are a little bruised and disColor(e)do.
Did we mention we love puns? (Sorry about that last one.)
- It's a tie game between the Mets and the Marlins. In the bottom of the ninth, the Mets get their lead-off runner on base via the walk. Pinch-hitter Jesus Feliciano comes to the dish, dreaming of smacking a double off the wall for his first career walk-off hit. Every rookie wants to prove himself by being the hero, and it isn't often that Feliciano is in this situation. But the moment passes, cooler heads prevail, and Feliciano bunts the runner to second.
"Jesus unselfishly makes the sacrifice."
Matthew Leach and Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Luke Adams of MLB Trade Rumors and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, all covering the game for some reason, would later go into depth about this play, each offering their own take on Feliciano's motivations and execution, but ultimately coming to the same conclusion: his bunt was the turning point that dramatically altered the outcome of this game.
- Placido Polanco, after signing a contract with a new team, gets off to a hot but unsustainable start, fueled by an abnormally high Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP). He even throws in a couple walk-off hits, prompting his hometown fans to undeservedly canonize him as the team's newest superstar infielder who will prop the team up on his shoulders even as they suffer early-season injuries and ineffectiveness to star players. Fans of a divisional rival, having suffered a recent spate of good teams who just can't seem to break through and make the playoffs after an incredible run of success in the previous decade, start to worry that this year will be no different and that Polanco's new team, the two-time defending league champions, will pull off the hat trick, leaving their team as the bridesmaid once again.
But the sabermetrically-inclined broadcaster of the aforementioned divisional rival sees through Polanco's BABIP magic (this is all very specific, isn't it? Almost as if it's based in fact...) and gives solace to his listeners:
"No need to worry, fans. It's just the Placido Effect."
Well, hope you enjoyed BotF's Five Calls We Would Like to See. As the late, great Fire Joe Morgan showed us, broadcasters have the potential to provide some of the best laughs in baseball, so this is a feature we'll likely be returning to.
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