LSU vs. Arkansas, Friday Open Thread
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
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Rain delay!
Works out great for me. I was 2hrs late at work dealing with problems on every project. But coming home to find that I had missed none of the game was quite nice.
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 3:12 PM CDT reply actions
While we're waiting...
I had some thoughts on the Malcolm Gladwell article Richard posted in a previous thread.
As usual with Gladwell, he uses pretty flimsy reasoning to reach a flimsy conclusion. The featured anecdote is a cute story, but there’s nothing you can really extrapolate from twelve year old girls basketball in Silicon Valley. At least nothing you can’t basically find in a Chicken Soup for the Soul collection.
In fact, in almost any case in which a less talented basketball team plays a superior team, the best strategy to win is to limit the superior teams’ possessions. Running a press actually increases total possessions. It might be a good strategy in the short term for pre-pubescent girls basketball, but over any period of time, it’s a recipe for disaster. So when Gladwell makes the jump to college basketball, his invocation of Pitino’s teams seems incredibly naive.
Pitino’s cinderella Providence team won because they shot an incredible percentage from 3 point (a still underused strategy in the Big East at the time). And how could you possibly call those Kentucky teams undertalented? They probably didn’t play 4 teams a season that had better talent.
Ironically, Gladwell makes the same mistake that many baseball fans make who sing the praises of “small ball.” He believes in the success of a strategy because he’s seen it work at levels of sport that really aren’t comparable to sport at the highest level. Bunting and stealing are a better strategy for run scoring in youth baseball because stopping it requires a several different players to display several different defensive skills all at the same time. It’s a safer bet at the youth level that one or more of the things that need to go wrong to make a steal or bunt successful will in fact go wrong.
Baseball fans see this with their kids or remember it from their own baseball experience and then make a false connection with major league baseball in which defensive competence is at a level totally unrelated to baseball at the lower levels. You can see how this relates to Gladwell’s anecdote about girl’s basketball. The story does tell us something about how we can take advantage of organizational weaknesses, but it doesn’t really tell us anything about the strategy in and of itself. I’m not sure why Gladwell took the article in that direction; I suppose that he thought that the majority of the readership wouldn’t know any better. On that, he was probably right; i was at a party a few weeks ago with a bunch of academics who don’t really know much about sports, and they were citing this article approvingly and talking about the “smart” Kentucky teams.
And that’s the real point of Gladwell’s essays; stroking the egos of the arugula set.
Will you stop it with the vegetables
"Arugula set"
I am now officially stealing that turn of phrase. I love it.
And I agree with your overall point.
I wrote a critique of Gladwell last year called "Chicken Soup for the Arugula Lover's Soul"
So I’m kind of repeating my jokes here, but the guy drives me nuts.
Every time he writes “Think about it…” all I can hear is “Git R Done!”
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions
1-0 Tigers
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Buzzy Haydel
is hilarious. Sorry for those of you without tv who missed that bit.
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 3:57 PM CDT reply actions
Jared Mitchell is "articulate...well-spoken"
Careful on the stereotypes there, Orel
Will you stop it with the vegetables
Richards pitching well
They are gonna ride this as long as they can. I’m curious about his durability. I simply don’t know, but I have a hunch when he gets gassed, it’ll get ugly real quick.
They just quoted Van Horn as saying his count is ~60
he’s at around 35 now
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Hawthorne...
…speculating on the idea of bunting Schimpf. Because that’s the thing to do. And then he squares. Are you kidding me?!
Bases loaded!
And that’s why you don’t bunt Ryan Schimpf.
Forget about what I said about Richards. Except for that it’ll get ugly quick. It did. And he’s gone.
no outs. two men on. pitcher struggling to throw strikes. makes total sense, jim
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Bases loaded...
Let’s make the most of it.
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 4:17 PM CDT reply actions
going for the double play before he had it
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 4:22 PM CDT up reply actions
Who doesn’t put powdered sugar on funnel cake?
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 4:37 PM CDT reply actions
i know; that was weird. mike patrick is senile
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 4:59 PM CDT up reply actions
get off me ball !!!!!!!
Will you stop it with the vegetables
by Man Mountain on Jun 19, 2009 4:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I've just turned the 100 or so people
in this Portland, Oregon sports bar into Tiger fans. I passed out purple and gold beads a couple of hours ago, and now they are a bunch of drunk LSU fans wearing beads :)
Feels like home, if only for a few hours!
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Awesome.
So are you making the drive to Seattle for the first football game?
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions
First Bears game is at Lambeau.
But I will be in Seattle Sept. 27th, directly over the Bears tunnel, 4 rows off the field!
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I'm here now..
the open thread can begin.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:08 PM CDT reply actions
Welcome aboard sir.
Thought I’d try to pop in for a couple innings…
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Another inning down.. another shutout inning.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:10 PM CDT reply actions
mitchell can seriously hit righties.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:14 PM CDT reply actions
LMAO
Awesome. I wish I had me camera.
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What a groove.
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Ranaudo is just mowin' 'em down.
Let’s get some runs and break it open.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:27 PM CDT reply actions
LeMahieu is due to smoke one.
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Jeebus H.
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I can live with one solo home run per inning
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:31 PM CDT reply actions
How much longer do you go with Ranaudo?
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:32 PM CDT reply actions
I was just thinking that
This game is essentially over. Give him one more inning and then go to the pen. Let Nolan Cain finish it out.
with the game over, take him out..
we may need Ranaudo later in the tournament.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:34 PM CDT up reply actions
And we have crossed the statistical threshold of the 6th inning.
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 5:33 PM CDT reply actions
I get someone ready and take him out now.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:33 PM CDT reply actions
According to espn, it's 77
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions
He will have been sitting a while though.
Might be cold?
by janepriceestrada on Jun 19, 2009 5:38 PM CDT up reply actions
the pitching changes are getting out of hand too.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:44 PM CDT reply actions
10 run rule? :)
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Ross?
Interesting choice. Who’s our Tuesday starter?
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:56 PM CDT reply actions
Still Ross
Getting him some work. This is almost like a bullpen session between starts. But I don’t like him having more than one or two innings. Get him some work, but keep it short.
11-2
Let’s just keep going. Get the next guy.
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 5:57 PM CDT reply actions
I'm starting to get stabby
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 6:03 PM CDT reply actions
Stabbiness is relieved
Richard Pittman
by Richard Pittman on Jun 19, 2009 6:03 PM CDT up reply actions
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SEC Baseball Standings
Last Update: May 17
# - SEC Tournament Seeding
Team Name = Eliminated from SEC Tournament
| West | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
2 LSU Tigers  |
17 | 10 | 40 | 13 |
| 5 Mississippi Rebels |
14 | 13 | 34 | 19 |
| 7 Arkansas Razorbacks |
13 | 14 | 36 | 17 |
| 8 Mississippi St. Bulldogs |
13 | 14 | 31 | 21 |
| 10 Auburn Tigers |
12 | 15 | 29 | 24 |
| |
7 | 20 | 19 | 33 |
| East | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
| 1 Kentucky Wildcats |
18 | 9 | 41 | 12 |
| 3 South Carolina Gamecocks |
17 | 9 | 38 | 13 |
| 4 Florida Gators |
16 | 11 | 38 | 15 |
| 6 Georgia Bulldogs |
13 | 13 | 30 | 22 |
| 9 Vanderbilt Commodores |
13 | 14 | 26 | 25 |
|
8 | 19 | 24 | 28 |
