Second Gen (2003-2016, 2016- )
Just look at how sweetly John Gress of Reuters captured Boston‘s David Ortiz planning to smack some homers in The Battle of the Laundry that starts today at 4 pm. It is from today’s NYT’s sport section which I am checking out as part of my determinations as to the best sources of baseball related information in this most critical month of my earthly existence. Any other suggestions or favorites?
It was very odd being dislocated from TV and the Internet even for four days. That in itself tells you what I loser I have become. When I think of what I was thinking over the last few days, when my concern was to ensure I had some idea of the hotels you could land at unexpectedly over the next five interstate turn-offs, there was plenty I found I did not need to care about – what a talk radio host said or what charges were laid against which politician.
Baseball, on the other hand, becomes central as AM radio is a perfect medium for that sport and baseball is a perfect sport for that medium. Before the game – for hours before the game – there is much to consider about how a baseball game may play out. For example, knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield did not play well yesterday in the Red Sox loss to the Yankees but I had a sense he would not before the game as he was pitching on short rest. I don’t think you can have information about a player like that in any other sport or at least the known is not so well known. It is also complex. Much turned in the early innings on Randy Johnson’s temper. When he was facing bases loaded and his catcher went to talk with him, he was livid. His arrogant confidence and their relationship were important factors in the game. Sadly, he regained his composure and got better as the game went on. Maybe that was also due to him warming up for only seven minutes. That’s a fact. Just seven. Usually starters warm up for twenty. Now I know.
Despite the joy of driving up I-81 with a belly full of hammy turnip greens and grilled haddock listening to A Prairie Home Companion, it was interesting to watch my listening generally move from NPR or talk radio to sports radio, to replace the sort of facts I usually feed myself with sports stats. There is something utterly unimportant about sports stats which are also immersive – maybe it’s their utter unimportance. I think if I was driving along dealing with what was being dealt with and listening to news my brain would have imploded with argument and anger at the vanity, stupidity and selfishness of what is at the core of what passes for news. You can’t argue with baseball. It just has to happen. OK, you can argue that in 2003 Timlin should have gone in an inning earlier. He should have, too, but I still have a point. It also happens at its own pace. A game can be two hours or three and a half. A pitcher’s duel or a slug fest. Despite all you know, you just never know.
Wow. The Orioles have decided to play tonight. Maybe it’s because the team removed images of Sosa and Palmeiro from their website. Click if you don’t believe me.
Later:
…pleaseopleaseoplease…
Rain postposed last night’s game to this afternoon. Double header. I am sure to be working diligently with the doors to the office closed all afternoon. Internet audio will be a mere background to nose-to-grindstone saltminery. Those shouts will reflect my glee at my successful achievements on behalf of my employers. Yes. Yes they will.
Four up with three weeks to go. Just saying. Don’t blame me for just saying if it doesn’t happen. The world doesn’t work that way…does it?
I trust we are all watching Sportsnet this evening in a properly dignified attitude of deep adoration and gratitude as the Soxs take on the lowly Royals. Nice to see Mr. Lima pitching opposite who I think was in the playoffs last year for the Dodgers. No such luck this year I’m afraid.
Something to think about when you look out the window on a Tuesday afternoon wondering why, why we Canadians are kept from Argentinian TV by the all seeing eye of the CRTC:
Maradona and Pele, who have rarely seen eye-to-eye, swapped national shirts and headed a football to each other as Maradona’s new career began with goodwill wishes from his guests. Both took to the stage: Pele playing guitar and singing a song he composed himself and Maradona singing an Argentine tango about football. Pele praised Maradona for offering an example of how to beat addiction, calling him an inspiration for his jailed son.
I expect they shared their secret preferences for grilled meat condiments as well.
I knew what a wiffle ball was but I really did not know that is was officially called that, that there was an official version and that in fact there is The Wiffle Ball Inc. of Shelton, Connecticut, USA with a website.
It is a strange old world.
I am a little unsure the degree to which the Brockville players I marked were better and, conversely, to which I sucked. I only know they seemed to have three guys going by me fairly constantly and when there was a corner I was very happy to be the guy that hugged the post. Fortunately for me, I found my copy of Offspring’s Smash which seemed to make the drive home jolly.
I have altered history through the power of email!
In late April, I complained to my faceless anonymous cable company complaint email service about the blacking-out of the last half of a local Yankees broadcast. I do not love the Yankees but their local broadcast is pretty good coverage and I do need my Kate Smith “God Bless America” seventh inning fix now and then. So I wrote as follows:
I noticed you made an error in switching to a Canadian broadcast of one US channel on Friday night. At 9 pm on Friday, Channel 5 (Syracuse) switched to the CTV Ottawa broadcast of “Third Watch”. Third Watch is not shown on Friday nights on channel five – the Yankees game is. As a result, we lost the last third of the game and had the same “Third Watch” show on channels 5 and 6. You are only required under CRTC regulation to switch when the broadcast of the US station is also on a Canadian so this swtich was not proper.
I received this in response:
Thank you for taking the time to contact Cogeco Technical Support.
As we do try to have a system that does not fault, some issues do occur such as some switching issues. Although I do not know the extent of as to why the switch did occur we do also try to resolve such problems in a timely manor. If you have any other questions or concerns please visit the Contact Us section at www.cogeco.ca. If you would like to speak to a customer service representative please call 1-800-267-9000. Our representatives are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
“Try” was not giving me the happy and I was a little concerned that this was actually a canned autobot response so tried again:
Will this practice be stopped? Channel 5 in Kingston will carry
baseball on Friday nights and will not have the same TV show as on channel 6 through out the season.
To which this respose was given:
Hopefully the programming that we receive from the stations was corrected and will not happen again.
“Hopefully” still left me wondering but I dropped it as it was apparently no bot. Frankly, as there is only a game on the odd Friday night, especially early in the baseball season, I had in my mind it was a switch requiring human attention and so the cause was lost. Happy, then, was the man that watched the 9:00 pm time slot come and go with no switch to the Canadian broadcast of a US show and happier still the man who saw the same pass into the 10:00 pm hour. Victory. The entire see-saw Yanks v. Cubs game with the local Yanks announcers and US car dealer ads. Yes, I know I have corrupted myself as a Canadian in spending my Friday night in this way but I could not help myself.