I know none of you care but ........ (the Baseball thread)

[PeterWithesShin]

Once you watch it often and you start picking it up then you really start to appreciate the skill and athleticism involved. Batting looks pretty simple, but a 90mph fastball gives the batter something like a third of the second to see it, decide what pitch it is (was it a slider, curve, fastball etc), if it's a strike or a ball, if it's a strike where in the strike zone will it be, what movement it has and to have hit it.

[Risso]

If there's a player from the batting team on each plate, and the pitcher bowls four no balls, does everybody on the plates move forward one?  Or can you have more than one player on each plate?

[PeterWithesShin]

If the bases are full, there's men on 1st base, 2nd base and 3rd base, and the pitcher issues a walk (4 balls) then everyone moves along 1 base and the pitcher has walked in a run. If there is someone only on 1st and there's a walk, then the bloke on 1st goes to second and the walked batter takes first. If there's only a bloke on 2nd and it's a walk, he stays on second and the walked batter goes to first as the base was 'open'.

Hopefully that makes sense.

[PeterWithesShin]

This is what a baseball thrown at 95+ can do!

[PeterWithesShin]

And not every MLB player is a skilled outfielder

[Risso]

Right, I feel a bit more clued in now.  Eyes down for the second game.  We drive from Maine to Boston on Monday, and are then in Boston for game 6 and 7. Do they still play the games if somebody has won by then?

[PeterWithesShin]

Nope, as soon as someone wins 4 games they are the winners that's it.

[PeterWithesShin]

And this is a good watch if you want to be a Red Sox fan. https://vimeo.com/16293607

[Risso]

I assume that's a good start from Boston then?  2 strike outs and a catch in the Dodgers first innings.

[PeterWithesShin]

Yep, 3 outs and no runs conceded is always what you want, preferably no base runners to keep the pitch count down and have less what they call 'stress' pitches.

[PeterWithesShin]

That's even better for the BoSox!

[PeterWithesShin]

That wasn't though! Should never make the first or third out at 3rd base. Good throw mind.

[PeterWithesShin]

That's the shit right there!

[PeterWithesShin]

Boom!

[UK Redsox]

My friend Gary (left) with his brother before last night's game