Classic Conversation Thread

[Porthos]

Anyway, was coming here to wonder...

 

 

It's a new decade, so is it now OYBS????   

 

===

 

Okay, still have to fight the Twin Towers Powers of the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West.  But every year it seems like there is a Surprise Team in baseball.  Looking like it might just be the Giants turn this year.  I mean their combined record against the Pads and Bums is 8-8, which isn't shabby at all.

 

(I'd feel a lot more confident about the team if they could just sort out their bullpen )

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Porthos said:

Anyway, was coming here to wonder...

 

 

It's a new decade, so is it now OYBS????   

 

===

 

Okay, still have to fight the Twin Towers Powers of the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West.  But every year it seems like there is a Surprise Team in baseball.  Looking like it might just be the Giants turn this year.  I mean their combined record against the Pads and Bums is 8-8, which isn't shabby at all.

 

(I'd feel a lot more confident about the team if they could just sort out their bullpen )

Now do I think the Giants are gonna keep this up?  Of course not.  That bullpen is seriously shaky and relying on old dudes in a lineup is dicey at best.  Then again, I didn't think they would keep this up after April was over, and I certainly didn't think they would keep this up after getting swept at home by the Dodgers.  But since then, they've gone 7-2, including going down to LA and taking 3 of 4 from them.

 

Which leads to this absolutely wild set of stats.  While the combined record of any set of teams against each other should always be .500 (the losses of one team cancel out the wins of the other), check this out when it is broken out a bit:

 

Giants combined record against Dodgers and Padres: 8-8 [LA: 3-4 | SD: 5-4]

Dodgers combined record against Giants and Padres: 7-7 [SF: 4-3 | SD: 3-4]

Padres combined record against Dodgers and Giants: 8-8 [LA: 4-3 | SF: 4-5]

 

Giants/Dodgers/Padres combined record versus everyone else: 80-44.

 

That's kinda nuts.    Reminds me of the years in the AL East when the Yanks, Sawx, and Rays* would absolutely pummel each other and then beat up on everyone else in the league.

 

Here's hoping for a nice pennant chase all year long. 👍

 

* Speaking of which, I had the epiphany a couple of weeks ago that the Giants might just be the Bizzaro Tampa Bay Rays, but I'll save my thoughts on that for another time, as this post is already long as it is.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Porthos

[4815162342]

3 hours ago, CJohn said:

Lost is so good fam. I am halfway through season 2. Why did nobody tell me before this was actual greatness?!

 

Bruh

[CJohn]

5 hours ago, Porthos said:

 

And with this post, CJohn outs himself for never reading any of this board's Best TV series of All Time countdowns. 👍

 

...

Also, did you never wonder where @4815162342 got his handle from?  

 

HOLY SHIT. No, actually no. He uses the Lost numbers. Mind = blown.

[Plain Old Tele]

6 hours ago, CJohn said:

Lost is so good fam. I am halfway through season 2. Why did nobody tell me before this was actual greatness?!

WAAAAAAAAALT

[MrPink]

4 hours ago, Porthos said:

Now do I think the Giants are gonna keep this up?  Of course not.  That bullpen is seriously shaky and relying on old dudes in a lineup is dicey at best.  Then again, I didn't think they would keep this up after April was over, and I certainly didn't think they would keep this up after getting swept at home by the Dodgers.  But since then, they've gone 7-2, including going down to LA and taking 3 of 4 from them.

 

Which leads to this absolutely wild set of stats.  While the combined record of any set of teams against each other should always be .500 (the losses of one team cancel out the wins of the other), check this out when it is broken out a bit:

 

Giants combined record against Dodgers and Padres: 8-8 [LA: 3-4 | SD: 5-4]

Dodgers combined record against Giants and Padres: 7-7 [SF: 4-3 | SD: 3-4]

Padres combined record against Dodgers and Giants: 8-8 [LA: 4-3 | SF: 4-5]

 

Giants/Dodgers/Padres combined record versus everyone else: 80-44.

 

That's kinda nuts.    Reminds me of the years in the AL East when the Yanks, Sawx, and Rays* would absolutely pummel each other and then beat up on everyone else in the league.

 

Here's hoping for a nice pennant chase all year long. 👍

 

* Speaking of which, I had the epiphany a couple of weeks ago that the Giants might just be the Bizzaro Tampa Bay Rays, but I'll save my thoughts on that for another time, as this post is already long as it is.

 

This is what we call the Giants Odd Year Bullshit. Granted, it has been neutralized in the last 4-5 years.

[4815162342]

11 minutes ago, CJohn said:

HOLY SHIT. No, actually no. He uses the Lost numbers. Mind = blown.

 

lolololololol 

 

The middle of season 2 through the first 9 episodes of season 3 is overall the weakest stretch of the show

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, MrPink said:

 

This is what we call the Giants Odd Year Bullshit.

 

7 hours ago, Porthos said:

It's a new decade, so is it now OYBS????   

 

Way ahead of ya, fam. 👍

 

The funny thing is, if one looks under the hood, the Giants have earned that record.  Their pythag is exactly the same as their record (Fangraphs more advanced BaseRuns does have them at 33-23, it should be noted) which suggests that the season isn't a fluke if one just looked at the numbers.

 

The big thing is, of course, projection systems haaaaaaaaaaate the Giants going forward.  Well, not quite much as they did, but while they are no longer projected to be the equivalent of a 90 loss team, projection systems still think they'll be sub .500 the rest of the way, if only just.  And I can totally see why.

 

But I called the Giants the Bizzaro Tampa Bay Rays for a reason.  The Rays are famous for wringing out talent and finding hidden gems in young players.  So much so that they were probably the "real" model franchise for "Moneyball" and as much as anything helped popularize the analytic revolution in front offices everywhere.  The Giants are doing something similar to the Rays in their free agent acquisitions and trades, except instead of doing it for young controllable players, they're doing it for older players who are cheap thanks to baseball going head over heels on the youth movement.  If the essence of Moneyball is exploiting market inefficiency, then perhaps the Giants have found a new one.  

 

Now it's not like Farhan Zaidi intentionally went old.  He was handicapped somewhat in that when he arrived he couldn't trade his aging vets coz no one would have picked up their contracts at the time.  So he couldn't do a full teardown ala Cubs and 'stros.  And I certainly expect him to make the team as young as possible when he can.

 

At the same time, he famously made a quote when he was hired that he didn't think teams needed to go Full Astros in a rebuild and that his mission was to make the team better one move at a time, even if it was the most trivial moves on the backend of the 40 man roster, or for minor league depth.  And roughly a gazillion moves later, well, seems to be proven right.  He's barely sacrificed anything from the farm and has built a legitimate team out of stone knives and bearskins.

 

Ironically his biggest weakness so far might just be the draft as he has yet to set the world on fire with his high round draft picks, though admittedly 2020 fucked with development, so it's hard to know.

 

All of this is to say: Thanks Dodgers for letting us have him.  Much appreciated. 👍 

[MrPink]

8 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

 

Way ahead of ya, fam. 👍

 

The funny thing is, if one looks under the hood, the Giants have earned that record.  Their pythag is exactly the same as their record (Fangraphs more advanced BaseRuns does have them at 33-23, it should be noted) which suggests that the season isn't a fluke if one just looked at the numbers.

 

The big thing is, of course, projection systems haaaaaaaaaaate the Giants going forward.  Well, not quite much as they did, but while they are no longer projected to be the equivalent of a 90 loss team, projection systems still think they'll be sub .500 the rest of the way, if only just.  And I can totally see why.

 

But I called the Giants the Bizzaro Tampa Bay Rays for a reason.  The Rays are famous for wringing out talent and finding hidden gems in young players.  So much so that they were probably the "real" model franchise for "Moneyball" and as much as anything helped popularize the analytic revolution in front offices everywhere.  The Giants are doing something similar to the Rays in their free agent acquisitions and trades, except instead of doing it for young controllable players, they're doing it for older players who are cheap thanks to baseball going head over heels on the youth movement.  If the essence of Moneyball is exploiting market inefficiency, then perhaps the Giants have found a new one.  

 

Now it's not like Farhan Zaidi intentionally went old.  He was handicapped somewhat in that when he arrived he couldn't trade his aging vets coz no one would have picked up their contracts at the time.  So he couldn't do a full teardown ala Cubs and 'stros.  And I certainly expect him to make the team as young as possible when he can.

 

At the same time, he famously made a quote when he was hired that he didn't think teams needed to go Full Astros in a rebuild and that his mission was to make the team better one move at a time, even if it was the most trivial moves on the backend of the 40 man roster, or for minor league depth.  And roughly a gazillion moves later, well, seems to be proven right.  He's barely sacrificed anything from the farm and has built a legitimate team out of stone knives and bearskins.

 

Ironically his biggest weakness so far might just be the draft as he has yet to set the world on fire with his high round draft picks, though admittedly 2020 fucked with development, so it's hard to know.

 

All of this is to say: Thanks Dodgers for letting us have him.  Much appreciated. 👍 

 

This is what I get for skimming. 

[CJohn]

2 hours ago, 4815162342 said:

 

lolololololol 

 

The middle of season 2 through the first 9 episodes of season 3 is overall the weakest stretch of the show

I am guessing that is when Ana Lucia bites the dust. Michelle Rodriguez is crazy annoying here.

[4815162342]

8 minutes ago, CJohn said:

I am guessing that is when Ana Lucia bites the dust. Michelle Rodriguez is crazy annoying here.

 

There's several characters Lost had trouble introducing through its run.

 

 

Whatever you feel about Ana Lucia, it's nothing compared to how much of a thud the infamous Nikki and Paolo were when they got introduced in Season 3.

 

@Plain Old Tele can back me up there

[Plain Old Tele]

1 hour ago, Porthos said:

 

 

Way ahead of ya, fam. 👍

 

The funny thing is, if one looks under the hood, the Giants have earned that record.  Their pythag is exactly the same as their record (Fangraphs more advanced BaseRuns does have them at 33-23, it should be noted) which suggests that the season isn't a fluke if one just looked at the numbers.

 

The big thing is, of course, projection systems haaaaaaaaaaate the Giants going forward.  Well, not quite much as they did, but while they are no longer projected to be the equivalent of a 90 loss team, projection systems still think they'll be sub .500 the rest of the way, if only just.  And I can totally see why.

 

But I called the Giants the Bizzaro Tampa Bay Rays for a reason.  The Rays are famous for wringing out talent and finding hidden gems in young players.  So much so that they were probably the "real" model franchise for "Moneyball" and as much as anything helped popularize the analytic revolution in front offices everywhere.  The Giants are doing something similar to the Rays in their free agent acquisitions and trades, except instead of doing it for young controllable players, they're doing it for older players who are cheap thanks to baseball going head over heels on the youth movement.  If the essence of Moneyball is exploiting market inefficiency, then perhaps the Giants have found a new one.  

 

Now it's not like Farhan Zaidi intentionally went old.  He was handicapped somewhat in that when he arrived he couldn't trade his aging vets coz no one would have picked up their contracts at the time.  So he couldn't do a full teardown ala Cubs and 'stros.  And I certainly expect him to make the team as young as possible when he can.

 

At the same time, he famously made a quote when he was hired that he didn't think teams needed to go Full Astros in a rebuild and that his mission was to make the team better one move at a time, even if it was the most trivial moves on the backend of the 40 man roster, or for minor league depth.  And roughly a gazillion moves later, well, seems to be proven right.  He's barely sacrificed anything from the farm and has built a legitimate team out of stone knives and bearskins.

 

Ironically his biggest weakness so far might just be the draft as he has yet to set the world on fire with his high round draft picks, though admittedly 2020 fucked with development, so it's hard to know.

 

All of this is to say: Thanks Dodgers for letting us have him.  Much appreciated. 👍 

You're welcome, buddy. Farhad is rad. 

[Plain Old Tele]

38 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

 

There's several characters Lost had trouble introducing through its run.

 

 

Whatever you feel about Ana Lucia, it's nothing compared to how much of a thud the infamous Nikki and Paolo were when they got introduced in Season 3.

 

@Plain Old Tele can back me up there

BWAHAHAHAHA

[CoolioD1]

nikki and paolo were fine. kinda harmless sidekicks and their own episode was a lot of fun. people were too OTT about them.

[lorddemaxus]

The temple stuff in season 6 (currently there on my re-watch) is probably the worst part of the whole show imo. Just so fucking boring. Also was pretty funny to see Rob Mchelney randomly popping up in the show (he does once earlier in the show too) as a no name character eventhough Sunny was probably pretty big at this point.

[CJohn]

The smoke monster looks terrible. That sweet 2005 network TV CGI.

 

I can't wait to see how Lindelof and Abrams will fuck my brains over the next episodes.

[4815162342]

22 minutes ago, CJohn said:

The smoke monster looks terrible. That sweet 2005 network TV CGI.

 

I can't wait to see how Lindelof and Abrams will fuck my brains over the next episodes.

 

Aside from writing an episode or two at the start of season 3 Abrams basically had no involvement after season 1

[CJohn]

49 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

 

Aside from writing an episode or two at the start of season 3 Abrams basically had no involvement after season 1

Fine. Lindelof will do all the fucking by himself.

[Jamiem]

26 minutes ago, CJohn said:

Fine. Lindelof will do all the fucking by himself.

I want to make a gif or photoshop with Linedelof's face on all the characters of *that* Leftovers scene so bad, but know it would way too NSFW to show here. 

[Eric Duncan]

 

ICON