Oakland Park Baseball

The superbowl starts at 3pm. That means even if we actually started our game at 11am (a feat that hasn't happened in a solid 4 months), It'd be nearly impossible for me to get home, shower, change and get back out to my friends house by kickoff.

Long-story-short: unless we somehow conjure up interest (and intent) for a 10am start time (which I in no way expect to happen), I won't be attending next week.

Q: when is our live game match-up going to be? I vote for not the 12th.

yeah... 10 is early

I personally could hardly care less about the "Super"bowl. Baseball is just so much better.

I agree with Paul. But, Ken's participation is important....... so, we've GOT to start at 11:00 AM SHARP next Sunday. This means we must all do our part to have at least 11 people at 11. By having 11 at that point (which should be very very doable), we can begin, and add in people who show up later. So, everyone do their personal part to bring an extra person with them. If all core people brought just one extra person, that would give us 18 people easily.

Also, I'm ready and willing to pick people up from BART, as well as other parts of Oakland (Lake Merrit / Downtown area). Contact me.

Everyone do their part, it's all about having 11 by 11:00 !!!

Us groundskeepers (thanks again Nick) will show up early to have the field ready to go. As always, check the website or call the rainout number 510 835 7694 to verify field status Sunday morning (after 9:20 AM).

would it be possible (i.e. reasonable) to push for a 10:30 first pitch... Even with an 11:00 first pitch, I think it might be a bit of a stretch for me to be home, cleaned up and out again by 3.

law out your clothes before you leave in the morning... plus, you KNOW the game never starts on time (the Super Bowl)

Maybe this is a (perish the thought) good opportunity to test out the 10 pitch maximum idea. If your team can't throw you a good pitch within 10 tosses, you are out. The out would NOT count against you in terms of your personal stats. For the personal stats, it would be seen as going 0/0.

Bear in mind that this would not mean everyone would take 10 pitches---instead, this would mean that people would be more willing to swing and put the ball in play, usually well before that 10th pitch.

I think using this option to speed up the game would have a greater impact that trying (and quite possibly failing) to start the game at 10:30.

PS: EVERYONE BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU----I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH.

Can I make the admendment that its taken pitches... if you're fouling off the ball, that's ok... I'd say 8 taken pitches?

Yeah, I agree that you can't foul out... that's what you're saying, right Peter? If you're on your "last" 10th pitch but you foul it off, you keep getting pitches until you put the ball in play, swing and miss, or let the pitch go by. Only in those 3 scenarios would your AB be over.

Oh wait, now I understand. So you're saying only count the taken pitches, but allow fewer (non swung at / non fouled off) pitches.

So you would only have pitches add up toward your total for that AB if you didn't offer at it. But, you would only get 8 non-offered at pitches. I like this idea but I think the number should perhaps be 7.

I'm not sure this will actually speed things up overall. People may ask for pitching changes if they're not getting good strikes to hit, and a pitching change takes time. Especially if the new pitcher takes a few warm up throws, which he is more likely to do if we have a real count of some kind.
The only way to be sure is to try it, of course, and I am fine with that. As someone who tends to swing at the first pitch anyway, I don't see it affecting me much.
The thing I can think of is that there are only a few people who can be relied on to toss in some really nice pitches, Chris and Nick for example. But the rest of us are not very reliable. We frequently get onto ball-streaks that can be tough to break out of. Maybe the additional pressure of a pitch count will reduce this, though. We won't know until we try it, I guess.
Only counting taken pitches is a good amendment, fouling something off (instead of getting good contact) already has a penalty in that your strike count goes up, we don't need to add a further penalty. But the first time we try it, let's go with the higher number of 8, shall we?

Also, better turnout means that you don't need to switch pitchers as much. This can help see if a guy can gte in a groove, or at least keep a good guy out there for a while.

And, yes, scott, your second response is the accurate one

tallguy wrote:The thing I can think of is that there are only a few people who can be relied on to toss in some really nice pitches, Chris and Nick for example.

Thanks, Paul. I'm not sure I'm actually that reliable, but I can be if I get into a groove.

Foot healing from nasty muscle tear + almost car mobile again + spring around the corner= Big Nasty AntMo c'mon back soon drilling line drives down the third base line.


I apologize for all the post tonight... I'm in a flamin' mood[/i]

Cool.