henrygandorf

when the strike first started, the streamers insinuated that they would never be transparent and release their streaming numbers because they were so good that the writers/actors would want a share so big that it would break them. my theory, and i'm sure i did not invent it, is that they won't share the numbers because they're so bad that if released, their stock price would plummet. the asterisk is that there really isn't a uniform way to measure the viewings, so it could/would likely be manipulated. what counts as a view for a show or a season? someone watching 10 seconds? 10 minutes? one episode? do they measure views for the pilot vs the finale? and does when they watch count? broadcast network has relied on ratings for decades that really only count first-run views (this is why dvr recording was so controversial at first). these numbers were/are important because that's how they know how much to charge advertisers. but with streaming, there are no advertisers (for the most part), so it's hard to determine. do you need to watch it opening weekend? the first month? 3 months? 3 years? shows don't have reruns and streaming originals usually don't go away, but should views be counted years later? there are too many variables, so my opinion is that when we finally do get some sort of numbers, they will be vague and hard to trust. that's why streamers like netflix are hard to trust. of course when i first started saying this, their stock was 100 points higher than it is now.

there are nasty 7th/8th inning type guys on every roster or at least in every organization who are walking around being closers and don't even know it. we targeted pressly, a middling reliever in minn because of his spin rate, and we turned him into a top closer. i know strom is gone, but hopefully there's somebody on the payroll who can do the same and either go get a guy, draft a guy, or take one of our current guys and make him into the next guy. or just have lance do it. either way, closer is the absolute last place i would spend my money.

i know i've said it a dozen times, but this is where the rubber meets the road. the streamers are scared to fucking death to release these numbers. i still hold confident in my theory as to why.

some perspective from the coroner.

nobody's ever looked less confused than baltimore did on monday.

javier has my blessing to be sp3 in the playoffs if he's rested and limited to 4-5 innings. hb/france/urquidy would need to piggy back for 2-3 innings, because i'm not dave roberts and fuck having 5 rp come in to get you 5 innings.

i believe they made the deal with peacock before par+ was even a thing, so it wasn't really a controversial decision at the time. viacom owns all of it, so i don't think an additional deal had to be made, other than possibly selling his time to get involved to get the show broadcast-ready.

so predictable. you can always tell when the writers are on strike.

well join the fucking club, mike.

so brantley is hurt, right? he's 13-39 career vs kyle gibson. there's no reason he shouldn't be lf or dh tonight.

lol she was in every episode.

i'm not gonna listen to that, but if someone wants to share the lowlights, i'll read them.

to be fair, brantley just got back a few weeks ago, so i don't blame dusty for the full 9 not being used pre sept 1st. but how many times were our best 8 out there together before that? whatever the number is, it wasn't enough. and for those wondering about last night, i don't know if it would be handled any better from the rp standpoint, especially if abreu was unavailable. montero has been very good over the back half of the season, even though he sucked last night. and if neris/pressly can't protect a 2 run lead at home, then we will lose ballgames. but when you have uncle mike and yainer and meyers on the bench in a close game from the 6th on, i expect more than just one pinch-running appearance. if for no other reason than to get them ready for the postseason, everybody should be pinch-hitting, getting loose, getting warm, getting used to coming in a game close and late, especially for brantley who missed the whole season or a rookie like yainer. yes, i know maldonado homered in the 8th, but he also struck out in the 6th in what could've been a completely blown opportunity. dusty made plenty of mistakes last year and got bailed out by great pitching and timely hitting. that's not happening as much this year for any number of reasons. but when there are 5 levers that can be pulled to up the % of winning a game, i'm gonna need dusty to pull on at least one of them. and yeah, not sending meyers was ridiculous. you make them make the perfect play and if they do than they do. there are a bunch of ways that play can get fucked up even without gary sanchez catching.

the casting was great and the choreography with the basketball scenes was outstanding. i don't know who's responsible for this, but as far as the casting/cinematography goes, they did a fantastic job of making the players actually look like the players on the court - magic, bird, kareem, others, but they also made it look like a bunch of 6'6"-7'0" tall people running and jumping and huddling around riles, and so forth. that seems like something that would be easy to fuck up, because i assume none of the actors were over 6'3" or so. i think adrien brody is about 6'2" and segel is probably taller than all of them. the grainy filter mckay decided to use really took you to that place.

right, but how's he doing with maldonado catching?

yeah, duh, that's why there are still bullies.

we're upset because we're led to believe sports is the last true meritocracy left in the world. outside of this board and a text chain i don't think i really get "worked up", but it is infuriating in the general sense that nobody seems to be able to supply an adequate counter-argument.

correct. i'm all for having the best infielders in when framber pitches and having the best, most athletic outfielders in when jv pitches, but dubon is not it. if he asked for meyers in cf and chas in left (instead of yordan or brantley), at least it would make a little sense. it also seems clear that comfort or not, the staff seems to pitch better to yainer, or at least our team era is lower and team winning % is higher. he also has far fewer passed balls and throws guys out and a much higher clip. but let's just say they were exactly even at everything i just mentioned. yainer is a way better hitter and we all know it, so i really need an explanation. it's malpractice at this point, and unfortunately the only way to prove it is to not make the playoffs. losing in the wildcard round would probably also qualify.

so if you're scoring at home, and i am, that's 2/7 for yainer. we can't even get him a dh slot when brantley is out.

last season was 10 episodes. this season was 7 episodes. everybody knew the strike was coming. the hbo merger has been in the works for 2 years or whatever. and the showrunner has constant budget meetings with network execs. that shit doesn't stay quiet and everybody on the show knows when it's an issue and how easily something can be cancelled. the news broke yesterday, but i guarantee you anybody drawing a check from the production knew during filming that it was likely done. it was the perfect recipe for a shitty meal.

media : dusty, will you commit to playing yainer more if we make it to the postseason? dusty:

so let's take a look back at the week that was. twib notes, if you will. we played 6 games against the two worst teams in mlb. yainer started 2/6. in those 2, he went 3-9 with a homer and a double. we went 2-4. what do we say about coincidence, sherlock?

well then you probably shouldn't have read 18 pages about it.

you rented my room?

fuck discovery.