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MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

thelibertyline.com

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Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#371
post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I play golf. I write about golf. I genuinely love golf. Over the last 50 years, we have slowly broken the game of golf by allowing incremental technological advancements -- just like this -- that make it easier to do something that is hard, that is making it easier to hit the sweet spot. I am sending a grave warning to baseball fans here from the future that you will arrive at by following this road. Golf used to be…

People have had similar sentiments in tennis about how racket and ball technology has changed the game over the years. Moving away from wooden rackets led to a massive increase in power and a larger sweet spot, which transformed the game from finesse to powerful serve-and-volley play. John McEnroe began with wooden racquets, while Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi adjusted to carbon fiber frames. Then poly strings took t…

This argument about progress falls apart as soon as you consider previous eras in sport that were found wanting. Was the bruising play of the 2004 NBA superior to previous kinds of basketball? Most people would disagree. Were the stickhandling of Martin Brodeur and the Left Wing Lock the culmination of decades of hockey "progress?" Not even a Devils or Red Wings fan would say that. Should everyone have celebrated when it was discovered in the 1990 World Cup that the most efficient strategy was to deliver the ball into the hands of the goalkeeper over and over? No, because it was incredibly boring.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#372
post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of associations who do this: https://worldhickoryopen.com/ I still play with my grandfather's persimmon clubs about 25% of the time. It's just a coordination problem... but once the dominant professional association the game changes forever, because the vast majority of people just want to emulate the pros, because they grew up dreaming of becoming pro. Golf is finally trying to do something about th…

I am not a golfist at all and unfortunately I feel that I must instinctively hate the game - that is really my problem and not golf's. Golf is a decent sport and not deserving of my opprobrium. So why do I feel the need to dislike golf? I'm a white skinned, middle aged male and my job title is Managing Director. Obviously I should be a passionate small white ball smacker. No I'm not. I love the idea of golf but hate…

I assure you we are kindred spirits. I started writing about golf as someone who was just a bit embarrassed to like golf because nobody was writing about golf from a skeptical position.

My blogs name is “Wigs on the Green” because that’s and archaic term for a fistfight, and I wasn’t to write like I was willing to burn every bridge if I thought it was good for golf, environmentalism, and the culture.

I learned on muni’s and went to graduate school in Scotland where I learned the snooty aspects of golf are almost exclusively a North American phenomena.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#373
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every sport hits this sort of threshold where they ban optimization. Swimming did it with 'sharkskin' suits and long distance running with Nike's Alphafly and Vaporfly shoes. Maybe that's where advanced baseball bats will end up eventually.

>where they ban optimization Always wondered why the NFL doesn't ban sticky gloves.

They are available to all teams, financially affordable, do not make the ball dirty, and they lead to more spectacular catches. Why would they consider banning them?

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From showing basketball to people who haven't watched a basketball game before.

Uhh basketball has plenty of issues, like 6 timeouts in the last two minutes, way to many 3s, traveling everywhere that make it hard to watch.

How do three pointers or uncalled fouls make a game hard to watch? If anything, they make it easier for a first time watcher. Timeouts in the last few minutes happen only when the game is close, prolonging the suspense. If the game isn't close, it ends faster.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From showing basketball to people who haven't watched a basketball game before.

But what if I have watched basketball and I don't watch it. Basketball is a boring game until there's 5 minutes left.

Baseball is twice as long and boring to most people all the way through, so we seem to be in agreement.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#378
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rules for hand pass are: > Rule 79 – Hand Pass > 79.1 Hand Pass - A player shall be permitted to stop or “bat” a puck in the air with his open hand, or push it along the ice with his hand, and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, he has directed the puck to a teammate, or has allowed his team to gain an advantage, and subsequently possession and control of the puck is obta…

> Basically, if your stick breaks when defending, you can go ahead and use your body to play and fling the puck to your teammates as appropriate Isn't that specifically banned? >> and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, he has directed the puck to a teammate [...] and subsequently possession and control of the puck is obtained by a player of the offending team

You missed the part about it being allowed in the defending zone.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#379
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rules for hand pass are: > Rule 79 – Hand Pass > 79.1 Hand Pass - A player shall be permitted to stop or “bat” a puck in the air with his open hand, or push it along the ice with his hand, and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, he has directed the puck to a teammate, or has allowed his team to gain an advantage, and subsequently possession and control of the puck is obta…

> Basically, if your stick breaks when defending, you can go ahead and use your body to play and fling the puck to your teammates as appropriate Isn't that specifically banned? >> and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, he has directed the puck to a teammate [...] and subsequently possession and control of the puck is obtained by a player of the offending team

[deleted]

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#380
post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They need to get some rugby coaches in to teach it. That's a super-basic rugby technique, which even I (as only a very casual rugby fan) can see most teams getting wrong.

What basic rugby technique? A rugby scrum is highly regimented, it's not the optimal way for 3 (or 5 or 8) guys to push the other team back, it's the optimal way to do it given that they must be bound in a particular way. A rugby ruck or maul is more freeform and maybe some of the techniques from those can be applied to NFL, but small differences in rules make a big difference there too. On a different question, thou…

I was thinking of a maul, yeah. What I've spotted is NFL guys pushing with their hands on a teammate's back, instead of (like in rugby, or what the Eagles do) getting their shoulders against his ass or upper thighs, which gives more power and better leverage.

Good point about using different players, and I even think I've seen that a time or two. As for why not always do it, I'm only guessing, but there may be an inherent advantage in preserving the possibility that it won't be a "tush push" play (I mean, maybe not for the Eagles, because they're so good at it, but for other teams who aren't). Like, maybe it keeps the linebackers a step or two deeper and increases the likelihood of success; or, if they provoke a "tush push" defense that opens up a more-promising play then the QB is best placed to run the counter. I don't really know, though.

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