Archive for Audio and/or Visual

Tuesday’s 5.8 magnitude Virginia earthquake sent no one to the grave, thankfully, and minorly injured only a handful of people. It caused an estimated $100 million in damages. Chump change.

I felt it, up in Toronto. It was honestly a bit thrilling; a party in my cubicle. And after watching the video below, one that you may or may not have seen elsewhere along your travels, I’ve come to the conclusion that the earthquake was, in fact, a gift. Witness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2hiyLID1sY

My favorite quotes, in chronological order:

Hang on.

What’s shakin’?

Holy shit.

Is there a building shaking?

Should we … go somewhere?

This is it. This is what an earthquake is, guys.

Did you know that most of Manhattan is built on landfill, not on granite, and if there were like an 8.0 earthquake then parts of Manhattan would just disintegrate. Did you know that?

I did. I’d like to … not be worried about that right now.

Priceless. The whole thing. But especially Jeremy Brisiel’s loosening of his tie, and repeated clicking of his pen. And shout-out to Corey Schwartz: He never broke character. At a time of great fear and confusion, he continued to do what he does: Drop knowledge. What a man.

I don’t know about you, but I’m all for another minor earthquake. Maybe a few minor earthquakes. Mostly because I want to see how Brisiel, Schwartz, and Mike Siano Nando DiFino — Thanks, Paul, from the comments — are going to react the second time around. Godspeed, gentlemen.

Moments after NotGraphs reader, and future Nobel laureate, Ethan S. let us know about the very special video above, I followed him on Twitter. You should probably do the same. And, last but certainly not least: Thank you, too, Deadspin. For all that you do.

One will often hear comments about the degree to which a camera can distort the objects of its gaze — this is what people mean, for example, when they say the camera “adds 10 pounds.”

In no case is this more clear than in the case of the above screenshot — taken from last night’s contest between San Diego and San Francisco. In said image, Padre outfielder/first baseman Kyle Blanks, facing Giant right-hander Matt Cain, looks, for all intents and purposes, like a normal-sized person.

In fact, Blanks is not a normal-sized person. That he appears to be one is clearly a trick of perspective.

To get a sense of what I mean, consider all the things that are directly behind, but totally obscured, by Blanks:

• All known works by Italian painter Tintoretto.
• Like seven or eight Arbyses, probably.
• The Golden Gate Bridge.
• A sexy cheerleading squad.
• Dayn Perry’s ego.

While not technically a mathematical proof, this is the sort of thing after which one generally says something like “Q.E.D.” Which, consider that my final thought on the matter.

With his Aruba team facing elimination down 20-0 in the fourth inning of their Little League World Series game against Taiwan, 11-year-old Vaughn Bergen danced like he hadn’t a care in the world. And frankly, why should he have a care in the world? He’s 11 years old. He’s playing in the Little League World Series. When he leaves Williamsport, he will return home to FRIGGIN’ ARUBA (not a rich country by any stretch, I should note, but seated relatively comfortably between countries like Portugal and Cyprus in the GDP per c
apita power rankings).

Bergen’s father, Luigi (also a coach for the Aruban team), credits his son’s dance moves for the team’s late surge to cut Taiwain’s lead to just 17:

“The dancing thing got everyone smiling, and they started hitting the ball in that last inning,” Luigi Bergen said.

And they kept hitting. In Monday’s consolation game, Aruba beat South Dakota, 5-0. Vaughn knocked in the first run in that one.

“I was mad because we were not going to make it to the final,” Vaughn said when asked why he started dancing in the middle of Saturday’s game.

“My dad told me to enjoy myself, and I did.”

My only advice to young Bergen would be to continue to reap the benefits of his adorability while he can, because as soon as he hits puberty, all that this behavior will get him is a 7-minute on-air scolding from Bobby Valentine about how he’s an immature clubhouse cancer. 

What follows is symptomatic of a healthy and confident gentleman:

I’m not going to go overboard and start comparing this nobleman and his velvety yet sturdy hands to Mitch “Charlemagne’s Poise” Davies, but I will say that this is the sort of plucky display that could, under the proper circumstances, lead to a night with Angie Dickinson.

As I’m sure the well-bred reader will concur, insolent behavior is not a thing to praised in and of itself. While, of course, there’s a time and a place for strong words and stronger deeds (after midnight and at a gentlemen’s club, respectively), it is generally best for the aristocrat to maintain a healthy respect for propriety.

Occasionally, however, the opportunity presents itself for a true and beautiful act of finely crafted insubordination. Man among men Grant Brisbee reminded the present author of just such an opportunity via a recent internet weblog post at Baseball Nation — namely, the occasion of Ichiro Suzuki’s first-ever ejection from a professional baseball game.

The footage you see here is from that same game, which took place in Toronto’s Rogers Centre back in September of 2009. After being called out looking by umpire Brian Runge, the always composed Ichiro! — rather than enter into any sort of verbal contretemps with Runge — opted instead for a bit of the Meaningful Gesture, noting with his bat the precise trajectory at which the ball traveled into the catcher’s mitt.

While Runge ejected Ichiro immediately, it’s clear who won both the battle and the war.

Watching him — Jacksonville Suns pitcher Graham Taylor — round third base, you knew we were in store for a grand finale. The bottom line: Safe. But yet another reminder for the National League to join us in the 21st century and embrace the designated hitter, so that the above nightmare never happens in the major leagues.

H/Ts: The Twitter feed of soon-to-be Toronto Blue Jay Logan Morrison, and ScoreBuzz.

As a Dodger, Ausmus would often accidentally freeze mid-swing.

Fans of the Astros might’ve have been very ready for catcher Brad Ausmus’s departure from that team. The available numbers from Ausmus’s last six seasons in Houston all point to the aging catcher as something like replacement-level.

That said, he was excellent for a number of seasons, was always highly regarded for his ability to work with pitchers, and — as you might expect from a grad of even a lesser Ivy like Dartmouth — is rather articulate.

All the reasons in that second paragraph are reasons the curious baseballing enthusiat might care to listen to Ausmus’s recent appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air. The full audio is available at the NPR website, but you can find some excerpts from the interview transcript below.

Read the rest of this entry »

In last night’s Royals-Yankees tilt, there was a bit of controversy surrounding a home run hit by the Royals’ Billy Butler which shouldn’t have been a home run (it hit a padded railing which is in play. Or something). Of course, demonstrating such technicalities is best used with the use of the telestrator, perhaps the greatest piece of modern broadcasting technology. And oh, did they use it well in Kansas City last night.

I would describe what is going on here, but luckily Answer Man Dave Brown (who originally uploaded the picture, thanks Dave!) already did us this solid:

PHOTO: KC broadcast uses telestrator for disputed Butler HR, makes it appear guy w/ beer is peeing blue: http://t.co/5DgW7ym #juvenile

He’s peeing! And it’s blue! On TV! Ha ha! And I must say that’s quite a stream he has going. Don’t even act like you’re not impressed. A big time salute to whoever in the Royals’ booth was operating that telestrator. I know I speak for all of us when I say we couldn’t do it (i.e. life) without you.

In the sixth inning of Sunday’s game between the Brewers and the Pirates, Hall-of-Famer Robin Yount joined Bob Uecker in the booth. Discussion turned to newly-inducted fellow Hall member Bert Blyleven, and… well, something about a full moon. We’ll let you figure it out.

Mad PrOPS to our fearless leader Carson Cistulli for pulling the audio at my awesome behest.

In the midst of discussing a graphic produced by Baseball Info Solutions that details Peter Bourjos’s range, Mark Simon of ESPN’s Secret Nerd Squad invokes a catch made by Bourjos last Wednesday — one also mentioned to me of late by FanGraphs Audio’s most recent guest, Sam Miller.

The catch in question is the one embedded abovely that you’ve already watched four times before reading these words. Do consider forwarding it — or, at the very least, describing it as explicitly as possible — to every lover you’ve ever had and/or plan on having someday.

Thank you, Grant Brisbee, for the link. And the memories.