We are so in phase

Bill:
The Red Sox sure picked an opportune time to get hot — scoring double-digit runs in four straight games for the first time since 1950.

 

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Doug:
I'm in the most unusual circumstance of having nothing to bitch about.

 

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Doug:
Think about it. A week ago we led the division by four, a week latah, we've essentially doubled it.

 

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Bill:
Did you see Ozzie Guillen's post-sweep comment? "They swept us this time [but] I swept them in the big one. That's when it counts."

 

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Doug:
Shit, that Kung Fu is so weak.

 

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Bill:
Yeah, Ozzie should stick to what he does best, insulting the gays.

 

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Doug:
So even though this Yankees series has lost much of its drama in the last couple days, you've gotta love the pitching matchups …

 

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Bill:
Absolutely. Andy Pettitte against Matsuzaka in the opener, Clemens vs. Beckett Wednesday night, and Everybody Wang Chung vs. Tampa Bay Schill Thursday afternoon.

 

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Doug:
I bet your Yankees fan pal, Mahty, is wetting his pants right about now.

 

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Bill:
Naw, you kidding me, you know how delusional Yankees fans can be … He's probably thinking this is the perfect setup for a dramatic "Mystique and Aura" exculpation.

 

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Comments

[Youk Rules]

Wow.

This is all about taking names, kicking ass, and putting the boot to the Yankee neck.

[Bob]

From May on, the Sox lead at the end of each month has been 8 games. Forget the highs of 14, the lows of 4, etc., we've essentially led the division by 8 all year. In a freakishly consistent way in fact.

Nice to see bats come alive.

BTW, Asante is in the house.

[lc]

We're in the pocket now.

lc

[Kaz]

Tonight we've got Zoolander versus Mugatu on the telly for the even eight games up.

I'm McLovin this week in baseball. At this point, we're a 99.8% odds on favorite to make the playoffs and only 2.3% of that is coming from the wild-card.

When unstoppable offense meets insurmountable pitching, the result has almost always come out in favor of the team on the mound. There's a reason the best hitters today can't reach 0.400 for a season. Bob Halloran (usually not one I'd turn to for an opinion) likened this year's Sox to the 2003 Patriots. Win it with enough offense to be potent and all the defense to shut down the other team's offense. We now tie San Diego for the least runs given up all season (4th in runs scored, too, for all our "offensive woes").

This is the first time in my tenure as a Sox fan that I'm actually able to sit back a bit and watch the wild card race with a lifted heart. I don't know how to *feel* about this...do I root for the Mariners and Tigers in the hopes that they shut the Yankees out of the playoffs or is that somehow outside the bounds of good-natured rivalry?

[meredith]

Kaz: Of *course* you root for the Mariners and Tigers.

This is a natural extension of "My two favorite teams are the Sox and whoever's playing the Yankees".

[pinstripe thunder]

As a great American once said, "This is the perfect setup for a dramatic mystique and aura exculpation."

But WTF is an exculpation?

[Kaz]

But WTF is an exculpation?

What we wish your mom would do?

Sorry, it was like a Mussina lingonberry pitch...I had to take it yahd.

[da kine]

A pardon, I believe, from the Latin "out of trouble".

Ah, well. Close enough. Using etymology can only get you so far with a word one has never seen.

[Kaz]

Princeton WordNet definition, in case you were being serious.

[Kaz]

Culpa is more of a "fault" or "guilt" than "trouble" in Latin. But you were definitely on the right track, da kine.

[SoCal BosSox Fan]

Angel fans I work with have been getting pissed at me for rooting for the Mariners.

Is it too much to hope the Tigers wear out that bullpen a bit today? Or should I just be happy with a Tigers victory?

[h.b.]

It's one of those words that is fun to drop into conversation since it sounds kind of nasty but isn't.

Lucubrate is my fave along those lines and there's always the old stand by masticate.

So, anyway, the hope here is that Bill's use of the word exculpation would remind you of "constipation" and from there you'd drawn your own conclusions about how that wordplay leads to the Yankees.

[h.b.]

Per the above, it's fun when someone says as you're coming into the office, "Man, you look tired."

And you reply, "Fuck yeah, I was lucubrating all night long."

Even better if you say it in a crowded elevator in mixed company.

These are the things that amuse me...

[pinstripe thunder]

Sorry, H.B. It didn't lead me to constipation -- took me closer to excoriation and expectoration, but those wordplays also brought me back to my Yankees in obvious ways upon which I'd rather not elaborate.

I'm kinda thinkin' (don't take the shot, Kaz -- you've already had your layup for the day) that we need the sweep just to stay barely alive. Otherwise even an exhumation won't be able to save us.

The fundamental problem could be that you guys have the better team this year.

[Devine]

One to feel okay, two to feel confident: that's how I feel about winning against the Yankees this fine week. If the Sox can get one, we maintain a relatively comfy lead. If we get two, the race is almost (ALMOST) over.

I prefer not to think about what happens at the extremes...

[Natalie]

McLovin- hee! Great flick.

This weekend was delightful, except for Remy and Orsillo's announcing, which has really degenerated at this point in the season to a lot of giggling like school girls. Sunday when they spent 2 innings talking about bus tours I nearly went through the TV. Question: why can't someone start an online "radio station" where people can do their own play-by-play and color commentary? For example, I know about 10 different guys who would totally rock with their coverage of any given game (and that's not including the commenters here). In a heartbeat, I'd turn the volume down on NESN and listen to any online amateur. Why has this type of cottage industry not sprung up yet? RS copyright? The long arm of Lucchino?

[Mike]

To be fair, Natalie, those that understand the game don't really need the commentary, and when you've got an 8-1 lead and there's absolutely nothing going on in those two innings, I think it's better when they go off on tangents (bus tour stories are BORING though) than being Ultra McBoringsteins and saying things like, "...and Drew pops out to the second baseman. Two out in the inning."
People know that, they're watching the game. Y'know?

[h.b.]

What a fascinating idea, Natalie.

Seems like something like this would work.
http://ustream.tv/

I imagine MLB has some sort of rules against commenting on and streaming those comments while you watch a live game on TV, but until you really had a lot of listeners and attention, they wouldn't notice.

And if someone did get a lot of listeners and attention, well, that would open up lots of other possibilities.

[Jackie]

I'm in the most unusual circumstance of having nothing to bitch about.

Seriously, I don't understand nor trust this feeling. Is this the identity loss everyone said would happen after we won in 2004? I... I... I don't know who I am without an overwhelming sense of imminent doom. (note: kidding.)

I'm getting a similarly awesome feeling from PT's comment... what's that? A Yankee fan admitting the Sox might be the better team this year? Everywhere else they've been blaming it on bad scheduling, or injuries, or poor umpiring, or whatever, so - kudos to you, PT, for sacking up and acknowledging another possibility. :)

[da kine]

Kaz, good call on culpa=fault rather than 'trouble'. That is what you get for typing roots at 5 in the AM Hawaii time. My favorite word is 'defenestrate'.

[Aaron]

It's hard to read too much into this weekend, given that the White Sox have so obviously quit on their manager and the season, but...still. 46-7 is damn impressive, no matter who you're playing.

Bob, you're not kidding about the Sox being freakishly consistent. 29 games over .500, and they haven't won more than, what? Five games in a row at any one time this season? That's mind-bogglingly consistent.

I'm not expecting a sweep, since the Yankees will be playing with far more desperation, knowing that their entire season is on the line in this series, where ours isn't. Two out of three would be nice, though.

[Natalie]

Mike- gotta respectfully disagree. You're right, I know the game so I don't need an announcer to tell me "single to rightfield." But there are TONS of things I DON'T know in a particular moment- how that guy hits against that pitcher, how he performs in that park, where he played college ball, etc etc. The whole of sabermetrics could be brought to bear in a game in a way it isn't now... simply because TV does not require narration and baseball fans are getting savvier. I'd like to see announcing precisely tailored FOR the fan who knows what he is seeing. :)

[lc]

Love the idea of home-brewed PBP.

MLB controls the copyright on the games played. Remember the NBA got after some unauthorized stat service for providing in-game updates.

To be sure, if there was commercial benefit involved, then they would have a hissyfit.

On the other hand, let's say someone just live blogs a game and provides comments about what he/she observes, I don't see the problem. So, then what's the difference with a "verbal blog" i.e. streaming commentary.

Having done some myself, and having from time to time been critical of RS announcers, it's tougher than it seems.

lc

[lc]

As for the word discussion, put in a vote for "bloviate". Seems to fit w/PT anyhow.

lc

[Steve in MD]

I'll take Jerry & Don's silliness in a laugher any day, (especially when it's the fourth laugher in a row) over Tim McCarver or Jim Plamer trying to rationalize the situation ad nauseum.

I'm sure NESN and WRKO have exclusive rights (with exceptions for FOX and ESPN broadcasts), so I would count on them going to court to shut down any webcasts.

[Harwich Rich]

Blow V-8? Wouldn't his lips get burnt on the exhaust pipe lc ?

[Harwich Rich]

just kidding pt

[h.b.]

I wonder, though, if MLB would have any case at all if the amateur web announcers were not giving any specific game information but, instead, were one step removed?

Not sure if that makes sense... what I mean is I don't think you can "own" what people say about your product.

You can own the score, the stats, who's on first, who's up, who's pitching etc info, but not sure you could stop a group of people commenting on the game.

For instance, imagine The Soxaholix characters come to life and streaming stuff like this while a game is on...

Mike: Oh for fuck's sake JD Drew finally got a homah.

Doug: Yeah, 'bout time that hypahbaric chambah stahted to pay off...

Bill: Eithah that or he had a bite of placenta...

Doug: Tastes like chicken, I hear...

So on and so forth. (Note the only game info provided above was that JD Drew got a hit. The idea is that, as others have said, you don't need to provide the details as that is already on the TV.)

Now, I'm not saying that would be worth listening to etc, but not sure it'd be something MLB could stop.

It's protected speech, I think.

[Bob]

Hmmm, I think Natalie and HB have some great ideas here. Ideas that I haven't seen before.

Perhaps a combination of the two would work well, eg. a Soxaholix strip done "Gameday" style.

HB could do panels as the game went along. One per inning, or as required.

I don't see how any governing body could stop that.

Of course, he'd be burned-out and insane within a few games, but how would that be any different?

(heh.)

[lc]

I've live-blogged a few of Geffner's games. It's pretty fun, but doesn't tell you much about the game. Nor does Geffner for that matter. Ok, never mind.

lc

[Bob]

Hate to rub salt into the Skankees wounds, but sounds like Jeter could use the treatment:

http://jezebel.com/gossip/vicious-gossip/did-derek-jeter-gave-poor-jessica-alba-herpes-292440.php

[COD]

MLB does in fact believe that it owns the facts associated with baseball game. They lost a court case last year but are appealing the decision.

[h.b.]

In my example, I assumed they owned the stats and the rights to broadcast the "news" about the game.

But I think it'd be really tough to claim someone can't just give offhand comments about the game devoid of the "newsy" aspects.

That is, you can't broadcast "Youkilis is on first, with 2 out in the 8th and Manny coming to the plate" during the course of a live game.

But I'm pretty sure you can broadcast, "I really like the way Manny is doing his hair, though, you know, ever since the hair change he really hasn't been himself with the bat if Manny gets a homah here, I'm gonna chug this beer.... OMG! [sound of chugging beer]..." during the game.

Maybe not, though. I'm guessing they'd argue that anything you broadcast while the game is on would fall under the "Any other use of this telecast or of any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the MLB’s consent, is prohibited."

It'd really be interesting to put this to an actual test.

[Jackie]

I'd listen to live commentary... Don and Jerry don't bother me too much (I live in CA so I only get them half the time anyway) but I would certainly tune in to amateur commentators for games where I can't get NESN. Or am obligated to watch on FOX.

In the meantime, I'd settle for a decent Sox podcast. Anyone know where I can get one?

[kjc]

Re: fun words

titular is a favorite over here. sounds dirty, but isn't.

[h.b.]

Titular is a fantastic example!

[Bob]

Easy but a classic: penal.

[Bob]

Puisny.

Analgesic.

Seaman.

[h.b.]

Bob, you're killing me. LOL.

[Kaz]

Here's a logic train...tell me where it derails:

1) If I'm sitting in my living room and watching the game with 10 friends and we're riffing on the events of the game ("wicked slider", "that must be the slutter Paps was working on", etc)...that's totally legal.

2) If I'm sitting in my living room with a video chat session open to my friend in another state also watching NESN on satellite and we're riffing on the events of the game (same comments) to each other...that's totally legal.

3) If I'm sitting in my living room with a video group chat session open to my 10 friends around the nation, all watching NESN in their own homes, and we're riffing on the events of the game (same comments) to each other...that's totally legal.

4) If I'm sitting in my living room with a live podcast to 1000 people around the nation, all watching NESN on their own, and they're listening to me riff on the events of the game (same comments) to them...that's questionable? No.

That's also totally legal. So long as I'm not playing NESN through my speakers/video nor am I playing WRKO and simply adding my own comments amongst their's, as long as all I'm broadcasting is the "Director's Commentary"-esque overlay to the game for others to enjoy, then what I'm doing is totally legit.

Hope that helps.

[Matt]

Kaz, what you're describing is a live podcast. Totaly legal and as long as the other people have the software to interact you've got a chat session during the game, minus the keyboard. I think you're on to something there...

[Kaz]

Here's a live blog example that took place right on MLB.com's own hosted blogs (content by fans, not MLB employees or anything) and they didn't snuff the guy out.

[Kaz]

Oh, and in terms of typing (not audio or video), SoSH does this in its game threads where everyone discusses game events in real time by forum posts. Surviving Grady's regulars also do this during every game and use their own shorthand/vocab that they've developed through stray comments and things during the day leading up to the game (like "Pod" = "God"). I think taking this to the next step of audio and/or video is easily defensible and hardly something they'd be able to get you for (so long as you're not leaking NESN/FOX/WRKO/etc into your feed).

[chucks]

The question might not be so much whethah you're in the cleah legally, but whethah you can weathah the legal shitstohm that Bud and his henchmen will raise.

Fungilbly yours, chucks

[Kaz]

PS - I think I'm a bit over-caffeinated today, sorry.

[h.b.]

Kaz,

Yep. Though if an MLB rep catches you live blogging at a game, they will ask you to stop or leave. Your choice.

Not sure why being at the live game would be different than the scenarios you gave, but it seems to be. Or maybe nobody has bothered to fight it out in court.

[Kaz]

Yeah, h.b., I saw a person commenting on the fact that the NCAA threw someone out of the press box because they were live-blogging as a journalist and the NCAA sold those rights exclusively to ESPN or something like that for the event.

So, I could see that since boston.com provides Extra Bases and MLB produces Gameday that if you were doing so *at* the game, you'd be in trouble since MLB promised the right to do so with their product (the game) to some corporate outlet to profit from as they see fit.

Hell, these days, I'm glad I can still keep a scorecard on my own at the game and not run afoul of some Stats, Inc. NARC or something.

[h.b.]

Ah, that makes sense re the selling the exclusive rights bit.

[soxdownunder]

/Easy but a classic: penal/
Butthead strikes again, h, h, h, h ... I tried the veal.

[soxdownunder]

Here's a story about a fellow getting kicked out of a college basketball game cause he was live blogging:

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/12/ncaa-violating-common-sense-if-not-first-amendment/

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070612/SPORTS/706120464/1002

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=18723
It probably has to go to the Supreme Court to get sorted out.

[Kaz]

Yeah, that's the one I was reading up on earlier when I mentioned the NCAA. Thanks for those links, SDU.

[Devine]

Any MST3K fans out there? This discussion seems like it bears comparison to Mike Nelson's current venture: Rifftrax (rifftrax.com). Rifftrax sells audio of Mike Nelson and friends mocking movies modern and "classic" (Independence Day has been my favorite Rifftrax thus far). You are asked to pause the audio file on your computer, wait for the movie to hit a certain landmark (the opening title, for instance), and then play the audio file so that the two are synced. Since the audio file does not contain the movie audio, it avoids licensing issues (I presume).

I do wonder how close you could come to describing the game's events before you cross into gray territory. It doesn't seem like it's much of an intrusion onto MLB's money, and I think that's the main issue.

[Jackie]

Not quite a word, but I encounter a really fun accidentally dirty abbreviation in my work... any time a paper from Analytical Biochemistry gets cited, the journal title is shortened to Anal Biochem. Good times.

devine - thanks for the heads up on Rifftrax! I'm a casual MSTie and it sounds like I'd love that. I also got a kick out of Wizard People, Dear Reader (an, er, alternate soundtrack to the first Harry Potter film).

[iwikkidhahtthasawx]

yanks blanked bigtime.
A-rod couldn't even salve his ego with a homer.
Do I hear 8?

[Genghis Ortiz]

Radio play by play would be cool...it would be like Mystery Science Theater 3000 for baseball. It would probably be more fun to mock the actual play-by-play, especially on the down-time.

[Genghis Ortiz]

Sorry Devine...I missed your comment. Yes and yes.