@Randy Garbin: Do they blackout all local games or just ones that aren't sold out? I can understand why they would blackout a local game that is not sold out, but what is the point if the game is sold out? They aren't going to make any more money on tickets...not that any games beyond opening day in Baltimore sell out. What's worse than blacking out local games, though, is the fact that radio stations lock out their game broadcasts over the internet. If I'm listening to the game on the internet, it's because I can't be around a radio, dammit. I'm not listening to the game to avoid listening to commercials. In fact, I'd rather listen to the commercials than the filler crap that stations use on the internet when they go to commercial break.
@ceilingFANBOY: Ick. I just looked at the blackout terms. Good thing I didn't sign up for it. I was considering signing up so I could watch the games while at school. At least on a monthly basis. No games from the local team whether they are home or away? That sucks. I guess this is more for displaced fans or people who like to watch every game than people who are trying to watch games when away from home.
They need to figure out how to get a game of baseball down to three hours. Technology is fantastic, but technology around a game that lasts entirely too long is wasted energy. That said -- Go Phillies!
I hope the cell towers near MLB stadiums like being overwhelmed with data. I gotta imagine people will [try to] use this to supplement games whilst in the stands.
@ScottRose: I had enough trouble sending a picture message from the game with how loaded the network is. Although, considering the perfect signal, it could have also been that the phones were going off of a repeater in the stadium.
@OMG! Ponies!: Which is why people would use it judiciously.....Doesn't mean it can't be done. Live streaming has already been done on iPhone for a minute now....Case in point: Ustream. Worked nicely during Obama's inauguration and works nicely otherwise. It can be done. It has been done.
@TheSonOfKrypton: One minute is about the minimum amount of time required for a single pitch. An inning (top and bottom) is about 30 minutes long.
Yes, you can do a minute of streaming on the iPhone. But you can't strike out a batter in one minute. And you can't expect a side to be retired in five.
@OMG! Ponies!: You obviously have not watched baseball very frequently. One minute is the "minimum amount of time required" for a single pitch? Per MLB's official box score of last night's season opener between the Braves and World Champion Phillies, the official time of the game was 2:22, or 142 minutes. That, of course, includes all the time in between innings.
So, 142 minutes from first pitch to last. There were a total of 262 pitches thrown in those 142 minutes. I'll grant, it's not QUITE two pitches per minute, but it's damned close to it. And if you didn't count commercial time, which singificantly lengthens the time between innings, it would easily get down to 131 minutes, and thus two pitches per minute. Obviously, my sample size was small and it was a decently quick game (though not close to the quickest I've ever seen) but the notion that there's anywhere close to 60 seconds between pitches, even on average, let alone the "minimum amount of time required" is completely asinine.
@FrakEarth: For a while, I was an O's fan (having grown up in Maryland). All through the Nineties, the AL East was notorious for games lasting over three hours.
In 2008, the average game length was still a little above 2:45. That's 3 innings an hour or one inning every twenty minutes. And there's about 13 pitches per pitcher per inning.
Also, NL games are typically shorter because pitchers are sat down quicker than designated hitters.
@OMG! Ponies!: 3:31 for today's game. It's what happens in a division full of strong offensive teams. Even the O's have a pretty strong offense, hence the reason we can only seem to make it halfway through the season with a good record.
@OMG! Ponies!: You shouldn't need one. We all know the Mets will once again choke. No calculation needed for something that will without a doubt happen. LET'S GO PHILLIES
@ultimpsycho: I know they will. The question is when.
Sometimes they fail all through August, sometimes they choke around Rosh Hashanah. The trick is guessing when the choke comes.
And the Phillies are one of the losingest teams in baseball history. Two championship titles in over 125 years of existence. The only thing remarkable about the Phillies are the fans.
"Phillies fans are the meanest in baseball. They're the sort of people who boo at funerals and cheer bad landings at the airport."
@92BuickLeSabre: There is a big difference between what the owners want and what the fans want...especially here in Baltimore. How many other cities have radio personalities having an event to get people to go to the stadium wearing shirts pleading for the owner to sell the team. I'm pretty sure Ripken even offers to buy the team every year but Angelos won't sell and even someone who has never been to Baltimore that is a baseball fan would know that the town would love to have Ripken as the owner.
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Live streaming to an iPhone involves a terrific amount of bandwidth and processing power. It would absolutely kill the iPhone's battery.
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Yes, you can do a minute of streaming on the iPhone. But you can't strike out a batter in one minute. And you can't expect a side to be retired in five.
04/06/09
So, 142 minutes from first pitch to last. There were a total of 262 pitches thrown in those 142 minutes. I'll grant, it's not QUITE two pitches per minute, but it's damned close to it. And if you didn't count commercial time, which singificantly lengthens the time between innings, it would easily get down to 131 minutes, and thus two pitches per minute. Obviously, my sample size was small and it was a decently quick game (though not close to the quickest I've ever seen) but the notion that there's anywhere close to 60 seconds between pitches, even on average, let alone the "minimum amount of time required" is completely asinine.
04/06/09
In 2008, the average game length was still a little above 2:45. That's 3 innings an hour or one inning every twenty minutes. And there's about 13 pitches per pitcher per inning.
Also, NL games are typically shorter because pitchers are sat down quicker than designated hitters.
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Lets go METS!
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Sometimes they fail all through August, sometimes they choke around Rosh Hashanah. The trick is guessing when the choke comes.
And the Phillies are one of the losingest teams in baseball history. Two championship titles in over 125 years of existence. The only thing remarkable about the Phillies are the fans.
"Phillies fans are the meanest in baseball. They're the sort of people who boo at funerals and cheer bad landings at the airport."
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...if by Cubs you mean Yankees.
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THEY'RE DUE!
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But everyone else preferred the redistribution of profits.
To which he replied, fine if you would prefer to take my profits rather than play on an even field, I will outspend you all until the end of time.
(Because he's kind of vengeful like that.)
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