You wonder why they bother playing the games at all.

Oh, and Snappper....it's kind of odd to use a game of a team with a 6 run lead in the eighth as 'proof a game can be lost in the eighth, because Win Probability says the game was all but over'...when in the same game the other team had an 8 run lead going into the 7th.

I'm jus sayin.

That was really just a throw away line. The main point was that the game was, in fact, lost in the 8th. Of course, Boston could have come back (just like NY did) and then the game wouldn't have been lost in the 8th.

I come to this site to escape the Schrodinger cat dilemma.

I'm fairly certain that wasn't the line that set me off, but let's just drop it. No point in dredging up unpleasantness.

Well, 20 seconds of googling the only other part of the post that 'set you off' was a quip on the typo on 'demigogues'. Not exactly beyond the pale IMHO...

But dropping it now. Promise.

How exactly do you know if someone has you on ignore? I've never placed anyone on ignore, and don't have the slighest idea how to do it.

How exactly do you know if someone has you on ignore?

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

I don't think there's any way to tell if someone has you on ignore. This site has a gentle touch that way.

I've never placed anyone on ignore, and don't have the slighest idea how to do it.

Click on their user name, and their profile appears. On their profile, click "Ignore Member".

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

No.

Damn, and I like Shooty.

Rivera started his postseason career with 10+ scoreless innings, and he ended it with another 10+ scoreless innings, AND he had at least 4 OTHER distinct 10+ scoreless playoff innings streaks in between.

Personally, I just find that hilarious, YMMV.

I've always wondered what YMMV stood for, but never thought about it until now. The first phrase that came to mind was "you make me vomit", but since that didn't fit the context here I finally looked it up. Question answered.

Similarly, I just discovered today that a "vomitorium" is an exit at an amphitheatre (I suppose where the audience was vomitted out of the theatre) rather than a place for Romans to vomit so they could eat some more. Though I am relieved to find that apparently Romans still did this, just not in a room specified for the purpose.

On a related note, Herodotus was apparently shocked to find that Persians sought out private places to vomit and defecate, which leaves me curious about how Greeks handled that stuff.

Also related...the one amusing scene in an otherwise iredeemably disappointing movie

Brian Cox: What is this Hope?
Gwyneth Paltrow: Jesus Christ dad, you scared the #### out of me!
Cox: Hope, you've no business being in here. This is my masturbatorium....and you're using my blanket.
Gwyneth: I was just taking a nap
Cox: Nap? This is not the place for naps.

which leaves me curious about how Greeks handled that stuff.

Young boys and grape leaves, Greg. Young boys and grape leaves.

No point in dredging up unpleasantness.

I thought that was the whole point of the internet.

I feel bad for every future Yankees closer. No matter how good they are, they are never going to be as good as Mariano. Especially in the eyes of the fans.

Feel sorry for the next one. But things will fade over time. I'm pretty sure Mickey Mantle had to deal with a lot more crap for not doing some things as well as DiMaggio* than Bernie Williams had to deal with for not being as good as either of them.

*While Mantle was the better player, DiMaggio did certain things better like playing defense and making contact.

Rivera started his postseason career with 10+ scoreless innings, and he ended it with another 10+ scoreless innings, AND he had at least 4 OTHER distinct 10+ scoreless playoff innings streaks in between.

And after beginning 2012 with an ugly blown save and loss in St. Pete, in his 8 appearances after that he's allowed no runs, 3 hits and no walks in 8 innings, averaging 13 pitches per inning.

And just to pile on New York, one of the Beastie Boys has died.

And just to pile on New York, one of the Beastie Boys has died.

Police believe sabotage was involved.

The idea that leverage doesn't matter for anything and the 9th inning is the same as the 1st doesn't make any sense.

The difference is that in baseball the games are largely random and that the end of a game when you happen to have a lead is very valuable (especially the 4 or 5 out save where Rivera would get out of an 8th inning jam). The strategic advantage of being able to choose exactly when to finish off as many wins as possible is the key. How many wins better than some other reliever through the course of a whole season in these situations is another debate.

Put another way would you use Rivera in a 10-0 blowout? How do you know if the game will be a blowout in the 1st inning? You can use Nick Swisher to finish off a blowout but you would want an actual pitcher if it's 1-0 in the ninth.

And remember folks, on Friday nights at Yankee Stadium, the 7th inning is wild! All runs count double!