The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Hud]

Cec, I don't understand "on the full" but maybe it means the actual measured distance? Measured distance homeruns are very rare nowadays in baseball. They calculate where the ball lands and possibly the trajectory to come up with estimated distances.

I remember Woosey hitting the ball pretty long in his day. I would compare him to K. J. Choi in modern days. I do believe that a good big golfer can hit farther than a good small golfer. I'm glad that occasionally, accuracy comes into play. In regards to Reynolds, the 5 or 6 homeruns that have traveled farther in the Atlanta Stadium were all hit by bigger men (probably on steroids lol).

[Cec]

"Cec, I don't understand "on the full" but maybe it means the actual measured distance? ..."

Hud, I'll use golf to best explain. From a tee shot, a ball might travel 150 yards through the air (measured horizontally) before it hits the ground then run along the ground (the fairway if hit straight) for say another 50 yards. This drive would be 200 yards long whilst the "on the full" distance would be 150 yards.

" "... I do believe that a good big golfer can hit farther than a good small golfer...."

That may be but nevertheless there are some good small golfers who can hit further than many big golfers. You mention K. J. Choi in modern times and to me, he doesn't look that big (or tall). I guess the point I was trying to make was that if a small golfer has a sound technique then he/she is capable of hitting a long ball.

Cec

[Hud]

Cec, come to think of it, I kind of remember hearing that some cricket shots were measured where the ball (?) ended up. I think way back when that they did that in baseball for balls hit out of the stadium. They would say it came to rest x feet from home plate.

The D-backs have their own Rick Ankiel (?) now. Owings, today's pitcher, hit 2 homeruns, a double, and single and pitched well too boot. I turned the game off with the score 12-3 in the 8th inning.

[Cec]

"Cec, come to think of it, I kind of remember hearing that some cricket shots were measured where the ball (?) ended up...."

Yes, that could arise when commentators explain to TV viewers/radio listeners, etc. just how far a ball has been hit.

When 'my' team, Richmond (Tigers) are being badly beaten in the Australian Football League (AFL) I also turn the TV off so I presume your team had only scored 3 rather than the 12 runs

Cec

[udosuk]

When 'my' team, Richmond (Tigers) are being badly beaten in the Australian Football League (AFL) I also turn the TV off so I presume your team had only scored 3 rather than the 12 runs

Haha, you're wrong this time Cec, Hud's team D-backs was the winning team and although they gave up 3 more runs in the last inning they still prevailed 12-6.

The question about hitting distance in baseball is probably best explained by the theory of the trajectory of a projectile.



There are many ways to estimate the distance (which is equivalent to the values of 83.5m or 203.6m above). I think people use the velocity and vertical angle of the baseball right after it leaves the contact of the bat to calculate how far it will travel. Also, the air resistance plays an important part too. For example, in the Coors Field in Denver, home of the MLB team Colorado Rockies, because of it's high altitude and low air resistance, the home runs generally travel farther than other places.

Since you bring up AFL, last night our team the Sydney Swans was forced to a draw by a goal after siren from the Brisbane Lions. As a result we missed a golden opportunity to crack into the top 4 and a double chance in the finals (i.e. playoffs). So far this year we have lost two 1-point matches and now this draw, otherwise we would be the outright #2 team now. I'll hold Barry Hall at fault for last night's result, he missed a few very easy goals. Perhaps we should trade him away and acquire somebody like Fraser Gehrig (we do have a long history of stealing full forwards from the St Kilda Saints).

[Cec]

Gee, I put my foot in it that time So far this season, my team ( Richmond) has only won two games, drawn one and lost 17games with two more games to play. When Richmond wins a game I'm that glad and, unlike Hud in this instance, I watch it right to the end including a replay of the game if I recorded it.

I think Barry Hall is playing with an injury but would still like to have him in our side in lieu of Matthew Richardson who misses far too many easy shots for goal plus many "turn -overs" and giving away free kicks to the opposition.

On baseball, I gather it isn't how far the ball is hit over a horizontal distance but rather the time the ball is in the air - the longer time allows more time for the striker to run and hopefully complete a home run. This theory of course excludes the situation if the ball is hit over the fence.

Cec

[udosuk]

On baseball, I gather it isn't how far the ball is hit over a horizontal distance but rather the time the ball is in the air - the longer time allows more time for the striker to run and hopefully complete a home run. This theory of course excludes the situation if the ball is hit over the fence.

If the ball isn't hit over the fence, the longer it stays in the air, the bigger chance a fielder will catch it when it lands, so it isn't necessary a good thing for the ball to stay in the air for a long time. The horizontal distance on over-the-fence homers is a good measure of the hitter's power, but it has no actual bearing to the actual game results.

[Hud]

I find this discussion interesting and it really isn't visited that often, even over here. Just as an aside, the hardest ball I've ever seen hit was by Reggie Jackson in the all star game back in the early 70s I believe. He hit a high line drive in Tiger Stadium (at least it was in Detroit) that took hardly any time to hit some light standards atop the roof in right field. I wonder if it was ever estimated? I think it traveled over 400 feet from home plate to where it impacted. I'm not a Reggie Jackson Fan by any means even though he went to ASU our local university. The atmosphere in Atlanta Georgia is suppose to not be conducive to long distance home run hitting. It's much nearer sea level and the air is very hot and humid. Owings' second homer last night was estimated at 446 feet (if memory serves?).

I mostly turned off the game due to a movie coming on a different channel. We had taken Owings out at the beginning of the last of the 8th inning. In his 5th at bat, he hit a scorching line drive that the first baseman caught. I had hope he'd get 5 hits which is amazing for even a position player to do. I was happy to see the Atlanta Fans give him a nice round of applause when he was removed. Some of that may be due to him being from Georgia, not far from Atl.

[Cec]

"If the ball isn't hit over the fence, the longer it stays in the air, the bigger chance a fielder will catch it when it lands, so it isn't necessary a good thing for the ball to stay in the air for a long time...."

Yes.. point taken. I guess my thinking was that hitting a ball quickly to a fieldsman is more likely to produce a run-out as compared to a ball hit high but out of the reach of fieldsmen.

Cec

[udosuk]

Another baseball-related trivia/riddle to keep the baseball-interested people busy:

Boston Red Sox - ? ?
? ? ? - Paul ?
? ? ? - Mike ?
New York Yankees - ? ?

Replace each question mark with a word/name.

Note people who aren't interested in baseball will find it very difficult.
People who are interested might still find it quite hard.

The Yanks today lost to the Angels in 10 innings. I have a feeling if they can't win this series convincingly they'll miss the playoffs. With the recent hot form of both the Angels and the Mariners, there will probably be 2 West teams in the ALDS.

[Cec]

Would the second and third teams be any of the following? If so, which are the two teams?

San Francisco Giants
Toronto Blue Jays
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Angels

Cec

[udosuk]

San Francisco Giants
Toronto Blue Jays
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Angels

None of those 4.

Another hint: if you can work out all the missing words/names, there is a meta puzzle made of these 4 lines, with a one-word answer. Let's see who can win out by providing this answer.

[Hud]

Just a hunch, but is the final answer something to do with music?

[udosuk]

Just a hunch, but is the final answer something to do with music?

Not to my awareness. Why?

[Hud]

I was sort of thinking "Les Paul" and "Acoustical Mike".