I'll repost this article from Fangraphs, but also post a little of my own thoughts.
Two days ago, Eddie Yost passed away at the age of 86. He was a third baseman for the Washington Senators, and if you look at the history of the Minnesota Twins and combine it with the original Senators, he still is the best third baseman in franchise history.
He was known for drawing walks, which is remarkable considering how little power he had.
MLB Showdown stats:
OB 10, 3B+2, Speed B, 370 points
1 SO,
2-3 GB
4 FB
5-11 BB
12-17 1B
-- 1B+
18-19 2B
-- 3B
20 HR
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Alas, my Orioles!
It's a shame, but they're gone from the postseason after that loss.
Things to work on for next year:
We need a third baseman and a second baseman. While Robert Andino is entering his prime, he's really best served in a utility role. Manny Machado has done well, but he may need more seasoning in the minors. With that said though, Reynolds cannot go back to third base. Please please please no. Really. It's hard enough to watch him impersonate Adam Dunn at first.
Stop hacking at everything. Extra base hits are nice, but walks are okay to draw guys. It's bad when three players have an OBP above .340: Thome, Markakis and McLouth. You guys need to cut down on the strikeouts and put balls into play.
The pitching is fine. Defense could be tweaked, but is fine.
The Nats are on, but I need to go to bed since I have work in the morning.
Things to work on for next year:
We need a third baseman and a second baseman. While Robert Andino is entering his prime, he's really best served in a utility role. Manny Machado has done well, but he may need more seasoning in the minors. With that said though, Reynolds cannot go back to third base. Please please please no. Really. It's hard enough to watch him impersonate Adam Dunn at first.
Stop hacking at everything. Extra base hits are nice, but walks are okay to draw guys. It's bad when three players have an OBP above .340: Thome, Markakis and McLouth. You guys need to cut down on the strikeouts and put balls into play.
The pitching is fine. Defense could be tweaked, but is fine.
The Nats are on, but I need to go to bed since I have work in the morning.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
TBS and their commercials
Okay, all the MLB playoff games this year are on TBS, which is usually a network I don't have issues with.
But honestly, the commercials are getting repetitive. For people who like watching as many games as possible, seeing the same dozen or so commercials over and over again is just insane.
Also, plenty of children are watching the day games, and one of the commercials is for 'Cougar Town'. Look, TBS, I know you have a vested interest in the show, but this isn't the audience to show it to. At all.
But honestly, the commercials are getting repetitive. For people who like watching as many games as possible, seeing the same dozen or so commercials over and over again is just insane.
Also, plenty of children are watching the day games, and one of the commercials is for 'Cougar Town'. Look, TBS, I know you have a vested interest in the show, but this isn't the audience to show it to. At all.
Tannhauser custom: The Children of the Hydra's Teeth
My intent for customs is to post my own, but I will also cross-post other's work because it's the right thing to do. And they are that awesome.
These are tokens/troopers for the Reich faction (Hass Harbinger specific)
http://teumessa.blogspot.com/2011/11/children-of-hydras-teeth.html
These are tokens/troopers for the Reich faction (Hass Harbinger specific)
http://teumessa.blogspot.com/2011/11/children-of-hydras-teeth.html
Drama in the Postseason
It's kind of exciting to see so many must-win-or-go-home games in baseball. All four series are being played tonight, with the Reds-Giants on now. 6-3 Giants, I'm pulling for the Reds I must admit.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Some games are painful...
The Orioles were playing a very good game last night, but then the 9th inning rolled around, and Jim Johnson got torched for 5 runs. Ouch.
The Nats today are getting bonked. I mean, it's only 8-4 in the 7th inning, so they could make up for the deficit, but it's probably not going to happen.
The Nats today are getting bonked. I mean, it's only 8-4 in the 7th inning, so they could make up for the deficit, but it's probably not going to happen.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Cardinals-Braves game
Not last night, but the night before, the Atlanta Braves hosted the St. Louis Cardinals.
Atlanta players made errors and their team was down 6-3 when a controversial call went against their team, and the result was this:
Twenty minute delay while the crews cleaned up the trash people were throwing and players cowered in the dugout.
I can understand the fans a little. Your team's playing poorly, it's Chipper Jones's last game if you lose. But that doesn't excuse poor behavior. MLB should also be ashamed they don't review these plays and overturn them. Every other major American sport has instant replay, but baseball is just being stupid about it.
Atlanta players made errors and their team was down 6-3 when a controversial call went against their team, and the result was this:
I can understand the fans a little. Your team's playing poorly, it's Chipper Jones's last game if you lose. But that doesn't excuse poor behavior. MLB should also be ashamed they don't review these plays and overturn them. Every other major American sport has instant replay, but baseball is just being stupid about it.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Go Orioles!
I may be getting up in 6 hours and will be tired, but it was worth staying up to watch my first Orioles postseason game, and what a win it was.
Jim Johnson scared us all in the 9th, but he locked it down.
Go Orioles!
Jim Johnson scared us all in the 9th, but he locked it down.
Go Orioles!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Thoughts on Tannhauser
As I described in my last post on the game, Tannhauser is a squad-based game that uses a unique 'pathfinding' system (as shown here)
that allows for easy determination of line-of-sight, movement and combat. And the little colorful circles that the pathfinding system uses are just neat.
I think I can accurately describe this as a 'dead' game, since after a fall release the Tannhauser line has no new products in development. So what lead this interesting game to this conclusion?
Tannhauser was the creation of a French gaming company, Take On You, back in 2007. Distribution was handled in the US by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG), but they did not actually write the rules for the product. Like most FFG releases, this was hyped, and it was assumed by many people on BoardGameGeek.com (BGG) (another site I am a member of) that this was going to be another awesome game, as FFG has a pretty good track record for their games.
Tannhauser... bombed. Badly. It sold well, but the rulebook... was awful (and I speak from experience). Maybe it reflected the game, but the rules were scattered across pages, making it hard to determine basic things like using weapons and defensive abilities. And the hardcore players on BGG panned the game, because it was an awful rule set and there really wasn't a way to change the rules without a complete overhaul. Add the fact that the Union faction was quite overpowering (their special guns could kill in one roll without being able to do anything about), and the game seemed to wither quickly over here.
The releases from Take On You were the base game (Tannhauser), Operation Novgorod which introduced a third faction, the Matriarchy, and single figure packs Wolf (mercenary), Yula (Reich), Sergei (Union) and Gorgei (mercenary-Matriarchy). And that was it.
Then, in 2009, FFG bought the rights to Tannhauser, and there was much rejoicing. However, the material FFG would use was shipped over from France (Take On You's location) and FFG had to take a year to translate it from French and create a new rule book. The rule book could be had for $10 in print, or $5 as a PDF (and it's still available this way). Now, some felt that they shouldn't have to make another purchase to make the game playable, but I disagree. FFG took the time to redo the rules, and it's a small price to pay for that.
Now, since 2010, FFg has released a whole slew of materials, from single and double-figure packs to maps and even some novels set in the Tannhauser universe. So why the stoppage of new material? I think it's mostly because of how bad the initial impression was; so many people were turned off by it that they really don't want to invest more time and money into a 'bad' game, even if the rules changed.
The other reason has to do with pricing. The original game costs $70 for a double-sided board and 10 figures. Single figure packs retail for $12-$14, big figures like Asteros (minotaur) and the Frankenstahl (big flesh golem) for $20, and double-figure packs for $20. the map packs cost $30... it all adds up. It's hard to invest that much into a game, unless you do it over time, but by stalling purchases FFG sees it as 'Oh, people aren't buying, there must not be many players.'
But while this is the end (for now perhaps) of FFG making stuff for the game, there is a wealth of material online by others, and I will be posting customs I've made for this game.
I think I can accurately describe this as a 'dead' game, since after a fall release the Tannhauser line has no new products in development. So what lead this interesting game to this conclusion?
Tannhauser was the creation of a French gaming company, Take On You, back in 2007. Distribution was handled in the US by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG), but they did not actually write the rules for the product. Like most FFG releases, this was hyped, and it was assumed by many people on BoardGameGeek.com (BGG) (another site I am a member of) that this was going to be another awesome game, as FFG has a pretty good track record for their games.
Tannhauser... bombed. Badly. It sold well, but the rulebook... was awful (and I speak from experience). Maybe it reflected the game, but the rules were scattered across pages, making it hard to determine basic things like using weapons and defensive abilities. And the hardcore players on BGG panned the game, because it was an awful rule set and there really wasn't a way to change the rules without a complete overhaul. Add the fact that the Union faction was quite overpowering (their special guns could kill in one roll without being able to do anything about), and the game seemed to wither quickly over here.
The releases from Take On You were the base game (Tannhauser), Operation Novgorod which introduced a third faction, the Matriarchy, and single figure packs Wolf (mercenary), Yula (Reich), Sergei (Union) and Gorgei (mercenary-Matriarchy). And that was it.
Then, in 2009, FFG bought the rights to Tannhauser, and there was much rejoicing. However, the material FFG would use was shipped over from France (Take On You's location) and FFG had to take a year to translate it from French and create a new rule book. The rule book could be had for $10 in print, or $5 as a PDF (and it's still available this way). Now, some felt that they shouldn't have to make another purchase to make the game playable, but I disagree. FFG took the time to redo the rules, and it's a small price to pay for that.
Now, since 2010, FFg has released a whole slew of materials, from single and double-figure packs to maps and even some novels set in the Tannhauser universe. So why the stoppage of new material? I think it's mostly because of how bad the initial impression was; so many people were turned off by it that they really don't want to invest more time and money into a 'bad' game, even if the rules changed.
The other reason has to do with pricing. The original game costs $70 for a double-sided board and 10 figures. Single figure packs retail for $12-$14, big figures like Asteros (minotaur) and the Frankenstahl (big flesh golem) for $20, and double-figure packs for $20. the map packs cost $30... it all adds up. It's hard to invest that much into a game, unless you do it over time, but by stalling purchases FFG sees it as 'Oh, people aren't buying, there must not be many players.'
But while this is the end (for now perhaps) of FFG making stuff for the game, there is a wealth of material online by others, and I will be posting customs I've made for this game.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Baseball's Postseason
All but one wild-card slot are locked up, with a couple division races still ongoing.
I'm happy the Nationals are in. I will admit though, I am getting tired of hearing about how this is DC's first postseason baseball in 80 years... this statistic is rather stupid when one notes there was no team in DC from 1979 to 2004. So that's 25 years and no team to even try to win, thank you very much.
The Orioles are also in the dance, though they and the Yankees are still fighting for the AL East crown. I'm happy they're in the postseason, but I'd like them to win the division. It's okay if they don't.
I'm happy the Nationals are in. I will admit though, I am getting tired of hearing about how this is DC's first postseason baseball in 80 years... this statistic is rather stupid when one notes there was no team in DC from 1979 to 2004. So that's 25 years and no team to even try to win, thank you very much.
The Orioles are also in the dance, though they and the Yankees are still fighting for the AL East crown. I'm happy they're in the postseason, but I'd like them to win the division. It's okay if they don't.
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