The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

Disco was unfairly maligned and/or appreciated after the fact by many. I was a little kid when disco was at its height. What I heard, I heard unironically and I liked it. By the 80s, disco was dumped on ceaselessly (even though some 80s dance genres are just re-dressed disco), and I kind of parroted the ridicule along with everyone else.

Admittedly, there is a lot of fodder to make fun of when it comes to disco, especially when it went mainstream after Saturday Night Fever and every celebrity, et al, was trying to glom on to it. TV too. Check out this bit of greatness (this Youtube clip is great for reasons beyond disco). So many of these shit shows are tied to the disco wave. (And, er, the Animal House wave?)

It wasn't until I developed an independent ear and a mind of my own in the 90s when I began to actually listen beyond irony ... and while there is plenty of shit disco just like there's shit of every genre, there's definitely a lot of really good disco songs and artists too.

There's a lot of revisionist history around disco, too. Per usual, folks go too far with the backlash to the backlash. I've read that the anti-disco movement was racist or anti-gay.

I mean, there's probably a dash of that, but I think far more people were just sick of it being over-exposed, no differently than they were sick of hair metal and new jack swing by 1992.

Also, there were rock fans who never liked disco in the first place. Also, there is eternally fans/critics who dismiss dance music as non-consequential. For the vast majority, being anti-disco was probably no more than that and without sinister overtones.

 

The Athletic's Morning Pulse:

The Rays have won a combined 185 games the last two seasons but, ​

Two strikes, you're out

This is my favorite part of the MLB postseason: the Wild Card round. Congrats for making it, teams who’ve just completed a 162-game slog! If you lose in your 163rd game, you’re already dangling over a cliff. It’s the beauty of the three-game series, not as cheap as the one-game Wild Card of years past, but still full of tension.

We had a great first day of playoff baseball yesterday. Four series are already on the precipice:

• The Diamondbacks snagged the best win of the day, a gutty 6-3 road win in Milwaukee. The NL Central champs are near another playoff bummer. Also, it’s nice to see 37-year-old Evan Longoria still making plays in the postseason.
  
  
• The Phillies continued the good mojo from last year. Craig Kimbrel closed out a 4-1 win over the Marlins. Zach Wheeler was brilliant on the mound. Philly is one win away from a divisional round rematch with Atlanta.
  
  
• The Twins won a game! It’s a big deal. Minnesota’s 3-1 win over the Blue Jays is the franchise’s first playoff victory since 2004. The team had lost 18 straight postseason contests despite winning the AL Central five times in that span. Impossible odds there, but the drought is over. Toronto’s season could be toast tonight.
  
  
• Tampa is close to another disappointing end. The Rays have won a combined 185 games the last two seasons but, after losing 4-0 to Texas yesterday, are one loss away from getting bounced in the Wild Card round in both years. This year’s collapse could come at home, too, although it was tough to tell by yesterday’s crowd.

More on this in a bit.

 

They haven't announced Saturday's game times yet, but I can't see any scenario where Baltimore isn't playing at 1 p.m. or earlier. There's a Billy Joel-Stevie Nicks concert that night at M&T Bank Stadium, and the stadiums are essentially right next door to each other, logistically it pretty much has to be the early game. Which is great because I have a wedding to attend at 5:30. Yeah, I'm selfish.

 

Yeah, Charm City is getting downright apoplectic about it, too. I read elsewhere that Fox will not be offering a 1 p.m. game time because of CFB. And it's clear that you have two events where both sides believe they're the priority of the day. (Yes, I see the double-negative in that tweet.)

 

Billy Joel/Stevie Nicks is a weird mix of styles.

 

Saw them in LA, it was a great show. They did separate sets with each dropping in to do one song with the other. Right in the wheelhouse of the 55-plussers.

 

I'm betting that concert would be worth every penny one paid for it.

Of course, I'm also betting that a good seat for ALDS Game 1 would be worth every penny one paid for it.

My question is, isn't this one of the reasons Baltimore has light rail? If parking's the concern, just jump on at Timonium and ride in.

 

That Light Rail only runs north-south. A far cry from DC’s WMATA network.

 

I’m surprised that the visiting team in these three-game wild card series don’t get to bat in the bottom of the innings of Game 2.

Being the home team is a huge advantage for 2 or 3 games. Having the hammer for 2 or 3 games is even bigger.

But… trying to explain why the visiting team is batting second is probably too much for the average moron.

 

Confirmed 1 pm start for Baltimore on Saturday. Yippee.

 

I'd never thought about this. Interesting. I think the true home team should bat last, but I can see a case for giving it to the visiting team in G2. But maybe only if they steal G1?