C. Trent: Technology Should Make Sports Better, Not Worse

[redsmetz]

Interesting column from C. Trent Rosecrans in last week's City Beat. Talking about the microscope we now find available to ourselves with the constant access to everything. Early in, he writes of the Internet saying "it's a place where we can forget players’ humanity and rail against those that appear only as pixels on a screen or dollars in a payroll spreadsheet."

He further talks about the breadth of a baseball season, something we've recently discussed here on RZ and how the broader look always needs to be there. And he reminds us that ultimately baseball greatness is still fraught to more failure than success. All in all, a thought provoking piece, IMO.

http://citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-25603-technology_should_make_sports_better_not_worse.htm l

[Hoosier Red]

Thanks for posting that RedsMetz.

His closing paragraph is very well stated.


Can we only be truly fulfilled if our adopted team wins a championship and anything less is failure? If so, there’s much more disappointment in your future than joy, and that’s sad.

[Unassisted]

To that discussion, I would add instant replay for umpiring. I watched a Reds game in Houston come to a grinding halt 10 days ago as the umpiring crew went off the field for 3 minutes, to look at replays of a ball hit to the outfield that might have been a home run.

I'm sure it was fine for you folks watching on TV, because you got to see replays over and over and the announcers were probably having an animated discussion of whether it was or was not a HR. In the stadium, we saw nothing, just a scoreboard graphic that said "Play under review" or words to that effect. Suddenly I understood why there are people who don't want MORE instant replay review added to the game.

[dougdirt]

To that discussion, I would add instant replay for umpiring. I watched a Reds game in Houston come to a grinding halt 10 days ago as the umpiring crew went off the field for 3 minutes, to look at replays of a ball hit to the outfield that might have been a home run.

I'm sure it was fine for you folks watching on TV, because you got to see replays over and over and the announcers were probably having an animated discussion of whether it was or was not a HR. In the stadium, we saw nothing, just a scoreboard graphic that said "Play under review" or words to that effect. Suddenly I understood why there are people who don't want MORE instant replay review added to the game.

Football does the same thing. They never show the play in the stadium that is under review. No one has an issue with replay in football. Fact is, baseball gets hammered for things that other sports do and take absolutely no flack for.

[redsmetz]

One of the things I appreciated is that he notes that our myopia, the keen focus on every detail, far too often leads to "vitriol" (his word) - we decry failure despite the fact that failure is the norm. And Hoosier Red, I agree completely. We've seen threads here that discuss the Reds chances in any given season and nothing short of absolute post-season success is seen as a complete loss to a season. Obviously I want to see the Reds win and, of course, win it all. I know those times are not always to be.