Assembling A Roster
Taking up the challenge of explaining the link between baseball viewed through the 'Moneyball' prism and say space exploration, I'm going to say a few things about rosters. If there's anything that I've consistently mentioned in my baseball entries, it has been about who is contributing what and how. At the heart of the roster is the question of "who does what on this team?". Mission crews, Baseball squads, Combat units, Film Cast & Crew, Construction workers, all involve the assembly of personnel. The assembly of a crew roster as to who is on and who is not becomes a crucial aspect of team work.
By team work I'm not going on about the ra-ra rhetorical stuff of 'pullling together and getting it done'. I'm talking about the gestalt effect of a group of people working otwards a goal giving rise to a performance. Included, (not excluded) in this idea is the subtle dynamic of performances of many people mixing together to arrive at the desired destination or goal. To get there, who does what directly or indirectly to what sort of effect, is an issue that cannot be overlooked or underestimated. Who is going to get better, who is going to get worse? Who is going to be consistent, barring accident, and who is going to be streaky? What contexts suit which members better or worse? All these practical issues make the MLB season a fascinating lab from whence we can draw lessons for roster assembly in other areas.
Film shoots are notorious for the ego tensions because the collision of cast and crew is actually a lot more intractable than outsiders imagine. Both are there to do their professional jobs, but cast will always get the better treatment for their contributions. Crew, in turn work against the cast in subtle ways. If you hear a shoot is troubled, the only reason you would know is because crew are talking about it off set; and that's just a typical example. Just as the composition of a cast may change the picture, the composition of crew members greatly influences the outcome of a picture. From what I have expereinced, given a script and a budget, casting and crewing is 80% of what determines the physical outcome of the shoot. How many shots were done, how many pages were shot in the days, what was the shooting ratio, how many days did it get behind or ahead of schedule. The other 20% is determined by the Producer and Director.
In baseball teams you find that they talk about 'team chemistry' a lot. It's a notion that is poo-poo-ed a lot by the sabermetric stat-head community, together with 'clucth players'. Part of the problem is that these things are hard to quanitfy. However, it goes without saying that if a team can work together better, then there is efficiency gained; but also through that efficiency there is scope to arrive at a better gestalt result where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That is exactly where we want to arrive. Thus, we perceive at the problematic of quantifying and qualifying the nature of team performance.
The time frame of operation is also a crucial factor to consider. A Mission ot the moon is measured in days; a mission ot Mars will be measured in years. A MLB baseball team plays a season of 162 games for 6 months, while it issues multi-year contracts to its 'franchise' players. There's something to be said for watching how winning teams assemble and manage their rosters to maintain success. Particularly a team like the Oakland Athletics who have bucked conventional wisdom and yet continue to win. Even fantasy baseball leagues where one follows the daily stats teaches us the nature of statsitical clustering. A player who produces a certain level of performance in thier career doesn't do so without ups and downs; they do so with tremendous upheavals in their success cycle during the long season (as we saw with my mate 'DJ' this season).
And so one sunny day in the future, somebody must assemble a manned mission to Mars. Beyond the obvious issues of how we get there and what technology we use to achieve the objectove, the inevitable question that will have to be addressed will be who shall be on this mission and why them? The Mars mission crew roster is going to have to utilise the entire human knowledge of roster assembly to make the mission a success. Who will captain? Who will astrogate? Who will be the medical officer? Who will run the communications system? Who will maintain the propulsion system? Which scientists do we want to have on Mars? What kind of table of operations do we want? What kind of contingencies will dictate who will be in line of comand should the captain fall ill? Who is going to play that game of TAGWAR ('The Amazing Game Without Any Rules') against the Martian team?
It's simply not good enough to say, "we'll send the guys with 'the Right Stuff'"; if anything that would be an anathema to what the mission is going to be. Hence, even if all this natter about El Duque and DJ and the Yankees and Daisuke Matsuzaka and the whole Olympic baseball thing doesn't seem to relate to space exploration, I can see how there are lessons to be drawn. :)
- Art Neuro
A Gen-X View of the Universe.
"The Issue Isn't Pussy, It's Monkey" - from The Right Stuff
Film, Cinema, Movies, TV, Music, Rock
2004/08/30
Olympic Baseball recap - Baseball Prospectus Style
I'm asking to be flamed again. But I figure if you start something, you gotta finish it right. Clay Davenport who writes for one of the most respected baseball analysis sites, Baseball Prospectus, has written this interesting report about Olympic Baseball. While Mr. Davenport uses a whole pile of interesting new statistical measures, his analysis comes down to this section that I found interesting:
- Art Neuro
I'm asking to be flamed again. But I figure if you start something, you gotta finish it right. Clay Davenport who writes for one of the most respected baseball analysis sites, Baseball Prospectus, has written this interesting report about Olympic Baseball. While Mr. Davenport uses a whole pile of interesting new statistical measures, his analysis comes down to this section that I found interesting:
So in some ways I feel vindicated about what I was seeing on the box scores and the problem of Olympics Baseball format.As you can see, the team the Japanese sent to Athens is essentially a major-league team; assuming our assumptions are correct, they could be expected to go 82-80 if they were playing in the NL. The Cubans were not quite as strong, but still played at a legitimate major-league level: 75-87 isn't a championship team, but they could certainly give a team like the Orioles a run for their money.
But then, we already knew that.
The next three teams were basically Double-A in quality. How is it, then, that the Australian team (a sub-Triple-A team, in my analysis) beat the Japanese (near-major league) in the tournament? Ignoring the rather large fact that one pitcher can completely change the quality of a team, the expected winning percentage for a .274 team like Australia going against a .322 team like Japan is about .300--plenty of room for an underdog to win what amounts to a one-game playoff.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/28
Eating Bugs, Flying Shuttles
The life of a trainee astronaut is tough. There's so much to know, so much to do; indeed, you might find yourself lost in wilderness terrain as a result of having to bail outon a training craft. Inevitably this means you have to do the survival thing. Here's the latest f,luff piece about being an astronaut. This is what it takes, ladies and gentlemen. You might have to eat bugs.
- Art Neuro
The life of a trainee astronaut is tough. There's so much to know, so much to do; indeed, you might find yourself lost in wilderness terrain as a result of having to bail outon a training craft. Inevitably this means you have to do the survival thing. Here's the latest f,luff piece about being an astronaut. This is what it takes, ladies and gentlemen. You might have to eat bugs.
I can imagine Mars is swarming with edible bugs.The astronaut class, including three teachers, three pilots, two doctors and three Japanese astronauts, attended the Navy school for survival, evasion, resistance and escape on 12,400 acres near Rangeley Lake.
They learned about finding food and water and making their way in the woods, starting fires with flint and staying warm at night when the temperature dropped to 40 degrees.
Chris Cassidy, 34, said more than a decade as a Navy SEAL prepared him for the trip. "The training was very much a team effort," he said. "Each of us brings in certain skills."
- Art Neuro
2004/08/27
Just 50 Light Years Away...
There is a star 'mu Arae' around which orbits a 'small' planet, about 14 times the mass of our own planet Earth. It's interesting how Astronomers refer to a world like that as being 'small'. It's a bit like a Mouse referring to a German Shepherd as being small. However, it's all relative:
So as you can see, they were comparing it to other gaseous big planets.
- Art Neuro
There is a star 'mu Arae' around which orbits a 'small' planet, about 14 times the mass of our own planet Earth. It's interesting how Astronomers refer to a world like that as being 'small'. It's a bit like a Mouse referring to a German Shepherd as being small. However, it's all relative:
"It's much closer to our solar system than anything we've found so far," said Alan Boss, a planet-formation theorist at the Carnegie Institution in Washington.
"This really is an exciting discovery," said Boss, who was not involved in the work. "I'm still somewhat stunned they have such good data."
The discovery was made with a European Southern Observatory telescope at La Silla, Chile, working at the verge of what's possible to detect.
Most of the more than 120 planets found beyond our solar system are gaseous worlds as big or larger than Jupiter, mostly in tight orbits that would not permit a rocky planet to survive.
So as you can see, they were comparing it to other gaseous big planets.
- Art Neuro
Mea Culpa To Mr./Ms. Revnova
A person by the moniker Revnova dropped by and blasted me for writing about Olympic Baseball instead of space policy or Australian Space Policy. Fair cop, somebody had to say something. It was getting out of hand. :)
Dear Mr./Ms. Revnova
First of all, my humble apologies, for I have been greatly distracted by the smokescreen of entertainment known as the Olympic Games. The damned Olympics, it has a funny way of sucking you in. However, I would also like to point out that there really hasn't been much in the news lately to do with space, let alone space policy. Our theory is that even the science researchers are leaving their work desks to follow the Olympic Games.
We've also covered the salient terrain as to what is feasible, and what is not. I strongly recommend you look through our March through April 2004 archives where quite a lively discussion took place. Here's a quick summary of what has been covered so far (the upshot for which you can draw your own conclusions): neither of the major parties in Australian politics possess what can be described as a coherent space exploration policy. Both major parties feel that the allocation of satellite broadcasting rights covers the extent of having a space policy.
- It should also be noted that frequent visitor and commentator Mr. Conservative Weasel thinks it is all the ALP's fault that Australia has no coherent space policy; and that they are to blame... For most anything and everything.
Our position is that this absence of policy is not acceptable for a nation of our technological capability. That the long term future survival of humanity depends on our leaving this planet and founding colonies in space. We strongly support the Mars Direct platform and to that end argue until we are blue in the face as to the necessity of sending manned missions to Mars. We also believe that Australia is geographically suited to opening a space port to exploit future launches, and that there are good, sound, economic reasons to invest in space industries; not to mention cultural advantages in doing so.
We had a quick look at what European Governments are doing and found that ESA member Denmark for one has a rudimentary but effective set of guidelines that enable the creation of a fledgling space industry; and we call upon the Australian Government to adopt similar policy lines. Not that they're reading this blog.
That's the extent of it to date. In the mean time we have covered the Ansari X Prize and discussed the front runner, Scalar Industries and their craft, 'SpaceShipOne'. And when there's been no news, it's been baseball, music and movies. We do recommend you look at the links to the right.
Otherwise, please do not rip off my tits as that would hurt and I like them where they are.
Kindest regards,
- Art Neuro
A person by the moniker Revnova dropped by and blasted me for writing about Olympic Baseball instead of space policy or Australian Space Policy. Fair cop, somebody had to say something. It was getting out of hand. :)
Dear Mr./Ms. Revnova
First of all, my humble apologies, for I have been greatly distracted by the smokescreen of entertainment known as the Olympic Games. The damned Olympics, it has a funny way of sucking you in. However, I would also like to point out that there really hasn't been much in the news lately to do with space, let alone space policy. Our theory is that even the science researchers are leaving their work desks to follow the Olympic Games.
We've also covered the salient terrain as to what is feasible, and what is not. I strongly recommend you look through our March through April 2004 archives where quite a lively discussion took place. Here's a quick summary of what has been covered so far (the upshot for which you can draw your own conclusions): neither of the major parties in Australian politics possess what can be described as a coherent space exploration policy. Both major parties feel that the allocation of satellite broadcasting rights covers the extent of having a space policy.
- It should also be noted that frequent visitor and commentator Mr. Conservative Weasel thinks it is all the ALP's fault that Australia has no coherent space policy; and that they are to blame... For most anything and everything.
Our position is that this absence of policy is not acceptable for a nation of our technological capability. That the long term future survival of humanity depends on our leaving this planet and founding colonies in space. We strongly support the Mars Direct platform and to that end argue until we are blue in the face as to the necessity of sending manned missions to Mars. We also believe that Australia is geographically suited to opening a space port to exploit future launches, and that there are good, sound, economic reasons to invest in space industries; not to mention cultural advantages in doing so.
We had a quick look at what European Governments are doing and found that ESA member Denmark for one has a rudimentary but effective set of guidelines that enable the creation of a fledgling space industry; and we call upon the Australian Government to adopt similar policy lines. Not that they're reading this blog.
That's the extent of it to date. In the mean time we have covered the Ansari X Prize and discussed the front runner, Scalar Industries and their craft, 'SpaceShipOne'. And when there's been no news, it's been baseball, music and movies. We do recommend you look at the links to the right.
Otherwise, please do not rip off my tits as that would hurt and I like them where they are.
Kindest regards,
- Art Neuro
2004/08/26
Cuba Wins Gold But El Duque Is Not So Lucky
Our favourite magic Cuban Orlando Hernandez took the mound once more, this time against the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees lost a close game 4-3.
El Duque was riding a streak in which the yankees were without a loss forhis 8 starts, but this time relief pitcher Tom Gordon blew the lead. Hernandez pitched 6 inning, striking out 2, but walking 4, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. The box score tells us he scuffled and struggled and soon hit his 100 pitch limit that they have him on.
Still, he is without a loss now in 9 starts, and that's a bit of an anomaly.
Orlando Hernandez was asked at the time of the Sydney 2000 Olympics if he missed pitching for Cuba's natinal team. He responded, "Why would I miss it? I'm pitching for the New York Yankees. Why would I want to pitch anywhere else?"
He didn't mean it as a money issue, he meant it as an issue of greater glory to be had, hurling for the pinstripes. There's something very comforting in that thought.
- Art Neuro
Our favourite magic Cuban Orlando Hernandez took the mound once more, this time against the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees lost a close game 4-3.
El Duque was riding a streak in which the yankees were without a loss forhis 8 starts, but this time relief pitcher Tom Gordon blew the lead. Hernandez pitched 6 inning, striking out 2, but walking 4, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. The box score tells us he scuffled and struggled and soon hit his 100 pitch limit that they have him on.
Still, he is without a loss now in 9 starts, and that's a bit of an anomaly.
Orlando Hernandez was asked at the time of the Sydney 2000 Olympics if he missed pitching for Cuba's natinal team. He responded, "Why would I miss it? I'm pitching for the New York Yankees. Why would I want to pitch anywhere else?"
He didn't mean it as a money issue, he meant it as an issue of greater glory to be had, hurling for the pinstripes. There's something very comforting in that thought.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 12, The Grand Final
Cuba beat Australia 6-2. Cuba piled on 13 hits for their 6 runs. The Australian staff struck out 6, and only walked 1. The Cuban pitching staff by contrast struck out 10, but also walked 7 but moe importantly only allowed 2 hits. So Australia weren't really getting their hitting game to work at all. The Cuban side is probably a side that is good as the lowest third of Major League sides with its talent and skill. Australia were fielding a side made up of mostly minor leaguers with some who have experienced good careers in the majors, so the result is not that surprsing.
Olympic Gold against Cuba turned out to be a bridge too far for the Australians, but a Silver medal showing bodes well for the sport in this country. In 2006 they are planing to relaunch the professional league, which would help the growing depth find serious playing time without having to go to America. Besides, it's a bit of international credibility for Australia going forwards. Australia is now officially a baseball power in the world. There ae plenty of Latin American countries with professioanl leagues that will envy that status. It's also a good thing for international sport to see a new face in the usual scrimmage of USA, Cuba, Japan, Korea. The sport is growing.
It's been a fun fortnight of chasing this stuff around. The Olympics will go on for another 3 days, but I think my personal investment in it is done. Anyway, if you've been reading hoping for me to go back to the regular space commentary my apologies. I'll try and get back to that as of next week. The world is in the grips of sportsmania for a fortnight. What am I supposed to do? Not join in? :)
- Art Neuro
Cuba beat Australia 6-2. Cuba piled on 13 hits for their 6 runs. The Australian staff struck out 6, and only walked 1. The Cuban pitching staff by contrast struck out 10, but also walked 7 but moe importantly only allowed 2 hits. So Australia weren't really getting their hitting game to work at all. The Cuban side is probably a side that is good as the lowest third of Major League sides with its talent and skill. Australia were fielding a side made up of mostly minor leaguers with some who have experienced good careers in the majors, so the result is not that surprsing.
Olympic Gold against Cuba turned out to be a bridge too far for the Australians, but a Silver medal showing bodes well for the sport in this country. In 2006 they are planing to relaunch the professional league, which would help the growing depth find serious playing time without having to go to America. Besides, it's a bit of international credibility for Australia going forwards. Australia is now officially a baseball power in the world. There ae plenty of Latin American countries with professioanl leagues that will envy that status. It's also a good thing for international sport to see a new face in the usual scrimmage of USA, Cuba, Japan, Korea. The sport is growing.
It's been a fun fortnight of chasing this stuff around. The Olympics will go on for another 3 days, but I think my personal investment in it is done. Anyway, if you've been reading hoping for me to go back to the regular space commentary my apologies. I'll try and get back to that as of next week. The world is in the grips of sportsmania for a fortnight. What am I supposed to do? Not join in? :)
- Art Neuro
Daisuke Matsuzaka Comments
I found this in one of the Japanese New Sites:
Japan beat Canada 11-2 for the Bronze medal. They rapped out 13 hits for their 11 runs. the pitching staff struck out 11 and only walked 2. All too late. The Japanese team will go home to 2 leagues, one in tatters and in labor strife. They felt they needed the gold medal to at least salvage something from a disastrous season; and yet their loss is probably more symptomatic of those problems back home in their professional leagues. The Pacific League in which Matsuzaka plays with the Seibu Lions may contract down to 4 teams. There are even rumours flying that it's going to become 1 league of 8 teams after 2-3 franchise mergers. It's bad over there; and this may have been the last hurrah of sorts for the NPB faithful.
- Art Neuro
I found this in one of the Japanese New Sites:
We lost yesterday but everybody was able to switch over their minds for today's game. I kept in mind the words of manager Shigeo Nagashima, 'To make it a fine Olympic expereince, you must at least finish with a glorious finale'.
Speaking for myself, in the games I started, I was able to throw my emotions of four years since Sydney into the games, doing my utmost best. Last time's loss made me grow considerably from the experience so I see yesterday's loss as another opportunity to up the level of my game; I would like to continue to put a strong effort in towards the next time. Of course I'd like to make another start in 4 years, but until then I'd like to take each year carefully as they come, one by one.
Finishing with a bronze, medal, I don't know how our fans will respond, but it is the result from having done our best. I know I said before we left Japan that it's not good enough to simply put in your best and participate, but I hope people who were watching could draw something from our efforts.
Japan beat Canada 11-2 for the Bronze medal. They rapped out 13 hits for their 11 runs. the pitching staff struck out 11 and only walked 2. All too late. The Japanese team will go home to 2 leagues, one in tatters and in labor strife. They felt they needed the gold medal to at least salvage something from a disastrous season; and yet their loss is probably more symptomatic of those problems back home in their professional leagues. The Pacific League in which Matsuzaka plays with the Seibu Lions may contract down to 4 teams. There are even rumours flying that it's going to become 1 league of 8 teams after 2-3 franchise mergers. It's bad over there; and this may have been the last hurrah of sorts for the NPB faithful.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/25
Jeff Williams Closes Out Japan in the Semifinal
You can just hear the oi,oi,oi from the crowd. Jeff Williams pitches for the Hanshin Tigers, so he knew very well the hitters he was facing in the semifinal. The reports from Japan's news sites seem more shocked than anything else. How could Australia, a country without even a professional league come and beat a team of professionals? Well, I won't go into it here, but put simply, the Australians did have a team of professionals; they just weren't heralded like the stars of the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball).
Yesterday, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig ruled out sending MLB All-Stars to the Olympics in the future. You can understand why, given the money invested in the All-Star players; why risk them for glory and buy the wrath of the owners like George Steinbrenner? How do you explain it when A-Rod gets hurt playing a game for glory when the seaosn is still on the line back home? Instead Bud is pimping his World Cup format that takes place during Spring Training. It's not an idea that is winning many friends outside of North and South America.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - The Rest of Day 11
Cuba beat Canada 8-5. Down 2-3 in the Eighth inning, Cuba exploded for 6 runs to snatch back the Gold medal play-off berth. If Canada had another arm who could beguile the Cuban hitters, there was a distinct probablity of an All-Upset Gold medal play-off. They were a mere 6 outs away from that very possibility. Oh well, the Universe righted itself in favour of the favourites just in the nick of time as the Cubans stormed into the Grand Final in fantastic style. The Canadian staff struck out 5, walked 3, and conceded 8 runs on 13 hits. The Cubans struck out 8 but walked 6, conceding 5 runs on 9 hits. The only homerun of the game belonged to Ryan Radmanovich of Canada.
Cuba now face the Aussies in the Gold medal play off, while Canada faces Japan in the Bronze medal play-off. To re-cap the results from the preliminaries, Cuba beat Australia 4-1; Japan beat Canada 9-1. However let's not forget that Japan beat Cuba 5-3, Canada thumped Australia 11-0, so there's no reason to believe any of the last 4 are not in the same, tight league and the eventual winner of the Gold Medal is nothing more than the beneficaries of luck. .
Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane, who was featured strongly in 'Moneyball' famously lamented in the book, "The play-offs are a crapshoot. My shit doesn't work in the play-offs". This remark of course has sparked a furious round of debate as to whether the play-offs (or for that matter the Olympic Games' final rounds) are nothing but a crapshoot. The reasoning for that discourse goes like this:
1. Statistics only functions sensibly on a large sample size, like a full MLB season of 162 games. Play-off games are such small sample sizes that there are not any real conclusions about performances that can be drawn from the result but the win-loss results only. If a team is constructed around statistical analysis, there is no indication whether a player or team will perform to their statistical norms or better in a small sample-sized event - ergo It's a crapshoot.
2. Statistics as a 'Knowledge of Result' feedback system tends to shed light on the mean expected level of performance. This takes in the caveat of variance and clustering. Meanwhile scouts and the scouting process tends to present a picture of the upper limit of a player's peak performance. It is a 'Knowledge of Performance' feedback system. There are many things that go into a peak performance to take place at the right time at the right place. These are not things that can be relied upon; are deeply psychological (i.e. 'make-up of the player'); and so, a team in a play-off spot really cannot be predicted one way or another to do something well or not.
Nor do the results tell us about how good/bad the team is/was.
3. Yet, the people who object to Billy Beane's assertion say, "But look at the results! Your team lost. Therefore you must be doing something wrong. Billy, your teams are not built to win the post-season". Or they might point to the Yankees and their run of three consecutive World Series wins in the late 1990s and say, "Look, Derek Jeter!"
Well, I really dig 'my mate' Jetes, but it's not a coherent arguement as there is only one Derek Jeter and it's not like you can build a team of Derek Jeters (even with cloning). The man has a knack for finding his peak performances in crucial games and has demonstrated that capacity time and time again; and even then it's not a good argument for the cause of not using statistical analysis nor is he the point from which you can draw universals about any competition or performances or results (sad, but true).
The argument goes deep and fractiously out at certain places on the net where they discuss baseball ALL DAY, however I think I've got the nutshell of it down. What I'm trying to get at is in essence a shortfall of the Olympics Finals format. I'm not asking for a 7 game series or even a 5 game series. but unless they start playing the final rounds as a 3 game series, they're really not going to get close to giving the best team a Gold Medal. Not that this sort of thing would interest the corrupt little munchkins in the IBF or the IOC.
Since I mentioned Derek AGAIN...
Here's an entry by 'TVerik' who is a regular contributor at the Baseball Think Factory, who penned this entry at The Hardball Times staff writer Larry Mahnken's blog:
ADDENDUM: People have said it's as if I'm not giving the Australian team any credit for beating Japan twice. Well, yes I do give full credit to *our* team for beating Japan twice. They did very well to go toe-to-toe with Japan and beat them twice; I just wanted to point out how there was also a large chunk of luck involved in doing so the second time. If they faced each other 19 times in a season of 162 games, I wouldn't expect the results to go 19-0 Australia's way - They aren't that good, and that being the case a 2-0 sweep isn't an indication of anything but a 2-0 result.
- Art Neuro
Cuba beat Canada 8-5. Down 2-3 in the Eighth inning, Cuba exploded for 6 runs to snatch back the Gold medal play-off berth. If Canada had another arm who could beguile the Cuban hitters, there was a distinct probablity of an All-Upset Gold medal play-off. They were a mere 6 outs away from that very possibility. Oh well, the Universe righted itself in favour of the favourites just in the nick of time as the Cubans stormed into the Grand Final in fantastic style. The Canadian staff struck out 5, walked 3, and conceded 8 runs on 13 hits. The Cubans struck out 8 but walked 6, conceding 5 runs on 9 hits. The only homerun of the game belonged to Ryan Radmanovich of Canada.
Cuba now face the Aussies in the Gold medal play off, while Canada faces Japan in the Bronze medal play-off. To re-cap the results from the preliminaries, Cuba beat Australia 4-1; Japan beat Canada 9-1. However let's not forget that Japan beat Cuba 5-3, Canada thumped Australia 11-0, so there's no reason to believe any of the last 4 are not in the same, tight league and the eventual winner of the Gold Medal is nothing more than the beneficaries of luck. .
Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane, who was featured strongly in 'Moneyball' famously lamented in the book, "The play-offs are a crapshoot. My shit doesn't work in the play-offs". This remark of course has sparked a furious round of debate as to whether the play-offs (or for that matter the Olympic Games' final rounds) are nothing but a crapshoot. The reasoning for that discourse goes like this:
1. Statistics only functions sensibly on a large sample size, like a full MLB season of 162 games. Play-off games are such small sample sizes that there are not any real conclusions about performances that can be drawn from the result but the win-loss results only. If a team is constructed around statistical analysis, there is no indication whether a player or team will perform to their statistical norms or better in a small sample-sized event - ergo It's a crapshoot.
2. Statistics as a 'Knowledge of Result' feedback system tends to shed light on the mean expected level of performance. This takes in the caveat of variance and clustering. Meanwhile scouts and the scouting process tends to present a picture of the upper limit of a player's peak performance. It is a 'Knowledge of Performance' feedback system. There are many things that go into a peak performance to take place at the right time at the right place. These are not things that can be relied upon; are deeply psychological (i.e. 'make-up of the player'); and so, a team in a play-off spot really cannot be predicted one way or another to do something well or not.
Nor do the results tell us about how good/bad the team is/was.
3. Yet, the people who object to Billy Beane's assertion say, "But look at the results! Your team lost. Therefore you must be doing something wrong. Billy, your teams are not built to win the post-season". Or they might point to the Yankees and their run of three consecutive World Series wins in the late 1990s and say, "Look, Derek Jeter!"
Well, I really dig 'my mate' Jetes, but it's not a coherent arguement as there is only one Derek Jeter and it's not like you can build a team of Derek Jeters (even with cloning). The man has a knack for finding his peak performances in crucial games and has demonstrated that capacity time and time again; and even then it's not a good argument for the cause of not using statistical analysis nor is he the point from which you can draw universals about any competition or performances or results (sad, but true).
The argument goes deep and fractiously out at certain places on the net where they discuss baseball ALL DAY, however I think I've got the nutshell of it down. What I'm trying to get at is in essence a shortfall of the Olympics Finals format. I'm not asking for a 7 game series or even a 5 game series. but unless they start playing the final rounds as a 3 game series, they're really not going to get close to giving the best team a Gold Medal. Not that this sort of thing would interest the corrupt little munchkins in the IBF or the IOC.
Since I mentioned Derek AGAIN...
Here's an entry by 'TVerik' who is a regular contributor at the Baseball Think Factory, who penned this entry at The Hardball Times staff writer Larry Mahnken's blog:
So people are trying to figure out this conundrum of result vs. performance. I'm not saying a system that sees the favourite lose a chance at the Gold Medal in a single 1-run game is bad; I'm saying it doesn't prove anything about the baseball teams that do win the Gold Medal.On-field performance vs. entertainment by TVerik
The true sabermetric types who read this blog may not like to hear it, but I suspect that Jeter fans will. Conventional Wisdom, exemplified by Tim McCarver and Michael Kay, seems to hold that Derek Jeter’s intangibles are very valuable to his team and that this cannot be measured statistically.Some of our sabermetric brethren seem to delight in reducing Jeter to the sum total of his measurable numbers. They insist that his intangibles are way overvalued by the public at large.
This may be true; as a matter of fact, I’m reasonably sure that it’s true. But they define “value” in a narrow, baseball-related way. The object of an offense is to
score runs, and scoring runs results directly in wins.I submit that we fans really enjoy some parts of baseball that are not overly valuable in a wins vs. losses kind of way. In tonight’s game, Jeter covered third base, making Vladimir Guerrero out at third trying to advance on a single. Does Derek deserve the Nobel Prize for this contribution? No. Did it help the Yankees win the game? Babe Ruth resurrected wouldn’t have helped them tonight. Was it a play that all shortstops should make? I don’t really know, but I doubt it.
Derek Jeter, the ballplayer, did something small to help his team. It didn’t really help. But Derek Jeter, the entertainer, gave millions of fans a certain sense of satisfaction.
The Mariners are going through a horrendous year. But their fans still watch (although their numbers are reduced). They won’t be winning a pennant. So why do people pay attention? Because they’re entertained; the results of the game are secondary in some cases.
I don’t even know if one argument supports another here. Is DJ generally overrated? Is Derek valuable to his team? He certainly is. Does Jeter make the games somewhat more interesting for viewers? I could point to a hundred good examples of this.
But please weigh in on this issue. It’s just my opinion.
ADDENDUM: People have said it's as if I'm not giving the Australian team any credit for beating Japan twice. Well, yes I do give full credit to *our* team for beating Japan twice. They did very well to go toe-to-toe with Japan and beat them twice; I just wanted to point out how there was also a large chunk of luck involved in doing so the second time. If they faced each other 19 times in a season of 162 games, I wouldn't expect the results to go 19-0 Australia's way - They aren't that good, and that being the case a 2-0 sweep isn't an indication of anything but a 2-0 result.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/24
Matsuzaka Pitches Against Australia in the Semifinals
8 IP 1R 5H 13K 3BB is a line most pitchers will live with any day. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched exactlky that kind of Ace game against Australia and still lost 1-0 just like he did in Sydney against USA. Tell me that isn't just bad luck. I guess Beijing 2008 is going to be interesting too.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 11 Shock And Awe
Hot off the press. Australia stunned Japan 1-0. I was really looking forward to this game going in because I thought, "Can't lose either way with my rooting interests" and then I find myself on the other side of the result being posted up thinking, "I can't win either way". How do I figure this? I don't know.
First of all, both teams were held to 5 hits a piece, and both pitching staffs put on an amazing display of pitching prowess. The Australian staff consisting of Chris Oxspring and Jeff Williams combined for 9 strike outs and no walks. That is astounding given the talent of the Japanese offense. It was a game where pitching simply dominated.
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball striking out 13, walking 3. It's the kind of performance you dream about. To think he lost on the back of that effort is soul-destroying. The guy pitched the same kind of game in Sydney and lost that to Korea 2-1 in the play-offs; he's going home with 1 win and an amazing ERA and strike out total, but at best a Bronze medal to show for it. If there's anybody I cared for in all of this, it was Daisuke Matsuzaka who was always willing to pitch for Japan come hell or high water; he has always responded to the call of international representation. In that sense he's a bit like an Australian Test cricketer.
It's not just his disposition; Daisuke Matsuzaka is the kind of pitcher you want in your national staff in a play-off game like this one. He's never melted down or given in to the pressure of these meets; his career is built on big game performances. To my observation, it's always the Japanese bats who have let him down. And this is where we get a feel for what it takes to win big games. The Japanese bats simply choked on the big stage when it mattered.
There were clear signs of panic in the Japanese lineup in the Eighth and Ninth innings. Takahashi hedged on the outside high and low, ending up with a strike out. Johjima, the cleanup hitter actually tried a bunt on a 2-1 count with 1 out (!). Nakamura frantically tried to get contact, but ended up chopping a bouncer to Third - it looked nothing like his normal swing. The Hitters looked jittery and panicked at the plate as the game wore on.
Or was it in fact the Australian pitching that was amazing? Chris Oxspring came into this game and left it with an ERA of 0.00. That's right. Technically, he was unhittable throughout this tournament (whereas Matsuzaka sported a 2.16 ERA). Not even the Japanese bats who were the best in the tournament could do any damage against him. That left it to the Australians to play their natural game and hope for the best - which worked out fine.
The great sabermetrician Bill James once noted that 1-run ball games are largely a matter of luck. This is never more so the case than in a 1-0 pitching duel. These games can go either way and you would still be scratching your head as to how one party won and the other lost. So in statistical terms, the Australians got lucky. In fact Australia made 2 errors and it still didn't lead to a single run so they were luckier than even the score-line suggests. Winners are grinners but they did whistle by the grave yard to get this win.
Okay, that assertion's going to get some people to disagree vehemently. Consider the basic numerical facts; not algebra, not sets, not integration or differentiation, just arithmetic: 9 innings of 3 outs make 27 outs per team, barring extended innings. Both teams had 5 hits. So both teams had 32 hitters at the plate. The 2 errors makes the total for Japan 34 hitters in the game. Of the 34 Japanese hitters, 9 struck out but none walked so you are left with 34-9K+0BB=25. That's 25 contact outs that could have gone any way depending on the bounce of the ball. Contrast this with 32-14K+3BB=21 contact outs. Even with their contact hitting strategy, the Australians actually made 4 fewer opportunities to score runs; and yet managed to pull out a 1 run lead. That isn't skill; it's luck.
So there you have it. The Japanese simply got bushwhacked twice by the Australians; now they are going to have to go back to the drawing board to reconsider what the lessons were in this eventful tournament. I can't wait to read the post-mortems in the Japanese news sites tomorrow morning. As for Australia, it's all blue-sky for them, from here on in; Gold or Silver. Bring on the empty horses, oi, oi, oi.
Derek Jeter as Demi-God
I do go on about him sometimes. My sister has taken to calling him 'Your Mate' Jeter. as in, "I saw 'Your Mate' Jeter on the ESPN Sports Centre Highlights again. What is it with that guy? Can't he live without the spotlight?"
Earlier today, I noticed this article over at ESPN.
Jeter hagiography gets a little sickening for lots of envious people, I know. Afterall, God must REALLY hate humanity if he gives the New York Yankees this player (That, or God is a Yankee fan). And yet if I was going to start my Intergalactic Superstar Athletes Team to play a play-off game of TAGWAR (The Amazing Game Without Any Rules) against the Martians, I would pick Jeter to be my team Captain playing shortstop and Daisuke Matsuzaka can pitch. In the olden days when I used to write my Top-Tens I would've said Steve Waugh comes in at 6 and Matt Burke plays Fullback, but their days are done, alas, alas, alas! :)
- Art Neuro
Hot off the press. Australia stunned Japan 1-0. I was really looking forward to this game going in because I thought, "Can't lose either way with my rooting interests" and then I find myself on the other side of the result being posted up thinking, "I can't win either way". How do I figure this? I don't know.
First of all, both teams were held to 5 hits a piece, and both pitching staffs put on an amazing display of pitching prowess. The Australian staff consisting of Chris Oxspring and Jeff Williams combined for 9 strike outs and no walks. That is astounding given the talent of the Japanese offense. It was a game where pitching simply dominated.
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball striking out 13, walking 3. It's the kind of performance you dream about. To think he lost on the back of that effort is soul-destroying. The guy pitched the same kind of game in Sydney and lost that to Korea 2-1 in the play-offs; he's going home with 1 win and an amazing ERA and strike out total, but at best a Bronze medal to show for it. If there's anybody I cared for in all of this, it was Daisuke Matsuzaka who was always willing to pitch for Japan come hell or high water; he has always responded to the call of international representation. In that sense he's a bit like an Australian Test cricketer.
It's not just his disposition; Daisuke Matsuzaka is the kind of pitcher you want in your national staff in a play-off game like this one. He's never melted down or given in to the pressure of these meets; his career is built on big game performances. To my observation, it's always the Japanese bats who have let him down. And this is where we get a feel for what it takes to win big games. The Japanese bats simply choked on the big stage when it mattered.
There were clear signs of panic in the Japanese lineup in the Eighth and Ninth innings. Takahashi hedged on the outside high and low, ending up with a strike out. Johjima, the cleanup hitter actually tried a bunt on a 2-1 count with 1 out (!). Nakamura frantically tried to get contact, but ended up chopping a bouncer to Third - it looked nothing like his normal swing. The Hitters looked jittery and panicked at the plate as the game wore on.
Or was it in fact the Australian pitching that was amazing? Chris Oxspring came into this game and left it with an ERA of 0.00. That's right. Technically, he was unhittable throughout this tournament (whereas Matsuzaka sported a 2.16 ERA). Not even the Japanese bats who were the best in the tournament could do any damage against him. That left it to the Australians to play their natural game and hope for the best - which worked out fine.
The great sabermetrician Bill James once noted that 1-run ball games are largely a matter of luck. This is never more so the case than in a 1-0 pitching duel. These games can go either way and you would still be scratching your head as to how one party won and the other lost. So in statistical terms, the Australians got lucky. In fact Australia made 2 errors and it still didn't lead to a single run so they were luckier than even the score-line suggests. Winners are grinners but they did whistle by the grave yard to get this win.
Okay, that assertion's going to get some people to disagree vehemently. Consider the basic numerical facts; not algebra, not sets, not integration or differentiation, just arithmetic: 9 innings of 3 outs make 27 outs per team, barring extended innings. Both teams had 5 hits. So both teams had 32 hitters at the plate. The 2 errors makes the total for Japan 34 hitters in the game. Of the 34 Japanese hitters, 9 struck out but none walked so you are left with 34-9K+0BB=25. That's 25 contact outs that could have gone any way depending on the bounce of the ball. Contrast this with 32-14K+3BB=21 contact outs. Even with their contact hitting strategy, the Australians actually made 4 fewer opportunities to score runs; and yet managed to pull out a 1 run lead. That isn't skill; it's luck.
So there you have it. The Japanese simply got bushwhacked twice by the Australians; now they are going to have to go back to the drawing board to reconsider what the lessons were in this eventful tournament. I can't wait to read the post-mortems in the Japanese news sites tomorrow morning. As for Australia, it's all blue-sky for them, from here on in; Gold or Silver. Bring on the empty horses, oi, oi, oi.
Derek Jeter as Demi-God
I do go on about him sometimes. My sister has taken to calling him 'Your Mate' Jeter. as in, "I saw 'Your Mate' Jeter on the ESPN Sports Centre Highlights again. What is it with that guy? Can't he live without the spotlight?"
Earlier today, I noticed this article over at ESPN.
His self-assuredness made him a transcendent post-season player, his performance spiking in the most crucial moments. Jeter found the post-season games to be more fun: the stakes were greater, there were more people watching, and he loved playing in the spotlight; perhaps his concentration became more acute. He would generate a solid batting average, usually accumulating 200 hits and 100 runs, then the playoffs would begin and suddenly he would start bashing long-balls all over the place. Jeter batted .333 or better in eight of his first 13 post-season series; he seemed born to play in October, Torre once said.
In the crucial Game 4 of the 2000 World Series, he batted lead-off against Mets right-hander Bobby Jones, and as he walked to the plate to open the game, Knoblauch predicted to others that Jeter would hit a home run on the first pitch. When Jeter rocketed Jones's changeup into the left field stands, Knoblauch bounced out of the dugout, shouting and pointing at teammates -- I told you, I told you. Jeter hit a triple in his next at-bat and scored, increasing the Yankees' lead to three runs, the early dagger that would all but finish the Mets.
Jeter hagiography gets a little sickening for lots of envious people, I know. Afterall, God must REALLY hate humanity if he gives the New York Yankees this player (That, or God is a Yankee fan). And yet if I was going to start my Intergalactic Superstar Athletes Team to play a play-off game of TAGWAR (The Amazing Game Without Any Rules) against the Martians, I would pick Jeter to be my team Captain playing shortstop and Daisuke Matsuzaka can pitch. In the olden days when I used to write my Top-Tens I would've said Steve Waugh comes in at 6 and Matt Burke plays Fullback, but their days are done, alas, alas, alas! :)
- Art Neuro
All Quiet On The Space Front
I know I've been rattling on about Olympic Baseball of all things, and not done updates on the space topics, but it has simply been very quiet. They do have these lulls where nothing happens; progress, whether technological or policy-wise happens in fits and starts.
In the mean time I will probably continue to indulge in the 'bread & circuses' of sport.
The Mental Game
The Australian Press is hounding rower Sally Robbins for her quit-in-the-race non-effort that let down her team mates. Everybody has gone mental about the girl who went mental in the big race and 'quit'.
It's not hard to imagine the pressure; it's not hard to imagine hitting the wall; it's not hard to imagine a team placing trust in a suprememly gifted athlete with a mental problem; it's not really suprising it came apart in the race that matters the most. She's not to blame, it's the idiot selectors who put her in the boat who are to blame. They set her up to fail without thinking about it.
Meanwhile, AOC boss John Coates has told the rest of the rowing crew to not discuss it in the press:
"Well, yes mate. But she quit on the team and you don't do that either," say the pundits.
Baseball Career, Not Eve Was Created From a Removed Rib
In other odd news, it has been reported that Criag Lewis of Australia's baseball team once had a rib removed and ever since then he's been healthy as a ballplayer.
- Art Neuro
I know I've been rattling on about Olympic Baseball of all things, and not done updates on the space topics, but it has simply been very quiet. They do have these lulls where nothing happens; progress, whether technological or policy-wise happens in fits and starts.
In the mean time I will probably continue to indulge in the 'bread & circuses' of sport.
The Mental Game
The Australian Press is hounding rower Sally Robbins for her quit-in-the-race non-effort that let down her team mates. Everybody has gone mental about the girl who went mental in the big race and 'quit'.
Last night Robbins told Channel Seven that she had previously broken down while racing, without detailing any event. "Suddenly fatigue sets in and I just can't move, you know. It's a feeling of paralysis where you just hit the wall," she said.
Taylor described Robbins as "an awesome chick", "an amazing technician", and "one of the most physically impressive athletes I've ever come across", but compared her quitting on Sunday, and in 2002, to an Olympic swimmer stopping mid-race in a final. "There is no doubt in my mind that Sally Robbins quitting on Sunday was a repeat display of complete mental weakness, not 'physical exhaustion' as the media is reporting."
Taylor said that no rower at Olympic level should stop mid-race due to pain. "I know first hand exactly how exhausted you get in a rowing race, and let me tell you, the thought of stopping is very tempting when you are burning up in pain and under the extreme pressure that international competition produces."
It's not hard to imagine the pressure; it's not hard to imagine hitting the wall; it's not hard to imagine a team placing trust in a suprememly gifted athlete with a mental problem; it's not really suprising it came apart in the race that matters the most. She's not to blame, it's the idiot selectors who put her in the boat who are to blame. They set her up to fail without thinking about it.
Meanwhile, AOC boss John Coates has told the rest of the rowing crew to not discuss it in the press:
"Basically in our team you do not slag off your mates," said Coates's spokesman, Mike Tancred.
"Well, yes mate. But she quit on the team and you don't do that either," say the pundits.
Baseball Career, Not Eve Was Created From a Removed Rib
In other odd news, it has been reported that Criag Lewis of Australia's baseball team once had a rib removed and ever since then he's been healthy as a ballplayer.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/23
Yoshinobu Takahashi hit a 2-Run Homer Against Greece in Game 7
Takahashi hit his third homerun in the competition. He started slow in the tournament, but he has found form as the games have wore on. He has been a very effective power-threat hitting out of the 3-hole with an 1.116 OPS; but also a consumate On-Base scoring machine, reflected in the league-leading 8 runs he scored in the tournament. In fact as of this writing, he is tied in first place with Kosuke Fukudome of Japan, and pulling up behind them is Atsushi Fujimoto with 7 runs.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 9
Taiwan beat the Netherlands 5-1 in what was essentially a dead rubber game. Taiwan stayed ahead and silenced the Dutch bats as they stocked up on the runs. The Taiwanese pitching staff struck out 6 and walked 3, allowing the single solo homerun to Eugene Kingsale. Chin-Feng Cheng went 3-for-4 for the Tainwanese who salvaged a bit of pride.
Japan beat Greece 6-1. Japan hit the top of the table with their win over Greece. Yoshinobu Takahashi hit his third homerun of the tournament, equaling Nobuhiko Matsunaka's 1996 effort. The Japanese staff struck out 14 but issued 4 walks, scattering 4 hits including a solo homerun. Even considering they were playing bottom-feeders Greece, that's a pretty dominant display of pitching. Japan will now face Australia in the Semi-Final.
Cuba beat Italy 5-0. Cuba were all-class as they pounded out 11 hits and didn't strike out once against a hapless Italian pitching staff. The Cuban pitchers on their part struck out 14 and walked only 1. They don't get more completely dominant than that, proving why they are the perennial favourites at the Olympic Games. Cuba will face Canada in the semi-finals.
Canada beat Australia 11-0. In a total reversal of form, Australia went down to Canada tonking out only 4 hits in their loss. The Canadians managed 12 hits for their 11 runs, securing a play-off spot against Cuba. For the Australians, it was a case of 'live by the bat, die by the bat'. They made plenty of contact but not enough to string together an offense that scored runs. Sometimes it pays to wait for your pitch, but aggressive contact hitting can often implode like this; which is why stat-heads like to work with On-base-percentage as a measuring stick. Batting Average fluctuates far more than On-Base Percentage and is a tough way to build a winning team over a longer haul.
Tomorrow will be a rest day.
- Art Neuro
Taiwan beat the Netherlands 5-1 in what was essentially a dead rubber game. Taiwan stayed ahead and silenced the Dutch bats as they stocked up on the runs. The Taiwanese pitching staff struck out 6 and walked 3, allowing the single solo homerun to Eugene Kingsale. Chin-Feng Cheng went 3-for-4 for the Tainwanese who salvaged a bit of pride.
Japan beat Greece 6-1. Japan hit the top of the table with their win over Greece. Yoshinobu Takahashi hit his third homerun of the tournament, equaling Nobuhiko Matsunaka's 1996 effort. The Japanese staff struck out 14 but issued 4 walks, scattering 4 hits including a solo homerun. Even considering they were playing bottom-feeders Greece, that's a pretty dominant display of pitching. Japan will now face Australia in the Semi-Final.
Cuba beat Italy 5-0. Cuba were all-class as they pounded out 11 hits and didn't strike out once against a hapless Italian pitching staff. The Cuban pitchers on their part struck out 14 and walked only 1. They don't get more completely dominant than that, proving why they are the perennial favourites at the Olympic Games. Cuba will face Canada in the semi-finals.
Canada beat Australia 11-0. In a total reversal of form, Australia went down to Canada tonking out only 4 hits in their loss. The Canadians managed 12 hits for their 11 runs, securing a play-off spot against Cuba. For the Australians, it was a case of 'live by the bat, die by the bat'. They made plenty of contact but not enough to string together an offense that scored runs. Sometimes it pays to wait for your pitch, but aggressive contact hitting can often implode like this; which is why stat-heads like to work with On-base-percentage as a measuring stick. Batting Average fluctuates far more than On-Base Percentage and is a tough way to build a winning team over a longer haul.
Tomorrow will be a rest day.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/22
Rodney Van Buizen celebrates his homer
This tiny little pickie is the only image I could source of the Australian baseball team who scored an 'Olympic Record' victory against the Netherlands. As it tunrs out it's a picture of Rodney Van Buizen. Rodney made an appearane in my video for Classroom Video 'The Biomechanics of Throwing' 2 years ago. He's a very understated kind of fellow who works out at the NSW Sports Institute down in Narrabeen Lakes in the Northern off-season. Like all the other elite athletes there, he drives a dirty big HSV V8 Commodore muscle machine.
I once saw Matt Rogers of the NSW Waratahs do a handbrake turn on the gravel carppark there in his V8 Muscle Machine as I waited for Rodney to show up. Apart from that, I have no special thoughts to relate about that scene.
- Art Neuro
Takahashi Levels the Score in Game 6
Taiwan were ahead 3-0 until the Seventh when Takahashi hit his 3-Run Homerun. Taiwan had their backs against the wall as a loss in the game meant elimination from the finals. Japan seemed a little casual in their apporach to the desperate taiwanese, probably because they were the opponents they knew the most from the preliminary rounds. There has also been a tendency since Game 3 that the Japan relies on the long ball, but in this game all apsects of their offense were explored.
Still, the Japanese press are having a field day with this one. "Why was it so close?" "What went wrong?" - For heaven's sake how wrong can a win be?You know, sometimes an opponent fights tooth and nail and makes good game out of it. I wish the world sports press would stop harping on about the weirdness of Olympic Baseball. Much more than Olympic Tennis, this is a legitimate International Comeptition; the teams that play deserve respect from their opponents. It's all good.
- Art Neuro
Yoshinobu Takahashi Slides Home
It was an All-Yoshinobu-Takahashi-Action Day. The Yomiuri Tokyo Giants slugger hit a 3-run homerun to tie the game, and then led off the Tenth with a single. Japan worked Takahashi into scoring position, but in the end, Takahashi made a diving slide off a sac fly for the winning run. Joe Morgan of the Big Red Machinie fame would have said Japan manfactured a run. It was that kind of game.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 8
Japan beat Taiwan 4-3 in extended innings. A very tight result. Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara allowed a 3-run Third inning, but pitched through to the Seventh. Both Teams were in a hitting mood as they each knocked out 10 hist for their runs, but it seems rallies were killed as soon as they begun. Yoshinobu Takahashi hit his second homer in the tournament in the Seventh, levelling the score. Then it rolled into extended innings where eventually Japan managed to manufacture a run.
Taiwan held Japan to 3 runs across 9 innings and the 10th with its manufactured run with only 5 strike outs and issuing 4 walks, which is an indication of the solidity of the Taiwanese defense. Japan on the other hand compiled 10 strike outs and issued only 2 walks, which is consistent with their dominating form.
Cuba beat Canada 5-2. In another tightly contested game, Cuba downed the Canadians. The Cuban pitching staff scattered 7 hits while striking out 8 and walking only 1. Norberto Gonzales pitched 6 solid innnings for the win. The Canadian staff gave up 10 hits and 2 walks but only managed 2 strike outs. Cuba wnet ahead early in the game and stayed ahead, but the Canadians did threaten to rally in the Seventh inning.
Australia killed the Netherlands 22-2. In a massive blow out, the Australians humiliated the Dutch in a total drubbing in what must be an Olympic Record 20 run difference. Glen Williams went 4-for4 with 3 RBIs including a 2-run homer. Brett Roneberg hit another homerun, and even Rodney Van Buizen got in the homerun action going 3-for4 scoring 3 runs. As of this writing, Rodney's 9 runs batted in leads the entire tournament (not that RBIs is a significant stat, but this is light-hitting AA-Minor LeaguerRodney Van Buizen, y'know?) The Australians scored their 22 runs on 17 hits as the Dutch pitching staff issued 9 walks striking out only 4; not to mention the 2 errors in the field by the Dutch.
In a way, this is the kind of game the Australian team is best at. I feel from a grassroots level, Australian baseball is about everybody making contact hits and challenging the defense of the other team. It's how we play, week in, week out. The downside is that you don't want anybody slumping in your lineup; the manager plays the hot hand all the way. In other words, it's a Knowledge-of-Performance driven team. It's the opposite of the 'Moneyball'/Knowledge-of-Results-driven way to play but the Annaheim Angels won their World Series on this model.
Again, this kind of thing shows you how interesting Olympic baseball can be. Plus the Aussies now go through to the play-off rounds even if they lose to Canada. So that's another reason for an oi,oi,oi.
Greece downed Italy 12-7. In a match of the bottom feeders, Greece showed a bit of spine and pine and beat out a win against the Italians. 'Shortstop' Clay Bellinger went 2-for-5 including a homer. Both sides knocked out 14 hits, both staffs struck out 5 but issued just as many walks. The Greeks made 3 errors while the Italians made 1, making this probably a very ugly game to watch; but if you're the hometown team, I'm sure nobody complains too much about winning ugly.
- Art Neuro
Japan beat Taiwan 4-3 in extended innings. A very tight result. Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara allowed a 3-run Third inning, but pitched through to the Seventh. Both Teams were in a hitting mood as they each knocked out 10 hist for their runs, but it seems rallies were killed as soon as they begun. Yoshinobu Takahashi hit his second homer in the tournament in the Seventh, levelling the score. Then it rolled into extended innings where eventually Japan managed to manufacture a run.
Taiwan held Japan to 3 runs across 9 innings and the 10th with its manufactured run with only 5 strike outs and issuing 4 walks, which is an indication of the solidity of the Taiwanese defense. Japan on the other hand compiled 10 strike outs and issued only 2 walks, which is consistent with their dominating form.
Cuba beat Canada 5-2. In another tightly contested game, Cuba downed the Canadians. The Cuban pitching staff scattered 7 hits while striking out 8 and walking only 1. Norberto Gonzales pitched 6 solid innnings for the win. The Canadian staff gave up 10 hits and 2 walks but only managed 2 strike outs. Cuba wnet ahead early in the game and stayed ahead, but the Canadians did threaten to rally in the Seventh inning.
Australia killed the Netherlands 22-2. In a massive blow out, the Australians humiliated the Dutch in a total drubbing in what must be an Olympic Record 20 run difference. Glen Williams went 4-for4 with 3 RBIs including a 2-run homer. Brett Roneberg hit another homerun, and even Rodney Van Buizen got in the homerun action going 3-for4 scoring 3 runs. As of this writing, Rodney's 9 runs batted in leads the entire tournament (not that RBIs is a significant stat, but this is light-hitting AA-Minor LeaguerRodney Van Buizen, y'know?) The Australians scored their 22 runs on 17 hits as the Dutch pitching staff issued 9 walks striking out only 4; not to mention the 2 errors in the field by the Dutch.
In a way, this is the kind of game the Australian team is best at. I feel from a grassroots level, Australian baseball is about everybody making contact hits and challenging the defense of the other team. It's how we play, week in, week out. The downside is that you don't want anybody slumping in your lineup; the manager plays the hot hand all the way. In other words, it's a Knowledge-of-Performance driven team. It's the opposite of the 'Moneyball'/Knowledge-of-Results-driven way to play but the Annaheim Angels won their World Series on this model.
Again, this kind of thing shows you how interesting Olympic baseball can be. Plus the Aussies now go through to the play-off rounds even if they lose to Canada. So that's another reason for an oi,oi,oi.
Greece downed Italy 12-7. In a match of the bottom feeders, Greece showed a bit of spine and pine and beat out a win against the Italians. 'Shortstop' Clay Bellinger went 2-for-5 including a homer. Both sides knocked out 14 hits, both staffs struck out 5 but issued just as many walks. The Greeks made 3 errors while the Italians made 1, making this probably a very ugly game to watch; but if you're the hometown team, I'm sure nobody complains too much about winning ugly.
- Art Neuro
El Duque Report
In all the excitement, I forgot to comment on the El Duque start yesterday for the Yankees. El Duque pitched 7 innings giving up 5 runs, striking out 6 but walking 3. These twins are good. However, and I might add amazingly, the Yankees pulled out a 13-10 win in extra innnings which means El Duque is still without a loss since his comeback. It's a dodgy kind of claim, but there you go, it's in the reocrd books.
Baseball Report
My baseball team played in the Grand Final today. I sat on the bench and did not contribute with bat nor glove in our 11-9 loss. Feel grumpy about the whole thing but still can't nail why. Very grouchy day.
- Art Neuro
In all the excitement, I forgot to comment on the El Duque start yesterday for the Yankees. El Duque pitched 7 innings giving up 5 runs, striking out 6 but walking 3. These twins are good. However, and I might add amazingly, the Yankees pulled out a 13-10 win in extra innnings which means El Duque is still without a loss since his comeback. It's a dodgy kind of claim, but there you go, it's in the reocrd books.
Baseball Report
My baseball team played in the Grand Final today. I sat on the bench and did not contribute with bat nor glove in our 11-9 loss. Feel grumpy about the whole thing but still can't nail why. Very grouchy day.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/21
Olympic Baseball - Day 7
Italy beat Taipei in an upset, 5-4. Italy came back from behind in dramataic fashion in the top of the Ninth proving for once why they were ranked Europe's no. 1 Baseball power.
Taiwan started strongly with Chih-Chia Cheng pitching a strong 6 innings with 9 strikeouts, issuing 3 walks but also allowing 3 runs on 2 homeruns. However it was Chien-Fu Tang who blew the save in the Ninth.
Japan thumped Canada 9-1. Back to form after their shock defeat against Australia, Japan put on a hitting display scoring 9 runs on 11 hits and only allowing 1 run on 5 hits to the Canadians. Yoshinobu Takahashi and Kazuhiro Wada both nhomered for Japan. I'm a little surprised at how Canada's bats didn't do more damage to the Japanese pitching, but starter Tsuyoshii Wada pitched a strong 7 innings with 7 strike outs issuing 3 walks and scattering only 3 hits; that would do it any lineup.
See below for a general comment on the pitching staffs.
Australia beat Greece 11-6. Australia came from behind in an explosive 5 run Seventh inning to take the game out of the reach of the Greeks. A typical Aussie win where the bats do the damage; but a closer look tells us that the Greek pitching staff walked 4 and struck out only 1, and that the Australians only got 10 hits for their 11 runs. Brett Roneberg hit his 4th homer of the tournament. I also have to report that my favourite punching bag and Yankee-cast-off Clay Bellinger did go 2-for-5, though it was futile today.
Cuba beat the Netherlands 9-2. Cuba relayed through their shaky pitching staff to hold the Dutch to 2 runs. Over all, they struck out 7, walked 3, and gave up 5 hits for the 2 runs, but the innings pitched show the Cubans were willing to go to the Bullpen early and often as possible to keep the 'run scored against', low.
In a quirk of Olympic Baseball, when teams finish with an equal record, it is the team that allows the fewer runs over all the games that gets to go ahead. As of this writing, Canada, Cuba and Japan all have a 4-1 record, but the Canadians who have only given up 12 runs (how they did this, I do not know) lead the table ahead of Cuba (15), and Japan (16). Japan's 46 strike outs in 43 innings pitched while issuing 13 walks is a tip off that they have the most dominant staff. Canada's staff ERA is 2.05 but after 44 innings, they only have 20 strike out; but it has to be said that they only have 8 walks. This probably makes them more vulnerable to contact teams, of which there are plenty in the tournament; for instance, our very own Australians. It also has to be noted that Australia's batting is ranked 3rd in the tournament after having faced Cuba AND Japan. There is a heck of a lot more hitting stats to come from the Aussies. oi, oi,oi.
For all you Moneyball types (of which I am proudly one of them), Japan leads the team OBP at a .384 clip while slugging .601, and they too have faced Canada, and Cuba, so that was not compiled against weak teams except may be the Netherlands. Cuba's OBP is.354, Australia is at .332, Netherlands at .326, after which there is a sharp fall to the rest of the group. What should be worrying for Australia is their anemic .384 SLG. That's plain abysmal. Again, The leader in walks are Canada and Greece 18, The Netherlands 17 and Japan, 16. It's amazing to think those 18 walks (plus 1 HBP) are bolstering the Greek OBP to a mighty (not!) .259 from a horrific batting average of .168.
- Art Neuro
Italy beat Taipei in an upset, 5-4. Italy came back from behind in dramataic fashion in the top of the Ninth proving for once why they were ranked Europe's no. 1 Baseball power.
Taiwan started strongly with Chih-Chia Cheng pitching a strong 6 innings with 9 strikeouts, issuing 3 walks but also allowing 3 runs on 2 homeruns. However it was Chien-Fu Tang who blew the save in the Ninth.
Japan thumped Canada 9-1. Back to form after their shock defeat against Australia, Japan put on a hitting display scoring 9 runs on 11 hits and only allowing 1 run on 5 hits to the Canadians. Yoshinobu Takahashi and Kazuhiro Wada both nhomered for Japan. I'm a little surprised at how Canada's bats didn't do more damage to the Japanese pitching, but starter Tsuyoshii Wada pitched a strong 7 innings with 7 strike outs issuing 3 walks and scattering only 3 hits; that would do it any lineup.
See below for a general comment on the pitching staffs.
Australia beat Greece 11-6. Australia came from behind in an explosive 5 run Seventh inning to take the game out of the reach of the Greeks. A typical Aussie win where the bats do the damage; but a closer look tells us that the Greek pitching staff walked 4 and struck out only 1, and that the Australians only got 10 hits for their 11 runs. Brett Roneberg hit his 4th homer of the tournament. I also have to report that my favourite punching bag and Yankee-cast-off Clay Bellinger did go 2-for-5, though it was futile today.
Cuba beat the Netherlands 9-2. Cuba relayed through their shaky pitching staff to hold the Dutch to 2 runs. Over all, they struck out 7, walked 3, and gave up 5 hits for the 2 runs, but the innings pitched show the Cubans were willing to go to the Bullpen early and often as possible to keep the 'run scored against', low.
In a quirk of Olympic Baseball, when teams finish with an equal record, it is the team that allows the fewer runs over all the games that gets to go ahead. As of this writing, Canada, Cuba and Japan all have a 4-1 record, but the Canadians who have only given up 12 runs (how they did this, I do not know) lead the table ahead of Cuba (15), and Japan (16). Japan's 46 strike outs in 43 innings pitched while issuing 13 walks is a tip off that they have the most dominant staff. Canada's staff ERA is 2.05 but after 44 innings, they only have 20 strike out; but it has to be said that they only have 8 walks. This probably makes them more vulnerable to contact teams, of which there are plenty in the tournament; for instance, our very own Australians. It also has to be noted that Australia's batting is ranked 3rd in the tournament after having faced Cuba AND Japan. There is a heck of a lot more hitting stats to come from the Aussies. oi, oi,oi.
For all you Moneyball types (of which I am proudly one of them), Japan leads the team OBP at a .384 clip while slugging .601, and they too have faced Canada, and Cuba, so that was not compiled against weak teams except may be the Netherlands. Cuba's OBP is.354, Australia is at .332, Netherlands at .326, after which there is a sharp fall to the rest of the group. What should be worrying for Australia is their anemic .384 SLG. That's plain abysmal. Again, The leader in walks are Canada and Greece 18, The Netherlands 17 and Japan, 16. It's amazing to think those 18 walks (plus 1 HBP) are bolstering the Greek OBP to a mighty (not!) .259 from a horrific batting average of .168.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/20
Them's The Breaks
No Olympic Baseball today. So Instead I'l quickly post up that Australia's basketball team took a loss to the USA over night, going down 89-79. Shane Heal led the Australians with 17 points. The USA take on the match is here. The Australian take on it is here.
I think these USA DreamTeam-Boomer stoushes have come down a long way since the heady 1996 Atlanta showdown; Our Aussies were never really in it to win, but we had our best squad at their peak then and there, facing off against the genuine Dream Team guys led by Charles Barkley. I'll never forget the bit of riffing between Shane 'Hammer' Heal and 'Sir' Charles. Commented Sir Charles at the time: "Doesn't he know who I am?"
But then Sir Charles said a lot of funny things, full of 'attitude'. That was fun and excitement. This time around, Team USA is more of a Sunday afternoon snooze than a dream, and Australia in a minor decline is still fielding an aged Shane Heal.
'Today's Moronic Commentary' Corner
Also, there is this really idiotic commentary on baseball in this article here:
- Art Neuro
No Olympic Baseball today. So Instead I'l quickly post up that Australia's basketball team took a loss to the USA over night, going down 89-79. Shane Heal led the Australians with 17 points. The USA take on the match is here. The Australian take on it is here.
I think these USA DreamTeam-Boomer stoushes have come down a long way since the heady 1996 Atlanta showdown; Our Aussies were never really in it to win, but we had our best squad at their peak then and there, facing off against the genuine Dream Team guys led by Charles Barkley. I'll never forget the bit of riffing between Shane 'Hammer' Heal and 'Sir' Charles. Commented Sir Charles at the time: "Doesn't he know who I am?"
But then Sir Charles said a lot of funny things, full of 'attitude'. That was fun and excitement. This time around, Team USA is more of a Sunday afternoon snooze than a dream, and Australia in a minor decline is still fielding an aged Shane Heal.
'Today's Moronic Commentary' Corner
Also, there is this really idiotic commentary on baseball in this article here:
Perhaps that is because cricket is an Australian game; baseball isn't. Tot up the numbers and you might even find that cricket has a bigger fanbase and playing base around the world that baseball. But that is not important. The Olympic powers, governed by those twin towers of corporate beneficence Coca-Cola and MacDonalds, not to mention the NBC, have deemed baseball to be worthy of Olympic status. Hence the peculiar sight of Aussies doing all the basics wrong.Unforgivably idiotic. If an American gave a commentary like this about, say, Cricket you can trust the hacks to come out screaming.
Cricket basics that is.
- Art Neuro
2004/08/19
Yoshinobu Takahashi strikes out in Game 4
Yomiuri Giants slugger Yoshinobu Takahashi struck out in the Ninth aginst Jeff Williams of Australia in their Game 4 at Athens. Jeff Williams pitches for the Hanshin Tigers, historic rivals of the Yomiuri Tokyo Giants, so he was chuffed about that one. The Manager of the Australians said that it wasn't an upset win because they'd also played a good game against Cuba. That's called talking really tough. I've been looking for pickies of the Australian team but I can't seem to find anything.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 4
Netherlands beat Italy 10-4. Netherlands out-hit Italy compressively, knocking out 14 hits to Italy's 8. The Dutch simply scored consistently through the game to rack up their 10 runs, while their fielding was good enough to support a pitching staff that could only strike out 4. Netherlands' catcher Chairon Isenia went 3-for-4 with 1 run scored and 3 runs batted in, leading the on-parade of hits from the 9-hole. Italy's clean up hitter Jairo Ramos Gizzi went 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring 2 runs and batting in one, but it wasn't enough against the Dutch.
News of the Day! Australia Crashed Through Japan 9-4. Australia's hitting crew finally got their game rolling, and even then it was touch and go. They jumped ahead 3-0 in the third, catching up to Japanese starter Naoyuki Shimizu, who was throwing a good game, striking out 5 and walking none. Then, the Japanese fought back to a 4-3 lead. The Australian bats finally connected in the Eighth to go ahead 6-4 and pushed the result over the line by adding another 3 in the Ninth, making it 9-4.
The news media in Japan are treating this like a shock defeat, head coach Kiyoshi Nakahata was more on the line saying that the team got ambushed after their historic win over Cuba. He commented, "Today's Australian Team was really tough. We wanted to win them all, but they simply got a hold of us. No excuses."
Starting Pitcher Shimizu said "I had an image in my head about their lineup from the data, but in reality, they surprised me with how they were able to make solid contact. I thought the hit balls would die on them more."
Director-Manager Shigeo Nagashima who is recovering from a stroke in Japan gave he advice to the Japanese not to dwell on it and face the next opponent freshly. So it won't prove to be a fatal loss for the Japanese who sit at 3 wins and 1 loss.
Well, Japan did ambush Cuba with Matsuzaka for their win, so it is conceivable that Australia ambushed Japan with their best pitchers. Historically speaking, it's not out of line for Australia to beat Japan in International competition, and they always do it with the bats (4-5 vs. Japan in Internationals). This is all part of the fun and games of playing Olympic Baseball. Team Australia on the other hand stand to benefit from this win greatly. Now they must win 2 of 3 from Greece, Italy and the Netherlands. This is all very much feasible compared to how the 3 wins from 4 games looked yesterday. Oh yes, Rodney Van Buizen had 3 runs batted in for 'Straya; good on him! "Oi, oi, oi."
Canada squeaked by Greece 2-0. This is a surprisingly close result. Consider that Canada are the current leaders on the table with 4 wins; admittedly they got them against teams that do not include Cuba or Japan, so it's doubtful they will go through without a loss. They're good but they're not that good. Or maybe they are. We'll wait and see. The Canadians were only able to get 5 hits for their 2 runs in a game where the Greek staff (with such great Greek names as 'Sean James Spencer') struck out 6, walked 3.
Clay Bellinger went 0-for-4 in the clean up spot again, proving why he's no longer playing for the New York Yankees. The rest of the Greeks were held to 4 hits. Now that I've put the knock on Clay, he'll probably go 4-for-4 against Japan.
Cuba beat Taiwan 10-2. Cuba bounced back from their defeat and trounced Taiwan. Looking at the box score line, the Cuban pitching hardly dominated with only 4 strike outs and issuing 2 walks, scattering 6 hits; the Taiwanese simply couldn't get their offense going against the Cubans. The Cuban offense unleashed 15 hits for their 10 runs, chewing through the Taiwanese pitching staff.
So all in all it was another fun baseball day in Athens. Reading the Japanese news reports has been hilarious. This was supposed to be a 'favoured and stacked' team. On paper they were supposed to be the best. As they say, I guess that's why we play the games to find out. It's not as if the Yankees win every game of their regular season either. :)
- Art Neuro
Netherlands beat Italy 10-4. Netherlands out-hit Italy compressively, knocking out 14 hits to Italy's 8. The Dutch simply scored consistently through the game to rack up their 10 runs, while their fielding was good enough to support a pitching staff that could only strike out 4. Netherlands' catcher Chairon Isenia went 3-for-4 with 1 run scored and 3 runs batted in, leading the on-parade of hits from the 9-hole. Italy's clean up hitter Jairo Ramos Gizzi went 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring 2 runs and batting in one, but it wasn't enough against the Dutch.
News of the Day! Australia Crashed Through Japan 9-4. Australia's hitting crew finally got their game rolling, and even then it was touch and go. They jumped ahead 3-0 in the third, catching up to Japanese starter Naoyuki Shimizu, who was throwing a good game, striking out 5 and walking none. Then, the Japanese fought back to a 4-3 lead. The Australian bats finally connected in the Eighth to go ahead 6-4 and pushed the result over the line by adding another 3 in the Ninth, making it 9-4.
The news media in Japan are treating this like a shock defeat, head coach Kiyoshi Nakahata was more on the line saying that the team got ambushed after their historic win over Cuba. He commented, "Today's Australian Team was really tough. We wanted to win them all, but they simply got a hold of us. No excuses."
Starting Pitcher Shimizu said "I had an image in my head about their lineup from the data, but in reality, they surprised me with how they were able to make solid contact. I thought the hit balls would die on them more."
Director-Manager Shigeo Nagashima who is recovering from a stroke in Japan gave he advice to the Japanese not to dwell on it and face the next opponent freshly. So it won't prove to be a fatal loss for the Japanese who sit at 3 wins and 1 loss.
Well, Japan did ambush Cuba with Matsuzaka for their win, so it is conceivable that Australia ambushed Japan with their best pitchers. Historically speaking, it's not out of line for Australia to beat Japan in International competition, and they always do it with the bats (4-5 vs. Japan in Internationals). This is all part of the fun and games of playing Olympic Baseball. Team Australia on the other hand stand to benefit from this win greatly. Now they must win 2 of 3 from Greece, Italy and the Netherlands. This is all very much feasible compared to how the 3 wins from 4 games looked yesterday. Oh yes, Rodney Van Buizen had 3 runs batted in for 'Straya; good on him! "Oi, oi, oi."
Canada squeaked by Greece 2-0. This is a surprisingly close result. Consider that Canada are the current leaders on the table with 4 wins; admittedly they got them against teams that do not include Cuba or Japan, so it's doubtful they will go through without a loss. They're good but they're not that good. Or maybe they are. We'll wait and see. The Canadians were only able to get 5 hits for their 2 runs in a game where the Greek staff (with such great Greek names as 'Sean James Spencer') struck out 6, walked 3.
Clay Bellinger went 0-for-4 in the clean up spot again, proving why he's no longer playing for the New York Yankees. The rest of the Greeks were held to 4 hits. Now that I've put the knock on Clay, he'll probably go 4-for-4 against Japan.
Cuba beat Taiwan 10-2. Cuba bounced back from their defeat and trounced Taiwan. Looking at the box score line, the Cuban pitching hardly dominated with only 4 strike outs and issuing 2 walks, scattering 6 hits; the Taiwanese simply couldn't get their offense going against the Cubans. The Cuban offense unleashed 15 hits for their 10 runs, chewing through the Taiwanese pitching staff.
So all in all it was another fun baseball day in Athens. Reading the Japanese news reports has been hilarious. This was supposed to be a 'favoured and stacked' team. On paper they were supposed to be the best. As they say, I guess that's why we play the games to find out. It's not as if the Yankees win every game of their regular season either. :)
- Art Neuro
2004/08/18
Mercury Shrinking
No, it's not a new movie sequel starring Bruce Willis, it's a piece of speculation about the inner most planet. According to scientists, the rapidly cooling metallic core of the planet might be making the whole planet 'shrink'.
So it's a bit of a fluff piece for science, but unless they discover alien civilizations on Mars, it's going to be hard for space stories to push the Olympics off the front page for the next few nights.
- Art Neuro
No, it's not a new movie sequel starring Bruce Willis, it's a piece of speculation about the inner most planet. According to scientists, the rapidly cooling metallic core of the planet might be making the whole planet 'shrink'.
"It's a pretty cool thing," said Mark Robinson, a Northwestern University researcher, of Mercury's slow contraction. "When I first heard it, I thought it
was weird."But the theory is based on images from NASA's Mariner 10 mission in the 1970s that show randomly strewn scarps across half of Mercury, where the surface appears to have buckled from within. Scientists hope that a new spacecraft -- MESSENGER -- will shed new light on both Mercury's surface as well as its metallic core.
Robinson, a science team member with the MESSENGER mission, said the spacecraft will give researchers a chance to look for signs of surface buckling on Mercury's hidden hemisphere, as well as collect surface composition data on material that may have once spewed out of the planet's interior.
So it's a bit of a fluff piece for science, but unless they discover alien civilizations on Mars, it's going to be hard for space stories to push the Olympics off the front page for the next few nights.
- Art Neuro
Favoured and Stacked
Here is The New York times' take on Japan's Olympic Baseball Team. they feel the team is stacked to win. Well, so far, theyre' good, but it's not like they start with a 4-run leg up, and the proof of any pudding is in the eating.
I have Otsuka on my fantasy team; he's been awesome. And Hideki Matsui turned out to be the better signing in 2002-2003 for the Yankees than Cuban fireballer Jose Contreras. 'Mr. Zero' Shingo Takatsu is doing wonders for the ChiSox; and there's Ichiro. Okay Kazuo Matsui hasn't exactly set things alight, but it is his first year and converting results across the Pacific hasn't exactly been easy for any of the hitters.
Well, at least somebody from the MLB is watching, and quite evidently reading 'Moneyball'! :)
- Art Neuro
Here is The New York times' take on Japan's Olympic Baseball Team. they feel the team is stacked to win. Well, so far, theyre' good, but it's not like they start with a 4-run leg up, and the proof of any pudding is in the eating.
The player with perhaps the most appeal to major league teams is catcher Kenji Jojima. He was batting .343 with 33 homers for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, and he homered in the fourth inning on Tuesday. Norihiro Nakamura, the third baseman who nearly signed with the Mets two years ago, followed with another homer.
"They're very patient at the plate," McNamara said. "They would all work under the 'Moneyball' theory - they work the count, they don't swing at bad pitches. They all have different ways of doing things, but they're fundamentally sound."
The Padres' general manager, Kevin Towers, said in a telephone interview that he wanted McNamara to concentrate on the teams from Asia. The Padres found a bargain last winter in the Japanese reliever Akinori Otsuka.
"I think the Asian players are impacting our game a heck of a lot more than the Cuban players," Towers said. The Japanese players at the Olympics are generally well known, because teams regularly scout the Japanese major leagues. The Yankees did not feel the need to send a scout here.
"We see all those teams in other tournaments," said Mark Newman, the Yankees' senior vice president for baseball operations. "Actually, some of the other tournaments are better than the Olympics."
But there is a cachet to the Olympics that no other tournament can match. It is why Japan stacked its national team, and why two scouts will watch it closely.
I have Otsuka on my fantasy team; he's been awesome. And Hideki Matsui turned out to be the better signing in 2002-2003 for the Yankees than Cuban fireballer Jose Contreras. 'Mr. Zero' Shingo Takatsu is doing wonders for the ChiSox; and there's Ichiro. Okay Kazuo Matsui hasn't exactly set things alight, but it is his first year and converting results across the Pacific hasn't exactly been easy for any of the hitters.
Well, at least somebody from the MLB is watching, and quite evidently reading 'Moneyball'! :)
- Art Neuro
Norihiro Nakamura Rounds the Bases
It's kind of crazy to think that professional athletes can participate in the Olympics, but there you go. It's fact and it's history now. It's a bloody wonder why Japan took this long to send a full-squad of their professional league players when Cuba's been doing so since 1992, sending our favourite magic Cuban Orlando Hernandez to pitch in Barcelona; and wasn't he magnificent then? I can understand why the Major League teams in America won't but those teams do have their heads in their own Universe. The thing is, International Baseball is such different fun, with such diverse styles of play and each game result counting for so much. It's like the play-offs. Clutch play is everything.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 3
Canada trounced the Netherlands 7-0. This was a bigger difference than was anticipated. The Netherlands are better than this, however, it does point to a good Canadian team. Canada rapped out 11 hits to Netherlands' 3. The Canadians also relayed their pitching well, going through 5 innings with starter Shawn Hill, then giving an innings each to Myette, Kusiewicz, Ogiltree, and Mears. In total, the picketing staff combined for 4 strike outs and 2 walks. The Netherlands in contrast had their starter Patrick Beljards knocked out after 3 innings, but ended up compiling 7 strike outs and 2 walks, allowing 7 runs on 11 hits.
Taiwan downed Greece 7-1.
Another game that is in line with predictions, the Greeks struggled to hit anything with only 3 hits, but did draw 5 walks and struck out only 4 times. Unfortunately, 3 of those walks were drawn by lead off man Nicolas Theodorou, with nobody behind him making much impact. Former Yankee utility man Clay Bellinger went 0-for-4 in the clean-up spot, in an awesome display of futility. The Greeks allegedly have 5 former major leaguers, but it seems they're not cutting the mustard.
Taiwan meted out 9 hits for their 7 runs, which is certainly a change of batting prowess from the previous days. Or perhaps the Greek defense plain stank and had no range. It is not as if the Greeks have a TTO Defense proof pitching staff, with their 4 strike outs and 3 walks.
Australia beat Italy 6-0. At last, the Australian bats did the talking - it's their strong suite coming into this tournament, and it's taken 3 days to turn up, and it didn't until the Seventh inning. Guys, I know you're laid-back and all, but that's leaving it late. The good news is that they delivered this result to Europe's number one team, Italy (I know, it's hard to believe Italy is the Euro baseball power, isn't it?). Chris Oxspring pitched 8 innings of 1-hit shut out ball, striking out 5 and issuing only 1 walk. He was relieved by Ryan Rowland-Smith who pitched the Ninth inning. The Aussies rapped out 12 hits; Thomas Brice went 3-for-5, David Nilsson went 2-for-4 with a walk, leading the way. They likely won't beat Japan, so they are in a hole.
Japan finally beat Cuba in an Olympic Tournament; the win was 6-3. That's right. The day finally came when Japan fielded its best against Cuba, and won. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was Japan's Olympic Ace in Sydney 2000 and obviously still is the heart and soul of their pitching staff, struck out 7 and issued only 1 walk. He often talked about 'revenge' after the Japanese team went home without a medal in 2000; worse still, Matsuzaka had pitched absolute gems against Korea twice and the USA, with no wins to show for it, losing 2-1, 1-0, 2-0. While he scattered 7 hits to the Cubans, Matsuzaka shut them out for 8 innings, getting caught in the ninth. He was relieved by Hirotoshi Ishii who struck out the last 2 batters for a save. Norihiro Nakamura, also a veteran of Sydney 2000, went 3-for-4 and homered, thus exacting his 'revenge' on the Cuban squad that had held him down in Sydney.
I got an autograph on a ball from Nakamura in Sydney at the Japan-Cuba game. He looked at me and decided I wasn't Japanese, so he signed my major league ball, 'Nori #5' in English. "The f*cking pratt," I thought at the time, but as later events turned out, he did want to play in the majors and almost signed with the New York Mets. I guess he was practising his English. Kudos to the man. :)
He currently leads in slugging as of this writing, at, 1.300. Wow. The man is on a mission. What? No' OBP' on that page? It's the Olympics, so go figure. :)
- Art Neuro
Canada trounced the Netherlands 7-0. This was a bigger difference than was anticipated. The Netherlands are better than this, however, it does point to a good Canadian team. Canada rapped out 11 hits to Netherlands' 3. The Canadians also relayed their pitching well, going through 5 innings with starter Shawn Hill, then giving an innings each to Myette, Kusiewicz, Ogiltree, and Mears. In total, the picketing staff combined for 4 strike outs and 2 walks. The Netherlands in contrast had their starter Patrick Beljards knocked out after 3 innings, but ended up compiling 7 strike outs and 2 walks, allowing 7 runs on 11 hits.
Taiwan downed Greece 7-1.
Another game that is in line with predictions, the Greeks struggled to hit anything with only 3 hits, but did draw 5 walks and struck out only 4 times. Unfortunately, 3 of those walks were drawn by lead off man Nicolas Theodorou, with nobody behind him making much impact. Former Yankee utility man Clay Bellinger went 0-for-4 in the clean-up spot, in an awesome display of futility. The Greeks allegedly have 5 former major leaguers, but it seems they're not cutting the mustard.
Taiwan meted out 9 hits for their 7 runs, which is certainly a change of batting prowess from the previous days. Or perhaps the Greek defense plain stank and had no range. It is not as if the Greeks have a TTO Defense proof pitching staff, with their 4 strike outs and 3 walks.
Australia beat Italy 6-0. At last, the Australian bats did the talking - it's their strong suite coming into this tournament, and it's taken 3 days to turn up, and it didn't until the Seventh inning. Guys, I know you're laid-back and all, but that's leaving it late. The good news is that they delivered this result to Europe's number one team, Italy (I know, it's hard to believe Italy is the Euro baseball power, isn't it?). Chris Oxspring pitched 8 innings of 1-hit shut out ball, striking out 5 and issuing only 1 walk. He was relieved by Ryan Rowland-Smith who pitched the Ninth inning. The Aussies rapped out 12 hits; Thomas Brice went 3-for-5, David Nilsson went 2-for-4 with a walk, leading the way. They likely won't beat Japan, so they are in a hole.
Japan finally beat Cuba in an Olympic Tournament; the win was 6-3. That's right. The day finally came when Japan fielded its best against Cuba, and won. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was Japan's Olympic Ace in Sydney 2000 and obviously still is the heart and soul of their pitching staff, struck out 7 and issued only 1 walk. He often talked about 'revenge' after the Japanese team went home without a medal in 2000; worse still, Matsuzaka had pitched absolute gems against Korea twice and the USA, with no wins to show for it, losing 2-1, 1-0, 2-0. While he scattered 7 hits to the Cubans, Matsuzaka shut them out for 8 innings, getting caught in the ninth. He was relieved by Hirotoshi Ishii who struck out the last 2 batters for a save. Norihiro Nakamura, also a veteran of Sydney 2000, went 3-for-4 and homered, thus exacting his 'revenge' on the Cuban squad that had held him down in Sydney.
I got an autograph on a ball from Nakamura in Sydney at the Japan-Cuba game. He looked at me and decided I wasn't Japanese, so he signed my major league ball, 'Nori #5' in English. "The f*cking pratt," I thought at the time, but as later events turned out, he did want to play in the majors and almost signed with the New York Mets. I guess he was practising his English. Kudos to the man. :)
He currently leads in slugging as of this writing, at, 1.300. Wow. The man is on a mission. What? No' OBP' on that page? It's the Olympics, so go figure. :)
- Art Neuro
2004/08/17
How High The Moon
The Cassini craft has discovered 2 new moons orbiting Saturn. This brings the tally of the Saturnine moons to 33.
They expect to see even more new moons. So keep an eye out for Saturnine Mooon watch. Place your bets now as to how many they end up with. No names have been announced for the newbies.
- Art Neuro
The Cassini craft has discovered 2 new moons orbiting Saturn. This brings the tally of the Saturnine moons to 33.
The images were taken by Cassini on June 1 from 10 million miles out, as it approached the ringed planet. The spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn on June 30.
The two newly spotted, faint moons are about 2 miles and 2 1/2 miles across, and 120,000 miles and 131,000 miles respectively from Saturn's center. That's considerably smaller than the moons with 12 mile diameters previously discovered in Saturn's orbit.
They are located between the orbits of moons Mimas and Enceladus, a surprise to scientists who thought such tiny satellites would have been shattered long ago in collisions with comets.
They expect to see even more new moons. So keep an eye out for Saturnine Mooon watch. Place your bets now as to how many they end up with. No names have been announced for the newbies.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball - Day 2
More Baseball was played overnight in Athens, and this is what Hermes, the messenger God says about what happened:
Taiwan edged Australia 3-0. For the second day in a row, the Australians couldn't get into the swing, so to speak. Apart from David Nilsson who went 2-for-4, the Aussies lacked consistent hitting. It may also be the case the Taiwan's defense is very tight. Looking at the pitching line of Yankee farm hand Wang Chien-Ming, he only has 1 strike out across 7 innings, with only 3 hits scattered. There's not much Defense-Independent pitching going there with only 1 of the 'Three True Outcomes'- K's, BB's and HRs.
So the Aussie boys made contact putting the ball into play, but it was hardly enough for a slick defensive machine like Taiwan. That's 2 losses on the trot for Australia and that's already setting them behind the pack substantially.
Canada cruised past Italy in a 9-3 show of strength. Canada scored 9 runs off only 6 hits, showing Italy's pitching must have struggled with the strike zone. The combined pitching lines of 6 walks and 2 earned runs and 4 errors by Italy show that both pitching and defense were not up to holding back Canada. Clean up hitter and catcher Pierre-Luc a.k.a 'Pete' LaForest led the way hitting a 3-run bomb in the 7-run second as well as going for 2-for-3 overall with 4 RBI. Pierre-Luc is of course one of the top Prospects in the Tampa Bay system. The Yankees ought to trade for this kid. Maybe the Australians should. :)
Japan fought off the Netherlands 8-3. True to past Olympic form, the Netherlands put up a great fight. They led early against Japan, knocking out starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. Iwakuma for his part struggled with his control, walking 3 as well as striking out 3. Hitoki Iwase pitched an inning of relief, after that Hiroki Kuroda pitched long relief for 5 strong innings striking out 7 walking 3, and shutting down the Dutch offense. With a combined 9 strike outs and only 3 walks, the relief pitching dominated outcomes. At the end of the day, Japan piled on 11 hits for their 8 runs, but until the 8th inning 2-run homer by Atsushi Fujimoto, it was no sure thing.
Cuba squeaked by Greece, 5-4. While you wouldn't call this an 'upset', for Greece to come within one run of Cuba in a 5-4 game is very surprising. Although truth be told, 3 out of the 4 runs were scored against a shaky Cuban bullpen in the ninth. They had no business threatening Cuba for the rest of the game. In fact, for most of the game, Cuba's Norge Luis Vera and Danny Bettancourt dominated with 10 strike outs across 8.1 innings. Cuba's bats were also decisive, thumping out 10 hits with 3 homeruns against a ragged Greek staff that only got 1 strike out and issued one walk.
So from 2 days we can tell this: The Cubans make contact and hit for the fences, but their bullpen maybe dodgy. Japan pitches for the three true outcomes like no other team including the Cubans. Taiwan's defense is tight, Italy's isn't; and Australia have lost 2 closely fought games because they trusted luck and couldn't hit for power. The Dutch are good and may even surprise Cuba again as they did in Sydney 2000. Don't be fooled by the 2 blowouts on the first day. This competition is a little tighter than people gave it credit; and International Baseball is such a wonderfully different thing to domestic League-Season play. :)
- Art Neuro
More Baseball was played overnight in Athens, and this is what Hermes, the messenger God says about what happened:
Taiwan edged Australia 3-0. For the second day in a row, the Australians couldn't get into the swing, so to speak. Apart from David Nilsson who went 2-for-4, the Aussies lacked consistent hitting. It may also be the case the Taiwan's defense is very tight. Looking at the pitching line of Yankee farm hand Wang Chien-Ming, he only has 1 strike out across 7 innings, with only 3 hits scattered. There's not much Defense-Independent pitching going there with only 1 of the 'Three True Outcomes'- K's, BB's and HRs.
So the Aussie boys made contact putting the ball into play, but it was hardly enough for a slick defensive machine like Taiwan. That's 2 losses on the trot for Australia and that's already setting them behind the pack substantially.
Canada cruised past Italy in a 9-3 show of strength. Canada scored 9 runs off only 6 hits, showing Italy's pitching must have struggled with the strike zone. The combined pitching lines of 6 walks and 2 earned runs and 4 errors by Italy show that both pitching and defense were not up to holding back Canada. Clean up hitter and catcher Pierre-Luc a.k.a 'Pete' LaForest led the way hitting a 3-run bomb in the 7-run second as well as going for 2-for-3 overall with 4 RBI. Pierre-Luc is of course one of the top Prospects in the Tampa Bay system. The Yankees ought to trade for this kid. Maybe the Australians should. :)
Japan fought off the Netherlands 8-3. True to past Olympic form, the Netherlands put up a great fight. They led early against Japan, knocking out starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. Iwakuma for his part struggled with his control, walking 3 as well as striking out 3. Hitoki Iwase pitched an inning of relief, after that Hiroki Kuroda pitched long relief for 5 strong innings striking out 7 walking 3, and shutting down the Dutch offense. With a combined 9 strike outs and only 3 walks, the relief pitching dominated outcomes. At the end of the day, Japan piled on 11 hits for their 8 runs, but until the 8th inning 2-run homer by Atsushi Fujimoto, it was no sure thing.
Cuba squeaked by Greece, 5-4. While you wouldn't call this an 'upset', for Greece to come within one run of Cuba in a 5-4 game is very surprising. Although truth be told, 3 out of the 4 runs were scored against a shaky Cuban bullpen in the ninth. They had no business threatening Cuba for the rest of the game. In fact, for most of the game, Cuba's Norge Luis Vera and Danny Bettancourt dominated with 10 strike outs across 8.1 innings. Cuba's bats were also decisive, thumping out 10 hits with 3 homeruns against a ragged Greek staff that only got 1 strike out and issued one walk.
So from 2 days we can tell this: The Cubans make contact and hit for the fences, but their bullpen maybe dodgy. Japan pitches for the three true outcomes like no other team including the Cubans. Taiwan's defense is tight, Italy's isn't; and Australia have lost 2 closely fought games because they trusted luck and couldn't hit for power. The Dutch are good and may even surprise Cuba again as they did in Sydney 2000. Don't be fooled by the 2 blowouts on the first day. This competition is a little tighter than people gave it credit; and International Baseball is such a wonderfully different thing to domestic League-Season play. :)
- Art Neuro
2004/08/16
From The Vaults - Gordon Haskell: It is and It Isn't
I've been asked to review this album. There are reasons why one might be asked to review this album by an old friend. Let me explain the background first. Some time in the early 1980s when I was at High School, I got into 'progressive rock' Prog Rock as it is more commonly known. They're the guys who would write pieces (not songs) that would last, say, 23minutes, which was a whole side of an LP. One such band was King Crimson whose 1970 offering was Lizard. Lizard featured on its second side, a one-side musical medley called 'Lizard' featuring the vocal work of Jon Anderson from Yes, another Prog Rock band. The rest of the album featured the vocals of one Gordon Haskell, who was chased out of the band after the one album. It Is And It Isn't was Haskell's solo album that came out shortly after his departure in 1971.
Now, when I was buying Prog Rock albums, the vast majority had been axed from the catalogue carried by the Australian labels who were busy selling us such wonderful things as Midnight Oil and Dire Straits. So in order to buy this stuff, one had to either order them in from overseas or buy them second-hand. Now if you were ordering a Japanese pressing of an LP for $17, one wanted to be sure it was a classic, like say Relayer by Yes. However, if one were not so sure of its classic status, then one would buy the album secondhand from the pre-loved bin at 310 Pitt Street run by a nice gentleman by the name of Greg.
So on the strength of having been on Lizard, my Prog-Rock loving friend and I each bought a copy of It Is and It Isn't, sometime in the murky parts of 1983. The album got played a couple of times and quickly got forgotten fort all these years. Since then, the album has become a bit of an in-joke reference about the maniac degree to which we would hunt down Prog Rock related material; it also kind of marked the outpost beyond which there was no point going.
Now, the idea was to go back and listen to it after all these years to ascertain exactly why this mighty work was consigned to its obscure status as 'Outer Limit Signpost' in our respective record collections.
So here was the challenge: Find the bastard in my record collection, listen to it and write a review so that we remember just what lay at the outpost of Prog Rock.
What Do I Remember About it?
I recall a generally naff album with an amorphous song-writing style that doesn't go anywhere. It's also listless and un-challenging. The cover art featuring garden gnomes is positively batty, but also of its time. Indeed, the title is naff; the playing was naff; the subject matter was naff. That sort of album. Basically, I couldn't remember anything *significant* about it - like, it rocks, or it cooks, or track 2 is a killer, or anything resembling that kind of impression. On impression stakes, 'Karn Evil 9', this wasn't; but then again, how many of them really were that impressive?
Who's on it?
Looking through the credits, the only name I recognise apart from Gordon is John Wetton.
John Wetton, Prog Rock bass player exemplar handles the bass work in good style. It's good enough for a close listen. As usual he's adept, interesting and serviceable. You have moments that hark back to some Prog Rock feels, but generally the whole album is a good deal more laid back than any Prog Rock album. It comes across as more of a thoughtful, Blues Rock/Folk Rock kind of work with small bursts of Prog stylings.
David Kaffinetti of Rare Bird handled keyboards. He went on to become David Kaff who played Viv Savage, the Keyboard player for Spinal Tap... So to speak.
If you thought that was obscure, a Bill Atkinson was on drums - I can't find ANYTHING on him.
An Alan Barry provided the Lead guitar; another person who I can't find any info on.
Arif Mardin mix engineered it and produced it. More interestingly, we see the name of Ahmet Ertegun, head of Atlantic Records on the sleeve. People called Graphreaks did the cover design; they also handled Led Zeppelin IV so it's not as if they were some bunch of crazies. Just for kicks I looked them up in Google, but they don't seem to be operating any more.
Side 1.
Track 1 'No Meaning' is a bland Blues Rock offering. Competently played but it won't blow off anybody's socks... But maybe that's the point of this album.
Track 2 isn't exactly a killer, but it does have a time-change in it; it must be Prog Rock.
Track 3 and 4 are a bit more down. I never liked these ballady things they used to do.
Track 5 has a bit of ensemble playing with nice backing vocals. It reminds one a little bit of Deja Vu by CSN&Y.
Track 6 'When I Lose'... Not much to say being 18 seconds long.
Side 2.
Track 1. 'No Need' A little more of the CSN&Y feel in there. Not too bad.
Track 2. 'Worms' The most Prog track of them all. Almost works up some intensity, but never gets enough heat to boil over.
Track 3 'Spider'. Starts with a shuffle beat. Always something that's a bit hard in Rock music. Then builds to a luke warm crescendo, but by then you're used to the energy level of the album.
Track 4 'Leatning to Feel'. Another Folk music-like offering.
Track 5 'Benny' And yet another low energy Folk Rock kind of thing, but this time it abruptly goes into a horn arrangement at the end.
Track 6. 'When I Laugh'. It's 25 seconds long. What can I say? Nice coda?
What's Good About it?
Surprisingly, the songs are good. They are not polished, but then that would be the point of an album that is filled with ambivalence. As we can tell from the album title and song titles, Haskell's album is a catalogue of ambivalent scenes, emotions, observations and a whimsical non-participation in the Rock-posturing common in 1971. He's opting out, here. Haskell sings, but also plays acoustic guitar; he's a much better player than I remember him to be. There are plenty of nicely rendered acoustic passages; some sound a bit like Pete Townshend's acoustic guitar work on Rough Mix. Even the voice reminds me of Townshend's 'Street in the City'. However that's only in parts.
The overall vibe is mellow, relaxed and mature. That's right. This is a very mature kind of sonic experience; something I had not really given thought to as a teenager hanging out for a bit of excitement. You don't expect testosterone charged youths to stop and consider the ambivalent feelings in life. Hell no. Yet, it's an album that asks you to relax and take it in gently. Not, grab you by the throat and throw you around the room like, say, Red by King Crimson. And that is perhaps why Gordon was asked to leave; he wasn't really intense like the other guys in 'Crimso'.
What's Wrong With It?
Haskell's vocals aren't very strong; he doesn't give his melody the best they could get. The mix is bad; it's a murky, un-inspired mix. The arrangement is often unimaginative or inappropriate. The best bits are sometimes just Gordon singing simply with his guitar strumming. Unfortunately the producer felt things had to be shoved in it to make it more 'exciting'; and yet it never gets exciting. Alan Barry's lead breaks are pedestrian. If there's anything to single out as a dislike on this album, it's the unimaginative blues-rock guitar figurations of this one Alan Barry. It's like third rate Eric Clapton on valium. Clearly the album deserved a more inventive approach, but it is Barry's playing that drags it back to the ordinary. It could've been good; he ruined it!
What got me as a teen was how there wasn't any intensity. The whole album is just so laid back. As an adult I can appreciate that it's meant to be an entirely different offering to Prog Rock, but the answer wasn't to denude Prog Rock of all intensity. It is as naff as I remember it; but oddly enough I don't mind the naff-ness of it. If I want intensity, I can go put on Larks' Tongues In Aspic. This is a deliberately different venture and I should give it the credit it deserves.
It might be a really good album to chill out to at the end of a long night's conversation about way-out things. Or on a Sunday afternoon, something to listen to instead of watching the ABC Arts shows give you the politically correct review of films.
I don't know. 20 years has knocked edges off of me a little so I can appreciate the mellowness of this album, and that's got to be good. I think it might not be 20 years before I put this record on again. I thought I'd be a lot more harsh and cruel towards this record, but I must say I was smiling through most of it, imagining what the session might have been like. It gets 3 stars out of 5. - It's got Viv Savage on it!
- Art Neuro
I've been asked to review this album. There are reasons why one might be asked to review this album by an old friend. Let me explain the background first. Some time in the early 1980s when I was at High School, I got into 'progressive rock' Prog Rock as it is more commonly known. They're the guys who would write pieces (not songs) that would last, say, 23minutes, which was a whole side of an LP. One such band was King Crimson whose 1970 offering was Lizard. Lizard featured on its second side, a one-side musical medley called 'Lizard' featuring the vocal work of Jon Anderson from Yes, another Prog Rock band. The rest of the album featured the vocals of one Gordon Haskell, who was chased out of the band after the one album. It Is And It Isn't was Haskell's solo album that came out shortly after his departure in 1971.
Now, when I was buying Prog Rock albums, the vast majority had been axed from the catalogue carried by the Australian labels who were busy selling us such wonderful things as Midnight Oil and Dire Straits. So in order to buy this stuff, one had to either order them in from overseas or buy them second-hand. Now if you were ordering a Japanese pressing of an LP for $17, one wanted to be sure it was a classic, like say Relayer by Yes. However, if one were not so sure of its classic status, then one would buy the album secondhand from the pre-loved bin at 310 Pitt Street run by a nice gentleman by the name of Greg.
So on the strength of having been on Lizard, my Prog-Rock loving friend and I each bought a copy of It Is and It Isn't, sometime in the murky parts of 1983. The album got played a couple of times and quickly got forgotten fort all these years. Since then, the album has become a bit of an in-joke reference about the maniac degree to which we would hunt down Prog Rock related material; it also kind of marked the outpost beyond which there was no point going.
Now, the idea was to go back and listen to it after all these years to ascertain exactly why this mighty work was consigned to its obscure status as 'Outer Limit Signpost' in our respective record collections.
So here was the challenge: Find the bastard in my record collection, listen to it and write a review so that we remember just what lay at the outpost of Prog Rock.
What Do I Remember About it?
I recall a generally naff album with an amorphous song-writing style that doesn't go anywhere. It's also listless and un-challenging. The cover art featuring garden gnomes is positively batty, but also of its time. Indeed, the title is naff; the playing was naff; the subject matter was naff. That sort of album. Basically, I couldn't remember anything *significant* about it - like, it rocks, or it cooks, or track 2 is a killer, or anything resembling that kind of impression. On impression stakes, 'Karn Evil 9', this wasn't; but then again, how many of them really were that impressive?
Who's on it?
Looking through the credits, the only name I recognise apart from Gordon is John Wetton.
John Wetton, Prog Rock bass player exemplar handles the bass work in good style. It's good enough for a close listen. As usual he's adept, interesting and serviceable. You have moments that hark back to some Prog Rock feels, but generally the whole album is a good deal more laid back than any Prog Rock album. It comes across as more of a thoughtful, Blues Rock/Folk Rock kind of work with small bursts of Prog stylings.
David Kaffinetti of Rare Bird handled keyboards. He went on to become David Kaff who played Viv Savage, the Keyboard player for Spinal Tap... So to speak.
If you thought that was obscure, a Bill Atkinson was on drums - I can't find ANYTHING on him.
An Alan Barry provided the Lead guitar; another person who I can't find any info on.
Arif Mardin mix engineered it and produced it. More interestingly, we see the name of Ahmet Ertegun, head of Atlantic Records on the sleeve. People called Graphreaks did the cover design; they also handled Led Zeppelin IV so it's not as if they were some bunch of crazies. Just for kicks I looked them up in Google, but they don't seem to be operating any more.
Side 1.
Track 1 'No Meaning' is a bland Blues Rock offering. Competently played but it won't blow off anybody's socks... But maybe that's the point of this album.
Track 2 isn't exactly a killer, but it does have a time-change in it; it must be Prog Rock.
Track 3 and 4 are a bit more down. I never liked these ballady things they used to do.
Track 5 has a bit of ensemble playing with nice backing vocals. It reminds one a little bit of Deja Vu by CSN&Y.
Track 6 'When I Lose'... Not much to say being 18 seconds long.
Side 2.
Track 1. 'No Need' A little more of the CSN&Y feel in there. Not too bad.
Track 2. 'Worms' The most Prog track of them all. Almost works up some intensity, but never gets enough heat to boil over.
Track 3 'Spider'. Starts with a shuffle beat. Always something that's a bit hard in Rock music. Then builds to a luke warm crescendo, but by then you're used to the energy level of the album.
Track 4 'Leatning to Feel'. Another Folk music-like offering.
Track 5 'Benny' And yet another low energy Folk Rock kind of thing, but this time it abruptly goes into a horn arrangement at the end.
Track 6. 'When I Laugh'. It's 25 seconds long. What can I say? Nice coda?
What's Good About it?
Surprisingly, the songs are good. They are not polished, but then that would be the point of an album that is filled with ambivalence. As we can tell from the album title and song titles, Haskell's album is a catalogue of ambivalent scenes, emotions, observations and a whimsical non-participation in the Rock-posturing common in 1971. He's opting out, here. Haskell sings, but also plays acoustic guitar; he's a much better player than I remember him to be. There are plenty of nicely rendered acoustic passages; some sound a bit like Pete Townshend's acoustic guitar work on Rough Mix. Even the voice reminds me of Townshend's 'Street in the City'. However that's only in parts.
The overall vibe is mellow, relaxed and mature. That's right. This is a very mature kind of sonic experience; something I had not really given thought to as a teenager hanging out for a bit of excitement. You don't expect testosterone charged youths to stop and consider the ambivalent feelings in life. Hell no. Yet, it's an album that asks you to relax and take it in gently. Not, grab you by the throat and throw you around the room like, say, Red by King Crimson. And that is perhaps why Gordon was asked to leave; he wasn't really intense like the other guys in 'Crimso'.
What's Wrong With It?
Haskell's vocals aren't very strong; he doesn't give his melody the best they could get. The mix is bad; it's a murky, un-inspired mix. The arrangement is often unimaginative or inappropriate. The best bits are sometimes just Gordon singing simply with his guitar strumming. Unfortunately the producer felt things had to be shoved in it to make it more 'exciting'; and yet it never gets exciting. Alan Barry's lead breaks are pedestrian. If there's anything to single out as a dislike on this album, it's the unimaginative blues-rock guitar figurations of this one Alan Barry. It's like third rate Eric Clapton on valium. Clearly the album deserved a more inventive approach, but it is Barry's playing that drags it back to the ordinary. It could've been good; he ruined it!
What got me as a teen was how there wasn't any intensity. The whole album is just so laid back. As an adult I can appreciate that it's meant to be an entirely different offering to Prog Rock, but the answer wasn't to denude Prog Rock of all intensity. It is as naff as I remember it; but oddly enough I don't mind the naff-ness of it. If I want intensity, I can go put on Larks' Tongues In Aspic. This is a deliberately different venture and I should give it the credit it deserves.
It might be a really good album to chill out to at the end of a long night's conversation about way-out things. Or on a Sunday afternoon, something to listen to instead of watching the ABC Arts shows give you the politically correct review of films.
I don't know. 20 years has knocked edges off of me a little so I can appreciate the mellowness of this album, and that's got to be good. I think it might not be 20 years before I put this record on again. I thought I'd be a lot more harsh and cruel towards this record, but I must say I was smiling through most of it, imagining what the session might have been like. It gets 3 stars out of 5. - It's got Viv Savage on it!
- Art Neuro
Feeding the Pinstriped Tyrant
The New York Times has this brilliant little digest of a book from former beat writer Buster Olney. While Buster Olney does have some bizzarre notions about 'Productive Outs', this article is fascinating. Don't miss it!!!
- Art Neuro
The New York Times has this brilliant little digest of a book from former beat writer Buster Olney. While Buster Olney does have some bizzarre notions about 'Productive Outs', this article is fascinating. Don't miss it!!!
- Art Neuro
Tunguska
It's really slow on the Space exploration front lately, as you may have guessed from the enormous number of film and sport related posts that have been going up. This is because news has simply dried up until the next exciting installment of the Ansari X prize or the next Shuttle launch/explosion. In the mean time, we have this utter crap to comment upon:
- Art Neuro
It's really slow on the Space exploration front lately, as you may have guessed from the enormous number of film and sport related posts that have been going up. This is because news has simply dried up until the next exciting installment of the Ansari X prize or the next Shuttle launch/explosion. In the mean time, we have this utter crap to comment upon:
Truly sad. First it was the Mexicans who saw ET in the night skies; now it's bored Russian scientists. *Ugh*.The Russian research team is called the Tunguska Space Phenomenon foundation and is led by Yuri Labvin. He said in late July that an expedition to the scene would seek evidence that aliens were involved.
"We intend to uncover evidences that will prove the fact that it was not a meteorite that rammed the Earth, but a UFO," Labvin was quoted by the Russian newspaper Pravda on July 29.
"I'm afraid this is a rather stupid hoax," said Benny Peiser, a researcher at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. "The Russian team stupidly stated long before they went to Siberia that the main intention of their expedition was to find the remnants of an 'alien spaceship!' And bingo! A week later, that's what they claim to have found."
Peiser studies catastrophic events and related scientific processes and media reports. He runs an electronic newsletter, CCNet, which is among the most comprehensive running catalogues on the subject.
"It's a rather sad comment on the current state of the anything-goes attitudes among some 'science' correspondents that such blatant rubbish is being reported -- without the slightest hint of skepticism," Peiser told SPACE.com.
- Art Neuro
Olympic Baseball Has Begun
That's right. The sports nut folks of the world are going nuts for people running, jumping, leaping, gymnastisizing, swimming, diving, riding, lifting, throwing, this guy here is saying "Olympic baseball is here!!!"
So far the results are a mixed bag.
Cuba edged Australia 4-1, but looking at the box score, you can see that Cuba were hitting Craig Anderson, while Australia were largely hapless against Cuban Lefty Adiel Palma. Notable in the loss for me was Rodney Van Buizen who got a hit and scored; one of 2 hits against Palma by the entire Australian lineup.
Canada dropped Taiwan 7-0 in what was a whitewash. A closer look at the box score reveals that Taiwanese Ace Chang Chih-Chia hurled a credible 6 innings of 3 run ball, 2 of which were unearned; he struck out 9 and walked 3 in an awesome display of pitching. Then his bullpen wasted another 4 runs to make up the 7 that left the Chinese for dead. The bats really didn't do any talking for the Taiwanese.
Canada's Mike Johnson pitched a solid 7 innings striking out 3 and walking 1, scattering 4 hits. Canada's squad consists of US Minor leaguers and is considered pretty strong. Obviously their defense is solid.
This is the kind of game I love in the Olympics: Netherlands versus Greece. The hard-hitting Dutch clobbered the sock-less Greeks 11-0. Both teams are a complete mystery, except the league in Greece is only 5 years old whereas the Netherlands have been playing the Olympic baseball scene since 1992 when baseball became official; so this result isn't that surprising. Looking at the box score, the only thing that can be gleaned from this result is that the Greeks were totally outclassed by Davey Johnson's boys on Orange. If you may recall, Davey Johnson was the last manager to lead the blue-and-orange NY Mets to a World Series win over the ill-fated Bosox back in 1986. Orange, obviously suits him well.
Japan thrashed Italy 12-0 getting a called game in the 7th. This year, Japan has stocked up on Top-Tier professionals to bring home the Gold Medal. Unlike in Sydney 2000 where the team consisted of a mixed Professional and amateur group, this time Japan has come in all-pro; stacked to the nines with their NPB hitters and arms that could go play the majors tomorrow; and this early result says it all. They're there for the gold medal. Koji Uehara pitched 6 shut-out innings striking out 4, scattering 4 hits. Uehara says he kept his Forkball out of it, so that it wouldn't get scouted. So essentialy he pitched without his best pitch.
Norihiro Nakamura homered, keeping up the form he had at the Sydney Olympics... maybe not. :)
And that's it for the first round of preliminaries. Ain't the internet amazing!?
- Art Neuro
That's right. The sports nut folks of the world are going nuts for people running, jumping, leaping, gymnastisizing, swimming, diving, riding, lifting, throwing, this guy here is saying "Olympic baseball is here!!!"
So far the results are a mixed bag.
Cuba edged Australia 4-1, but looking at the box score, you can see that Cuba were hitting Craig Anderson, while Australia were largely hapless against Cuban Lefty Adiel Palma. Notable in the loss for me was Rodney Van Buizen who got a hit and scored; one of 2 hits against Palma by the entire Australian lineup.
Canada dropped Taiwan 7-0 in what was a whitewash. A closer look at the box score reveals that Taiwanese Ace Chang Chih-Chia hurled a credible 6 innings of 3 run ball, 2 of which were unearned; he struck out 9 and walked 3 in an awesome display of pitching. Then his bullpen wasted another 4 runs to make up the 7 that left the Chinese for dead. The bats really didn't do any talking for the Taiwanese.
Canada's Mike Johnson pitched a solid 7 innings striking out 3 and walking 1, scattering 4 hits. Canada's squad consists of US Minor leaguers and is considered pretty strong. Obviously their defense is solid.
This is the kind of game I love in the Olympics: Netherlands versus Greece. The hard-hitting Dutch clobbered the sock-less Greeks 11-0. Both teams are a complete mystery, except the league in Greece is only 5 years old whereas the Netherlands have been playing the Olympic baseball scene since 1992 when baseball became official; so this result isn't that surprising. Looking at the box score, the only thing that can be gleaned from this result is that the Greeks were totally outclassed by Davey Johnson's boys on Orange. If you may recall, Davey Johnson was the last manager to lead the blue-and-orange NY Mets to a World Series win over the ill-fated Bosox back in 1986. Orange, obviously suits him well.
Japan thrashed Italy 12-0 getting a called game in the 7th. This year, Japan has stocked up on Top-Tier professionals to bring home the Gold Medal. Unlike in Sydney 2000 where the team consisted of a mixed Professional and amateur group, this time Japan has come in all-pro; stacked to the nines with their NPB hitters and arms that could go play the majors tomorrow; and this early result says it all. They're there for the gold medal. Koji Uehara pitched 6 shut-out innings striking out 4, scattering 4 hits. Uehara says he kept his Forkball out of it, so that it wouldn't get scouted. So essentialy he pitched without his best pitch.
Norihiro Nakamura homered, keeping up the form he had at the Sydney Olympics... maybe not. :)
And that's it for the first round of preliminaries. Ain't the internet amazing!?
- Art Neuro
2004/08/13
'El Duque' Rides Again, This Time In Texas
Our favourite Cuban has won again, compiling a season record that stands at 5-0, with a 2.08 ERA. He racked up 7 strike outs issuing 3 walks, scattering 4 hits in 7 innings.
So the magic Cuban did his thing again. He's the only pitcher holding up my sad injury-plagued rotation in my fantasy league team. All hail El Duque!
- Art Neuro
Our favourite Cuban has won again, compiling a season record that stands at 5-0, with a 2.08 ERA. He racked up 7 strike outs issuing 3 walks, scattering 4 hits in 7 innings.
Hernandez had a satisfied smile on his face after the game as he recounted his journey from an unemployed pitcher to one of the Yankees' most dependable starters. "I'm not surprised because I work hard. It's a surprise for people who
haven't seen me in a while,'' Hernandez said, pointing at a few reporters."I planned on coming back. I'm happy to be here again. My teammates have accepted me with open arms.''
So the magic Cuban did his thing again. He's the only pitcher holding up my sad injury-plagued rotation in my fantasy league team. All hail El Duque!
- Art Neuro
2004/08/12
How The Australian Film Industry Got 'Stuffed' - Part 2
So we covered how successive Federal Government policy has been indecisive and downright contradictory, while having unrealistic expectations, I think it should be noted that the industry was also guided by the hands of its participants who have let it down.
While every time one of our directors or directors of Photography went to Hollywood for fame and glory, what they did was deprive the Australian Industry of a marketing position. Yes, that's right. For every Peter Weir or Gillian Armstrong who *made it* to Hollywood, it was also the case that there was one fewer director to invest in, back in Australia. It should also be noted that Australians, who speak English together with Canadians are the ideal fodder for Hollywood. It is much harder for a director from a non-English-speaking country to go to America. And yet it was this ease with which our creative talents went to America that drew the attention of Hollywood to us.
Was this good? It was a mixed blessing. If American money heads down to Australia and funds its pictures to be shot here, then there is a level of technical crew who stand to profit from this; and more power to them; and so they should because that money certainly wasn't going to be generated inside Australia. So films such as Star Wars episodes 2 and 3, Matrix 1 through to 3, which were all shot in Australia employed many crew personnel. However it should be noted that none of these films featured Australian creative control. No writers, no directors, and just one Australian producer. In essence, the boom of production thanks to the American industry was very deceptive in that it really didn't have anything to do with our industry in any cultural sense. Even a work such as Moulin Rouge, which was hailed as an Australian film, was in fact American product using American money for the American market. Let's face it, Nicole Kidman isn't exactly strutting her 'strine' in that film with Ewan McGregor's North Country brogue. Its international success disiguised the current malaise which has seemingly exploded, but was in fact in the making even then.
Hence my 'I told you so' tone here.
The rest of the industry was hoodwinked. The money the Americans spent here was for their own product. Our crew worked, and worked well, to make their product, which is better than not working, but it's not as good as making our product. It's not about jobs, it's also about the product. So what happened to our industry in the meantime? Our industry was still reliant on the FFC and AFC formulae, which in turn enforced a weird bureacrtic form of censorship over what gets made and more significantly, what doesn't get made; which ultimately would send our creatives to the wall. However this struggle for expression was veiled behind the apparaent blossoming of our film industry, thanks to american money.
Let me be blunt. There were 54 students who graduated with me from the Australian Film Television Radio School in 1993. Of whom I believe less than 5 have actually directed a Feature Film. Some have produced or written, others have languished in the hell of waiting to hear about hoiw our submissions are assessed by the FFC or the AFC. Each year there have been 100 or so film-makers graduating from courses all over New South Wales. Where the hell are their films? Where is their industry? It don't exist because for some warped reason, the money ear-marked for film productions simply vanished into the air through these bureaucracies - These people are driving expensive foreign cars, and all we want to do is practice our goddam crafts. I swear, we're fucking angry out here. Furious! I kid you not, and suddenly this year, Steven Smith says we're 'stuffed'. Well, Steve, let me just enlighten you that we've been stuffed for a good many years. Our 'stuffed' status didn't exactly come down in the last showers, mate.
Let's ask our selves some questions.
And yet we felt it was important to make movies about indigenous concerns or quirky suburban romantic comedies or films that look so unattractive, you wouldn't watch it even if they paid you to watch it. My friend produced one of those, and it even opened at a famous Film Festival in the United States. It flopped; partly because he actually produced a worthy film that not one of his friends wanted to see; and he wonders where his career is headed. Go figure!
Now, he's been going to the SPAA conference for years and if anybody, he should have seen the writing on the wall, but he lived in denial through all of it because well, he was producing *something* even if your average Australian punter just didn't want to know about that film.
Another way to put all this is as follows:
Hong Kong has a thriving Cinema where it exports its product in spite of the language barrier. How does that work? The hallmark of Hong Kong's totally private (i.e. minimally supported by the government) film industry comes down to its dogged pursuit of genre pictures and quantity of productions. The Hong Kong producer would look at how many genre pictures they can produce for a certain amount of money while the Australian producer is pondering how to get government funding for this important story. In other words, Hong Kong cinema plays the numbers. After you produce 100 Kung Fu films one of them is bound to be both good as well as successful. This way, the risk is spread and increases the productivity of the industry as a whole.
A small model of this was carried out in the last place where I worked, Classroom Video, where come hell or high water, the company would produce 40-45 short videos a year. Some were good, many were not so good. Some were successful, some were less so. However, over all numbers of sales figures told us that the entire slate gave rise to a sustainable business; not one video or one project. So this model is in fact feasible even at the bottom end of the market, and that was under the condition where they were not necessarily competing for the entertainment dollar. Think about that for a moment. A sustainable audio-visual production house not aimed at the entertainment dollar.
Yet we have seen a good 15 years where Australian producers dare not challenge making genre pictures on the grounds that they are no more successful than the worthy pictures they make. Sorry to burst your bubble guys, but if you made 100 genre pictures and 10 *worthy pictures* at 10 times the budget and therefore *quality*, the chances are the 100 genre pictures will make a buck and allow you to make another 100 genre pics at a profit. That's called business. The 10 *worthy* pictures is called a stab in the dark. However, that's Australian producers on the whole; and every time the so-called industry is in crisis, they get together at SPAA and complain about the state of the industry ("it's Stuffed!"), then line up at the door of the government for more hand outs. No wonder our industry gets no respect from the Australian market place.
- Art Neuro
So we covered how successive Federal Government policy has been indecisive and downright contradictory, while having unrealistic expectations, I think it should be noted that the industry was also guided by the hands of its participants who have let it down.
While every time one of our directors or directors of Photography went to Hollywood for fame and glory, what they did was deprive the Australian Industry of a marketing position. Yes, that's right. For every Peter Weir or Gillian Armstrong who *made it* to Hollywood, it was also the case that there was one fewer director to invest in, back in Australia. It should also be noted that Australians, who speak English together with Canadians are the ideal fodder for Hollywood. It is much harder for a director from a non-English-speaking country to go to America. And yet it was this ease with which our creative talents went to America that drew the attention of Hollywood to us.
Was this good? It was a mixed blessing. If American money heads down to Australia and funds its pictures to be shot here, then there is a level of technical crew who stand to profit from this; and more power to them; and so they should because that money certainly wasn't going to be generated inside Australia. So films such as Star Wars episodes 2 and 3, Matrix 1 through to 3, which were all shot in Australia employed many crew personnel. However it should be noted that none of these films featured Australian creative control. No writers, no directors, and just one Australian producer. In essence, the boom of production thanks to the American industry was very deceptive in that it really didn't have anything to do with our industry in any cultural sense. Even a work such as Moulin Rouge, which was hailed as an Australian film, was in fact American product using American money for the American market. Let's face it, Nicole Kidman isn't exactly strutting her 'strine' in that film with Ewan McGregor's North Country brogue. Its international success disiguised the current malaise which has seemingly exploded, but was in fact in the making even then.
Hence my 'I told you so' tone here.
The rest of the industry was hoodwinked. The money the Americans spent here was for their own product. Our crew worked, and worked well, to make their product, which is better than not working, but it's not as good as making our product. It's not about jobs, it's also about the product. So what happened to our industry in the meantime? Our industry was still reliant on the FFC and AFC formulae, which in turn enforced a weird bureacrtic form of censorship over what gets made and more significantly, what doesn't get made; which ultimately would send our creatives to the wall. However this struggle for expression was veiled behind the apparaent blossoming of our film industry, thanks to american money.
Let me be blunt. There were 54 students who graduated with me from the Australian Film Television Radio School in 1993. Of whom I believe less than 5 have actually directed a Feature Film. Some have produced or written, others have languished in the hell of waiting to hear about hoiw our submissions are assessed by the FFC or the AFC. Each year there have been 100 or so film-makers graduating from courses all over New South Wales. Where the hell are their films? Where is their industry? It don't exist because for some warped reason, the money ear-marked for film productions simply vanished into the air through these bureaucracies - These people are driving expensive foreign cars, and all we want to do is practice our goddam crafts. I swear, we're fucking angry out here. Furious! I kid you not, and suddenly this year, Steven Smith says we're 'stuffed'. Well, Steve, let me just enlighten you that we've been stuffed for a good many years. Our 'stuffed' status didn't exactly come down in the last showers, mate.
Let's ask our selves some questions.
- Why is Australian Product so unattractive to the market?
- Why is Australian Product perceived to be so weak in the market place by international distributors?
- How is it that 280million dollars a year can be spent on our screen product and our industry is still in some kind of limbo?
And yet we felt it was important to make movies about indigenous concerns or quirky suburban romantic comedies or films that look so unattractive, you wouldn't watch it even if they paid you to watch it. My friend produced one of those, and it even opened at a famous Film Festival in the United States. It flopped; partly because he actually produced a worthy film that not one of his friends wanted to see; and he wonders where his career is headed. Go figure!
Now, he's been going to the SPAA conference for years and if anybody, he should have seen the writing on the wall, but he lived in denial through all of it because well, he was producing *something* even if your average Australian punter just didn't want to know about that film.
Another way to put all this is as follows:
Hong Kong has a thriving Cinema where it exports its product in spite of the language barrier. How does that work? The hallmark of Hong Kong's totally private (i.e. minimally supported by the government) film industry comes down to its dogged pursuit of genre pictures and quantity of productions. The Hong Kong producer would look at how many genre pictures they can produce for a certain amount of money while the Australian producer is pondering how to get government funding for this important story. In other words, Hong Kong cinema plays the numbers. After you produce 100 Kung Fu films one of them is bound to be both good as well as successful. This way, the risk is spread and increases the productivity of the industry as a whole.
A small model of this was carried out in the last place where I worked, Classroom Video, where come hell or high water, the company would produce 40-45 short videos a year. Some were good, many were not so good. Some were successful, some were less so. However, over all numbers of sales figures told us that the entire slate gave rise to a sustainable business; not one video or one project. So this model is in fact feasible even at the bottom end of the market, and that was under the condition where they were not necessarily competing for the entertainment dollar. Think about that for a moment. A sustainable audio-visual production house not aimed at the entertainment dollar.
Yet we have seen a good 15 years where Australian producers dare not challenge making genre pictures on the grounds that they are no more successful than the worthy pictures they make. Sorry to burst your bubble guys, but if you made 100 genre pictures and 10 *worthy pictures* at 10 times the budget and therefore *quality*, the chances are the 100 genre pictures will make a buck and allow you to make another 100 genre pics at a profit. That's called business. The 10 *worthy* pictures is called a stab in the dark. However, that's Australian producers on the whole; and every time the so-called industry is in crisis, they get together at SPAA and complain about the state of the industry ("it's Stuffed!"), then line up at the door of the government for more hand outs. No wonder our industry gets no respect from the Australian market place.
- Art Neuro
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