Friday, June 29, 2012

Good Numbers, Bad Grammar

If Bill James had a kid playing youth baseball nowadays, he'd be addicted to GameChanger. Maybe he is anyways. I know I am. GameChanger allows our Coach Greene to score each game on his iPad and upload each at-bat in real time to a site that compiles a wide range of statistics for each player, for the team, by game, for the season--it's crazy how you can follow every pitch, every swing, every error, every base taken by every Rocket. If you haven't already, check it out: https://www.gamechanger.io/t/summer-2012/needham-rockets-10u-4fd8bb42e342a72406000007/schedule

To view most of it, it is true, you do have to pay and join. It's $8 a month or thereabouts. I paid, and I have found it to be well worth it.

My only gripe is that GameChanger has the hubris to generate a narrative--a recap--for each game logged. Using the data entered while Coach Greene sits on a bucket in the dugout and taps on his iPad, the GameChanger software employs a vast database of baseball words and phrases and attempts to tell the story of the game the way a real human sportswriter might. What's remarkable is that it almost works. I am more impressed than disappointed. But there remain at least a few things that humans can do better than computers. One of those things, apparently, is tell a story.

Below, I have posted the GameChanger recap from Thursday's game for those who would like to save $8. You will see that it does present the facts of the game accurately. But, in my opinion, it fails to capture the character of the game. It fails to select the most noteworthy plays and give them their due emphasis and drama. And, as the headline will demonstrate right off the bat, its grammar stinks. From here on out, I will write the recaps using the data collected by GameChanger, if for no other reason than to protect our young and impressionable readers from the horrors of computer-generated literature.


Incidentally, before you read on, I would like to point out that while it will seem like GameChanger has a particular affinity for my son Tom--why else would a sac fly that produced one run garner any attention in a game during which we produced 28?--I swear that I have not tampered with any of the settings. Only Coach Greene has that kind of power. Oddly, Matthew, who earned MVP honors for his performance in the game, gets relatively little mention. Computers can organize and analyze baseball data, but they have yet to learn how to appreciate the game played well.



Rockets fights back, defeats the Easton Nationals, 28-5

Rockets trailed by five in the second, but Rockets recovered thanks to a key sacrifice fly in the third inning from Tom Berkley to pull out a 28-5 win in five innings over the Easton Nationals at Jaycee/Lyon on Thursday. With the score tied at five in the third inning, hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Eric Gage.

Berkley paced Rockets at the plate. Berkley went 1-3, drove in one and scored one run.

Rockets blew out the Easton Nationals thanks to 26 hits, including seven extra base hits. Rockets scored 14 runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Jack Morgan, a passed ball, an RBI single by Will Dorian, an RBI single by Drew Siegenthaler, an error, a two-run single by Jeffrey Hohler, an RBI single by Matt Dougherty, an error, an RBI single by Sean Greene, an RBI double by Morgan, an RBI single byAidan McGaugh, an RBI single by Dorian, and a passed ball.

Siegenthaler got a hit in each of his four at bats.

Greene recorded the win for Rockets. He tossed two innings of shutout ball. He struck out three, walked none and surrendered no hits.

Rockets pounded the Easton Nationals pitching, as 11 hitters combined for 25 hits, 21 RBIs and 27 runs scored.

The Easton Nationals jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. A single by Levine, bringing home Webster started the inning off. The Easton Nationals pushed more runs across when Levine scored on a passed ball, Gramer scored on an RBI single by Deveau, and Deveau scored on an RBI single by Friel.

The third spelled defeat for the Easton Nationals, as Rockets grabbed the lead for good. More runners rounded the bases on three doubles, three singles, and a wild pitch.

Rockets built upon its lead with four runs in the fourth. A wild pitch scored Steven Donovan for the inning's first run. That was followed up by Hohler's double, scoring Siegenthaler.

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