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2017 MLB Postseason Thread


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7 hours ago, rainmaker17 said:

Minute Maid is nice, but it is a joke.  The Stros were so hell bent on shoehorning it into downtown Houston that they obviously had to make some concessions to make it fit.  The upper deck is uncomfortably steep, the concourses are embarrassingly tight for a relatively modern venue, and as many have said, left field is a joke.  At least "Tal's Hill" its gone.  Wouldn't it be great if the Astros blew a key World Series game because of that gimmick?

 

Thing is, they didn't even need to have those contrived dimensions in order to fit it in to its plot of land (which is actually quite large):

minutemaidpark.png

 

The areas to the immediate north and immediate south of the ballpark are vacant - covered by a plaza on one side, and a parking lot on the other. The building could've easily been expanded on either end to accommodate a larger left field.

 

On top of that, the Crawford Boxes are what's really confining left field down the line. Those aren't a function of the plot of land at all.

 

That field could've been much more conventionally designed if they so chose. But it was built in 2000, when contrived dimensions were all the rage.

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We had this conversation about Minute Maid Park in the MLB Changes thread when we realized the Hill was destroyed back in February.  I'd had stuff come up, so I couldn't post earlier and figured the time had passed, but now that we're back here...

 

MinuteMaidPark_exposed.gif

 

(Image courtesy of the amazing Andrew Clem's Baseball.)

 

You can say that Minute Maid Park shouldn't be built on that plot of land, but you can't argue that the park was built purposely quirky in a cheap imitation of old jewel box parks that were constructed to fit lots.  Minute Maid Park was constructed to fit its lot.

 

That building beyond left field is historic Union Station, the building that gave the park its railroad theme.  The track for the roof needs to be straight, so that wall cannot bump out to take advantage of the plaza behind.  The other side faces the same issue.  I'd been doing investigation and found that that parking is the Diamond Lot, parking for VIP Diamond Club members.  This VIP parking doesn't have to cross a four-lane street and is right outside Diamond Club entrances on that side of the park.  But... I realized looking at the plot one more time that I didn't even need to look at that.  There's a building on that side too.  It's New Hope Housing, an affordable housing complex that's been there since 1995, two years before Minute Maid Park broke ground.  They can't go any farther in left because the roof already hangs over quite significantly over and the roof when it's retracted almost reaches the street already.

 

That being said, the corners could be less cheap.  Those seats in left are 21' in the air, the same size as PNC Park's wall in right that ranges from 15-20' farther back.  It's only 5' deeper in the corner and closer at the edge than Fenway's 37' Green Monster.  Meanwhile, in right field, the fence is fairly comparable for the most part to the infamous right field at Yankee Stadium (there's a 13' difference at the scoreboard, but that's because that's where the jog in Houston's fence is.), but the wall is 1' shorter!

 

With such cheapness in the corners, they needed something to balance it.  So many people decried center field for being pointless and contrived, but it gave the park some level of balance.

 

In the end, I'd rather they have some unique look than the warehouses in other cities even if they screwed up the execution in places.

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22 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

Yeah I keep hearing all this "It's over and there's no way the Dodgers lose game 7" talk. I also heard that "This 1-0 lead for the Astros with Verlander on the hill dealing might as well be 7-0.", so I'm not so sure about that. 

 

I cant imagine Darvish being off twice in this series. Could you imagine a situation where it's close late, Kershaw comes in out of the pen, and gets killed? I kinda could. 

 

WELP. 

 

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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I have a feeling that the downright glacial speed this game is moving at is about to come back to bite the Astros. 

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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Congrats, Houston!  Hope any Astros fans here enjoy the moment.

 

edit:  Reddit was on the ball within 90 seconds.

 

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Today we are all pulling the corners of our eyes outward and saying ching-chong or whatever the hell god damn it this blows, the Astros are lame as hell, screw them and their stupid park adn the perpetual interleague they've wrought.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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Well, congrats to the Astros. Was hoping the Dodgers could win for the first time in 29 years, but hey, just seeing this young team get to a Game 7 of the World Series is still something pretty special for me to see. It was a good series overall, and I think that's what most important.

 

Not to mention seeing a club win its first ever championship is always good for the sport. Dodgers still have six championships and 22 pennants, nothing to be ashamed about.

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Hell of a series that could've went either way. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch sooner rather than later. 

 

As for Houston, congrats and all, though I hope I can see a repeat of 2005 on the 15th anniversary. 

"And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday." 

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Congrats to the Astros. The team, as well as the city, definitely deserves this.They had one hell of a team.

Not the most exciting game 7, but I think game 5 more than made up for it. 

Red Sox: 8    Celtics: 17    Bruins: 6    Patriots: 5

Phantom Merch Collector.

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tumblr_oup63lPBQG1s4u1mvo7_400.gif

 

Congrats, Astros! This was a fantastic series (one of the best in recent memory, what with all of the close games), and while I'm sure the Dodgers will be in the thick of it again (ugh), I'm glad the 'Stros came out on top!

 

Go team not-Dodgers!

 

EDIT: As for racist :censored:s in the Astros' fanbase, they're hardly unique. At least the Astros didn't displace a bunch of Mexican-Americans when they built their stadium.

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