Post your sports questions here

[kajeet]

Since I don't really like yahoo answers, I decided to start a sports Q&A here. So you ask a sports related question or you can answers one. I'll start with the first question....

Does anybody know what the feeling of "old" Astroturf was or is like because i was watching the Super Bowl highlights of SB XXXIV and the when players were getting hit to the ground, it looked like it would feel like getting tackled on cement.

[kajeet]

anyone?

[The_Admiral]

Since I don't really like yahoo answers, I decided to start a sports Q&A here.

how is bibby formed

[TBGKon]

Does anybody know what the feeling of "old" Astroturf was or is like because i was watching the Super Bowl highlights of SB XXXIV and the when players were getting hit to the ground, it looked like it would feel like getting tackled on cement.

Ive walked on the old surface at Tropicana Field prior to the Fieldturf conversion and will say it has some give and flexibility due to layers of padding.

[BBTV]

I played on several "old" astroturf fields, and they were each different.

The Vet was like concrete. The surface was close to flat, with little or no padding underneath, and no "fibers" sticking up.

Franklin Field was very similar in that there was next to no padding underneath. The surface did have more of a grit to it as opposed to being almost like an artificial tennis court.

Villanova Stadium was very nice. There was some kind of padding under the old turf, and the surface was raised a little bit more than the others I played on. Your knees always felt better after being on that surface than on the other two. Not even close. Again, the Vet literally did feel like concrete, and had barely any feel to it.

[illwauk]

I played on several "old" astroturf fields, and they were each different.

The Vet was like concrete. The surface was close to flat, with little or no padding underneath, and no "fibers" sticking up.

Franklin Field was very similar in that there was next to no padding underneath. The surface did have more of a grit to it as opposed to being almost like an artificial tennis court.

Villanova Stadium was very nice. There was some kind of padding under the old turf, and the surface was raised a little bit more than the others I played on. Your knees always felt better after being on that surface than on the other two. Not even close. Again, the Vet literally did feel like concrete, and had barely any feel to it.

I always heard stories about how hard the surface at the Vet was, but never first hand from someone who actually played there. I wonder if maybe that's a reason some of those Eagles teams that had the talent to go all the way (1980 and 1991 come to mind) always seemed to run out of gas in the playoffs.

[CS85]

I'll bite. Can somebody clearly explain how a double-switch works in baseball? I have a vague understanding, but some light could be shed on it.

[ElwoodCuse]

who was that dude for the Bears that destroyed both his knees just running on the turf at Veterans Stadium?

[ElwoodCuse]

I'll bite. Can somebody clearly explain how a double-switch works in baseball? I have a vague understanding, but some light could be shed on it.

It's to get the pitcher out of the #9 spot in the batting order because he's due up next inning and you want him to pitch longer.

Let's say 8-9-1 is due up next inning. The relief pitcher will be substituted for, say, the 6 or 7 hitter. And the replacement for that position player will take over the 9 spot.

The simple way to think about it is to picture the lineup as a batting order, not a position list. Pitchers can be substituted for anyone, not just pitchers.

[dbadefense1990]

who was that dude for the Bears that destroyed both his knees just running on the turf at Veterans Stadium?

Think it was Wendell Davis. I know that the Bears' player injury was career-ending because of the sucky Vet turf.

Matter of fact, what didn't plague Veterans? The jail and courthouse, the turf, the concrete, the highly-heated metal poles...I heard that the stadium was a literal hellish nightmare to watch a sporting event.

[ElwoodCuse]

Haha I got one of the worst sunburns of my life sitting in the field level boxes at a Phillies game way back. And on the actual field the sun/temperature was even worse. Old Busch and Kaufman before they put in grass had the same problem. Like "120 degrees on the turf" problem.

[Kramerica Industries]

Well, if Astroturf was more-or-less concrete painted green...

we've all felt how hot concrete gets during the summer and it's not shaded, right? And part of this directly comes from the fact that the sunlight bounces right back up from the surface. You bet it's friggen brutal.

[Raysfan12]

Well, if Astroturf was more-or-less concrete painted green...

we've all felt how hot concrete gets during the summer and it's not shaded, right? And part of this directly comes from the fact that the sunlight bounces right back up from the surface. You bet it's friggen brutal.

To add on what he said, when there's water on the turf, it gets uneven and may have valleys and crest (dips and rises) on the turf.

[pcgd]

I'll bite. Can somebody clearly explain how a double-switch works in baseball? I have a vague understanding, but some light could be shed on it.

It's to get the pitcher out of the #9 spot in the batting order because he's due up next inning and you want him to pitch longer.

Let's say 8-9-1 is due up next inning. The relief pitcher will be substituted for, say, the 6 or 7 hitter. And the replacement for that position player will take over the 9 spot.

The simple way to think about it is to picture the lineup as a batting order, not a position list. Pitchers can be substituted for anyone, not just pitchers.

To go further:

Current pitcher due up in te next inning.

New pitcher replaces a fielder who just batted.

Insert new fielder for the old pitcher.

Now new fielder bats for old pitcher and new pitcher bats for old fielder. That way you don't have a "bad" hitter coming up for quite some time.

The fielder coming out is typically a bad hitter or bad fielder so you also get a bump in hitting or defense.

[cmm]

I'll bite. Can somebody clearly explain how a double-switch works in baseball? I have a vague understanding, but some light could be shed on it.

It's to get the pitcher out of the #9 spot in the batting order because he's due up next inning and you want him to pitch longer.

Let's say 8-9-1 is due up next inning. The relief pitcher will be substituted for, say, the 6 or 7 hitter. And the replacement for that position player will take over the 9 spot.

The simple way to think about it is to picture the lineup as a batting order, not a position list. Pitchers can be substituted for anyone, not just pitchers.

To go further:

Current pitcher due up in te next inning.

New pitcher replaces a fielder who just batted.

Insert new fielder for the old pitcher.

Now new fielder bats for old pitcher and new pitcher bats for old fielder. That way you don't have a "bad" hitter coming up for quite some time.

The fielder coming out is typically a bad hitter or bad fielder so you also get a bump in hitting or defense.

If you're at a game and want to know if there's a double switch...

-During an inning, the manager must go to the home plate umpire before going to the mound to remove the pitcher if he wants to move the pitcher's slot in the order.

-If a manager takes two (or more) guys out between innings, watch the home plate umpire. He's supposed to signal if the changes are "straight up" (by moving his hand straight up and down) or if there's been a double-switch (by making a "flip-flop" motion with his hand). Some umpires don't signal clearly or at all because they are jerks.