Baseball News and More...

Thanks to Gen posting the runs scored and runs allowed with his standings, it's possible to calculate the basic Pythagorean expectation standings for the NPB:

Central League

Chunichi Dragons, 52-34
Yomiuri Giants, 51-34
Yakult Swallows, 43-36
Hanshin Tigers, 38-44
Hiroshima Carp, 33-51
Yokohama Bay Stars, 29-55

Pacific League

Nippon Ham Fighters, 54-27
Softbank Hawks, 48-36
Seibu Lions, 48-36 ...

Rulesofbaseball.com has a ten-question quiz up on the rules of baseball if anyone is interested. Hat tip to both Baseball Primer and Tango's blog for posting this today.


How many can you get?

The Washington Post has a story up today about a violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra here in town who made an electric violin out of a baseball bat:

[Glenn] Donnellan made his bat-violin when the orchestra was preparing to go to Arkansas this spring for the 19th of its annual American residencies, which offer concerts and outreach programs in areas of the country that may not be well served with classical music. He was looking for an instrument to use in a children's concert;

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This Saturday will be the 70th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous speech at Yankee Stadium. To mark the occasion, his speech will be read at every ballpark on Saturday during the seventh-inning stretch, and game-worn equipment and uniforms will be auctioned with the proceeds going to ALS research. Selig got the idea when he read Michael Goldsmith's piece in Newsweek last November. An excerpt from the article:

At some point, we talked about what Major League Baseball could do to fight

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One of my local PBS channels aired The Golden Game: Baseball in Sacramento last night. The show covers the history of baseball in Sacramento from the early years to present day, but of particular interest to me were the parts about the Solons and the Pacific Coast League. It included a good deal of old footage and photographs as well as interviews with former players, announcers, and local historians. The show only lasts about thirty minutes, but if you have any interest in the old PCL or a unique ...