Watching Games on "Double-Bloop"

Throughout most of this season, I've been somewhat neglectful of the actual standings, stats, and on-the-field proceedings, preferring to focus on historical data in the form of my various fanciful projects. But every once in a while, the stars of the baseball world align and draw you to the television for an especially memorable event. The Home Run Derby/All-Star Game was one such event. This weekend's four-games-in-three-days series between the Oakland A's and the Anaheim Angels was another.

I love watching the games live whenever I can, but more often than not my schedule requires me to record the games and revisit them later via DVR. When watching the games on delay, I find it increasingly difficult to limit my use of fast-forward to the commercials, and sit through the entire telecast. If a pitcher is taking his sweet time "setting the tempo" or a batter steps out of the box to adjust his unmentionables, or there's a break in the action to collect shards of broken glass from the field, I find myself double-blooping forward.*

Quadruple-Bloop (Double-Double-Bloop)

* "Double-Bloop" is a term I first heard from my cousin referring to watching a previously recorded program on the DVR at an increased speed. It was based on the sound made by TiVo systems when you push the fast-forward button two times in quick succession. As it happens, I don't have TiVo, but I still use the term... in the same way as I don't always use the Kleenex or Band-Aid brands, yet I'll still ask for them. 10 points for Branded America.

However, due to the uncertain nature of DVR technology, I'll often find myself wanting to skip just a few minutes of treacle here and there, but end up blasting way too far into the future or intermittently stopping and starting so much that it basically doesn't save any time and only adds to the frustration. So while speeding through Sunday afternoon's game last night, I developed a system of watching games on double-bloop that provides a good overview/summary while still letting you get through the game in less time than it takes to watch Return of the King.

First of all, I will watch the first three innings uninterrupted. This gives me a chance to see every hitter in the lineup bat at least once, get a sense of how each pitcher is throwing, and evaluate how the two teams look on the field. I've noted many times that Baseball is broken up into thirds, and in my experience, the first third of a game is usually the most telling about how the general tone of the game will play out. For example, when the A's tagged the Angels for 8 runs in the first inning last night, you could be pretty.... pretty..... pretty sure how the rest of the game would turn out.

Then, when the away team's pitcher walks off the mound after the third inning, and the increased speed begins, I immediately fix my eyes on the game status graphic in the corner/along the top of the screen. A lot of times, the action happening on the field is too fast to follow without getting dizzy, so I use the graphic as a visual cue to point out things it might be worth watching. This is also a strategy I picked up from my cousin, but for some reason, the system just clicked last night.

The first thing I look at is the score. If any number of the score changes, I immediately hit play and even skip back one or two 30-second intervals (if your system doesn't do that automatically on double-bloop). Scoring plays aren't always the most exciting or highlight-worthy, but runs are explicitly what win games and what most tangibly shift the momentum in a game. Even if it's not an especially interesting play, I still like to have a good handle on who scored, who drove him in, against whom, and generally who was involved in the play.

The next thing I look at is the number of outs. If at any time the number of outs jumps to two (as it will at least 17 times every game), I will push play and watch until the final out of the inning. Again, two-out plays aren't necessarily any more exciting than one- or no-out plays, but as far as getting a feel for the overall progress of the game, it's especially nice to see how a pitcher finishes off the opposition and also to see the between-innings line score. If we jump right from a one-on, one-out situation to a commercial, that indicates a double-play, so I will usually stop and skip back to see it, because double plays are generally either exciting or well-executed fundamentally - or both.

There are exceptions and situations not covered by these rudimentary rules. For instance, what about pitching changes? Spectacular diving catches? Benches-clearing brawls? The system isn't perfect - in fact, it hasn't been beta tested beyond the course of one game. But this is how I have decided to do it, and will continue to until I discover something better. And I've deemed it exciting enough to put out here on the Internets for all to see. Prove me right, people! Prove me right...