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Joe WestJoe West

Robotic umpires are less accurate than human umpires

The biggest problem with this K-Zone system is it's not exactly accurate. ... They grade the umpires on a machine for home plate every game. ... We didn't have a single umpire—not one umpire—that scored under 95%. ... They already know [the robotic computer] misses 7% of the pitches. We don't have an umpire missing five.

While West cites specific percentages, the debate over ABS (Automated Ball-Strike System) accuracy vs. top human umpires is ongoing and data-dependent, making this a contested fact claim.

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Void
May 2, 2022
#12488
HankHank

I would much rather lose a game playing like absolute dogshit than lose while playing well

Spin zone is I would much rather lose a game where you play like absolute dog [and] play worse than lose a game where you're playing really well and the other team just beat you. Like the Celtics played so bad. Jaylen Brown was so bad. Jason Tatum didn't play well, no one was playing well.

This is a subjective philosophy on losing, though it reflects the common 'burn the tape' sports mentality.
Void
May 2, 2022
#12491
Big CatBig Cat

Giannis Antetokounmpo is indisputably the best player in the NBA

I wonder, I think that we've all decided that Giannis is the best player in the NBA right now. Like, I don't know if that's a debate anymore. I think that's just because Giannis is too nice. If he was meaner, I don't think it would be a debate. ... [Giannis] has the killer gene. He's just will also kill you and then say a dad joke afterwards.

At the time, Giannis was coming off a title and an MVP-caliber season. While subjective, it was a widely held expert view.
Loss
May 2, 2022
#12493
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The New York Rangers will win it all because they finally moved on from Henrik Lundqvist

The narrative that I want get going ... now that the Rangers don't have Lundqvist anymore and they've got a clutch playoff goalie [Igor Shesterkin], this is what they've been missing over all the years. ... It's the Bryce Harper orthosis where after we got rid of him, then the Nats win the title.

The Rangers did not win the Stanley Cup in 2022; they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Lightning.

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Joe WestJoe West

The Universal DH is a bad rule that will slow the game down

This designated hitter's going to slow down the game because—and I've said this before—if Tom Seaver threw more than nine pitches to the seventh, eighth, and ninth hitter... in the old National League, they would go right after [them]. In the American League, they didn't go right after [the DH]. ... It's going to slow the game down.

While the DH technically adds more competitive hitters, MLB implemented a pitch clock in 2023 which significantly reduced game times, making the pace of play argument more about the clock than the DH.

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