Daily Notes for March 28th

Carson Cistulli remains away, so us the other writers shall — as the Necronomicon suggests we might — play.

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Selected Televised Games
2. Japanese Baseball Wonderments
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Get Your Vote On

Selected Televised Games
Notable games available on MLB.TV.

Mariners at Athletics AL | 6:10 ET
By the time your eyes hit these digital words, this game will should have expired — because this Regular Season series is taking place in yonder JAPAN. But, through the magic of Internet, you can watch this game anytime today and at your leisure! The contest will also be re-broadcast on MLB Network at 9 a.m. (with a three-hour delay, that is), so people looking to get their Yoenis Cespedes / Ichiro Suzuki fix have some options here.

The game is still in progress at the time of publication. I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say: The game involves pitching performances! and multi-hit efforts! and diving/jumping catches!

Yankees at Braves | 13:05 ET (ESPN)
Hot, scintillating, Spring Training action! That’s what ESPN’s broadcast Wednesday broadcast promises the inquisitive viewer. Come watch as 2B Dan Uggla attempts to continue his thrashing of the spring season (ranked No. 2 in the most recent SCOUT leaderboard).

Nationals at Mets | 13:05 ET
Super-prospect OF Bryce Harper has been optioned to Triple-A, but still, the Nationals are a team on the rise and infielder Daniel Murphy is a fellow graduate of Jacksonville University. Go Dolphins.

Japanese Baseball Wonderments

Here’s a brief look into the Japanese baseball fan-stylings of the modern era:

I was recently chastised by fellow FanGraphs writers at a spring game in which I wholeheartedly, mirthfully joined in a somewhat flaccid rendition of the Wave. The pained smile from Dave Cameron told me, “Wow, you found a new way to embarrass a whole section of nerds,” but in my heart, I know I was right.

The Wave is just a bit of entertainment and this whole sport falls under the wings of Entertainment. I realize some complain that doing the wave means not paying attention to the game, and I respect that protest. However: (1) I consider myself fully able to watch baseball and stand up at the same time (years of training have led me to perfect this technique), and (2) most people at a stadium don’t truly understand this game anyway, so what do I care if they’re watching? If they’re not watching, it means they’re less likely to yell annoyingly over my shoulder about how Ben Zobrist sucks or how Derek Jeter deserves a lifetime Gold Glove.

I would happily drop my wave’ing ambitions, however, if ballparks started having Japanese-style fan sections. That would be awesome.

Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Get Your Vote On
Recently, Cistulli released the results of his television broadcaster rankings — itself the product of reader crowdsourcing that started in late November. Now, FanGraphs is asking readers to rate the radio broadcast teams for all 30 major-league clubs (Click here for more on this project.)

Be sure to drop by and rate the MLB’s broadcast teams when you get a free moment in your SO BUSY day: Washington / Toronto / Texas / Tampa Bay / Seattle / San Francisco / San Diego / St. Louis / Pittsburgh / Philadelphia.