NERD Scores Now Available from Internet Robot
For five or seven years or whatever, the author of this post published a daily collection of so-called NERD Scores — ratings, that is, intended to summarize, in one number, the appeal of a particular game to the sort of people who visit FanGraphs. Most readers ignored this daily service. Others were compelled to note its flaws with some regularity. A small minority suggested that it was of some benefit.
Due to a combination of influences — the birth of a child, a slight change in roles here at the site, ungovernable sloth — the author decided this spring not to publish the daily NERD posts this year. This has allowed me to dedicate extra time to pursue my favorite — namely, adding hyphens to the compound adjectives utilized by other authors in their work at this site. Unsurprisingly, FanGraphs has survived the absence of this content.
Recently, however, one interested party has proven what I suspected all along — that the NERD scores are the province of unthinking and -feeling robots. Enterprising millennial John Edwards has identified the least profitable use for his programming and coding skills — namely by crafting a Twitter bot that publishes the NERD scores automatically.
Here, for example, is today’s (somewhat uninspiring) slate of games:
Top games for today by NERD
Brewers (Jhoulys Chacin) vs. Braves (Max Fried), 08:10 pm ET (NERD: 6)
Astros (Justin Verlander) vs. White Sox (Carlos Rodon), 08:10 pm ET (NERD: 6)
Tigers (Matthew Boyd) vs. Rangers (Yovani Gallardo), 07:10 pm ET (NERD: 5) pic.twitter.com/liyl0WhJ3g— NERD Score Bot (@NERDScoreBot) July 5, 2018
And an apology that suggests that alerts will mark the start of each game:
Apologies, still working out the timing kinks w.r.t. publishing NERD scores when games start. Bot should be 100% functional before the end of the week.
— NERD Score Bot (@NERDScoreBot) July 5, 2018
Edwards himself has suggested that the feed is a work in progress. For those who prefer some guidance for their daily viewing habits, this seems like a promising resource.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
Pssh. Nerd.
Something WAS missing this season. I knew it!
Not the hyphens!
One of the things that I most enjoyed about your NERD scores was how the Washington Nationals were the only team whose name was ever listed correctly because of your penchant for saying “Nationals” and “Americans” following the city instead of the team name. It seems that tradition has not survived.
But is the Bot handsome enough to make adjustments when necessary?
I gotta say Carson. the NERD scores I looked forward to because I like being told what to watch instead of figuring it out for myself.
When I noticed they were gone, I resigned to just watching games in which “Mike Trout” was in the line-up or if one of the teams playing was the Chicago Cubs.
Thanks for letting us know about this.
surely one could program a bot to insert hyphens into compound adjectives.
OMG…
I was just thinking the other day how much I missed the NERD scores. As an mlb.tv subscriber in a western time zone, they are *fantastic* for guiding my viewing pleasures. I’m glad they’re back, albeit without the always amazing commentary.