Usually in Google Docs, sometimes on scrap paper, occasionally carving into my coffee table if a sticky note isn't at the ready.
And along with the initial idea, I include a few of the major points I want to touch on.
For example, when I wrote about Ubaldo Jimenez's assault on history last month, my notes looked something like:
"Chasing Bob Gibson...baseball harder now than in 60s...evolution of modern athletes...Jon Hamm = dreamy."
You get the idea.
Now I'm not telling you this just to give you a glimpse into the genius mind of the Hemingway of Hardball. That's one goal, but I have ulterior motives.
(By the way, you're welcome)
No, I'm telling you this because a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to write about GameDay, the animated, live-update scoreboard offered by MLB.com to help you track games on your computer.
But when it came to scribbling a few notes, a few key ideas, a few topic sentences or what-have-you, all I could come up with was, and I quote:
"It F*$^%&# sucks"
More like LameDay...am I right, people?!It used to be so glorious.
You clicked the game you wanted to watch and a concise, well-organized window opened up.
In the center was a silhouette of a batter, and little colored dots appeared intermittently to indicate if the pitch was a ball, a strike, a hit or an out.
Box scores and lineups were to the right, the current pitcher and batter to the left.
That was it. It wasn't complicated and it wasn't flashy.
Much like David Eckstein, it showed up when you needed it, got the job done and left.
Those days, sadly, are over.
Open GameDay now and it gets its own tab in your browser. The days of it being a separate, compact window are long gone.
This was probably written into GameDay's new contract, and I imagine GameDay is represented by Scott Boras.
But wait, there's more.
Where the original GameDay was beautiful in its simplicity, new GameDay is bogged down with pointless animations and an overload of information more useless than Kyle Farnsworth.
First off, it's now in 3D. Hip hip frigging hooray, everything is in 3D now.
And no silly glasses required? You're too good to me, GameDay.
Don't like 3D? You're only kind of screwed.
GameDay throws you a sort-of bone by giving you the option---and I swear to Cal Ripken Jr. I'm not making this up---of switching between "Full 3D" and "Light 3D."
Go ahead and switch between the two when you get a chance. You won't notice the change immediately.
In fact, you won't notice the change at all.
On to the pitcher now...who does not exist.
Seriously, GameDay?
You make all these idiotic changes, yet the ball is being fired from some dark abyss of nothingness?
In terms of good ideas, that ranks just above New Coke and just a hair behind Melky Cabrera.
Well played, indeed.
The Infinite Chasm of Space and Time's pitches now come with a little red or blue line so you can see where they started from (Heaven?) and where they wound up.
(Spoiler alert: If Mark Reynolds is batting, it wound up in the catcher's mitt)
And in case you're interested (which you aren't), you can check each pitch's type, release speed, result speed, pFX and break.
So now I know everything I never wanted to know about Dan Haren's cutter, and I can watch Prince Fielder hit it from any angle I please?
Darn right, I can. This is America.
USA! USA!I'm sure I sound like some old curmudgeon railing against kids these days with their tight jeans and rock music, but I just loved the old GameDay so much more.
I suppose I'm not angry, baseball. I'm just disappointed.
You're losing popularity, and it just perplexes me how you can continue to make such boneheaded, self-destructing decisions.
Last week's Homerun Derby was kicked off with a performance by the band Train. At least four people probably had to greenlight that move, and they should all be fired.
You take any and all classic clips off of YouTube in an attempt to control the copyrights.
Add it all up, throw in a dash of playoff games not starting until 8:30pm and ending before midnight if we're lucky, and how exactly is the game supposed to attract new fans?
How is any ten-year-old boy supposed to fall in love with David Ortiz if said boy is in his pajamas before the third inning of Game 7?
You've got some work to do, baseball, but I believe in you. Fixing GameDay so its "improvements" don't slow my computer to a crawl is a start.
But beyond that, you need some rebranding. You need to paint yourself in a new and exciting light.
You need some fresh ideas to help rekindle America's love affair with its national pastime.
I know just the man for the job.
You're welcome, baseball.
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