gameday technical issues

[smokeyburgess]

Living in Seattle, I follow live Pirate games on ESPN Gameday or MLB.Com. Recently, on both sites, I've found that the "live" Gameday info no longer completely fits the window containing the info. I've tried different ways of getting the info to fit the window, but no luck.

Has anybody else had the same problem, and if so, do you have any suggestions how to fix it? I know there's only a few games left, but I find it extremely annoying. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Smokey

 

[magnumo]

I watch most games on MLB.com's Gameday..... but I have not noticed anything like the problem you have described. Can you be a little bit more specific about what you used to see which no longer fits the window?

My biggest issue with Gameday is that their graphics show a LOT of pitches in the strike zone (some not even close to the edges) which are called balls. At first, I thought this might be umpire bias against the Pirates. However, I've been paying closer attention recently, and it seems to happen frequently, regardless of which team is hitting.

 

[smokeyburgess]

I've also noticed that the MLB Gameday graphics seemingly misrepresent the actual location of some pitches. As I recall, it was the same for the ESPN Gameday site as well. Either the umps are incredibly incompetent or the pitch graphics aren't accurate. I assume the latter is closer to the truth.

As for my problem with the MLB Gameday graphics, when I first started using MLB, the Gameday graphics correctly fit within the Gameday window, but recently they haven't. Most of the graphics are only partially visible now. On the Boxscores and Benches box, for example, the scroll bar on the right is no longer visible, so I can see the Cincy boxscore but can't scroll down to see the Pirate boxscore. Same for the Game Summary box -- it shows the ball-and-strike chronology for the current batter, but I can't scroll up or down to see anything else. Finally, the photos on the lower right of the window of the on-deck and in-the-hole hitters are only partially visible.

I've tried both the "Classic" and "Gameday" versions, and it's the same for both. Don't know how this happened because everything was perfectly fine until recently. Guess I'll have to contact MLB.com for help -- unless anybody has any suggestions. Maybe the problem is with my computer?

 

[smokeyburgess]

No sooner did I post the above message than did the MLB Gameday site suddenly work fine. All the graphics fit within the Gameday window and I can see the scroll bars. etc. Have no idea what happened, but I had that problem for a couple weeks. Hope that's the last of it.

 

[magnumo]

OK, smokey..... that detailed description gave me a very clear picture of what was going on. I've never seen anything like that from Gameday on my computer. At any rate, I'm glad it cleared up. Just out of curiosity, I'll try to remember to ask my son (who is a professional geek..... both hardware and software). If he has any ideas, I'll pass them on.

And I think you're right about the ball-and-strike graphics. I've seen issues with pitch descriptions, as well. For example, I recently saw a relief pitcher throw his first 2 pitches for strikes against one of the Pirate hitters..... and Gameday called them both 91 mph curve balls. Then the 3rd pitch was described as a 91 mph fastball. Obviously, something must be a little bit off there. I've often wondered who MLB.com has describing the pitch-by-pitch and inputting the location. Maybe some low-paid kid doing the best that he can.

 

[smokeyburgess]

Thanks, Mags. I'm curious as to what caused the problem, so if your son has any ideas, pass them on.

As for the errant ball-and-strike graphics, these are hard times...wouldn't be surprised to find out that MLB.com is saving a few bucks by employing some middle school kid to describe pitch location!

 

[magnumo]

Hey Smokey,

I have discussed your problem with my son while we were eating lunch together at a local restaurant.

He has never been to the MLB.com Gameday page, but from my description of Gameday, he induced that the page is run by Flash software. (I have confirmed on my compuiter that the Gameday page is indeed a Flash page.) He speculates that the problem is a Flash Player software configuration issue on your computer..... perhaps something as simple as a zoom control.

He stated that how Flash Player configuration settings are manipulated is determined by which version you have. In some versions, the zoom control may be hidden..... in others, it may be found by simply right-clicking on the animated portion of the Flash page you're viewing.

Originally, Flash was written by a company called Macromedia, but was bought by Adobe some time back. I'm running the latest version of Adobe Flash Player (version 10.3). When I right click on Gameday on my computer, I get a pop-up menu which lists "Settings," "Global Settings," and "About Adobe Flash Player 10.3." Unfortunately, those settings don't seem to include a zoom setting or anything similar. I have been unable to duplicate on my computer the phenomenon you described.

I told my son that your problem had manifested and then "fixed itself" some time later, without you doing anything to control it. He indicated that such a problem could result from an unintended key stroke or mouse click (or combination of key strokes) which toggles the hidden zoom control back and forth..... or could result from a glitch on your computer which somehow does the same thing.

I didn't find his explanation very satisfying, but he said it was the best he could do without observing your problem first hand. Sorry we couldn't be of more help.

 

[smokeyburgess]

Mags -- Thanks loads for taking the time to look into the technical problem I had with my Flash Player on MLB.com Gameday.

Upon reflection, I think your son is right. When I was attempting to remedy the problem, I couldn't find a zoom control under the pop-up menu, but somewhere along the line a zoom control button emerged somewhere else. I must have done something to trigger it because the graphics suddenly fit properly within the Gameday window after that.

Thanks again to you and your son for the help.

P.S. Along with you (and many other Bucco fans), I will be anxiously awaiting news that the Pirates have acquired an ace starting pitcher for the 2012 season. How about bringing back Oliver Perez?

 

[smokeyburgess]

Gameday technical issue

Mags -- Thanks loads for taking the time to look into the technical problem I had with my Flash Player on MLB.com Gameday.

Upon reflection, I think your son is right. When I was attempting to remedy the problem, I couldn't find a zoom control under the pop-up menu, but somewhere along the line a zoom control button emerged somewhere else. I must have done something to trigger it because the graphics suddenly fit properly within the Gameday window after that.

Thanks again to you and your son for the help.

P.S. Along with you (and many other Bucco fans), I will be anxiously awaiting news that the Pirates have acquired an ace starting pitcher for the 2012 season. How about bringing back Oliver Perez?

 

[magnumo]

Cole, maybe?

Hey Smokey, you're welcome. Happy to be of even small help..... and to learn a little something myself.

Yeah, I'd be tickled to death if the Bucs could come up with an ace (or two), WITHOUT having to wait for the top prospects in the low minors. It's been only a couple of outings, but apparently Gerritt Cole is looking good in the AFL. It would be incredibly cool if he could emerge sooner rather than later..... and pitch effectively at the major league level.

Cole fires 3 2/3 hitless frames in Mesa's win | pirates.com: News