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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 13, 2023 17:55:03 GMT -5
I went to a game last night! Woo! Got free tickets and free parking to see the Dbacks/Phillies game. This was a crazy game. Phillies pitcher accidentally hit the Dbacks Rookie phenom twice. DBacks manager came out to complain. Benches cleared Manager and another player got ejected. DBacks young starter was all over the place and the Phillies got 5 runs off him. Dbacks were down 5-1, then came back to win, thanks to big hits by two of their worst players? Dbacks went up 9-5, then the Phillies slowly caught up. I really thought the Phillies took the lead in the 9th on a HR. However, the umpires reversed the call to a foul ball, then replay showed it was foul. DBacks win 9-8. And the Phillies catcher JT Realmuto hit for the cycle! This makes it the second time I've been at the park to see a player hit for the cycle. Which is odd, considering how rare this is, and how few times per season I go to the park. Anyway, please other teams, don't hit Corbin Carroll. He's the reason the Dbacks are winning right now. Corbin Carrol was just named NL Player of the Week for last week. In that week his stats were as follows: Avg .500 OPS 1.633 HR 3 RBI 8 SB 3 In last night's game, Carroll was hit twice, then went 2-3, including a triple, ran out an infield groundball for a hit, had an RBI and 2 runs scored. His season stats are now Avg.313 OBP .397 OPS .986 HR 13 SB 19 fWAR 3.3 bWAR 3.4 This is RIDICULOUS for a 22 year old Rookie. OMG, what a great player! Please go throw him some votes for the All Star Game. Yes, yes, the All Star Game is meaningless, and I probably won't even watch it. But vote for him anyway! www.mlb.com/all-star/ballotWhat players are all the rest of you loving to watch this season?
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 13, 2023 18:02:33 GMT -5
Apparently there was once some guy who threw the ball as slowly as possible and was one of the best pitchers of all time or something? Why don’t more now-times pitchers do that? Are you talking about a knuckleball pitcher? Or something else? Pitching slowly now only works if you have other pitches which are fast. Slow pitches are easier to hit. They can work as pitches that fool hitters only if the hitters are expecting a much faster pitch. They can also work if they have a big drop, like a curve ball or sinker. Though, sinkers are usually fast pitches. But still, the off-speed pitches only function as "out" pitches if the pitcher also has a strong fastball. Unless it is knuckleball. A true knuckleball is hard to hit because it is hard to predict where it is going. It is less the speed than it is the pitch movement that makes that one a killer pitch. Not too many pitchers throw it because it is hard to do!
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Jun 14, 2023 0:25:26 GMT -5
Apparently there was once some guy who threw the ball as slowly as possible and was one of the best pitchers of all time or something? Why don’t more now-times pitchers do that? Are you talking about a knuckleball pitcher? Or something else? Pitching slowly now only works if you have other pitches which are fast. Slow pitches are easier to hit. They can work as pitches that fool hitters only if the hitters are expecting a much faster pitch. They can also work if they have a big drop, like a curve ball or sinker. Though, sinkers are usually fast pitches. But still, the off-speed pitches only function as "out" pitches if the pitcher also has a strong fastball. Unless it is knuckleball. A true knuckleball is hard to hit because it is hard to predict where it is going. It is less the speed than it is the pitch movement that makes that one a killer pitch. Not too many pitchers throw it because it is hard to do! No, I'm talking about this guy. Why don't more people just rip off his gimmick?
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 14, 2023 2:12:49 GMT -5
No, I'm talking about this guy. Why don't more people just rip off his gimmick?
Mark Eichhorn was a good pitcher, but he was not considered one of the best of all time.
He had a shoulder injury that forced him to pitch sidearm. He was a submarine pitcher. He threw a slow changeup, I think. And maybe a slider? And I think he threw some kind of splitter.
He had an extremely low arm angle, which created a low release point. And he had good command. The weird arm angle and strong command is what fooled people, not the speed. And this really only worked for 1 season, when he accrued an ERA of 1.72. After that hitters figured out how to hit him. His second year of this ended with an ERA of 3.17, which is good but not great. But definitely when he first started pitching like this he had a ton of success.
He was a relief pitcher, so he didn't have to throw too many pitches. And when the managers used him too much, he sustained more injuries and lost effectiveness.
The question here is really why don't more MLB pitchers learn to throw submarine-style? It isn't the speed of the pitches that matters with that arm slot. It is the angle and movement of the pitches. It is supposed to be less harmful to the shoulder.
My only guess is that the mechanics are harder to replicate, and maybe it is harder to command the pitches. And for guys now, they'd still have to be able to throw a 90+mph fastball, even from that arm angle. Throwing every pitch 75mph now would get a pitcher hammered. Even with the best of command.
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,555
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Post by repulsionist on Jun 25, 2023 15:32:30 GMT -5
Enjoyed the Amazon Prime simulcast of Padres v. Nationals' Friday game. Watched the 7th - 8th innings. Baseball, if you've grown up with it, is much preferred over cricket.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 25, 2023 16:06:02 GMT -5
Bally Sports has said they want to end their contract with the Dbacks. This could happen by the end of the month. If they don't make their next rights payment on July 1, the distribution rights revert to MLB. This is what happened with the Padres. MLB now airs their games over a local channel, and offers up local streaming through MLB.tv.
I am so excited about this possibility. I haven't been able to actually watch DBacks games in 4 years since I cut the cord. MLB doesn't offer any streaming of your home team. As in, you can't even PAY them to stream your home team. This is absurd in 2023.
If we get the same deal San Diego has, it will cost $19.99/month to stream our home team. That is less than $1 per game. I would totally do that. Like, I am actually HAPPY that MLB may finally allow me to PAY to watch my home team. That is how stupid MLB's local blackout policy is.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 28, 2023 23:02:41 GMT -5
I completely jinxed the Dbacks game tonight. I am a logical, rational person, but I know I caused the team to lose tonight. After their worst pitcher threw 7 innings of shutout baseball against the Rays I tweeted that I could feel the bullpen implosion coming, because that didn't feel right.
And then the bullpen implosion happened, and the Dbacks lost 3-2.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 28, 2023 23:17:10 GMT -5
And a Yankees pitcher pitched a Perfect Game tonight. Wow! I mean, sure, it was against Oakland. But still. That's only the 24th one in history. Wow.
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Baseball?
Jun 29, 2023 6:59:47 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Jun 29, 2023 6:59:47 GMT -5
And a Yankees pitcher pitched a Perfect Game tonight. Wow! I mean, sure, it was against Oakland. But still. That's only the 24th one in history. Wow. Desert Dweller, what is the deal with the Oaklands’ pitcher from that game? Why does he go by the same name as a prominent right wing antivax conspiracy “comedian” when he could just not be called by his initials?
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 29, 2023 23:48:18 GMT -5
And a Yankees pitcher pitched a Perfect Game tonight. Wow! I mean, sure, it was against Oakland. But still. That's only the 24th one in history. Wow. Desert Dweller, what is the deal with the Oaklands’ pitcher from that game? Why does he go by the same name as a prominent right wing antivax conspiracy “comedian” when he could just not be called by his initials?
I wasn't even Online enough to know who that other JP Sears was that you were referring to. I had to google him.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jun 29, 2023 23:49:10 GMT -5
Also, bummer. I got my hopes up too soon. Today the press reported that the Dbacks are back in negotiations with Bally Sports to keep broadcasting their games. Ugh, Bally, just default already and let MLB take over the damned streaming rights!!
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jul 9, 2023 16:00:16 GMT -5
Ha! Reds Rookie Elly de la Cruz stole every base in one sequence last night. Ha ha ha ha! This is so fun! I have been hoping to see DBacks Rookie Corbin Carroll steal home this season. Still hoping to see it, because come on, this is FUN!
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jul 18, 2023 23:23:44 GMT -5
Mark down this historic date: July 18th, 2023. This becomes the first day that MLB will allow me to *pay them* to stream my local team's baseball games. Prior to this, their own streaming service, MLBTV, did not allow you to stream your local team. That's correct. As of the first half of the 2023 season, MLB wouldn't let you pay them to stream your local team. I'm not even talking about free streaming! I'm saying you couldn't even subscribe to a paid service that would allow you to watch your local team's games. In 2023!! I cut the cord many years ago. I've been subscribing to MLB's audio only service so that I could at least listen to the radio broadcasts. You still cannot get your local team with the main MLBTV subscription. However, MLB offers a separate subscription that is local team only. It is $19.99/month. That's less than $1 per game. I will probably subscribe as of August 1st. MLB is streaming the DBacks for free through July 23rd. So, I'd only miss a week's worth of games. Which isn't too bad considering I haven't been able to watch any DBacks games in 7 years. This lack of local team streaming was the most insane thing in sports and streaming media. It is absolutely INSANE that you could not even PAY to stream these games before now. This is happening because Diamond/Bally Sports backed out of their tv distribution deal with the DBacks. So, MLB took over distribution rights. This already happened with the Padres. It probably will happen to several other clubs this year. Wow, I cannot even believe I will finally get to watch games again!
Edited to add: I will need to cut down on some of my other streaming service subscriptions. I just cancelled Netflix. Maybe I'll cancel Amazon Prime for a couple months, too.
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Baseball?
Sept 26, 2023 3:12:37 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Sept 26, 2023 3:12:37 GMT -5
If Shohei Ohtani decided to become a professional baseball catcher instead of a pitcher, would he still be good at it?
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Post by Powerthirteen on Sept 26, 2023 17:13:33 GMT -5
If Shohei Ohtani decided to become a professional baseball catcher instead of a pitcher, would he still be good at it? I'd imagine he could *become* competent at it, although whether or not he'd be a better than replacement-level is debatable.
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Sept 28, 2023 14:55:07 GMT -5
If Shohei Ohtani decided to become a professional baseball catcher instead of a pitcher, would he still be good at it? Of the two generational talents the Angels have wasted the careers of, if one of them could’ve been a catcher I’d have preferred it be Mike Trout That way they could have had a Trout Mask Replica giveaway day at some point.
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Baseball?
Oct 5, 2023 17:27:25 GMT -5
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 5, 2023 17:27:25 GMT -5
Game 2 of 162 - LA Dodgers (1-0-0) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (0-1-0)Congratulations to Desert Dweller for her beloved Diamondbacks winning the baseball match. Perhaps this year they will bring home the mlb version of the Stanley cup to the Desert State or whatever the nickname for Arizona is. LOL, the Dbacks are not winning the World Series this year. That would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports.
How are you feeling about this prediction now that your beloved Diamondbacks have almost won the baseball version of the Stanley Cup, Desert Dweller?
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Post by pantsgoblin on Oct 5, 2023 22:50:56 GMT -5
My father, a die-hard Yankees fan, probably didn't think 2023 could get worse (NYY is apparently having its worst season since the early '90s). But now this year has also brought a ripped ACL from a bicycling accident and he has to wait 8 weeks for surgery.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 6, 2023 17:02:06 GMT -5
LOL, the Dbacks are not winning the World Series this year. That would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports.
How are you feeling about this prediction now that your beloved Diamondbacks have almost won the baseball version of the Stanley Cup, Desert Dweller? LOL, they'd have to win 3 series against teams that are all better than they are. As I said above, this would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports. Hell, I was surprised they won 2 games against the Brewers! I'll be surprised if they can win ONE GAME vs the Dodgers.
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Baseball?
Oct 6, 2023 17:12:17 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 6, 2023 17:12:17 GMT -5
How are you feeling about this prediction now that your beloved Diamondbacks have almost won the baseball version of the Stanley Cup, Desert Dweller? LOL, they'd have to win 3 series against teams that are all better than they are. As I said above, this would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports. Hell, I was surprised they won 2 games against the Brewers! I'll be surprised if they can win ONE GAME vs the Dodgers. Why are there so many wild card teams now?
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 6, 2023 17:13:49 GMT -5
LOL, they'd have to win 3 series against teams that are all better than they are. As I said above, this would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports. Hell, I was surprised they won 2 games against the Brewers! I'll be surprised if they can win ONE GAME vs the Dodgers. Why are there so many wild card teams now? MLB expanded the playoffs a couple years ago. Trying to get more teams involved in post-season play because - shocker - this makes more money!
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Baseball?
Oct 7, 2023 9:01:45 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 7, 2023 9:01:45 GMT -5
How are you feeling about this prediction now that your beloved Diamondbacks have almost won the baseball version of the Stanley Cup, Desert Dweller? LOL, they'd have to win 3 series against teams that are all better than they are. As I said above, this would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports. Hell, I was surprised they won 2 games against the Brewers! I'll be surprised if they can win ONE GAME vs the Dodgers. But when you think about it, the DBacks are only ten wins away from winning all of baseball. They’re really close when you look at it that way.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 7, 2023 16:02:05 GMT -5
LOL, they'd have to win 3 series against teams that are all better than they are. As I said above, this would be one of the most surprising things I've ever seen in sports. Hell, I was surprised they won 2 games against the Brewers! I'll be surprised if they can win ONE GAME vs the Dodgers. But when you think about it, the DBacks are only ten wins away from winning all of baseball. They’re really close when you look at it that way. It would take 11 wins to win the World Series at this point.
And sure, this is really close! Much closer than I expected. With two weeks to go in the season, I still thought they wouldn't even make the playoffs.
But the fact remains that they don't really have any pitching, and the offense sometimes just vanishes. They aren't as consistent a team as the other 7 teams remaining. And they were 5-8 vs the Dodgers this year, including getting swept in their final 4 games vs them. The 5 wins came from early in the season when the Dodgers were dealing with pitching woes.
So, as I said, I will be happily surprised if the Dbacks get even one win against the Dodgers. And I don't think they could beat the Braves/Phillies nor any of the AL teams. They'd need better pitching for this.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 7, 2023 23:41:14 GMT -5
But when you think about it, the DBacks are only ten wins away from winning all of baseball. They’re really close when you look at it that way. It would take 11 wins to win the World Series at this point.
And sure, this is really close! Much closer than I expected. With two weeks to go in the season, I still thought they wouldn't even make the playoffs.
But the fact remains that they don't really have any pitching, and the offense sometimes just vanishes. They aren't as consistent a team as the other 7 teams remaining. And they were 5-8 vs the Dodgers this year, including getting swept in their final 4 games vs them. The 5 wins came from early in the season when the Dodgers were dealing with pitching woes.
So, as I said, I will be happily surprised if the Dbacks get even one win against the Dodgers. And I don't think they could beat the Braves/Phillies nor any of the AL teams. They'd need better pitching for this.
OK, now your beloved D-Backs only need ten more wins to win all of baseball.
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Baseball?
Oct 9, 2023 23:32:22 GMT -5
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 9, 2023 23:32:22 GMT -5
Desert Dweller Only nine more wins needed for the Diamondbacks to win MLB.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 10, 2023 21:24:09 GMT -5
Desert Dweller Only nine more wins needed for the Diamondbacks to win MLB. Yes, that is true.
The Dbacks won 84 games this year. With their best lineup on the field, they were on pace to win 92 games. That is as per Sarah Langs.
This team doesn't have enough pitching to win the World Series. It would be the most surprising thing I've ever seen in sports
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Baseball?
Oct 10, 2023 23:39:08 GMT -5
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 10, 2023 23:39:08 GMT -5
Desert Dweller Only nine more wins needed for the Diamondbacks to win MLB. Yes, that is true.
The Dbacks won 84 games this year. With their best lineup on the field, they were on pace to win 92 games. That is as per Sarah Langs.
This team doesn't have enough pitching to win the World Series. It would be the most surprising thing I've ever seen in sports
But they finished 34 games above the Oakland Athletics in the regular season, a professional Major League Baseball team. Those guys play in the most prestigious league dyad of professional baseball in the entire world, and the D-Backs finished 34 games ahead of them. That’s got to count for something.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 11, 2023 15:54:47 GMT -5
Yes, that is true.
The Dbacks won 84 games this year. With their best lineup on the field, they were on pace to win 92 games. That is as per Sarah Langs.
This team doesn't have enough pitching to win the World Series. It would be the most surprising thing I've ever seen in sports
But they finished 34 games above the Oakland Athletics in the regular season, a professional Major League Baseball team. Those guys play in the most prestigious league dyad of professional baseball in the entire world, and the D-Backs finished 34 games ahead of them. That’s got to count for something. Sure! It counts for extra revenue from just being in the playoffs, more ticket sales down the final stretch of the regular season, the revenue from being able to host a playoff game, the added media attention to the younger players which should help gain them some national recognition, etc. Probably will increase ticket sales NEXT season, too.
It definitely caused Corbin Carroll's MLB rookie card to increase in value, according to a friend of mine.
It also created a bunch of joy for the fans, getting to watch them crush the Dodgers 11-2 in game one.
Being in the playoffs is good! The team was aiming for this. The players, coaches and execs made it very clear that this was the goal for this year.
Of course, they also had a LOT of pitching woes this season, and ended up being very short on starting pitching. They DFA'd two starting pitchers, and lost two more to injury. They have two rookies in their starting rotation now. And probably will have to treat Game 3 tonight as a bullpen game, if their rookie starter has difficulties.
Maybe the success this year will entice a decent starting pitcher to sign with the team in the off-season?
Absolutely no Dbacks fan will complain about their 2023 season. No matter what happens from here on out. They did what they set out to do. They've likely overperformed. I am delighted with how it all turned out. Even if they lose three straight games to the Dodgers, I'd still be happy with the season. But I really hope they don't lose three games in a row to the Dodgers.
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Baseball?
Oct 11, 2023 23:39:07 GMT -5
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Oct 11, 2023 23:39:07 GMT -5
And now Desert Dweller’s beloved Diamondbacks are only eight professional baseball wins away from winning the MLB. I hope they sweep their next opponent, whoever that is. Possibly Minnesota, but for all I know they might be in the AL, in which case it is unlikely they would meet Arizona, in the NL version of the World Series. It probably won’t be the Mets, but they’re the only other team that I know for a fact is in the NL off the top of my head.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 13, 2023 17:03:06 GMT -5
And now Desert Dweller ’s beloved Diamondbacks are only eight professional baseball wins away from winning the MLB. I hope they sweep their next opponent, whoever that is. Possibly Minnesota, but for all I know they might be in the AL, in which case it is unlikely they would meet Arizona, in the NL version of the World Series. It probably won’t be the Mets, but they’re the only other team that I know for a fact is in the NL off the top of my head. Yes! Suck it, Dodgers! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! They looked so bad. Ah, thank you DBacks for the 2023 Playoff revenge tour! First up, sweeping the Brewers, in revenge for the 2011 NLDS, which featured Brewer Ryan Braun who was testing positive for banned substances in the playoffs, and MLB did nothing about that and only announced it after the series was over. Next up, the 2017 NLDS vs the Dodgers. In that year, the Dbacks were subjected to MLB's insane one-game wild card play-in. They had to play the Rockies who finished several games behind them in their own division! Because this was a win-or-go-home game, the Dbacks were forced to use their TWO best starting pitchers just to win this game*. Which then led to them getting swept by the Dodgers in the next round. The Dodgers won game 3 in the DBacks park and proceeded to not just jump into the DBacks pool, but they proudly stated that they pissed in the Dbacks pool. Hope the Dodgers enjoy the feeling of getting swept this year. I loved seeing all of their sad faces. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! (And yes, I recognize that MLB is the real villain in both those previous series, but who cares.) The Dbacks will be playing the Phillies in the NLCS. This is a bit scary. But the Dbacks did go 3-4 vs the Phillies during the season, including one extra innings loss. So, they can beat them. I don't expect the Dbacks to win, and the Phillies home park gives insane home field advantage. But hey, the Dbacks have been surprising everyone so far. I guess we'll see. Edited to add: I don't think the Dbacks have any beef with the Phillies. So, they have no revenge motivation here. Edited to add: *Because see most managers realize that in an elimination game you have to manage the game to win that day. Unlike Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, who said that in Game 3, after his starter was giving up HRs, he didn't make a pitching change because he was trying to manage their pitchers to make sure they could win in game 4 and 5. My guy, this was an ELIMINATION game. There is no game 4/5 if you don't win this game.
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