Thanks to cameras and software, baseball’s about to find the answers to questions that have befuddled front offices (and fans!) for years:

Which shortstops reach the hard-hit grounders up the middle? Which base runners take the fastest path from first base to third? Which right fielders charge the ball quickest and then throw the ball hardest and most accurately?


We’re thrilled because this conversation is more tired than Shaq’s lazy eye.

A few odds and ends heading into the big UFC weekend:

* Yes, that’s us trying (and failing!) to keep up with the funny of Joe Sports Fan and Sports Hernia.
* Tebow speaks! We’re going to try to ignore Tebow-related stuff (unless we can ‘break’ another story about one of his girlfriends; break is in parens because nobody got her name) until the week of the Sept. 19 game against Tennessee.
* The reporter who was dry-humped by Rampage Jackson? Spoke to Traina over at Hot Clicks. Didn’t seem to thrilled with Jackson’s antics.
* We’re stunned that Orlando got Brandon Bass. We can easily see him as a 10-10 guy – maybe more if he gets the minutes. He’s like a younger, more active Charles Oakley inside. This should allow Orlando to put VC, Lewis and Pietrus to the perimeter and have them jack shots all night. Maybe it’s Friday, and we’re just itching to crack a brew, but based on this signing, we’ve got Orlando as the preseason team to beat in the East. (We’ve still got the Lakers in the West, but that could change if Odom doesn’t stay.)
* The Rap Sheet in Alabama is no mas. Ian Rapoport is leaving the Birmingham News to cover the Patriots for the Boston Herald. This guy’s going from one locked-down program with an annoying but successful coach (Saban) to another one (Belichick).
* And we’ll leave you with a story that we’ll pick up next week, for sure – “Krzyzewski’s got one thing he needs to do over the next few years: restore Duke basketball.” Those are the words of John Feinstein, speaking about a guy he usually holds in high regard – Coach K. (And he’s totally right.) We asked a similar question to next week’s interview subject (hint: It’s coming on Tuesday).

Weekend schedule … there isn’t one. We’ll post as we see fit. That means, if you email us a link/video/tip/screengrab/whatever that hasn’t popped, and we’re in the bagel store/gym/beach/backyard, one of us will scurry home quickly and toss up a post.

Digital Eyes Will Chart Baseball’s Unseen Skills (NYT)