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A few weeks ago, I wrote a little piece suggesting cricket take a leaf out of baseballs book and maintain statistics for fielders. The practical difficulty with this suggestion is that cricket scoresheets do not contain this kind of information: fielders do not figure on scoresheets except for when they take catches. The runouts and boundary saves they make, the catches they drop, the misfields the inflict on their team are all missed.But for a few years now, a scoresheet has been present which could potentially address this difficulty. I am referring to the Cricinfo ball-by-ball commentary, which currently records brilliant fielding, catches, drops, some misfields (if they are particularly egregious), and sometimes information on the fielder.Consider the following excerpts from the Ashes:9.4 Harmison to Ponting, 1 run, oh dear! Huge run-out chance missed there by Ian Bell! Ponting prods to cover and takes off for a single, but its misjudged and Ponting had given up on making it as Bells throw bounced over the stumps. Ponting was about three metres out there. Enormous chance missed.And:26.5 Broad to Ponting, no run, prodded out to third man - no, brilliant stop from Anderson at gully! Hes a lithe and brilliant fielder for a fast bowler.In this commentary/scoresheet, besides the usual recording of dot balls, runs, batsman and bowler, we have information on the fielders, on what they did or did not do. Thus the Cricinfo ball-by-ball is in fact, an annotated scorers sheet, which could be used to generate the kind of fielders statistics I had in mind in the piece linked above.Of course, the annotations in the Cricinfo commentary are voluntary; they are placed there by the commentators on duty at that time and the level of detail can vary. The commentary still does not record fielders names when there is no error as in:25.2 Harmison to Watson, no run, shorter delivery, slapped to pointHere, we do not know who was at point, and thus we have no way of finding out, for instance, whether a particular fielder commits more errors at point and is better placed somewhere else. Adding this information would certainly add to the burdens of the (possibly already overworked) commentator/scorer. But its not too fantastic to imagine a scoresheet (suitably tweaked to make the commentators task easier), that along with the batsmen and bowlers names, also records the fielders names as well.How would fielders statistics be extracted from such a scoresheet? That task would be made considerably easier if the commentary facilitated the use of keywords that would allow for automated processing of the commentary transcript (another requirement would be a form-like entry for fielders for each delivery). Hopefully, such a tweak to the commentary software would not be too involved.Fielders statistics for too long have been ignored in cricket. Instead, we are left with a host of entirely subjective statements like he is worth 30 runs in the field or his fielding has declined over the years and so on. Quantification and recording of fielders statistics would not only allow for comparison and record-keeping, it would also permit a ranking and recognition system for fielders that is long overdue. Annotated commentaries like the Cricinfo version point the way forward in this regard. Swell Bottle Kopen . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Swell Bottle Belgie . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. http://www.swellkopen.be/ . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Swell Fles Kopen . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Swell Kopen . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. CHICAGO -- A little rest and refocusing was just the remedy Josh Tomlin needed.Tomlin pitched five effective innings in his return to the Indians rotation, Coco Crisp hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to break the game open and Cleveland defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-1 on Wednesday night to remain six games ahead of Detroit in the AL Central.Tomlin (12-8) allowed one run on four hits and walked none as he ended a personal five-game losing streak that led to the right-hander being demoted to the bullpen after his last start on Aug. 30.Since that last start, when Tomlin lasted just 1 2/3 innings against Minnesota, he pitched only one inning in relief. He came back recharged in this one, even if he was limited to 72 pitches by manager Terry Francona.He pitched really well, Francona said. When you have the rest like that theres a reason, but you also hope theres no rust.He threw so many strikes (50), was aggressive with his fastball in, threw his cutter off of it.Tomlin won for the first time since July 30, when he was 11-3 with a 3.43 ERA. In six starts in August, the righty had a 11.48 ERA.In this one though, Francona said Tomlin was back to being crisp.It never hurts to get the rest this time of year, Tomlin said. But youve still got to go out there and you have to execute pitches and still got to figure out what you were doing wrong.Hopefully I can build off that outing and just keep going.Jose Ramirez had two hits, including a triple that drove in two runs in a three-run third inning, and scored two runs. Brandon Guyer and Rajai Davis had two hits each.Crisp, who also doubled, went deep to left with none out in the sixth to chase Carlos Rodon (7-9) who allowed six runs to match his season high and lost for the first time since July 31. The lefty was 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA in his previous seven starts.It just didnt work out today, Rodon said. It wasnt my best, although I felt real good. Thats just a good ballclub.Crisps homer was his first wwith the Indians since rejoining them in a trade from Oakland on Aug.dddddddddddd 31.Adam Eaton drove in the lone White Sox run with a triple in the third.NO WORRIESThe Indians had lost three of four as they entered Wednesdays game with a six game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. But Francona said neither he nor his team are feeling pressure as they try to wrap up the division.Once my stuff (pregame preparation) is in a bundle and Im ready to go, I have fun the rest of the day, Francona said. When you lose, it kind of hurts more, but thats because (the games) are so important. But Id rather have that than be 20 out and say we lost the game.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: Guyer (sore knee) started in right field after being struck by a pitch in the fourth inning of Tuesdays 8-1 loss, then leaving in the seventh. ... C Yan Gomes (shoulder) was the DH at Double-A Akron on Wednesday and is expected to come off the disabled list Friday, possibly in time to catch ace Corey Kluber when the Indians open a pivotal series against Detroit.White Sox: DH Justin Morneau (stiff neck) was out of the lineup for the second straight game. Jose Abreu was at DH with Todd Frazier switching from third to first base. . RHP Zach Putnam visited the teams clubhouse and said hes recovering really nicely from surgery on Aug. 5 to remove bone fragments from his right elbow. Following physical therapy, Putnam expects to resume throwing in December.UP NEXTRHP Mike Clevinger (2-2, 5.01) faces struggling RHP James Shields (3-10, 7.30) in the finale of the four-game series on Thursday afternoon. Shields is 0-5 with a 10.75 ERA in his last eight starts. Clevinger has reached the fifth inning only once in four starts since his recall on Aug. 4 from Triple-A Columbus, but Francona said Clevinger has been stretched out and expects the righty can go deeper in games. ' ' '