- 11:55 PM
- 11/20/09
But they found a way to do it this year, and have fun doing it.
See Point V of the Official DrJohnEvans SpoFi Platform.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:09 PM on November 05
I think justgary was saying that there are no trolls in this thread because they were all banned, so please don't call people trolls. It's not a word to take lightly, is all.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:41 PM on November 05
Great read, justgary. Thanks.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:11 PM on November 05
Well, it was legitimately depressing to see empty seats behind home plate for the entire game.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:13 AM on November 05
Tommy, watching this again made me feel a bit better.
(Also this just for kicks.)
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:11 AM on November 05
So every great playoff performer in the future has the opportunity to take away Reggie's "Mr. October" moniker if they outperform him?
Yes. Bud Selig needs to trademark the phrase, convene a selection committee, and order a suitable trophy STAT. Also eleven more trophies for every other month of the year.
I am totally in contention for Mr January!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:11 PM on November 03
Deport the sucker!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:09 PM on November 03
From Wikipedia, emphasis mine:
Despite the nickname, Jeter was 3 for 12 (.250) in November baseball that season, as the Yankees lost the World Series in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
I think Utley has captured the title.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:14 PM on November 03
If Chad Gaudin starts a World Series game, the Yankees should be disqualified. There are basic standards at play here!
Shouldn't the Yankees be disqualified for trying to get through an entire post-season with only three starters?
Or maybe MLB and FOX should be disqualified for the ludicrous number of off-days that have allowed the Yankees to do so.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:31 AM on November 03
I would just like to point out that Chad Gaudin was once traded straight-up for Kevin Cash. Thank you.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:26 AM on November 03
Joba Chamberlain [...] got the win.
TRUE YANKEE
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:37 AM on November 02
Stephen Brunt does a nice summing up of our discussion of the McGwire story... minus grum's excellent stats, of course.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:29 AM on October 28
If McGwire had manned up and said exactly what drugs he took and why, he'd be an adored public figure and media darling.
I think there's a better chance that he does that if that ridiculous hearing had happened this year. But think about the steroids landscape of 2005: you're in the first serious wave of steroids outrage, everybody is treating it like a moral issue and not a legislative/technical one, and the guy who has the closest public association with steroids is Barry Bonds, who is vilified by pretty much everybody everywhere.
That's not a cauldron I'd be ready to throw myself into. I can't blame him for doing his best to keep a low profile and stay out of it as much as possible. He had no way of knowing when, or even if, things would become more reasonable.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:45 PM on October 26
If the Yankees win, does Kevin Cash get a ring?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:42 AM on October 26
Someone should tell them right away so they don't show up at the ballpark today.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:38 AM on October 26
10 REM CHIP CARAY REPLACEMENT ALGORITHM
20 PRINT "AND THAT BALL IS FISTED"
30 PRINT RANDOM ("INTO LEFT FIELD", "INTO RIGHT FIELD", "UP THE MIDDLE", "FOUL")
40 GOTO 20
posted by DrJohnEvans at 07:01 PM on October 24
Apparently there's a new NBA rule which commands bench players to remain seated, busting up the stand-up-until-your-team-makes-a-basket tradition.
So the Lakers' bench came up with a new tradition.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 02:34 PM on October 24
Okay, that was a freaking great read. I paused the ballgame so I could finish it.
Thanks!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:35 PM on October 20
Damn, but that was a gorgeous pitch-out.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 07:23 PM on October 19
Or half-extremes, in this case.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:27 AM on October 19
beaverboard wins. Huddle's over.
And... BREAK!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:24 AM on October 19
I havent' followed the Jays close enough to comment much on Ricciardi, but he could mask a ton of mistakes if he had Cashman's money.
I'd agree if it was any other GM, but all of J.P.'s mistakes came from spending money when he was given it. He was kind of weird like that. But that's a different argument.
The regular season is ruled by big spending teams. Random examples of high payroll teams not making it, or low payroll teams doing well are simply exceptions that prove the rule.
True, but the schedule is also a big factor in this—those regular season monarchies are earned by one or two big-money teams spending between 35-50% of the season beating up on the same few small-money teams in their division. Balancing the schedule removes this skew. Money will always have an effect, of course, but a balanced schedule across the entire league would certainly reduce it.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:26 PM on October 12
Great read, justgary—thanks for the link.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:17 PM on October 12
The Yankees are the exception and skew the numbers, and I'm all for a salary cap. But if you're painting the East as two teams spending massive amounts of money and the Central as being different, that's really not the case at all.
For me, it's not about the money. I think salary caps introduce more problems than they solve, and I know that money is not guarantee of success (heck, I lived in the same town as the pre-cap Maple Leafs).
It's about scheduling. Baseball is a game designed to be evaluated over large sample sizes: 162 games, 600 at-bats, 2800 pitches. It's doesn't make sense for the schedule to artificially shrink the number of unique opponents so that you're playing almost half your games against only four teams instead of thirteen. What happens, of course, is that the good teams have an easier time staying good, and the bad teams have a tougher time getting better.
The only turnover occurs in the divisions which are stocked with mediocre teams, like the Central. I'm estimating mediocrity by looking at this year's division records:
AL East vs. AL Central: 109-76 (.589)
AL West vs AL Central: 96-78 (.551)
and even then it's an NFL-style "pure parity" turnover, in which any team could make a run any year.
I think dynasties are key to a league's long-term entertainment value, and that arbitrary parity creates a more disposable and ultimately less valuable form of entertainment. But dynasties need to be a part of a longer-term lifecycle of success and failure, and that cycle doesn't have a great track record since 1994.
I would love to see a division-free1 balanced schedule. That would increase the sample size of unique opponents, and make a team's won-loss record a true representation of their quality of play within the league.
The Yankees and Red Sox would both still be at the top, of course: they're both very good teams for many reasons other than roster payroll: smart front offices, excellent scouting, great draft budgets and strategies. But that second tier of teams would have a whole lot more to play for: imagine the Septembers for the next few years as teams like Toronto, Tampa, Texas, Seattle, Oakland, and probably even a couple teams from the former Central Division battled for that last post-season spot. Those Septembers would puts butts in seats and make larger payrolls more viable for the teams that don't sell out every game, and restart the natural and gradual cycle of success and failure.
1. The divisions would have to be ditched to avoid the 1994 scenario, in which a balanced schedule exposed the weakness of a single division, and would probably have resulted in a team winning a division title with a record below .500. In fact, that scenario is probably the entire reason why we have an unbalanced schedule now.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:47 PM on October 04
Mike Wilner's eulogy for the Ricciardi years is, as usual, an absolute must-read.
J.P. Ricciardi made some smart trades (Glaus, Overbay, Accardo, Rolen), picked up some solid players for almost nothing, put together a batch of great young arms, and managed to keep Roy Halladay from free agency twice.
And it's worth pointing out that Ricciardi, unlike many Toronto-area GMs of the past 10 years, never made a really dumb trade.
But the free agent signings and contract extensions... well, they were all celebrated at the time, and even Vernon Wells can't possibly be THIS lousy every season for the next few years. But every big deal seemed like it involved just a bit too much money (Wells), or time (Ryan), or options (Burnett). No big signing ever seemed to hit the sweet spot of giving up just enough for the player.
And of course, the complete bungling of the Halladay situation this year. I'd always blamed Ken Rosenthal for trying to make a story out of nothing, but given recent events I wonder if Ricciardi himself was Rosenthal's source. It would fit in with the other strange things on J.P.'s record when in the spot light (Adam Dunn, "it's not lying if we know the truth").
So, J.P. Ricciardi (2001-2009): He couldn't quite spend money smartly when he had it and enjoyed the public eye a bit too much. He did put together a decent team and make some good decisions, but "decent" and "good" won't get you anywhere in the A.L. East.
If the Jays were smart, they'd try to get moved into the AL Central - the other Great Lakes teams should be their natural rivals anyway.
You're right about the divisional strengths, of course, but what does being smart have to do with it? How are the Jays, a mid-market team in a foreign country, going to lobby to switch divisions? And which team from the Central is going to volunteer to switch to the East? You think Zack Greinke is up for the Cy Young this year if he pitches against Boston and New York more than ONCE, combined? Or Cliff Lee last year?
A better option would be lobbying for ditching the divisions altogether, and playing a balanced schedule across the league. Still very unlikely to happen, of course, since reducing the number of Yankees-Red Sox games would leave about nine hundred hours of unused airtime on Fox.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 06:13 PM on October 03
Your income working on routers makes you filthy rich by the standards of most of the world. Does that mean you don't deserve a raise and you should go out and get a "real job" instead of seeking one?
This. Except replace "don't deserve a raise" with "deserve a pay cut and pension reduction".
posted by DrJohnEvans at 04:43 PM on September 21
In a rare cross-league marketing effort, the Jays and Yankees provided a preview of the 2009-10 NHL season last night.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:51 AM on September 16
baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.
That nicely sums up all 5662 hours of Fox's post-season broadcasts. If you'd added "celebrities", I wouldn't even have to watch the games.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:32 PM on September 14
Quiet day today.
For anyone following the whole NHL/Phoenix thing, Kevin McGran's Twitter feed is invaluable.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:24 PM on September 10
That's actually borrowed from a well-known CFL touchdown celebration, The Grenade.
Of course, it's pretty tame compared to such classics as "The Stationary Bike", "The Free Throw", "The Five-Man Bobsled", and my personal favourite, Duck-Duck-Goose.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:28 PM on September 07
Good to hear that Canadian charter flights were the REAL cause of the economic crash. Very relieved that's settled. Now, I'm off to pick up a few sub-prime mortgages!
In other news, Little Randy Ruiz becomes the first player in baseball history to be named PCL MVP and beaned in the face on the very same day.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 06:26 PM on September 06
Maybe the contract of Alex Rios was the REAL cause of Jerry Reinsdorf pulling out. Am I crazy?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:55 PM on August 26
This is amazing.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:44 AM on August 02
I like this picture from the corner seats, in which you can see that the TV spans nearly four decks.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 08:31 AM on July 27
Neate Sager over at OOLF posted a list of fun facts about the PG, including:
- Buehrle had the same home plate umpire that he did in his no-hitter in April 2007, Eric Cooper. He went 27-up, 27-down in that game since he picked off the only baserunner.
- Wise's saving catch came right in front of an outfield-wall mural which honours 1950s White Sox ace Billy Pierce. On June 27, 1958, Pierce lost a perfect game with two out in the ninth inning.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:57 PM on July 23
I can only assume Schilling worried that learning the umps and their own flaws/quirks was a part of the game, and a part that gave him an edge with his veteran experience.
This is a really significant point. The value of a veteran in any industry comes from the knowledge of the system that got him/her there, and if that system changes, he/she runs the risk of becoming less valuable. This happens in all walks of life, but imagine what it must feel like in the majors, with so few jobs available (relative to a "normal" industry). No wonder the reaction to any change is so vehement.
(Not that Scott Rolen has any reason to worry, mind you. In fact, Vernon Wells might very well have more reason to be concerned.)
posted by DrJohnEvans at 04:38 PM on July 12
This has been a good week.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 07:16 PM on July 10
Ronan Tynan could not be reached for comment.
Likely because he's still finishing the second verse from last Saturday's game.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:34 PM on July 08
In this game of baseball, there is the Pure, there is the Dirty, and then there is the Rogers Centre.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 06:12 PM on June 24
She's booting up as we speak! Look for a post in the Locker Room next week.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:05 AM on June 17
Oooh, that's a good idea. Every home run hit should count as an out against the other team. That would keep most Yankee home games under 4 hours.
Sorry, what were we talking about again?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 06:21 PM on June 02
It's easy to play error-free ball when all the balls end up in the stands.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:59 PM on June 02
You may be right: Balsillie might be able to tie the moving of the franchise to the resolution of the bankruptcy, in which case he'd be circumventing the BoG. I still have to read up on those details, so I'm not going to insist I'm right on this point.
But I still don't think that any sort of general precedent is going to be set here. There are too many details involved which are very specific to the Coyotes' lease arrangement. What other failing franchises are tied to unreasonable venue leases which can be broken only in case of bankruptcy, with a league commissioner who has staked his reputation on that particular franchise being viable in that city?
Even if Balsillie ends up in Hamilton/Waterloo/Chatham next September, that doesn't mean that half of the continent's sports teams are going to declare bankruptcy so they can be sold. That just doesn't make sense.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 02:40 PM on May 07
jags, Weedy, I think you're slightly off on a key point here. Balsillie isn't trying to circumvent the Board of Governors for the entire process of buying and moving the team-- just the immediate bankruptcy entanglement aspect.
The bankruptcy declaration is the key thing. The Coyotes can't get out of their iron-clad lease without declaring bankruptcy. So it's in Balsillie's interest that they do, and in Gary Bettman's interest that they don't.
For the past few weeks, before the Coyotes declared bankruptcy, there were reports of the team receiving cash infusions from the league and, in effect, being operated by the NHL. Given that, what Gary Bettman is challenging is the team's right and ability to declare bankruptcy. In other words, Bettman feels that Jerry Moyes already threw the keys on the table and walked away, and thus already forfeited his privilege to declare bankruptcy and/or sell the team.
That's why it's a good thing that this is going into bankruptcy court. It keeps the proceedings of the Coyotes business on the public record. The alternative would be for Bettman to disappear into his office to conduct an "investigation", coming out an hour later and concluding that the Phoenix Coyotes are perfectly financially viable and are in no position to declare bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the league keeps bleeding cash into propping up the franchise, until another sucker buyer can be found—a buyer who will be paying significantly less than Balsillie, thus short-changing yet another subscriber to Bettman's sun belt dream.
If the court permits the bankruptcy, then the transfer of the team to Balsille and subsequent team move would certainly go before the Board of Governors. It's just the current bankruptcy situation which needs court resolution.
So this doesn't set any sort of precedent for the regular sale and moving of sports franchises, unless of course you can think of another league besides the NHL which would get itself into this sort of mess.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:42 AM on May 07
Actually, it seems like the rule is pretty fairly written:
Offensive team personnel, other than base coaches and runner(s), shall not touch a batter or base runner(s) who is legally running the bases on a dead-ball award until the player(s) contacts home plate. For a first offense, the umpire shall issue a warning to the offending team.
The problem here is that the rule was incorrectly applied. A warning should've been given (assuming it was indeed the team's first offence that game).
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:00 AM on May 06
I knew nothing about this coming into today, and just spent some time reading up. I'm completely beyond words.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:25 PM on April 15
[via Drunk Jays Fans]
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:01 PM on March 18
Pascal Leclaire to the rescue! PLAYOFFS!!!!!!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 02:38 PM on March 04
Crazy amazing. Cramazing.
Of course, it helps that it looks like a fairly generic middle-aged white male. So all the players and clubhouse staff would probably assume he's from the front office, and vice versa.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:03 AM on January 29
It's a real shame, but I don't think change will come to football (or hockey, or any contact sport) until there's a dependable way to measure the effects of concussions on the living. In terms of measurable factors, there's too much money on the one side and too little information on the other to let athletes (and their doctors) make wise decisions.
That said, this is huge progress from the party line of 15 years ago where kids "got their bell rung" and were expected to just shake the cobwebs off and get back in the game. I completely agree with garfield that the NFL is taking a ridiculous, nearly backwards stance on this.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:32 PM on January 27
It's part of their job, just like when I have to go to three-day trainings for my job. I'd often like to stay home and not attend, but this is what is expected. It's what I signed up for.
Anyone know if the All-Star Game is actually in the player contract? I don't actually know, but I'd be very surprised if it was. The players only get paid for the regular season games, so technically their work obligations stop if it's an exhibition game. (Or a playoff game, technically, but opting out of playoff games would be a career killer, of course.)
I think a better analogy for the regular-joe working world would be an office picnic on a weekend.
It's Saturday morning and my cartoons are over, so I have nothing left to do but split hairs.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:17 PM on January 24
There's a big difference between a burgh and a borough.
Also, you might be surprised how many defensive backs wear pasties. Those pads chafe like nobody's business.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:15 PM on January 19
To be somewhat meta for a minute: the last time the Steelers made the Super Bowl, it was cause for hordes upon hordes of Steelers fans to rush this very site, post between one and six comments consisting only of the words "ONE FOR THE THUMB" in every post, and then leaving. That was a strange two and a half weeks.
I'm confident that we can weather such a storm much better in this day and age, given (a) there's now the sign-up quiz, and (b) the Steelers fans have run out of fingers.
Also, somehow I totally missed these entire playoffs. Damn.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:07 PM on January 19
Man, I wish Doug DeLuca had gone to U of T instead.
*rimshot*
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:58 PM on December 03
Sir, I nominate this post for the award of Best Title/Description Ever.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 06:02 PM on October 18
the Rays get no love for what they did
Actually, they have a great write-up in this quarter's Scientific American on how they replaced a bullpen full of journeyman relievers with robotic clones of themselves.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:42 PM on October 07
I just sold our goalie for a case of Bud. We didn't need him, did we?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:19 PM on September 21
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle
Odd little footnote to the Mike Danton story: Elliotte Friedman's dealings with him, described as "the strangest day of my professional existence".