- 02:34 AM
- 04/19/24
I'll admit, when threads start showing up about a subject every day (the Kobe threads, for example) I do get a wee bit annoyed at it, but I skip 'em rather than letting that be known because I realize that some other people seem to enjoy them. It takes all of a 1/4 mouse wheel turn to skip this thread and alot more effort to crap on it. In summation, let them have their dental plan. < / mr burns>
posted by therev at 03:21 PM on October 21, 2003
Succa, many a lunchhour has been spent on that game and many a dollar was won and lost in my school days. "Oh c'mon, the table is sticky, that's totally unfair! This game is rigged!"
posted by therev at 03:19 PM on October 21, 2003
Yeah, but that isn't going to help against the Spurs or the Kings or the Lakers, who are pretty much what Cuban and Nelson are trying to figure out right now anyways. They can beat the Warriors and Clippers and Hawks by an average of 40 points, but playoffs are what matters, and to be competitive in the West, they need someone to play defense and get those rebounds. I'm kinda new to the NBA, but why does the game change so much in the playoffs? If a team can score 120 points in the regular season against the Lakers, what happens in the playoffs that prevents them from doing that? I've never quite understood that. Teams can play more defensively but so many skilled shooters to defend seems like it'd be hard to stop.
posted by therev at 04:12 PM on October 20, 2003
If Nelson plays Nowitzki at C and Walker at PF, is he not going to have a team that scores 110-120 points a night? If he does, there aren't more than a handful of teams that can match that type of scoring even against the worst defense. Perhaps he swings a deal down at the trade deadline for a top-line C but right now, I could see them just trying to shoot the lights out on anyone else.
posted by therev at 12:47 PM on October 20, 2003
I agree jerseygirl, completely. Baseball has been fun the last couple of weeks; no talks about contracts, agents and millions of dollars; it's been about the game and I've loved it. Sadly, when the Red Sox and Cubs lost, it has gone back to where it was; people are talking about the payrolls of the two teams, etc, and it's a shame.
posted by therev at 10:24 AM on October 18, 2003
Good lord, that's the most hideous drawing ever of a duck. I mean, I bet my 5 year old cousin could try to draw a cow and end up with something that looks more like a duck than that. Fun though, thanks.
posted by therev at 09:09 AM on October 18, 2003
Some scientists are just crazy. Thanks for the link, it's neat!
posted by therev at 09:51 AM on October 17, 2003
Ugh. A movie about 4 seconds of a baseball game? Betcha Costner's all over that.
posted by therev at 03:01 PM on October 16, 2003
I'd never thought I'd see the day, but I'm cheering for the Red Sox, although somehow I want Pedro to get shelled at the same time. Hmm. Bernreuther, you are a big baby. The championships in 98',99',00' weren't enough? As an Oriole fan, there are no season ending losses because there is no post season. Just sub 0.500 seasons after the Yankee's poach your staff ace. I mean how hard can it be for Yankee's fans to handle a loss? Can't you just go watch the 99' W.S. DVD? Can't you just go watch the 1983 W.S. Tape? Seriously, why should he lose his right to feel disappointed just because his team happens to be a consistant winner? He's not George Steinbrenner, he didn't steal Mussina from you; he's a fan, so what's with all the hostility towards someone who's excited to be a Yankees fan? By the way, I hate the Yankees too (I'm a Blue Jays fan in the A.L), I'm just saying that calling him a baby sounds like sour grapes to me.
posted by therev at 10:34 AM on October 16, 2003
I straight out blame Gonzalez; that was a play he should have made and it would have gotten them out of the inning. It was a total demoralizer too after what happened to Alou. Hopefully game 7 will be good to Cubs fans; I'd hate to see the lynching of Baker and Alou for blowing the series.
posted by therev at 07:49 AM on October 15, 2003
And if you believe that . . . Zimmer is a beautiful potato head. See, that's something I've been hearing since he pitched in Montreal; he's much smaller than his stats. Albeit that I've never stood next to him, but are all these statisticians wrong all of the time? I can't believe they have been wrong year after year about something like this.
posted by therev at 09:11 PM on October 11, 2003
Oh, and I agree with jerseygirl, he was charging, what else did he think was going to happen?
posted by therev at 07:41 PM on October 11, 2003
gspm, the Niekros had pretty good fastballs back in their day...not 95 mph heaters, but they were an effective change of pace.
posted by therev at 02:26 PM on October 09, 2003
Are you accusing me of wanting to see Lowe pleasure himself? Don't get the wrong idea because I watched it again in slo-mo with Tivo. And now I'm not supposed to get the wrong idea? ;-)
posted by therev at 07:21 AM on October 07, 2003
People, has anyone here been to a baseball game? Played in one? From little league on booing is part of the game. And this makes it okay? I mean come on justgary, do you honestly think that booing is a good part of the game? Just because something happens does not mean it should be accepted. Booing is not abuse. Seriously? Obviously you've never been booed before. I played amateur baseball at a high level and if I played poorly and got booed, it stung pretty hard (I didn't play poorly often, but even once hits you pretty hard). I already knew I played bad and cost my team a game....do you really think it's somehow benefitial to having it rubbed in like that? Will he improve somehow because someone told him that he messed up? You must have read a different article than I did. It just mentioned booing. Anything more (racial names for instance) and I'm sure Kim would have said so.It would make his case far better. David Wells had people talking about his dead mother for chrissake. People are ruthless when heckling; you're naive if you think that all they were doing is booing. Whether or not he mentioned it in this article, I'm sure he's heard quite a few things that have been past the line of acceptable criticism. I sat behind the dugout at a Blue Jays game and was disgusted at what I heard being sent at the players. Pure trash and any acceptance of that because "he didn't play well" is horrible. The way to get booing to stop is play well. Nothing else will work. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I don't think that Kim was trying to get them to stop booing; he merely was giving them a taste of their own medecine. You and I both know that the next time he hits the field, regardless of whether or not he flips them off, they're going to boo him for his last performance. So what's he to do? Keep taking it every time he blows a save, even if he's saved the last 16 in a row? Regardless of whether or not they are million-dollar superstars, they are still people, and as such, we ought to be treating them with the same respect and dignity that you'd treat anyone else.
posted by therev at 09:24 PM on October 05, 2003
I still don't see why it's such a big deal that he did anything. Here we have a bunch of fans throwing every name in the book at him after he played a freaking game and he's supposed to just take it because "it's part of being a pro"? Rubbish. You get exactly what you deserve; if you boo a player, he has every right to respond.
posted by therev at 07:34 PM on October 05, 2003
don't know if I would have put Lowe in either that late in the game. I'd say the only reason I'd choose him over some of the others in that bullpen is the fact that a couple of years ago, he was a pretty fantastic reliever. The problem with throwing someone like Arroyo is that he is so young, he's going to be hit or miss; get torched right away and put them far out of the game or pull a K-Rod and dominate. You're rolling the dice with him, at least with Lowe you know you're going to get a quality inning or two.
posted by therev at 01:06 PM on October 02, 2003
I think I remember, way back at the beginning of the season with Arizona, Kim didn't even want to be a closer. He was never developped as one, he doesn't want to be one, I don't know why Boston wanted to turn him back into one. He'd be a fine 4th or 5th starter for the Sox next year if they'd just let him be. He pitched fine in Arizona as a starter (sub 4.00 E.R.A).
posted by therev at 01:03 PM on October 02, 2003
I believe baseball also counts any and all runs scored after a two-out error as unearned, which is also counterintuitive. Two outs, Johnny Fastball strikes out the batter. He's done his job and gets out of the inning. Two outs, Johnny Fastball strikes out batter, yet Mark Fumblefingers drops ball. Inning should be over. Any runs after that out should not be held against Johnny Fastball because he did his job, he got the third out. Earned runs count against the pitcher; runs count against the team, and it's the team who let him down; why should he be held accountable? I don't see how that's counterintuitive.
posted by therev at 02:00 PM on October 01, 2003
Show me a minor league pitcher who is a "sure thing" and I'll show you a team in love with the future but never reconciling the present. So, if I understand you, you suggest that teams should be trading their blue chip futures just because they can get a few "now" players? Show me a team that does that and I'll show you the success the Toronto Maple Leafs have had with that philosophy.
posted by therev at 01:56 PM on October 01, 2003
...and a team that won the most games in the American League in modern history in one season. It's not his fault that the team kept choking in the playoffs. On paper, Seattle was a fantastic team every year and that's all the control Gillick had.
posted by therev at 01:52 PM on October 01, 2003
I also find it quite odd how many people give sportscasters a hard time, such as my dad did to Steve Lyons last night during the Cubs-Braves game. He forgot how many outs there were; big deal. I'd love to hear anyone who has watched a significant number of games at home claim they've never done the same thing a few times. Get over it. These guys are human, just like you and me.
posted by therev at 01:50 PM on October 01, 2003
I'd just like to point out that Rush reitterated what he meant later on in the segment; he mentioned that he thought Donovan's success was a product of a fantastic Phili defence and that the defence won him more games than he did. The other 3 jumped in, but I kinda agreed with him on that point. The race card was probably unnecessary, however, we'll see if he was right about the overrated part via this year's results (Phili's defence is nowhere near as good as it was last year).
posted by therev at 01:48 PM on October 01, 2003
lilnemo, I think that in your Mav's table the "?" should be changed to Antawn Jamieson.
posted by therev at 04:44 PM on September 13, 2003
I'd take Orlando Cabrera over Edgar Renteria and Derek Jeter. As always, les Expos never get the recognition.
posted by therev at 04:49 PM on August 30, 2003
I second justgary's comments. They are almost exactly what I was about to post, but he saved me the carpal tunnel! Kudos, justgary!
posted by therev at 06:36 PM on August 25, 2003
I think Pete Rose should be allowed into the hall-of-fame provided he apologizes for what he did to baseball. One condition and, should he choose to accept it, he should be free to take his place with the rest of the good ballplayers (and not necessarily good men). I also don't think it's right that anyone should be prohibited from hiring him onto their team. I mean, the owners should be allowed to hire whomever they think will help their ball club the most and should bear the risk of having him on their team, as well as the responsibility of keeping him from ruining baseball again; after all, it is their privately owned business. This being said, I'd have to think long and hard before putting Pete Rose on my ball team, simply because I don't condone what he did. However, if other owners decided to condone it, I'd have no problems with him sitting in the opposing dugout whatsoever.
posted by therev at 03:56 PM on August 12, 2003
Mutumbo's contract was back-ended, he didn't make much his first couple of years to save the cap room. I don't know if this trade would make any difference for either team. They're pretty close players, talent wise.
posted by therev at 10:54 AM on August 10, 2003
What wfrazerjr said. Wait for the trial.
posted by therev at 07:10 PM on August 09, 2003
I wasn't pointing out yours, I was pointing out mine. It's plagued me since junior high and only now have I accepted that it's going to keep happening forever.
posted by therev at 09:59 AM on August 08, 2003
the resulting taxes that are collected could easily make up for any health costs caused by people who may choose to start smoking because of some logo If you start smoking, you're putting my life in danger. That's why some of us have NO sympathy for tobacco users or their companies. Your (generic smoker) little habit has killed innocent people and it will continue to do so until we start putting up a stand against thise companies. If the worst thing that happens from taking a step toward a cigarette free existance is the loss of a few car races, I say do it. I like F1 racing, however I like being able to breathe more.
posted by therev at 10:56 PM on August 07, 2003
Name me one 16 year old who would take the high road like that... and if you know someone like that, he's probably STILL a virgin to this day. It happened to me. I said no. She was 14, I was 16. Later that month, I met someone who was 18 and fucked up your little thought there. The high road leads you to pretty good places, actually. After going through ages 13 and 16 in the last decade, I can tell you there are HUGE differences between the two. At 13, my life was playing baseball. At 16, I had a different piece of wood in my hands. Big difference. The kid shouldn't be shunned for life, but kudos to The Mets for thinking ethically.
posted by therev at 04:49 PM on August 07, 2003
Gagne is unhittable - but he can't make or break a pennant. He can't make it, but if he blows 8 saves instead of 2 and the Dodgers end up 3 games out, you could make a case that he broke it by not finishing games they should have won. Also, A-Rod can't make a pennant either. No one player ever will. Closers don't win games and more often than not - they simply end games already won. Sit through a Blue Jays game or two and realize that these "already won" games are not won without a good closer. Toss John Smoltz in there, they are probably fighting for the wild card race. That's what a closer can do. He finishes wins, not letting them lead for 8 innings and lose. It's not only detrimental in the standings, but also to morale. If you don't believe me, let's see the last 10 World Series Champions: 2002 - Anaheim - Troy Percival 2001 - Arizona - Byung Kim 2000-1998 - NYY - Mariano Rivera 1997 - Florida - Robb Nen 1996 - NYY - Mariano Rivera 1995 - Atlanta - Mark Wholers (at his best) 1992, 93 - Toronto - Duane Ward (fantastic closer in his day) Seems like a pretty good pattern to me. All of these teams had exceptional closers. The last team without a good closer that won the pennant was the '88 Dodgers, who had 2 average closers in Jay Powell and Alajendro Pena. The point is that World Series winners have good closers. It doesn't matter whether or not you can make the playoffs without a good closer, it's whether or not you can win the World Series without one, and it hasn't been done in 15 years, so it seems to me they are pretty damn important. Oh, and I like comma splices.
posted by therev at 03:22 PM on August 07, 2003
The problem is too many unproductive/injured players. Izturis, Beltre, McGriff, Jordan, LoDuca, Roberts, Burnitz to name a few. I don't know what any coach can do about that many problem children.
posted by therev at 08:58 PM on August 04, 2003
Man, we've got to learn how to disconnect once in a while, this is getting ridiculous.
posted by therev at 06:17 PM on August 02, 2003
Jose Guillen proved this year that sometimes players just need a chance to develop. An older, talented prospect is a pretty decent thing, in my books, and to get one in exchange for a couple of journeymen is not a bad deal. He'll actually get a chance to play in Pittsburgh too, whereas he only got a cup of coffee here and there with the Sox.
posted by therev at 04:18 PM on July 31, 2003
Freddie Sanchez is a pretty good prospect, and Sauerbeck is a pretty average reliever. Suppan is also at his maximum value right now, but is a 5.00 E.R.A guy who can eat some average innings. I don't see it as that much of a steal.
posted by therev at 04:06 PM on July 31, 2003
If I was a GM, there's no way I'd take on A-Rod's contract. Sure, last year he hit 57 home runs, but even if he does that every year, for $25M you can pick up two guys to hit 60-80 home runs and 200 RBI, something A-Rod can't do. He's only one player, regardless of how good he is, he's got limitations. If I was Hicks, I'd tell him to go fuck himself. To accept that kind of money and then criticize the organization for not winning without offering to help them out financially is absurd. He's probably worth almost as much as the owner! Give a little back, you greedy bastard, or accept the fact that you, yourself, crippled the franchise. On the other hand, Hicks is an idiot to offer anyone a quarter of a billion dollars to swing a piece of wood at a piece of leather. In conclusion, everyone sucks and they all should just shut their pie holes and accept the fact that they are all failures in the eyes of baseball fans. Thanks for sending the game to hell, jerks. I hope the road is paved with 100 loss seasons and empty stadiums. Doodieheads.
posted by therev at 03:56 PM on July 31, 2003
They were saying that a lefty reliever was coming with Boone but now he may not have. Gabe White is on his way.
posted by therev at 03:39 PM on July 31, 2003
< telepathic message> J.P Riccardi, don't trade for J.D Drew, we need pitching, not another gawd damn outfielder. You can only put 9 hitters on the field, just so you know. < / telepathic message>
posted by therev at 03:38 PM on July 31, 2003
I really don't see what anyone can do about this stuff. Aluminum bats, wooden bats, they all are capable of sending balls flying at incredible speeds, and sometimes people get in the way of them. It's just one of those freak things that happen when you play a sport.
posted by therev at 02:08 PM on July 27, 2003
If anything, it will give the fans something to come out and see now that Jay Williams might be gone.
posted by therev at 01:46 PM on July 20, 2003
I will wait to see the trial and/or evidence before making any pre-disposition on anyone involved. Innocent until proven guilty, remember? Don't we get tired of these things? I'm comatose.
posted by therev at 04:50 PM on July 19, 2003
I think they've done well. Kariya was always shadowed by defenders who wanted to shut down the Anaheim offence. With 2 quality scorers, plus the existing players, it might be more difficult to do this. If I were Babcock, I'd keep them on different lines, though, to spread out the offence.
posted by therev at 01:50 PM on July 19, 2003
Man, I HOPE this goes to trial. I'm guessing they turn up like 20 women who Kobe has taken to the rack, so to speak. That's a really lousy attitude, wfrazerjr. You know absolutely nothing about a guy who, up to this point, has been a stand up citizen, and you haven't even heard anything about the details of this case, yet you've got him pegged as a repeat adulterer. It's that type of "once an x, always an x" attitude that will tarnish his career and his reputation and it's sick to think that there are people out there who do that. Adultery is incredibly wrong, but if that is all that happened then that's between his wife and him, not the rest of the world. If Anything is dug up about his sex life outside of this trial, it's just for people who seem to get some sort of sick personal pleasure from watching other people taken down from their pedestals, which it sounds to me is who you are, wfrazerjr. The trial is not to find out whether or not Kobe is a bad person; it's to find out if Kobe committed a crime. Perhaps you should remember that.
posted by therev at 08:53 AM on July 19, 2003
Man, James Brown has never been that annoying.
posted by therev at 04:29 PM on July 03, 2003
So much for the slow trickle of free agent signings, huh? I really believed this was the year it was going to get better. I don't know why. Oh well. I'm a Leafs fan. I'm used to disappointment.
posted by therev at 04:27 PM on July 03, 2003
I don't know of anyone who thinks that Nolan Ryan was the best pitcher of all time. I think this guy needs to do some better research. Nolan's numbers, especially the strikeouts, are so staggering that he should be considered an upper-echelon starter, but noone is comparing him to Cy Young here.
posted by therev at 11:13 PM on June 30, 2003
I remember that when Anna hit the scene, everyone thought she had championship talent too. Hell, she even made the semis at Wimbledon one year. She just chose a different path to success, I guess. Another pretty face? Sure. Another championship-calibre player? One upset is not going to give us the answer to that.
posted by therev at 11:01 AM on June 29, 2003
You know, there is always that little mute button you can use on your remote that makes those annoying voices go away! What I've always found funny is the know-it-all sports fans who bitch and moan about how bad sportscasting is yet seem to be incapabe of watching the games without them. If you think you can do better, prove it; turn off the sound and use your own mental commentary. Otherwise, shut up and watch the game. And wfrazerjr, besides the injury that Marshall Faulk has and whether or not he's going to be out for the game/season, what other information is even important to be getting from the sideline? What is this "insight" you are talking about?
posted by therev at 04:00 PM on June 25, 2003
I don't think any smart GM will think twice. A deal is a deal regardless if the other GM thinks he is ripping you off.
posted by therev at 03:52 PM on June 25, 2003
I think booing is incredibly tacky. These guys train for months and months, put their bodies on the line game in and game out and for someone to boo a bad performance is pretentious behaviour on the part of the fans. Think about it; at the office, would you like it if your boss booed you for having a bad day? These people are humans, you know, not machines. They do have feelings, no matter how much they might show otherwise.
posted by therev at 09:51 AM on June 21, 2003
The Hardest Working Man in Sports
I think he's been a very fantastic pitcher, one of the best of his generation...what a fitting ending to his career. Funny article too, thanks justgary.