hincandenza’s profile

While it is true that Daniel was DiMaggio's friend and that both hits could have gone either way, had DiMaggio not run his streak to the eventual 56 games, Daniel's calls would never have been questioned Well- duh. That's like saying a ball that may or may not have hit the yellow line denoting the home run line on the left field fence isn't that big a deal to worry about. Unless, that is, that same player hit 73 other homeruns that same season. I don't think people get too worked up about whether a hit during a 10-game hit streak was really an error or not... unless that hit streak reaches the 40's. Isn't the whole point of a hitting streak- as opposed to counting stat records like HR or RBI in a season- that you can't miss it for even one game, or it's all gone? Isn't the reason we're supposed to be all agog over "Mafia" Joe's 56-game hitting streak because if he'd ever not gotten a hit during that period, the whole thing would have gone up in smoke, and he'd have to start from scratch (not to mention that 56 was mostly a coasting figure- once he passed the previous record of 44, there was no pressure left, nothing like what Castillo was starting to face when he got a little past 30)? Indeed, aren't we often reminded how, if he'd gotten a hit in that 57th game, he'd have connected it to another hit streak that would have made about 72 games in a row? Yet no one credits ol' "Money Launderer" DiMaggio with a 72 game hit streak. If DiMaggio didn't "really" get a hit in games 30 and 31, that means that he had a 29 game hit streak and a 25 game hit streak separated by two hitless games. This is still impressive- but not insanely so. For example, last year, rookie Ichiro Suzuki started off his major league career with a 23 and a 15 game hit streaks, separated by a single game; had he gotten a hit, he would have been at 39 and the media would have been going apeshit; if he is given two free passes like DiMaggio is alleged to have gotten, his hit streak would have been 45- one more than the pre-DiMaggio record and still second longest. Besides, as oddovid notes, a hitting streak is a fluke, by definition- the greatest hitting seasons in history still have a player failing 6 times out of 10. The odds of that player getting a hit in 56 straight games is extraordinarily unlikely. If it were purely skill based, Luis Castillo would have been a 4-time MVP.

posted at 01:29 AM on June 25

I second the anti-Mathis stance. The US played its best with Mathis on the sidelines, mediocre but still decent in the Korea game, and embarassingly bad in the Polish game. I think we all see the problem here....

posted at 09:41 PM on June 16

I suppose I've shown my World Cup ignorance again- GOOOOOOOOOOOAL is dated, apparently it's all about "Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!" now... :)

posted at 03:54 AM on June 16

Oh, no question: while South Korea has played extraordinarily well, the US looks over their heads. That Friedel is a heckuva of a goalie, though, and Beasley's got some fast young legs- but I think they're offensive game is lackluster at times, and I don't like their midfield- I think they're transition game seems to be a huge weakness, resulting in far fewer scoring opportunities. I say this as an absolute soccer neophyte, so my opinion is pretty much useless. :) I don't know how Mexico plays or matches up, but who knows? The US has done more than expected, and is already well into pure "bonus" territory. A win against Mexico is not inconceivable...

posted at 10:08 AM on June 14

As a Yank, what exactly is a jammy bastard- and should I be offended? :)

posted at 08:58 AM on June 14

thx for getting my redundant post, there- you moved quickly!

posted at 08:39 AM on June 14

holgate, you ol' so and so! The ending of that portugal/south korea game was tense- portugal had two or three amazing chances, including one off a goal post, a great save, and some not-quite-there headers, any one of which would have put Portugal into the round of 16 at the expense of the USA- as well as several chances for South Korea on a weak defense by Portugal late in the game to make it 2-0. I still say Clint Mathis is a liability for the US, despite that late goal assist. They should seriously consider going with someone else against Mexico...

posted at 08:29 AM on June 14

Clint Mathis is the worst fucking player I've ever seen. He's been USELESS, U-S-E-L-E-S-S, in this game. He missed a wide-fucking-open shot from 15 feet in the 66th minute. Un. Fucking. Believe. Able. Every other time he seems to touch the ball, he's giving it up to Poland with no effort. Someone shoot that asshole in the leg, he's done. That said, despite the shitty play of the US here, if Korea can hold on to a lead against a 9-man, panicky Portugal team, the US would be sitting at second in the group and actually make the second round. Not that they deserve it, sucking so badly here. That's including the refs stealing a goal from them in the early going, when it would have tied it at 1-1, because a goal was denied when a Polish player put a headlock on an American and the American was called for a the goal-removing foul. Fucking Clint shit-for-brains Mathis. The US won when he wasn't on the field, they've been shit since he showed up.

posted at 08:03 AM on June 14

The Bonds have a sure-fire Top 10 all-time Hall-of-Famer along with a that-tier-below-HoF-level dad (not to mention non-blood related Willie Mays as godfather); the Griffeys don't shine like they used to. Don't forget the Alomars have dad and two sons, the DiMaggios had 3 brothers. The list goes on and on, and that's just in baseball- although it seems that baseball develops family trends more so than other sports. However, best bloodline in sports? My vote is for Seattle Slew and his countless progeny:

In his 20 years in the breeding shed, he sired roughly a thousand boys and girls... His offspring includes 101 stakes winners, the most prominent being Swale, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1984, A.P. Indy, Capote, Surfside and Slew O' Gold. Slew's sons and daughters have won a total of some $76 million in purses, meaning that if he were a mutual fund he would be listed under growth and value. In one of those classic stories rainbow chasers love to repeat, he was purchased for $17,500 as a gawky-looking colt by Mickey and Karen Taylor, who still are his majority owners.

posted at 12:54 PM on June 11

France draw 0-0 against Uruguay in the second match See, that's my newbie American mind dealing with soccer- where every game, as they say, ends in a tie. I should have said, "without winning a single match", but to an American sports fan by nature, "not winning" is the same as "losing".

posted at 09:29 AM on June 11

I've heard two reasons why this won't happen: 1) I've heard from a doctor that steroid use by the classic gym rat with a hypodermic is dangerous, since self-proscribing is incredibly difficult and easy to overdose. But this doctor (wish I could find the link) said one could prescribe a safe regimen of steroids to get the muscle- mass building without the side effects- i.e., the shrinking nads, the male boobies, and the keeling over dead part. 2) As Malcolm Gladwell said in an interview with Rob Neyer about this whole steroids brouhaha, the very fact that people are talking about steroids shows how far behind the curve journalists and MLB is on this issue:

Gladwell: The best example of how impossible it will be for Major League Baseball to crack down on steroids is the fact that baseball and the media are still talking about the problem as "steroids." In fact, my guess is that most players aren't using steroids at all. Like most world-class athletes, they've probably graduated to human growth hormone or straight testosterone, both of which are much harder to detect. (Ever wonder why a certain aging but remarkably successful power hitter can say with such conviction that he's not using steroids? He's not using steroids. He's using something better.)

posted at 12:21 AM on June 11

Yep, the US played pretty incoherent this game, no offense really at all (but unlike the Koreans, they managed to close the deal on those rare excursions towards the Korean goal), and the Koreans owned the ball it seemed the entire game- it was practically an event for the ball to cross midfield for the US! Although I do echo msacheson's sense that the refs seemed to call it tighter on the US players than the home team. Walking out of that game with a point is a major achievement, and makes the US a team that has gained some respect at the World Cup. I mean, if they actually reached the quarterfinals I'd be stunned (as will the entire world), and I shudder to think what would happen if/when the US faces a team of the caliber of a Brazil, but already they've done more than anyone could expect and should feel immensely proud right now. If the US can make the second round, they can go back and prepare for 2006 knowing they've finally made it.

posted at 06:58 AM on June 10

I should add that, as a soccer newbie, I'm liking one thing about this sport: no timeouts. There's something exciting and convenient about their being 90 minutes to a game, no exceptions. As an at-home viewer, I know pretty much exactly how much time I'm committing to watching the game. Usually, when there's like 1 minute left in the 4th quarter of a basketball game, that means you'll be watching for another 10-15 minutes, then possibly overtime(s). In soccer, the clock doesn't stop- at best, they'll take 3-4 minutes at the end of the half for stoppage.

posted at 02:24 AM on June 10

USA is already up 1-0 in the 37th minute as I type this. Lessee, next set of games: USA (3) v. South Korea (3) Poland (0) v. Portugal (0) then lastly USA (3,4 or 6) v. Poland (0, 1, 3) South Korea (3, 4, 6) v. Portugal (0, 1, 3) Whoever wins this of course is in automatically (unless it's a draw), while the other can still make it, but only with a win or draw in its final game and hopefully a win on points in the case of a tie. Best case scenario for both US and SK seems to be a draw in Poland/Portugal, ensuring that both those teams can earn 4 points at best- so even a loss in game 3 could leave US and/or SK with a win on points. Either way, a Pol/Por draw would leave both US and SK with their own fate solidly in their hands in game 3 regardless of the outcome of this US/SK game (US and SK each would have at least 3 against Poland or Portugal going into Game 3, meaning a win or draw against Poland or Portugal would put them into the second round guaranteed.). WOW! Friedel just made an amazing penalty kick save that could have tied it in the 41st minute; that might have been the game right there. We're headed into halftime with the US up 1-0; the way this game is playing, another goal for the US should clinch the win.

posted at 02:19 AM on June 10

Um.... what's that last little comment? It doesn't look like a properly formatted post at all, not even close.

posted at 06:54 AM on June 06