- 09:05 PM
- 11/20/09
| Member since: | October 12, 2005 |
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| Last visit: | October 29, 2009 |
Venicemenace has posted 8 links and 530 comments to SportsFilter and 1 link and 51 comments to the Locker Room.
Mayo: The Heir Apparent: After watching Mayo leap over a guard to tackle a running back a yard from scrimmage, Vrabel drew his own conclusions. "It's almost not normal to move like he does," Vrabel said. "Nobody runs like that. He looks like a free safety out there." An awesome piece of sportswriting by Jackie McMullan.
posted by Venicemenace to football at 09:45 PM on September 13 - 10 comments
Why don't you (bleeping) block somebody, Gonzalez.: A superb Joe Posnanski column from the Kansas City Star. As Bill Simmons writes, "It's incredibly hard to make a column work this well, with this much detail, when you only have 850 words."
posted by Venicemenace to football at 06:55 AM on December 28 - 10 comments
24-Hour-A-Day Drama With #24: As Kobe Bryant sits out his third straight practice with allegedly tired legs, the trade speculation is off the charts in LA. Ironically, the holder of the league's only full no-trade clause asked for a trade a few months back; recently, owner Jerry Buss suggested he'd be amenable to trading Kobe. Is there any chance that the Lakers will actually trade their most popular player since Magic? Moreover, is there an end in sight for the staggering variety of Kobe melodramas that seem to consume every Laker season?
posted by Venicemenace to basketball at 02:53 PM on October 17 - 10 comments
Patriots Caught Taping Jets Defensive Signals, May Lose Draft Picks: ESPN is reporting with some confidence that the Patriots have been found guilty of videotaping the Jets' defensive signals during Sunday's game. Commissioner Goodell, who never misses an opportunity to make an example of a transgressor, is said to be ready to strip the Patriots of draft picks as punishment, although the team will first be allowed to present a defense at a closed hearing. What repercussions might this cheating incident have on the Patriots and the league as a whole?
posted by Venicemenace to football at 07:19 AM on September 12 - 136 comments
Billy Donovan's Magical Payday: On the heels of back-to-back NCAA titles, he turned down the Kentucky job and apparently decided to sign a long-term extension with Florida. But now, for upwards of $36 million over 6 years, Billy Donovan is headed for the NBA's Orlando Magic, according to the Orlando Sentinel and ESPN.
posted by Venicemenace to basketball at 06:48 PM on May 31 - 27 comments
That Leyland has enough confidence in Porcello to throw him to the wolves should cement his bid for ROTY.
I think Porcello is awesome - and I'm still astonished that the Tigers seem to have handled him well this season, despite totally rushing him to the majors at the tender age of 20, with only one season of A-ball under his belt.
All that said, I think Jeff Niemann is the rightful ALROY. Here's a solid argument that I tend to agree with.
posted by Venicemenace at 04:22 PM on October 05
If that was your point, it's not a very good one.
162-game averages for Mark Reynolds and Babe Ruth
Reynolds: .259 BA / .341 OBP / .506 SLG - 35 HR, 103 RBI - 214 K, 69 BB - 113 OPS+
Ruth: .342 BA / .474 OBP / .690 SLG - 46 HR, 143 RBI - 86K, 133 BB - 207 OPS+
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One thing I will say for Reynolds, he is a solid basestealer as well. He's one of those guys who absolutely rules in fantasy baseball, above and beyond his all-around skills in the actual game, but I'd take him on my team, real or imagined, anytime.
posted by Venicemenace at 12:04 PM on September 25
I mean, he did in fact hold the strikeout record from 1926 until 1964 so it's not as if he wasn't striking out regularly.
And yet Reynolds has shattered Ruth's ancient strikeout standards with consecutive 200k seasons. It's unprecedented in baseball history to whiff at that magnitude. The Babe Ruth comparison is simply not apt.
Reynolds is a very good offensive ballplayer at the moment, as his 40+ bombs attest. (I don't care very much about his RBI numbers, as that's a completely overrated stat.) He markedly raised his BA this year, along with his OBP and total walks, all of which are good things. His OPS+ of 131 was the best of his three-year career. Baseball Reference raises comparisons to Mike Schmidt, and what's not to like about that?
My only concern, were I drafting for a dynasty league for instance, is his "So what?" attitude. Reynolds is approaching his prime, his bat is moving as quickly as it ever will, and when he makes contact, he blasts the ball out of the park. That won't always be the case, and unless he makes a concerted effort to improve his plate discipline, his stats will go way downhill when he cracks 30.
Now, a two-word quote shouldn't damn him in our minds, but my hope is that Reynolds will strive to be more like Adam Dunn, who strikes out many times a season but also complements that with 100+ walks a year. A player with "young player" skills like Reynolds ought to be continually working on his plate discipline, or his career will be as short as many a free-swinging slugger's before him.
posted by Venicemenace at 10:26 AM on September 25
Rumple, I don't think that McMullan's article was deficient because it failed to opine on the NFL culture of playing through pain. She presented the evidence and allowed you to draw your own conclusions. When she writes that "his aches and pains were not for public consumption," she is explaining the NFL world as it is, instead of penning an opinion piece about how it should be.
One of the reasons why I liked this article a lot was that the author subtly addressed the brutal culture of an NFL team and the tensions that often exist between coaches and players, veterans and rookies, a player's desire to excel and the physical torment that can often entail.
There is so much in this article for Patriots fans to chew on. The injury Mayo concealed last season is a window into the harsh world of the NFL, and a reminder that every star NFL player is one ill-fated play from going on IR. Instead of celebrating Belichick as a genius, this article presents him as a brutal taskmaster...a more nuanced view that's often missing in local sports coverage of our extremely successful coach. What of Mike Vrabel - was his trade to Kansas City a result of his tendency to openly contradict Belichick's decrees? The passing of the torch to Mayo - symbolized by the green dot on his helmet, but also the growing respect of the longtime veterans, who themselves are potentially made obsolete by the rise of the next defensive captain - is a poignant tale indeed.
And man, Rodney Harrison is going to be the most awesome media commentator ever.
posted by Venicemenace at 12:11 PM on September 14
Hilarious point, Athiest. I burst out laughing at my desk.
posted by Venicemenace at 12:29 PM on August 27
Access is increasingly pointless when athletes speak more candidly on Twitter than they do in the locker room. Michael Beasley's recent online meltdown is evidence of this.
To carry on with justgary's example, one of the big sports stories in Boston is the complete fade of Jason Varitek's baseball skills, and the obvious need to bench him and get Victor Martinez behind the plate every day.
Sports blogger Chad Finn of Boston.com:
You know what that is? Coincidence. Nothing more.
Yes, we know Beckett is obsessively prepared, a dedicated slave to his own routine. He likes things just so, and he gets angry (or angrier) when they are not. Even Terry Francona noted that his ace seemed anxious after learning Varitek would not be behind the plate. But Varitek's absence had nothing -- OK, very little -- to do with Beckett's struggles last night.
Josh Beckett, whose respect for Varitek is well documented, endured his worst start in weeks on a day in which his favorite catcher was pulled from the starting lineup just three hours before game time with neck soreness.
Sports blogger Joe Veno of Fire Brand of the American League:
But Victor Martinez needs to continue to catch most of the time. Four out of every five days, preferably.
Jason Varitek has been a great asset over the years. A notoriously great "game-caller," if that exists. A great leader in the clubhouse, which believe it or not, does actually matter--although impossible to quantify. Varitek has given the Red Sox pitching staff throughout the years, a sense of comfort that is only known by the players within the lines. He has been "The Captain."...Again, an asset.
Now for professional sports writer John Tomase of the Boston Herald:
Martinez hastily huddled with Varitek before the game, and then did the same with Beckett, but it's unfair to expect any catcher to walk right in and know how Beckett ticks. The staff ace has spoken in the past about how the get-to-know-you process with Varitek took much of his first season here in 2006. And as he told WEEI.com last week, he doesn't spend a ton of time reading scouting reports, instead putting himself in the best position possible physically to have every pitch at his disposal, while relying on his backstop to know the ins and outs of opposing tendencies.
Still, the numbers are hard to ignore. Beckett is 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA when Varitek is his catcher. When someone else catches him, Beckett is 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA.
The Red Sox captain was a late scratch last night, forcing Victor Martinez to move behind the plate to catch Beckett for the first time. The two had never so much as thrown a side session together, and it showed.
"No discounting Varitek's value," read the headline in the Herald.
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Now, I suppose reasonable people can disagree...but I don't see any appreciable increase in the quality of writing in the third example. (None of the three are terribly well written, of course.) Sure, Tomase got a quote or two from the players involved. But do those quotations add appreciably to our understanding of the situation? In this case, I'd argue that they don't.
As far as I'm concerned, the "pro" John Tomase got the story wrong, and the two "amateur" bloggers got it right. Varitek is toast, and no amount of "game calling skills" or analysis based on a miniscule sample size is going to convince me otherwise.
(And don't even get me started on the complete inability of the legions of professional Boston sports writers and talkers to recognize that the Sox' biggest flaw is their porous defense.)
posted by Venicemenace at 09:35 PM on August 24
Unless us "normal people" were working at an animal shelter or the like before we were arrested for the same crime, we'd be allowed to resume the same career we had before our arrest.
I'm not sure this is true. There are lots of jobs that are off-limits to convicted felons.
(That said, I think this story is kind of dumb, and if ordering a cocktail will put Vick's return in jeopardy, that's ludicrous.)
posted by Venicemenace at 12:47 PM on August 24
Well, I hate to disagree with the wise minds assembled here, and sorry for being late to the party...but I think the anger directed at Boras and Strasburg in advance of this signing was completely unwarranted, even more so since Strasburg signed for much less than some speculated it would require.
Inigo2 is absolutely correct - Ted Lerner is a billionaire; since when do we start feeling sorry for him based on a $15m financial outlay? In general, I don't understand the tendency of sports fans to side with the billionaires against the millionaires. If my team drafts a player universally considered one of the finest to come out of college in decades, and the mind-bogglingly wealthy owner refuses to pay fair value for him because it would unacceptably cut into his annual profits, I know who I am going to blame in that situation.
Nor do I buy the argument that high player salaries translates to gouging the fans. Does the NFL, with extremely owner-centric salary policies, price tickets at $5 a pop? Nope, I didn't think so.
I don't agree at all with the argument that Strasburg should have to "prove himself" in the pros before earning a $15 million contract. Strasburg played his entire junior season under a microscope, with dozens of professional and amateur scouts tracking every pitch. I know I set up a Google Alert to follow his season, and I'm just a schmo. I'd say he did pretty well in that yearlong audition: 109 IP, 16ER, 195K, 19BB, .172 BAA and a no-hitter.
The fact that he was facing college hitters is irrelevant given how good those numbers are, along with best-in-a-generation scouting reports. Let's look at this in a real-world context for a moment. If you recieve a promotion, and have performed exceptionally well in the subordinate role in a manner that abundantly qualifies you for the promotion, wouldn't you expect to be paid in a manner concomitant with your new position? Or should you get paid the same salary until you "prove yourself"? Why do people have expectations of professional athletes, whose livelihood is far less stable than most other professions, that they would never impose upon themselves?
This is an excellent article that references the average value for various types of prospects, based on statistical analysis. Top 10 pitching prospects are valued by this analysis at $15.2 million. Since we know that Strasburg is considered by every knowledgeable observer to be an exceptional pitching prospect, with ridiculous stuff, control and the stats to back it up, I think it's fair to say that the payday he got was fully reasonable.
Finally, I'm sure I am alone here, but I'm going to stick up for Scott Boras. History clearly shows that when his client wants max money, he holds out for max money. When his client wants to get paid but also wants to get a deal done, he blusters and ultimately does a deal. So much was made of how Boras' influence over Strasburg, Ackley and Tate would allow him to blow up the draft for his own nefarious purposes. Instead, he got all three signed to reasonable deals that would give them financial security, even in a situation in which they had limited leverage. Scott Boras is just doing his job, and I for one have no problem with that.
posted by Venicemenace at 05:16 PM on August 18
Isn't this the same kid who went into the game, got knocked down by an opponent, and cried? Watch the video and tell me he should have been on the field. They don't have any adult players of his skill level in Bolivia? Come on.
posted by Venicemenace at 11:33 PM on July 24
I believe the theme song for this news story ought to be "Finally" by CeCe Peniston.
posted by Venicemenace at 11:46 AM on September 24
We get the $5 tickets in the view section to see the Angels
Not a bad seat in that stadium, either. I've sat all over and always had a good view. I could go without some of the Disney-esque pageantry, but the Big A is always a good value.
As for Lucas Oil Stadium, it raises an interesting issue. While the fans are not being squeezed by PSLs there, it's worth noting that the state of Indiana and city of Indianapolis ponied up north of $700 million to construct the stadium. In essence, the construction was paid for not just by the fans' taxes but by the taxes of everyone in the state. The Jets-Giants stadium is being built with private financing and PSLs. Doesn't it seem a bit more fair to levy the cost on the people who will actually flock to this stadium and claim the best tickets?
posted by Venicemenace at 09:45 AM on August 27
I did a little google searching and found an article from a local paper, the New Haven Register, that describes the situation with a bit more detail than the wire story, as per usual. Here's the link:
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20089039&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=635049&rfi=6
(Tried to link it using HTML tags, but the remainder of my original comment got deleted. Yarr)
Here are some passages from the story that struck me:
"Parents are angry. There are lawyers involved. Conflicting and wild accusations are flying. The adults are fighting over the kids." "The fighting started this week when Coach Wilfred Vidro refused a directive by league officials" "Parents posted brightly-colored signs and many wore handpainted T-shirts with sayings such as, Lets be fair, its all about the kids,-- Theyre only kids,-- and Let Jericho Pitch.--" "Noble said they cancelled the game for fear the adults bickering would create an unhealthy environment.--" "She said league officials came to their house about five months ago to recruit Jericho, who also plays in another league. "
This is not a Harrison Bergeron issue of political correctness - Jericho was already in another league and was drawn into this situation by the very league that now seeks to expel him; meanwhile, the coach and parents have declared war on the league, which is why this was brought to our attention in the first place. It seems very evident to me that all the problems that have arisen are the direct result of willful and obnoxious adults. If we take at face value that Jericho Scott is a superlative pitcher when compared to the beginners in the New Haven league, it's pretty evident that he should move up to face stiffer competition. You'd think that could have been handled quickly and quietly to everyone's satisfaction, but instead this has escalated into legal cases and front page stories; a battle over a PLAYOFF for nine-year-old baseball players.
I lump them all together in this indictment - the adults in this story (a) recruited a nine-year-old for an introductory league (b) plunged into intrigue regarding what team the kid would play on (c) issued fiats regarding his playing time from above without moving towards an actual solution to the issue (d) willfully refused said fiats, leading to more drama (e) staged protests and counter protests at the site of a little kids' baseball game (f) dissolved a team as a high handed power play (g) got lawyers and reporters involved, splashing this poor kid's name across ESPN.com and hundreds of other media outlets.
This entire situation, which should never have arisen and once it did arise, could have been handled in one simple meeting. Instead, all the so-called grownups in the scenario are acting like spoiled babies. Fucking ridiculous.
posted by Venicemenace at 04:02 PM on August 26
The new setup actually goes you one better on user numbers, it tells you the actual date a user joined. But my understanding is that the numbers have been preserved and are on their way.
Nastia Liukin was absolutely amazing. Johnson is also fantastic. The two of them put on a clinic. It was really fun to watch.
posted by Venicemenace at 09:29 PM on August 15
While I've oft bitched about network sports announcers' propensity to focus on storyline instead of just calling the game/race/match, I actually thought this worked out amazingly well. Going into the race I wasn't that invested in Phelps' quest for 8 golds and the shit talking from Thorpedo and the French...just seemed like more network hype. As the race went on I thought it was unfortunate that Phelps was going to lose out on a gold because the French team was just too good, but that's why getting 8 golds is so tough. Then when Lezak made his move, I just started freaking out. My poor downstairs neighbors...
Despite all the hype, there were so many cool elements to this story, it actually lived up to the advance billing. Phelps' quest for 8 golds continues, Lezak delivers one of the finest Olympic performances I've ever seen (and the look on his face on the medal podium was awesome), and FIVE relay teams broke the previous world record!
posted by Venicemenace at 10:05 AM on August 12
Browns agree to send Edwards to Jets
Braylon is strange ?
Why?
To be fair, that name was basically invented in the last 10 years.
That said, today there are over 300 Braylons for every million babies born in the US.