Apr
05
Open Thread: A night off
By
Photo Credit: Elise Amendola, AP
Play a game, take the next day off. What is this, the playoffs? I’ll be here all week, folks.
Here’s the open thread for the evening. The Knicks are in action, plus you’ve got the Butler-Duke National Championship Game. There’s two new episodes of 24 on as well, which is where you can find me. You know what to do, so have at it.
412 Comments»
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Anyone notice that Swisher is the only one not clapping in that photo?
Oh, he’s clapping, just not with his hands.
Bravo.
So last time I checked the Royals/Tigers game it was 4-1 in favor of the Royals. Now it is 8-4 Tigers. Greinke went 6 innings and gave up 1 ER (2 R) and is gonna get a ND. Royals bullpen y’all.
It’s a shame that some of his prime years are going to be wasted in KC. At least he can think about escaping at 30.
also, oh what a play by Mark Buehrle:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
That play was unreal. I’m left speechless.
As the Sports Guy said, “Mark Buehrle just made the greatest fielding play in pitcher history. Someone will have to catch a line drive with their genitals to top it.”
I concur
Mark Beurhle: 2010 Gold Glove winnder.
/not joking’d
He is an excellent defensive pitcher, even ignoring flashy plays like this. He’s really one of my favorite non-Yankees. I can’t even imagine what I would have done if Pettitte got that perfect game/no-hitter against the Orioles, because Pettitte and Buehrle having no-hitters in the same year?
oh sure, I wasn’t claiming that beurhle wouldn’t necessarily be deserving of it, just that the “pitching” portion of Gold Glove competition is now over in the minds of the folks who vote on it.
haha, I know what you mean. Flashy play = Gold Glove!!!
Good Mo.
can’t wait for the new 24 episodes
did anyone watch AJax tonight? i saw he had an rbi single but how did he look in his AB’s ? how about in the field ? anyone ? …. buehler ?
I unleashed my secret fantasy weapon in Tier 6 today.
Do tell.
Melky.
Cabrera.
I play for keeps.
Melky as a fantasy baseball weapon? Are you sure you don’t mean Miguel Cabrera?
haha. It started off great, he walked in his first AB. Then he went 0-5. Watevs, I know he tried hard. I live and die with the Melkman!
There are 2 new 24 episodes? Awesome. Today >>> Yesterday
Hey Drew, how about that new QB. Wtf?
Man, my punctuation sucks.
Man, I’m pumped.
I’m not a Clausen fan and was afraid to risk the 4th pick on him or Bradford.
This is the first time I’ve had a true, starting QB. I’m 23 and have never had faith in the man in the middle of the huddle. I was only five when we won the SB in 91.
I can’t explain how thrilled I was when I heard the news.
Now, I’m just excited to see what we do with the 4th pick. I’m hoping we trade down and get 2 picks to make up for the lost 2nd rounder.
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. When I first heard I was very puzzled. I guess you guys really must hate Campbell. I’m glad you’re happy. I don’t really know what to think. I hate that he’s still in the division, but does he really have any weapons? If you don’t trade now, at least you’re in a good position to pick up a franchise LT, maybe Okung or Balaga.
Man, I was rooting hard for Campbell. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In 08, he started great, then fell off the earth. Last season it was more of the same, inconsistency. I don’t know if it’s just a failure of repeating his throwing motion, or if his mental clock is just off. His only consistent throw was a slant. I’m done with Campbell now.
It’s not like he had a ton of weapons in Philly, other than Westbrook and more recently Jackson.
Some say Portis is done, I strongly disagree. We’ve got Cooley and Moss. I love Malcolm Kelly’s hands and height. Devin Thomas has speed. The O-Line has been okay. Heyer, Rabach and Dockery are solid on the line. Okung would be a great help but I still think I’d rather trade down.
Our defense is what gives us a shot at winning everyday. Now we have a QB who just might be able to win a couple games on his own.
I was surprised so many Skins fans weren’t too happy with the trade. I know Mcnabb isn’t young Mcnabb but, give the guy a running game and see what happens.
I have a mixture of emotions about Beckett getting a 4 year/68M extension. I am happy because he looks to be on the downside, but am slightly worried that he may regain form.
He’ll continue to be a solid pitcher. He’ll never be an “ace” again, if he ever was one. But he’s got solid command which will serve him well in the next few years if he can stay healthy.
If you see pat o connor tonight, congratulate him. I think.
my friend pat o connor just got in gage
Is it bad if I knew who said that right away?
haha I did as well
ozzie?
Future updates about pat (based on past Ozzie):
At bachelor party, yesssss drink safe please and please don’t drive enjoy.
Very nice day at wedding loved they are luck good.
They at the airport to caracas for honeymoon, great day today a lot energie.
good pat baseball pitch swisher no hit there
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara: Human or machine?
He’s on pace for a mere 324 home runs.
Dunno, but I just hope he signs a long, long, long extension with the Cards.
I don’t know, I think they trade him to the Phils for Howard
Pujols is cheaper this year, and cheaper next year. Howard will command a huge FA contract too. Unless the Phils give the Cards a blue chip prospect, which I’m not even sure they possess, I don’t see them trading away arguably the best player in the game.
pretty sure that was a joke. somebody made some reference to such a traveshamockery on ESPN this spring I think
It was a joke (albeit failed). The cards would have to be braindead to make that trade.
Heh, my bad.
You are one pathetic loser!
/LLoyd Christmas’d
I think this was a joke.
Someone posted this, as an actual Phils’ fan’s trade proposal from some site, a few weeks ago, and we were all laughing hysterically.
Nah it was actually an ESPN article which is why I thought he was serious.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4994845
It wasn’t a Philly fan. It was the Phillies’ front office.
They were seriously considering making an offer to the Cardinals.
Seriously.
I’m pretty sure there are some Philly fans that think if they traded Pujols straight up for Howard, with nothing else included in the deal, that they’d be the ones getting ripped off.
Well…Placido Polanco is on pace to drive in close to 1000 runs, so………
He’s no Izzy Alcantara, that’s for sure.
Well you can’t compare Red Sox players to Pujols. I think we know who wins in every comparison.
You know, if you look at the stats, Dustin Pedroia compares very favorably to Albert Pujols.
/Edes’d
/still have no idea what he was talking about’d
That’s true, Pujols has never karate kicked a catcher.
I don’t watch 24. I’ll probably get into it big time after the show runs it’s course and it goes into sindication.
Accent Shallow,
Sorry, this was the earliest I could respond to your reply on UZR last week…
Since you shan’t remain a listener and since I’m in need of learning, you’ll help?
I always felt that a stat was supposed to enhance, adjust, or correct flaws in our understanding and that it does this by delineating a particular skill (-level). Not trade one flaw for another or worsen a flaw, or worse still, simply add one. You disagree? What is your idea of what a stat should do, its purpose?
“It measures how good a player is at accumulating UZR”
O.K., ceding even this assertion is valid, what does this mean to you – what does it tell you about that player?
Joe enumerated at least three causes which could lead to a player’s UZR being not what his innate skill level would ordinarily dictate. Ergo, the stat then is NOT telling us (at least in some cases) who is the more naturally skilled/adept but, further, is actually obfuscating the skill level of the very skill it is intended to illumine! This is useful? This is a “net plus” which “adds value” as Tango would protest? I consider such a system flawed and actually worse than useless, disadvantageous and deleterious. Where do I err?
At the sites which you suggest I might learn the functionality of wUZR (actual addresses/links would have been helpful), does this “functionality” cover the numerous discrepancies which must be accounted for, the extremity of some of those discrepancies, the volatility or seeming unnatural fluctuations of those discrepancies, etc?
When you say “functionality” do you mean like the mere 80% accuracy rate which the formulator himself (and his vested interest) concedes and of the negative which he hasn’t the foggiest idea of how to account for but simply replies “such is life”? Oh yes, that’s highly functional. Highly scientific (lol). Sorry, I prefer my scientists/mathematicians a touch more dispassionate/methodical, a tad less doctrinaire. You don’t? At least we can all be thankful that Tangotiger is not constructing our buildings and bridges.
Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth ~ Albert Einstein
-or, if you prefer-
Scientia non habet inimicum nisp Ignorantem (Science has no enemies… but the Ignorant)
Nobody’s walking around parading the perfection of UZR dude. But at this point, nobody outside of a major league front office has access to enough data combined with enough technology to come up with a better way of assessing defense. This will change, however, in the next couple years, as parkcam technology and hit/fx and field/fx data become available, and I’d imagine that these things will toss UZR, +/- into antiquity because they will (presumably) be so much better.
But that doesn’t make UZR worthless. For actual front offices who have access to better info and may already have analysts measuring ball projections speeds, wind effects, etc., it is completely needless, but for fans who don’t have access to that stuff, it’s as good as it’s going to get. As long as you’re smart enough to look only at very large sample sizes and look at other numbers, like Dewan and Fielding Bible data, and avoid relying on these numbers as holistic assessments of 1B defense or as any sort of assessment of C defense, you’ll be ok.
UZR is for people who are curious about the quantification of defense. It’s a generally fairly reliable stat, provided it isn’t misused. For example, Ichiro is an elite RF, Swisher is an average RF, Chase Utley is an elite 2B, Cano is an average 2B, Longoria is an elite 3B, A-Rod slightly below average, etc. etc. These are things that would become more and more apparent the more you watched, but it would still take a ton of watching to make a proper assessment, UZR just speeds up the process.
In a recent horror show of an article from Dan Shaugnessy, he quoted a scout who said you can’t just look at a number, you “have to watch a guy for 3 or 4 games”. THAT is the tremendous flaw in pure scouting that stats like UZR and +/- can counterbalance – three to four games is an absurdly negligible sample. A player could be in a defensive slump, he could simply see an abnormally large number of balls hit just outside his range, but none within that aren’t easy plays, which could make it seem like he has limited mobility. On the other hand, he could make a spectacular diving catch on a high fly ball that makes you forget the line drive that dropped in front of him because it took too long for him to judge it (I’m looking at you, Ellsbury).
The point of UZR is not to be a be-all-end-all stat, it’s to be something of a holdover until technology makes it moot, since right now, it, along with a couple other advanced defensive metrics, is really all we have for gauging defense. If you’re aware of something better that’s publicly available, by all means inform us, but thus far we haven’t found it here.
*applause*
Pete so so full of win.
If you’re aware of something better that’s publicly available, by all means inform us, but thus far we haven’t found it here.
Re-peted (sic), for emphasis.
And this is an example of an intelligent response with strong sentence construction.
And he didn’t need to use words such as “shan’t”, “illumine”, “ergo”, or “deleterious” in an attempt to make his points sound smarter.
This.
Everyone likes stats when they support what they believe, but not everybody likes stats when they challenge belief (see: Teixeira, Mark).
The point is that the attacks on UZR and other metrics are often straw-man arguments. No one points to any single stat and says that “This tells me everything I need to know.” (And in the case of Teixeira, nobody rational looked at his UZR numbers from last year and, based upon that alone, said that he’s a poor first baseman. This did not happen.)
The irony is that of all the metrics, UZR might be the most “eye-friendly” (via Pete Abe h/t to Matt at TYU):
The data used to compile UZR and other advanced statistics comes from Baseball Info Solutions, a company in Coplay, Pa. Owner John Dewan hires only former college or professional players and trains them to chart games via video and record the specific characteristics of every batted ball. “By gosh, there is nobody in the country who watches more games than our people,’’ Dewan said. “I can’t stress that enough. We can get down to the pixel to make a determination.’’
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....th/?page=1
I wonder how many people who bash UZR realize that it is essentially an attempt to formalize the very things that the scouts they praise as the other of metrics also do.
The point is, UZR is a tool. It attempts to address things that fielding percentage and the percentage of times you appear on “Top Plays” on Sportscenter do not. However, like all tools, it’s value depends upon whether you understand it and how you use it.
Will there be better metrics in the future, probably. But, the fact that there are limits now doesn’t mean that it is entirely worthless either.
i saw that article in the boston globe. I think we’re finally starting to see the new wave of only somewhat-behind-the-times writers grandfather out the stick-to-ma-guns guys
D00d. you’re trying way too hard to sound smart. Using words like ‘ergo’ doesn’t make you sound intelligent when your sentence construction is fundamentally weak.
also, a good life lesson that my super-awesome 9th grade English teacher taught me: there’s no such thing as a synonym. Every word has a distinct meaning, and the more “different” words you try to incorporate into your writing, the more chances you are going to have of using a word that is incorrect. Sure, some words technically mean the same thing, but there are contextual nuances that can cause a poorly chosen “synonym” to clash with its context, and it drags down the rest of your writing, and makes it sound flowery when it (especially in this setting, where you’re making a direct argument for something) should be concise.
I’m not trying to be a dick here, but it’s a little tough to take an argument seriously when it, completely unnecessarily and incorrectly, uses words like “deleterious”, it sends out a subconscious message that the underlying points themselves may or may not be valid.
Agreed.
I’m not much of a Latinist, I’m just a huge fan of Juvenal. Since we’re not too worried about the who should be watching the watchmen, why you shouldn’t get married, or how much of a prick Domitian is, I’ll move on.
What is your idea of what a stat should do, its purpose?
A stat should give us perspective on a certain part of the game. Whether it’s something simple as BA, or narrative driven like RBI, or as abstract as linear weights, it should give us something to think about.
Where do I err? (in re: UZR)
In the assumption that we can measure defensive contributions as precisely as we can measure offensive contributions. (If this is not one of your assumptions, I apologize.) Regardless, it’s relatively easy to put offensive numbers into context: we have league averages, park factors, replacement levels for various positions, etc. Rarely will you see an argument that a player is over/under valued by his, say, EQA. (Not that I’m a huge fan of EQA, but I believe it consolidates all offensive contributions, including stolen bases/general baserunning)
For defensive players, we’re using either general play-by-play data (TotalZone), or actual play-by-play data (UZR, +/-, etc). The flaw with TotalZone type metrics is that it doesn’t differentiate between a routine ground ball and a rocket; the flaw with actual play-by-play is that it’s subjectively judged by humans (granted, people who watch hundreds of hours of video, but it’s not quite a science)
At the sites which you suggest I might learn the functionality of wUZR (actual addresses/links would have been helpful), does this “functionality” cover the numerous discrepancies which must be accounted for, the extremity of some of those discrepancies, the volatility or seeming unnatural fluctuations of those discrepancies, etc?
When you say “functionality” do you mean like the mere 80% accuracy rate which the formulator himself (and his vested interest) concedes and of the negative which he hasn’t the foggiest idea of how to account for but simply replies “such is life”?
When I say “functionality”, I mean “how it works, how UZR is calculated.” In retrospect, that’s not the best word. Here is Part 1 of MGL discussing UZR on Baseball Think Factory. Here is the Fangraphs glossary, which contains a link to Part 2 of the above, as well as a discussion of the difference between UZR and +/-. Finally, here is Tangotiger responding to the UZR/Tex question. It doesn’t totally satisfy me, but it’s an insight into the thought process. One last link, that simplifies it a little bit. There’s some good info/discussion of the points you raise in the various comments to these posts, although as with all Internet discussions, there’s the fair share of crap.
I prefer my scientists/mathematicians a touch more dispassionate/methodical, a tad less doctrinaire.
If we take UZR as gospel truth, yes, I’d agree. If we take it as just one tool, recognize that it has an uncertainty of +/- 5 runs or so, and that it’s most useful in multiple year samples (simply due to chances. You wouldn’t write a hitter off based on 200 AB, would you? On that note, I really should provide a cite for that), then it can provide insight. UZR is useful solely because it’s better than just trusting our eyes, which can deceive us — none of us are going to see every game in person, and the ones we do, we’ll be unlikely to be watching the defender before the ball is put in play.
At least we can all be thankful that Tangotiger is not constructing our buildings and bridges.
If the principles of mechanical engineering were as fuzzy and inexact as the principles of measuring defense, we might not have multi-story buildings or suspension bridges. (Or baseball stadiums. We’d all be pressed up against the chain link fence)
And healthy skepticism is always a positive thing, so thanks for that.
Another great Ozzieism:
Goo luck to my guys for a great summer and all the venezuelan player even the ones I hate to death
Hates to death? He truly has no filter.
He does have one, a profanity filter. I hope he never learns that you can swear on the internet. The twitter updates would be incomprehensible curse ridden ramblings.
Based on his spelling ability, do we know that he isn’t already cursing in his tweets? He could be dropping f bombs left and right, and we might not even know it.
IETC
Joe Morgan picked the Giants to win the NL West because of Aubrey Huff.
/fist pump
I just watched the replay of Pedroia’s HR from last night.
You take away the ugly facial hair and you can easily mistake that play for a little league game. 300 ft HR from a guy that barely cracks 5 ft.
Barely cracks 5 ft? Come on now, he is an inch shorter than Gardner.
It was a joke, but just wanted to add Pedroia has basically admitted that his listed height is exaggerated
According to hittracker it was a HR in 13 parks.
I wonder how many parks Posada’s HR was out in, heh.
ETA: Huh, 22. Way more than I was expecting.
It was fast off the bat.
Estimated Time of Arrival?
::confused::
Edited To Add.
though I didn’t edit it, so I don’t know why I put that
Ah, thanks.
:: no longer quite so confused ::
What are you still confused about? She took LSD so that you could BDGF over at the ASD on RAB after the ETA.
Hey! Use a goddamn <abbr> tag here! Help a guy out!
AJax 1 for 5 today w/a double & a RBI. Good for him.
Wow. That was weird.
After 55 minutes of the thread being up you two decided to post about the same thing at the same time? Crazy.
I had him by a clean minute.
AJax went 1 for 5 today. It’s going to be interesting to see how he does this year…
Well…he did face Zack Greinke.
The Yankees better get used to not playing in October at this rate. I’m pissed as hell, Chamberlain looked like shit, the bullpen blew, and CC is still shaky in April. The only positives were Granderson and Posada telling Montero “not just yet.” Not all that confident in this year’s team after last night.
Better get used to not playing baseball by October* my mistake.
CC struggled early last year and then came on to almost win the Cy Young. No need to worry about the bullpen. It’s one game and we’re not going to be playing as good a lineup of the Red Sox every day. On Tuesday we’ll rake and win 10-3, then you’ll regain your confidence.
One game (especially the FIRST game of the season), has shaken your confidence already? Wow. Remember the 2009 season when the Yankees lost 8 straight to the Sox? Yeah, good times.
I really hope this is a joke.
Once upon a time the Yankees lost their first 2 games to the Orioles. Months later they won the World Series.
Ooh, tell us another one, Daddy!
Tell us who’s winning this year!
Pleasepleaseplease!
Left out:
Oh hush the book is still being written. But here’s a spoiler, the Yankees will be there near the end of it all.
Once upon a time the Yankees lost the first 3 games. Months later they swept the World Series and were one of the greatest teams ever.
Yay, moremoremore!
What do you mean, “it’s bed-time?”
No fairNofair!
Boo!
(slinks off to bed, clutching teddy bear that is wearing Yankee uniform)
Now for a scary story. My story from above was based on the 1998 season. The real story is the Mets once upon a time lost the first game and finished at 40-120 only to be outdone by the 2010 Yankees.
Sweet dreams and don’t let the bed bugs bite. No seriously, they have lyme disease and herpes.
did you know the Mets have the best opening day winning percentage in MLB? Well now you do
If this ⇑ doesn’t prove the point that opening day losses are meaningless, nothing will.
(plugs ears with fingers
I can’t hear you, Mean Daddy! I’m asleep, like a good little boy at this hour!
I thought we forfeited the season after the 0-8 to the Red Sox.
(Actual comment spotted when we were 0-8: “I don’t care if the Yankees win the Series this year. Nothing will make up for this.”)
If the world series didn’t make up for it winning 9 of the next ten games vs. the Sox did.
Yeah, that did happen and I know the Yankees start out slow…but this year’s quite a bit different. They have to replace a .376 wOBA and a .378 wOBA from Damon and Matsui, they had 15 walk of wins (a bit of a function in luck)22-16 in run run games (also a bit lucky), and they’re staring at regression from Posada (yeah he was great last night but SSS) and Jeter right in the face. Not to mention they’ll likely not get another injury free season from Burnett, and Pettitte started to show signs of age last year and will probably be worse this year. I know Vazquez projects to basically be Chuck Norris on the mound, but a FB pitcher at Yankee Stadium in the AL East isn’t something I have confidence in. Plus that team up North got quite a bit better. They added a playoff stud and an ace in John Lackey, and greatly improved their defense, not to mention some rebound from David Ortiz and a full season of V-Mart. Buttholz won’t be able to blow game 3 again. They look absolutely stacked and I have no questions about that offense. All I gots to say is you better get used to not watching baseball by October, you have enough off nights in April to start.
OAKTAG
“All I gots to say is you better get used to not watching baseball by October…”
…No?
::Not sure if serious::
You’re funny.
O:S, people.
(Checks terriost threat level on Mystique and Aura)
We’re at biblical plague of locusts! Oh shit…
Minaya?
Watching Joba struggle in the BP where he was supposed to be lights out makes me wonder if the Yankees are doing this to aid in his development where he simply can’t throw 98 MPH thus making him learn to pitch. In the BP the damage is reduced then if starting.
But meh it’s wishful thinking at this point. but its better then the FO just losing all patience over one full year of starting.
Most guys aren’t in midseason form by April. It can take a month or two to build up enough arm strength to really let loose.
Joba’s always been a slow starter. I remember having the same discussion last ST and last April.
If we want to do an apples to apples velocity comp, we need the numbers from last April. I’m sure Joe P or Mike can dig them up.
Understood, but he looked a lot like 2009 Joba — lots of nibbling, throwing the slider all the time, etc.
I love how in Atlanta they didn’t even bother to give Jason Heyward the whole silent treatment after his
complete bombhome run. Welcome to the show, baby.I say he probably hits about 5 more HR in the next two weeks gets crowned the next coming of Ruth, is featured on a SI Cover, then comes back to earth when pitchers start to figure him out.
Tangential to my comment above, have any of you who live in NYC ever seen the infamous Paddington Bear toy that lives in the front window of a street-level apartment in Manhattan, between 5th and 6th avenues, IIRC on 11th street?
Its owners change its outfit according to the season, world events, etc.
Last fall, as every year when a certain team is in the postseason, it wore a little Yankee uniform.
It has never worn a Mets uniform.
Hmm. Guess nobody knows what I’m talking about.
Those in NYC, take a look next time you’re in that neighborhood.
The building is on the South side of the street, a few doors West of the Church of the Ascension parish house, not far from 5th Avenue.
The window in question is rather obvious: the building juts out at a sharp angle, as does the window.
OH WOW!
I didn’t know this! Apparently, the original building at that address was destroyed by the Weather Underground’s bomb in the 1960′s!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03.....wanted=all (safe)
Here’s a quote about the bear:
1970, actually. But I was only 4 years old, so I guess I can be excused for not knowing.
I need fantasy trade advice, as I’m not a very good judge when it comes to my own players.
I’m being offered:
Rafael Soriano
Ben Sheets
For:
Matt Garza
I have a bunch of starting pitchers (shields, c. zambrano, garza, matsuz, j. de la rosa, jered weaver) but none are particularly outstanding and I need a closer as I only have 1 closer at the moment (mike gonzalez).
Thoughts?
i would keep Garza. He’s in for a good year. There should be plenty of 30 saves closers in the FA pool
Personally I wouldn’t do it. Closers are always on the wavier wire. Some of the good closers now weren’t drafted at all last year like Aardsma.
http://twitter.com/closernews
Maybe that will help find you a good closer fast enough.
I would probably accept that trade. Pitchers from the AL East are not that great, especially Garza. Plus, Sheets has the potential to be better than Garza on his own and you are getting Soriano as well. Take the deal.
If anyone has any proposals in mind for Tier 6, I need a starter. My team is MoreJobaltinePlz.
Does anyone else think that after having about six months off and with 161 games left that it’s kind off stupid to have a day off after the first game?
What could they possibly be tired about? Is opening day that draining?
There shouldn’t be any off days during the first series of the year.
Baseball players need to man up.
I guess the main argument is that the price for opening day tickets is high. If it rained yesterday, all the people that doled out straight cash homie would be shit outta luck and have to go to the 3rd game rather than the 1st game.
I think it’s so if Opening Day gets rained out the people with tickets for OD don’t get screwed, or something like that
Oh my God just have a day night double-header or something. Other then travel days, the all-star break and the playoffs baseball shouldn’t have any days off.
I’m sorry I LOVE the sport, but compared to the other major sports baseball players are soft bitches.
LOL
I mean that with all due respect.
At least there’s not a week off between games…I’m looking at you NFL
Wow you picked the worst sport to compare with. As far as “man up” points the NFL is like a truck and baseball is like a smart car.
I wasn’t trying to compare the two sports at all, I was just saying the week between games is a pain in the balls. I get why they have to do it (with the preparing, recovering and everything) but it just sucks having to wait a week between watching the G-Men play games.
Red Sox games are exhausting. I need a week off between each of them.
I don’t get it. Most probably has to do with money. Either MLB or the cable networks, or both, probably can make more money the first week of the season with the off day for whatever reason.
They do a day off after the home openers for almost(if not all) the teams in the event of a day 1 rainout.
So, last night I ended up in a conversation about Frank Thomas. I said that The Big Hurt is a) a Hall of Famer, and b) a better hitter than Ichiro. Somehow, the people I was discussing this with had the opposite opinion. Not only did they argue that Frank Thomas isn’t a HoF player, they argued that he wasn’t as good a hitter as Ichiro. The crux of their argument? Batting average.
I have lost my faith in humanity.
Wow.
I hope that they aren’t friends. If so I would suggest getting new baseball friends.
It was at a local bar. I shouldn’t expect better, but…is there a more obvious argument other than: baseball is awesome? How can you consider Ichiro a better hitter? How?
batting average!!!!! And he could hit all those home runs you know, if he wanted to.
Oh, it was more than that even. They argued that batting average was the most important part of hitting. I argued that not making an out was the most important part. They continued to disagree. I felt like I was going crazy. Maybe everything I knew was wrong. Maybe the sun revolved around the Earth and the moon was made of cheese.
people are weird
the crazy thing is that Frank Thomas was an ELITE hitter for average. Like…Ichiro level
I wouldn’t go that far. Ichiro is easily a better hitter for average. Thomas was much better at everything else. (Hitting wise of course)
FUN FACTS:
Difference between Ichiro’s lifetime BA (.333) and Thomas’ lifetime BA (.301) – around 18 hits a year for Thomas.
Difference between Ichiro’s average BB per season to Thomas – 69 more walks per season for Thomas.
Another fun fact: during Thomas’ first 11 seasons, he hit .321, and OBPed .440 (!). He also had a hell of a lot more power.
Of course, Ichiro has a huge advantage in defensive ability.
Thomas was obviously the better hitter. No doubt. He was more patient, had a lot more power, but saying that Thomas was “an ELITE hitter for average. Like…Ichiro level” is inaccurate. A 32 point difference in BA is not a small difference in my opinion.
My argument for those douchenozzles is this:
You can have one of the following two players on your team.
1) He will play in exactly 125 games this year.
2) He can do either (but not both):
A) Hit 1 homerun every game, without fail and go 1/5. No walks, HBP, sac fly, anything. Just 1 HR, 4 outs.
B) Get 2 singles every game, without fail, and go 2/5. Nothing else. Just 2 singles, 3 outs.
Hitter A will end the season with a .200/.200/.800 line. That’s an elite 1.000 OPS hitter. 125 HRs on the season, good for 125 Rs, minimum 125 RBIs, with something closer to 250 more likely.
Hitter B will end the season with a .400/.400/.400 line. A good (but not elite) .800 OPS.
If someone says he would prefer hitter B, I think he’s a dumbass.
I think I would take hitter B. A .200 OBP is freakin’ awful.
(However, hitter A would have a .391 wOBA, and hitter B would have a .360 wOBA. Much closer than raw OPS would indicate)
Douchenozzle?
Now there’s a word I never heard until I got to Cornell.
Do they say this other places?
I haven’t been to much games but in your opinion what seats are better? Grandstand seats or the bleachers?
In the old stadium, bleachers. In the new, Grandstand.
Agree.
The Bleachers are recessed much further back in the new place, people bitched about it like crazy when they opened the place.
I hated the Grandstand seats in the old facility. The view was good, but the angle of section was way too steep. You stumbled, and you could fall 4 rows. I’ve seen people do it carrying beers for 4 people. Now the angle is much better.
Alright thanks. I only sat in the bleacher seats last year and I guess I’ll go for the grandstand seats this go around. Especially since they’re at the same price.
I actually disagree. The Grandstand is pushed pretty far back, in relation to Tier Reserve at YSII. I think the sightlines in the bleachers at the new Stadium are very nice.
Houston is such an interesting place, judging by some of the stuff at the Astros/Giants game
I start sweating when I eve read the name Houston. It has to be the most humid place outside of the African Congo.
Wel that clears that up…sort of…I guess.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/bl.....mlb,232016
I’m a recovering theater kid and I totally didn’t get that reference. Gotta love how the HR calls reference both text messages and old musicals…
Oh. My. God.
I just read the comments on that page.
Excuse me, I gotta go trepan my skull and pour in some bleach to wash my brain clean.
BTW there are still some 5$ grandstand seats left for Wednesday and Thursday’s games vs the Angels. Granted, they’re in the 400′s out in RF but you can’t beat 5 bucks.
I’ll be at Thursday’s game with a buddy of mine. If any of you will be there, come say hi.
Lemme guess, your buddy Jason Hirsch? You can’t fool me.
How the fuck did they switch Hassan out of a moving vehicle in hot pursuit?
Dude. It’s 24. This is far from the most ridiculous thing to happen on this show.
Does anyone else think Coach K looks a little like Hitler (sans the mustache)?
Does anyone know what happened to the 3d seat selector on the Yankees website? I cannot find it.
The virtual tour? Go to google and type in virtual Yankee stadium and I’m sure it’s the second link under Yankees.com.
Though the site is down for me atm.
Actually here it is.
http://mlb.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark/panoramas_2009.jsp
Thanks, but it is a different thing. Last year you were able to click on any seat in YS and get the view from that seat. It looks like they got rid of that from the website though.
Found it
http://yankees.io-media.com/
Butler really crashes the boards. I dig that.
Grand pianos crash together/when my boy walks down the street
Anyone like the Magnetic Fields?
I have a mandolin
I play it all night long
It makes me want to kill myself
I still don’t get all the faith in this team. They have to replace a .376 wOBA and a .378 wOBA from Damon and Matsui, they had 15 walk of wins (a bit of a function in luck)22-16 in run run games (also a bit lucky), and they’re staring at regression from Posada (yeah he was great last night but SSS) and Jeter right in the face. Not to mention they’ll likely not get another injury free season from Burnett, and Pettitte started to show signs of age last year and will probably be worse this year. Furthermore, Melky Cabrera had a pretty damn good year last season, and oh yeah the bullpen looks like shit again. Chan Ho Park is this year’s Jose Veras except Cashman will be more reluctant to DFA him since he makes above league minimum, Damaso Marte has that cranky elbow again, Aceves still has shoulder questions, and Joba Chamberlain has perfected his Tanyon Sturtze impression. I know Vazquez projects to basically be Chuck Norris on the mound, but a FB pitcher at Yankee Stadium in the AL East isn’t something I have confidence in. Plus that team up North got quite a bit better. They added a playoff stud and an ace in John Lackey, and greatly improved their defense, not to mention some rebound from David Ortiz and a full season of V-Mart. Buttholz won’t be able to blow game 3 again. They look absolutely stacked and I have no questions about that offense. All I gots to say is you better get used to not watching baseball by October, you have enough off nights in April to start. I admire the optimism and rationality here, but sorry fellow Yankee fans, it isn’t our year.
O;S
Seconded.
O:S
Yeah, lets pretend that replacing a .376 wOBA and .378 wOBA, is an easy thing to do.
Furthermore, lets also that AJ Burnett isn’t injury prone on and on the right side of 30…plus lets not act like Posada and Jeter aren’t going to regress by quite a bit.
While were at it lets pretend like the Red Sox got worse too…being delusional is fun!
Dude, we DID replace Damon and Matsui with Granderson and Johnson. Yeah, Johnson is injury prone, but he’s younger than Hideki, who has really badd knees.
We didn’t say the Red Sox got worse, we said that we can expect regressions in some of their older players too, in other words, Ortiz. Possibly Cameron too, he’s getting up there.
Beckett is injury prone, as is Dice-K. Lackey is good, but overrated. A 3.8 ERA is probably a realistic expectation.
Don’t forget that the Yanks got Vasquez, an innings eating horse, and a healthy A-Rod. Yeah, Jorge may regress, but I see no signs Jeter will regress significantly, and we can expect healthy A-Rod to improve and for our pitching staff to improve thanks to Vasquez. Yankees are going to be fine.
Vazquez gets innings, yeah he’s not the same pitcher that he was in 2004, this also isn’t the same AL East as 2004. The Os have a couple of pretty good bats, the Rays are the second best team in baseball, and even Toronto is getting their shit together, and oh yeah, he’ll still have to pitch to the best team in baseball…he’ll need to be a much improved pitcher if the Yanks want to rely on him.
We don’t need to rely on him, that’s what other pitchers are for. He just needs to put up a 4.10 ERA and pitch 200 innings.
MAYBE Andy and Burnett will get hurt, but the Red Sox have guys who MAY get hurt too that are important. Right now nobody’s hurt.
Besides, the AL East in 04′ wasn’t bad either.
The Yankees weren’t facing the two best teams in baseball.
The Red Sox probably were the best team in baseball. Sure they won less games than the Yanks, but they won the WS and had a better offense and pitching staff.
Not to mention, the Yankees and Red Sox are probably the two best teams in baseball this year.
honestly, if no one’s hurt – and at this point, no one is hurt – we’re not even the third best team in baseball?
honestly, if no one’s hurt – and at this point, no one is hurt –
we’re not even the third best team in baseballwe’re, at best, the third best team in baseball?*that.
actually, now that I think about it, this could probably very well be true, but I think a lot would have to go right for the Rays and Red Sox for it to be so. Omar, however, is acting like, even if we’re healthy, we suck. And that’s just not true.
being delusional is fun!
Clearly you know this all too well.
/boversimplified
“and oh yeah the bullpen looks like shit again”
After one game?
I mean really that’s the least of their problems. Realistically they need to hope that the regulars avoid the injury bug and Jorgie and Derek fight off father time for another year.
Yeah, the Sox don’t have those worries either.
You’ve made the conclusion that the bullpen is abd after ONE game. Seriously, last year it took a month before we got the bullpen working well. Have patience, we’re good.
Oops, abd is bad.
Chan Ho Park is Chan Ho Park
Marte still has a cranky elbow
Joba Chamberlain hasn’t had a good outing since July and looks like a shittier version of Paul Quantril.
Yes the bullpen sucks, the good thing is that problem is slightly fixable.
You’re forgetting Aceves, Robertson, Mo, and Melancon, who will probably replace Park soon.
I love how people forget that Joba had a good playoff run. Don’t let one big HR cloud your memory, his playoff ERA was below 3. His fastball velocity improved too, it just took him a little bit. Give him time.
Marte had one bad game. He didn’t mention anything about his elbow, I doubt it had anything to do with his struggles. He just had an off night, it happens. It was ONE game.
“Realistically they need to hope that the regulars avoid the injury bug”
Yeah, because the Yanks are the only team susceptible to injuries.
Were you born a sh*thead or was it an acquired trait?
One of my favorite Country songs:
“Were You Born an A**hole, or did you Work at it Your Whole Life?”
aka “The I-95 A**hole Song”
That was my parents’ wedding song
That would explain…quite a bit.
(Just kidding!)
HERE IT IS:
http://www.neilrogers.com/sounds/bonr1991/37.html
Definitely NSFW, but very funny.
The Yankees employ a 38 year old Andy Pettitte and Mr. Frailty himself, AJ Burnett…not to mention quite a few aging regulars. Yeah, they need Burnett and Pettitte to throw a solid 200 to go the distance again, and that ain’t happening.
Um, they didn’t get hurt yet. Yeah they MIGHT, MAYBE, but then Beckett is injury prone, Lackey has had injuries, and Dice-K is injury prone. What about them? Plus, we have CC and Vasquez, and A.J. has been healthy, knock on wood, for two years in a row.
No! Everything is going to go right for the Sox and wrong for the Yankees!! Omar has helped me see the light!
http://i111.photobucket.com/al.....ugshot.jpg (safe)
WWDBD?
Damaso Marte has a cranky elbow?
Here, let me get you a drink. I think you need one.
(Hands Omar a frosty Pinstripe IFA DPA™)
Ouch.
Make that a DFA IPA.
Dude, for one, I’ll take Granderson over Damon, and (assuming health, which is a big if), I’ll take Johnson over Matsui, as well. As for the rest of the offense, it depends how much everyone else regresses.
I’m appalled Chan Ho Park is on the team, but he’ll be gone by July if he keeps pitching the way he likely will. Hawkins made more, and he was buried and then traded. Park will be buried as well if he keeps sucking, and Melancon/Logan pitches well in AAA.
Besides, can we really draw conclusions about those guys after one game?
FWIW, SG over at RLYW projects the Yankees to win the AL East. You’re probably underselling the offense quite a bit.
your rationale for explaining it isn’t our year is because of 1 game? 1 GAME!? 1 of 162. fans like you make me sick. Go jump off a bridge or root for the sox. I’ll enjoy watching the yankees kick ass
I assume you’ll stop watching in August then.
What?
I love how this person is totally irrational (Jeter and Posada are gonna fall off a cliff!!! But Ortiz is due for a bounceback!!!) and yet uses wOBA
PS. Buttholz didn’t blow Game 3, the bullpen of epic death and fear and depth did
I love how he points out that we lost Matsui and Damon’s wOBA but doesn’t mention that we gained Johnson and Granderson’s wOBA, and our outfield defense improved. And our pitching staff. And A-Rod is healthy.
I addressed Vazquez.
Um, Burnett and CC are fastball pitchers and they had good years. Plus, he does pitch on the road too.
Also Granderson and Johnson were good additions…but Granderson only topped a .376 wOBA once…lets not anoint them replacements for two pretty damn productive players just yet.
You’re assuming Damon and Matsui don’t regress and you’re ignoring improved defense. Plus you didn’t even mention Johnson.
While they may not replicate that production wherever they are (I’m not saying that the Yankees made the wrong decision here) they still contributed that production last year and will be difficult to replace.
Fair enough, but combined defense and offense I think we’ve pretty much replaced them. Offensively they may be just a hair off, defensively Granderson (and Gardner) are a big improvement on Melky and Damon.
He also claims that they’d win game 3, yet doesn’t mention that they were already down 2-0. Not to mention, the Angels were pretty good. It’s not like they would just let them win.
ummmm I heard the Red Sox can always come back.
Except for the times that they lost or whatever but those don’t count
Wow. Oaktag #2.
Story time again. Once upon a time the Yankees were sucking in April and May. They lost 5 games in a row which I believe tied a franchise record. Later on they lost 8 game sin a row to the almighty Sox.
Then after the ASB the Yankees won 9 out of the last 10 games against Boston.
So when the Yanks reach the playoffs again I don’t know if I should bookmark this comment for future reference.
I think you’re wasting your time here.
I wouldn’t bother bookmarking either; I doubt we’ll see this character again once the Yanks start winning.
I’m pretty sure I saw this guy before too saying similar stuff. But he rarely posted.
Wait wasn’t Omar the guy who said Matusi sucks and should be let go? But now he’s a huge offensive hole to fill?
Joba was the only Yankee I wanted gone in the offseason.
Different guy then.
also yo John Lackey, I’m really happy for you, and I’m'a let you finish pitching, but Andy Pettitte is the greatest playoff stud of all time. ALL TIME!!!
(I don’t really think this)
/old meme’d
(I don’t really think this)
Well…Andy has the far superior claim, by the MSM-narrative reasoning.
After all, he’s the greatest STARTING PITCHAH EVAH, because he has the most postseason wins…
So, even by his own twisted logic, this poster = Fail.
I never said he was the greatest, just a beast. I also love comparing him to Pettitte…LULZ
Pettitte pitched more innings than Lackey last year despite being older. Lackey is a very good pitcher, but I’d be hard-pressed to call him an ace.
Also, in a stat you probably consider important, he has won more World Series-clinching games than Lackey.
Fewer innings, higher WAR…stop pretending that Pettitte matches up with Lackey, it’s embarrassing.
Pettitte pitched more innings than Lackey last year despite being older.
Omar = double FAIL, just here alone.
I’m not the one suggesting that Lackey is better.
Lackey’s much better at this point in his career. But you said he’s an ace (he’s a good pitcher, but he’s not) and a playoff stud (which Andy is more so).
We’re mocking you. You did say Lackey pitched more innings. You were wrong.
Did I suggest Lackey pitched more innings? If so I didn’t mean too.
“Fewer innings, higher WAR…stop pretending that Pettitte matches up with Lackey, it’s embarrassing.”
You flat out said it. It’s not true.
To be fair, I guess he was saying Lackey had a higher WAR despite fewer innings. Which makes sense, as he is a superior pitcher at this point in his career. He’s just not an ace and not a playoff stud by any measure in which Pettitte isn’t as well.
Ah, I think you’re right. My badski.
You’re hilarious!
You laud Lackey for being “a playoff stud and an ace”, then, when we point out, in jest, that by your standards, Pettitte is better…
And THEN you whip out the advanced stats? Gimme a break.
Your logic: ⇔
OAKTAG, I’m done.
I just noticed Lackey is 3-4 in the playoffs. He has a good ERA and decent peripherals. But clearly this means he’s not a clutch gritbeard who bears down and gets it done when he has to.
Damn straight. Andy Pettitte = starting pitcher.
(chugs diet coke, then belches in the general direction of the above poster)
“My standards” as if I pointed out any of my standards. Lulzy…you guys are touchy when the Sox are better.
Dude, we just dropped a ton of logic bombs on your posts and completely ripped your half-assed arguements to shreds. Now you’re just trolling.
So go back to your beloved Red Sox sites.
Or come back here after a Yankee win over the Sox, and prove you’re not a Sox troll.
Until then…we’re not reading any more of your [snarky word edited out].
Not a Sox troll, just have concerns about the team…I’ve posted here before, mainly with heavy advocacy for Chamberlain to be dealt. They have legitimate issues for sure, the optimist’s responses were similar to yours (which had nothing wrong with them) a more reasoned and measured approach would be to take the complaints piece by piece, while I am a pessimist I’ll do my best to demonstrate a response:
AJ and Andy’s injuries…meh, hope for the best, Vazquez should throw 200 in all likelihood, and even though Andy had injury issues he still pitched damn well last year. AJ is pretty scary, first back to back 200 IP seasons but high(er) walk rates and lowered K-rates than what he’s used too…hopefully he’ll regress to his career averages.
Javy’s questions (not the LOOK AT 2004′s STATS!!!11!!) questions, the real, high HR rate/fly ball pitcher/bad inning prone in the AL East where each team in the division has several pieces (Toronto probably notwithstanding, but even then…) that can do damage: The HRs will always be an issue, were lying to ourselves if we pretend that they aren’t…but if his improvements last year with runners on base were for real (SSS) he’ll be fine
Jeter and Posada fighting off age, and natural regression…if anyone can do it it’s them.
As to replacing Damon/Matsui, I wasn’t suggesting that Nicky/Curtis wouldn’t outproduce Matsui/Damon ***this year*** just that they may not out produce their efforts from ***LAST YEAR*** where both players performed extremely well for the Yankees. As to CC sucking in April, it happens, he looked better in his first start this year than he did last year…here’s to hoping he comes on strong again.
The bullpen…very fixable they had Claggett, Veras, War, and Albaladejo blowing asshole galore all last season and fixed it by the season’s end. As long as Mo’s still Mo, with Robertson and hopefully Melancon they should be able to pick up some decent middle relievers for not a whole lot, or find someone in the farm…Z-Mac anyone?
Those are legitimate questions, you’re lying to yourself if you think that they aren’t. Yes, the Red Sox are VERY GOOD. They have a great defense, and they’ve acquired a bunch of players perfect for that park RHH with doubles power and great defenders. The park should help out Cameron and Beltre quite a bit. Furthermore the top end of that rotation in Lester and Beckett is fantastic, not to mention John Lackey as the three…he started out the year injured two years in a row but finished strong in each of the past two seasons and had a fantastic post season last yer. The guy can pitch. Last year, I got a bunch of shit for saying that I think Buchholz is better than Chamberlain, and I still think that. Unfortunately, the kid can deal. Now the back end with Wakefield and Matsuzaka is a bit shaky, but that’s still a pretty damn good team.
The Rays, we should all know the story with them…it will be interesting to see what Price does in his sophomore campaign and if Longoria jumps into actual elite status, right now I don’t see the big difference between him and Zimmerman. Furthermore, BJ Upton still has talent out the ass and might FINALLY fulfill his potential this year.
I know it’s late and you probably won’t see this response but this is so much saner than your original post in the thread. If you’d come in expressing your concerns, which are valid, in this way, instead of saying we’re doomed to not play in the postseason then getting all hostile when people took exception to that, you would have been received in a much better way. IMO. This is not O:S-y. What you were saying before was O:S-y.
Duke cant win this game. It would be unamerican.
Great game so far too…good pace.
Weak second foul call on Howard
Agreed. That was bullshit.
Ummm. Uh. Please no.
http://proxy.espn.go.com/blog/.....id/168/168
Granderson in his entire career is poor against lefties. We all know this. Lester is probably the second best pitcher in the AL East who is also a lefty.
Thames sucks yes but Granderson also has a good chance to suck as well.
Personally I wouldn’t mind either way.
Give Grandy a chance for an AB or two and THEN have Thames pinch hit for him. Thames barely made the team. He shouldn’t be starting.
Yeah that’s probably a better plan.
An even better plan: leave Grandy in to sink or swim, for a month, at least. How else would it not be a SSS?
How can we judge whether Grandy’s adjustments and/or Kevin Long’s advice have made a difference, without a large enough sample size?
(Not arguing with you guys. Arguing with a foolish course that Girardi hopefully will not take.)
Seriously. But we all knew this was coming when he made the team out of ST. I’d love to see Grandish get a few ABs against lefties before he sits on the bench. Plus Thames has no use in the feild.
We’ve seen this before from Girardi. There’s no way he lets Granderson bat against an especially tough lefty like Lester.
Ummm… Girardi says Thames may start tomorrow. No where does he say (nor have I heard) that Thames would take Grandersons spot. Thames would play left field and replace Gardner. As much as we may like Gardner, I don’t think that’s a step down with a lefty on the mound.
I’d like to believe this…it seems a reasonable conclusion based on what Girardi actually said.
But to be fair to Tank the Frank and the above posters, the title of the referenced article says, in big, bold letters:
Thames instead of Granderson Tuesday?
So I think you are coming down a little hard on the others here.
Isn’t it possible that Thames would play for Gardner, not Granderson? There is not one piece of evidence in that entire article that suggests Granderson will be the one sitting over Gardner. ESPN just blatantly made up that headline. If you ask me, Gardner is more likely to sit tomorrow night than Grandy.
Wow, another travel by Seigler that didn’t get called.
OMG did anyone see the intro to the Angels/Twins game from the Angels feed?
CANNOT STOP LAUGHING
DETAILS PLEASE.
(WHY ARE WE YELLING?)
It was like “last year, our Angels were two games away from the greatest stage in baseball, until they were stopped by AN EVIL EMPIRE!!!!” and then this picture of Jeter and A-Rod with photoshopped evil eyes popped up. Hilariously awesome
Heh. Did they give A-Rod the Vader headgear? They should’ve.
I don’t think I will be getting an Ipad since I bought an Ipod 5 years ago and haven’t used it in 4 years.
I’m sure someone here will happily take it off your hands!
Marty #600 vs Atlanta in just 24 hrs.
I love how his affair got swept under the rug
Given the choice who would you rather see pitch live? Philthy or Javy? I’m leaning towards Javy but I’m curious to see what Phil’s got. He was pretty good starting last year…
I can haz both, please?
Clamp on my left earlobe? Da Philth.
Personally, I’d go with Hughes. I think it is exciting to have the opportunity to watch a young pitcher with the upside of Hughes as they’re just starting out. (I saw him start against the Jays in 08 and he struck out Thomas on a curve ball that was just filthy in person.)
The last time I saw Hughes start a game was Aug. 4, 2007–the day A-Rod hit his 500th homer. Awesome, awesome day.
That’s a game I wish I was at.
In the April 08 start, I remember being pissed because Girardi started Matsui over Damon in LF and the two hits that led to the run in the 4th were because Hideki’s knees couldn’t get him to the ball in either case.
Ha, figures.
Yeah, my girlfriend’s mom framed my ticket and scorecard from that game as a birthday present. I’m hoping to get it signed one day (not gonna happen).
Oops, I meant Torre…It was Torre that started Matsui over Damon in LF.
Nope, take it back again…It was Girardi. Sorry, very very tired plus my monitor just crapped out so I’m entirely out of sorts.
Thanks for the reference at TYU.
No problem.
LMAO!
Changing channels, came across the cartoon “Tutenstein”.
The main character, who is a mummy, is talking to a snake.
Snake: “If she’s not jealous of you[...] why would she take your scepter?”
Tutenstein: “To polish it?”
HA HA HA HA…she’s…
…wait for it…
…polishing his scepter!
AH HAHAHAHA!
And this is a kids’ show!
Wow! Nobody?
http://www.instantcrickets.com
I thought it was hilarious, on a kids’ show. I really did LOL.
Oh well, no accounting for taste…
Matsui’s 1st at bat w/out pinstripes!!!!
ok, i dont feel so bad anymore…popped out behind shortstop…
DHing?
I put it on, but too late.
BTW, I’m LOVING this free MLB Extra Innings Preview stuff.
Extra Innings is fantastic.
Yup. I’m loving the free preview…but I’m not usually home enough, or free when I am, to take enough advantage of it to be worth the cost.
BTW, ATM there are only 2 HD Extra Innings channels, at least here in NYC on Time Warner. Any idea if there are more once the season’s in full swing?
I would imagine almost every team broadcasts in full HD by now…right?
My GF has EI in South Jersey and there’s usually only a handful of games available in HD.
So that’s normal. Hmmm. kinda lowers the value a bit, if you have HD.
This basketball game seems really good; I really wish I wasn’t too exhausted to fully pay attention.
it’s almost like there was some crazy soul-draining baseball game on last night
…followed by internship, class, and work.
Seriously, though, how strenuous are those games? Speaking of strenuous, I learned that word from The Oregon Trail. What an epically awesome game. I miss that shit.
yikes. Get some sleep!
Oregon Trail rules.
“Get some sleep!”
You should be pretty hung-over and in need of sleep yourself…judging from some of your posts last night!
hah!
I don’t get hungover unless I get like OBLITERATED. And if I got OBLITERATED I don’t think I’d be on here.
Fair enough.
I’ve not been obliterated, or even mildly drunk, in…a Bexy’s age?
Hells yeah dude.
You killed 3045 lbs of meat. However, you could only carry 60 lbs back to your wagon.
The hunting was the best part, you could always get some food, and save money for other shit.
LIKE MORE BULLETS!
Bingo. And pairs of clothes? Fuck that shit. You buy one of those and use the spare money for extra axles and wheels.
Fuck that, I barely had extra pairs of clothes in real life. No way these little computer fuckers are gonna live better than I.
1. Very funny.
2. Excellent grammar by saying “better than I.” The SAT tutor in me approves!
Heh, one of the few things I remember distinctly from freshman year english class in HS.
“Mr., You’re a Better Man Than I”
/Yardbirds’d…again’d
I dug Origin games.
Ultima was the best RPG; and Wing Commander was such a cool combination of space combat and storyline. And it was ground-breaking, with some of the best early FMV cut-scenes.
Plus, I got to meet Lord British, aka Richard Garriott, and he was a very cool dude.
Jeff Mathis just hit a HR. PTSD!!!!
Yeah, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder! Wooo!
Wait…what?
Bex, you have the bestest acronyms/abbreviations!
that’s what I meant (from the playoffs)
Oh. So I was right? Yay me??
I thought I was just being slow again, and making a funny.
And how much stress can one really have, when one’s team has won the World Series?
Oh. I see. It was a joke?
Perhaps I need to get some sleep myself!
yeah, mostly a joke
Jeff Mathis still makes me go “AAAH!” though because I hate getting beat up by scrubs.
Yup.
As in “every rookie starter looks like Pedro Martinez circa ’98 against the Yanks”? Even if that’s not really true, it seemed like it at times in the early-to-middle years of this decade!
Does anyone else think the Ipad is a horribly named product?
It took about 5 seconds for the first Maxi-Pad jokes.
The only pitchers on my fantasy team to have thrown yet: combined 1.2 innings, an ERA of 54.00 (!) and a WHIP of 7.80.
Thanks a lot Carlos Zambrano. You too, Jason Frasor.
Frasor and Sheets here. Fanfuckingtastic.
Meh, Sheets still may pull out a decent outing. It can’t be worse than what Zambrano gave me. Unbelievable.
Ummm…what if Sheets pulls a Monty Python, and his limbs start falling off, with great gouts of blood spurting from the holes where they were attached?
That might be worse.
it’s only a flesh wound
“That parrot is DECEASED!”
‘e’s not dead! ‘e’s…pining for the fjords!
Not for me. He’s not on my team. However, I’m anticipating some sort of Ugeth Urbina machete story from Zambrano any day now.
Not for me. He’s not on my team.
You’re just no fun at all tonight, Mister.
Ooh. Two winners.
Way to pick ‘em, JMK!
Damn. I sent that 3 minutes ago, the page never refreshed, and I had to kill it & re-send.
Grrr.
I was absolutely shocked that Zam managed that. I knew he was volatile but I never expected 8 runs in less than 2 innings.
At least he beats up the water cooler, if he can’t beat the other team!
/Scout X’d
I like to think that Big Z is probably listening to this a lot, along with the various members of the Cub bullpen, which imploded today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH476CxJxfg
(sfw)
also, the 7.80 WHIP is more “whoah” to me than the ERA
Heh.
:: refrains from mentioning how thoroughly he despises this song in case it’s someone here’s favorite song ::
Subtlety doesn’t suit you, Andy. Just let it all out.
You’re a BAAAD influence on me, Mr. JMK.
OK, what was it I said about Dave Matthews?
Oh, yes:
Haha. I think I wrote something to the effect of “Dave Matthews sounds like the final moments of that child who drowned in my pool last year.”
I like the instrumentals. I just wish Dave Matthews Band got rid of Dave Matthews.
(Confession: I really, really enjoy Owl City. I know it’s not exactly Beethoven.)
I am a suburban white person so I am outraged on Dave Matthews’ behalf.
Hey JMK, I got instantcrickets for this before, but that was before you got here.
You should enjoy this one:
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....ent-825427
I can definitely appreciate that. There’s often some thinly-veiled sexual references in kids shows. The girl in Lazytown for instance, is a goddess in the world of child molesters. The creators don’t seem to avoid the awkward sexual tension on the program, either. It’s not an accident.
Back in my pot smoking days I found The Wiggles to be hysterical.
OK, Bex: add “Hootie and the
BlowhardsBlowfish” to the above list. :-Þmy dad thinks Hootie and the Blowfish are like the greatest ever
Awful song. Thanks for that, Bex. There’s a good chance that alone will negatively influence my day tomorrow.
It’s a completely terrible song which is why I like to think people having bad days listen to it. Yeah, you gave up 8 runs in 1.1 innings, Carlos Zambrano. But you could have been the guy who wrote “Bad Day.” Doesn’t that make you feel better?
(Sorry.
And apologies to anyone who likes that song.)
I love that song!
See above. Perhaps that will cheer you up.
Oh it did.
Heh.
OK, I’m getting out of here before we get in trouble with the adults again.
‘Night, JMK. ‘Night, Bex. ‘Night, poster–even if you do have rotten taste in music!
‘Night, Johnboy.
Ha. See ya.
i had Verlander and Josh Johnson and they both sucked today.
COme on Butler you gotta start hitting these layups.
So all of these Duke players will be Duke assistant coaches in a few years, right?
They’re certainly not going to the NBA.
Could Howard please work a little harder on the Adam Morrison stache?
Holy shit, it’s the NCAA championship today?
Been a great game so far.
Fucking Singler makes everything.
Travel, muahahahah
Goddamn, Butler needs to hit some shots before this slips away.
Am I the only one who wants Duke to win? I have nothing against Butler. And I’m not even a Duke fan.
I just think it would be nice to see all of America absolutely horribly disappointed.
“Am I the only one who wants Duke to win?”
Yes. Yes, you are.
Go Duke!
Go duke!
Could the announcers make this game sound any less interesting?
Time for Hayward to nut up.
TWSS?
Probably, I bet he gets some arse on the Butler campus.
Some corn-fed Indy skanks. No doubt.
Hells.
‘S’matter, pat, JMK one-up you?
Tis what he does.
Howard set a monster screen on that last heave. Fuck Duke.
Haha.
He laid that fucker out. Fuck Duke indeed.
Great game. Butler did a hell of a job.
So who won?
Everybody won. The favorite prevailed but the underdog put in a performance to be VERY proud of.
R-i-i-i-ght. Sure they did.
:: smirks annoyingly ::
I was pulling for Butler but I really enjoyed the game even though they lost. I’m not a fan of either team. I think we got a great game though.
Sounds like an epic match. I was just being a wiseass.
I figured that. I was just playing along.
Heh. Al-l-l-righty, then.
This isn’t Little League or the Special Olympics. SOMEONE HAS TO LOSE.
Thnakfully.
This isn’t Little League or the Special Olympics.
Or the All-Star Gam–wait. What?
Hey, there are winners and losers in the special olympics too. And I remember playing a little league game that my coach wanted to win so badly that when it got too dark too play and we were still tied he actually got the ump to schedule the final innings for the next day. We won, too. And we were the away team. And we had to throw a guy out at the plate, tie game, extra innings.
Come to think of it, that game was EPIC.
Thanks to Duke, I come in 2nd in the RAB pool!
Hey, congrats. Who won?
DAT SHOT WAS OH SO FUCKING CLOSE!!!
It really was, and it would have been the game winner.
My heart almost stopped. Holy shit, what a finish.
No, Butler were not champions. They lost. That is not a championship.
I know it’s a sentimental favorite and they’re a mid-major and all, but they still lost.
These two suck.
I guess Duke won?
So everyone else, besides us, in America is absolutely horribly disappointed?
(Because I could give a rat’s rear about college basketball, not because I like Duke…although there was that girl from North Carolina I lived with for a year…) Ahem. Nothing to see here, move it along, folks.
Yes on both counts. My sister goes to Chapel Hill, so in theory, I should dislike Duke. But I enjoy the parallels they have to the Yankees and their ability to win consistently without top-notch NBA talent.
What a game! Great finish. My heart nearly stopped on that final desperation shot. Great job by Duke, Butler also played very well.
BTW, I’m a Duke fan, though the only b-ball I watch is the Tournament.
Totally agree. It was one of the better Championship games I’ve seen.
Butler should have had two shots after Zoubek elbowed Howard on the rebound. Coach K wont go to the NBA because he wont get the calls.
Actually, if he actually goes to the NBA, the Nets getting Lebron might be a big factor, so he still might get the calls… sigh
I heard he already said he wasn’t going to the Nets.
Would YOU?
Would you like some cheese with your whine?
Call the WAAAHmbulance!
/annoying-bad-joke’d
Every single out Felix has gotten tonight has been either a groundout or a strikeout. o_O I know it’s Oakland but dude is good.
I jinxed him
Fuck Brandon Wood. I had really high hopes that he’d be a sleeper/breakout player.
But he looks just completely overmatched.
(I know it’s one game. I’m emotional right now — objectivity is escaping.)