- 02:31 AM
- 12/22/24
AaronGNP, you've missed the point of the study. If they were looking merely at winning percentage, you'd be right. But whether both team has a closer or neither team has a closer, they were looking only at whether teams held leads after the eighth inning or not. If you're leading me 5-3 after eight innings and bring in your closer, it doesn't matter whether I have a closer, too, or not.
posted by olelefthander at 07:33 PM on November 05, 2007
I know everyone loves the wild card. But that's what we've lost. When everyone else was enthralled by the Red Sox-Yankees race down the stretch, I was watching the divisions, especially the NL Central, where it really mattered. I knew that no matter whether the Yankees caught the Red Sox or not, there was NO WAY the Tigers were going to catch the Red Sox. So both teams would make the playoffs. The Brewers and Cubs, on the other hand, were playing for their lives.
posted by olelefthander at 08:54 AM on October 06, 2007
I was wondering whether the nine mothers of Henry's kids could appeal that suspending him would only make him fall further behind on all his various child support delinquencies.
posted by olelefthander at 08:50 AM on October 06, 2007
Seemingly lost in all this is that Ryan isn't the only one who faulted her for her comments. Her teammates weren't pleased either, and they have said as much.
posted by olelefthander at 10:43 PM on September 29, 2007
I guess the irony I find enjoyable in all this debate is that ESPN wants to talk about their journalistic integrity and the excellent reporting they've done on the Michael Vick case. Just days before Vick was indicted, they reported he WOULD NOT be indicted. Then they tried to claim they got it right all along. And Chris Mortensen tried to pass it off on his sources. "I didn't say he wouldn't be indicted; my SOURCES said he wouldn't be indicted." But the thing is, Chris, people rely on YOU to decide if those sources are credible, and YOU decided to run with it. When you use them anonymously, we can't even judge what their level of involvement and/or bias might be. And if I'm not mistaken, the crawler and the anchors commonly say, "ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that ..." You can't have it both ways. There are countless other examples of questionable news reporting and judgment from ESPN and their team of heavyweight journalists, such as Michael Irvin and Sean Salisbury. This is all pretty tangential, but suffice it to say that in a Who's Now competition among sports news agencies, I'd not be voting for ESPN these days.
posted by olelefthander at 10:49 AM on August 14, 2007
An apology would mean nothing to me at this point. Too many apologies these days are not really apologies. An apology would be something like, "I did something wrong, and I am truly sorry I did that." Today's apologies are more like, "I have no regrets, but I am sorry some people are upset by what happened." Hank Aaron thanking him says more about Hank Aaron than it does Barry Bonds. The true tragedy here, to me, is that he would have gone down as one of the top few hitters in the history of the game WITHOUT using. The steroids/HR chase has taken attention away from the fact that he is a once-in-a-generation gifted hitter.
posted by olelefthander at 05:13 PM on August 12, 2007
Mars, I agree with a small part of what you say. Mere accusations should not sink someone. But this is different than taking the word of a drug-addicted stripper against him. This is a federal indictment. And the point many people here have made is that Goodell did not let Pacman Jones have the benefit of waiting for the legal process to play out. As for your last "argument," are you now saying that even if Vick did it, the dogs had it coming? Surely you aren't that depraved and illogical. You might want to stop and consider that the reason there are so many pit bull attacks on people is that people like the ones who ran the disgusting operation on Vick's property intentionally breed the dogs to be that way. If the dog doesn't seem violent enough, they kill it. So whether the dogs deserve what they got or not, many of these attacks you decry are on the heads of the fighting-dog breeders.
posted by olelefthander at 09:19 PM on July 20, 2007
I remember thinking the Braves were insane for firing him.
posted by olelefthander at 06:28 PM on June 09, 2007
Sorry on two counts. I posted this before, and it was removed. I never figured out why, but I'm speculating that it was because I posted straight to a video of the Portis interview. Also, I meant to include this link with it in one post. But I've messed up and don't know how to add the link now. It's a story about a police informant saying he has personally seen Vick make large bets at dog fights, calling him one of the "heavyweights" of dog fighting and saying several other pro athletes are involved, too.
posted by olelefthander at 11:19 AM on May 28, 2007
How much historical perspective do you really need to vote for the All-Star team in any one given year? I'm all in favor of people knowing their baseball history and appreciating players who excelled in eras whose stats don't look as impressive today. But can't we pretty much look at the stats this season and see who's best for this year's team? Also, players have their own biases and make their own mistakes too. They were handing out Gold Glove Awards based on historical reputation and popularity for years in their own right.
posted by olelefthander at 07:35 PM on May 19, 2007
I just want to echo the little Dude's comment. Reds fans have known Casey was awesome for a very long time. Didn't he play in the World Series last year? I wish my career was that dead.
posted by olelefthander at 01:32 PM on May 18, 2007
Isn't it interesting that in the earlier days of baseball nobody came out at pitchers like Cy Young, Glover Cleveland Alexander, Lefty Grove, Bob Feller, Babe Ruth and then later Koufax, Gibson, Drysdale , Ryan Duran, Ryan, Lee Smith and many others in the 60's and 70's. Actually, Robin Ventura's misfortune is that someone HAD charged Ryan before, when he was still on the Mets. I can't remember who anymore, but I remember the coverage of the beatdown he gave Ventura and their account of it. Ryan just stood there and got tackled and afterward swore he'd never take a beating like that again, that if anyone wanted to charge the mound, they'd have to actually fight him. I'd have liked to have seen the brawl between the Mets and Reds in '86 make the list. It started with Ray Knight cheap-shotting Eric Davis after a play at third and ended up with mayhem, including a group of Reds players dragging Vince Coleman off away from the crowd so they could have their way with him. Plus John Denny kicking people with martial arts moves.
posted by olelefthander at 11:04 AM on May 18, 2007
You go, Junior! I can't stand people like that. And if Grum is right, that guy is just the lowest of the low. I'm sure he thinks he is really cool.
posted by olelefthander at 10:08 PM on May 14, 2007
He was one of three candidates at one Republican debate to raise his hand when asked which don't believe in evolution.
posted by olelefthander at 07:32 PM on May 14, 2007
Nice post. I was equally entertained by the "why that guy wears that number" story linked on that article. Maybe the best was Bill Lee wanting to wear 337 so if he was ever upside-down, it would say Lee.
posted by olelefthander at 10:46 PM on May 13, 2007
I'm not sure I want to get into a Manning vs. Favre debate here, but those stats may be a little closer than you're letting on, lopez. Manning won two straight MVPs, so he's just one MVP behind Favre. And I still can't understand how Favre won MVP the year Barry Sanders ran for 2,000 yards. (And to tie it back into the thread topic, he did it without much of a team around him, Sen. Brownback.) Manning has a much better TD to interception ratio and a significantly higher completion percentage. Favre has thrown for 4,000 yards four times in 16 NFL seasons. Manning has done it seven times in nine seasons, averaging almost 600 yards more per season than Favre. Brett's great. And I hope he enjoys those records for another four or five years. Because barring injury, that's all the longer they'll last.
posted by olelefthander at 09:48 PM on May 13, 2007
Johnson also once won five games in nine days, including three shutouts of the Yankees. This could soon divolve into a Chuck Norrisesque situation. "Walter Johnson's tears could cure cancer."
posted by olelefthander at 01:47 AM on May 09, 2007
Maybe in another 75 years, people will be saying you can't argue Clemens is better than so-and-so because he played in the 1900s and barely into the 2000s. Sorry to have bored everyone to tears. Maybe next time I'll get John Cusack and Sam Waterston to narrate my comments, lil brown, to really give you the Ken Burns feel. Grum, I don't think this was a very successful posting. It has only 114 comments so far.
posted by olelefthander at 12:03 AM on May 09, 2007
Grum, I'm generally in agreement with you. When I say Clemens is nowhere near the greatest, I'm saying Johnson is the greatest and Clemens is nowhere near him. Not 2 or 3 guest stints away from him either, in my humble opinion. Top 10 ERA+ seasons: Cy Young: 216, 194, 176, 166, 153, 152, 148, 145, 145, 140 Roger Clemens: 226, 221, 211, 197, 177, 176, 175, 169, 154, 145 Walter Johnson: 259, 240, 214, 214, 191, 183, 172, 164, 148, 147 K/BB Cy Young: 2.30 Roger Clemens: 2.97 Walter Johnson: 2.57 K/9IP Cy Young: 3.93 Roger Clemens: 8.60 Walter Johnson: 5.34 Shutouts: Cy Young: 76 Roger Clemens: 46 Walter Johnson: 110 WHIP: Cy Young: 1.13 Roger Clemens: 1.17 Walter Johnson: 1.06 BB/9IP Cy Young: 1.49 Roger Clemens: 2.89 Walter Johnson: 2.07 And put those Ks in historical perspective. Held MLB record for career Ks Cy Young: 12 years Roger Clemens: 0 years Walter Johnson: 55 years Led league in Ks Cy Young: 2 years Roger Clemens: 3 years Walter Johnson: 12 years And Johnson did all this on a terrible team among great teams in an era without the training regimens enjoyed by modern players, and he did it refusing to throw inside because he didn't want to hurt anyone, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the finest human beings ever to play the game. Please forgive my overenthusiastic fandom. :)
posted by olelefthander at 12:29 PM on May 08, 2007
First, let me make the case for Walter Johnson as the greatest pitcher of all time. It should be the Walter Johnson Award given out every year. Many people say Young's 511 wins is the most unbreakable record in baseball. I would argue that distinction goes to his 316 losses. Check out Johnson's stats: 417 wins, 110 shutouts, 2.17 ERA, 1.06 WHIP. He did all that playing for the SENATORS, the Devil Rays of their era. He lost 65 games in which Washington was shut out, 26 of them by a 1-0 score. Put him on those Boston teams Cy Young played for, and look out. Clemens is great. But he's nowhere near the greatest ever. As for that ERA+ argument, Johnson had 146 over 21 seasons. And if I can sound off on one other thing, why do posters insist on making the most outrageous assumptions about things they no nothing about? Any player who has a problem with Clemens is just jealous? If Wells and Maddux were allowed to bail on their teammates when they aren't starting, they'd change their tune and think it was acceptable? Come on, people, if you're going to make the argument that no one can judge Clemens without walking in his shoes, then do yourself, the rest of us and logic in general a favor and don't presume to judge Greg Maddux without walking in his shoes.
posted by olelefthander at 11:12 AM on May 08, 2007
This is where we are as a society. There has been a consistent and persistent attack on science by people who don't like its findings, and now many people think (or at least assert) that their opinions or anecdotal observations are every bit as relevent and insightful as true empirical research. It's like Colbert said, "The facts are biased."
posted by olelefthander at 04:41 PM on May 02, 2007
Also, with all due respect to the nutz, not all residents of Indiana think that way. (Just another stereotype I've encountered in life.) ;)
posted by olelefthander at 01:55 PM on May 02, 2007
So the academics doing the study are a "special interest group" interested only in finding the outcome that supports them? And the NBA has no vested interest in the outcome of its study? I wonder whose suit is more expensive, the college prof or Mr. Stern's.
posted by olelefthander at 01:54 PM on May 02, 2007
Racing is tougher today than in the past. Everyone saying there were more great racers in the past has it backward. There were some really fantastic racers, but the fields weren't nearly as deep as they are today. As for the new point system helping Gordon, it cost him a title in its first season. Under the old format, he'd have won the year Kurt Busch beat Johnson and Gordon by less than 10 points. The new system wiped out Gordon's sizable lead going into the chase. There are an awful lot of sour grapes Gordon haters out there. Case in point: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070424/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_nascar_earnhardt_flag_flap_1 Glad to see Dale Jr. isn't one of them. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to post a link in the middle of the comment.)
posted by olelefthander at 06:36 PM on April 24, 2007
He's right about one thing. The wild card is just terrible. It's one of the most popular worst ideas ever.
posted by olelefthander at 11:48 AM on April 14, 2007
Justgary, what about the NFL Cheerleader Playoffs? (laughing)
posted by olelefthander at 02:14 PM on April 08, 2007
Fongu, if you read the post, he didn't go on tv and announce he was gay. He was open about it on a message board for gay athletes and coaches. Some reporters found it and it became common knowledge. In fact, I would repeat how much I liked his comment about not sitting his team down to discuss his sexuality because no straight coaches do that.
posted by olelefthander at 02:12 PM on April 08, 2007
I knew a guy in Babe Ruth ball like this as a kid. They had to work out a compromise on the league's IP limit. If my memory is right, kids were allowed 7 IP per week, but he got either 5 or 6 per arm. I could be off a little, though. It's been a while. I almost wish I could have seen the weird comment before it was removed.
posted by olelefthander at 09:43 PM on April 07, 2007
Wow, but I used to love me a double-header when I was a kid. That's the only way my family would take me.
posted by olelefthander at 09:27 PM on April 07, 2007
I really liked what he said about not needing to sit his team down and talk to them about his sexuality. I hadn't thought of the possible hurdle of biased (in more ways than one) officials before reading this. Guess I'm that naive.
posted by olelefthander at 09:25 PM on April 07, 2007
My problem here is the guy has something to sell. It's harder to treat him objectively because of that. I'd like to see statistics on how well his predictions have done, not just his assurance that they were pretty accurate last year.
posted by olelefthander at 04:41 PM on April 07, 2007
I always am amused by the argument that global warming is disproved by a week of cold weather or a little snow. As a sports fan, I've always thought of it sort of like saying, "That Ted Williams isn't so good as all the so-called experts say. He was 0-for-3 today." Or, "runners aren't actually faster today than in previous generations. We're just going through a fast part of the natural human cycle." Luther is right, if global warming is true, then the precipitation comes in bunches rather than in more normal distributions. As for Hargrove, he did the smart thing. If he hadn't done that, he'd have been a buffoon. I remember similar things in games in high school. If we're down and it's raining, I'm taking my time getting into the box, and I'm checking signs between pitches and whatever else I can think of.
posted by olelefthander at 01:53 PM on April 07, 2007
Based on your screen name, you must have a Cincy connection. Any chance you're a product of the Sycamore school system? Maybe we've been introduced to the same paddle! No such luck, if you could call it that. I'm from south-central Indiana, which is still Reds country. Did your paddle hang near a sign that labeled it "The Board of Education?" rounding third and such ...
posted by olelefthander at 08:32 PM on April 03, 2007
That's hilarious, tahoe, I remember those holes, too. That would have been a better idea for a title for the post.
posted by olelefthander at 07:34 AM on April 03, 2007
That's what I found so fascinating, that these are girls who until a few years ago would have been in gymnastics. But when schools ditched the gymnastics teams as budget cuts, they came out for cheerleading instead. Kc, I think the message of the story is not so much not to let your daughters participate, but to be vigilant that their coaches are adequately trained and aren't taking foolish risks. Just like you wouldn't want your kid's baseball coach having them throw curveballs at 11.
posted by olelefthander at 05:14 PM on March 31, 2007
I'm starting up a caravan to move to Haiti, but I could be convinced to settle in Rwanda instead. You can still get XM or mlb.com there, and best of all, the tax rates are low enough to prove dezz right about what makes good government.
posted by olelefthander at 05:48 PM on March 30, 2007
That's incredible. I had read somewhere else that she is going to break the record for how long an American stays in space (a Russian holds the world record) but I didn't know the marathon connection. Thanks for the link. And NASA can use this good publicity about one of its astronauts, eh?
posted by olelefthander at 07:49 AM on March 30, 2007
Yerfatma, you get an amen from the choir on that. At some point, the viewing public's only recourse is to tune out. These clowns don't realize it was media coverage available to the masses that built their leagues and their fortunes.
posted by olelefthander at 07:46 AM on March 30, 2007
I don't like the NFL doing it either. And that Jerry Jones comment is just outrageous. Extra Innings has the added kick in the pants that even though I live like 350 miles away from Cincy and am closer to five other teams' markets, even if I subscribed to it, it doesn't show Reds games here. (A Cards fan I know who subscribes told me Reds games are always blocked out here.)
posted by olelefthander at 09:52 PM on March 29, 2007
But they've won the division the last 200 years or so. Yeah, but they've spent like 200 times as much money as the bottom 25 teams in the league combined or something. So you have to decide if it's worth all that to buy a playoff loss. It made sense when they were winning four out of five. But now Cashman is right that they have to stop blowing up their farm system all the time.
posted by olelefthander at 07:04 PM on March 29, 2007
Hey, Howard, how can you argue with the success the Yankees have had over the past six years? (realizes the Evil Empire hasn't won a Series the past six years) Oh, nevermind.
posted by olelefthander at 05:50 PM on March 29, 2007
I think pro football would be great with a college-style overtime. I do like the twist on it Howard mentions, starting the offense further away so you're not guaranteed a field goal attempt. Fans would love it and ratings would go even higher. Not to jump topic, but it's like an NCAA Div. I football playoff. It would make even more money if they would do it. And I'm with you all the way, jmd, I love to ridicule guys celebrating after a play "won" by the other side.
posted by olelefthander at 05:47 PM on March 29, 2007
Thanks for the link. He hit the tone exactly right.
posted by olelefthander at 12:37 PM on March 29, 2007
When I saw the video of the aftermath of this, I immediately thought back to Monica Seles. Scary stuff. I'm not really a big Serena fan, but I was glad she put the smackdown on to make the idiot's distractions ineffective.
posted by olelefthander at 09:34 AM on March 29, 2007
Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed everyone would see both stories like I did. The previous post was about Geddy Lee being in a fantasy baseball league that supposedly has the most complex scoring system to more fully emulate reality. So I made a lame joke about their rules taking into account one of your players being convicted of attempted murder. I'll do a better job of staying on topic. I apologize again.
posted by olelefthander at 09:28 AM on March 29, 2007
Thanks indeed for the followup links. Their testimony, unfortunately, doesn't lend much more context to make a meaningful judgement than the video does. The situation could be pretty much what they describe or she could be a typical victim of abuse, covering for her abuser. (If the latter is the case, I'll bet this guy she won't stop seeing is a real winner.) The fact that she's 18, and as many here have pointed out an adult who should be treated as such, does raise the question of whether her father should be taking such an active role in choosing whom she dates. But it's not hard for me to imagine a legitimate reason for that, too. What I still stand by is the disappointment that people seem really quick to make assumptions to excuse questionable behavior outright. I'm not saying he should be presumed a terrible person (I still think he shoved her on the video, but that doesn't rise to the standard of terrible person.) but many of the people who say it's wrong to assume his guilt turn around and immediately make assumptions about the young woman to say society should stay out of it and/or the dad was perfectly justified.
posted by olelefthander at 09:24 AM on March 29, 2007
What an odd coincidence to have this posted right after the Geddy Lee story. I wonder if his really complex scoring system rewards or punishes you based on one of your players being sent off for attempted murder.
posted by olelefthander at 05:46 PM on March 28, 2007
I don't have much meaningful to add other than nice story.
posted by olelefthander at 05:45 PM on March 28, 2007
If nothing else, all of us watching this repeatedly is going to drive that video up the YouTube charts. Walt, I'd say look at 25-30 seconds again. I stand by the fact that she was roughly shoved. You lose sight of her shadow. Perhaps the shadow you're seeing is her father's, off slightly to the left. I also worked at two different facilities for troubled teens, and this doesn't look like very productive behavior in that setting, either. He is instigating most of this conflict, which would be the opposite of protocol to try to diffuse the situation. I will agree with the people on both sides who say we don't see enough here (and hear nothing) to make any definitive judgement about exactly what was happening. But it's just as irresponsible to fully absolve him of any culpability based on this limited evidence as it is to say the guy should have his daughter taken away or be jailed based only on this evidence.
posted by olelefthander at 02:40 PM on March 28, 2007
The broadcasters make reference to this incident lasting six minutes, but I can't find more footage than what's posted here. Either way, just watch this clip from about 25 seconds to about 30 seconds. He roughly shoves her into the wall more than once. You can always count on people defending anti-social behavior and trying to make the issue something other than what it is. (The issue here isn't about what would have happened if it were not taped; the issue is whether his behavior was appropriate.) Another standard "argument" used to minimize anti-social behavior in these discussions is filling in the gaps with assumptions. (She must be an out-of-control teen. She must deserve it.)
posted by olelefthander at 12:41 PM on March 28, 2007
This is one more example of what's wrong with the NBA. Name another sport where this is even an issue. NFL teams often win a game late in the season and cost themselves the first pick. It's a thing called professional pride that keeps them playing to win. People who want the best teams in the league to also get rights to draft the best new players should just buy a minibus and follow the Harlem Globetrotters around.
posted by olelefthander at 12:05 PM on March 28, 2007
I wish the guy well, too, but how exactly was he unfairly treated? He was too old to be playing in that age group. Don't get me wrong, I blame the adults involved so much more than him. But should it not have been pointed out that his team was cheating by having him on its roster?
posted by olelefthander at 12:00 PM on March 28, 2007
I was lucky enough to be watching this game with my son. It was absolutely incredible and gave us a great moment together. I was rooting for Barton, so it was even cooler. At the end, over that last 2.5 seconds or so, I was yelling at him to pull up and shoot -- I didn't think he had time to drive all the way and still get the shot off. And I felt even better that he atoned for missing the free throw. Just amazing.
posted by olelefthander at 05:28 PM on March 26, 2007
Are we all so sure that we wouldn't falter? If (and that is a genuine "if") we aren't so sure, should that soften our hardline, righteous stand against the evil incarnate that is Pete Rose? Just food for thought here. This argument kills me every time, whether it's a Pete Rose thread, a maniac dad assaults his son's opponent thread or some criminal defendent pleading for leniency. I'd like to think I wouldn't break the rule, but I'm certain that if I did break it, I'd expect to suffer the consequences. Just because most people in the same situation would break the rule doesn't mean we shouldn't all be punished. Honestly i don't know what to think about Pete Rose. Tell me about it. I have lived and died with the Reds since I was 3 sitting at my grandfather's feet watching them play. Bench, Rose and Concepcion were my favorites practically before I could pick up a bat. So it has been with great sadness and disappointment over the years that I've realized that Pete doesn't merit reinstatement or induction. That being the case, is the integrity of the Hall solely based on whether or not anyone cheated? I hope not, b/c that's a pretty narrow view of integrity of ANY prestigious organization. I mean someone may've been a complete jerk to his family, friends, not contributed to his community, but "hey he never cheated and has great stats, so he's in." That's pretty weak view of integrity i think. Finally, since when has forgiveness been divorced from defining integrity? ... The integrity of any organization is based in part precisely on its ability to forgive and to be empathic. But keep this "integrity" of the Hall stuff out of the debate, because if your only standards of integrity are this ONE FACET, then it's not an adequate definition of integrity anyway. I think you've misunderstood what "the integrity of the game" refers to. It's a little confusing because the Hall mentions integrity in it's criteria. But when people argue that Pete harmed the integrity of the game, they're not talking about the character. In this instance, integrity literally means "having not been touched," that it isn't broken. It's more like discussing the "structural integrity" of a building. If it's damaged, it will collapse. The same holds true for baseball. As detestable as steroids and such are, nothing will utterly destroy baseball faster than the public losing confidence that the outcome of the game is honestly determined, without corruption from gambling influences. From that standpoint, it's tragically appropriate that the WWE inducted Pete into it's pro wrestling hall of fame.
posted by olelefthander at 10:28 AM on March 17, 2007
I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that this guy did this or the fact that people would defend him. I wrestled for seven years, and I didn't see anything here that looked dangerous. To the person who said twisting someone's arm behind their back should be illegal -- you clearly have little or no knowledge of the sport. It looks to me like there is much misunderstanding about wrestling involved in the reporting of this incident. First, the kid wasn't "pinned" as the AP report states. He was in a controlled position, hence the two-point reversal awarded just before the incident. But the kid wasn't even on his back. I will say that from the video, it appears the kids were either way out of bounds or quickly approaching it. I thought that was why the ref was stopping the action, because they were out of bounds. Whatever the case may be, it can never be acceptable for such intervention in youth sports, and it is certainly illegal for a grown man to do that to an 11-year-old. Like others here, I feel most sorry for the son, who not only suffers the embarassment of his dad being a criminal idiot, but must suffer privately from his dad's uncontrollable temper.
posted by olelefthander at 11:28 AM on February 18, 2007
Both Brees and Garcia were better than Grossman last week. He turned the ball over twice. If they were playing anyone but Seattle, (OK, maybe Baltimore) they would have lost.
posted by olelefthander at 12:51 PM on January 21, 2007
I'm an Olympic junkie and have been for years. But I couldn't abide this year's coverage. It's not just the tape delay or the refusal to highlight any athlete not from the U.S. Perhaps the most galling to me was the manipulation of advertising one event to air at a certain time, then trying to force me to watch half an hour of less interesting events between every two or three competitors in the event I tuned in to watch. One of the few highlights for me was listening to Dick Button grow more and more honestly cantankerous as he grows older.
posted by olelefthander at 02:55 PM on February 25, 2006
The old left-hander, rounding third and heading for home.
Obviously I'm a fan. As others have said already, he was truly a class act and I have countless fond memories of listening to him and Marty growing up. I like to say that Joe is the only guy I could remember doing an entire interview without ever asking a question. "So, Eric, 3-for-4 today with a homer and 4 RBIs." "That two-run double in the seventh was a big at-bat." "The bullpen really came through today." I'm glad he's finally scored. Thank you for the memories, Joe.