- 10:31 PM
- 12/21/24
Is this a troll? He was at .3995, so he would have finished at .400 and his manager offered to keep him out of the two meaningless games.
yerfatmama, I was not trolling. I know he was below .400 but it would have rounded up and he could have not played and gotten the mark. It was a question about what he would have done if his average was above .400 and he was given the option to sit out. I was not aware he played a double header on the last day of the season and could have sat out the second game to keep his average intact.
posted by cabuki at 05:51 AM on October 03, 2011
cixelsyd, he did not win "an award for quitting." He won the batting title, which if I'm not mistaken, is given to the player with the highest batting average for the entire season. He had enough at bats to qualify and it was a meaningless game, so why should he have done anything different? Had the Mets needed a win to get into the playoffs and he did that, then I could understand the bitching, but otherwise, it's just hand-wringing over nothing.
If Ted Williams was hitting .40001 heading into the final (meaningless) game, would he have played knowing it could possibly mean he wasn't going to finish with a .400 average?
posted by cabuki at 11:32 AM on September 29, 2011
I was going to question the need to point out he's a former Met and then I saw it was the NY Times and figured they needed to tie it to NY in order for their local readers to care about it.
I have to say it's surprising he admitted to doing it. He could have tied it up in the appeals process for a long time and only have to deal with the "alleged HGH user" tag. It doesn't make it right for using HGH, but at least he didn't try to hind behind a bullshit excuse.
posted by cabuki at 08:55 AM on August 20, 2011
This isn't the first time someone's gotten mad about a bunt in a no-hit situation. In 2001 against the Diamondbacks, San Diego's Ben Davis blooped a bunt for a single killing Curt Schilling's perfect game bid in the 8th inning.
I also find it funny that Detroit is complaining about this now. In 2009, Detroit's Gerald Laird tried bunting against Josh Beckett in the 6th inning to break up a no-no. Laird ultimately failed, but he was hit by a pitch in his next at bat.
I think any arguments against trying to bunt for a hit are bunk. If the game's close, I'm doing whatever I can to help my team win. If I see the opposing defense playing back, I'll drop a bunt down and hope I reach safely - either by hit or error.
posted by cabuki at 03:25 PM on August 01, 2011
It didn't look like he made contact with the glove on Lugo, but I still don't think I would have called safe in that situation.
posted by cabuki at 05:47 PM on July 27, 2011
I started reading the article and thought, "Rickey is still playing? Isn't he in his 50s by now?" Then I saw the article was from 2003. Fun read, nonetheless.
posted by cabuki at 04:19 PM on February 26, 2011
They put that rule in a while ago when a couple guys figured out they could dolphin kick most of the race and win:
From Wikipedia:
Breaking the water surface reduces the speed in swimming. The swimmers Daichi Suzuki (Japan) and David Berkoff (America) used this for the 100 m backstroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Berkoff swam 33 m of the first lane completely underwater using only a dolphin kick, far ahead of his competition. A sports commentator called this a Berkoff Blastoff. Suzuki, having practiced the underwater technique for 10 years, surfaced only a little bit earlier, winning the race in 55.05. At that time, this was not restricted by FINA backstroke rules. The backstroke rules were quickly changed in the same year by the FINA to ensure the health and safety of the swimmers, limiting the underwater phase after the start to ten meters, which was expanded to 15 m in 1991.
posted by cabuki at 05:40 AM on February 15, 2011
If the guy is smart, he'll at least apply for an NFL license. The worst they can say is no. But he might get lucky and get approved. If that happens, he'd make quite a pretty penny from these.
posted by cabuki at 06:43 PM on February 05, 2011
I still think they should abandon the sudden death format of overtime. Play an extra quarter. If it's still tied, play another. If it's still tied after that, let the kickers decide it by starting at the 30 and moving back 5 yards until someone misses. If they both miss at the same spot, they both kick again from the same place. If they both miss again, move forward 5 yards. These wouldn't just be kicker and holder situations, either. It'd be a regulation play, the defense can try to block the kick. I'd even be open for the offense to run a fake, but they'd have to score a TD for it to count.
posted by cabuki at 05:37 AM on January 06, 2011
It was a ton of fun and made me miss playing. Until the next morning when my knees and back reminded me why I retired.
posted by cabuki at 03:41 PM on September 22, 2010
@BoKnows, I was attending tOSU when they were awarded the team. A lot of people I knew really liked Explorers but obviously not enough of them liked it for it to win.
posted by cabuki at 02:13 PM on September 20, 2010
The Challenge: 30 swings each to hit a home run.
The field has a very short left field power alley (270 feet) and we were allowed to swing aluminum. (When I played with the club, we were in the top division and used wood.) I haven't hit a homerun since I was 12 years old and it was an accident. Did I mention this was a bar bet?
posted by cabuki at 02:07 PM on September 20, 2010
What was odd was there were spectators standing in it as he was trying to play. I'm not sure I would have thought it was a hazard if I was playing in those conditions, either.
posted by cabuki at 05:27 AM on August 16, 2010
I was lucky to get any points in the quarters. Fortunately for me, I picked Spain to win it all.
posted by cabuki at 02:54 PM on July 14, 2010
Thanks, apoch.
I scored in every round! And finished in the middle of the table! Hooray mediocrity!
posted by cabuki at 09:35 AM on February 09, 2010
Indy by 4
Under
Indy
Offense
New Orleans
posted by cabuki at 04:28 PM on February 01, 2010
colts 13
saints 9
minnesota 42 solo tackles
posted by cabuki at 03:10 PM on January 18, 2010
New Orleans by 10
Indianapolis by 7
Dallas by 3
San Diego by 7
Arizona 186 yards
posted by cabuki at 11:29 AM on January 13, 2010
brainofdtrain, I agree that it doesn't work with most players anymore, but I think it can still be used as an effective tactic if used correctly (read: sparingly). I mean, if you're having your team sprint until they puke after every game, you're doing something wrong.
I had some good coaches growing up that had no trouble getting their message across LOUD and clear without making us feel like we were children or disrespecting us in any way but they certainly made sure we knew we didn't perform they way they expected. Sure, we hated the times (not many) we spent an entire practice doing sprints because of a lackluster performance, but you better believe we busted our butts the next time out.
posted by cabuki at 11:52 AM on January 11, 2010
I'd love to see video of this incident if it exists. From what I read in the article, it was hardly anything to get upset about. It wasn't a punch but a back-handed tap. It's hardly on the same level as that football coach that choked one of his players.
It seems like people are getting overly sensitive about things like this. Soon, coaches won't even be able to raise their voice at a player. I'm not talking about insulting or demeaning his players, just voicing his displeasure at a mistake that's been made.
beaverboard: I see nothing wrong with that. Why not have your players do something distasteful (50 yard sprints at 3am) after a loss to motivate them? He's not hurting them and they'll be sure to try their hardest the next time out to prevent having to do it again.
posted by cabuki at 05:20 AM on January 11, 2010
Bengals by 3
Cowboys by 3
Patriots by 7
Cardinals by 4
STP : Patriots 9
posted by cabuki at 05:09 AM on January 07, 2010
That to me looks like a lineman that is having a disagreement with his QB.
posted by cabuki at 04:01 PM on December 03, 2009
I'm glad he won't be there. Even if he meant it as a joke, he needs to learn that actions have consequences, whether he intended offense or not.
And I agree with holden. I've never really liked the "USA! USA! rah! rah!" stuff that happens at most US sporting events. Save the national anthem for games that matter (Super Bowl, World Series, etc.) and leave the "God Bless America" stuff out all together.
posted by cabuki at 06:32 AM on October 17, 2009
After watching the clip a few times, it appears to me that he crossed the goal line and then dropped the ball behind him. I'd say that he was easily a yard inside the line when he let go of the ball.
posted by cabuki at 03:05 PM on October 06, 2009
tigers by 2 miguel cabrera
posted by cabuki at 06:23 AM on October 05, 2009
Serena had already been warned for unsportsmanlike conduct once in the match for breaking her racket after losing the first set. The rules state that the second infraction is a loss of a point. She probably wouldn't have been hit with the second infraction if she didn't go back for a second heaping of abuse.
I don't know if it was a foot fault or not, but Serena acted poorly in this situation. There's no excuse for making a threatening gesture or statement.
posted by cabuki at 06:59 PM on September 13, 2009
No one will throw at Fielder's head. They'll hit him in his big fat butt and the penalty will be paid and life will go on. He didn't showboat without knowing there'd be some consequences, but I doubt he'll hear any chin music.
posted by cabuki at 04:42 PM on September 08, 2009
If it's alright with everyone, can I sub Katich for Watson?
Edit:
Dammit. I just noticed Sidebottom was removed from the side.
How did I not end up on the bottom of the table?
posted by cabuki at 06:55 AM on July 15, 2009
Crap. Why didn't I check this thread before the matches started.
posted by cabuki at 07:54 AM on July 09, 2009
oh yeah, tie break: Australia 3-1
posted by cabuki at 09:36 AM on July 01, 2009
Awstraylians: Ponting Watson Hussey
Ingerland: Broad Sidebottom ( I love that name! ) Flintoff
posted by cabuki at 11:37 AM on June 27, 2009
When I was in college, I was on the track team as a decathlete. I took part in a charity 4-man scramble tournament and on one of the par 3s they had a closest to the pin contest. I hit a lousy shot and as a joke, I said, "I could probably throw it closer than that." One of my team mates threw me a ball and said do it. 125 yard par 3 and I unleashed a textbook javelin throw (my favorite event) that landed just on the green and rolled to about 8 inches. I would have won the prize for closest to the hole if the organizers would have counted it.
posted by cabuki at 12:14 PM on November 11, 2008
I have been golfing for more than 20 years. My handicap is 6 and I have never had a hole in one,or has anyone I have golfed with.I can not believe this story.
That must mean no one has ever made one. :-/
I've been golfing for about 30 years. I've never made one but come close a couple times. And each of those times was a bit of dumb luck. Partially dumb luck keeping it out of the hole, partially dumb luck getting it close to begin with.
I think by nature, holes-in-one require luck. If they were 100% skill, the pros would do it more often.
posted by cabuki at 12:10 PM on November 11, 2008
Looks like playing my wildcard paid off.
posted by cabuki at 10:18 AM on September 03, 2008
graymatters: According to the article, "Sixty athletes were eliminated in the second round, either because of low scores or because they were not first in their field." So they considered LeBron the best basketball player and eliminated Kobe and Tony Parker. I don't think it's necessarily fair. As a former decathlete, I can attest that we the best all around athletes. :) For me, I got picked to be a decathlete by my track coach in junior college. I was better than most people in a lot of events, but I didn't excel at any one event better than anyone. Decathlon was what allowed me to compete on the college level. Next to decathletes, I'd put pole vaulters next. They have to have a sprinter's speed and a gymnast's strength and flexibility. In fact, many decathletes that I competed against in college were converted pole vaulters.
posted by cabuki at 03:09 PM on June 20, 2008
Great stuff. Not saying I condone this sort of behavior but hey, if the catcher's saying he crossed plays with the pitcher, then he crossed plays. On that note, I don't believe them for one second. This was an intentional strike to the umps grill. posted by BornIcon at 1:48 PM CST on June 18 This is kind of contradictory. At first you say you believe the catcher, then you say you don't. Which is it? To me, there's no way that the catcher was crossed up. He intentionally ducked the ball. The only player with any kind of plausible deniability is the pitcher. He could have just thrown a high fastball and the catcher saw it as an opportunity to get even. (I'm not sure I buy the pitcher being totally innocent, though.) thatch: There's no way he could have moved in time. When you're an umpire, you're expecting the catcher to catch or block the ball and you have to watch it all the way to his glove. The ball was about 2 feet away from the umpire's face when the catcher dropped his glove. He wouldn't even had time to think, "Oh, Shit!"
posted by cabuki at 04:59 PM on June 18, 2008
Watching the match on the BBC, you would have thought Federer was beaten by the lowest qualifier in the field, not the World #2 and arguably the best clay court player of this generation. The commentators were practically calling for Federer to retire before he caused himself any further embarrassment. He's made the finals 3 years in a row (and the semi final the year before that). I don't understand why people think he's bad on clay. Maybe they know something I don't.
posted by cabuki at 02:06 PM on June 08, 2008
Thanks for the effort, gspm.
posted by cabuki at 02:27 AM on May 20, 2008
Congratulations on the new baby! I'm going to call her Lucky since it was her entrance to the world that turned my fortunes around after 8 straight weeks of miserable performances. But I reserve the right to change my opinion if this is just a one week blip. ;)
posted by cabuki at 03:48 AM on November 14, 2007
I really don't understand what goes through someone's mind where they think they need to bring explosives to a sporting event. I've been to soccer matches here in Belgium where fans set off road flares and bottle rockets. It's idiots like this that give sports fans a bad name.
posted by cabuki at 03:36 AM on November 14, 2007
I've been that stupid before. Right before I moved to Europe, my coworkers took me to lunch at a place that served a habanero burger. I could only eat 1/3 of it before it got too hot to bear. The real fun was later that evening and the next morning as it made it's way out the other end.
posted by cabuki at 10:00 AM on November 09, 2007
He ends with 57 with #50 being caught by Randy Moss against the Jets on 12/16. #57 will also be caught by Randy Moss.
posted by cabuki at 09:26 AM on October 22, 2007
Imagine this post is full of four letter words and statements regarding the testicles (and lack thereof) of the members of my team. For good measure, throw in some insults towards their mothers.
posted by cabuki at 02:13 PM on September 24, 2007
holden: Here's a good article giving a timeline of the whole thing The essence of the scandal is that someone at Ferrari gave secrets to his buddy at McLaren. Ferrari found out and it hit the fan.
posted by cabuki at 04:32 PM on September 13, 2007
I hope this isn't the beginning of a career where everyone remarks, "He could have been one of the great ones. Too bad he was always injured."
posted by cabuki at 02:10 PM on September 13, 2007
I think this will kill McLaren financially. It’s obvious at this point that they would have been the constructor champion.
posted by cabuki at 02:06 PM on September 13, 2007
I've played in games like that (both on the winning and losing end). Sometimes, you just can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Playing in the Belgian Cup - a national tournament where all the teams from all divisions are split into pools and often sees Division 1 (the highest level) teams playing Division 4 teams (the lowest level - imagine being 18 years old and learning how to throw). A couple years back, I played on a D1 team against a D3 team. To try to make things fair, for each level difference, the lower level team got 3 runs added to their score (so the D3 team had a 6 run bonus). We ended up winning the game 49-6 (the 6 came from their bonus) in 5 innings. There was a mercy rule in place (20 runs after 5 innings) and after we got up by 20, we tried to make outs to get the game over with. It didn't matter what we did - righties batting lefty, using old wooden bats, intentionally hitting grounders - they couldn't get us out. On the flip side, when my team had just won promotion from D2 to D1 for the first time, we ended up getting put in the same pool as the top team in the country. Going into the 7th, we were down 12-6 when we have the inning from hell. We couldn't seem to make a defensive play to save our lives. 1 out, man on 1st, easy roller to short - the ball takes a bad hop and hits the SS in the face. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Next pitch, a high chopper to the 2B and it bounces right over his head. Run scores men on 1st and 3rd. Next batter walks. First pitch, the 8 hitter "crushes" a grand slam to left center 250' away (shortest power alley anywhere). The inning went on and on. Eventually, we got 2 more outs but not before we gave up 17 runs and the mercy rule kicked in. At the end, even the other team was getting embarrassed and just wanted the game over. But at least we got to drink beer after.
posted by cabuki at 08:18 AM on August 23, 2007
Ah yes, back home in the middle of the pack.
posted by cabuki at 10:49 AM on August 14, 2007
I was watching this meet live on TV on Friday. It was a bit surreal. They were showing someone get ready to start his long jump and then the camera is panning to a guy laying on the ground with people running towards him. As a former javelin thrower in college, I've witnessed someone get hit in person. The person I saw get hit was lucky, it hit them in the shoulder and bounced out. They ended up with a small puncture wound and a cracked shoulder blade. The person that got hit wasn't paying attention and had wandered into the throwing zone. They pretty much deserved what they got. The long jumper was in the warm up area for the long jump, but for whatever reason, the stadium was setup so that it was right next to the landing area of the javelin. I understand that there's a limited number of space, but they really put the long jumpers in harm's way. The javelin wasn't that far out of the landing zone and it's not unheard of for the javelins to land outside the zone. If anyone is at fault in this, it would be the even organizers.
posted by cabuki at 12:59 PM on July 16, 2007
Ball Booters are back in it
posted by cabuki at 11:48 AM on July 09, 2007
I've been stuck in 12th place for so long, I'm pretty sure that's where I'm going to end the season. I'll put together a couple of weeks where things go right followed up with a couple of weeks were things just go. Oh well, at least the Costanza's out of reach.
posted by cabuki at 06:28 AM on April 19, 2007
Wow. Just wow. Talk about everything going exactly right (or wrong, depending on your point of view). I can't imagine the feeling the guys from Winona State had when that buzzer sounded.
posted by cabuki at 04:35 AM on March 26, 2007
I think the talk about percentages and quotas for players/coaches/etc. comes from outside of this article. For example, I've heard and read more than a few stories about the lack of black head coaches in football at the college and pro level. I hate to see the talent pool shrink no matter where it comes from. It's good that Sabathia's trying to do something to keep his sport popular in his community.
posted by cabuki at 05:35 AM on March 15, 2007
I really should have gone through the rankings. I ended up drafting Kris Benson in a later round thanks to Auto Draft.
posted by cabuki at 04:08 PM on March 11, 2007
Updating my picks: Australia: Ricky Ponting Bangladesh: Tapash Baisya Bermuda: Irvine Romaine Canada: Ashish Bagai England: Paul Collingwood Netherlands: Luuk van Troost India: Sachin Tendulkar Ireland: Niall O’Brien Kenya: Thomas Odoyo New Zealand: Daniel Vettori Pakistan: Shoaib Malik Scotland: Craig Wright South Africa: Jacques Kallis Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara West Indies: Brian Lara Zimbabwe: Prosper Utseya Semi-finalists: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan Winner: Australia
posted by cabuki at 03:00 AM on March 06, 2007
Thanks for the tip. Having only heard of a handful of players on the England and Australia squads from the Ashes fantasy league, I was just looking for all-rounders. I'll make a new pick for Pakistan and any other changes I might want to make a little closer to the start of the tournament.
posted by cabuki at 02:56 PM on March 05, 2007
Report: Peyton Manning Has Picked Broncos
Whoever gets Tebow would be better served trying to convert him into a fullback or tight end. He's a hell of an athlete, just not a quarterback.