- 04:17 AM
- 04/19/24
Why so eager to defend him and diagnose mental illness? There's no pattern here. Maybe he's just an asshole who got caught stealing.
posted by MKUltra at 09:59 AM on April 20, 2011
Why? Dead arm is not uncommon- what's troubling is seeing it this early in the season.
posted by MKUltra at 05:43 PM on April 18, 2011
The Phillies also give Lee one thing the Rangers and Yankees couldn't- a team focused on good fielding. Remember, Lee's one of those rare Stud Pitchers who has never racked up a 200+ strikout season.
posted by MKUltra at 12:39 PM on December 14, 2010
I dunno, being the richest, most popular, most successful team in baseball may have something to do with it. What a non-story.
posted by MKUltra at 04:40 PM on September 16, 2010
You can replace baseball with [Name Your Sport Here] and it's the exact thing. Stop picking on LeBron. He does it all out of a pure love of the game.
posted by MKUltra at 04:24 PM on September 01, 2010
What was up with the press conference he did in Spanish with Cora translating? Publicity stunt? Outreach to the Hispanic community? Cry for help? I'm no Manny hater, but I do find that some of his actions make me scratch my head.
You have heard the phrase "Manny being Manny", yes? Granted, I don't have to deal with him personally, but I thought it was pretty hilarious.
posted by MKUltra at 02:51 PM on September 01, 2010
I'm of such mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, the Federal Government stepping in to "investigate" steroid abuse and slapping a few guys with perjury charges because they've got nothing else is far more embarrassing to the country than steroids are to the game.
On the other hand, dviking is absolutely right. Clemens was not asked to testify- he demanded it. Be careful what you ask for.
posted by MKUltra at 11:01 AM on August 20, 2010
I can count the times he's done something likable on no hands.
What, exactly, is the kind of behavior you're looking for here to qualify as "likable"?
He doesn't hog the limelight. He speaks well of his teammates in post-game interviews. I don't think I've ever heard him speak poorly of another player on the record.
Unless your definition of "likable" is so extreme as to only include hyper-gregarious guys like his teammate Nick Swisher, I don't know what you're bar you're expecting him to hit.
Regarding his move to 3rd: It was a bigger thing than people are giving him credit for. Yes, Jeter was captain and Face Of The Yankees. But he was not, at that point, a good defensive shortstop. We all love his beautifully acrobatic throws so much that we ignore they covered up his lack of range. Arod, meanwhile, was (and still is) a much better defensive player- arguably the best at the position. Of course he had to defer as a matter of politics, but he did in a graceful, low-key way that deserves respect.
One last thing- Arod may have a large ego, and clearly has issues with family, identity, image, and who knows what else, but he has been up front about using therapy to help him deal with his personal struggles. It was a brave statement in support of something many consider a sign of weakness.
posted by MKUltra at 11:50 AM on August 06, 2010
I don't see why the distinction matters at all if you think steroids helps a player hit home runs.
Look at the year to year OPS of Arod, then look at it for guys like McGwire, Sosa, and Giambi. One is fairly steady. The others have serious peaks in the late 90's that then quickly return to earlier levels.
Of course steroids can help you hit home runs. But there are plenty of other uses for a growth hormone that don't involve hulking out.
posted by MKUltra at 04:08 PM on August 05, 2010
Why is it an important distinction that their body changed? A-Rod admitted to using, so obviously body changes are not a reliable indication of steroid use.
I'm drawing a line between a smaller group of guys who abused steroids to turn themselves into different (stronger) players, and a wider group of players who used them as a conditioning cheat to keep their bodies from breaking down. Not to excuse either situation, but I think there's a significant difference.
posted by MKUltra at 01:34 PM on August 05, 2010
but did it with a smile and seemed to enjoy the game and be grateful for the opportunity
Want to talk about fraudulent? Aside from being a blatant, unrepentant cheater, Sosa:
- Stopped caring about playing hard once his career took the slightest downturn.
- Blared salsa in the Cubs clubhouse like he owned the place.
- Left Wrigley Field before the game ended during his last game as a Cub.
Fuck Sammy Sosa. You can't smile that kind of behavior away.
posted by MKUltra at 01:02 PM on August 05, 2010
600th*
Oh, FFS, really? It continually amazes me that people simply don't understand the wide spectrum of steroid use. On the one side, you've got guys like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Giambi, and Canseco, who pumped a lot of shit in their asses and completely altered their appearance while breaking records.
Then you've got guys like Arod, who admitted to using steroids while in Texas, but whose numbers aren't out of whack with his career trend. Are you going to tell me that there wasn't rampant use of "healing creams" and pills to help players get through the wear and tear of a season (not unlike greenies in decades past)? That's some serious denial.
And this somehow makes him a fraud or a douche?
Is it that he's just not a Nice Guy? Dude has a fucked up family dynamic and is thrust into superstardom and mega-money at age 25. I'm willing to cut him some slack. I don't need him to be my friend, I want him to hit the ball out of the park and gun a bullseye to first after making a diving stop.
Moreover, I can't believe anyone in their right mind would judge Arod in any kind of harsher light than Sammy Sosa, who so obviously juiced his way into the record books yet continues to deny deny deny, and who was caught using a corked bat in a major league game.
posted by MKUltra at 12:05 PM on August 05, 2010
Sheppard was so eloquent, and so much a part of Yankee history, that Derek Jeter has it in his contract that a recording of Sheppard's voice will announce his plate appearances as long as he's a Yankee.
RIP.
posted by MKUltra at 06:01 PM on July 11, 2010
"We struck gold with this guy."
Yeah, so did the guys who drafted him in rounds 15 & 20, and the other guy who paid $2 for him in various leagues I'm not winning...
posted by MKUltra at 02:34 PM on July 09, 2010
I'm glad Canseco keeps refining his craft. I mean, you don't get to box 60-year-old guys overnight. You've got to work to get to that point. Makes his steroid abuse and subsequent throwing of his colleagues under the bus seem much more logical when viewed as part of a larger strategy.
Bravo, sir.
posted by MKUltra at 10:20 AM on July 02, 2010
This is also the guy who beat up a gatorade cooler last year in a fit of pique. That's $19 million a year, folks.
posted by MKUltra at 12:11 PM on June 27, 2010
HE WAS AVAILABLE IN YOUR FANTASY LEAGUE?!?
Even in AL-only leagues, Strasburg's stats count. HE'S THAT GOOD.
posted by MKUltra at 11:32 AM on June 09, 2010
Big question is, can he do another?
posted by MKUltra at 02:37 PM on June 01, 2010
I love the fact that the management decided he was worth the money and that Joe decided that he didn't need to make A-Rod money to be happy.
Yeah, he really took one on the chin by accepting $23M/yr instead of $27.5M/yr...
Great to see him stick around Minnesota and be the face of the team for the next decade, though did anyone really expect the hometown hero to go anywhere else?
posted by MKUltra at 12:12 PM on March 22, 2010
That's a shame. I was in KC early last year and my gf and I went to the museum. Granted, it was the middle of the day on a Monday, but we were the only people in there; they practically had to power up the exhibits for us. It's actually a really wonderful museum.
That's pretty sad, considering a quarter-mil is pretty much chickenshit money to the MLB. Hell, to a lot of individual MLB players.
Here, here. Isn't that like a week's salary for some players?
posted by MKUltra at 08:18 AM on February 01, 2010
Ah, to think that during the draft for my main fantasy league, at around Round 13 I decided to take a gamble on my catcher. There were Mauer and Wieters, and I decided to go for Wieters' potential over Mauer's back.
Man, that was stupid.
posted by MKUltra at 03:02 PM on November 24, 2009
Wow, such contention! For the record, I did mean "deserve" from a stats standpoint, rather than a flashier choice- let's be honest, wins and team finish tend to count disproportionately in this race. It's great to see someone chosen purely based on how well he pitched.
Or, put another way- has Sabremetrics finally infiltrated the mainstream?
posted by MKUltra at 08:18 PM on November 18, 2009
Really, really glad to see Greinke win. Guy totally deserves it.
posted by MKUltra at 09:08 AM on November 18, 2009
So exactly how does Madson's successful ninth inning in a must-win game mean the Phillies don't have a prayer? What could he have done in the ninth to show you otherwise?
Not give up 3 hits, for starters. His ball/strike ratio was something like 2:3. Those are not indicators of reliability. If Jeter (who is not one to GIDP in the 9th inning of a playoff game) had simply grounded out, there would have been a much bigger threat. The Phils just don't have a guy they can turn to in the late innings and know it's locked down.
posted by MKUltra at 12:41 AM on November 04, 2009
Madson got the save and gave up only one earned run, MK. He came on with runners on the corners and shed two outs like a waterproof deck. The Series ain't over at all.
Wait, what? Madson pitched the entire 9th, by my memory (and the play-by-play). If Jeter doesn't hit into a DP, we may have been having an entirely different discussion.
The Phillies just don't have an automatic late inning guy, and the Yanks are a team known for late-inning heroics. Rivera, on the other hand, looks just as much the machine he's looked for years while both teams' pitching staffs are clearly breaking down.
Also, is anyone with more insider credibility than the opposing team's hometown paper saying anything about Gaudin starting? There's no way.
posted by MKUltra at 07:18 PM on November 03, 2009
Sending out Ryan Madson in the 9th instead of Brad Lidge, and not really having him fare much better, is reason #1 the Phils don't have a prayer.
posted by MKUltra at 11:51 AM on November 03, 2009
I'm not going to scourge the internet for prove that the runner was safe, but the replay showed that the runner was safe. I saw no doubt. The announcers showed no doubt. Everything I've read today says the runner was out.
Wow, you're right. Couple of crazy close calls there.
posted by MKUltra at 01:44 PM on October 30, 2009
Great game, great pitching from both teams. Lot of batters on both sides were made to look really dumb at the plate.
The umps missed the call in the eighth when the Yanks turned an inning-ending double play. Utley was safe at first and Ryan Howard should have come to the plate with a chance to tie the game.
Got a video replay of this to back your claim up? He looked out to me.
posted by MKUltra at 12:39 PM on October 30, 2009
Unless, by "intangibles" you meant that A-Rod gets ahold of a bad batch of steroids, or maybe Madonna shows up in the dugout and "drains" his energy.
LOL AROID IS A CHEATER AMIRITE!!!!!!11111one
posted by MKUltra at 01:06 PM on October 27, 2009
Jeter Rivera Posada Cano Melky Gardner Joba Hughes
With all due respect, with or without Pettite, that isn't a championship team.
"Bought" talent on the '08 World Champion Red Sox: Beckett, Dice-K, Okajima, Big Papi, Lowell, half-season of Manny. It's not a situation specific to the Yankees.
MLB charges free-spending teams for every dollar above the Luxury Tax threshold and then sends that money back to small-market teams.
Which many small-market team owners put in their pockets rather than on the payroll. The Luxury Tax system is a poor solution to a real problem.
Who are the Yankees when they go?
Cano. Joba. Phil Hughes. Melky, despite not being a stud, is clearly a great clubhouse presence, though I have a feeling he'll get dealt in the offseason.
posted by MKUltra at 04:47 PM on October 21, 2009
Perhaps because Red Sox and most other teams don't buy 5-7 of the highest priced free agents each year. They actually have organizations focused on building internally.
Yeah, because the BoSox weren't interested at all in picking up Tex. I don't know for sure about CC and AJ, but I have to imagine they were in the mix for those two as well. Don't pretend Boston is some bastion of home-grown talent.
Besides, what's completely lost in this assertion is that the Yankees are fielding a lot of players they've brought up from their farm system:
Jeter
Rivera
Posada
Cano
Melky
Gardner
Joba
Hughes
That's just off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure there are some more folks in the bullpen I'm missing. Even Pettitte's a "native" Yankee- he came up with them, left, and came back.
posted by MKUltra at 02:06 PM on October 21, 2009
Eh, big deal. Does anyone still care about Zambrano? He's been in decline since '06, and the only year he got more than 16 wins was '07, when his peripherals took a sharp turn downward. He doesn't pitch deep into games and his K-rate is way down (his last start notwithstanding). And he seems like too much of a hothead to turn himself into a finesse pitcher.
The best thing that can come from this is that the new Cubs ownership gracefully accepts his retirement, then pointedly asks Soriano to follow suit.
posted by MKUltra at 01:24 PM on September 29, 2009
Why will baseball not just go ahead and post the damn list?
Hasn't this been covered a million times already?
Because they made a deal with the players to test under anonymous conditions. I agree it's frustrating to have "selected" names be leaked, but it's not fair to the players to release all the names because of some lawyers with an axe to grind.
What they really should do is release the names of those who leaked from the list, and have them disbarred (if not indicted, since I think what they did is illegal).
posted by MKUltra at 11:29 AM on August 10, 2009
Should I drop Magglio Ordonez for him?
posted by MKUltra at 11:24 AM on July 13, 2009
They signed the top 2 pitchers and the top hitter during the off season. If they end up being the beast of the east, those are your reasons.
There's no denying that Sabathia and Teixeira are dominant at their positions, but Burnett hasn't been much better than the rest of the rotation.
I think a lot of the Yankee resurgence stems from an attitude change, probably due to finally shedding the last of George Steinbrenner's fixation on short haircuts, suits, and other such "proper behavior". The Yankees, for the first time in years, actually look like they're enjoying themselves.
posted by MKUltra at 04:07 PM on June 03, 2009
Yankee Stadium has had a ban on "Boston Sucks" shirts for years. I believe Fenway has a similar policy.
Are you sure? I haven't been to Fenway in decades, but they're sold all over Boston. Honestly, I doubt there's a ban at Yankee Stadium because no one cares about that crap here.
Incidentally, there's an unbelievably fascinating piece in This American Life that talks about the two guys who came up with that shirt and what happened when they decided to go to Iraq.
posted by MKUltra at 09:50 AM on May 30, 2009
On the one hand, Canseco's a douchebag and a publicity whore.
On the other hand, he hasn't been wrong yet.
posted by MKUltra at 11:42 AM on April 07, 2009
If this doesn't make the case for Sabathia getting the NL Cy Young, nothing will.
posted by mkultra at 05:23 PM on September 29, 2008
I wonder how this will work. American Football, for example, penalizes coaches who (more or less) abuse it by docking timeouts. In baseball, there's no equivalent penalty you can dole out to a manager who suddenly wants to start challenging "close" plays to give his bullpen more time to warm up. Any ideas?
posted by MKUltra at 03:53 PM on June 14, 2008
As much as I detest Crybaby Thomas, this is a good move for Oakland, whose best offensive player this year has been... Bobby Crosby. They desperately need a power bat.
posted by MKUltra at 10:38 PM on April 24, 2008
I don't get it. I'll give you a hint- her former best friend's name is Daria Jeter.
posted by MKUltra at 09:20 AM on April 04, 2008
FPP link is from last year. The updated "dirt" is via Joe Lavin's blog, from the first comment: As for Alex Rodriguez, Canseco says he didn't inject Rodriguez, but that he "introduced Alex to a known supplier of steroids." Canseco didn't mention Rodriguez in the first book because he "hated the bastard." He was worried that people would have "questioned [his] motives" had he included Rodriguez. Why all the hatred, you ask. Well, Canseco claims that A-Rod was trying to sleep with Canseco's wife. Apparently, even after Canseco had been nice enough to help A-Rod find a friendly steroids supplier, A-Rod kept calling Canseco's wife. And, in case there's any further confusion about Canseco's true feelings, he ends the chapter by saying: So A-Rod, if you're reading this book, and if I'm not getting through to you, let's get clear on one thing: I hate your f***ing guts. His argument is (a) I introduced Arod to someone who sold steroids, and (b) he had the hots for my wife. Classy. As much as Canseco probably knows about the inside dealings on MLB steroids, he seems determined to undermine his own credibility at every opportunity.
posted by MKUltra at 11:24 AM on March 26, 2008
What does Isiah have on New York Knicks owner James Dolan anyway? Shouldn't his ass be out the door like 50 games ago? My friend and I were just joking about this the other day. We concluded that he must have some pics implicating him in kiddie porn or something. There's just no other explanation.
posted by MKUltra at 10:48 AM on November 25, 2007
Put an average player at third in A-rod's place and the they're still playoff contenders. That's just ridiculous. Arod pretty much single-handedly carried the team on his back (bat?) during a couple months when the rest of the team was doing nothing offensively.
posted by MKUltra at 10:46 AM on November 25, 2007
I'm just surprised that FOX managed to fit the A-Rod announcement in between its exhaustive coverage of a fast food promotion and reminding us about a car company's love affair with the game. Here, here. Considering the shamelessly crass broadcasting job Fox did during the series, Arod's announcement was one of the less offensive moments.
posted by MKUltra at 03:38 PM on October 30, 2007
I put the blame much more on Jeter- team captain, worse performance from someone who is supposed to be "Mr. Postseason"- than Arod. As a Yanks fan, I hope Torre stays, but Steinbrenner just isn't a rational person. I came to NYC having grown up a Phillies fan, which in the 80's was not easy. I became a Yanks fan when Torre took over, and it's been an amazing tenure. I think Posada will be back, but as 1B. Who's going to sign him as a starting catcher at this point? He's got a year, maybe two, left behind the plate, but he's a good bat and a solid teammate. I hope Arod comes back- he's a dirty, dirty player, but he's amazing to watch perform every night. The problem is not enough Paul O'Neill/Tino Martinez/David Cone type guys on the team. Definitely true, but you can see this coming together around Cano, Cabrera, and (to a lesser extent) Abreu. I think Melky would move into the dugout if he could.
posted by MKUltra at 01:54 PM on October 09, 2007
Wait, wait, wait. Did I just read an article that essentially claims Braun will win because he's Jewish? Wow, the Global Zionist Conspiracy reaches farther than I imagined...
posted by MKUltra at 02:12 PM on September 10, 2007
-- Good news for me: I don't have any Orioles pitchers on my fantasy team, either. If you're fielding Burres, Bell, or Shuey on your fantasy squad, your problems started well before last night ;) Littleton's got the best stat line in the game, IMO. How many times do we see a 3-inning save, let alone a save in a game that ultimately had a margin of (opposing roster X 3)?
posted by MKUltra at 10:47 AM on August 23, 2007
1. Milwaukee Braves v. Cincinnati, June 8, 1961, 7th inning. (Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, Frank Thomas) Wait, that can't be right- Frank Thomas? Not even born yet...
posted by MKUltra at 10:03 AM on April 23, 2007
Fan Dies After Josh Hamilton Tosses Him Baseball
As tragic this is for the guy who died, let alone his family, I shudder to think how this will affect Hamilton, who's got a history of, let's say, emotional frailty.