Mookieproof's profile

Mookieproof
593
Name: John
Location: Brooklyn
ZIP: 11231
Member since: August 16, 2002
Last visit: September 28, 2022

Mookieproof has posted 24 links and 125 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.

Sports Bio

David Volek crushed me even more than did Francisco Cabrera.

Recent Links

Piffle, or not piffle?: Perhaps through the use of the Sports Machine, George F. Will references English common law, epidemiology, and the plays of Alan Bennett while sadly entreating the kids to put their bats down and get off his lawn. At least they weren't wearing denim.

posted by Mookieproof to baseball at 05:51 PM on October 30, 2019 - 5 comments

Total eclipse of the park: On Monday, August 21, 2017, the United States will experience its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in nearly 100 years. The path of totality (not the Korn album) will curve from Oregon to South Carolina and encompass the ballparks of seven minor league teams -- six of which happen to have home games that day. In Oregon, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have already announced plans for a 9:35am start with a 15-minute delay for the eclipse, which is to begin at 10:17am. In South Carolina, the Columbia Fireflies have similar plans later in the day. Other parks with penumbral potential include Nashville, Bowling Green (KY) and Charleston (SC).

posted by Mookieproof to baseball at 05:09 PM on January 25, 2017 - 2 comments

Mets charging their own minor leaguers to attend : "It's not uncommon at all for teams to open up spring training early, and say you can work out here," said attorney and former minor leaguer Garrett Broshuis. "It's also not uncommon to make players pay for accommodations. I know a lot of guys who sleep on someone's couch." But what about charging players $1000 for the privilege? "This seems a lot more uncommon," Broshuis replied, saying he'd never heard of something like this. "'Deplorable' is the word I'd use."

posted by Mookieproof to baseball at 04:15 PM on January 16, 2015 - 1 comment

Josh Lueke and the Ways of Anger: Josh Lueke committed a terrible crime. Nevertheless, Josh Lueke is still here and still playing baseball.

posted by Mookieproof to baseball at 10:08 PM on November 22, 2014 - 1 comment

"Right now the NCAA is like a dictatorship. No one represents us in negotiations.": The National College Players Association filed a petition in Chicago on behalf of football players at Northwestern University, submitting the form at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board. Backed by the United Steelworkers union, it also filed union cards signed by an undisclosed number of Northwestern players with the NLRB -- the federal statutory body that recognizes groups that seek collective bargaining rights.

posted by Mookieproof to general at 04:47 PM on January 28, 2014 - 5 comments

Recent Comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

Guess we'll see how many pitchers want to put their elbows on the line for nine starts during a pandemic.

posted by Mookieproof at 08:44 PM on June 01, 2020

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

MLB: "We will pay you for 50 games pro rated; if you want to play more, you can do it for free."

Nationals: "Wow, sorry our plan to cut minor leaguers' pay by $100 a week went over so poorly; guess we can cut out some space from our owners' $5 billion."

posted by Mookieproof at 08:41 PM on June 01, 2020

Baseball Struggles to Reach a Deal to Return

That proposal was obviously designed to drive a wedge between the players, but it seems unlikely to work given the money already paid out under the March agreement.

It's interesting seeing which franchises appear to care somewhat about the game and their employees and which would rather burn it all down than see year-over-year profits decline. The Nationals, whose owning family is worth roughly $5 billion, just cut 30 minor leaguers and reduced June weekly pay to the rest from $400 to $300. That extra $100 was just a step too far, which is maybe even more amazing than the A's stopping pay altogether.

posted by Mookieproof at 10:14 PM on May 31, 2020

Astros fire A.J. Hinch, Jeff Luhnow after MLB report into sign-stealing

If the investigation into the 2018 Red Sox uncovers anything at all, I suspect Alex Cora will get a lifetime ban.

posted by Mookieproof at 03:02 PM on January 14, 2020

Could a 32-Team MLB Scrap the Leagues?

Jay Jaffe digs deeper into the proposal.

posted by Mookieproof at 07:10 PM on October 19, 2017

Could a 32-Team MLB Scrap the Leagues?

This is fun to think about, but Ringolsby offers no evidence that "there seems to be a building consensus." And while the owners would certainly love to get expansion-fee bonuses and cut travel costs, MLB still has ballpark issues in Oakland and Tampa and would need to find not only owners willing to pay $1b but cities willing to build them new parks. Realignment and schedule changes would need to be negotiated with the players' union, opening up questions that at least seem long-settled. And MLB is a fundamentally conservative enterprise -- it's hard to imagine such a leap being taken when the sport is doing so well financially. If this ever happens, I don't see it happening anytime soon.

posted by Mookieproof at 05:41 PM on October 17, 2017

Tim Tebow Signs Minor League Contract with Mets

Current minor leaguers are unenthused.

It's also maybe worth pointing out that a serious(ly rusty) ballplayer might have spent the summer improving his game in an independent league -- I'm sure the Sonoma Stompers would have given him a look -- just as a serious football player might have chosen the CFL or arena football as a route back to the NFL. Fame has its own priorities (and rewards).

posted by Mookieproof at 06:03 PM on September 09, 2016

Tim Tebow Signs Minor League Contract with Mets

I'm not against Tebow trying to play and I'm not against a team signing him, but please spare us the "baseball decision" and "real prospect" stuff. The fact that the Mets would give a 29-year-old who hasn't played since 11th grade a $100,000 signing bonus while charging their own players to attend "voluntary" offseason workouts (and while MLB claims it's too poor to pay minor leaguers and therefore should be exempt from not just antitrust laws but minimum-wage laws as well) is absurd. We know it's a business, we know Tebow will sell tickets and shirts in Columbia next year, just get on with it.

As for Tebow himself, I'm sure he wants to play and will work hard and it's nice that he found someone to give him a hundred grand. But he's not actually "all-in" for baseball if he skips out of instructs to broadcast SEC football. No other minor leaguer, nearly all of whom are vastly more qualified, would get this kind of money or treatment -- and they are well aware of it. Maybe at least Tebow will buy his teammates dinner every once in a while.

posted by Mookieproof at 11:46 PM on September 08, 2016

The Ringer

SPORTS - POP CULTURE - TECH - PODCASTS - NBA - GAME OF THRONES - ABOUT

posted by Mookieproof at 09:49 PM on June 02, 2016

Igor Larionov reflects on playing for Red Army, and what is wrong with North American hockey

Advanced stats are finally gaining traction in NHL circles, and they tend to support the idea that puck possession, rather than dump/chase/forecheck, is far more efficient offensively. With any luck (and maybe some help from the league cracking down on obstruction again) perhaps we can get back some of this. Because widening the rinks, unfortunately, seems unlikely to happen.

posted by Mookieproof at 04:53 PM on February 23, 2015

ESPN's Wright Thompson Gives Fans Startling Glimpse into Life of Johnny Manziel

I thought Tim Marchman's take on it was pretty spot on.

posted by Mookieproof at 07:09 PM on August 01, 2013

The Boston Bruins are the toughest team in the NHL

Ellen Etchingham is routinely great.

posted by Mookieproof at 05:52 PM on June 14, 2013

Posnanski Expects Big Decline for Pujols, Hamilton

Hamilton will also have to deal with the dreaded "marine layer" in Anaheim, although maybe that's only in left field . . .

posted by Mookieproof at 03:27 PM on December 18, 2012

The New Orleans Hornets are changing their names to the Pelicans

I hope the Myrtle Beach Pelicans seek an injunction.

posted by Mookieproof at 09:21 PM on December 04, 2012

Don Larsen Takes Back Perfect Game Uniform from Museum

Probably just a ploy to remind everyone yet again that he pitched a perfect game in the World Series.

posted by Mookieproof at 08:55 PM on July 21, 2012