Mannyfest Destination
last nite was beautiful. This postseason and what the Red Sox accomplished is the perfect example of why baseball is the best sport.
Standing amidst the wild celebration outside the riviera was a little melancholy, because I thought of how far the mets are from even approaching the cardinals talent level, let alone the red sox, and seeing all these red sox fans come out of the woodwork, whooping it up made me want to experience the thrill of a mets victory here in new york, we were just kids the last time, which makes it all the more maddenning that we are so far from our own celebration.
props to the dominating domincans.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Monday, October 25, 2004
More goodness from the Times:
Article on WFAN caller Jerome from Manhattan.
An excerpt: "overhearing his mother talking on the telephone about his Social Security disability payments, he hollered: 'Don't give me the check! Send it to the Yankees! Get more players!'"
Article on WFAN caller Jerome from Manhattan.
An excerpt: "overhearing his mother talking on the telephone about his Social Security disability payments, he hollered: 'Don't give me the check! Send it to the Yankees! Get more players!'"
Good article from the NYT Week in Review about clutchness that features a nice quote from Orel Hershiser, a pitcher who I'm sure has often been described as clutch:
"Some people will perform better in the clutch, but I think guys are sometimes lucky. I'm not sure if there's enough of a sampling to know if it's about the guy."
Totally unrelated, here are some nifty scouting reports.
"Some people will perform better in the clutch, but I think guys are sometimes lucky. I'm not sure if there's enough of a sampling to know if it's about the guy."
Totally unrelated, here are some nifty scouting reports.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
John Kruk is an idiot. He said on "Fact or Fiction" that Jason Varitek should catch for Tim Wakefield tomorrow. That would makes all sorts of sense:
1) If it did.
2) If the whole world hadn't seen Varitek have three passed balls last week.
3) If Kruk wasn't a blowhard.
Seriously, I've had it with these ESPN announcers who are paid to yell or make bullshit opinions so jerkoff fools who agree with them feel smart for once.
1) If it did.
2) If the whole world hadn't seen Varitek have three passed balls last week.
3) If Kruk wasn't a blowhard.
Seriously, I've had it with these ESPN announcers who are paid to yell or make bullshit opinions so jerkoff fools who agree with them feel smart for once.
Friday, October 22, 2004
wow, read this last sentance...
"Instead, the images of the Yankees' lack of heart were everywhere -- from Hideki Matsui leading off the second inning swinging at a borderline 2-0 pitch, despite being down by six runs; to A-Rod being booed by Yankees fans after his final at-bat of the season; to Tom Gordon, who, according to one team source, was so unnerved by October pressure that he was throwing up in the bullpen during Game 6."
"Instead, the images of the Yankees' lack of heart were everywhere -- from Hideki Matsui leading off the second inning swinging at a borderline 2-0 pitch, despite being down by six runs; to A-Rod being booed by Yankees fans after his final at-bat of the season; to Tom Gordon, who, according to one team source, was so unnerved by October pressure that he was throwing up in the bullpen during Game 6."
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Who's Your Papi?
Wow! What the hell happened the last four days? What a blur. It seems like an eternity has passed since Saturday night. The Yanks were one inning away from a sweep, with Mariano on the mound. And now, after lots of Papi, Schilling's unbeliavably courageous performance, Derek Lowe coming off the scrap heap, Bellhorn breaking out of his slump with a huge homerun, and Damon breaking out of an even bigger slump with the grand slam, the Sox have somehow triumphed. And on the other side, we see Rivera blow 2 saves, Torre make very questionable moves, ARod cheat, and Jeter slug .233.
And I have to say, while my rooting didn't quite reach the level of the Mets in the postseason, it was pretty damn close.
Go Sox!
Wow! What the hell happened the last four days? What a blur. It seems like an eternity has passed since Saturday night. The Yanks were one inning away from a sweep, with Mariano on the mound. And now, after lots of Papi, Schilling's unbeliavably courageous performance, Derek Lowe coming off the scrap heap, Bellhorn breaking out of his slump with a huge homerun, and Damon breaking out of an even bigger slump with the grand slam, the Sox have somehow triumphed. And on the other side, we see Rivera blow 2 saves, Torre make very questionable moves, ARod cheat, and Jeter slug .233.
And I have to say, while my rooting didn't quite reach the level of the Mets in the postseason, it was pretty damn close.
Go Sox!
Monday, October 18, 2004
thanks fox!
after a tiring weekend, i fell asleep on the couch at midnite, thus missing the end of game 4! and i'm sure i'm not the only person on the east coast who fell asleep long before the game ended.
but hey, at least viewers in oregon, washington, idaho, california, nevada and arizona got to enjoy the game in its entiriety and still enjoy a full night's rest, because, well, those are the people who want to see the game the most.
after a tiring weekend, i fell asleep on the couch at midnite, thus missing the end of game 4! and i'm sure i'm not the only person on the east coast who fell asleep long before the game ended.
but hey, at least viewers in oregon, washington, idaho, california, nevada and arizona got to enjoy the game in its entiriety and still enjoy a full night's rest, because, well, those are the people who want to see the game the most.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
First off, dumb move by Francona not brining in Foulke in the 8th instead of Timlin. That was a critical inning against the best part of the Yankees lineup. Put your best guy in.
Dumb move by Torre as well, not bringing in Rivera to face Papi. Rivera's been much tougher on lefties than righties over the last 3 years (502 OPS vs. 629). Lefties against Gordon: 619. Of course, if the ball had gone into Matsui's glove instead of bouncing off it... Boy, there was a lot of shitty play in LF last night.
As for the issue about whether Myers should have come in to face Matsui in the 8th, not as ridiculous a non-move as I would have thought. Lefties over the last 3 years have a 716 OPS against Timlin and a 684 OPS against Myers, so not a very big diff diff. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Foulke should've been on the mound in the first place (lefties with a 572 OPS against).
Now that I've thought some more about it, although the Cards are the clear favorite, I guess I wouldn't be totally shocked if the Astros pulled the upset. Backe and Munro haven't been that bad.
And finally, there are some ridiculously good players batting second for their teams right now. ARod, Walker, Beltran, Bellhorn. Which one of these doesn't belong? (hint: he's the one who did one hell of a Carl Everett impression last night).
Dumb move by Torre as well, not bringing in Rivera to face Papi. Rivera's been much tougher on lefties than righties over the last 3 years (502 OPS vs. 629). Lefties against Gordon: 619. Of course, if the ball had gone into Matsui's glove instead of bouncing off it... Boy, there was a lot of shitty play in LF last night.
As for the issue about whether Myers should have come in to face Matsui in the 8th, not as ridiculous a non-move as I would have thought. Lefties over the last 3 years have a 716 OPS against Timlin and a 684 OPS against Myers, so not a very big diff diff. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Foulke should've been on the mound in the first place (lefties with a 572 OPS against).
Now that I've thought some more about it, although the Cards are the clear favorite, I guess I wouldn't be totally shocked if the Astros pulled the upset. Backe and Munro haven't been that bad.
And finally, there are some ridiculously good players batting second for their teams right now. ARod, Walker, Beltran, Bellhorn. Which one of these doesn't belong? (hint: he's the one who did one hell of a Carl Everett impression last night).
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Well, I’ll be damned. Game 2 of the Braves-Astros series is being played as I write this. I’m not watching it, but I just checked the game on the internet, and the Astros are winning 2-0 on 2 solo shots. One by Jeff Bagwell and one by Raul Chavez.
Raul Chavez!
Raul Chavez had 162 at-bats this season and hit no homeruns. Only 2 players had more at-bats without a dinger: Jamey Carroll (who actually had a decent year) and Brent Mayne. Nobody else was particularly close to 162 ABs. 523 people hit a homerun in the majors this year. Raul Chavez was not one of them. He is now one of 22 people to hit one during the playoffs. Even forgetting about homeruns, Chavez was one of the worst hitters in baseball this year. The only players with a worse OPS and at least 100 at-bats were Doug Glanville, Andy Green (who?) and Damian Rolls. So, I’d say its pretty damn surprising that he’s even starting a game in the postseason, let alone hitting a homer. Even more surprising is that he hit it off Mike Hampton, who was pretty stingy this year, allowing only 15 homers.
The only thing that comforts me somewhat about this is that Chavez does have 2 homers earlier in his career, as well as 32 career AAA homeruns in 2,538 at-bats, which is a lot of AAA at-bats. So, in the end, I guess I’m happy for the guy. He’s been toiling in the minors since 1990. He’s had a few cups of coffee in the majors, but this is the first year he’s had significant playing time. He probably won’t have much more of a career, but he can always say he hit a homerun in a playoff game, and a fairly important one at that. Pretty cool for Raul Chavez.
Amazingly, Chavez isn’t the first person to hit a homer this postseason after not hitting one during the regular season. Tom Wilson hit a solo shot in his only at-bat during game 1 of the Dodgers-Cards game. Wilson didn’t hit any homers this year, but he only had 12 ABs (including 4 with the Mets!). He did hit 12 taters in 195 minor league at-bats, so this wasn’t all that shocking. There have been some other pretty surprising catcher homeruns this postseason, too. Both Mike Matheny and Brad Ausmus have gone yard. What the hell is going on?
Raul Chavez!
Raul Chavez had 162 at-bats this season and hit no homeruns. Only 2 players had more at-bats without a dinger: Jamey Carroll (who actually had a decent year) and Brent Mayne. Nobody else was particularly close to 162 ABs. 523 people hit a homerun in the majors this year. Raul Chavez was not one of them. He is now one of 22 people to hit one during the playoffs. Even forgetting about homeruns, Chavez was one of the worst hitters in baseball this year. The only players with a worse OPS and at least 100 at-bats were Doug Glanville, Andy Green (who?) and Damian Rolls. So, I’d say its pretty damn surprising that he’s even starting a game in the postseason, let alone hitting a homer. Even more surprising is that he hit it off Mike Hampton, who was pretty stingy this year, allowing only 15 homers.
The only thing that comforts me somewhat about this is that Chavez does have 2 homers earlier in his career, as well as 32 career AAA homeruns in 2,538 at-bats, which is a lot of AAA at-bats. So, in the end, I guess I’m happy for the guy. He’s been toiling in the minors since 1990. He’s had a few cups of coffee in the majors, but this is the first year he’s had significant playing time. He probably won’t have much more of a career, but he can always say he hit a homerun in a playoff game, and a fairly important one at that. Pretty cool for Raul Chavez.
Amazingly, Chavez isn’t the first person to hit a homer this postseason after not hitting one during the regular season. Tom Wilson hit a solo shot in his only at-bat during game 1 of the Dodgers-Cards game. Wilson didn’t hit any homers this year, but he only had 12 ABs (including 4 with the Mets!). He did hit 12 taters in 195 minor league at-bats, so this wasn’t all that shocking. There have been some other pretty surprising catcher homeruns this postseason, too. Both Mike Matheny and Brad Ausmus have gone yard. What the hell is going on?
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Prophetic words Aram, that Moose would beat Johan "guaranteed". Last week's sweep wasn't particularly telling cuz they pulled Santana after like 4 or 5 innings to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
Cards (over Astros) over Sawx (over Yanks) (sorry Bryan)
I agree that Clemens will end up winning too. Sentimental pick by the writers.
Cards (over Astros) over Sawx (over Yanks) (sorry Bryan)
I agree that Clemens will end up winning too. Sentimental pick by the writers.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Monday, October 04, 2004
the only thing i would disagree with is the nl cy young, where i would go with (as much as i hate to say it....) roger clemens. also, as much as i hate to say it, the yanks will beat the twins in three, maaaybe four. i think last week's sweep was particularly telling. moosina beats johan game 1, guaranteed.
(to the tune of "who needs the quik-e mart?")
whooo needs vladimiiir?
not wilpon, not wiiilpon.
(to the tune of "who needs the quik-e mart?")
whooo needs vladimiiir?
not wilpon, not wiiilpon.
Friday, October 01, 2004
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