Posted by Marty C at 07:18 PM | Permalink
Just Call it Mays
The name that's on there now is ridiculous, but it's apparently going to change again. The whole point of naming something is so that there's a reference point that people can agree upon, in this case a shorthand way to say "the ballpark at Third and King." Which actually might be better than whatever silly moniker gets slapped on it this season.
Posted by Marty C at 02:28 PM | Permalink
Aggro Solves Everything
I hate to bring up the "brain dead" thing, but this exactly what crossed my mind when reading this Rich Draper piece on Todd Linden. Linden is playing winter ball, trying to straighten out his lefty swing. Here are the priceless parts:
"I've talked to him about being more aggressive at the plate," said (Felipe) Alou. (Big snip)
"It's a matter of seeing pitches I can handle from the left side," said
Linden. "I flatten my swing, get more pitches, and can cover more of
the zone so they won't be able to eat me up here and there. The
pitchers are aware of my weak spots and they'll throw to it.
"I'm conscious of them, but in Triple-A, that wasn't me," he
said. "In Triple-A, I was laying off those close pitches and waiting
for my pitch. With the Giants, pitchers are going to exploit my
weakness, and I need to stop chasing [pitches] so I don't get myself
Don't listen to him, kid.
Posted by Marty C at 04:12 PM | Permalink
Continue reading "One Strike Away" » Posted by Marty C at 03:41 AM | Permalink
The best part of the baseball season starts tomorrow, but
without the Giants. Some people I know (who shall remain nameless) tune out
once the Giants are done, but there’s no way I’d do such a thing. Heck, I’ll
even watch American League playoff games. This is the real fun stuff. I do need
some sort of rooting interest, though. I find it hard to watch a baseball game
as an impartial observer, especially if I have to put up with Fox’s gang of
idiots to do it.Padres vs. CardinalsI’ll pull for the Cardinals, as I find the Padres’ presence
in the postseason to be slightly offensive. San Diego is in the postseason thanks to a
trick in the distribution of teams rather from any sort of ability to play
decent baseball. They’re not totally lacking – Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene are
superb – but I’d rather see the Cardinals win it and maybe get some more pub
for the best player not named Bonds. (That would be Albert Pujols.)
Astros vs. BravesI don’t like either of these teams, so I guess I have to
find which one bugs me least. That would be Atlanta. I wouldn’t mind seeing Biggio make something
of himself, but any success for Lance Berkman would just cancel that out in the
Yankees vs. AngelsI grew up an Angels fan. I lived in Newhall, a suburban town
in the far north of L.A.
County, about an hour
from Chavez Ravine and a little less than two from Anaheim Stadium. A few times
a year Dad would drive us down Interstate 5 to watch the dreadful Angels. We’d
pass Dodger Stadium on the way, but I can’t ever remember wishing we were going
there instead. My favorite players were Jim Fregosi and Sandy Alomar, then
Bobby Bonds. I stayed an Angels fan through my college years, even though by
then I had moved to the Bay Area to attend Cal. The team was a big tease, getting wiped
out by the Orioles in ’79, losing a 2-0 lead to the Brewers to lose in five in ’82,
and the disaster that was 1986. Game 5 in particular did a lot to shape my
sports personality. I was attending Cal,
remember, and Joe Kapp was the football coach. After a few years of watching
get waxed and being poleaxed by Dave Henderson, you’d better learn to accept losses
you have no control over or check into an asylum.
That was nearly 20 years ago, and things change. By the time
the 2002 World Series rolled around, my interest in the Angels didn’t go much
beyond games against the A’s. Friends asked me who I’d be rooting for in the
Series, and some joked that I couldn’t lose. That wasn’t true: The Angels were
a part of my history, but I desperately wanted the Giants to win. There never
was a second thought about it, and Game 6 rivaled 1986 for psychic pain
delivered. The Angels finally win the Series, and I hated it. (I will admit I
was happy for my Dad, after all these years.)
I’ll root for them here, mainly because it’s the Yankees
White Sox vs. Red SoxIt’s difficult for me to find anything likeable about either
one of these teams. The image of the Red Sox as a downtrodden franchise was
hooey even before they won the Series last year, and there’s no more Curse to
worry about. Curt Schilling is a great pitcher, but he’s hard to like. I don’t
mind watching Manny, Papi and Little Timmy Wakefield, but I’m not sure how many
stupid Fox references to Dave Roberts I can take. On the other hand, if I root
for the White Sox, there’s that Pierzynski guy and the whack job that is Ozzie
Guillen. Meh, I’m ambivalent, so maybe there will be some dramatic or idiotic
moments to make things interesting.
Posted by Marty C at 01:32 AM | Permalink
Notes on the MLB site says Felipe is thinking of moving Winn to the three spot in the order next year, so the top would look like this:
Vizquel, ssDurham, 2bWinn, cfBonds, lfAlou, rf
I'm guessing that the rest would look like:Feliz, 3bSomebody not named Snow, 1bMatheny, c
I'd like a stronger leadoff guy, but I'd like a lot of things. We'll see about Winn. There is no reason to believe that a .447 September is an accurate reflection of the man's ability. Those 102 games in Seattle mean something. But it's probably good to move him down, as he's never been a big OBP guy, never breaking .370 for a season.
Posted by Marty C at 01:58 PM | Permalink
Now That I've Cleared Up That Possible Playoff Conflict ...
I have registered to play in theOnline Poker Blogger Championship! This event is powered by PokerStars. Registration code: 6757453
Posted by Marty C at 01:46 PM | Permalink
Posted by Marty C at 07:18 PM | Permalink
Just Call it Mays
The name that's on there now is ridiculous, but it's apparently going to change again. The whole point of naming something is so that there's a reference point that people can agree upon, in this case a shorthand way to say "the ballpark at Third and King." Which actually might be better than whatever silly moniker gets slapped on it this season.
Posted by Marty C at 02:28 PM | Permalink
Aggro Solves Everything
I hate to bring up the "brain dead" thing, but this exactly what crossed my mind when reading this Rich Draper piece on Todd Linden. Linden is playing winter ball, trying to straighten out his lefty swing. Here are the priceless parts:
"I've talked to him about being more aggressive at the plate," said (Felipe) Alou. (Big snip)
"It's a matter of seeing pitches I can handle from the left side," said
Linden. "I flatten my swing, get more pitches, and can cover more of
the zone so they won't be able to eat me up here and there. The
pitchers are aware of my weak spots and they'll throw to it.
"I'm conscious of them, but in Triple-A, that wasn't me," he
said. "In Triple-A, I was laying off those close pitches and waiting
for my pitch. With the Giants, pitchers are going to exploit my
weakness, and I need to stop chasing [pitches] so I don't get myself
Don't listen to him, kid.
Posted by Marty C at 04:12 PM | Permalink
Continue reading "One Strike Away" » Posted by Marty C at 03:41 AM | Permalink
The best part of the baseball season starts tomorrow, but
without the Giants. Some people I know (who shall remain nameless) tune out
once the Giants are done, but there’s no way I’d do such a thing. Heck, I’ll
even watch American League playoff games. This is the real fun stuff. I do need
some sort of rooting interest, though. I find it hard to watch a baseball game
as an impartial observer, especially if I have to put up with Fox’s gang of
idiots to do it.Padres vs. CardinalsI’ll pull for the Cardinals, as I find the Padres’ presence
in the postseason to be slightly offensive. San Diego is in the postseason thanks to a
trick in the distribution of teams rather from any sort of ability to play
decent baseball. They’re not totally lacking – Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene are
superb – but I’d rather see the Cardinals win it and maybe get some more pub
for the best player not named Bonds. (That would be Albert Pujols.)
Astros vs. BravesI don’t like either of these teams, so I guess I have to
find which one bugs me least. That would be Atlanta. I wouldn’t mind seeing Biggio make something
of himself, but any success for Lance Berkman would just cancel that out in the
Yankees vs. AngelsI grew up an Angels fan. I lived in Newhall, a suburban town
in the far north of L.A.
County, about an hour
from Chavez Ravine and a little less than two from Anaheim Stadium. A few times
a year Dad would drive us down Interstate 5 to watch the dreadful Angels. We’d
p
ass Dodger Stadium on the way, but I can’t ever remember wishing we were going
there instead. My favorite players were Jim Fregosi and Sandy Alomar, then
Bobby Bonds. I stayed an Angels fan through my college years, even though by
then I had moved to the Bay Area to attend Cal. The team was a big tease, getting wiped
out by the Orioles in ’79, losing a 2-0 lead to the Brewers to lose in five in ’82,
and the disaster that was 1986. Game 5 in particular did a lot to shape my
sports personality. I was attending Cal,
remember, and Joe Kapp was the football coach. After a few years of watching
get waxed and being poleaxed by Dave Henderson, you’d better learn to accept losses
you have no control over or check into an asylum.
That was nearly 20 years ago, and things change. By the time
the 2002 World Series rolled around, my interest in the Angels didn’t go much
beyond games against the A’s. Friends asked me who I’d be rooting for in the
Series, and some joked that I couldn’t lose. That wasn’t true: The Angels were
a part of my history, but I desperately wanted the Giants to win. There never
was a second thought about it, and Game 6 rivaled 1986 for psychic pain
delivered. The Angels finally win the Series, and I hated it. (I will admit I
was happy for my Dad, after all these years.)
I’ll root for them here, mainly because it’s the Yankees
White Sox vs. Red SoxIt’s difficult for me to find anything likeable about either
one of these teams. The image of the Red Sox as a downtrodden franchise was
hooey even before they won the Series last year, and there’s no more Curse to
worry about. Curt Schilling is a great pitcher, but he’s hard to like. I don’t
mind watching Manny, Papi and Little Timmy Wakefield, but I’m not sure how many
stupid Fox references to Dave Roberts I can take. On the other hand, if I root
for the White Sox, there’s that Pierzynski guy and the whack job that is Ozzie
Guillen. Meh, I’m ambivalent, so maybe there will be some dramatic or idiotic
moments to make things interesting.
Posted by Marty C at 01:32 AM | Permalink
Notes on the MLB site says Felipe is thinking of moving Winn to the three spot in the order next year, so the top would look like this:
Vizquel, ssDurham, 2bWinn, cfBonds, lfAlou, rf
I'm guessing that the rest would look like:Feliz, 3bSomebody not named Snow, 1bMatheny, c
I'd like a stronger leadoff guy, but I'd like a lot of things. We'll see about Winn. There is no reason to believe that a .447 September is an accurate reflection of the man's ability. Those 102 games in Seattle mean something. But it's probably good to move him down, as he's never been a big OBP guy, never breaking .370 for a season.
Posted by Marty C at 01:58 PM | Permalink
Now That I've Cleared Up That Possible Playoff Conflict ...
I have registered to play in theOnline Poker Blogger Championship! This event is powered by PokerStars. Registration code: 6757453
Posted by Marty C at 01:46 PM | Permalink