I got a text message last night my resident medical expert that read:
"Has anyone entertained the idea that maybe Manny wanted to have a baby?"
Pretty high comedy-- was actually kicking myself that I hadn't thought of that seemingly-obvious punch-line.
Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer uses a similar headline in his piece today, but then he kind of resorts to the usual fist-shaking.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Unwritten Rules: Unwritten for a reason.
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle takes issue with Carl Crawford swiping a bag up 7-0 in the 5th inning.
Glancing at Crawford's 19 steals (in 19 attempts), we noticed one in Oakland on April 24. It stands out. Fifth inning. Rays leading 7-0.
[8-0 > 7-0.]
We looked everywhere for that unwritten rule stating baserunners ought not rub it in by stealing in a lopsided game. Couldn't find it. Then we remembered: It's not written anywhere.
[Because it's stupid?]
So we sought the opinion of a couple of A's. Kurt Suzuki, the catcher that night, said he didn't recall the situation and added it "never crossed my mind (that Crawford would disregard etiquette). He plays the game hard. He plays the game right."
[If he didn't recall the situation, did he really need to add that it never crossed his mind?]
Oakland's best base-stealing threat, Rajai Davis, said, "Yeah, I remember it," adding he was taught not to run at such a time. Davis wasn't knocking Crawford, who's respected around the game, as much as suggesting it might have been appropriate to shut down the running game.
[Of all of the things that Davis said, why only put "Yeah, I remember it" in quotes? The rest of the alleged statements were kind of the important part, no?]
Two different interpretations of the rule. What did you expect? It's unwritten.
[Thereby by precluding it from...... being a rule, right?
Not a believer here-- this isn't a YMCA league. These guys are paid professionals. Do other professional industries ease on the breaks if they are crushing their competitors? Suck it up, folks.]
Glancing at Crawford's 19 steals (in 19 attempts), we noticed one in Oakland on April 24. It stands out. Fifth inning. Rays leading 7-0.
[8-0 > 7-0.]
We looked everywhere for that unwritten rule stating baserunners ought not rub it in by stealing in a lopsided game. Couldn't find it. Then we remembered: It's not written anywhere.
[Because it's stupid?]
So we sought the opinion of a couple of A's. Kurt Suzuki, the catcher that night, said he didn't recall the situation and added it "never crossed my mind (that Crawford would disregard etiquette). He plays the game hard. He plays the game right."
[If he didn't recall the situation, did he really need to add that it never crossed his mind?]
Oakland's best base-stealing threat, Rajai Davis, said, "Yeah, I remember it," adding he was taught not to run at such a time. Davis wasn't knocking Crawford, who's respected around the game, as much as suggesting it might have been appropriate to shut down the running game.
[Of all of the things that Davis said, why only put "Yeah, I remember it" in quotes? The rest of the alleged statements were kind of the important part, no?]
Two different interpretations of the rule. What did you expect? It's unwritten.
[Thereby by precluding it from...... being a rule, right?
Not a believer here-- this isn't a YMCA league. These guys are paid professionals. Do other professional industries ease on the breaks if they are crushing their competitors? Suck it up, folks.]
Monday, May 4, 2009
Lessons in scouting
From Peter King today in his SI.com column....
If you're a football scout or GM, how could you watch the Texas-Texas Tech game last fall and not think Harrell belongs in the NFL? He doesn't have the arm of Matthew Stafford, obviously, but neither did Joe Montana, and neither does Drew Brees.
[I sense something amazing forthcoming...]
My humble advice (and I mean that; I don't study college tape at all) to those who make their living grading college football players: Watch the games.
[Boom.
I am going to try to unscramble this:
- King blasts scouts for missing the boat on a player that he thinks is good.
- King admits that he does not "study college tape at all."
- King suggests that scouts should watch COLLEGE GAMES to determine which players are good.
QED.]
If you're a football scout or GM, how could you watch the Texas-Texas Tech game last fall and not think Harrell belongs in the NFL? He doesn't have the arm of Matthew Stafford, obviously, but neither did Joe Montana, and neither does Drew Brees.
[I sense something amazing forthcoming...]
My humble advice (and I mean that; I don't study college tape at all) to those who make their living grading college football players: Watch the games.
[Boom.
I am going to try to unscramble this:
- King blasts scouts for missing the boat on a player that he thinks is good.
- King admits that he does not "study college tape at all."
- King suggests that scouts should watch COLLEGE GAMES to determine which players are good.
QED.]
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