Monday, February 28, 2005
Wake me up before you go-go
Tim Wakefield couches it nicely, but you can sort of tell that one of the nicest guys in baseball doesn't like that he's been shuffled around between rotation and bullpen in the past:
Wake's definitely been a team-first person - those 3 innings in that Game 3 loss to soak up innings were crucial - and his words sound like he feels like his versatility (willingness to be starter, long man, swingman, and so on) has worked against him. Hence perhaps the comments on Arroyo's resilience.
Tim Wakefield couches it nicely, but you can sort of tell that one of the nicest guys in baseball doesn't like that he's been shuffled around between rotation and bullpen in the past:
"I know the situation with Wade Miller, too," he said. "I don't see any reason why I should be the guy who goes to the bullpen.I hate to see it come down to Wakefield vs Arroyo for the last spot, but of course I have a soft spot in my heart for any of the 2004 team. Objectively speaking, Miller if healthy would be an awesome starter."It's either me or Bronson. I think Bronson's the more likely candidate for that. He's more of situational type of guy. He can come in and get righties out better than lefties out. I can get both guys out.
"At his age [28], he might be a little more resilient than I am right now. I could probably pitch every day, too, but he's shown in the past that he can pitch back-to-back days - two innings, two innings, then get the day off." (Boston Globe)
Wake's definitely been a team-first person - those 3 innings in that Game 3 loss to soak up innings were crucial - and his words sound like he feels like his versatility (willingness to be starter, long man, swingman, and so on) has worked against him. Hence perhaps the comments on Arroyo's resilience.
Ground control to Major Tom
Here's a great piece from the Boston Phoenix on the ever-quotable Bill Lee, who's out promoting his book Have Glove Will Travel. Here's his take on the remodeling of Fenway Park:
It's always fun to hear the Spaceman, and now that he's got to make his publicity rounds, there's bound to be some quotable quotes. And there's often some wisdom or thinking behind them - here's his take on steroids, noting that there were lots of legit stuff that he was on:
Here's a great piece from the Boston Phoenix on the ever-quotable Bill Lee, who's out promoting his book Have Glove Will Travel. Here's his take on the remodeling of Fenway Park:
"I love it. Remarkable. I’ve always wanted the Boston Pops to play in the right-field corner, up on that veranda. But they put a bar up there instead, and that’s the second-best thing."
It's always fun to hear the Spaceman, and now that he's got to make his publicity rounds, there's bound to be some quotable quotes. And there's often some wisdom or thinking behind them - here's his take on steroids, noting that there were lots of legit stuff that he was on:I was so juiced up—with Butazone and all those blood-thinning agents and painkillers—that while I could pitch in the American League, I couldn't have run the Kentucky Derby.Truly a character - spacey, erudite, and often both at the same time. My favourite Bill Lee quote? There are lots to choose from, but it's got to be one of these two:
Still, the game wasn't tainted by steroids.
I don't look at that as tainted. After all, Ponce de Leon came ashore here looking for the Fountain of Youth. (Newsweek)
"The other day they asked me about mandatory drug testing. I said I believed in drug testing a long time ago. All through the Sixties I tested everything."That second one always reminds me of Woody Allen's "universe is expanding" bit in Annie Hall.
"I think about the cosmic snowball theory. A few million years from now the sun will burn out and lose its gravitational pull. The earth will turn into a giant snowball and be hurled through space. When that happens it won't matter if I get this guy out."
The forgotten Negro Leaguers
Whatever I think about ESPN.com and its unfortunate slide towards making a lot of its content Insider-only, it still commissions some pretty good "history of the game" pieces. This one on Charley Pride, Prince Joe Henry, and the struggle to integrate the major leagues in the 1950s is very good in drawing the spotlight on a forgotten group, the Negro Leaguers who played just after integration had theoretically taken place (they're now getting quasi-pension payments from MLB's Baseball Assistance Team, but there are disputes over how to count years of service). As Negro League historian Larry Lester says in the article, "Segregation and the color barrier didn't turn over at 12 o'clock midnight on April 15, 1947". Indeed, and shamefully, the Sox were among 3 teams not to have had a black player by the time Jackie Robinson retired.
This little tidbit on Fay Vincent was interesting too:
Whatever I think about ESPN.com and its unfortunate slide towards making a lot of its content Insider-only, it still commissions some pretty good "history of the game" pieces. This one on Charley Pride, Prince Joe Henry, and the struggle to integrate the major leagues in the 1950s is very good in drawing the spotlight on a forgotten group, the Negro Leaguers who played just after integration had theoretically taken place (they're now getting quasi-pension payments from MLB's Baseball Assistance Team, but there are disputes over how to count years of service). As Negro League historian Larry Lester says in the article, "Segregation and the color barrier didn't turn over at 12 o'clock midnight on April 15, 1947". Indeed, and shamefully, the Sox were among 3 teams not to have had a black player by the time Jackie Robinson retired.
This little tidbit on Fay Vincent was interesting too:
Makes me like the man more, and I already liked him for banishing Steinbrenner from the game.Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent agrees, and has put his money where his mouth is: In 2002, Vincent donated a portion of revenues from his book, "The Last Commissioner," to every living former Negro Leaguer, of which some 130 remain today.
"I had Cooperstown give me a list of probably 250 guys, and I gave them $300-$400 apiece," says Vincent. "I got to know a number of them over the years, and I realized they got the worst deal.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Fish or foul?
Someone tell these people there's no such thing as a curse:
Someone tell these people there's no such thing as a curse:
The foul ball that unraveled the Cubs' chance for a World Series appearance and left fans steaming is now simmering in a red spaghetti sauce.Ugh. Eating a baseball. That is foul.
Harry Caray's Restaurant Group last year bought and destroyed the infamous "Bartman" ball, an object that to superstitious Cub fans became the ultimate symbol of bad luck.
Now a restaurant is using the ball's shredded remains as an ingredient in its "Foul Ball" spaghetti. Since the dish was unveiled Monday, about 1,000 people have paid $11.95 to sample it. Proceeds are going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. (L.A. Times)
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Mike Timlin, auteur
So apparently Timlin made his own private video of the ALCS and World Series (he missed the ALDS) and all the players got to see it. Wouldn't it be great to see? Nice of Timlin, one of the players on the team who already had a World Series ring, to preserve the memories of the year and send it to all his teammates. (Also, a good Shaughnessy story. Maybe now that Pedro's out of his town and the so-called Curse has been lifted, he can actually put his writing talent to use.)
Two bits struck me:
And I love that Mike Myers was furious about Harold Reynolds' lack of trust. A journeyman reliever, full of belief. That pretty much reflects the 2004 team's faith in itself.
So apparently Timlin made his own private video of the ALCS and World Series (he missed the ALDS) and all the players got to see it. Wouldn't it be great to see? Nice of Timlin, one of the players on the team who already had a World Series ring, to preserve the memories of the year and send it to all his teammates. (Also, a good Shaughnessy story. Maybe now that Pedro's out of his town and the so-called Curse has been lifted, he can actually put his writing talent to use.)
Two bits struck me:
"You see Mike Myers ripping into [ESPN's] Harold Reynolds for not believing in us after we win in New York."
...
General manager Theo Epstein is among those who have cited the early-morning bus ride from Logan to Fenway as a favorite moment. The newly crowned world champions touched down in Boston early on Oct. 28 and were wildly cheered as they rode on buses through the normally sleepy streets of downtown. Theo said the scene reminded him of REM's "Everybody Hurts" video.Presumably it's not quite the same mood as Jake Scott's great "Everybody Hurts" video, but I can sort of see what Theo means. Trust Theo to make a music video reference.
And I love that Mike Myers was furious about Harold Reynolds' lack of trust. A journeyman reliever, full of belief. That pretty much reflects the 2004 team's faith in itself.
More spring photos
"Look, Doug, you can't wear your belt up that high. It really is a fashion faux pas. The Queer Eye guys told me so."
"Look, Doug, you can't wear your belt up that high. It really is a fashion faux pas. The Queer Eye guys told me so."
Friday, February 25, 2005
Pwned!
A funny post in Blue Cats and Red Sox summarises the general media situation surrounding the Sox and Yankees this spring. A sampling:
A funny post in Blue Cats and Red Sox summarises the general media situation surrounding the Sox and Yankees this spring. A sampling:
A-Rod: I am teh bestest ballplayer evar! I work out sooo early and often, I make every1 else look like n00bs who just wanna lie in and play with their kiddies. Seriously, I am uber1337! Also, I am the sole reason the Yankees lost. Sorry guys!Here's the full post. Great stuff. And the command's good too.
Trot Nixon *throws down camo Red Sox hat challengingly*: You mockin' my parentin' skills, bitch? You wanna go?! You wanna go?!!
Curt Schilling: A-Rod, he's just, you know, said some things, done some things, I don't like what I've seen. Oh wait, you've got a camera? Would you like my opinion on several other matters as well? I'm not in a hurry.
Sox blogs and fansites
Via SoSH, I discovered Emmingu at Fenway, another Sox blog, but one with an artistic bent - check out the drawings of Tek and Schilling.
Of course, if you want an old-fashioned throwback to pre-blog days, here's a regular fan site, The Ballplayer Next Door, dedicated to good ol' Billy Mueller. Seems to have started from his Giants days (it's hosted on orange-black.net), but hey, sometimes, you root for the players, not just the laundry. Or the players that once wore the laundry. Or something like that.
Other fan sites: Totally Excellent Katcher. No prizes for guessing whom it's dedicated to.
Via SoSH, I discovered Emmingu at Fenway, another Sox blog, but one with an artistic bent - check out the drawings of Tek and Schilling.
Of course, if you want an old-fashioned throwback to pre-blog days, here's a regular fan site, The Ballplayer Next Door, dedicated to good ol' Billy Mueller. Seems to have started from his Giants days (it's hosted on orange-black.net), but hey, sometimes, you root for the players, not just the laundry. Or the players that once wore the laundry. Or something like that.
Other fan sites: Totally Excellent Katcher. No prizes for guessing whom it's dedicated to.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Innings eaters
Yeah, I've posting somewhat slowly - it's been a slow news week, besides the endless media sessions, plus, hey, it's my birthday. But here's a thought on this quote in Gammons:
Also from Gammons comes this quote:
But beyond ability, both Pedro and Lowe pitched a hell of a lot of innings over the last few years. For all his rep as injury-prone, Pedro and Lowe both pitched an average of 200 innings each year for the last 3 years, and that's not even counting the post-season. My worry is not so much that Clement-Wells-Miller-Halama-Mantei don't pitch as well, but that they spend too much time on the DL. It was nice to see a 5-man rotation without injury last year (well, until that business with Schilling's ankle), and that seems less likely to me this year. Fingers crossed.
Yeah, I've posting somewhat slowly - it's been a slow news week, besides the endless media sessions, plus, hey, it's my birthday. But here's a thought on this quote in Gammons:
"Wells is one of the most underrated pitchers of this era," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said. "He has made 30 starts nine of the last 10 years, and he's a quality left-hander with one of the best deliveries in the game." Fenway is very much a left-handers' park, and after being shelled there early in his career, Wells has made 14 regular-season and postseason starts since 1997 and is 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA in those starts.I'm really looking forward to seeing a regular Sox lefty starter. And if Halama makes it that'll be two lefties starting for the Sox - how strange is that?
Also from Gammons comes this quote:
"We lost a couple of quality pitchers who won a lot of big games for us," manager Terry Francona said of Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, who left for a combined $88 million. In their place, for a guarantee of less than $30 million, are Matt Clement, Wells, Wade Miller, John Halama and Matt Mantei.
But beyond ability, both Pedro and Lowe pitched a hell of a lot of innings over the last few years. For all his rep as injury-prone, Pedro and Lowe both pitched an average of 200 innings each year for the last 3 years, and that's not even counting the post-season. My worry is not so much that Clement-Wells-Miller-Halama-Mantei don't pitch as well, but that they spend too much time on the DL. It was nice to see a 5-man rotation without injury last year (well, until that business with Schilling's ankle), and that seems less likely to me this year. Fingers crossed.
RIP, HST
Hunter S. Thompson was a football and very much not a baseball fan, but it's still sad to see his archive on ESPN, especially some of the column titles - Death in the afternoon and Where were you when the Fun Stopped? Here's the last column he wrote, on creating the sport of shotgun golf with Bill Murray.
Hunter S. Thompson was a football and very much not a baseball fan, but it's still sad to see his archive on ESPN, especially some of the column titles - Death in the afternoon and Where were you when the Fun Stopped? Here's the last column he wrote, on creating the sport of shotgun golf with Bill Murray.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Papi's got a brand new bag
Ortiz looking good in spring training, easing all worries about his shoulder with a broken-bat homer. Woohoo!
Ortiz looking good in spring training, easing all worries about his shoulder with a broken-bat homer. Woohoo!
Kevin Millar on Queer Eye
Keb' Mi' continues trying his best to become a boldfaced name. The wannabe king of some media is going to appear on Queer Eye...
Keb' Mi' continues trying his best to become a boldfaced name. The wannabe king of some media is going to appear on Queer Eye...
Kevin Millar may appear on an episode of Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Millar said he's working on a date for the taping, which would be done during spring training, and hopes to persuade a few teammates to participate (Boston Globe)Would be fun to see what they do to Johnny Damon. Next, David Wells appears on Survivor, booted after he eats fellow contestant.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Random group of the day
Ashton Kutcher (damn, I've mentioned him twice in the last two days!), Matt McConaughey, Mike Wallace, Johnny Damon, and Jessica Lynch. Damon looks likes he's going all out for the idiot tag again, with the rawking devil's horns...
Ashton Kutcher (damn, I've mentioned him twice in the last two days!), Matt McConaughey, Mike Wallace, Johnny Damon, and Jessica Lynch. Damon looks likes he's going all out for the idiot tag again, with the rawking devil's horns...
A-Rod Waxes On, Waxes Off
Of course, I say all that, but if the Yankees offered A-Rod for Renteria straight up, I'd say the Sox should take it in a heartbeat.
"I thought it was a brilliant play. We almost got away with it," Rodriguez said. "I was stuck in an alley, boys, there was no place to go. And I gave my karate. I only got to yellow belt, but I gave them my karate. And, again, I think Brandon's a great pitcher. I played with him in high school." (Link)Brandon? BRANDON?! Bronson Arroyo has one of the most distinctive first names in baseball, and A-Rod turns him into a Brandon. A guy he played against back in high school. A-Rod's a great player, but I don't think he knows that good PR either meets sucking it up and playing well, or making light of it - this looks like a failed attempt at humour ("my karate"). Good PR would probably involve making fun of the slap, taking outlandish slaps at stuff to show he gets the joke...
Of course, I say all that, but if the Yankees offered A-Rod for Renteria straight up, I'd say the Sox should take it in a heartbeat.
Let's do shots
The mr. heathen blog chronicles what happens when a woman takes direct testosterone shots. (Allegedly.)
The mr. heathen blog chronicles what happens when a woman takes direct testosterone shots. (Allegedly.)
2. i feel like i'm unable to do housework. no, i'm not kidding. i keep looking at the pile of dishes in the sink and i think "eh, i'll wait until i start feeling like a girl again." i have become a mysogynistic asshole. clearly, i would make a poor husband.Ah. Jose Canseco, what have you wrought?
3. haven't wandered out of the house much. i did go down the hill for dinner and movies (no vacancy, le divorce, the three faces of eve, and whatever happened to baby jane?) and was still floored by my reactions to the people on the street. the fight/fuck impulse is very strong. i actually found myself veering into men i perceived as weaker than me, to make them get out of my way.
4. still very, very energized. this, coupled with much coffee, make me feel like i'm invincible. still another good reason for not leaving the house.
9. my sweat glands are still a force to be reckoned with.
14. organized my CD collection, but could not bring myself to fold my laundry.
16. tomorrow i go to home depot!
Monday, February 21, 2005
Juiced reviews
Reviews of Canseco's Juiced are in... Rob Neyer thinks the devil is in the details, while King Kaufman thinks it's actually a pretty good if somewhat steroivangelical. Bryan Curtis notes the proselytising tone of Juiced, as well as how different the book is from most sports memoirs: all gung-ho about the effects of steroids, rather than the usual "playing through pain" motif.
(Randomly, I learnt from the Curtis article that Jose has a little-heard-of twin brother, adding to my list of "famous people who have not particularly famous twins" - hello, Ashton Kutcher.)
I like this throwaway line from Kaufman on Canseco and Madonna:
Reviews of Canseco's Juiced are in... Rob Neyer thinks the devil is in the details, while King Kaufman thinks it's actually a pretty good if somewhat steroivangelical. Bryan Curtis notes the proselytising tone of Juiced, as well as how different the book is from most sports memoirs: all gung-ho about the effects of steroids, rather than the usual "playing through pain" motif.
(Randomly, I learnt from the Curtis article that Jose has a little-heard-of twin brother, adding to my list of "famous people who have not particularly famous twins" - hello, Ashton Kutcher.)
I like this throwaway line from Kaufman on Canseco and Madonna:
he writes that she wanted to marry him but the whole thing was awkward and he wasn't attracted to her because she wasn't a buffed-out workout queenNot a buffed-out workout queen? Madonna?
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Reaching out... touching me, touching you
Also from that same news report: everyone's mending fences. Here's Bronson Arroyo (who has an album scheduled to come out) on A-Rod:
Also from that same news report: everyone's mending fences. Here's Bronson Arroyo (who has an album scheduled to come out) on A-Rod:
"It was a situation where he was just desperate. Somebody on our team might have done the same thing. I've never seen it happen. I know Curt thought it was kind of a bush league play."I like that part about "somebody on our team might have done the same thing" - it may not be true, but I agree the play was possibly done out of desperation. What was pathetic was A-Rod's refusal to say "hey, I tried something that was bush, it didn't work, I'm sorry". And here's Pedro on Curt:
"I don't have anything bad to say about Curt Schilling. I can only wish Curt good health, for God to bless him all the time and to give him everything he wants," said Martinez. "I don't have anything bad to say about any of my ex-teammates or anyone in Boston. I just wish God blesses them all and gives them everything they want. I'm going to miss the town and miss the tradition in Boston but I have a new life."Pedro's always noted his love of the town of Boston (even his slams on going to the Mets were directed at the front office, not at the town or the fans), so this is pretty much par for the course. Varitek, of course, still loves Pedro:
"We can't replace Pedro Martinez," said Varitek. "I don't even want to go down that road in trying to. These guys are different guys. None of them should have to pitch with the thought process of replacing Pedro Martinez. It can't be done. He's been the best pitcher in this decade.""This decade" meaning the 2000s, or "this decade" meaning the last 10 years? Not that it matters - either way, Tek is right, and I'm sure he'll call games accordingly. What's the over/under on games won by Matt Clement?
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Dave McCarty won't pitch
Dagnabit, Dave McCarty is abandoning the hitter/pitcher experiment:
Dagnabit, Dave McCarty is abandoning the hitter/pitcher experiment:
While the veteran, who pitched three times for the Sox during the 2004 season, will participate in some side sessions, his main task will be to try and make the team as a backup first baseman/outfielder. (Link)I know it's irrational, but I'm a big fan of two-way players. Plus McCarty had good stats in his 3.2 innings: a lower ERA and a higher K/9 than Pedro and Schilling... heh. Small sample sizes rule.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Let me out!
Meanwhile, over at Port St. Lucie, Pedro Martinez tries to scale the fence and leave the Mets. (Photo from Yahoo! News)
Meanwhile, over at Port St. Lucie, Pedro Martinez tries to scale the fence and leave the Mets. (Photo from Yahoo! News)
Lords of the Rings
So there was a mini-uproar as to whether the Sox would be getting their rings at the home opener against the Yankees, and John W. Henry stepped in to say:
So there was a mini-uproar as to whether the Sox would be getting their rings at the home opener against the Yankees, and John W. Henry stepped in to say:
News flash! I don't think we have any hard, fast assurances exactly when the rings will be done. In fact the ring has not yet been finalized. I didn't realize half the nation might be lining up on bridges if there isn't a ring ceremony opening day.Since I can't imagine that the rings would be visible from a distance, I'm not sure how important having the ceremony is, as long as they hoist a banner. I just wanted to post that because it just amuses me that a man who's made a fortune in hedge funds, which I've always imagined to be quite a staid profession, uses "LOL", "News flash!", and smilies once he goes on message boards...
Legal issues?! Now that's a good one. Maybe the ring manufacturer will pull out for fear of being sued! LOL. Could this be the end for scalpers as the value of their inventory plummets?
Stayed tuned now for hourly updates as to when the rings are going to be available! (SoSH link)
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Hot to Trot: Nixon calls out A-Rod
Ah, spring is here, and the Sox-Yankees rivalry is really blossoming, with Trot calling out A-Rod:
Ah, spring is here, and the Sox-Yankees rivalry is really blossoming, with Trot calling out A-Rod:
"Like Rodriguez says," Nixon said, "he's running stairs at 6 in the morning while I'm sleeping and taking my kids to school. I'm like, well I'm not a deadbeat dad, Alex... He's got a kid now, too, so I guess he'll have his limo driver take her to school."There's a nice "divide and conquer" PR line going on, with Trot, Curt, etc. going all out to praise "true" Yankees such as Jeter or Bernie Williams, thus blaming A-Rod by implication:
"when people ask me about the Yankees, I tell them about (Derek) Jeter and Bernie Williams and (Jorge) Posada. I don't tell them about Rodriguez.''Not quite Fisk-Munson, but it's fun to have some passion among players.
Bill James projections
WAC over at Huntington Avenue Grounds lists Bill James' 2005 projections. Weird - and a bit worrying - to see so many players listed as 'high injury risk'. Manny and Millar? Going by the predictions the 4 best hitters on the team will be Manny, Ortiz, Trot, and Millar, in that order. First three seem likely; as for Millar - we'll see.
WAC over at Huntington Avenue Grounds lists Bill James' 2005 projections. Weird - and a bit worrying - to see so many players listed as 'high injury risk'. Manny and Millar? Going by the predictions the 4 best hitters on the team will be Manny, Ortiz, Trot, and Millar, in that order. First three seem likely; as for Millar - we'll see.
Bruschi in Mass General
Aww man... Tedy Bruschi's in hospital apparently "suffering from stroke-like symptoms including partial paralysis and blurred vision" (according to WBZ-TV as reported in the Boston Sports Media Watch forums - I see ESPN has picked up the story). Rough. Get well soon.
Edit: ID'd WBZ-TV as the source.
Aww man... Tedy Bruschi's in hospital apparently "suffering from stroke-like symptoms including partial paralysis and blurred vision" (according to WBZ-TV as reported in the Boston Sports Media Watch forums - I see ESPN has picked up the story). Rough. Get well soon.
Edit: ID'd WBZ-TV as the source.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Shiny Happy People
People are starting to report! Nice of the Sox to let local resident Derek Lowe train at the City of Palms Park facilities (Seattle Post-Intelligencer link - thanks to Red Sox Wire). Lowe had this to say:
People are starting to report! Nice of the Sox to let local resident Derek Lowe train at the City of Palms Park facilities (Seattle Post-Intelligencer link - thanks to Red Sox Wire). Lowe had this to say:
"You root for the guys," [Lowe] said. "You hope they stay healthy. You hope they have a good year. You hope they get to the World Series. There's no bitterness toward the players because these guys are great guys.Lowe's really congenitally a chirpy non-bitter person yeah? LA will be good for him. Good luck in Dodger Stadium, Derek.
I want my MVP
Mike Greenwell wants his MVP (pic of Greenwell from the News-Press article.)
Mike Greenwell wants his MVP (pic of Greenwell from the News-Press article.)
"He's an admitted steroid user," Greenwell said of Canseco. "I was clean. If they're going to start putting asterisks by things, let's put one by the MVP."I do have a problem with losing the MVP to an admitted steroids user."Greenwell notes that when they were teammates, Canseco tried to get him to use roids, but he sounds somewhat forgiving of Jose in general. Nice bit in the article about Ellis Burks visiting Greenwell too.
Trivia
And yes, my posts on non-baseball topics are indicating that Spring Training better start soon! Randomly, two trivia questions, in "honour" of Tito's rear-ending today as he called WEEI:
1. What former Sox player was Terry Francona's minor-league roommate?
2. Who was their other roommate, and who was that roommate's brother?
And yes, my posts on non-baseball topics are indicating that Spring Training better start soon! Randomly, two trivia questions, in "honour" of Tito's rear-ending today as he called WEEI:
1. What former Sox player was Terry Francona's minor-league roommate?
2. Who was their other roommate, and who was that roommate's brother?
It ain't over till it's over
One famous moment in football (that's soccer, not the American game) is the ending of the 1989-1990 English Division 1 season, immortalised in Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. Arsenal, in 2nd place, played Liverpool, needing to win by 2 goals to win the league. 90th minute, the Arsenal are up 1-0, and Ian Wright pops in and scores the league clincher in the dying seconds of the game. Brilliant.
It was one of the defining sporting moments of my childhood, and now that I look back, it may have been what led to my equanimity when the Sox were down 0-3 in the ALCS. It ain't over till it's over. It never is.
(Fever Pitch is a great book, incidentally, for anyone who's a fan of any sport - I love the part where he gets his wife into the game, then gets upset because that means they might have to take turns going to the games on the weekend since someone has to look after the kid.)
One famous moment in football (that's soccer, not the American game) is the ending of the 1989-1990 English Division 1 season, immortalised in Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. Arsenal, in 2nd place, played Liverpool, needing to win by 2 goals to win the league. 90th minute, the Arsenal are up 1-0, and Ian Wright pops in and scores the league clincher in the dying seconds of the game. Brilliant.
It was one of the defining sporting moments of my childhood, and now that I look back, it may have been what led to my equanimity when the Sox were down 0-3 in the ALCS. It ain't over till it's over. It never is.
(Fever Pitch is a great book, incidentally, for anyone who's a fan of any sport - I love the part where he gets his wife into the game, then gets upset because that means they might have to take turns going to the games on the weekend since someone has to look after the kid.)
Bill Simmons, losing his touch
Signs that Bill Simmons is losing his touch in pop-culture references, from his ESPN Page 2 column:
By the way, I hate seeing the apostrophe in "Grammy's". "Grammys" refers to multiple, if somewhat worthless, awards. "Grammy's" just means "your grandmother's". (Okay, so I'm picky about grammar. Join the club.)
Signs that Bill Simmons is losing his touch in pop-culture references, from his ESPN Page 2 column:
By the way, here was my Grammy's highlight: My friend Jake and I were trying to figure out what name we would pick if we were budding rap/hip-hop stars - along the lines of Usher or Nelly - and I went with "Tripod" while Jake chose "Zeus" or "Apollo;"If you had to choose two so-called "hip-hop" names as a model, why on earth would you choose Nelly, which is just short for Cornell, and Usher, which is the man's REAL name? (List of hip-hop stars' real names.) Those aren't really "star" names that you choose for an identity, not in the way 50 Cent or Trick Daddy are. It's kind of like saying "Bill" is an edgy version of "William".
By the way, I hate seeing the apostrophe in "Grammy's". "Grammys" refers to multiple, if somewhat worthless, awards. "Grammy's" just means "your grandmother's". (Okay, so I'm picky about grammar. Join the club.)
Monday, February 14, 2005
Fluke year
One thing sad about the steroid scandal is that fluke seasons such as Brady Anderson's 50-homer year seem to be suspect to many. Here's just one example of the 'roids insinuation with regards to Anderson. (Although the author also wrote that Ichiro's ".270 average so far this year [2004] suggests that he won't return to his 2001 form this season either", heh.)
That's sad, the automatic suspicion. While you can probably never predict who's going to have a fluke season, you can say that, with the hundreds of players in the game, the statistical chances of at least one ballplayer a season having a great year for no other reason than pure luck are pretty high. So the question shouldn't be "what are the chances that Brady Anderson would hit 50 homers?", it should be "what are the chances that a ballplayer would do something unusual given his previous career?", given that of course any such unusual thing would be clearly remembered. The probability in the latter question is much, much higher, naturally.
All I'm saying is, sometimes a fluke year is due to external reasons (Norm Cash and his corked bat in 1961), and sometimes a fluke year is just that, a fluke year.
And on that sober note, Happy Valentine's Day one and all!
One thing sad about the steroid scandal is that fluke seasons such as Brady Anderson's 50-homer year seem to be suspect to many. Here's just one example of the 'roids insinuation with regards to Anderson. (Although the author also wrote that Ichiro's ".270 average so far this year [2004] suggests that he won't return to his 2001 form this season either", heh.)
That's sad, the automatic suspicion. While you can probably never predict who's going to have a fluke season, you can say that, with the hundreds of players in the game, the statistical chances of at least one ballplayer a season having a great year for no other reason than pure luck are pretty high. So the question shouldn't be "what are the chances that Brady Anderson would hit 50 homers?", it should be "what are the chances that a ballplayer would do something unusual given his previous career?", given that of course any such unusual thing would be clearly remembered. The probability in the latter question is much, much higher, naturally.
All I'm saying is, sometimes a fluke year is due to external reasons (Norm Cash and his corked bat in 1961), and sometimes a fluke year is just that, a fluke year.
And on that sober note, Happy Valentine's Day one and all!
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Catcher's report
There's a really good article by Gordon Edes on Jason Varitek in the Globe, including this choice bit on the 1999 ALDS Game 5:
Clearly Tek thinks a lot about his role as a manager of pitchers (wouldn't be surprised if he actually did go on to become a manager in the future). I thought his thoughts on Burkett were also interesting - I mean, of course it's great catching for Pedro and Schilling, but they have a whole arsenal to work with, and could probably pitch a great game even to an average catcher. I actually think Tek's value as a catcher might show in how he manages pitchers whose natural stuff isn't that great:
There's a really good article by Gordon Edes on Jason Varitek in the Globe, including this choice bit on the 1999 ALDS Game 5:
"[Pedro] pitched in a totally different way than he'd ever pitched before, in the middle of what was then the most important game of his career," Varitek said. "He was a power pitcher, and that game he pitched backwards. He had to finesse people. He used his curveball, he used a cutter, which he'd never used before, and all of a sudden he's in a different realm.Seems like Game 5 marked a transition from raw pure power Pedro to the master craftsman. Indeed, who would've thought he could've topped the 245 ERA+ in 1999? Then that 2000 season came along, with a 1.74 ERA and a 285 ERA+. Unreal.
...
The only times I really helped him were the days he didn't feel like being there. He was just like anybody else; he might have family issues on the day he happened to be pitching. That made it more difficult, and that's when he might have needed me."
Clearly Tek thinks a lot about his role as a manager of pitchers (wouldn't be surprised if he actually did go on to become a manager in the future). I thought his thoughts on Burkett were also interesting - I mean, of course it's great catching for Pedro and Schilling, but they have a whole arsenal to work with, and could probably pitch a great game even to an average catcher. I actually think Tek's value as a catcher might show in how he manages pitchers whose natural stuff isn't that great:
"It's unbelievable how much I learned from Burkett. Taking that risk when you need to. Going that extra little step beyond thinking. Just how devastating a located fastball down and away can be, when it's located right and properly. Different things."Burkett was a junkballer trying to do his best within his limitations, and I think it's telling about Tek that he learnt a lot from the experience. We'll see how he manages the staff this year.
The Texas Trio
Mark McClusky on Baseball Prospectus looks at the numbers for I-Rod, Palmeiro, and Juan Gone, and says there's nothing in the numbers to suggest that they were juicing. To be more specific, there's nothing that says they took something that caused their performance to be out of the ordinary - since, as McClusky points out, there are no studies that show the link between offensive performance and steroids. McClusky's wise words on the matter:
Mark McClusky on Baseball Prospectus looks at the numbers for I-Rod, Palmeiro, and Juan Gone, and says there's nothing in the numbers to suggest that they were juicing. To be more specific, there's nothing that says they took something that caused their performance to be out of the ordinary - since, as McClusky points out, there are no studies that show the link between offensive performance and steroids. McClusky's wise words on the matter:
First, players are innocent until proven guilty. Secondly, for good or ill, steroids weren't against the rules of Major League Baseball during Canseco's career. And perhaps most importantly, there isn't any study out there that proves that steroids help players produce more offensively. That doesn't mean that steroids don't help; that means that we don't know that they do.
The agony and the ecstasy
More serious, I really hope the Bonds story isn't true. Bonds may be a jerk, but he's got phenomenal talent - regardless of whether he took steroids or not.
Incidentally, before all these steroid scandals I used to think 'roids had to be injected. Then I heard about "the cream" and "the clear". I wonder if learning about the ease of delivery - putting drops under your tongue is a lot more innocuous-sounding than injecting yourself in the butt - may have actually sparked the interest of some misguided gym rats? Or maybe this was fairly common knowledge, and I was just not clued in into the world of performance enhancers.
More serious, I really hope the Bonds story isn't true. Bonds may be a jerk, but he's got phenomenal talent - regardless of whether he took steroids or not.
Incidentally, before all these steroid scandals I used to think 'roids had to be injected. Then I heard about "the cream" and "the clear". I wonder if learning about the ease of delivery - putting drops under your tongue is a lot more innocuous-sounding than injecting yourself in the butt - may have actually sparked the interest of some misguided gym rats? Or maybe this was fairly common knowledge, and I was just not clued in into the world of performance enhancers.
Does this jersey make my butt look big?
Barry Bonds' former mistress says he was on the juice, at least according to the NY Post (for what that's worth). Not sure about the allegations, but I thought this line was funny:
Barry Bonds' former mistress says he was on the juice, at least according to the NY Post (for what that's worth). Not sure about the allegations, but I thought this line was funny:
Some of the changes included everything from acne on his back to a great deal of bloating, that he was very concerned about that other people would notice.Acne? Bloating? A sudden concern about how others see him? Man, next thing we'll know Bonds will be asking for extra time off for cramps.
Sickels blog
John Sickels was doing good work on the minor leagues for ESPN - which unfortunately was insider-only stuff... now he got "downsized", and he's started his own blog, Minorleagueball.com. Looks very, very promising.
John Sickels was doing good work on the minor leagues for ESPN - which unfortunately was insider-only stuff... now he got "downsized", and he's started his own blog, Minorleagueball.com. Looks very, very promising.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Jason Giambi says sorry
So poor Jay-G gets to be the fall guy for all the 'roid takers, saying sorry - although legally he can't say what he's sorry for. Ah. To quote the boyband Take That, "whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it..."
On the one hand, schadenfreude says, Nelson-style, ha-ha! On the other, I actually do feel somewhat bad for the guy, since others seem to be getting away with murder. Plus while Giambi is to blame, heaping everything onto one guy ignores the systemic faults that created all these steroid users. Of course, the fact that Giambi is collecting New York's $80 million without passing Go helps...
Incidentally, I note that once you're the "villain", they run really unflattering photos of you to rub it in. From ESPN today:
Could his facial hair be any more emphasised? Heck, just a little more hair in that pic and he'd look like Cornelius from Planet of the Apes:
So poor Jay-G gets to be the fall guy for all the 'roid takers, saying sorry - although legally he can't say what he's sorry for. Ah. To quote the boyband Take That, "whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it..."
On the one hand, schadenfreude says, Nelson-style, ha-ha! On the other, I actually do feel somewhat bad for the guy, since others seem to be getting away with murder. Plus while Giambi is to blame, heaping everything onto one guy ignores the systemic faults that created all these steroid users. Of course, the fact that Giambi is collecting New York's $80 million without passing Go helps...
Incidentally, I note that once you're the "villain", they run really unflattering photos of you to rub it in. From ESPN today:
Could his facial hair be any more emphasised? Heck, just a little more hair in that pic and he'd look like Cornelius from Planet of the Apes:
Friday, February 11, 2005
Abe Alvarez
Spring training is almost upon us - it's Truck Day today! So time to look at the young'uns... in this interview, Abe Alvarez talks about his one big-league game, and his upcoming 2005.
Spring training is almost upon us - it's Truck Day today! So time to look at the young'uns... in this interview, Abe Alvarez talks about his one big-league game, and his upcoming 2005.
Nomar to be named?
So there's a Boston Dirt Dogs claim that Nomar will be "named" in the new Canseco book. Named as in named as a user of steroids, or named as in just mentioned? I don't know, but I need more evidence than that SI cover, and that's speaking as a non-Nomar fanboy. And Canseco has shot (ahem) his credibility to the point that what he says gets taken with a huge grain of salt.
Tangential story: since I was talking about commentary tracks, if you watch the Simpsons Season 3 DVD with the commentary on, in the "Homer at the Bat" episode they talk about how all the ballplayers (yup, even the supposedly terse and tetchy Clemens and Boggs) were a joy to work with, except for "one whose name rhymes with Manseco". The Cansecos objected to the plot where he has an affair with Mrs Krabappel, IIRC, but the commentary seems to imply he was more of a pain than just that.
Edit: as suspected, "Nomar to be named" just meant "Nomar will be named as a teammate of Canseco's". Disingenuous.
So there's a Boston Dirt Dogs claim that Nomar will be "named" in the new Canseco book. Named as in named as a user of steroids, or named as in just mentioned? I don't know, but I need more evidence than that SI cover, and that's speaking as a non-Nomar fanboy. And Canseco has shot (ahem) his credibility to the point that what he says gets taken with a huge grain of salt.
Tangential story: since I was talking about commentary tracks, if you watch the Simpsons Season 3 DVD with the commentary on, in the "Homer at the Bat" episode they talk about how all the ballplayers (yup, even the supposedly terse and tetchy Clemens and Boggs) were a joy to work with, except for "one whose name rhymes with Manseco". The Cansecos objected to the plot where he has an affair with Mrs Krabappel, IIRC, but the commentary seems to imply he was more of a pain than just that.
Edit: as suspected, "Nomar to be named" just meant "Nomar will be named as a teammate of Canseco's". Disingenuous.
Bull Durham
Spent part of the second day of the Chinese New Year holiday watching Bull Durham with the Tim Robbins / Kevin Costner commentary on. Among the things I learnt from the commentary:
Spent part of the second day of the Chinese New Year holiday watching Bull Durham with the Tim Robbins / Kevin Costner commentary on. Among the things I learnt from the commentary:
- Kevin Costner has a man-crush on director/writer Ron Shelton - he couldn't stop talking about how great Ron was.
- After all these years, Tim Robbins still sounds like he's besotted with Susan Sarandon. Aww.
- More to the point, Costner thinks he never quite got that great speech near the beginning ("Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch...") right, but that the words are just so good that it didn't matter. He may have a point. (Here's the full speech.)
- Robbins hated that he couldn't get his breaking ball to break like a major leaguer, but Costner rightfully pointed out that it was impressive that he even got it to break - the major leaguers have been throwing them forever.
- Baseball players like to come up to both of them and quote random scenes from the movie, often befuddling them. Damn lollygaggers, they should've memorised it by now!
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Year of the Rooster
Happy Lunar New Year, one and all!
(Joke stolen from the Boston Sports Media Watch forums.)
Happy Lunar New Year, one and all!
(Joke stolen from the Boston Sports Media Watch forums.)
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Found in Translation
(Image of Petagine taken from BaseballGuru.com)
There's been a lot of Sox dealings with the Japanese leagues this offseason: signing Denney Tomori, selling Jamie Brown's contract to the Hanshin Tigers, and now signing Roberto Petagine from the Yakult Swallows. (Gabe Kapler going to the Yomiuri Giants technically was an FA deal, not a Sox deal.) The Japan Times now reports on the formalisation of those ties, with the Sox agreeing to send two coaches (Far East area scout Jon Deeble and Double-A manager Todd Clauss) and two minor-leagures (and minor leaguers Justin Sherrod and David Murphy) to join the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks spring training camp next week. I'm hoping this all works out better than the Korean experiment...
Looking from the other side, I've recently been thinking that a team could really succeed in Japanese baseball by adopting an OBP-centric approach (the so-called "Moneyball" style). Seems like Japanese baseball often favours an approach that rewards great amounts of effort and intensity, regardless of whether that effort is productive - or at least that's my impression from Robert Whiting's You Gotta Have Wa. I'm guessing this means "hustling" and "scrappy" types of players might be overvalued in the Japanese leagues. So I'll also be interested in seeing what the Hawks learn from the Sox.
Fukuoka's a lovely city, incidentally - was there on an exchange programme once. More rural, not quite the craziness of Tokyo. And I got a kick out of having luggage tags that read FUK-SIN.
(Image of Petagine taken from BaseballGuru.com)
There's been a lot of Sox dealings with the Japanese leagues this offseason: signing Denney Tomori, selling Jamie Brown's contract to the Hanshin Tigers, and now signing Roberto Petagine from the Yakult Swallows. (Gabe Kapler going to the Yomiuri Giants technically was an FA deal, not a Sox deal.) The Japan Times now reports on the formalisation of those ties, with the Sox agreeing to send two coaches (Far East area scout Jon Deeble and Double-A manager Todd Clauss) and two minor-leagures (and minor leaguers Justin Sherrod and David Murphy) to join the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks spring training camp next week. I'm hoping this all works out better than the Korean experiment...
Looking from the other side, I've recently been thinking that a team could really succeed in Japanese baseball by adopting an OBP-centric approach (the so-called "Moneyball" style). Seems like Japanese baseball often favours an approach that rewards great amounts of effort and intensity, regardless of whether that effort is productive - or at least that's my impression from Robert Whiting's You Gotta Have Wa. I'm guessing this means "hustling" and "scrappy" types of players might be overvalued in the Japanese leagues. So I'll also be interested in seeing what the Hawks learn from the Sox.
Fukuoka's a lovely city, incidentally - was there on an exchange programme once. More rural, not quite the craziness of Tokyo. And I got a kick out of having luggage tags that read FUK-SIN.
Stat development
The Numbers Guy at the Wall Street Journal talks about how the stats revolution in baseball was driven by stathead fans, whereas what's happening in football is really top-down:
The Numbers Guy at the Wall Street Journal talks about how the stats revolution in baseball was driven by stathead fans, whereas what's happening in football is really top-down:
One of the sad parts of this 'proletarian' development of baseball stats is that some of the stat gurus have been hired to work for baseball organisations - for instance, Mitchel Lichtman aka MGL, developer of the UZR system of measuring defense, is now thought to be working for the Cardinals. So previously public stats end up becoming private.This all stands in stark contrast to baseball, where fans with a mathematical bent sparked a reformation in how to value players. As chronicled last year in the Michael Lewis bestseller Moneyball, over the last 30 years advanced stats spread from mimeographed newsletters to baseball front offices, where a few smart general managers embraced them and used them to get more bang for their buck in player acquisition.
In football, though, the teams have driven most of the improvements. Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, a stats guru, suggests new numbers for Stats Inc. to track, says Pete Moris, who helps manage advanced stats for the team. The league's salary cap equalizes teams' budgets, which has made factors like statistical analysis more important for teams' fortunes.
Korean baseball comics
Was pointed to this set of baseball comics by Choi Hoon (clearly, the series is big enough that the Korea Times wrote an article on Choi). They're really good, they seem very much into the nuances of the game - there're bits about Livan Hernandez's workhorse abilities, Charles Johnson's uselessness, and even a Robb Quinlan joke. Robb Quinlan!
Here's the Sox one - I've heard the "Ortiz looks like Shrek" comparison, but I think Millar as Donkey is quite apt. And I like the Damon-Human-Damon evolution.
Sadly, though, I can't read Korean. Baseball Primer has some translations, including this one: Scoiscia gives Chone Figgins the Rally Monkey costume, saying "you can play every position," while Figgins yells "I don't play the Rally Monkey!"
Was pointed to this set of baseball comics by Choi Hoon (clearly, the series is big enough that the Korea Times wrote an article on Choi). They're really good, they seem very much into the nuances of the game - there're bits about Livan Hernandez's workhorse abilities, Charles Johnson's uselessness, and even a Robb Quinlan joke. Robb Quinlan!
Here's the Sox one - I've heard the "Ortiz looks like Shrek" comparison, but I think Millar as Donkey is quite apt. And I like the Damon-Human-Damon evolution.
Sadly, though, I can't read Korean. Baseball Primer has some translations, including this one: Scoiscia gives Chone Figgins the Rally Monkey costume, saying "you can play every position," while Figgins yells "I don't play the Rally Monkey!"
Chinese New Year greetings
I wish all visitors a Happy Lunar New Year!
Since trivia visitors seem to make up quite a bit of my visitors this week, I should note, building on an earlier post, that there are now 4 seasons in which a city has won both the World Series and Superbowl:
I wish all visitors a Happy Lunar New Year!
Since trivia visitors seem to make up quite a bit of my visitors this week, I should note, building on an earlier post, that there are now 4 seasons in which a city has won both the World Series and Superbowl:
- 2004 season: Sox and Pats
- 1986 season: New York Mets (ugh) and Giants
- 1979 season: Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers
- 1970 season: Baltimore Orioles and Colts
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Stand Pat, Gillick
I was doing a search for a book I dimly remembered as involving a crazy sister (it turned out to be My Sister From the Black Lagoon, by Laurie Fox), and I came across this page of e-mails to Zodiackiller.com, a site dedicated towards finding the Zodiac Killer that terrorised San Francisco. I guess if you run a site like that, the conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork, but this letter is a particular gem:
I was doing a search for a book I dimly remembered as involving a crazy sister (it turned out to be My Sister From the Black Lagoon, by Laurie Fox), and I came across this page of e-mails to Zodiackiller.com, a site dedicated towards finding the Zodiac Killer that terrorised San Francisco. I guess if you run a site like that, the conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork, but this letter is a particular gem:
In 1990, the General Manager of the Blue Jays said that he was the Zodiac Killer. He phoned me at Dorothy Stickle's home, because I used to live with Dorothy, from September 1989 to January 1991. The Wild Country (formerly All Hit Country) had a contest going, or wagering on who was going to win the World Series. I phoned them and guessed the "Phillies" were going to win. I started getting calls from a Blue Jays player named Joe Jancowski, I don't have the exact spelling of his name. Anyways; he was a Chekaslovacian, he had a rare Cancer and he was the star player. He told me that he had to take lots of medication. I also got calls from the GM, I don't know his name, he told me that he is the Zodiac Killer. He was arrested in 1999, by the Williams Lake RCMP; he confessed to the fact that he was the Zodiac Killer.So, Pat Gillick (GM, Blue Jays, 1983-1994) was the killer, and he confessed in 1999? Yup, it all makes sense now. Must have been hard for Gillick in 1999, juggling all that confessing with settling in as the Mariners' new GM.
Canseco on Steroids
Now, Feb 17 is when pitchers and catchers report. So I guess sports can no longer be an excuse - must do something on Valentine's!
Anyway, Jose "Typhoid Mary of Steroids" Canseco says he helped Mark McGwire juice up (which Tony LaRussa disputes). He also claims to have taught I-Rod, Rafael Palmeiro, and Juan Gone to juice up. Seems like, at least by his claims, everywhere that Mary went, the roids were sure to go. Sadly, the state of baseball is such that it's hard to dismiss such claims, even by Canseco. This one claim is especially hard to believe, though:
Now, Feb 17 is when pitchers and catchers report. So I guess sports can no longer be an excuse - must do something on Valentine's!
Anyway, Jose "Typhoid Mary of Steroids" Canseco says he helped Mark McGwire juice up (which Tony LaRussa disputes). He also claims to have taught I-Rod, Rafael Palmeiro, and Juan Gone to juice up. Seems like, at least by his claims, everywhere that Mary went, the roids were sure to go. Sadly, the state of baseball is such that it's hard to dismiss such claims, even by Canseco. This one claim is especially hard to believe, though:
Perhaps the biggest shock in the book? Canseco says he never slept with Madonna. They made out in her Manhattan apartment one night, he claims, but that's as far as it went. (NY Daily News article)Not slept with Madonna at that time? Maybe the roids do screw up with your hormones.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Pats 24, Eagles 21: Spreadeagled
What a game. And as usual a Vinatieri FG was the decider, although not quite in the dramatic way of Super Bowls 36 and 38 (seriously, there should be a point when you just stop with the Roman numerals).
That first half was a nail-biter, but it wasn't quality football from either side. The Pats looked off: they never really established a running game until the last part of the 2nd quarter, the normally disciplined team was getting assessed penalties for false starts, and even Tom Brady fumbled on a play-action pass.
On the half-time show: thank goodness Paul McCartney didn’t suffer a wardrobe malfunction. But it was fairly insipid, I felt, and I'm a big Beatles fan. Maybe the sound on my TV just wasn't that good. Incidentally, the NFL Europe feed, which we were getting, seemed by reports to be better than Joe Buck et al on the Fox feed - no weird camera angles. Things I learnt today: the Superbowl trophy is made by Tiffany & Co. Wonder if it comes in one of those blue boxes women love?
The second half showed the difference – coaching. Full credit to the Eagles for playing hard: I’m still amazed at Terrell Owens coming back from a broken leg against all medical advice. And Andy Reid certainly coached better than Tony Dungy or Bill Cowher. But the Eagles showed a distinct lack of urgency, even when they were down by 10 with 2 minutes to go. So weird. Up to that point Reid had looked decent, then suddenly he revealed he didn't seem to know the principles of clock management. Why was McNabb huddling and letting the clock run down?
I was worried when McNabb hit Westbrook with a great pass to tie the score in the 3rd quarter. I wasn’t so worried near the end, even after McNabb threw that touchdown pass to bring the Eagles within 3 points, because by that time Reid’s inability to manage the clock was evident, and Brady and the Patriots were in full control of the rhythm of the game. (Nice screen passes...) Also, by that point McNabb was clearly hit-or-miss: there were times when he threw decent passes (the pass to Westbrook for the TD, for instance), and there were others when his strategy seemed to be "chuck-it-and-pray". Credit to the Pats defense for taking out the possibility of McNabb running. And great work on defense overall by Harrison and Bruschi.
The best, most affecting moment for me was when they showed Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis, and Romeo Crennel hugging together at the end, the last time all three would coach together. (Yup, Crennel's leaving.) There it was, clear for all to see: the three architects of the Patriots dynasty, showing more emotion than critics of the Patriots’ supposed soulless style give them credit for.
What a game. And as usual a Vinatieri FG was the decider, although not quite in the dramatic way of Super Bowls 36 and 38 (seriously, there should be a point when you just stop with the Roman numerals).
That first half was a nail-biter, but it wasn't quality football from either side. The Pats looked off: they never really established a running game until the last part of the 2nd quarter, the normally disciplined team was getting assessed penalties for false starts, and even Tom Brady fumbled on a play-action pass.
On the half-time show: thank goodness Paul McCartney didn’t suffer a wardrobe malfunction. But it was fairly insipid, I felt, and I'm a big Beatles fan. Maybe the sound on my TV just wasn't that good. Incidentally, the NFL Europe feed, which we were getting, seemed by reports to be better than Joe Buck et al on the Fox feed - no weird camera angles. Things I learnt today: the Superbowl trophy is made by Tiffany & Co. Wonder if it comes in one of those blue boxes women love?
The second half showed the difference – coaching. Full credit to the Eagles for playing hard: I’m still amazed at Terrell Owens coming back from a broken leg against all medical advice. And Andy Reid certainly coached better than Tony Dungy or Bill Cowher. But the Eagles showed a distinct lack of urgency, even when they were down by 10 with 2 minutes to go. So weird. Up to that point Reid had looked decent, then suddenly he revealed he didn't seem to know the principles of clock management. Why was McNabb huddling and letting the clock run down?
I was worried when McNabb hit Westbrook with a great pass to tie the score in the 3rd quarter. I wasn’t so worried near the end, even after McNabb threw that touchdown pass to bring the Eagles within 3 points, because by that time Reid’s inability to manage the clock was evident, and Brady and the Patriots were in full control of the rhythm of the game. (Nice screen passes...) Also, by that point McNabb was clearly hit-or-miss: there were times when he threw decent passes (the pass to Westbrook for the TD, for instance), and there were others when his strategy seemed to be "chuck-it-and-pray". Credit to the Pats defense for taking out the possibility of McNabb running. And great work on defense overall by Harrison and Bruschi.
The best, most affecting moment for me was when they showed Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis, and Romeo Crennel hugging together at the end, the last time all three would coach together. (Yup, Crennel's leaving.) There it was, clear for all to see: the three architects of the Patriots dynasty, showing more emotion than critics of the Patriots’ supposed soulless style give them credit for.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
More on predicting no-nos
Of course, after doing all that work, I notice that Baseball Primer has had the same discussion. Sabernomics has an alternative calculation, one which predicts Nolan Ryan's 7 no-hitters more accurately. Both sets of calculations say Rajah and Pedro are the two most likely active pitchers to throw a no-hitter who still haven't done so.
Of course, after doing all that work, I notice that Baseball Primer has had the same discussion. Sabernomics has an alternative calculation, one which predicts Nolan Ryan's 7 no-hitters more accurately. Both sets of calculations say Rajah and Pedro are the two most likely active pitchers to throw a no-hitter who still haven't done so.
Likelihood of throwing a no-hitter
As usual, Bill James is a giant font of baseball insight. In this letter to Rob Neyer, he calculates the expected number of no-hitters a pitcher is supposed to throw, and figures out the pitcher who was most likely to have thrown one by now who didn't - it was Don Sutton before the 2004 season (0.891 expected no-hitters), and now it's Roger Clemens (0.867 by 2003, 0.936 after the 2004 season).
I ran the formula for Pedro Martinez, which shows that Pedro too surpassed Sutton after 2004, with an expected number of no-hitters of 0.902.
What's interesting to me is just how rare a no-hitter is: only four pitchers have an expected no-hitter of more than 1 - Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Tom Seaver, and Randy Johnson - all of whom do have no-hitters. And what's also interesting is that the formula is more accurate on 26 vs 27 outs - apparently many no-hitters involve caught-stealings, double plays, or out on bases.
So odds on seeing a no-no from either of the two great ex-Sox pitchers in 2005? Based on James' formula, the chance of Clemens throwing a no-hitter in any one start is 0.15%, while the chance of Pedro doing likewise is 0.28%. If they make 33 starts this year, Rajah has a 4.72% chance of throwing a no-hitter (expected number of no-hitters is 0.048) and Pedro has a 8.87% chance (expected number is 0.093). Which is to say, there's only a 13.7% chance of seeing either or both of them throw a no-hitter this season, and that's assuming both stay healthy.
Of course, us Sox fans have had the luxury of seeing two no-hitters in this millennium alone (Hideo Nomo's and Derek Lowe's, pictured above), but it'll be nice if either one of two of the greatest righties to ever pitch got one.
As usual, Bill James is a giant font of baseball insight. In this letter to Rob Neyer, he calculates the expected number of no-hitters a pitcher is supposed to throw, and figures out the pitcher who was most likely to have thrown one by now who didn't - it was Don Sutton before the 2004 season (0.891 expected no-hitters), and now it's Roger Clemens (0.867 by 2003, 0.936 after the 2004 season).
I ran the formula for Pedro Martinez, which shows that Pedro too surpassed Sutton after 2004, with an expected number of no-hitters of 0.902.
What's interesting to me is just how rare a no-hitter is: only four pitchers have an expected no-hitter of more than 1 - Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Tom Seaver, and Randy Johnson - all of whom do have no-hitters. And what's also interesting is that the formula is more accurate on 26 vs 27 outs - apparently many no-hitters involve caught-stealings, double plays, or out on bases.
So odds on seeing a no-no from either of the two great ex-Sox pitchers in 2005? Based on James' formula, the chance of Clemens throwing a no-hitter in any one start is 0.15%, while the chance of Pedro doing likewise is 0.28%. If they make 33 starts this year, Rajah has a 4.72% chance of throwing a no-hitter (expected number of no-hitters is 0.048) and Pedro has a 8.87% chance (expected number is 0.093). Which is to say, there's only a 13.7% chance of seeing either or both of them throw a no-hitter this season, and that's assuming both stay healthy.
Of course, us Sox fans have had the luxury of seeing two no-hitters in this millennium alone (Hideo Nomo's and Derek Lowe's, pictured above), but it'll be nice if either one of two of the greatest righties to ever pitch got one.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Owned!
In ESPN's series of rating the best in MLB at specific skills, Pedro gets ranked the best at owning the inside part of the plate. What with body armour and all, hitters seem to be willing to take pitches to the body (hey, it's a one-pitch walk after all) - but that shouldn't mean pitchers give up on the inside. Pedro's clearly great at it - high HBPs, low wild pitches - and the league knows it, but I thought Greg Maddux was a good #2 choice, for the vast contrast in styles.
In ESPN's series of rating the best in MLB at specific skills, Pedro gets ranked the best at owning the inside part of the plate. What with body armour and all, hitters seem to be willing to take pitches to the body (hey, it's a one-pitch walk after all) - but that shouldn't mean pitchers give up on the inside. Pedro's clearly great at it - high HBPs, low wild pitches - and the league knows it, but I thought Greg Maddux was a good #2 choice, for the vast contrast in styles.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Talking Football
No Sox news - please, pitchers and catchers report! - so instead, via Blue Cats and Red Sox (nee Feline Anarchy), here's Matt Chatham playing Twister with Mitch Fatel:
(Photos by Scott LaPierre, from Boston.com.)
Also, Ken Powers got fired from the Worcester T&G for plagiarising Peter King. That's bright, plagiarising only the most well-read football columnist in the country. Read all about it in Boston Sports Media Watch.
No Sox news - please, pitchers and catchers report! - so instead, via Blue Cats and Red Sox (nee Feline Anarchy), here's Matt Chatham playing Twister with Mitch Fatel:
(Photos by Scott LaPierre, from Boston.com.)
Also, Ken Powers got fired from the Worcester T&G for plagiarising Peter King. That's bright, plagiarising only the most well-read football columnist in the country. Read all about it in Boston Sports Media Watch.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
New Roids on the Block
There's a new designer steroid, apparently, and it goes by DMT:
There's a new designer steroid, apparently, and it goes by DMT:
Anti-doping officials said the new drug, desoxymethyltestosterone, which they dubbed DMT, was uncovered after an anonymous e-mail tip directed the agency to investigate a substance seized by Canadian customs officials in June 2004. They also said they did not have any evidence the drug had been used. (The New York Times)Sad that we live in a world where chemistry news populates the sports page.
Catch me if you can
If you're the kid who can't get anyone to play football with you... try the Passback Football! (Via Mekkem.)
If you're the kid who can't get anyone to play football with you... try the Passback Football! (Via Mekkem.)
George and Alex, part deux
Tom Verducci has more on the Steinbrenner/A-Rod summit:
ALEX: Mr Boss, sir, it's just that... it wasn't my fault! it's that nasty Arroyo! He came right at me!
GEORGE: Enough about that ****! You've got to @!&%ing be more of a @!&%ing leader!
ALEX: *sniffles* Must you use that kind of language?
GEORGE: I damn well say the **** I want to say. And where's my calzone?
ALEX: *bawls* I hate you! Go to H-E-double-hockey-sticks!
Tom Verducci has more on the Steinbrenner/A-Rod summit:
Often using coarse language, Steinbrenner told Rodriguez to take more of a leadership role on and off the field.GEORGE: You're trying too @!&%ing hard to blend in like one of the guys! I didn't bring you here to be just one of the guys! And where's my eggplant calzone!
ALEX: Mr Boss, sir, it's just that... it wasn't my fault! it's that nasty Arroyo! He came right at me!
GEORGE: Enough about that ****! You've got to @!&%ing be more of a @!&%ing leader!
ALEX: *sniffles* Must you use that kind of language?
GEORGE: I damn well say the **** I want to say. And where's my calzone?
ALEX: *bawls* I hate you! Go to H-E-double-hockey-sticks!