Daily Link Drought, May 21: better late than never!
by kaweahkaweah on May 21, 2008 3:36 PM PDT
Email
PrintIn the interest of breaking up the DLD drought, and because this is much more interesting than the lame work assignments that are piling up around me, I've created this sparse yet funcitonal DLD.
I have just two links to share, and that is this video of a flying fish out of water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwReuq3NMUM
And as you've no doubt heard by now, future HOFer and former A's catcher Mike Piazza is retiring. It looks he may (or may not!) be entering the HOF at the same time as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3405188
Get dumping!
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Dontrelle Willis to the bullpen
"Evidently, a large number of people said, 'We really need more vermin at the ballpark, Artie.'" - Nick (AN), 10/7/07
I talked to his mom
at Alameda Peet’s yesterday…she definitely confirmed the “not too happy” part…..
I thought Willis was going to rebound this year
so i put him on my fantasy team. after he got hurt I put him on the DL but then another player got hurt some I dummped him. bummer, I thought I was getting a dark horse cy young or something. hopefully he comes back healthy and has good second half. Him being a star definitly helps with promoting baseball to young black atheletes.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
I don't think him being a star is going to make a bit of difference to young black
athletes. There are enough, and have been plenty of great Black baseball players. It is just a lot easier, and more accessible to play basketball. What we need is for Black parents to take there children to more baseball games. I know I didn’t look to a black player to like baseball, it is just something I did when I was young. Didn’t hurt that my next door neighbor played for the Baltimore Orioles.
by theblackpearl on May 21, 2008 4:28 PM PDT up reply actions
OK, I'll bite
Who was your Oriole neighbor?
"Evidently, a large number of people said, 'We really need more vermin at the ballpark, Artie.'" - Nick (AN), 10/7/07
Michael Young, OF for the O's and Phillies. Top 5 for ROY in 1981, I think it
was. We would play baseball in our court with a tennis ball, he would come and ask to hit, we would say, you have to hit left handed, assuming that was his weak side, before we knew what a switch hitter was. Then he would launch the ball into our nieghbors back yard. Noone wanted to pitch to him, because pitcher had to hop the fence.
by theblackpearl on May 21, 2008 4:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I remember Young -- did he wear 21 with the O's?
Sadly for him, the moment I remember most involving him was on a Game of the Week when he was in RF, I think, at old Memorial Stadium. The batter absolutely crushed a pitch, and he just turned to watch it…hit about half way up the fence and bounce back onto the outfield grass.
To be fair, Vin Scully called it like it was going to be a sure-thing HR, but it was still pretty funny. Though probably not to him.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
Wait, you're black?
I thought your screen name meant you were a pirate ship?
My world is upside down.
Still waiting for someone to explain
why the Tigers gave him that contract. It looked awful at the time and it looks worse now.
Dombrowski has to be easily the most overrated GM in baseball right now. (Not the worst, mind you—just the most overrated.)
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
I think that was an olive branch, and an agreement made prior to the completion of
the Cabrera deal. I of course have no proof to that, but what else would make sense
by theblackpearl on May 21, 2008 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions
it's not exactly a rich one....
relatively speaking
"The two of them deserve each other. One's a born liar, the other's convicted."
Dontrelle Willis = Steve Avery?
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
Dontrelle Willis = Mark Fidrych?
"You have to have a catcher or you'll have all passed balls."- Casey Stengel
by Gaijin_Suketto on May 22, 2008 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions
Other than pitching for Detroit, and being known for his enthusiasm, I don't think he's much like Fidrych
Fidrych had a terrible K/9 ratio, even in his great, rookie season: 250.3 IP (by a 21-year old! including 24 CGs!!) with 97 Ks and 53 BBs. Given so few Ks, his 217 hits allowed wasn’t really sustainable. It’s not likely he would have been a great pitcher, even if his arm hadn’t fallen off. Willis has always been around 6 or 7 K/9, which is a reasonable K rate for a good pitcher.
And checking on Willis baseball-reference.com page, it turns out his highest comp through age 25 is in fact Steve Avery, and that Avery’s been his best comp the last 2 years (with very high comp numbers, over 980). Not good news for him or the Tigers.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
I expect
Clemens abd bonds to have to wait a year with Piazza getting the first ballot treatment. I think it gives the blowhard BWA folks a way to be smug about steroids, unless something new comes out touching Piazza.
If you’ve got (at least) $100,000 to spare, you can now clone your puppy. Not that that would be completely f*ing weird or anything.
This is better than I thought it would be.
Indiana Jones sacrifices chest hair in order to save the earth.
Bound together by fate: Andrew Brown. Andris Biedrins. Roy Halladay. Lenny Dykstra. Harry Houdini. Lindsay Lohan. Gandhi.
that is good appendectomy knowledge
Brainless Automaton #439
by rubin sierra on May 21, 2008 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Some Please Explain...
Why John Gibbons used Roy Halliday in Relief on Sunday? It was Halliday’s turn to pitch today (I think), but once again, the Angels miss a teams Ace Pitcher. Good Pitchers shut the Angels down. Bad Pitchers don’t.
2nd Question: How does John Gibbons still have a job?
by Colorado Fan on May 21, 2008 6:57 PM PDT up reply actions
That's got to be it.
Gibbons is the worst manager since Tony Muser.
"You have to have a catcher or you'll have all passed balls."- Casey Stengel
by Gaijin_Suketto on May 22, 2008 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions
I got the passes right
but completly missed the bear. Its an obvious trick in a way, because since the bear is black, and by focusing on the white team, you are ignoring the black figures, its easy to miss it.
I couldn't count how many passes the white team made
I was busy counting the bear’s RBIs.
We're going to knock balls out of the country's park, for the home team, which is America. @('.')@
Didn't Billy Beane assemble the white team?
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
--Bilbo Baggins
by kaweahkaweah on May 22, 2008 9:42 AM PDT up reply actions
it is interesting
I had to watch it twice to convince myself the bear was there all along
"The Athletics at Fremont" is noxious
This really clears up why moonwalking bears kill dozens of streetballers every year.
stat-addled alien overlord
Albert Pujols really is a one man wrecking crew
San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young and catcher Josh Bard were knocked out of Wednesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals by Albert Pujols within a span of two batters.
Pujols hit a line drive off his Young’s face in the third inning, breaking the right-hander’s nose. Young immediately fell on his backside and put his right hand up to his face. Blood was running down his face
Aaron Miles and Pujols scored on the play. But right fielder Brian Giles’ throw arrived at the plate at the same time as Pujols, who slid and caught Bard’s left leg.Bard went down in a heap and stayed on the ground for a few minutes before he was helped off the field, dragging his left leg.
They got off easy compared to these fans...
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3407384
Standing/sliding/balancing on handrails: NOT recommended.
"He's a misfit. He gets along with everyone." - Reggie Jackson, describing Joe Rudi
Not everyone liked Mike Piazza
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080521
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
--Bilbo Baggins
Working linky
"Evidently, a large number of people said, 'We really need more vermin at the ballpark, Artie.'" - Nick (AN), 10/7/07
oops...thanks!
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
--Bilbo Baggins
by kaweahkaweah on May 22, 2008 9:57 AM PDT up reply actions
Weak
That’s some pretty weak commentary. Piazza was good for the game. This guy is off his rocker.
by Colorado Fan on May 22, 2008 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions
That is one the most annoying things about columnists, and ESPN in general. They
feel every story must have a foil. Someone must be the bad guy, the voice of the other side.
5. A few days after Roger Clemens beaned him in 2000, Piazza said that the incident had made him reassess the DH. “I thought the DH could be a good thing for me later in my career,” he said, “but now I see that it’s bad for baseball, because the pitcher can throw at the batter with no fear of retaliation.” So what did he do after leaving the Mets? He shopped himself to American League teams with hopes of becoming a DH. None of them were interested, so he signed with the Padres, but then he went to the A’s, where he happily DH’d. Hypocrite.
So in 7 years, he changed his mind, and decided to be a DH. What is hypocritical about that.
by theblackpearl on May 22, 2008 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions
Agreed...I thought it was mostly amusing
I like Piazza.
But…I do think he made a valid point about Piazza’s “I’m not gay” denial.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
--Bilbo Baggins
by kaweahkaweah on May 22, 2008 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions
We're going to fault him for not being a pioneer?
Jesus, those are high standards. It would have been great if he had done what Lukas suggested, but it’s no great shame on him that he didn’t.
stat-addled alien overlord
I don't think it would've been too pioneering
or too much of a risk to say to the press, “No, I’m not gay, but what difference does that make?” It’s not like he was denying he had some kind of a cootie, which is kind of how it sounded at the time. This occured in the early 2000s, not in the 1950s, so he wouldn’t get too much flak for it.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
--Bilbo Baggins
by kaweahkaweah on May 22, 2008 11:16 AM PDT up reply actions
Ah...nevermind...he actually did say something like that
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2002/05/21/mets_piazza_ap/
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
--Bilbo Baggins
by kaweahkaweah on May 22, 2008 11:22 AM PDT up reply actions
wow that was a really stupid article...
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05
Crap like that is why I almost never visit ESPN.com
"Evidently, a large number of people said, 'We really need more vermin at the ballpark, Artie.'" - Nick (AN), 10/7/07
If only...
Piazza had kissed Clemens when he threw the bat shard at him, they could have killed a lot of birds with one stone.
"You have to have a catcher or you'll have all passed balls."- Casey Stengel
by Gaijin_Suketto on May 22, 2008 11:06 AM PDT reply actions
"At the age of nineteen, when I still knew very little about life and even less about myself ..."
This is going to be the best $4.58 I’ve ever spent.
"I didn't like being in Jose's hotel room, and I felt icky in my greasy Hooters outfit."
I wonder if the movie rights are still available?
"The Athletics at Fremont" is noxious
and did he feel icky in his greasy Hooters outfit?
We're going to knock balls out of the country's park, for the home team, which is America. @('.')@
Icky? Was that her nickname? I
/ sorry I haven’t read the book, but it’s on my not-to-do list.
// would the search function give me the answer?
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on May 22, 2008 7:39 PM PDT up reply actions
A's game featured in weekly humor column
It’s about a day old now, but this week’s "Purple Prose" column was about the A’s Monday game versus the Rays! If you’re not familiar with it, the column is an unserious look at one of the more interesting games each week written in a ridiculously flowery (very) old-school prose. I’ve ended up clicking to it from deadspin a few times. It’s fun enough (on an off-day at least) just to read about our A’s in this style, even though we lost that game.
from deadspin: "Slate’s Robert Weintraub, like many of us, loves the old purple prose of early 1900s sportswriting, the Grantland Rices, the men who painted epic tales of warriors, grizzled combatants and lardywarks too manly to wear gloves. In an occasional series, Weintraub writes about the week’s best baseball game in the style of the vaunted sportswriters of yesteryear. This week: The Rays’ win last night over the A’s."
http://deadspin.com/5010204/latina-mary-pickford-first-lady-of-the-cagers
If you can’t laugh at this, you’re probably taking the recent scuffling too seriously…
Bill James on Duane Kuiper: "It's absolutely incredible that a player this bad could be given 3000 at bats in the major leagues." -- Baseball Abstract, 1982
by blueconversechucks on May 22, 2008 3:15 PM PDT reply actions
I guess it makes sense that
writers from the early 1900s wouldn’t know how to spell “Knievelesque”.
Given that Evel wasn’t even born yet, I guess I should give them credit for even knowing the word at all.
formerly known as mdl
wow...tough crowd
Bill James on Duane Kuiper: "It's absolutely incredible that a player this bad could be given 3000 at bats in the major leagues." -- Baseball Abstract, 1982
by blueconversechucks on May 23, 2008 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions
Everyone's favorite Northern League team
The Saint Paul Saints have a new promotion:
Larry Craig Bobblefoot Night
The candy and the baseball all night long :)
I love minor league promotions
That is too funny.
"Evidently, a large number of people said, 'We really need more vermin at the ballpark, Artie.'" - Nick (AN), 10/7/07
Hey Foolsh
.213 .277 .361
.291 .341 .443
which would you take ;-)
by green star oakland on May 22, 2008 6:59 PM PDT reply actions
Henry Rodriguez
Wow. I just. I dunno. I don’t think he’s even had a single good start at AA.
RagingHarden: Yeah if you get 20 starts out of me I'll be shocked. Like, I'll wreck my drawers.
Jayson Stark's random gossip re Harden and other A's arms
• Straight A’s: If you’re a trade-deadline-aholic, the team you should be watching closely is Oakland. The A’s are looking toward the future no matter how this season turns out. So Billy Beane figures to be one seriously active GM under any circumstances—and especially if the A’s keep slipping in the standings. “That’s a good team to stay on top of, because they’ve got pitching inventory they’re willing to deal,” said a scout for one team searching for arms.The names that have circulated most on the rumor mill are Joe Blanton and Rich Harden. But the sense we get is that clubs are watching Oakland’s bullpen as closely as they’re watching the rotation, with Huston Street, Alan Embree and even Chad Gaudin high on their list. “I think they’ll talk about trading any of them,” said the same scout. “So I know one thing. I’m going to see this club as much as I can.”
... and …
• Harden times: Speaking of the A’s, here’s one NL executive’s take on what would have to happen to get him interested in trading for Harden, even if the oft-injured ace strings together eight straight dominating outings between now and July: “I wouldn’t give them three quality guys for him no matter what I saw in the next two months, because I couldn’t count on him doing that for the next three years. Oh, I think he’ll pitch over the next three years. But I think he’ll pitch, then break down, then pitch, then break down. So to me, this deal would have to be one piece. It would have to be just a prospect. And it wouldn’t be a top-of-the-line prospect. But I bet Billy will get somebody to give him that top-of-the-line guy. There are just enough [GMs] fighting for their job that in a month or two, they might trade anybody.”
Just look at me. How can you not quake in my presence? @('.')@
also from the same article
Rumblings’ scouting bureau
Once again this week, the best scouts in the business give us snapshot views of what they’ve been watching:
• Greg Smith: “This guy might have pitched the best game I’ve seen pitched all year, in terms of executing quality pitches.”
What happened to AN's URL icon?
I mulled it over, and decided it should be one of those shield-your-eyes bright yellow throwback helmets. Or maybe a miniaturized win expectancy graph from this game.
Wow
Memories…. or lack of them. I had just moved to New York before the end of the season. My best friend and I never, ever discussed the World Series. Never talked about it at all.
But this game…. Where was Walt Weiss at short? I don’t even remember Randolph with the team (98 games, yet). And McGee? I was busy that year, I guess… I remember renting Hap Baines (there was a quote from someone with Boston to the effect of “They get all the good toys”).
And, remember when Oakland was the most profligate team in the league in terms of salary (22mil or so)? OK, third, behind KC and Boston (in ‘researching’ , I ran across the fact that Jason Giambi is MLB’s highest paid player this year)
by As Fan in the Bronx on May 23, 2008 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions
They traded for McGee and Baines on the same day in late August, didn't they?
I went to game 4 of the World Series that year, and watched in an enraged stupor as the Reds celebrated in the middle of the diamond. Adding insult to injury, the woman seated in front of me was a) a Reds fan, and b) drenched in the most offensive perfume imaginable, some sort of horrifying combination of black licorice and decomposing squirrel remains (though I suppose my recollection could be somewhat exaggerated at this point).
what a coincidence!
In high school, I played lead tambourine for Enraged Stupor, and I often sat in on vibraphone for my buddies in Decomposing Squirrel Remains.
Just look at me. How can you not quake in my presence? @('.')@
I've often been described as the 5th Decomposing Squirrel Remain
by green star oakland on May 23, 2008 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I guess I should add that to my list of Poetic Interludes to write
“And these decompositions of squirrels are all that remain …”
Just look at me. How can you not quake in my presence? @('.')@
After he was fired
I gave a little thought to “Visions of Ken Macha” (off of the album Bland on Bland) but found I wasn’t up to the task.
"Tomorrow it may rain." - Leo Durocher
I could go log on to LL ...
and post “Visions of Johjima”
Just look at me. How can you not quake in my presence? @('.')@
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