Rant(s)

Yay! I'm the first!

But I really don’t have anything to say except that I agree.

by #14fan on Aug 4, 2008 10:41 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I dunno about anyone else, but I think this September

will be just as exciting as one in which the A’s are contending for a playoff spot. Can’t wait to see Gio and Cunningham get some MLB experience.

"Do you know that the guy really doesn't like baseball all that much?" - J.P. Riccardi

by black beane on Aug 4, 2008 10:53 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

When I see Rant as the title for a diary (yes, I still call it a motherfucking diary) I want to see invective, bile and curses spewed all over the page. How about this: fuck Ty Van Burkleo – who the hell is he anyway and how the hell did he get to be a hitting coach? Fosse can give him all the man love he wants (doin’ a heckuva job, Burkie) but that doesn’t make it so. If he’s so great then I guess the strikeouts would pile up like shit in an unserviced port-o-pottie at Burning Man if he wasn’t our coach. FIRE VAN BURKLEO NOW!!!

There, that feels better now.

by sslinger on Aug 4, 2008 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that looks like

something out of lookout landing

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll take that

as a compliment.

by sslinger on Aug 4, 2008 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hey

it certainly is more interesting than “JACK CUST STRICKSOUT!!!111 TRADE HIM FOR MATT HOLIDAY (sic)!!!1”

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Haha!!!! I love it sslinger!!!!!

Dude, we’ll have to meet up at a game again soon.

As soon as the A’s fire Macha….....again!

later-mrod

by mrod on Aug 4, 2008 6:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

i don’t apologize for being sick of people’s complaining, but i kinda was mean to kmoasfan.

that said, i’m tired of the anti-cust posts. it makes me want to stop posting, to be honest. people act like we have 8 good hitters and he’s the weak link. power hitters are taught to hit fastballs hard, and if a changeup is thrown, to swing over it. it does no use for jack cust (or anyone, really) to slow his bat down and top a ground ball to second for a double play like the rest of our team. swing, miss, and find a fastball to hit.

i don’t see why that concept is lost on so many people. strikeouts and other outs have minimal difference in value. i understand the “put the ball in play and make the defense field it”...if we’re talking about high school ball.

i’m kinda over this post, but oh well. sorry to those i offended, if it’s not limited to kmo. and remember, this was never going to be a year we were in contention. did anyone really think rich harden would make this many starts in a row, or justin duchscherer would be this good, etc. etc. etc.

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 10:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think people get mad and blame Cust and Crosby for everything

because they have been better in the past. Once you reach a certain level of expectations is hard for people to accept lower ones. I blame Barton, Ellis, Hanahan, Brown, Chavez, Buck, Bankston, and Conrad just as much as Cust and Crosby.

You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}

by micdog2001 on Aug 4, 2008 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remind me when Crosby's been better for more than a month at a time?

His defense, I guess. At least that used to be average.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think it's less that he was once good

and more that he was once perceived as being good, or at least perceived as being promising.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2008 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The expectations for replacing Tejada were high

You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver

by UncleLeo on Aug 4, 2008 8:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

exactly, "perceived" and "expectations"

but I do remember Crosby coming back from an injury one year and carrying the team for a while (or at least when he came back the team got hot and people/writers linked it to Crosby). Of course that was a long time ago. He had a decent first half this year before getting hurt again. Wasn’t he in the top 3 in doubles?

anyways, my point is that it’s hasn’t just been Crosby and Cust dragging the offense down all year.

You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}

by micdog2001 on Aug 5, 2008 12:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seems to me there are three elements:

1—attack on comment rather than commenter, and

2—emphasis on evidence over conclusion in (1), and

3—general civility in (1) and (2).

Oh yeah, add 4—kindness to defenseless ruminants, even if they were asking for it.

The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus

by The Dogfather on Aug 4, 2008 1:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

5 - Use "ignore" instead of expressing disgust

Express the disgust to your cat instead of to the community.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why? What did your cat do?

by petitceebee on Aug 4, 2008 1:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You know.

Just because my opinion differs and I don’t like a certain guy on the team doesn’t me I’m a “douche.” It’s a little annoying you can’t offer a negative opinion on anyone in this organization around here besides Emil Brown without getting chastised. There was a thread a few weeks ago where a new guy posted a FanPost about being frustrated with the team. The guy got absolutely destroyed. One of the older posters around here said something along the lines of this place is starting to have a real “clubby” atmosphere. It’s like there are a select few around here, who for some reason think they are smarter than everyone else. As they go around denouncing others’ opinions they preach their own as fact. It’s entirely contradictory and hypocritical.

I think Nico said it in the other thread, how good Cust is, is open to interpretation. I don’t know if that was sarcasm or not, but thats all I was referring to when I said no one’s mind was going to change on the issue. I think of lot of the “smart” people around this site spend more time looking at fan graphs or looking at newly contrived stats than they do watching games. When I watch Cust day in and day out I see a guy who doesn’t take the bat off his shoulder if a breaking pitch is thrown. If a pitcher can throw their slider or curve for a strike they will strike out Cust almost every at bat. Every once in a while (about 20 times so far) Cust gets lucky and his uppercut makes contact with a fastball right down the center of the plate and he hits a HR. Which if anyone has made it out to see the A’s in person, would easily understand, as Cust looks more out of the WWE than a MLB dugout.

I don’t want to start another Cust debate in this thread, but I never really justified any of my comments before, but Cust has 76 hits to 139 strike outs this season. I haven’t had a chance to confirm this, but it’s probably the worst ratio in the league. The walks he gets are nice and all, but they don’t do a lot to help this offense. I think his wasted outs are often understated. If he comes up with 0 out and runners on base, way more often than not, that runner is not going to be given a chance to advance. When you don’t have a lot of power throughout the lineup moving the runners is key. Just look at the Angels. Maybe some of this has to do with how the entire A’s offense is so bad Cust is placed in the top of the order, but regardless, the guy struggles to make contact:

Series,Opponent, hits, so
3/25 Red Sox: 1/10 6SO
4/8 Jays: 0/12 5SO
4/11 Indians: 1/5 4SO
5/5 Orioles: 2/9 4SO
5/13 Indians: 1/12 4SO
5/19 Rays: 1/8 2SO
5/23 Red Sox: 2/9 6SO
5/30 Rangers: 1/12 6SO

I could do this all day, but I’ll end with: 7/18 Yankees: 1/9 8SO

As I said I don’t want to spark a Cust debate, but I really just want to justify my beliefs for why I feel he is terrible. I don’t really think my views on Cust are that outrageous that it makes me a douche or my opinion idiotic, but then again, I’m probably biased in that regard.

Oh, and one more thing. This goes out to that select few whose opinion is fact. It seems to me, and maybe it’s because there was a book written about our favorite franchise, who think A’s fans are generally way way smarter than the rest of the baseball population (people even get called out on their interpretations of said book. A book that carries many themes, not just buy low, sell high). From the majority of talk on AN this is probably true to an extent. I’m not sure anywhere else a GM is going to do interviews or there are enlightened neat articles by Grover, Sal, or Devo. Thats not what I’m referring to though. It’s the over the top analyzation of trades, players we pick up, and justifications for certain things. Someone will drop OPS or ERA + in some conversation like they are the be all end all stats in baseball. If someone even barely mentions a “simple” stat like BA or RBI they are treated like they aren’t intelligent enough to carry on a conversation. It’s borderline ridiculous. The A’s have yet to make it to a World Series in over a decade. Beane is not a god, and everything he touches isn’t gold. Heck, the guy listens to five hours of soccer podcasts a day. I’m not even sure if his heart is in baseball anymore. Plenty of other GM’s have led their teams farther than the A’s with the same amount of resources. The A’s aren’t that unique. If you think five playoff appearances accompanied by four “unlucky” early exits is a sign of brilliant franchise management, talk to a Braves fan.

I visit AN far more than any other site on the net, but I’m getting more and more reluctant to post anything besides blind optimism for fear the only response will be verbal attacks. It’s just not that fun, there is absolutely no way to have a good light hearted debate about something without someone who takes things way to seriously jumping in and dishing out insults. I’ve been an A’s fan since the day I was born, and grew up going to games with my grandfather who was a former fairly high ranking employee of the organization with season tickets. I live on the other side of the country now, but I still make it a point to get to a few games a year. I’m a college student entering my senior year at a decent school, who hopes to make a decent enough living so I can one day have my own season tickets. I will be an A’s fan forever, even if it takes me to Vegas, Fremont, Charlotte, Portland, or Birmingham. I like to think that I’m pretty far from being a short sided numb skull with no clue.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 2:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think half your post is right on, KMoAsFan

You lose with me the notion that “anything besides blind optimism is met with verbal attacks,” because I think that’s just patently false, but the way people who discuss batting averages, gut impressions, and uninformed ideas are treated sometimes embarrasses me for the site. There’s nothing wrong with any of those things if you’re a true A’s fan – and no, I don’t have a shred of data to back that up.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure if my wording is wrong or not.

I’m not saying “anything besides blind optimism is met with verbal attacks,” but more that the only way I can be sure of saying anything that won’t result in a berating of my opinion with random stats or insults is being overly optimistic. Thats why before that I said I’m getting “more and more reluctant to post.” I’m not disagreeing with your or anything I just know some things get lost in translation when going from my head to the web page. Also, after somehow typing all that I left an error in the first line, it should be “doesn’t mean*.”

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

people who discuss uninformed ideas deserve whatever they get

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's where I disagree

I think that’s a very arrogant POV.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 4:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK

Charlie X. Finley was the original owner of the Philadelphia A’s. He had a pet cockatoo named Charlie X whom he trained to make black nationalist speeches. His daughter was noted vegetable enthusiast Karen Finley, who briefly GM’ed the team (and named Laurie Anderson on-field manager) in the ‘70s. That started the downhill trend of the team we see carried out today.

If something is wrong, it’s wrong.

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thats the same sarcastic..

crap people are getting tired and put off by. The worst part about it is that it’s coming from a site manager.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I couldn't care less if people are put off by sarcasm or by the merciless roasting of uninformed opinions

You do actually know what “uninformed” means, right?

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 5:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

There's a difference between

“misstating facts” and “uninformed ideas”. The key word here is “idea”.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

if an "idea" is uninformed, then it's functionally indistinct from a misstated fact

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 6:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Most "discussions" about Cust degenerate into gibbering inanity

because someone on the anti-Cust side misstates facts. It would tax my link-amassing prowess (and patience) to put together a listing of all the calumnies, slanders and just flat-out lies that have been hurled his way over the course of this season.

Inevitably, when it is pointed out that these lies are, in fact, lies, the poster takes refuge behind the veil of sarcasm—apparently sarcasm is ok sometimes, just not when it’s eviscerating them.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2008 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Roasting

It seems like “merciless roasting of opinions” merges too often into a personal barbs that are pretty juvenile and clutter the site with lots of personal back-and-forth that is entirely undesirable for the site, as I see it. It’s almost like a talk radio smackdown series at times, and it lowers the quality of the conversation that makes AN so attractive.

The sarcasm, by the way, seems to be of an almost entirely personal nature (most of us know what “uninformed” means, for example.)

Monkeyball, you’re a talented writer and thinker, and I don’t doubt that we’ll see things differently on decorum, but I think you can do better than this.

Peace, Diego Segui

by DiegoSegui on Aug 4, 2008 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well maybe you should.

That attitude is the same one airlines took towards customer service in the late 90’s and see where that took them.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, that's "opinions," not "peanuts"

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2008 6:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Do I detect an addition to the elder-hot pantheon?

The A's colors are green and gold.

by mikeA on Aug 4, 2008 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

no, and no

{ shudder }

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 5, 2008 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about people who consistently, vehemently advance nonsensical, spurious, borderline racist provocations, then protest – hands in the air, aghast – that they’ve been mistreated, victimized, slandered, and made unwelcome by all the arrogant smarty pants who dared contradict them?

Do they deserve whatever they get?

by 74mk on Aug 4, 2008 5:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that's an informed idea, and therefore unwelcome here

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 5:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Riiiight.

Emil Brown comment. He was over performing in the beginning of the season. As Brown came back to reality no one else on the team picked up the slack. Therefore we stopped scoring runs. People’s hate towards Emil completely ignores this and they refuse to believe he has any correlation to this team winning games.

Spurious comment. Does the team struggle with bringing in fans, or creating fans? Is the attendance not in fact piss poor? Heck at Auburn half the people I know can’t even tell me where the Athletics play.

Borderline racist. Maybe in that thread. I didn’t mean to come off that way. I’m just so worn out by the politically coreect stuff that is going on. The same PC quest looking to find an endangered cricket on the Cisco Field site that is holding up construction. Imus made a comment that wasn’t really that far out of line when you look at the ratio of african american players arrested compared to the rest of the league. Am I racist, heck no, I’m of mixed decent myself. If I went and pointed out the proportionate of Emil bashing compared anyone else on the team, or Milton Bradley for that matter, I think you’d find a lost better justification for racism than what I’ve said.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 6:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stop being mean!

Why do you always have to be so dismissive of everything I say? This is the kind of thing, in my honest opinion, that is sending AN down the tubes. Just my opinion, but I think it’s sad.

I’m just expressing my personal views, which, like, belong to me personally, and are just as worthwhile as anything you have to say, no matter how much smarter than me you think you are. I mean, gosh! I say ONE THING that’s not like blindly in agreement with you and you TOTALLY BASH ME for no good reason. Who’s to say you’re right and I’m wrong? Am I not allowed to have an opinion, just because you have a big fat IQ and study Baseball Prospectus in your basement all day? I come here for a good time, to talk some baseball, and this kind of thing, by all these so-called experts like you who think they know everything … well, it just makes me want to take my Internet and go home.

by 74mk on Aug 4, 2008 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What?

I guess you were trying to be funny and clever, but it’s not working. My response wasn’t mean or dismissive. I didn’t call you a moron or directly criticize your opinion. I just calmly expressed a different opinion and typed out my rebuttal. I thought that was the way things were supposed to work.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

So now you're criticizing my sense of humor?

Wow, that is an out of the blue, straight to the gut low blow. I can’t believe you stooped to that.

AN is such a hostile place.

I don’t understand why you have to spend so much time “calmly expressing” your opinion that you’re smarter than me. My opinions are my opinions, and that is my opinion. Calm is condescension, in my book. Maybe you’re smart, but I’m strident and self-righteous, so I totally win that battle.

I think Jack Cust is the best hitter in all of baseball. He is leading the league in walks and OBP is the most important statistic and walks are part of that so there. Take that. I don’t care what you think.

by 74mk on Aug 4, 2008 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Fair enough.

Those are your opinions. I haven’t and will not denounce them. Your sense of humor and ideas of low blows and condescension may be slightly different than what I’m used to, but I’m not going to criticize you for it. They are your opinions, everyone has them, it’s what makes the world go around. I will never meet you in person, and don’t have to hang out in in your company, you’re just some dude on the internet who wants to enjoy the site. It’s all good until it starts driving other fans away, but thats not really my job to monitor.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 7:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahaa

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 8:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No no no

I’ve heard that nsj is the strident one

by Faust on Aug 5, 2008 9:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

and Rashad is the stridex one

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 5, 2008 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can only hope that you're trying to bait me into making a political comment there

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 5:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

heh

The A's colors are green and gold.

by mikeA on Aug 4, 2008 6:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He just doesn't like your PBS documentary film

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2008 6:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What is your example of an uniformed idea?

Because someone is unhappy about a team and they list reasons for it that aren’t based purely on statistics doesn’t mean they deserved to be run off the site by so called “know it alls.” Heck, even if someone uses statistics, but they aren’t the same newly contrived ones you have access to, or use, doesn’t mean they are uniformed. Baseball is a game played by humans, not machines, much of it is open to interpretation. It doesn’t have to revolve around pure statistically based data.

What about Barry?
"Barry who?" Forst said, and I felt like I was in the middle of a knock-knock joke.

by KMoAsFan on Aug 4, 2008 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If someone asserts something that's flat-out wrong, it deserves to be refuted

Where, precisely did I say anything about statistics? And where did I assert that players are automata?

And the collective of AN is bound to know more than any single poster.

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

even if

the statistics and data that “know it alls” use to determine whether players are good are the exact same statistics and data that GM’s and scouts and everyone tied into a major league team also use?

it’s cool to not be happy that the a’s aren’t winning. people (not just you) act like the “know it alls” are happy the a’s are losing. fuck no, that is not the case at all. if it was, why would they post on an a’s site as an a’s fan? the “know it alls” are just realistic.

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 8:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

To some extent. I believe stats can be very useful

but I also believe they can stop you from seeing exceptions or being flexible in your thinking. It just depends on whether you see them as useful or infallible. Numbers don’t lie but they also don’t always tell you what you think they’re telling you.

I think there are plenty of fans on this site who are not “stat based” in their thinking who are not only realistic but also excellent at predicting and assessing with accuracy – as well as plenty of fans on this site who are “stat based” in their thinking who are realistic and excellent at predicting and assessing with accuracy.

It’s when someone appears to “know it all” that I disregard their analysis. This is baseball – you don’t know it all.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

as a current ballplayer myself

i know that stats can say whatever you want. i could probably tell countless anecdotes about teammates’ stats that got them places that they probably shouldn’t have gotten to.

i mean, being “stat based” isn’t a qualifier for being realistic. the threads about how “cust strikes out too much” and “we sold all our good players” are true in their titles, but a little extra analysis could help tell a better story.

side note…what city do you teach in? i’m about to be a teacher myself in about two years’ time, unless i develop some more power (actively trying to this summer) and regain some of my lost speed from injuries. in that case, i’ll go play independent league somewhere. 5’8 guys who don’t play infield usually aren’t a hot commodity in the draft, if the past can predict the future.

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 9:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're still taller than salb918

I teach/counsel in Berkeley.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

it's cool

i list myself at 5’9…big difference ;)

that’s cool, i live in pleasanton and am trying to teach there. i’m in the kpe teaching program at csueb.

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 10:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good luck on both counts!

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 10:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

thank you much nico

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Aug 4, 2008 10:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have to agree with you.

The level of personal insult is rising at an alarming rate. Anyway, great post.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on Aug 4, 2008 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You make a lot of excellent points

I appreciate that you posted your thoughts on here.

by Reg on Aug 4, 2008 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Several good points!

You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver

by UncleLeo on Aug 4, 2008 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's uninformed! Screw you!

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 5:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thats the same sarcastic..

crap people are getting tired and put off by. The worst part about it is that it’s coming from a site manager.

Greed and fear cause over-reactions in both directions. @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 4, 2008 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You wound me, sir!

You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver

by UncleLeo on Aug 4, 2008 6:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

In light of the discussion here, OP should change the title to "rants"

The A's colors are green and gold.

by mikeA on Aug 4, 2008 6:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Haha +1

It is my belief that [insert incorrect statement] therefore [insert 1000 words]. In conclusion, you are all idiots.

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 4, 2008 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

QOTM

Early contender, eternal truths division.

They want to steal the land papers which is why they have tried to break in. But they had to give up after being bitten by Chhotu.

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Aug 4, 2008 7:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree about the "poster" bashing lately

Seems to me that there has been quite a bit of the “what are you, retarded??/ are you stupid?/ what kind of moron planet did you escape from?” type of b.s. that really is a drag to read over and over.

Now whether or not someone is “not being understood because this is the internet” is debatable. I just know that most people that visit this site frequently are pretty smart fans and know their A’s baseball. I also know that everyone that visits this site are also basically human beings with feelings that we can all relate to.

Basically, this a baseball blog. We all love A’s baseball. We all want the team to do well. We all get pissed when the team sucks and we all cheer like little kids when good things happen with the team. It’s the nature of the game my comrades’......and when people start taking it too far with personal attacks and junior high type name calling/slander/insults it’s fucks it up for everyone.

Believe me, I’m about as diehard as the next mofo here and I have moments when I have to check myself because I start to let A’s baseball dictate my moods! “Fucking A! It’s only baseball!”, I say to myself. We have two more months left in the season so let’s try to enjoy the small things for now, because there will not be a whole hell of lot to cheer for between now and the end of September….......

Peace y’all….........

by mrod on Aug 4, 2008 7:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

FWIW, there have been 15 "strikes" issued

in the 5 weeks since the new system went into place 7/1, so it’s not as if people are getting away with insulting others. Members of the community are flagging inappropriate comments, and people are being held accountable for their conduct. So that’s good, IMO.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 8:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, admit it

You’re just trying to stop the robot moderators from taking your job.

Personally, I welcome our new robotic moderating overlords.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Aug 4, 2008 8:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dear User,

Thank you for your comment, which has been read and considered.

Sincerely,

Moderator #91002

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 8:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It walks like a robo-moderator

Talks like a robo-moderator

But it sure doesn’t smell like a robo-moderator. (Plus it’s bestiality subroutine appears to be permanently activated).

Diagnosis: Scrap heap.

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 4, 2008 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is practically an anagram of

“Sheep crap”.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 9:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe this is all my fault

I haven’t had the time to post as much as I used to and now the site has started to fall apart. I will try to increase my posting in an effort to preserve what remains and restore what has fallen.

The monster at the end of this blog.

by grover on Aug 4, 2008 10:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You may have misread the title of the fanpost

It’s “Rant”. Not “Runt”.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Aug 4, 2008 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

At 6'2", 190 lbs

I’m literally twice the man you are. (Get ready for an old joke.) I thought you left AN Day a half hour before you actually did. Turns out you had just turned sideways.

The monster at the end of this blog.

by grover on Aug 4, 2008 10:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's My Take

1. I think it’s absolutely right to say that no good ever comes from getting personal, and that it happens waaaay too often.

2. The battle lines on Cust are pretty set, and I can completely understand the reasons people don’t like him. A lot of the time he feels like a liability (even though he isn’t).

3. Because this is a tough year for the team, people are going to be in worse moods on AN then when we were winning 90+ a year.

4. It is INCREDIBLY frustrating to deal with the lunacy that frequently occurs when #2 meets #3. Statements like “Cust does not hit enough home runs” are crazy talk unless the same goes for Manny/Giambi/Youkilis/Miguel Cabrera. They all have 20. Statements like “Cust never drives in runs, unlike Emil Brown” are even crazier since Emil has 2 more RBI on the season.

In the end, I try very hard to stick with #1 (without total success) but I agree with flipgatey that the (almost always) uninformed cust-bashing is out of control. I guess I just need to accept that these people don’t speak the language of modern baseball analysis and stop trying to convert them.

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 5, 2008 1:29 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

This is extremely level-headed, I endorse every word of it, and would add:

While it’s frustrating to sift through the muck of nonsense and distortion that sometimes permeates discussions of Cust (or the team generally), it is not nearly as difficult to swallow as the faux-indignation that inevitably springs to the surface when said nonsense is countered by someone armed with a rational point of view.

It’s a neat trick, but it wears thin quickly:

1. Obnoxiously proffer outright falsehood, couch as opinion. (“The A’s are 14-5 in games where Emil Brown has an RBI! That proves he is better than Cust, IMHO. Isn’t winning the objective, stat monkey?”)

2. When confronted with evidence to the contrary, morph immediately into beleaguered victim mode. Accuse those who have disputed your position of arrogance and hostility. Decry AN writ-large. Muse that you may just stop visiting the site altogether, since no one is allowed to have an opinion anymore.

3. Insist on the following set of equations:

My falsehood = opinion
Your facts = opinion
Therefore, My falsehood ~ Your facts

In any event, I eagerly await your Definitive Cust Opus. In those moments when I allow myself a glimmer of optimism regarding rational discourse, intellectual life, and the fate of man, I envision it as a sprawling, eight thousand word masterwork that comprehensively refutes every conceivable Cust slander with such wit and elegance that no one dares diminish its power by commenting. I see it sitting triumphantly atop the upper tier fanpost section into perpetuity, eliciting awe and respect, with zero comments but something like 961 recommendations.

by 74mk on Aug 5, 2008 6:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

At the risk of going off into a rant about political philosophy,

let me say this: the right of free speech is both useless and meaningless without the right of mockery. Why? Because there are really only two effective counters to bad ideas: censorship and humor. Censorship sucks, because good ideas are as likely or probably more likely to get censored than bad ones. That leaves humor.

Excise humor from your discourse and pretty soon it will end up like modern academic philosophy, in which competing brands of gibberish talk past each other while completely ignoring the real world.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Aug 5, 2008 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

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

by xbhaskarx on Aug 5, 2008 1:32 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's my take

1. I think it’s absolutely right to say that no good ever comes from getting personal, and that it happens waaaay too often.

2. The battle lines on Cust are pretty set, and I can completely understand the reasons people don’t like him. A lot of the time he feels like a liability (even though he isn’t).

3. Because this is a tough year for the team, people are going to be in worse moods on AN then when we were winning 90+ a year.

4. It is INCREDIBLY frustrating to deal with the lunacy that frequently occurs when #2 meets #3. Statements like “Cust does not hit enough home runs” are crazy talk unless the same goes for Manny/Giambi/Youkilis/Miguel Cabrera. They all have 20. Statements like “Cust never drives in runs, unlike Emil Brown” are even crazier since Emil has 2 more RBI on the season.

In the end, I try very hard to stick with #1 (without total success) but I agree with flipgatey that the (almost always) uninformed cust-bashing is out of control. I guess I just need to accept that some people don’t speak the language of modern baseball analysis and stop trying to convert them.

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson

by nevermoor on Aug 5, 2008 9:36 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs