Welcome back Kid (The Paul Thomas story)
by OptimistPrime on Aug 20, 2009 4:05 PM PDT
60 comments
Everyone can jump on me for the short post if you want, but I will tolerate it.
I just wanted to say, officially, well, officially from me...welcome back Paul Thomas.
Baseball is such a game of personalities, and the A's have had their share. I became a fan when I was a kid because of the crazy uni's and because of Rollie Fingers. After reading the post about Bill King today, it reminded me that this game is about the personalities. And for the three years I have been a part of AN, people like Pam, Nico, Blez, Monkeyball have become these familiar "faces", like Norm at Cheers, but online.
And of all these characters, "PT" has always been a favorite of mine. Not for what he says, because he is usually wrong (JUST messing with you) but the way he says it, his usually well-thought out opinions and the passion he has for the game and our team. When I recently discovered he was just a young man, I had to laugh, because I always envisioned him some cantankerous older fart in Portland. Don't ask me why Portland.
Anyway, I just wanted to say welcome back kid, you were missed, and please don't go again (not in a Brokeback Mountain way...( not that there's anything wrong with that)). You are part of the flora and fauna that make this site a vital part of my daily life. And perhaps by making a fanpost, give others a chance to officially welcome you back.
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Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
by Flashfire on Aug 20, 2009 4:15 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Yeah, I love me some PT but this is a bit much.
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Aug 20, 2009 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm an avid AN reader but an infrequent commenter and even less of a writer
but I remember reading about the whole episode that got PT banned and it was kind of like MLB’s PED ban I guess. However unlike 500 foot homeruns and 100 mph fastballs, it seems (to me anyways) the new, reformed, tamer and nicer PT is worse for the game then the arrogant, self-righteous PT. Yes, I sometimes thought he was obnoxious and almost always condescending. But he knew his shit. And he always placed people who didn’t know their shit into their rightful place (yours truly included.) Was he always nice? No. But sometimes it needs to be done and I for one appreciated it. And OP is right. It’s also about personality and not just skills. People still talk about Jose Canseco and Dennis Eckersley but who remembers Stan Javier and Gene Nelson?
by petitceebee on Aug 20, 2009 4:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Why is it people perceive that
“knowing your stuff” and “not being obnoxious and condescending” are mutually exclusive?
Since he returned, I have found PT to be very knowledgeable — no less so than before — and very pleasant to talk to / read. And you’re asking for a change? That seems to me like taking Joe Torre, when he’s already successful, and saying, “Could you kick dirt on an umpire, please?”
But then I remember Stan Javier and Gene Nelson, so what do I know?
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 20, 2009 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
TWSS
"Paul Thomas is breaking something somewhere" ~jeepers
by OptimistPrime on Aug 20, 2009 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
to the I remember Stan Javier and Gene Nelson part
Ok, that fell flat. Help me out Nico, something witty please
"Paul Thomas is breaking something somewhere" ~jeepers
by OptimistPrime on Aug 20, 2009 5:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You’re so stupid, Beavis. Heh heh.
Doesn't anyone else think that as a fan...
of a team (especially one as “young” as the A’s – the Oakland version, that is), you should know who players like Stan Javier and Gene Nelson are? Eh, maybe not so much Javier, but Nelson for sure. He was the man! At least in a Rick Honeycutt sort of way…
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Aug 20, 2009 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I remember Stan Javier from when I was a kid
But I have no idea who Gene Nelson is.
Eventually, my colleague and I trotted from the two-bit seats to the three-bit seats to get a closer view of the action. - Jlaff on Turn Back the Clock Day
by designatedforassignment on Aug 20, 2009 5:45 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Set up man for Eck in the World Series years
Or KSFO morning DJ, depending on which Gene Nelson you mean.
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 20, 2009 5:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Didn't Javier originally come to Oakland in the Rickey to NY trade?
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Aug 20, 2009 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, answering my own question...
And I need to give him some more love (after Googling him and refreshing my memory): seventeen year career, named after Musial, classic fourth outfielder…
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Aug 20, 2009 7:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yuppers.
Along with some Hall of Famers, like Tim Birtsas and Eric Plunk.
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 20, 2009 7:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Tim Birtsas? No.
Without even looking it up, I remember it as Rickey for four players: Stan Javier, Eric Plunk, some pretty decent left-handed reliever whose name was about three syllables long and may have started with “C”, …and goddamn Jose Rijo, who had an absolutely flat learning curve for several years with the A’s, but who became a star the instant we traded him away, and immediately came back to kill us in the World Series. Just like fucking Tim Belcher, whose development was utterly stagnant for a long time but who became a star-level pitcher immediately upon being traded to the Dodgers, and who also promptly shit on us in the World Series. Once upon a time the A’s really couldn’t develop young pitchers to save their lives, and those two guys are the best possible examples of that, since (unlike Todd Van Poppel and his ballyhooed fellow first-rounders) they actually did do terrific work in the major leagues, and they achieved it almost instantaneously after leaving the A’s, as if the A’s of the day exerted some sort of powerful dampening field that prevented young pitcher development (although the LaRussa-Duncan team was excellent at getting the best out of veteran “retreads” like Stew and Eck).
by Faust on Aug 20, 2009 7:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You know it's funny: I too remembered Birtsas
not being part of the deal. I cited Javier’s wiki page, which must be wrong. But…But I read on the interweb so it must be true.
All very confusing.
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 20, 2009 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Actually it was Javier, Plunk, Rijo, Birtsas and...
Jay Howell! Wow. That is a package of talent. Ironically, when we got Rickey back in ’89 we sent Plunk (and his sweet mustache) back to NY with Greg Cadaret and good ’ol Luis Polonia.
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Aug 20, 2009 8:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
OK, now I looked it up.
It turns out my memory was faulty. Gosh golly, go figure. I’m lucky I remember my own name (most of the time). I shouldn’t have trusted my memory, but even a memory-challenged fellow wants to let it all hang out and just take a stab at something straight from memory. I thought I had this one.
What’s interesting is that I was conflating elements of both Rickey Henderson trades. To wit:
1985: Rickey, Bert Bradley (who? I have no memory that such a person ever breathed air), and cash for Javier, Rijo, Plunk, Jay Howell, and yes, Tim Birtsas.
1989: Rickey comes back in exchange for Plunk (again), Greg Cadaret (three syllables and begins with a “C”! Yes!), and Luis Polonia. Damn, I knew Polonia was one of them and I’d been thinking of him when I wrote my post, but when I got to Rijo as the fourth guy I forgot about Polonia because I remembered it as 4-for-1 (which neither of these trades actually was) so I didn’t need to think further about it.
I’m convinced my memory is considerably below average, but I’m not alone in botching these things. The Bill James Abstracts had some fascinating pieces wherein he took some of the old stories of the game that had been handed down for years and reprinted in numerous books and articles, and went back to original source materials to see what had actually happened. The legends turned out to be hardly ever completely true, even when they were supposedly based on people’s first-hand recollections. Often they conflated bits and pieces of several different events. Amazing stuff.
by Faust on Aug 20, 2009 8:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Some good memories.
Polonia had the largest glove I’ve ever seen. It was like a net at the end of a broom pole that you bring to snag a foul ball. Javier was a good defender and baserunner who couldn’t hit much. I saw Cadaret’s debut against Boston. He comes in with the bases full of Red Sox and Boggs at the plate. He walked Boggs. Despite that, Cadaret was a serviceable lefty. Nelson came over with LaRussa from the White Sox. It came down to Nelson or Bill Mooneyham for the righty set up guy and LaRussa went with Nelson. Probably a good call.
JJ Martin
The best way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until the ball stops rolling and then pick it up. ~Bob Uecker
by JJ Martin on Aug 20, 2009 8:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I remember Mooneyham
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
by Flashfire on Aug 20, 2009 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
that sounds like the title of an old 50's sitcom...
starring Phillip Loeb as “Mooneyham”
"Flea Markets aren't just for blind dates anymore!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Aug 21, 2009 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
in a fit of boredom I added him on facebook
surprisingly, he accepted.
He got huge at some point after his Oakland days…
Ellis for President
by tosk on Aug 21, 2009 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Polonia is part of my best memory of going to A's games.
I remember sitting in the bleachers when Luis was with the Yankees, and dudes were all over him. Finally, some dude in the stands yells out that he knows Polonia’s mom. Polonia turns right around and says, (I swear this is true) “Yeah? I know your sister.”
I know, tame by standards, but getting a guy to react to you during a game is one thing, but letting him get the upper hand. I had to hand it to Polonia. I still giggle.
still Swish Fan #1.
by ChrisCEIT on Aug 21, 2009 8:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Faust, I appreciate the passion in the above post...
about Rijo and Belcher. Just reading about and recalling those two WS loses makes my blood boil. And that reminds me how much I love the A’s and how much we’ve all been through with this team.
But unfortunately it also means that I will probably have dreams of Kirk Gibson tonight. Maybe this time he’ll just fall into a crumpled heap at second base and Eck will walk over and stomp on his head and he will never score. Now that’s a good thought…
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Aug 20, 2009 9:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You all are going to hate this one:
I didn’t start following baseball until the late 90’s, so I can only ever recall Stan Javier as a Giants player. Didn’t even know he played for the A’s until it was brought up here. Thanks for a good history lesson.
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
by GoA's on Aug 21, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
"[b]ut who remembers Stan Javier and Gene Nelson?"
Um, you seem to remember them. But who could forget Nelson idf they were a fan bck then — he was an important part of the pen in the late 80s and one of only a handful of relief pitchers that relied on a change as an out-pitch? As for Javier, yeah, perhaps a bit forgettable, especially with Polonia being a more exciting player. So, you’ll have to get more obscure than that.
by LowcountryJoe on Aug 21, 2009 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nelson also had a very "loose-looking" front leg kick in his delivery
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
by Flashfire on Aug 21, 2009 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not only that
but he spot started, while providing long relief, setup and even closed out a few games when Eck was resting. Really underrated pitcher, really.
still Swish Fan #1.
by ChrisCEIT on Aug 21, 2009 8:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Blez? Monkeyball?
Those guys are familiar?
P.S. If I ever get banned from AN, I hope to God there aren’t mile-long threads posted about me. I want to just disappear.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
by iglew on Aug 20, 2009 5:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Hmmm....
“Good riddance, you pompous schmuck!!!!!!!!”
Is that a mile?
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 20, 2009 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just tell everyone it's a non-blog related issue.
by LoneStranger on Aug 20, 2009 7:46 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
EVERYTHING
is a blog related issue.
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 20, 2009 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Next time I see you, I'm checking for one of these:
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Mobile_emitter
Because I don’t think you exist in the physical world. You are a construct of the Blez. Your mission is to steer the blog toward the distant star. You are the man in the blogmachine.
by LoneStranger on Aug 20, 2009 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
you & Duke
PREPAREDNESS_Because those goddamn zombies aren’t going to kill themselves
by adragon on Aug 20, 2009 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Still waiting for Oaktoon's return
Now that will be a party
by easyraider on Aug 20, 2009 5:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
You need to pay closer attention.
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 20, 2009 5:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Using another name again?
Guilty. It’s hard to keep up.
by easyraider on Aug 20, 2009 5:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
didn’t realize. any help
"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 22, 2009 11:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hate to pour cold water on this, since I do honestly appreciate the sentiment
but I’d also appreciate not “becoming the story,” which I felt was what was happening before I left.
This one’s fine, but no more.
Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving
by PaulThomas on Aug 20, 2009 5:48 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
Oh, also, in case anyone was wondering, unfortunately,
my likelihood of attending AN Day has now dropped to near-zero. Thanks, HLJ!
Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving
by PaulThomas on Aug 20, 2009 5:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
:-(
That’s the second disappointing cancellation I’ve heard today — after getting her “Perms” take-home final back today, Cindi is now “50/50 at best” for AN Day, down from the “60/30” she estimated last week.
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 20, 2009 5:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
what happened to the other 10%?
Do you know the way to San Jose?
by eastcoasta'sfan on Aug 21, 2009 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
She got better at math
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
by Flashfire on Aug 21, 2009 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No thanks to Ms. Crawford, as I understand it.
Or as Cindi calls her, “Ms. Crawfish.”
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 21, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Congrats on that anyway
It’s a jungle out there legal-market wise, and that certainly won’t hurt.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
by nevermoor on Aug 20, 2009 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, poop!
You know…you do still have to eat.
by lynnzgal on Aug 20, 2009 6:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
HLJ?
Please clue me in; I’m sure it should be obvious, but I can’t figure this one out.
by Faust on Aug 20, 2009 7:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's the answer to the Jeopardy question:
What will pay-off Big a few semesters down-the-road?
Congrats, Paul, and welcome back.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Aug 21, 2009 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It does beg the question of
why someone would use an acronym for something so obscure to the general public and unrelated to the instant forum.
by humdinger on Aug 22, 2009 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It had been mentioned in an earlier discussion in another thread.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
by iglew on Aug 22, 2009 10:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
“SPEEEECH!!”
My religion is A'slamic.
by WhoNeedsReligionWhenYaGotBaseball on Aug 20, 2009 8:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
lolol
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
by winchester5 on Aug 21, 2009 1:18 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Way, way late to the party
but WELCOME BACK!!! :-)
Glad you’re here!!!
"Bobby Crosby at third is a bit of an adventure. And not like, here’s some hidden treasure, what fun. More like, gah! poison ants!" --alea iacta est
by baseballgirl on Aug 21, 2009 11:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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