I Almost Cried During Dodgers Highlights Tonight
>> Thursday
I hate you Jim Hendry. I hate you Larry Himes. I hate people who can't throw. Now I'm going to throw a tantrum.
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Just Amazing
Soccer fans, even ones I know personally, amaze even me at times.
Last night I went to Toyota Park for the Chicago Fire-Kansas City Wizards Round of 16 game in the U.S. Open Cup (Sort of like if Major League Baseball held a tournament during their season where the Brewers and Cubs and White Sox played against the Kane County Cougars and the top amateur teams to determine the "best team" in the country.)
Kickoff scheduled for 7:30 PM. The thunderclouds start rolling in. Lightning delay. No problem. We'll be under way in half an hour probably. Now it's 11:30 PM. Most of the crowd has left, and the rain is only coming down harder. Everyone is huddled under the upperdeck and roof canopy as per orders from stadium security untill the lightning passes.
Someone lights a smoke bomb. It starts spewing red smoke and it gets thrown out onto the open concourse. A guy picks it up, and throws it onto the field. Everyone starts singing and drumming. A great atmosphere. Stadium security comes up, and calls out a guy who didn't throw it, throws another guy against the wall. The guy who got called out then decided that the best way to resolve this situation was to take a swing at the security guard. He landed about 2 punches before 3 security guards took him DOWN and led him away in handcuffs. The singing only gets louder. The game was called on account of weather about a half hour later.
Just for recap: Singing, smoke bomb, field, drums, punch security, NO GAME PLAYED, jail.
12.3 hpd, 2.06 W/S, .239 LSR%--I'm a True PTPer
That is, 12.3 elapsed hours at work per day, 2.06 work-to-sleep ratio, and .236 leisure time percentage--or my stats for this week. What can I say--I'm a gritty, young team player with lots of heart, tons of upside, and the potential to possibly be a pretty good engineer down the road (if I land in the right system with the right staff on a good team--er, company).
Anyway, my dedication and/or schleppery has prevented me from posting for about a week now (though I did find time on my abbreviated lunch break today to respond to Mike's bad Maddux post). But I've had a couple longish posts in the works and should have them up soon, and then I'll hopefully by my usual swingin', jump jivin' self by next week.
So what's new anyway? Do we have readers yet?
YCS Reel Classic: Invincible
When seeing the trailer for "Invincible" for the first time, did anyone else initially think that it looked like it could just as easily have been a more serious remake of the 1998 Tony Danza classic The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon?
Read the plot summary for the Tony Danza made-for-TV masterpiece, then watch the first minute and a half or so of the "Invincible" trailer. (requires Windows Media Player)
A fix for the football junkies
This video has all the big hits, big plays and classic moments that makes football so great.
The best part is all the old footage of, at the time legal, closelines and spearings.
In Defense of Theo
>> Tuesday
This post is born from something I saw a couple of times while watching ESPN today. During Cold Pizza (shut up, nothing else is on at 11 AM), Skip and Woody were asked whether it was a mistake for the Red Sox not to have made a move at the deadline. Then, on some other show (it might have been BBTN, I'm not sure), the same topic was addressed. The general feel was that yes, it was a mistake for the Sox to not have made a move in response to the Abreu trade that the Yanks pulled off.
I am in 100% agreement with Epstien and the Sox's decision not to make a move at the deadline. Just because the Yankees brought in Abreu does not necessitate Boston needing to make a move simply for the sake of some knee-jerk, reactionary response. There are a couple of reasons for this.
First off, the Yankees flat out fleeced the Phillies. In acquiring a proven veteran hitter, Cash gave up no major league talent and parted ways with only one player who had even reached AAA. That's tough to do. For comparison's sake, take a look at the Brewers' recent deal involving Carlos Lee. Melvin traded Lee to the Rangers and not one of the other suitors only because the Rangers were willing to give up at least two players who could be considered major league ready, three if you count Laynce Nix. The situation involving the Brewers was probably more the norm than the exception at this year's deadline, with so many teams still technically considered "in the hunt." The bottom line is that Cashman got a steal, and Epstien would have probably not gotten anywhere near the same value in a trade for a bat as did the Yankees.
Second, I think it's ridiculous for people to claim that a team has to make a move just because someone in their division makes what is potentially a blockbuster trade. Furthermore, this isn't always a realistic possibility anyway, as the many people who like to sit at home and play GM fail to realize that deals are not easily consummated for big-name, big-production players. Especially considered in the context of this year's market, Boston's non-deal makes a lot of sense, because there just weren't that many great bats available. If they had been pressured to make a deal, they would have ended up overpaying for a bat like Soriano or Tejada that would have the potential to help the MLB team but could very easily put a large dent into the Sox excellent farm system.
Speaking of that farm system, it's a no-brainer that Epstien didn't make a move because he has publicly stated that every discussion he had with other teams revolved around one or more of his three big-time young pitchers, Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester. Trading one or more of these guys would be absolutely foolish with how awesome it appears that they're going to be. Sure, everyone laughs when Epstien says he's looking towards the future of the organization as well as this season, but it'll be funny to see which team is scrambling to rebuild when the Yankees' core of aged sluggers that include Sheffield, Williams, Giambi and now Abreu begin to fade into the sunset.
Biggest. Wasted. Opportunity. Ever.
The mid-90s brought about a glut of teams redesigning their jerseys into just stupid concoctions that would make the Arena Football League blush. Remember the "Teal/Purple phase"?
The Buffalo Sabres were one of those teams, switching from a blue and gold logo they had used since the inception of the franchise, to a red and black Xtreme snarling buffalo head.
The team announced it would return to the old jerseys as an alternate this year, but have promised a new logo in the old team colors. The new logo can be seen here. It has been compared to everything from Barney Rubble's hair on the Flintstones to a banana to a possessed slug with horns.
I laughed when I saw it, but then realized, "Wait. It's the NHL. This should be expected."
An interesting take on the numbers
At the risk of being blown out of the water, I'm going to make my point quickly and simply. Cubs fans are awaking this morning to Day 1 A.M. (After Maddux). Among some on sports radio, there seems to be a sense of attachment to Greg, and dismay at this trade, but I ask, what did Maddux ever really do for the Cubs? The bulk of his Hall of Fame career came in Atlanta, and anyone who doesn't expect him to wear a Braves cap when he makes it to Cooperstown is kidding themselves.
In 808 innings pitched for the Cubs, Maddux had an ERA of 3.55. Certainly not a bad ERA by any stretch, but consider this.
Just for contrast and argument's sake, Kerry Wood has a career ERA of 3.67 in 1109 innings pitched for the Cubs. Wood's career WHIP is 1.26, while Maddux's was 1.23 in his time with the Cubs.
If there are any better statistics for comparison, let me know. The question I'm posing is this: Is Kerry Wood as good a pitcher as Greg Maddux? The answer: Of course not. Maddux is a certain Hall-of-Famer. Wood has been battered by injuries his entire career. But statistically speaking, one could make the argument that their respective contributions to the Chicago National League Ball Club are not that different.
Homerism at its best.
Remember how much Andy Katz loved Marquette in 2003? Remember how he picked them to be upset by Holy Cross, then again by Missourri? Remember how he said they were out of their league against Pitt, and stood no chance against Kentucky?
Well, he's got some much nicer things to say about us now.
I'm trying to say this without being a homer, but he's right. Watch for Marquette to compete for the Big East title. Watch for Dominic James to have an outstanding year (which, sadly, could very well lead to his departure for the NBA as a top ten pick).
Of course with people like Zuch and Danny, Andy and I are preaching to the choir. But to any readers not from Marquette, consider this your warning.
...Also, Vinnie, Sever, Danny, Zuch (when he wasn't working press) and myself can all give ourselves a pat on the back for helping the Bradley Center get voted the "hottest arena" in the Big East, whatever that means.
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