Baseball 2005

[Noj]

Yep, Bradley's a jackass.

[Soulstation1]

i thought the reason fisk didn't like prime time was because p/t was drawing $$ signs in the batter's box with his cleats

maybe this was a different episode

anyone like my new avitar?

Edited August 24, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Dan Gould]

  Soulstation1 said:

i thought the reason fisk didn't like prime time was because p/t was drawing $$ signs in the batter's box with his cleats

maybe this was a different episode

anyone like my new avitar?

←

Yes, Fisk was appalled at Sanders doodling in the dirt but it was his disrespect for the game and how it is supposed to be played that triggered his outburst, which nearly triggered a brawl after Deion's mindless retort.

And I would hope that even among Yankee fans, respect for Fisk increased significantly after that incident.

[Soulstation1]

dan

how long you been a bb fan?

[Dan Gould]

  Soulstation1 said:

dan

how long you been a bb fan?

←

Judging from the pictures in the family albums, since at least the age of 3.

[Soulstation1]

i might of asked you this before

you still got any of your bb cards from the past?

[Dan Gould]

  Soulstation1 said:

i might of asked you this before

you still got any of your bb cards from the past?

←

I was never a big collector of baseball cards. I mostly brought them for that hard wafer of gum. It was a character-building exercise to turn that stuff into a wad of gum so I could look like Sparky Lyle (yes, before I became a Sox fan, I liked to watch Sparky Lyle as the closer for the Yanks, before Steinbrenner took over).

[Soulstation1]

have you read the bronx zoo lately?

i have the paperback

Edited August 24, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Dan Gould]

I read it a long time ago, haven't revisited it since. An entertaining read, that's for sure. But I think Ball Four is the all-time classic.

[Big Al]

A lot of those books by Ron Luciano are also great reads and absolutely hilarious!

But my favorite has got to be "Together, we were Eleven Foot Nine" by Jim Palmer, detailing his career with the Orioles and Earl Weaver.

[Dave James]

Two books about baseball in Japan are pretty good reads. "The Chrysanthemum and the Bat" and "You Gotta Have Wa". Jim Brosnan's book (can't recall the name right now) was also pretty good.

Up over and out.

[Johnny E]

  Soulstation1 said:

i might of asked you this before

you still got any of your bb cards from the past?

←

Yep!

[Dan Gould]

Heading into this critical final month, I have to say that I was struck by the season batting averages of last night's Red Sox lineup, which figures to be the every day lineup the rest of the way:

Boston AVG

Damon .331

Renteria .287

Ortiz .297

Ramirez .283

Nixon .293

Varitek .301

Olerud .308

Mueller .298

Graffanino .306

With the two black holes, Bellhorn (released) and Millar (replaced by Olerud) gone, what team wants to face this lineup in October? For pete's sake, the lowest average is Manny's, and with the way he's hitting homers and driving in runs, who wants to face him?

If I'm not mistaken, the White Sox don't have a single regular hitting above .300. The Sox have seven who are .293 or higher!

Only pitching can keep this team from repeating, and its up to Schilling to get himself situated at the top of the rotation and Foulke to be Foulke. Otherwise, we need to have the courage to let rookies like Papelbon and Craig Hansen step in and show what they can do.

Another title is there for the taking.

[sheldonm]

[gone, what team wants to face this lineup in October? For pete's sake, the lowest average is Manny's, and with the way he's hitting homers and driving in runs, who wants to face him?

I would say all of these teams would be happy to face them in October:

Houston

Chicago

New York (Mets)

Washington

Atlanta

Philadelphia

Florida

Milwaukee

Cincinatti

Pittsburgh

San Diego

Arizona

Los Angeles

San Francisco

St. Louis

and Colorado

m~

[Dan Gould]

True, but is there a team in the AL that wants to face a lineup like that?

[Johnny E]

  Johnny E said:

I just found out that the Rangers will miss Felix Hernandez...who knows, you might get a sweep?

←

two fer two.

[Big Al]

  Johnny E said:

  Johnny E said:

I just found out that the Rangers will miss Felix Hernandez...who knows, you might get a sweep?

←

two fer two.

←

Oh yeah? That just PROVES we suck more than you: we’re not even good enough to be the WORST in the league. I tell ya, these guys just aren’t trying hard enough!

[MartyJazz]

  Dan Gould said:

  Soulstation1 said:

i thought the reason fisk didn't like prime time was because p/t was drawing $$ signs in the batter's box with his cleats

maybe this was a different episode

anyone like my new avitar?

←

Yes, Fisk was appalled at Sanders doodling in the dirt but it was his disrespect for the game and how it is supposed to be played that triggered his outburst, which nearly triggered a brawl after Deion's mindless retort.

And I would hope that even among Yankee fans, respect for Fisk increased significantly after that incident.

←

Fisk didn't have to do that for this Yankee fan to have respect for him. I always thought he was a great ballplayer who had a terrific respect for the tradition of the game and a well deserved Hall of Famer.

[Soulstation1]

the diamondback pitchers have been getting rocked this past week

they like to give up 14/15 runs a game

[Johnny E]

  Big Al said:

  Johnny E said:

  Johnny E said:

I just found out that the Rangers will miss Felix Hernandez...who knows, you might get a sweep?

←

two fer two.

←

Oh yeah? That just PROVES we suck more than you: we’re not even good enough to be the WORST in the league. I tell ya, these guys just aren’t trying hard enough!

←

[Dan Gould]

Follow up on the Bradley story, from MLB.com:

  Quote

... (Bradley) was called in by owner Frank McCourt for a second day of meetings following his controversial Tuesday comments about Kent's dealings with African-Americans. Following that meeting, McCourt and general manager Paul DePodesta held an unusual pregame team meeting without Bradley present.

It all stems from an intense clubhouse incident following Saturday night's win in Florida, where Kent confronted Bradley for not hustling and being unable to score from first base on Kent's double.

Also Wednesday, manager Jim Tracy said he was disappointed that "what took place in-house went outside the house." Tracy said he warned players not to discuss the situation with media, but Bradley on Saturday night indicated to reporters that he had been confronted by his teammate, and Kent responded Sunday. Then, after another warning from Tracy, Bradley made his statements Tuesday after batting practice and was called into McCourt's office about an hour later.

"We feel comfortable we've addressed what's happened the last few days internally," DePodesta said when asked if any player had been disciplined.

Although several players said they were confident Bradley had played his last game as a Dodger, DePodesta said no such decision had been made. When asked if Bradley would be a Dodger in 2006, DePodesta said: "I hope so. I think we all hope so. He has things physically, he has to get help -- things he's dealt with I still consider part of overall health that need to be dealt with."

That is an apparent reference to Bradley's temperamental outbursts last year that resulted in two suspensions, the first in June for a home-plate argument with umpire Terry Craft that escalated into a baseball throwing incident, and again in late September when he grabbed a plastic bottle thrown at him by a fan, carried it to the railing of the box seats and fired it at the ground in the stands. Bradley underwent anger management counseling during the offseason.

Although at least one player said he spoke with ownership to complain about Bradley's continued presence in the clubhouse, DePodesta said: "There haven't been any ultimatums. We all have a common goal. As long as we have that, we can resolve any differences we have.

"What it's really about is our team and the organization. That's the focus we're taking, not the fact that two guys brought it to a head. We all have a sense of what it means to be a Dodger, what the organization stands for as much or more than any organization in sports. We take that legacy very seriously."

That is an apparent reference to the Dodgers' role in breaking the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to be the first African-American in the Major Leagues.

Tracy said he suggested the two players meet privately, but reconsidered after sensing that "very little good would come of it" because emotions were still running high.

Tracy also said that Kent and Bradley had "a marvelous conversation with each other" last week in Atlanta.

As for Bradley's injury being a possible underlying cause for the appearance he was not hustling, Tracy said he was not made aware by his medical staff of any patella tendon injury to Bradley, but he conceded that Bradley, since returning from nearly two months on the DL with a finger injury, has lacked the running speed he had before that injury.

Bradley apparently suffered the tear landing on first base trying to beat out a double-play grounder Monday. He put off an MRI scheduled for Tuesday when the swelling went down, but it blew up again during batting practice and he underwent the test Wednesday.

"It remains to be seen how this will affect us," Tracy said of the flap. "Based on last night, not at all. But that's one game. We have 37 more games to be played. And it's not just the results, but how we go about it. Do we play with enthusiasm, with intensity, with passion?"

Tracy was asked if he felt Kent and Bradley could coexist in the same clubhouse.

"Anything's possible," he said. "If we sit down as men, in a civil tone of voice, with give and take, yes, it's possible."

And this is the guy who thinks he's the "leader" of the team?

What a maroon.

[Johnny E]

  Johnny E said:

  Johnny E said:

I just found out that the Rangers will miss Felix Hernandez...who knows, you might get a sweep?

←

two fer two.

←

Well, two for three ain't bad. Your team really makes a lot of errors huh?

[PHILLYQ]

  Dan Gould said:

What do y'all think of Milton Bradley and his comments about Jeff Kent?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2141482

Apparently it started when Kent hit a double with Bradley on first and he failed to score, and Kent questioned his hustle or whatever.  Now its "Jeff Kent doesn't know how to deal with African-Americans".

What an ass that guy is.  Its the same response that Neon Deion gave to Pudge Fisk when he hit a pop-up and didn't run down the baseline and Fisk told him to move his ass and Deon said, "Slavery ended 100 years ago".  They're both jackasses.  Turn it into race when its really about how you play the game.

And then Bradley says that baseball has a race problem because only 9% of the players are black - as if the problem is that baseball sends out the message "black aren't welcome" rather than the reality, which as anyone with a brain knows, is that young blacks have concentrated on basketball every since Michael Jordan.

And what was Bradley's comment a day or two ago?  "As long as I'm black, I'm OK."?

Was there a risk that his race was going to change?  Was he going to pull an Eddie Murphy and see how whites treat each other when they're alone? 

I'll say it again:  Milton Bradley is a total ass.

←

While I agree that Bradley has some issues, Jeff Kent has been one of the biggest jerks in baseball for a long time. Is Kent a bigot? I don't know. But I do remember when he was a rookie with the Mets and a rookie prank was pulled on him(Iirc, his clothes were cut up), and he pitched a hissy fit.

And then there was his relationship with Bonds, another jerk. That was one time that if a fight broke out I wanted both of them to lose. So maybe the truth is that Kent attracts other jerks who try to outjerk him.

What were his parents thinking when they named him Milton with that last name? Did he hang out with the Parker Brothers?

[Big Al]

  Johnny E said:

  Johnny E said:

  Johnny E said:

I just found out that the Rangers will miss Felix Hernandez...who knows, you might get a sweep?

←

two fer two.

←

Well, two for three ain't bad. Your team really makes a lot of errors huh?

←

Yup. Both on the field AND off.

The Twins have got to be feeling some sense of relief tonight, knowing how close they came to getting a 19-error 2nd baseman.

[BERIGAN]

Hey Dan, not one, but 2 loses to the Royals??? Man, if they somehow lose the division by say, one game, this series will come back to haunt them...