I hate the Cubs. Everyone who's an idiot roots for the Cubs. They're turning into the Seattle Mariners of the NL. Big free-agent signings (Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly?, Kosuke Fukodome) that aren't really that good and on the wrong side of thirty. When Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez carry that team.
Anyway. Crasnick wrote this article. And, to be fair, he does a pretty good job discounting the idiocy that the Cubs front office is using to justify Aaron Miles as a platoon at second base.
Here we go:
DeRosa: OPS: .857 Pay: $4.75 million
Miles: OPS: .753 Pay: $1.4 million
Fontenot: OPS: .909 Pay: $405,000.
Miles == not good value compared to the other two. Actually, the DeRosa trade was a good trade because it allowed the Cubbies to shed payroll and add production (hopefully). However, Miles is 32. He had a good year last year. His career OPS is .693. So, he's going to be a $1.4 million backup. I just don't understand this. Seriously. Why do teams sign some veteran player to be a backup? It don't make sense. Why not give the job to some AAA player who has upside or perhaps some veteran who has upside. Why pay for mediocrity instead of mediocrity with the possibility of a pleasant surprise?
Whatever. That's not really the point. The point is, Miles kinda sucks. He's pretty cheap. But he kinda sucks. And then there's this paragraph:
DeRosa's departure leaves second base to switch-hitter Aaron Miles, who has a .316 career average in day games (and a .224 mark in 61 at-bats at Wrigley Field), and lefty bat Mike Fontenot, who's a bundle of offense in a 5-foot-8, 160-pound package.
Yeah. I hate stupid stats. They're so worthless. .316 during the day? .224 in 61 ABs in Wrigley? Who gives a shit? That's what I really wanted to bitch about. None of the other stuff, really. And I wanted to do a little baseball analysis before I had to go do homework.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Jose Reyes
I know its been awhile. School and such.
Here's a doozie.
And here's my favorite part:
I had just heard Manuel tell another interviewer that Reyes, 25, was a multifaceted talent who could win a Most Valuable Player award batting third.
Now go read this. Or don't. I'll print it.
Here's a doozie.
And here's my favorite part:
I had just heard Manuel tell another interviewer that Reyes, 25, was a multifaceted talent who could win a Most Valuable Player award batting third.
Now go read this. Or don't. I'll print it.
AGE YEAR TEAM PA OUT UEQR EQALook at the EQA. Yeah. Not MVP. Not when .270 is average. Ever.
20 2003 NY_-N 292 198 39 .274
21 2004 NY_-N 229 170 23 .237
22 2005 NY_-N 733 529 81 .251
23 2006 NY_-N 703 472 109 .289
24 2007 NY_-N 765 517 105 .277
25 2008 NY_-N 763 507 116 .294
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Nice. I'm apparently racist.
I can no longer resist...I must respond to this as though I were Ken the Tremendous.
Oh and this is my favorite part:
Jason Whitlock brings his edgy and thought-provoking style to FOXSports.com. Columnist for the Kansas City Star, he has won the National Journalism Award for Commentary for "his ability to seamlessly integrate sports and social commentary and to challenge widely held assumptions along the racial divide."
That's his like bio or whatever. Is he edgy because he's black? That's not racist.
"Today's column is not for the simple-minded or sensitive. If you are either, I apologize in advance and respectfully suggest you go read one of the thousand other takes on Alex Rodriguez."
This is the opening paragraph. a) if I don't agree...I'm simple-minded or sensitive. b) you already called me, your reader, nasty names. You can't apologize in advance. c) that's not respectful.
He does, however, have a point on the reading a thousand other takes about Alex Rodriguez. I have, for the most part, been keeping up on the news.
To understand the furor/hysteria regarding Rodriguez testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, you have to grasp the importance of symbols to any culture, but most especially American culture.
Okay. I'll agree. We do love our symbols. Some of those symbols are people. I would say Obama is pretty much a symbol for hope at this juncture. Lets hope he keeps it that way. I would have said 755 would have been a symbol. Same could be said about .400. Ripken was a symbol. The point, however, I understand. Symbols stand for what we believe is important such as hitting .400 and never missing a game ever. Obama stands for a change from politics as they stand today. Symbols are the tips of the icebergs--they stick out of the water but really, they stand for something much more massive. Like hitting .400. That would be meaningless if it wasn't for the thousands even millions of people who have tried to play baseball.
Cultures do not survive without the vigilant preservation of iconic symbols that stand as proof of a society's righteousness, strength and courage. Because we are the world's melting pot, the maintaining of ethnic/racial symbols occasionally causes major friction and difficult-to-explain double standards.
Yes. I'd agree with that. I will admit that I like Rocco Baldelli simply because I'm half Italian and he's got the most Italian name ever created. Also, he has some serious medical problems and he still can play in the majors. For a team that went to the World Series. But I don't think I've caused any friction by that. Actually...I think the most friction occurs (to me) when blacks or latinos hold up mediocre garbage and rally around them simply because the garbage is black or mexican. Does anyone in the world think it is cool that Obama was voted in partly because he was black and probably didn't lose a single black vote? I didn't vote for Obama. But not because he's black. And I think its criminal that people voted for Obama simply because he was black. That's what causes racial friction. Malcolm X was psychotic. He wasn't a hero. Cesar Chavez fought for the rights of farm workers. Great. I don't think farm workers are strictly mexican. So why is he a mexican hero? Why did that May 1 bullshit occur? Because...I don't appreciate mexicans? And now what? I'm white so apparently I'm stubbornly causing friction because Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Ty Cobb were great?
Well, throughout our American history there have been four sports that define male machismo — boxing, baseball, football and basketball. As you know, men take machismo very seriously. It is the lone, scientifically proven substitute for having a big Johnson, which explains Napoleon's disease.
Just four? Hockey doesn't get included? And....Napoleon was, well, a general. I think that also might count as a substitute for having a big Johnson when it comes to machismo. You know, killing a bunch of people. Also, weightlifting, MMA, car racing, having a lot of money, driving a nice car, dating a hot woman who might be a slut, winning at video games, vandalism...actually, come to think of it doing anything exceptionally stupidly will probably substitute not having a big Johnson. And, by the way, I'm happy with my Johnson. Also, I don't know why he capitalized johnson. Perhaps he's right. It looks better as Johnson than johnson.
Johnson
johnson
Yup. I was wrong.
Thanks in part to segregation laws, three white men and a mixed-race native American — James J. Jeffries, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe and George Mikan — got first crack as symbols of the macho games that matter most in America.
Okay. Here we go. I was born in 1985. I don't know who James J. Jeffries is. At all. And I've heard of Jim Thorpe. I think he was a receiver. I know who George Mikan was. And I do, of course, know who Babe Ruth was. Of them all, Ruth was iconic. Not really anyone else. And what was the point? Yes, America was racist back then. No, America is not segregated today. So...back then, all the stars were white. Well then. Segregation was bad. Okay. Gotcha. Good point.
Jeffries was the first to fall. In an effort to prove the superiority of white men over the American Negro, Jeffries came out of retirement early in the 20th century, lost 100 pounds and took on Jack Johnson in "the fight of the century." Jeffries lost badly and later admitted that even in his prime he would've been no match for Johnson.
I don't know who he was. I don't know who Jack Johnson was (Jack johnson?). And yeah, the early 20th century was very much racist. And I would say that this was more important, racially. And I don't really care, to be honest. The guy came out of retirement and had to lose 100 pounds. I really wouldn't have put any money on him had I been alive at the time.
Jim Brown unseated Thorpe, a native American, as the unquestioned king of football. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain leaped past Mikan on the hardwood.
So, your argument is that black guys are better than white guys at football and basketball. And I like the "leaped". Its racist because black guys can jump higher than white guys. Nice.
Oh and Jim Brown is far from the unquestioned king of football. Joe Montana. Troy Aikman. Michael Irvin. Barry Sanders. Lawrence Taylor. Brett Favre. Steve Young. Emmit Smith. Jerry Rice. Peyton Manning. Tom Brady. Off the top of my head. And yeah Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were good....so were Magic and Bird. And Joe Dumars. And...who was that other guy? Uh...Jordan. Yeah. That guy.
Willie Mays and Hank Aaron took good, hard runs at Babe Ruth, but The Great Bambino is still standing. Today he shares the stage with Brown, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan as the greatest of all-time in the American sports that define who we believe we are.
AHA! That guy. Okay. Muhammad Ali. I'll take it. Once again, we neglect the other sports. Golf? Hockey? Golf: Jack or Tiger. Hockey: Gretzky. So now its either 2 white guys and 4 black guys or 3 white guys and 3 black guys. Lets just cherry pick, shall we? Auto Racing: Earnhardt. Tennis: Sampras or Federer. Swimming: Phelps. Aww jeez. I picked sports where white guys (for some reason) dominate. Man. Those racist people are sure keeping the blacks in their place. I mean, that's what sports are all about, right? Disparaging races.
Babe Ruth is not going anywhere without a massive, nuclear fight. His supporters do not care that he dominated a segregated, inferior brand of Major League Baseball.
Yes we do. Yes we do. God dammit. Should we penalize him for something that was out of his control? Check this out Okay. If you don't know anything about baseball advanced statistics at all, scroll on down to "Advanced Batting Statistics". Now take a look at.....roll them drums.....ADJUSTED FOR ALL TIME. Yeah. We care that he didn't have to face the best black, latino, or asian players. We care that that inflated his numbers. Check out EQA. EVERY SINGLE SEASON ADJUSTED EQA IS HIGHER THAN ALL TIME ADJUSTED EQA. You arrogant dick. Its not about race. Its about the fact that Ruth played so long ago and dominated so greatly. Yet, today, he's in the same sentence as Bonds. I don't know how prolific PEDs were in baseball. I don't know if they even helped. I do know that a) Bonds took them. b) they might have helped. c) THE HOME RUN RECORD WASN'T BROKEN UNTIL STERIODS WERE REALIZED TO BE A PROBLEM. This is not necessarily causality. It might be coincidence. It is certainly suspicious.
That's why steroids matter so much in baseball. They distort our appreciation of Ruth's numbers, particularly his home-run stats, the penis-measuring digits of baseball. Chicks dig the long ball.
I think he just wanted to say penis in a nationally distributed column. For that, I applaud thee. And good point. See above paragraph. Perhaps your not as race blinded as I once hoped.
Are white fans really outraged by guys like Barry Bonds, or do they maybe just feel a little inadequate?
Wait nope. He's racist. Seriously? Inadequate? Because...black guys have big dicks? Christ man...that's...really racist. And that's a clever sign. Because they're holding up a clever sign they have small penises? If they were Asians, would they have smaller penises? If they were gay, would smaller penises make their partners happier? (I've actually wondered about that. Unhealthy, I believe)
Also, he makes some good points about steroids being ignored in other sports. Yawn. Never heard that before. I care because I like baseball and the numbers are sacred in baseball because baseball has been keeping track of those numbers for over a hundred years. The Cubs haven't won a championship in over a hundred years. The NFL hasn't been around for a hundred years. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE IS YOUNGER THAN A BASEBALL TEAM. Which means that the numbers in football are still being developed.
Also, let me add that I don't have much of a problem with white sports fans protecting the legacy of their athletic icons. Black people (and other racial groups) do the same thing.
This is really really really stupid. I protect no one's legacy. If they weren't good, then they weren't good. If they were black or yellow or red or whatever race you want to call them and they were good, then their legacy deserves to be protected from cheaters cheapening greatness. Also: its stupid and racist to root for someone just because they are the same race as you.
As a kid, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird met on the basketball court, I kept my own stats because I was convinced the scorers cheated Magic.
Oh. Right then. I trust you to be unbiased in your opinion of white players. And black players.
Of our three major sports leagues, the least amount of racial diversity among the journalists/broadcasters covering the games is in baseball. As best I can tell, Joe Morgan is the lone, influential, non-white voice in baseball.
Joe Morgan!! Haha!! And isn't he great! I'll give you another non-white influential voice: Dusty Baker!! HAHAHAHAHAHA. These people are idiots and they happen to be black. That does not make me a racist. And if it does, then fuck it. I'm racist as shit. If you're stupid and black and I'm a racist for saying stop being stupid then...fuck it. Lets hang them or whatever we do to those evil other races. Oh, and another reason that there's less minorities (read: black) in JOURNALISM is because of guys like you, who write that the whole world is racist and all whitey does is keep the black man down. Now, an editor sees a black guy and says to himself "Fuck. Now I'm gonna have to deal with some militant racist shit. And every reader in the world is gonna freak out and email me that we're racist for even employing a crazy fuck like this guy." And yeah, that's wrong. But you yourself, sir, are furthering a stereotype.
That's why in the years before Bonds turned to steroids to keep pace with all the "cheaters" we were sold the bogus story that juiced balls powered the home-run explosion.
Yeah, that story was bogus. Also bogus, your claim that Bonds was trying to "keep pace with all the 'cheaters' ". Oh. I see. Barry was a victim? Barry is the poster child for steroids and not because he's black. Its because he was a dick to the media for so long and the media gets to decide who is the poster child. And one more thing. He holds the all time home run record.
That's why ownership and managers never get adequately questioned and vilified for their role as the No. 1 benefactors and blind-eye proponents of steroids.
Owners never get adequately questioned and vilified. Anyone want to ask John Moores about the stadium that was just built in downtown San Diego? He had to sue to get it done for him. Now, he's selling the team. After slashing the payroll to $40 million. Nobody's questioning the intelligence of having a city pay for a venue for a private team. Now you expect the (ahem) media to ask the hard questions of owners? Why don't you get on that? Aren't you part of said media?
That's why Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, would have the audacity to claim that A-Rod owes him an apology.
Tom Hicks signed A-Rod to a $250 million contract. In a time when no one made anywhere near that kind of money. Hicks bought the Rangers for $250 million. The Twins payroll at the time was $15.8 million. A-Rod is still the highest paid player in the game. After almost a decade of revenue growth and salary growth. No one has caught up to him. And A-Rod cheated to get there. I feel like he owes Hicks an apology as well.
That's why Mike Lupica ran me off "The Sports Reporters" because I refused to allow him to put a black face (Bonds') on a drug epidemic that by the 1990s was clearly colorless, pervasive and initially sparked by white athletes trying to keep pace with black athletes.
Right. White guys took steroids to catch up to black guys who were catching up to Ruth (white guys) who didn't play the black guys anyway and beat up on all the other weak white guys. And I think that Bonds was a good choice for steroids for reasons previously mentioned.
I'm not suggesting a colossal, racist conspiracy. I'm saying it's easy for any of us to fall victim to our biases if our thoughts are rarely questioned by people who look, think and experience life different from us.
You really just did. You can't just end with "I'm not suggesting a colossal, racist conspiracy" and have that discount the entire fucking essay above it. Jesus. Get off my computer screen, you arrogant stupid racist cock face. And who the fuck are you? You're life experience is different from mine? Why? You're a writer. What the fuck do you do all day? Look for racist shit when there isn't any? Fair enough. I concede the point.
Oh and this is my favorite part:
Jason Whitlock brings his edgy and thought-provoking style to FOXSports.com. Columnist for the Kansas City Star, he has won the National Journalism Award for Commentary for "his ability to seamlessly integrate sports and social commentary and to challenge widely held assumptions along the racial divide."
That's his like bio or whatever. Is he edgy because he's black? That's not racist.
"Today's column is not for the simple-minded or sensitive. If you are either, I apologize in advance and respectfully suggest you go read one of the thousand other takes on Alex Rodriguez."
This is the opening paragraph. a) if I don't agree...I'm simple-minded or sensitive. b) you already called me, your reader, nasty names. You can't apologize in advance. c) that's not respectful.
He does, however, have a point on the reading a thousand other takes about Alex Rodriguez. I have, for the most part, been keeping up on the news.
To understand the furor/hysteria regarding Rodriguez testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, you have to grasp the importance of symbols to any culture, but most especially American culture.
Okay. I'll agree. We do love our symbols. Some of those symbols are people. I would say Obama is pretty much a symbol for hope at this juncture. Lets hope he keeps it that way. I would have said 755 would have been a symbol. Same could be said about .400. Ripken was a symbol. The point, however, I understand. Symbols stand for what we believe is important such as hitting .400 and never missing a game ever. Obama stands for a change from politics as they stand today. Symbols are the tips of the icebergs--they stick out of the water but really, they stand for something much more massive. Like hitting .400. That would be meaningless if it wasn't for the thousands even millions of people who have tried to play baseball.
Cultures do not survive without the vigilant preservation of iconic symbols that stand as proof of a society's righteousness, strength and courage. Because we are the world's melting pot, the maintaining of ethnic/racial symbols occasionally causes major friction and difficult-to-explain double standards.
Yes. I'd agree with that. I will admit that I like Rocco Baldelli simply because I'm half Italian and he's got the most Italian name ever created. Also, he has some serious medical problems and he still can play in the majors. For a team that went to the World Series. But I don't think I've caused any friction by that. Actually...I think the most friction occurs (to me) when blacks or latinos hold up mediocre garbage and rally around them simply because the garbage is black or mexican. Does anyone in the world think it is cool that Obama was voted in partly because he was black and probably didn't lose a single black vote? I didn't vote for Obama. But not because he's black. And I think its criminal that people voted for Obama simply because he was black. That's what causes racial friction. Malcolm X was psychotic. He wasn't a hero. Cesar Chavez fought for the rights of farm workers. Great. I don't think farm workers are strictly mexican. So why is he a mexican hero? Why did that May 1 bullshit occur? Because...I don't appreciate mexicans? And now what? I'm white so apparently I'm stubbornly causing friction because Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Ty Cobb were great?
Well, throughout our American history there have been four sports that define male machismo — boxing, baseball, football and basketball. As you know, men take machismo very seriously. It is the lone, scientifically proven substitute for having a big Johnson, which explains Napoleon's disease.
Just four? Hockey doesn't get included? And....Napoleon was, well, a general. I think that also might count as a substitute for having a big Johnson when it comes to machismo. You know, killing a bunch of people. Also, weightlifting, MMA, car racing, having a lot of money, driving a nice car, dating a hot woman who might be a slut, winning at video games, vandalism...actually, come to think of it doing anything exceptionally stupidly will probably substitute not having a big Johnson. And, by the way, I'm happy with my Johnson. Also, I don't know why he capitalized johnson. Perhaps he's right. It looks better as Johnson than johnson.
Johnson
johnson
Yup. I was wrong.
Thanks in part to segregation laws, three white men and a mixed-race native American — James J. Jeffries, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe and George Mikan — got first crack as symbols of the macho games that matter most in America.
Okay. Here we go. I was born in 1985. I don't know who James J. Jeffries is. At all. And I've heard of Jim Thorpe. I think he was a receiver. I know who George Mikan was. And I do, of course, know who Babe Ruth was. Of them all, Ruth was iconic. Not really anyone else. And what was the point? Yes, America was racist back then. No, America is not segregated today. So...back then, all the stars were white. Well then. Segregation was bad. Okay. Gotcha. Good point.
Jeffries was the first to fall. In an effort to prove the superiority of white men over the American Negro, Jeffries came out of retirement early in the 20th century, lost 100 pounds and took on Jack Johnson in "the fight of the century." Jeffries lost badly and later admitted that even in his prime he would've been no match for Johnson.
I don't know who he was. I don't know who Jack Johnson was (Jack johnson?). And yeah, the early 20th century was very much racist. And I would say that this was more important, racially. And I don't really care, to be honest. The guy came out of retirement and had to lose 100 pounds. I really wouldn't have put any money on him had I been alive at the time.
Jim Brown unseated Thorpe, a native American, as the unquestioned king of football. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain leaped past Mikan on the hardwood.
So, your argument is that black guys are better than white guys at football and basketball. And I like the "leaped". Its racist because black guys can jump higher than white guys. Nice.
Oh and Jim Brown is far from the unquestioned king of football. Joe Montana. Troy Aikman. Michael Irvin. Barry Sanders. Lawrence Taylor. Brett Favre. Steve Young. Emmit Smith. Jerry Rice. Peyton Manning. Tom Brady. Off the top of my head. And yeah Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were good....so were Magic and Bird. And Joe Dumars. And...who was that other guy? Uh...Jordan. Yeah. That guy.
Willie Mays and Hank Aaron took good, hard runs at Babe Ruth, but The Great Bambino is still standing. Today he shares the stage with Brown, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan as the greatest of all-time in the American sports that define who we believe we are.
AHA! That guy. Okay. Muhammad Ali. I'll take it. Once again, we neglect the other sports. Golf? Hockey? Golf: Jack or Tiger. Hockey: Gretzky. So now its either 2 white guys and 4 black guys or 3 white guys and 3 black guys. Lets just cherry pick, shall we? Auto Racing: Earnhardt. Tennis: Sampras or Federer. Swimming: Phelps. Aww jeez. I picked sports where white guys (for some reason) dominate. Man. Those racist people are sure keeping the blacks in their place. I mean, that's what sports are all about, right? Disparaging races.
Babe Ruth is not going anywhere without a massive, nuclear fight. His supporters do not care that he dominated a segregated, inferior brand of Major League Baseball.
Yes we do. Yes we do. God dammit. Should we penalize him for something that was out of his control? Check this out Okay. If you don't know anything about baseball advanced statistics at all, scroll on down to "Advanced Batting Statistics". Now take a look at.....roll them drums.....ADJUSTED FOR ALL TIME. Yeah. We care that he didn't have to face the best black, latino, or asian players. We care that that inflated his numbers. Check out EQA. EVERY SINGLE SEASON ADJUSTED EQA IS HIGHER THAN ALL TIME ADJUSTED EQA. You arrogant dick. Its not about race. Its about the fact that Ruth played so long ago and dominated so greatly. Yet, today, he's in the same sentence as Bonds. I don't know how prolific PEDs were in baseball. I don't know if they even helped. I do know that a) Bonds took them. b) they might have helped. c) THE HOME RUN RECORD WASN'T BROKEN UNTIL STERIODS WERE REALIZED TO BE A PROBLEM. This is not necessarily causality. It might be coincidence. It is certainly suspicious.
That's why steroids matter so much in baseball. They distort our appreciation of Ruth's numbers, particularly his home-run stats, the penis-measuring digits of baseball. Chicks dig the long ball.
I think he just wanted to say penis in a nationally distributed column. For that, I applaud thee. And good point. See above paragraph. Perhaps your not as race blinded as I once hoped.
Are white fans really outraged by guys like Barry Bonds, or do they maybe just feel a little inadequate?
Wait nope. He's racist. Seriously? Inadequate? Because...black guys have big dicks? Christ man...that's...really racist. And that's a clever sign. Because they're holding up a clever sign they have small penises? If they were Asians, would they have smaller penises? If they were gay, would smaller penises make their partners happier? (I've actually wondered about that. Unhealthy, I believe)
Also, he makes some good points about steroids being ignored in other sports. Yawn. Never heard that before. I care because I like baseball and the numbers are sacred in baseball because baseball has been keeping track of those numbers for over a hundred years. The Cubs haven't won a championship in over a hundred years. The NFL hasn't been around for a hundred years. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE IS YOUNGER THAN A BASEBALL TEAM. Which means that the numbers in football are still being developed.
Also, let me add that I don't have much of a problem with white sports fans protecting the legacy of their athletic icons. Black people (and other racial groups) do the same thing.
This is really really really stupid. I protect no one's legacy. If they weren't good, then they weren't good. If they were black or yellow or red or whatever race you want to call them and they were good, then their legacy deserves to be protected from cheaters cheapening greatness. Also: its stupid and racist to root for someone just because they are the same race as you.
As a kid, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird met on the basketball court, I kept my own stats because I was convinced the scorers cheated Magic.
Oh. Right then. I trust you to be unbiased in your opinion of white players. And black players.
Of our three major sports leagues, the least amount of racial diversity among the journalists/broadcasters covering the games is in baseball. As best I can tell, Joe Morgan is the lone, influential, non-white voice in baseball.
Joe Morgan!! Haha!! And isn't he great! I'll give you another non-white influential voice: Dusty Baker!! HAHAHAHAHAHA. These people are idiots and they happen to be black. That does not make me a racist. And if it does, then fuck it. I'm racist as shit. If you're stupid and black and I'm a racist for saying stop being stupid then...fuck it. Lets hang them or whatever we do to those evil other races. Oh, and another reason that there's less minorities (read: black) in JOURNALISM is because of guys like you, who write that the whole world is racist and all whitey does is keep the black man down. Now, an editor sees a black guy and says to himself "Fuck. Now I'm gonna have to deal with some militant racist shit. And every reader in the world is gonna freak out and email me that we're racist for even employing a crazy fuck like this guy." And yeah, that's wrong. But you yourself, sir, are furthering a stereotype.
That's why in the years before Bonds turned to steroids to keep pace with all the "cheaters" we were sold the bogus story that juiced balls powered the home-run explosion.
Yeah, that story was bogus. Also bogus, your claim that Bonds was trying to "keep pace with all the 'cheaters' ". Oh. I see. Barry was a victim? Barry is the poster child for steroids and not because he's black. Its because he was a dick to the media for so long and the media gets to decide who is the poster child. And one more thing. He holds the all time home run record.
That's why ownership and managers never get adequately questioned and vilified for their role as the No. 1 benefactors and blind-eye proponents of steroids.
Owners never get adequately questioned and vilified. Anyone want to ask John Moores about the stadium that was just built in downtown San Diego? He had to sue to get it done for him. Now, he's selling the team. After slashing the payroll to $40 million. Nobody's questioning the intelligence of having a city pay for a venue for a private team. Now you expect the (ahem) media to ask the hard questions of owners? Why don't you get on that? Aren't you part of said media?
That's why Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, would have the audacity to claim that A-Rod owes him an apology.
Tom Hicks signed A-Rod to a $250 million contract. In a time when no one made anywhere near that kind of money. Hicks bought the Rangers for $250 million. The Twins payroll at the time was $15.8 million. A-Rod is still the highest paid player in the game. After almost a decade of revenue growth and salary growth. No one has caught up to him. And A-Rod cheated to get there. I feel like he owes Hicks an apology as well.
That's why Mike Lupica ran me off "The Sports Reporters" because I refused to allow him to put a black face (Bonds') on a drug epidemic that by the 1990s was clearly colorless, pervasive and initially sparked by white athletes trying to keep pace with black athletes.
Right. White guys took steroids to catch up to black guys who were catching up to Ruth (white guys) who didn't play the black guys anyway and beat up on all the other weak white guys. And I think that Bonds was a good choice for steroids for reasons previously mentioned.
I'm not suggesting a colossal, racist conspiracy. I'm saying it's easy for any of us to fall victim to our biases if our thoughts are rarely questioned by people who look, think and experience life different from us.
You really just did. You can't just end with "I'm not suggesting a colossal, racist conspiracy" and have that discount the entire fucking essay above it. Jesus. Get off my computer screen, you arrogant stupid racist cock face. And who the fuck are you? You're life experience is different from mine? Why? You're a writer. What the fuck do you do all day? Look for racist shit when there isn't any? Fair enough. I concede the point.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Alex Rodriguez?!?!
Oh my god! Alex Rodriguez took roids!! My god! How could we not have expected it?
He's committed the greatest crime of anyone ever! How can we possibly move onward from this travesty?!
Is anyone else not all that surprised? I mean, take anyone really really really good at what they do. How exactly did they get there? They um worked really really really hard. Which means they made a decision a long time ago that they would be the best they could possibly be and they would.....do.....whatever....it.....took. Not a startling revelation.
Also, why are we angry and disappointed with Rodriguez? Because he has the biggest contract in sports? Because he was "supposed" to be clean? Since when? I don't care if major league baseball players took steroids back in the nineties or early aughts. I don't care. I'm over it.
I want them to stop because I feel like it will shorten lives that shouldn't be shortened. But I have serious doubts as to the benefits of steroids anyway. Check this out. Baseball is a game of timing and inches. I personally didn't do any statistical analysis but it seems to me that strength and power and speed aren't as good as reflexes, hand eye coordination and discipline. Which steroids can't give you.
Oh and A-Rod is still good.
He's committed the greatest crime of anyone ever! How can we possibly move onward from this travesty?!
Is anyone else not all that surprised? I mean, take anyone really really really good at what they do. How exactly did they get there? They um worked really really really hard. Which means they made a decision a long time ago that they would be the best they could possibly be and they would.....do.....whatever....it.....took. Not a startling revelation.
Also, why are we angry and disappointed with Rodriguez? Because he has the biggest contract in sports? Because he was "supposed" to be clean? Since when? I don't care if major league baseball players took steroids back in the nineties or early aughts. I don't care. I'm over it.
I want them to stop because I feel like it will shorten lives that shouldn't be shortened. But I have serious doubts as to the benefits of steroids anyway. Check this out. Baseball is a game of timing and inches. I personally didn't do any statistical analysis but it seems to me that strength and power and speed aren't as good as reflexes, hand eye coordination and discipline. Which steroids can't give you.
Oh and A-Rod is still good.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Thank you Boras. Thank you
Oh and then there's this story. Manny rejects the one year deal.
Thank you Boras. Thank you. I really really really really hope you sign Manny with the motherfucking Pittsburgh Pirates or something. Or even San Francisco. Or Texas. Or Kansas City. Or Cincinnati. I don't care. I hope Manny gets the hell out of the NL West and hopefully to some crappy team. Because I can't really see the logic behind this. Manny could be the second highest paid baseball player in the MLB next year, stay in LA, stay in the weak ass NL West, prove he can be a "team player" for a year and lead the Dodgers to the playoffs again. He could then hit the free agent market in better economic times with less stellar options to compete with.
THANK YOU BORAS. ADAM DUNN DOESN'T HAVE A CONTRACT YET BECAUSE HE'S TOO EXPENSIVE AND YOU TURNED DOWN 25 MILLION A YEAR.
Thank you Boras. Thank you. I really really really really hope you sign Manny with the motherfucking Pittsburgh Pirates or something. Or even San Francisco. Or Texas. Or Kansas City. Or Cincinnati. I don't care. I hope Manny gets the hell out of the NL West and hopefully to some crappy team. Because I can't really see the logic behind this. Manny could be the second highest paid baseball player in the MLB next year, stay in LA, stay in the weak ass NL West, prove he can be a "team player" for a year and lead the Dodgers to the playoffs again. He could then hit the free agent market in better economic times with less stellar options to compete with.
THANK YOU BORAS. ADAM DUNN DOESN'T HAVE A CONTRACT YET BECAUSE HE'S TOO EXPENSIVE AND YOU TURNED DOWN 25 MILLION A YEAR.
Jeff Francoeur????!!!
Um...didn't anyone see Jeff Francoeur's downfall coming?
There was an article on SI.com about Jeff Francoeur bouncing back this year. Check it out
The guy swings at EVERYTHING. Everything. He has a career batting average of .268 with a career on base percentage of .312. He has 115 walks in his career. That's less than Barry Roidie Bonds had in 2007 when Barry had 132 (In 477 plate appearances!! That's like a walk per game!!).
Basically, Francoeur is like Juan Pierre with more pop. Well...to be fair, a lot more pop. A lot. His OPS is a respectable .746 despite his terrible OBP. However, this means that a few hits don't fall in for Francoeur (like last year) and he has very little value. Now, last year he had his lowest BABIP of his career at .277 which was below what is generally seen as the average of about .300. But his line drive percent was also the lowest of his career (17%) so maybe he's been getting under a lot of balls and maybe he was out of shape and couldn't muscle as many fly balls out of the park as he used to be able to.
The point of all this, however, is to freaking point out that Francoeur is an undisciplined power hitter who can hit for a pretty average average. Yes, he will probably bounce back from last year and since he's still young, perhaps he'll be able to improve even more. But he's got "young" skills and as he grows older, he won't have anything to fall back upon. He'll be worthless. Oh and he doesn't have that much of a track record either, just a season and a half of good baseball. Even if he's in shape, gets a better BABIP this year, hits for more power, he'll still be fucking mediocre. MEDIOCRE. .746 OPS ain't nothing to write home about. Especially for a corner outfielder.
I feel like this should be well-known. Almost common knowledge. Average is useless. Power is okay...but not without anything else. And if a few balls don't bounce Francoeur's way, he has nothing else.
There was an article on SI.com about Jeff Francoeur bouncing back this year. Check it out
The guy swings at EVERYTHING. Everything. He has a career batting average of .268 with a career on base percentage of .312. He has 115 walks in his career. That's less than Barry Roidie Bonds had in 2007 when Barry had 132 (In 477 plate appearances!! That's like a walk per game!!).
Basically, Francoeur is like Juan Pierre with more pop. Well...to be fair, a lot more pop. A lot. His OPS is a respectable .746 despite his terrible OBP. However, this means that a few hits don't fall in for Francoeur (like last year) and he has very little value. Now, last year he had his lowest BABIP of his career at .277 which was below what is generally seen as the average of about .300. But his line drive percent was also the lowest of his career (17%) so maybe he's been getting under a lot of balls and maybe he was out of shape and couldn't muscle as many fly balls out of the park as he used to be able to.
The point of all this, however, is to freaking point out that Francoeur is an undisciplined power hitter who can hit for a pretty average average. Yes, he will probably bounce back from last year and since he's still young, perhaps he'll be able to improve even more. But he's got "young" skills and as he grows older, he won't have anything to fall back upon. He'll be worthless. Oh and he doesn't have that much of a track record either, just a season and a half of good baseball. Even if he's in shape, gets a better BABIP this year, hits for more power, he'll still be fucking mediocre. MEDIOCRE. .746 OPS ain't nothing to write home about. Especially for a corner outfielder.
I feel like this should be well-known. Almost common knowledge. Average is useless. Power is okay...but not without anything else. And if a few balls don't bounce Francoeur's way, he has nothing else.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Once again...Manny. Well. Running out of inspiration
Well here's a doozie of a story: Manny gets a one year offer from the Dodgers.
This could quite possibly be the worst possible news for a Padres fan.
The best scenario for San Diego? I see two pretty good, maybe three pretty good possibilities.
a) Manny resigns with Los Angeles for ten years at $25 million per. This would be fantastic. After Juan Pierre, Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones, Grady Little, Joe Torre and all the crap they spent their money on, Manny getting old and drawing a fat fat paycheck would be the icing. They'd be crippled with a contract like that. And he'd logjam their outfield even more. Manny is 36. He saved the Dodgers' season. I was really really hoping this would happen.
b) The San Francisco Giants copy about that same strategy as above. This isn't as great because the Giants don't really have any outfield prospects to block anyway. But still. Aaron Rowand for a bazillion dollars? Renteria for a bazillion dollars? They would be hamstrung by this contract, just like the Dodgers would have been if they had done this. This scenario is a bit better than part a) because the Giants don't have any other players to get them to the playoffs anyway. I mean, beside Lincecum and Cain, who else do they have?
c) Manny leaves the division. I don't have to put up with him pummelling San Diego's pitching.
However, Manny possibly signing with L.A for a year so he can re-hit the free agent market is the worst. The Dodgers get A+++ production from a fantastic player, don't have to deal with his aging bullshit, clearly win the division, and don't crush the hopes of their young players (although they already kind of have). And then they'll get draft picks when he leaves in what will most definitely be a weaker free agent year, sot he picks will be far more valuable.
God dammit. And Ned Colletti is such a freaking moron otherwise. I suppose scenario b) could still happen. I still have hope.
Maybe Billy Beane will sign him. That would make me happy. Cause then he'd be back in the AL and I wouldn't have to deal with this garbage.
This could quite possibly be the worst possible news for a Padres fan.
The best scenario for San Diego? I see two pretty good, maybe three pretty good possibilities.
a) Manny resigns with Los Angeles for ten years at $25 million per. This would be fantastic. After Juan Pierre, Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones, Grady Little, Joe Torre and all the crap they spent their money on, Manny getting old and drawing a fat fat paycheck would be the icing. They'd be crippled with a contract like that. And he'd logjam their outfield even more. Manny is 36. He saved the Dodgers' season. I was really really hoping this would happen.
b) The San Francisco Giants copy about that same strategy as above. This isn't as great because the Giants don't really have any outfield prospects to block anyway. But still. Aaron Rowand for a bazillion dollars? Renteria for a bazillion dollars? They would be hamstrung by this contract, just like the Dodgers would have been if they had done this. This scenario is a bit better than part a) because the Giants don't have any other players to get them to the playoffs anyway. I mean, beside Lincecum and Cain, who else do they have?
c) Manny leaves the division. I don't have to put up with him pummelling San Diego's pitching.
However, Manny possibly signing with L.A for a year so he can re-hit the free agent market is the worst. The Dodgers get A+++ production from a fantastic player, don't have to deal with his aging bullshit, clearly win the division, and don't crush the hopes of their young players (although they already kind of have). And then they'll get draft picks when he leaves in what will most definitely be a weaker free agent year, sot he picks will be far more valuable.
God dammit. And Ned Colletti is such a freaking moron otherwise. I suppose scenario b) could still happen. I still have hope.
Maybe Billy Beane will sign him. That would make me happy. Cause then he'd be back in the AL and I wouldn't have to deal with this garbage.
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