Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Notice Anything Unnecessary In This Picture?

Four words, ESPN: WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY?

You know what the last thing I want to see when I'm watching a sporting event is? JAYSTENNISBRACELET stating the obvious in scrolling text form. OMG, the Big East loaded!?!?? That's the first of heard this!

To boot, they are reducing the viewing area on my TV. The crawl on the bottom and the anti-HD bars on the side already take up like 40% of the screen and now they are going to drop another bar down from the top with more annoyances? And I love how the bars on the side still say "ESPN2HD". Given that they only show up when the programming is not in HD, I think "ESPN2" would probably suffice.

Quick, search "INTERACTIVE" on ESPN.com so you can enlighten everyone with your insightful commentary.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: Lou Gehrig & Babe Ruth (#'s 4 & 3)

Yesterday was the first day in our Countdown when someone got skipped. In an oddly appropriate but somewhat sad way, the current A-Rod fiasco overshadowed one of the all-time great Yankees and great sportsmen in general, Lou Gehrig. The upshot is that he's right up against the Bambino and it gives us a chance to look into their relationship, something that is lost to many baseball fans of this generation (prior to doing this research, myself included).

When Ruth came up with Boston, he was primarily a pitcher, and quite a good one at that. In 1916 and 1917 Ruth threw 323 2/3 and 326 1/3 innings to 1.75 and 2.01 ERAs, respectively. In his limited plate appearances, however, his hitting prowess was already evident, posting an OPS well above league average in each of those years.

In 1918, the Red Sox began to transition Ruth into a hitter. That year he appeared in 75 games exclusively to hit and led the league in home runs with 11, despite relatively few opportunities. The following year he pitched in only 17 games, throwing 133 1/3 innings, the last time he would throw over 9IP in a season. The Babe's ERA was just about league average in 1919, but he coupled that with pounding a then unheard of 29 home runs and driving in 114 (219 OPS+).

In the proceeding offseason Ruth demanded a 200% raise, and rather than retain the slugger or trade him to the White Sox for Shoeless Joe Jackson and $60,000 cash, Harry Frazee famously sold him to the Yankees for $125,000.

It's easy to view this transaction in revisionist history and wonder what would have become of the Red Sox if they had held onto Ruth. The fact of the matter is at the time, he was still transitioning into a hitter and there was widespread doubt from respected people like Tris Speaker, who thought becoming a hitter would shorten Ruth's career.

To the Sox dismay, Ruth arrived in the Bronx and promptly launched 54 home runs, many over the short right field fence at the Polo Grounds, obliterating his own record of 29. He also worked 150 walks and sported a .533 on-base percentage. In fact, Ruth reached base in over half of his plate appearances in 5 of his first 7 seasons as a Yankee.

As the Bambino was taking the baseball world by storm, Ludwig Heinrich Gehrig was studying at and playing fullback for nearby Columbia University. He was born (at 14lbs!) on 94th and 2nd Ave and grew up first in Yorkville and later in Washington Heights. Gehrig, like Ruth, spent time as a pitcher early in his career. While on the mound for Columbia, Gehrig struck out a record 17 Williams College batters, but was noticed by Yankee scout Paul Krichell more for his left-handed power. He was signed by the Yankees two months later for a $1,500 bonus.

In 1923 & 24, the Iron Horse was used mostly in pinch hitting duty. He raked well above average in his 38 at-bats over the course of those two years and earned himself a more permanent place in the line up in 1926.

The '26 season was the 7th of Ruth's torrid stretch mentioned above. As would have been the case with anyone coming up through the ranks of the Yanks at the time, Gehrig stood squarely in the Babe's vast shadow:
"I'm not a headline guy. I know that as long as I was following Ruth to the plate I could have stood on my head and no one would have known the difference."
The two lefty sluggers had always been quite different. Gehrig was college educated and smoked a pipe while Ruth was street-wise and puffed on stogies. Ruth was an ostentatious extrovert, Gehrig was a bit of an understated loner.

At first, Gehrig was "admittedly in awe" of Ruth. Lou was initially intimidated by his presence, but Ruth mentored Gehrig and taught him many of the tricks to lofting the massive home runs that separated #3 from the rest of the league by leaps and bounds. Babe actually took a liking to Gehrig and considered him "like a younger brother who was bashful and backwards".

Despite the humility, Gehrig was a hell of a hitter himself. After replacing Wally Pipp on June 2nd 1925, he batted over .300 with a .400+ on-base percentage for twelve consecutive years. He hit 40 or more home runs 5 times and drove in at least 100 runs in 13 straight seasons, including an AL Record 184 in 1931 (due in no small part to Babe Ruth's .495 OBP that year). He won the 1927 League Award (before the MVP came to be) over Ruth who hit 60 HRs and slugged .772. Lou finished his career with a .340BA.

Gehrig was invited to go barnstorming with Ruth in the offseason and the veteran also took him fishing on occasion. Appreciative of this, Gehrig invited Ruth to his mother's house in New Rochelle, who was more than happy to cook him huge dinners, something that the Sultan of Swat never enjoyed in the orphanage he grew up in.

Unfortunately, Lou's mother caused their friendship to come to an abrupt halt. Ruth had made one of his visits to New Rochelle and brought both of his daughters, Dorothy, a 12 year old tomboy, and Julia an 18 year old proper young lady. Gehrig's mother made an off-hand remark about Dorothy being poorly dressed a s opposed to Julia, causing Ruth to implore Lou that his mother "mind her own business". Neither man would budge and they refused to speak to each other, forming a rift between the two.

When the cameras rolled, they pretended to be chummy, but the mutual distaste was palpable to those with knowledge of the situation. It wasn't until Ruth left the team in 1935 that Gehrig was named captain, but the unofficial crown was passed after the two went blast for blast and tied with 46 HRs in the 1931 season. Gehrig's career was still trending upwards, while the Babe's was on the decline.

At the age of 40, Ruth was sold to the Boston Braves where he played only 28 games. He batted .181, but had a .359 OBP and hit 6 HRs.

About halfway though the 1938 season, Gehrig began to feel weak and his performance declined. His statistics were respectable over the course of the season, (29HR, 132 OPS+) but well off his career norms. When he showed up for Spring Training the following year, he was visibly diminished and actually collapsed on the Al Lang Field while running the bases. He made an attempt to play out the season, but it was soon clear he wasn't physically up to the task and his 2,130 consecutive games played streak ended on April 30th. On his birthday, June 19th that year, he was diagnosed with ALS.

On July 4th, 1939, the Yankees held Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. It wasn't until then that he and Babe Ruth finally ended their grudge against each other. He delivered his famous speech and became the first player in MLB history to have their number retired.

Gehrig passed away in his sleep at the age of 37 on June 2nd, 1941. Ruth lived until August 16th, 1948 when he succumbed to pneumonia. He was 53.


Go Get Him Jerry

Via The National Football Post, Anquan Boldin will not accept any offer from the Cardinals and wants to be traded:

XTRA’s Mike Jurecki, who said he talked to Boldin over the weekend, said Boldin instructed his agent to tell the Cards he would not sign any new contract (the Cards are expected to still make a new proposal) and that he wants to be traded.

>8

But it is the Boldin situation that will be front and center. Again, he is under contract for two more years, so if he declines to sign any new deal, the Cards could just hang on to him and not trade him. Boldin’s only recourse will be to disappear for the entirety of the offseason — not a great deal with a new offensive coordinator coming in. We’ll see how it develops.
This can only be good news for the Giants. He's publically backing the Cards into a corner and that is going to lower his value on the open market because teams know they have to move him now. I've adressed this situation previously, if you are so inclined.

Player 00

I'm guessing many of you are on the Yankees Shop email list, and recieved the same email shown above this morning. In light of the most recent A-Rod scandal, that jersey actually seems pretty appealing.

I don't have an authentic Yankee jersey. Before last season, I very nearly bought some Robinson Cano road threads on eBay for $90, but decided to pass at the last moment. Pretty happy about that decision, seeing that he only posted an 86 OPS+ in 2008.

During the apology contained in his interview with Peter Gammons last night A-Rod said he had "millions of fans". I've got to assume that pretty much all of them are under the age of 7, and don't immediately realize that he's not all that likeable even when he's not admitting to doing steroids.

If you have a kid with an A-Rod jersey, what do you do? Do you let them wear it because despite the fact that he made a mistake, he ultimately told the truth? Or does the fact that he cheated remove him as a role model for your kids? There's no easy answer. I'm glad I don't have to make that call.

The great thing about the jersey above is that there is no risk involed. Fictional "Player 00" is never going to embarass you with their terrible performance, PED usage or off-the-field antics. You can still show your love for the team without hitching your wagon to any of the flawed human beings wearing your team's colors. Like Jerry Seinfeld said, we are just rooting for laundry.

Words/Phrases You Would Never Hear Without Steroids


If there is a positive about the Steroids fallout, it is the new or previously underused words and phrases that have been cemented into our everyday vocabulary:

"Abscess"--Apparently something you after you stick a needle in your ass.

"B-12"--As in "It was only B12, not steroids!". A water soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins. It is normally involved in the metabolism of every cell of the body, especially affecting DNA synthesis and regulation, but also fatty acid synthesis and energy production.

"Categorically deny"--An absolute denial.

"Culture"--No, not Boy George and his band of ferries. As in it is part of baseball culture to do steroids.

"Everybody was doing it"--No, not teenage sex. Not marijuana or cocaine either. Rather, sticking needles up your ass.

"Inject"--To stick something in your ass that will eventually give you an abscess.

"It is what it is"--Everyone--What is it? How is it? Was it always like that? Most things are what they are, no?

"Loosey-Goosey"--A-Rod. According to the Urban Dictionary, "loosey-goosey" means "
Not following prescribed guidelines or general societal expectations. Very casual. Bypassing certain boundaries." It can also mean a "a very loosely rolled joint or rollie", an individual cigarette sold at a bodega, or a certain body part after a certain type of sex.

"Metabolite" (an actual word)--Jose Canseco. According to Wikipedia, metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules.

"Misremember"--Roger Clemens. To forget.

"Performance Enhancing"--No, not Viagra or Cialis!

"The Clear"--No, not the people in The Mitchell Report or that list of 104 names that was foolishly not destroyed by the MLBPA. Tetrahydrogestrinone. THG for short. Most famous users include Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield.

"The Cream"--No, not money, as in "Cash Rules Everything Around Me" as rapped about by the Wu-Tang Clan, or the 1960s British band headed by Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. The cream is a steroid that is applied to the body to mask THG. The yin to "The Clear's" yang.

"The Truth"--Obliterated.