A Tier-fall Friday Afternoon Linkaround

These links are dedicated to the memory of the 2009-10 Syracuse Orange basketball team. Their epitaph will certainly mention the 18 turnovers they committed last night.

To their credit, River Ave. Blues is having a "No Joba, No Hughes" day.

Still need your fix? Dave Allen at FanGraphs thinks putting Joba in AAA is the right move.

Around the 17:00 mark on this podcast, Don LaGreca from the Michael Kay Show on 1050 ESPN Radio begins interviewing Dave Eiland. At about 23:00, Eiland explains that the Yankees most likely won't ask Joba to start this season because of the shoulder injury he suffered in 2008.

However, Brian Cashman claims that Joba is a "starter in the bullpen". Which is sort of like saying that someone is a lawyer working as a legal aide.

During his recap of last night's game, Cliff from Bronx Banter dropped this little gem:

Marcus Thames, meanwhile, is hitting .094 (3-for-32) with just one walk and no extra-base hits after going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. Joe Girardi keeps talking about Thames’ track record, and it still seems as though Thames will make the team. That should tell you just how much spring performances really matter.

Marc Carig asks how long the Yankees will wait for Thames to start hitting. Brian Cashman contends that he's "impacted the ball pretty hard", but his 13 to 1 K/BB ratio isn't terribly encouraging. In his defense, he hasn't faced many lefties, something he'll have a chance to do tonight against Jamie Moyer.

Chad Jennings was hoping to shoot Cashman today. With a paintball gun. During a game of paintball. No word on whether Jennings accomplished his mission, but Brian Hoch, Carig and Feinsand all hit the target.

Joel Sherman dares to argue that if A-Rod is found to have used HGH that it will ruin his legacy. Bold, I know, but he also offers up something that you probably didn't know: A-Rod turned down the chance to host Saturday Night Live several times this winter. Probably a good choice. I doubt A-Rod is a very good actor considering he isn't even good at being himself.

NYY Stadium Insider introduced a new author today, and he tells his story of what might be the ultimate Yankee Stadium Insider experience.

Another blow to the notion of "clogging the bases".

Wezen-ball ranks the worst seasons by an Opening Day starter in the last 50 years. Carl Pavano's 2007 isn't on there because Larry's bottom 10 are guys who stuck around long enough to compile a WAR of -2.2 or worse. You know who did make the list, though? Mr. Opening Day, Jack Morris.

Breaking news: Jonathan Papelbon can't grasp a simple concept. To those who think Yankees vs. Red Sox games are too long, he says:

If you don’t want to be there, don’t be there. Go home. Why are you complaining?

They want to be there, dummy, but they probably have to get up for work in the morning and want to see actual baseball instead of an endless parade mound visits, guys stepping out of the box to adjust their jock and asshat revilers who take so long to come into the game they get fucking fined for it. I'm not one to complain about the length of Yanks/Sox games, but can understand why people - especially fans of other teams - are irritated by a 5-4 game that takes 4 hours and 15 mins to complete.

Rob Iracane of Walkoff Walk rounds up two recent and rather pathetic some stories combining prostitution and baseball (attempted prostitution, that's an embarrassing charge to be tagged with). Had he expanded that to actresses potentially playing prostitutes in baseball-related movies, he might have included this. He wouldn't mind her for a rib, but before Megan Fox gets the part our buddy Old Hoss has requested to take a gander at her cat-heads.

And I know it's painful, but via 'Duk's Twitter feed, here is the last tier of the grandstand at the Old Stadium being torn down. Disclaimer: it's not for the elderly, nostalgic or faint of heart.

/sobs quietly on keyboard

Happy Birthday King George III

Not that King George III; George M. Steinbrenner, III. The Boss turns 79 Saturday, but since we've declared today the Fourth at Fack Youk, we're cutting the cake now. Poor George probably wouldn't know the difference anyway.

Steinbrenner is a polarizing and fascinating figure. He purchased the Yankees more than 36 years ago. In that time the team has made the post-season eighteen times, won its division fifteen times, won ten AL pennants, and six World Series. He's twice been suspended from the game. He's been a bully and philanthropist. He's been a hero and scourge to the organization, sometimes doing whatever it takes to give the team what it needs to win, and other times incapable of staying out of his own way.

But there's never been a dull moment with Steinbrenner. I think history will judge his reign more on its unmatched successes than on its unparalleled madness. He's been a phenomenon - the rare owner who's as well known as his players, crossing into mainstream society as an SNL guest host and the inspiration for a Larry David voiced Seinfeld character.

He's been a sportsman throughout his life. He was a member of his track and field team at Williams College, served as a graduate assistant at Ohio St., as an assistant football coach at Purdue and Northwestern in the 1950s, owned a team in the American Basketball League, served for several years on the United States Olympic Committee, and has long been involved in thoroughbred horse racing.

Steinbrenner has faded from the organization and the public eye. His sons Hank, and mainly Hal, have taken control of the team. Outside of brief apperances at spring training and the All-Star Game last year, he's hardly been seen in public in recent years. It's generally accepted that he's in poor health.

But there was nothing quite like King George in heyday. So Happy Birthday George. I hope you enjoy it.

Land Shark Stadium

The stadium the Marlins call home certainly isn't the first facility to host a baseball team named after a shitty beer. But it's probably the most embarrassing to the game.

To start, with a total of 244 reviews on Beer Advocate, Land Shark has received a D+. For an alcoholic beverage to receive a barely passing grade with that large of a sample size is remarkably terrible. I've had exactly one Land Shark in my drinking career and hope to keep it that way. You should probably stick to your margaritas, Jimmy Buffett.

Secondly, "Land Shark" may be the worst possible name for a building that two teams with actual marine animals for mascots call home. Land shark is a bit of an oxymoron, you see? Listen, I love sharks as much as the next guy. Once upon a time in South Africa, I payed a healthy sum to don a wetsuit and stare a Great White in the face through the bars of a cage. It was incredible. I read the The Devil's Teeth and thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Shark Week. I get the fascination with sharks, but not the impulse to pretend they exist on dry land (although this classic SNL skit is quite hilarious).

Land Shark | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Lastly, and most obviously, watching a baseball game played in Miami makes one played at Tropicana Field feel like an authentic baseball experience. Fact: No football stadium has ever made a good home for a baseball team. When they set up the Carrier Dome for a basketball game and pack it with 30,000+ fans, looking towards the opposite endzone makes it feel desolate. Likewise, when the Yankees come to town and exceed the team's average attendance by 250%, it still feels empty and depressing on TV. Further accentuating the problem is the fact that the upper deck seats are bright orange which makes every empty chair all the more noticeable.

Now it appears the Marlins are getting their own publicly-financed Stadium in 2012, complete with a swimming pool and other gimmicky bullshit. Good luck with that. As the Nationals have shown most recently, a new park doesn't necessarily translate to sellout crowds and a diehard fan base. The one and only thing that it does promise to accomplish is locking a franchise into a city that is destined never to truly appreciate it.