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18
Nov
08

Ride That Little Pony

By slanch 3 Comments
Categories: Awesome, Baseball and Boston
Tags: , ,

ALCS Rays Red Sox BaseballDustin Pedroia did it! In his first year he gets the Rookie of the Year, in his second he adds a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger AND the MVP. That’s a hell of a way to start a career for a guy who is the same size as me. When you think about how the initial comparisons to Pedroia when he was drafted was a slightly better David Eckstein (mostly because he was a small scrappy white guy) to where he is today, pretty damn impressive. Beyond the stats, which were impressive, watching him play every day is a delight, Pedroia is the tough as nails guy that we all know who goes all out in everything he does and somehow succeeds despite never being the best. When the Red Sox needed him, Pedroia carried the team, hitting a ridiculous .350/.398/.485 for July and then, when the team needed offense after the trade of Manny Ramirez, Pedroia hit a RIDICULOUS .374/.425/.635 with an OPS+ of 177(!) in August. Wow. The only thing I simply don’t understand is that one of the writers somehow didn’t list Pedroia on his ballot AT ALL. OK, you don’t think he’s the MVP, fine, but you’re saying that he’s not even on the BALLOT? That’s ridiculous. According to WEEI and Lou Merloni, the writer who left him off the ballot was Evan Grant from the Dallas Morning News is the guy who didn’t list him. WTF? UPDATE: The Boston Globe confirmed that it was Grant who left him off, and he responded with his reasoning, most of which is lame, but at least he knows what OPS is, so that’s something…

With the possible departure of Jason Varitek, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pedroia, despite only being a big leaguer for 2 years become the next captain of the Red Sox. Also, for fun comparison sake, after the jump the last Red Sox MVP.

Continue reading ‘Ride That Little Pony’

18
Nov
08

Citi Field Remains

By slanch 3 Comments
Categories: Baseball and Random
Tags: ,

I joked about it yesterday but the douchiness of Citibank is pretty hard to ignore. Via the Biz of Baseball comes the report that despite laying of 53,000 workers, about twenty percent of their workforce, there is no intention of Citi reneging on their record $20 million per season naming rights deal. Well that just makes perfect fucking sense to me. Wouldn’t you love to be one of the 53,000 newly unemployed people, be told that there simply isn’t any money to pay you, but of course, there is still $20M available to throw the company’s name up on the facade of a billion dollar building. I know that I would be PSYCHED! Sure, I can’t pay my rent and my kids are going hungry, but I’m glad that the brand name is still getting publicity. Besides, what’s $400M these days, chump change right! I’m sure that money simply couldn’t be used more effectively, maybe by helping the employees, naaaaah, what am I thinking, that must be my socialist nature coming out.

See what I want to do is take the wealth from the corporations that are stupidly wasting it on useless shit like stadium naming rights and instead give it to the employees so they don’t need to lose their jobs. CuRAZY! I’m a fucking socialist!

I’m sure that there has been lots of research on naming rights, but I follow sports religiously, many of my friends (OK, well, the random people who I have begged to be my “friend” on Friendster…) also watch lots of sports, and I don’t know anyone who has ever EVER bought anything or opted for a service because the company had their name on a stadium. OOOH Quicken Loans Arena, I must run out and buy Quicken because I love the Cavs! Reliant Energy Stadium, whenever I need energy, they are who I will use. Minute Maid Park,  mmmm juice!

I simply don’t understand these corporations shelling out millions upon millions of dollars simply to have their name on a building. I get that every time the stadium is mentioned the brand name is too, but 99 times out of 100 the name sounds fucking STUPID. Seriously, Quicken Loans Arena? WTF!?! I want more War Memorial Stadiums, less ATT WIRELESS BLACKBERRY STORM FIELDs.

Meanwhile, decent people are losing their jobs because these corporations are foolishly spending these ridiculous sums on a useless thing. It’s despicable.

17
Nov
08

Girls CAN Play Ball

By slanch 2 Comments
Categories: Baseball
Tags: , , , ,

eriJapan, home to used panties vending machines and pornography collector extraordinaire cum baseball player Hideki Matsui finally has been able to combine these two distinctly Japanese things into one succinct 16 year old package. That would be Eri Yoshida, a 16 year old girl who became the first woman to ever be drafted for a professional baseball league in Japan. The league, a new independent one that will launch in April is excited to feature Yoshida’s devastating side-arm knuckleball that her new manager refers to as a marvel.

“I never dreamed of getting drafted,” Yoshida told reporters Monday, a day after she was selected to play for the Kobe 9 Cruise.

“I have only just been picked by the team and have not achieved anything,” she said. “I want to play as a pro eventually in a higher league.”

The best part, her idol is Tim Wakefield. How many other 16 year old girls adore Tim Wakefield, that makes her OK in my book.

17
Nov
08

If There’s Grass on the Field

By slanch 3 Comments
Categories: Baseball
Tags: ,

Citifield takes one more step towards baseball activities, I look forward to seeing it in person in 4-6 years when I have saved enough money to get an upper deck ticket. Also, I hope the Mets got the $20 mill per season in advance from Citi for the naming rights…

12
Nov
08

Japan’s Samurais Ready to Attack

By slanch Leave a Comment
Categories: Awesome and Baseball
Tags: , , , ,

samurai1Fresh off the first championship in World Baseball Classic history, Japan is ready to come back and dominate once more. To that end, the team’s officials have named the team “Samurai Japan,” Ryozo Kato, the commissioner of Japanese professional baseball said “It’s a name that we know our fans will appreciate.” The team, expected to comprise current MLB stars like Ichiro and Daisuke Matsuzaka as well as Japanese league stars should contend for the title once more. I would expect nothing less from a team with a fiery personality like Ichiro on board. Anyone who says things like “I hope he [Matsuzaka] arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul,” as Ichiro did during the season is an OK leader in my book. Also, when you can have someone who can unleash a stream of obscene invectives as your captain, you’re in good shape.

[International Herald Tribune]

12
Nov
08

Wow the Economy is REALLY Bad

By slanch Leave a Comment
Categories: Baseball and Boston
Tags: , , ,

The clearest sign that the current economic crisis is expected to continue for quite a while; the Boston Red Sox for the first time in 14 years have NOT raised their ticket prices for next season. “As stewards of this great franchise, John, Larry and I hold our positions as a kind of public trust, and from that perspective, a freeze in ticket prices for the 2009 season is both fair and appropriate for the times and economic conditions,” said Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said in a press release.

John Henry is a billionaire financial genius, if he doesn’t think that the market will support a ticket increase on a team that has set the record for consecutive sell-outs and where people will gladly sell their childen in order to get season tickets then I am very VERY concerned. Our country’s economy is going to completely collapse. Get out now!

11
Nov
08

Way to Go BBWAA

By slanch 2 Comments
Categories: Baseball and Douches
Tags: , , , , ,

I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed this, the Baseball Writers Association of America, the people who get to vote on awards like MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and the Hall of Fame, the people who are supposed to be the most knowledgeable and informed about the game are apparently retarded. That’s the only conclusion I can come to. While looking over the results for yesterday’s NL Rookie of the Year something struck my attention. The order of the final ballot went this way:

  1. Geovany Soto
  2. Joey Votto
  3. Jair Jurrgens
  4. Edinson Volquez

Now 1-3 I have zero compunctions with, it is that fourth place guy that bothers me. You see the rules for eligibility for the RoY award state that a player who has pitched 50 innings in the big leagues previously is no longer considered a rookie and thus, ineligible for the award. So let’s take a trip back in time courtesy of Baseball Reference shall we.

The year was 2005 and Edinson Volquez was still a Texas Ranger, in a late season call-up he pitched in 12 2/3 innings, compiling an 0-4 record and an ERA of 14.21, so OK, he wasn’t ready for the big time yet. In 2006 he received another late season call-up, this time pitching 33 1/3 innings en route to a 1-6 record with an ERA of 7.29. Hey at least he was improving…2007 came and Volquez once more got his taste of the majors with yet another late season call-up. This time he pitched 34 innings with an ERA of 4.50 and a record of 2-1. So let’s do a little math here, stick with me, I know it’s early.

  • 12 2/3
  • 33 1/3
  • 34

Hmm…that equals 80 innings! What was that eligibility requirement? Oh yeah, 50 innings. So again, let me get the ol’ calculator out…Oh, wow, that’s a 30 inning difference! In fact, before he ever threw a pitch for the Cincinnati Reds, Volquez was NOT a rookie. He pitched the entire season as NOT a rookie. He went to the All-Star game, NOT AS A ROOKIE.

Clearly though, the people who are supposed to be responsible to the history of the game, the group of people who don’t think Cal Ripken is a unanimous Hall of Famer, the people who thought Luis Apricio WAS a Hall of Famer, they definitely know what’s going on.

What an embarrassment. Even MLB.com was ashamed, in their writeup of the awards they made sure to mention, “Volquez’s presence on that list is definitely unique: No longer a rookie, the pitcher was mistakenly placed on the ballot and received three votes for second, thus there was an obligation to include him in the final results.” Continue reading ‘Way to Go BBWAA’

11
Nov
08

Mets Finally Destroy Bullpen

By slanch 4 Comments
Categories: Baseball
Tags: , ,

In some of the best possible news for Mets fans, the organization yesterday completely demolished their bullpen. The weak point of the team this past season; the likely reason why Johan Santana won’t win a Cy Young award later today, the prime reason why for the second year in a row the team collapsed at the end of the season is thankfully no more. Unfortunately the destruction will not last, and the changes will not be too significant, but at least the benches and mounds’ll be new… Look for next year’s bullpen to be full of Latin players.

06
Nov
08

AL Gold Glove Winners, EARLY!

By slanch 5 Comments
Categories: Baseball
Tags: , ,

Ooops! Looks like no one told the Sporting Goods Newswire that the AL Gold Glove winners weren’t being announced until 4pm, because they released the winners early.

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

P – MIKE MUSSINA – YANKEES
C – JOE MAUER – TWINS
1ST – CARLOS PENA – RAYS
2ND – DUSTIN PEDROIA – RED SOX
3RD – ADRIAN BELTRE – MARINERS
SS – MICHAEL YOUNG – RANGERS
OF – TORII HUNTER – ANGELS
OF – GRADY SIZEMORE – INDIANS
OF – ICHIRO SUZUKI – MARINERS
No real bones of contention here for me, I’m obviously psyched to see Pedroia win his first of many Gold Gloves and it hopefully won’t be the only hardware he takes home this off-season… The choice of Pena over last year’s winner Youkilis is disappointing but not egregious, especially when considering how many games Youk played at third this year and that Pena can definitely pick it. The only player who stands out to me as somewhat iffy is Michael Young, but looking at the rest of the league there isn’t anyone else that really stands out besides maybe Orlando Cabrera as equally deserving. That Derek Jeter DIDN’T win is a sign that I may start to believe in this award as being almost legit once more. Torii Hunter continues to ride his reputation more than the reality that he isn’t as good as he once was but again not an egregious choice. I’d have preferred to see Carl Crawford win it, or perhaps Nick Markakis but then again, I have no vote so I guess I don’t matter.

05
Nov
08

Ryan Howard’s Hands Ain’t Totally Awful

By slanch 2 Comments
Categories: Baseball
Tags: , , ,

Ryan Howard receives much criticism around these parts for his stone hands and lack of deft agility around the first base bag, and rightly so. He’s a butcher over there. But the folks over at Big League Stew via Home Run Derby came up with this clip that shows that he can catch the things that matter. Like a tossed beer can from the crowd during the Phillies parade.

Of course scumbag douchemaster Brett Myers tries to get in on the action and get a beer of his own, eventually Howard hands it over to Myers, who I’m guessing shotgunned it immediately before smashing it against his temple.

[Big League Stew via Home Run Derby]

04
Nov
08

Goodbye Sweet Meathook

By slanch 1 Comment
Categories: Baseball
Tags: , ,

Dmitri Young, MLB’s 2007 Comeback Player of the Year has been outrighted to the Washington Nationals’ AAA team in Syracuse today. Baseball without da Meathook just doesn’t make sense. Young, who has overcome being diagnosed with diabetes, as well as suffering through playing two seasons (well, parts of 2 seasons) for the Nationals deserves better. Having played for the Cardinals, Reds, Tigers and Nationals over 13 seasons Young’s teams have lost nearly 920 games over that time span, including 7 teams that have lost at least 89 games in a season. This to me is an outrage. If the Nationals are going to get serious about winning they should care more about their AAA team and not attach such a losing albatross around their neck. So long Dmitri, I’ll never forget heckling you during spring training. Vote Da Meathook in 2012!

30
Oct
08

Jeff Kent Might Be a Redneck

By slanch Leave a Comment
Categories: Baseball and Douches
Tags: , ,

"Oh yes, spray your ropey liquid all over me!"

Jeff Kent showed Monday that his redneck mustache isn’t just a look, but a lifestyle when he donated $15,000 to fight the gay marriage proposition on the ballot in California. Kent, who makes his permanent home in Texas apparently feels VERY strongly that the gays shouldn’t be messing with his America. I’m especially intrigued because Kent played his college baseball at UC-Berkeley, probably the most liberal, open-minded school in the country and yet here he is, donating 15K to a cause for bigots. Also interesting is that this is the only issue or campaign that Kent has donated money towards AT ALL. So he must REALLY be concerned about them there gays. I wonder if Billy Bean made a pass at him once or something and the fear has stuck with Kent forever.

[Los Angeles Times via The Big Lead]

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