This is the hot tub in the Yankees clubhouse in their new digs. It seats 12. I expect lots of “horseplay” amongst the boys…
If you’re interested in seeing some other photos of the nearly completed stadium, there’s more here, but I think you’re toolsy if you look.
After all the, justifiable, hooplah surrounding his non-vote of Rickey Henderson, embattled elderly sportswriter Corky Simpson who we discussed the other day now says that he made a mistake. According to Simpson, he “goofed” and forgot to include Henderson on his ballot. “Rickey deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and if I had my ballot back, he’d have a shot at unanimity — and I wouldn’t be hated by quite so many people,” Simpson said
However, I think he’s full of shit. That’s because fellow “Green Valley News sportswriter Nick Prevenas said he warned Simpson about leaving Henderson off his ballot when he filed the column, but Simpson told him he ‘wasn’t a Rickey guy and that he would vote for him next time.'”
So clearly Simpson doesn’t regret his pick, he regrets that he has been publicly embarrassed for selfishly marring Rickey Henderson’s legacy. That Simpson could pick Tim Raines and NOT Rickey Henderson shows that Simpson has some semblance of understanding regarding modern statistical evaluation which shows clearly the value that Rock Raines had on the ball field, but clearly something else was in play.
It is simply indefensible to not include Rickey Henderson on your ballot unless you are trying to be the person who doesn’t include him solely because no one has been elected unanimously. You know what, there is also no openly gay person in the HoF, does that mean no gay man can EVER be in? Just because the old baseball writers were morons and didn’t elect players when they should doesn’t mean we should continue that tradition.
You know, in the 40s there were players that local reporters might NEVER EVER see. The only interaction baseball voters may have had with those players were radio broadcasts and box scores. Today, we have access to EVERYTHING a player does on the field, we can see every time he makes contact on a ball, and not only that, but where he hit it, what type of pitch it was and what he does when the count is 2-0 and there are two men on in the month of June when the sun is shining.
Now there is simply no excuse for not knowing the players, particularly for something seemingly as important as the HoF. If the hall weren’t so important why would the BBWAA make its members take 10 YEARS before they are allowed to vote?
So, back to Simpson and his “apology” which to me is a big crock of shit. If Simpson valued his vote and the HoF he wouldn’t have put Matt Williams on the ballot, no matter how nice a guy he is, hey Corky, I’m a nice guy, put me on next year! Nor would he make an asinine anti-Mark McGwire comment invoking steroids while ignoring that Williams put up extremely suspicious numbers, was mentioned in the Mitchell Report and was found to have received syringes and HGH (at the LEAST) from the same dentist who was busted for providing other athletes with illegal substances.
That’s hypocrisy.
If Simpson really believed that Rickey belongs in the Hall of Fame, why wait on your vote? Sure, Rickey will get in without Simpson, but so what, that’s not a reason to not vote. I’m from Massachusetts, if I don’t vote for Ted Kennedy he’ll still get elected, but does that mean I should vote for someone else just to be nice? Or that I shouldn’t at all? That’s fucking childish.
No, the only thing Simpson is upset about is that his semi-retirement has been upended by a barrage of anti-Corky Simpson sentiment. The only person to blame though, is Simpson himself. I will agree that the vehemence of some of the commenters on his story is unnecessary, but that’s the internet, where assholes reign. However, Simpson knew that Rickey Henderson was going to be elected to the HoF, there is no doubt. There is also no doubt that in leaving Rickey off the ballot it was a conscious and purposeful act. There is simply no way you could look at the list of eligible players and not consider Henderson a Hall of Famer. Unless Simpson wants to admit that his mental faculties are no longer there and he is unable to come up with cogent thoughts, but I’m going to assume that is not the case since he still seems to form sentences together. If he has lost his wits, then his vote DEFINITELY should be taken away.
I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt that Simpson still has working synapses and so chose to leave Henderson off the list purposefully and maliciously. Also, how can you NOT be a “Rickey guy,” what more could you want from a player? He won MVPs, he set a nearly unbreakable record with steals, he set a nearly unbreakable record in runs, his walks record was phenomenal and only could be, and was, bested by one player, Barry Bonds. The only weak part of Rickey’s game was his fielding, but it wasn’t as though he was TERRIBLE, just in comparison to his prodigious lead-off ability it is lesser.
No matter what he says, Corky Simpson clearly put himself above the game, above the HoF. By purposely leaving Henderson off the ballot he willfully took away the opportunity to get someone elected unanimously, and maybe, hopefully, ending the era of hanging onto useless old traditions.
Unfortunately, Corky Simpson seems like just another useless old tradition too.
As the ballots have been handed in, many of the BBWAA are publishing their ballots for the Hall of Fame and their explanations for them. Corky Simpson of the Green Valley News and Sun started writing for newspapers in 1958 and he retired from writing full-time in 2006 after 48 years. Someone should have taken away his BBWAA membership then, and if not then, than immediately today. That’s because he released his ballot and it features 8 of the maximum 10 votes.
His ballot is as follows: Bert Blyleven, Andre Dawson, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Tim Raines, Jim Rice, Alan Trammel and Matt Williams.
Notice a big name not on the list? How about RICKEY HENDERSON, the GREATEST FUCKING LEADOFF HITTER OF ALL TIME!?!?!?!
But sure, MATT WILLIAMS should be on your ballot. Here’s Simpson’s explanation, “Matt Williams, my first Hall of Fame vote for an Arizona Diamondback player. Matty played 17 seasons for the Giants, Indians and Diamondbacks. Nobody ever played the game with more intensity, nor with more reverence for the sport.”
Um, those are NOT reasons to be in the Hall of Fame, the HoF is for the GREATEST PLAYERS TO EVER PLAY THE GAME (and Luis Aparicio) not for someone who played hard. Now, don’t get me wrong, Williams was a nice player, he played for a long time and was fairly consistent, but was he ever one of the best players of his time? NOPE! Sure, he was an All-Star, but fuck, so was Mark Redman a few years ago…That’s simply not enough reason to include him on a ballot. Nor is leaving two empty slots when RICKEY HENDERSON IS STILL NOT ON YOUR BALLOT!
Putting Matt Williams on your ballot is a giant admission that you are an assh0le and don’t care about the Hall of Fame. Not to mention having Tommy John, Don Mattingly and Jim Rice on your ballot, none of whom deserves to be in the HoF, and I’m on the fence about Trammel.
And to further show just how completely out of touch Simpson is, with I can only imagine some sort of dementia, check out this bit from the end of his article.
“Others honored with nomination this year and who may well be voted into the Hall of Fame, include Harold Baines, Jay Bell, David Cone, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Rickey Henderson, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Jesse Orosco, Dave Parker, Dan Plesac, Lee Smith, Greg Vaughn and Mo Vaughn.”
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!?! GREG VAUGHN! JESSE OROSCO? DAN PLESAC!?!?!?! JAY BELL! And you include Rickey Henderson in that group? Not a single member of that group who “may well be voted into the Hall of Fame” deserves even a FREE TICKET to the HoF let alone actual membership. Dale Murphy is Jim Rice but having played in Atlanta, David Cone is another good but not great player, Grace is basically Williams with doubles instead of HRs. UGH.
This makes me SO ANGRY. How ANYONE could not see Rickey Henderson as a HoFer is simply beyond me. Particularly when that person thinks MATT WILLIAMS is more deserving.
Someone take away Corky’s vote immediately and see that his ballot is rejected for coming from a retarded person.
Jack Wilson, the all-glove no-hit shortstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates is frustrated by the never ending losing and wants to see the Pirates actually succeed for once.
“The only thing I wish we could do was compete. I wish we could go out and get some more players to make our team competitive. And, you know…that’s going to be my new focus on the Internet: Instead of looking for my name and where I might go, hopefully, we might get some players. Because we need them.”
Now, to be fair, he’s right the Pirates DO need players, thus far their biggest off-season moves have been signing utility scrub Ramon Vazquez and resigning catcher Ryan Doumit. Not exactly headline news…Then again, seeing that the Pirates are paying $7.25 million this year for Jack Wilson, who has a career OPS+ of 78(!!!!!), a player who in 8 years has NEVER had an OPB above .350 or really been anything better than MEDIOCRE at the plate for 6 of 8 years. But yeah, the Pirates need to get some players. No. They need to get rid of STUPID contracts and useless one-dimensional players who play premium positions.
“I wanted to make sure that, if I was giving up a couple years of free agency, I had a chance of competing. That’s one of the main things that went into my signing that piece of paper [his 3 year extension signed in 2006], that we’d compete,” Wilson said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Since I signed that, that hasn’t happened. We’ve lost key players who were going to be part of that team they were talking about. They are now gone.”
Yes, they have lost key players, like Jason Bay, but otherwise, Xavier Nady and Jeff Suppan are probably the biggest losses since he’s been on the team and I think any good baseball fan will agree that neither of those players are people you want to base a team around.
Wilson continued being completely wrong when he told the paper, “The biggest thing stressed over the past year was accountability. That includes everybody in the organization, as far as having accountability for themselves and in wanting to win. It’s not just the players.” Sure, accountability is great, does that mean you’ll be returning some of the $20 million dollars you’ll have earned over the last 4 years seeing that the closest players careers to yours include such luminaries as Adam Kennedy, Christian Guzman and DEIVI CRUZ!!!! (comparison score of 942!!!!!!!) Anytime you’re mentioned in the same breath with Deivi Cruz (whose career OPS+ was, you guessed it 78!) is NOT a good thing.
Hey Jack, shut the fuck up, your team has been desperately trying to unload you for the last three years and have been unable to find a taker because of the sheer ridiculousness of your salary. You want to help the Pirates, tell them you want to be paid what you deserve, the league minimum and have them pay the 7 million they owe you to someone who can actually PLAY baseball. You know, like hit the ball and stuff. I know it is EXTREMELY hard for you, but most professional ballplayers are able to do that…
Also, your mouth is terrifying looking, that smile/sneer thing of yours is truly hideous. You should NEVER been seen in HD.
When I was going off to college, my high school’s college adviser wrote in my yearbook “Have a great 4-7 years in college, you’re gonna need it.” How right he was. Amazingly I defied the odds and finished in only 4 years, and learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of diet pills. So, really, win-win.
Jordan Shipley of the University of Texas Longhorns football team must have received similar advice. Shipley, currently a 5th year player at the school has applied for a 6th year of eligibility from the NCAA. Shipley missed two seasons due to injury, 2004-2005 and now wants to make up that lost time, with that elusive 6th year of college. “I think I deserve another year. I missed over two whole seasons,” Shipley said.
Sure, you absolutely “deserve” it. After all, you got to go to one of the best schools in Texas, for free, for now 5 years, they OWE you because you got hurt. I couldn’t agree more. It’s nice to see a young man who has the proper perspective on life. In other fun news people who were in 8th grade when Shipley started college are now his classmates. Fun!
You know how you know you’re a really successful soccer coach? When you can ask the various girls on your college team important soccer questions like:
’Who [her] fuck of the minute is, fuck of the hour is, fuck of the week [is],’ whether there was a ‘guy [she] ha[dn’t] fucked yet,’ and whether she ‘got the guys’ names as they came to the door or whether she just took a number.’” He routinely commented on players’ “nice legs,” “nice racks” and “breasts bouncing.” Among other things, Dorrance also asked one player if she “was going to have sex with the entire lacrosse team,” advised another to “keep [her] knees together; you can’t make it too easy for them,” inquired of another whether she was going to have a “shag fest” with her boyfriend, and told the trainer within earshot of team members that he fantasized about having “an Asian threesome” with his Asian players.
The man in question is University of North Carolina women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance who has led the UNC team to 19 out of 27 possible NCAA championships with a win percentage of .943 (career record 625-28-20) which is staggeringly dominating. He’s been the NCAA coach of the year 7 times and this past March was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame (a place that keeps sending back my donations of my teenage shin guards as “not relevant to soccer excellence.”) So, clearly he’s been pretty good, and UNC, a school that loves it’s championships is not in a rush to kill the golden goose.
Unfortunately, that means that he’s been able to get away with this gross inappropriateness to his players. One of the plaintiffs, Melissa Jennings who brought her case of sexual harassment to the courts explained,
“I was 17,” Ms. Jennings recalled, “when he asked me [“Who are you fucking?”] in a dark hotel room, knee-to-knee….” By this time, Ms. Jennings had already reported her discomfort with Dorrance’s behavior to a school official, but the official took no action and instructed her to “work it out” with Dorrance.
That’s great UNC, I mean, why would you want to pay attention to any claims from the students that they are being harassed, by a university employee no less. I can see why they’d want to ignore it. After all, those soccer player girls are always asking for it, haven’t you seen all those games where the girls trap the ball with their chest? I mean, they’re just ASKING for it, why else would they be attracting all that attention to their boobs?
Of course, the courts have thrown the case out, (thanks Bush appointees! (the two judges who wanted it thrown out were each appointed by a Bush)) because clearly these women deserve to have a man whom they should be able to trust, and who has incredible power over them continue to harass them and make them uncomfortable. Seems fair to me. As the only dissenting judge accurately noted, “the power [Dorrance] implicitly wielded over his players to stifle protest against his behavior was ‘tremendous.’ He ‘controlled everything.'”
The majority judges though whitewashed the whole affair, saying Jennings’ claims of harassment were merely “‘sexual banter,’ ‘vulgar language’ and ‘second-hand harassment’ insufficient to amount to unlawful discrimination.” Yeah, because my soccer coach telling me I’m a slut and that I fuck everyone on campus is HILARIOUS banter.
This of course is coming from someone who almost never gets offended by anything. I am offended by this. More than anything I’m offended by the courts, who are by law required to look at the issue from the side of the victim, and still opted to throw this case out of court. Despicable.
Then, because these judges are so concerned with morality and the welfare of others, in the writing of their decisions, the two judges used asterisks when quoting the sexual profanities Jennings detailed. It seems that while these words weren’t offensive for Jennings to hear, they would be MUCH too offensive for the rest of the world to consider, even in just print form. Thanks judges! I’m glad to know you have the true interests of all good Americans in mind.
Sometimes people just gift themselves over as blog fodder, like the couple busted for boning in the bathroom during the Iowa Hawkeyes’ rout of the Minnesota Gophers. The woman in question, who has subsequently been identified as Lois Feldman of Carroll, Iowa has said that this whole situation has ruined her life. Feldman, who calls herself a light drinker stated that she had some wine at a friend’s home before the game, and that that led to all the problems.
At some point during the game, she got up to go to the bathroom, and met Ross Walsh, who she decided to immediately rail in a men’s bathroom. I know that always happens to me when I get drunk. Feldman’s husband, a giant pussy of a man named Kelly, blames himself for the whole incident, believing that he should have gone with her to the bathroom. Kelly, if your 38 year old wife is unable to go to the bathroom without FUCKING SOME RANDO DUDE along the way, you have a lot of other issues going on in the marriage. Maybe that’s just me, but then again, MY wife didn’t fuck a stranger in a football stadium bathroom…How about instead of blaming yourself, blame your 38 year old wife, who is the mother to your three kids for not having any semblance of self-control. It’s one thing to be drunk and kiss someone, it’s quite another to instantly fuck them in a men’s bathroom with a crowd cheering you on.
Sadly, Feldman has been fired from her job, (although the reasoning behind that is beyond me) which is truly unfortunate, but her being upset at the notoriety she has received from this incident is ridiculous. She got drunk and instantly nailed a stranger in a bathroom, while her husband sat meekly in the stands, I have no sympathy for you. I’ve been drunk before, I even once was blackout drunk, you know what I didn’t do? Have sex with a stranger in a bathroom. I did make out with a poster for a little while, but I dare you to look at this poster and not be aroused.
Of course, Feldman and her husband went to see a lawyer about getting rid of the misdemeanor ticket, but according to Chuck Miner, a stadium security guard, “It’s spelled out in the law in Minnesota that intoxication is not a defense to any crime,” so good luck with that.
Meanwhile the mother of three and her husband are trying to move on with their lives. Here’s a suggestion to Kelly, when your wife gets drunk, apparently she fucks EVERYONE, so maybe lay off the wine coolers next time eh? Especially when going to a giant crowd of people. Or else who knows, next time she might be the halftime spectacular.
h/t to Graney and the Pig for digging up the Feldman photo
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:
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.
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’
Showing that they can be total capital “d” Douches, the New York Rangers are seeking the 17th pick in this year’s draft as compensation for not being able to sign their 2006 first round choice, also the 17th pick. The reason they were unable to sign Alexei Cherepanov? He’s the player who was tragically killed during an Russian hockey league game.
As Rangers assistant GM Cam Hope told the NY Post:
The question is with the one parenthetical phrase in Article 8.3 (b) that refers compensation for an unsigned first-round draft pick who is ‘… again eligible for the Entry Draft or becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent …’ That language was inserted to clarify that a team would be owed a compensatory pick even if they were to re-draft that player or sign him as a free agent.
It seems now as if that phrase is unintentionally precluding the deceased from being included as eligible for compensation. We understand that this is a sensitive issue, but with all due respect to Alexei’s family and his memory, he is technically eligible to be drafted again next year.
We are not attempting to capitalize on a tragedy, but there would be no question regarding the Rangers’ right to a compensatory pick if Cherepanov had been revived and survived the incident and were on life support.
If an unsigned player sustained a massive injury on or off the ice, the drafting team would get a compensatory pick,” Hope said. “We believe that the letter of the law applies in this case, but even if there is a disagreement on that, it’s clear that the spirit of the law applies.
Classy guys. SUPER Classy. This would be like the Celtics seeking a compensatory pick, in this year’s draft for Len Bias’ death. Sure, it’s only been 20 years, but c’mon, we’re owed the second pick in the draft!
I get that the Rangers are upset, sure, but c’mon this is just pathetic. Fuck you Glen Sather. Cherepanov’s death was unfortunate and sad, but don’t try and milk it to get something else, that’s just sick.
"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.
In case you’ve ever wondered what a $27.5 million dollar salary buys in terms of apartments in New York City, here are some photos of Alex Rodriguez’ pad. Looks classy. Except for that horse painting, that seems uber-lame and cliche. Keep in mind this house is basically the same as my spot in Brooklyn… sigh.
[Luxist]
“I know there are people out there that think I’m a jerk. There are people out there who think I’m a wife-beater. That will never change,” says Phillies pitcher Brett Myers, referring to the 2006 incident in which he was arrested and charged in Boston with assaulting his wife, Kim. THAT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE A FUCKING WIFE-BEATER WHO BEAT HIS WIFE ON THE FUCKING STREET YOU ASSHOLE!
Myers told THE USA Today that had the Red Sox made the World Series he would have asked manager Charlie Manuel to rearrange the rotation so he wouldn’t have to start in Boston because the fans there were mean to him. For those of you who remember, Myers was arrested for HITTING HIS WIFE on the streets the day before he was supposed to start at Fenway and then pitched the next day. The fans in Boston were less than polite to him, rightly so, as he is a scumbag who is barely better than a child molester.
“But you know what, I really don’t care what people think about me. … If people don’t like me, they can deal with it. This is who I am.” No, clearly you DO care because you were too scared to pitch in Boston. Furthermore, if you didn’t care you wouldn’t be trying to defend yourself. You’d just ignore the question.
Myers lowers his head. He blinks away the wetness in his eyes and speaks almost in a whisper. “I just wish people took time to know me before they make judgments,” Myers says. “That’s all I ask. They think I’m this rude guy who doesn’t appreciate what I got. If only they knew.”
No, I’m sure you appreciate very much being in a position of wealth and fame that enables you to avoid serious charges against you because of your celebrity. I’m certain you appreciate that your wife dropped the charges and defended you, even though I don’t understand how she could. However, I will not, and no one EVER should feel SORRY for you.
“They say I dragged my wife by her hair,” Myers says. “Never happened. They say I kicked her and threw her around like a rag doll. Never happened. I never did anything to her. There was nothing on her face. I was actually trying to protect her and get her to her room. She didn’t want to go, and things got carried away. When you’re both heavily intoxicated, that stuff does stuff to you you’re not supposed to do.”
Who is they? The witnesses who saw you do these things to her on the streets of Kenmore Square? The rando people who had no idea you were a professional baseball player and had no agenda except trying to stop a man who is a foot taller, 120 plus pounds heavier from HITTING HIS WIFE. Yeah that seems likely. I’m so glad that USA Today took the time to try and give him a chance to speak. By which I mean they should be ashamed of themselves for trying to fluff over and let him make bullshit claims to try and right his image.
The Slanch Report has started an online petition asking the MLB Network to air the Dock Ellis no-hitter he threw on June 12, 1970 against the San Diego Padres. The moment was a seminal piece of baseball history and is certainly worthy of being rerun.
Please join us in this cause and sign the petition below so we can all share in this special and fantastic moment of baseball history. THANKS!
SIGN THE PETITION HERE! AND PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND PASS THIS ALONG!
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