Questions That Inherently Lack Good Answers

Comments (14)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

1. Ronnie P says:

   July 3, 2011 at 12:43 pm

   Must have a strong union or something. Maybe the new guy can chime in.

   Reply
   • Brien Jackson says:

     July 4, 2011 at 7:39 am

     The umpires’ union is ridiculous.

     Reply
2. efgoldman says:

   July 3, 2011 at 1:13 pm

   Cuzzi’s mistakes, at least, are of the physical kind, analogous to a grounder going through an infielder’s wickets.
   Far worse are the antics of Joe West and his brethren in their “The Game is Really All About US” society.
   When MLB broke the umpire’s old union, whenever it was, Gammons and the Lords of The Game decreed that this gave the league a chance to get rid of the Joe Wests of the world. So what the hell happened?

   Reply
   • c u n d gulag says:

     July 3, 2011 at 1:37 pm

     The occasional ‘Ooops!’ happens to everyone, but Cuzzi’s calls are, at time, ludicrous. He should lose his job – or go back down to the minors for a couple of years of retraining.

     But the worst was the umpires in the ’90′s and early ’00′s, who used to call pitches strikes that were practically in the other batters box. Hitters couldn’t touch that pitch with a garden rakd – “STRIKE!”

     Reply
     • efgoldman says:

       July 3, 2011 at 2:28 pm

       You mean the “Atlanta strike” for Maddux and Glavine? Those guys were brilliant. Start on the plate, and inning by inning, pitch by pitch, move it incrementally further outside. By August, if the catcher didn’t have to lunge for it, it was a strike. And they didn’t need any chemical adjustment, either.

       QuesTec and the boxes used on practically every broadcast have done a lot to fix the ball/strike problem, although I think calling the plate is a stupidly hard thing for a human being to have to do.

       Its the bad attitude guys that still get to me.

       Reply
       • c u n d gulag says:

         July 3, 2011 at 3:03 pm

         Yeah, and this latest generation likes to get in players and managers faces.

         Billy Martin and Earl Weaver wouldn’t have been able to manage more than about 80 full games a season.

         Reply
       • Brien Jackson says:

         July 4, 2011 at 7:45 am

         Yeah, I’m generally not too hard on umpires who blow calls here or there, but Cuzzi (and Marty Foster, C.B. Bucknor and a few others that come to mind) are just downright awful.

         Same with calling the plate. I’m generally okay with you as long as you’re relatively close around the margins and fairly consistent with your calls at the edges. But consistency is a little overrated too. Hunter Wendelstadt consistently moves the entire zone about 6 inches to his left. Everyone knows it, and he’s consistent, but it’s still unfair to the pitchers.

         And I totally agree about the umpires with an attitude. There shouldn’t be a place for Joe West, Angel Hernandez, Bill Hohn, or Bob Davidson anywhere in MLB.

         Reply
3. efgoldman says:

   July 3, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLUuxVX4Z10

   Can’t find the one I *really* want, Weaver vs Ron Luciano.

   Earl: “You’re gonna’ throw me out of this f*cking game.”
   Luciano: “I am *not* gonna’ throw you out of the f*cking game, now go back and sit
   down…”

   (Earl eventually won. A great, great piece of video.)

   Reply
4. efgoldman says:

   July 3, 2011 at 3:22 pm

   You know, the Orioles have been so bad for so long under current ownership, we forget (or some of us are too young, I’m sure) what an excellent team and organization they were in Weaver’s day.
   (Baseball reference.com)
   17 years
   2541 /1480 / 1060 / .583 / 4 Pennants and 1 World Series Title

   Reply
   • c u n d gulag says:

     July 3, 2011 at 5:27 pm

     Hank Bauer was their first WS winning manager, but after that, it was all Earl.

     God, the Orioles of were one Hell of a team and organization from the mid-’60′s, to the early-mid ’80′.

     The Yankees had to go out and buy players, but every year, the O’s came up with a Grich, or a Dauer, or a Murray, or a Ripkin – or two.

     It’s a shame what happened to them. I never understood why they don’t go back to “The Oriole Way” – except that Angelos, their horrible owner, wants to get any credit if they ever do win again.

     Hiring Showaltre was smart. If he doesn’t bring them to the promised land, he’s got a history of getting teams close so that his successor can succeed.

     As a Yankee fan, I want to hate the Orioles again.

     Reply
     • efgoldman says:

       July 3, 2011 at 7:41 pm

       Old saying: The fish rots from the head down.

       Just as true in sports as in government or the corporate world.

       Its why some teams never, ever win, and others do, all the time.

       Reply
     • elm says:

       July 4, 2011 at 12:25 am

       In my childhood, the O’s were the most hated rivals of the Yanks with Murray and Ripken. The Red Sox were an historical curiosity. I’m not a huge fan of how everything is now Yanks/Sawx. I’m glad Tampa’s making a go of adding a wrinkle to the rivalry, but I, too, would love to be able to hate the O’s again.

       Reply
5. NBarnes says:

   July 3, 2011 at 3:41 pm

   Man, I miss Earl Weaver. So, so much.

   Reply
6. Deggjr says:

   July 4, 2011 at 8:28 am

   Earl Weaver: “I’ve given Mike Cuellar more chances than my first wife.” after Cuellar complained he didn’t get a chance.

   Reply