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Tag: "baseball"

Dog & Pony Show

[ 13 ] June 17, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

This is about right.

I can certainly understand firing Randolph last month; the team (after a historic choke) has underachieved on balance this year, although this is at least as much on the GM (I’m not sure what a manager can do when presented with no corner outfielders who hit well enough to be a good utility infielder, for example.) But to fly him out to the west coast for a day and fire him after a win? In the dead of night? And after a week in which the team actually played well but was undermined by am exploding closer and asleep-at-the-switch third base coach (who managed to survive the coaching purge?) To hire the bench coach with a similar personality and similar credentials you could have hired at any time? What a farce.

Djw’s Long Regional Nightmare Is Over

[ 24 ] June 16, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

Bill Bavasi mercifully fired. It makes sense; charitably assuming that the Mariners may try to find a major league manager at some point this season, you want a new GM to do the search.

Of course, the post title isn’t strictly accurate until we find out who option B is. Given the general philosphy of Lincoln and Armstrong, I’m thinking the Ms will follow the path of the 1985 Indians and try to assemble a whole committee of idiots Real Baseball Men with ghastly track records. Maybe Chuck LeMar will supervise Dave Littlefield and Jim Duquette, and at their first press conference they can announce the signings of Matt Morris and Victor Zambrano.

…in other news, looks like Wang is out for the regular season.

The Trot Of Desperation

[ 13 ] June 14, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

If 2004 comes back, I’m sure he’ll be very effective. And between him and Moises the Mets should have at least 20% of their remaining LF games covered.

Actually, all snark aside the frightening thing is that it’s not a bad move. He may be able to get on base, which is an improvement over the Mets’ current corner OF options, as none of them provide any offense at all and only Chavez can even play the outfield. I just hope that Troy O’Leary is keeping limber and in touch with his agent.

I also note that the Metropolitans have pulled into a tie with the mighty Pirates. Weiner’s hearing footsteps! I tell ya, that race is going down to the wire…

Dial 1-800-STOP-THE-BLEEDING

[ 78 ] June 12, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

Nixonland has enough writing about arson to satisfy me without having to watch the Mets’s bullpen. It’s unfortunate, but it’s hard to see Randolph surviving too many more of these.

Kiss Cam

[ 111 ] June 7, 2008 | Robert Farley

I’m surprised that this has come up in Seattle…

Most of the time, a kiss is just a kiss in the stands at Seattle Mariners games. The crowd hardly even pays attention when fans smooch.

But last week, a lesbian complained that an usher at Safeco Field asked her to stop kissing her date because it was making another fan uncomfortable.

The incident has exploded on local TV, on talk radio and in the blogosphere and has touched off a debate over public displays of affection in generally gay-friendly Seattle.

See also Savage. I’m forcibly reminded that the Cincinnati Reds employ a “Kiss Cam”; in the middle of inning 6 or 8, they focus on a series of (invariably heterosexual) couples and the crowd cheers for them to kiss. I don’t recall if they have one at Safeco, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised. Do you think they’d discontinue if I complained that the kissing made me feel uncomfortable?

Nadir

[ 39 ] June 5, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

It’s hard to get much worse than getting swept at home by an Angels team without Guerrero (and not pitching Lackey). But I’m sure McLaren and company can find a way!

In other news, this has been building since several commenters argued last year that it was logically impossible for him to have allowed a run in Game 2 without the bugs, but Sweet Jeebus am I already sick of Greatest Pitching Prospect In Known World History Joba Chamberlain and the ceaseless hype surrounding him. If Saint Derek of Pasta Diving goes on the DL I think he can slide into the Most Irritating Yankee role right away.

I’ve Said it Before, and I’ll Say it Again…

[ 12 ] June 3, 2008 | Robert Farley

I am pleased that I resisted the temptation to trade Josh Hamilton straight up for Derek Jeter.

Incidentally, what kind of mojo was applied to the ink of the Hamilton-Volquez deal such that both became MVP-caliber players as soon as the deal was done?

Fernandomania!

[ 14 ] May 29, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

I don’t know what’s worse; Fernando “If 1999 ever comes back, he’ll be one of the best third basemen in baseball!” Tatis hitting sixth, or the fact that he seems to have considerably more life in his bat than Delgado (or about 90% of the Mariners’ roster…)

Baseball Challenge Standings

[ 0 ] May 26, 2008 | Robert Farley

Most pundits now agree that R. Farley has built an insurmountable point lead in the 2008 LGM Challenge:

1 Lexington Bearded Ducks, R. Farley 2611 99.1
2 The Rev. Josh Fields, A. Katz 2373 93.3
3 Headless Thompson Gunners, S. Hickey 2326 91.1
4 Sluggy McSlugs, C. Moore 2323 91
5 kodos423, k. crockett 2254 87.1
6 Lungless Wonders, E. Udall 2231 85.7
7 Theibault Moor Orioles, J. Theibault 2153 80.1
8 JacobyRules, P. Smith 2148 79.8
9 Axis of Evel Knievel, D. Noon 2122 77.6
10 Wild Loose Comma, C. S 2062 72.6

However, several competitors refused to concede defeat…

  • D. Noon: “Farley’s been using black players. Jesse Jackson was black. You know what I’m sayin’.”
  • A. Katz: “My extensive analysis has indicated that if the game used an entirely different set of metrics, I’d be well ahead.”
  • E. Udall: “I would be substantially in the lead if we counted exhibition games. EVERY GAME SHOULD COUNT! COUNT THE EXHIBITION GAMES!”
  • P. Smith: “Hey, remember back in ’68 when Bobby drafted Denny McClain in the fourth round, and Danny Cater in, like, the 10th, and then was way ahead in late May? Well, we all remember what happened then…”

Dead-enders, all of them.

Why, That Sounds Like a Terrible Idea

[ 0 ] May 26, 2008 | Robert Farley

This sounds like an incredibly bad idea:

People who normally use Metro Transit’s [the Seattle bus system-ed] special service to get to ball games, community festivals, and other special events should be aware that new Federal Transit Administration (FTA) rules could significantly restrict Metro’s ability to provide this service.

These changes in federal regulations limit Metro’s ability to offer the special event service as it has in the past. Since these rules are so new, the effect they have on each of the events Metro has been serving is not yet known.

This new federal rule redefines “charter service” to potentially include the service that Metro has been offering to sports venues – such as Emerald Downs, Husky Stadium, Safeco Field and Qwest Field. It could also affect special service to local community fairs and events. This includes large-scale events such as the Folklife Festival, Seafair hydro races, Bumbershoot, and the Northwest Flower and Garden Show; and smaller celebrations such as the Bellevue Strawberry Festival and Redmond Derby Days.

If Metro service for an event falls under the new definition of charter service, the agency must first contact private charter firms registered with the FTA to see if any are interested in providing the service. If any firms indicate they are interested, Metro will be precluded from providing the service and the private operators will be given the opportunity to negotiate with the event sponsor for the transportation service.

If no private company is willing and able to provide the transportation service, Metro may be able to continue its special service to the venue.

Metro has been working closely with the FTA and event organizers to understand and clarify the rule requirements, and has received an exemption from the FTA to continue operating service to Mariners games at Safeco until June 30. More information about these rules and the impact on Metro service will be provided as it becomes available.

This is the first time I’ve heard of this; since it’s a new FTA policy, I assume that it has to affect cities other than Seattle. Unless I’m missing something important, the idiocy of this policy is matched only by its chutzpah; the FTA is so certain that government can’t compete with private industry that it will prohibit government from competing with private industry.

Does anyone have a better idea of what’s going on here, or examples from other cities?

…and this is reassuring:

While FTA accepts submissions from private charter operators and qualified human service organizations, FTA does not verify the accuracy of the information submitted. Members of the public using this site should contact the private charter operators directly for more information regarding their services.

Ah! So at least the FTA is explicit about its inability to verify anything that private charter companies tell it; that’s terribly comforting. So if I understand this correctly, “Big Steve’s Big Charters” can register, and thereby preclude Metro from providing service, without anyone knowing or asking whether Big Steve is operating anything more than a 1975 Chevy Scottsdale.

This, dear readers, is what we call a victory for federalism. Thank God that localities can no longer make decisions on how to allocate their transit service.

…ooh, and here’s the registration form. I’m sure they’ll check to make sure that I actually have sixty vans…

…and here’s a Washington Post story on the effects of the policy in DC. HT Woodrowfan.

Via DMZ.

Confidence!

[ 0 ] May 25, 2008 | Scott Lemieux

Well, why not? Armstrong’s the idiot who brought them aboard in the first place. (Normally, a “vote of confidence” would be a good sign, but I have the sinking suspicion it’s serious.)

One more thing: if you think (inexplicably) that you have a championship quality roster and it has the worst record in the league, how can this be a defense of the manager? Aren’t managers aren’t, you know, supposed to get teams to achieve what, or ideally more, than they’re capable of? This really is Bavasi in a nutshell.

UPDATE BY ROB:

“In my 23 years, I have never ever seen anything like this,” Armstrong told MLB.com. “We saw it the other way in 2001. I mean, you have to ask yourself, ‘How did the Mariners win 116 games that season with that roster, compared to this roster?’ This is just as inexplicable the other way.”

Ahem. And ahem. And this doesn’t take into account the fact, of course, that the 2001 Mariners were one of the finest defensive teams in the history of baseball.

I Come Not to Bury Caesar, But to Jeterate Him

[ 0 ] May 25, 2008 | Robert Farley

Joe Posnanski, on how he wants to like Derek Jeter, but..

So why is it that I’m often writing negative things about Derek Jeter? I realized Friday that it has absolutely nothing to do with Jeter himself. No, what drives me batty is that Jeter — maybe because of his star power, or maybe because he’s a Yankee, or maybe because he’s made some very big plays on the national stage, or maybe because he dated all the supermodels, I honestly don’t know what it is — Jeter brings out this quality in people, this superiority, this … it just drives me insane I don’t know if there’s a word for this quality so, as we do here, I’m going to invent a word.

Jeterate (verb) meaning “to praise someone for something of which he or she is entirely unworthy of praise.”

Example: “The father could not but jeterate his daughter for coloring on the wall because she looked so cute.”

Or: “The employee, knowing his job was on the line, jeterated his boss for almost making a 3-foot putt. ‘That was an incredible putt,“ the employee said. ”With that intense break, I doubt Tiger Woods would have even lipped out like you did.“

Or: “The doctor jeterated his patient for not actually gaining any more weight since the visit four days earlier.”

This requires some mild edits; I write negatively about Jeter because I hate him, and “because he dated all those supermodels” should obviously be replaced with “because he infected all those supermodels with herpes”, but otherwise I think I concur with the gist of the argument.

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