What. The. Hell.
posted by Cheddar Ben at 2:41 PM
4 comments
Friday, November 30, 2007
Holy Crap
"There may have been some hustle issues in this one," according to ESPN's Matt Winer. How now, Winer? It seems like a pretty fair result to me. In reverse order, my five favorite things about the New York Knicks' absolutely stunning 104-59 loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics Thursday night.
5) It was only the Knicks' third-worst loss of the shot clock era
Look, I know it's a long season. I know there are tons of meaningless contests in any given NBA calendar, and some of them are bound to wind up blowouts. When you run those odds through decades of games and scads of expansion teams and omnipresent injuries and cocaine and the little-known (and unproven) mathematical theorem known as the Kenny Anderson Constant, you're going to come up with some ugly scorelines. Sure.
But still, when you wind up on the ugly end of a 45-point deficit, and it ain't even in the top two, it's almost more embarrassing. Which reminds me of a story from Cheddar Ben's rugby days, when he and the team were in the Dominican Republic for some Spring Breaking. There were a bunch of Canadian girls who may or may not have been underage at the same resort -- it was unclear. In any case, the bar at our hotel was an All-You-Can-Drink type of place, serving any of 20 different fruity island drinks in tiny little plastic cups. Being creative alcoholics (the most dangerous kind), we quickly decided that a goal should be to drink each item on the drink menu in order. It was surmised that a drinker might fall into a diabetic coma before finishing, but this was seen as an attractive feature of the enterprise by many members of the club.
Two nights in, our teammate -- a standup guy known as Honky Jimbo -- took down the Menu in fine fashion and proceeded to disappear into his hotel room. He didn't surface until 7 p.m. the next evening, when the team had re-decamped in the same bar. Hollow-eyed and white as the driven snow, Jim asked the bartender for a Coke, chugged it, proceeded to vomit all over the grass next to the bar, and promptly vanished again.
The next morning, once again walking around like a semi-normal human being, he was asked about how he felt. Jim thought about the question for a moment, and then answered honestly. "It was almost the second-worst hangover I've ever had," he said.
The kid was a drinker. The point being, the Knicks aren't in a good place right now.
4) Kevin Garnett played only 22 minutes
Or, the same number of minutes as Brian Scalabrine, the most unlikely looking pro basketball player of his generation. Or, a minute less than Isiah's pride and joy Fred Jones, who used his longest appearance of the year to post four assists and two blocks and miss three shots. Yippee. This game was over before the first bite of cotton candy was taken. I think I caught Garnett getting a full-body massage and facial late in the third quarter. Ray Allen had toothpicks in between his toes.
Here are the types of players averaging between 21 and 22 minutes this year in the NBA:
DAL Brandon Bass 21.8 minutes
NJN Bostjan Nachbar 21.8 minutes
SEA Delonte West 21.8 minutes
SEA Kurt Thomas 21.6 minutes
PHI Louis Williams 21.6 minutes
MIA Anfernee Hardaway 21.6 minutes
CHI Victor Khryapa 21.6 minutes
Ouch. Good to see Penny on that list, though, especially now that the Knicks no longer owe him any money. Also, it appears there's a reason the Bulls are looking so awful. Scott Skiles must be giving that guy Tyrus Thomas' minutes, a Lenny Wilkens move if ever there were one.
3) None of the Celtics' starters recorded a turnover
Of course, they weren't in the game for that long, so this has something of a self-fulfilling edge to it. But come on. That's some STIFLING defense by the Knicks there.
The C's are certainly a combination of gifted and unselfish players, but they've also only known each other for less than a year, and haven't played more than a baker's dozen regular-season games together. There's such a thing as instant chemistry, I suppose, but a little bit of pressure or effort might have forced Boston into, I don't know, one bad pass. We'll never know.
Some of us were bullish on the Eddy Curry-Zach Randolph combination heading into the season, and I admit I was one of those boosters. Others pointed out this would be the worst defensive frontcourt in the conference, and they turned out to have the stronger case. Q is a far more inspired defender, but he has trouble with guys who are faster than him, and that list expands by the second. Jamal Crawford has always been a sieve, and for all of this ability, the last time Starbury played D was against Boys and Girls in the PSAL semifinals.
Oh, and Garnett also almost posted a triple-double during them minutes. Nice.
2) This line from the AP writeup:
"And unlike the Boston area's NFL team, the Celtics didn't even try to run up the score."
Zing! Way to hit 'em where it hurts, Associated Press. The two main guys in the Boston bureau are Jimmy Golen and Howard Ulman, two solid, diligent soldiers in the beat game. They're understaffed in an extremely tough media environment, and more than hold their own. Always had a soft spot for them.
And, naturally, one of them clearly loathes Bill Belichick. More points in my book.
1) Nate Robinson hit a 37-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to get the game to within 45
Hold on. There's just so many angles from which to come at this.
No, still thinking. Laughing, really. But still thinking.
Okay.
No, okay. Now we're good.
Don't you get the sense that Nate Robinson is kind of happy with that? I don't mean in a fleeting, "Wow, I can't believe that went in" way. I mean, I think Nate Robinson thinks that was pretty awesome. That he did okay Thursday night.
It's admittedly a Dime Store armchair psychologist cheap shot, and I have no actual basis for asserting something like that. All the same, I can't help the sneaking suspicion that these are the types of games that Nate the Great adores. He gets to take 10 shots (missing 6, of course). He gets to play 22 minutes, which isn't a ton, but it's more than his season average. And he gets to chuck up whatever he wants, including buzzer-beating Hail Marys with barely anyone still on the court.
A real basketball player wouldn't be the least bit pleased with any of those things, especially when compared to the sting of a thrashing at the hands of a resurgent divisional rival.
But that's the problem with these Knicks. It's not immediately apparent whether one of their key hustle guys off the bench is even remotely interested in winning. In fact, if you want to be a real asshole about it, you might note that they don't have a single guy on the roster who's ever won anywhere at the pro level. That showed last night.
I have to assume that they care at least a little bit. I have to assume that they have normal human desires, like the urge not to be humiliated. I have to assume they have pride, because it sure isn't visible.
That would have to count as my least-favorite thing about the game.
5) It was only the Knicks' third-worst loss of the shot clock era
Look, I know it's a long season. I know there are tons of meaningless contests in any given NBA calendar, and some of them are bound to wind up blowouts. When you run those odds through decades of games and scads of expansion teams and omnipresent injuries and cocaine and the little-known (and unproven) mathematical theorem known as the Kenny Anderson Constant, you're going to come up with some ugly scorelines. Sure.
But still, when you wind up on the ugly end of a 45-point deficit, and it ain't even in the top two, it's almost more embarrassing. Which reminds me of a story from Cheddar Ben's rugby days, when he and the team were in the Dominican Republic for some Spring Breaking. There were a bunch of Canadian girls who may or may not have been underage at the same resort -- it was unclear. In any case, the bar at our hotel was an All-You-Can-Drink type of place, serving any of 20 different fruity island drinks in tiny little plastic cups. Being creative alcoholics (the most dangerous kind), we quickly decided that a goal should be to drink each item on the drink menu in order. It was surmised that a drinker might fall into a diabetic coma before finishing, but this was seen as an attractive feature of the enterprise by many members of the club.Two nights in, our teammate -- a standup guy known as Honky Jimbo -- took down the Menu in fine fashion and proceeded to disappear into his hotel room. He didn't surface until 7 p.m. the next evening, when the team had re-decamped in the same bar. Hollow-eyed and white as the driven snow, Jim asked the bartender for a Coke, chugged it, proceeded to vomit all over the grass next to the bar, and promptly vanished again.
The next morning, once again walking around like a semi-normal human being, he was asked about how he felt. Jim thought about the question for a moment, and then answered honestly. "It was almost the second-worst hangover I've ever had," he said.
The kid was a drinker. The point being, the Knicks aren't in a good place right now.
4) Kevin Garnett played only 22 minutes
Or, the same number of minutes as Brian Scalabrine, the most unlikely looking pro basketball player of his generation. Or, a minute less than Isiah's pride and joy Fred Jones, who used his longest appearance of the year to post four assists and two blocks and miss three shots. Yippee. This game was over before the first bite of cotton candy was taken. I think I caught Garnett getting a full-body massage and facial late in the third quarter. Ray Allen had toothpicks in between his toes.
Here are the types of players averaging between 21 and 22 minutes this year in the NBA:DAL Brandon Bass 21.8 minutes
NJN Bostjan Nachbar 21.8 minutes
SEA Delonte West 21.8 minutes
SEA Kurt Thomas 21.6 minutes
PHI Louis Williams 21.6 minutes
MIA Anfernee Hardaway 21.6 minutes
CHI Victor Khryapa 21.6 minutes
Ouch. Good to see Penny on that list, though, especially now that the Knicks no longer owe him any money. Also, it appears there's a reason the Bulls are looking so awful. Scott Skiles must be giving that guy Tyrus Thomas' minutes, a Lenny Wilkens move if ever there were one.
3) None of the Celtics' starters recorded a turnover
Of course, they weren't in the game for that long, so this has something of a self-fulfilling edge to it. But come on. That's some STIFLING defense by the Knicks there.
The C's are certainly a combination of gifted and unselfish players, but they've also only known each other for less than a year, and haven't played more than a baker's dozen regular-season games together. There's such a thing as instant chemistry, I suppose, but a little bit of pressure or effort might have forced Boston into, I don't know, one bad pass. We'll never know.
Some of us were bullish on the Eddy Curry-Zach Randolph combination heading into the season, and I admit I was one of those boosters. Others pointed out this would be the worst defensive frontcourt in the conference, and they turned out to have the stronger case. Q is a far more inspired defender, but he has trouble with guys who are faster than him, and that list expands by the second. Jamal Crawford has always been a sieve, and for all of this ability, the last time Starbury played D was against Boys and Girls in the PSAL semifinals.
Oh, and Garnett also almost posted a triple-double during them minutes. Nice.2) This line from the AP writeup:
"And unlike the Boston area's NFL team, the Celtics didn't even try to run up the score."
Zing! Way to hit 'em where it hurts, Associated Press. The two main guys in the Boston bureau are Jimmy Golen and Howard Ulman, two solid, diligent soldiers in the beat game. They're understaffed in an extremely tough media environment, and more than hold their own. Always had a soft spot for them.
And, naturally, one of them clearly loathes Bill Belichick. More points in my book.
1) Nate Robinson hit a 37-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to get the game to within 45
Hold on. There's just so many angles from which to come at this.
No, still thinking. Laughing, really. But still thinking.
Okay.
No, okay. Now we're good.
Don't you get the sense that Nate Robinson is kind of happy with that? I don't mean in a fleeting, "Wow, I can't believe that went in" way. I mean, I think Nate Robinson thinks that was pretty awesome. That he did okay Thursday night.
It's admittedly a Dime Store armchair psychologist cheap shot, and I have no actual basis for asserting something like that. All the same, I can't help the sneaking suspicion that these are the types of games that Nate the Great adores. He gets to take 10 shots (missing 6, of course). He gets to play 22 minutes, which isn't a ton, but it's more than his season average. And he gets to chuck up whatever he wants, including buzzer-beating Hail Marys with barely anyone still on the court.A real basketball player wouldn't be the least bit pleased with any of those things, especially when compared to the sting of a thrashing at the hands of a resurgent divisional rival.
But that's the problem with these Knicks. It's not immediately apparent whether one of their key hustle guys off the bench is even remotely interested in winning. In fact, if you want to be a real asshole about it, you might note that they don't have a single guy on the roster who's ever won anywhere at the pro level. That showed last night.
I have to assume that they care at least a little bit. I have to assume that they have normal human desires, like the urge not to be humiliated. I have to assume they have pride, because it sure isn't visible.
That would have to count as my least-favorite thing about the game.
posted by Cheddar Ben at 12:10 AM
2 comments
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Santana Claus
The climate of baseball has shifted over the last couple of years. Back in 2004, the Yankees would trade anyone and their mother to add star power. The result was a depleted farm system and a continued streak of playoff appearances.
Today, Prospects are GODS.
The Yankees claim to have three untouchable pitchers that are so good, that even my barber Franco is scared to trade them: Not even for the greatest pitcher of the millenium.
There are a bunch of reasons why he is wrong.
1. Look At What You Are Getting
In Johan Santana, you are getting the BEST pitcher in baseball. Josh Beckett may have had a better 2007, but Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the game. He will be 29 at the start of the 2008 season and he has has NEVER been hurt.
You are not trading for a risk here.
If anything, you are trading for the surest thing baseball has to offer. He does not have Beckett's blister problem or Sabathia's eating problem. It apeears after a streak of insane seasons that Johan Santana is essentially the perfect arm: Left handed, smooth delivery, ability to change speeds and posseses the games best pitch- his change up.
2. Inflation of New York Prospects
This happens all the time with prospects in New York. Because of our abundance of newspapers and local experts we know so much more about our prospects than any other city's fans do.
Because we have been reading about a kid for years, we project him more than people in Kansas City might about their young studs.
But look at all the failures or supposed busts.
Remember 10 months ago when Mike Pelfrey was the "ace of the future?" Is there a Met fan now that thinks he has a chance of cracking our depleted rotation?
Remember 10 months ago when Phil Hughes threw 98 MPH? I don't think I saw the guy crack 92mph all season.
We as New Yorkers sell ourselves on our own hype. But when it comes to a pitcher from Minnesota, we don't realize what we can be getting.
3. Worst Case Scenario
First off, let me say this. I don't think the Mets have a shot of getting Santana.
We don't have any legitimate pitching prospects.
And our hitting prospects, notably Milledge and Gomez are promising but not guarantees. They both have huge upside but come with questions. And neither is as advanced as any of the Yankee prospects.
But now lets look at the Yankee offer.
It appears that the Yankees have established Joba Chamberlin as their 1A guy with Hughes a close 1B and Kennedy #2.
The offer we have been hearing is Hughes, Kennedy and Melky Cabrera for Santana.
If I'm the Yankees, I do this trade in one second. Even if Hughes becomes a #1, Kennedy a #3 and Cabrera an all-star outfielder.
Here's why.
Johan Santana's come along once every ten years. He's not just a #1 starter like Tom Glavine was for us. He is a legitimate Ace. If all three of the guys they trade max out on their potential, the Yankees are still getting the game's best pitcher. And last time I checked, they have the money to replace those other guys.
The Yankees can afford to make mistakes with their prospects more than any other team because they can offset the financial mistake. And in getting Santana, it shouldn't matter.
You think the Red Sox are bummed that they gave up Hanley Ramirez for Josh Beckett?
They traded arguably the best young player in baseball but so what. They got what they want. In Santana, the Yankees would get the same thing.
Conclusion
There are a number of reasons why Hughes, Kennedy and Cabrera don't pan out. Cabrera hasn't been great hitting in the Yankees lineup. Hughes has one year in the bigs, one year on the DL. And Ian Kennedy?
And for that matter, whats to stop Joba Chamberlin's elbow from being bitten off by bugs?
I understand the practice of holding onto and developing your prospects, especially when they are elite ones. I believe that you don't trade guys with higher ceilings than the present value of the player you are acquiring.
You don't trade a potential #1 starter to get a current #3.
But this is a different story here. You are trading for the pitching version of Alex Rodriguez. The money isn't the issue here. This is the Yankees. This is purely a fear of looking stupid.
But you can't with this one, unless something freakish happens.
If I were starting a team today for the next 5 years, Santana would be my first pick.
This isn't Victor Zambrano here.
It's not Roy Oswalt or Barry Zito either.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of cnn.net, nydailynews.com)
Today, Prospects are GODS.
The Yankees claim to have three untouchable pitchers that are so good, that even my barber Franco is scared to trade them: Not even for the greatest pitcher of the millenium.
There are a bunch of reasons why he is wrong.
1. Look At What You Are Getting
In Johan Santana, you are getting the BEST pitcher in baseball. Josh Beckett may have had a better 2007, but Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the game. He will be 29 at the start of the 2008 season and he has has NEVER been hurt.
You are not trading for a risk here.
If anything, you are trading for the surest thing baseball has to offer. He does not have Beckett's blister problem or Sabathia's eating problem. It apeears after a streak of insane seasons that Johan Santana is essentially the perfect arm: Left handed, smooth delivery, ability to change speeds and posseses the games best pitch- his change up.
2. Inflation of New York Prospects
This happens all the time with prospects in New York. Because of our abundance of newspapers and local experts we know so much more about our prospects than any other city's fans do.
Because we have been reading about a kid for years, we project him more than people in Kansas City might about their young studs.
But look at all the failures or supposed busts.
Remember 10 months ago when Mike Pelfrey was the "ace of the future?" Is there a Met fan now that thinks he has a chance of cracking our depleted rotation?
Remember 10 months ago when Phil Hughes threw 98 MPH? I don't think I saw the guy crack 92mph all season.
We as New Yorkers sell ourselves on our own hype. But when it comes to a pitcher from Minnesota, we don't realize what we can be getting.
3. Worst Case Scenario
First off, let me say this. I don't think the Mets have a shot of getting Santana.
We don't have any legitimate pitching prospects.
And our hitting prospects, notably Milledge and Gomez are promising but not guarantees. They both have huge upside but come with questions. And neither is as advanced as any of the Yankee prospects.
But now lets look at the Yankee offer.
It appears that the Yankees have established Joba Chamberlin as their 1A guy with Hughes a close 1B and Kennedy #2.
The offer we have been hearing is Hughes, Kennedy and Melky Cabrera for Santana.
If I'm the Yankees, I do this trade in one second. Even if Hughes becomes a #1, Kennedy a #3 and Cabrera an all-star outfielder.
Here's why.
Johan Santana's come along once every ten years. He's not just a #1 starter like Tom Glavine was for us. He is a legitimate Ace. If all three of the guys they trade max out on their potential, the Yankees are still getting the game's best pitcher. And last time I checked, they have the money to replace those other guys.
The Yankees can afford to make mistakes with their prospects more than any other team because they can offset the financial mistake. And in getting Santana, it shouldn't matter.
You think the Red Sox are bummed that they gave up Hanley Ramirez for Josh Beckett?
They traded arguably the best young player in baseball but so what. They got what they want. In Santana, the Yankees would get the same thing.
Conclusion
There are a number of reasons why Hughes, Kennedy and Cabrera don't pan out. Cabrera hasn't been great hitting in the Yankees lineup. Hughes has one year in the bigs, one year on the DL. And Ian Kennedy?
And for that matter, whats to stop Joba Chamberlin's elbow from being bitten off by bugs?
I understand the practice of holding onto and developing your prospects, especially when they are elite ones. I believe that you don't trade guys with higher ceilings than the present value of the player you are acquiring.
You don't trade a potential #1 starter to get a current #3.
But this is a different story here. You are trading for the pitching version of Alex Rodriguez. The money isn't the issue here. This is the Yankees. This is purely a fear of looking stupid.
But you can't with this one, unless something freakish happens.
If I were starting a team today for the next 5 years, Santana would be my first pick.
This isn't Victor Zambrano here.
It's not Roy Oswalt or Barry Zito either.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of cnn.net, nydailynews.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 1:07 PM
2 comments
Monday, November 26, 2007
New Yorkers...Salt
I sat there at Giants Stadium on Sunday as salty as one could be. Sure the Giants were playing there worst game since the 2005 playoff embarrassment against the Panthers, but that wasn't really it.
I wasn't as embarrassed about the Giants as I was the people in my section, and the stadium as a whole.
Boos rang out from the first play. I know I know this is a tough town and when you play here you gotta expect the highs and the lows. But wasn't this team 7-3 and in the playoffs going into Sunday
But in this idea lies the problem.
Fans would boo when Eli Manning would make the RIGHT play. He would throw the ball into the ground on a busted up screen pass instead of taking a sack. Fans booed Eli mercilessly early on in the game even after he lead the Giants to an opening drive score. It sucks that he had such a terrible game (and even worse 2nd half) because it really takes away from my point.
New York sports fans are dumb.
When a fan boos it is supposed to be sign of two things: Anger and Awareness.
Anger in your team's crappy performance.
But more importantly, an awareness that you know why it was a crappy performance and that you might know how to fix it.
As Sports Journalism(our supposed experts) continues to get dumbed down on a national level thanks to the yelling of hooligans like Skip Bayliss and Steven A. Smith we are taught as fans to second guess everything. We are taught to be cynical and bitter because that is what is airing on ESPN every day.
But only the true sports fan can be cynical. It is not our birthright when we pay to attend a game. That is a poor excuse, one that New Yorkers use and others don't.
That is because as New Yorkers we are arrogant. We live in the greatest city in the world and the craziest one, too. We look at people in Kansas and in Georgia and call them hicks, country boys, whatever.
We are so confident in ourselves that we don't realize how unknowledgable we really are.
Boos rang from my section from people that had never heard of Sidney Rice the Viking receiver that set the Minnesota route in motion.
Boos rang on an Eli Manning interception that appeared, after a pre-snap audible, to be the fault of Sinorice Moss and his poor route running and not Eli's throw.
And listen, I'll be the first to admit that I really don't get football. I think it is by leaps and bounds the most complex sport that we have. I never played or coached the game and I have no idea what goes into each game.
But I will also guarantee that I know more about football that 98.3% of the fans at Giants stadium.
But that doesn't matter. As New Yorkers we are all experts. Every knows what is right and what is wrong. And apparently we are the only people in the country that pay for our tickets, giving us the right to boo mercillessly based on the classic sports cliche "they paid their price of admission, it's their right."
New Yorkers are morons when it comes to sports and its not our faults.
In New York we have real lives. We have culture. We wake up every day and work complex jobs(insert blogger joke here) and live in a city where there are so many things to do. Broadway shows, museums, the world's best restaurants. Most New Yorker's would rather see a great year out of the S&P than they would out of their favorite local team.
And then go to Kansas or Georgia where sports is their life. Instead of waking up and getting excited to see Jersey Boys or for Fed cuts, they sit there every week and get ready for their local football team. Dinner tables discuss Saturday or Sunday's game.
We are just different people.
Yet it is the people in New York doing the booing while the rest of the country smiles. Why is that?
We know less and we boo more?
The result of a Mets game does not impact an entire state. Tennessee beating Kentucky this last Saturday in 4 OT's to keep Georgia from the SEC title left "the entire great state of Georgia in shock," according to an old confederate pal of mine.
We are trained to boo. We are trained to be assholes. And often, it makes us look really really dumb.
Apologies for the salt.
Vaya,
sip
(Pics courtesy of ruralmissouri.com, wmz.com)
I wasn't as embarrassed about the Giants as I was the people in my section, and the stadium as a whole.
Boos rang out from the first play. I know I know this is a tough town and when you play here you gotta expect the highs and the lows. But wasn't this team 7-3 and in the playoffs going into Sunday
But in this idea lies the problem.
Fans would boo when Eli Manning would make the RIGHT play. He would throw the ball into the ground on a busted up screen pass instead of taking a sack. Fans booed Eli mercilessly early on in the game even after he lead the Giants to an opening drive score. It sucks that he had such a terrible game (and even worse 2nd half) because it really takes away from my point.
New York sports fans are dumb.
When a fan boos it is supposed to be sign of two things: Anger and Awareness.
Anger in your team's crappy performance.
But more importantly, an awareness that you know why it was a crappy performance and that you might know how to fix it.
As Sports Journalism(our supposed experts) continues to get dumbed down on a national level thanks to the yelling of hooligans like Skip Bayliss and Steven A. Smith we are taught as fans to second guess everything. We are taught to be cynical and bitter because that is what is airing on ESPN every day.
But only the true sports fan can be cynical. It is not our birthright when we pay to attend a game. That is a poor excuse, one that New Yorkers use and others don't.
That is because as New Yorkers we are arrogant. We live in the greatest city in the world and the craziest one, too. We look at people in Kansas and in Georgia and call them hicks, country boys, whatever.
We are so confident in ourselves that we don't realize how unknowledgable we really are.
Boos rang from my section from people that had never heard of Sidney Rice the Viking receiver that set the Minnesota route in motion.
Boos rang on an Eli Manning interception that appeared, after a pre-snap audible, to be the fault of Sinorice Moss and his poor route running and not Eli's throw.
And listen, I'll be the first to admit that I really don't get football. I think it is by leaps and bounds the most complex sport that we have. I never played or coached the game and I have no idea what goes into each game.
But I will also guarantee that I know more about football that 98.3% of the fans at Giants stadium.
But that doesn't matter. As New Yorkers we are all experts. Every knows what is right and what is wrong. And apparently we are the only people in the country that pay for our tickets, giving us the right to boo mercillessly based on the classic sports cliche "they paid their price of admission, it's their right."
New Yorkers are morons when it comes to sports and its not our faults.
In New York we have real lives. We have culture. We wake up every day and work complex jobs(insert blogger joke here) and live in a city where there are so many things to do. Broadway shows, museums, the world's best restaurants. Most New Yorker's would rather see a great year out of the S&P than they would out of their favorite local team.
And then go to Kansas or Georgia where sports is their life. Instead of waking up and getting excited to see Jersey Boys or for Fed cuts, they sit there every week and get ready for their local football team. Dinner tables discuss Saturday or Sunday's game.
We are just different people.
Yet it is the people in New York doing the booing while the rest of the country smiles. Why is that?
We know less and we boo more?
The result of a Mets game does not impact an entire state. Tennessee beating Kentucky this last Saturday in 4 OT's to keep Georgia from the SEC title left "the entire great state of Georgia in shock," according to an old confederate pal of mine.
We are trained to boo. We are trained to be assholes. And often, it makes us look really really dumb.
Apologies for the salt.
Vaya,
sip
(Pics courtesy of ruralmissouri.com, wmz.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 1:09 PM
0 comments
Friday, November 23, 2007
Booooooooo
Not much here from Cheddar Ben today, as I've got nothing but hate to spew for having to go into work tomorrow. Damn it, that's right. Into the office the day after Thanksgiving. It's enough to make you want to punch Carmelo Anthony.
Still, real quickly, congratulations are due to Jimmy Rollins for his much-deserved NL Most Valuable Player Award.
Wait.
Hahahahaha. No. Not really.
FJM handles the heavy lifting on the funny end while also making the rather salient point that it's tough to be the MVP when you're not the best shortstop in your own division. The list of GMs that wouldn't trade sweet-swinging Jimmy for Hanley Ramirez ought to be short indeed, and that's before one even considers their comparative contract situations. And, of course, even given his late-season swoon, Jose Reyes' season was still pretty damn valuable.
Beyond that, there's the fact that Rollins wasn't the best part of HIS OWN DOUBLE-PLAY COMBINATION. And, then, the fact that Ryan Howard was on the other side of the infield. Other than that, sure, he was the MVP.
Anyway, it would all be a lot funnier if ... well, you know.
Hope everyone had a better Thanksgiving than this guy, and I'll see you in greater volume next week.
UPDATE: More fun background reading on Range Factor and the Philly Daily News' Bill Conlin can be found here. Perfidy!
UPDATE 2: So, Conlin turns out to be something of a nutcase. But not an anti-Semite, as he'll tell you. Why, he had at least one Jewish friend!
Still, real quickly, congratulations are due to Jimmy Rollins for his much-deserved NL Most Valuable Player Award.
Wait.
Hahahahaha. No. Not really.
FJM handles the heavy lifting on the funny end while also making the rather salient point that it's tough to be the MVP when you're not the best shortstop in your own division. The list of GMs that wouldn't trade sweet-swinging Jimmy for Hanley Ramirez ought to be short indeed, and that's before one even considers their comparative contract situations. And, of course, even given his late-season swoon, Jose Reyes' season was still pretty damn valuable.
Beyond that, there's the fact that Rollins wasn't the best part of HIS OWN DOUBLE-PLAY COMBINATION. And, then, the fact that Ryan Howard was on the other side of the infield. Other than that, sure, he was the MVP.
Anyway, it would all be a lot funnier if ... well, you know.
Hope everyone had a better Thanksgiving than this guy, and I'll see you in greater volume next week.
UPDATE: More fun background reading on Range Factor and the Philly Daily News' Bill Conlin can be found here. Perfidy!
UPDATE 2: So, Conlin turns out to be something of a nutcase. But not an anti-Semite, as he'll tell you. Why, he had at least one Jewish friend!
posted by Cheddar Ben at 1:00 AM
0 comments
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Third Annual Y2K Thanksgiving Bonanza Like All Get Out!
Call it a sign of the times: the fact is, I've got a lot less to be thankful for where the Mets are concerned this year than I did in 2006 or 2005. After both of those seasons ended, there was reason to feel good about the direction of the Mets.
This year, I don't know. It's not as much that the Mets are on the decline as it is that the Phillies and the Braves, particularly the Phillies, are ascendant. I mean, sure, we handed the division to the Phils this year. They played great ball down the stretch so give them credit, but if the Mets hadn't completely shat the bed it wouldn't have made one bit of difference. Nevertheless, with Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, that team is going to look pretty loaded for a good long while.
And the Mets? Without a No. 1 pitcher, the team constructed around David Wright and Jose Reyes (guys like Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, etc.) is good enough to compete for the division title, but probably not good enough to make a World Series.
But I don't know, maybe I shouldn't be so pessimistic. The fact is, I didn't realize I felt this way about the team's prospects until I started writing this morning.
But we're not here today to sing another dirge for the 2007 Mets, today we're here to give thanks. So without further ado and in no particular order...
1. A couple of young 15-game winners.
Amid all the gloom, there were some bright spots for the Not-Quite-So-New Mets in 2007. Two of them could be found in our much beleaguered pitching staff.
I had my doubts about both John Maine and Oliver Perez coming in to 2007, Perez in particular. Maine had an up and down kind of year, and Perez continued to be Mr. All or Nothing. But in fairness to them both, Maine was up more often than he was down, and Perez was all more often than he was nothing.
Is either one of them the ace we need? No. Both pitch like it every now and then, but neither has the consistency -- and in Maine's case, the stuff -- to be a top-echelon pitcher. But there's a lot to be said for solid, No. 3-type pitchers. Rick Reed was everybody's favorite non-headline grabbing Met for a reason.
2. Brooklyn Heights.
Big moment for the Glass Man comes the day after tomorrow. Two and a half years after graduating from college (salt), I finally leave the nest and head out for Brooklyn, the home of all things impossibly cool.
I couldn't be more psyched for my new place. For one thing, the commute to work could not be better, it's one stop to Wall Street from my area of Brooklyn Heights. Plus, being on the 2-3 means easy access to the Upper West Side the next time I need a fix at the Silk Road Palace (or, you know, want to see my parents).
It'll be a gas putting the new place together, picking out the bed, the furniture, the 60-inch plasma, etc. And it'll be fun to be surrounded by a whole new roster of restaurants, bars, and what have you. To top it all off, B.O.A.F.O.M.G. (more on him later) lives a stone's throw away, so if I ever need someone to hold me after another devastating Mets loss, well, family's always nearby.
Looking forward to it.
3. The Upper West Side.
Excited as I am for the new place, there is a hint of sadness as I prepare to leave my home, potentially for the last time.
The Upper West Side is a beautiful part of Manhattan. Many is the time I've decided to put on the headphones and just take a little walk around the neighborhood, heading north to 90th or so on West End then turning back around for a little stroll along the park.
And many is the time I've hit up Bobby and Mikey at Andy's Deli on 82nd and Amsterdam. These guys are Upper West Side legends -- they've been dealing beer to me and my friends for what, 8, maybe 10 years now. Every time me or Sip is in there we're greeted with a pound; hell, we watched a Tyson-Holyfield fight at Sip's place with Mikey all those years ago. Those guys are family.
And what about the Silk Road Palace? If you haven't been to the Road, you're not living. Ask for the house white, you'll be glad you did.
And then there's The Strip, that little slice of nightlife nestled between 80th and 83rd and Amsterdam. Jake's Dilemma, McAleer's, the Dead Poet, Brother Jimmy's, George Keeley's, the Gin Mill -- I can't tell you how many nights I've spent in these old haunts.
I could go on all day about the old neighborhood. It's been good to me, let's leave it at that.
4. B.O.A.F.O.M.G. getting hitched on swoll.
Let me extend a hearty congratulations to my brother and new sister-in-law who got married two Saturdays ago. It was a marriage 10 years in the making so there weren't any surprises on that front. Nevertheless, B.O.A.F.O.M.G. got himself a real winner in that S.I.L.O.A.F.O.M.G.
The wedding was a blast, my best man speech didn't bomb, and I'm pretty sure the new age-y minister type said that some Navajo bird god had given his blessing to the wedding, so that's nice.
I'll tell you what, I can't wait for them to make me an uncle.
5. David Wright.
Remember April? Remember how much energy we spent debating whether this guy was overhyped or too busy off the field? A 30-30 season, 107 RBIs, and a gold glove later, that all seems like a lifetime ago.
The Mets are his team. Reyes may be more fun to watch, Pedro may be the most loveable person ever, but Wright has to be the core. He's a perfect role model, he's personable, and he's a hell of a player. We're really lucky to have him.
6. Friday Night Lights.
Easily the best show on television. Had a little debate with Lister last night about whether the first season was better than the current one -- it's possible. Nevertheless, it's the most compelling, most earnestly acted drama on television. It's a credit to the writers, actors and directors of the show that sometimes I forget I'm watching a scripted television program rather than real life.
Chances are you're not watching it. Start. Put Season One on your holiday wish list. Better yet, order it now. If you're a sports fan it's a no-brainer.
7. All Your Summer Songs (Saturday Looks Good to Me); Favourite Worst Nightmare (Arctic Monkeys); Cease to Begin (Band of Horses).
The three albums that rocked my head this year. It's a different kind of last from last year, which featured my boys, The Strokes, and an album from Phoenix that might as well have been a Strokes CD.
The closest thing to The Strokes this time around is Arctic Monkeys, but it's not really a fair comparison. Arctic Monkeys owe a lot to The Strokes, but there's a different energy. Where The Strokes are New York cool, Arctic Monkeys are British carouser cool. I wasn't particularly in to their first album, but Favourite Worst Nightmare is easily the best rock album I've heard all year. Highlights include "D is for Dangerous" "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "This House is a Circus".
The biggest surprise on the list is Saturday Looks Good to Me. All Your Summer Songs hearkens back to another era of music; think 1967, not 2007. Nevertheless, it's excellently crafted pop music. The whole album is terrific; "Ultimate Stars", "No Good With Secrets", "Last Hour" and "Meet Me By the Water" are highlights. Also give a listen to the terrific "Since You Stole My Heart" off the Every Night disc.
As for Band of Horses, this is two years in a row for them, which I guess means I dig their stuff. Again, this is a different kind of sound than I'm normally in to, and to be honest, Cease to Begin may not be as good an album as their debut, Everything All the Time. Really solid just the same (and if there's a more beautiful album cover I haven't seen it). Highlights include "No One's Gonna Love You", "Detlef Schrempf" and "Islands on the Coast".
8. The Curse is lifted (no, not that curse).
Thank god Omar traded that bum Guillermo Mota. As I said the day the season ended, Mota cursed this year's Mets team. I didn't put it in writing, but I was convinced we would never win so long as Mota was a Met, as per the curse.
I almost wish we'd just released his ass, but I suppose getting him for a catcher is actually kind of productive (RIP Paul Lo Duca). Anyway, good riddance.
9. Our ambassadors of kwan -- readers like you.
We say it every year, but I know I speak for Sip and Cheddar when I say how much we appreciate how many people out there take time out of their days to read Y2K. The website is a labor of love for us, but without an audience, it'd kind of be like the old saying about a tree falling in the forest.
So to all of you who make Y2K part of your Mets experience, thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
- A.F.O.M.G.
This year, I don't know. It's not as much that the Mets are on the decline as it is that the Phillies and the Braves, particularly the Phillies, are ascendant. I mean, sure, we handed the division to the Phils this year. They played great ball down the stretch so give them credit, but if the Mets hadn't completely shat the bed it wouldn't have made one bit of difference. Nevertheless, with Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, that team is going to look pretty loaded for a good long while.And the Mets? Without a No. 1 pitcher, the team constructed around David Wright and Jose Reyes (guys like Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, etc.) is good enough to compete for the division title, but probably not good enough to make a World Series.
But I don't know, maybe I shouldn't be so pessimistic. The fact is, I didn't realize I felt this way about the team's prospects until I started writing this morning.
But we're not here today to sing another dirge for the 2007 Mets, today we're here to give thanks. So without further ado and in no particular order...
1. A couple of young 15-game winners.
Amid all the gloom, there were some bright spots for the Not-Quite-So-New Mets in 2007. Two of them could be found in our much beleaguered pitching staff.
I had my doubts about both John Maine and Oliver Perez coming in to 2007, Perez in particular. Maine had an up and down kind of year, and Perez continued to be Mr. All or Nothing. But in fairness to them both, Maine was up more often than he was down, and Perez was all more often than he was nothing.Is either one of them the ace we need? No. Both pitch like it every now and then, but neither has the consistency -- and in Maine's case, the stuff -- to be a top-echelon pitcher. But there's a lot to be said for solid, No. 3-type pitchers. Rick Reed was everybody's favorite non-headline grabbing Met for a reason.
2. Brooklyn Heights.
Big moment for the Glass Man comes the day after tomorrow. Two and a half years after graduating from college (salt), I finally leave the nest and head out for Brooklyn, the home of all things impossibly cool.
I couldn't be more psyched for my new place. For one thing, the commute to work could not be better, it's one stop to Wall Street from my area of Brooklyn Heights. Plus, being on the 2-3 means easy access to the Upper West Side the next time I need a fix at the Silk Road Palace (or, you know, want to see my parents).It'll be a gas putting the new place together, picking out the bed, the furniture, the 60-inch plasma, etc. And it'll be fun to be surrounded by a whole new roster of restaurants, bars, and what have you. To top it all off, B.O.A.F.O.M.G. (more on him later) lives a stone's throw away, so if I ever need someone to hold me after another devastating Mets loss, well, family's always nearby.
Looking forward to it.
3. The Upper West Side.
Excited as I am for the new place, there is a hint of sadness as I prepare to leave my home, potentially for the last time.
The Upper West Side is a beautiful part of Manhattan. Many is the time I've decided to put on the headphones and just take a little walk around the neighborhood, heading north to 90th or so on West End then turning back around for a little stroll along the park.
And many is the time I've hit up Bobby and Mikey at Andy's Deli on 82nd and Amsterdam. These guys are Upper West Side legends -- they've been dealing beer to me and my friends for what, 8, maybe 10 years now. Every time me or Sip is in there we're greeted with a pound; hell, we watched a Tyson-Holyfield fight at Sip's place with Mikey all those years ago. Those guys are family.And what about the Silk Road Palace? If you haven't been to the Road, you're not living. Ask for the house white, you'll be glad you did.
And then there's The Strip, that little slice of nightlife nestled between 80th and 83rd and Amsterdam. Jake's Dilemma, McAleer's, the Dead Poet, Brother Jimmy's, George Keeley's, the Gin Mill -- I can't tell you how many nights I've spent in these old haunts.
I could go on all day about the old neighborhood. It's been good to me, let's leave it at that.
4. B.O.A.F.O.M.G. getting hitched on swoll.
Let me extend a hearty congratulations to my brother and new sister-in-law who got married two Saturdays ago. It was a marriage 10 years in the making so there weren't any surprises on that front. Nevertheless, B.O.A.F.O.M.G. got himself a real winner in that S.I.L.O.A.F.O.M.G.
The wedding was a blast, my best man speech didn't bomb, and I'm pretty sure the new age-y minister type said that some Navajo bird god had given his blessing to the wedding, so that's nice.
I'll tell you what, I can't wait for them to make me an uncle.
5. David Wright.
Remember April? Remember how much energy we spent debating whether this guy was overhyped or too busy off the field? A 30-30 season, 107 RBIs, and a gold glove later, that all seems like a lifetime ago.
The Mets are his team. Reyes may be more fun to watch, Pedro may be the most loveable person ever, but Wright has to be the core. He's a perfect role model, he's personable, and he's a hell of a player. We're really lucky to have him.6. Friday Night Lights.
Easily the best show on television. Had a little debate with Lister last night about whether the first season was better than the current one -- it's possible. Nevertheless, it's the most compelling, most earnestly acted drama on television. It's a credit to the writers, actors and directors of the show that sometimes I forget I'm watching a scripted television program rather than real life.
Chances are you're not watching it. Start. Put Season One on your holiday wish list. Better yet, order it now. If you're a sports fan it's a no-brainer.7. All Your Summer Songs (Saturday Looks Good to Me); Favourite Worst Nightmare (Arctic Monkeys); Cease to Begin (Band of Horses).
The three albums that rocked my head this year. It's a different kind of last from last year, which featured my boys, The Strokes, and an album from Phoenix that might as well have been a Strokes CD.
The closest thing to The Strokes this time around is Arctic Monkeys, but it's not really a fair comparison. Arctic Monkeys owe a lot to The Strokes, but there's a different energy. Where The Strokes are New York cool, Arctic Monkeys are British carouser cool. I wasn't particularly in to their first album, but Favourite Worst Nightmare is easily the best rock album I've heard all year. Highlights include "D is for Dangerous" "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "This House is a Circus".The biggest surprise on the list is Saturday Looks Good to Me. All Your Summer Songs hearkens back to another era of music; think 1967, not 2007. Nevertheless, it's excellently crafted pop music. The whole album is terrific; "Ultimate Stars", "No Good With Secrets", "Last Hour" and "Meet Me By the Water" are highlights. Also give a listen to the terrific "Since You Stole My Heart" off the Every Night disc.As for Band of Horses, this is two years in a row for them, which I guess means I dig their stuff. Again, this is a different kind of sound than I'm normally in to, and to be honest, Cease to Begin may not be as good an album as their debut, Everything All the Time. Really solid just the same (and if there's a more beautiful album cover I haven't seen it). Highlights include "No One's Gonna Love You", "Detlef Schrempf" and "Islands on the Coast".8. The Curse is lifted (no, not that curse).
Thank god Omar traded that bum Guillermo Mota. As I said the day the season ended, Mota cursed this year's Mets team. I didn't put it in writing, but I was convinced we would never win so long as Mota was a Met, as per the curse.
I almost wish we'd just released his ass, but I suppose getting him for a catcher is actually kind of productive (RIP Paul Lo Duca). Anyway, good riddance.9. Our ambassadors of kwan -- readers like you.
We say it every year, but I know I speak for Sip and Cheddar when I say how much we appreciate how many people out there take time out of their days to read Y2K. The website is a labor of love for us, but without an audience, it'd kind of be like the old saying about a tree falling in the forest.
So to all of you who make Y2K part of your Mets experience, thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 11:12 AM
2 comments
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
New York Is NOT Dead
(Note to our loyal readers: AFOMG will be checking in with his annual thanksgiving special, tomorrow. So lets add checking out Y2k to your list of your favorite thanksgiving traditions)
What a fascinating week in the NY. The Mets got more Latin, the Yankees returned to being the Yankees and the Knicks trumped Sip's expectations (which is very very hard).
The New Mets
Two medium sized deals this week. The signing of Luis Castillo and the acquisition of Johnny Estrada GuilHGHmo Mora.
When the Mets traded for Luis Castillo this season it was a nice move. We needed a 2b and he appeared to be a nice fit in the two spot in the lineup. We all remembered what he was six years ago, a gold glover with a ton of speed.
But how do you get excited about resigning a guy for four years when when we acquired him in July, he was widely considered "a player on the decline."
Castillo is losing speed and range with every late night he spends corrupting Jose Reyes. I'm just not crazy about this move.
Excitement level- 5
I got many a phone call rejoicing the Mota/Estrada deal. After all, the Mets got rid of Guillermo Mota.
Some may remember Estrada as the key piece in the Kevin Millwood deal to the Phillies, however many years ago, while fans of my precious DBacks remember him as the cog that brought in flame-thrower Doug Davis.
This will be Estrada's 4th team in 6 full major league seasons. That should give you an indication of what we will be getting from the former all-star catcher.
Still, there are some plus'. Mainly, he will come on the cheap, I'd guess around $4.3-$5.1 mil. He is only signed for one year as opposed to three years of Yorvit Torrealba, who I think is an inferior player. This guy will hit .270-.280 and be decent behind the plate. Not bad.
All in all I like this move.
Excitement level- 7.7
OLD YANKEES
Man do I love my Yankees.
Weeks after swearing not to sign A-Rod and instead dragging his name through the mud of the NY media, in an attempt to tarnish his MVP image, the Yankees do what any first-rate/classy/honorable team would do: they sign him.
The Bank$ gave him the same money he would have gotten two weeks. And they did so after realizing that he had no other potential suitors. Hell of a negotiation there, Hanky.
The Yankees gave A-Rod probably 2-3 years and $70-80 mil more than anyone else would.
They gave Posada a year and roughly $12 mil more than anyone else would.
They gave Rivera probably $5 mil more than anyone else would.
Ladies and Gentleman, your New York Yankees.
This team and its front office once again proved why baseball is bad. It's not that the Yankees can pay for lots of players and assemble an all-star team. It's that they can afford to drastically overpay the market. The only team they negotiate against is themselves. They happen to be terrible negotiators, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter.
D-bags from New York to LA to Europe love their Yankees and their pockets will always be that much deeper than the rest of baseball, even the Red Sox.
So guess what. No need to watch Regular Season baseball in '08 if you are a Yankee fan. They will once again be in the playoffs.
Excitement Level-1
New Knicks
Couldn't stop laughing during the Knicks v Warriors game last night. Marbury being booed. Zach Randolph not coming back on the defensive side of the floor on multiple occasions. Eddy Curry running into Zach Randolph in the paint. "Fire Isiah" chants.
It is so hard to be really bad in the NBA. Teams don't try. Any team should win 30 games unless you are completely rebuilding and playing a lineup of college kids (Minnesota) or your one and only star player gets hurt (Celtics/Grizzlies 06-07).
But to be THIS bad with a full lineup is really something. Which leads to THREE very interesting questions.
The Knicks couldn't give Marbury to another team, so will there be a buyout? And can you imagine waking up and realizing that NO ONE in your respective industry thought you were worth what you were being paid?
They just gave Isiah another 4-year contract. Can he be fired 10 games later?
Is it possible and will I have your support, if I start a petition to make Sippy Momo the next GM of the Knicks?
Excitement Level- Inf.
Happy Thanksgiving all.
VCD,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of Flushinguniversity.com, wordpress.com,aceonsports.com)
What a fascinating week in the NY. The Mets got more Latin, the Yankees returned to being the Yankees and the Knicks trumped Sip's expectations (which is very very hard).
The New Mets
Two medium sized deals this week. The signing of Luis Castillo and the acquisition of Johnny Estrada GuilHGHmo Mora.
When the Mets traded for Luis Castillo this season it was a nice move. We needed a 2b and he appeared to be a nice fit in the two spot in the lineup. We all remembered what he was six years ago, a gold glover with a ton of speed.
But how do you get excited about resigning a guy for four years when when we acquired him in July, he was widely considered "a player on the decline."
Castillo is losing speed and range with every late night he spends corrupting Jose Reyes. I'm just not crazy about this move.
Excitement level- 5
I got many a phone call rejoicing the Mota/Estrada deal. After all, the Mets got rid of Guillermo Mota.
Some may remember Estrada as the key piece in the Kevin Millwood deal to the Phillies, however many years ago, while fans of my precious DBacks remember him as the cog that brought in flame-thrower Doug Davis.
This will be Estrada's 4th team in 6 full major league seasons. That should give you an indication of what we will be getting from the former all-star catcher.
Still, there are some plus'. Mainly, he will come on the cheap, I'd guess around $4.3-$5.1 mil. He is only signed for one year as opposed to three years of Yorvit Torrealba, who I think is an inferior player. This guy will hit .270-.280 and be decent behind the plate. Not bad.
All in all I like this move.
Excitement level- 7.7
OLD YANKEES
Man do I love my Yankees.
Weeks after swearing not to sign A-Rod and instead dragging his name through the mud of the NY media, in an attempt to tarnish his MVP image, the Yankees do what any first-rate/classy/honorable team would do: they sign him.
The Bank$ gave him the same money he would have gotten two weeks. And they did so after realizing that he had no other potential suitors. Hell of a negotiation there, Hanky.
The Yankees gave A-Rod probably 2-3 years and $70-80 mil more than anyone else would.
They gave Posada a year and roughly $12 mil more than anyone else would.
They gave Rivera probably $5 mil more than anyone else would.
Ladies and Gentleman, your New York Yankees.
This team and its front office once again proved why baseball is bad. It's not that the Yankees can pay for lots of players and assemble an all-star team. It's that they can afford to drastically overpay the market. The only team they negotiate against is themselves. They happen to be terrible negotiators, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter.
D-bags from New York to LA to Europe love their Yankees and their pockets will always be that much deeper than the rest of baseball, even the Red Sox.
So guess what. No need to watch Regular Season baseball in '08 if you are a Yankee fan. They will once again be in the playoffs.
Excitement Level-1
New Knicks
Couldn't stop laughing during the Knicks v Warriors game last night. Marbury being booed. Zach Randolph not coming back on the defensive side of the floor on multiple occasions. Eddy Curry running into Zach Randolph in the paint. "Fire Isiah" chants.
It is so hard to be really bad in the NBA. Teams don't try. Any team should win 30 games unless you are completely rebuilding and playing a lineup of college kids (Minnesota) or your one and only star player gets hurt (Celtics/Grizzlies 06-07).
But to be THIS bad with a full lineup is really something. Which leads to THREE very interesting questions.
The Knicks couldn't give Marbury to another team, so will there be a buyout? And can you imagine waking up and realizing that NO ONE in your respective industry thought you were worth what you were being paid?
They just gave Isiah another 4-year contract. Can he be fired 10 games later?
Is it possible and will I have your support, if I start a petition to make Sippy Momo the next GM of the Knicks?
Excitement Level- Inf.
Happy Thanksgiving all.
VCD,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of Flushinguniversity.com, wordpress.com,aceonsports.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 1:18 PM
1 comments
Monday, November 19, 2007
Remember Me As a Time of Day
What I try to convey in my writing is that being a Mets fan, for me, is about something much larger than sports.
I love the game of baseball of course, but for me, the Mets are about going out to games with my dad when I was kid. They're about going out to Shea with my friends. They're about watching games with random people and sharing in the elation and, more often than not, the heartache.
Being a Mets fan is about players and statistics and wins and losses, but it's also about the people in my life. It's about moments in time that fit in to a broader story which is my life.
Some horrible news entered my life Saturday. I learned that a young woman I knew had been killed in a car accident outside her art gallery in Brooklyn. This young woman, Emily, was 24 years old (maybe 25?).
Emily and I weren't great friends, we were more like old friends. I met Emily my first week of college. Back then my old dorm mate Dicken had the hots for her. Dicken was a football/lacrosse player, a jock on a floor with very few other jock-y types. I didn't play sports in college, but as all of you know, I'm a huge sports fan. Me and Dicken hit it off right from the get go.
Anyway, Emily would come around and hang out, and seeing as how I was Dicken's only real friend on the floor, Emily would always stop in and say hello.
Just like memories of Mets games plant me in very specific times of life, so too do my memories of Emily. They bring me back to my freshman year of college, one of the best times of my life, made all the better by people like Emily, people who were so warm and friendly and fun to be around.
In the years since freshman year I saw less and less of Emily, but no matter how long it had been it was never awkward or strained when we saw one another. It was always just really nice to see her and catch up.
The last time I saw her was this summer. I can't quite keep the dates straight, but it would have either been at a house party in Williamsburg or a going away party in Norwalk, Connecticut.
I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that that's the last time I'll ever see her. When I tell you this girl had such a warm and inviting personality... I just can't do justice to it.
If, somehow, there'd have been a way to tell her that I'd feel moved to write this post about her after the news of her death, I think she'd have been surprised. Again, we weren't great friends -- we didn't know each other well enough for that.
She was just one of those people -- even a loose acquaintance like me, the news came and it felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of me.
And so I haven't really thought much about baseball lately. There will be time to examine the Mets' options at catcher and second base; time to weigh the merits of David Eckstein's grit versus the demerit which is his general annoyingness.
For me though, today just isn't the day.
Today I just wanted to pay my respects.
- A.F.O.M.G.
I love the game of baseball of course, but for me, the Mets are about going out to games with my dad when I was kid. They're about going out to Shea with my friends. They're about watching games with random people and sharing in the elation and, more often than not, the heartache.
Being a Mets fan is about players and statistics and wins and losses, but it's also about the people in my life. It's about moments in time that fit in to a broader story which is my life.
Some horrible news entered my life Saturday. I learned that a young woman I knew had been killed in a car accident outside her art gallery in Brooklyn. This young woman, Emily, was 24 years old (maybe 25?).
Emily and I weren't great friends, we were more like old friends. I met Emily my first week of college. Back then my old dorm mate Dicken had the hots for her. Dicken was a football/lacrosse player, a jock on a floor with very few other jock-y types. I didn't play sports in college, but as all of you know, I'm a huge sports fan. Me and Dicken hit it off right from the get go.
Anyway, Emily would come around and hang out, and seeing as how I was Dicken's only real friend on the floor, Emily would always stop in and say hello.
Just like memories of Mets games plant me in very specific times of life, so too do my memories of Emily. They bring me back to my freshman year of college, one of the best times of my life, made all the better by people like Emily, people who were so warm and friendly and fun to be around.
In the years since freshman year I saw less and less of Emily, but no matter how long it had been it was never awkward or strained when we saw one another. It was always just really nice to see her and catch up.
The last time I saw her was this summer. I can't quite keep the dates straight, but it would have either been at a house party in Williamsburg or a going away party in Norwalk, Connecticut.
I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that that's the last time I'll ever see her. When I tell you this girl had such a warm and inviting personality... I just can't do justice to it.
If, somehow, there'd have been a way to tell her that I'd feel moved to write this post about her after the news of her death, I think she'd have been surprised. Again, we weren't great friends -- we didn't know each other well enough for that.
She was just one of those people -- even a loose acquaintance like me, the news came and it felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of me.
And so I haven't really thought much about baseball lately. There will be time to examine the Mets' options at catcher and second base; time to weigh the merits of David Eckstein's grit versus the demerit which is his general annoyingness.
For me though, today just isn't the day.
Today I just wanted to pay my respects.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 12:28 AM
1 comments
Friday, November 16, 2007
Real Talk
So, Stephon Marbury's alibi was plastered all over the front page of the New York Times' Metro section Thursday. Kind of a conspicuous place. Nobody really mentioned it.
All the details were there. Robert "Mr. Lou" Williams, the dean of Coney Island's basketball courts, a respected coach and mentor, lay dead of a heart attack at age 64. The man who guided uncertain and raw basketball talent through the projects and into high schools, colleges, professional leagues, prison leagues ... everywhere the ball goes into the hoop ... was gone, and the most prominent of his former students was back in the old hood, paying his respects. Bawling his eyes out, to all accounts.
The worst part about all this was that even as the media was KILLING Marbury for missing one game, Zach Randolph was in the middle of missing TWO GAMES for his grandmother's funeral. Nobody had a problem with that, of course. (Well, except the Minnesota Vikings. Assholes.) So, in the end, what was Steph's crime? That he didn't explain himself beforehand? Knicks beat reporters ain't his momma, and they ain't his daddy. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, especially if he thinks -- as he clearly did -- that he had permission from the team to leave.
Think there's an apology forthcoming? Think again.
This is the tough thing with Marbury, and to a lesser extent, Isiah -- it's extremely tough for most NBA fans to know where they're coming from. To be sure, both are fonts of bizarre behavior; strange antics, even stranger proclamations, sex with interns in trucks, sexual harassment, etc. Poor decision-making on a rolling basis.
And yet, at moments such as these, we're reminded of from whence Marbury and Thomas came. We're reminded that both began with absolutely nothing but their own skills and wits, and overcame the steepest of odds to wind up at the top of their respective professions. From the no-joke ghettos of Brooklyn and Chicago to, as MSG would have it, "the heart of New York," and for all the riffs on wasted talent or squandered opportunities, think of the thousands of other supremely talented or bright or charismatic kids you've never heard of and never will.
I'll speak for myself and the vast majority of Y2K's readership when I say it's impossible to imagine what it took. If their trials, of which we can know practically nothing, altered a personality here or tweaked a conscience there, well, that's largely fair game. But the wholesale judging of character that occurs whenever one of these guys steps outside the realm of what a group of fat, white, middle-aged geeks considers normal is more than unfair -- it's unconscionable, and often disgusting.
Both these guys faced down their demons long before Vaccaro and Adande opened up their big yaps. Spike made this point in "He Got Game," as Ray Allen cruises around those same Coney Island streets with Big Time Willie. Jesus won't slide off to Atlantic City on a school day, so Denzel's heroin connection from "American Gangster" (respect) schools him to the facts of the matter.
Now, it's not a coincidence that Marbury got pounded while Randolph -- no favorite of the media in his own right, of course -- walks into the locker room scot free. Selena Roberts pointed this out today as well -- the whole operation reeks of a Dolan hit on Marbury, from the "confusion" over the excusal to the quick and public fining to the nasty comments seeded around the various sources. One way or the other, Steph got sold down the river here by someone, and it stinks.
He's a strong-willed individual in a league that values conformity. At times, he clearly teeters into asshole territory. At others, he's a goddamn inspiration. Does he pass the ball enough? No. Will he ever lead a team out of the first round of the playoffs? He will not. Is he the Knicks' savior? No, and no non-retarded citizens of the Republic ever thought he would be.
Does any of that make him "a disgrace?" Judge for yourself. We all have different standards for that sort of thing.
All the details were there. Robert "Mr. Lou" Williams, the dean of Coney Island's basketball courts, a respected coach and mentor, lay dead of a heart attack at age 64. The man who guided uncertain and raw basketball talent through the projects and into high schools, colleges, professional leagues, prison leagues ... everywhere the ball goes into the hoop ... was gone, and the most prominent of his former students was back in the old hood, paying his respects. Bawling his eyes out, to all accounts.You're damn right there is. But you won't hear much about that in the media, the same sources that called Marbury's decision to leave the team before Tuesday's game "bizarre," and unbalanced;" the Post's Mike Vaccaro stayed classy by calling both Marbury and Isiah Thomas "stubborn, ego-maniacal megalomaniac[s]," which happens to be both insulting and pretty awful writing. ESPN's J.A. Adande tripped over the coffee table hopping up onto his high horse and calling Marbury a "disgrace," while not forgetting to yank out every cliche in the book: insubordination, bad example for the teammates, etc. Thanks for your insight, J.A. Another gem of a paragraph: "So much for leadership and defense." Hey, boys, instead of paying this clown real paper money, why not just order a transcript the next time Lenny from Forest Hills calls into WFAN and pocket the difference? I guarantee nobody will notice.Mr. Marbury, who left the Knicks without public explanation on Tuesday, spent at least several of his hours away from the team at the housing project, called Surfside Gardens.
“My dad passed away at 3 o’clock, and Stephon was here by dinnertime,” said Robert Williams Jr., 40, Mr. Williams’s son.
Dwayne Tiny Morton, the head basketball coach at Lincoln High School in Coney Island, where Mr. Marbury played ball, said, “I mean, there comes a time when you have to stop what you’re doing, even if it is playing professional basketball, and pay your respects.”
The worst part about all this was that even as the media was KILLING Marbury for missing one game, Zach Randolph was in the middle of missing TWO GAMES for his grandmother's funeral. Nobody had a problem with that, of course. (Well, except the Minnesota Vikings. Assholes.) So, in the end, what was Steph's crime? That he didn't explain himself beforehand? Knicks beat reporters ain't his momma, and they ain't his daddy. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, especially if he thinks -- as he clearly did -- that he had permission from the team to leave.
Think there's an apology forthcoming? Think again.
This is the tough thing with Marbury, and to a lesser extent, Isiah -- it's extremely tough for most NBA fans to know where they're coming from. To be sure, both are fonts of bizarre behavior; strange antics, even stranger proclamations, sex with interns in trucks, sexual harassment, etc. Poor decision-making on a rolling basis.And yet, at moments such as these, we're reminded of from whence Marbury and Thomas came. We're reminded that both began with absolutely nothing but their own skills and wits, and overcame the steepest of odds to wind up at the top of their respective professions. From the no-joke ghettos of Brooklyn and Chicago to, as MSG would have it, "the heart of New York," and for all the riffs on wasted talent or squandered opportunities, think of the thousands of other supremely talented or bright or charismatic kids you've never heard of and never will.
I'll speak for myself and the vast majority of Y2K's readership when I say it's impossible to imagine what it took. If their trials, of which we can know practically nothing, altered a personality here or tweaked a conscience there, well, that's largely fair game. But the wholesale judging of character that occurs whenever one of these guys steps outside the realm of what a group of fat, white, middle-aged geeks considers normal is more than unfair -- it's unconscionable, and often disgusting.
Both these guys faced down their demons long before Vaccaro and Adande opened up their big yaps. Spike made this point in "He Got Game," as Ray Allen cruises around those same Coney Island streets with Big Time Willie. Jesus won't slide off to Atlantic City on a school day, so Denzel's heroin connection from "American Gangster" (respect) schools him to the facts of the matter.
Look, I hate to break it down to you this way, but it's not 'cause they love you, man. Huh? The bigger a nigga get up in this motherfucker, the more they hate you. A'ight? I mean, you can play ball and all that, but shit, that don't mean shit to these niggas around here. Put a cap in your ass, just on D.P., that's on the string, so you got to watch your back.And then what? I bet most of you already know what's coming.
Willie: You know, a lot of great ballplayers came out of Coney Island, but most of them didn't amount to shit.No kidding. So when Mr. Lou keels over and the ball-playingest segment of the city and possibly the world goes dark, let's not pretend there's not an obligation for its shining light to return, Phoenix Suns or not.
Jesus: What about Stephon Marbury? He made it.
Willie: [quickly] Oh, true dat, true dat, yeah yeah, but he's one of the few.
Jesus: If he can make it out, so can I.
Now, it's not a coincidence that Marbury got pounded while Randolph -- no favorite of the media in his own right, of course -- walks into the locker room scot free. Selena Roberts pointed this out today as well -- the whole operation reeks of a Dolan hit on Marbury, from the "confusion" over the excusal to the quick and public fining to the nasty comments seeded around the various sources. One way or the other, Steph got sold down the river here by someone, and it stinks.
He's a strong-willed individual in a league that values conformity. At times, he clearly teeters into asshole territory. At others, he's a goddamn inspiration. Does he pass the ball enough? No. Will he ever lead a team out of the first round of the playoffs? He will not. Is he the Knicks' savior? No, and no non-retarded citizens of the Republic ever thought he would be.
Does any of that make him "a disgrace?" Judge for yourself. We all have different standards for that sort of thing.
posted by Cheddar Ben at 1:00 AM
6 comments
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Hank, Steph and Terrialba
There are three things that I want to talk about today-
1. The Embarrassment that is Hank Steinbrenner
2. The New Knicks- by far and away the best show in town (Steph's Blowup)
3. The stupidity that would be signing Yorvit Torrealba.
But right now I am in a very weird state. I'm not sure if I didn't sleep at all last night or if I simply dreamt that I wasn't getting any sleep. It was so bizarre. I find that I am trying to force myself to be both tired and awake at the same time.
But here we go.
HANKY HANKY
You know when you are playing fantasy football and one of your buddies offers you a trade and then immediately tells you WHY it's such a great deal for you.
To me this is first and foremost, very annoying. I know what is a good deal for me. I probably have a better idea of what is a good deal for me than my opponent, seeing as I spend hour after hour mindless looking over my team.
And most importantly, who the fuck are you, Mr. Opponent man to tell me what is a good deal for the Sip?
I see this action as transparent. If this was such a great offer then my opponent wouldn't have to sell it. I would jump at the opportunity to "fleece" my opponent and improve my team.
"Hey Sip, here's $10 mil a year to write Y2k."
That's a good, market value deal, that I would take and probably jump at.
"Hey Sip, do Y2k for nothing."
That's a deal that takes convincing, but that I would ultimately accept.
On Tuesday, Hank Steinbrenner had this to say about the Three year, $45 million offer for Mariano Rivera:
"He'd be by $4 million a year the highest-paid relief pitcher... "To say that's a strong offer would be an understatement."
Really, though Hanky?
If I'm Mariano Rivera why am I not demanding a fourth year. Why does Jorge Posada get a fourth year as a 36- year-old catcher but I can't get one as a 37-old closer? And for that matter, why is my deal for less total dollars than Posada's when I am clearly more valuable. I am the anchor in the pen and the key to getting Joba Chamberlin in the rotation. I am the best pitcher of my generation and the best post-season pitcher of all time.
And didn't Billy Wagner just get four years across town just a couple of years back. His velocity was down 5mph when he got that deal. Mine is down 1mph at most.
The beauty of all of this is that all that the overspending that made us hate the Yankees is now hurting them. Their own players are driving up the prices on their moronic young ownership.
Hank Steinbrenner has proven in his short stint as Yankee owner to be nothing more than the next coming of Jimmy Dolan: a brat who inherited the family jewels and doesn't know how to make it work. The only thing he knows is that no one has ever said "no" to him in his life and now we are seeing the impact of that.
Rivera may still take this deal. It's a lot of money and I'm sure he wants to stay a Yankee. But this is not a market deal.
NEW KNICKS
I was so excited to watch the comedy that was the Suns offense playing against the Knicks defense, last night. And I was not disappointed. I was watching the game and doing some random other stuff but it seemed like the Suns scored on every single offensive possession.
And this was without our two stars/mediocre defenders, Zach Randolph and STEPHON MARBURY!
By now you've all heard about Steph.
He got in a fight on the team plane when he found out he was going to be benched and stormed back to New York City.
Let me tell you how I feel about Marbury.
This guy came to New York however many years ago as a proven loser. His only excuse for his shortcomings was his lifelong dream to win in front of the New York fans, in the city where he grew up. We've all seen where that's gotten us.
He is making $20 million dollars/per to lead the team that he wanted to lead and has helped run further into the ground. How this guy can complain about anything is beside me.
Today though, my good pal Cheddar Ben sent me an article from the Daily News (Sigh) with perhaps the greatest quote in recent New York sports history:
"Isiah has to start me," Marbury fumed, according to the source. "I've got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I'll (get) him first. You have no idea what I know."
Every piece of inside info I have tells me that Isiah is in fact a pretty horrible guy. That he is one man in front of the media and a completely different man when the cameras aren't rolling. But all we DEFINITELY know as fans is that he is a horrible GM. About as bad as they can get. And yet somehow, he is still around.
Could you imagine the comedy if Isiah's beans are spilled. That they weren't with his recent sexual harrasment case is a miracle(Though some more of my insiders tell me that he was, in fact, innocent there).
When this guy is not only blamed for ruining the Knicks on the court but also ruining the Knicks off the court, maybe, possibly, the Knicks will get some capable of running this team.
And that would be great.
Yorvit?
I haven't seen much in terms of offers for Mr. Torrealba, but if they are anything more than 1 yr, 800 K, it's too much.
(Doesn't that swing look like that of the 15th hitter in your little league lineup back when you were young?)
This guy can't hit and he can't throw. He threw out runners with a clip somewhere in the teens last season. And he is just a bad hitter.
The guy didn't do much in Coors Field.
Two years ago my buddy changed his team name to "You Are Terrialba," because he was so embarassed that Yorvit Torrealba was his catcher in my bottom half payroll fantasy league.
That's right, embarassed to have this guy from a pool of 15 catchers from the bottom payroll teams.
Omar Minaya's obsession with latin players sometimes gets annoying. My thought is to give Pauly a 1 year deal, give him a couple more weekends at Dorian's and then give Ramon Castro 60 starts.
Tis all.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of cnn.net, deadspin.com, mlb.com)
1. The Embarrassment that is Hank Steinbrenner
2. The New Knicks- by far and away the best show in town (Steph's Blowup)
3. The stupidity that would be signing Yorvit Torrealba.
But right now I am in a very weird state. I'm not sure if I didn't sleep at all last night or if I simply dreamt that I wasn't getting any sleep. It was so bizarre. I find that I am trying to force myself to be both tired and awake at the same time.
But here we go.
HANKY HANKY
You know when you are playing fantasy football and one of your buddies offers you a trade and then immediately tells you WHY it's such a great deal for you.
To me this is first and foremost, very annoying. I know what is a good deal for me. I probably have a better idea of what is a good deal for me than my opponent, seeing as I spend hour after hour mindless looking over my team.
And most importantly, who the fuck are you, Mr. Opponent man to tell me what is a good deal for the Sip?
I see this action as transparent. If this was such a great offer then my opponent wouldn't have to sell it. I would jump at the opportunity to "fleece" my opponent and improve my team.
"Hey Sip, here's $10 mil a year to write Y2k."
That's a good, market value deal, that I would take and probably jump at.
"Hey Sip, do Y2k for nothing."
That's a deal that takes convincing, but that I would ultimately accept.
On Tuesday, Hank Steinbrenner had this to say about the Three year, $45 million offer for Mariano Rivera:
"He'd be by $4 million a year the highest-paid relief pitcher... "To say that's a strong offer would be an understatement."
Really, though Hanky?
If I'm Mariano Rivera why am I not demanding a fourth year. Why does Jorge Posada get a fourth year as a 36- year-old catcher but I can't get one as a 37-old closer? And for that matter, why is my deal for less total dollars than Posada's when I am clearly more valuable. I am the anchor in the pen and the key to getting Joba Chamberlin in the rotation. I am the best pitcher of my generation and the best post-season pitcher of all time.And didn't Billy Wagner just get four years across town just a couple of years back. His velocity was down 5mph when he got that deal. Mine is down 1mph at most.
The beauty of all of this is that all that the overspending that made us hate the Yankees is now hurting them. Their own players are driving up the prices on their moronic young ownership.
Hank Steinbrenner has proven in his short stint as Yankee owner to be nothing more than the next coming of Jimmy Dolan: a brat who inherited the family jewels and doesn't know how to make it work. The only thing he knows is that no one has ever said "no" to him in his life and now we are seeing the impact of that.
Rivera may still take this deal. It's a lot of money and I'm sure he wants to stay a Yankee. But this is not a market deal.
NEW KNICKS
I was so excited to watch the comedy that was the Suns offense playing against the Knicks defense, last night. And I was not disappointed. I was watching the game and doing some random other stuff but it seemed like the Suns scored on every single offensive possession.
And this was without our two stars/mediocre defenders, Zach Randolph and STEPHON MARBURY!
By now you've all heard about Steph.
He got in a fight on the team plane when he found out he was going to be benched and stormed back to New York City.Let me tell you how I feel about Marbury.
This guy came to New York however many years ago as a proven loser. His only excuse for his shortcomings was his lifelong dream to win in front of the New York fans, in the city where he grew up. We've all seen where that's gotten us.
He is making $20 million dollars/per to lead the team that he wanted to lead and has helped run further into the ground. How this guy can complain about anything is beside me.
Today though, my good pal Cheddar Ben sent me an article from the Daily News (Sigh) with perhaps the greatest quote in recent New York sports history:
"Isiah has to start me," Marbury fumed, according to the source. "I've got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I'll (get) him first. You have no idea what I know."
Every piece of inside info I have tells me that Isiah is in fact a pretty horrible guy. That he is one man in front of the media and a completely different man when the cameras aren't rolling. But all we DEFINITELY know as fans is that he is a horrible GM. About as bad as they can get. And yet somehow, he is still around.
Could you imagine the comedy if Isiah's beans are spilled. That they weren't with his recent sexual harrasment case is a miracle(Though some more of my insiders tell me that he was, in fact, innocent there).
When this guy is not only blamed for ruining the Knicks on the court but also ruining the Knicks off the court, maybe, possibly, the Knicks will get some capable of running this team.
And that would be great.
Yorvit?
I haven't seen much in terms of offers for Mr. Torrealba, but if they are anything more than 1 yr, 800 K, it's too much.
(Doesn't that swing look like that of the 15th hitter in your little league lineup back when you were young?)This guy can't hit and he can't throw. He threw out runners with a clip somewhere in the teens last season. And he is just a bad hitter.
The guy didn't do much in Coors Field.
Two years ago my buddy changed his team name to "You Are Terrialba," because he was so embarassed that Yorvit Torrealba was his catcher in my bottom half payroll fantasy league.
That's right, embarassed to have this guy from a pool of 15 catchers from the bottom payroll teams.
Omar Minaya's obsession with latin players sometimes gets annoying. My thought is to give Pauly a 1 year deal, give him a couple more weekends at Dorian's and then give Ramon Castro 60 starts.
Tis all.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of cnn.net, deadspin.com, mlb.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 12:49 PM
6 comments
Monday, November 12, 2007
Welcome to New York Knicks Basketball... Sort of
Sip's going to fill in for AFOMG today, still a little hungover from the B.O.A.F.O.M.G's wedding on Saturday. A hearty Y2K congrats for the bride and groom. It's really a heck of a family over there.
Today I'm going to tell you about the Knicks and why they will yet again be really bad.
Look at this roster, notably the starting lineup.
Stephon Marbury: The Suns pretty much gave him to the Knicks for free.
Jamal Crawford: The Bulls didn't want to pay a modest $7 mil per for a young up and coming player.
Q-Rich: Again, the Suns didn't want him, his bloated contract or his bad back.
Zach Randolph: Portland's most wanted: The Blazers gave him away because he would get in the way of their rebuilding. It's hard to understand how a 26-year old doesn't fit into rebuilding plans.
Eddy Curry: The Bulls would have given him and his bad heart away, but Isiah decided to throw in two lottery picks for the cause.
This is a team of castoffs, players that other NBA teams didn't want. They've combined to play roughly 40 NBA seasons and have made a combined 4 playoff appearances? These guys are losers. They are all below average defenders. They are just a poorly assembled unit.
And then there is the genius plan to put Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry together. How many times in 5 games has one of them driven the lane only to find the other one clogging up the middle? It's a disaster.
The only thing the Knicks have going for them is Renaldo Balkman. Kudos to Isiah for the pick that we all laughed at. This guy is a legitimate NBA rotation player, a shutdown defender and just a great guy to have on the team.
David Lee is a good player and apparently a good guy. But he is overrated. I hate to say it but if he wasn't white he wouldn't get the love he is getting. And I'm just tired of the whole Nate Robinson era. The guy just yells a lot. A couple of my NBA insiders tell me he is the most annoying/hated player in the league. And he can't defend either.
I don't think getting Randolph improved the team. In the NBA there is such a thing as having too much scoring. The Knicks have Eddy Curry. They just don't need another scoring big man.
Meanwhile, the east is getting better. With the Celtics now the toast of the NBA the Knicks are the 4th or maybe 5th best team in their division.
And its not going to get better. Every acquisition of Zach Randolph sets the Knicks back another two years.
The only solution is to blow this team up and start over. I've said this for 5 years now and it looks like I will say it for five more. But the front office is just too dumb to do that.
This team is at best a 35 win team and an 8 seed. More likely they are floating somewhere between having the 5th and 9th most ping pong balls in the Derek Rose sweepstakes of 2008.
It really is sad. There is no greater place in New York than the garden. This is a basketball city first and foremost and our basketball team is a joke.
Oh well.
Sooner basketball is upon us. See you all at the Garden on Thursday for the MSG debut of perhaps the best young coach in the country, one of my oldest pals, Coach Huff.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of msn.com, nba.com, newsday.com)
Today I'm going to tell you about the Knicks and why they will yet again be really bad.
Look at this roster, notably the starting lineup.
Stephon Marbury: The Suns pretty much gave him to the Knicks for free.
Jamal Crawford: The Bulls didn't want to pay a modest $7 mil per for a young up and coming player.
Q-Rich: Again, the Suns didn't want him, his bloated contract or his bad back.
Zach Randolph: Portland's most wanted: The Blazers gave him away because he would get in the way of their rebuilding. It's hard to understand how a 26-year old doesn't fit into rebuilding plans.
Eddy Curry: The Bulls would have given him and his bad heart away, but Isiah decided to throw in two lottery picks for the cause.
This is a team of castoffs, players that other NBA teams didn't want. They've combined to play roughly 40 NBA seasons and have made a combined 4 playoff appearances? These guys are losers. They are all below average defenders. They are just a poorly assembled unit.
And then there is the genius plan to put Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry together. How many times in 5 games has one of them driven the lane only to find the other one clogging up the middle? It's a disaster.
The only thing the Knicks have going for them is Renaldo Balkman. Kudos to Isiah for the pick that we all laughed at. This guy is a legitimate NBA rotation player, a shutdown defender and just a great guy to have on the team.
David Lee is a good player and apparently a good guy. But he is overrated. I hate to say it but if he wasn't white he wouldn't get the love he is getting. And I'm just tired of the whole Nate Robinson era. The guy just yells a lot. A couple of my NBA insiders tell me he is the most annoying/hated player in the league. And he can't defend either.
I don't think getting Randolph improved the team. In the NBA there is such a thing as having too much scoring. The Knicks have Eddy Curry. They just don't need another scoring big man.
Meanwhile, the east is getting better. With the Celtics now the toast of the NBA the Knicks are the 4th or maybe 5th best team in their division.
And its not going to get better. Every acquisition of Zach Randolph sets the Knicks back another two years.
The only solution is to blow this team up and start over. I've said this for 5 years now and it looks like I will say it for five more. But the front office is just too dumb to do that.
This team is at best a 35 win team and an 8 seed. More likely they are floating somewhere between having the 5th and 9th most ping pong balls in the Derek Rose sweepstakes of 2008.
It really is sad. There is no greater place in New York than the garden. This is a basketball city first and foremost and our basketball team is a joke.
Oh well.
Sooner basketball is upon us. See you all at the Garden on Thursday for the MSG debut of perhaps the best young coach in the country, one of my oldest pals, Coach Huff.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of msn.com, nba.com, newsday.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 1:46 PM
1 comments
Friday, November 09, 2007
Pull The Trigger?
So, you never know what you're going to be thinking about while huffing down your coffee, trying to ignore the midweek stories on the boring-ass Giants and Jets, pretending the New York Marathon never happened ... you know, a Thursday. One's mind begins to wander.
Mets trade OF Blastings Thrilledge, OF Fernando Martinez, RHP Mike Pelfrey and RHP Kevin Mulvey to Florida for 3B/1B Miguel Cabrera
Got to do it, even at this steep price. The steepest. Forgive me for even saying it, Blastings. But that's the way it would have to be.
Of course, for obvious reasons, you'd have to follow that up with something like this.
Mets trade 1B Carlos Delgado to Minnesota for RHP Kevin Slowey and RHP Nick Blackburn or Mets trade 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles (AL) for RHP Nick Adenhart
If you could even get something that good -- Joe Saunders would be a more likely target to acquire from the Halos. Other teams with pitching to trade who might be in the market for an old slugger include San Francisco, Oakland, etc.
But with this move, the Mets' infield becomes the best in the game until Obama's in his second term -- a trio at 25-and-under with unlimited offensive potential. Defensively, there's no reason to think Cabrera couldn't be better than average at first, while Reyes is getting better all the time and Wright's efforts are passable enough to earn him a joke of a Gold Glove (sorry about that, Ryan Zimmerman and Pedro Feliz).
Then again, Cabrera probably isn't the only Marlins star on the market. In an ideal world, the Fish keep all of their young talent -- in a slightly less ideal world, they keep Miggy and throw this guy away. In all likelihood, due to their contract situations, this guy's the more likely to stay. But despite what this idiot says, you'd rather toss him aside than the best young hitter in the game.
Who amongst Y2K's readership says yes to this deal?
Mets trade OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Phil Humber to Florida for LHP Dontrelle Willis
Now, the Fins would in all likelihood try to pry Blastings or Fernando away from Omar in exchange for their "ace," but the D-Train's stock has sufficiently slipped over the past year to make a trade like this plausible. I'm still not sure I go for it. You can go check out Dontrelle's numbers for yourself, but the short version is that his control is in the tank and he's got a lot of mileage on his arm already.
Reputation or not, how many prospects do you give up for a guy with a 1.59 WHIP and a 5.17 ERA? Is he even worth that? Hard to say.
Of course, there's also the trade option that has all the kids talking. Now, I don't mean just the little shits who keep stealing my paper in the morning. You know who you are. Lousy educated Park Slope hoodlums.
I mean the kids who follow any team with real dreams of a title. The ones who got, in the words of Kanye, "that ambition, baby." The ones who dream of a trade like this, a quick multi-year extension, and a 25-game winner on the roster for the next five or so years.
Mets trade SS Jose Reyes, OF Fernando Martinez, 2B Ruben Gotay and RHP Mike Pelfrey to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
Don't kid yourself -- this is what it would take. The Cabrera package wouldn't attract the Twins, who have about a zillion righthanded pitching prospects of their own and don't really neet the Mets'. Presumably, in this case, the Wilpons then pay A-Rod whatever he wants, pluck him at SS and immediately sign the remainder of their possessions over to the Devil himself.
Is that more or less reasonable than this?
Red Sox trade RHP Clay Buchholz, LHP Jon Lester, OF Coco Crisp and 1B Chris Carter to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
Is Reyes more valuable than Mr. No-Hitter and the Kid Who Beat Cancer? I think so, but let's not forget how fucking insane the market for pitching is. Kyle Lohse is about to get somewhere in the range of $30 million, you'll recall.
Or, of course, the nuclear option:
Yankees trade RHP Phil Hughes, RHP Ian Kennedy, OF Melky Cabrera and RHP Edwar Ramirez to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
I wouldn't be too upset if this happened, because a) it would be at least a year before we figured out who had won the trade and b) Yankees fans would be so unbelievably nervous about the prospect of Hughes turning into the next Clemens on someone else's roster that they'd never stop yakking about it. It would be HIGHLY entertaining.
Mind you, we're also hearing noises about the Orioles getting into the trading game for monetary reasons, and I'd love to see a dark horse deal like this come about.
Mets trade OF Blastings Thrilledge, OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Mike Pelfrey to Baltimore for LHP Erik Bedard
Bedard, who led the AL in K/9 (10.93) and had a svelte 1.08 WHIP pitching in the toughest division in the game, would be a perfect addition to Shea, and the Orioles are already making noises about not wanting to pay him the huge money he'll be owed after this year, a la Johan. This makes a lot of sense.
Any fans of Baltimore who happen to stumble across this post can feel free to kill themselves now.
Finally, if a certain team hadn't blown its $10 million wad on a guy who hit .286 with a slightly above-average OPS+ and over-emotes on camera, we could be talking about something like this ...
Diamondbacks trade OF Chris B. Young, OF Carlos Gonzalez, 2B Alberto Callapso and RHP Max Scherzer to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
... and fans of that team could be looking forward to having a rotation of Santana, Webb, Unit, Owings, Doug Davis in 2008 to go along with their fancy young lineup. But hey, he's a great guy, so no big deal.
The trigger's there for a reason. The question is, who's gonna pull it first?
The Yankees need a third baseman to replace Alex Rodriguez, and Miguel Cabrera of the Florida Marlins is their top option. But Steinbrenner said that the Yankees’ top three young pitchers — Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy — would not be dealt to acquire a third baseman.
“As far as trading one of them — and, of course, it would require someone else as well — for a position player, I have doubts about that,” Steinbrenner said. “My choice at this point would be that those three, right now, are pretty much off limits. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work something else out.”
-New York Times, Nov. 8
We're not to the point yet where just because Hal Steinbrenner says one thing, the opposite immediately becomes a good idea. We're close. Just not quite to the tipping point.
Yet the question remains -- would it be a good idea to throw the complete package in for a slugger? In my view, there are clearly scenarios where that makes sense, and even a few where my answer is an unequivocal "Yes." For example, if you've got a Hall of Fame bat, a Hall of Fame-caliber eater, and arguably the most valuable commodity in the game on the market, it's tough to say no. For example, though it physically pains me to type this, I pull the trigger on this deal before Frank Lucas says "Squeeze."Mets trade OF Blastings Thrilledge, OF Fernando Martinez, RHP Mike Pelfrey and RHP Kevin Mulvey to Florida for 3B/1B Miguel Cabrera
Got to do it, even at this steep price. The steepest. Forgive me for even saying it, Blastings. But that's the way it would have to be.
Of course, for obvious reasons, you'd have to follow that up with something like this.Mets trade 1B Carlos Delgado to Minnesota for RHP Kevin Slowey and RHP Nick Blackburn or Mets trade 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles (AL) for RHP Nick Adenhart
If you could even get something that good -- Joe Saunders would be a more likely target to acquire from the Halos. Other teams with pitching to trade who might be in the market for an old slugger include San Francisco, Oakland, etc.
But with this move, the Mets' infield becomes the best in the game until Obama's in his second term -- a trio at 25-and-under with unlimited offensive potential. Defensively, there's no reason to think Cabrera couldn't be better than average at first, while Reyes is getting better all the time and Wright's efforts are passable enough to earn him a joke of a Gold Glove (sorry about that, Ryan Zimmerman and Pedro Feliz).
Then again, Cabrera probably isn't the only Marlins star on the market. In an ideal world, the Fish keep all of their young talent -- in a slightly less ideal world, they keep Miggy and throw this guy away. In all likelihood, due to their contract situations, this guy's the more likely to stay. But despite what this idiot says, you'd rather toss him aside than the best young hitter in the game.
Who amongst Y2K's readership says yes to this deal?
Mets trade OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Phil Humber to Florida for LHP Dontrelle Willis
Now, the Fins would in all likelihood try to pry Blastings or Fernando away from Omar in exchange for their "ace," but the D-Train's stock has sufficiently slipped over the past year to make a trade like this plausible. I'm still not sure I go for it. You can go check out Dontrelle's numbers for yourself, but the short version is that his control is in the tank and he's got a lot of mileage on his arm already.
Reputation or not, how many prospects do you give up for a guy with a 1.59 WHIP and a 5.17 ERA? Is he even worth that? Hard to say.
Of course, there's also the trade option that has all the kids talking. Now, I don't mean just the little shits who keep stealing my paper in the morning. You know who you are. Lousy educated Park Slope hoodlums.
I mean the kids who follow any team with real dreams of a title. The ones who got, in the words of Kanye, "that ambition, baby." The ones who dream of a trade like this, a quick multi-year extension, and a 25-game winner on the roster for the next five or so years.Mets trade SS Jose Reyes, OF Fernando Martinez, 2B Ruben Gotay and RHP Mike Pelfrey to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
Don't kid yourself -- this is what it would take. The Cabrera package wouldn't attract the Twins, who have about a zillion righthanded pitching prospects of their own and don't really neet the Mets'. Presumably, in this case, the Wilpons then pay A-Rod whatever he wants, pluck him at SS and immediately sign the remainder of their possessions over to the Devil himself.
Is that more or less reasonable than this?
Red Sox trade RHP Clay Buchholz, LHP Jon Lester, OF Coco Crisp and 1B Chris Carter to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
Is Reyes more valuable than Mr. No-Hitter and the Kid Who Beat Cancer? I think so, but let's not forget how fucking insane the market for pitching is. Kyle Lohse is about to get somewhere in the range of $30 million, you'll recall.
Or, of course, the nuclear option:
Yankees trade RHP Phil Hughes, RHP Ian Kennedy, OF Melky Cabrera and RHP Edwar Ramirez to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
I wouldn't be too upset if this happened, because a) it would be at least a year before we figured out who had won the trade and b) Yankees fans would be so unbelievably nervous about the prospect of Hughes turning into the next Clemens on someone else's roster that they'd never stop yakking about it. It would be HIGHLY entertaining.
Mind you, we're also hearing noises about the Orioles getting into the trading game for monetary reasons, and I'd love to see a dark horse deal like this come about.
Mets trade OF Blastings Thrilledge, OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Mike Pelfrey to Baltimore for LHP Erik Bedard
Bedard, who led the AL in K/9 (10.93) and had a svelte 1.08 WHIP pitching in the toughest division in the game, would be a perfect addition to Shea, and the Orioles are already making noises about not wanting to pay him the huge money he'll be owed after this year, a la Johan. This makes a lot of sense.
Any fans of Baltimore who happen to stumble across this post can feel free to kill themselves now.
Finally, if a certain team hadn't blown its $10 million wad on a guy who hit .286 with a slightly above-average OPS+ and over-emotes on camera, we could be talking about something like this ...Diamondbacks trade OF Chris B. Young, OF Carlos Gonzalez, 2B Alberto Callapso and RHP Max Scherzer to Minnesota for LHP Johan Santana
... and fans of that team could be looking forward to having a rotation of Santana, Webb, Unit, Owings, Doug Davis in 2008 to go along with their fancy young lineup. But hey, he's a great guy, so no big deal.
The trigger's there for a reason. The question is, who's gonna pull it first?
posted by Cheddar Ben at 9:00 AM
2 comments
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The Only Way Sip Can Accept A-Rod
(I'm going to come at you guys with a little Knicks preview later in the week. In brief, my feelings haven't changed. This team is no better than last year's and the rest of the league is better. You know what that means for Sip.)
Happy Will usually sends out about 93 emails a week talking about the Mets. A bunch of my other buddies respond and every once in a while I'll chime in.
But this A-Rod talk actually riled me up. A bunch of my buddies really want him. Here's my take.
I can't root for a team with A-Rod and Carlos Beltran on it. We already won the free agent sweepstakes in 2004. Win it again in 2007 and I feel like we are cheating the game. I don't want to turn into the Yankees of 2000-2003.
Salary wise, It used to be the Yankees and then every one else. Then it became the Yankees and then the Red Sox and then everyone else. Do you notice how America all of a sudden hates Boston.
I think there is a huge difference between acquiring a player via trade and signing him. In trade, you have to give up something valuable to your franchise. You are giving something to get something. In Free Agency, you give up a draft pick or two. I just feel guilty signing A-Rod, in that respect.
Then there is the hatred factor.
Didn't we just spend the last four years actually hating this guy. I mean all out despising this guy. How can we as Mets fans be so quick to embrace our enemy? This isn't 2001 anymore. The concept of Shea-Rod is no longer romantic to me.
But then there is the "F You" to the Yankees factor.
Stealing A-Rod from the Yankees would be nice. Winning with A-Rod would also be kind of nice in that the Yankees couldn't do it and he was always blamed. But as I said before, I can't see the Mets become the Red Sox. I don't want to be 1A or 1B. I want this team to do everything they can to maintain their Upper West Side values.
So here is my solution
We trade Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado to the Dodgers for some mega package built around James Loney. Names like Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton and Chad Billingsley would be included as well as a number of lower level prospects.
Then we sign A-Rod.
Why it works for the Mets:
We get younger and better. Our lineup with A-Rod and Loney is better than a lineup with Beltran and Delgado. Then we get some more parts. All while really keeping salary exactly the same, swapping one superstar for another.
We can turnaround and package one our young outfielders(Milledge, Gomez, Kemp) to the Giants in a package for Noah Lowry or Tim Lincecum. They are looking for young bats, us young arms. We are ideal trade partners.
Carlos Delgado serves as the Mike Lowell in the Beckett deal. A pure salary dump. The guy is just not a $13 million player anymore.
Not to mention that Beltran, injuries and all is making nearly $80 mil over the next 4 years. This is the time so sell in that respect.
Why it works for the Dodgers:
There is a lot of pressure in LA to win now. Brad Penny and Derek Lowe aren't getting any younger. And this team just brought in Joe Torre for the present, not to rebuild. In acquiring Beltran you get a player widely considered to be a top 5 player in the game. The Dodgers desperately seek a middle of the order impact hitter and in Beltran they are getting a player in the heart of his prime.
You could sell this deal to your fan base. You are not acquiring a 34-year old star. You are getting a 30-year old.
In Delgado they get a short term fix at 1b but still a guy that the Dodgers would immediately slot in the cleanup spot.
Add Beltran and Delgado to their lineup and this team is immediately a powerhouse in the National League. And they will have Beltran locked up for four more years.
Conclusion
This is about the only way I can stomach the Mets acquiring A-Rod and is also completely based upon A-Rod's desire to be a Met. I just can't root for a team that is a spectacular compilation of free agent acquisitions. It's not pure. Say what you want about the state of baseball and how the Mets wouldn't be breaking the rules, but I didn't want to win like that.
When the Mets win that first championship, whenever that may be, I want to pound a few lagers with AFOMG and be proud of the team we had on the field.
I can't root for an all-star team.
So here is how we dance.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of bostonsportshub.com, mlblogs.com, sportsnetwork.com)
Happy Will usually sends out about 93 emails a week talking about the Mets. A bunch of my other buddies respond and every once in a while I'll chime in.
But this A-Rod talk actually riled me up. A bunch of my buddies really want him. Here's my take.
I can't root for a team with A-Rod and Carlos Beltran on it. We already won the free agent sweepstakes in 2004. Win it again in 2007 and I feel like we are cheating the game. I don't want to turn into the Yankees of 2000-2003.
Salary wise, It used to be the Yankees and then every one else. Then it became the Yankees and then the Red Sox and then everyone else. Do you notice how America all of a sudden hates Boston.
I think there is a huge difference between acquiring a player via trade and signing him. In trade, you have to give up something valuable to your franchise. You are giving something to get something. In Free Agency, you give up a draft pick or two. I just feel guilty signing A-Rod, in that respect.
Then there is the hatred factor.
Didn't we just spend the last four years actually hating this guy. I mean all out despising this guy. How can we as Mets fans be so quick to embrace our enemy? This isn't 2001 anymore. The concept of Shea-Rod is no longer romantic to me.
But then there is the "F You" to the Yankees factor.
Stealing A-Rod from the Yankees would be nice. Winning with A-Rod would also be kind of nice in that the Yankees couldn't do it and he was always blamed. But as I said before, I can't see the Mets become the Red Sox. I don't want to be 1A or 1B. I want this team to do everything they can to maintain their Upper West Side values.
So here is my solution
We trade Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado to the Dodgers for some mega package built around James Loney. Names like Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton and Chad Billingsley would be included as well as a number of lower level prospects.
Then we sign A-Rod.
Why it works for the Mets:
We get younger and better. Our lineup with A-Rod and Loney is better than a lineup with Beltran and Delgado. Then we get some more parts. All while really keeping salary exactly the same, swapping one superstar for another.
We can turnaround and package one our young outfielders(Milledge, Gomez, Kemp) to the Giants in a package for Noah Lowry or Tim Lincecum. They are looking for young bats, us young arms. We are ideal trade partners.
Carlos Delgado serves as the Mike Lowell in the Beckett deal. A pure salary dump. The guy is just not a $13 million player anymore.
Not to mention that Beltran, injuries and all is making nearly $80 mil over the next 4 years. This is the time so sell in that respect.
Why it works for the Dodgers:
There is a lot of pressure in LA to win now. Brad Penny and Derek Lowe aren't getting any younger. And this team just brought in Joe Torre for the present, not to rebuild. In acquiring Beltran you get a player widely considered to be a top 5 player in the game. The Dodgers desperately seek a middle of the order impact hitter and in Beltran they are getting a player in the heart of his prime.
You could sell this deal to your fan base. You are not acquiring a 34-year old star. You are getting a 30-year old.
In Delgado they get a short term fix at 1b but still a guy that the Dodgers would immediately slot in the cleanup spot.
Add Beltran and Delgado to their lineup and this team is immediately a powerhouse in the National League. And they will have Beltran locked up for four more years.
Conclusion
This is about the only way I can stomach the Mets acquiring A-Rod and is also completely based upon A-Rod's desire to be a Met. I just can't root for a team that is a spectacular compilation of free agent acquisitions. It's not pure. Say what you want about the state of baseball and how the Mets wouldn't be breaking the rules, but I didn't want to win like that.
When the Mets win that first championship, whenever that may be, I want to pound a few lagers with AFOMG and be proud of the team we had on the field.
I can't root for an all-star team.
So here is how we dance.
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of bostonsportshub.com, mlblogs.com, sportsnetwork.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 9:00 PM
4 comments
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Steve Trachsel... True Met?
Hey everyone, real short post for you today, just not a ton doing with the Mets and I have work to get through before calling it a night.
It's been interesting to see the fanbase's thinking evolve on the whole A-Rod proposition. He's the sort of player people love to say they don't want but then get real comfortable with once they're on the team.
My feelings on it are complicated. Alex Rodriguez is the best player in the game; that's the part of it that would be real easy to get comfortable with.
But I don't know that I want the Mets to have a player who is so unlikeable, or a guy who always sounds scripted. I want genuine passion out of the Mets next year; when I think of A-Rod, genuine passion isn't what I think of. I think of money and a bizarre psychosis and monster stats, probably in that order.
Does production heal all wounds? That'll be the question if/when the Mets sign A-Rod. For me though, I think I come down against signing him, principally because I don't want to see either Wright or Reyes moved. I love that we have those two guys on the left side of our infield, that we have them together for now and for the next 15 years potentially.
A-Rod's not the incumbent here, Wright and Reyes are. I don't think it's fair to move them. I hope they don't.
Speaking of true Mets, how about that Steve Trachsel, available once again. I hate myself for even contemplating it, but there could be worse things than re-upping with Trax... wait... no there's not!
He wasn't the only former Met cut by the Cubs this weekend, but he was the only hateable one. Uncle Cliffy found himself opted out by his home town team, and I'm sure there's more than a few Mets fans out there who would want him back.
I love Cliff Floyd; I think most Mets fans love Cliff Floyd. I'll bet you 9 out of 10 Mets fans, if pressed on it, would say Floyd was the guy missing from the clubhouse this year versus 2006. (Steve Trachsel the other 1 in 10? Maybe.)
As great a clubhouse guy as he was, Floyd doesn't fit on this team anymore, not if you think Young Lastings (you YouTubers and MySpacers out there probably know him as L-Millz) is ready to fill in full time, which I do.
So I recommend you all pour some out for hobbled old Cliffy, but don't hold out a candle. It was fun while it lasted but, baseball teams can't allow themselves to get sentimental about personnel decisions. Mike Piazza isn't coming back either (RIP).
And that about covers it. Couple quick hits before I go:
1. Brian Williams was legitimately funny on Saturday Night Live this weekend. In case I'm not the only person recording SNL, go back and watch this past weekend's episode. There were some legitimately funny skits.
2. New Knicks! Isiah only got a smattering of boos, which is a shame; Nate Robinson played some sort of emcee role in which he kind of apologized for the Knicks' play last year or their offseason of controversy, I'm not sure which; Ro-Ro the Savior chipped in 3 points off the bench. The Knicks' margin of victory? 4 points. Suck on that, haters.
- A.F.O.M.G.
It's been interesting to see the fanbase's thinking evolve on the whole A-Rod proposition. He's the sort of player people love to say they don't want but then get real comfortable with once they're on the team.
My feelings on it are complicated. Alex Rodriguez is the best player in the game; that's the part of it that would be real easy to get comfortable with.
But I don't know that I want the Mets to have a player who is so unlikeable, or a guy who always sounds scripted. I want genuine passion out of the Mets next year; when I think of A-Rod, genuine passion isn't what I think of. I think of money and a bizarre psychosis and monster stats, probably in that order.
Does production heal all wounds? That'll be the question if/when the Mets sign A-Rod. For me though, I think I come down against signing him, principally because I don't want to see either Wright or Reyes moved. I love that we have those two guys on the left side of our infield, that we have them together for now and for the next 15 years potentially.
A-Rod's not the incumbent here, Wright and Reyes are. I don't think it's fair to move them. I hope they don't.Speaking of true Mets, how about that Steve Trachsel, available once again. I hate myself for even contemplating it, but there could be worse things than re-upping with Trax... wait... no there's not!
He wasn't the only former Met cut by the Cubs this weekend, but he was the only hateable one. Uncle Cliffy found himself opted out by his home town team, and I'm sure there's more than a few Mets fans out there who would want him back.
I love Cliff Floyd; I think most Mets fans love Cliff Floyd. I'll bet you 9 out of 10 Mets fans, if pressed on it, would say Floyd was the guy missing from the clubhouse this year versus 2006. (Steve Trachsel the other 1 in 10? Maybe.)
As great a clubhouse guy as he was, Floyd doesn't fit on this team anymore, not if you think Young Lastings (you YouTubers and MySpacers out there probably know him as L-Millz) is ready to fill in full time, which I do.So I recommend you all pour some out for hobbled old Cliffy, but don't hold out a candle. It was fun while it lasted but, baseball teams can't allow themselves to get sentimental about personnel decisions. Mike Piazza isn't coming back either (RIP).
And that about covers it. Couple quick hits before I go:
1. Brian Williams was legitimately funny on Saturday Night Live this weekend. In case I'm not the only person recording SNL, go back and watch this past weekend's episode. There were some legitimately funny skits.
2. New Knicks! Isiah only got a smattering of boos, which is a shame; Nate Robinson played some sort of emcee role in which he kind of apologized for the Knicks' play last year or their offseason of controversy, I'm not sure which; Ro-Ro the Savior chipped in 3 points off the bench. The Knicks' margin of victory? 4 points. Suck on that, haters.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 9:27 PM
0 comments
Saturday, November 03, 2007
If the Answer is "The Knicks," The Question's Bound to Be Funny
In comments, gbaked asks:
For another thing, the winter's Isiah Watch is going to be the best Isiah Watch since last year's extravaganza. (i.e., When Will Isiah Washington Be Fired From Grey's Anatomy? Actually, that one was kind of weak. But anyway.) Simmons says he's gone before Kris Kringle makes his way down the chimneys of every nation but North Korea; I disagree. I think his bosses have another year of oblivious/stubborn/actively sabotaging intractability in them. You'll recall P.T. Barnum's famed maxim, "You'll never go broke betting on the idiocy of Jimmy Dolan." It applies.
So, yar. Consider the goings in the Garden monitored.
What happened to you guys covering the knicks?There will be Knicks coverage during the season, you can bet on that. For one thing, the team has added the massively intriguing Zach Randolph to an already fascinating lineup of personalities and egos. It's basically an Abnormal Psych seminar up in this piece -- Starbury, Nate the Great, Easy Eddy, Renaldo the Savior, Uptown Jerome, Mardy the Goon, Jamal of the Smooth Stride and Well-Masked Inner Conflict, etc. The post-Brandy Q is a bit too bland for this group, and Allen Houston had nothing to add but veteran platitudes and a boatload of agent-devoted cell phone minutes, so we're kind of glad he bitched out earlier rather than later. All of which is to say that this is the most watchable group of balling humans east of Oakland. So, they will be watched.
this had become my on of my fav blogs because you guys were one of the very few knick blogs out there... plus you talked mets. It was perfect...
For another thing, the winter's Isiah Watch is going to be the best Isiah Watch since last year's extravaganza. (i.e., When Will Isiah Washington Be Fired From Grey's Anatomy? Actually, that one was kind of weak. But anyway.) Simmons says he's gone before Kris Kringle makes his way down the chimneys of every nation but North Korea; I disagree. I think his bosses have another year of oblivious/stubborn/actively sabotaging intractability in them. You'll recall P.T. Barnum's famed maxim, "You'll never go broke betting on the idiocy of Jimmy Dolan." It applies.
So, yar. Consider the goings in the Garden monitored.
posted by Cheddar Ben at 4:15 PM
0 comments
Friday, November 02, 2007
Quotes of the Week
To the Quotemobile!
I don't need the Mets to be sulking around all winter or anything. It won't make me happier to imagine Carlos Delgado puttering around the den, refusing to take off his bathrobe and slippers, reacting angrily whenever anyone asks him if he's all right. I'm not wishing a long, dark night of the soul onto Jose Reyes.
But there's nothing wrong with feeling the sting of your collapse for a while. In fact, I'd expect the pain to intensify over the next few weeks. While the playoffs are still going on, it's possible to immerse yourself in the wins and losses, in the fact that the story is still ongoing. Now, with the non-Arizona/Hawaii diamonds gone quiet 'til the Spring, there's time enough to wonder about what might have been. Now that the whole thing is laid out, you can see just how one move here or there would have changed the entire tapestry. (In our case, one win here or there would have likely changed the destiny of the Colorado franchise forever. You're welcome, Denver Dave.)
The World Series is over, the distractions have either departed or disappeared onto Duck Boats, and there's nothing to keep Moises Alou and Co. from their own thoughts. Good luck with that.
As for Alou, Omar re-upped him for 2008 on Wednesday at a marginal cost of $6.5 million ($7.5 million option vs. the million-dollar buyout). It was the obvious move, given how productive Moises was when he actually was able to take the field. A .341/.392/.524 line, good for a .313 EQA, is outstanding for any left fielder, and the injury risk comes with the territory.
Short of going after Kaisuke Fukudome or (gasp) Barry Bonds, there weren't a whole lot of better options out there in left. The Reds, for example, got a relative bargain by picking up their their $13 million team option on Adam Dunn. Well, Dunn posted a .304 EQA in 152 games last season, and his defense is somewhere to the shady side of slipshod. Even the worst-case scenario -- half the money for a half-season of production -- doesn't look all that bad when you consider how much Toriiiiiiii Hunter and Andruw Jones are going to go for.
Okay. Here's the thing -- Curt Schilling, on a one-year contract, pitching in the National League, is likely to be a rather useful thing. He's the hurling version of Alou -- high upside old dude who's a major injury risk. As Schilling's repertoire has shifted away from power (his 6.0 K/9 was his lowest rate since 1994) and toward finesse (1.37 BB/9, a rate bettered only by Greg Maddux and Paul "Playoff Angel" Byrd), he's become a better fit for the NL, where there are fewer power bats to pitch around. He'd be a perfectly fine fit for Shea.
But then again, so would Maddux. And unlike Maddux, Schilling comes with a huge and insoluble ego issue blocking the way -- his reportedly strained relationship with Petey Martinez. To whatever extent it's true, it's just not a problem the Mets need to get into, even at the cost. That's mainly considering the cost on the Pedro end -- people tend to have issues with Schilling, rather than the other way around, and Curt could be counted on to deliver his all no matter what the clubhouse situation. In fact, I imagine the challenge of playing in New York, across town from his loathed Yankees, stealing the spotlight back from Martinez ... all of that would be quite a thrill for the ol' guy. Whether he'd rise to the occasion or not, I couldn't say, but none of the chemistry issues would be coming out of his hide, per se.
But Pedro ... who knows? The guy's a psychological black box. I don't know how he motivates himself or what the thought process is. Alls I know is that if something is likely to make him unhappy, it's likely to have an effect on the back end, and there's no need to risk that.
It's more that it's stunning to see a team look so sad in a marquee event. The Giants weren't much better, but they actually had something to play for, unlike the 0-7 Dolphins, who apparently only went for the warm beer and homely women. This is why it's important to sell the game out in advance, and wait a couple of years to come back so as to allow people time to forget how awful the experience actually was. Time smooths out such wrinkles.
Other things L'Affaire Anucha also demonstrated, using Stern's logic:
"I really haven't gotten over [it] yet. It's been a little easier the last couple of days because the World Series is over."Well, good. You shouldn't have gotten over it yet.
-Moises Alou
I don't need the Mets to be sulking around all winter or anything. It won't make me happier to imagine Carlos Delgado puttering around the den, refusing to take off his bathrobe and slippers, reacting angrily whenever anyone asks him if he's all right. I'm not wishing a long, dark night of the soul onto Jose Reyes.
But there's nothing wrong with feeling the sting of your collapse for a while. In fact, I'd expect the pain to intensify over the next few weeks. While the playoffs are still going on, it's possible to immerse yourself in the wins and losses, in the fact that the story is still ongoing. Now, with the non-Arizona/Hawaii diamonds gone quiet 'til the Spring, there's time enough to wonder about what might have been. Now that the whole thing is laid out, you can see just how one move here or there would have changed the entire tapestry. (In our case, one win here or there would have likely changed the destiny of the Colorado franchise forever. You're welcome, Denver Dave.)
The World Series is over, the distractions have either departed or disappeared onto Duck Boats, and there's nothing to keep Moises Alou and Co. from their own thoughts. Good luck with that.As for Alou, Omar re-upped him for 2008 on Wednesday at a marginal cost of $6.5 million ($7.5 million option vs. the million-dollar buyout). It was the obvious move, given how productive Moises was when he actually was able to take the field. A .341/.392/.524 line, good for a .313 EQA, is outstanding for any left fielder, and the injury risk comes with the territory.
Short of going after Kaisuke Fukudome or (gasp) Barry Bonds, there weren't a whole lot of better options out there in left. The Reds, for example, got a relative bargain by picking up their their $13 million team option on Adam Dunn. Well, Dunn posted a .304 EQA in 152 games last season, and his defense is somewhere to the shady side of slipshod. Even the worst-case scenario -- half the money for a half-season of production -- doesn't look all that bad when you consider how much Toriiiiiiii Hunter and Andruw Jones are going to go for.
"The list of teams that our family has talked over, that we think would be a fit for next year, should we not come back, are pretty much teams in cities we agree would be ok for our last year, and teams I think have a legitimate shot at being in the post season and/or World Series. Teams we didn’t include aren’t for any one reason. There are a million little things that go into this from stadiums to school districts to travel to spring training to etc. etc. etc. but the list represents the teams after Boston that have some of the off the field things that are big to us, plus the potential to go into October next year. ... Cleveland, Detroit, Anaheim, New York Mets, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A., S.D., Arizona, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Milwaukee."Urm. Um. Hmm.
-Curt Schilling
Okay. Here's the thing -- Curt Schilling, on a one-year contract, pitching in the National League, is likely to be a rather useful thing. He's the hurling version of Alou -- high upside old dude who's a major injury risk. As Schilling's repertoire has shifted away from power (his 6.0 K/9 was his lowest rate since 1994) and toward finesse (1.37 BB/9, a rate bettered only by Greg Maddux and Paul "Playoff Angel" Byrd), he's become a better fit for the NL, where there are fewer power bats to pitch around. He'd be a perfectly fine fit for Shea.
But then again, so would Maddux. And unlike Maddux, Schilling comes with a huge and insoluble ego issue blocking the way -- his reportedly strained relationship with Petey Martinez. To whatever extent it's true, it's just not a problem the Mets need to get into, even at the cost. That's mainly considering the cost on the Pedro end -- people tend to have issues with Schilling, rather than the other way around, and Curt could be counted on to deliver his all no matter what the clubhouse situation. In fact, I imagine the challenge of playing in New York, across town from his loathed Yankees, stealing the spotlight back from Martinez ... all of that would be quite a thrill for the ol' guy. Whether he'd rise to the occasion or not, I couldn't say, but none of the chemistry issues would be coming out of his hide, per se.But Pedro ... who knows? The guy's a psychological black box. I don't know how he motivates himself or what the thought process is. Alls I know is that if something is likely to make him unhappy, it's likely to have an effect on the back end, and there's no need to risk that.
“The only thing they didn’t understand, quite frankly, is us kneeling on the ball at the end."I doubt that. They were probably at a loss to explain why the NFL would have sent those two incompetent outfits over for the game in the first place. Honestly, how is it possible the Miami Dolphins are so bad? I don't mean how, really -- their defense got old overnight, their running back's out for the year, their quarterback is going to have to retire due to massive head trauma (never a good sign), their offensive line is porous, their coach is a moron, etc.
-Tom Coughlin, on London's NFL fans
It's more that it's stunning to see a team look so sad in a marquee event. The Giants weren't much better, but they actually had something to play for, unlike the 0-7 Dolphins, who apparently only went for the warm beer and homely women. This is why it's important to sell the game out in advance, and wait a couple of years to come back so as to allow people time to forget how awful the experience actually was. Time smooths out such wrinkles."It demonstrates that they're not a model of intelligent management. There were many checkpoints along the way where more decisive action would have eliminated this issue."It demonstrates what now? Oh, I heard you just fine, Dave. But ... what? Excuse me? Who on this planet, or any other, thought for a moment that the New York Knickerbockers were "a model of intelligent management?" No one who has access to the print or broadcast media, for one group. No users of the Internets, for another. People with eyes are out.
-David Stern, on the sexual harassers at Madison Square Garden
Other things L'Affaire Anucha also demonstrated, using Stern's logic:
- The Knicks are not a Model T
- The Knicks are not a Model UN team
- The Knicks are not a modeling agency
- James Dolan is not the model of a modern Major General
- Isiah Thomas is not a role model (actually, this one works)
- The Knicks are not a model airplane
posted by Cheddar Ben at 10:00 AM
2 comments
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Picking Winners with the Oracle of Omaha
(Guest post for you all today as Happy Will puts himself firmly in the pro-A-Rod camp. We welcome guest posts throughout the offseason, but be aware that all posts have to be approved by the powers that be here at the site. Posts can be submitted to sippymomo@gmail.com or afomgy2k@gmail.com.)
One share of Berkshire Hathaway trades for roughly $130,000. It takes many years of blogging to amass that kind of cash, so people naturally shy away. But they don't call Warren Buffett the Oracle of Omaha because he disappoints. He always delivers. And do you know who his favorite baseball player is? Alex Rodriguez.
Now tell me, is this is a coincidence? Is this the one time the oracle is incorrect? Doubtful.
People are coming up with reason after reason why they're happy A-Rod won't be on their team. He chokes in the post-season, he's the infamous 24+1 guy.
But he's also the best player of all-time, coming off of what was possibly the best season in Yankees history, and is exactly what the Mets need to go to the next level.
Of all teams, the Mets have the most to gain. If A-Rod, the Bronx scapegoat finally gets it done in the post-season, right in the shadows of Yankee stadium (while they struggle to a third place finish), how will that look to the pinstripe supporters?
When A-Rod gets close to Bonds' record, isn't the media 180 inevitable as they practically will him to break the HR mark? When A-Rod approaches 1000 homers at the end of his contract and we're settling into the cozy confines of Citi Field, won't that make attending a game all the more exciting and fun?
Won't A-Rod generate more interest in the team and keep you watching SNY for glimpses of Matt Yaloff that much longer? From a business or a Buffet perspective, this guy is a Berkshire Hathaway company. He's value, he's going to generate crazy returns and is worth the high priced investment.
But from a baseball perspective, he's worth it even more. More than anything else, A-Rod's not stupid. He knows what's at stake to his reputation about being a teammate and a winner. And I guarantee that whatever team signs him next is winning a world series within 3 years (even Tampa).
Let's not be like the hypocrites in the Bronx and pretend we'd prefer it happen somewhere else. Move whoever you want, wherever you want. But this is our chance to have the best player in baseball history. To have him go into the hall of fame as a Met and to win MANY world championships.
We can afford it, he will make the money back and we'll never have this chance again.
Sign A-Rod.
- Happy Will
One share of Berkshire Hathaway trades for roughly $130,000. It takes many years of blogging to amass that kind of cash, so people naturally shy away. But they don't call Warren Buffett the Oracle of Omaha because he disappoints. He always delivers. And do you know who his favorite baseball player is? Alex Rodriguez.
Now tell me, is this is a coincidence? Is this the one time the oracle is incorrect? Doubtful.
People are coming up with reason after reason why they're happy A-Rod won't be on their team. He chokes in the post-season, he's the infamous 24+1 guy.
But he's also the best player of all-time, coming off of what was possibly the best season in Yankees history, and is exactly what the Mets need to go to the next level.
Of all teams, the Mets have the most to gain. If A-Rod, the Bronx scapegoat finally gets it done in the post-season, right in the shadows of Yankee stadium (while they struggle to a third place finish), how will that look to the pinstripe supporters?
When A-Rod gets close to Bonds' record, isn't the media 180 inevitable as they practically will him to break the HR mark? When A-Rod approaches 1000 homers at the end of his contract and we're settling into the cozy confines of Citi Field, won't that make attending a game all the more exciting and fun?
Won't A-Rod generate more interest in the team and keep you watching SNY for glimpses of Matt Yaloff that much longer? From a business or a Buffet perspective, this guy is a Berkshire Hathaway company. He's value, he's going to generate crazy returns and is worth the high priced investment.
But from a baseball perspective, he's worth it even more. More than anything else, A-Rod's not stupid. He knows what's at stake to his reputation about being a teammate and a winner. And I guarantee that whatever team signs him next is winning a world series within 3 years (even Tampa).
Let's not be like the hypocrites in the Bronx and pretend we'd prefer it happen somewhere else. Move whoever you want, wherever you want. But this is our chance to have the best player in baseball history. To have him go into the hall of fame as a Met and to win MANY world championships.
We can afford it, he will make the money back and we'll never have this chance again.
Sign A-Rod.
- Happy Will
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 9:52 AM
5 comments
