A big WBC injury, the cheap Yankees, Ohio trying to stick it to athletes, a dryer vent update, a question for every Republican, "The Long Goodbye" at 50, and farewell to a singer of stone cold jams
I've never permanently lost a sock in the dryer. However, some have taken up temporary residence in pant legs, sleeves, and (especially) fitted sheets.
I did have a repairman tell me once that socks do get "lost" in certain washers if the owners tend to overfill a top-load washer--they're found when the repair person finds the sock outside the washer drum.
The ones that annoy me the most are when, while folding and putting away the newly clean laundry, you discover that a sock is missing. So you go from your 4th floor apartment back down to the basement laundry room to look for it, and you discover that you never took it out of the washing machine in the first place.
The trick is to count the socks on the way into the dryer (you are giving your clothes a quick flick before putting them in so they dry better not being all twisted up, aren’t you?).
You're not a serious person because you never answer direct fucking questions or define your positions. And because I can read MTG's Twitter timeline to anticipate your latest talking points. If you want to be taken seriously (which I doubt you do because trolls gotta troll), directly engage instead of Gish galloping and deflecting.
It's a statement of opinion based on evidence, but not a syllogism. Jay can be "not WOKE" and also be unserious, but just because "Jay is not WOKE" and "Jay is not serious" are true statements does not make "If you are not WOKE, you're not a serious person" a valid response by Jay to the criticisms of him. Jay is such an evolved person that he is both not serious and not WOKE when he could have chosen to be one or the other, or preferably neither. Congratulations to Jay on the accomplishment.
Jay isn't actually engaging with us though. At this point it's just public rhetorical masturbation. He's flashing us, but showing us how small his brain is instead of his dick.
You’re a troll and a snowflake? You come on here being an absolute jerk all the time and you want people to be nice to you?
Woke = aware of the unvarnished truth and not glossing over it to create a false narrative.
The only people opposed to such a thing, by definition wants to gloss over and cover up the bad. The motivations, typically, stem from bigotry.
So if the shoe fits, find a new pair of shoes.
Everything you rail about is a choice. You could choose differently. All you need is compassion. Do you have it in you or do you just want to pretend you’re owning someone even though you get your posterior handed to you on a silver platter every time.
Jay, c'mon. You are smart enough to know that what you said here is NOT a definition. Try completing this: "If a person is woke, that means that they believe/say/act...." Just so we know that we are agreeing on terms.
Maybe. If we can break through the reflexive cliches, maybe he will finally say something interesting. It'd be risky on his part, but if it works? We could turn his sock-puppet show into a discussion with a person.
funny thing. as a lefty I am certain I could define it as a talking point using codified language on their behalf without making it sound racist ("limit entitlements to keep populations from getting too much from government funding, giving them the *opportunity* and motivation to make it on their own" like Mary Tyler Moore did!). which makes it SO funny that the white lady couldn't do it.
They don't want to actually define things (like Jay here) because you can actually debate when terms are defined. And their culture warriorism is built on a foundation of logical fallacies that completely fall apart when you actual define what you mean.
The problem they have is that if they are truly pressed to define "woke" in short, simple terms, as DeSantis's counsel was in a court filing, they would have to say that woke means "the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them." Why would anyone want to oppose that?
So, instead, these folks have to clarify that when they say "woke," they use it in some vague, generic, all-encompassing sense to describe whatever cultural issue they oppose.
I am proudly woke. I define it as being awake to the racial and economic inequities that have been viciously imposed by the powerful throughout human history, being sensitive to the lasting effects of those injustices, and being willing to expose those whose bigotry and bias seeks to perpetuate their unfair position of privilege over others.
Not so goddam hard, and threatening only to those mentioned in that third part.
I am sure later today, in between meetings, I will pay attention to the basketball. But right now I am just not feeling it. Doesn't help that one of the favorites has one former player charged with murder and gives the overall air of not really treating that seriously (even if Brandon Miller's offense is being callous).
My alma mater (Purdue) is a favorite to win it all this year. I'm mentally preparing myself for a crushing loss in the Sweet 16 to this year's Cinderella team. It is the way for Purdue fans.
Wow. Everette 'Egg Head' Stephens! That's a name I haven't seen a long time.
As a lifelong IU fan, I'm conditioned to vehemently root against all things Purdue Basketball related. That in mind, Everette Stephens was a hell of a hooper. He was a pain in your ass on both sides of the court.
Hey, look on the bright side: sure, Purdue will lose - but not necessarily to a Cinderella.
Yes, it wasn't great to lose to #15 Saint Peter's last year, or to #13 North Texas the year before. But they're versatile; sometimes they lose to the eventual champion in OT after a buzzer beater tied the game at the end of regulation (UVA, 2019). Glass half full!
Before the game I had a great discussion with a couple of UVA fans who had driven from DC to Louisville for the game, they were both extremely pumped up for the game.
That was my (very slight) consolation on the drive home: "Well, at least those nice folks are going home happy."
This does NOT mean the season is over. But I am getting ever more vibes of 1987, when the Mets rolled back most of its World Championship team and the injuries never seemed to slack off (plus Gooden in drug rehab, which in retrospect should also be seen as injury).
But at least Cohen pays for the Mets' wi-fly.
Also saw an interesting article that said that apparently Hal Steinbrenner has been consulting with Aaron Judge about things like what he thinks of Volpe and what he thinks of upcoming renovations to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Makes sense to me, actually, since if Judge is being paid that much, he's practically a partner. And he certainly knows a lot about baseball.
Not much of an Altman fan - indeed, I cannot stand MASH the movie - but I figure eventually I will get around to The Long Goodbye. I recently watched Farewell My Lovely, which was an entirely conventional period piece but also a tour de force for Robert Mitchum, and Marlowe, which was set in the then-present 1960s, but was less a Marlowe film and more a proof of concept for The Rockford Files, since James Garner plays the detective in about the same mode as he plays Jim Rockford. I might be due a grand tour of all the Marlowe films, even a rewatch of The Big Sleep, which I never cared for.
This post is one dagger to the hear after another. The Altman oeuvre, MASH in particular, Hawks' The Big Sleep...all top shelf. I remember watching The Big Sleep with my daughter who was probably 11 at the time but already very film literate. Near the end of Sleep, she said - "this story makes no sense." "Exactly."
Famously, Howard Hawks -- or possibly Leigh Brackett -- was working on the screenplay, which follows the book pretty closely, and they couldn't figure out who had killed the Sternwood's chauffeur, Owen Taylor. So they asked Raymond Chandler. He said he didn't know and he wrote the damn book.
Exactly - I can’t remember the details now but about 15 years ago it was discovered there were two versions - if memory serves one for servicemen overseas and one for the public and one made more sense than the other. If you google it you’ll find the story. I think LA Weekly did a huge article. I think UCLA archives pieced it together.
Re: Judge. This has been going on the past few years with the Phillies and Harper, too. Every offseason, there are stories where it's either "Bryce Harper is advocating for the Phillies to sign X" or "Bryce Harper is a big fan of the recently signed Player Y."
Seems I have been elected First Mets Fan of the collective.
Funny thing is of course that while this is a bummer, I never ever get too down about a sports team losing. There are just more important things in the world to worry about.
Cipro is one of the meds I won’t let them prescribe me. I have had 4 ankle surgeries (all to the same place) and the risk of a tear is already too great. Sad to know it was a cascading condition in someone’s death.
I am sad ALSO about Diaz’ apparent injury. Let’s hope it is less serious than it appeared. Freak accidents like that are always so awful. Here’s hoping the Mets are destined for greatness this year. (I can’t believe I said that.)
I think it will be closer by committee to start with (assuming Diaz is out long term). Too late in the spring to just assign one person to be THE closer. Then it might end up Robertson or Ottavino. (Also a chance that they are signing Zack Britton if he still has any stuff but that is not going to fix things.)
PS: There is now ZACK Britton the pitcher and ZACH Britton, a prospect in the Jays system.
If, say, Mbappe got hurt during the World Cup, and a soccer fan said the stars shouldn't play in it anymore because of that, they'd get laughed out of the room. How is the Diaz injury any different?
And yes, the WBC is not the World Cup, but it's not like the World Cup was a hit out of the box, either.
The main difference between the two is the WBC has a couple billion fewer fans interested in the outcome of the competition. :-)
I get the impression that that most soccer players would MUCH rather win the World Cup than their club team's domestic league. I'd be surprised if any of the top-level WBC competitors would rather win the WBC than the MLB World Series.
Also, I can’t imagine the wbc federations pay anywhere near what the World Cup federations do. Also also, World Cup is supposed to be in the off season with time to recover
The WBC is absolutely garbage, yes I’m a little bitter because Díaz is the best closer in baseball and it would have a huge impact on the Mets. I couldn’t even give 1 F if team USA wins the WBC or loses every game they play. Perhaps to other countries it means more, but whatevs. And I will have to disagree about this happening in spring trading, yes they could get hurt anywhere, BUT these guys are going all out when they probably wouldn’t be for a ‘meaningless spring training game’.
If a player wants to play they should have to forfeit their salary if they get hurt, and any future salary for any future injuries that could be attributed to the injury that occurred while participating.
Again, in my opinion the WBC is absolutely trash and a risk that players shouldn’t be taking. They signed a contract to play for their MLB team and that’s that. Why an owner would ever give permission for the player to participate is insane. Going forward language should be built in that the team can either void the contract or make it non-guaranteed if the player chooses to participate.
When I read Craig's initial reference to these guys potentially getting hurt in ST, I immediately thought...'they aren't going balls out in Spring Training. In contrast, they are absolutely going balls out during the WBC. That part of NB's comment I agree with. But yeah, both parties are very much aware of what they signed up for.
The WBC game between PR and the DR was the first I've watched this year and I really enjoyed the level of excitement and camaraderie on display between both sides. I'm not sure we even see that the MLB playoffs (I tuned out before the Diaz injury). QUESTION FOR THE CALCATERRA HIVE: does anyone remember an earlyh 80s show on WTBS that was set in a bar, was focused on college football, and had Paul Hornung as one of the hosts? It was a live show, with bar patrons as the audience. The main reason I ask is I'm trying to track down the identity of one of the other hosts. He was a pudgy, red-nosed guy that probably had overalls on and his catch-phrase was to punctuate his sentences with "haaaaw!" Even though the focus was college FB, you no doubt saw this show if you watched Braves games in the early 80s. Thanks!
1. I'm an Islanders fan who watched our best player sustain a season-ending injury at the Sochi Olympics playing for my country's biggest rival. It sucked, but it indeed could have happened at any time.
2. However, I really do believe that it's uniquely challenging to get pitchers up to speed in March, more dangerous than anything any other sport tries to do with their international play. I'm still not worried about Lindor but I was terrified for Diaz. I don't think it matters that he was celebrating while being injured - he was celebrating immediately after pitching. His body wasn't ready to do what was asked of it today.
Freak injuries sometimes just happen. Kendrys Morales lost his shot at being a star due to a gruesome midseason injury while celebrating a walk off. These appear rare and random to me.
Yep. And in October 2014, not one but TWO NFL players, Lamarr Houston and Stephen Tulloch, tore up a knee celebrating a sack while dancing the "discount double check."
If he took a line drive off his shin, would you consider that a pitching injury? I wouldn't.
If it's not part of the act of throwing the ball it's not a pitching injury. Diaz's ankle ligament snaps as he plants in his follow-through? Sure. It goes out in the middle of celebrating? Nope.
I was listening to a hockey podcast on my walk yesterday, and the topic of goalie goals came up (for the non-hockey fans, this is a feat that is probably rarer than either a perfect game or hitting for the cycle), and a call was inserted of then Montreal goaltender Jose Théodore scoring. It was a delightful call, by a familiar voice, who then referred to the cheers from the Colisseum crowd. Yep, Howie Rose used to call hockey as well as baseball, and he was as good at hockey as he is at baseball.
Rose worked for a long time for the Isles before deciding to cut back to just baseball. But before he committed only to teams that wear blue and orange, he did play by play for the Rangers. And called what is considered to be the most famous Rangers goal ever:
Rose got to be there when the Rangers won their cup that season, and while I am sure all he dreams of now is saying "put it in the books" after a World Series victory, he can say he got to call a title game.
This is true. And it is, in part, why I wasn't surprised that he was cutting back last season; he's been at this a long time. And then he announced that he'd been dealing with serious health issues for the last few seasons…
I feel really bad for Edwin Diaz, Simon and the Mets - in that order.
I only buy inflight wifi if work is paying - the new trend of allowing free inflight messaging is usually all I need. But yeah - never a good look to be in a category of two with the Reds.
The movie that explains me is Joe Versus the Volcano. Life is weird and stupid but, if you believe, true love prevails - and sometimes you just have to dance in the moonlight.
I like being disconnected when in the air. It gives me a chance to bury my nose in a book and read undisturbed for a couple / few hours, something that rarely happens on the ground.
The one knee down thing lead directly to ATL trading for Sean Murphy this Winter. Contreras the Younger is a good or very good hitter for a catcher but below average at the defensive side of the position. The team tried, in 2021, to get him to use the knee down method but it lead to a number of passed balls.
This reminds me of Tony Peña. He didn’t quite do the same thing. Instead he caught sitting down with one leg beneath him and the other pointing to first. Despite the weird look, he could still really throw. I put a lot of blame for the strike zone moving south on the use of inside chest protectors for umps but most of the rest goes to Peña and his evolution of the crouch.
Peña’s predecessor behind the plate for the Bucs, Manny Sanguillen, was the first catcher I saw using that stance. A vastly underappreciated player whose career was nearly ruined by the idiotic idea to have him replace Clemente in right.
Thought it was trash before, never watched a game, EVER, this gave me the reason to rant. Hopefully you didn’t need to look at the avatar to see what caused the rant, if so, well....
Ah, the best weekend of the year, the NCAA Tournament. ESPN will be live-streaming all 8 mats, Dog Bone Friday Night, the Blood Round, the finals with Spencer Lee (probably) going for four straight titles...
Wait, we are talking about the NCAA Wrestling Championships, right?
I am not the world’s foremost Brentford fan, not nearly. But, I have always enjoyed football as it is played all over the planet, in addition to the American version of rugby. (American football fans should do themselves a favor and watch rugby.)
In that vein, I recall recently tying the phrase used today, “…everyone’s number comes up eventually.” to the rather obvious soccer substitution process, whereby an official calls a player off the pitch by holding up a sign with that player’s number.
Of course, today’s electronic signs, red for the player removed, green for the substitute’s number, are cool (and a watch advertisement), but, it’s your number. It is up.
Did you define "woke" yet? I haven't see it.
Am I the only person who’s never “lost” a sock in a dryer?
Has Zaphod - or maybe Craig - set up a thriving business in second hand socks?
I've never permanently lost a sock in the dryer. However, some have taken up temporary residence in pant legs, sleeves, and (especially) fitted sheets.
I did have a repairman tell me once that socks do get "lost" in certain washers if the owners tend to overfill a top-load washer--they're found when the repair person finds the sock outside the washer drum.
A few times a year, I go through my loose socks and am able to re-pair them. I have very few that never find a match again.
The ones that annoy me the most are when, while folding and putting away the newly clean laundry, you discover that a sock is missing. So you go from your 4th floor apartment back down to the basement laundry room to look for it, and you discover that you never took it out of the washing machine in the first place.
The trick is to count the socks on the way into the dryer (you are giving your clothes a quick flick before putting them in so they dry better not being all twisted up, aren’t you?).
Yes, I am stupendously anal. Why do you ask?
Define "woke" or STFU
lol you are a wholly unserious person and I’m flummoxed why anyone engages with you
You're not a serious person because you never answer direct fucking questions or define your positions. And because I can read MTG's Twitter timeline to anticipate your latest talking points. If you want to be taken seriously (which I doubt you do because trolls gotta troll), directly engage instead of Gish galloping and deflecting.
It's a statement of opinion based on evidence, but not a syllogism. Jay can be "not WOKE" and also be unserious, but just because "Jay is not WOKE" and "Jay is not serious" are true statements does not make "If you are not WOKE, you're not a serious person" a valid response by Jay to the criticisms of him. Jay is such an evolved person that he is both not serious and not WOKE when he could have chosen to be one or the other, or preferably neither. Congratulations to Jay on the accomplishment.
But you just engaged with him yourself.
Jay isn't actually engaging with us though. At this point it's just public rhetorical masturbation. He's flashing us, but showing us how small his brain is instead of his dick.
We all knew you couldn't do it.
OK
You’re a troll and a snowflake? You come on here being an absolute jerk all the time and you want people to be nice to you?
Woke = aware of the unvarnished truth and not glossing over it to create a false narrative.
The only people opposed to such a thing, by definition wants to gloss over and cover up the bad. The motivations, typically, stem from bigotry.
So if the shoe fits, find a new pair of shoes.
Everything you rail about is a choice. You could choose differently. All you need is compassion. Do you have it in you or do you just want to pretend you’re owning someone even though you get your posterior handed to you on a silver platter every time.
Jay, c'mon. You are smart enough to know that what you said here is NOT a definition. Try completing this: "If a person is woke, that means that they believe/say/act...." Just so we know that we are agreeing on terms.
Is he though?
Maybe. If we can break through the reflexive cliches, maybe he will finally say something interesting. It'd be risky on his part, but if it works? We could turn his sock-puppet show into a discussion with a person.
I wouldn’t be holding my breath.
Everything. According to They Might Be Giants, "There's Only One Everything." Mira: https://youtu.be/0CTAnw8PRUQ
funny thing. as a lefty I am certain I could define it as a talking point using codified language on their behalf without making it sound racist ("limit entitlements to keep populations from getting too much from government funding, giving them the *opportunity* and motivation to make it on their own" like Mary Tyler Moore did!). which makes it SO funny that the white lady couldn't do it.
They don't want to actually define things (like Jay here) because you can actually debate when terms are defined. And their culture warriorism is built on a foundation of logical fallacies that completely fall apart when you actual define what you mean.
(delete! don't do his work for him!!!)
This made me laugh:
https://twitter.com/kaimac/status/1635838300559753216?s=20
The problem they have is that if they are truly pressed to define "woke" in short, simple terms, as DeSantis's counsel was in a court filing, they would have to say that woke means "the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them." Why would anyone want to oppose that?
So, instead, these folks have to clarify that when they say "woke," they use it in some vague, generic, all-encompassing sense to describe whatever cultural issue they oppose.
Intolerance of intolerance is not, itself, intolerance.
Heck of a paradox there ;)
I am proudly woke. I define it as being awake to the racial and economic inequities that have been viciously imposed by the powerful throughout human history, being sensitive to the lasting effects of those injustices, and being willing to expose those whose bigotry and bias seeks to perpetuate their unfair position of privilege over others.
Not so goddam hard, and threatening only to those mentioned in that third part.
How do the once a week people keep up?
I am sure later today, in between meetings, I will pay attention to the basketball. But right now I am just not feeling it. Doesn't help that one of the favorites has one former player charged with murder and gives the overall air of not really treating that seriously (even if Brandon Miller's offense is being callous).
My alma mater (Purdue) is a favorite to win it all this year. I'm mentally preparing myself for a crushing loss in the Sweet 16 to this year's Cinderella team. It is the way for Purdue fans.
I went to high school with Everette Stephens. That loss in... what, 1988?... still haunts me.
Wow. Everette 'Egg Head' Stephens! That's a name I haven't seen a long time.
As a lifelong IU fan, I'm conditioned to vehemently root against all things Purdue Basketball related. That in mind, Everette Stephens was a hell of a hooper. He was a pain in your ass on both sides of the court.
Hey, look on the bright side: sure, Purdue will lose - but not necessarily to a Cinderella.
Yes, it wasn't great to lose to #15 Saint Peter's last year, or to #13 North Texas the year before. But they're versatile; sometimes they lose to the eventual champion in OT after a buzzer beater tied the game at the end of regulation (UVA, 2019). Glass half full!
You didn't have to ID that UVA game, it's not like I can forget!
(cw: Purdue)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHVOFjx4Tfc
Wow Mike! You opened the wound and poured salt directly into it.
You can borrow my copy of "UVa's Magical Season" if you'd like. APBA guy, UVa Class of '73
Very gracious of you to make such an offer, lol.
Before the game I had a great discussion with a couple of UVA fans who had driven from DC to Louisville for the game, they were both extremely pumped up for the game.
That was my (very slight) consolation on the drive home: "Well, at least those nice folks are going home happy."
I figured out why my glass was half full; it had a hole in the bottom.
And so the football has been taken away from Mets fans.
https://tenor.com/view/charlie-brown-fail-lucy-sports-football-gif-4460715
This does NOT mean the season is over. But I am getting ever more vibes of 1987, when the Mets rolled back most of its World Championship team and the injuries never seemed to slack off (plus Gooden in drug rehab, which in retrospect should also be seen as injury).
But at least Cohen pays for the Mets' wi-fly.
Also saw an interesting article that said that apparently Hal Steinbrenner has been consulting with Aaron Judge about things like what he thinks of Volpe and what he thinks of upcoming renovations to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Makes sense to me, actually, since if Judge is being paid that much, he's practically a partner. And he certainly knows a lot about baseball.
Not much of an Altman fan - indeed, I cannot stand MASH the movie - but I figure eventually I will get around to The Long Goodbye. I recently watched Farewell My Lovely, which was an entirely conventional period piece but also a tour de force for Robert Mitchum, and Marlowe, which was set in the then-present 1960s, but was less a Marlowe film and more a proof of concept for The Rockford Files, since James Garner plays the detective in about the same mode as he plays Jim Rockford. I might be due a grand tour of all the Marlowe films, even a rewatch of The Big Sleep, which I never cared for.
This post is one dagger to the hear after another. The Altman oeuvre, MASH in particular, Hawks' The Big Sleep...all top shelf. I remember watching The Big Sleep with my daughter who was probably 11 at the time but already very film literate. Near the end of Sleep, she said - "this story makes no sense." "Exactly."
Famously, Howard Hawks -- or possibly Leigh Brackett -- was working on the screenplay, which follows the book pretty closely, and they couldn't figure out who had killed the Sternwood's chauffeur, Owen Taylor. So they asked Raymond Chandler. He said he didn't know and he wrote the damn book.
So, yeah, honest comment.
Exactly - I can’t remember the details now but about 15 years ago it was discovered there were two versions - if memory serves one for servicemen overseas and one for the public and one made more sense than the other. If you google it you’ll find the story. I think LA Weekly did a huge article. I think UCLA archives pieced it together.
Craig - here is one of the articles that discusses the 2 versions of Big Sleep. I remember we showed the newly restored version as part of a Noir series in 1998. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-01-ca-115-story.html
Re: Judge. This has been going on the past few years with the Phillies and Harper, too. Every offseason, there are stories where it's either "Bryce Harper is advocating for the Phillies to sign X" or "Bryce Harper is a big fan of the recently signed Player Y."
How this group gets into your head.
Heard about the Diaz injury, and my first thought was, Poor Simon!!
Seems I have been elected First Mets Fan of the collective.
Funny thing is of course that while this is a bummer, I never ever get too down about a sports team losing. There are just more important things in the world to worry about.
Cipro is one of the meds I won’t let them prescribe me. I have had 4 ankle surgeries (all to the same place) and the risk of a tear is already too great. Sad to know it was a cascading condition in someone’s death.
I am sad ALSO about Diaz’ apparent injury. Let’s hope it is less serious than it appeared. Freak accidents like that are always so awful. Here’s hoping the Mets are destined for greatness this year. (I can’t believe I said that.)
Based on the way it looked, it's hard to believe it's anything but extremely serious. Ugh.
I assume Ottavino will close. Which is less than optimal if lefties are due up
I know that in my head but my heart is keeping an open mind. What an awful, random injury.
I think it will be closer by committee to start with (assuming Diaz is out long term). Too late in the spring to just assign one person to be THE closer. Then it might end up Robertson or Ottavino. (Also a chance that they are signing Zack Britton if he still has any stuff but that is not going to fix things.)
PS: There is now ZACK Britton the pitcher and ZACH Britton, a prospect in the Jays system.
If, say, Mbappe got hurt during the World Cup, and a soccer fan said the stars shouldn't play in it anymore because of that, they'd get laughed out of the room. How is the Diaz injury any different?
And yes, the WBC is not the World Cup, but it's not like the World Cup was a hit out of the box, either.
The main difference between the two is the WBC has a couple billion fewer fans interested in the outcome of the competition. :-)
I get the impression that that most soccer players would MUCH rather win the World Cup than their club team's domestic league. I'd be surprised if any of the top-level WBC competitors would rather win the WBC than the MLB World Series.
Also, I can’t imagine the wbc federations pay anywhere near what the World Cup federations do. Also also, World Cup is supposed to be in the off season with time to recover
The WBC is absolutely garbage, yes I’m a little bitter because Díaz is the best closer in baseball and it would have a huge impact on the Mets. I couldn’t even give 1 F if team USA wins the WBC or loses every game they play. Perhaps to other countries it means more, but whatevs. And I will have to disagree about this happening in spring trading, yes they could get hurt anywhere, BUT these guys are going all out when they probably wouldn’t be for a ‘meaningless spring training game’.
If a player wants to play they should have to forfeit their salary if they get hurt, and any future salary for any future injuries that could be attributed to the injury that occurred while participating.
Again, in my opinion the WBC is absolutely trash and a risk that players shouldn’t be taking. They signed a contract to play for their MLB team and that’s that. Why an owner would ever give permission for the player to participate is insane. Going forward language should be built in that the team can either void the contract or make it non-guaranteed if the player chooses to participate.
Done venting, thanks !
(reads rant)
(sees avatar)
(dismisses rant)
WBC is trash, signed, a Yankees fan.
"If a player wants to play they should have to forfeit their salary if they get hurt"
What the absolute hell is the matter with you?
Their obligation is to their team, they signed a contract
The team signed the contract, too. Knowing full well about the existence of the WBC (and, by the way, MLB being the ones who have been pushing it).
It's almost as if MLB has a stake in promoting baseball around the world. A...financial stake, even!
When I read Craig's initial reference to these guys potentially getting hurt in ST, I immediately thought...'they aren't going balls out in Spring Training. In contrast, they are absolutely going balls out during the WBC. That part of NB's comment I agree with. But yeah, both parties are very much aware of what they signed up for.
The WBC game between PR and the DR was the first I've watched this year and I really enjoyed the level of excitement and camaraderie on display between both sides. I'm not sure we even see that the MLB playoffs (I tuned out before the Diaz injury). QUESTION FOR THE CALCATERRA HIVE: does anyone remember an earlyh 80s show on WTBS that was set in a bar, was focused on college football, and had Paul Hornung as one of the hosts? It was a live show, with bar patrons as the audience. The main reason I ask is I'm trying to track down the identity of one of the other hosts. He was a pudgy, red-nosed guy that probably had overalls on and his catch-phrase was to punctuate his sentences with "haaaaw!" Even though the focus was college FB, you no doubt saw this show if you watched Braves games in the early 80s. Thanks!
1. I'm an Islanders fan who watched our best player sustain a season-ending injury at the Sochi Olympics playing for my country's biggest rival. It sucked, but it indeed could have happened at any time.
2. However, I really do believe that it's uniquely challenging to get pitchers up to speed in March, more dangerous than anything any other sport tries to do with their international play. I'm still not worried about Lindor but I was terrified for Diaz. I don't think it matters that he was celebrating while being injured - he was celebrating immediately after pitching. His body wasn't ready to do what was asked of it today.
If he blew out his knee walking back to the mound between pitches would you consider that a pitching injury? I would.
Freak injuries sometimes just happen. Kendrys Morales lost his shot at being a star due to a gruesome midseason injury while celebrating a walk off. These appear rare and random to me.
Yep. And in October 2014, not one but TWO NFL players, Lamarr Houston and Stephen Tulloch, tore up a knee celebrating a sack while dancing the "discount double check."
If he took a line drive off his shin, would you consider that a pitching injury? I wouldn't.
If it's not part of the act of throwing the ball it's not a pitching injury. Diaz's ankle ligament snaps as he plants in his follow-through? Sure. It goes out in the middle of celebrating? Nope.
I only vaguely remember that injury to Tavares. But ny now, I only vaguely remember Tavares.
It was a huge blow for that season! And the Islanders were decent on their way to being pretty good in 15 and 16!
It's all a bit of a blur now. Hockey seasons tend to lump together for me, even the ones when the Isles are good. I do miss Tavares a bit, though.
I was listening to a hockey podcast on my walk yesterday, and the topic of goalie goals came up (for the non-hockey fans, this is a feat that is probably rarer than either a perfect game or hitting for the cycle), and a call was inserted of then Montreal goaltender Jose Théodore scoring. It was a delightful call, by a familiar voice, who then referred to the cheers from the Colisseum crowd. Yep, Howie Rose used to call hockey as well as baseball, and he was as good at hockey as he is at baseball.
Rose worked for a long time for the Isles before deciding to cut back to just baseball. But before he committed only to teams that wear blue and orange, he did play by play for the Rangers. And called what is considered to be the most famous Rangers goal ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ziarOEosIc
Rose got to be there when the Rangers won their cup that season, and while I am sure all he dreams of now is saying "put it in the books" after a World Series victory, he can say he got to call a title game.
This is true. And it is, in part, why I wasn't surprised that he was cutting back last season; he's been at this a long time. And then he announced that he'd been dealing with serious health issues for the last few seasons…
Eh... Howie Rose was a cranky hockey announcer his whole career, whereas he didn't become cranky in the baseball booth until recently.
To be fair, the Isles gave him plenty of reason to be cranky.
Traveling today so I’ll say my piece all at once:
I feel really bad for Edwin Diaz, Simon and the Mets - in that order.
I only buy inflight wifi if work is paying - the new trend of allowing free inflight messaging is usually all I need. But yeah - never a good look to be in a category of two with the Reds.
The movie that explains me is Joe Versus the Volcano. Life is weird and stupid but, if you believe, true love prevails - and sometimes you just have to dance in the moonlight.
What, you put someone else's feelings ahead of mine?
I like being disconnected when in the air. It gives me a chance to bury my nose in a book and read undisturbed for a couple / few hours, something that rarely happens on the ground.
The one knee down thing lead directly to ATL trading for Sean Murphy this Winter. Contreras the Younger is a good or very good hitter for a catcher but below average at the defensive side of the position. The team tried, in 2021, to get him to use the knee down method but it lead to a number of passed balls.
This reminds me of Tony Peña. He didn’t quite do the same thing. Instead he caught sitting down with one leg beneath him and the other pointing to first. Despite the weird look, he could still really throw. I put a lot of blame for the strike zone moving south on the use of inside chest protectors for umps but most of the rest goes to Peña and his evolution of the crouch.
Peña had a cannon. When I played I mirrored the way he was behind the plate, made it fun.
Peña’s predecessor behind the plate for the Bucs, Manny Sanguillen, was the first catcher I saw using that stance. A vastly underappreciated player whose career was nearly ruined by the idiotic idea to have him replace Clemente in right.
Thought it was trash before, never watched a game, EVER, this gave me the reason to rant. Hopefully you didn’t need to look at the avatar to see what caused the rant, if so, well....
Ah, the best weekend of the year, the NCAA Tournament. ESPN will be live-streaming all 8 mats, Dog Bone Friday Night, the Blood Round, the finals with Spencer Lee (probably) going for four straight titles...
Wait, we are talking about the NCAA Wrestling Championships, right?
#FearTheTurtle
Iowa State still a powerhouse?
I am not the world’s foremost Brentford fan, not nearly. But, I have always enjoyed football as it is played all over the planet, in addition to the American version of rugby. (American football fans should do themselves a favor and watch rugby.)
In that vein, I recall recently tying the phrase used today, “…everyone’s number comes up eventually.” to the rather obvious soccer substitution process, whereby an official calls a player off the pitch by holding up a sign with that player’s number.
Of course, today’s electronic signs, red for the player removed, green for the substitute’s number, are cool (and a watch advertisement), but, it’s your number. It is up.
I thought Bobby Caldwell was an FBI agent, had a son named Linus.
+1 SuperDave (RIP)