Nov 20
The BBWAA has acknowledged the internet folk of late, but their glasnost hit a snag in this year’s NL Cy Young voting. Both ESPN.com’s Keith Law and Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll bucked conventional wisdom slightly, leaving St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter off their ballots. This mild disparity may have cost Carpenter the award.
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Nov 19
Bud Selig: The clumsy MLB commish plans on “tightening” up baseball’s postseason schedule. Great! Then, he followed it up with, “it’s difficult.” This left Rob Neyer “guardedly optimistic” which might as well be code for, “not happening.” So Selig will whiff on this and instant replay. Outstanding. Changes in baseball come at a glacial pace. That’s sad. [AP, ESPN]
Nov 19
Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly are in St. Barts, frolicking in the transparent blue water and presumably sipping drinks with tiny umbrellas in them. It appears as if, in the photo on the right, Jeter is lobbying the Friday Night Lights star to get a dog. [NY Post; Previously here and here]
Nov 18
I used to write that baseball writing was the only profession where ignorance was considered a virtue. Zack Greinke winning the AL Cy Young shows that the combined muscle of Joe Posnanski, Rob Neyer and Fire Joe Morgan may have enhanced conventional baseball wisdom, slightly.
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Nov 18
Citi Field Savior: “The Mets, in search of an innings-eater to stabilize their rotation, are particularly intrigued by free-agent righthander Joel Pineiro, according to a team insider.” Classic Mets here. Intrigued by a starting pitcher who’s last winning record before this past season was in 2003. But he’s durable! So are Toyota Corollas and trash cans. No thanks. Of all the stats they could dangle for Mets fans, they included this gem — “His worst 2009 start came at Citi Field on Aug. 4, when he allowed seven runs on 11 hits in five innings.” Consider that an official warning to the Flushing faithful. [NY Daily News]
Nov 18
Ashley Greene … word of the year is unfriend? And we’ve been calling it ‘defriend’ all along … cat harasses cop … Amy Fisher (yes, that one) to dance at the Cadillac Lounge in Rhode Island this weekend; if you attend, let us know … Leighton Meester needs to stop singing, and stick to this … suspect: large, naked, woman … spitting in the police chief’s burger might mean 10 years in jail … hate it when deer carcasses pile up in the yard …
On the heels of Andre Agassi’s recent tome … other memorable athlete biographies. (New Yorker)
Wanted to make this its own post - Duke recruited this female hoopster, and then dumped her. Hard. (Charlotte Observer) Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 17
MLB Awards: Determined Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan captured the NL Rookie of the Year award. One day, while in high school, he returned home to the news that his father died in a car accident while on a business trip. Coghlan found solace in the batting cage. Goodness this story is sad. Coghlan was hardly being recruited as a junior in high school; he was an 18th round draft choice in 2003. We’ll be rooting for him from now on. [St. Pete Times]
Nov 15
Preserving The Pitching Arms Of Young Aces: “The Board of Directors of Little League International has voted to change the pitch-count rules for both the Little League regular season and the Williamsport tournament. Pitchers under the age of 14 who pitch 66 or more pitches in a day will now need four days of rest … In the past, Little League pitchers (11, 12 and 13-year-old pitchers) who threw between 61-85 pitches per day needed only three days of rest (less than pitchers like Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia).” Crazy parents across the nation will now commence berating something. [Kallas Remarks]
Nov 15
An auction of Bernie Madoff’s prized possessions was held on-line and at the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square yesterday, with the goal being to raise money for those who lost money by investing with him.
This item caught my eye. Really, a Mets jacket with his name stitched on the back? Did Strawberry or Doc even have one of these?
It went for a cool $14,500. Now some other dick is wearing it.
Pieces of Madoff [CNN Money]
Madoff’s ill-gotten gains sold off [NY Post]
Nov 14
Jemele Hill! Run While You Can: “Sosa’s new look implies that he has a “color complex” — a term used to describe those who have been brainwashed to believe adopting more “white” features will help them gain mainstream acceptance … If you don’t believe there’s any racial component to Sosa’s new look, you haven’t been paying attention to the backlash he’s been receiving since those photos hit the Web.” Yes, by linking it, we’re doing exactly what’s intended here. Honestly, after reading this, it would be only be fair that someone relentlessly hammer away at my eyes with a spiked bat. What an utterly pointless, painful, atrocious piece. [ESPN]
