(H/T to the ProJo SoxBlog, emphasis mine)
Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, on this morning’s edition of the WEEI radio show Dennis and Callahan, said that he will have shoulder surgery on Monday, ending his chances of pitching this season. The 41-year-old right-hander went on to say that “there’s a decent chance that I have thrown my last pitch, forever.”
There are lots of Yankee blogs chatting about this today. What I have seen a lot of, that I really don’t like, is that people seem to be taking a twisted joy in knowing that Schilling is hurt and possibly done for his career. I enjoy watching the Sox lose as much as any Yankee fan, but I don’t think I have ever cheered an injury. And I am not going to start now.
I’m a fan of the game, a fan of the team I grew up watching, a fan of the players who have made the most of their incredible skills. Cheering when a player, even on your most bitter rival, suffers a possible career ending injury is just so low, so weak, so cowardly, so… disgusting.
I might think Schilling is a pompous blowhard (as do others). I might not like his approach and tact on certain things. But, he’s entitled to his views and opinions as much as I am. He’s incredibly generous and charitable. I will not cheer his injury.
Turns out, the Yanks have a minor leaguer who’s a switch pitcher. So what happens when a switch pitcher meets a switch hitter? Pure comedic genius.
(H/T to the good folks at Bugs & Cranks for the video; thanks to my bro for the tip-off)
No, not what you’re expecting, you perv! This is a PG site! It’s just the hook quote from an article about the bloggers vs. the old guard. From blogger fan extraordinaire Buzz Bissinger:
The younger generation likes the snarky tone,” says Bissinger. “They like the gossip, they like the juice. I don’t think they really appreciate good writing and reporting, and those, to me, are precious arts. . . . it’s all some interactive gangbang.”
At least he’s not saying we all live at home in our parent’s basement, sitting in our underwear. Or are they?
Retort from ESPN’s Bill Simmons:
Those guys had it easy up until the mid ’90s,” argues ESPN’s Simmons, whose online oeuvre has made him arguably America’s best-known sportswriter. “It was an old-boys network, there was no accountability, nobody was calling them out. And their jobs were protected by the union, so it didn’t even matter.
……
And the notion that sports bloggers don’t want access? That they’d rather sit in their mother’s basement (to use a favorite old-media slight) than actually report on the athletes they’re covering? Simmons swears it’s bogus, at least in his case. “I wanted to be in the clubhouse,” he recalls. “I couldn’t get a job at a newspaper because nobody ever left, and nobody would give some schmuck writing on the Internet a press pass. So what was I supposed to do, give up? I started writing a column about sports from the only perspective that I had ” the voice of a fan ” and it worked. I’m not going to apologize for it.”The bottom line,” Simmons concludes, “is that these guys never, ever fucking leave. That’s one reason sportswriting took off on the Internet ” because you had a whole generation of frustrated wanna-be sportswriters who couldn’t get a chance to do what they wanted.”
Ya got that right, Bill.
I was asked why I hate Kyle Farnsworth. I had to step back and and explain it in a different way. He seems like a nice enough guy (except when you charge the mound). He seems like he cares and genuinely wants to win and succeed. So here’s how I explained it:
I hate Kyle Farnsworth because he’s got so much natural talent and all I want is for him to be as great as his talent. Because of those expectations, it makes me hate his failings that much more. I don’t hate LaTroy Hawkins because I don’t think he has the natural stuff that Farnsworth does, therefore I hold lower expectations than Farnsworth. Maybe I just need to lower my expectations for him. But that’s hard for me to do since I can see how much God-given talent this guy has.
Interesting that a Sports Illustrated survey of 495 MLB players showed that Derek Jeter was voted most overrated.
In a Sports Illustrated survey of 495 Major League Baseball players in its June 23rd issue, Jeter was voted the most overrated player in the game, grabbing 10 percent of the vote. Teammate Alex Rodriguez and Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew were tied for third in the poll, each with a seven percent share.
……
Ironically, when SI asked MLB players, “Whom would you pick to build a team around?” in a separate survey last week, A-Rod ranked first and Jeter second.
Note to all Mets personnel: Do NOT mess with Jerry Manuel. He’s a bad dude. Gangster, in fact.
Manuel met resistance from a helmet-tossing Jose Reyes on Tuesday night, when the shortstop’s left hamstring tightened and he didn’t want to leave the game. Reyes eventually headed for the showers, and shortly afterward apologized to Manuel for the well-intentioned insubordination.
“I told him next time he does that I’m going to get my blade out and cut him. I’m a gangster. You go gangster on me, I’m going to have to get you. You do that again, I’m going to cut you right on the field,” quipped Manuel, who reinserted Reyes at shortstop and the leadoff spot for last night’s series finale against the Angels.
Well, that’s certainly a different approach than Willie’s Torre-esque stoicism. Most pundits said Manuel’s style is too similar to Willie’s style and the team was looking for a spark, someone who’d give the team a kick in the rear. Maybe Manuel IS that guy. Or just playing the role…
I’ll make this quick since I do want to escape the office, but my fellow bloggers alerted me to two lousy decisions the Yanks made today:
- Yanks Claim Ponson Off Waivers (from Sliding Into Home)
- Now THIS is the Kind of Thing You Should Try to Announce at 3:15 AM (from Eephus Pitch)
Ponson? What, his 10+ ERA last year just makes you drool? So what if he was having a decent year in Texas, prior to getting cut for behavior unbecomming a teammate…. I feel dirty.
And the link from Emma Span’s Eephus Pitch is priceless…. The Yanks are putting a @#$%^& Hard Rock Cafe in TNYS. Seriously, a Hard Rock? Just a terrible decision. I’ll try not to get all food snobbish on you, but putting a Hard Rock in Yankee Stadium, when you have so many better options, just sucks. If you have to put a chain in, put a Houston’s or something else. Shoot, why not just put a Linens ‘N Things in the Bleachers and a Christmas Tree Shops in the bullpen and we can call the Stadium “The Great American StripMallPark“.
grrrrrrrr…..
In an ESPN.com interview, Bud announced that he’s quite pleased with himself (emphasis mine):
Q: You have always referred to yourself as a purist. Are you on board with the momentum toward instant replay? How much of a role should it play in your mind?
A: Well, I don’t know. The GMs voted 25-5. I guess the only thing I would say if we do it — and I’ve made no decisions, because I’ll agonize over that — it will be a most limited way. I know other sports are using IR and I have different thoughts on that. I am a purist, but I’m the same purist that went to interleague play and the wild card. I took a terrible pounding for that; now everybody loves it. Those who were critics forgot they were critics. And there is revenue sharing, so I’m probably the greatest agent of change in baseball history , but I don’t want to tamper with the game. I’m sensitive about that. If there’s something I’m convinced will help the game, I’ll do it, but I haven’t quite gotten to that area yet.
Now, I think he happens to be right about that claim, but it was just interesting to hear it come directly from him.
Revenue sharing has changed the economics of the game more than anyone could have predicted. It’s rare that a top player actually hits free agency these days, with so many players getting locked up earlier and longer than ever. Teams are buying out free agent years early to get the valued “cost certainty”.
The wildcard is a profound success, period.
Interleague remains oft-debated, but the attendance figures don’t lie. People dig it. Hank hates it. I’m OK with it, but I could easily live without it.
I still hate the changes (and lack of changes) in the All Star game. If I were Commish for a day, I’d do the following about the All Star Game:
- Eliminate the World Series home field advantage gimmick. PERIOD.
- Eliminate mandatory representation by every club. It was one thing when there just twenty-something teams, but with 32, too many inferior players are being named at the expense of more qualified players. OR:
- Expand the roster sizes to accomodate the expansion in the number of teams. If you do this, you can keep mandatory representation. Open the rosters to 35 and eliminate the handwringing.
Seems that Selig has undergone a makeover. No longer the schlubby, haphazard, nutty-professor look. He’s now sporting the Corporate Baron ‘do/look. Was he on “Queer Eye”? “What Not To Wear”? “Extreme Makeover”? “10 Years Younger”? “Stylish Executive Hairdo’s for 2008″?
Seems that he found the miracle of Aquanet or some other grease.
Before:
After:
Of course, he still prefers button down collars with his ties, but still…this is progress!
Was reading Buster’s blog earlier and this just jumped out at me and smacked me in the face (emphasis mine):
It was a Mets’ bloodbath in the New York papers today for the team, in the aftermath of the strange press conference of Omar Minaya, in which he said he made the decision to fire Willie Randolph Monday morning — despite the fact that everything down to the identity of the replacement coaches had been in the papers and on Web sites beginning on Friday. Randolph told Bill Rhoden he has his doubts about whether it was Minaya’s call. Randolph also had a very different take on what his conversation with Minaya was on Sunday evening, before he got on the team bus:“I actually asked him,” Randolph said, “I said: ‘Omar, do this now. If you’re going to do this, do this now. I know you’ve got a lot of pressure on you, but if I’m not the guy to lead this team, then don’t let me get on this plane.’ I did say that to him.”
Had to post this, taken from The SportsHernia‘s comments section, which is up to their usual goodness, suggesting that THIS would have been a better way to fire Willie.
Was at Radio City Music Hall last night, attending a speech/Q&A by former President Bill Clinton, so I didn’t see a pitch of any game. I’m trying to get caught up on the night I missed.
Whatever your political leanings, it’s easy to see why Clinton was so popular. He’s an amazing speaker, engaging, and charasmatic. I was completely riveted. I found it amazing what he’s been able to do since leaving office. His Foundation has been a champion of health-care related activities around the world that is nothing short of incredible.
Unrelated thought: Thank goodness the Giants won the SuperBowl.
The whole Mets shamockery had me thinking: How much does Johan regret signing the long term deal? (I know the trade would never have happened without him signing but allow me to wonder what if for a moment).
