Sports...and Other Stuff
RMHTarHeel@yahoo.comFriday, July 18, 2003
Nice quote La Russa
People that know me in the world of fantasy baseball know that I love Hideo Nomo, despite his limited run support from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Well, last night he beat the Cardinals, giving up one unearned run in six innings and hitting a two-run HR and a run-scoring double.
So after the game, Tony La Russa is asked to comment on the guy who just single-handedly stuck it to his boys. Here's the quote:
"He doesn't have a lot of wins, but he's been very tough to score on," La Russa said.
You're right Tony, he has been very tough to score on. His 2.85 ERA is fourth in the National League. But he "doesn't have a lot of wins?" Did I hear that right? Nomo now has 10 wins on the season, more than every pitcher on the Cardinals roster but Woody Williams, who is one of the "best pitchers in the league."
Maybe this answers my question of how a team with four all-star starters is not winning the NL Central. They just don't have a lot of wins.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Tim Byrdak
I'm sure everyone has heard about the publicity stunt in St. Paul last night. Minnie Minoso batted leadoff as the DH for the Saints, making him the first man to play professional baseball in seven different decades. That's all well and good, as I enjoy the occasional stunt for the sake of fan interest (as long as it doesn't involve Roger Clemens).
But take a closer look. Minoso's line looked like this. 0-0, 0 R, 1 BB. 1 BB!!! He walked! Minnie Minoso is 77 years old, and he walked. That in itself isn't all that surprising. After all, in 17 major league seasons, Minoso took 814 walks.
The story is Tim Byrdak, the starting pitcher for your Gary SouthShore RailCats (I'll not discuss my feelings on leaving out spaces between words for no reason). Byrdak is a real pitcher - nine years of pro ball after playing in college at Rice. And he walked a 77-year-old man! And not one of those ceremonial intentional walks. Minoso worked the count full and took a legitimate walk. Later in the game, Byrdak was ejected for arguing with the umpire after being removed from the game after issuing back-to-back walks in the sixth and allowing four runs.
But I guess if you can't get a septuagenarian out, the ump must have been squeezing the hell out of you. QuesTec this!
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Final All-Star Game Rant
So as I said, I enjoyed the game, but the more I think of it, the more pissed off I get about Roger Clemens making the AL team.
First, does any one really believe he'll retire at the end of the season? The only way that happens is if the Yankees win the World Series (which certainly could happen), but even then, he seems like one of those "can't live without the game" types. As opposed to Rob Dibble, who is a "can't live without talking about having played the game" types.
Second, this was billed as a "fan-friendly" move. But what fans like Roger Clemens? Red Sox fans want to barbecue him, Blue Jays fans can't remember who he is (or have SARS and don't care about baseball) and even some Yankee fans are indifferent if he's not winning. People like one of the three Yankee pitchers who were better in the first half much more than Clemens.
Oh well, at least my favorite team doesn't have Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, Albert Pujols AND Scott Rolen and is STILL in a dog fight with the Astros and the Cubs.
All-Star Game Thoughts
Well, it was certainly an entertaining game, "this time it counts" or otherwise. Also a tolerable length, thanks to some good early pitching.
I was happy with the overall performance of the Braves. Andruw Jones probably would have been the MVP (2-2, HR, 3 RBI) if Gagne didn't blow it. Russ Ortiz struck out two in a scoreless inning. Furcal and Sheffield both scored runs (although Furcal caused an unearned run for the AL), and Javy didn't hurt himself. Of course Marcus Giles didn't play, and neither did Smoltz, although he'd have gotten the save if the aforementioned Gagne hadn't stepped in.
I was also a little perplexed by the MVP vote, although now that I think about it, it makes sense. Obviously, sports writers who were caught up in the moment would have picked Blalock, but it went to the fan vote. My guess is that Andruw was the leading vote getter, although Garret Anderson could have been it, and they wouldn't give the MVP to a player on the losing team. Blalock's heroics came too late in the game for enough fans to vote for him, because no one would have voted for him before the HR.
All things considered, not a bad game, even though Harper's DH-loving American Leaguers were victorious.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Hello everyone who is not reading this. I've started a blog because it is free and Dreamweaver is not.
