Jo Co, Thanks for the Atlantic link. Interesting article. And, just for the record, you have posted here in the past about what a superb, hardworking player Ethier is and of the tremendous charitable work he does during the offseason for the underprivileged living in Los Angeles. I would certainly hope that anyone who may have casually cast their eyes upon our exchange would not confuse any ill-informed, misguided comment I may have written about Ethier to be an opinion even remotely shared by you. To the best of my knowledge, which dates back to over 20 years of Prodigy and SB postings, and as an officer of the court, I can aver that you have always been completely consistent if not fervent in your praise of Ethier’s inestimable value to the Dodger organization. Signed, Milwaukee Husband Very Familar with Concept of Residency in "Spousal Doghouse".
For the record, A-rod was not a total bust. He won two MVPs and a WS right off the top. But his body has totally given out at a young age as all steroid and other HGH user's bodies do. Add his off the field theatrics and he is probably finished. About five years ago I predicted he would end up with 800-850 HRs and about 2500 RBIs.
Thanks Bobda. All those of us who appreciate Andre Ethier's extraordinary abilities wouldn't want to be misunderstood...
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kJ9cXtvkhrU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>
I used to run that play. The players love it. The key is for the shortstop and the 2nd baseman to run into the outfield as if the pitcher threw the ball away. The centerfielder runs in, backing up a throw that never happened. The runner can't see anything, because his head is down diving back to the base, and all the infielders are screaming about a bad throw...so that the runner with his head down can't hear his 3rd base coach hollering at him to stay put, because it's all just a trick. This play is designed to fool the smart, aggressive base runner. It doesn't work with the others...
I haven't seen the incident, but time invested in the league shouldn't have anything to do with an incident report. That's a very 'union' way of looking at things.
re: the incident The incident is posted in the "Viva Puig" section re: Ian Kennedy Kennedy a pussy and he's going to get plunked again. re: Hinske The Dodgers all laughed at the suspension of Hinske, because he was totally innocent. According to the Dodgers, Hinske was the peace maker who tried to break up the fight. It was Montero who caused the whole fracas and he got off with only a fine. Montero is going to get it too... re: Hinske suspension No good deed goes unpunished...
This is for A.J. Please note that Loren Babe was born on my birthday and he went to Catholic school... http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/babelo01.shtml
I see that Andy Pettite surpassed Whitey Ford as the Yankee's all time SO leader. Interesting I never thought of Ford as a Power pitcher. I looked him up and the most he ever had in a single season was 209 and that was the only time he went over 200. I think even in a 154 game season your top SO pitchers always had 200+. But Whitey was a heck of a pitcher. As a young Dodger fan I hated him with a white hot fury of a youngster who had taken on the burden of all those years of losing to the Yankee's that happened before I was even aware of who they were!! I just instinctively knew the Yankee's were evil! I also thought living in Brooklyn would be the best place you could live!
In one of Jim Bouton's books, he told a story of Whitey Ford after his career was over. Whitey was in trouble, with men in scoring position and a full count on the batter. He fired down a spitball that dropped straight down like it was a clay pigeon in a skeet shoot, and the batter struck out. His teammates were staring open-mouthed at him as he returned to the dugout. He simply looked at them and said, "I'm tired of losing Old-Timer's games."
Great story about Ford, Jim. I wouldn't characterize Pettitte as a power pitcher. But he is a pitcher's pitcher. Location, changes speeds and moves the ball in and out with the best of them. He's about at the end of the line now but he still battles.
:idea: :!: I agree about Pettitte. He had some gas when he first came up. Most young pitchers do, but then they fade away after the first series of arm/shoulder injuries. Pettitte learned his craft and now has Hall of Fame numbers... There's three aspects to pitching, in this order: 1. Location 2. Movement 3. Velocity Please notice that the first two are more important than raw gas. On today's Dodger telecast, they were talking about two pitchers who knew how to pitch with only moderate velocity: Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal. They hooked up against each other back in the early sixties and Manito beat the master 1-0. The game went 16 innings and both men pitched a complete game; each refusing to yield to the other... Spahn was pitching against a lineup that included Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda. Marichal was pitching against a lineup that included Henry Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock and Felipe Alou. If I remember correctly, the other two Alou brothers played for the Giants... It's the guys who learn the craft of pitching who're the greatest pitchers and I believe that Pettitte is one of them.
I believe that Braves lineup also included Rico Carty and Joe Torre. I had the thrill of watching Spahn and Marichal pitch in person 2x each at Crosley Field. Greg Maddux was another all time great who did not throw hard. It was not uniusual for him to throw a complete game with a double digit pitch count.
Nice story about Mariano last night in Minnesota... http://yanksinexile.com/the-twins-just-gave-mariano-rivera-the-best-gift-ever
:idea: BTW- The ESPN Sunday Night Game will be the Red Sox vs. the Angels at Anaheim. I will be at that game, upstairs on the 3rd base side in a family group of nine people, including Brian Kelly's pal...