Monday, October 08, 2007

Happy Chris Columbus Day

Forget his early work with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria...let's instead recognize him today for the stellar performances of Mouth, Chunk and Data...
Posted by T.J. at 2:34 PM
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34 comments:

Greg said...

Thanks Teej. That's just what I needed.

2:54 PM, October 08, 2007
T.J. said...

I knew you would love a little Truffle Shuffle on this exciting holiday...

2:57 PM, October 08, 2007
Greg said...

Kids are definitely fatter these days. How do I know this? Chunk, the "fat kid" is almost normal size by todays fatness standards. Sad.

3:22 PM, October 08, 2007
Whitney said...

Maybe if they'd put that kind of creativity into something with actual earning potential, the children wouldn't have to risk their lives on some pirate treasure caper just to keep from getting evicted from the Goondocks.

Thanks, Dad.

4:24 PM, October 08, 2007
zman said...

Atrocious. First the Yankees were eliminated, then I switched over to ESPN in time to watch the Bills lose on the final play. Twice. Miserable.

12:00 AM, October 09, 2007
T.J. said...

Yep, the Indians pitching staff was terrific, and the Yankees simply could not drive in runs when it counted. Fire the manager if you want, but the entire team deserves blame for that series loss.

And that Bills loss, well, yikes, that was atrocious...

7:36 AM, October 09, 2007
Geoff said...

So who's managing the Jankees next year? Donnie Baseball? Davey Johnson? Larry Brown? Nick Saban?

9:17 AM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

let me state for the record that firing torre would be a mistake.

10:13 AM, October 09, 2007
T.J. said...

Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi.

Though personally I think it might be interesting to give Bobby V a call and see if he wants to leave the Land of the Rising Sun.

10:14 AM, October 09, 2007
Mark said...

Girardi would be my pick but he seems to have a problem with meddling owners...I think that might prove to be problematic.

10:36 AM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

steve phillips said unequivocally that bobby v would never manage the yankees. so i guess they'll be introducing him as the manager within the next few days.

i really hope that a-rod opts out, too. most yankee fans have no idea what they'll miss with him gone.

10:54 AM, October 09, 2007
T.J. said...

I will tell you this is NOT the guy I want taking the job if Torre does get canned:

La Russa's name already has surfaced as a possible replacement in New York if the Yankees decide not to renew Joe Torre's contract. The Yankees were eliminated from the postseason by the Cleveland Indians in four Division Series games.

According to the New York Daily News, the Yankees have not reached out to La Russa. Citing unnamed "insiders," the newspaper said La Russa wants the Yankees job and has not committed yet to the Cardinals until New York's situation gets settled.

11:38 AM, October 09, 2007
Whitney said...

I don't know, I think a lot of Yanquis fans were just coming around on A-Rod. (And how could you not with that regular season?) And while he reverted to his usual(relatively) inept status as a postseason hitter, he wasn't singularly awful, as far as I could tell. He had a lot of help in the series loss, and I don't think his stock re-sank that low.

Jeter was uncharacteristically worthless, for one thing. Usually you can juxtapose their two performances, which makes the fans turn on ARod that much more emphatically. Not so this year. A whole bunch of big-bucks baseball players looked ineffective this series, which is why Torre may get the brunt of it.

ARod's is similar to the Glavine situation in Queens. The fans (some of which have by-lines) blow up at Glavine over his one hideous outing, he's had enough of New York's crap and ultimately, vice versa. ARod's had enough of the NY BS, and in the end, the New Yorkers acknowledge it was never a great fit. There's a parting of ways, and while you know the guy could help you next year, you're kind of ready to be over the saga.

11:50 AM, October 09, 2007
Geoff said...

But where does GayRod go? I mean who can afford him? Does he supplant Mike Lowell? Maybe the Dodgers? The Cubs? The Redskins?

11:54 AM, October 09, 2007
Whitney said...

The Giants just dumped Barry Bonds' salary and Omar Vizquel just turned 53...

12:01 PM, October 09, 2007
Whitney said...

Also, The Mets are going to see if he'll agree to play 2B.

12:03 PM, October 09, 2007
T.J. said...

Artie Moreno might throw a ton of cash his way and agree to name the team the Alex Rodriguez Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

12:16 PM, October 09, 2007
Geoff said...

Yeah, most people on the ebays are saying Los Angeles Arods of Anaheim. The Nats offered him $2 million per season and the option to play shortstop, first base or anywhere else...yes, he can even pitch four or five games if he feels like it.

12:19 PM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

cubs, especially if cuban's in the mix to buy the team. and wherever he goes, he's playing ss.

1:00 PM, October 09, 2007
TR said...

I've been commuting to work via car this week. I've been listening to a ton of NY sports radio and digesting the recent/impending failures of my teams (Rutgers, Jets, Yanks, Knicks, Islanders).

1) Pinella and A-Rod are very close. The Angels and Cubs would be the biggest bidders for A-Rod. I don't know if the Yanks will bite on anything too obscene. Rumor has it that A-Rod bought a trio of penthouses in a new luxury building in Hoboken that he's converting to one massive unit. Weird that he wouldn't go to Manhattan. I can't justify paying A-Rod $300 MM. I'd much rather try to trade for Johan Santana and pay him $125 MM, and sign a big bat like Texiera (sp?) for $80 MM.

2) Fans are split on keeping Torre and A-Rod. A lot of people think it's ludicrisp to fire Torre, but I think it's not a bad idea. He's a supreme manager of egos (a really overlooked ability of his in that clubhouse of millionaires), but he lacks the ability to motivate his team and he's not a great in-game manager. I really think Girardi will be the guy. Mattingly and Guidry will likely go as Girardi builds his staff. The big reason for the Yanks' resurgence this year was the infusion of young blood that had some energy. Duncan, Chamberlain and Hughes all fired up the dugout, as did young stars like Cano and Cabrera. Torre had very little to do with any of that.

3) Playing the roster guessing game, I think Posada and Rivera return. Pettite will be iffy, as he may retire. Clemens, Mussina and A-Rod will be gone. As for Mussina, he's due to get $11 MM or so. I bet the Yanks will eat a lot of that to ship him out. Abreu will never be re-upped for $16 MM, but the Yanks may re-sign him for a multi-year deal at $10 MM per annum.

For the record, A-Rod hit .267 in this series. Not awful, but not good enough to keep him for getting booed for having blue lips when he returns next year.

1:56 PM, October 09, 2007
TR said...

That last sentence should read:

"...to keep him from getting booed..."

1:59 PM, October 09, 2007
Mark said...

Count my vote for ARod signing with the Redskins.

2:31 PM, October 09, 2007
Whitney said...

Funny, in (2) the way you describe Torre is exactly how most of us describe Willie Randolph. It's unsurprising, given the tutelage, but it drives NY fans nuts when things don't go according to plan. On paper, their demeanor and style makes so much sense. Then your team drops 4 in a row and you want Sam Kinison in that dugout. Not a rational reaction, not an uncommon one, either.

2:38 PM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

i like jason whitlock:

http://thebiglead.com/?p=3359#more-3359

carry on.

3:16 PM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

call it schadenfreude, but i love the fact that suzyn waldman bawled after the yankees lost.

4:37 PM, October 09, 2007
Whitney said...

Okay, Karl-Heinz.

4:45 PM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

6-pack if you can tell me why i chose karl-heinz. and i've told the story before.

4:54 PM, October 09, 2007
TR said...

Is there documentation that she cried? Not that it would surprise me in the least.

She was a great beat reporter in the 1990's, and not just because she's got a great face for radio. She's AWFUL on the radio. The lack of chemistry b/w her and Jons Sterling is palpable. I miss Sterling and Kay together.

Are Sox fans all over her because Simmons made a fuss about her Clemens excitement? Like most Yankees announcers this decade (save Jim Kaat, who stopped doing games this year), she drinks the Yankee punch.

For the record, the baseball fan in me is pretty fired up about the Indians-Red Sox series. Should be a great match-up. I'm rooting hard for Cleveland.

5:03 PM, October 09, 2007
rob said...

better than documentation - audio. follow the link and scroll down:

http://awfulannouncing.com/

and sox fans mostly hate her because she grew up a sox fan and then became a yankee homer - and that's the most despicable form of treason imaginable. in a purely sporting sense.

i agree that the alcs has the potential to be terrific. my rooting interest is slightly different than yours.

5:07 PM, October 09, 2007
Whitney said...

Karl-Heinz was a footballer or something?

6:35 PM, October 09, 2007
TR said...

The tears you read in this post are the tears of embarassment that are raining down from my face on behalf of John Sterling. Sterling is such an institution on the radio that he may have enough pull to have her tossed. That one second pause between her rant and his "all good things come to an end" retort are a perfect 10 on the awkwardness scale.

Somehow I doubt that Larry Bowa, Tony Pena, Don Mattingly and Ron Guidry were crying in that clubhouse.

For the record, LaRussa is being CRUCIFIED by WFAN and ESPN Radio in NYC. I guess he's a real asshole to the media. Even Steve Summers, the most laid-back guy on WFAN, was destroying him. I'm sure the newspaper rags will start doing the same if his name continues to get bandied about.

My favorite name that's been added to the mix is Bobby V. The guy is an absolute train-wreck, but he's a winner. He would likely lead them to a World Series and get himself fired in the next 3 years.

8:26 AM, October 10, 2007
T.J. said...

It looks like we both want Bobby-San in this dojo...

8:38 AM, October 10, 2007
rob said...

i love bobby valentine. i'd be very torn if he became yankee manager. not that it'll ever happen.

9:40 AM, October 10, 2007
Whitney said...

Ditto, little buddy.

1:57 PM, October 10, 2007

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