Hey kids, Thermos just is a brand name for a vacuum flask.
- DID you tune in today to watch the Yankees' amazing ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte pitch against the Braves?
- DID you know there's a metric for "fan loyalty"? Well there is and now the MLB is tied with the NFL. This is fantastic news for people that want to sell you shit.
- DO you get migraines? If you do, just imagine how much worse things would be if you had one while standing on a pitcher's mound in Arizona like Gio Gonzalez.
- DID you know that Creed from The Office used was in the Grass Roots back in the 60s? I have that record. I'll have to look for him on the sleeve.
- WILL Dana Eveland falling from the sky as a decent pitcher onto the Rogers Centre mound do anything to change my BJ's prediction from yesterday? Yes, maybe now they'll finish only 2 games behind the Orioles.
- EVER seen Pete Rose's girlfriend? No comment.
- ARE you one of those people who like to seem worldly by explaining English soccer's relegation system to someone who probably knows more about soccer than you do anyway and then insisting that US sports need to have the same thing? Well dork, 'Duk gives you five reasons it won't work in baseball.
Guuuhhhhh is this week ever gonna ennnnnnnd???? HURRY UP BASEBALL. Same WoW channel.
("A Crosstown Classic" trailer, and all its lovable jamooks, stolen from the indefatigable Can't Stop The Bleeding. )
"Fan loyalty is driven in four ways:
* Pure Entertainment
* Authenticity
* Fan Bonding
* History and Tradition"
What about people getting naked in the hotel in the stadium?
Ambidextrous switch-pitchin' Pat Venditte threw for the Evil Empire against the Bravos today in split-squad action. Kid went 1 1/3 and allowed a run on 2 hits and a walk, striking out none. Yunel Escobar, Nate McClouth, Eric Hinske and others were not fooled by the flip-flipping fireballer.
Sabathia had no idea Venditte could pitch with both hands. When he came out of he game, Sabathia saw a left-handed pitcher coming in from the bullpen. Then he saw a right-handed pitcher on the mound.
“I was like, maybe that guy got hurt,” Sabathia said.
Who knew CC didn't read the 8,273 different Yankee blogs that mentioned Venditte approximately 82,730 times? (via)
"Pete Rose, 68, has dated Kim, 29, since 2009. Wow, that's a 49 year difference, or more years than this blogger's age."
Apparently the SF Gate doesn't supply calculators to their bloggers.
I'd be surprised if Pete Rose wasn't dating an Asian stripper. It just, you know, fits.
The only way that would be more fitting is if Pete Rose's stripper girlfriend used to be a dude.
Hah, he said "BJ's".
@BC - that non-essential numeral gets 'em every time
I try to trick my 8 yr old nephew w/ stuff like that, but he usually gets it right
Relegation in baseball is almost as stupid as non sudden death OT in the NFL...
I think it's now safe to concede that Pete Rose is the super white trash version of the Most Interesting Man in the World.
"I don't always drink beer, but when I do... um... I always drink beer."
+1 EdB
The biggest reason the relegation model wouldn't work in baseball (versus why it works in England) is the lack of transfer payments. Smaller teams can develop talent and turn them into cold hard cash, the kind of money used to float the franchise and further develop young talent.
Teams like my beloved West Ham United produce scads of young players who are bought up by bigger teams. PSV Eidhoven in Holland is another team in this style. They serve as a springboard for the young stars to grab the spotlight and move onto to a huge team for huge cash.
The baseball system doesn't support that, smaller teams develop talent and hope they can turn it into other young players. Which is nice but doesn't help keep the lights on.
Other reasons that relegation wouldn't work:
-The overall size of North America means that you can't really centralize clubs in your largest MSAs like you can with a country like England, which is smaller than Alabama. Then again, I guess we can just move every team to Alabama, unless the Montgomery Biscuits invoke their franchise rights.
-Baseball lacks a non-league tournament that increases chances that local teams will end up playing, and it would never have it ever, ever, ever, ever, unless the Yankees are willing to resurrect the corpse of Ramiro Mendoza to make starts during the actual season while A.J. Burnett is busy trying to crack Ruben Gotay's skull in the second round of the Cocs-Cola SuperBaseballTournamentThing Presented by UPS and Subway.
And if I can't watch the Phillies humiliate the Mets, why the hell am I even bothering?