Comments on: Distinctions at this level

By: david

david — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:52:29 +0000

Pena is not only not Ozzie Smith or Ozzie Guillen, he’s ot even Ozzie Osborne. On a good day, he might well be Ozzie Nelson although the Old Oz had better range numbers and because Harriet was a true babe which added two points to his OPS.

By: thefxc

thefxc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:55:06 +0000

Nothing worthwhile to add except to say that this was one of the best articles on baseball that I’ve read (recently at least.) Thanks for making my day. Sorry that’s you’re stuck with Pena, good luck! (Go Phils–we love Bruntlett, but we knew better than to keep both him and So Taguchi.)

By: David in NYC

David in NYC — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:56:56 +0000

@David #57 & Darren #63 –

Absolutely correct. In addition to those arguments, there is also the fact that the only times golf play is suspended is when you cannot see (fog or darkness), when you cannot putt (standing water on the greens), or when there is lightning in the vicinity.

To take a very recent instance, exactly how much tennis would have been played in the conditions that obtained at Bethpage Black for the US Open? My guess is, roughly, none at all. Heck, they put a roof on Centre Court so that the players WOULDN’T have to deal with the elements.

And that’s not to mention the fact that, had it not been for the ridiculous exclusion of professionals from tennis between 1963 and 1967, who knows how many majors Rod Laver would have won? As it is, he won 11, including a Grand Slam as an amateur in 1962 and another as a pro in 1968. I am pretty sure he would have won at least another 4, given that he won the last 4 he played as an amateur and 5 of the first 8 he played as a pro.

@wcw #67 — I agree with you 100% (if I were David Eckstein, no doubt that would be 110%).

By: wcw

wcw — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:58:00 +0000

I respectfully disagree with any argument that does not accord “We Built This City” its rightful place as the worst song ever recorded.

By: JK

JK — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:58:32 +0000

Just found this mistake on Yahoo’s player profile for TPJ
Yahoo seems to be reporting on the wrong Pena… Scary

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7731/news;_ylt=AmP2lQSWlJ2g6nda4Ucxe8KFCLcF

Seems they think that he was just traded to the White Sox for Brandon Allen.

By: rutbag

rutbag — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:45:25 +0000

Secondly, I think the whole who to send down conundrum can be better presented as so:

There are three doors and Ryan Freel is behind one of them and behind the other two are Luis Hernandez and Tony Pena Jr. You are asked to choose a door and after choosing it, Dayton Moore shows you the contents of one of the doors you haven’t chosen is Tony Pena Jr. Should you switch doors or keep the one you originally chose?

By: rutbag

rutbag — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:42:36 +0000

Firstly, I would like to take exception to the idea that there is a meaningless distinction between “Broken Wings” and “Built This City”. While “Broken Wings” is indeed not good, it shows some basic concept of song writing, putting parts together, etc. “Built This City” is a disjointed, nonsensical effort with lyrics that really deserve to stand in more exclusive company in regard to their badness. I think it would be more apt to say the distinction is meaningless between “Built This City” and “Shakedown” by Bob Seger, which is similarly inane and lacking in structure.

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:08:07 +0000

I voted for Tiger in the poll because it is much, much, MUCH harder to win golf tournaments than it is to win tennis tournaments – it’s the nature of the sport. Tiger’s level of dominance relative to all of the great golfers that have gone before him is better relative to Roger’s level of dominance relative to all of the tennis playes that have gone before him.

You don’t play matchplay on the PGA Tour. Even if you did, 18 holes is the equivalent of about one set of tennis – not necessarily enough time for the better player to emerge. If the tournaments Tiger was playing in each week involved a series of 36-hole matches in an elimination bracket, he would win more often than Federer wins tennis tournaments. Federer is amazing, but Tiger is even more amazing.

By: JD

JD — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:06:52 +0000

I don’t know if I’ve ever said this, but Tony Pena Jr. makes me think that I could be a Major Leaguer. I’m 25, I played a little college ball, and I can run. I’m probably faster than Tony Pena Jr.

It’s completely possible that I could be a better offensive player than Tony Pena Jr., and that’s really not good for TPJ.

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:55:17 +0000

Being an Oriole fan I got the displeasure to watch both Hernandez and Freel. They are brutal. At least Luis plays hard and keeps quiet. Just wait until Freel starts complaining about not playing enough.