all things baseball. if you swing that way

hoochmonkey9

hoochmonkey9

Art should be its own hammer.
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Read a lot of Angell. You're right, The Summer Game is excellent.

My favourite baseball book is The Boys of Summer.
 
Digney in Burnaby

Digney in Burnaby

donkeys live a long time
I've got a handful of Angell's baseball writings. This blog seems to be a fan of his.

I've recently read 3 Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager by Buzz Bissinger with Tony La Russa and The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America by Joe Posnanski. Both very enjoyable.
 
Otto jr

Otto jr

Digney in Burnaby, thank you for that link. I found out that R.A. is still alive! Damn...he's 93! Some good excerpts on that site. Thanks again!
 
mjp

mjp

Founding member
buildpreview.jpg
 
Ponder

Ponder

"So fuck Doubleday Doran"
RIP
I read that the Dutch (Aruban) player Xander Bogaerts plays in the world series.
Is he any good?
 
hoochmonkey9

hoochmonkey9

Art should be its own hammer.
Moderator
Founding member
Plays third base and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. One of their top prospects. Huge upside with his bat, defense less so, but not a liability.

In short, a very exciting young player with huge potential.
 
skiroomalum

skiroomalum

hoochmonkey9 said:
Read a lot of Angell. You're right, The Summer Game is excellent.

My favourite baseball book is The Boys of Summer.
Click to expand...
Boys of Summer is great! Andy Pafko just died and there was a nice obit in the Times.
Also grew up loving Shoeless Joe and Robert Creamers bio of Babe Ruth.
Always used to have a copy of Macmillans baseball encyclopedia every year, but not for many years.
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

hoochmonkey9 said:
Plays third base and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. One of their top prospects. Huge upside with his bat, defense less so, but not a liability.
Click to expand...
One of the most remarkable things about him is his composure. He just turned 21 and he looks completely in control of his game. In the ALCS he had an at-bat (it may have been his first in the series) where he got down 0-2 and hung in there, fouling off a number of pitches, eventually earning a walk. Of course, he's 0-6 so far in the WS, so we'll see if he can snap out of that. Meanwhile, the prospect the Sox traded away for Peavy, Julio Iglesias, made a couple of outstanding plays but committed a costly error at a key moment in game 6 (and struck out to end the game). Tonight we find out once and for all if the Peavy trade was the right move. He was a mess against the Tigers, but if he goes out and pitches a strong game and wins tonight, then it was worth it.
 
hoochmonkey9

hoochmonkey9

Art should be its own hammer.
Moderator
Founding member
He's a good two strike hitter. Cuts down on his swing and tries to put the ball in play and not hit a five run homer that so many young players seem to do. The art of hitting with two strikes is not what it used to be.
 
number6horse

number6horse

okyoutwopixiesoutyougo
I'm glad the Red Sox have to make a "Sophie's Choice" between Ortiz and Napoli for these three games in St. Louis. Apparently Ortiz will get the start at 1B and Napoli will pinch-hit if needed.

I'm lining up my good-luck totems for the game tonight. Think I'll go with a miniature Cardinals batting helmet/paperweight and a 1975 Cardinals pocket schedule with a bad pop-art illustration of Lou Brock on the cover. Yes... that should bring good fortune. But if not, I have others. Any one else indulge in sports superstitions ?

EDIT: Just read where Daniel Nava will start in LF for the Red Sox instead of Jonny Gomes, who has been 0-for-7 so far.
 
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Pogue Mahone

Pogue Mahone

Officials say drugs may have played a part
I just got home from the AAA Minor League Championship. The sky gave way to a nasty Thunder Storm, but prior to that I was second row behind the plate for $25.00... I'm home now drinking vodka on the rock
 
hoochmonkey9

hoochmonkey9

Art should be its own hammer.
Moderator
Founding member
Currently watching the Nationals/ Braves game. Nats are 3 outs away from clinching the NL East.

Make that 2 outs away.

And for some odd reason I'm stone cold sober. Not like me.
 
Pogue Mahone

Pogue Mahone

Officials say drugs may have played a part
Will the Giants catch a wild card after the Dodgers smacked them down? I'd like to see it, if for no other reason than the Giants were R.I.P. a month ago. At least they made a run for it...
 
Pogue Mahone

Pogue Mahone

Officials say drugs may have played a part
Come on boys and speak up... I liked the news articles that showed the stats about where Jeter really ranked and it was not good. My opinion before last night was that he was the only pro out there that managed to play 20 years without a single ghetto moment and i loved him for it -- especially not getting married. And I don't care about the race factor because it comes in all colors. The guy is a hero in my mind for that alone -- I hate most pro athletes. But going back to the begining of this thread... The guy produced in the final moments of his career and his post-game thougts were so honest I felt flushed. To all those Buk fans who could give a rat's shit about professional sports, I salute you. But this one was actually special, even with the hype ...
 
skiroomalum

skiroomalum

Olbermann did a great piece on Jeter that put his stats into perspective. In some ways he was the anti- A-rod, and it is rare to spend 20 years in the same uniform, but the hero worship of athletes by anyone over the age of 12 seems sad. Except for Lance Armstrong, of course.
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

Pogue Mahone said:
Come on boys and speak up... I liked the news articles that showed the stats about where Jeter really ranked and it was not good...
Click to expand...
Jeter has been very good to excellent at just about every aspect of the game; something that can't be said about even some of the greatest players. But above and beyond all, he has some of the best baseball instincts I've ever seen.

That play he made against Oakland in the ALDS in 2001 was something no shortstop would normally do. He did it because he sensed the throw might miss the cutoffs (it missed both of them) and he went into foul territory some 100 feet from his normal position to make a skill play that made me step on my tongue when I saw it in real time. Plus, he was clutch. I know there are those who dismiss the clutch factor. Generally, these are people who never need to perform in clutch situations, so they have no concept of what it means.

I'd still take Roberto Clemente over any player ever. The howitzer is nearly a lost art in baseball and he had the best.


To boot, he hit .414 in the '71 WS against what is probably the best rotation in the history of the game.

I remember being at a New Year's Eve Party in 1972 at friends of my family. I was nine years old and I considered Clemente to be a hero because I didn't know much beyond grammar and baseball at the time. My Father was talking to their Father and he turned to me and said that Clemente had gone down in that plane on the way to aid the earthquake victims in his home country of Nicaragua. As the details came out over the next few days, I came to better understand what the term hero meant.
 
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skiroomalum

skiroomalum

I love that he got to exactly 3,000 hits. When I was a kid I had a Topps card of his that had his name as "Bob" Clemente. He did have the best outfield arm of his era. Dwight Evans also had an amazing arm, though (arguably) not HOF material.
 
Purple Stickpin

Purple Stickpin

More than likely it's Jerry Grote, but there's an outside chance that it's Joe Nolan, who played 4 games for the Mets in September '72 and wore #35.
 
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