MFS62

Yancy Street Gang wrote: But that doesn't mean I don't know about Jack. People tell me I don't know Jack. Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Careful, soupcan. Remember what happened to Jack Paar. Someone (Mole?) told me I'm not the oldest member of this board. But now I'm starting to believe it. Later

If you get a tired arm after throwing five pitches, you might be a LOOGY. Later

Centerfield wrote: I just want it to be clear that I am willing to play for any major league team. If you're a LOOGY, you might show up on a major league roster real soon. Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I remember many years ago Pete Incaviglia refusing to play for the Expos, who drafted him. He somehow forced a trade to Texas. I think he made his signing contingent on being traded immediately. And third baseman Matt Williams went back to school rether than sign with the Mets (who had drafted him) because he didn't want to play in New York. It wasn't a matter of money. Later, when he was in the major leagues, he had a very specific no-trade to New York in every one of his contracts. Later

metirish wrote: Alex Ochoa pinch hit for the Dragons in the ninth inning for the final out, and his final game with the team. Has he deveoped all of his five tools yet? Later

I wonder how soon this is going to start up again. Later

cooby wrote: And Munson... Lots of good casting there Exactly. He not only looks like Munson (face, face hair and hair) but also has his intense eyes. Later

Zumaya-Gate - from Jayson Stark: ]posted: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ST. LOUIS -- If there's one thing this World Series needs, other than emergency dome-implant surgery, it's a controversial story line that doesn't involve Kenny Rogers. Well, voila. Welcome to Zumaya-gate. Unlike Dirtgate, you probably missed Zumaya-gate on Tuesday because the Fox crew never picked up on it. But here's the deal: A very peculiar thing happened inside Busch Stadium in Game 3 when the hardest-throwing human being on our beloved planet, Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya, entered the game. All night long, the stadium radar board and the Fox TV radar-gun readings had been virtually identical. Oh, a mph apart every now and then, maybe. But nothing noticeable. Then Zumaya showed up, machine-gunning his usual assortment of 99s, 100s and 101s all over your TV screen. But if you were listening at home for the oohs and ahs those gun readings usually elicit, you might have noticed there were none. Why? Because, in Busch Stadium, the 46,000 folks watching all this live kept seeing a radar board showing mostly 95s and 96s. Pitch after pitch. On one particularly weird occasion, Zumaya launched a heaterball that Fox showed at 101 -- and it came up at 95 in the ballpark. "Really?" gulped Tigers closer Todd Jones on Wednesday. "Maybe it was 95 Canadian. ... Or metric." Sure. Or Celsius. Or -- if you're a conspiratorial kind of reader -- La Russius. Yes, friends. There were some idle suspicions being voiced anonymously in that Tigers clubhouse that the Cardinals asked the radar-board gang to deliberately devalue Zumaya's gun scores. So why would they even think to do that? Who knows? To mess with Zumaya's head? So their hitters wouldn't be terrified by seeing such scary numbers up there? So they could pretend the guy was more hittable than he normally is? Tell us that makes any sense. "Oh, it's 102," Jones said. "And if you don't believe it, just get a bat and helmet and stand in the box, because I've seen it too many times to doubt his fastball." Hey, excellent point. It's not as if those radar boards have sci-fi-ish, radar-board-over-matter powers, where, by displaying a slower pitch speed, they could actually slow the ball down to make it travel at that speed. Right? And if they could, wouldn't they show it puttering along at 75 -- not 95? Not that you should ever trust any radar-gun readings, you understand. Especially if they involve steering wheels, flashing lights, gas pedals and your right foot mysteriously attached to those gas pedals. But this was one disparity that seemed especially odd, given that it existed only for Zumaya -- not for anyone else who pitched. And, in our continuing efforts to provide you only the most journalistically sound radar-gun information possible, we even veered away from our own spectacular Web site and double-checked Zumaya's readings on MLB.com's GameDay log. They jibed with Fox's numbers -- not the stadium board's. Hmmm. So what's up with that, anyway? Zumaya, for one, had no idea. He told Booth Newspapers' Danny Knobler, the only writer to write about this strangeness Tuesday night, that he normally checks the board to monitor his gun numbers, but he didn't in this game. His teammate, Justin Verlander, did, however. And he was so alarmed by what he saw -- and worried Zumaya might be hurt -- he told Knobler he ran up to the clubhouse just to check Fox's readings. He felt a lot better afterward. A day later, the Tigers weren't ready to convene any Congressional Zumaya-gate hearings, though. If anything, they were highly amused by the whole deal. "It's a great day," Jones quipped, "when you can lose eight miles an hour -- and still throw 95." Later

Agreed. If there was a director in the booth telling Scully anything about how to call a ballgame, the next day there'd probably be a duly chastized director. Vin is too much of a gentleman to mention it, but I'm sure someone in the booth would have said something to the powers that be. Later

Thanks again. Job well done. Later

="Frayed Knot"]It's just politcally incorrect. The proper term is now Asianization process Funny. IIRC, the use of the word "orient" as a verb does not mean how it is commonly used, as in "I will orient you in the proper way to do this" (probably a poor example). To orient someone is to bury them with their head toward the East. You don't say "oriention" when it should be "orientation". In the example I gave above, and the comment Yancy correctly made, the proper word is to orientate someone. But , if FK is correct about the new PC word, its all moot. They will be using that new term jutl like people now use the word impact because they don't know whether effect or affect should be used. Later

When talking about a stadium or indoor arena, isn't the usual term "sight lines"? Later

Edgy, great job as always. Is there a way you could update that list (maybe with an asterisk) to show the players eligible for free agency? Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I'll visit him in Japan and start the orientation process. Isn't that redundant? Or unnecessary? Later

The rainout reminded me of something Jim Bouton talked about in one of his books. In a section talking about "Greenies" (Amphetamines), a rain delay has the players making a tough decision, "to pop or not to pop". Later

Edgy DC wrote: I only went to one Jets game, and I seem to recall the baseball V-configuration. I thought the reason they installed the rolling seats was because they couln't fit a football field in Shea while in the V configuration. Later

Well if you want to start on that logo and need a picture of a big ol' pork butt, may I suggest a picture of Roger Clemens? Later

So then Soupy was correct. Later

Something about that doesn't sound Kosher. Later

Thanks, Scarlet. And here's an interesting one, too. http://www.ballparkdigest.com/ Ballpark related news from around the country - majors and minors, including reviews of visits to some parks. It is written by a guy who was a minor league GM last year (forgot the team - low minors IIRC) Later

I think Georgie cut a special deal between YES and a Japanese network. Or maybe MLB put in that rule as a result of what George did. Later

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Cool! You're the cat's pajamas! WOW! Didn't we once have a thread about words or phrases you don't hear much anymore? That is a definite candidate. LOL! Later

Good point. Would the Mets (or any team) feed their games to Japan, for them to do studio voice overs? Or would the Japanese carry the games on their own network, with announcers here? I forget which way the MFYs did it with Hidecki Matsui. Later

As I said earlier, I've read that the posting fee may be as high as $20-30 million. And I expect Boras will negotiate a salary comparable to the $15 million per that he got for Chan Ho Park. So the lifetime cost of the contract (even at an amortized $20 million figure) would be far greater than what might be paid to Zito. Yes, he wouldn't have multiple teams to play off against each other. But if Seattle, LA or New York win the negotiating rights, he will have the "large Asian population you wouldn't want to piss off by losing him" card to play. Later