dinosaur jesus

Well, it's possible that what Cashen said wasn't "pussy."

Early in his pro career, Brent Gaff, a veteran of the thriving Minneapolis punk scene of the late 1970s, moonlighted for a few years as Greg Norton of H�sker D�. After day games in Wausau, he would drive the three hours to the Twin Cities and thrash the night away. Promoted to Double A Jackson in 1980, he found himself at a crossroads, having to decide between his two lifelong dreams. A conversation with Mets general manager Frank Cashen helped him break the deadlock. "Brent," said Cashen, "you may never make much money playing for the Mets, but you'll get more pussy than Matt Sinatro." Fortunately, the band was able to move on without him, recruiting newly promoted Twin Frank Viola to be their new Greg Norton. Is it true what they say about Hawk Taylor? OE: Oh crap, I worked on this damn thing for twenty minutes. I tried to get Greg Norton the baseball player in there, and it just wasn't working. So all right, what about Bartolome Fortunato?

Ah. Wrong Cruz. Your Cruz: My Cruz: Yeah, I got myself confused from the beginning and just kept pushing it. It's one of those deals where you know that people always mix the two of them up--when they say Todd they mean Julio, and vice versa. So when you said Julio, I thought of course you meant Todd. Sorry about that.

The story makes clear the contest etc took place during the 1981 season. That's definitely NOT Almon, who had a much longer/skinnier face, and that definitely IS Cruz, who was a Mariner in 1981. Odd. Cruz was with the White Sox in 1981, though he didn't play. He was on injury rehab and in Triple A. Then why does B-R say he spent the season in Seattle and didn't get dealt to the Sox until 1983? I'm thinking this picture has to be mid-80s. And that guy on the left I know I recognize, but I can't place him. Baseball Reference says: June 12, 1980: Traded by the California Angels to the Chicago White Sox for Randy Scarbery. December 11, 1981: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Rod Allen and Jim Essian to the Seattle Mariners for Tom Paciorek. He did not play in the major leagues in 1981. He played in 8 games for Edmonton, the White Sox AAA affiliate (just long enough to get himself arrested for shoplifting from an Edmonton store).

Mike Phillips comes from the East Texas branch of the famous Phillips family, other branches of which are known for making screwdrivers, crab cakes, laxatives, and Revel Stoke spiced whiskey. Mike's grandfather, Trank Sr., invented the mechanism that keeps the gas flowing from the pump so you don't have to stand there and hold the handle, but lost the patent to Sunoco through some dealings that remain controversial. Mike attended Phillips Andover as a legacy, but disappointed his family by signing with the Giants rather than going on to Yale. Now what have you got on Mac Scarce?

seawolf17 wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The story makes clear the contest etc took place during the 1981 season. That's definitely NOT Almon, who had a much longer/skinnier face, and that definitely IS Cruz, who was a Mariner in 1981. Odd. Cruz was with the White Sox in 1981, though he didn't play. He was on injury rehab and in Triple A.

Could those guys be ushers or something? I just looked at photos of everyone who played for the White Sox in 1981, and I didn't see any matches. Todd Cruz is actually possible--he was on injury rehab for the Sox most of the year, and he could have been at the ball park that day. But the guy in the picture is really short, and Cruz was listed at 6 feet. And the guy second from left looks a little like Kevin Hickey, but his hair's not long enough. The guy on the left looks too short and not redneck enough to be Lamarr Hoyt. And I don't think Hoyt had a beard yet.

seawolf17 wrote: I'm trying to figure out who those Sox are in that picture, and I can't get a single one. Bob James? Kevin Hickey? I keep seeing half of those prototypes as Astros uniforms, and the guy second from right as Joe Niekro. Over on the left it looks like Jeff Reardon and Craig Swan happened to drop by. Or Gene Garber and Dave Stieb. A lot of guys back then looked like that.

Uncle Cliff should have the luggage covered.

Ralph Terry

Jeff Reardon

Dean Chance

As far as value for the money, a big-name closer is absolutely the worst investment you can make. Please don't, Sandy. Isn't there a setup man somewhere who's throwing bullets in Triple A?

As City Recreation Director in Yale, Michigan, Jim Gosger has pioneered the use of traditional remedies in treating sports injuries. Local residents, including Yale mayor Jim Cronin, swear by Jim and his wife's poultices, tinctures, and salves. Says Cronin, "I'm a handball nut, and Jim's the only guy I'll go to for my sprains and Charley horses. And when I was getting a little overexcited in council meetings a few years ago, dealing with budget cuts and all, Jim was right there with his leeches. Pulled that black bile right out of my system and changed my whole outlook." Now tell me something I don't already know about Carlton Willey.

There's a fun idea--pick the the most appropriate app for each team.

You know, regular landline phones don't usually have cords these days. Even my grandmother figured that out fifteen years ago or so. For $29.95 at Target, you could replace the dugout and bullpen phones and get that mobility they're bragging about..

When Dave Schneck was seventeen years old he had a rare neck-shortening operation. At puberty his neck had started growing, and by that point it was two and a half feet long. In addition to the social embarrassment it caused him (his nickname at White Hall High School in Allentown was Periscope Dave), it threatened to derail a promising baseball career; he found it very difficult to keep his eye on the ball. In a six-hour operation, otorhinolaryngologists at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital removed a section of his neck and reattached his head closer to his shoulders (too close, some might say). Aside from some shoulder problems at the beginning of his professional career, the operation was a success. Dave Schneck always makes me think of George Theodore, in a Mutt and Jeff sort of way. So tell me some crap about him.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: For fucks sake, look at the thinking with this twat that writes for the Boston Globe ... But that did not stop Massarotti from voting for both Clemens and Bonds. His reasoning was that Bonds and Clemens would have been Hall of Famers even if they did not use steroids.... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/sports/baseball/mike-piazza-falls-short-in-hall-of-fame-voting.html?_r=0 That's the Derek Jeter defense. Because Jeter is already a first ballot lock for the Hall, he's earned the right to take steroids and PED's openly for the rest of his career without fear of jeopardizing his HOF candidacy. Does it work the same way if you already had back acne when you came into the league?

SteveJRogers wrote: Nymr83 wrote: I really wouldn't mind being up there next summer for Piazza/Maddux. Fuck the writers. Will cooperstown be a ghosttown that weekend now? Does the veterans comittee add anyone? Will there be any kind of ceremony? The Vets added three guys from their "Pre-Intergration Era" vote, Deacon White a catcher in the 1880s, Hank O'Day an umpire from the early 1900s and Jacob Rupert, the Yankee owner during the Roaring 20s. All dead at the present time. So is Tom Cheek, the Frick Award winning longtime voice of the Blue Jays. Only the Sphinx award winner, Paul Hagen of MLB.com is living. Unless they pick a Buck O'Neil Award (for meritorious service to the game, started in 2008 and first posthumously given to O'Neil, Roland Hemond was the second recipient this past year) winner this year. All right, so O'Day, White, and Ruppert probably won't make it. But Hank's old friends Bill Klem and John McGraw might be there to say a few words on his behalf. I know they've got some good stories. And if we're lucky, Fred Merkle will rehash his boner. If Deacon White doesn't show (in addition to being dead, he's suspicious of airplanes, the world being flat, you know), Deacon Jones is probably available. And then afterwards everyone can hoist a Knickerbocker in memory of Colonel Ruppert. I'm in. Anyone else?

Sorry. Tell me some crap about Randy Tate.

Roger Mason attended the Space Academy, near Atom City, Wyoming, for two years on a baseball scholarship, until the Academy was shut down in the late seventies due to NASA cutbacks. By his own admission a chronic malcontent in those days, he credits classmate (and future governor of Pennsylvania) Tom Corbett for straightening him out. He and future governor Corbett shared many adventures together. One of Roger's special memories is of the time he returned from fighting space pirates in the asteroid belt--to find he was pitching the big game against Utah Valley State that same afternoon! "I hadn't shaved, hadn't showered, I was blistered up and down with radiation burns--but I held them to two runs, and we won that game! I was space happy for a week, let me tell you." Roger still chokes up when hears the "Space Cadet March": From the rocket fields of the Academy To the far flung stars of outer space We are space cadets training to be Ready for dangers we may face. We are space cadets, and we are proud to say Our fight for right will never cease. Like a cosmic ray, we light the way, For interplanet peace!

I got past Eeyore and his Ephus pitch. But what's Lumpy the Elephant doing there? Is the Heffalump on the DL?

Has Chass maybe got Jack Morris mixed up with Cannonball Morris? Back when Chass was just a young beat writer on the Post-Gazette, Cannonball was about the biggest thing in Pittsburgh. Him and Pud Galvin. (These Bert Blylevens and Curt Schillings aren't fit to pull Pud's pud.) Or maybe in his mind they're the same guy, like Tony Fossas and Casey Fossum are for me. Forty-one wins in '86, and twelve shutouts! Three World Series titles! Four hundred and twenty-four wins in all, and the nastiest mustache in baseball! If that's not enough for the Hall of Fame, they need to build a new Hall just for him. Them. Whatever.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Mets � Willets Point wrote: And the Canadian dollar is stronger than ever. practically equiv as it's been for a year or two. would be a good time to start a "North American" currency like the Euro? We'd have to have agreement on banking and monetary regulations. Ain't gonna happen. Besides that, would anyone want a world without purple ten dollar bills? I'll drop the purple bills for one with Dickey's face on it. Someone with photoshop get working on this NOW!!!!

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Flip Flop Fly Ball makes a good decision to abandon being a Yankees fan. He goes through a process of elimination to pick a new team. Does he make another good decision? Not a bad decision. But good luck staying interested in his new team. There are teams I like fine, such as the Tigers, but somehow I can't be bothered to watch their games.