tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64072742011-04-21T22:59:13.132-05:00My Thoughts on Baseball, Music and Pop Culture free for the takin'!Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1083885553870919362004-05-06T18:14:00.000-05:002004-05-06T18:24:22.593-05:00

Well, as I alluded to earlier this week, The Midnight Hour is on the move. Starting now you can find The Midnight Hour at http://www.themidnighthour.squarespace.com. Anyone who has been kind enough to include me in their links/blogroll, if you could please update the link I'd appreciate it. If you stop by please leave a comment to let me know what you think of the new format. The new site

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1083821436556697312004-05-05T21:23:00.000-05:002004-05-06T00:35:02.483-05:00

Interested to see Zito with his struggles so far this season. Handled A-Rod and Giambi well the first time through the lineup, spotting his fastball but not going to the curve that much through 2. Sheffield almost spun himself into the ground on a homer to left center. Pitch was a hanging curve. Posada follows by going to the mall and picking up a sweater and a jean jacket at the gap.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1083707488733114352004-05-04T16:45:00.000-05:002004-05-04T16:55:19.216-05:00

Out of respect for the two or three loyal readers I have, I should apologize for not posting in several days, and explain that my hiatus is a result of some organizational changes here at The Midnight Hour. I've fired the CEO and replaced him with a Howler Monkey. But I kid. No offense to Blogger, but I have started to feel that it is tedious and bougeois. I also had a vision for the Midnight

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1083256260369697242004-04-29T10:35:00.000-05:002004-04-29T11:45:58.996-05:00

Dig it, I like Bubba Crosby. I'm going to default to old school scout parlance and say that he's got a good baseball face, and is a gamer. What I don't like about Bubba is....Bubba. I mean look, Bubba's a good name for an O-Line man or a hunting guide, but I don't think it's befitting of the Yankees new everyday centerfielder..(You reading this Joe?) As The Donald might say, the Yankees are a "

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1083192983036133452004-04-28T18:01:00.000-05:002004-04-28T18:08:59.873-05:00

Back when I lived in D.C. I used to listen to this sports/talk radio show called "The Sports Junkies." The Junkies were hilarious in part because their show was more about their own misadventures in life than it was about ranting and raving about the latest stupid move by the Orioles or Wizards. They also used their own made up slang that was part Swingers and part whatever they made up when they

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-108307655907103652004-04-27T09:30:00.000-05:002004-04-27T09:41:09.216-05:00

If you're a Yankee fan or a Red Sox fan for that matter, you should read Rob Neyer's latest piece on the Yankee's real problems. Guess what, it ain't hitting. As I said last week, what keeps me up at night regarding the Yankees is that they presently have two starters who are anything to feel good about. And since one of those guys is the ever fragile (fra-geel-ay, must be Italian) Kevin Brown,

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1083005249757450002004-04-26T13:28:00.000-05:002004-04-26T13:53:40.060-05:00

While I'm biding my time waiting for a few free moments to run some numbers on the new Yankee lineup and make some modifications, I thought I'd throw up a quick post. In yesterday's post I compared the songs on Guns n' Roses Appetitie For Destruction to the Yankees lineup. Thinking about it further I started playing a little Match Game, which Yankees match up best with the songs on that record:

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082927554334553422004-04-25T15:05:00.000-05:002004-04-26T09:49:52.046-05:00

...But First, While My Guitar Gently Sweeps: Boston 3-Yankees 0 This was a gentle sweep. The Yankees didn't put up much of a fight. For all the talk of how these games have playoff intensity, the Yankees are playing like they couldn't be bothered. There is no way I would have believed that an offense that is this stacked would be producing runs at such an infrequent rate. I don't want to recap

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082677605377254122004-04-22T18:30:00.000-05:002004-04-22T19:33:02.153-05:00

In approximately, 34 minutes Mike Mussina will take to the mound as the Yankees try to complete a sweep of their 3 game series against the White Sox. I was at Comiskey for the game last night and honestly, it was one of those games that doesn't lend itself to a great blog post. It was a quick game, both pitchers, Javier Vasquez and Jon Garland worked quickly and effectively. Javier retired the

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082560242760460402004-04-21T09:28:00.000-05:002004-04-21T10:19:40.513-05:00

Well, the Yankees held on to win a wet, wild, wobegone game against the White Sox last night. As detailed in my previous post, Alex Graman was staked to a 7 nothing lead in the first. Graman was miserable, giving back single runs in the first and second. Then the rains came and the game was delayed for more than an hour. When the tarp came off, Graman went back to being miserable giving up 3 more

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082510873793551122004-04-20T20:13:00.000-05:002004-04-20T20:31:58.950-05:00

As a welcome to the Big Leagues gift, the Yankees offense roared to life in the first inning scoring 7 runs (on NO dingers! we'll talk about A-Rod's bunt single later) for rookie starter Alex Graman. Graman promptly gave one back but in a magnanimous gesture, Giambi and Posada were all, "No Really Alex keep it we want you to have it" and gave him another run in the second. Then Graman went out

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082393882444200972004-04-19T11:48:00.000-05:002004-04-19T13:17:45.250-05:00

Well, now that it's apparent that A-Rod sucks and that little "Best Hitter in Baseball" thing was obviously just an illusion perpetrated by all the other teams in the league, in order to make George Steinbrenner look bad, let's officially review the Soriano for A-Rod trade. A-Sor A-Rod BA

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082153650820801292004-04-16T16:57:00.000-05:002004-04-16T17:20:20.670-05:00

Sometimes folks the jokes write themselves. ESPN.com is reporting that Raul Mondesi will not be paid by the Pittsburg Pirates, until further notice. Why, you ask? It seems a Dominican court froze Mondesi's bank accounts and in turn the Pirates froze his salary payments, because the court ruled that Mondesi owes Mario Guerrero SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. According to Guerrero he

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1082133779986891022004-04-16T10:36:00.000-05:002004-04-16T16:43:28.403-05:00

The Hatfields and Mc Coys, Mc Coy and the defendants, The Bride and Bill, Bill and Monica, Monica and Disorganization, and of course, the Yankees and Red Sox. Bitter, natural born enemies and this weekend, not yet a dozen games into the 2004 season, the Yanks and Sox are gonna step into the ring for Rounds 1-4 of a Heavyweight Match scheduled for 19 Buh-uising Rounds. To paraphrase Mr Garrison

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1081886392728540492004-04-13T14:47:00.000-05:002004-04-13T15:03:47.513-05:00

While reading a post on the Redbird Nation about some of the all-time most classless ballplayers, I immediately thought of Kevin Mitchell. Thinking about Kevin Mitchell led me to think about his former teammate David Cone. People may have forgotten, especially since Cone is revered as a Yankee legend and all around good guy, but back in the day, Coney was accused of pleasuring himself in plain

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1081383000882518612004-04-07T19:08:00.000-05:002004-04-07T19:13:48.373-05:00

Not that I'm a big Barry Bonds fan or anything but Roger Clemens intentionally walked him in the first inning. I mean really, if that isn't the most vagina move ever.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1081373623224856732004-04-07T16:31:00.000-05:002004-04-07T17:57:12.530-05:00

In case you are a Yankee fan and you are having a good day but are looking for an excuse to jam a letter opener into your neck, the Yankees are being no-hit through 5 by a dude named Paul Abbot. If this continues, The Midnight Hour will no longer be active, at least until I get out of the hospital after throwing myself through my plate glass window and 7 stories down to the street. Update: The

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1081372424019748692004-04-07T15:56:00.000-05:002004-04-07T16:19:42.576-05:00

Ok in case Cliff hasn't convinced you, Joe Torre is obviously halucinating when he's putting his lineup together. Let's say you have two hitters and a limited number of at bats to divvy up between them Player A 1999 OPS .944 2000 OPS .838 2001 OPS .838 2002 OPS .923 2003 OPS 1.111 Player B 1999 OPS .837 2000 OPS .791 2001 OPS .720 2002 OPS .764 2003 OPS .802 Now remember you have a limited

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1081366047153639052004-04-07T11:34:00.000-05:002004-04-07T14:31:14.216-05:00

A Little Blogging, Larry King style: P.S. Click on the links and see what 'Larry's' thinking. Mike Mussina may not be pitching well but noone feels worse about it than him. I don't think I'd ever take steroids, a shot of bourbon is all I need to get going in the morning. Jason Giambi may have lost weight in the off-season but I bet he could still win his fair share of arm-wrestling matches.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1081265894836764872004-04-06T09:40:00.000-05:002004-04-06T10:48:16.856-05:00

Well Opening Day has come and gone, mostly. I'm still looking at today as an Opener of sorts, it will be the first game for the Yankees on good ol Red White and Blue soil. The only game I was able to follow yesterday was the west coast timed, A's v. Ranger matchup. Let me say this, the Rangers are a horrid team. I feel sorry for and admire their fans. Until last night I don't think I'd ever been

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1080767781030419702004-03-31T12:10:00.000-06:002004-03-31T15:23:20.420-06:00

Dude of the Day: Joe Torre One of the reasons I love Joe Torre is that he is prone to insouciant quips that put everything in perspective. Take this one following the Yankees second game of the season, "(an 0-2 trip) wouldn't have been fun. In fact, I made a comment when we were down 1-0 in the first, I felt a little tenseness in there. I said, `Guys, what's the worst thing that can happen? We

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1080686488773647442004-03-30T16:41:00.000-06:002004-03-30T16:52:18.373-06:00

Screw it, it's over. I mean $182million and they actually lose a game? What is that? Well there's always next year I guess. Some people are saying they aren't ready to panic just yet, and I agree. Who wants to panic? Might as well just pretend it never happened, put the balls and the bats away for the winter, let the fellas make some tee-times and let George Steinbrenner and whoever the new GM is

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1080597656484500302004-03-29T15:51:00.000-06:002004-03-29T16:07:30.326-06:00

I've read in several places that it's UNFAIR that the Yankees and D-Rays have to travel to Japan and suffer the trips resulting jet-lag. Come again? Look, In my profession I have had more than one day where I have stayed up ALL NIGHT to board a Chicago to New Jersey 7 am flight so I could visit a client and make a presentation at 9am. I was expected to be sharp, poised and able to handle

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1080596299167446392004-03-29T15:27:00.000-06:002004-03-29T15:41:53.700-06:00

At The Hardball Times, Matthew Namee dissects Mariano Rivera's career in far greater detail than I ever would and determines that Mo isn't quite yet Hall Worthy. Namee comes up with some beautiful statistical work, using TangoTiger's Leverage index to convert Mo's stats to something that attempts to control for the fact that Rivera is not purely a pitcher but a specialist pitcher to "prove" his

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1080586354967921162004-03-29T12:01:00.000-06:002004-03-29T13:20:07.060-06:00

I've been away for awhile and am just now catching up with all that's been going on across the baseball and news landscape. While I was on vacation I finished reading a book called See No Evil by Robert Baer. Baer is an ex-CIA operative whose insights into what is wrong with the CIA and what is wrong with the U.S. national security policy in general, are an invaluable insight. What I like about

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1080073987066023212004-03-23T13:33:00.000-06:002004-03-23T15:04:33.153-06:00

The title of this post, How Big is Your Hall, is borrowed from a commentator over at Baseball Musings. The comment, "How big is your hall?" was directed at David Pinto's assertion that Mariano Rivera is HoF worthy. If someone is actually suggesting that Mariano isn't HoF worthy or somehow the Hall has to be enlarged to find a spot for Rivera, I must ask, 'How big is your bias?' or maybe, 'How big

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079557874910038742004-03-17T15:04:00.000-06:002004-03-17T15:14:33.373-06:00

In case anyone cares, I'll be blogging very very sporadically over the next week or so. I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow evening and will have no access, then the following week I'll be travelling on business before heading to St. Louis to hang with my lovely (seriously, she is lovely) girlfriend. I'll try to post a little during the business trip, there should be some long lonely nights

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079538551407482782004-03-17T09:40:00.000-06:002004-03-17T09:52:29.000-06:00

Over at Baseball Musings, David Pinto posted a post that posited that pitcher Jason Schmidt thinks MLB has some pretty big balls. To be sepcific Schmidt thinks that the baseballs they are using in Spring Training down in Arizona, are bigger than the balls he pitched with last year. Of course I have no idea if they are or are not but Schmidt suggests that one explanation for the balls being larger

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079463079032813952004-03-16T12:11:00.000-06:002004-03-16T12:54:35.373-06:00

I have to admit, I'm not a joiner. I don't like belonging to the club, the gang or the fraternity. I much prefer to be the detached outsider because it gives you enough distance and space to criticize those who ARE in the club without feeling like a hypocrite. I suppose a therapist would say it was a weak ego thing, don't join the group and you never have to worry about being rejected. I bring

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079459647441068582004-03-16T11:25:00.000-06:002004-03-16T12:03:27.560-06:00

The study of sabermetrics has definitely educated me but at the same time it leaves me frustrated and here's one reason why. Sabermetric analysis is a great way to clearly articulate WHAT happened and predict what MIGHT happen in the future but it doesn't tell you WHY things happen. I believe that there are two fields of baseball related science that may help answer the WHY question. First is

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079381867177257952004-03-15T09:49:00.000-06:002004-03-15T14:32:30.700-06:00

Slow and Mournfull Gospel Spiritual Sung to the tune of Ol' Man River Bloated Payroll, Dat Bloated Payroll It Must Have Limits, But like the rear of J-Lo It just keeps rollin, it keeps on rollin along It buys you taters And it buys you heroes But dem healthy pitchers Just end up Astros And dat bloated payroll, it keeps on rollin along Selig and Henry bitch and moan "Steinbrenner's the

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079132482228100102004-03-12T16:57:00.000-06:002004-03-12T17:04:34.060-06:00

John Perricone, proprietor of Only Baseball Matters, thinks I'm a raving lunatic. I'm not too offended by that. John suggests that my views are based in some party line. I guess that's a reasonable assumption but it's not true. I'm strictly against any party that doesn't involve Snoop Dogg and Cristal.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1079021718619572972004-03-11T09:29:00.000-06:002004-03-11T10:18:28.496-06:00

Reggie Jackson had a respectable if not stunning career OBP of .356. This morning though, Reggie is off base, way off base. Jackson opines that "Someone is guilty," refering of course to everyone's favorite topic, steroids. Jackson then goes on to essentially point a finger at Barry Bonds saying, "Henry Aaron never hit 50 in a season, so you're going to tell me that you're a greater hitter

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1078783153624896722004-03-08T13:40:00.000-06:002004-03-08T17:00:05.106-06:00

....When I think of that song I think of Christopher Walken, and when I think of Christopher Walken I think of two things. First, the movie "The King of New York." This is one of the most underrated gangster flicks I've ever seen. In addition to Walken as a classically creepy drug dealer, the movie features Wesley Snipes, Laurence Fshburne (in his best role EVER) and David Caruso. I can't stand

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1078438165873202492004-03-04T15:35:00.000-06:002004-03-04T16:12:57.123-06:00

As noted in my previous post the guy who writes a blog called Only Baseball Matters took a shot at my opinion on the steroid issue. He summarily dismissed my points that steroids have been linked to dangerous health complications, and he ridiculed my assertion that the FDA (In the absence of any other organized regulatory body) should restrict and regulate steroids. The direct quote can be found

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1078427540059777402004-03-04T12:51:00.000-06:002004-03-04T13:16:47.450-06:00

Only Baseball Matters is an informative, relatively well written blog about baseball and specifically the Giants. The proprietor, a John J. Jingleheimer Perricone, takes me to task in no uncertain terms regarding my post about the steroid issue , "As pointed out above, Steve is wrong here. There is little evidence that proves any of these claims about the dangers of steroids, and as for the FDA,

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1078424296172466172004-03-04T11:45:00.000-06:002004-03-04T12:21:16.593-06:00

There's a guy who writes a pretty regular column on ESPN.com's Page 2 named Ralph Wiley. Wiley is an interesting character. He is essentially an editorialist, his columns are generally based on opinion, and his own experience with the athletes and games he's covered in his long and distinguished career as a sports writer. According to his byline, "Ralph Wiley has written articles for Sports

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1078256135294658702004-03-02T13:33:00.000-06:002004-03-02T13:38:32.733-06:00

It looks like Toronto GM J.P Riccardi has a new plan for funding the Blue Jays, "If we get a little crack, we've got to take advantage of it. It might be the only crack we get." That's a good attitude J.P. Also if you get some trucker speed you should take advantage of that too.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1078249702190861442004-03-02T11:19:00.000-06:002004-03-02T14:05:20.653-06:00

I'm afraid that this will be a day that lives in infamy. For the first time in the BALCO investigation, specific players are being named. Most notably, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds are implicated in statements made to federal prosecutors. Statements, that say that BALCO delivered steroids to the three players. Predictably the players are denying that they ever took the

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077909358685939982004-02-27T12:53:00.000-06:002004-02-27T13:20:02.076-06:00

It's become fashionable lately for some Yankee fans to bash Jeter and Mr. Appendectomy for their defensive shortcomings. Over at The Replacement Level Yankee's Blog Larry Mahnken suggests that the Yankees best lineup doesn't feature one Bernie Williams. "If Bernie's return is delayed, we'll at least get a few chances to see the Yankees field their best lineup at the beginning of April, with Lee

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077736933226665102004-02-25T13:16:00.000-06:002004-02-25T13:25:32.576-06:00

Mike C, of Mike's Baseball Rants is starting a new series detailing the issues of competitive balance in baseball. If you know anything about Mike's work you know that he's funny, informative and most of all thorough. I am typically skeptical of most things I read, but not when reading Baseball Rants. Mike just doesn't leave any stones unturned and everytime I find myself saying, "Yeah but what

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077651503432190142004-02-24T13:35:00.000-06:002004-02-24T13:41:11.356-06:00

I have to give credit where credit is due. Jim Caple, for the first time in recorded history I think, wrote a column which does not bash the Yankees at all. My favorite quote, "Yes, it's a shame for every other team in the league that the Yankees just got better. But Henry and the Red Sox only got what they deserved." Well done Caple.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077571112288729392004-02-23T15:13:00.000-06:002004-02-23T15:21:19.123-06:00

So I saw Raplh Nader on Meet The Press yesterday announcing that he's running for President. Lots of Democrats were thinking what Tim Russert asked, "How do you feel about the people who blame you for stealing votes from Al Gore which enabled George W. to win the election." I have a problem with this phrasing, "stole votes from Gore." In fact, Nader didn't steal votes. Voters, presumably many

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077561902588732582004-02-23T12:30:00.000-06:002004-02-23T12:52:48.593-06:00

People like to tell baseball fans that the NBA and the NFL are so much more evolved than MLB. Basketball and Football both have rather sophisticated methods of limiting either individual salaries or team salaries in the name of improved competitive balance. Many fans think that competitive balance is a great thing. But is it always? Consider this: NBA % of teams with .500+ Record: 45% (13/29,)

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077553582916313402004-02-23T09:47:00.000-06:002004-02-23T10:37:02.746-06:00

First off, I want to thank David Pinto and Alex Belth for linking to my posting about my views on baseball and music. Alex and some of his readers disagree with the closing point I made in the original post, "But seriously I'm happy that music isn't deconstructed with the same dispassionate verve that we apply to baseball." Alex disagrees with the point, and I have to say, he's correct. Music

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077312999224633062004-02-20T15:34:00.000-06:002004-02-20T15:39:21.623-06:00

Jim Caple continues to be a one trick pony goober. He's made the, 'Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens have decided they want to go back to the Yankees,' joke about half a dozen times since the A-Rod trade, and to date....no one has found it even remotely funny.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077310850764595822004-02-20T11:43:00.000-06:002004-02-20T15:10:18.576-06:00

While wondering about the contents of Gary Sheffields urine and what Jason Giambi might look like the next time I see him on TV, I've been thinking about why I love baseball a great deal lately. Some baseball fans love pitching, and I have to admit watching David Cone work, in the latter stages of his career was a thing of beauty. He was the prototypical sore armed righty, who had to get by on

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1077298350041027252004-02-20T10:54:00.000-06:002004-02-20T11:36:27.310-06:00

One of the things that has really been bothering me since the A-Rod trade is that people have been very quick to assume that Derek Jeter is somehow either a passive agressive douchebag, or just a plain old douchebag for not volunteering to move to third base; so that his defensively superior ol buddy ol pal A-Rod can play short. First of all who knows if Jeter is up on Zone Rating or Range

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076973080079851622004-02-16T17:06:00.000-06:002004-02-16T17:15:00.653-06:00

How long do you have to have a song stuck in your head before you need medical attention? I've had that damn Heyyy Yaaa song in my head for 3 days straight now and the annoying thing is it's only that "Alright alright alright alright alright alright alright..." part. I'm going bonkers. I've gone to great lengths to get it out and nothing seems to work, I thought Maroon 5 might do it, anything

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076971084375636832004-02-16T16:01:00.000-06:002004-02-16T16:57:35.436-06:00

To me, the most interesting sub plot in the A-Rod sweepstakes is the war of two great GM's, Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman. Both are paradigm challengingly young, both are smart and driven and both are compelling supporting actors in the ever riveting Yankees V. Rod Sox epic. I can't help but think that if the Red Sox hadn't publicly gone after A-Rod after securing Curt Schilling, the Yankees

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076957739654895942004-02-16T12:24:00.000-06:002004-02-16T13:01:14.076-06:00

Rob Neyer has as usual, a salient point regarding the A-Rod to Yankees deal. The Yankees didn't need him. in my mind What A-Rod brings to the table are the folowing things: (In Order of Importance to the Yankees) 1) Big Name Value 2) A big F-You to the Red Sox 3) A 'solution' to their lack of a reliable third baseman 4) 23 Runs Yep 23 runs. Using Runs Created (RC) from 2003 final win shares

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076863956553316212004-02-15T10:46:00.000-06:002004-02-15T11:19:05.890-06:00

I have to believe that the A-Rod news is the masterstroke of Steinbrenner's and Cashman's careers. The Yankees appear to be poised to sign Alex Rodriguez, a player that the Red Sox have been publicly coveting for months now. Until the deal is finalized I'm going to refrain from too much comment on this. Really, what is there to say? This trade is a good deal for the Yankees, even if I'll be a

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076685558343416232004-02-13T09:18:00.000-06:002004-02-13T09:22:44.170-06:00

In a stunning development over at ESPN.com, Senior baseball Writer Jayson Stark has shaved his mustache.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076435783564190902004-02-10T11:32:00.000-06:002004-02-10T12:09:43.466-06:00

Over at Bronx Banter Alex Belth has an interesting post about the Yankee's options with their otherworldy closer Mariano Rivera. Mo's contract is up at the end of the coming season and Alex feels it's unlikey the Yankees will offer him a contract entension outright. I tend to agree, the Yankees will likey wait until the end of the season, see how he did and then play some sort of hardball with

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1076087499101074692004-02-06T10:32:00.000-06:002004-02-06T11:14:29.233-06:00

I don't like the idea of Aaron Gleeman tickling my ass with a feather, or anyone else for that matter. Does ESPN.com really need Page 3? Where sports and entertainment collide? I thought that was what Page 2 was all about? I don't care what round Maurice Clarett gets drafted in. The guy is a greedy jerk with a lot of legal problems, he should fit right in in the NFL. Actually the more I think

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-107593031134302012004-02-04T15:35:00.000-06:002004-02-04T17:44:30.093-06:00

Curt Schilling has a lot of things going against him as far as I'm concerned: 1) He plays for the Red Sox 2) He beat up a camera (And not one of those tough as nails Minolta's either, it was a nerdy umpirin' camera) 3) He makes too much money to be griping about what Rob Neyer thinks about him 4) Allegedly some team he played for beat the Yankees in the World Series once, but honestly I don't

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075767034286659992004-02-02T18:09:00.000-06:002004-02-02T18:18:52.186-06:00

The Drew Henson experiment is officially over. And Aaron Boone is saying he expects to be back this year. If I were Aaron Boone I'd be trying everything possible to get back this season too. Of course even if he does he's probably a lame duck since Eric Chavez will be a free agent after the 2004 season. Since the free agent news this year has pretty much cooled to a crisp carmelized crust, let

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075766281945604882004-02-02T17:56:00.000-06:002004-02-02T18:00:20.200-06:00

You gotta love it when the AP uses the word "Boobylicious!"

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075750250974881692004-02-02T13:23:00.000-06:002004-02-02T13:37:06.216-06:00

Probably my favorite non-Yankee blog is Redbird Nation. I was just over there and read this: "At the end of the day he's a jock, and jocks always want to believe success and failure have more to do with courage and dedication than trends and numbers." Redbird Nation commenting on Curt Schilling's critique of Rob Neyer. I think it's important to note that success and failure have nothing to do

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075748135350910672004-02-02T12:03:00.000-06:002004-02-02T13:02:44.733-06:00

On ESPN.com's main baseball page there is a Sports Nation Poll asking "Who is most Likely to Rebound in 2004." The obvious answer here is Shaq and Yao Ming, but no, they were asking about baseball players. Here were the 5 candidates in need of a rebound according to Sports Nation: Pat Burrell Jermaine Dye Jason Giambi Randy Johnson Robb Nen I was immediately defensive when I saw Giambi's

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075741268946247122004-02-02T11:19:00.000-06:002004-02-02T11:21:32.263-06:00

Two interesting things happened at the Super Bowl last evening: The Patriots won for the second time in three years and Justin Timberlake , (or J-Timmay! as I like to call him,) gave Janet Jackson's right breast a little fresh air. So I guess one interesting thing happened really. Well, let me tell YOU, the bosses at CBS and The NFL are all shaking their heads this morning saying that this is not

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075498221731893192004-01-30T15:25:00.000-06:002004-01-30T15:34:40.950-06:00

Sean McAdam has a very good piece over at ESPN about parity in MLB. He points out the fact that there is far more parity in baseball then the Chicken Littles in the Commisioners office and the small market special pleaders would have you believe. It seems to me that this conversation about the inability for small market teams to compete and win sprang to life out of the Yankees gaudy mini

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075486253035283232004-01-30T11:55:00.000-06:002004-02-15T11:20:13.000-06:00

A man walks into his doctors office and sits down. The doctor looks at him gravely and says, "Sir, I have some bad news for you, you have a blog." Anyway, before I write anything substantial (assuming I ever will,) I wanted to send a shout-out, as the kids say, to a couple of people who have inspired me to write this blog, and who have added unmeasurably to my enjoyment of baseball. The Mr.

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6407274.post-1075482862510266452004-01-30T11:10:00.000-06:002004-01-30T11:16:36.043-06:00

Well, I'm sure it's midnight somewhere so lets get started. I'm not sure what this blog will turn out to be. Ostensibly it is about baseball, music and pop culture three topics near and dear to my heart but I don't want to restrict it to just one thing. There are plenty of fine baseball blogs out there, plenty of music blogs, plenty of pop culture blogs...you get the idea. So in essence I hope

Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09412636364811632811noreply@blogger.com