Hitter
In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't have a post yesterday because I'm old. And that age factor prevented me from effectively recovering from a late night out watching the Raptors and engaging in other activities not normally associated with the 40+ crowd. The game was, indeed, a hoot and the Celtics won (and then lost to the Wiz, but oh well).
We were 10 rows from court side, and the players looked like players. It was the first time I've ever been to an NBA game where my view was better than the picture on a video game.
The result: like the kids. I like Gomes and Green and Greene (though I like Green better than Greene - he plays bigger and is a difference-maker). It was odd that an under-manned Raptors team only played All-Rookie Charlie Villanueva 25 minutes - was something up there? Or does coach Sam Mitchell think he hit the 'rookie wall' and doesn't want to push him too far? Because the game was within Toronto's grasp - a few less bench minutes for Charlie might have made the difference.
Have you noticed, by the way, that NBA players from the 1980's have taken over the league? Sam Mitchell faced Doc Rivers in this game. Danny Ainge is the GM of the Celtics, while Larry Bird runs the Pacers, and Kevin McHale does it all for the Timberwolves. Joe Dumars was just inducted into the Hall of Fame - and has a championship ring as an executive to add to his rings from his playing days.
And then there's Isiah Thomas, who has wrecked a track of devastation through several NBA stops (pausing only briefly to destroy the CBA) including Toronto, Indiana, and now sub-20 win New York. Funny how it's been the same between Thomas and Dumars for 20 years - Isiah hogging the glory while Dumars remains quietly effective, producing more than his loutish back-court-mate with less fanfare and far more class.
But I'm here to talk about what I saw in a baseball game last night. I watched a bit of the Braves-Dodgers game. Good game. Nice to see Edgar Renteria playing for the Dodgers - hopefully he can give them the season he couldn't produce for Boston last year.
What struck me, though, was a two-out rally by Atlanta in the third (this is all true in the gist - I didn't check the box score so bear with me if I'm not right on the details) with men on second and third. And who steps up to the plate? The pitcher. Rally over.
Are they still hitting pitchers in the NL? Is this still a debate? Of course, with Republicans running the country I shouldn't be surprised that a dinosaur like the hitting pitcher still roams the earth.
All I could hink was: "where's Big Papi?" The Red Sox DH, Davis Ortiz, is a great play, a major celebrity, and a huge part of what make the Red Sox fun to watch these days. And in the NL there's no job for him.
Who wants to see a dorky pudgy pitcher (not that lean fat that a guy like Papi carries, but the soft girly-man fat of a guy who's never worked out) kill your team's chances, when you could see a top hitter continue to challenge the defense? You've only got one first base to hide a guy who can't field (and remember what that did to Boston in the '86 World Series).
I'm still trying to rekindle my affection for MLB. It's not easy. But I did get MLB 2k6 for Xbox yesterday, so hopefully I can re-learn the game before the Red Sox get here to play the Jays.
But for now, I'm going to see if I can put the DH rule into the NL on the video game.
We were 10 rows from court side, and the players looked like players. It was the first time I've ever been to an NBA game where my view was better than the picture on a video game.
The result: like the kids. I like Gomes and Green and Greene (though I like Green better than Greene - he plays bigger and is a difference-maker). It was odd that an under-manned Raptors team only played All-Rookie Charlie Villanueva 25 minutes - was something up there? Or does coach Sam Mitchell think he hit the 'rookie wall' and doesn't want to push him too far? Because the game was within Toronto's grasp - a few less bench minutes for Charlie might have made the difference.
Have you noticed, by the way, that NBA players from the 1980's have taken over the league? Sam Mitchell faced Doc Rivers in this game. Danny Ainge is the GM of the Celtics, while Larry Bird runs the Pacers, and Kevin McHale does it all for the Timberwolves. Joe Dumars was just inducted into the Hall of Fame - and has a championship ring as an executive to add to his rings from his playing days.
And then there's Isiah Thomas, who has wrecked a track of devastation through several NBA stops (pausing only briefly to destroy the CBA) including Toronto, Indiana, and now sub-20 win New York. Funny how it's been the same between Thomas and Dumars for 20 years - Isiah hogging the glory while Dumars remains quietly effective, producing more than his loutish back-court-mate with less fanfare and far more class.
But I'm here to talk about what I saw in a baseball game last night. I watched a bit of the Braves-Dodgers game. Good game. Nice to see Edgar Renteria playing for the Dodgers - hopefully he can give them the season he couldn't produce for Boston last year.
What struck me, though, was a two-out rally by Atlanta in the third (this is all true in the gist - I didn't check the box score so bear with me if I'm not right on the details) with men on second and third. And who steps up to the plate? The pitcher. Rally over.
Are they still hitting pitchers in the NL? Is this still a debate? Of course, with Republicans running the country I shouldn't be surprised that a dinosaur like the hitting pitcher still roams the earth.
All I could hink was: "where's Big Papi?" The Red Sox DH, Davis Ortiz, is a great play, a major celebrity, and a huge part of what make the Red Sox fun to watch these days. And in the NL there's no job for him.
Who wants to see a dorky pudgy pitcher (not that lean fat that a guy like Papi carries, but the soft girly-man fat of a guy who's never worked out) kill your team's chances, when you could see a top hitter continue to challenge the defense? You've only got one first base to hide a guy who can't field (and remember what that did to Boston in the '86 World Series).
I'm still trying to rekindle my affection for MLB. It's not easy. But I did get MLB 2k6 for Xbox yesterday, so hopefully I can re-learn the game before the Red Sox get here to play the Jays.
But for now, I'm going to see if I can put the DH rule into the NL on the video game.
posted by fiduciary at 7:47 AM
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