Rant: Mother()*&in' baseball, how does it work?

[MFAWG]

So my local morning shock jock (who I'm forced to listen to by a coworker who believes pretty much any *goshdarn* drivel he broadcasts) believes he has pinpointed the Mariners problem.

Ichiro. We need to get rid of him because he's a big piece of *feces* who doesn't produce.

He had 3 main points:

Doesn't score as much as he used to.

Doesn't drive in runs

Can't get to balls he used to get to

And just for good measure: Doesn't run the basepaths as well as he used to (he had an error. ONE. A week ago)

Here's my rebuttal:

1) He doesn't score as much as he used to because unless Guitierrez drives him in, he's *fudge*ed. Our entire starting lineup with the exception of Franklin and Ichiro hovers around the Mendoza line.

2) He doesn't drive in runs because: A) He's a *goshdarn* leadoff hitter. B) our 7-8-9 guys are BELOW the Mendoza line, so there's NOBODY FOR HIM TO DRIVE IN dip*feces*!

3) That's a valid criticism. That's also why he moved from center to right last year. They asked him to move after Guitierrez had been there a few weeks, and he did so without complaint AFAIK, because he's a class *goshdarn* act. You now have a for sure HoFer playing right instead of center. I'd also bet there are 20 or 25 teams that would LOVE to have Ichiro playing center RIGHT *goshdarn* NOW lost steps and all.

Then he *fudge*ed up. He compared Ichiro to BalCo Barry in terms of 'Dragging A Team Down'.

Oh, *fudge* YOU! Those Giants teams underachieved, and Barry was a big part of it. Those were pennant capable teams alot of years that didn't come CLOSE to their potential. That just isn't the *goshdarn* case here.

In other words:

LEAVE ICHIRO ALONE!

[stroh]

I completely agree with your take.

We (Twins) lost Torii Hunter to The Angels.  The popular media rub was a contract dispute (and it was a contract year) but the reasons the booted him were similar to the ones quoted above.

Bull*feces*.  Yeah, he was long in the tooth.  Yeah, injured some times.  Yeah, couldn't get to the ball like he usta cood.  Yeah, his hits and run production were down.......

However.  He had *feces* hitting in front of him.  Zero pitching.  So what ever he did was overshadowed by a 14 run loss every outing.  And a supporting cast that included drawing names out of a hat for the entire left side of the field.

Went to the Angles that year and was voted to the A.S. game if memory serves.  Had a kick ass year at any rate.

Should still be on this squad.  We opted instead for Go-Go Gomez who is *goshdarn* worthless and now Go-Go Gone

[Aske]

is this that game that  takes 3.5 hours when it should take 30 minutes ?

[MFAWG]

is this that game that  takes 3.5 hours when it should take 30 minutes ?

Funny you should ask:

It was ace to ace last night. We were out of there at 10:30 in an 11 inning game. I saw Greg Maddux and some Gints pitcher get one done in 2:15 at the Stick a few years ago.

[MFAWG]

I completely agree with your take.

We (Twins) lost Torii Hunter to The Angels.  The popular media rub was a contract dispute (and it was a contract year) but the reasons the booted him were similar to the ones quoted above.

Bull*feces*.  Yeah, he was long in the tooth.  Yeah, injured some times.  Yeah, couldn't get to the ball like he usta cood.  Yeah, his hits and run production were down.......

However.  He had *feces* hitting in front of him.  Zero pitching.  So what ever he did was overshadowed by a 14 run loss every outing.  And a supporting cast that included drawing names out of a hat for the entire left side of the field.

Went to the Angles that year and was voted to the A.S. game if memory serves.  Had a kick ass year at any rate.

Should still be on this squad.  We opted instead for Go-Go Gomez who is *goshdarn* worthless and now Go-Go Gone

I remember that, and yes it's similar. When you have a high profile guy surrounded with a bunch of stiffs and a manager who appears not to have a clue (our ace has a 2 hit shutout and you pull him after the 8th to 'Save his innings'. What are you saving his innings for? The playoffs?), the high profile guy gets the heat.

Here's the punch line: This same shock jock swears that this stiff:



Is one of the greatest to ever play in a Seahawks uni and should be the starter forever and ever.

Give me a *goshdarn* break. He's a decent NFL QB who had the good fortune to play in a system that artificially inflates his number, and then blamed everything   on an admittedly porous line.


I know what's going on with this shock jock:

Hasselbeck will give him a tidbit every once in a while, but Ichiro keeps his mouth shut. So guess whose ass gets kissed daily on the radio machine?

[MFAWG]

PS:

What alot of people don't see and what will not go into the record books is subtle stuff Ichiro does, like sliding into second on an easy out to break up a double play at 3d. That *feces* matters, and when it happens it's a joy to behold. But that's how they play the game there. And he plays it as well as anyone.

[gleek]

Looks like he's having a down year stat-wise and is in a bit of slump currently. Lot more strikeouts than usual, and his BA is down to .310. But at one point last month I think he was leading the league with a .358 BA. Regardless, he's still on pace to get his 200+ hits though.

Want to see who's having a really bad year compared to last season?

Link

Remember all the times that I mentioned this last year?

Looks more and more like it was a huge contributor to his MVP season.

[MFAWG]

He's decidedly not having a great year. At least for him.

OTOH:

How many teams would love a right fielder that will bat .310 or .320 for 200 hits and, just BTW, has a *goshdarn* cannon for an arm? Add in that he probably has 2 or 3 more years that are at LEAST that good left in him.

More to the point:

Who the *fudge* points at a player like that as a 'Problem'?

[gleek]

Who the *fudge* points at a player like that as a 'Problem'?

On a team that has Milton Bradley on the roster no less.

[MFAWG]

Who the *fudge* points at a player like that as a 'Problem'?

On a team that has Milton Bradley on the roster no less.

ROFLMAO! At this point, nobody even knows if he's going to show up at the park, and no I'm not kidding.

[geo1]

Ichiro can't be blamed for any of the bs that is happening thru the Mariners.  This man is outstanding as a Man and as a ballplayer.  How many others in MLB take this kind of bs treatment from fans, media (and in previous years from teammates), and others and stay with the team.

After years and years of playing on losing teams and even worse playing on teams that are embarrassments, who wouldn't suffer some kind of let down.

Ichiro is one hell of a standup guy!

[MFAWG]

We do seem to go through this every year, don't we?

Gotta disagree on the fans. Most of the phone calls yesterday were of the 'STFU, he's Ichiro and you're a clown' variety.

All that said, it wouldn't surprise me if they traded him, which might not be horrible if they traded him to somebody who could actually, you know, at least make the playoffs.

[geo1]

We do seem to go through this every year, don't we?

Gotta disagree on the fans. Most of the phone calls yesterday were of the 'STFU, he's Ichiro and you're a clown' variety.

All that said, it wouldn't surprise me if they traded him, which might not be horrible if they traded him to somebody who could actually, you know, at least make the playoffs.

I know what I said and it wasn't what I meant.  Seattle and the PNW I think are unique when it comes to fans that know the sport (any of them) and the idgiots who mouth off this kind of bs about a Man who will be HOF.  Too many of the idgiot fans are pussified sports fans who know nothing about sports and who know nothing about loyalty.  Too many of these idgiots started following sports in last 20 years or so.

You and I know about the pussified PNWesterner that we deal with all the time.

[MFAWG]

We do seem to go through this every year, don't we?

Gotta disagree on the fans. Most of the phone calls yesterday were of the 'STFU, he's Ichiro and you're a clown' variety.

All that said, it wouldn't surprise me if they traded him, which might not be horrible if they traded him to somebody who could actually, you know, at least make the playoffs.

I know what I said and it wasn't what I meant.  Seattle and the PNW I think are unique when it comes to fans that know the sport (any of them) and the idgiots who mouth off this kind of bs about a Man who will be HOF.  Too many of the idgiot fans are pussified sports fans who know nothing about sports and who know nothing about loyalty.  Too many of these idgiots started following sports in last 20 years or so.

You and I know about the pussified PNWesterner that we deal with all the time.

Yup. The 'Excessive Homerism' syndrome.

The subject today was 'Do you pull for the OTHER guy to pull off a no hitter in your park?' and the answer was 'No' 2 to 1 on the callers.

I disagree.

 I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember 10 or 15 thousand Oakland fans giving a visiting pitcher a standing O when he lost a no hitter and got pulled in the 8th, even though we were losing. Happy to do it, too. A great performance is a credit to the game, and worth applauding. It would be BETTER if our guy did it, LOL.

Unless it's the Dodgers, because *fudge* them. Really.