The world is plum full of photos. As evidence, here is that Japanese news site, covering Yu Darvish as he boards a plane for LAX:
Because I don’t speak the Japanese, I must build my reactions from scratch.
QUICK REACTION: Darvish is wearing hipster glasses. HE IS NOT READY FOR THE PRESSURES OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.
Read the rest of this entry »
The lives of Archie Bradley and Dylan Bundy are intertwined like so much twine that has been woven or otherwise joined together. Both are right-handed pitchers taken in the first round (Bundy at fourth overall, Bradley at seventh) of the most recent draft. Both were the stars of their respective Oklahoma high school teams. And both those high school teams played each other to decide the 2011 Oklahoma state 6-A baseball championship. Furthermore, there is a distinct physical resemblance between the two — particularly in the Haircut part of the body.
The observer is struck by a notable difference in these images however (which the author definitely didn’t come across while attempting to scratch a certain newfound itch for sporting collectibles) — namely, that Bradley appears to be a cheerful sort, at harmony with the world and everything in it, and with a conscience as clean as a Cotton Mather’s codpiece. On the other hand, there is Bundy (more like Moribundy, innit?), a decidedly sullen-looking type, wearing the expression of one who’s peered into the lower elements of his soul and been unable to shake from his mind’s eye what he saw there.
Over at the dad’s house, FanGraphs+ 2012 has been being touted as a “steal” or “deal”. The subscription includes over 1,100 player profiles written by the FanGraphs and RotoGraphs contributors, 11 in depth fantasy-themed articles — including the second annual Cistulli-Sarris faceoff, Mike Trout vs. Bryce Harper, and my new best friend “Ottoneu Strategies for Every Setting.” Oh, and it also includes 2-3 weekly articles written by FanGraphs staff for ESPN throughout this year, AND the FanGraphs+ archives from the last two years. Whew. That’s all for $4.99, which may lead you to believe that you would be hard pressed to find anything so awesome for such a small price tag. You’d be believing wrong. I present: Things Cheaper Than FanGraphs+:
One thing that NotGraphs readers might not know about me is that I’m a huge fan of alternate history stories. This is one reason that I found this Bleacher Report article/slideshow so utterly enthralling.
So enthralling, indeed, that I felt compelled to take the premise and run with it. Please find my Jesus Montero “What Would Have Been” moment submissions below.
At times and perforce, the homilist’s greatest rhetorical device is knowing when to fall silent and allow the miracles to unfurl in that silence, like an abundant dong released from its underthings. Now is such a time …
Now go and live this day as though it be your last.
(A Minnesotan’s passion: @ratsoff)
Winter’s end is closer. Bills pile but, oh, done with ’em. Bored? Spring! Birds all over! Got a glover, lover? A lent one. Jersey? Ball? Bats? Field? Games please. Eat on your, a, pork chop, Buddy. Not hard, fatty. Bad news? Dang. Snow’s fine. We’re ready.
A Boomer Whipple to Jeff Sullivan & Jon Bois, whose twitter game inspired this post.
Careful in your misdeeds, children. For Kevin Bass is watching you …
No one gets away with anything. Lo, the giant, unblinking eyes of Kevin Bass see all.
(Disconcerting stare: BBTF)
The damning evidence.
One of my favorite games to play is the Blame Game, which is why I’d like to begin this post by blaming the parties most directly responsible for my heinous actions on the afternoon of February 9th, 2012 — which actions involved mainly the prolonged research, and subsequent purchase, of 24 baseball cards, coming to a total of approximately $50.
I blame the internet’s Common Man for forcing me to attend TwinsFest the weekend before last, an event (i.e. TwinsFest) that forced me to become curious about The State of the Hobby. I blame the editors of BaseballCardPedia (and recent podcast guests) Chrises Harris and Thomas for patiently answering all my questions about The State of the Hobby. I blame my wife for leaving me at home, unattended, for hours at a time, as if I knew how to take care of myself. I blame the neurotransmitter dopamine — and the reward system of my brain, generally — for somehow allowing the research, and subsequent purchase, of baseball cards to provide me with great pleasure. And finally, I blame Big Oil — which, even though they didn’t do anything specifically, they’re probably somehow involved.
When I look at R.A. Dickey, I see only one thing — and that thing is not even R.A. Dickey himself.
This man climbed Kilimanjaro.
Dear NotGraphs,
My girlfriend of four years is a paradox. On the surface, she appears to love baseball. Years ago, she had a senior picture taken of her in Twins gear and surrounded by Twins memorabilia. We went to TwinsFest together just last weekend and she was far more interested in the historical baseball exhibit than me (I was more interested in autographs and pictures). She’s also been working on getting a poster of Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Joe Mauer as “construction workers” signed by all three players (she’s only missing Morneau now), and still has the newspaper article of when Paul Molitor got his 3000th hit.
However, when it comes to watching games on TV, she rarely joins me. As she put it, she cannot understand watching the same thing every single night. I find this interesting, as we watch How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory together, and we often rattle off 4 episodes in one night with each other. Please don’t tell me my Y chromosome is clouding my vision. Is this not similar?
I get the feeling that part of her aversion is due to her brother and father. They are both… well, I guess the best way to put this is that they would commonly scream at the TV. Even if the Twins were up 5-0 in the 8th inning, if the shortstop bobbled a slow grounder, look! He’s the worst player on the team. Being subjected to this for 20+ years and counting did a number on her, I believe. Fortunately for her, I am more level-headed and quiet during games, but she still is not interested in watching more than one game a week with me.
My question is, how can I get my girlfriend to start watching more Twins games with me without her complaining about it? By watching, I mean actually engaged in the game, not just sitting on the couch next to me playing Angry Birds for 3 hours. Or am I destined to spend every night during baseball season alone for the rest of my life?
Thanks,
Miffed in Minnesota
Dear Miffed,
Gotta say, your girlfriend being willing to sit on the couch next to you, even playing Angry Birds, doesn’t sound so bad. I posed your question to my wife, who gets up from the couch when I turn on a baseball game– and if our apartment had more rooms than it does, she would definitely go to another one of those rooms. Her first question was whether you watch with the announcers on. News to me that the announcers were part of the problem for her, but she said– and this is a direct quote, because I wrote it down– “I think I would definitely be more interested in watching if instead of announcers, the game was set to music.”
