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spystud13

By spystud13
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Seasick Sailor
Seasick Sailor
Beau Vine
Beau Vine

He's probably more pissed off about being related to you. Now go back to Cloak Room or wherever it is that you regularly infect with your stupidity and leave this awesome subforum be.

Beau Vine
Beau Vine

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Pig Bellmont

Pig Bellmont 8887

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

Crazy game in Washington

Brewers down three in the 9th.

Yelich, Moose and Braun all homer off Doolittle to give them a 12-11 lead

Harder can’t close the door. 12-12

 

13th inning, Yelich gets his 41st.

Nats tie it again in the bottom of the inning

 

 

...and the Nats mascot has pajamas on

15-4 Washington in the 7th for the rubber match

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spystud13

spystud13 2371

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Mike Trout keeps moving up the all-time WAR list for position players, and with the range he’s in, he’s moving past all-time greats practically daily. Entering Sunday, Trout now has 72.4 career WAR according to Baseball Reference, which is tied for 57th-most among position players all-time. The most notable part of that? He’s now tied with none other than Derek Jeter, his self-professed childhood idol.

Trout is already in an elite echelon when it comes to this list, as that name he’s now tied with tells you. If you get to this point, you’re very, very likely to reach the Hall of Fame. This is basically Cooperstown territory.

Of the 57 other players with at least 72.4 WAR, all but 10 of them are in the Hall of Fame, and three of those not in the Hall of Fame have yet to be on the ballot, in Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Adrian Beltre.

Trout is on pace for 10.7 WAR this season, which would be a career high. His current highest mark is 10.5, in 2012 when he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and '16 when he won AL MVP honors.

Who’s next?

If he reaches 10.7 for the year, he’d have 74.9 career WAR. Between 72.4 and 74.9, he would pass eight other position players, including Jeter. The others are: Larry Walker, Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas, Reggie Jackson and Luke Appling.

What do they have in common? All but Walker are in the Hall of Fame -- and Walker is entering his final year on the ballot in 2020, and has seen a boost lately.

The other fun part of that 74.9 WAR that Trout is on pace to finish the season with? It would rank 50th all-time among position players. Think of all the players to suit up in Major League history, think of all of the greats, and the simple fact of the multitude of players there have been. And Trout would already, at age 28, be the 50th best position player by WAR all-time.

And if he finishes at 74.9, and then puts up a 9.1 WAR season in 2020 -- matching his career average per season from '12-18? He’d be at 84.0 on the dot. The road from 74.9 to 84.0 is paved with another list of almost exclusively Hall of Famers. Next season, we’ll likely see Trout passing the likes of Johnny Bench, Paul Molitor, Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount, Joe DiMaggio, Brooks Robinson, Rod Carew and Ken Griffey Jr., among others.

To recap

In case you missed it, Trout entered the year with 64.2 career WAR, tied with Dave Winfield. From that tie with Winfield to this tie with Jeter, Trout has already passed 42 position players this season, including Winfield. Twenty-eight of those 42 players have been Hall of Famers. Among the non-Hall of Famers are players like Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran, Chase Utley, and Miguel Cabrera, who are either active or retired but not yet eligible to be on a Hall of Fame ballot.

Now, Trout sits tied for 57th all-time among position players, tied with Jeter, an idol of the Millville Meteor.

 

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6285

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18 hours ago, spystud13 said:

Det’s only position player with >1 bWAR is Goodrum. Balt surprisingly has 6, the immortal Hanser Alberto is second with 2. 

Alberto wasn't too bad considering seeing what is around him. Mancini could help an actual major league team even if it is just as a DH. 

Detroit is a dumpster fire. They have zero hope of winning for a long time. 

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55877

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1 hour ago, youdunnf'dup said:

 

I know we all hate the Yankees, but this falls back under the hating the fans, not the players or announcers. Michael Kay is one of the best in the business. Hopefully he has no issues with his vocal cord surgery, and he’s back for good. I love his calls.

Michael Kay is definitely one of the 30 best team pbp guys in the business.

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Helobious

Helobious 9824

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6 minutes ago, WBT said:

Who is he?  Not the one with the stupid homerun calls and not the chick that freaked out about clemens right?

Helobious: Yeah I’ve never heard of that 29 year old rookie lefty specialist who was called up by the Marlins 4 hours ago. 

Surly: Jesus do you even watch baseball you moron? 

 

WBT: This guy is one of the most famous current baseball announcers, but I have no idea who he is. 

Surly: oh it’s michael kay, don’t feel bad.

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Seasick Sailor

Seasick Sailor 3747

Posted
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2 hours ago, Underdog said:

Both the Mets and Yanks have solid TV guys, now fuck face with the Yanks on radio is a different story....   the Yankees win...  thuuuuuuuuuuugh Yankees win.  Nails on a chalk board. 

 

33 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

He's the one who had the massive never-ending boner for Jeter.

John Sterling? If so, I couldn't agree more.

The only thing worse than his calls was when the Baseball Tonight podcast decided to have fans come up with their own Sterling-style calls for basically the entire 2017 season. Just one of the many reasons I stopped listening to it. 

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55877

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WTF????

Quote

Pitching great Roger Clemens didn't shy away from many battles in his major league career, but politics is something he's not willing to take on.

Clemens had been encouraged to run as a Republican candidate for the seat of Texas Republican Rep. Pete Olson, who announced his retirement last month.

The 57-year-old Clemens said he was honored but had "no interest" in running for office.

"The climate in politics at this time is much more than I would want to undertake, along with my family considerations," Clemens said in a message to Olson that was obtained by ABC News.

"I am a Republican and I support our President and will continue to do so," Clemens said. "No matter who our President may be, I will continue my support of them and root for them to be successful, just as I did when President Obama was in office.

 

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WBT

WBT 20995

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9 hours ago, Helobious said:

Helobious: Yeah I’ve never heard of that 29 year old rookie lefty specialist who was called up by the Marlins 4 hours ago. 

Surly: Jesus do you even watch baseball you moron? 

 

WBT: This guy is one of the most famous current baseball announcers, but I have no idea who he is. 

Surly: oh it’s michael kay, don’t feel bad.

I get my fill of Yankees games on espn I guess

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9819

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Speaking of announcers, I posted this on the astros thread and it was news to some there so thought I’d share here as well for those with mlb.tv that prefer radio broadcasters (or just ballpark feed with no talking...hello Sunday night baseball or national FOX broadcasts).

I have a smartv with Roku built in and never figured out how to change the audio overlay before tonight

I’ve always seen “press *” for more audio options but would do that during the broadcast and would get what I thought was the TV-specific audio/speaker options and could never figure out the MLB.tv app-specific audio options. But it’s all in the same place

On mine, press the “*” button, go down to audio track. Default is “English” toggle over to “natural sound” (ballpark only. No announcers). Or audio track 3 or 4... English radio or Spanish broadcast.

Figured this out a long time ago on my stand alone Roku and appletv devices but never the built in one

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Fudge Nuggets

Fudge Nuggets 19469

Posted
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Just now, Beau Vine said:

I realize you only started following the Astros (and the sport of baseball) in 2017, but Roger Clemens is a pretty famous former baseball player.  

 I realize you have been a grouchy, miserable cunt forever but if your post had anything about baseball in it then by all means post it here.  Guess we should move the Donald Trump thread to the TV / Movies forum.

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55877

Posted
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21 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

 I realize you have been a grouchy, miserable cunt forever but if your post had anything about baseball in it then by all means post it here.  Guess we should move the Donald Trump thread to the TV / Movies forum.

Perhaps you should put me on ignore, rather than constantly critiquing my posts like an obsessed little pussy.  

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55877

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Stark: My ride on the hot-dog launcher with the Phillie Phanatic

In-Game-Phanatic-Skit-Jayson-Stark-1-e1566332993940-1024x684.jpg
By Jayson Stark 4h agocomment-icon@2x.png 29 save-icon@2x.png

PHILADELPHIA – Hot dogs were made to be eaten, mostly during 4th of July barbecues and Dollar Dog Nights. Hot dogs were not made to be fired through the sky out of a giant, weiner-shaped cannon – into distant upper decks, off unsuspecting billboards and into the laps of innocent baseball fans who were just trying to avoid sunstroke.

But whatever! What would humankind have ever accomplished in this world if we’d just listened to the doomsayers who told us that our species wasn’t meant to fly…or to type on smartphones with our thumbs … or to propel hot dogs around a baseball field near you?

So when I was invited to ride along with the legendary Phillie Phanatic on his fabled Hot Dog Launcher on Sunday and shoot frankfurters around Citizens Bank Park, of course I said yes. I was honored. I was humbled. And, in a related development, I was slightly terrified.

Earlier this year, you see, I was briefed by former Phanatic accomplice Jayson Werth, who rode shotgun (pretty much literally) on the Hot Dog Launcher in 2018. And about the only thing I remember from his recap was the part where he said: “It was the scariest thing I ever did in my life.”

Oh sure. You might think it would be way scarier to be standing at home plate, watching a 104-mile-an-hour Aroldis Chapman smokeball flying at you. But in fact, riding around with a giant green bird on the back of a truck – with no seats, no seatbelts and nothing to hold onto but that aforementioned green bird – can actually be much more frightening.

So on Saturday, as my fateful date with the Phanatic approached, I emailed his best friend, Tom Burgoyne, to see what I needed to know in order to survive my two minutes of hot-dog hurling. Later that day, he wrote back to reassure me that…

A. I’d be fine.
B. The Phanatic hadn’t lost any Hot Dog Launcher passengers yet.
And C. our friend Jayson Werth “is a wuss.”

All right then, I thought. With that assurance that I would actually live through the ride, I was back to thinking this just might be the coolest thing I’d ever done in my time covering baseball.

Once upon a time, in a previous life at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I wrote a column about the debut of the Hot Dog Launcher. (Look, somebody had to do it.) At the time, I wrote that it was clearly one of the top five inventions of the 20th century.

In retrospect, that might have been a stretch. But I never got any angry emails from Thomas Edison. So obviously, I was close, at least.

I even talked with the inventor of the Launcher, a fellow from Hatfield Quality Meats named Gary Greenwalt, who told me this was far more challenging than it looked.

“It took a lot of work to find out what would happen to the dog when we shot it off,” Greenwalt said then. “At the beginning, it was like a two-stage rocket. The whole thing would go out of the launcher. Then, about 50 feet up in the air, the dog would take off out of the bun. Then the bun would explode and disintegrate into about a thousand pieces.”

Anybody who has ever been to a wedding reception could argue that it’s possible hot dogs are at their most delicious when eaten in a thousand pieces. But that wasn’t the goal here. So eventually, the distinguished Launcher scientists at Hatfield learned that if they wrapped the hot dog in foil and sealed it in a Ziplock bag, it would make it into the stands in one piece. Voila!

But since then, Burgoyne told me, there have been major advancements in Hot Dog Launcher technology. By which he meant (of course)…

Duct tape!

“Duct tape,” he said, “was the key. Duct tape was the magic.”

So for quite a few years, the Phanatic fired hot dogs wrapped in state-of-the-art duct-taped foil with his handheld launcher. And all was well. But then…

In 2004, the first year of Citizens Bank Park, there was a dramatic new step forward in Hot Dog Launcher delivery systems, Burgoyne revealed. By which he this time meant…

The amazing Launcher-mobile!

Yes, instead of a puny little hand-held hot-dog-spewing device, the Phanatic got a whole vehicle, equipped with a sensational truck-mounted six-foot-long launcher, which was disguised as a giant hot dog. Plus it was vastly more high-powered, up to 400 PSI. And that meant, he said, “that we could shoot a hot dog out of the ballpark if the conditions were right.”

So … I asked … have you ever shot a hot dog completely out of the park?

He laughed. Oh, yes, he had.

About a decade ago, during a commercial shoot before a game, he reported, the gang got a little carried away – and propelled three hot dogs over the stands behind first base, just for kicks. It seemed like an entertaining idea at the time.

But later that afternoon, Burgoyne said, he was in his office and noticed a commotion outside. So he popped out and asked: “What’s going on?”

“There’s a bomb scare,” he was told.

So he flipped on his TV, tuned it to the local news, and guess what he found?

“Reporting live,” said the live reporter, “outside Citizens Bank Park, where workers are being evacuated because of three oblong packages found near the First Base Gate.”

“Uh-oh,” thought the last man who’d seen those oblong objects. So Burgoyne went flying down the hall to tell one of his bosses, “They’re not bombs. They’re hot dogs!”

Oops. Too late. Before word could reach the outside world, the bomb squad had detonated three foil-wrapped hot dogs. And order was restored. Well, as much order as a humongous green mascot bird would ever allow to be restored, anyway.

So let’s fast-forward to Sunday. I was being honored before the game by the Philadelphia City Council and by the Phillies for winning the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which was cool enough. I’d thrown a ceremonial first-pitch strike – which was caught by the Phanatic him/her/itself. And now it was time for the highlight of my day, my career and probably my entire lifetime.

I was about to launch those hot dogs.

My wife Lisa and I were led to the right-field corner, where the Hot Dog Launcher was ready for action. There was a driver wearing a stylish hot-dog cap. There was a trusty assistant who had finished wrapping 20 sumptuous hot dogs in duct-taped foil. There just was no actual green bird to lead the festivities, until….

With one out in the top of the fifth, the Phanatic arrived, roaring down the tunnel in his/her/its beloved Phanatic scooter. He/she/it embraced me, with that bird-like warmth he/she/it is noted for. Then I was instructed to climb aboard.

In-Game-Phanatic-Skit-Jayson-Stark-21-68
 
(Copyright © 2019 The Phillies / Miles Kennedy, courtesy of the Phillies)

That’s when I realized: Jayson Werth was 100 percent right. The only thing standing between me and YouTube viral-video notoriety was the Phanatic him/her/itself. There was literally nothing else I could hold onto, except the side of the truck. And it was basically impossible to hold onto the truck and shoot off hot dogs.

Then, suddenly, I heard a voice shout: “Here we go.” And vroom, off we sputtered toward the field ahead. Another voice advised: “Whatever you do, don’t let go [of that giant green bird].” Wait. What?

I assume they meant for that to be comforting. It wasn’t that comforting. Hang onto that giant bird for dear life, even though he/she/it is about to spend the next two minutes dancing, cavorting and spinning that launcher toward his/her/its next target? Yeah, great.

But as we sped across the field, from the right-field corner to the left-field line, I got my bearings. And then the real fun began.

The assistant loaded the hot dogs in the launcher. The Phanatic took aim. And my job was the best gig of all – to fire! There was a large Whack-A-Mole type button I was supposed to pound. There were thousands of fans in our sights, pretty darned jacked up at the prospect of potential free food.

I wound up launching 17 hot dogs, by the Phanatic’s count. We need a ruling on the actual number since once, I hit the button before the hot dog was fully loaded. After that, I got yelled at several times: “NOT YET! …WAIT ‘TIL WE’RE LOADED!”…You know, the standard Hot Dog Launcher lingo. But mostly, we got into a sweet rhythm.

I’d promised I’d shoot one into the press box. Nope. Missed. I promised my friends and family I’d fire one up to their seats. Sorry! Missed them, too. We pumped one into the upper deck. That was exhilarating. There was just one serious mishap.

Dear Phillies,

I didn’t mean to break your TOYOTA sign. We were aiming for the second deck in right – you know, Bryce Harper walkoff slam territory. We just didn’t quite have the right launch angle, I guess. Hopefully, this won’t prompt any major repairs or lawsuits. If you need to bill me for the damage, is it OK if I forward it to the Phanatic? He aimed. I just fired. Thank you.

Yours truly, Jayson Stark

Yeah, there was only that. We might have broken the stadium. But hey, it wasn’t as bad as that bomb scare, right?

After two minutes of whirling around the field, slinging hot dogs, time was up. So we disappeared down the tunnel from whence we’d emerged. And that was that. What. A. Blast. Literally.

If the original Hot Dog Launcher was one of the five greatest inventions of the 20th century, I couldn’t help but wonder, where would the new high-powered version rank in the 21st century? What modern technological innovation could possibly beat this incredible gizmo?

“I’d have to say it’s right up there with the iPhone,” Burgoyne decided. “I think Steve Jobs and the Phanatic are probably neck and neck when it comes to 21st-century inventions.”

Right. Who could possibly disagree with that? (Note to our subscribers: Do not answer that! Rhetorical question!)

We de-Launchered and huddled to survey our work. Only three foil-wrapped hot dogs remained. Not one occupant (meaning me, obviously) had tumbled out of the Launcher-mobile. So everyone was delighted (except possibly the Toyota sign repairmen).

This was awesome. I asked how many outside luminaries — i.e., non-players or ex-players — had ever been invited to do what I’d just done. Outside of a couple of reporters who were working on a story, they couldn’t recall anyone, I was told.

Whoah, I thought. This might truly have been the pinnacle of my career. I’d gone where no civilian had ever gone before? I’d launched where no civilian had ever launched before? I was overwhelmed.

What could I possibly ever achieve now that would top this, I wondered. Well, I’ve never won a Pulitzer. So there was that.

“Hey, hot-dog launching would have to rank first,” Burgoyne said. “Anybody can win a Pulitzer. Who else has launched hot dogs?”

Yessir. Exactly! Once, I was just a little boy with a dream to become a baseball writer. Now I’ve totally had that dream come true. I’ve written. I’ve lived. I’ve launched. How lucky am I? Now can somebody figure out a way to launch a cheesesteak, please?

I PM'ed Fudge Nuggets asking where I should post this seeing as how it's not about baseball directly, and Jayson Stark is not a baseball player, but he hasn't responded with his advice, so I'm going to post it here anyways.  

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