Ahhhhhhh, Sunday morning. I love Sunday morning. Eight to ten Sundays a year I get up early, load a cooler full of Newcastle and head to a parking lot in Jersey to drink my face off and watch the World Champion New York Football Giants do what they do. Which is win Championships. The other Sundays, not related to drinking in a parking lot, basically involve me caring for Little RamonaWarHelmet and reading all sorts of sports related articles in newspapers on the internet.
I once attempted to write a long form post on a Sunday and was reminded by a certain bossy Jewish gentleman who resides in Arizona with his gaggle of children of various patronage that we do not get lots of traffic on Sundays so save the talent for the weekdays when bored drones stare at their computers 8-15 hours a day. I agree since I am a business man and this is a business (that generates no income unless you buy something). So in lieu of writing some epic piece of awesomeness for you all, I am going to give you a few of the fun Sunday morning articles I enjoyed today. It is a Nothing to Click Here/WAQ/PM Roundup/Mailing it in/Space Filler to the highest degree. My one sort of prerequisite to doing this is that it is going to be stuff from mainstream sources and it is either going to be informative or thought provoking. So I am not looking to give Slappy’s Website and Chicken Shack any love here, well unless Slappy brings the fucking pain. So I am going to polish my 2008 Sparty Award as you read what I already read. Enjoy.
I was thinking that Spencer was getting a little overdramatic about the pain of being a Browns fan and that finally they have a real chance to succeed. Then I read this. It is from Mort so Spencer still has hope.
My favorite newspaper/internet news source is Newsday. I am a Long Island boy and Newsday is THE paper here. It is also a good sports news organization that has produced Tony Kornheiser, Peter King, Jon Heyman and Tom Verducci to name a few. This morning Ken Davidoff posted his Hall of Fame ballot. What interests me here is how he admits to flip-flopping in the three years he has had a ballot because of acquiring more baseball knowledge and his use of advanced statistical analysis to help evaluate Hall of Famers. It is good stuff and a reminder to the stat geeks (looking at you Fetch and Nick P) that instead of being a condescending asshole, maybe a little education will go a long way in getting your point across about the value of players and Hall of Fame credentials. That said, Adam Dunn still blows.
Speaking of stat geeks who are not condescending in their use of advanced stats to get their point across, Joe Posnanski is a must read anytime he posts or writes anything. Really, if the Internet has done anything to enhance my life I would put instant porn access as number one and discovering Joe Pos as number two. Really he is terrific. In this post for SI.com, he rates Hall of Fame eligible players best ten years against others and shows how a players consistency and longevity really do enhance a HOF bid. His analysis of Dave Parker and Roberto Clemente is great here.
“it may be time to look in a different direction” -Brett Favre to Mike Tannenbaum
Peter King got this nugget from Brett Favre as he was suckling his teet. Let the games begin on who has the Favre retirement/comeback stories first. I will bet Jay Glazer with the odds at 5/2. In another column on SI.com, Peter King has Mike Shanahan not coaching until 2010. (An aside, I truly enjoy a lot of the features at SI.com. They have Jon Heyman who is the best baseball insider at the moment. Joe Pos. Peter King who can infuriate but still bring the good info. Don Banks who is underrated but good. Tom Verducci who is really good on his long form baseball features. End of advertisement.)
In this column, Rich Cimini of the Daily News gives a beat reporters perspective on covering all of the Jet coaching changes since 1989. 19 years being the beat write for the Jets. The man deserves a Purple Heart. Anyway, a fascinating read.
Last but certainly not least, Jason Whitlock gives his leftover 2008 Truths at Fox Sports. I love Whitlock. I do not always agree with him but he brings it most of the time and his Truths columns are really his best work. Here he asks, “Please, God, take me tonight and bring me back as a washed-up, 50-something American white man.” Let’s just say the names of Rick Reilly, Mike Lupica and Mitch Albom were invoked before that line.
this would have been a sweet post tomorrow.
Where’d the better post go?
Mark McGwire is a fucking hall of famer.
Also, when Barry Larkin becomes eligible, expect a Roman-esque opus on his credentials that I will just re-publish every Monday. He’s a no-doubter.
Barry Larkin’s also a major league dumbass.
How so?
As of right now, Barry Larkin is just Jeter without the titles. Baseball-Reference even has Larkin as most similar for Jeter. Now, that’ll change as Jeter keeps playing and pulls away, but look at their stats and it’s pretty close.
All being said, I think Larkin gets in because the HOF has become watered down.
on MLB network, Larkin said Orlando Hudson was the type of player to steal you 40 bags a season.
Hef, please tell the class his career steals total.
Jeter: .316/.387/.458 – 120 OPS+, 2535 hits
Larkin: .297/.371/.444 – 116 OPS+, 2340 hits
Jeter definitely has the edge in offense and durability. But unlike Jeter, Larkin actually was an asset with the glove. His rates stats will come down as he declines, but he’ll also hit the magic 3000 number by then.
Jeter has the edge, but it’s not as wide as ESPN would have us believe.
Larkin does have one WS title and one MVP, bear.
Larkin career Warp3: 121.8 in 19 seasons
Jeter’s: 103.5 in 14
Larkin’s peak Warp3: 11.1
Jeter’s: 11.9
It’s pretty close. Jeter will probably be considered better because of the longevity.
Yep. I don’t disagree.
Assuming Jeter sticks at SS for a few more years.