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| Between the Lines |
| Our Mission here at Between the Lines is twofold: First, to expose bad sports commentary in all its forms, for the mindless, poorly written and uttered drivel it is; Second, to go all Teddy Roosevelt on the monopoly that uninformed "experts," dim-witted ex-players, and platitude-spouting hacks exercise over sports journalism. |
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| When Great Stats Go to Waste |
| 2008-11-06 20:41:26 |
Check out the caption: "Alex Rodriguez' big stats haven't improved the Rangers or Yanks." Really, Philadelphia Daily News? In seven All-Star seasons, in which Rodriguez won (almost certainly) 3 MVP Awards and amassed a total WARP-3 of 81.5, he failed to improve his teams? Pretty hard to believe....
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| The Eckstein Report |
| 2008-11-06 20:41:25 |
David Eckstein has signed a contract. Go tell it on the mountain--twice. Even if you have to make up erroneous information about a 2nd year in order to make it sound like an original headline....
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| Wrapping Up the Rest |
| 2008-01-04 11:28:27 |
I'm going to cover the next few ESPN HoF "debates" in one post, since I have less to say about each of them. Michael Knisley and John Shea tackled Andrew Dawson's candidacy; here's how Shea justified his decision to vote for "The Hawk":For me, the most important ingredient when voting is this: When you saw him play, did you think he was a Hall of Famer or not? Cooperstown has the best Hall of Fame in sports because it's the toughest to get into, because not every borderline candidate is inducted. It could be argued that it's great not for who is in, but for who is not in.In the case of Dawson, I always thought he was usually better than everyone else on the field, a guy who could take over a game, and dominate an era. Plus, what an intimidating fellow. I covered the Padres in '87, Dawson's...
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| Aaaaand We're Back |
| 2008-01-03 21:31:33 |
I've been remiss in my blogging duties, to say the least. Hope I didn't ruin your holidays. Fortunately, I picked a good time to get lazy; these last couple weeks have been about as devoid of news as any during the year. So, what have I missed?I won't go back too far, but recently, ESPN's series of Hall of Fame debates has provided more evidence for what we already knew: some Hall of Fame voters really shouldn't have votes. The series included discussions of Bert Blyleven, Andrew Dawson, Tim Raines, Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, and Mark McGwire, and I want to post some especially egregious excerpts from a few of these.First up: the Blyleven debate, wherein Sean McAdam has wins on the brain. Bob Klapisch does his best, (which can't quite equal the respective bests of Rich Lederer and Jay Jaffe)...
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| Sometimes, Honesty Isn't the Best Policy |
| 2007-12-19 03:28:15 |
Woody Paige has solicited the aid of his readers as he fills out his Hall-of-Fame ballot--and not a moment too soon:I need your help. Do I vote for suspected steroid users, particularly a couple included in the Mitchell report on Thursday, or do I automatically dismiss their candidacy? Do I vote for guys I personally like, or is that not being objective? Do I vote for a creep or a man who committed suicide? Do I check 10 players, the maximum allowed, or keep it to one or two? Do I go with pitcher Tommy John because they named a surgical procedure after him? A couple of those questions are legitimate, but you really shouldn't need assistance with the others. You shouldn't resolve to check either 1 or 2 players, or 10; you should vote for as many players as you think are deserving of enshri...
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| Around and Around We Go |
| 2007-12-11 23:15:11 |
The "Around the Majors" section of Jon Heyman's CNNSI columns often operates as a haven for misinformation. Fully 1/3 of his latest bullet-pointed entries struck me as misleading and ill-informed, if not flat-out wrong:*The Yankees and Giants could possibly make a deal involving Hideki Matsui, one that involves either pitchers Noah Lowry or Jonathan Sanchez. But would anyone really expect Matsui to waive his no-trade clause to leave the team of his dreams?Yes. Absolutely. Matsui may like being a Yankee, but he also doesn't strike me as the type to stand in the way of a trade which both parties are eager to complete. It's also worth mentioning that many Japanese players have expressed a preference to play on the West Coast, which cuts almost half a day of off the round-trip flight to Japan...
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| Not So Fast |
| 2007-12-09 17:51:01 |
According to Mike Lupica of The Daily News, Jay Gibbons should be lauded for his recent admission of HGH use:In the same week that Barry Bonds stood in a courtroom and issued not-guilty pleas to felony charges that are primarily about him being a stone liar on the subject of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, Jay Gibbons of the Orioles did something rather amazing in baseball: He told the truth. "I am deeply sorry for the mistakes I have made," Gibbons said. "I have no excuses and bare sole responsibility for my decisions." Gibbons didn't come up with some phantom illness, offer some jived-up explanation of why he had to get the drugs from a dentist operating out of the trunk of his car. He didn't blame a teammate, didn't say he was unaware of what he was taking, didn't say he'd bee...
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| Unfair Expectations |
| 2007-12-09 17:36:57 |
Detroit News columnist Jerry Green (who's old enough to use the word "balderdash" without blushing) felt he had to let us know that "perfection [is] now demanded of new-look Tigers." It's unclear who, exactly, is demanding this flawless performance, other than Green himself.The Tigers must win the World Series next October -- or bust. A division title would not be satisfactory. Not any more. Another American League pennant, the same as the Tigers unexpectedly won in 2006, would be insufficient. The Tigers have to win the pennant plus the World Series next season or the monster trade of the other day becomes a flop.The Tigers didn't make the playoffs last year. One trade later, they have to win the World Series or be considered a disgrace? I mean sure, they picked up a great player, but the...
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| He Said, He Said |
| 2007-12-08 00:02:54 |
I'm not here to criticize the Andruw Jones signing. $18.1 per may be a little pricey, but that seems to be what decent center fielders are going for these days, and it's only for two years. I do agree with Keith Law when he says that it could end up being a mistake if it's a prelude to a Kemp trade and a starting role for Juan Pierre. But I digress; what I'd really like to talk to you about today is the continuing presence of Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times. What's up with that?Folks will complain because Jones, 30, is coming off the worst full season of his career, but every question has an answer.You say he had a bad summer? I say he still would have led the Dodgers in home runs (26) and runs batted in (94).I say RBI are lineup-dependent and tell us very little about Jones' perfor...
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| Kenny Enters the Spin Room |
| 2007-12-07 23:00:20 |
Why did the Tigers trade their two best prospects for an established star and an established ex-star? To compete with those 72-90 Chicago White Sox, of course!Reacting Wednesday to the blockbuster deal that sent power-hitting third baseman Miguel Cabrera and former All-Star left-hander Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins to the Detroit Tigers — wrecking the Sox’ latest offseason plans — Williams said: ‘‘All this has done is put the Tigers in a better position to contend with us.''I suppose that's not exactly a lie, but it certainly is a very strange way of telling the truth....
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