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Post by clmetsfan on Jun 16, 2021 11:29:36 GMT -5
Some of those doubles might have been triples for other players. Papi's heel was a stub by the end of his career as I recall, influencing his decision to retire when he was still one of the best sluggers in the game. Like the disappointment of Grady Little not pulling Pedro when he was out of gas in the 2003 playoffs, I was disappointed with the way the Red Sox handled the celebrating during his final games, coordinated by Dr. Charles Steinberg, the current Woo Sox President. The Red Sox were in the post season in 2016 but all the gala salutes to Ortiz distracted and fatigued him and both he and the Sox fizzled out. He only hit .111 with no HRs after being Mr. Post Season for much of his career. I was disappointed for him because whether he juiced or not he has a great personality and was/is a great ambassador for the game. Sammy Sosa is a great ambassador of the game. AROD is a great ambassador of the game. Lots of people think AROD is fake with the media, but young players love him and would go to his infield camps (Manny Machado, also widely disliked, wore #13 in AROD's honor). Neither will likely ever get a job on the bench, with a team, or the league. Neither will likely ever get into the hall of fame.
My gripe is why Ortiz doesn't get the same scrutiny. Because he has a cool nickname? Because he's undeniably charismatic?
Yep. It's also worth noting that Ortiz started to hit a downward slide after the 2007 WS in his age 33 season (i.e. the age when you'd expect a bulky power hitter to decline) before suddenly finding the fountain of youth again in his late 30s. His three-year stretch from 2008-10 saw a big drop in SLG and ISO, and his bat speed was clearly slowing down if you look at his drop in pull % and hard contact %: www.fangraphs.com/players/david-ortiz/745/stats?position=DH#batted-ballOrtiz was a likely PED user given his metamorphosis from part-time DH to superstar as soon as he went to a team with a whole bunch of PED users, but there are also natural ways for a slugger in his late 20s to suddenly start figuring things out. It's the unnaturally long production late in his 30s and into his 40s (just like Barry Bonds) that really starts raising my eyebrows. But yeah, if you're an outgoing, charismatic guy adored by the fans and the media, you can get away with a lot more than a d---head like Bonds or A-Rod can.
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Post by clmetsfan on Apr 28, 2021 19:05:17 GMT -5
Yeah but like so many other Americans, they believe that their freedoms preclude them from doing anything and everything that might cause the slightest inconvenience to themselves (same reason people refuse to wear a mask). They love being citizens, but have absolutely no concept of the idea that citizenship comes with responsibilities to their fellow citizens. The flip-side of this is keeping people and businesses locked down and/or masked if there is even the slightest risk of transmission. This is another issue where most sane people should be able to meet In the middle. I’m happy to where a mask in a crowded indoor setting even though I’m fully vaccinated just in case I might somehow be carrying the virus. But, I’m still required to wear a mask while throwing BP or shagging fly balls at Little league practice outside in CT. Yeah sure, but I'm not talking about people who are annoyed that the mask rules have maybe lasted a little longer than necessary (that said, given how many spikes we've had, I'm sure you'd agree that better to keep it in place a little too long than not long enough). I'm really talking about the people who think that their only concerns should be for their own well being. The people who think that they shouldn't have to wear a mask in any setting -- and turn it into a political statement about some indefinable "freedom" they have -- simply because they're not afraid of getting COVID, with no concern at all for the possibility of spreading it to someone else.
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Post by clmetsfan on Apr 28, 2021 18:57:21 GMT -5
Do you really mean "all rights but no responsibilities?" I can't see any country lasting very long with such a philosophy. I do really mean it. And sadly, I agree.
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Post by clmetsfan on Apr 28, 2021 8:44:15 GMT -5
Those young adults may not die often, but they have the capability to keep the virus circulating, mutating, becoming craftier and eventually developing a vaccine resistant strain that runs through older Americans like a warm knife through butter. Or maybe these young Einsteins will follow social distancing and mask wearing for the rest of their lives and never harm anyone. 🤔 Yeah but like so many other Americans, they believe that their freedoms preclude them from doing anything and everything that might cause the slightest inconvenience to themselves (same reason people refuse to wear a mask). They love being citizens, but have absolutely no concept of the idea that citizenship comes with responsibilities to their fellow citizens.
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Post by clmetsfan on Apr 21, 2021 11:46:05 GMT -5
An acceptable albeit somewhat milquetoast statement. At least they didn't emulate Mark Davis.
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Post by clmetsfan on Apr 16, 2021 16:52:10 GMT -5
Thanks ACTP. Mailing mine out this afternoon.
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Post by clmetsfan on Mar 25, 2021 21:13:01 GMT -5
Thanks Ray! The coolest part is learning just how ubiquitous it still is up there. Some of the Twitter replies to the station were people complaining that they're tired of hearing about it.
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Post by clmetsfan on Mar 25, 2021 16:34:17 GMT -5
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Post by clmetsfan on Feb 19, 2021 18:59:08 GMT -5
1. Some people wonder why it even makes sense to play it before sporting events. It's not played when you go to the movies, or before a golf match, etc. 2. There is a reference in the never sung second stanza that references slaves that unsettles people.3. For many black people the song represents the institutional and systemic racism that they deal with every day. Hence many athletes kneeling during its playing. Many black people consider Lift Every Voice and Sing the Black National Anthem and would like to make it the anthem for everyone. Maybe that's why we don't sing it? I don't understand why people would complain about the anthem when the portion of the song with an offensive reference is intentionally left out. On point #3, no one associated the anthem with oppression until Colin Kaepernick identified the anthem as his opportunity to protest systematic racism. I have no problem with that -- he had a peaceful message and that's how he choose to project it. However, prior to that I don't recall anyone specifically identifying the anthem as something that represented racism and inequality. Last time I checked, the union army representing the United States of America defeated the Confederate army, which represented a new republic that was being partially founded on continued enslavement of blacks. Did "no one" associate it with oppression before Kaepernick, or did you just never hear about that association before Kaepernick? You might want to Google the names Tommie Smith and John Carlos if you think Kaepernick is the first black American to use the anthem as an opportunity to protest racial injustice.
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Post by clmetsfan on Feb 12, 2021 16:09:07 GMT -5
Hell, it's not even played before concerts, i.e. when people are actually there to hear music. Live sports are literally the only event where it's become a compulsory component, and as WCHC pointed out, it's basically become forced patriotism. Stand and show respect or you're a bad American, even if you have a legitimate reason to decline to participate. Meanwhile, the broadcasts don't air it (unless it's a big game) so it's only done for the people in attendance, and many of them are off in the bathroom, at the concession stand, talking to their friends, etc. So who exactly is it for? There's a lot of hypocrisy among people who bemoan athletes expressing their political opinions ("Shut up and dribble"), yet fail to acknowledge that playing the anthem and expecting everyone to participate is an overtly political act. I love Cuban's idea. Maybe if it stops becoming a boilerplate component of an event, it'll be more meaningful when it actually does get played. There is no hypocrisy in my part when I express my opinion on the national anthem. I also don’t believe people should shut up and dribble. When my father taught me to take off my hat, stand up straight, put my hand over my heart and remain quiet during the national anthem that meant something to me. There is nothing wrong if I want others to do the same. Respect is a two way street. Then my comment wasn't directed at you. But you also have to understand that many of us expect more from a country that claims to offer equal justice and opportunity for all, but in reality consistently falls well short of that. Respect is indeed a two-way street, and I see nothing wrong with someone declining to salute a flag when they feel disrespected and oppressed by their own government.
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Post by clmetsfan on Feb 12, 2021 10:00:23 GMT -5
Can anyone answer why only sporting events play Anthem? Is it played before Broadway Shows? Just wondering Hell, it's not even played before concerts, i.e. when people are actually there to hear music. Live sports are literally the only event where it's become a compulsory component, and as WCHC pointed out, it's basically become forced patriotism. Stand and show respect or you're a bad American, even if you have a legitimate reason to decline to participate. Meanwhile, the broadcasts don't air it (unless it's a big game) so it's only done for the people in attendance, and many of them are off in the bathroom, at the concession stand, talking to their friends, etc. So who exactly is it for? There's a lot of hypocrisy among people who bemoan athletes expressing their political opinions ("Shut up and dribble"), yet fail to acknowledge that playing the anthem and expecting everyone to participate is an overtly political act. I love Cuban's idea. Maybe if it stops becoming a boilerplate component of an event, it'll be more meaningful when it actually does get played.
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Post by clmetsfan on Jan 23, 2021 9:37:34 GMT -5
Watched the good doctor who admitted he feels "liberated" to speak science and facts without looking over his shoulder. The quote is exact, the phrasing is my take. Definitely appeared more relaxed.
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Post by clmetsfan on Jan 7, 2021 11:14:47 GMT -5
If you are speaking about today's protests at Congress, I doubt that was connected to GU. There were protests? I only saw rioters and domestic terrorists.
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Post by clmetsfan on Aug 24, 2020 15:50:00 GMT -5
I've watched much more of the NBA since the restart than I have in previous seasons. The athleticism and shooting range of the current players is off the charts. As far as Doncic is concerned if I could pick one player to start a team I think he'd be my choice. Agreed, possum. Also the subject of one of the best musical performances in the history of sports journalism:
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Post by clmetsfan on Jul 16, 2020 15:20:09 GMT -5
If you are ever in Deadwood, SD, stopping at Kevin Costner's Tatanka is a must see. It celebrates the Bison, but also the Lakota Sioux. 0 to 60 million Bison once roamed the Great Plains of North America. By the close of the 19th century, it was estimated that less than 1,000 bison survived. This is their story... "I believe today that this place is bigger than the dream I had for it. What it means to anyone that comes here will be up to them. Tatanka was not designed as the white man’s version of the Native American. Rather it stands as a centerpiece for two cultures, one whose very lives depended on the buffalo and one who saw it as a means to an end. It recognizes and accepts that this is our mutual history. It can also represent the chance to move forward." Kevin Costner, Attraction Founder/Owner The federal government's promotion of bison hunting as a strategy to weaken the native tribes who depended on the herds would be one of the uglier aspects of our history with the First Nations, if only there weren't so many other incidents that were more violent and cruel. Slavery is often cited as the United States' Original Sin, but the systematic extermination of the natives is arguably even worse. And to bring it back to the original topic, this is why so many people find it offensive to name any sports franchises after them, even when done in a respectful manner. R******s is a blatant racial slur and Chief Wahoo is a ugly caricature, so those are easy to identify as insulting. But it's also pretty hypocritical to play games and sell merchandise with native imagery as a way to "honor" a group of people who were victims of genocide at the hands of our ancestors.
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Post by clmetsfan on Jul 16, 2020 15:15:14 GMT -5
Good, because the bottom of the totem pole was actually the most prestigious spot. Yet another example of our country's collective ignorance about First Nations culture. No, I'm ignorant, not necessarily the country....but I (taking my mother's example) donate to Indian causes, so hopefully I'll be forgiven someday. Haha no it's definitely most of the country.
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Post by clmetsfan on Jul 16, 2020 14:07:54 GMT -5
Wow, congrats on fitting multiple strawmans into one sentence while ALSO arguing against cultural education. Just a bang up job, KY! "strawmans" Wouldn't it be "strawmen"? I think you use that argument in most of your postings and use it correctly on the rare occasion. In this case you are the one using the straw man argument in that I have never argued against cultural education and am not doing so here Oh please, that's exactly what you're doing when you mock the importance of educating people about native culture. And it is a strawman because I never once said or implied that it should take priority over US political history. Imagine a world where we can educate the next generation about multiple aspects of our country's history!
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Post by clmetsfan on Jul 16, 2020 11:56:38 GMT -5
Yeah, with half of our citizens not knowing what we celebrate on July 4, when the Civil War took place, and who were our Allies in WWII, we should be allocating time to educate our students about totem poles. Wow, congrats on fitting multiple strawmans into one sentence while ALSO arguing against cultural education. Just a bang up job, KY!
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Post by clmetsfan on Jul 16, 2020 11:22:54 GMT -5
And I was going to type "higher up the totem pole" but changed my mind. Honestly. Good, because the bottom of the totem pole was actually the most prestigious spot. Yet another example of our country's collective ignorance about First Nations culture.
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Post by clmetsfan on May 12, 2020 8:21:52 GMT -5
I wonder how he felt about the decision to go CoEd
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Post by clmetsfan on May 10, 2020 12:10:39 GMT -5
The tinfoil conspiracy-types are after Dr Fauci today on social media today.....lot of wacky videos out there denouncing him...ridiculous. Very suspicious that YouTube took these down yesterday. What's suspicious about a platform taking down videos that are designed to spread false information about a dangerous situation? It's unfortunate that this is the exception rather than the norm on most social platforms.
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Post by clmetsfan on Apr 3, 2020 10:44:04 GMT -5
The models are only as good as the data in it. It's time for the country to get back to work. Seriously? We're not even close to the worst of this yet. Fauci himself has just said that all states should have stay-at-home orders in place and he can't understand why so many haven't done that yet. But yeah, in this thread titled "Honoring Dr. Fauci" let's just throw that recommendation out the window because what does he know?
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Post by clmetsfan on Aug 23, 2019 12:31:27 GMT -5
A good first step, but they're still not getting a dime from me until all investigations are run by an independent third party.
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Post by clmetsfan on Aug 8, 2018 11:47:11 GMT -5
Pod Save America is pretty insufferable at this point. Pod Save the World, however, is a great look at foreign policy, much more even-handed, and is an extremely informative listen.
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Post by clmetsfan on Aug 4, 2018 10:26:03 GMT -5
There is zero chance that Thomas would be confirmed today regardless of partisanship, because thankfully we're living in a world where the disgusting victim-shaming and victim-blaming that was perpetrated against Anita Hill is much less acceptable than it was in the early 90s.
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