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Post by longsuffering on Jul 16, 2024 15:08:01 GMT -5
As for the literary link, I'm assuming thats a Stephen King, and not a comic book, reference. Yes, "The girl who loved Tom Gordon."
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jul 18, 2024 6:35:35 GMT -5
Who is the only pitcher in MLB baseball history to have over 100 wins, over 100 saves and over 100 holds. Hint: he could easily be on any fan's all "popular literature team" also. I don't think a hold is considered an official stat by MLB. LaTroy Hawkins doesn't align with your hint, but he was around forever, started early on in his career, and was both a closer and middle reliever...so I'll guess him. Holds arent listed in baseball reference even in any of the advanced stats. Hawkins was only a starter for 3 seasons so he fell short if 100 wins with 79. I'm sure he had 100 holds though.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jul 18, 2024 6:38:12 GMT -5
I'm not sure about relationship to the hint, but John Smoltz definitely had 100 wins and 100 saves. Don't know about holds. Smoltz probably had very few holds because he went from starter to premier closer and then back to starter at the very end. Never was a setup guy. My last memory of him was getting shelled as a member of the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in summer of 2009. Also Kevin Youkilis randomly got tapped to start in left field that game in that cavernous part of Yankee Stadium which I remember thinking was very odd.
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Post by Tom on Jul 18, 2024 8:39:48 GMT -5
I'm not sure about relationship to the hint, but John Smoltz definitely had 100 wins and 100 saves. Don't know about holds. Smoltz probably had very few holds because he went from starter to premier closer and then back to starter at the very end. The Braves realized if you have a really good pitcher, it's better for the team if he gives you 600 outs instead of 150 outs (even if those 150 outs are spread over more games) I still believe in the old adage, you're in the bull pen because you're not good enough to start
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 18, 2024 10:18:47 GMT -5
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Post by Tom on Jul 18, 2024 10:44:54 GMT -5
Interesting that he says Boggs very rarely had foul pop ups. Kind of different than I remember. I thought part of his Fenway swing was that he had a lot, but with close stands in Fenway they were foul balls that would have been outs in many parks
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 18, 2024 12:40:12 GMT -5
Thank you for attaching that link.. I had never heard of Chuck -interesting story
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Jul 18, 2024 13:51:38 GMT -5
In deference to hchoops, I submit these two trivia questions: (not at all sports related, sorry) Which US state shares the longest border with another Country? Which Country shares the longest border with France? There is a connection between the two questions
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Post by Tom on Jul 18, 2024 14:02:30 GMT -5
In deference to hchoops, I submit these two trivia questions: (not at all sports related, sorry) Which US state shares the longest border with another Country? Which Country shares the longest border with France? There is a connection between the two questions 1) Alaska (with Canada) 2) I'll guess Spain #2 is probably wrong or I'm totally missing the connection
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Post by Tom on Jul 18, 2024 14:04:05 GMT -5
In deference to hchoops, I submit these two trivia questions: (not at all sports related, sorry) Which US state shares the longest border with another Country? Which Country shares the longest border with France? There is a connection between the two questions 1) Alaska (with Canada) 2) I'll guess Spain #2 is probably wrong or I'm totally missing the connection Does France have some non connected territory (like Viet Nam used to be) that has a longer border than the French/Spain border?
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 14:07:45 GMT -5
In deference to hchoops, I submit these two trivia questions: (not at all sports related, sorry) Which US state shares the longest border with another Country? Which Country shares the longest border with France? There is a connection between the two questions 1) Alaska (with Canada) 2) I'll guess Spain #2 is probably wrong or I'm totally missing the connection I agree with your 2 answers, but I have no idea. of the connection between Alaska and Spain. Help??
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Jul 18, 2024 14:49:25 GMT -5
Answers at 5PM. No one has two correct ones so far.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jul 18, 2024 15:07:41 GMT -5
Smoltz probably had very few holds because he went from starter to premier closer and then back to starter at the very end. The Braves realized if you have a really good pitcher, it's better for the team if he gives you 600 outs instead of 150 outs (even if those 150 outs are spread over more games)I still believe in the old adage, you're in the bull pen because you're not good enough to start Didn't they do the opposite though? I thought he got moved into the closer role because he'd had an injury and they thought less innings would be the way to go as far as maximizing his value. And he was one hell of a closer for at least a short time. Smoltz has both a 24-win season and a 55-save season. I would have to guess that he's the only MLB pitcher in history to achieve both of those stats.
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 16:00:59 GMT -5
OK. It is 5:00 and the answer is...
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Jul 18, 2024 16:03:55 GMT -5
In deference to hchoops, I submit these two trivia questions: (not at all sports related, sorry) Which US state shares the longest border with another Country? Which Country shares the longest border with France? There is a connection between the two questions Answers: Alaska/Canada (the easy one) and Brazil Connection: Alaska (a non contiguous US State) is to the US as French Guiana (a non contiguous Department of France) is to France. Kudos to Tom who was on the right track.
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 16:05:30 GMT -5
Nice one...thanks.
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 18, 2024 18:04:28 GMT -5
Always wanted to visit France but can't afford to travel to Europe or South America? Try the island of St. Pierre, 15 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. It is a part of France also.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 18, 2024 22:12:07 GMT -5
I believe that St Pierre and Miquelon are part of Metropolitan France, I.e. they are not colonies or overseas territories but have the same status as Paris or Marseille. I think that is correct…,
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 19, 2024 6:46:33 GMT -5
On Crossports we can learn something new every day!
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Post by timholycross on Jul 19, 2024 7:03:16 GMT -5
Always wanted to visit France but can't afford to travel to Europe or South America? Try the island of St. Pierre, 15 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. It is a part of France also. A flight to Paris from a good portion of the US might be cheaper than flying to Newfoundland.
But, f you are up for a car ride, it's a different story.
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Post by Tom on Jul 19, 2024 7:15:04 GMT -5
The Braves realized if you have a really good pitcher, it's better for the team if he gives you 600 outs instead of 150 outs (even if those 150 outs are spread over more games)I still believe in the old adage, you're in the bull pen because you're not good enough to start Didn't they do the opposite though? I thought he got moved into the closer role because he'd had an injury and they thought less innings would be the way to go as far as maximizing his value. And he was one hell of a closer for at least a short time. Smoltz has both a 24-win season and a 55-save season. I would have to guess that he's the only MLB pitcher in history to achieve both of those stats. I think they fell into the everybody "needs" a closer trap and moved him to the bull pen (which would be the opposite), but then realized it's better to have a Hall of Fame caliber pitcher giving you 200 innings a year instead of 60. It takes a certain mental toughness to be a closer. It takes greater pitching ability to be a starter. I think the poster child for that was Dennis Eckersley who was winding down as a starter, but then, when he only needed to face 3 or 4 batters, re-vitalized his career all the way to Cooperstown.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jul 19, 2024 11:37:10 GMT -5
Didn't they do the opposite though? I thought he got moved into the closer role because he'd had an injury and they thought less innings would be the way to go as far as maximizing his value. And he was one hell of a closer for at least a short time. Smoltz has both a 24-win season and a 55-save season. I would have to guess that he's the only MLB pitcher in history to achieve both of those stats. I think they fell into the everybody "needs" a closer trap and moved him to the bull pen (which would be the opposite), but then realized it's better to have a Hall of Fame caliber pitcher giving you 200 innings a year instead of 60. It takes a certain mental toughness to be a closer. It takes greater pitching ability to be a starter. I think the poster child for that was Dennis Eckersley who was winding down as a starter, but then, when he only needed to face 3 or 4 batters, re-vitalized his career all the way to Cooperstown. Just took a look at Smoltz Baseball Reference page. My child memory serves me somewhat correct. Looks like he was out for the entire 2000 season with an injury and returned in 2001. That year he appeared in 36 games with just 5 starts, but with 20 games finished and 10 saves. So looks like they tried starting him then moved him to bullpen. 20 GF but just 10 saves looks like he was being thrown in for mop-up innings as a sort of trial to see how his arm would do with shorter appearances before they made him the 9th inning guy. Then, the following year, he had 55 saves and actually finished third in the Cy Young voting as a closer. He would continue to flourish as a closer in '03 and '04 with 44 and 45 saves those years. THEN, Atlanta brought him BACK into the rotation. where he had three more productive years as a starter before understandably starting to fade away at age 41. He even led the league in wins in 2006 with 16, which seems to be a bizarrely low number to lead the league in a 162-game season. But, hey leading the league is leading the league....
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Post by Tom on Jul 19, 2024 12:12:33 GMT -5
I think they fell into the everybody "needs" a closer trap and moved him to the bull pen (which would be the opposite), but then realized it's better to have a Hall of Fame caliber pitcher giving you 200 innings a year instead of 60. It takes a certain mental toughness to be a closer. It takes greater pitching ability to be a starter. I think the poster child for that was Dennis Eckersley who was winding down as a starter, but then, when he only needed to face 3 or 4 batters, re-vitalized his career all the way to Cooperstown. Just took a look at Smoltz Baseball Reference page. My child memory serves me somewhat correct. Looks like he was out for the entire 2000 season with an injury and returned in 2001. That year he appeared in 36 games with just 5 starts, but with 20 games finished and 10 saves. So looks like they tried starting him then moved him to bullpen. 20 GF but just 10 saves looks like he was being thrown in for mop-up innings as a sort of trial to see how his arm would do with shorter appearances before they made him the 9th inning guy. Then, the following year, he had 55 saves and actually finished third in the Cy Young voting as a closer. He would continue to flourish as a closer in '03 and '04 with 44 and 45 saves those years. THEN, Atlanta brought him BACK into the rotation. where he had three more productive years as a starter before understandably starting to fade away at age 41. He even led the league in wins in 2006 with 16, which seems to be a bizarrely low number to lead the league in a 162-game season. But, hey leading the league is leading the league.... forgot about the injury, but they did move him from a very good closer to the starting rotation. Maybe they were protecting his arm after the injury, but they did realize a stud starter is more important than a stud closer. Just me being old, but I don't always agree with the "closer" mentality. If I'm protecting a one run lead going into the 8th facing 3-4-5, I'd rather have my best reliever (closer) then as opposed to holding him for the 9th to face 6-7-8
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jul 19, 2024 12:17:18 GMT -5
Just took a look at Smoltz Baseball Reference page. My child memory serves me somewhat correct. Looks like he was out for the entire 2000 season with an injury and returned in 2001. That year he appeared in 36 games with just 5 starts, but with 20 games finished and 10 saves. So looks like they tried starting him then moved him to bullpen. 20 GF but just 10 saves looks like he was being thrown in for mop-up innings as a sort of trial to see how his arm would do with shorter appearances before they made him the 9th inning guy. Then, the following year, he had 55 saves and actually finished third in the Cy Young voting as a closer. He would continue to flourish as a closer in '03 and '04 with 44 and 45 saves those years. THEN, Atlanta brought him BACK into the rotation. where he had three more productive years as a starter before understandably starting to fade away at age 41. He even led the league in wins in 2006 with 16, which seems to be a bizarrely low number to lead the league in a 162-game season. But, hey leading the league is leading the league.... forgot about the injury, but they did move him from a very good closer to the starting rotation. Maybe they were protecting his arm after the injury, but they did realize a stud starter is more important than a stud closer. Just me being old, but I don't always agree with the "closer" mentality. If I'm protecting a one run lead going into the 8th facing 3-4-5, I'd rather have my best reliever (closer) then as opposed to holding him for the 9th to face 6-7-8 Totally agree. I remember when it was almost a given that Mariano Rivera would go 2-3 innings in playoff games. Had Boone not homered in Game 7 of 2003, Torre was going to have Mo go out for a 4th inning that night.
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Post by alum on Jul 21, 2024 15:22:31 GMT -5
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