Yeah, I’m kinda ripping off Craig Calcaterra here, but I like the concept of the column and I think it’s a better chance for me to write in the style that more people seem to like, since I tend to get very “facty” when I write the baseball stuff. Doesn’t mean I won’t write about baseball here – just sayin’.
Who would win in a fight – Bobby Knight or Woody Hayes?
Bobby Knight, because Woody Hayes is dead.
Assuming the two were alive though (and ignoring the age difference), I’m still going with Knight. I think Hayes would start well early, but then Knight would turn the tables with a low blow then start to dominate, busting Hayes open. Hayes would eventually charge back, appear to have the match won, but then Brutus Buckeye (at ringside to support Hayes) would jump on the apron (distracting the referee), allowing Bo Schembechler to run to ringside, throw Knight a chair, which Knight would use to clock Hayes and get the three count. Knight, Schembechler, and Brutus would celebrate over the fallen Hayes, with Brutus removing his head to reveal – ART SCHLICHTER.
At least that’s how I’d book it.
What would you have done with Joe Mauer if you had run the Twins back when they drafted him? Would you have kept him at catcher, or moved him to another position?
I’m touchy on the catching subject since catcher was the position I played through most of my childhood through high school. The feeling is that if you have a very good player who catches, a team might be willing to convert him to another position in order to lengthen his career, due to the higher injury risk for catchers than at any other position.
I think if I were Minnesota, I would have probably done the same exact thing. I think catcher can be a throwaway position offensively as long as the catcher fields his position well and can call a good game. Catchers are often a second manager on the field, and it helps the team more to have a catcher who knows the game and makes the rest of his team better than to have a player who hits well but brings nothing else to the table catching just because is capable of doing it and has done it in the past. That said, I think taking Mauer out from behind the plate depreciates his value as a player; he plays the position well, calls a good game, and is a team leader, AND manages to be one of the best hitters in baseball. Putting him at first base or right field might extend his career a few more seasons, but injuries happen there too, and you take away part of what makes him a total package player by moving him.
Would the Carolinas be a better home for the Rays or A’s if new stadium deals can’t be reached?
Right now I think just about anywhere would be a better home for the Rays, including Tampa (instead of St. Pete where they are now, locked into their lease until forever). While I could potentially see the Rays moving to Charlotte (although it appears Charlotte doesn’t actually want a major league team – the minor league Charlotte Knights don’t even play in Charlotte), I wouldn’t want to see the team move to the Raleigh/Durham area. It’s not really a baseball area (sports radio focus is on college sports first, Hurricanes hockey second, all other crap third), and I think they have a great thing going in Durham with the Bulls.
As for Oakland, I don’t know if Raleigh or Charlotte is the answer for them. Tampa I think would do well because the fanbase is already somewhat established with their Triple-A team being a Tampa affiliate for the last 10+ years. The A’s I think would be best suited to stay on the West Coast if they can’t get something in the Oakland area, say to Portland or Sacramento.
Is He-Man the most homoerotic cartoon from the 80s?
Despite the episode of G.I. Joe where Snake Eyes & Shipwreck the sailor dance in a kickline and have to wear dresses, I’m going to have to say yes. VERY MUCH YES.
Best video game out there right now?
Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble, followed by Baseball Stars and NHL ’95. What? I’m sure you could get a modded Sega Saturn around somewhere.
On a scale from 1 (rips tags off of mattresses) to 10 (rips facial hair off of prison guards), where does Ozzie Guillen rank?
3.87. But hearing that he was looking forward to joining the Marlins increases that number greatly.
Should I buy a Mac or a Windows machine?
If you are cheap, afraid of change, work with them for a living, or a masochist, go with a Windows machine.
If you have money to blow, have never used a computer before, are scared of technology, or like feeling self important, go with a Mac.
If you want to surf the net, check your email, and play games, buy an iPad.
In reality, 80% of people who feel they need one of the first two things only need the third thing. But that doesn’t stop people from buying Corvettes and massive pickup trucks to drive 6 miles to work (at 35mph) each day, does it?
Runners are on first and third. First pitch, runner on first breaks for second. What should the catcher do?
Assuming the runner doesn’t have a tremendous jump, he guns it to second. The pitcher needs to be aware of the guy on third though and be prepared to snag the throw as it’s coming past him. If the guy on third isn’t paying attention, he can get nailed in a rundown. If the runner is paying attention, that extra half second of hesitation he makes making sure it doesn’t get cut off may give him a bad jump and cause him to get nailed at the plate.
How old is Andruw Jones anyway?
Andruw Jones had come out of retirement to fight Rocky Marciano the minute he was 76 years old. Andruw Jones was always lying about his age. He lied about his age all the time. One time Bobby Cox came in here and sat in this chair. I said Bobby ‘you hang out with Andruw Jones, just between me and you, how old is Andruw Jones?’ You know what Bobby told me, he said “Hey, Andruw Jones is 137 years old.” A hundred and thirty-seven years old!
Did Girardi handcuff himself by seemingly not mapping his rotation leading up to the playoffs?
(I got this before the playoffs started) He didn’t really handcuff himself, because he was shooting darts like the rest of us were coming into the final week. Outside of CC, it was a crapshoot as to who the #2 or #3 really should have been. I don’t think Girardi wanted to lean on Nova, but he’s been the most consistent (well, the most consistently “not bad”) starter he’s had this season outside of Sabathia. I think he would have liked to go with Colon, but Colon looks like he’s out of gas. Girardi had to play the hot hand, and the only way to do that was to put those guys out there and see who earned the spot. I think if Dellin Betances hadn’t done his best Nuke LaLoosh impersonation in his debut, Girardi would have seriously considered going the Matt Moore route (not that Betances is anywhere near as ready as Moore is.)
Is Rex Ryan’s ego too big for the Jets own good?
The Jets should be 1-3 right now, Dallas collapse aside. I don’t watch enough Jets games (or football in general) to criticize Ryan’s playcalling or coaching style, but he seems like a perfect fit for the Jets, at least from a marketing standpoint. Ryan fits in wonderfully with New York, who know Rex will provide them with quotes and brash predictions and be back page material. From someone trying to sell the team where the #1 team in town has always been the Giants, he’s a godsend, and in the years that he’s been there he’s managed to make the Jets the #1 team in town, bumping the Giants off the back page.
The key problem with this is that while it may be an “image” and not necessarily reflect Ryan in reality, the combination of love from the media (at least going into this season) and his recent success may end up being his (and the team’s) downfall. He was given a pretty loaded team that should have made the playoffs the season before he took over, fell into the playoffs his first season (thanks to wins against against the Colts and Bengals who had both benched their starters), then had a good season last year – albeit one that was expected due to a loaded roster. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Ryan faces some real challenges (and criticism from the local media).
Did DC Comics sell out to 13-year-old boys instead of their regular audience?
I didn’t read Red Hood & The Outlaws #1, which is the main issue of the “New 52” that triggers this “DC hates women” argument, but I know the controversy, especially when someone lets a seven-year-old read it. In short, they made her 95% naked and 125% horny.
The issue I have with the “repackaging” of Starfire (and Amanda Waller, and to a lesser extent Harley Quinn) is not necessarily her outfit or the image that’s “portraying”, but more that it almost seems – from what we’ve seen of the first issue – that Kori/Starfire has lost any character depth she’s developed in the 30+ years the character has existed. The fact is that she’s never been a conservative dresser by any stretch of the imagination, and always this kind of character that treated sex and relationships differently than humans. But instead of being different and forcing us to look at love and relationships and sex from a different perspective, Kori comes off like an emotionless Barney Stinson, which makes her character come off like it was written by a fanfic hack instead of a paid professional.
Sure, it might be all an “angle” where we learn that that’s not really how Starfire is (whether it was planned that way or we get a quick rewrite based on reaction), but when it comes back to the reasoning for the “reboot” in the first place – which is to bring in new readers and introduce them to a product without necessarily knowing any backstory – you have one chance to make a first impression, and that’s a hell of an impression you’re making with Starfire, and that comic in general.
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That’s it for this week – hopefully I’ll get some more feedback and questions and I’ll try to knock out another one of these next week.