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Post by MRPs_Missives on Jan 24, 2024 8:27:48 GMT -5
My standard for 3rd baseman is Brooks Robinson. Beltre was better than Brooks in every offensive category and had 5 gold gloves (not a patch on Robinson's 16, but Robinson also played when there were fewer teams and fewer options for post-season awards. He is every bit a Hall of Famer, and had a higher percentage of votes on his 1st ballot than all but 3 third baseman already in the hall (George Brett, Chipper Jones & Mike Schmidt). If he's diluting the quality of the Hall, I'll eat my hat. His only knock is number al All Star appearances, but he played in an era where other 3rd baseman like Alex Rodriguez were getting steroid-inflated and New York based voting nods for the ASG. Mauer is the only catcher to win 3 batting titles, not even other HOF catchers achieved that, and his numbers before injuries are comparable to any other HOF catcher, and he was a 3x Gold Glove winner (and 5 time Silver Slugger). Helton, I wasn't high on, but his ballpark independent stats put him solidly middle of the pack with HOF 1st baseman overall. And the directive to voters and mission statement of the HoF is not to have the HOF be the elite of the elite of the game, but to represent the best players of their time (all 3 were that) for a game that continues to be an ongoing concern, not a relic of the past. To honor the past yes, but to honor the game in its entirety as well, not to be paralyzed by past. -M My standard for third basemen is Mike Schmidt. While I like Beltre and I wish the Sox had signed him after that pillow contract year, that was never going to happen. Of the three, I'd favor him, but he was never a dominant player of his era. Look how many more ABs and PAs Beltre had and what he did with them compared to Schmidt. Funny. The stat mavens (not meaning you) dismiss batting average as having any importance until someone they want to put into the Hall wins a couple. Nice work by Mauer, but batting titles do not a Hall of Famer make all by themselves. And though he won them as a catcher -- notable, of course -- the guy didn't pick up a catcher's mitt for the last five years of his career and only caught more than 100 games in five of his ten seasons as a catcher. Like Mauer, Helton had one helluva year... one, and made a rep off it. And each played with just one team. Another "qualification" voters seem to love. And none of these guys ever tore up a post-season or was a dominating player in his league, let alone in the majors at his position. They're good, and in the case of Beltre, very good, and you'd love to have them playing on your team, but for me, not Hall of Famers. If Schmidt is your standard, then there's only about 3 3B in the HOF and Brooks Robinson isn't one of them. Schmidt, Brett and maybe Chipper are the only ones ever to reach Schmidt like numbers. If that's your standard, no one gets in, the Hall is meaningless and no one ever goes there to financially support it. I will say this, those guys excelled while clean in an era where the dominant players were juicers. And those juicers aren't going in the HOF. And there are a lot of guys already in the HOF from past eras who are there because they played long enough to pile up the counting stats without ever being dominant of sniffing the post season. -M
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 24, 2024 8:39:45 GMT -5
Not that you have to be better than Schmidt, but you have to be a favorable comparison. As I said, of the three I'd give a vote to Beltre, but to me, neither 3,00 hits nor 500 HRs nean what they used to and shouldn't be considered automatic qualifications for entry.
And no, getting to the post-season shouldn't by itself enhance your status as a candidate, (Ernie Banks, anyone?), but doing well over a few p-s appearances is a legit way to make judgments.
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Jan 24, 2024 17:25:26 GMT -5
Not that you have to be better than Schmidt, but you have to be a favorable comparison. As I said, of the three I'd give a vote to Beltre, but to me, neither 3,00 hits nor 500 HRs nean what they used to and shouldn't be considered automatic qualifications for entry. And no, getting to the post-season shouldn't by itself enhance your status as a candidate, (Ernie Banks, anyone?), but doing well over a few p-s appearances is a legit way to make judgments. Since Phil Rizzuto is in the HoF as a player, I won't begrudge anyone else a place. -M
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 24, 2024 18:10:05 GMT -5
Not that you have to be better than Schmidt, but you have to be a favorable comparison. As I said, of the three I'd give a vote to Beltre, but to me, neither 3,00 hits nor 500 HRs nean what they used to and shouldn't be considered automatic qualifications for entry. And no, getting to the post-season shouldn't by itself enhance your status as a candidate, (Ernie Banks, anyone?), but doing well over a few p-s appearances is a legit way to make judgments. Since Phil Rizzuto is in the HoF as a player, I won't begrudge anyone else a place. -M Oh, I’ve removed many a plaque in my mental tours of Cooperstown. 😆
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Post by berkley on Jan 25, 2024 1:47:45 GMT -5
I watched another European Champions Cup match, Exeter vs Bayonne: highly entertaining, back and forth game, though Bayonne ended up pulling away towards the end and winning by a fairly large margin. Lots of nice scores but one in particular by Bayonne was one of the greatest team tries I've ever seen, with the ball passing through the hands of so many players, forwards and backs alike. Great team play.
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Post by driver1980 on Jan 29, 2024 16:47:04 GMT -5
For any hockey fans:
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Post by The Captain on Jan 29, 2024 18:53:33 GMT -5
I want that SO BADLY!!! I have about 75% of that set already (although no Gretzky rookie yet) and would love to complete it as well as upgrade a good number of cards I have that aren't in great condition.
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Post by berkley on Feb 6, 2024 2:00:41 GMT -5
The Six Nations got off to an excellent start with all three games providing fantastic drama - and each one in a different way. But if you're pressed for time and have time for only one, I'd recommend watching Scotland vs Wales, which had one or some (if you see the game you'll understand this quibble) of the most drastic swings in fortune I've ever seen.
I think the other big annual tournament, the "Rugby Championship" (formerly Tri-Nations) missed a beat this year in not having one of the Pacific Island nations join - probably Fiji, based on their WC performance, though Samoa could make a case too. Instead, there's a new tournament with Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Japan, the US, and Canada - which to me sounds like a great idea for the US and Canada, but not for Fiji and Samoa, who I think are both clearly on the verge of breaking into or up to the next level and will not benefit from playing weaker sides (Japan and Tonga I see as somewhere in between, but closer to the Pacific than to the North American sides).
I think both tournaments would benefit from introducing relegation: there are international sides waiting in the wings that deserve a chance. In the Six Nations, I could see Georgia, for example, in 2025 taking the place of whoever gets the wooden spoon this year. And in the southern hemisphere, whoever wins this new tournament, I think most likely Fiji or Samoa, could replace this year's last place finisher next year. The same idea would work with this new, unwieldy tournament with Fiji, etc: have, say, Tonga (based on WC performance) play the Us and Canada and whoever wins that can play Fiji, Samoa, etc the following year).
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Feb 7, 2024 11:58:44 GMT -5
Prince Hal Saw an announcement today that the Boston Red Sox will be the subject of a pair of upcoming documentaries on Netflix. The first, released later this year, will focus on the 2004 Championship team that broke the "Curse of the Bambino" and the other won't be out until next year as it will be about this upcoming season's team as a film crew will travel with the team beginning in spring training and document their season form beginning to end having access to players, coaches, the front office, etc. to produce the show. Assuming it's going to be something along the lines of a MLB version of Hard Knocks (which I've never watched only seen clips of when they've been packaged as parts of other football coverage I did see). Maybe the Red Sox can "discover" a starting pitcher for the rotation on the film crew? -M
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Post by driver1980 on Feb 8, 2024 16:05:34 GMT -5
Look at this:
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Post by Prince Hal on Feb 8, 2024 16:53:10 GMT -5
Prince Hal Saw an announcement today that the Boston Red Sox will be the subject of a pair of upcoming documentaries on Netflix. The first, released later this year, will focus on the 2004 Championship team that broke the "Curse of the Bambino" and the other won't be out until next year as it will be about this upcoming season's team as a film crew will travel with the team beginning in spring training and document their season form beginning to end having access to players, coaches, the front office, etc. to produce the show. Assuming it's going to be something along the lines of a MLB version of Hard Knocks (which I've never watched only seen clips of when they've been packaged as parts of other football coverage I did see). Maybe the Red Sox can "discover" a starting pitcher for the rotation on the film crew? -M Yeah, I heard about the "Blowhard Sox" yesterday, too, and nearly had a milk-through-the nostrils moment. Although it could turn into a cringefest extravaganza despite all their attempts to make the '24 Sox look like the '04 crew. Good luck with that. I'll be looking for the scoop on what they do about inviting Schilling to the inevitable '04 Day. I'd go if I though Tim Wakefield's wife could kick his ass at second base. Of course she'd be too classy to do that. Ooh, but maybe a lucky Rhode Islander can smack him upside the head a few million times, one for each buck he swindled out of the state. And as for the '04 anniversary show, I get as wistful as anyone about that, but I doubt we'll learn anything new. Sox absolutely know how to ruin a good thing. Glad they're going "full throttle" on selling the "Fenway Experience" to the rest of the country, but I'm guessing they're as up to here with that scam as I am.
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Post by berkley on Feb 8, 2024 21:40:46 GMT -5
I've been catching up on some boxing with the help of a few youtube commentaries about fight of the year, KO of the year, etc for 2023. Tonight I watched Junto Nakatani vs Andrew Moloney which ended in a scary KO in the 12th, one of the cleanest one-punch knockouts I can remember seeing.
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Post by driver1980 on Feb 9, 2024 5:26:10 GMT -5
I've been catching up on some boxing with the help of a few youtube commentaries about fight of the year, KO of the year, etc for 2023. Tonight I watched Junto Nakatani vs Andrew Moloney which ended in a scary KO in the 12th, one of the cleanest one-punch knockouts I can remember seeing. You know, the wrestling thread I created should (maybe) also accommodate boxing. We have discussed MMA. There is overlap. So, if you or anyone wants to get in depth on boxing over there, well I wouldn’t mind. I watched Roberto Duran vs. Ken Buchanan (MSG, 1972) recently. One of my favourites now. One guy (Duran) seemed to box defensively, Buchanan seemed to box almost offensively. For the most part. Glad I saw it.
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Post by berkley on Feb 9, 2024 23:12:35 GMT -5
I've been catching up on some boxing with the help of a few youtube commentaries about fight of the year, KO of the year, etc for 2023. Tonight I watched Junto Nakatani vs Andrew Moloney which ended in a scary KO in the 12th, one of the cleanest one-punch knockouts I can remember seeing. You know, the wrestling thread I created should (maybe) also accommodate boxing. We have discussed MMA. There is overlap. So, if you or anyone wants to get in depth on boxing over there, well I wouldn’t mind. I watched Roberto Duran vs. Ken Buchanan (MSG, 1972) recently. One of my favourites now. One guy (Duran) seemed to box defensively, Buchanan seemed to box almost offensively. For the most part. Glad I saw it.
Personally, I see the wrestling-entertainment world as its own separate thing and don't like to see it mixed up with MMA or boxing, although I'm aware that there have been a few guys who have done both MMA and WWE wrestling.
Interesting observation on Duran vs Buchanan, since their reputations would have led you to expect the opposite, with Duran known as the hard-punching, aggressive fighter and Buchanan more as a skilled boxer. I'll have to watch that one of these days.
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Feb 11, 2024 0:19:02 GMT -5
Got the warm fuzzies tonight seeing the ole Hartford Whalers uniforms in play and hearing the strains of Brass Bonanza play when the Hurricanes scored the winner in overtime. Love these throwback uniform nights. So may memories watching the Whale growing up in CT.
-M
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