We’re doing things a little differently at The ODC today. I was busy doing my bracket, so instead of an article, you’re getting three VoDs and a major link dump.
See, y’all know Ricky Henderson, but Jimmy Rollins knows Ricky Henderson.
Archive for category Baseball
We’re doing things a little differently at The ODC today. I was busy doing my bracket, so instead of an article, you’re getting three VoDs and a major link dump.
This is A-Rod’s replacement, Cody Ransom. I can’t speak for his ability but, uhh…this is sick.
I watched The Natural for the first time this week. Please don’t question why it took one of the world’s biggest sports movie fans until he was 22 to see one of the best sports movies ever made. Anyway, I enjoyed it. If you can suspend your disbelief (and it’s a movie, so you better be able to) it’s thoroughly enjoyable and tells a great story.
Ignore the senseless plot set-up, the evil businessmen, the over-dramatic home-run distances, etc, and you have a very good sports movie. The reason I think it’s so compelling is that there’s nothing spectacular about the main character, Roy Hobbs. Unlike other sports movies, he has nothing exceptionally unique about him, he’s not lovable unconditionally, he’s not on extremely high moral ground, and he doesn’t possess any superhuman ability, really.
Roy Hobbs is simply a phenomenal baseball player. To give you an idea of the film, the plot description is as follows:
An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.
Obviously, you would have to watch the movie to get a better idea of the plot and character intricacies, but even reading that paragraph you can see why my mind continued to drift to one image while watching The Natural, why one thought pressed against my forehead for two hours.
Josh Hamilton is the real-life Roy Hobbs.
More after the jump!
Look, cheering for a losing team sucks. Especially when they admit to you in advance that they might suck. However, baseball is far too great a game to spend the season bitter at your favorite squad.
Jays fans, of course, I’m talking to you.
Somehow though, when you cheer for a losing team, playing in the AL East can actually be a blessing. Normally, being overmatched in the AL East is unfortunate – I’ll reiterate that the Jays have the most wins over the past three years of any team that didn’t make the playoffs. Trying to compete on a medium-market budget in a major-market division makes being a playoff team extremely difficult. You’ve heard all this before, it’s the general Blue Jay Way to use the Yankees and Red Sox as a crutch for missing expectations.
But seriously, this year being in this division could be a blessing for fans. We’re probably not cheering for a playoff team, but we do get to watch AL East teams all year. In fact, the Jays play other AL East teams a combined 72 times.
So today, I present to you 72 reasons watching the Jays will still be enjoyable in 2009. Actually, there’s no way I’m giving you 72 reasons, but here are some reasons to look forward to 18 match-ups against each of the usual AL East rivals.
More after the jump!
It`s not Jimmy Fallon. It`s not even Dane Cook. People hate the Red Sox and their fans for stupid stuff like this. It`s just weird.
You have to give it up to The World’s Smallest MVP for his self-deprecation in the new series of MLB The Show commercials. If his play hasn’t yet, these might win you over.
How I Made the Final Four
Feb 26
Remember how last week I was in the first leg of a sports debating tournament? (A refresher.) Well, devoid of a finished article and the motivation to hammer one out, I decide to copy and paste my debates from that event. I won my region and will participate in the Final Four sometime in the future. I’m not saying I debated well in any of these cases, and it was a poor format (it has since been revised for the remaining regions), but here they are.
More after the jump!
So, I couldn’t find a Blue Jays topic that could keep my interest for 500 words. Today, instead, you get a few small Toronto Blue Jays spring training notes and opinions.
Vernon Wells Out a Month
And you were ready to jump when Mike Maroth’s MRI came back iffy! Well, V-Dub is out a month with a strained left hamstring. There are a few ways to look at this. Pro: The season opener (April 6) is about six weeks away, which means Vernon should be back in time. Con: The rest of your spring training coverage will include speculation about Vernon’s health. Pro: He’s a slow starter anyways (.769 career April OPS vs. an .812 career overall OPS) so this shouldn’t hold him back too much. Con: He’s already a slow starter, so this could mean a disastrous first half. Pro: Extra spring work for Lind, Rios, and Snider in the outfield. Con: Those three could combine for 100 HR and the Jays aren’t making the playoffs. The point here, of course, is that we always go through this with Vernon and the Jays – consider this your own personal spring training as you get ready to deal with minor injuries and minor disappointments all summer.
More after the jump!
Glenn Jackson currently works for the Toronto Blue Jays in an office position, primarily working with clients to sell tickets and working with the Jays Care Foundation. He is a former baseball prospect, a former All-Canadian, and a current member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Intercounty Baseball team. Glenn aspires to do big things in the sports industry, but for today he took some time out to speak with me.
Blake Murphy: So let’s start back towards the beginning of your baseball career. You’re at Barton Community College in 2002, you set a school record by going 40/41 on stolen base attempts, and you’re named to the All-Canadian College Second Team, being mentioned with the likes of Jesse Crain and Jeff Francis. At the time, as a young guy, how big of a deal was that to you?
Glenn Jackson: Well at that point in time I was extremely motivated and wanted to show my teammates and the United States that I wasn’t just some Canadian from across the border. Having the year I had statistics wise, I would attribute it to a strong desire to prove my worth and earn my place with Coach Warren. Being named to All-Canadian Second team was a great honor as I was very proud, especially to be on the list with the likes of Crain and Francis. You could only imagine the high I was feeling that summer.
More after the jump!
Eric Hinske, meet National League pitching.
National League pitching…meet your match.
Last season, I warned that Eric Hinske would murder the Blue Jays. He only hit .250 against his old team in 15 contests, but he did smack 3 home runs and 3 doubles, tallying 9 RBI and posting an impressive .881 OPS in those games.
What was more telling about that article, though, was the sheer genius of my forecasting. Eric Hinske was an absolute monster last season. If you want stats to back that claim up, you should probably go somewhere else – his line of .247-20HR-60RBI-10SB-.798OPS isn’t going to blow anyone away (but seriously, 20 home runs in under 400 at bats…come on!).
Please note that his OPS through June was a maniacal .881. In addition, this supposed bum stole 10 bases in 13 tries, played four positions (five if you include DH), and for you real stat heads, had an OPS+ of 107, meaning he was 7% better than the average replacement player.
Yeah, you read that right. Eric Hinske was 7% better than average last year. He’s exactly average for his career (OPS+=100). Add in his versatility and his clubhouse presence (Evan Longoria credited Hinske with Evan’s smooth transition to the Majors) and his World Series experience (been there twice, owns a ring) and Hinske should have been a hot commodity this offseason.
Instead, he was one of just two major league signings by the league’s longest running joke, the Pittsburgh Pirates. More after the jump!
