Baseball

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:51 pm

Nothing like it. A sport based on individual feats but needs 9 men to play as a team in order to win a game. Baseball...the distinct sounds you hear of the crack of a bat, a fastball hitting a catcher's mit, or the roar of the crowd after your star centerfielder has made a Mays like catch. Baseball...the blazing ground ball hit to a shortstop where he scoops it up, flips to second, and the second baseman turns and throws the runner out at first for an easy double-play.

Baseball...situations so tense a spectator can't sit still between pitches. The number three hitter is at the plate, two on, two out, full count and the ace looks like he might be out of gas, yet somehow he digs deep and finds and a little extra zip to strike out the fearless hitter. Baseball...the punch and judy hitter at the bottom of the lineup belts a 3-run bomb in the late innings of a game where his team looked to be all but finished.

Baseball...the taste of a hotdog and the refreshing taste of a beer to wash it down with. Cotton candy, peanuts, and the sounds of "Get your program here!" off into the distance by a seasoned vendor. Baseball...showing up early with your kid so he can have a chance at a ball blasted off the bat of his favorite player during batting practice. The hardcore fans hanging over the raling where foul territory meets the stands with their hats, gloves, balls, pennents, and pens ready for the player to sing their item.

Baseball...its still the most intriguing concept in sport with the bundles of stats and the confines of the venue being a major part of the game. Hitters parks, pitchers parks, large foul territories, small foul territories, the Green Monster, the Crawford Boxes, the Bermuda triangle, the ivy, nooks and crannies in almost every park.

Baseball....America's Pastime

Give me your best Terrance Mann speech about the game.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:56 pm

Baseball... something to kill the time between the NFL combines and training camp.

Tom In VA · Post by **Tom In VA** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:56 pm

A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms.
Enthusiams... What are mine? What draws my admiration? What is that which gives me joy?

Baseball!

A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Teamwork.... Looks, throws, catches, hustles.Part of one big team. Bats himself the live-long day, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and so on. If his team don't field... what is he? You follow me? No one. Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say? I'm goin' out there for myself. But... I get nowhere unless the team wins.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:00 pm

BSmack wrote:Baseball... something to kill the time between the NFL combines and training camp.

Football is the most popular sport, but baseball will always be better.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:00 pm

T.R.O.T.S. or the Baseball forum? Either destination would be fine with me.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:03 pm

Goober McTuber wrote:T.R.O.T.S. or the Baseball forum? Either destination would be fine with me.

You're a fucking moron you know that, right?

This thread is in its proper place, son. Get lost or get fucked.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:09 pm

RumpleForeskin wrote:This thread is in its proper place, son.

Sure it is, as long as you’re content to get bitch-slapped upside your dick-warmer. Baseball has sucked ever since they decided to sacrifice their post-season while all of the millionaires quibbled over their dollars. And in an effort to get back the affection of the public, turned a blind eye to cheating, built bandbox ballparks and juiced up the ball.

This thread belongs where it would get it’s rightful amount of traffic: T.R.O.T.S. or the Baseball forum.

Go fuck yourself.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:27 pm

Goober McTuber wrote:Sure it is, as long as you’re content to get bitch-slapped upside your dick-warmer. Baseball has sucked ever since they decided to sacrifice their post-season while all of the millionaires quibbled over their dollars. And in an effort to get back the affection of the public, turned a blind eye to cheating, built bandbox ballparks and juiced up the ball.

If you've got a problem with it, then its your fucking problem. Not mine. If you want to mull over the tainted areas in which baseball has attempted to clean up as of late, then so be it. You're missing the point of the game. Its still pure at heart but fucksticks like you are still bent about that bitter taste left in your mouth when we (the fans) were dealt a strike. Shit has happened in every major sport via a strike or lockout. Baseball had no true competitor until the 60s when basketball and football started to gain momentum and it started to fall out of favor with the masses. So what did baseball do? They changed like any other dwindling business would do. They built smaller parks, juiced balls, and overlooked the steroid issue. Can you seriously blame them for turning a blind eye? I can't. It was and is a shame, but the turnstyles need more oiling because of it.

Fuck you and your purist dicrepit old ass for feeling as though you've been cheated. Let me let you in on a little secret, Goobs, everything changes over time. Like I said, either get on board or get fucked. Baseball is still the best sport there is no matter the popularity of college and NFL football.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:36 pm

mvscal wrote:Baseball is, at best, a serviceable soporific.

Your ignorance knows no boundaries.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:43 pm

Baseball... a throwback to a time when people weren't in such a hurry all of the time.

If you're in a hurry... if you're a clock-watcher... stay the fuck away from a baseball game.

Baseball... could be 2 hours, could be 5.5... you never know... and if you care, stay the fuck away.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:57 pm

BSmack wrote:Baseball... something to kill the time between the NFL combines and training camp.

You haven't had a major league caliber team in Shittsburgh since 92 so I'm not surprised you feel this way.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:21 pm

Thank you, Rumple.

Beisbol bin berra berra good to me. Anita Dark bin berra berra good to me.. but Chico can't talk about it. In sports, Charles White won the.. how do you say.. Heisman Trophy. Now, look at this run. Charles White is the best football player. He runs with authority. Chico run from authority.. but I can't talk about it.

Uh.. Darrell Dawkins does it agian. Look at this. He break the glass! He break it! Why do they use glass? The backboard should be stronger! Should use cement.. or steel.. or iron. Not rubber! Rubber break! But I can't talk about it. Back to you, Rumple.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:21 pm

BTW -- Nice PR disaster, Selig.

I remember Opening Day 2008 like it was...

Like it was...

At 3 fucking AM in another country this fucking morning.

Kind of takes the fun out of fucking off a day's work to get liquored and check out Opening Day.

Selig -- don't fucking do that again. Might result in some "radical realignment" of your face, you tard.

Diogenes · Post by **Diogenes** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:29 pm

Baseball...

All the drama of golf, with half the excitment.

Is somone going to start a bowling thread soon?

Diogenes · Post by **Diogenes** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:32 pm

RumpleForeskin wrote:Nothing like it. A sport based on individual feats but needs 9 men to play as a team in order to win a game. Baseball...the distinct sounds you hear of the crack of a bat, a fastball hitting a catcher's mit, or the roar of the crowd after your star centerfielder has made a Mays like catch. Baseball...the blazing ground ball hit to a shortstop where he scoops it up, flips to second, and the second baseman turns and throws the runner out at first for an easy double-play.

Baseball...situations so tense a spectator can't sit still between pitches. The number three hitter is at the plate, two on, two out, full count and the ace looks like he might be out of gas, yet somehow he digs deep and finds and a little extra zip to strike out the fearless hitter. Baseball...the punch and judy hitter at the bottom of the lineup belts a 3-run bomb in the late innings of a game where his team looked to be all but finished.

Baseball...the taste of a hotdog and the refreshing taste of a beer to wash it down with. Cotton candy, peanuts, and the sounds of "Get your program here!" off into the distance by a seasoned vendor. Baseball...showing up early with your kid so he can have a chance at a ball blasted off the bat of his favorite player during batting practice. The hardcore fans hanging over the raling where foul territory meets the stands with their hats, gloves, balls, pennents, and pens ready for the player to sing their item.

Baseball...its still the most intriguing concept in sport with the bundles of stats and the confines of the venue being a major part of the game. Hitters parks, pitchers parks, large foul territories, small foul territories, the Green Monster, the Crawford Boxes, the Bermuda triangle, the ivy, nooks and crannies in almost every park.

Baseball....America's Pastime

Give me your best Terrance Mann speech about the game.

Translation..

The streak is over.
Sin,

Houston.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:04 am

RumpleForeskin wrote:Nothing like it.

Except for Softball.

Just watched my daughters college team crush Avila U. 6-0 and 18-8 in a doubleheader today, mashing 6 dingers all told. They have an outfield that runs down almost every last ball, horizontally if need be. Those ladies just hustle their asses off and play the game the right way, like taking the extra base and diving in head first. Their coach can be proud of assembling such a hard working bunch.

Good times getting out in some decent weather for a change after this brutal, seemingly never ending winter.

Baseball....America's Pastime

No arguement here. Baseball will always be a GREAT game at any level, despite MLB's effort to ruin it with overpaid, juiced up freaks.

Looking forward to the Royals not totally sucking this year and being mathematically eliminated by June.

Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:07 am

War Wagon wrote:Those ladies... play the game the right way, like taking the extra base and diving in head first.

Uhm... if you talk to virtually any old-timer, they'll make it very clear that sliding head-first is very much the wrong wayto do it.

Pretty mch unheard of until Pete Rose started doing it that way.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:14 am

Diogenes wrote:Baseball...

Is somone going to start a bowling thread soon?

Poptart, your thoughts

Smackie Chan · Post by **Smackie Chan** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:49 am

Dinsdale wrote:BTW -- Nice PR disaster, Selig.

'Specially considering he had the opportunity to have the season opener at a brand new ballpark in OUR nation's capital.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:52 am

Dinsdale wrote: Uhm... if you talk to virtually any old-timer, they'll make it very clear that sliding head-first is very much the wrong wayto do it.

Pretty mch unheard of until Pete Rose started doing it that way.

Right or wrong Dins, there's no denying (since you brought up Pete Rose) the sheer hustle involved, which was kinda' the point.

The right way to play baseball (or softball) is to bust your ass on every play.

My all time favorite player is George Brett (of course) who ran out every ground ball to 2nd base like his life depended on it.

In fact, before he retired, he said that he hoped that in his last at-bat that's exactly what would happen, so he could do just that.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:52 am

You know what would have been a HUGE PR success? If they played opening day at an inner city ballpark (obviously with major league measurements) to help promote the RBI program. That would have captured the spirits of the lost souls on the baseball purists.

Smackie Chan · Post by **Smackie Chan** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:56 am

Damn, 'skin. Back away from the pixie dust.

Wolfman · Post by **Wolfman** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:58 am

I enjoy baseball--I enjoy the leisurely pace of the game (see Dinsdale's post).
BTW-- I doubt that B-Smack gives a crap about the Pittsburgh Pirates. He may have had a
fleeting loyalty to the AAA Rochester Red Wings. Might even know who Tommy Watkins is !

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:01 am

Smackie Chan wrote:Damn, 'skin. Back away from the pixie dust.

Bad idea?

Think about it. What better way to start opening day on a ballpark with none of the commercialism we've been subjected to by the media and MLB. A throwback if you will to the days of old just suiting up and playing on a makeshift diamond in the middle of the ghetto.

Smackie Chan · Post by **Smackie Chan** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:07 am

Your romanticism of baseball makes those video essays by Dick Enberg and Jim Huber during The Masters seem like they need more syrup.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:15 am

RumpleForeskin wrote:A throwback if you will to the days of old just suiting up and playing on a makeshift diamond in the middle of the ghetto.

Yeah, let's rebuild KC's Municipal Stadium of Negro League fame at 12th and Brooklyn and see if we can get Satchell Paige to throw out the first pitch...

What Smackie said.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:07 am

RumpleForeskin wrote:
Goober McTuber wrote:Sure it is, as long as you’re content to get bitch-slapped upside your dick-warmer. Baseball has sucked ever since they decided to sacrifice their post-season while all of the millionaires quibbled over their dollars. And in an effort to get back the affection of the public, turned a blind eye to cheating, built bandbox ballparks and juiced up the ball.

If you've got a problem with it, then its your fucking problem. Not mine. If you want to mull over the tainted areas in which baseball has attempted to clean up as of late, then so be it. You're missing the point of the game. Its still pure at heart

This is where I just started laughing out loud. You stupid fuck.

RevLimiter · Post by **RevLimiter** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:15 am

BSmack wrote:Baseball... something to kill the time between the NFL combines and training camp.

Truer words were never spoken.

FUCK Baseball and the roided up freaks that play it.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:19 am

Goober McTuber wrote:This is where I just started laughing out loud. You stupid fuck.

Great rebuttal, Goobs. Stick with calling Paul a fat fucking retard and you should be fine.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:26 am

RumpleForeskin wrote:
Goober McTuber wrote:This is where I just started laughing out loud. You stupid fuck.
Great rebuttal, Goobs. Stick with calling Paul a fat fucking retard and you should be fine.

No need for a rebuttal, Corky. Baseball sucks. Rebut that.

Uncle Fester · Post by **Uncle Fester** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:16 am

Not a huge baseball fan myself, although I attended a St. Paul Saints game (minor league) and enjoyed it tremendously. It was relatively inexpensive, they had Summit Extra Pale available in bottles, they had lots of family-friendly stuff going on between innings, and trains periodically sped by just over the outfield wall, prompting fans to yell "TRAIN! TRAIN!" like little kids. The whole thing was a blast.

The Twins, on the other hand, play in a dome and it's just not the same. They're building a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis, right across the street from a garbage incinerator (No joke). Maybe they'll have gas mask day or serve bottled oxygen with the hot dogs.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:28 am

Smackie Chan wrote:
Dinsdale wrote:BTW -- Nice PR disaster, Selig.
'Specially considering he had the opportunity to have the season opener at a brand new ballpark in OUR nation's capital.

Well, at least that game will be showcased on Sunday night on ESPN. For all intents and purposes (sup Dins), that is the true opener. I caught a couple innings of the game on Tuesday while eating some breakfast before heading into work...it doesn't seem natural to have that be the first game of the season but this isn't the first time they've done this so I don't get all bent out of shape over it. I'm not as bothered by seeing regular season games played in March as I am seeing World Series games in November.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:12 pm

Minnesotans incinerate their trash? This is a great surprise to me. Don't trash piles turn into robots and just walk away?

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:18 pm

I once enjoyed baseball a good deal. Yes, prior to 1992, the Pittsburgh Pirates were the reason...and their subsequent struggles probably are the reason that I have lost interest.

Occasionally, I get the bug, and I take my family down to PNC park. We enjoy the stadium, and the scene. I know that my kids generally don't look at the field the whole time, and I myself peek at an inning or two.

Basically, the quality of play seems to have slipped tremendously since the days of my youth. There is never great defense, which is what makes baseball games interesting. It is not compelling to see glandular mutants trot around the bases over and over. It is not interesting to see MLB pitchers get fatter and fatter with limbs shrinking through inactivity.

The Art of the game seems to be lacking these days, which all of us know is a real loss. I doubt it can be regained, no matter how many Shoalzies get paychecks from uni redesigns.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:49 pm

PSUFAN wrote:There is never great defense, which is what makes baseball games interesting.

Dude, Jack Wilson is fucking nailz at short.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:16 pm

Here's a good baseball story for you fuckers:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... rss&feed=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

jiminphilly · Post by **jiminphilly** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:20 pm

RevLimiter wrote:
BSmack wrote:Baseball... something to kill the time between the NFL combines and training camp.
Truer words were never spoken.

FUCK Baseball and the roided up freaks that play it.

Because the NFL is free of any substance abuse problems...

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:32 pm

Nice story, PSU.

As for the Japan thing....it is a disaster.

How epic would it have been if they played the 2008 season opener in Iraq in front of the troops? God, Selig is so fucking stupid.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:38 pm

Opening day should have been a stickball game played with broomhandles and a tennis ball on a street in Harlem.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:38 pm

RevLimiter wrote:
FUCK Baseball and the roided up freaks that play it.

If you think steroids are less prevalent in football than in baseball, we need to negotiate some deals on some beachfront property in Arizona.

PSUFAN wrote:Basically, the quality of play seems to have slipped tremendously since the days of my youth. There is never great defense

Maybe you should try watching some ball within the last 16 years before you make such ridiculous statements.

Since 1992, there was this middle D of Sandy Alomar, Robbie Alomar, Omar Vizquel, and Kenny Lofton (sure, Lofton was flanked on one side by possibly the worst RF in history, but we'll overlook that for now, since his bat makes him a 1st balloter). Probably the best middle defense of the modern era. Absolutely spectacular abilities and execution.

Matter of fact, you ignorant dumbass, my dumbfuck neighbors to the north are rolling out Yuniesky Betancourt, Jose Lopez, Adrian Beltre (who is thanking his lucky stars his name didn't get mitchelled), Richie Sexson, Ichiro, Jeremy Reed, Kenji Johjima, and Raul Ibanez. Combine them, and you have an amazing defense.

WTF are you even talking about? I's not so much that defense has gone downhill -- quite the opposite. Newsflash -- athletes are getting better in every sport. Add in the roids, and they're geting a lot better. So much better, in fact, that there's many, many more rotational hitters who take an uppercut (much harder to make contact, ball comes off much hotter when contact is made), which results in less ground balls, which makes for less eye-popping defensive plays by infielders... and more by outfielders like Tori Hunter, and until recently, Andruw Jones and Jim Edmonds (another flagrant juicer who was spared).

Ignorant take,dude.