I have a few bad habits. In casual conversation, I may curse a bit too much. I’m definitely too sarcastic at times. Physically, I twirl pens constantly which can be a bit distracting or annoying for people watching or listening to me. When I was a kid, I used to count my steps all the time and ALWAYS needed to step with my right foot first. I also have a terrible habit of picking at my fingers, making them raw and overly sensitive. For whatever reason, I just can’t stop scratching that stupid itch. And here’s where we bring it back to baseball. There are things that get my goat that I just can’t help but argue with.
One of the things highest up on this list is the “plays the game the right way” meme that we hear people taut all the time. We know this is something horribly subjective and is usually applied to players who play the game a way very differently from how I think the right way to play the game is. You all know (or should know) by now how I think offense and pitching should go so I won’t bore you with the details.
In a similar vein is the “he’s just a good fantasy player but that’s it.” That’s something else I absolutely cannot stand. Doesn’t it follow that if a guy is a good fantasy player that he adds real value to his team? I mean, if a guy is getting a lot of homers, hitting for a high average, knocking in a lot of runs, or stealing a lot of bases, chances are that he’s a player worth a good amount to his team. Baseball pundits will say that he fills stat columns and all that good stuff, but he’s not a winning player. Please. If guy’s doing all of those things, if a guy’s filling columns, he’s a winning player. All of those things count towards winning. This may seem out of no where, but I bring it up because fantasy baseball season is starting in the next week or two. I have a feeling we may hear a lot of this talk as fantasy drafts roll on and the regular season starts. I hope that people will soon realize that when a guy is a good fantasy player, it means he’s a winning player.
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6 Responses to Scratching an Itch
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TIQ IQ
A-Rod circa 2008 is the prime example. On a related note, why didn’t everybody do this to Bonds? I mean, he and A-Rod are definitely in the same ballpark as far as ability and hatred but I don’t recall anybody saying he wasn’t a “winning” ball player.
One of the things highest up on this list is the “plays the game the right way” meme that we hear people taut all the time.
My favorite is when a player is praised for all his “intangibles.” Unfortunately, we as Yankee fans, hear this all the time with Jeter. Or, a player has loads of “grit” or “heart.” /sigh
That’s why the Internet was invented, so we can make fun of the David Eckstein/Darrin Erstad lovers of the world.
Hey Darrin Erstad is like the second grittiest player of all time (from North Dakota, right behind Roger Maris)
I saw one of my all time goat-getters in the past week: ‘he pitches to the scoreboard’. (Translation-’he’s getting good run support.’)
Another one: ‘he’s a gamer-he gets his uniform dirty.’
The fantasy/reality thing is usually the other way around. There are guys who are great in real life for their teams, but aren’t particularly great options for a fantasy team. Placido Polanco is the best example I can come up with.