I was lying in bed last night, unable to fall asleep, and I thought about a woman to whom my sister had introduced me. (Don't worry, DR isn't that kind of blog.) I've met the woman, who's a med school classmate of my sister's, once or twice, and while we hit it off fairly well, it's become obvious recently that nothing's going to happen.
My sister told me once that the friend knew nothing about sports. They were at a bar with some classmates one night and the group started talking about the Chiefs' recent victory over the Raiders. After a while, the friend said, "The Raiders...wait, wait, shut up, don't tell me. I know this. The Raiders...New Jersey, right?"
Now, I don't know this woman very well, but she came off as an informed, intelligent individual in our brief interactions. And as I was lying in bed last night, I started wondering how I'd answer if this woman, or any other similarly ignorant person, asked me why I enjoyed sports so much.
There's a certain intellectual satisfaction in giving the academic answer, the "Sport reflects humanity's drive for greatness and the unattainable pursuit of perfection" response that echoes Classical Greece. But, well, The Academic Answer is also The Douchebag Answer, and I don't think I could say that with a straight face.
It would be more honest, less pretentious to shrug and say, "I don't know. I enjoy them, and the why never really comes up." But that's more a capitulation than a response, and it wouldn't satisfy our hypothetical interrogator. Beyond all that, it's not really accurate. Because thinking about it, there are specific, concrete reasons. Those reasons are just different for each sport.
There's a lot to love about baseball, of course. Strange as it sounds, though, I think what appeals to me the most is how unapologetically languid the game is. Baseball is the cool, low-maintenance girlfriend every guy dreams of having.
"You need to check your email? Don't worry about it, man. I'll be on in the background. Get back to me when you're ready."
"Need to pick up a pizza? S'all good. Go ahead, miss an inning. I've got nine of the things. Besides, statistically the odds are against them scoring. You probably won't miss much. Pujols is due up in two innings though. Be back in time for that. Oh, don't worry. I'll DVR it for you."
Baseball is also America's proudly intellectual game. Oh, sure, the scouts and the "baseball men" don't like it, but there's a rich, nerdy vein running straight through the middle of the game. And I'm not just using Bud Selig as proof. The fundamental mechanic of baseball is a combination of the mental and the physical; it's pitcher and hitter trying to out-muscle each other, sure, but they're also thinking along with each other, playing a game.
If baseball's the openly intellectual game, football's an affair that obscures its nerdiness behind a wall of blood. Huge men, impossibly huge men, running impossibly fast, collide in ways that would break a normal human being in half. They scratch and claw and desperately strive to open the space where, for brief moments, skill and athleticism can explode.
Football shocks and awes the viewer into forgetting the game's complexities. It's a smart game, but you have to work to see the dynamics. Peel back the cacophony and the Xs and Os leap into motion, like those scenes from A Beautiful Mind, only without the schizophrenia the lead actor pretends to have or the psychosis the lead actor actually has. There are blocking schemes, running schemes, passing schemes, zany schemes. Coaches devise a thousand different variations on the same rushing play. Intelligence is football's secret shame.
It goes without saying that high-level football is rife with athleticism, but we tend to see that athleticism in quick bursts. When Percy Harvin broke this play, it was like a bolt of lightning:
Blink and you miss it.
Basketball, on the other hand, is an orgy of athleticism. It's a wide open, relatively uncluttered playing area. Contact is discouraged, even penalized if you don't play for Duke. So the full range of human potential is possible on the basketball court. You can see those great moments developing. You can watch LeBron James circle the perimeter, slice through the defense and haul in an alley oop from Mo Williams. With the normal camera shot offered in most telecasts, every step of the play, every player involved, comes into view. When it's run well, basketball is a muscular ballet.
And I love the flow of a basketball game. Team A hosts Team B, and for a while they trade baskets, go back-and-forth. Then Team A slams down a dunk and stops Team B on the defensive end. Then they run down the court and drain a three. Team A's fans are getting riled up. All of a sudden, Team B can't get the ball over the half court line, and Team A is shooting like they've made three buckets in a row on NBA Jam.
This goes on for five minutes before, out of nowhere, Team B hits a three. Team A takes the ball down the court, but their shot rims out. As Team B runs its offense, the fans are still raucous, but a little less so than they were a minute ago. The aura of invincibility has been pierced. They stomp and shout, but less out of confidence and more to scare away the impending comeback.
Those are the big ones, but not the only ones. High-level volleyball plays on the human mind's capacity for pattern recognition: bump, set, spike. Bump, set, spike. So the viewer gets lulled into this sense of security, and it's pleasantly shocking when someone subverts the pattern by hitting the ball over the net in two shots instead of three. Or when a player passes up the spike for a subtle loft shot over the extended arms of a defender.
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A Bad, Bad Day
Skip Caray Dies at Age 68
The Call.
This sucks.
It would be cloying and inaccurate to say that Caray's was the (distinctive, nasally) voice of my childhood. But during those 90's summers when the Braves were on TBS every night, it meant a lot to hear Skip call a game.
I never got a chance to hear him during his heyday in the 70's and 80's, when the Braves were epically bad and Skip was known to call the games in...something less than a fully sober state. No, I caught the largely clean Skip who covered those fantastic division-winning clubs.
He might not have been at his peak, but he was still more fun than a barrel of Larry Craigs. Caray was a homer, but the perfect kind of homer. He unabashedly rooted for the Braves without unfairly denigrating the other team or falling into obnoxiousness. ("You can put it on the board...SHUT UP YOU STUPID $@%!*# JACKASS!") Skip was never above taking good-natured shots at the organization paying his salary, and once got in hot water for pointing out how the Braves were widening the catcher's box in Turner Field.
His was a biting, witty style, and he put his imprint on the games he called without ever making them about him. He was Harry Caray's son, but instead of letting that define him or running away from it, he embraced it and still managed to forge his own path.
TBS tried to shove him out of the limelight and into the Turner South ghetto in the 2003 season as part of a greater effort to re-brand the station's telecast away from a Braves-centric approach and into "MLB On TBS", but their move was so wildly unpopular they had to reverse course at the All Star Break. Skip thumbed his nose at the network on his very first night back, welcoming fans to "Braves Baseball on TBS." It was a small thing, but this fan was thrilled to hear it.
Thanks for the memories Skip. You have permission to walk your dog, provided you promise to patronize Heaven's sponsors.
The Call.
This sucks.
It would be cloying and inaccurate to say that Caray's was the (distinctive, nasally) voice of my childhood. But during those 90's summers when the Braves were on TBS every night, it meant a lot to hear Skip call a game.
I never got a chance to hear him during his heyday in the 70's and 80's, when the Braves were epically bad and Skip was known to call the games in...something less than a fully sober state. No, I caught the largely clean Skip who covered those fantastic division-winning clubs.
He might not have been at his peak, but he was still more fun than a barrel of Larry Craigs. Caray was a homer, but the perfect kind of homer. He unabashedly rooted for the Braves without unfairly denigrating the other team or falling into obnoxiousness. ("You can put it on the board...SHUT UP YOU STUPID $@%!*# JACKASS!") Skip was never above taking good-natured shots at the organization paying his salary, and once got in hot water for pointing out how the Braves were widening the catcher's box in Turner Field.
His was a biting, witty style, and he put his imprint on the games he called without ever making them about him. He was Harry Caray's son, but instead of letting that define him or running away from it, he embraced it and still managed to forge his own path.
TBS tried to shove him out of the limelight and into the Turner South ghetto in the 2003 season as part of a greater effort to re-brand the station's telecast away from a Braves-centric approach and into "MLB On TBS", but their move was so wildly unpopular they had to reverse course at the All Star Break. Skip thumbed his nose at the network on his very first night back, welcoming fans to "Braves Baseball on TBS." It was a small thing, but this fan was thrilled to hear it.
Thanks for the memories Skip. You have permission to walk your dog, provided you promise to patronize Heaven's sponsors.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Waving the White Flag
Braves deal Teixeira to Angels for Kotchman, minor leaguer
The "minor leaguer" is Stephen Marek. Despite his last name, he is not an evil overlord or supervillain. He is, however, a 24-year-old reliever with some decent numbers in Double-A. (11.13 K/9, just two home runs in 43 2/3 innings and a vaguely acceptable walk rate) He had a great year in 2006 as a starter but has worked entirely as a reliever this season. Baseball America tabbed Marek has the sixth best prospect in the Angels organization. He's something more than a generic arm, but mostly, he's just a guy.
The "prize" here is first baseman Casey Kotchman, proud owner of a .287/.327/.448 line for the Angels. That's good for a 105 OPS+. For his career, he's hit .274/.337/.426. He's drawn only 18 walks in 373 at-bats. Kotchman has never been a power guy, and he doesn't project to ever be one.
So that's the bad news. The good news is that Kotchman's just 25 years old and put up a pretty solid .296/.372/.467 line for the Angels last year. For his career he's struck out only 108 times against exactly 100 walks; the decline in his plate discipline this year is kind of a mystery. He was one of those Angels prospects in the early-to-mid 00's who seemed to make Baseball America for about 13 consecutive years. Kotchman hit .325/.401/.493 in the minors while being age appropriate for the various levels at which he played. He'll probably get better, if not from natural age-related improvement then from the transition to the National League.
This is a completely unexciting deal, but likely the best Atlanta was going to get, considering both Teixeira's rent-a-player status and the Braves' need to acquire a young, Major League ready first baseman. Without Kotchman, the Braves would have to turn to a thoroughly depressing option like Greg Norton or Scott Thorman or Sid Bream. It certainly looks abysmal compared to the handful of treasure chests the Braves shipped off to Texas last year, but that was a different context. Besides, it's Atlanta's own damn fault for giving up that much in the first place.
If nothing else this deal demonstrates that Frank Wren has enough common sense to recognize a lost season when he sees one. He might turn around and trade for Jason Bay, but even that deal would be targeted at 2009 instead of this season. I can only hope he'll go all the way and attempt to find buyers for Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay. Ohman in particular should draw quite a bit of interest from lefty starved clubs.
The "minor leaguer" is Stephen Marek. Despite his last name, he is not an evil overlord or supervillain. He is, however, a 24-year-old reliever with some decent numbers in Double-A. (11.13 K/9, just two home runs in 43 2/3 innings and a vaguely acceptable walk rate) He had a great year in 2006 as a starter but has worked entirely as a reliever this season. Baseball America tabbed Marek has the sixth best prospect in the Angels organization. He's something more than a generic arm, but mostly, he's just a guy.
The "prize" here is first baseman Casey Kotchman, proud owner of a .287/.327/.448 line for the Angels. That's good for a 105 OPS+. For his career, he's hit .274/.337/.426. He's drawn only 18 walks in 373 at-bats. Kotchman has never been a power guy, and he doesn't project to ever be one.
So that's the bad news. The good news is that Kotchman's just 25 years old and put up a pretty solid .296/.372/.467 line for the Angels last year. For his career he's struck out only 108 times against exactly 100 walks; the decline in his plate discipline this year is kind of a mystery. He was one of those Angels prospects in the early-to-mid 00's who seemed to make Baseball America for about 13 consecutive years. Kotchman hit .325/.401/.493 in the minors while being age appropriate for the various levels at which he played. He'll probably get better, if not from natural age-related improvement then from the transition to the National League.
This is a completely unexciting deal, but likely the best Atlanta was going to get, considering both Teixeira's rent-a-player status and the Braves' need to acquire a young, Major League ready first baseman. Without Kotchman, the Braves would have to turn to a thoroughly depressing option like Greg Norton or Scott Thorman or Sid Bream. It certainly looks abysmal compared to the handful of treasure chests the Braves shipped off to Texas last year, but that was a different context. Besides, it's Atlanta's own damn fault for giving up that much in the first place.
If nothing else this deal demonstrates that Frank Wren has enough common sense to recognize a lost season when he sees one. He might turn around and trade for Jason Bay, but even that deal would be targeted at 2009 instead of this season. I can only hope he'll go all the way and attempt to find buyers for Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay. Ohman in particular should draw quite a bit of interest from lefty starved clubs.
Monday, July 7, 2008
What Was the Point Of That Again?
Braves Recall WonderBoy
So four days ago the Braves take the long overdue step of demoting Jeff Francoeur to Double-A. Upon hearing that he and his .234/.287/.374 line were being sent to the minors, Francoeur handled it with grace and humility :
"After three years, after playing hurt, playing every day, going in every day whether I got a hit and never complaining, I just played because Bobby [Cox] kept putting me in the lineup," Francoeur said. "But I just felt like a little three-minute thing — 'Hey, you're going down' — I feel like after three years, I was owed a little more of an explanation. But that's Frank's deal and that's what I guess they decided to do.
And today the Braves reversed it.
After Sunday's marathon victory over the Astros, Atlanta had to place Omar Infante, Manny Acosta and Jeff Bennett on the DL. Brent Lillibridge and Vladimir Nunez, whose big accomplishment was saving 20 games for the Miami Marlins in 2002, were called up to fill two spots. The third player recalled from the minor leagues?
Jeff Francoeur, Super Star.
A few questions come to mind: did Francoeur get a chance to unpack his duffel bag? Just how impressive were his 13 at-bats in Mississippi? When he hit the ball, did shards of angelic light fly from his bat and impale opposing fielders? Did he compel George Martin to write A Dance With Dragons?
Assuming none of that is true, assuming the Braves simply panicked after losing three players to injuries, or assuming that they made a conscious decision that Francoeur was a better option than, say, Brandon Jones, then the Braves have handled this situation as poorly as it was possible to handle it.
So four days ago the Braves take the long overdue step of demoting Jeff Francoeur to Double-A. Upon hearing that he and his .234/.287/.374 line were being sent to the minors, Francoeur handled it with grace and humility :
"After three years, after playing hurt, playing every day, going in every day whether I got a hit and never complaining, I just played because Bobby [Cox] kept putting me in the lineup," Francoeur said. "But I just felt like a little three-minute thing — 'Hey, you're going down' — I feel like after three years, I was owed a little more of an explanation. But that's Frank's deal and that's what I guess they decided to do.
"My question is, what if I had hit a home run or had two hits [Thursday night]? Does it delay it one day, until I was 0-for-4? I was left standing outside in the dark on that. You almost felt like they had made [their minds] up before the game. That's where I felt frustrated, where I felt a little betrayed."
Francouer is far from the only reason the Braves are disappointing this season, but he's certainly a big part of it. Clearing him off the roster spared Braves fans from watching WonderBoy's horrendous at-bats, gave him a chance to clear his head and fix his attitude. It was, in short, the correct decision.And today the Braves reversed it.
After Sunday's marathon victory over the Astros, Atlanta had to place Omar Infante, Manny Acosta and Jeff Bennett on the DL. Brent Lillibridge and Vladimir Nunez, whose big accomplishment was saving 20 games for the Miami Marlins in 2002, were called up to fill two spots. The third player recalled from the minor leagues?
Jeff Francoeur, Super Star.
A few questions come to mind: did Francoeur get a chance to unpack his duffel bag? Just how impressive were his 13 at-bats in Mississippi? When he hit the ball, did shards of angelic light fly from his bat and impale opposing fielders? Did he compel George Martin to write A Dance With Dragons?
Assuming none of that is true, assuming the Braves simply panicked after losing three players to injuries, or assuming that they made a conscious decision that Francoeur was a better option than, say, Brandon Jones, then the Braves have handled this situation as poorly as it was possible to handle it.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Blow It Up
Braves Fall to Phillies...again
Nice try, but it's over. Time to give up the ghost.
Cole Hamels eviscerated the Braves again last night and the otherwise excellent Jair Jurrjens gave up three homers. Atlanta lost, 4-1, and they've dropped eight of nine games against the division-leading Phillies this season. They're seven games out, closer to last place than to first, the starting rotation is Tim Hudson, Jorge Campillo and three rookies and the highly touted offense completely shuts down against left-handed pitchers.
None of that gives me any reason to believe the Braves can make up the seven games they've given to the Phillies or the eight and a half games by which they trail in the wild card standings. Impossible? Of course not; the 1993 club trailed the Giants by seven games on July 4, and that San Francisco team was much better than the current iteration of the Phillies. But it goes without saying that these Braves don't measure up to the 93 team.
If you're not going to the playoffs, and the Braves are not, there's no point to playing out the string with the current crew of veterans. It's time to pack up shop and start thinking about 2009 and beyond. It's time to do something the Braves haven't done for at least 18 years: sell at the trading deadline.
The most attractive trading piece is undoubtedly Mark Teixeira, who has a disappointing air about him despite a basically solid .269/.373/.484 batting line. There's no chance the Braves will be able to re-coup their investment in him; no one will give up the equivalent of the Saltalamacchia/Neftali Feliz/Matt Harrison/Elvis Andrus package Atlanta surrendered last trading deadline. But a team like Anaheim, the third worst offensive club in the American League, could use even the sub-optimal version of Teixeira. Tampa's getting poor work out of Carlos Pena at first base. Both have lush farm systems, and a trade with one of them could help replenish Atlanta's minor league foundation.
But Teixeira's not the only desirable commodity. Teams are always desperate for left-handed relievers, and Will Ohman has been more than solid. Ohman's given up just one home run and 26 hits in 35 1/3 innings; some team could use him as a situational lefty. Jeff Bennett has done admirable work as a long reliever/set-up guy/spot starter and might command a mildly intriguing long-shot prospect. Omar Infante could hold some appeal as versatile bench player.
Cashing in the chips this July doesn't have to indicate that the Braves are in for a long, painful re-building process. Atlanta's assembled a pretty solid corps of young players, headlined by 24-year-old Brian McCann. But he's joined by 22-year-old Jair Jurrjens (having a fantastic year), 26-year-old Kelly Johnson, 25-year-old Yunel Escobar, 24-year-old Gregor Blanco, 24-year-old Brandon Jones, 23-year-old Jo Jo Reyes, 24-year-old Charlie Morton and 26-year-old Blaine Boyer.
Most of those guys are flawed, to be sure. Blanco can't hit for any power, Escobar has a similar (if not so extreme) problem, Jones isn't great and the pitchers all have question marks. But they're young and they've demonstrated Major League talent.
Noticeable in his absence from that list is Jeff Francoeur, who was yesterday demoted to AA after Gigli-ing the season to the tune of a .234/.287/.374 line. I remain unconvinced that he'll be a useful part of Atlanta's future.
With some luck and wise spending in the off-season, the Braves could go into 2009 with a young team headed by still feisty veterans Hudson and Chipper Jones. With a few lucky breaks, like a successful return to the bullpen by John Smoltz, improvement from some of those young players and contributions from a few minor leaguers (like Jordan Schafer), Atlanta could actually compete for the division in 2009.
2010 is a more realistic goal. More realistic than 2009, and certainly more realistic than 2008.
Nice try, but it's over. Time to give up the ghost.
Cole Hamels eviscerated the Braves again last night and the otherwise excellent Jair Jurrjens gave up three homers. Atlanta lost, 4-1, and they've dropped eight of nine games against the division-leading Phillies this season. They're seven games out, closer to last place than to first, the starting rotation is Tim Hudson, Jorge Campillo and three rookies and the highly touted offense completely shuts down against left-handed pitchers.
None of that gives me any reason to believe the Braves can make up the seven games they've given to the Phillies or the eight and a half games by which they trail in the wild card standings. Impossible? Of course not; the 1993 club trailed the Giants by seven games on July 4, and that San Francisco team was much better than the current iteration of the Phillies. But it goes without saying that these Braves don't measure up to the 93 team.
If you're not going to the playoffs, and the Braves are not, there's no point to playing out the string with the current crew of veterans. It's time to pack up shop and start thinking about 2009 and beyond. It's time to do something the Braves haven't done for at least 18 years: sell at the trading deadline.
The most attractive trading piece is undoubtedly Mark Teixeira, who has a disappointing air about him despite a basically solid .269/.373/.484 batting line. There's no chance the Braves will be able to re-coup their investment in him; no one will give up the equivalent of the Saltalamacchia/Neftali Feliz/Matt Harrison/Elvis Andrus package Atlanta surrendered last trading deadline. But a team like Anaheim, the third worst offensive club in the American League, could use even the sub-optimal version of Teixeira. Tampa's getting poor work out of Carlos Pena at first base. Both have lush farm systems, and a trade with one of them could help replenish Atlanta's minor league foundation.
But Teixeira's not the only desirable commodity. Teams are always desperate for left-handed relievers, and Will Ohman has been more than solid. Ohman's given up just one home run and 26 hits in 35 1/3 innings; some team could use him as a situational lefty. Jeff Bennett has done admirable work as a long reliever/set-up guy/spot starter and might command a mildly intriguing long-shot prospect. Omar Infante could hold some appeal as versatile bench player.
Cashing in the chips this July doesn't have to indicate that the Braves are in for a long, painful re-building process. Atlanta's assembled a pretty solid corps of young players, headlined by 24-year-old Brian McCann. But he's joined by 22-year-old Jair Jurrjens (having a fantastic year), 26-year-old Kelly Johnson, 25-year-old Yunel Escobar, 24-year-old Gregor Blanco, 24-year-old Brandon Jones, 23-year-old Jo Jo Reyes, 24-year-old Charlie Morton and 26-year-old Blaine Boyer.
Most of those guys are flawed, to be sure. Blanco can't hit for any power, Escobar has a similar (if not so extreme) problem, Jones isn't great and the pitchers all have question marks. But they're young and they've demonstrated Major League talent.
Noticeable in his absence from that list is Jeff Francoeur, who was yesterday demoted to AA after Gigli-ing the season to the tune of a .234/.287/.374 line. I remain unconvinced that he'll be a useful part of Atlanta's future.
With some luck and wise spending in the off-season, the Braves could go into 2009 with a young team headed by still feisty veterans Hudson and Chipper Jones. With a few lucky breaks, like a successful return to the bullpen by John Smoltz, improvement from some of those young players and contributions from a few minor leaguers (like Jordan Schafer), Atlanta could actually compete for the division in 2009.
2010 is a more realistic goal. More realistic than 2009, and certainly more realistic than 2008.
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