Top 20 Rockies Games of 2018
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Colorado Mojo from 2018
Let us listen to the purple row and not forget the magical season of 2018 for Colorado's professional baseball team...
Top 20 Rockies Games of 2018
Top 20 Rockies Games of 2018
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Criminally Undervalued Free-Agent Roster for 2019
In an effort to defy the de-humanizing trends of the mighty mlb empire -- in this case the owners siphoning all the excitement and anticipation out of a fast-approaching Spring Training by colluding to keep veteran wizards unemployed -- I'm obliged to construct a roster of remaining free-agents entering the 2019 season.
If some of us place an aesthetic appreciation of the beautiful game of baseball (as a player, fan, dreamer, etc.) and, in particular, an aesthetic appreciation of all those highly skilled mlb players who make it look so easy as the primary source of our enjoyment (even above winning), such an opinion would no doubt be lambasted by the fiscally anal mob of trolls on the web just as much as the number-crunching poindexters pontificating the virtues of wOBA on their insular little forums.
So be it.
Before I introduce the new team, conceived as an expansion team formed in protest against the collusion of mlb owners, based in .... say .... Montreal (and still going by the name of Expos), let me be frank in addressing the key to my team's success: stylized defense, unorthodox lineups, intelligent hitting approach, and the inherently unquantifiable qualities of spirit, style, and aggressiveness hiding therein.
25-man roster
C: Martin Maldonado (R)
1B: Hanley Ramirez (R)
2B: Brandon Phillips (R)
3B: Yangervis Solarte (S)
SS: Jose Iglesias (R)
LF: Marwin Gonzalez (S)
CF: Adam Jones (R)
RF: Carlos Gonzalez (L)
DH: Evan Gattis (R)
UTIL: Josh Harrison (R)
Bench:
OF - Cameron Maybin (R)
OF - Gerardo Parra (L)
IF - Danny Valencia (R)
Starting Rotation:
1. Gio Gonzalez (LHP)
2. Bartolo Colon (RHP)
3. Ervin Santana (RHP)
4. Brett Anderson (LHP)
5. Edwin Jackson (RHP)
6. Doug Fister (RHP)
Long relief:
1. Jorge De La Rosa (LHP)
2. Jake Diekman (LHP)
Late relief / Closers:
1. AJ Ramos (RHP)
2. Drew Storen (RHP)
3. Santiago Casilla (RHP)
4. Sergio Romo (RHP)
BATTING ORDER:
1. Gonzalez, Marwin - LF
2. Gonzalez, Carlos - RF
3. Hanley Ramirez - 1B
4. Gattis, Evan - DH
5. Solarte, Yangervis - 3B
6. Jones, Adam - CF
7. Phillips, Brandon - 2B
8. Maldonado, Martin - C
9. Iglesias, Jose - SS
Bring it on.
If some of us place an aesthetic appreciation of the beautiful game of baseball (as a player, fan, dreamer, etc.) and, in particular, an aesthetic appreciation of all those highly skilled mlb players who make it look so easy as the primary source of our enjoyment (even above winning), such an opinion would no doubt be lambasted by the fiscally anal mob of trolls on the web just as much as the number-crunching poindexters pontificating the virtues of wOBA on their insular little forums.
So be it.
Before I introduce the new team, conceived as an expansion team formed in protest against the collusion of mlb owners, based in .... say .... Montreal (and still going by the name of Expos), let me be frank in addressing the key to my team's success: stylized defense, unorthodox lineups, intelligent hitting approach, and the inherently unquantifiable qualities of spirit, style, and aggressiveness hiding therein.
25-man roster
C: Martin Maldonado (R)
1B: Hanley Ramirez (R)
2B: Brandon Phillips (R)
3B: Yangervis Solarte (S)
SS: Jose Iglesias (R)
LF: Marwin Gonzalez (S)
CF: Adam Jones (R)
RF: Carlos Gonzalez (L)
DH: Evan Gattis (R)
UTIL: Josh Harrison (R)
Bench:
OF - Cameron Maybin (R)
OF - Gerardo Parra (L)
IF - Danny Valencia (R)
Starting Rotation:
1. Gio Gonzalez (LHP)
2. Bartolo Colon (RHP)
3. Ervin Santana (RHP)
4. Brett Anderson (LHP)
5. Edwin Jackson (RHP)
6. Doug Fister (RHP)
Long relief:
1. Jorge De La Rosa (LHP)
2. Jake Diekman (LHP)
Late relief / Closers:
1. AJ Ramos (RHP)
2. Drew Storen (RHP)
3. Santiago Casilla (RHP)
4. Sergio Romo (RHP)
BATTING ORDER:
1. Gonzalez, Marwin - LF
2. Gonzalez, Carlos - RF
3. Hanley Ramirez - 1B
4. Gattis, Evan - DH
5. Solarte, Yangervis - 3B
6. Jones, Adam - CF
7. Phillips, Brandon - 2B
8. Maldonado, Martin - C
9. Iglesias, Jose - SS
Bring it on.
Monday, January 14, 2019
The Old Man and the Seed
Inverting Hemmingway's The Old Man and the Sea and turning it into a baseball allegory
Baseball already plays a prominent role in the book:
The Seed --
The technical language surrounding fishing, boating, sailing, etc. will instead describe baseball equipment, tactics, fielding/hitting/throwing techniques, etc.
The Icarus/Daedalus archetype could also still apply, perhaps in the form of a hitter going the distance to break DiMaggio's hit streak record of 56 consecutive games and destroying himself (or his record) in the process.
Nature as presented in the typically modern/masculine/christian-european way, in the form of Man imposing his will upon the sea (discussed as being both feminine la Mar and masculine el Mar) and the battle of Man vs. Nature (with the multitudinous force of Nature getting the best of the heroic masculine individual) is now deconstructed and re-presented as human nature (i.e. errors) and the nature of the game (i.e. failure) and overcoming the odds through solidarity, cooperation, teamwork, ingenuity, imagination, experimentation, and guile.
Baseball already plays a prominent role in the book:
- Santiago admires and idolizes Joe DiMaggio
- Manolin, the boy, shows a similar reverence for Jolten' Joe and the Jankees
- Santiago teaches Manolin about "the baseball" just as he teaches him about fishing
- Manolin's eagerness to learn the art of fishing from the old man could be transposed as an eagerness to learn the art of playing baseball...
The Seed --
- sunflower seeds
- top seed / bottom seed
- the ball when hit hard and fast, with little or no arc (on the ground, line drive)
- the ball when pitched at high velocity
- the ball when thrown across the diamond
- sowing the seed of "a love for baseball" in the mind of the youth
- symbol of youth itself, a seed compared to the old hickory
The technical language surrounding fishing, boating, sailing, etc. will instead describe baseball equipment, tactics, fielding/hitting/throwing techniques, etc.
The Icarus/Daedalus archetype could also still apply, perhaps in the form of a hitter going the distance to break DiMaggio's hit streak record of 56 consecutive games and destroying himself (or his record) in the process.
Nature as presented in the typically modern/masculine/christian-european way, in the form of Man imposing his will upon the sea (discussed as being both feminine la Mar and masculine el Mar) and the battle of Man vs. Nature (with the multitudinous force of Nature getting the best of the heroic masculine individual) is now deconstructed and re-presented as human nature (i.e. errors) and the nature of the game (i.e. failure) and overcoming the odds through solidarity, cooperation, teamwork, ingenuity, imagination, experimentation, and guile.
Friday, June 29, 2018
Not pace of play, but tv presentation is the big problem with pro baseball losing viewers
Why oh why do they cry about time...? These old crusty whitemen wielding some awful spell over the graceful game of baseball...
They speak of how slow our pastime seems to new consumers. These young viewers catching an inning or two on their sleek screened phones. Very important segment of the market.
Don't forget the middle-aged men and old women at home watching the game as it withers away inside the idiot box.
They say they think baseball is boring. But does anyone care to critique the monoform? Or the lousy way games are broadcast on lousy telecasts? The monoform of batter vs. pitcher in one image, with millions of cut-aways to the pitcher wiping sweat from his brow, the batter undoing and redoing his batting gloves, repeat: it is a sad spectacle indeed.
In these days of defensive shifts and web gems, we should be getting more than just an occasional glimpse of the entire fielding corps; once every at bat and probably every pitch would be appropriate.
It's not about the inherently glacial pace of play. It's about grabbing audience attention in some silly way. Alter their expectations, keep them engaged, play with memory -- both collective/shared and personal).
So, you wanna grab people's attention? Ditch the monoform, first of all.
Just show us a split screen, or an alternative shot in a small box laid over the primary image, or a double-imposed image where the foreground image (pitcher vs. batter) is bigger, yet softer; and the brighter image (the entire defense spread out over the infield and outfield) is in the background, always moving ever-so-slightly.
So, mlb, please discontinue insulting viewer intelligence.
They speak of how slow our pastime seems to new consumers. These young viewers catching an inning or two on their sleek screened phones. Very important segment of the market.
Don't forget the middle-aged men and old women at home watching the game as it withers away inside the idiot box.
They say they think baseball is boring. But does anyone care to critique the monoform? Or the lousy way games are broadcast on lousy telecasts? The monoform of batter vs. pitcher in one image, with millions of cut-aways to the pitcher wiping sweat from his brow, the batter undoing and redoing his batting gloves, repeat: it is a sad spectacle indeed.
In these days of defensive shifts and web gems, we should be getting more than just an occasional glimpse of the entire fielding corps; once every at bat and probably every pitch would be appropriate.
It's not about the inherently glacial pace of play. It's about grabbing audience attention in some silly way. Alter their expectations, keep them engaged, play with memory -- both collective/shared and personal).
So, you wanna grab people's attention? Ditch the monoform, first of all.
Just show us a split screen, or an alternative shot in a small box laid over the primary image, or a double-imposed image where the foreground image (pitcher vs. batter) is bigger, yet softer; and the brighter image (the entire defense spread out over the infield and outfield) is in the background, always moving ever-so-slightly.
So, mlb, please discontinue insulting viewer intelligence.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Monday, October 2, 2017
A day of rest to depress
Today is an eerie precursor to that dreadful, sinking feeling we all get once the Fall Classic concludes and we are faced with only one cold fact: no more baseball.
Yesterday, all thirty teams played their final regular season game of the year at roughly the same minute -- ostensibly to prevent gamblers from persuading players to perform dishonestly or something like that -- which enabled me to watch four games simultaneously on a single computer screen, while tracking my fantasy team unexpectedly capture the championship trophy for the second time in three years. We even had baseball practice in the cold wetness of Copenhagen's grass fields. It was a good day.
But today it pissed down all day and killed my poor cannabis plants. It was too windy and wet to bother trying to save them -- covering them up would only hasten their demise, as the mold grows too fast to fight here at sea-level -- so I watched that new Grateful Dead documentary instead: Long Strange Trip.
And therein lies the concept linking both the interminable quality of a baseball season and the bizarre fascination with fantasy baseball (a hallucination) which often seems more real than the "on-field product" sold and distributed by mlb (and dutifully performed by its christian-player-products).
A bunch of other horrible stuff is going on in the world at the moment to add to today's depression: mass shootings, mass ethnic deportations, a president continuing to exacerbate institutionalized racism, climate catastrophes caused by humans who reject their own involvement, and so on.
Baseball is a distraction from all that. As is the Grateful Dead. They both share many qualities, the Dead and baseball, such as a wistful longing for simpler lifestyles based on play and fun, the sense of a community supporting a group both adored and akin to themselves (I could play second base for the A's! Jerry seems like a kindred spirit!), the promise of an alternative reality of belonging, and that strange amalgamation of the sacred and profane, of becoming a religion, but one that has a healthy sense of humor.
The road to the fantasy baseball trophy is also a long strange trip. You gotta be dedicated and zealous and shrewd or you might end up a half-game back of the standings and miss out on the playoffs; all because you had to attend some damn wedding or birthday or funeral and forgot to set your lineup. Persistence pays off, just like the Grateful Dead will tell ya.
But today is shomer-fucking-shabbas. A day of rest. And in that Grateful Dead documentary, Jerry Garcia's daughter laments about her father: "I just wish he would've fucking rested"
Rest up, dear readers: the Rockies play post-season baseball tomorrow night!
Yesterday, all thirty teams played their final regular season game of the year at roughly the same minute -- ostensibly to prevent gamblers from persuading players to perform dishonestly or something like that -- which enabled me to watch four games simultaneously on a single computer screen, while tracking my fantasy team unexpectedly capture the championship trophy for the second time in three years. We even had baseball practice in the cold wetness of Copenhagen's grass fields. It was a good day.
But today it pissed down all day and killed my poor cannabis plants. It was too windy and wet to bother trying to save them -- covering them up would only hasten their demise, as the mold grows too fast to fight here at sea-level -- so I watched that new Grateful Dead documentary instead: Long Strange Trip.
And therein lies the concept linking both the interminable quality of a baseball season and the bizarre fascination with fantasy baseball (a hallucination) which often seems more real than the "on-field product" sold and distributed by mlb (and dutifully performed by its christian-player-products).
A bunch of other horrible stuff is going on in the world at the moment to add to today's depression: mass shootings, mass ethnic deportations, a president continuing to exacerbate institutionalized racism, climate catastrophes caused by humans who reject their own involvement, and so on.
Baseball is a distraction from all that. As is the Grateful Dead. They both share many qualities, the Dead and baseball, such as a wistful longing for simpler lifestyles based on play and fun, the sense of a community supporting a group both adored and akin to themselves (I could play second base for the A's! Jerry seems like a kindred spirit!), the promise of an alternative reality of belonging, and that strange amalgamation of the sacred and profane, of becoming a religion, but one that has a healthy sense of humor.
The road to the fantasy baseball trophy is also a long strange trip. You gotta be dedicated and zealous and shrewd or you might end up a half-game back of the standings and miss out on the playoffs; all because you had to attend some damn wedding or birthday or funeral and forgot to set your lineup. Persistence pays off, just like the Grateful Dead will tell ya.
But today is shomer-fucking-shabbas. A day of rest. And in that Grateful Dead documentary, Jerry Garcia's daughter laments about her father: "I just wish he would've fucking rested"
Rest up, dear readers: the Rockies play post-season baseball tomorrow night!
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Super Moon, Open Mind
Midnight:
Largest Supermoon Since 1948
Leonard
Cohen died this morning.
Last month
he said “I’m ready to die.”
Today the
sun shined for a change.
Blue across
the sky,
Clouds low
and wispy.
The
Cleveland ballclub lost to the Cubs
last week in
that great Game 7 everyone
suddenly
forgot all
about.
The
Cleveland ballclub last won it all in 1948.
But this
year the city hosted
the
Republican
National
Convention.
The
Cleveland ballclub lost to the Cubs,
who last won
it all 108 years ago.
Old Judge
Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan
in that
year’s presidential election.
Nighttime
frosty grass crusts glittering
under a few
constellations
following a
glowing supermoon.
Waxing and
elliptical, tilting down to the right,
The moon
hatched liked an enormous egg.
Daybreak:
Remembering the Deep Moonquakes of Late 2016
And the moon
hatched like an enormous egg
All along we
thought only about its surface. But!
‘Twas to be
the center of her – the yoke – ya see!
The moonshell cracked and cracked again.
We call them
lobate sharps.
You could
see all these lines and fissures from here on Earth.
And the moon
hatched like an enormous egg.
The
moonshell broke in two,
then into
three
fragments
all falling away at an amusingly
extreme…..
……slo…wwwwwww
mmmmmmo’hhhhhhhhhh……
…………..pace…….
(gulp)…..
………….“O! ………..
Nooooo……oooooo…..oooooo…..oooooo…..oooooo…..ooooooo”
The moon
hatched like an enormous egg.
And the
moonshell fell apart.
A sudden
palliative cure for our planet’s auto-immunity
disorder – a.k.a. humans – arrived in the form of an
inexplicable force of energy enveloping the Earth;
initiating
from what used to be called:
“the core of
the Moon”
The energy evaporated
into the skies, and eventually soaked into their skin and sank into their water
supplies.
And the humans opened their
minds
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