Gregory Pratt

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 22, 2008 -> 09:23 AM) Having trouble fielding in the rain? Did the pitcher go Freddy Garcia on you? People know better than to tease me in person.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 22, 2008 -> 08:26 AM) Those of you just tuning in and will be attending next year's game, the strategy is, hit it to Pratt. I play excellent defense. When it isn't a monsoon.

...I can't comment in full because the kinds of things that get said at Softball games are the kinds of things that get people banned on forums! Great seeing you again, and a good game, too!

When it's done. (Probably a couple of days. I might write it tonight.) (I have to re-construct my notes because they got watered on.)

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 20, 2008 -> 08:08 PM) Nice description. We're back home. What a long ass drive. Pffft. Long drives rock!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 19, 2008 -> 05:09 PM) I am an Iowa alum, and if the letter is accurate and Barta, Ferentz et al. lied to this girl, I hope all of them are looking for work. Protecting rapists to me should be a crime itself. I just hope she can somehow move on from this and overcome or at least be able to deal with all that comes with it. I also hope she sues the pants off the University and gets a settlement that sends a message. The Iactions of the Iowa officials with whom she dealt, if the letter is accurate, is beyond sickening. It is. If there isn't a statute specific to rape then there is always conspiracy and aiding and abetting a criminal.

Well, I mean, who cares if the field's a little bad? Nobody except maybe me will be wearing cleats and it's a softball game.

It's just rain.

Dombrowski is excellent.

I wish you'd PMed me about it -- the suspense is killing me -- but we can definitely talk tomorrow. I'm looking forward to ripping these guys again.

I know there are posters here I'd be worried about, if the Sox lost!

In addition to playing I'll be covering this story. As a writer. Spoke to Gage about it. Should be fun.

I will say this: almost every President has been into sports to some capacity or other. Nixon loved college football, and so did Bill Clinton, who made his way out to Baltimore to watch Ripken break Gehrig's record. They're human beings and are allowed to. And this is good for Danks, and good for Bush that he gets a second or two to himself in the morning. It's not an easy job.

1. It's not the case. 2. It would be the case, as Beane has an ownership share (if I recall correctly), were it the case. 3. It's not the case. 4. It would be if it weren't. 5. It's not.

I foolishly decided that anonymity is not for me.

Pettitte has been contrite and as far as is publicly known only juiced to get better from injuries. That, more than what Barry Bonds did -- taking everything to double your size and strength -- is going to gain all sorts of leniency over time. And frankly, it's understandable that someone might try to recover a little quicker with the juice, especially for ballplayers who won't want to be hypocrites.

The Veteran's Committee is not going to care.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 12:58 PM) It takes something to make the Hall. For most it is statistical dominance over a period of time. For others it is being so good at one thing that those numbers get thrown out. For still others it is changing the game to something it had never been before. To me nothing about Mark stands out as so remarkable, that he deserves to get mentioned with the all time greats. Well, that's the broader point I made earlier, but I would agree with that. I'm just saying that "big round number" is not the case, and any declaration that "so far it does" take 300 wins is patently false. Will Buehrle make the Hall of Fame? Probably not. But if he can keep eating innings AND eating them at a high rate, and get enough wins, he would make a respectable Hall of Famer. There are a lot of years between now and then, however, and he'll have to be amazing and consistent for a long time. After all, if going out there every fifth game and being near the lead in innings pitched most years were enough to make the Hall then Livan Hernandez would be polishing his plaque.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 12:48 PM) I pretty much agree he's one of the best, but Santana has been as dominant over the last five years as Pedro was from 1997-2002. Well, no, actually. Pedro's got more Ks, I'd guess fewer walks (I'm not going to add them) and much lower ERAs and WHIPs. Santana never came close to Pedro's best ERA+es and that's just a basic look. Santana's had a damn good run but it is not Pedro's or any functional equivalent thereof.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 12:40 PM) But the whole point is that so far it DOES take 300 wins, at least at this point, to get into the hall...and I'd be surprised if they dipped lower than 250 as a benchmark... Pettitte is not a hall of fame pitcher IMO. He has a career 1.35 WHIP, and the 200+ wins he does have are mostly because he almost exclusively played on excellent teams. He was never particularly dominant, just very good. On the Yankees he mostly had an ERA in the low 4's - while winning 17-19 games per season because they scored 6+ runs a game for him. The bold is false. False from Lefty Gomez to Whitey Ford, from Bob Gibson to Juan Marichal, from Chief Bender to Don Drysdale, Candy Cummings Catfish Hunter to Mordecai Brown to Jim Bunning to Jack Chesbro to Stan Coveleski. And that's just off the top of my head. Hell, a few of these guys have less than 200 wins. As for Andy Pettitte, he is not particularly deserving if the standard is true greatness that very few have ever reached, like Ruth or Walter Johnson, but that is not the standard nor has it ever been since the first election. If you want proof of pitchers who do not belong in the Hall but made it anyway because they were Yankees in the playoffs and very good then you can look at Gomez and Ford. For what it's worth, Pettitte wouldn't be the worst Hall of Famer but that is neither here nor there at the moment. People seem to believe that you have to win 300 and strikeout 3000 or something but that simply is not true.

I mean, it doesn't take 300 wins to make the Hall of Fame. Andy Pettitte, for instance, is going to go in eventually, if not as a voters' choice then by the veteran's committee in several decades. Why? He's money in the postseason and a big-name ballplayer from this era. Buehrle has a good chance of getting in some day, but he has to keep his ERA below a certain mark -- 3.8? -- and have a lot of really good years for a lot of years.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 15, 2008 -> 10:43 AM) The history, the strategy, it has never changed, the statistics, and the human drama. Actually it's changed significantly on numerous occasions.

Mussina will get in, and so will Blyleven. Eventually, if nothing else. As for Buehrle, he has no great peak, so he'll have to have longevity at a very high level and I don't know whether or not that is going to happen for him. I doubt it. I suspect he'll have a statue at the Cell someday, at the very least.

Hamilton has never blamed anyone for his problems, has taken full responsibility and spoken out in great detail about his life without being coy or shady.

And you are not his biggest fan.