Flip Stickin' It

Flip goes pin seeking at the Pit.

U-G-G-L-A, You Ain't Got No Alibi.

So we all presumably have seen this guy's line by now:
0-4 3K's, GIDP, 3 ERR. He also left a whopping 6(!!) men on base, most in the game, and double what anyone else in the NL did.

His 3 K's put him in good company: other members of the Silver Sombrero club in the summer classic are Johnny Bench, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle (whose only other plate appearance was a HR) and Willie McCovey, among others. The closest of those to Uggla's performance is probably Gehrig, who also committed an error, but he at least scored a run.
Roberto Clemente had the only Golden Sombrero in the history of the game (but it happened in the other 15 inning game in 1967, and he played the whole game [6 AB's, 1 hit, so really, it's only a technical Golden Sombrero]— while Uggla came in in the 6th)

But none of those guys completely booted every ball that was hit their way. Between he and Hanley Ramirez I'm surprised they both remembered to bring their gloves.

Is that the worst night ever? Yeah. It is. It's the worst for a position player, anyway. In fairness, that last error was borderline (but I think Utley makes that play)

This fella here:


Gave up 7 earned runs in the Year of Our Lord 1983 (in one inning of work, no less), but that's deceptive because he was also victimized by the first Grand Slam in the history of the game, and he didn't even get the loss (Mario Soto). I'm curious how he stays in the game for long enough to give it up, frankly.


Truthfully, I was worried everyone was going to be talking about the bloop homer Voltron gave up, but Wagner and Uggla took care of that. A ball was bound to leave, it just so happened that he was the unlucky guy and grooved the wrong pitch.

Show of hands, who among you were actually awake when Justin Morneaughxbdfn crossed the plate?

A New Asterisks for MLB

The Josh Hamilton fairy-tale is obviously one of the most talked about stories of the first half of this MLB season. A former first pick that was out of the game for 3 years taking the American League and Major League Baseball by storm in his first full season back in the Majors has to make sports writers everywhere giddy with the possibilities. And on top of the incredible RBI pace, and the all-star selection, the 28 home runs traveling an average of over 450 feet in 1 round of the Derby is just another chapter in this amazing story. When the capacity crowd at Yankee stadium started to cheer his name I literally got chills. But is he really a positive role model?

Hamilton missed three years not because he was serving our country like the greats of WWII and the Korean War, not because he was coming back from some horrific injury or disease like paralysis or cancer, and not because of some injustice from the league or the government, but because he was a drug addict. I know when he was out of the game he had no formal training regiment, and the only batting practice he did was by feeding quarters into a cage at the local sports club, and I am not trying to diminish his accomplishment, it is amazing, but that doesn’t make him a role model for everyone. And his recovery and return to grace is a great story, and must be written and told throughout the US and the world as an example of what perseverance can do, and that no matter what your current situation, you have the ability to be great.

However, the way in which this story is told is just as important as the story itself. The important lesson is that he came back and became what he should have been all along, and if he hadn’t succumbed to addiction just imagine what he could have accomplished. Many of the stories and broadcasts from the past months are ready to coronate Hamilton as the next face of MLB. But many of them fall short of explaining the full lesson here.

It is not okay to lose 3 years of your life to drugs and alcohol.

We cannot teach our children that being a druggie and a slacker is ok as long as you eventually come out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with Josh Hamilton, I think he is a great example of what a person should do if they find themselves overcome with drugs and alcohol. My problem is with the media who is so ready for a positive role model to take over from the steroids era that they will take anyone who comes along. What about the real winner last night Justin Morneau, or David Wright, or Chase Utley, or any other guy who has done it the right way?

Every person, young or old, who has or will ever suffer from addiction problems, can use Hamilton as a positive example of what can happen when you commit yourself to sobriety. It proves the resiliency of the human spirit that you can come back from the depths and achieve your greatest potential. I sincerely hope that this is not an anomaly, and that Josh Hamilton will continue to become one the great ball players of this generation, but we must be careful to put these lessons in the proper context. I never want my child to grow up like Josh Hamilton.

Sorry Hanley

so I saw this video on youtube and I couldn't help myself. I particularly like the "BC has better Christians" comment.... Enjoy.

The Only Game Played at the World Series

Quick hat-tip to the blogging by my college buddy John on his poker blog. John finished 18th in last year's WSOP Main Event. He has over a half million in tournament winnings. He's starting Day 2B of the M.E. in just a few minutes.

"Key Hand #5: Level 3, 150-300
I think if I had to pick, this would go down as "hand of the day" yesterday (although there are some other candidates coming). So for this hand, we need to reflect on Barbara Enright and what we'll just call "solid poker player". She's plenty smart enough to put someone else on a huge hand and lay down a big hand if bets are laid out in a PERFECT manner. Trust me, one miss step and any seasoned player will see right through your bluff and crush you (I know, I feel like I make huge calls with marginal hands when playing at the Commerce in L.A. because bad players make bluffs that just don't make sense...and if it doesn't make sense, it actually becomes an easy call despite how big the bet might be). Anyway, I'm in the BB and she's on the button. I'm dealt JJ, which I'm excited about, but there is a limper from EP, then Barbara makes her biggest preflop raise of the day up to 1,800. At this point, it is screaming KK or AA, so my J's look no good, right? Well, I follow my 10x rule, see that she has plenty of chips to make my call worth the potential, so I smooth call. The EP raiser folds. So my logic is at this point, I know she has AA or KK, so let's see if I can either spike a J on the flop or represent something and take the hand away from her. The flop comes out a BEAUTIFUL 7, 6, 5. You might be thinking at home, "why is that a good thing for you John??" Well, think about it from her perspective. What types of hands would I be playing? If she pegs me as a solid player, I'd actually lay down AQ or AJ quite easily to her preflop bet. The only hands I'm going to call with would be pocket pairs... so I just might have 7's , 6's or 5's...or even 8's or 4's would be a decent hand given this board. So there are 5 hands I might have that might have her either crushed or worried. Another key component of this hand is "how would I play a set if I had a set..." Rookies will often slow play sets waiting for their opponents to bet. I believe it is better to actually lead out with them hoping to score a major pot. Anyway, I'm first to act and I do indeed bet $2,000 into the $4,000 chip pot. She min-raises to $4,000. I smooth call to set her up for a bigger score. The turn comes a 4...even more perfect! Now I could conceivably any pocket pair from 8's to 4's would have her A's or K's crushed! I mock some frustration/fear and check...she fires 4k into the 10k pot (she has about 14k behind). Without hesitation, I reraise her 14k! Doyle Brunson once said, the key to NL Hold 'em is to putting a player into a difficult choice for all their chips. Barbara can either call my bet and risk going home, or she can assume what is somewhat reasonable that I have one of those pocket pairs, make the "big laydown" and live to play some more. There was very, very, very little doubt that she'd fold. Anyway, she thought for a few minutes and finally muttered under her breath "making such big laydowns...geez!"... I later heard her whisper to a friend that she did, indeed fold AA here. Anyway, when all added up, I stole 10k of her stack for free! Woohoo! Teachable conclusion: Sometimes it is easier to bluff a good player because they are "smart enough" to put you on that huge hand. Just be careful, because if any part of the bet does not make sense, they'll see right through it."

For anyone interested in NL Tournament Hold 'Em strategy, I hold this blog in as high regard as Doyle's Super System II.

Ambidextrawesomeness

What happens when a switch handed pitcher meets a switch hitter? Hilarity ensues. Seriously, there needs to be a rule about who has the 'last say' over from which side of the plate or mound the action will ensue. A rule that is uniform and transparent. Like this.

Duke's Day in Court

Five years ago, Duke and Louisville entered into a contract to play four football games together over the next decade. After a 40-3 drubbing in September 2002, the Duke Athletic Department decided to renege on the deal, canceling the last three games. Part of the contract called for either team to pay a penalty of $150K per game if a "team of similar stature" could not be found to fill the date. Louisville sued Duke for $450K plus any and all applicable ancillary costs.

The trial hinged on the meaning of a "team of similar stature". In my opinion, a top-tier program like Louisville schedules a Duke to be a cupcake on their relatively hard Big East slate. Duke however, made the opposite argument. They stated that since the program is 6-45 over the past five years, literally any team in Division 1 would be a "team of similar stature". After arguments from the Duke lawyers laying the case that its team was the worst program in Division 1, the judge agreed:

"At oral argument, Duke (with a candor perhaps more attributable to good legal strategy than to institutional modesty) persuasively asserted that this is a threshold that could not be any lower. Duke's argument on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville."

Say what you will (and we can) about the big money issues of college football scheduling, I find it hilarious that Duke went to court to prove that their football team is horrible. I would love to see the transcript on this one.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3455278