Stone: Yankees Lose
"You'd think a self-styled baseball blog would have some commentary on the baseball story of the season. But, alack, no."
I think this has got to be one of the first times in the history of mankind that a boss has called out an employee for not blogging enough about baseball. This, folks, is historic.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Stink
Before their current series against the Red Sox, the A's had won 16 of their last 19 games. Normally, a record like that suggests the team is playing good baseball.
Well, the A's haven't looked like a good baseball team at all over the last four games. They've lost three games and are well on their way to losing their fourth in a row, the last three of these losses against the Red Sox. The Sox have outplayed the A's in every regard: pitching, defense, patience at the plate, power, you name it...
Normally, I like to look at the stats to back up my claims, but I can't bear to look deeper. We can all see with our bare eyes that the A's really don't belong on the field with the Sox right now. This isn't making me feel very good about (A) the A's chances of making the playoffs or (B) doing anything in the playoffs, should they make it at all.
And while I'm griping, why is it that I recently find myself screaming at the TV, "THROW STRIKES" whenever the A's are pitching?
UPDATE: 8-0 Sox in the middle of the fourth, with Tim Hudson already bounced from the game. Ugh.
Well, the A's haven't looked like a good baseball team at all over the last four games. They've lost three games and are well on their way to losing their fourth in a row, the last three of these losses against the Red Sox. The Sox have outplayed the A's in every regard: pitching, defense, patience at the plate, power, you name it...
Normally, I like to look at the stats to back up my claims, but I can't bear to look deeper. We can all see with our bare eyes that the A's really don't belong on the field with the Sox right now. This isn't making me feel very good about (A) the A's chances of making the playoffs or (B) doing anything in the playoffs, should they make it at all.
And while I'm griping, why is it that I recently find myself screaming at the TV, "THROW STRIKES" whenever the A's are pitching?
UPDATE: 8-0 Sox in the middle of the fourth, with Tim Hudson already bounced from the game. Ugh.
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Plight of An A's fan
Here they go again...
"Argh - it's hard to decide which team to root against, the Sox or the Yanks. I usually despise the Yanks above all else, but visions of "Li" and "lly" taped on red jackets and the idiocy of Cowboying Up are being revived by the September weather." - Comment from Nikolai
Absolutely. Another conflict I'm having is whether or not I want the Yankees to miss the post-season entirely. It's not ridiculously out of the question at this point that the A's, Angels and Red Sox could all sneak past the Yankees, leaving the Bronx Bombers out of the postseason for the first time in ages... But that would put the Angels and the Red Sox in the post-season, and I don't really like them either.
I guess I'll just have to root against all three teams and hope the Rangers make the playoffs. I don't hate them yet...
"Argh - it's hard to decide which team to root against, the Sox or the Yanks. I usually despise the Yanks above all else, but visions of "Li" and "lly" taped on red jackets and the idiocy of Cowboying Up are being revived by the September weather." - Comment from Nikolai
Absolutely. Another conflict I'm having is whether or not I want the Yankees to miss the post-season entirely. It's not ridiculously out of the question at this point that the A's, Angels and Red Sox could all sneak past the Yankees, leaving the Bronx Bombers out of the postseason for the first time in ages... But that would put the Angels and the Red Sox in the post-season, and I don't really like them either.
I guess I'll just have to root against all three teams and hope the Rangers make the playoffs. I don't hate them yet...
Friday, August 27, 2004
Dr. Arneson
Baysball
"Today, Zito didn't throw a curveball for a strike until the fourth inning. In the third inning, he yielded four runs. After that first good curveball, the Orioles got nothing else. The only thing stopping Zito after that was his pitch count."
-Ken Arneson, filling in at Baysball, making a great point about Zito. So, how do we/Curt Young make sure he's throwing his curve for strikes?
"Today, Zito didn't throw a curveball for a strike until the fourth inning. In the third inning, he yielded four runs. After that first good curveball, the Orioles got nothing else. The only thing stopping Zito after that was his pitch count."
-Ken Arneson, filling in at Baysball, making a great point about Zito. So, how do we/Curt Young make sure he's throwing his curve for strikes?
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Playoff Chase
Between the AL West and the AL Wildcard there are four teams fighting for two playoff spots. Here's how their schedules look over the last month+ of the season. (ranked by opponents' winning pct)
Oakland - .493
Anaheim - .500
Boston - .503
Texas - .511
And the key series between these four teams:
Ana at Bos, 8/31 - 9/2
Tex at Bos, 9/3 - 9/5
Bos at Oak, 9/6 - 9/8
Tex at Oak, 9/13 - 9/16
Tex at Ana, 9/17 - 9/19
Oak at Tex, 9/21 - 9/23
Oak at Ana, 9/24 - 9/26
Ana at Tex, 9/27 - 9/30
Ana at Oak, 10/1 - 10/3
And some of those old-school, back-east rivalry games:
Bos at NYY, 9/17 - 9/19
NYY at Bos, 9/24 - 9/26
That gives us a game with HUGE playoff implications every day between 8/31 - 9/8 and 9/13 - 10/3. I give a slight edge to the A's here for two reasons: (1) Their games against the Red Sox are at home instead of at Fenway and (2) They have a slightly easier schedule.
Regardless, there's going to be an aweful lot of good baseball to watch down the stretch, so thank goodness for MLB Extra Innings! Now, if I could only get around that annoying Fox roadblock on Saturday afternoons...
Oakland - .493
Anaheim - .500
Boston - .503
Texas - .511
And the key series between these four teams:
Ana at Bos, 8/31 - 9/2
Tex at Bos, 9/3 - 9/5
Bos at Oak, 9/6 - 9/8
Tex at Oak, 9/13 - 9/16
Tex at Ana, 9/17 - 9/19
Oak at Tex, 9/21 - 9/23
Oak at Ana, 9/24 - 9/26
Ana at Tex, 9/27 - 9/30
Ana at Oak, 10/1 - 10/3
And some of those old-school, back-east rivalry games:
Bos at NYY, 9/17 - 9/19
NYY at Bos, 9/24 - 9/26
That gives us a game with HUGE playoff implications every day between 8/31 - 9/8 and 9/13 - 10/3. I give a slight edge to the A's here for two reasons: (1) Their games against the Red Sox are at home instead of at Fenway and (2) They have a slightly easier schedule.
Regardless, there's going to be an aweful lot of good baseball to watch down the stretch, so thank goodness for MLB Extra Innings! Now, if I could only get around that annoying Fox roadblock on Saturday afternoons...
Thursday, August 19, 2004
If It Wasn't For The Internet...
...We'd probably never learn about the booze hound bears.
CNN.com - Bear guzzles 36 beers, passes out at campground - Aug 19, 2004
"A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer"
CNN.com - Bear guzzles 36 beers, passes out at campground - Aug 19, 2004
"A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer"
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Lowell McAdam Continues to Frustrate
Stone: Oh, Those Verizon Guys! Lowell McAdam is a Bad Executive, Part III
"That sad part is the coverage and the phone plans are so nice, it's tough to leave them. But their customer-facing practices are S-L-I-M-Y."
Marc hits the nail right on the head. Have a Verizon experience (good or bad) that you'd like to share? Post a comment or email Marc over at Stone
"That sad part is the coverage and the phone plans are so nice, it's tough to leave them. But their customer-facing practices are S-L-I-M-Y."
Marc hits the nail right on the head. Have a Verizon experience (good or bad) that you'd like to share? Post a comment or email Marc over at Stone
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