Offical MLB Thread!

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In other news, there were five BLANK HOF ballots and a single vote for David Sequi...


ZING!

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I don't disagree with the blank ballot in theory, but usually it's just guys like Mariotti doing it to "punish" players by not making them "first ballot Hall of Famers" (because, dadgummit, if Joe DiMaggio didn't get in on the first ballot, neither should Barry Larkin -- but does that mean Ozzie Smith was greater than Joe D?), and that's dumb.

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Another thing: there seems to be virtual unanimity as to Dawson being a nice and classy guy.  I guess I'd rather honor someone like that than the Jim Rices of the world who bitch and whine about guys like Derek Jeter, who don't do it like we did in the old days...


Anyway that's about it.  Don't pitchers and catchers report in six weeks or so?

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And now Mariotti is on Around the Horn, slurping Dawson and congratulating him on his HoF selection and for being a classy player! What a jerk.

[stax]

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/01/04/hall-of-fame-arguments/#more-2976

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And now Mariotti is on Around the Horn, slurping Dawson and congratulating him on his HoF selection and for being a classy player! What a jerk.

Chicago loves its own.  Just like Shaugnessy campaigning for Jim Ed Rice.

Speaking of which, LOVED Pos's takedown of "Morris is better than Schilling."  You can't fight Posnanski: he's the best blend of mainstream and alternative...

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Actually...  is Dawson beloved in Chicago for his Cubbie days?  I just did the Mariotti-Chicago connection.  In reality, Dawson will be going in as an EXPO (hence the gushing from Jonah Keri).  Where are the old-skool Montreal scribes?

And btw...  much love for this thread.  We got two pages on the Hall of Fame.  Think fans of the NFL care about the politics of Canton?  I think not. 

Baseball still matters.

[stax]

And now Mariotti is on Around the Horn, slurping Dawson and congratulating him on his HoF selection and for being a classy player! What a jerk.

Chicago loves its own.  Just like Shaugnessy campaigning for Jim Ed Rice.

Speaking of which, LOVED Pos's takedown of "Morris is better than Schilling."  You can't fight Posnanski: he's the best blend of mainstream and alternative...

I've been a Neyer man myself for a while, but I'll admit that was a great post.

As for baseball mattering, of course. In particular your HoF connection, this is sort of circular logic but the baseball HoF draws 2 pages of talk and the NFL doesn't because... The baseball HoF draws 2 pages of talk and the NFL doesn't. The baseball HoF means something, it is significant, it is a true honor for which people wait decades to even vote for. The standards are expected to be upheld, and things like Bruce Sutter's election really piss people off. As such Cooperstown remains meaningful, while Canton just elects anyone with more than one Superbowl ring.

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I've been a Neyer man myself for a while, but I'll admit that was a great post.

Oh man...  remember when Neyer was behind the evil ESPN Insider curtain for all those years?  When did he return to the mainstream with his blog?  So great to read his musings on a daily basis. 

I guess Neyer gets HIS ballot in a decade.  He's certainly qualified, being more of a baseball historian than the average beat writer.  I think his Tracers for Bill James's "Baseball Books" in the early 90s were my first exposure to him.  I think anyone who assisted James has gone on to bigger and better things (what's Jim Baker up to these days?)

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Brian Kenny had Rob Neyer AND Joe Sheehan on his radio show.  Kenny is perhaps ESPN's most sabermetric-friendly announcer so you know this is a good one.  Wish this exchange could have gone on for much, much longer.

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The Merkle ball is being sold at auction.  Fascinating artifact from baseball history.  But...

Any chance this is a hoax?  The Evers family could have had a dozen MLB game balls from the early part of the 20th century, scribbled "1908" and sold it as the real deal.

Why was the 1951 Thomson home run ball lost to time?

[stax]

The Merkle ball is being sold at auction.  Fascinating artifact from baseball history.  But...

Any chance this is a hoax?  The Evers family could have had a dozen MLB game balls from the early part of the 20th century, scribbled "1908" and sold it as the real deal.

Why was the 1951 Thomson home run ball lost to time?

http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Ball-Heard-Round-World/dp/0307452689

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Yeah heard about that book on BPR.  One of those road trips where's the author is searching for his soul more than the actual baseball.  Interesting bits on forensic investigating: studying newpaper photos, etc.  But no baseball was ever found.

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Holy crap, Jeter's getting married!

Thousands of sportswriters and announcers are crushed!

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Can't believe the Cubs really ARE jerking Dawson's chain by making the retirement of his number with the Cubs dependent upon the cap on his HOF plaque.  Seriously?!

And Mark McGwire...  here comes the Year of Shame.  False contrition to be sure but can anything else be expected?  America will accept false humilty before genuine egoism.

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Can't believe the Cubs really ARE jerking Dawson's chain by making the retirement of his number with the Cubs dependent upon the cap on his HOF plaque.  Seriously?!

And Mark McGwire...  here comes the Year of Shame.  False contrition to be sure but can anything else be expected?  America will accept false humilty before genuine egoism.

I can't believe people care this much. Every generation of athletes in every sport have cheated.

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And Bob Costas gets the "exclusive" chitchat with Steroid McGwire on the MLB Network (which requires an extra $10-15 per month on my cable system).  A-Rod had Gammons...  I wish Will Carroll would be the person to do these steroidy interviews; he wrote The Book after all. 

I wonder how hard Costas will be on McGwire, what with the St. Louis connection and Costas being the de facto Moral Conscience of Baseball (I wonder if he signed up to do Ken Burn's sequel?).  I guess better Costas than, say, Joe Buck.  Or Bill Plaschke. 

Dan Le Batard was right: steroids in baseball is THE most overblown "story" ever.

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Aaron Gleeman sums up nicely on Twitter: For years columnists and talking heads insisted McGwire needed to come clean. Now he has and same guys are ripping him for it.  Jon Heyman of SI was called out by Craig Calcaterra (one of my absolute faves) for exactly this.

Alas, consistency isn't a requirement for this sector of The MSM...

[THUNDERDUCK]

On Mark McGwire 
  CARDINALS MANAGER TONY La RUSSA

    “No one on the teams I managed worked harder or better than Mark. And now, his willingness to admit mistakes, express his regret, and explain the circumstances that led him to use steroids add to my respect for him. I’ve defended Mark because I observed him develop his unique power hitting skill through a rigorous physical and fundamental workout program. He has a lot to offer our team as our hitting coach. We look forward to his being part of the 2010 Cardinals.”

    ***

    CARDINALS CHAIRMAN BILL DEWITT, Jr.

    “On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, I believe Mark McGwire today did the right thing by telling the truth and openly acknowledging his past mistakes. No one condones what Mark did more than 10 years ago, but we hired him as our hitting coach because we know there are many contributions that Mark can and will make to our team and to this game. Because of the efforts of Commissioner Bud Selig, who implemented the toughest drug testing program in professional sports, the Major League Baseball culture as it relates to use of performance-enhancing substances has vastly improved over the last decade. I’m glad Mark has gone public and the Cardinals welcome him back as our hitting coach.”

    ***

    CARDINALS GM JOHN MOZELIAK

    “Mark is going to make an outstanding hitting coach. He’s a smart student of the game and he has a lot of valuable lessons he can teach our ballplayers. I’m glad Mark has gotten this off his chest and he can proudly begin the next chapter of his life. I can’t wait to see him back in uniform.”

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Quote of the Day:  I haven't voted for him because he wouldn't come forward and say anything, but now that he did and admitted he cheated, I probably still won't vote for him.

Having it both ways: ain't that America...