Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Posnanski: Jeff Francoeur and ANT
(joeposnanski.blogspot.com)
posted 5 days ago by RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) to announcers, bob kennedy, derek jeter, jeff francoeur, joe posnanski, tim tebow
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84 comment(s)
Also known as THE WILL TO WIN.
The other day, I was watching the visiting announcing crew call a Kansas City Royals game, when Jeff Francoeur came to the plate. Before it even began, I knew what was coming. The announcers started to praise Francoeur. You know, it was all the usual stuff—great leader, plays terrific defense, bat coming around, wonderful guy. And, suddenly, a question came to mind.
What player in baseball do you think has the most ANT—Announcer Nonsense Talk—spoken about them? ...Read More...
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1 2 >And where are they now? All dead.
I rest my case.
We probably don't have to think about any aspect of it at this point, given that they did this once, three years ago.
And was never controversial, and universally beloved.
DiMaggio wasn't flashy? The man married Marilyn Monroe for crying out loud.
Oh, go away. Seriously, when is this twatbag going to retire already? Go ####### home and stay there.
Edit: Fortunately, my username can be abbreviate with punctuation so I can roll with this handle for a little bit.
That's what led to Bryce Harper's downfall.
I don't think that happened, not that it matters to McCarver.
Willie Mays has said that he purposely wore a cap that was too small, so that it would come off when he was running the bases or tracking down a flyball.
I thought the cap was too large, not small.
There are too many states. Please eliminate three.
I am not a crackpot.
I thought it was too small, so that the cap would perch on his head rather than grip it. But maybe you're right and the idea was for the oversized cap to be too loose. The important takeaway here is that Barry Bonds' godfather taught him everything he knew about erratic head size.
Gibson only got hit 8 times in almost 1500 career PA's, and only twice from 65-70.
Well, for one thing, you have to pick up a bat and step in the box with the understanding they may owe you one.
Yes, it's the equivalent of applauding bullying, and it is assault and battery. Intentionally throwing at people is the sucker punch of baseball.
I wonder who he threw at? Did he throw at Willie McCovey, or Frank Robinson or Frank Howard when they were in the league? Or did he make sure he threw at some pencil-neck second basemen? Gibson has always kind of come across as the Mitt Romney who sheared the gay kid's hair. A great pitcher, but . . . .
Even though eight doesn't sound like a lot, the rate per PA is actually not all that far off how he often he hit batters.
He hit each of those guys once.
Ron Hunt (who you apparently couldn't miss) and Roy McMillan lead the pack with six plunks each - Tony Taylor is third with four HBP.
Maybe he'd be first to administer the beatdowns to the charging sluggers. Merely being hulking doesn't constitute a martial art, after all. How many sluggers receiving blacks eyes to go with their bruised rib would it take before they started "forgetting" to drop their bats on the way to the field of combat?
I see what you did there.
Bringing me to perhaps my favorite quote re Gibson, from Hank Aaron to a teammate:
"Don't dig in against Bob Gibson; he'll knock you down. He'd knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him. Don't stare at him, don't smile at him, don't talk to him. He doesn't like it. If you happen to hit a home run, don't run too slow, don't run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first. And if he hits you, don't charge the mound, because he's a Gold Glove boxer."
Really? Pedro plunked batters at twice the rate that Gibson did. How many starts did Pedro lose?
or some hulking slugger would go out to the mound and beat the #### out of him.
Yeah, just like Pedro's still in the hospital recovering from Don Zimmer's Sonny Liston imitation.
Not that any of this has anything to do with McCarver's typically moronic comment about Bryce Harper, which is defensible only as a straight line.
And Jack Baldschun calls him a coward. Baldschun has a point I think.
One interesting part of the story. After Gibson's second brush back on Bennett, Doug Harvey, "waved a warning finger at Gibson, which automatically results in a $50 fine" (Happened to Baldschun later in the game too). Did not realize that Umpires could fine players as late as the 60s. (Yes, the fine was actually given by the NL president, but it's "automatic")
Sequence of events: Flood homers, Bennett knocks down Javier, Gibson brushes Bennett back twice (warned and fined), Baldschun (who relieved Bennett -- Bennett was shelled) hits Gibson (warned and fined), Gibson throws his bat at Baldschun (ejected -- costing him an easy win). (Had Gibson not been ejected, one wonders about the next escalation. Perhaps Gibson lobs a grenade into the on-deck circle?)
And #20 Check the timeline. It seems to me that a fair number of his HBP were early in his career against the Phillies.
You aren't seriously comparing Don Zimmer to either a hulking slugger or Sonny Liston, are you?
Oh, and I love that, on the same page as the beanball war story, there's an ad to "Learn Judo and Karate". Google ads would be so proud!
DB
First
Maybe Jim can finally get us a sarcasm font in the beta site.
I'm definitely in the crowd who grew up listening to stories of how tough Gibson and Drysdale were. And, frankly, I'm tired of hearing about it. I grew up a Phillies fan and McCarver was Carlton's personal catcher, and hung around long enough to collect a paycheck in four different decades. So I've been hearing these stories for a long time.
People like Tony Conigliaro and Dickie Thon lose careers over beanballs. The game would probably be a lot better off without all the macho B.S.
This is just incredible B.S. I thought going all-out on every play was supposed to be a virtue?
As for the "flash," I will never understand why we consider it preferable for players to act like robots and show no emotion, to "act like you've been there before." WTF? I thought players were supposed to have fun and play like it's your last game.
No they'd just say he was another uppity ****** that was ruining baseball.
Ok, they wouldn't *say that*.
It's Andy. Even if it was sarcasm, he'd just mess up the coding. ;-)
Paul Blair's beaning was accidental and Ken Tatum was so shaken by the result he was unable to throw inside after that. Probably played a role in ending Tatum's career.
Yeah, just like Pedro's still in the hospital recovering from Don Zimmer's Sonny Liston imitation.
You aren't seriously comparing Don Zimmer to either a hulking slugger or Sonny Liston, are you?
Well, since Rocky Marciano also played baseball, I didn't want to confuse anyone, so I settled on the guy that Zimmer apparently saw in the mirror. And if that still flies over you, my brother Chico will sell you the print version of the code book.
I was decidedly in the undecided column when he first came up, having heard about his warrior paint and blowing a kiss to the pitcher and all that. But he has acted like a Major Leauger from Day #1 and won over more people than I could have imagined. I can't see how this is bad in any way for MLB.
But, since Tim McCarver is considered some elder statesman of baseball his word is authoritative to those who cover the game. You know: people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk...
Harper hustles all the time, which is exactly what the old school folks are always saying they want.
Going balls to the wall may not work for every player, but it seems to be in line with Harper's personality, and it's theoretically what everybody wants, anyhow. I say keep it up and give the tiresome old men of the future a new cliche ("Back in my day, players played hard. Why, you could hit a ball fifteen feet foul and Harper's already on second base!").
Probably, but comparing Harper to Mantle makes sense, since both switch-hit, while Mays only hit rightie.
You've forgotten the first rule of broadcasting: there's a cliche for each side of the equation and you pull out whichever one fits the narrative.
Probably, but comparing Harper to Mantle makes sense, since both switch-hit, while Mays only hit rightie.
Better to learn it now before you start making any bets on that.
Ichiro wanted to hit two homers today. He should do that more often.
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