That’s the Damoclean sword of the Internet—it just coerces that empty content out of you

A) the allusion to the sword of Damocles is woefully inapt, B) daily newspaper columnists and any sport's beat reporters would make few deadlines if they were prevented from offering "empty content", and C) "empty content"? Is that like "boneless ribs" or "working vacation"?

Did not know that there was a "rivalry" between Don and Rob Neyer.

Posada deserves the Hall of Fame, just for hooking his wife, given the phizz he sported.

Word.

Did not know that there was a "rivalry" between Don and Rob Neyer.

Goes back quite awhile. Silly of Rob to tweet about it, don't you think, all it does is create more traffic to Malcolm's blog.

The truth is that Rob has been writing some pretty meh stuff of late. Colin Wyers just took after him, and the article about creating a "recall" capability for Hall of Famers is probably a better example of what Malcolm was snarking about. It's just a nutty idea.

Insult? Sure. Gratuitous? Maybe, maybe not. He's taken after him before in earlier blog entries...so maybe that means that he (Rob) had just had enough of getting dumped on and Malcolm was "the last straw."

cat fight!!! cat fight!!

Rob generally casts himself as one thing (because that's what he wants to be) and then he argues for the opposite. In this case he probably sees himself as the "good guy" but he decides to poke the crusted turd on this one and then complains about the smell.

I don't know anything about the Neyer fued, but my god is "perspectivizing" ever an ugly word.

It was just a tweet, guys. There's no feud and Don can write whatever he likes about me.

I found his criticism gratuitous because it didn't seem that he actually read what I wrote. Or if he did, he chose to misinterpret because he enjoys ripping me. Always has. Not that I take it personally; he enjoys ripping nearly everyone. Always has, probably always will.

Which is fine. That's his thing and I wouldn't propose to take it away from him. Thanks!

Thanks!

?

Posada deserves the Hall of Fame, just for hooking his wife, given the phizz he sported.

hmph, how much do you think she charges?

Nice to see Rob here, despite our occasional fracases over the years he's an important person in the field and will always have a legacy in it.

And yes, in my haste to sprinkle in some snark I did misrepresent the source of Rob's rambling ruminations on Posada...I should have pointed out that it stemmed from an email he'd received. In my mind, it's still an idea that, once examined, wouldn't rise to the level of being significant enough to post, but obviously YMMV. I'm sure that some of you will feel the same way about the "other content" in my own post. That's the Damoclean sword of writing for public consumption...

But I do appreciate Rob giving me carte blanche to operate heavy machinery...thanks!

I can see why people might conclude that Don likes to rip people, but it's not true. I've known Don since 1971, when he was a college freshman, and what he DOES like is calling people out by name on bad ideas or bad writing. This sometimes leads to polarization. Since Don will call you out by name, if he's right, you feel exposed. On the other hand, if you turn out to be right, Don gets caught with his underwear down, because he also never rips anonymously. If he's wrong, you know it was him; that is, he has called himself out by name just as much as he called you out. I think this is about as fair as fair can be, which is one reason I've kept up my close friendship with Don since 1971, although he lives in LA and I live in STL.

I should note that Don does have a very high tolerance for flame wars, if he's convinced he's right on the idea involved. That is, he will get into arguments that go ad hominem, as long as he's convinced he's right on the issue, rather than the ad hominem. I have no such tolerance. If an argument with me goes ad hominem, I just run away from the argument as fast as I can. That's why you don't see me defending Don very often; by the time it's gotten that bad, I want no part of the argument.

Disclosure: When I say that I am Don's friend, I mean that heavily. He's one of my two or three best friends in the world. I don't know if I'd rate that high on his list, but he does on mine. There's a reason that we were able to collaborate for a decade on putting out the books now collectively known as "Big Bad Baseball Annuals." And that, when I burnt out on being the editor/publisher, he was able to take those jobs over with no personal difficulties on either of our parts. We just get along. Always have. He never goes personal on me, no matter how far I have my head up my butt, because he knows I don't deal well with that, and eventually, I'll have to pull my head out to breathe.

- Brock Hanke

Don- nice of you to show, always enjoy that.

I liked the column. That being said, I don't think my internet definitions are off when I say that what you wrote is not snark, but a real insult. There is a difference, IMO.

Geez. Get a room, you guys.

The truth is that Rob has been writing some pretty meh stuff of late.

Not that I'm an authority on anything, but I have to agree. The field is certainly a hell of a lot more crowded now than it was back in his ESPN days of 10 years ago, when I used to read all of his posts, so there's that, but since the move to SB Nation I haven't really found him worth following.

The thought of playing anywhere else probably also influenced Posada. Of all the ballparks in all the major leagues, the one he really didn’t want to walk out of (to rework that Casablanca reference just a bit…) was New Yankee Stadium. The revamped “House That Ruth George Built” proved to be exceptionally cozy for Jorge: in the three years he played there (at the advanced age of 37-39), the park literally kept his career going. He hit .302 there, with an OPS of .938. On the road, those number were considerably more wan—as in .209 and a .665 OPS. In 2011, Posada hit .165 away from the Bronx, with a .524 OPS....

There’s a good chance that Jorge will end up in the Hall—but it will be sometime after 2030 or so, when many more things have shaken out. Second, it turns out that Posada’s very favorite place to hit is—you guessed it—Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City (.340 BA, 1.011 OPS).

This makes me remember a question I've long thought about: Why doesn't BB-Reference break down a player's stat lines vs. each team by home and road? Right now they've got overall home / road numbers, and overall stats vs. each team and in each ballpark, but why not take it to the next logical step? What did Posada hit against the Royals in the two Yankee Stadiums?

In my mind, it's still an idea that, once examined, wouldn't rise to the level of being significant enough to post, but obviously YMMV.

Well, it is hardly the first time the idea has been bruited about, and it will probably come up again. It would not support a lengthy piece, but for a blog post that helps to point out that it is wrong, or at least starts the discussion, sure.