I'm sure I quote Julius Caesar every year on this date, but whatever.
70 thoughts on “March 15, 2013: Beware the Ides of March”
In minor league spring training action, Rochester defeated Pawtucket 6-0 yesterday. Jason Lane and Anthony Slama each struck out three in two shutout innings. Virgil Vazquez pitched three shutout innings and Daniel Turpen pitched two. Josmil Pinto hit a two-run homer and had four RBIs. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a double.
Looks like it's time to promote Slama to Big-League Camp!
GW's promising season came to an end last night when they played 39 minutes of good defense and then 1 minute of terrible defense and fell to the UMass. Still, they started four frosh and a transfer, and were so close to winning a lot more games. The future is more promising than any point since the 2007-08 season.
A couple of rough parts of the loss: GW didn't make a single three-point in the entire game. Trey Davis, a frosh backup for UMass, had made eight three-pointers all year until yesterday when he made three (including consecutive possessions in the final minutes) and reached a career high in points. Oh, and he was a GW commit who was screwed over by the school when Karl Hobbs was fired and the new coach didn't want him. He got royally shafted by GW for backing out of the scholarship offer, so I can't begrudge him too much for the big revenge game.
I forgot to add that, for any of you doubting my past discussion of the A10 refs, you should check out the finish of yesterday's Charlotte-Richmond game.
Drake fired their coach yesterday. He was there for 5 years and never finished higher than 7th out of 10 in the conference. He was hired from Arizona State and had no head coaching experience. He inherited a team that was a #5 seed in the NCAA tournament the previous year and had beaten Butler on the road in the bracket buster. Butler also lost their coach after that year.
It just shows what a huge decision it is for these schools when they choose coaches. Butler has been in the tourney each year while Drake hasn't made the NIT.
No head coaching experience always seems to be a gamble. Some guys are just meant to be great assistants.
It is especially shaky when you give him a team that is pretty good and he specializes in recruiting.
He supposedly had the best recruiting class in the conference 3 of the 5 years but never finished above 7th.
If it makes you feel any better, the Hoyas almost certainly won't end up with a #1 seed now.
The Potter County Battlers suffered their first loss of the season in the first round of that state tournament yesterday, falling to South Central 54-44. They didn't play an awful game, but they didn't play a particularly good game, either, and if you want to win a state tournament, you have to play well. They'll take on Langford Area this afternoon in the consolation round.
Potter County loses again, falling to Langford Area 71-56. The effort put forth by the Battlers was disappointing, especially on defense. They will play for seventh place at noon tomorrow.
Whether I’m working with Joe Mauer or Ryan Doumit...
So, does this mean a certain third catcher won't be coming north, or am I reading too much into it and Gardy's flexible bench proclamation was all a sham?
well, the italian stallion hasn't been in camp, so i'm guessing he just hasn't had the opportunity.
He's also batting about .150 in the WBC. So there's that.
The problem with Zombie Butera is that he's always hit poorly, so why should hitting poorly change anyone's opinion of him?
I've come around to the idea that there are important considerations in putting together a baseball team which are difficult to measure. Not impossible, but at least difficult in that reasonable people can come to different conclusions. What makes Zombie Butera so difficult to kill is that all of his (perceived) value comes from those things which are difficult to measure. If, indeed, he excels at every aspect of catching, helps the pitchers, and is good in the clubhouse, you might be able to justify keeping him around. I don't believe he's that good at all of that stuff, but I can't prove it the way that anyone can prove he's a terrible hitter.
Barry Bonds never carried the Giants to a WS victory. Since he's "retired," they've won two! Addition by subtraction!
The Godwin's Law of Baseball Discussions
LOL.
If you can't measure it, you need to use the smell test.
Smells like BS to me.
Yeah. I mean, I can believe he's above average in the non-measurables, I just can't believe he's far enough above average to make up for his obvious lack of measurables.
Well, Sweet Drew has been in the WBC for most of camp. But I, too, hope that these are the only two he's working with.
I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited about Worley. Seems like a great/interesting guy. His numbers seem solid, and he definitely won't just be throwing slop like certain other members of the rotation. It'll be fun to look forward to someone's turn in the rotation rather than grimacing every time you see the probable starters.
But Joe has been in the WBC, too, and Vance still name dropped him. Anyway, a boy can dream, can't he?
That interview was solid. I enjoy hearing talk like that where the guy is really aware of what is physically happening with his trade.
plus, I have his K graphics ready for this season's game logs
I've softened quite a bit on my Kobe Bryant opinion this year.
Is that because Kobe's d-bag-ness pales compared to Dwight's?
I'd love to see him miss the playoffs for the rest of his career.
Sid is actually 93 years old today, which is really something.
Sid at 93 is a great endorsement for dying young.
I think it's amazing that he's still semi-coherent at 93. The problem is, of course, is that he's about the same as he was 30 years ago.
Sid Hartman is one of those people who's death is going to catch everyone by surprise. He's been around so long that you just assume he'll be around forever.
The dude still drives a car and he's always around the University and all those students crossing the street at weird places/times. I'm scared to death he's going to clip someone one day.
At least there should be no major injuries when he's only travelling 15mph
I'd guess Pirates fans were generally pretty happy with what they got last year. Plus, they finally have a star player in McCutchen. It seemed like they went for a long stretch without having any particularly interesting high-end talent. Before McCutchen, the last player they had go back-to-back seasons with a team-high WAR was Brian Giles from 1999 to 2002.
Wisconsin made 7 (4 FT and a 3pter) in the last minute of the first half to make it to 17 points.
they are only down by 3 to Michigan
BIG TEN BASKETBALL!!!!
Nothing like watching teams stall the whole game away.
it wasnt stalling, no one could made a shot. Sconnie was something like 5-28 from the field
the second half of this game is much better
The Badgers scored 51 points in the second half? Inconceivable!
That's a good game for them.
Maybe the Big Ten should just embrace it and eliminate the shot clock.
I for one would be thrilled by the return of the four corners offense. I'm sure SBG concurs.
The drawback is that there's ALWAYS a [redacted] ground blizzard out there for, like, 10 months out of the year, and the other two months there are tornadoes and shit.
We really should have copyrighted that [redacted] schtick.
Twins night game alert. It will be televised on FSN North.
FSN+
and once again, it will be Twins/Red Sox announcing booth
Vikings just signed Greg Jennings. I've been a big fan of his ever since he was drafted. I'm sad he's leaving, but I was prepared for it. You guys will like him.
Its cool the Vikings signed him, but my question is is he really a good WR, or a product of the GB system/having a HoF caliber QB?
I'd say he's a really good (not great) receiver, but a lot of his numbers were from playing with Rodgers. He'll be excellent at picking up first downs, which is all the Vikes really need him to do.
on top of that, is it worth breaking the bank for a receiver if you don't have a QB to throw it?
but the Vikings has Matt Cassell!!! !!! !!! !
Greg Jennings better not read his twitter feed for a while. Wisco's not happy!
the Wolves were up by 20 points in the 3rd quarter
8 minutes left in the 4th and they are down by 2
sigh
and they lose by 10
they are a Rambis like 8-27 since Jan 1
the US-PR game is maddening (the snail's pace isn't helping).
Joe's definitely doing his part.
NRHEG and Minneapolis Washburn girls are playing in a State tourney game. Some girl for NRHEG (who is a Gophers commit apparently) has score 46 of the teams 65 points. wow.
this game also has about 45 fouls committed by the teams.
now up to 48, tying the State Tourney record.
Carli Wagner is her name, and she tied her own record from last year. wow
In minor league spring training action, Rochester defeated Pawtucket 6-0 yesterday. Jason Lane and Anthony Slama each struck out three in two shutout innings. Virgil Vazquez pitched three shutout innings and Daniel Turpen pitched two. Josmil Pinto hit a two-run homer and had four RBIs. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a double.
Looks like it's time to promote Slama to Big-League Camp!
GW's promising season came to an end last night when they played 39 minutes of good defense and then 1 minute of terrible defense and fell to the UMass. Still, they started four frosh and a transfer, and were so close to winning a lot more games. The future is more promising than any point since the 2007-08 season.
A couple of rough parts of the loss: GW didn't make a single three-point in the entire game. Trey Davis, a frosh backup for UMass, had made eight three-pointers all year until yesterday when he made three (including consecutive possessions in the final minutes) and reached a career high in points. Oh, and he was a GW commit who was screwed over by the school when Karl Hobbs was fired and the new coach didn't want him. He got royally shafted by GW for backing out of the scholarship offer, so I can't begrudge him too much for the big revenge game.
I forgot to add that, for any of you doubting my past discussion of the A10 refs, you should check out the finish of yesterday's Charlotte-Richmond game.
Drake fired their coach yesterday. He was there for 5 years and never finished higher than 7th out of 10 in the conference. He was hired from Arizona State and had no head coaching experience. He inherited a team that was a #5 seed in the NCAA tournament the previous year and had beaten Butler on the road in the bracket buster. Butler also lost their coach after that year.
It just shows what a huge decision it is for these schools when they choose coaches. Butler has been in the tourney each year while Drake hasn't made the NIT.
No head coaching experience always seems to be a gamble. Some guys are just meant to be great assistants.
It is especially shaky when you give him a team that is pretty good and he specializes in recruiting.
He supposedly had the best recruiting class in the conference 3 of the 5 years but never finished above 7th.
If it makes you feel any better, the Hoyas almost certainly won't end up with a #1 seed now.
The Potter County Battlers suffered their first loss of the season in the first round of that state tournament yesterday, falling to South Central 54-44. They didn't play an awful game, but they didn't play a particularly good game, either, and if you want to win a state tournament, you have to play well. They'll take on Langford Area this afternoon in the consolation round.
Potter County loses again, falling to Langford Area 71-56. The effort put forth by the Battlers was disappointing, especially on defense. They will play for seventh place at noon tomorrow.
meet vance worley.
This quote was interesting to me:
So, does this mean a certain third catcher won't be coming north, or am I reading too much into it and Gardy's flexible bench proclamation was all a sham?
well, the italian stallion hasn't been in camp, so i'm guessing he just hasn't had the opportunity.
He's also batting about .150 in the WBC. So there's that.
The problem with Zombie Butera is that he's always hit poorly, so why should hitting poorly change anyone's opinion of him?
I've come around to the idea that there are important considerations in putting together a baseball team which are difficult to measure. Not impossible, but at least difficult in that reasonable people can come to different conclusions. What makes Zombie Butera so difficult to kill is that all of his (perceived) value comes from those things which are difficult to measure. If, indeed, he excels at every aspect of catching, helps the pitchers, and is good in the clubhouse, you might be able to justify keeping him around. I don't believe he's that good at all of that stuff, but I can't prove it the way that anyone can prove he's a terrible hitter.
Barry Bonds never carried the Giants to a WS victory. Since he's "retired," they've won two! Addition by subtraction!
The Godwin's Law of Baseball Discussions
LOL.
If you can't measure it, you need to use the smell test.
Smells like BS to me.
Yeah. I mean, I can believe he's above average in the non-measurables, I just can't believe he's far enough above average to make up for his obvious lack of measurables.
Well, Sweet Drew has been in the WBC for most of camp. But I, too, hope that these are the only two he's working with.
I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited about Worley. Seems like a great/interesting guy. His numbers seem solid, and he definitely won't just be throwing slop like certain other members of the rotation. It'll be fun to look forward to someone's turn in the rotation rather than grimacing every time you see the probable starters.
But Joe has been in the WBC, too, and Vance still name dropped him. Anyway, a boy can dream, can't he?
That interview was solid. I enjoy hearing talk like that where the guy is really aware of what is physically happening with his trade.
plus, I have his K graphics ready for this season's game logs
I've softened quite a bit on my Kobe Bryant opinion this year.
Is that because Kobe's d-bag-ness pales compared to Dwight's?
I'd love to see him miss the playoffs for the rest of his career.
Louis C.K. for the win.
NSFW
ohmygodohmygodohmygod!
On the one hand I'm really excited, and on the other hand I have a chainsaw.
Bill Sharman and Gail Goodrich: not Mercury Morris.
The 10-day forecast for the Twin Cities calls for high temperates that are 15 to 20 degrees below the average for this time of year. #$%* me.
It's March 15th and I have the ND road report open in a tab on my browser to determine if I can travel to Winnipeg. Oy vey.
68F here; I wore a t-shirt to lunch today
40 degrees yesterday afternoon and sometimes-freezing rain followed by snow in the morning.
I'd rub it in, but by the time DPWY and his better half make it here it'll only be in the mid 60s.
59F and sunny here in the big O, finally melting the snow from the end of the driveway that I was to lazy to shovel on Monday.
I present to you two sportswriters discussing same topic. You decide which one you like better.
Sid is actually 93 years old today, which is really something.
Sid at 93 is a great endorsement for dying young.
I think it's amazing that he's still semi-coherent at 93. The problem is, of course, is that he's about the same as he was 30 years ago.
Sid Hartman is one of those people who's death is going to catch everyone by surprise. He's been around so long that you just assume he'll be around forever.
The dude still drives a car and he's always around the University and all those students crossing the street at weird places/times. I'm scared to death he's going to clip someone one day.
At least there should be no major injuries when he's only travelling 15mph
Ah, spring.
I'd guess Pirates fans were generally pretty happy with what they got last year. Plus, they finally have a star player in McCutchen. It seemed like they went for a long stretch without having any particularly interesting high-end talent. Before McCutchen, the last player they had go back-to-back seasons with a team-high WAR was Brian Giles from 1999 to 2002.
Wisconsin made 7 (4 FT and a 3pter) in the last minute of the first half to make it to 17 points.
they are only down by 3 to Michigan
BIG TEN BASKETBALL!!!!
Nothing like watching teams stall the whole game away.
it wasnt stalling, no one could made a shot. Sconnie was something like 5-28 from the field
the second half of this game is much better
The Badgers scored 51 points in the second half? Inconceivable!
That's a good game for them.
Maybe the Big Ten should just embrace it and eliminate the shot clock.
I for one would be thrilled by the return of the four corners offense. I'm sure SBG concurs.
You mean they haven't?
a search the the Twins 5th starter
Yes to Sofia Vergara. Also...
We really should have copyrighted that [redacted] schtick.
Twins night game alert. It will be televised on FSN North.
FSN+
and once again, it will be Twins/Red Sox announcing booth
Vikings just signed Greg Jennings. I've been a big fan of his ever since he was drafted. I'm sad he's leaving, but I was prepared for it. You guys will like him.
Its cool the Vikings signed him, but my question is is he really a good WR, or a product of the GB system/having a HoF caliber QB?
I'd say he's a really good (not great) receiver, but a lot of his numbers were from playing with Rodgers. He'll be excellent at picking up first downs, which is all the Vikes really need him to do.
on top of that, is it worth breaking the bank for a receiver if you don't have a QB to throw it?
but the Vikings has Matt Cassell!!! !!! !!! !
Greg Jennings better not read his twitter feed for a while. Wisco's not happy!
the Wolves were up by 20 points in the 3rd quarter
8 minutes left in the 4th and they are down by 2
sigh
and they lose by 10
they are a Rambis like 8-27 since Jan 1
the US-PR game is maddening (the snail's pace isn't helping).
Joe's definitely doing his part.
NRHEG and Minneapolis Washburn girls are playing in a State tourney game. Some girl for NRHEG (who is a Gophers commit apparently) has score 46 of the teams 65 points. wow.
this game also has about 45 fouls committed by the teams.
now up to 48, tying the State Tourney record.
Carli Wagner is her name, and she tied her own record from last year. wow