This Week in Baseball 5/21 - 5/27

[Bored]

ESPN & FOX Games to Poison Our Youth

 

MONDAY

Red Sox (Tim Wakefield) at Yankees (Chien-Ming Wang), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN

 

WEDNESDAY

Red Sox (Curt Schilling) at Yankees (Andy Pettitte), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN

 

SATURDAY

Phillies at Braves, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX

Indians at Tigers, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX

Cubs at Dodgers, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX

 

SUNDAY

Indians at Tigers, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN

[MarvinisaLunatic]

The Os/Jays HOF game tomorrow aint even on tv or radio.

[KingPK]

So....

 

Will we be seeing a new Yankee manager by Thursday morning? They've got the pitching lined up, so they have a good chance to take 2 of 3 here.

 

Clemens also faces the Red Sox AA squad this week (Portland Sea Dogs).

[Guest Smues]

2 of the 3 ESPN games are Yanks Sox. Goody goody.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

-The White Sox are an object lesson in offensive futility. Last in the league in runs, hits, batting average, OBP, slugging percentage. Only AJ Pierzynski has hit above average so far (and Jim Thome, who's missed many games). Kenny Williams ripped his team yesterday but frankly, it's a miracle they're above .500 right now.

 

-The Jack Cust explosion is nice but won't last. His batting line includes 21 Ks in 46 ABs. He can't keep that up and continue hitting. The A's do lead the league in team ERA though, showing they don't miss Barry Zito that much.

 

-Anyone notice the Cardinals have perhaps the best bullpen in baseball? Three guys south of 2.00. If only they had starters.

[Craig Th]

Is it Sunday Night or Monday Night baseball that doesn't blackout in local markets? I can't STAND watching BoSox games on YES, fucking Michael Kay is so annoying.

[MarvinisaLunatic]

Sunday night would be exclusive to ESPN, all other nights get the blackout.

 

-Anyone notice the Cardinals have perhaps the best bullpen in baseball? Three guys south of 2.00. If only they had starters.

 

The Os starters have been pitching well of late, but between the complete lack of offense and the bullpen blowing any leads they do manage to get late..

[Guest George's Box]

This week, I'm sure we will learn from Ozzie Guillen that "shut the fuck up" means something different in Venezuela, and is thus acceptable to use on the radio.

[The Man in Blak]

-Anyone notice the Cardinals have perhaps the best bullpen in baseball? Three guys south of 2.00. If only they had starters.

 

I appreciate the attempt at optimism, but I don't put much stock into this because:

 

1) those relievers are due for a bit of a BABIP correction (.260)

2) by the time those relievers come into the game, the other team has already amassed a four or five lead and they aren't quite as aggressive at the plate.

[Cheech Tremendous]

Has anyone read any good baseball books lately? I need a couple to pass the summer months.

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

This week, I'm sure we will learn from Ozzie Guillen that "shut the fuck up" means something different in Venezuela, and is thus acceptable to use on the radio.

 

Get over it. You don't exactly have the most friendly manager either.

[Guest Smues]

Has anyone read any good baseball books lately? I need a couple to pass the summer months.

 

If you haven't already read Game of Shadows I highly recommend it.

I also really like John Schuerholz' book, but that's of course complete homerism and it's probably rubbish.

[The Man in Blak]

Has anyone read any good baseball books lately? I need a couple to pass the summer months.

 

If you can find it, I'd recommend The Book: Playing The Percentages in Baseball, which was written by a couple of statisticians that post over at Baseball Think Factory. It's a stats book, but it focuses more on the theory behind in-game strategy (such as lineup contruction, appropriate times to bunt, etc.), so it's a different flavor of analysis.

 

http://www.insidethebook.com/

[Guest George's Box]

This week, I'm sure we will learn from Ozzie Guillen that "shut the fuck up" means something different in Venezuela, and is thus acceptable to use on the radio.

 

Get over it. You don't exactly have the most friendly manager either.

Tell CBS to get over it when they're fined $250,000 for saying "fuck" on the radio multiple times. This is actually sort of a big deal, unlike the usual Ozzie tirades, because he's running afoul of obscenity laws and somebody else is going to take the hit instead of him, if the FCC decides to fine WSCR. You see, since they were at a remote, they can't broadcast on a seven-to-ten-second delay like they can in the studio, so you either can't use the dump button, or if you do, you may only have like a second or two for the delay to recharge, and Ozzie was just fucking and shitting and goddamning all over the airwaves and there really wasn't anything anyone could do about it short of hanging up on him, and as the official home of the Chicago White Sox they probably didn't want to hang up on the manager. Ugly situation, and it seems like North is really milking it, but they could be in some big trouble because of what Ozzie said. Lou's a cranky bastard, but he hasn't managed to jeopardize anybody's broadcasting licenses this weekend, now has he.

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

But it's THEIR problem for getting Ozzie on the radio. They know he's volatile. Why do YOU care? Is it your wallet being impacted? It's just you wanting to bash Ozzie once again. I'm sorry, but it's tiresome now. Everyone knows he is a terrible public figure, so you don't have to repeatedly hammer that point home.

[Guest George's Box]

I'm sure Ozzie, like Steve Stone, Hub Arkush, and other special guests, has a special line to get through to the station other than the main caller line, and thus don't have to get past a screener like you or I would. They probably just put him right on, because they have Ozzie (as well as Ed Farmer, Kenny Williams, and Jerry Reinsdorf, and oodles of White Sox players) call in now and then. Nobody could have seen

 

"Hi Ozzie, how's it going?"

"You shut the fuck up."

 

coming, even from him. He's not an idiot. He knows you can't say "fuck" on the radio.

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

Obviously he doesn't care.

[Guest George's Box]

Then obviously he's an unprofessional jackass, and should be bashed accordingly.

[Brett Favre]

I find it entertaining. You shouldn't take stuff like that to heart. He's just messing around.

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

Which brings me to my original post. Who cares? It's just a Cubs fan whining about the crosstown team's manager getting negative attention. Just have Lou throw his patented tantrums on the field if you want attention on him.

[Guest George's Box]

He used the one word you can never ever use on the radio, in an age of FCC crackdowns, no less. That's not just messing around. Come on. Is this something where you need to be in or near the radio business to fully appreciate the ramifications of this gaffe, or did everyone here just get dumb?

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

I don't listen to the radio, so it doesn't affect me.

[Brett Favre]

That's exactly why he's doing that stuff. People like you who get their panties in a bunch over shit like that. That is called messing around. I mean seriously, just step back and listen to yourself. "OMG HE USED FUCK!! WHAT A BAD PERSON!" He doesn't give a shit, your reaction is probably funny to him.

[Guest George's Box]

That's exactly why he's doing that stuff. People like you who get their panties in a bunch over shit like that. That is called messing around. I mean seriously, just step back and listen to yourself. "OMG HE USED FUCK!! WHAT A BAD PERSON!" He doesn't give a shit, your reaction is probably funny to him.

Okay, that answers my question. I don't care if he uses that word. We all do. I do a lot, perhaps too much. The crux of the biscuit here is that while we can say it on the boards (this is a real blessing, btw, because some places censor you, so thanks mods) or with our friends or anywhere like that, we cannot go on public airwaves and say it, because that is against FCC regulations, and while I think we can all agree that the FCC needs to loosen up on lot of things since Super Bowl XXXVIII, that's one hard and fast broadcasting rule that Ozzie broke right there, and you've gotta hate to see somebody, even if it's an evil faceless corporation like CBS, which has had a hard enough time of it with the Don Imus thing, get fined anywhere from a quarter to a half million dollars because of one guy that doesn't even work there. It's hard to defend Ozzie in this one, and that's as a radio guy, not a Cubs fan. I don't know how many times I have to rationally break the situation down before you stop going "HAHA D00D YOUR A SLAVE TO A PAGE IN OZZIES RHYMEBOOK" or whatever.

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

If you're upset as a person in the radio industry, that's fine. I do see your point, but I took your comments to be just a way to bash Ozzie again as a Cubs fan. My apologies.

[Guest George's Box]

So anyway, the Cubs look like a pile of crap right now. First, Dempster says he's going to start, then Hendry comes and says he's not. Whatever, guys.

 

Al, what's your take on Carlos Zambrano? Injury or tankjob?

[Guest Smues]

Anyone got a link to this ranting of Ozzie on the radio?

[Guest Smues]

Well I found it with the swearing bleeped, so I still need to find the uncut version, but man that was hilarious listening to the guy scream back at Ozzie. Awesome.

[Guest George's Box]

That's Mike North, and having some background on that clown makes the whole exchange even funnier. This is the guy that called a Korean Cubs pitcher a Chinaman, had a weekly segment with his drinking buddy who called Jews "flim-flam artists," and is just generally every boorish Chicago meathead you'll ever meet, except this guy went from working at a hot dog stand to hosting a radio show. It's some of the worst radio I've ever heard. I can't believe I had to side with him in this case.

 

And needless to say, who is the root of the whole problem, the reason that Ozzie is calling about the lineup? Why, A.J. Pierzynski, of course!

[Boon]

He sounds exactly like a Super Fan.