My Morning in Exile

Another fun Nice Guys Finish Last bit: Leo Durocher going on in 1975 about how, in his mind, Babe Ruth is still the real home run king. The more things change . . .

  • DeSoto? What did he do? Discovered the Mississippi. Oh, like they wouldn’t have found that anyway.
  • Prince Fielder to the Giants for a couple of arms. This happens, right?
  • The most obvious sign that the Red Sox have become the Yankees: people are saying that they can win the World Series because their ballpark has “magic.” Remember back when Sox fans used to make fun of the Yankees for this kind of nonsense?
  • Don’t call it a comeback/Swisher’s been here for YEARS!
  • Hey Cole, ya gonna come out and party with us this weekend? Well, um, actually, we’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that.
  • How’s Hank? Oh, Hank . . . you won’t see him no more.
  • I think the strangest thing I’ve witnessed in baseball over the past few years is the unreasonably high demand for Mark DeRosa. He’s had his moments I guess, but he’s no different than any number of other utility infielders the Braves have belched out of their system over the past 15 or 20 years. Do you think that Ed Giavanola and Paul Runge sit around and wonder why no one lined up to sign or trade for them every winter? Martin Prado is probably already looking at expensive real estate in anticipation.
  • The best Nice Guys Finish Last bit: Durocher’s family pronounced their name “Doo-row-shay” and not “Doo-row-shur.” I’m just now getting over Theisman/Theissman and now this.


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    YankeesfanLen
    14 years ago

    Egbert Souse….what a funny name.
    No it’s SOOSAY accent drawb over the e.

    Actually it’s an acute accent, but W.C. (as well as Mahatma Kane Jeeves) used to like to make up things.

    Let’s see, Yankees fans never want to turn into Red Sox fans, so it must be imitation………

    Travis M. Nelson
    14 years ago

    I think the kids in the Cole Hamels apartment ad are representative of what the Hamels envision their family to look like a few years from now.

    She’s pregnant with a boy and they’re planning an adoption of a baby girl from Ethiopia, so in about 4-5 years, their family will look a lot like that. Although perhaps by then he’ll have shaved and her fake boobs will have started to sag.

    Mark
    14 years ago

    “Remember back when Sox fans used to make fun of the Yankees for this kind of nonsense?”

    No, and I’m a Sox fan. I just remember thinking they were going to win because they were really good.

    MJ
    14 years ago

    The best Nice Guys Finish Last bit: Durocher’s family pronounced their name “Doo-row-shay” and not “Doo-row-shur.” I’m just now getting over Theisman/Theissman and now this.

    Honest conversation with my wife about a week ago after she started teaching this year’s fourth grade class.

    [open house]
    MJ Wife: Ah yes, your daughter Te-a (Taa uh) is in my class.  She’s doing very well so far.
    Te-a’s Mom:  Thank you, but her name isn’t Te-a.
    MJ Wife:  Oh, I’m sorry, she’s responded to me everytime I’ve called her that.
    Te-a’s Mom:  Yeah she’ll do that.  Her name is actually, Tedasha.  “The dash isn’t silent.”

    I wish I could make this up.  Makes Theisman/Theismann seem almost logical now.

    HP3
    14 years ago

    And how about the whole Tony Dorsit in college, Tony Dor-SET, thing?

    Travis M. Nelson
    14 years ago

    Sounds like Mrs. Bucket on Keeping Up Appearances:

    “It’s Bou-quet!”

    Tracy
    14 years ago

    SCTV classic:

    Tawny Beaver (“That’s Bevay, Floyd”)

    ecp
    14 years ago

    Durocher is a French name, so Doo-row-shay is the proper pronunciation.  Doo-row-shur is an anglicization.

    Mark
    14 years ago

    Hey, that’s O-NEED-ers!

    Dan
    14 years ago

    Regarding the “magical” quality of Fenway, while it gets too close to Aura and Mystique territory, the rest of the description is correct:

    “Filled to the brim with the most passionate, knowledgeable and maniacal fans this sport has ever seen, the Fens is an unwelcome late-season venue for any opponent. The game’s oldest ballyard becomes the game’s biggest advantage when the green wall is rumbling from “Sweet Caroline” serenades and Sam Adams-fueled cheers.”

    The Red Sox play their best at Fenway and have the home record to prove it.  It certainly didn’t hurt in the 2007 ALCS, and they managed to win in 2004 as the WC without home field advantage.  Its not Mystique and Aura or “ghosts” but it is not a place that opponents like to play.

    Raymond Luxury-Yacht
    14 years ago

    Good luck trying to pronounce my name. Nobody ever gets it right.

    Jake
    14 years ago

    Apparently the economy isn’t sufficiently in the tank, when overpriced crap like what is being hawked by Cole Hamels is still selling.

    Kahuna Tuna
    14 years ago

    Gotta disagree with you on your Mark DeRosa comment, Craig.  DeRosa is by far the Cardinals’ best option at third base right now.  LaRussa’s other two options are Joe Thurston (74 OPS+) and Brian Barden (73 OPS+).  DeRosa has solidified a real problem position for the Cards this season.

    Now, Martín Prado has a nice future ahead of him — current rate of 9.3 XBH per 100 career AB, plus a career average of .303, OPS+ of 109.  DeRosa’s rates are comparable:  8.7, .277, 98.  But it’s hard for me to see how you can lump DeRosa in with Paul Runge (78 OPS+) and Ed Giovanola (58 OPS+).  Giovanola, whom I watched for a year or so here in San Diego, was indeed the ultra-fungible, good-field-no-hit utility infielder.  For an alternative pair of players comparable to DeRosa and Giovanola, think of Paul LoDuca and Buddy Biancalana (gee, BB-ref seems to have factored in ethnicity too).

    Another way to think about this is that the Giants happily kept Rich Aurilia around as a veteran 1B/3B starter/supersub for several seasons instead of acquiring a slugging corner infielder to protect Barry Bonds.  The current Cards’ outfield has some pop, and Schumaker and Lugo have been getting on base at a decent rate.  With these offensive parts already in place, the front office may feel satisfied with DeRosa’s league-average production.  I’d expect DeRosa to go back to his supersub role next year, ready to step in if a starter goes down at positions 4-9.