My Morning in Exile

I got 99 problems but delaying the first pitch ain’t one:

  • When the Mets’ gravity fails, negativity will pull them through (hat tip to Jay for putting “Tom Thumb’s Blues” in my head)
  • According to Heyman, Joe Girardi is one of “October’s Disasters.” I agree that good outcomes don’t validate bad decisions, but c’mon.
  • The Curse of Larry Dierker strikes again.
  • As alluded to earlier, my two takes on McGwire becoming the Cardinals’ hitting coach: Serious take and not-so-serious take. Maybe I’ll go for some emotional ambiguity later.
  • Did A-Rod get jobbed out of the ALCS MVP?

    Finally, though I didn’t weigh in on it in a formal post, I am struck by the notion that three nights of bad judgment as a playa did for Steve Phillips what five years of bad judgment as an analyst couldn’t do: get him fired. There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere, but I’m too busy planning a rendezvous with my portly mistress to think too hard about it . . .


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    Jack Marshall
    14 years ago

    Craig—-I think you SHOULD do a formal post on it. You might expand into the more general conundrum of why managers and general managers who have proved their lack of judgment sufficiently to get canned in their chosen profession can qualify as “experts.”

    Rob²
    14 years ago

    Until aggrieved viewers can extract damages from ESPN for being subjected to Phillips’s “analysis”, we can all be assured that sleeping with a subordinate employee will always lead to a quicker firing than being a moron in front of the microphone.

    kyle s
    14 years ago

    portly mistress is the name of my deep purple tribute band.

    michael standish
    14 years ago

    Changing the name of the tribute band from “Steve Phillips” to “Portly Mistress” is a big mistake.

    puck
    14 years ago

    Don’t writers vote for the ALCS MVP?  Can they actually vote for “Sabathia/A-Rod co-MVP,” as the NBC commenters seem to suggest?

    Mark
    14 years ago

    As a Mets fan myself I am pretty much taking the “this World Series isn’t happening” approach.  Bring on football and movies.

    Beanster
    14 years ago

    Referring to Ms. Hundley as a “portly mistress” is unfortunate.  The correct term now in use by the NY Post, which first reported the story, is “shlubby seductress”.

    John_Michael
    14 years ago

    Phillips’ gal pal no longer with network
    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/phillips_gal_pal_no_longer_with_GIBB0ARUgTYxBI2LHVuciL

    “Brooke Hundley is no longer working here,” said ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz. He confirmed that the firing of the 22-year-old production assistant was effective today.

    Todd
    14 years ago

    A-Rod’s ALCS WPA: .530
    CC’s ALCS WPA: .679

    Did A-Rod get jobbed? Nope.

    Aarcraft
    14 years ago

    Question for fellow THT Shyster readers. Should I respond to the comment on the Astros post at NBC, which alleges the Astros cheat by blowing the AC in when the visitors are batting, and offers “proof” by guessing Pujols homerun would have gone 500 feet if the roof had been open? Or should I let it go?

    Craig Calcaterra
    14 years ago

    I’d let it go. I make no headway over there and it’s my damn blog.

    Aarcraft
    14 years ago

    fair enough

    MooseinOhio
    14 years ago

    Many baseball players who are going through difficult periods have been know to make use of ‘slump busters’ to get back on track.  Apparently the same cannot be said for broadcasters of baseball games as Steve Phillips interactions with a ‘portly mistress/shlubby seductress’ had no positive impact on the quality of his commentary. 

    Now if only Joe Morgan would commit enough immoral acts/sexual harassment statutes to shame ESPN into firing him.  Apparently FOX is somewhat immune to being embarrassed by Tim McCarver as he is still in the booth after releasing this album (http://www.amazon.com/McCarver-Sings-Selections-American-Songbook/dp/B002OJGGH6).

    Jack Marshall
    14 years ago

    Aarcraft: The question is whether the post is so self-evidently discrediting that it isn’t necessary or productive to bother. I’d be tempted, because these kinds of assumptions are insidious, but I waste way too much time in pointless arguments too. Craig is right.

    YankeesfanLen
    14 years ago

    Did I happen to mention Yankees in 5?
    And when I implore everyone to leave ARod alone, I didn’t mean MVP voters.  Oh, the Series MVP is better.  Never mind.

    Vin
    14 years ago

    I’m posting this here because the comments on that Mets post at NBC were just so asinine….

    At any rate, Craig, I am taking your advice and going the “order shows on Netflix and forget about the World Series” route. Or maybe I’ll find a good book to read. I may switch on a game for a bit at some point, but I really don’t care who wins. I can’t in good conscience root for either team. I’m accepting the fact that my team is run by a bunch of idiots, and sitting this one out.

    Kevin S.
    14 years ago

    Craig, you left one thing out in your serious McGwire post, and ironically, it was part of a cost-benefit analysis McGwire and his lawyer must have engaged in – Congress, or more specifically, Congress’s ego.  I think we can all agree that the steroids hearings weren’t much more than a dick-measuring exercise for certain denizens of Capitol Hill.  The players were denied immunity for those hearings.  Had McGwire gotten up and explained that the costs (when he was playing, mostly personal health) were far outweighed by the benefits, Congress might have felt the urge to make an example of those who break federal laws because they thought the rewards outweighed the risks.*  Given that, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to be disappointed he didn’t come clean.  If Congress really wanted answers, immunity would have been given.  McGwire’s display four and a half years ago wasn’t to protect his reputation, but his freedom.

    *Assuming, of course, the substance McGwire used was indeed illegal