June madness
Here's something I never thought I'd live long enough to say: I'm loving the NBA Finals. In fact, I've been falling hard since the playoffs started. Now, I'm merely in awe. Anyone else who's a convicted NBA-phobe feeling the same? It's the young guys. While Shaq wheezes and briqs free throws, Dwyane Wade stops the heart... before Wade, it was LeBron. With Wade, it's Jason Terry. The NBA is never better than when it's loaded with heros and villains. In this case, it's Wade -- 15 of Miami's last 19 in Game 5, positively Jordan-esque -- and Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who makes George Steinbrenner seem like Gandhi. What a case of arrested development. As for Wade, he was a quiet, humble kid at Marquette, but you knew he'd be a star in the NBA. He had the size and the hops, he could get his own shot. Can't wait for tonight...
I was in the GASP press box watching a TV with the sound down when Phil Mickelson imploded on 18 Sunday. Apparently, Johnny Miller savaged Phil, on NBC. Good story on that in Tuesday's NY Times. I love Miller, because he's the anti-ex jock in the booth. And he's generally dead-on with his criticism...
What, exactly, is Adam Dunn trying to do at the plate? I'm not sure I've ever seen a hitter more completely lost. Loved that bloop single to left last night. Did anyone else look at Gary Sheffield's injury and see opportunity for the Reds to deal Dunn to the Yankees?
Anybody got any summer TV recommendations? After Rescue Me, I'm down to watching room makeovers on HGTV, and that ain't good...
posted by Paul Daugherty at 8:05 AM
24 Comments:
at 10:14 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:58 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 11:19 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 12:39 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 12:41 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 12:55 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 12:56 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 1:01 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 2:28 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 2:40 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:00 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:06 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:20 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:24 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:46 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 4:03 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:22 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:51 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:54 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:17 AM 
Paul Daugherty said...
-
-
at 10:31 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:33 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 11:36 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:32 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
Post a Comment*Doc,
Not sure if you realize this but Adam Dunn accounted for 200 runs by himself last year. As much as can sometimes look lost at the plate he still produces, gets on base and yes drives in runs (100 RBI is nothing to turn your nose at). I don't see how everyone gets off on using Dunn as the Reds whipping boy. Put him on the Yankees and he would be even more productive. What other hall of fame player would you say looks lost at the plate.
Hall of Fame that's right I said it, that's what 500 home runs and a career OBP of around .400 will do for him.
Lets stack him up against some other hall of famers. If he plays 20 years and his averages stay the same for those twenty years he will have more home runs, walks, runs, RBI and HITS (Yes more RBI and HITS) then Willie Stargell, Mike Schmidt, Harmon Killebrew and Reggie Jackson.
Even if his averages don't play out the rest of his career, he's still almost assured of finishing over 550 home runs, over 2,000 hits, over 1,500 runs scored, over 1,500 walks and over 1,500 RBI.
It's time for you to wake up and realize you are saying a future hall of famer looks lost at the plate.
One could say you look lost at the keyboard by making that statement.
Chris, Park Hills.
As one of the many NBA/basketball fans in this town who consider baseball to be an absolute bore. I would like to send a hardy "welcome back" Doc. Despite what you may have heard from the basketball hating media the NBA never left. Also,the "new breed" in the NBA (wade, lebron, Dirk,and Nash) has guaranteed that the NBA will once again assume its position as one of the "dominate sport" in American sports culture second only to the NFL.
Yes, let's DEFINITELY get rid of one of the most productive offensive players in recent Reds history. Why would we want someone who piles up 40 homers, 100 RBIs, 100 runs, 100 walks, and an OBP close to .400 every year? Let's deal him now before people catch on that he sucks.
The only benefit Dunn has over Stargell, Schmidt, et al is the era in which he is playing.
It is laughable to compare the stats of stars from the big yard, dead ball are of the 70's to guys playing in the small park, juiced ball era of today.
Bottom line is, the power numbers are skewed today in comparison.
The most favorable comparison that I can make in careers is Dunn to Dave Kingman. Both sheer power guys, bad in the field, both head cases, but I'm sure King Kong knows who Eric Davis is...
That comparison, though, may sell Kingman short. Put Kingman in todays era, he hits more HR's and has far and away more RBI's than Dunn.
The day a hack like Adam Dunn makes it to the HOF is the day I disown baseball.
In 20 years, there will be a myriad of 400-500 HR guys NOT making it to the HOF, and rightfully so. Think about eras. At one point, 350 HR's was a guaranteed spot, now 400 is no lock.
If Dunn plays that long, which will only happen the the AL, he will be one of the ones on the outside looking in.
Dunn in the hall of fame? get real! I dont dislike the guy but getting paid 8 million or whatever for a 225 average and hitting horribly with RISP, he is the king of solo shots. Outfield skills are horrible. Trade and get some speed in left. Also don't forget to the 200 strikeouts he brings each year.
Bye bye Dunn!
Obviously the steroids have gotten to Jose's Brain.
What Chris is saying, is that if Dunn's numbers project out to what he has done thus far he is going into the hall of fame.
No way will someone with 600+ home runs be kept out of Cooperstown. Yes Schmidt was a much better defensive player then Dunn could ever hope to be, but offensively if he keeps it up Dunn will pass him in most categories.
As for the comparison to Kingman. Give me a break, have you looked at the stats!
Let me give you a little sample.
Dunn OBP: .383
Kingman OBP: .302
Dunn OPS: .901
Kingman OPS: .780
Dunn BB: 113 per year
Kingman BB: 51 per year
That's just the start of the comparison. Please check your facts people before you make ridiculous comparisons.
As for the NBA finals, they have been awesome. I don't care who wins, the drama has been great. At first I thought it was going to be boring with the Mavs winnning 2-0 and winning the third game, then Wade put on a show. Mark Cuban is just a complainer, the NBA has 'special' rules and he needs to learn that sometimes they work for you, sometimes they don't. Live with it.
I thought it was hilarious when Phil imploded. I wish Tiger would have been there.
Adam Dunn is lost, and he is certainly not a hall of famer. If you want to talk about pace, lets talk about how he is on pace to be the career strikeout leader and career leader for errors by an outfielder. That won't crack the HOF.
I doubt they would trade him to the yankees. The yankees have nothing to give us.
Sorry, summer TV is a drag.
Great. We can all rest easy tonite because Adam Dunn's OBP is higher than Dave Kingmans...if that isn't a straight shot to the HOF, I don't know what is.
Whew. That makes me feel better. The one thing Dunn will have, if he plays long enough, is the all time Strikeout record.
A new show on Showtime called "Male-SheMale". Their first episode investigated to determine if Michelle Wie had a "wie wie".
Anon 3:28,
If you read my post I wasn't implying that Dunn would be in the hall of fame because his stats were better then Dave Kingman. I was simply arguing the fact that Dunn is a way better hitter then Kingman ever was.
While he may break the record for strikeouts, he will still be in the hall of fame.
I do believe a certain pitcher named Cy also owns the record for most losses and that had no bearing on his hall induction.
And for all of you worried about the number of career strikeouts. Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, Mike Schmidt and Tony Perez all finished in the top-10 in career strikeouts and that really hurt their hall of fame chances didn't it.
Right, you throw the strikeouts in with the fact that he will have a ton of errors and the fact that he will bat .240 in a hitters era... no way he gets to the hall of fame.
Here we are, in 2006, the single best 10 year hitters era in baseball history past us, and no signs of it letting up, and some here really think that a career .240 hitter, who is also a horrible outfielder, and does not have the talent to make the switch to first base has a ticket to punch for the HOF???
What kind of drugs are you on?
Resdue me is unbelievable, my girlfriend makes funs of me because i have "a show" but every man should watch it. Tuesday 10
Adam Dunn a Hall-of-Famer? That is hilarious. The day he makes it to the hall is the day Dave Shula gets another head coaching job.
The NBA is still boring to me right now but I'll make sure to watch the 4th quarter.
It is almost painful to watch Adam Dunn play baseball.
I love Phil but my God just chip it out into the fairway!
Watch Deadwood on Sunday nights at 9 followed by Entourage on HBO.
I agree that the NBA Finals have been great, but I think Cuban is right when he claims The Mavs got screwed in the Stackhouse matter. His foul on Shaq was no more flagrant than many you see in the regular season. My problem with the NBA is that the season lasts forever and the good teams never get serious until the playoffs start. As for Stern, it seems to me he would be delighted if the Lakers won the championship every season.
Chip Lapp
Blue Ash OH
Doc,
I know you're also a fan of "Rescue Me" so I wanted to get your thoughts on the new season. With the exception of the episode 2 weeks ago with Tommy smashing his brother's head through the car window, this season is boring. Where are all the fire runs? Isn't that what the show is supposed to be based on? (I won't ruin last night's episode since the NBA finals were on...) Is Tommy no longer delusional? Where is his dead cousin lately? When the show started, there was a jaw-dropper in every episode. Don't get me wrong, it's still the best show on television this summer, but I feel like it is losing what set it apart from every other show.
I agree. I feel like the writers have gotten lazy, or maybe they've run out of ideas. The storylines are shallow, the characters are getting predictable. Unlike The Shield, which keeps getting better, Rescue Me needs rescuing. On another front: Someone please educate me as to why OBP is so important for a slugger. I know it's the sexy, Bill James-ian stat these days, but to me, it's for guys who hit 1st and 2nd, not 3rd and 4th... citing Dunn's OBP as reason to praise him skips over the fact that 43 rbi w/23 hrs is anemic, especially when he's had productive people hiitting ahead of him all year.
HOUSE....I'm a little late to the party, but it's a great show. (If for nothing else, the fact that the main character says things most of us would never dream of saying but often think).
I agree with you Paul, OBP for a clean-up hitter means very little. You want RBIs and average with RISP to be high. It is the same reason I wouldn't want to see my leadoff hitter with a low OBP but a high slugging percentage.
And to the first anon, Adam Dunn did not account for 200 runs all by himself last year. He had 101 RBI and 107 runs scored. Being that he also hit 40 homers (which he got an RBI and a run) that would mean that he accounted for 168 runs scored. You don't get 2 runs for a home run. In addition, he did not account for all those runs by himself, the other 61 RBI required runners to be on base and the other 67 runs required someone to drive him in.
Travel Chanel 10P Mondays--Anthony Bourdain.."No Reservations." Sort of the Hunter Thompson of the chef set---this ain't no "Emeril Live."
Sarcastic, witty, yet sensitive to the cultures he visits.
He also wrote a couple of books, I read "Kitchen Confidential" was on NY Times best seller list for a while. Loved it.
The Michelle Wie has a "wie wie" thing is hilarious! Too bad a show doesn't really investigate that.
* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.
By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site. << Home