Hopper cheated and other observations
So much minutiae, so few minutes:
N. Hopper put the baseball in R. Freel's glove, negating H. Cota's inside-the-park homer Monday. That's cheating. A-Rod shouted something at Blue Jays fielders Wednesday. A two-out popup that should have been caught was not. Yanks win. That's not cheating. It's (borderline) baseball.
Count B. Donovan among those college basketball coaches for whom money and ego overrule logic and common sense. K-Y fans, rejoice.
I didnt used to think the Reds were holding down Homer because of Super 2 arbitrati0n issues. I do now.
L. James' transcendant show v. the Pistons Thursday is exactly what the NBA needs to get the casual fan back. No league is more dependent on individual stars.
B.Bonds still 9 homers away. Giants here 1st week of July, a little more than a month from now. Let's start cheering The Buddha Man... 8 homers in the next month would be good.
C. Johnson is going to run against a horse next month. Does he have to eat oats 3 times a day? Who will hot-walk him? Does he train at dawn?
posted by Paul Daugherty at 7:18 AM
19 Comments:
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Post a Comment*I think you made John Kiesewetter cry.
Here's a good "cheating in baseball" story that goes back to my college days. Back in 1978, we were playing at an open field in Pennsylvania (no fences). Out in left field about 300 feet from home plate were thick woods where 80 ft tall trees towered. The local ground rules stated that if a player hits a ball into the left field woods, its all he can get. In other words, the left fielder had to go in and dig it out, not an easy task. I was the right fielder and our left fielder came up to me before the game and said that he had hid a baseball just a few steps into the left field woods. I thought he was joking. Anyway, midway into the game an opposing player hits a screaming line drive to left field high up into the trees. Watching from right field, I figured there's no way to find that ball and he's going to get a home run. Our left fielder runs back, takes a few steps into the woods, picks up a ball and holds him to a triple. He didn't score that inning and we won the game 2 to 1. This gave a whole new meaning to the "hidden ball trick."
hey Paul, what does "transcendent" mean? And why is the NBA always look to more than any other sport as a sport that needs to "transcend"? Is it a "racial thing"? And isnt that a sad commentary about America in 2007?
I'm not so sure I'd say that Hopper cheated. More like poor sportsmanship. Could you imagine the furor around here if Barry Bonds had placed the ball in a teammate's glove to take a home run away from local saint Josh Hamilton?
Cheating? Poor sportsmanship?
Come on, it's called competing. You do what you can to win. Players have been doing what they can to get an edge for a hundred years now.
Is it cheating when you break up a double play? No.
If the umpire doesn't see you put the ball in Freel's glove, then that's a heads up play, plain and simple. Give me nine guys that are that smart.
Hopper was simply putting the ball back were it belonged. Freel clearly made the catch, so it should have been ruled an out either way. You don't have to glove the ball forever!
I don't know the ruling, but my dad and I thought Freel caught the ball. Maybe it slipped out while he was laying there unconscious. Sure, Hopper put it back in Freel's glove, but he probably held onto to it long enough to make it a legitimate catch.
I kinda don't understand the A-Rod thing and why it's so terrible. Immature, childish by Arod? Maybe, but I remember everyone yelling "hey batter batter!" back in youth softball or little leagues.
I think people just don't like Arod and that's why it is a story.
Baseball rules state that the fielder must make a "voluntary and intentional release" of the ball for it to be a legal catch. Freel clearly did not. So it should have been a homer. I can't really blame Hopper, it was pretty shrewd. The ump should have been out there. It was a replacement ump. BTW, anon 1:46, do you think its ok that guys used steroids to get an edge before it was banned by baseball?You could say that players who weren't using then didn't want to win badly enough.
Has anyone even bothered to give A-Rod some credit for running the bases hard, and not just dogging the bases on a basic pop fly. Imagine if Pete Rose did this 30 years ago he would have been cheered for hustling.
The LeBron show last nite was off the hook. The funniest part was when Tayshaun Prince cringed like a little girl and just got the heck out of the way when LeBron came thundering down the lane one time for a dunk. Hey Tayshaun, Man Up and at least TRY to stop him. You looked like a lost little third grader out there. Last time I checked, they're paying you millions to play both offense and defense.
Why is it that baseball fans and the media are so critical of players these days... Its a game!!! Its not a code of ethics or psycology 101, ease up and enjoy the entertainment. Besides, with all we have going on in the world today sports good, bad, or indiffrent are a breath of fresh air, and alot of these columnist, writers, and talk show host blow these things out of porportion for job security. Lets face it controversity sells better than the happy ending...... lets not all be sheep.
Doc-
I reject your assertion that Billy D. took "money and ego" over common sense, etc.
Money certainly is THE biggest factor. It's hard not to consider $5.5 million/year over $2+ million. To an ordinary person, that may seem obnoxious, but $5.5 million even over 3-4 years will set up Billy D's family for life. That should matter and for that, Billy D. should not be criticized.
The other two BIG factors are TRAVEL and RECRUITING. College basketball coaches LIVE on the road recruiting. It is a BRUTAL lifestyle that can wear down a man with a family. Sure, the NBA plays 82 games, but 41 of those are right at home. 41 travel dates in the lap of luxury that is the NBA is much better than the in-and-out of college recruiting. Add in the fact that $5.5 million makes life easier on your family, and one can clearly comprehend how an elite college coach might take a shot at the NBA.
Recruiting is a grind. Begging young prima-donas to play for your school while dealing with egos, parents, high school coaches, and competing schools must be painful. All of that goes away in the NBA and you get 5.5.
I HATE when sportswriters criticize coaches for trying to make themselves better.
I salute Billy D. and understand his position.
Hey, 7:38... Points well taken. BD would have made more than 3-mil at Fla., however... you exhange one set of problems for another, I guess... you travel a little in the NBA as well, plus the nice little dictatorship you run in the quasi-amateur ranks disappears... and if you don't like losing, stock up on rolaids... lose 30, you've had a great year... I just don't agree that a big-time college coach who already has the Perfect Job is "bettering himself'' by going to the NBA.. the only obvious betterment is the bottom line... but I see your points... thanks and keep 'em coming...
Billy D. is probably going to have a lot let fun. The kids are a pain but imagine dealing with guys with $$$.
Cheating in baseball? I'm thinking you have to occassionaly attempt to demoralize an opponent. Not sure how else 'sports' can work. Open to suggestion.
Thanks for replying to my 7:38 post, Doc. Good to see you actually read through some of our stuff. I'll keep it comin'...
I have a suggested topic for you to write about. CINCINNATI and RACISM.
One of your bloggers here referred to Josh Hamilton as a "saint." Hamilton is many things, but he's not a saint. He will have to live many years to undo the damage he has done to his family, himself, and others.
Well, if Odell Thurman's rehab goes well and he returns to the Bengals, will he be accepted with the open arms that Josh Hamilton found? Seriously, seriously doubt it. Thurman is an alcoholic. Hamilton was a vicious narcotics addict. Thurman didn't throw it all away--yet.
Something tells me Odell never receives the love and admiration that Josh got. And I think the racist attitudes of people in this city will be a major contributing factor.
Sorry, Mr. D. I'm thinking I must need my glasses. "let fun"? Geez, I apologize.
Hey, 7:32... I'm afraid you're right re Odell... but it won't be from me... if he makes it all the way back, he'll get the same treatment (no pun intended) from me that Hamilton got. I'm pulling for Thurman, big time.
7:32 am,
You are partly right, buts it's hard to compare the 2 situations. In Thurman's case you have a guy already on the team as a core player who screws up and hurts the team. In Hamilton the screw up occured before arrival to the reds and we only get the upside. Big, big difference.
Hey, Paul. Why doesn't the Enquirer keep an up-to-date report
on Ken Griffey Junior's home run record? I have to watch Fox Sports
Ohio to keep up with his progress.
His home run chase - and Homer Bailey and Aaron Harang's progress -- is the only thing worth following with this year's pathetic Reds. Keep us up to date on Junior. My clipping that I have on the refrigerator is a month old and shows him behind Harmon Killibrew. Can you cheap skates afford to print three inches a week with the latest totals?
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