Sportsline's take on Roger and the Astros

[TenThirty]

F Dobrow.  When did hyperbole become the only comedic tool available to any sportswriter anywhere in america and required for every article ever written?

"Though success at the age of 43 is not outside the realm of possibility -- lesser lights like Nolan Ryan and Tommy John pitched more than competently at that age -- the real problem here is the franchise for which he'll likely ply his trade. The Astros don?t "hit" the ball so much as they "nub it to second base," which will prevent Roger from notching more than a smattering of wins. Too, while the team boasts super-delicious defenders in CF Willy Taveras and SS Adam Everett, the other six position players handle the ball as if it were aflame."

 the link

[Arky Vaughan]

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F Dobrow.  When did hyperbole become the only comedic tool available to any sportswriter anywhere in america and required for every article ever written?

"Though success at the age of 43 is not outside the realm of possibility -- lesser lights like Nolan Ryan and Tommy John pitched more than competently at that age -- the real problem here is the franchise for which he'll likely ply his trade. The Astros don?t "hit" the ball so much as they "nub it to second base," which will prevent Roger from notching more than a smattering of wins. Too, while the team boasts super-delicious defenders in CF Willy Taveras and SS Adam Everett, the other six position players handle the ball as if it were aflame."

 the link

But who gives a crap what he's going to do for some guy's fantasy league team, or what somebody writes about that?

[pravata]

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F Dobrow.  When did hyperbole become the only comedic tool available to any sportswriter anywhere in america and required for every article ever written?

"Though success at the age of 43 is not outside the realm of possibility -- lesser lights like Nolan Ryan and Tommy John pitched more than competently at that age -- the real problem here is the franchise for which he'll likely ply his trade. The Astros don?t "hit" the ball so much as they "nub it to second base," which will prevent Roger from notching more than a smattering of wins. Too, while the team boasts super-delicious defenders in CF Willy Taveras and SS Adam Everett, the other six position players handle the ball as if it were aflame."

 the link

But who gives a crap what he's going to do for some guy's fantasy league team, or what somebody writes about that?

Millions.  Millions give a crap. The question is how to avoid the crap that is written for those millions and still get information about baseball.

[mihoba]

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The question is how to avoid the crap that is written for those millions and still get information about baseball.

Avoid the crap by not reading Sportsline, works for me.

[TenThirty]

What's interesting to me - and i do give a crap about the fantasy impact, though i am quite capable of separating it from the real impact - is that the general impression of the Astros team among lots of casual fans is often formed by such writers, and at the very least reflected by it.

I recall that we were all amazed when Wagner went to Philly and their fans had this attitude of, "hey this guy is actually half-decent" as though they were wholly unfamiliar with his previous success.

As one who hasn't lived in Houston since 1987, i find it interesting (and often infuriating) to confront the general perception of the team by non-fans.  I was frankly pleasantly surprised that he gave the credit he did to Everett and Wily.

[Matt]

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 I was frankly pleasantly surprised that he gave the credit he did to Everett and Wily.

He may not be the smartest coyote ever but he's guts and determination damn it!

[VirtualBob]

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The question is how to avoid the crap that is written for those millions and still get information about baseball.

Avoid the crap by not reading Sportsline, works for me.

Actually, it appears not to work ... or at least not as long as people continue to quote that junk here.  But at least you get credit for trying.

[Arky Vaughan]

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F Dobrow.  When did hyperbole become the only comedic tool available to any sportswriter anywhere in america and required for every article ever written?

"Though success at the age of 43 is not outside the realm of possibility -- lesser lights like Nolan Ryan and Tommy John pitched more than competently at that age -- the real problem here is the franchise for which he'll likely ply his trade. The Astros don?t "hit" the ball so much as they "nub it to second base," which will prevent Roger from notching more than a smattering of wins. Too, while the team boasts super-delicious defenders in CF Willy Taveras and SS Adam Everett, the other six position players handle the ball as if it were aflame."

 the link

But who gives a crap what he's going to do for some guy's fantasy league team, or what somebody writes about that?

Millions.  Millions give a crap. The question is how to avoid the crap that is written for those millions and still get information about baseball.

True. I should have been more precise. Who gives a crap about his fantasy value, from the perspective of how the Astros will do?

[Arky Vaughan]

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As one who hasn't lived in Houston since 1987, i find it interesting (and often infuriating) to confront the general perception of the team by non-fans.  I was frankly pleasantly surprised that he gave the credit he did to Everett and Wily.

I got over that a long time ago, when the Rockets were winning their championships. I could care less what ESPN or any other part of the national sports media thinks of Houston teams, or how much coverage they get. As long as they're successful, who cares about recognition from those mediots?

Back when bandwaggoners all over the country were wearing Bulls or Magic jerseys, my thought with the Rockets was that I'd rather my team be champions than be popular.

[BUWebguy]

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I got over that a long time ago, when the Rockets were winning their championships. I could care less what ESPN or any other part of the national sports media thinks of Houston teams, or how much coverage they get. As long as they're successful, who cares about recognition from those mediots?

Back when bandwaggoners all over the country were wearing Bulls or Magic jerseys, my thought with the Rockets was that I'd rather my team be champions than be popular.

Well, living a couple thousand miles from Houston, I care about how much coverage they get -- the more national coverage, the more I get to see the team play (or at least highlights). Thank God (quite literally) for the Internet.

I completely agree on champions >>>>> popularity.

Edit to add: I should have been more specific. I was referring to how much national television coverage they get -- be it games or just minutes on SportsCenter (though I've pretty much given up on that, probably for the same reasons Pravata laid out below).

[pravata]

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I got over that a long time ago, when the Rockets were winning their championships. I could care less what ESPN or any other part of the national sports media thinks of Houston teams, or how much coverage they get. As long as they're successful, who cares about recognition from those mediots?

Back when bandwaggoners all over the country were wearing Bulls or Magic jerseys, my thought with the Rockets was that I'd rather my team be champions than be popular.

Well, living a couple thousand miles from Houston, I care about how much coverage they get -- the more national coverage, the more I get to see the team play (or at least highlights). Thank God (quite literally) for the Internet.

I completely agree on champions >>>>> popularity.

Fantasy opinions are huge business.  When FOX started including OPS in the statistics area of their website, suddenly their opinionators started measuring players in terms of OPS. OPS? What's that? says the viewer, let me go to the ESPN website and find out.  Pretty soon lots of opinionators are describing players in terms of fantasy stats.  Fantasy leagues are a billion dollar industry.  FOX, SI, MLB, etc. encourage writers who create interest in describing baseball in fantasy terms.  This is not a problem for people, millions of them, who participate in fantasy leagues.  Nor is it a problem for people who don't go out of their way to find articles about baseball.  But for us who try to read everything, this sort of thing makes it very difficult to sort through the piles and piles of useless to find legitimate information.

[OldBlevins]

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 I was frankly pleasantly surprised that he gave the credit he did to Everett and Wily.

He may not be the smartest coyote ever but he's guts and determination damn it!

I really think the problem is those Acme products he buys.

[mihoba]

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I really think the problem is those Acme products he buys.

What's funny to me is, instead of buying all that Acme stuff, he could have just bought lunch.