Author Topic: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"  (Read 5159 times)

Alkie

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"The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« on: August 27, 2006, 01:29:07 am »
By chance, there was nothing else on TV tonight and we ended up watching the RedSox/M's game in HD.

In the 7th inning, Dave Henderson (who does a barely adequate color job for the M's TV) says, very matter of factly, "it'll be interesting to see who wins this Roger Clemens sweepstakes going into the playoffs.  He could help just about anyone at this point."

Did I have a seizure?  What the fuck is he talking about?

Navin R Johnson

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2006, 01:35:44 am »
Maybe Donnie Moore is haunting him and making him say things that make absolutely no sense?
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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2006, 02:23:04 am »
Did Clemens clear waivers?
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Col. Sphinx Drummond

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2006, 10:28:37 am »
Quote:

By chance, there was nothing else on TV tonight and we ended up watching the RedSox/M's game in HD.

In the 7th inning, Dave Henderson (who does a barely adequate color job for the M's TV) says, very matter of factly, "it'll be interesting to see who wins this Roger Clemens sweepstakes going into the playoffs.  He could help just about anyone at this point."

Did I have a seizure?  What the fuck is he talking about?





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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2006, 11:15:33 am »
No, and when Henderson said that, Rick Ritts (the PBP guy) said (in a way that was almost like saying "sure, it's only a matter of time now") "he'll need to clear waivers first."

As if that was going to happen any second now and the Grand Sweepstakes could begin.

What's funny as HELL is that they were obviously speaking about it in regard to the RedSox.

Quick, without killing yourself, see how far out of the playoffs the RedSox are right now.  Now the Astros.  

Gee whiz, fellahs, maybe the ASTROS will win this Clemens Sweepstakes.

Col. Sphinx Drummond

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2006, 01:42:51 pm »
Quote:


What's funny as HELL is that they were obviously speaking about it in regard to the RedSox.

Quick, without killing yourself, see how far out of the playoffs the RedSox are right now.  Now the Astros.  

Gee whiz, fellahs, maybe the ASTROS will win this Clemens Sweepstakes.





Yeah but 5 games for the REd Socks is only 5 games. However, for the Astros it's a whole 5 games. Wait a second...
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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2006, 01:48:26 pm »
I just wish, for the good of the game, that we'd do the right thing and pass him thru waivers so he can win another ring with some other team as a quickie rental before he quasi-retires again.

It just breaks my heart to see him wasting his talents with this minor league bunch of rag-tag girlie-men right now, when he could have made a real difference for a real city like Boston (you remember them...they unceremoniously let Rocket go for nothing ten years ago).

Boo-fucking-hoo.  I can't believe I used to root for the RedSox.

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2006, 02:10:09 pm »
Quote:



Yeah but 5 games for the REd Socks is only 5 games. However, for the Astros it's a whole 5 games. Wait a second...






Not to mention that 'we/the Astros' only have to make those 5 games up vs teams that are 3-4 games over .500, while the Red Sox need to reclaim 5 games against teams that are 25 games over .500.

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #8 on: August 27, 2006, 02:40:27 pm »
Quote:

I just wish, for the good of the game, that we'd do the right thing and pass him thru waivers so he can win another ring with some other team as a quickie rental before he quasi-retires again.

It just breaks my heart to see him wasting his talents with this minor league bunch of rag-tag girlie-men right now, when he could have made a real difference for a real city like Boston (you remember them...they unceremoniously let Rocket go for nothing ten years ago).

Boo-fucking-hoo.  I can't believe I used to root for the RedSox.





I've always wondered what kept everyone from moving to Boston. It's such a wonderful place. Just good plain folks and smart people. What the fuck is stopping everyone from selling their homes and moving to Boston?
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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2006, 03:12:30 pm »
"Rick Ritts (the PBP guy) said (in a way that was almost like saying "sure, it's only a matter of time now") "he'll need to clear waivers first."

Rick Rizzs, and yeah hes kind of annoying. Henderson is 100x better than Jay Buhner was if you can wrap your head around that.
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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2006, 03:28:17 pm »
Quote:

I just wish, for the good of the game, that we'd do the right thing and pass him thru waivers so he can win another ring with some other team as a quickie rental before he quasi-retires again.

It just breaks my heart to see him wasting his talents with this minor league bunch of rag-tag girlie-men right now, when he could have made a real difference for a real city like Boston (you remember them...they unceremoniously let Rocket go for nothing ten years ago).

Boo-fucking-hoo.  I can't believe I used to root for the RedSox.





There was a ceremony.  It was very moving.  The whole city of Boston dimmed all the lights to simulate twilight.

Chris Bahr, in the Sporting News 2002 sets the mood,

The Red Sox were willing to pay Clemens fair market value based on his declining performance at the time, but he wanted more and he wanted out. That is why Clemens is a traitor of Benedict Arnold proportions in New England. Boston's Enemies List is long, but Clemens is at the top.

Red Sox fans almost have pardoned Buckner, but we never will forgive Clemens

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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2006, 03:33:56 pm »
Never is only 4 years?

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #12 on: August 27, 2006, 04:27:46 pm »
Guess Roger in Boston would be ANOTHER Massachusetts miracle with the fake JFK taking the credit.
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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #13 on: August 27, 2006, 05:39:43 pm »
Ok, here's an open question for everyone.  Why DO so many people live in Boston?  Is it just that so many people landed there when they got here and never left or what?

Because I've been there.  And I know people from there.  And I have clients there.

And I don't get it.  If you wanted to put up with "that shit" and the ridiculously bad weather (12 months a year), why not just move to NYC?

And why would anyone, including Sox fans, get the impression that Boston is a great place to go play?  They've won one WS in the last, what, billion years?  Don't the players there pay one of the highest state income taxes in the nation?  

I'm just a little confused on when Boston became the Greatest Place In Baseball.

Limey

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #14 on: August 27, 2006, 06:08:22 pm »
Quote:

I'm just a little confused on when Boston became the Greatest Place In Baseball.



And why the Crawford Boxes are a gimmick (which they are) but the 100' LF fence in Fenway and the <300', knee-high wall in Yankee Stadium's RF* are baseball treasures.

* Prior to the steroid era, the single season home run record had been held by lefties playing half their games in Yankee Stadium.  Hmmmm....
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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #15 on: August 27, 2006, 06:09:49 pm »
Quote:

Ok, here's an open question for everyone.  Why DO so many people live in Boston?  Is it just that so many people landed there when they got here and never left or what?

Because I've been there.  And I know people from there.  And I have clients there.

And I don't get it.  If you wanted to put up with "that shit" and the ridiculously bad weather (12 months a year), why not just move to NYC?

And why would anyone, including Sox fans, get the impression that Boston is a great place to go play?  They've won one WS in the last, what, billion years?  Don't the players there pay one of the highest state income taxes in the nation?  

I'm just a little confused on when Boston became the Greatest Place In Baseball.





Look at their roster and tell how many of those guys are known quality guys who CHOSE to play for Boston?  Schilling is the only name I can think of, and he genuinely seems interested in all the fenway fanaticism, yankee rivalry, curse bullshit.  That's it.  It took the second most outrageous contract in the history of baseball to get Manny Ramirez.  And by all accounts, Manny would rather be in New York if all things were equal.  Does Keith Foulke count?

What you see more of with their roster are a bunch of mid-level flyers who they could afford to overpay (Ortiz), and a bunch of guys they acquired via lopsided trades with cash-strapped teams (Beckett, Javy Lopez).

Now compare this to half the teams in baseball, including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, White Sox, Tigers, D-Backs, Marlins (between fire sales) even the team from the Hellhole of Houston.  Those teams are littered with big name guys who CHOSE to go there, many of whom were pursued by these very same Red Sox.

Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #16 on: August 27, 2006, 06:11:22 pm »
Yes.  I know this has been brought up before (the fact that our joke LF porch is no less of a joke than those in National Treasures Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park), but I think that one's easier to answer.  The media in Boston and New York, I think, seems to have a more national voice (for whatever reason) and they're more likely to make fun of OUR joke before theirs.

Like the Big Dig for example.

Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #17 on: August 27, 2006, 06:15:05 pm »
Quote:

Now compare this to half the teams in baseball, including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, White Sox, and the team from the Hellhole of Houston.




Well, this is interesting.  And I'm sure it happens more often than we hear because it seems like the sort of thing that is only news in that specific local market.  But it sure seems like a LOT of players every year are mentioned about coming "home" to play for Houston (Rocket, Pettitte, Kent, I know Gant wanted to play here, Darryl Hamilton, etc, etc) but you really don't hear about anyone but Jeff Bagwell who were just dying to go play in Boston for any reason other than deep pockets.

Again, I'm willing to accept that I just don't hear about it, but that is interesting.

And seriously, if you had millions upon millions of dollars and could live anywhere in America....why would you live in New England?

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #18 on: August 27, 2006, 06:18:26 pm »
Quote:

Quote:

Now compare this to half the teams in baseball, including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, White Sox, and the team from the Hellhole of Houston.




Well, this is interesting.  And I'm sure it happens more often than we hear because it seems like the sort of thing that is only news in that specific local market.  But it sure seems like a LOT of players every year are mentioned about coming "home" to play for Houston (Rocket, Pettitte, Kent, I know Gant wanted to play here, Darryl Hamilton, etc, etc) but you really don't hear about anyone but Jeff Bagwell who were just dying to go play in Boston for any reason other than deep pockets.





Vernon Wells, Carlos Lee, Adam Dunn...

Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #19 on: August 27, 2006, 06:20:53 pm »
Right, again, it could just be that we hear about those players, but never hear about the dozens of players dying to go play in Boston; but I honestly can't think of anyone who starts out the Free Agent Season by saying "it's always been my dream to go play in Boston (for any reason)" and more that players end up there because they can (over)pay for players.

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #20 on: August 27, 2006, 07:42:25 pm »
Quote:

And seriously, if you had millions upon millions of dollars and could live anywhere in America....why would you live in New England?



Fwiw, I'm not sure that I would equate Boston with New England.  Of course, there aren't many other New England baseball teams outside of Boston.
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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #21 on: August 27, 2006, 07:48:00 pm »
You wouldn't equate the capital of New England with New England?

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #22 on: August 27, 2006, 09:20:07 pm »
Alkie:  Boston is really the only major city in all of New England so it is a little hard to say that Boston is New England.  Even "major" cities like Providence and New Haven are pretty small.  I think that many people associate New England with small towns and, therefore, Boston doesn't really fit with the rest of the region in even though it is kind of the capital of New England as you say.  Personally, I associate New England with the small skiing towns in Vermont.
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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #23 on: August 27, 2006, 09:43:51 pm »
Ok, let's try this again.

Since the rule of the day is to go after the word-choice and not the point of the post, let's start over.

My mistake.  I'll never call Boston-New England again.  

"Why would anyone with millions upon millions of dollars choose to go work in Boston?"

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #24 on: August 27, 2006, 11:22:33 pm »
When I think of New England, I think of a song by Billy Bragg or of a football team from Boston. If I had millions upon millions of dollars, I would never move to Boston and if had to go there, I'd be like Manny -- just get a nice as shit hotel room and order room service. If I went anywhere it'd be to see Jonathan Richman but I think he moved to San Diego.
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Alkie

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #25 on: August 27, 2006, 11:24:23 pm »
Exactly.

No one wants to go to Boston just to go play for Boston.

So, tying this back to the original point: fuck Boston, fuck their whiny fans, and fuck their ridiculous, self-important press.

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #26 on: August 28, 2006, 12:30:18 am »
And fuck the white=haired douche from the Boston Globe that always sounds like he's trying to swallow his own face when they have him on ESPN.

Limey

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #27 on: August 28, 2006, 09:18:54 am »
Quote:

Like the Big Dig for example.



Right.  Houston may be under construction permanently, but at least they're not working on the same bit forever.
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Limey

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #28 on: August 28, 2006, 09:25:11 am »
Quote:

So, tying this back to the original point: fuck Boston, fuck their whiny fans, and fuck their ridiculous, self-important press.



Don't forget that, since they laid to rest the Curse of the Bambino, there's nothing particularly interesting about the Red Sox.  They have a ridiculous stadium with no left field and the seats down the right field foul line actually in play; they have a huge payroll and one World Series win in the last 80+ years.  They are the Cubs, but with one World Series win in the last 80+ years.

Beating the Yanks and winning it in 2004 was the worst thing that could've happened to the Red Sox.
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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #29 on: August 28, 2006, 11:07:25 am »
Quote:

And fuck the white=haired douche from the Boston Globe that always sounds like he's trying to swallow his own face when they have him on ESPN.




Kicking a guy who is recovering from an anyuerism isn't exactly the best karma.
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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #30 on: August 28, 2006, 11:21:29 am »
Quote:

Quote:

And fuck the white=haired douche from the Boston Globe that always sounds like he's trying to swallow his own face when they have him on ESPN.




Kicking a guy who is recovering from an anyuerism isn't exactly the best karma.





He was a douche way before he fell ill.  No use pretending surgery helped that.  Best wishes to Mr Gammons for a speedy recovery though.

Col. Sphinx Drummond

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #31 on: August 28, 2006, 11:29:52 am »
Quote:

Quote:

And fuck the white=haired douche from the Boston Globe that always sounds like he's trying to swallow his own face when they have him on ESPN.




Kicking a guy who is recovering from an anyuerism isn't exactly the best karma.





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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #32 on: August 28, 2006, 11:42:42 am »
Why is picking on the ill, infirm or dead verbotten?

Bad form and all that, but I used to get more crap over making fun of Harry Caray because he was dead.

Death or illness doesn't make someone less of a douchepump.

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Re: "The Roger Clemens Sweepstakes"
« Reply #33 on: August 28, 2006, 11:54:32 am »
Quote:

Death or illness doesn't make someone less of a douchepump.



I'm afraid it does:  See Nixon, Richard.
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Re: Who wouldnt want to play for these guys?
« Reply #34 on: August 28, 2006, 12:30:39 pm »
 ?He said he couldn?t play. What the (expletive) do you want me to do?? Red Sox manager Terry Francona snapped yesterday (Sun) morning when asked about Manny Ramirez? absence from the lineup prior to his lifeless team?s 6-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.    ?If a guy says he can?t play, he can?t (expletive) play. Go ask him. He said he can?t (expletive) play.?

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Re: Who wouldnt want to play for these guys?
« Reply #35 on: August 28, 2006, 03:40:23 pm »
So, are you saying that, in Boston, if I don't feel like working, I don't have to?

That would explain the 5 million people who live there.

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Re: Who wouldnt want to play for these guys?
« Reply #36 on: August 28, 2006, 03:45:20 pm »
Quote:

So, are you saying that, in Boston, if I don't feel like working, I don't have to?

That would explain the 5 million people who live there.





And why they say [expletive] alot.