I was all ready this morning to discuss the just-ended M's - Yanks series, which was one of the most crazy, bizarre, poorly officiated, and (given the outcome) sweet three game stretches I can remember seeing in the regular season.
I began my morning by perusing the M's blogs, which are pretty universally conceding the wild card race, and laying their hopes for the season to rest.
Then, thanks to USSMariner, I came across this piece, written by a minor league pitcher whose blog fascinates me. This guy gets it, on multiple levels, to a degree that I feel is really rare among professional athletes. Maybe its his long tenure toiling in obscurity, and the subsequent humility it's imparted on him. Maybe dude is just really smart. At the very least, he's a GREAT writer. Someone give this man a book deal.
And yes, Writer's Bloc Party is a working title for posts that discuss sports writing, good and bad.
I began my morning by perusing the M's blogs, which are pretty universally conceding the wild card race, and laying their hopes for the season to rest.
Then, thanks to USSMariner, I came across this piece, written by a minor league pitcher whose blog fascinates me. This guy gets it, on multiple levels, to a degree that I feel is really rare among professional athletes. Maybe its his long tenure toiling in obscurity, and the subsequent humility it's imparted on him. Maybe dude is just really smart. At the very least, he's a GREAT writer. Someone give this man a book deal.
And yes, Writer's Bloc Party is a working title for posts that discuss sports writing, good and bad.
Labels: baseball, Minor leagues, Writer's Bloc Party
posted by Alex at
9:41 AM
4 Comments:
Yeah, Dirk's pretty awesome. Clear and candid. In the words of someone on the other side of the sportswriting quality spectrum, "QUITE FRANKLY... THAT'S ALL YOU NEED."
ALSO WHERE ARE MY CHEEZ DOODLES??? EVERYTHING I SAY IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE I AM STEPHEN A. SMITH AND THIS IS THE WRITER'S BLOC PARTY
By
Jeff, at 10:22 AM
side note - i dreamt last night that I played bass for Bloc Party. Best. Dream. Ever.
By
Alex, at 11:00 AM
For the record, if I thought the Mariners were as good as their record, I would not be conceding the race yet (though I would have after a sweep). I don't though, and I have trouble seeing how they can win enough to keep much pressure on the Yankees. And not even an injury to Vlad can save the division for us now. So, I think the concessions are probably warranted, and as many of those pointed out, I didn't expect them to be this good anyway.
I'm pretty ok with this Yankees series. It sucks, but I think it indicates our talent level OK. Sherill and Green are better than they showed, but every reliever has bad days. And I don't feel like we shot ourselves in the foot too badly with personnel choices or anything. It was the 9 game losing streak and being swept by the Angels that really broke me.
Oh yeah, and the Dirk piece is nice.
By
Jesse, at 11:08 AM
If I may channel Rick Sutcliffe for a moment...
The minute Horacio Ramirez walked through that door, that Mariner clubhouse changed. He made that team better just by showing up.
I see no reason to throw in the towel just yet, losing streak and brutal schedule notwithstanding. You lost one game's worth of ground, and you're still only 3 games back. The Yanks go up and down in 3 game increments every couple weeks or so. Those leads breathe. It can still work out.
As for talent level, don't forget how the Phils proved last year that being better doesn't necessarily get you into the playoffs. The Yankees are still trotting AAA starters out there. (Referring of course to Mussina.) And how the Cardinals proved you don't even have to play competent baseball to win a World Series, let alone be better than your opponents.
By
Jeff, at 12:51 PM
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