Commenting on the Comments

In the author’s opinion, one of the more underutilized tools at Seamheads is the “comments” tool. He takes the time to respond to some of his readers more prescient thoughts.

I’ve written for Seamheads for almost a half a year now, and I feel that I need to highlight a part of the site that tends to go by the wayside: The Comments. People take the time to commend, criticize, or connect with a part of a column and their thoughts drift into the ether of the World Wide Web. As a result, I make it my duty to bring some of these insights into the foreground.

Without further ado, my first comments on the comments.

“You may run like Hayes, but you hit like s–t!”  As much as I love the guy, Jacoby Ellsbury fits into this category right now (.176 in nine games).–Mike Lynch on A Major League Rivalry

For a player that set the American League on fire last year, Ellsbury’s sophomore slump has to be one of the more depressing storylines for Boston fans. In thirty-three games last year, Ellsbury had a .903 OPS, stole nine bases, and scored twenty runs. He followed that up by destroying the postseason, hitting .360 with a .949 OPS, three stolen bases, and nine runs scored.

The upstart rookie was one of the main reasons why the Sox marched through the playoffs with veritable impunity.  Fast forward a year and Ellsbury is hitting .259 with an OPS of .675. While he still has stolen 41 bases, he is not nearly the threat he seemed to be last fall. As a Yankees fan, I’m not too upset by this turn of events, but as a fan of baseball, I respect the way Ellsbury plays the game. He’s an exciting young talent, and I hope he’s able to turn things around…just not in the near future.

Wood shaky at best? Look at his numbers bud…Wood’s been pretty solid as a closer, his whip is just over 1.00 and his K/BB ratio is a superb 55/13. He’s been a damn good closer this year.–trajan on Laying Odds Part 2: National League

I took a lot of heat for this column. For whatever reason, people decided to attack the odds gimmick. In hindsight, I should have made it clear that I was presenting betting odds, and not providing hard percentages on the chances of each team to win its division. As for Kerry Wood version 2.0, I totally agree with trajan. Wood has been fantastic for the Cubs. He’s lowered his ERA significantly since returning from the DL, possesses a WHIP under one, and has struck out an impressive 68 batters in 55.2 innings.

Here’s where I consider Wood to be shaky. He has only been a closer for 55.2 innings. Wood has yet to prove himself durable over a number of seasons, and he has yet to face a big pressure situation. I spent the formidable years of my life as a baseball fan watching Mariano Rivera. Rivera’s career is like the run of the Sopranos: at his worst, he was reliably consistent. At his best, he revolutionized the closer role.

Right now, Wood compares better to a show like 24. His first season has been fantastic. However, two or three years down the road, Wood may develop the shocking mediocrity that characterized this past season of 24, where Powers Boothe played a war monger vice president demanding a nuclear strike on all Middle Eastern countries, Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer screamed uncontrollably and shot at everyone that approached, and James Cromwell became a psychotic sociopathic grandfather.

How do you cast a fly rod?–How do you cast a fly rod on Random Musings

I honestly have no idea. This random link reminds me, does it bother anyone else when announcers refer to Ivan Rodriguez as I-Rod? Pudge is one of the best nicknames in sports. Come on, people!

Do you really think that HEARST would have raped and killed Alma ??I don’t think he would have.–Grace on Laying Odds Part 2: National League

The fact that Hearst wanted to buy Alma’s land probably prevented him from acting on his desires to rape and kill her. Murder tends to be bad for business. However, the entire cast of “Deadwood” existed in a liminal moral position. Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen was one of the most ruthless television characters of all time, but I constantly found myself rooting for him. Timothy Oliphant’s Bullock was supposed to be the most noble of all of the characters, but he still had an extra-marital affair with Alma in Season One.

Amidst all that, in Season Three, Hearst assumes the role of ultimate villain. His first official act in person is to cut off one of Al’s fingers. He follows that up by sending his right hand man to be beaten to death in the street by Dan Dority. Finally, when he soliloquizes about his feelings in regards to Mrs. Garret, we get a picture of how dark his psyche really is. The fact that he probably wouldn’t have attacked Alma isn’t the point. The point is that he thought about it enough to speak it aloud. That act alone is enough to put him at the far end of the villainous spectrum in Deadwood.

What are the odds that the P.A. at Fenway plays “Like a Virgin” tonight when A-Rod walks to the plate, or if they don’t think they could get away with singling him out so much, just mix in a lot of Madonna songs during BP and in between innings.–James Farris on Further Musings

As the All-Star game played into the wee hours of the night, players like Derek Jeter spent the entire game up on the top step cheering on his de facto teammates. Conversely, A-Rod put in his few innings of work and cut out early to attend a party. At this party—which Rodriguez himself threw—the DJ apparently played the entirety of Madonna’s new album. Isn’t that an example of an entirely new level of a man being whipped? As for A-Rod the ballplayer, this past series against the Red Sox, in which Rodriguez consistently failed in big spots, may have been the nail in his coffin as a beloved New York sports figure. On the season, the Yankees’ third baseman has driven in 80 runs. Only seven of those have come in close and late situations. In instances where the game hangs in the balance, opposing teams pitch to A-Rod. In those same moments, players like Albert Pujols or David Ortiz would never see a strike. Enough said.

I think things are definitely better than they used to be, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t a ways to go. People in Pittsburgh have developed selective amnesia in regards to Willie Stargell, he was hurt and played very little in 1977. He had his tires slashed in the parking lot at 3 Rivers with racist comments left on his car.Let’s just hope that maybe in another 50 years people will find it hard to believe this kind of stuff ever happened.–John Lease on Struggling to Find the Right Words

I don’t have much to add here. The fact that we still have to contend with racial threats and discrimination leaves me speechless. Everybody that publicly makes known their negative feelings against people of other races, ethnicities, or lifestyles should be gathered up and forced to watch every episode of the Sarah Silverman Show on repeat until they regurgitate their own eyeballs.

hey. hows it goin. i have nothing to do. tell karen that i said hi. im bored. i did you see the yankees game today? call the k-baums please. ppplllllleeeeeaassseeeee. i am too bored to be not occupied. dont worry, i am karens cousin, zach. and to prove it to you, the theme of karens bat mitzva was karens card castle–zach on A Night at the Ballpark

I think that this blog has been the best. I wish I could have been at the game too watching Joba pitch. I hope you didn’t get drunk while at the game ,you did have a lot of beer. It also looks like you will have too work for a long time because you spent so much money on the beer and food. You better lose some teeth!–jared on A Night at the Ballpark

Umm, I’ve got nothing. Thanks for reading, everyone. Keep those comments coming.