waashk/20ng huggingface dataset:
In article <C5ro4H.Lww@world.std.com> jle@world.std.com (Joe M Leonard) writes:  > Before folks jump on me, let me ask the net - would the Jays > have won the AL with a good pitcher from AAA in place of Morris (given > his run support)?  How about an average ML pitcher?  I can't believe > that Morris' performance in the playoffs and series had a large positive > impact on the Jays performance ...  I know it's very trendy nowadays to dump on Morris, but let's give credit where credit is due.  It is doubtful that the blue jays would have won the AL east without Morris. Last year, when the team went 13-15 for the month of August, and all the  other starters were being shelled, and Milwaukee was making a charge, Morris went 5-1 with a pretty good era (I can't remember exactly). Also, let's not underestimate the importance his 240+ innings to save  the bullpen every fifth day.  If he didn't help us win the AL east, forget about the pennent and the world series.  His run support was high (5.98 runs) but so was Stottlemyer's (5.90 runs) and he won only 12 games.  I do remember Morris winning an inordinate number of 6-5 and 8-6 ballgames, but this is to his credit.  He pitched only as good as he needed to be.  When he was up 6-1 in a ballgame, he just put it in cruise control and threw the ball up there and let the batters "get themseleves out" (I hate this expression!).  An inexperienced pitcher would wear himself out  trying to make perfect pitches to keep his era down.  But Morris, being a  veteran pitcher, knows that winning is the only thing that really matters in baseball.  By saving himself, he was able to reach back for that little extra (I hate this too!) when the game was on the line.  Yes Morris is crapping out big time this year, but let's not change history to suit the present.    BTW, I think he should be put in the bullpen; it would be embarrassing a  veteran pitcher which Cito would never do, but his era is 17+, how much more can he be embarrassed?  >  > From where I sit, I'll let others have the excellent players - I'll > settle for good enough and the ring :-)  ditto!  >  > Joe Leonard > jle@world.std.com >
In article <1993Apr19.173130.5452@cs.cornell.edu> tedward@cs.cornell.edu (Edward [Ted] Fischer) writes: >In article <1993Apr19.144240.1088@island.COM> fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes: >> >>Out of curiousity, why haven't you pointed this same thing out to Mr >>Neiporent, who seems to be making the (unsubstantiated) accusation >>against Will Clark? As for "taking the word" of those two, Leonard has >>repeatedly said he had no problems with Will, and Mitchell refused to >>comment. > >Mike, you again prove your utter inability to read plain english.  It is ironic that in any post that criticizes langauge ability, the critic invariably makes a mistake himself ("english" is generally written "English".)  >Find somebody who *is* literate, and have them explain my *full* post >to you. > >I am not saying Will Clark is a racist. >I am not saying Will Clark is *not* a racist. >I am saying that I do not know, and *you* do not know. >I am saying that I do not care, and consider it the Giants' concern.  Oddly, I do not see that I have contested any of that. Perhaps you, with  assuredly greater "english" ability can explain, in tiny words that I might grasp their meaning, precisely WHERE I infer that you have said any of those things?   >David Nieporent understood my post and replied in private e-mail.  You >should, perhaps, take reading lessons from him.  No Mr Fisher, you should place the burden of proof on the one who makes the allegation in the first place. You do not. Perhaps you might explain why that is? As for the email route, Mr Fisher, you might have tried that yourself.
In article <1993Apr19.194025.8967@adobe.com> snichols@adobe.com (Sherri Nichols) writes: >In article <13512@news.duke.edu> fierkelab@bchm.biochem.duke.edu (Eric Roush) writes: >>that HE'D been thrown out.  And Gant had a legitimate beef about >>the 1-0 pitch that was called a strike.  A reasonable umpire would >>not have tried to FORCE Gant back into the box in that situation. > >A reasonable umpire would do as he's been instructed to do this season: get >the batters back in the box sooner to try to cut down on the ridiculous >length of games.  I for one am glad to see this happen, and hope more >umpires will do as Hirschbeck did in instructing the pitcher to pitch if >the batter won't get back in the box.   > >So what if the previous strike call was bogus?  It's in the past, it can't >be changed; get back in there and deal with the next pitch.    Sorry, Sherri, but I can't agree with this particular incident.  While I'm all for cutting down the number of chain-rattles and other examples of rampant Hargroving, there was a difference here.  1)  Since time immemorial, batters have complained about calls. So have pitchers and catchers.  Usually, nothing happens. Unless the league notified teams this year about not allowing complaints, Hirschbeck was acting against expectations.  2)  It's not as if Gant was "in Hirschbeck's face".  Gant said something about the call, stepped out of the box, and turned away from Hirschbeck.  As a hitter (alibet of little consequence, but with a decent eye), whenever receiving the short end of the stick on a questionable call, I'd want a moment or two out of the box, if for no other reason than to rethink the strike zone based on the experience of the last pitch.  And if I was really angry at the ump, I'd rather turn away and catch my breath than turn to him and say something that might get me tossed, especially at a key moment in the game.  When Gant turned away, Hirschbeck IMMEDIATELY motioned for Gant to step into the box.  IMO, at this point in time, Hirschbeck was determined to show Gant exactly WHO was in charge of this game. Gant wasn't dawdling; he hadn't had a chance to dawdle.  And Hirschbeck was simply exercising a power play.  Gant resisted, as many of us might to what we thought was an unreasonable request, and Hirschbeck called for the pitch.  At that point, Cox came out on the field, the pitch was thrown, and many other Braves left the dugout.  Cox was tossed "protecting his player".  I was pleasantly surprised that Gant kept his cool enough to stay in the game.  It's a small sample size, but based on what I saw in that game, Mark Hirschbeck has a hair-trigger temper and a need to play God on the field.  Not good qualities for an umpire.  I will keep my eyes open for future appearances of Hirschbeck in the  future, in order to improve my sample size.  IMO, any game where you remember the name of the umpire was a bad game for the umpire.
In article <C5Dxqp.Hoo@news.rich.bnr.ca>, bratt@crchh7a9.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (John Bratt) writes:  > How about game length?  I don't know if this is a valid statement or not,  > but AL games sure seem to last a lot longer.  Make sure to take the Sutcliff, Fisk, ect. factor into account.
The Engimatic Vincent Gray writes: >king@cogsci.ucsd.edu (Jonathan King) writes: >>  >> Even less publicized than this, however, was that the $300,000 >> didn't come from the Padres, but from an un-named source, and that the >> money didn't go to the Blue Jays.  In Toronto, the money was diverted >> into a London bank account owned by a shadowy character named Vincent >> Gray. > >I should be so lucky: the account number must have been rejected! :-)  Oh, come on.  Everybody on the net has heard about "plausible deniability". You're not fooling anybody.  >> Soon after that, Gray and Palmer sent word to Ottawa that Canada had >> achieved absolute superiority over the United States in the field of >> baseballistic research, as she controlled both the Acker-Cook >> Pitch-Alike Contest and the Binaca Blast Research Institute.  The Prime >> Minister smiled. > >I hope not.  To think that I would inadvertantly give any pleasure to >Mulroney _really_ ruins my day.    Note how quick Vince was to make the inference that my post claimed that Mulroney was smiling at the baseballistics news.  This sure looks like guilty knowledge to me...  >Realizing the taterific importance of this work, John Palmer and I >concluded that we might be able to pool some resources.                                      ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ I.e., the $300 grand.  >Who will be the stars this year? Can anyone hope to combat Brad >Arnsberg's record start to last year?  The early money has to be on "Tom Tom" Bolton, who contributed that clutch grandslam in his first appearance.  But I expect lots of strong contenders this year, many of them right here in San Diego.
barring@cs.washington.edu (David Barrington) writes:  >NPR this morning had an interview with Linda McCarthy (name possibly >garbled by me), an official historian for the CIA.  She has won an Emmy >for research on Moe Berg for a TV documentary (which I know from nothing >but which sounds good).  She said that among other things, Berg was the  >principal spy for the OSS (CIA's WWII precursor) spying on Axis atomic >programs, because of his physics background and language skills.  She said >that during the war he met with Heisenberg in Switzerland, and had  >instructions to shoot Heisenberg if the Germans were close to us in bomb >research (he concluded they were two years behind, and didn't shoot him). >(I have heard elsewhere that Heisenberg deliberately misled the Nazi bomb >program, but I don't know how reliable this is.)  Unfortunately, NPR didn't >mention any kind of a book she's writing -- I'd certainly buy it. >Dave MB  There is a great book out called "They Also Served" which is about the  ballplayers during WWII.  There is some info on Berg in there.  It also has  info on Pete Gray (one armed outfielder) and other players of the era.  Because of the draft many players during the war were those who were exempt from the draft for medical reasons.  There are some very interesting stories in the book. It is very well written and I would suggest reading it to anyone with an  interest in baseball.  Rob Koffler
In article <1993Apr15.231903.4045@cs.cornell.edu> tedward@cs.cornell.edu (Edward [Ted] Fischer) writes: >In article <1993Apr15.200629.7200@alleg.edu> luriem@alleg.edu(Michael Lurie) The Liberalizer writes: >> > >I'd be willing to make two wagers: >1) Snow doesn't win ROY. >2) Mattingly is out of baseball within five years. > >I'm skeptical of the first, because I don't think Snow is that good a >player, and he is on a losing team.   I don't have a history handy, but I don't recall that the preponderance of ROY's come from winning teams.  In fact, I think team performance is generally irrelevant, as almost always the most deserving candidate wins. Am I wrong?  And he is not necessarily on a losing team.  While the Angels' staff is still very weak, their everyday lineup is doing quite well, thank you.  Snow is playing great.  Salmon is learning to make the adjustments. Easley appears fine, but even if he's not Flora is ready to come up. Between Gonzales and Gruber they'll manage the hot corner.  Polonia and Curtis are steady and heady.  Even Myers and Orton are contributing.  Personally, I think they can finish over .500 which makes them a  winning team.     --	The Beastmaster    > >I'm skeptical of the second because of his back.  Mattingly is 32 this >year, and how many players play until they are 40?  Not too many, and >most of them didn't have chronic back problems when they were 32. > >Could be wrong on either or both, but I think that's the smart way to >bet... > >Cheers, >-Valentine
In article <1993Apr2.153725.17543@bsu-ucs> 00mbstultz@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu writes: > >Here's an interesting quote from Bill Veek from _Get that Nigger off >the Field_: >        "Josh (Gibson) was, at minimum, two Yogi Berras." >Speaking of Yogi, anybody know any good Yogi-isms? >Mike "Curious George" Stultz  Here's one I remember: (sort of) Yogi's asleep in a hotel room late at night and gets a call from someone. After he answers the phone the person at the other end asks if he woke Yogi up. Yogi answered, "No, the phone did."
Since everyone else seems to be running wild with predictions, I've decided to add my own fuel to the fire: They might seem a bit normal, but there are a few (albeit, small) surprises.  American League East	 W	 L	GB 1)New York Yankees	93	69	-- 2)Baltimore Orioles	90	72	 3 3)Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	 7 4)Cleveland Indians     84      78       9 5)Boston Red Sox	77	85	16 6)Milwaukee Brewers	74	88	19 7)Detroit Tigers	73	89	20  American League West	 W	 L	GB 1)Minnesota Twins	94	68	-- 2)Kansas City Royals	92	70	 2 3)Texas Rangers     	85	77	 9 4)Chicago White Sox	77	85	17 5)Oakland Athletics	74	88	20 6)Seattle Mariners	70	92	24 7)California Angels	65	97	29  AL MVP-Kirby Puckett AL Cy Young-Kevin Appier AL Rookie of the Year-Tim Salmon AL Manager of the Year-Buck Showalter AL Comeback Player of the Year-Ozzie Guillen  National League East	 W	 L	GB 1)St. Louis Cardinals	91	71	-- 2)Philadelphia Phillies 89	73	 2 3)Montreal Expos	88	74	 3 4)New York Mets		84	78	 7 5)Chicago Cubs		79	83	12 6)Pittsburgh Pirates	73	89	18 7)Florida Marlins	54     108	37  National League West	 W	 L	GB 1)Atlanta Braves	96	66	-- 2)Cincinnati Reds	94	68	 2 3)Houston Astros	89	73	 7 4)Los Angeles Dodgers	82	80	14 5)San Francisco Giants	81	81	15 6)San Diego Padres	75	87	21 7)Colorado Rockies	59     103	37  NL MVP-Barry Larkin NL Cy Young-John Smoltz NL Rookie of the Year-Wil Cordero NL Manager of the Year-Joe Torre NL Comeback Player of the Year-Eric Davis  NL Champions-St. Louis Cardinals AL Champions-Minnesota Twins World Champions-St. Louis Cardinals  The St. Louis picks are what my heart says. What my brain says, is they will win the division, lose to the Braves in the NLCS, and the Braves will win the Series against Minnesota. But for now, I'll stick with the Cards all the way.
My father is a huge Tiger fan, and I am a loyal Blue Jay fan, who endured the collapse of 87, the heartbreak of 85.    I don't have the stat book, so let's throw them out.  First of all, Morris in his heyday (81-88) vs Clemens (86-present).  How many Cy Youngs does Morris have?  How many Cy youngs does Clemens have?  Ballparks and such... Fenway average pitchers park.  Detroit, hugh hitters paradise.     Morris is a great team pitcher, sort of in the Doug Drabek mold.   If Morris's team needs a well pitched game, as in Minn in 91, Morris snaps the ball, and throw for Ks.  Otherwise, he just tries to get people out.  As for Clemens, in the Elias Stat Book of 1992, I believe that Clemens has the best lifetime record for his team, as compared to when he doesn't pitch.  How bad would the Red sox have been last year without him?  Can you say 92 Phillies?  I believe Clemens is the better pitcher because of more power, and hsi great tenacity.  Morris is among the guttiest pitchers I;ve ever seen, but Clemens is in a class with Seaver, Carlton, etc.
Let's look at the effects of inflation on 1930's superstars' salaries.  I read once that the Babe made $80,000 one year and that was about as good  as it got for him.  Let's assume he made that in 1928 (I'm not sure of the figures, but I know I'm in the ballpark--pun intended). :-)  Today, assuming a 4% yearly inflation rate, which is an understatement if not accurate, his measly $80,000 salary would be worth.  FV = $80,000 x (1+4%)^(1993-1928)    = $80,000 x (1.04)^65    = just over $1,000,000.  Assuming inflation is average of around 5%.  FV = $80,000 x (1+5%)^65    = almost 2,000,000.  (I didn't crunch these numbers beforehand).  These numbers might lead one to believe that today's players are slightly  overpaid.  The Babe appears to have made then what today's average to above average players make now.  Perfectly accurate salary, year of salary, and  average inflation rate would make this analysis more accurate, but I don`t  think I'm off by much.  Chop Chop  Michael Mule'
How about Brooks Robinson's last homerun ever?  #268 came on 4-19-77 at Memorial Stadium with one out and two on in the bottom of the 10th inning. Larry Harlow was due up, but Brooks pinch-hit a 3-2 pitch from Dave LaRoche into the left field bleachers for a 6-5 win.
In article <1993Apr19.015442.15723@oz.plymouth.edu> k_mullin@oz.plymouth.edu (Mully) writes: >   What position does Mike Lansing play?  I cannot seem to find it  > anywhere.  Thanks!!!!1 > >	K--> >--  >--- >Keith J. Mullins                (o o)           >P.S.C            -----------oOO--(_)--OOo----------- INTERNET: >Plymouth, NH     | "It takes a big man to cry, but | k_mullin@oz.plymouth.edu
Alan Sepinwall writes > [Bullpen Blues deleted] >  > What's Buck gonna do? And what's George gonna do if this continues to happen? >  > -Alan  George will do the only logical thing he can do when the Yanks' bullpen isn't   performing -- fire the manager.
>There is Ebbets Field Flannels in Seattle, which makes lots of minor and negro >league jackets and jerseys. These things are REAL spendy (around $200 for a >jersey) but they are very authentic in look and nicely made. > >--->Paul, "long live Steve Bilko and the PCL LA Angels"  Their phone number is 1-800-377-9777. The last catalog shows three  Oaks jerseys: 36 Home, 42 Home, 39 Home - they're each $165.00.  All their merchandise is handmade and is an authentic replica.  I own a couple - and they are excellent. They also have wool caps and jackets.  You should call to get on their mailing list even if you can't afford their prices.
jayson stark (i trhink that's him) fits perfectly in this category.  anyone who writes "dean palmer has 2 homers  - at this pace, he'll  have 324 home runs!" should be shot.  if, at the end of april, he has 11, and anyone writes "at this  pace, he'll have 100+ homers!" they shouldbe shot too.
In article <C5ws3K.HqC@odin.corp.sgi.com> dans@fore.csd.sgi.com (Dan   Steinman) writes: > Last night on the Giants/Mets radio broadcast Hank and Ted were   discussing the fact that there were only 16 players who had ever hit 200   homeruns and stolen 200 bases in their career (while HoJo was batting).    Anyone have a list?  Not as easy as it sounds to come up with all of them.    I couldn't.  Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Henderson, Morgan, Bonds (Dad), ???    Frank Robinson?  Molitor?  Yount?  Guessing now.  I'd be interested to see   the whole list. >  >  > --  >  > Thanks, >          Dan >
My dad has always blamed the Phillies collapse in '64 on me...  On Sept 21,  1964,  the Phillies had something like a 9 game lead with 12 to play.  I was born on Sept 21,  1964.  The Phils proceeded to lose something like 10 straight while the Cards won 10 straight (does anyone know hte exact numbers?),  and a pennant was blown.  To this day my dad likes to remind me that it all began when I was born!
In article <121692@netnews.upenn.edu> kkeller@mail.sas.upenn.edu (Keith   Keller) writes: > [real long but good post on Yankee trades omitted] >  > I disagree on one point:  Velarde.  Yes, maybe the Yanks should have let > him develop, but he rode the Columbus Shuttle way too many times to do   so. > Probably the fault of George, but no matter now.  His usefulness is   done, > he will not be able to develop into a good player this deep in his   career > (at least I don't think so).  His fielding is horrendous at 3rd (maybe > he'd be good at short?), he can't his the curve at all, and I think all > his trips from New York to Columbus and back have demoralized him to the > point that he just doesn't care.  Get rid of him, I say--the sooner the > better, for both the Yanks and Velarde. >  > -- >     Keith Keller				LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!! >    Velarde hasn't been to Columbus, if I recall, for about three years.  Granted, he hasn't been a full time player but when he does play I've always thought he had a good bat. He might be demoralized about not playing full time, but he hasn't been shuttled around.  I think he's been in New York ever since he had 34 hits in 100 AB back in 1989, or 90, I believe.   I don't think he is gold glove calibre, but he doesn't boot it around either.  I think if Velarde is given a chance, he could become extremely productive.  I don't have any stats to back this up, and I don't know if his Defense would cost any games, but I think he could help - and he has this year.  He has 3 HR already.  Same goes for Jim Leyrtiz.  He has a big mouth, but he does get the job done when he concentrates.  I think the situation with Leyritz is that he believes he is a potential super-star, and he gets pissed about not playing.  I think he might have realized something when the Marlins or Rockies didn't select him. The Yanks need to worry about the Bullpen right now. Kamieniecki and Wickman/Militello in the bullpen? Ouch.  I'm praying that the BP will return to last year's form....
Babe Ruth's lifetime pitching stats (selected):  94-46, .671. 2.28 ERA. 163 G, 107 CG, 17 SHO, 10.6 RAT.  Best year: 1916, Bos: 23-12, 1.75 ERA (led league) or            1917, Bos: 24-13, 2.01 ERA
Just wanted to let all the people who e-mailed me about  a possible Cardinals mailing list that I wasn't able to get the OK to host the list here so someone else will have to do it. :-(  Many thanks to Bob Netherton for his helpful info.
For that matter, how many Gentleman of The Press Box have been Jewish? The only Jewish sportscaster that comes to mind is Steve Williams (?), who had a Phillies show on KYW in Philadelphia in the 80s.
o any of you experts want to analyze Ron Gant? Is his early season slump because he is still swinging his bat the way he was last year (trying to hit to all fields, etc.) or has he changed his swing back to the "old" Gant and is just in a small early season slump.  Is his spot int he lineup even secure, especially the way he has been hitting?   -- msilverm@nyx.cs.du.edu				GO CUBS!!!
Once, on Jeopardy, the category was "Jewish Sports Heros," believe it or not.  The answer was, "This pitcher had four no-hitters with the Dodgers in the 60s."  The contestant said, "Who is Hank Aaron?" Alex Trebek said something like, "I don't think Hank Aaron was a pitcher."
In article <20APR93.15151474@vax.clarku.edu> hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu writes:  >nflynn@wvnvms.wvnet.edu writes:  >>However, what is with this policy of trying to speed up the games. >>You are the first person ( non-mediot ) I have seen endorse this policy. >>I have no problem with the length of games at all and am tired of the >>ESPN crowd ( and other announcers ) bitching about it.  I have never >>been in a ballpark filled with people looking at their watches and >>shouting "Hurry up!"  If I cough up big bucks for a ticket, I don't mind >>a game that last more than 2:10.  I really don't understand it.  >I agree with Nick.  What's the big deal about long games?  If you want >to watch baseball, there's that much more baseball to watch.  And yes, >baseball includes the space between plays as well as the plays themselves.  First, a longer game in no way suggests "more baseball to watch," unless you include watching the grass grow as baseball.  The lengthier games are so because of batters stepping out of the box, pitchers taking longer between pitches and excessive trips to the mound by managers and pitching coaches.  And while it's true that the gaps between plays can be interesting, this is only true when they don't become extra-long.  Quickly-pitched games can grab and hold your attention much better.  Bring back the two-hour baseball game!  (And the three and a half hour golf game with it!)
In article <1993Apr5.190141.17623@bsu-ucs>, 00bjgood@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu writes: |> I just wanted to let everyone know that I have lost what little respect |> I have |> for Jim LeFebvre after seeing today's Cubs game.  |> 						A dishard Cub fan   If you think that's bad, just wait until he tries Dunston in the leadoff spot again.    Yes, I also wonder if they can win with this manager. I never believed managers had that much to do with winning until I saw how much they had to do with losing....
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, lend me your ears for but a moment,    	The National Legue Eastern Division Champions will be the...           			Philadelphia Phillies   		I one hundred and ten percent guarantee!!!    	Chamberlain Hollins Dykstra Incaviglia Jackson Williams 	Daulton Greene Kruk Mulholland Rivera Thompson Duncan