Or the 3rd, actually (but we didn't get home until the 4th). Despite the general crapulence around the Verizon Music Center, it's impossible to deny that the man can write some amazing music. My wife and I took in Tom Petty and Heartbreakers last night, and in addition to sweet memories of XLII during "Free Falling", we were thoroughly pleased with the entire show. Petty didn't pull any punches, and didn't hammer us with "now let's endure something my new album". It was all his best all night long. I don't think I'll go back to Verizon for a show again because the atmosphere was toxic with all the smoke, and most everyone around us was loaded and baked an hour before the show started, but none of that has anything to do with the quality of the performance (ok, he does have a half dozen songs about weed, so maybe it was Petty's fault). Anyway, the show was great. The encore was electric and fireworks in the distance made it a great way to start the holiday weekend.
28 comments:
Edmonds is hitting .283 so far as a Cub he has to drop 70 points in the next two weeks to hit your .210s in 5 weeks. His OPS with the Cubs is over .900
One of these guys is not like the other
2008 NL Walks Leaderboard
Dunn (68)
Burrell (65)
Helton (61)
Pujols (57)
Wright (54)
Fukudome (52)
Fukudome is the only one in there without tons of power. He's insanely patient. Even without pitchers going around him he's 6th in the NL.
He'll be hitting .210 overall is what I believe I said.
Fukodome is the most overrated player in baseball. He's ok. He's not great. Not by a long shot.
.236 total now, but...
6/12/2008
Blogger Deshawn Zombie said...
Hee hee. Now that's optimism. Edmonds is below average defensively now. He's had a couple of weeks, but he'll be in the .210s within 5 weeks.
6/12/2008
Blogger Deshawn Zombie said...
I mean with the Cubs.
He's already there for the year right now.
http://18to88.blogspot.com/2008/06/showing-humility.html
sorry can't get a hyperlink to work this late. Anyway enjoy the crow.
I don't really know how you feel Fukudome is rated. He's a great fielder who hits for average with great plate discipline but no power. He'd be a ROY candidate if it wasn't for Soto.
I have zero doubt that Jim Edmonds BA can and will drop 70 points.
He's not actually very good anymore. Don't get confused by a few hot weeks.
Cubs fans treat Fukodome like he deserved to be an all star. He's a servicible right fielder. He does some things well, but not enough to warrent the bizzarre worship he inspires.
So if he was on the Reds and being a serviceble right fielder and they were in first, YOU wouldn't be singing his praises?
I doubt that somehow.
I wouldn't be voting for him for the All Star Game.
Let's just say if the Reds had a Rookie who was batting .283, with 12 HR, 39 RBI and 4 SB, I wouldn't vote him to the All Star game. Oh wait they do. Joey Votto. And I didn't vote for him. So I don't think a rookie with .285, 7, and 34, and 8 deserves to go from RF either. I know Fuku has a better OB%, but that doesn't merit a starting spot in the All Star game.
Cub fans must be stupid it's all I can figure.
For the record Griffey doesn't deserve his spot either, and I didn't vote for him. But at the least he has had a career that merits fan respect and interest. Fukudome is a serviceable player who's last name sounds like a profanity.
That's all he is.
Braun probably deserved the spot more 120 OPS+ vs 112. Fukudome is better defensively at a harder position though. Fukudome is better than ok but he's not great. He's good.
At least Kosuke is going to the all star game as an above average hitter. Griffey made it sporting a 97 OPS+. That's the same as Ryan Theriot. You would flip if Theriot made the all star team, but a Red who is producing similarly on offense made it (and Theriot has triple the VORP)
And finally Jim Edmonds now has more place appearances this year as a Cub than a Padre. Big sample size>small sample size, so don't get confused by a couple cold weeks.
um, I'm taking into account the fact that he's been in decline for several years now. His bat speed is way down, and his ultimate value is closer to .210 than .280. And seriously, if I'm wrong about Edmonds by 20 points, you still have a .230 hitter. Big deal.
Griffey doesn't deserve to make the all star game based on this year, but at least he does have value as being one of the all time greats. He did something once to be worthy. Fukudome is worthy for no reason other than Cub fans waaaaay over inflate his value.
Forget Braun. COREY HART has better numbers than Fukudome. He's a fine player. He's not an allstar. His numbers just aren't that good. He's a role player.
Fukudome shouldn't be in the all star game.
He's a better pick than Griffey though.
No, he's not. He's having a better season this year than Griffey. That doesn't make him a better pick. It's better to reward an all time great who is currently undeserving than it is to elevate an average player to elite status and thus confuse millions of fans into thinking the new guy is great when he's actually just a slightly above average role player. Fukudome is having a better season, but his inclusion hurts baseball. It plays to the stupidest biases of stupid fans. It's fun and valuable to see Hall of Famers in all star games. It's annoying to see undeserving Cubs make it just because they have a catchy last names.
Babe Ruth could rise from the dead and make a MLB roster, and if he wasn't performing at least above average then he shouldn't go to the all star game.
I agree. 100%. But if I HAD to choose between a HoF guy who didn't deserve it and an overrated guy who was popular for a stupid reason who didn't deserve it, I'd rather see the HoF guy go.
Maybe it wasn't dumb cubs fans voting Fukudome in. Maybe it was all the baseball fans in Japan voting for one of their new sports heros. Like How Yao Ming will make every all star game ever because everyone in China with a computer votes for him.
Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster make the team as reserves (so do Aramis Ramirez and Zambrano, but the first two are the ones that'll bother you).
that doesn't explain soriano
they don't bother me. They aren't actually good, but they deserve their slots based on this half season.
.283/.332/.547 is pretty good (122 OPS+) and he had really heated up when he got hurt. He's the best hitter in the starting NL outfield 122 to 120 to 112. He's the most deserving of the 3 that made it.
You want an undeserving All Star who is just there because his team's fans worship him
.660 OPS, 73 OPS+ and -2.3 VORP (yes that's a negative number)
Jason Varitek
I don't have a problem with Soriano. I'm just saying it's likely that the Cub fans are the voting source, not the Japaneese fans.
At least with Varitek, he's the team captain of a really good team. But, yeah, no question he doesn't deserve to go. Not by a long shot.
It's annoying to see undeserving Cubs make it just because they have a catchy last names.
Word.
And if you have a little extra time this week, please vote for Corey Hart. Thank you. ;)
Oh hey, it's the tired old, why do the fans vote for all star games and what not we always hear from the sports media who feel they should the ones to decide it.
Haha, I guess bloggers aren't that different than the sports journalists they scoff at regularly.
Also, it's not the All Star Game by Deshawn Zombie's Royal Emperor Decree, it's a mix of fans and players. Fukudome won more hearts and minds than other guys you feel should go. Too bad, so sad. And crying about voting? Really? What's next, whining about elections and the guys you vote for not winning?
Get over it and yourself. You're entitled to your opinion, just like I can voice my opinion that you're a fucking idiot for it. I'd say if they were all Reds, you wouldn't give a flying fuck if they deserved to go and you'd be sitting here pimping them all. So shut the fuck up already.
You are an idiot.
I already went on record as saying that Griffey didn't deserve to go, and I'm glad he didn't go.
The conversation started with Shake talking about Fukudome.
I responded by saying he's overrated.
Shake asked how I knew what he was rated.
I responded that the fact that idiots in blue shirts vote for him for the All Star team in droves means that someone is rating him pretty highly.
Get a life. I don't think fans should vote for all star games. I HATE fan voting. I think most people are stupid. Yes, I do think the All star game would be better run by people who know something about it rather than jack holes who vote for Fukudome just because he's a freaking Cub. I had to grow up watching a decrepit Ozzie Smith start at SS while hitting under .220 while Barry Larkin couldn't break through despite being one of the best all around players in the game. I still carry a grudge against idiot fans.
So in Summary of these and other arguments:
1. use your real name if you are going to unleash profanity filled rants
2. Pay attention to what the actual argument is about (whether or not Fukudome is overrated and whether his or Griffey's potential inclusion in the All-Star game is more egregious)
3. This isn't a post. It's a conversation. I didn't go out of my to tell people my thoughts on All Star games, it came up naturally in the course of a discussion. I take more latitude in what I discuss here than I do on the blog. I give more latitude as well. I would never post a profanity laden rant on the main page, but I'll let yours stand here.
4. I scoff at journalists when they are wrong. I laud them when they are right. When they rip moron fans who have no idea who is good and who sucks, I 100% agree with them.
5. If Fukudome had captured people's hearts by being a really good baseball player, that would be ok. Instead he's just popular because 1. he's a Cub 2. he's Japanese and some Cub fans have actually confused him with Ichiro 3. His name sounds like a profanity. 4. He does 'little ball' stuff like bunt. Those aren't good reasons to vote someone into an all star game.
hm, that was quite the post....
Back to the Babe Ruth rising from the dead thing, what a great idea. I think there is room in the baseball fan lexicon for an 'underperforming dead-revived Babe Ruth' metric, as in "How many UDRBRs do they have on that team?" or "If a player produces twice as much as an UDRBR, does he make the all star game?" Or "he was just voted to the all-star game because he's an UDRBR."
Kind of like ROBO-PUNTER on FO; a theoretical concept used to measure the value of other things that really exist. It can get out of hand, of course, if the UDRBR retires from baseball and seeks a career making zombie movies in Hollywood (type casting). Or running for political office: he's got name recognition, and he's already dead, so he's immune to criticism and assasination attempts. Maybe he gets appointed to the Supreme Court--forever! Expect a boost in zombie rights laws.
Did I say it could get out of hand? Guess I underestimated the power of the UDRBR.
You see, if it's not football, I have a really short attention span.
Anonymous, nice work.
Every now and then we have to knock DZ off his high colt.
His constant feigning of self righteous rage annoys me too. You're not alone.
Just kidding DZ.
Not really.
Has Tom Petty always looked like a sex offender? That picture is creeeeepy.
JC, To me, Tom Petty has always looked like the kid who never quite mentally left high school, so even if he's 27 he's hanging out with the 15 year-olds at the park by the HS, or checking oput the Jr HS chicks with them. He has status if only because he can drive and buy beer. There was a character like that in "Dazed and Confused." Not that TP is actually like that....
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