Jonah Keri on Rich Hill (and other silly stuff)

[tkenm356]

From ESPN's Page 2, Link

 

7. John Maine, Matt Cain and Rich Hill aren't Clemens, Seaver and Koufax.

 

At least not yet. These three young pitchers rank 2-3-4 in NL ERA at 1.35, 1.54 and 1.57, respectively. They're also the flip side to Bush, Francis and Bedard: three of the four luckiest pitchers in MLB, with microscopic BABIPs well below .200. All three pitchers have talent, with Maine showing last year that he can overcome his so-so stuff with smart pitch selection and location and Cain and Hill gunning mid-90s heaters by unsuspecting hitters. Still, if we were their agents, we'd be calling the Mets, Giants and Cubs for lucrative long-term contracts ASAP. Hill should have the easiest time -- rumor has it the spend-a-lot Cubs just signed the peanut guy to a $50 million deal.

 

And I understand that Page 2 is supposed to be somewhat humorous, but I thought this line about Bret Myers was kinda out of line, and I enjoy controversial humor:

 

9. These teams will be better in May …

 

Yankees: The rotation gets healthy.

 

Cardinals: Chris Carpenter gets healthy.

 

Cubs: Alfonso Soriano suddenly remembers he's really good.

 

Phillies: Brett Myers takes time out from not hitting his wife to help the beleaguered bullpen.

 

Royals: Alex Gordon isn't Mario Mendoza.

 

That's just not very classy, IMO.

[Lockes Eye Scar]

Hill throws a mid-90's heater? news to me.

[jersey cubs fan]

That's just not very classy, IMO.

 

Not classy? Since when are they supposed to be classy. Myers is a wife beater.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

That's just not very classy, IMO.

 

Not classy? Since when are they supposed to be classy. Myers is a wife beater.

 

Exactly

[snoodmonger]

when myers starts respecting his wife, page 2 can start respecting myers.

[tkenm356]

And I suppose when the Reds start struggling a lot sports writers can say "They'll start winning again once Josh Hamilton stops smoking crack and shooting heroin in the clubhouse bathroom" and it's all cool.

 

My point is it happened in the past, and of all the jabs he could've taken at the Phillies (Ryan Howard not hitting at all, Charlie Manuel losing his cool) he brings up someones past personal flaw? Sure, Myers is a douche bag, but the jab at him hitting his wife is hardly a way to get the point across that the Phillies are going to turn it around in May.

 

He could've used a different joke, is all I'm saying

[jersey cubs fan]

And I suppose when Josh Hamilton starts struggling sports writers can say "He'll start hitting again once he stops smoking crack and shooting heroin in the clubhouse bathroom" it's all cool.

 

My point is it happened in the past, and of all the jabs he could've taken at the Phillies (Ryan Howard not hitting at all, Charlie Manuel losing his cool) he brings up someones past personal flaw? Sure, Myers is a douche bag, but the jab at him hitting his wife is hardly a way to get the point across that the Phillies are going to turn it around in May.

 

He could've used a different joke, is all I'm saying

 

Personal flaw? He hit his wife. Obviously it happened in the past, otherwise it never would have happened. He's a wife beater. A complete scumbag. It's completely different from being a drug addict.

[abuck1220]

classy or not, it's not very funny...or timely. surprised we didn't get a sammy sosa corked bat joke in there.

[snoodmonger]

Sure, Myers is a douche bag, but the jab at him hitting his wife is hardly a way to get the point across that the Phillies are going to turn it around in May.

 

I see your point there, but i think you nailed it when you said in your first post that the purpose of page 2 is more for humor/entertainment than serious analysis.

[TruffleShuffle]

Sure, Myers is a douche bag, but the jab at him hitting his wife is hardly a way to get the point across that the Phillies are going to turn it around in May.

 

I see your point there, but i think you nailed it when you said in your first post that the purpose of page 2 is more for humor/entertainment than serious analysis.

 

as evidenced by "rich hill blowing his mid-90s heater past unsuspecting hitters"... they're probably not suspecting it because he never throws that hard

[Soriano12]

The Meyer's crack made me LOL

[imb]

The Meyer's crack made me LOL

 

figures

[Bixby]

Keri had already lost all respect with numbers 1 and 2 in that article.

[AI]

Keri had already lost all respect with numbers 1 and 2 in that article.

I found it incredibly entertaining. Oh, and wifebeaters and addicts are not the same thing.

[snoodmonger]

i don't know much about the writer, but it seems strange he'd be uninformed enough to say Hill has a mid 90s heater while being "stat enlightened" enough to invoke BABIP-against, which isn't, IMO, the most mainstream way of evaluating pitchers.

[DiamondMind]

I got so pissed off about an article he wrote ragging on Craig Biggio and Sammy Sosa for "not deserving to be in the league anymore on their name alone" that I wrote him an admittingly pretty childish e-mail. I just was really angry. You write for ESPN, and this is the best you have? Please.

[Bixby]

I got so pissed off about an article he wrote ragging on Craig Biggio and Sammy Sosa for "not deserving to be in the league anymore on their name alone" that I wrote him an admittingly pretty childish e-mail. I just was really angry. You write for ESPN, and this is the best you have? Please.

 

That makes 2 of us lol.

 

How do you single out Sosa and Biggio (both terrible arguments anyway) and not mention how Barry Bonds is basically hobbling on one leg in left field? And Bonds is going to sit out on the road to make sure he breaks the record at home... real team player there.

 

This writer is a complete joke... Barely page 2 worthy.

[TruffleShuffle]

I got so pissed off about an article he wrote ragging on Craig Biggio and Sammy Sosa for "not deserving to be in the league anymore on their name alone" that I wrote him an admittingly pretty childish e-mail. I just was really angry. You write for ESPN, and this is the best you have? Please.

 

How do you single out Sosa and Biggio (both terrible arguments anyway) and not mention how Barry Bonds is basically hobbling on one leg in left field? And Bonds is going to sit out on the road to make sure he breaks the record at home... real team player there.

 

Seeing how Barry Bonds has the highest OBP and SLG in the league, I think it'd be a little silly to say that he's too old to play.

[treebird]

I got so pissed off about an article he wrote ragging on Craig Biggio and Sammy Sosa for "not deserving to be in the league anymore on their name alone" that I wrote him an admittingly pretty childish e-mail. I just was really angry. You write for ESPN, and this is the best you have? Please.

 

How do you single out Sosa and Biggio (both terrible arguments anyway) and not mention how Barry Bonds is basically hobbling on one leg in left field? And Bonds is going to sit out on the road to make sure he breaks the record at home... real team player there.

 

Seeing how Barry Bonds has the highest OBP and SLG in the league, I think it'd be a little silly to say that he's too old to play.

 

hahaha, yeah, i think barry might not be the best example of a guy who should've been mentioned as "selfish and only hurting his team."

[Bixby]

I got so pissed off about an article he wrote ragging on Craig Biggio and Sammy Sosa for "not deserving to be in the league anymore on their name alone" that I wrote him an admittingly pretty childish e-mail. I just was really angry. You write for ESPN, and this is the best you have? Please.

 

How do you single out Sosa and Biggio (both terrible arguments anyway) and not mention how Barry Bonds is basically hobbling on one leg in left field? And Bonds is going to sit out on the road to make sure he breaks the record at home... real team player there.

 

Seeing how Barry Bonds has the highest OBP and SLG in the league, I think it'd be a little silly to say that he's too old to play.

 

hahaha, yeah, i think barry might not be the best example of a guy who should've been mentioned as "selfish and only hurting his team."

 

Sorry I didn't mean that he should have bashed Barry, but just that I think its ridiculous to single out Sammy Sosa without any evidence that he's doing it just for himself. I think if he were selfish he would just disappear like Mark McGwire and never make another appearance.

 

I wasn't trying to Barry-bash.