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Hairyducked Idiot

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Everything posted by Hairyducked Idiot

  1. Hairyducked Idiot
    Yeah, who could have thought that losing Sabathia and Sheets would make the pitching staff bad?
  2. Hairyducked Idiot
    Only if its the Cubs. Previous playoff experiences don't count, either.
  3. Hairyducked Idiot
    Human emotions most certainly do work that way. In fact, it's part of human emotions to falsely believe that we immune from analysis. you can break down all human emotions? so shouldn't you be rich and famous then? that's kind of groundbreaking, dude Me personally? No. But go to college, enroll in some behavioral science courses (or if you really want to have some fun, neurology) and you'll learn quite a bit.
  4. Hairyducked Idiot
    Human emotions most certainly do work that way. In fact, it's part of human emotions to falsely believe that we immune from analysis.
  5. Hairyducked Idiot
    All I want is a simple explanation for why these players have proven they can handle pressure over and over again, but somehow they not only fail to handle it in these specific situations, but they do so in a way that looks exactly like the random ups and downs of a major-league baseball season? It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that. The only explanation offered, thus far, has been that the fans and media give extra pressure to being on the Cubs, which is ridiculously myopic. Breaking it down is where the absurdities in the argument show up. (and Harry Potter *always* caught the Snitch, no matter the situation. The only time he didn't was when the dementors caused him to fall off his broom in third year against Hufflepuff. Dementors /= pressure.)
  6. Hairyducked Idiot
    "Common sense" is an almost universal code for "thing that is proven wrong by logic and science that I don't want to let go of."
  7. Hairyducked Idiot
    Except Derrek Lee. He must not be a good teammate, because he didn't let the pressure get to him. yeah, because there are never exceptions to anything in life, ever. So the theory on pressure now is that some players, who have proven they can handle pressure repeatedly in their lives, in the majors and even in the MLB postseason as Cubs, suddenly succumb to some sort of team-based pressure? Weirder and weirder. This is one of those theories that makes less sense the more you think about it.
  8. Hairyducked Idiot
    Except Derrek Lee. He must not be a good teammate, because he didn't let the pressure get to him.
  9. Hairyducked Idiot
    Pressure is what happens to a player when Dextermorgan really, really wants them to perform well. Except in the first two innings of a playoff series. Or something. I don't know. I'm having trouble following what does and does not count as pressure.
  10. Hairyducked Idiot
    More nonsense. I'm stunned. Not once have I defined any players as specifically being chokers. Actually, I've repeatedly said otherwise Perhaps you'd understand if I used some awesome Harry Potter analogies So your argument is that the team as a whole chokes, but not the players? This just keeps getting weirder.
  11. Hairyducked Idiot
    If we want to argue that the 2008 Cubs had extra pressure on themselves because of what they did in 2007, then there's a point to be made there. Though it doesn't explain why guys like Fukudome had such awful series. But that's a whole lot better than claiming the fans and atmosphere at Wrigley puts significantly more pressure on them than other playoff teams face.
  12. Hairyducked Idiot
    Then why did someone try to explain the pressure on the Cubs during the last five years as them having expectations to win? It was specifically said that they won in 2003 NLDS because nobody expected them to, but then lost recently because the expectations put too much pressure on them.
  13. Hairyducked Idiot
    All I want is a consistent definition of "pressure" from you, so we can actually examine which Cubs players can and can't perform under it. If the fact that Dempster was starting Game 1 of a playoff series rather than pitching in relief with a four-run lead was the difference that put too much pressure on him, how do we explain the fact that he retired seven of the first eight batters he faced, and was pitching scoreless ball until the fifth? Were the first two innings not pressure-y enough to get to him?
  14. Hairyducked Idiot
    One inning = weak. 4.2 innings = acceptable Eight games = enough to judge a team
  15. Hairyducked Idiot
    I'm saying your definition of pressure seems to coincide perfectly with when you really want the team to win. Because that's what this is all about: You projecting your emotions onto professional athletes.
  16. Hairyducked Idiot
    And they weren't supposed to get destroyed and swept. By a team that got swept in the next round. By a team that got swept in the round after that. So the 2007 Cubs couldn't handle the pressure of being expected to perform competently but lose the series? The more you examine it, the more bizarre this pressure theory gets.
  17. Hairyducked Idiot
    Sorry, but Ryan Dempster pitching 1 good inning in 2007 (in a 4 run deficit in the 8th inning) doesn't suddenly mean he's immune to choking. Your arguments are becoming weaker and weaker. Next you're going to tell me how well Ryan Theriot performed in a 7th grade twinkie eating contest. Your definition of what is and is not an acceptable "pressure" situation seems to be entirely cherrypicked and have no coherent logic behind it.
  18. Hairyducked Idiot
    Also, nobody but statheads "believed" in the 2007 Cubs. They weren't "supposed" to beat the Diamondbacks by popular reckoning.
  19. Hairyducked Idiot
    Wait, having road fans makes it worse for them? "What about the endless references to Bartman?" Endless? Players aren't fans. How often do you think Bartman actually comes up in a player's life? A few times when a media guy asks about it and that's it. " What about the way Wrigley and the city goes crazy when they win?" That *never* happens in other cities. They golf clap when their teams win the World Series.
  20. Hairyducked Idiot
    Talking about how every "team" performs differently muddies the issue. Teams don't perform. Players do. Which players on 2008 in the Cubs succumbed to the pressure? And why did some of them succumb to it when they've faced similar pressures many times in their career and did just fine?
  21. Hairyducked Idiot
    I am completely saying that. It's certainly possible that there are occasions where pressure gets to people. But for every one time it happens, there's a dozen where people try to attribute the randomness of sports to pressure.
  22. Hairyducked Idiot
    So wait, now "inability to perform under pressure" isn't a constant attribute, it's something that randomly floats on and off of guys each year? If you want to define a choke as anytime someone plays badly when there is pressure, then yes, many guys have choked. But that doesn't prove for a second that the pressure caused them to do it. Norman is a fantastic example. Over his career, he had many "chokes" that had nothing to do with him playing badly and had many wonderful performances under pressure, but they all get lumped into the reputation. If Mize doesn't hole-out a 45-foot chip, nobody ever talks about Norman being a choker.
  23. Hairyducked Idiot
    Okay, Lee did perform great in 2008. Who didn't perform in the 2008 NLCS? Ryan Dempster. The pressure didn't get to him in his one inning of work in 2007, but as a starter it apparently did. Carlos Zambrano? Already proven he can handle pressure as a Cub in the postseason. Rich Harden? Maybe he's a choker. Aramis Ramirez? Already proven he can handle Cubs postseason pressure, back in 2003. Jim Edmonds? The man had played in 61 postseason games to that point, including four LCSs and two WS, and he's proven he can handle it. Soriano, Fukudome, and Marmol I guess I'll give you. So there you have it, half the Cubs who performed badly in 2008 are dirty chokers who couldn't handle the pressure, and half of them were guys who have proven before that they can handle it and just happened to play badly.
  24. Hairyducked Idiot
    The point is, every player on the Cubs roster has proven they can handle pressure over and over and over again. You are mistaking your intense desire/need to see them win with with pressure they must be feeling.
  25. Hairyducked Idiot
    What position is ridiculous? That the Cubs have extra pressure on them in the postseason? Seriously, that's ridiculous? Yes. It's complete fan-based myopia.
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