sabugo

The case looks cool.

I bet he'll be almost as good as Sir Didi

Thanks And I didn't even go into Alex's weird of catching helmets whenever the Yankees walk-off.

Between some housework and a fried computer I haven't been able to write so, here is what I have been thinking about in the Land of no baseball: - Alex Rodriguez has finally retired. He had a very crazy career to say the least. He was up and down so many times along the years that it is incredible he lasted so long. Few people ever played the game who were more talented than he was. Few had better careers. But I don't know how many were so hated as Alex was. To me, he seemed badly advised sometimes. In the latter part of his career he showed a different side, one which we all want to love and adore and make us forget about the times when he was kissing mirrors, or hung paintings of himself in his house, or opted out of a contract before the world series. This guy goes for 150 something RBI's and it's still hard to root for him. At the same time, everybody says he is a hard-worker and that he knows a heack of a lot about the game of baseball. Maybe his personality transplant takes and he goes on to have a very long career as a mentor to the young Yankees. I sure hope so. But man, how frustrating was it to watch him hit singles and pop-ups for a couple of seasons? In part it's our fault because of our expectations. In part it's Alex's 'fault' for being so talented. And part is just the Yankees not knowing how to read a calendar and employing old guys for years! Then MLB goes all crazy on him. How can you not like a human being that Bud Selig dislikes? That whole thing seemed a bit exagerated. And there were probably many other guys deserving of such special care and attention. Alex Rodriguez was down, and they kicked him, plain and simple. Good thing he had one nice season left in him. Is this guy still alive? - Ryan Dempster. Last seen having a hearfelt conversation with one Mr. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez. If found, please return him to his mother.

Most of the time, due to living in a different continent, I'm too early or too late to participate in all the fun that happens in the shoutbox. You know, the shoutbox, where you're not supposed to ask for support but it is still an almost daily occurance. With that, I'm starting my very own thread where I will post thoughts and some other stuff. As many of you know, I come from what I call 'The Land of No Baseball'. Seriously, there is no baseball in Portugal. I tell people I like this game and they look at my like I just came from outer-space. People don't even make fun of me for liking baseball, they just see me as a very, very, very sick person. It's like I have a rare disease and people don't know if they should pity me or stay a block away. Anyway, on to this week's topic, Mark Teixeira's iminent retirement. Teixeira was, for a long time, one of the best 1B in the game. And while his defense never failed him, his batting numbers severely dropped over the past 4 years - except of course for last season. (Whatever he and A-Rod were on last season they apparently ran out of it) Teixeira is of Portuguese ancestry (so is Pedroia by the way, and so are a bunch of other MLB players, much to my surprise), so I am naturally inclined to like him. Be that as it may, it has become quite hard to like him at all for the past few seasons. Mostly because of injuries but also due to the increasing use of shifts, his at-bats became a nightmare to watch, and you'd be almost guaranteed to see him strikeout, ground-out, or pop it right into the shift. Now, baseball is the one thing where I allow myself to be just a fan, like everybody else. I can't be like that in my day-to-day life, since I'm both an athlete and a coach, but with baseball, I'm just a fan. I haven't been a fan of Teixeira in quite a while. Which bothers me, because in some sort of weird way I feel like I'm betraying my country (and I don't even know if Tex has ever set foot in Portugal!!). Mark certainly did not choose to be unproductive but that's what most of the Yankee fans will rememeber, how he went out. He was great for almost a decade. Then one day he wasn't. He did contribute largely to the 2009 series and was generally well-liked by teamates and fans. I can think of a lot worst players to have manning first during his 8 year tenure with the Yankees. We had to go through a season of Lyle Overbay! (2013 you were so fun...) So, have a nice final couple of months and then go through with your plan. I will like you again once you are in the rearview mirror. If you want, come to Portugal and start a baseball league here. You'd probably be able to play those 5 years you wanted and dominate everybody. And to finish, something I haven't quite decided how to name: People still do this?! / This guy is still alive?! / This is still a thing?! Directly from our transaction thread, brilliantly maintained by laroquece over the years: Diamondbacks released RHP Alexi Ogando. Do you guys remember when this dude was any good? Now he just bounces around. There was talk at one point of making him a starter. It was around the time he stopped being good. Why do people in baseball go about fixing something that isn't broken?

Gotta love Microsoft... If the files were in fact deleted, you're going to have a very very hard time getting them back.

Oh, I forgot the 77 Yankees!

'98 Yankees, minus Chad Curtis.

When I look at Nova's ERA it reminds of real life...

Isn't there a slider that addresses the foul ball issue?

Teixeira 4-4 and Beltran making flying catches????!?!?! Y4L: If only...

Same here. I'm wanto you to go 0-162, but I hope you have a lot of fun while you're at it

Isn't it amazing how ahead of their time the guys at EA were? Like Y4L said, makes you wonder, how much more is there to discover.

Pretty cool

The one of Lou Gehrig batting is also pretty great.

We all agree on that one. Wow, this must be a first!

It's all a matter of balance. If he's there all the time, than it's obviously too much. What is too much? Well, that is a very good question, and if there are no guidelines in place, then the lines will get blurry. A 14 year old might be a kid, but he isn't a child anymore. Think back to when you were 14. Still, some things might not be appropriate for a kid to hear and see. Of course, if it was agreed with Laroche that his kid could be around, and then they change the rules on him, he's most definitely right to feel betrayed.

Doesn't seem bad visually, but it still looks a bit too arcady.

Like most things, to me, the best solution lies somewhere in the middle. Emotions are part of every sport, and as long as you don't exagerate in your celebrations, they should be accepted. Hitting a Home-Run is incredibly hard, and you shouldn't be expected to just keep your head down and go about your life like nothing happened. If you score a goal in Hockey, you are allowed to celebrate. Maybe this was how things were in the old days, but the old days were hardly and example about many other things. Integration is one. I'm not comparing both things, just saying that things change and so does our understanding of them. Goose Gossage recently went crazy on this subject. I can understand where he came from. To me, as long as you act professional and don't disrespect your opponents, celebrate away. In Jiu-Jitsu there are rules in place that clearly state that you can neither celebreate too much nor leave the mat until the referee has raised the winner's arm. World Championships were lost because over-celebration. These rules have been a matter of discussion over the years, but I very much agree with them. Be happy all you want, just don't disrespect the sport or your opponent. In my particular case I don't celebrate too much after victories, but I have punched the floor like a madman after loosing one time - right afterwards, still on the mat, I apologized to the referee and to my opponent (both friends of mine), I was just mad at myself for screwing up. Nobody batted an eye - emotion is a part of every sport.

On the one hand I coudln't care less for how anybody else looks. On the other, I do like the notion of the Yankees looking like a professional and well groomed baseball team. And of course, an employer has the right - to an extent - to demand their employees to look a certain way. For example ,you wouldn't want to be in a court of law where a judge shows up wearing sakteboarding shoes and baggy jeans. (A person's value does not lie in their appearance, that is another matter, but certain things are expected from certain jobs).

How fun would baseball be if pitchers had to give batters the location of the next pitcher? Like snooker, where you have to name which pot you're aiming for. That would be a cool feature for an All-Star game, hahahaha

Screw the 30 games. Just give CC a bottle and then make him slap Chapman around. (OK, this was insensitive to CC's addiction, but Chapman deserves a good slap-around)

I'm getting the same. I agree with Gordo, time to move on and find some better AV.

So, nobody voting for Bernie Williams then? Shocker.