Ask Grandstander

[Top Cat]

the population in the East is denser

You have to concede this point at least Wiggs.

[unreal654]

Originally Posted by Grandstander

If you are trolling for someone to shore up your mindset, you've come to the wrong store. I'm not inclined to join in the fray when the dustup is partisan this vs partisan that.

If there is a tendency to focus more on the East coast teams, it is because there is more of an East coast audience. The teams in the East are older and more established, the population in the East is denser, the media outlets have greater circulation, the teams are closer in geographic terms, promoting a greater sense of rivalry, the fans at the stadiums are more intense, West coasters tend to be more laid back, West coast cities have greater ranges of alternative outdoor activities, the West coast has more transplanted folks from the East than the reverse.

Go into a bookstore, check the sports section and you will have no difficulty finding five or six books currently available with the theme being the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry. You won't find any books on the Royals- A's rivalry because there aren't any. The reason that there aren't any is that no one is writing such books and the reason no one is writing such books is that no publisher believes that such a book would make any money for them.

You have more people making a bigger deal out of the Yankees-Sox and this is going to be reflected in the media attention attracted.

Live with it.

Grandstander, let me start by saying I respect your opinion and have been a long time reader of this thread.

My question is, why should we have to live with it? If I'm paying for a cable package to get ESPN, and ESPN advertises national major league baseball coverage, does it not seem reasonable to question their advertising if I tune in and only hear about New York and Boston? Wiggen never argued about books, or rivalries for that matter, so I don't see how any of that is relevant. I realize the station is out to make money, but it is at the expense of the fans of the other 95 percent of the league.

[Grandstander]

unreal
My question is, why should we have to live with it?
I've explained this twice. Re-read what I wrote.

[jtur88]

What was the all-time greatest performance by a child actor? (Or nominate several, if applicable)

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by jtur88

What was the all-time greatest performance by a child actor? (Or nominate several, if applicable)

Sofia Coppola was already grown when she performed poorly in Godfather Part III, but she was so convincing playing Michael Rizzi in the original Godfather, that no one realized that it was a female in the part. She was also very convincing in Godfather Part II as "Child on steamship."

[jtur88]

Why are Australian movies so good and Canadian movies so bad?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Why are Australian movies so good and Canadian movies so bad?

Canadian flicks feature performers bundled up for a severe winter, the Aussies show a lot of skin. Also the Canadian cultural elements and vernacular with the "ehs" and backbacons, cannot compete with the far more whimsical and charming Australian versions which feature "good on ya mate" and non specific verbs such as "whump."

[phenweigh]

If somebody thinks your opinions are pompous crap, why do they ask you questions?

Who has been the better pitcher this year, Hideki Okajima or Daisuke Okajima?

What do you figure the odds are that the Yankees will pass the Red Sox and win the AL East this year?

[Rapier]

Originally Posted by Grandstander

Canadian flicks feature performers bundled up for a severe winter, the Aussies show a lot of skin. Also the Canadian cultural elements and vernacular with the "ehs" and backbacons, cannot compete with the far more whimsical and charming Australian versions which feature "good on ya mate" and non specific verbs such as "whump."

Would you consider adding that Aussies emote better because they're thirsty and bathe once a week?

[Grandstander]

phenweigh
If somebody thinks your opinions are pompous crap, why do they ask you questions?

Because I deliver high quality pompous crap.
Who has been the better pitcher this year, Hideki Okajima or Daisuke Okajima?
From my friends who are Red Sox fans, I get the impression that they are withholding judgment on Dice-K but would happily elect Okajima Mayor of Boston.
What do you figure the odds are that the Yankees will pass the Red Sox and win the AL East this year?

I do not believe that such odds could be caluclated. One variable would be the improvement of the Yankees and the other would be the decline of the Red Sox. But we cannot know what the odds are of both events or the shape that they might take. For example, if Boston played .506 ball the rest of the way, they would finish with 91 wins. For the Yankees to win 92 games, they would need to play .651 ball the rest of the way. What are the odds that the Yankees can play .650 ball the rest of the way?

But what if Boston, currently playing .617 ball, plays .550 ball the rest of the way? Then they win 95 games and NY is obliged to play .699 ball the rest of the way in order to win 96 games. If Boston continues to play .617 ball, they win 100 games and NY must play .760 ball to win 101.

Perhaps some math whiz knows how to collapse all these variables into a formula.

[Nighthawk]

Is Joe 'Everyone I played with is a Hall of Famer, and if you don't agree it's because you didn't watch them play and have your head buried in the statbook' Morgan the worst Baseball analyst at our disposal today? If not, who?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Nighthawk

Is Joe 'Everyone I played with is a Hall of Famer, and if you don't agree it's because you didn't watch them play and have your head buried in the statbook' Morgan the worst Baseball analyst at our disposal today? If not, who?

Does Ron Fairly still have a radio job anywhere? The Giants had him for a few years and he was the rock bottom. Not only was his vocabulary confined to the worst cliches and lavish devotion to hooey, but he was also incredibly mistake prone. He would lose track of the count, glance at the scoreboard and announce that the scoreboard had it wrong. He lost track of outs, he lost track of who had left the game already, he lost track of pitching changes. I recall him doing nearly an entire inning identifying the Dodger pitcher as Jerry Reuss who had been pinch hit for in the top of the inning. When someone finally clued him in, he went into a speech about how it was a mistake for Reuss to have been pulled so early. Worst of all, he had a real hard on for little ball and all those "things that don't show up in the boxscore but mean so much in the long run." Anytime any sort of out advanced a runner, Fairly went into an orgy of praise for the player knowing how to make a "productive out"...as if that had been the goal, not a productive reaching of base.

[skrable]

What's your favorite Fourth of July tradition?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

What's your favorite Fourth of July tradition?

Watching drunks ignite themselves with fireworks.

[Nighthawk]

I forgot to pre-purchase my incindiaries for the annual Brooklyn Drunken Redneck pyrotechnics parade and now the local Wal-Mart is sold out. I may regret this....but do you have anything under the counter at the Grandstore which is in my price range?