Letters to the Editor
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The Kaufman Rule
Wow. Brilliant solution. I hope this wrinkle is introduced.
Imagine how much this could have helped Pete Rose's book.
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King needs a better editor!
Davidson was on a role?!?! Really?? Methinks they were actually on a roll.
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Eva Longoria got punched during spring training?!
She is on "Desperate Housewives," no? What roll does she play?
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The implications go far beyond baseball!
Eva Longoria's lovely brown hair probably is long enough to cover her name on the back of her jersey. I know she is married to an NBA player. Does she also play in the NFL? Any connection with hockey? Major League Curling?
You may have uncovered some sort of a trans-sport rule-defiance nexus. Cabrera may just be a dupe or a fall-guy. (Notice all my hyphenation? Pretty slick!)
It is obvious that we need more rules, more detailed rules, instant rules to cover every conceivable thing that ever may happen. The US government no longer uses the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court. Maybe Major League Baseball can take it over.
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We need to ban all athletes for life for the silliest of tiny meaningless infractions
Because being insane, is after all the only roll model we're really good at.
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Killer Timeout?
Great idea about the MLB suspensions but considering that MLB pays no heed to the wished of the fans or to common sense I wouldn't hold my breath. But I totally disagree with your assessment of Davidson's timeout.
I know the TV timeout was looming, but at the point in the game Davidson, particularly Curry, looked very tired and they had taken bad shots on consecutive possessions. The timeout gave them some much needed rest, they still had possession and more importantly got their influential PG Richardson back into the game. Good coaching.
On the other hand, their timeout with 16 seconds to go was a waste. Allowed Kansas to set up their defense and the play choice was terrible. Running pick and roll with Curry, who isn't particularly good off the dribble, and Sander, a non-shooter, gave Kansas the perfect opportunity to double Curry forcing a terrible shot in the end. Don't understand why they didn't keep the ball in Richardson's hands while running Barr and Curry through their screens.
But your overall point about college coaches over-coaching is entirely correct. The plethora of timeouts called with 20 seconds left in the 1st half speaks volumes to this. Hey, look I'm coaching.
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I Think As Far As We Can Safely Go
Is that if the other team makes a run after a timeout it was wrong to call it, and if your team makes a run after calling a timeout it was correct. If the score is 6-6 for a couple-three minutes after the timeout it didn't matter. Of course all evaluations are after the fact.
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I'm Picturing
The blob on the couch watching. Davidson calls the timeout and he stands and screams--SHIT, That's it. We had them--and he turns the TV off.
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It Has To Be At Least Conceivable
That you call a timeout, come back out and get outscored 12-0, but it was the right thing to do.
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The killer timeout/over coaching
I noticed the same thing after that TO...Davidson didn't look like the same team after it.
I think Lute Olsen said it best regarding over-coaching, "if you have to yell and scream at your players during a game, you're not doing your job during practice."
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Davidson Game
Don't know, but if Davidson had a timeout to use when they inbounded the ball with 16 secs, they should have used it about 10 sec point when it was becoming obvious that Kansas was klugging up whatever play they had called.
If they didn't have a timeout, then Curry should have driven to the basket to try & get a tying 2 or a foul (I had seen him make some crazy layups already, so that might have worked).
As WES said, it's all hindsight anyway.
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I've Noticed The UCLA Coach
They play that suffocating defense, a stetch of 6 or 7 possessions for each team, UCLA makes a regular and a three-ball and outscores them 5-0 for the 3 or 4 minute stretch then he calls a timeout after the 3 pointer and sends the opposition over to the bench to stew on that for a couple minutes. You can see the frustration mount.
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suspensions
I like the suspension idea, just a few thoughts. There needs to be an addendum to how the suspensions work for pitchers, especially starting pitchers, as well. They generally get a 5 game suspension, which really only works out to missing one game they would realistically appear in. I'm not exactly sure how to adjust it though.
If, for example, a Yankees pitcher somehow got a suspension resulting from actions in a game vs the White Sox, it's entirely likely that even if the suspension took place during the next series vs the White Sox the pitcher may not even be scheduled to start.
Also problematic would be those rare cases where a player is suspended, but due to various circumstances, is traded to a different team before the suspension is served. I suspect then that the suspension would follow the player, but what happens in the really odd case where the player is traded to the very team that the infraction occurred against? Would they then get to decide when the suspensions occur, or perhaps in that rare case would the suspension picking ability would be traded as well?
Oh, and for some reason it just sunk in today: "Tampa Bay Rays" just doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely as "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" did.
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hearings
Unemployment benefits hearings are done over the phone in some states. No resaon that the MLB can't do the same.
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...imagine if the Rays and Yankees were in a pennant race.
"...imagine if the Rays and Yankees were in a pennant race."
OK, I'll try. ---- I'm working on it... ---- that sound you hear is me grunting... ---- Nope, sorry. I just can't imagine it. But you had me up to that point.
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I Can Imagine It
But there would have to be a plane crash involved.
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The Problem Lies with Selig
He's old, out of touch and stubborn a bad combination for the modern sports world. He won't admit being wrong and moves too slowly to fix the current issues. Boot him! www.madnessletters.com
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8-hole gimmick or the next big change?
So Tony LaRussa has now batted his pitcher in the eight-hole in something like 60 straight games. Will this be a trend that others pick up? Or is it just a gimmick that merely moves the sac bunt/pathetic KO to a different line of the scorecard?
Discuss.