Andrew Luck is not Sandy Koufax, but.....

 
Photos from Wikipedia

Andrew Luck is not Sandy Koufax. To compare the early retirements of the two is not fair....to Sandy Koufax, or Andrew Luck. Sandy Koufax had a longer, more impressive, stay in the Major Leagues (12 seasons, 3 Cy Youngs, 4 no hitters, and an MVP) than Andrew Luck (7 seasons. and 4 Pro Bowls) did in the National Football League. But it is fair to compare the two retirements, and our reaction to them.

With apologies to the rest of the globe, Lionel Messi, and soccer, Andrew Luck, like Sandy Koufax, is a generational talent at the preeminent position of the most popular sport. Like Sandy Koufax, Andrew Luck decided to retire in the prime of his career. In 2018 he was named to his 4th Pro Bowl, and also named comeback player of the year in 2018 after missing a season due to .surgery on his throwing shoulder, and subsequent rehab. The Colts were preseason darlings of the NFL writers, Many predicted that the 9-1 finish, and wildcard berth, of the 2018 season would carry over to 2019. By comparison, Koufax retired after the 1966 season in which he went 27-- with a 1.79 ERA. After the World Series he retired due to the arthritic condition of his throwing elbow. Koufax cited living with near constant pain during his press conference as the reason for his early retirement. Likewise, Andrew Luck did the same.

Surprisingly, no shockingly, he was booed by the Indianapolis fans. Fuck Indiana. In fact, fuck everything Indiana except for Larry Bird.. Earlier in his career he missed a 9 games of the 2015 season due to a sore throwing shoulder, and later in 2015, a lacerated kidney. That was before the shoulder injury, surgery, and rehab that sidelined him for the 2017 season. The dude put it all on the field for those fans. It reminds me a little of the Packer fans booing Brett Favre, but it took Brett Favre to put on a Vikings uniform and returning to play for that. He wasn't booed for unretireing and playing for the Jets. I can't think of a parallel where fans booed a player who retired early after 4 years of pain as Luck cited "...the cycle of injury, pain rehab..."

Maybe, just maybe, we sports fans can take sports a little less seriously, and more like they're intended; as a distraction, and something to enjoy for their simple beauty. The competition, and the beauty of the athleticism that they entail, make them unique as human endeavors. The identity we transfer upon them as fans of them, really should be minimized. Taking Sandy Koufax's words of wanting to grow old with the use of both arms into context, it's really all there is to sport. We should lighten up.

But still, fuck Indiana. Bobby Knight, Mike Pence, Notre Dame, and now booing Andrew Luck, yeah fuck Indiana.

Pete Rose....... go the f*** away......

photo: USA Today (pitboss/hit king)

Man...... Fuck this guy.

Seriously. Every time I see him my head hurts. He's the only ex-player I ever see who acts, and speaks to others, as if he and his accomplishments are bigger than the game itself.

If Tony LaRussa could hit, he'd be Pete Rose......except Tony LaRussa is more humble. Hank Aaron comes across as a humble guy. Mickey Mantle in interviews was always pretty affable. Pete Rose is a fucking dick. Seriously, he's part of the studio group commenting on the MLB playoff for FS1, and TBS. He talks over Frank Thomas, Raul Ibanez, and Alex Rodriguez regularly like he's the only one whos opinion matters.

He looks like a casino pit boss. Appropriate considering he's been banned from baseball for life for betting on the game.

Fuck this guy.

BBWAA - you're still full of shit

This weekend, thanks to the Baseball Writers Association of America, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Joe Torre were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY.

It wasn't hard, and frankly I'm surprised the BBWAA didn't fuck it up. Seriously these were 5 no brainers. Maddux and Glavine won 300 games, multiple Cy Youngs, and World Series titles. Back of the napkin figures tell me these are the first of the 300 game winners inducted who spent their careers in 5 man rotations. Maddux was the pitcher of the 90s easily. Glavine, while never "The Guy" was always in the discussion. Frank Thomas is the only guy to hit .300,  hit 20 home runs, drive in 100 runs, walk 100 times 7 years running. If it weren't for Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr. he'd be the dominant hitter in the 90s. Joe Torre? All he did was win 4 World Series in 10 seasons in NY. Love or hate the Yankess, he was the guy at the helm. Tony LaRussa is a huge dick, but he's the best manager of this generation. Bobby Cox would be, if not for LaRussa. How do those guys not get inducted?

So, kudos to the Baseball writers for not screwing it up this year. But you know what? Barry Bonds should be in. So should Mark McGwire, and Roger Clemens. I've heard no compelling reason why they should not be. Steroids? Please. If PEDs were widespread (and they were), that means these guys put up staggering numbers against other juiced players. That's called an even playing field. If PEDs were never used, these guys would still have been among the best players of all time. But, to listen to the BBWAA , these guys by virtue of involvement have sullied the game, irreparably according to some.

If these players deserve not to be enshrined, then maybe some writers shouldn't be in the BBWAA. Writers who wrote glowingly of Clemens, Bonds, and McGwire in the 90s should lose their votes too. It's only right. These players were lionized in the heyday of their careers, and now they're pariahs by the same writers. So, all the writers that lauded the exploits of Barry's 73,McGwire's chase to 70 in 98, and Clemens' career of dominance should be expelled from voting. After all by heaping praise on the guys, who "clearly have sullied the game" and failing to call into question their exploits on the field as unnatural - it's not like steroids were only discovered after 1990 - they clearly don't know baseball well enough to vote on the Hall of Fame.

Sound stupid? You're right. It is stupid. It's as stupid as unofficially blackballing 3 guys who dominated their era.

So congratulations BBWAA for getting something obvious right. Too bad it's the only time you do.

What the????????

It's Monday - blogger self imposed deadline.

What to blog, what to blog.

Voter ID? Solution in search of a problem. It's bullshit. You show an ID to register already. You sign the registration form. When you vote, you sign the rolls. If there were fraud, you'd expect there to be a record of signatures on rolls, not matching registration forms. Until someone shows widespread signature mismatch as evidence of people voting as not themselves, voter ID is bullshit. Total bullshit. The sad thing is, is that they know this.

Post split dating? I've found the phrase "So, how long since you've been divorced?" has replaced the college equivalence of "What's your major?" It's the question that will always get asked. Of course 6 years sounds a lot better than "Um, I'm undeclared."

NFL Free agency? Ted Thompson finally signed a big name this weekend. Julius Peppers. I think it's a decent signing. It'll also get the hyperbolic pinhead fans to quiet down until at least the draft. He'll be a situational guy, and TT did much better than the Broncos in getting talent for his money. $30 million for DeMarcus Ware? Glad I'm not a Bronco fan. Elway's going to fail again to buy a Super Bowl.

Baseball? Spring training, and opening day approaches. Really? Holy shit, I JUST am able to see my grass poking through the tundra.

Missing airline? Holy shit! No, really holy shit. Nobody knows anything. Terrorists with fake passports? Well, actually no. Most likely not. Bomb and it exploded over sea? Again, probably not. Now it's the pilots went rogue, depressurized cabin killing everyone? I don't even know what to say.

No more True Detective, but I came into this weekend, not missing the show. Weird.

In other words, I got nothing.

BBWAA - Nice going douchenozzles

Baseball Writers Association of America are, collectively, a bunch of sanctimonious, pretentious douche-nozzles. They could not find ONE SINGULAR player who deserved (according to their highfalutin ass-hattery) entrance into Cooperstown. Among the players considered:

Barry Bonds: Career HR leader, and single season HR record holder. Only guy in baseball EVER to hit 500 HR, and steal 500 bases. Only fucking guy.

Roger Clemens: 354 wins, and 7 Cy Young awards. I'll say that again - 7 fucking Cy Young Awards. And before you yell steroids - 3 Cy Young awards before leaving Boston.

Craig Biggio: All he did was get 3,060 hits, play at an all-star level at 2 positions (C and 2B). I guess he's not a 1st ballot HOFer. What a bullshit, totally made up thing. "Oooh - he's so good he's a 1st ballot Hall of Famer." Suck it writers, you're either in or out. Robin Yount has the most comparable career to Biggio, and Yount was a "1st Ballot" guy. He had 3,142 hits. That's only 82 more, and he excelled at 2 positions as well.

Jack Morris: Dominant in his era and totally MONEY in the postseason - plus the best fucking mustache this side of Rollie Fingers.

Curt Shilling: See Jack Morris sans mustache, PLUS pitching in the 04 postseason on one leg.

Lee Smith: 3rd all time in career Saves with 478 - He's not in yet?!?! Are you fucking kidding me!?!?

Tim Raines: 7 consecutive all star appearances, 5th all time steals, The 4 ahead of him are all HOFers, including Ty Cobb, Rickey Henderson, and Lou Brock who have been bestowed the bullshit "1st Ballot" status. (Billy Hamilton's 914 steals in 14 seasons just wasn't good enough according to the writers, so he was named by the veterans committee in 1961.)

Lot's of people call players who used PEDs cheaters. Cheating is breaking the rules the other players are following for an unfair edge. Use of PEDs was widespread before they were banned until the early 2000s. It can't be cheating of most players were using them, and it can't be cheating if it's NOT AGAINST THE RULES. We couldn't hear enough about how great Bonds was, and how McGwire, and Sosa saved baseball with the chase of Maris in 98. You can't have it both ways. If steroids were such an edge, why didn't Canseco get to 500 HR? PEDs don't give you better hand/eye coordination to hit the ball, and they don't give pitchers better control of curve balls, and sliders. Besides, if use was widespread it's a wash. If you dominate your era, you're HOF. You're career speaks or it doesn't. Were players penalized who put up the numbers before the color barrier was broken? No. There is no question their numbers would have been different had the best players from the Negro leagues been playing, replacing the lesser white players who were only there BECAUSE of the color barrier. So take the "What would the numbers have been without PEDs?" argument, and shove it up your pompous ass.

And lastly, 1st ballot, 2nd ballot is a made up, bullshit thing. It means nothing because it's a totally subject to the la-di-dah whims of the BBWAA. No player has ever been unanimously voted into the HOF? What? There isn't ONE player all writers could ever agree should be in the HOF? The highest percentage for a HOF inductee was Tom Seaver who received 425 of 430 votes (98.8%). Who DIDN'T vote for Tom Seaver? Babe fucking Ruth got 215 of 226 votes for 95.1%. 9 people didn't think Ruth should have been in Cooperstown? 9!!! Hank Aaron, 406 of 415. What? Was it the same 9 dumb-ass idiots? Why do we let these fuckheads decide the Hall of Fame. If you don't all agree on something as obvious as the (at that time) all time HR leader is HOF worthy, you're as useless as tits on a bull. And, anyways, who made them, the big sheriffs of baseball integrity? Why are they the guardians of our game. Fuck them. Frankly, the Veterans Committee should be given the selection job by Cooperstown since the BBWAA can't stop fucking it up.

Christ! No wonder the players can't stand the writers. They're fucking dicks.