Month: January 2014

When Did We Become Such Cold Weather Crybabies?

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I think it started during the football game in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Green Bay is not exactly known for its balmy weather and tropical beaches. It’s the midwest.  It’s frickin cold out there.  Even fans of the Packers joke about how many layers they need to wear.  I wish I could find it, but the point has been moot for me, there was an article in the New York Times a few years back about a fan who wore several layers in preparation for late seasons and playoffs games.  It’s a ritual, and something accepted amongst football fans in cold weather climates.  Think: Buffalo, Green Bay, Chicago.

Prior to their playoff game on January 5th, everyone was beside themselves.  OOOOOH, it’s gonna be freezing…in Wisconsin…in January.

I was surprised.  I mean, isn’t it a given that it’s an occupational not to mention a spectator “hazard” that if you work or watch an outdoor sport, unless you are in a dome, you’re going to be exposed to the elements?  I mean, shit, football doesn’t even have postponements or delays related to rain (unless, of course, there is lightning).  You play through that shit.

The beginning of 2014 hasn’t exactly been boastful of an unseasonably warm climate, especially in the northeast, where we’ve had the phrase Polar Vortex become an essential part of our lexicon.  It’s snowed quite a few times, and I’ve even joked around with my friends about how the cold isn’t so bad, but factor in wind and snow elements, I’m over it.

We chat about the weather with total strangers.  We joke about not wanting to be outside in the elements.  People buy dog booties for their dog walks.  We get bundled up to walk to the corner store or even to drive somewhere.  It goes with the territory.

But I draw the line at people complaining about it being cold at a voluntary outdoor sporting event.  Really?  I mean, REALLY, guys?  It’s January, and it’s in the northeast.

IT’S GONNA BE COLD HERE.

I will give fans who attended the game credit: I didn’t see many people complaining on that end about the Stadium Series on Sunday.  Most of the folks there are die hard.  They do get the fact that one needs to bundle up to enjoy the game.  Yet, I see tweets like this that get my blood boiling.

Every single person in that stadium yesterday was there voluntarily.  Each person presumably bought a ticket, and attended on their own free will.

The players, however, get paid a very handsome salary to play these games.  The night before, a game was played in Los Angeles, not exactly a hotbed (pun not intended) of perfect outdoor ice hockey activity.  We didn’t hear one problem with the “ice.”  But in the Bronx in January by the goddamn Harlem River, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur blames the ice on his poor performance (The Rangers scored 6 goals against him before he was taken out of the game…mind you the Devils also scored 3 goals in the first period…no one had a problem with the ice before then??)

Oh, but there’s more.  This week, Super Bowl XLVIII will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.  Now, all the cold weather crybabies are reporting on the nonstory that “WAHHH! It’s gonna be COLD and elemental in New Jersey IN JANUARY. WAHHHHHHHHH!”

Bite me.

This time around, it’s not Uncle Daddy or any of the players crying about the weather or potential hazard of it.  It’s mostly the sportswriters who all of a sudden have a sympathy for the players who get paid millions of dollars to play on the big stage…in the snow, rain, or sleet.  Shit, I’ve seen frickin beautiful days here with low temps.  Has anyone considered that the Super Bowl could be played in something like THAT??!

The Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks kind of corner the market on playing in the elements.  Denver gets snow.  Seattle gets rain.  The only people I see “inconvenienced” with the weather are people who have to sit in the stands (who are paying around $2,000 for an upper bowl seat) and the writers who are subscribing to some of the laziest journalism I have ever borne witness.

Their headlines are akin to chatting about the weather.  Is this the state of sports writing today?

I just have a tough time believing that when New York/New Jersey was chosen as the Super Bowl venue, that no one considered weather factors.

It’s January in the Northeast.  Guess what?

It’s cold here.

The Pity Vote

MLB, , One comment

Is it me, or does anyone else think it’s a bit ironic that Tom Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame the same year his comrade Greg Maddux and his Braves manager Bobby Cox were either eligible or elected the selves?

Yes, Glavine received over 91% of the vote.  Yes, Glavine was part of the storied Atlanta Braves NL (B)East teams of the 1990s. Sure, I might have some *thinly veiled disgust* for his ineffectiveness as a Met (and I don’t even reserve the hate that most Mets fans have over his blowing the last game of 2007 before getting out of the inning…FIRST inning…most of my PTMD with him is due to his first game in 2003).

But who here thinks the crock of shit known as the Hall of Fame voting process (you know, the self serving sanctimonious assholes who didn’t vote anyone in for 2013, because someone *might* have done steroids AND the same shit-for-brains who think making a guy a “unanimous” vote takes away integrity or some shit…or some idiot who actually thought Armando Benitez was worthy of *A* vote) just simply wanted to get the band back together?

I’m sure the two Braves fans out there are excited about this prospect. But color me unimpressed. This isn’t a rant that Mike Piazza got snubbed…AGAIN.  Just because Glavine had an impressive “resume,” sure he played for lots of good teams, but he’s massively overrated. I’m sure he would get in the Hall, eventually. A pitcher with 300 wins, it’s almost a foregone conclusion.  Yet with his stats, he’s the very definition of a guy who should not get in on the first ballot, in my opinion.

This is MLB’s tweet on Glavine:

But take a look at these bullet points to show what those numbers could not possibly tell you:

*Glavine is the owner of the most postseason losses in baseball history (16 losses) – think of those years the Braves never made it past the divisional series, Glavine clearly never made it count when his team needed him most.  This is also something that Mets fans can certainly identify.

*Glavine retired with 305 wins.  His team scored 6 or more runs 226 times in his starts, where he earned 149 wins in those games. So nearly half of his total wins, his team scored lots of runs, and he won those games. My grandmother could win when her team scores six or more runs.

*But that’s not all. There were 77 total games where he either lost or got a no decision when his team gave him six or more runs. Shouldn’t more than 50% of a pitcher’s wins come when you have a 6 run spot?

*When Glavine got 2 runs or less than support he won 26 games.

*He boasted a less than average WHIP of 1.317.

*When a pitcher gives up 200 hits in a season, that’s considered a lot, right? Tom Glavine gave up over 200 hits FIFTEEN TIMES in his career. Of the seasons he did not hit that milestone (seven total), two of those seasons were not full seasons.

*During the span of Glavine’s career (beginning in 1987), NO ONE allowed more base runners than Glavine, to the tune of 6,069 of ’em. Only five pitchers in National League history have allowed more base runners than Glavine.

Here’s the thing about Glavine. Throw away his Tom Horrific performance as a Met.  He was second fiddle to Maddux, and rightfully so. Maddux is a Hall of Fame pitcher, plus he had dominating numbers when he played for crappy teams, like the Cubs.  Yet, that certainly didn’t make Glavine the second best pitcher on those great Braves teams.  John Smoltz certainly was the stronger pitcher (and he’ll get in first ballot, no problem) – he made 200 fewer starts and got 500 MORE strikeouts than Glavine!!!

Shit, on the Art Howe Mets “error,” Glavine wasn’t even the best goddamn pitcher on that team, though by reputation he should have been.  When STEVE TRACHSEL is the more consistent pitcher, you ain’t all that, honey.

Spare me the whole “well he was older on the downside of his career” excuse.  Enough.  All Glavine did was bitch about Questec and wasn’t given benefit of the doubt calls that made him a legend in Atlanta. A dominant pitcher adjusts.  Glavine never did.

I’m outraged about this.

Maybe last year wasn’t Piazza’s year.  But it should have been this year if people wanted to truly make a statement.  But Glavine? The year his teammates and manager started to become eligible, he all of a sudden gets benefit of the doubt votes?

Call it the Hall of Pity Votes.