Fatter than Joey

However, I find more fault with the league administrator's than the coach. Perhaps -- I guess it depends on the parameters of the league -- If the league is a competitive league I can't begin to believe that they wouldn't let the kid pitch. If the league is a rec league designed to get kids exercise and introduce them to sports, and try to get kids active, I can see the rule being put in place. I wanted to know what your opinion is on the actual pitcher than? Its something he loves to do, and he has done nothing wrong. The kid did nothing wrong -- none of them did -- this seems to be 100% on the adults. I am guessing Jericho Scott would have rather played SS as opposed to not playing at all. If Jericho was my kid, I'd put him in a skill-appropriate league. I did just that with my son in FB. I felt like he was at a skill level higher than his peers in our tiny town, so I put him in a bigger program so he can get challenged. There is a quote in the original article where he says he feels sad becaues he thinks it is his fault that nobody got to play the game. I'm sure all the kids were bummed -- I am surprised Jericho's coach was insistent that he pitch at the cost of the 10 other kids on Jericho's team, and I am surprised the other coach pulled his team -- and that both of these knuckleheads couldn't work something out. I think the key was that my coaches and my parents didn't tell me that it was unfair that I was facing kids two years older than me. These days, parents want their kids to succeed right off the bat, and don't want them to have to work a little bit to have success. I think everyone is being presumptuous that this is a competitive league and not some sort of rec league. If this is a competitive league I would tend to agree with your sentiments. I have a son that is a pretty solid athlete -- I like to see him challenged, and he is always playing against kids 2 grades higher than he is. My expectation as a parent is that my son learns to mash, and plays to win. On the other hand, I have a daughter that suffers from severe epilepsy -- For her to get on the field and focus enough to make it through an AB, is an accomplishment in of itself. My expectation for my daughter is that she has fun, yet is safe, and learns to enjoy physical activity. My daughter's case is a bit extreme, but a lot of the girls she plays with are either obese, scared, tiny or otherwise not genetically designed for competitive sports. I am pretty content to watch these girls have fun, and if a team brought in a girl that could pitch at a higher level, I'd probably be pissed as well. You don't learn to swim by watching from the shores either. Yes you do and should. Eventually you have to get into the water, but I can teach more to a kid about hitting w/o live pitching, than a kid facing live pitching, is ever going to learn if he is overmatched. Seeing as these kids are at such a developmental stage, they will catch up to the pitching eventually. 100% False. Some kids won't. I would recommend you coach a team of 9 year olds some time.

I guess the flipside of all of that is: what good will it do teaching them to quit when things are too difficult? That is not taught. Kids get frustrated. They need to hit 20mph before they hit 40 mph. The league that this kid in Connecticut is in must be some sort of rec ball league or something. Exactly -- there has to be a more appropriate league for his skill level. I guess I also have to wonder whether this was an issue of genuine fear for the kids that had to face him, or instead more that the parents saw the children disappointed because they had no chance of success, and didn't like their kids facing iminent failure. My guess is that the parents as a whole probably wanted to play and the coach made the decision. The league made a ruling, and the other coach didn't abide by it, I can understand the coach pulling his team. Failure is something that happens to everybody and is a great way to learn. It isn't the best way to learn. No one learns how to swim if they are thrown in a river if they have never swam before.

point one: team chemistry can't be quantified therefore it can't be significant The vastness of the universe can't be quantified but it is significant. Things that can't be measured could be vast as well as minute. I am pretty sure that Team Chemistry is like the Power of Love as theorized by Huey Lewis.

and him not believing in dinosaurs are a few good things that make him annoying. Actually I found that to be one of the greatest soundbites to ever come out of MLB ever. Speaking of which, instead of induction to the Hall of Fame, maybe there's a malfunctioning Illinois toll road toilet that would serve as a more proper Santo memorial Dude. You made me almost cry I was laughing so hard -- Fantastic.

Let your guys get some experience against a really good pitcher. Sure... why not bring in CC Sabathia? -- that would be a great experience. Seriously though, there is a point where these kids are overmatched, and it serves no purpose for the batter or the pitcher (again at the beginner 9 year old level). That said, my boys could mash Dave Bush.

If none of the kids in the league can hit 40 MPH maybe they should actually get some coaches to teach these kids how to hit. Having coached a lot of 9 year olds, I can tell you it is not as simple as that -- There are kids that have 0 athletic skill and are legitimately afraid of any sort of contact. It would be easier for me to just cut these kids, and not deal with them, but I don't think that is the right thing to do. Maybe their parents suck for letting their kids grow up to be wimps, but as a coach that is not my job to figure out. I think the kids that are scared, are showing sac by trying, and it is my job as a coach (of beginning level kids) to ensure that the kids are not over their heads, or beyond their comfort level. All I can ask of the kids is that they try hard, it is my job as a coach to make sure they are in the best position to succeed. Punishing a kid because he is either to good or because everyone else sucks. Real cool. I'm not sure he "had" to pitch -- couldn't he have played SS for a game? I'm pretty sure that when I was 7-8 the pitching machines we used for games was set at 35mph. Just a point of clarification -- when you go to the cages -- the 35 mph arm, and the 70 mph arm are generally the same distance away from the batter -- this kid is throwing 40mph from 46 feet, which makes the ball seem a lot faster. Just about any 9 year old could hit 40mph from 60'6". Hitting 40 mph at the cage and 40 from 46 ft can be 2 different things. It is now more important for our kids to all feel good about themselves then engage in fair competition. I agree. That said, in our city we have an A,B & C team. We sort the kids out by skill, so they will face "fair" competition. No one on either side of the diamond benefits from a 24-0 game (at the 9 year old level). We have a coach in our league that will drop players from the A team to the B team, and the B team to the C team to win games -- and it pisses all the other coaches off. I know I save my good pitchers for the good teams, and let my other pitchers play against the worse teams -- I don't do it to maximize my chances of winning, but I do it so my good players get challenged a bit, and the worse players are having a positive experience and gaining confidence. Most coaches have a gentleman's agreement to keep the games competitive at the beginning level. I think Jericho Scott's manager is the prime dipwad in this for going against the league's wishes. Right or wrong, he should have respected them. He could have started Scott at SS, and the kids could have played.

(Isn't embracing apathy oxymoronic?) No, as long as you don't touch the dancers.

Jack Wilson looks like the Ozarkian offspring of a Nosferatu. I think he sucks.

Why does anyone care what Ryan Braun does?Why does anyone care what anyone does?Why even report any news at all?Embrace Apathy and French Kiss Ignorance!

KISS rocks!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Santana has logged over 650 IP to this point, and imho has established that he's far closer to his 1.30 career WHIP than the 1.5+ he posted in '07. When was Santana sent down? -- I would say if Santana was sent down at this point in his career you would have a solid case, however he was sent down in 2007, not when he had 650 IP. There's just no way we're going to agree on this front aside from: I certainly do not think Bush should have been sent to AAA or bumped for McClung -- even when he was pitching poorly in April. I think this is really the lion's share of our argument, and for the most part I just think your rages/rants should be directed more at the Brewers for sending him down and mcclunging Bush than the average fan. That is to say, I blame the Brewers more for not being more patient with Bush and yanking him around because of some silly split, than I do the casual fan who is probably reacting more to the Brewers actions than Bush's numbers or performances.

Bush had made 100 MLB starts before getting sent down. Owings made 27 starts before this year. Buccholz less than 5 Hill had 52 Santana had about 45 Chris Duncan is an outfielder. The pitchers you mention are young pitchers and not established average to above average pitchers like Bush is. Ok. I don't at all. It sucked to hear at the time (that Bush was garbage), and it has been proven extremely wrong. Bush is certainly not garbage -- but just about every Brewer is going to be called garbage here at some point. I certainly do not think Bush should have been sent to AAA or bumped for McClung -- even when he was pitching poorly in April.

Glad you got it fixed PF. McFarlane has pretty good customer service. They should totally do a KISS series -- you know because they kick so much ass.

I agree Jase --- these are all about the detail. I have wondered why someone doesn't make one with a Larry Bird head -- It looks more like Yount than Bird.

Was it Turd Lee or Carlos Lee?

The dream teams didnt have many big men, though neither does this years team. This is because of the international style of play. Patrick Ewing is not real useful in the international game. I don't think there is any question that the redeem team plays tougher competition. I think in the Olympics it would be a closer game -- I think in an NBA game the dream team is def. the better.

Marcum was sent down after missing a month due to an elbow injury.

Well, there has to be a reason for them being sent to AAA in the first place, as no competent team is going to demote and average to above average pitcher without something not going right. That was exactly my point (Myers I thought was struggling transitioning from the closer role)

This is right in line with, 'Playoff teams don't do ___'. Average to above-avg. players get demoted... it does happen, even if it's not the norm. Knock it off. -- When? (Outside of rookie or injury types) I'd like you to give me a few examples. 'Winning teams don't ____' -- SP sure do when the manager plays an idiotic home/road split. Groan. Another silly fill in the blank thingy. Getting tired and overused. You really missed the point here I was trying to make. I was trying to show that the fan seeing Bush getting demoted to AAA, and/or McClung getting his starts, is something that is going to be read as Bush not being a good pitcher. There was a lot more happening that the overvaluing of ERA or W/L this year that wasn't helping Bush's case. I guess I found your initial canned rant a little misguided. Yes, some people were spewing about Bush -- but the worst offenders were they guys who were sending him to AAA and mcclunging him. Once you have been mcclunged you have been branded for life. That and I think Bush deserves some heat for pitching below his ability in April.

waivers at this point in the season are revocable -- we could claim a 3b, likely though it would turn into a trade opportunity, or the player would get pulled back.

Jim -- I got onboard early with Sirius -- and many people that I have come across since then have gotten it -- I have yet to have someone tell me that they regret getting Sirius (or XM).

What I specifically referred to was people calling Dave Bush 'useless'. That's a silly statement, and clearly not even close to being accurate. Of course I agree, however this sort of thing happens all the time to just about every player on the Brewers over the course of the year. I'm not sure it is worth pointing out. Just because he had some bad luck early on this season did not change my opinion of him, just as the good/better luck he's had of late hasn't. You lose me here though -- While Bush may have had bad luck in April/May -- he definitely was pitching worse than he is now. If you look at his gamelogs, I think it is absolutely fair to conclude he was pitching below his expectations and abilities. I think Bush pitched poor (relative to himself) in April, and to his credit, has pulled it together quite well down the stretch. I'd rather criticize him for April and praise him for a blistering July/Aug (again relative to himself -- 28/1 KK/B in July -- wowza!). Certainly there are the bad/good starts dictated by luck sprinkled in here and there, but I don't think Bush has pitched uniform this season from start to finish. Making definitive statements about a player that just aren't true don't add anything to discussion imo. I find the argument that Bush was a primarily a victim of bad luck in April lacking veracity as well. the 'sky is falling' stuff about Bush earlier in the season certainly looks pretty odd right now (& to me every bit as odd as it did at the time people were saying it) At that time we also had a healthy Yo in our rotation which I think made Bush's position in the rotation seem a little less certain. When Yo is in the rotation, I think fans are going to have a little more bravado and be less patient with a guy like Bush (or Suppan) who is probably going to have more bad starts than Yo -- I'm not saying it's right -- but I understand fans having a newfound appreciation for the back end rotation guys when a guy like Yo is lost for the year. Yes the stupid spewing also came from the Brewers. I agree -- and far be it for me to criticize Ned and Doug, but sending Bush to AAA, and skipping his starts due to some crazy home/road splits isn't going to help the fans appreciate Bush for what he is. -- TLB says: "Bush is what he is... an average to above-average SP." -- Average to above-average SPs do not get sent to AAA, nor do they get bumped from the rotation in favor of guys like McClung. Again, I am not saying it is right, but when fans see a pitcher getting sent to AAA, or losing a spot to McClung I can understand how they can hastily conclude that Bush sucks. As a pro-management guy, I tend to give Doug and Ned the benefit of the doubt when they make roster moves, they certainly wouldn't demote Bush or mcclung him without good reason, -- right??

the hole is right on the thinner hash pf the intersection -- it's not big but bigger than a pinhole. You may have to customize a hole in your base. BTW -- there is a dreen Green and white Green

This was being spewed just earlier in this season, too. Bush got sent down to Nashville -- it's not as if the "spew" didn't have some merit.