Comments on: What overrated smells like http://umpbump.com/press/2006/08/01/what-overrated-smells-like/ In-your-face baseball commentary Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:48:13 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: umpbump.com http://umpbump.com/press/2006/08/01/what-overrated-smells-like/comment-page-1/#comment-51780 umpbump.com Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:48:55 +0000 http://www.umpbump.com/press/?p=292#comment-51780 [...] Wow, it must really hard to be Derek Jeter. There you are, captain of the New York Yankees. Men want to be you, women want to be with you. Your salary is $20 million a year, and you net an extra $6 mill in pocket money from endorsement deals with the likes of Nike and Gatorade. You have such magnetism that you forced one of the best shortstops ever to become a third baseman, so that you wouldn’t have to learn a new position, and yet scarcely a man, woman or child breathed a word against you for it, bewitched as they were they by your carefully woven cloak of charm. And this year, there seems to be an unstoppable momentum building towards your selection as AL MVP. Nationally, you’re the most popular player in baseball. Why, you even have your own cologne! [...] [...] Wow, it must really hard to be Derek Jeter. There you are, captain of the New York Yankees. Men want to be you, women want to be with you. Your salary is $20 million a year, and you net an extra $6 mill in pocket money from endorsement deals with the likes of Nike and Gatorade. You have such magnetism that you forced one of the best shortstops ever to become a third baseman, so that you wouldn’t have to learn a new position, and yet scarcely a man, woman or child breathed a word against you for it, bewitched as they were they by your carefully woven cloak of charm. And this year, there seems to be an unstoppable momentum building towards your selection as AL MVP. Nationally, you’re the most popular player in baseball. Why, you even have your own cologne! [...]

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]]> By: umpbump.com http://umpbump.com/press/2006/08/01/what-overrated-smells-like/comment-page-1/#comment-51779 umpbump.com Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:23:52 +0000 http://www.umpbump.com/press/?p=292#comment-51779 [...] Which brings me, of course, to David Ortiz. In my heart of hearts, I want him to have it. I do. I wanted him to have it last year. I think he deserves it, at some point. But given that the Sox were pretty much out of the postseason chase weeks ago, given that he is a DH (and while I’m willing to give it to a DH, I think that, like a pitcher, it’s got to be a standout case of deservedness, where the candidate is head-and-shoulders, Pedro-in-1999 above the rest) and given that the AL field of candidates is so crowded this year, I’m just not sure he will get it. But does he deserve it? Let’s take a moment to reflect in a calm and dispassionate manner. He’s had five walkoff hits this year (15 in his career with Boston), so without him, the Sox would have fallen from contention even sooner. He’s had 52 dingers (breaking a Sox club record that had stood since 1938) and 132 RBI—in fact, his slugging stats this year were so good, that even when he missed a week’s worth of games with an irregular heartbeat, no one else came close to dethroning him. Getting less fanfare than his homers and ribbies, but no less “of considerable use, service, or importance,” he’s first in the AL in walks (yes, even with Manny Ramirez hitting behind him for most of the season), second in slugging, third in runs scored, and third in OPS. Also, he’s David Ortiz. Clubhouse intangibles? Check. Awesome nickname? Check. Even managers of other teams send him thank-you notes for “what he’s done for the game.” But for me, silly dictionary definitions aside, “valuable” just means, “Which of these dudes would you rather have on your team?” Since this is UmpBump and not actually an MVP ballot, I’ll give Morneau and Jeter a tie for third. (What the hell Johan, you can tie for third place, too.) While Jeter’s run has gathered about it the sense of resigned inevitibility of, say, the Kerry nomination, I predict that like Kerry, it will ultimately fall short (I don’t know why this all seems so much like the 2004 election). He’ll get over it, though. Unlike Kerry, Jeter has his own cologne. [...] [...] Which brings me, of course, to David Ortiz. In my heart of hearts, I want him to have it. I do. I wanted him to have it last year. I think he deserves it, at some point. But given that the Sox were pretty much out of the postseason chase weeks ago, given that he is a DH (and while I’m willing to give it to a DH, I think that, like a pitcher, it’s got to be a standout case of deservedness, where the candidate is head-and-shoulders, Pedro-in-1999 above the rest) and given that the AL field of candidates is so crowded this year, I’m just not sure he will get it. But does he deserve it? Let’s take a moment to reflect in a calm and dispassionate manner. He’s had five walkoff hits this year (15 in his career with Boston), so without him, the Sox would have fallen from contention even sooner. He’s had 52 dingers (breaking a Sox club record that had stood since 1938) and 132 RBI—in fact, his slugging stats this year were so good, that even when he missed a week’s worth of games with an irregular heartbeat, no one else came close to dethroning him. Getting less fanfare than his homers and ribbies, but no less “of considerable use, service, or importance,” he’s first in the AL in walks (yes, even with Manny Ramirez hitting behind him for most of the season), second in slugging, third in runs scored, and third in OPS. Also, he’s David Ortiz. Clubhouse intangibles? Check. Awesome nickname? Check. Even managers of other teams send him thank-you notes for “what he’s done for the game.” But for me, silly dictionary definitions aside, “valuable” just means, “Which of these dudes would you rather have on your team?” Since this is UmpBump and not actually an MVP ballot, I’ll give Morneau and Jeter a tie for third. (What the hell Johan, you can tie for third place, too.) While Jeter’s run has gathered about it the sense of resigned inevitibility of, say, the Kerry nomination, I predict that like Kerry, it will ultimately fall short (I don’t know why this all seems so much like the 2004 election). He’ll get over it, though. Unlike Kerry, Jeter has his own cologne. [...]

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]]> By: Sarah Green http://umpbump.com/press/2006/08/01/what-overrated-smells-like/comment-page-1/#comment-51778 Sarah Green Tue, 01 Aug 2006 21:44:07 +0000 http://www.umpbump.com/press/?p=292#comment-51778 Phew! This should *finally* put to rest all those gay rumors. Phew! This should *finally* put to rest all those gay rumors.

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