As I’ve written many times, baseball is a funny sport. For one thing, it’s the only sport I can think of where even the least talented guy on the team has his moment in the sun. In the NFL or NBA, dogs don’t usually have their day; in the majors, even a loser will have a special moment. Case in point: Mets infielder Kazuo Matsui.
The Mets spent a lot of money bringing “Little” Matsui in from the Japanese league, where he was regarded as one of the top players. For whatever reason, his skills have not translated in the majors and, after two years as a starter, the Mets decided that AAA was the best spot for him this year. Despite this, Kaz Matsui can stake claim to a seriously cool feat – no other player in major league history has hit a homer in his first at bat in three successive seasons. Matsui hit homers on opening day in 2004 and 2005 and last night he hit an inside the park homer in his first at bat after being called up. Strange stuff
Another funny thing about baseball is the fragility of the players. Throwing a baseball 90 mph is a taxing and damaging thing to do to one’s body. But beyond that, I don’t think there’s much that ballplayers do that is really terribly injurious. Football and hockey players spend at least half their time dodging other players flying in at maximum speed, looking to make impact. Basketball players spend a lot of time running and jumping up and down the court, and the battles under the basket are a lot more physical than might appear on TV. But baseball players have no excuse for the frequency and variety of their injuries.
In watching the replay of Derrek Lee and Rafael Furcal’s collision, the result of which was Derrek Lee breaking two bones in his wrist, I am stupefied that the injury could’ve turned out so bad for Lee. At 195 lbs., Furcal isn’t a small guy. And yes, he was running down the first base line at full speed. But it didn’t look like Lee’s arm was extended, exposing the wrist to trauma. Instead, it looked like Lee’s arms were close to his torso, as if he expected the collision and was bracing himself. In football, tight ends routinely run into linebackers and safeties in just such a manner and nothing happens to either player. In hockey, defenders use their sticks to spear and slash the arms of their opponents, again with no negative result. I’m not picking on Lee but, man, baseball players are such weaklings. How on earth does a 245 lb. man’s wrist break that badly from a collision like that? I continue to be amazed at how fragile players in the majors are.
Finally, to football. Brett Favre blasted the Tennessee Titans yesterday for his perception of how that franchise as treated QB Steve McNair. As he put it, “[A]ll of the things he has done for that team, he really has been the face of that team for the last 10 or 11 years, the one bright spot really. To be treated that way I think is really unfair. He doesn’t deserve it. It is not right.”
For one thing, why does Brett feel the need to comment on EVERYTHING that happens in the NFL? As if it wasn’t enough that he comments on the contract negotiations of his teammates (an unwritten no-no among players), he now feels the need to voice his opinion on the private dealings of other franchises? What makes it more ridiculous is that he speaks out about fairness but forgets that by hemming and hawing on his own plans for 2006, he has treated his own franchise unfairly. And for all the things he’s done for the Packers, the Packers have bent over backwards for him too.
Brett, don’t you think it’s time you got some help? It’s obvious you’re drinking again. Lashing out at people makes you look pathetic. I’m asking for the last time – please just retire and go away. We’re all just so sick of you already.
The Mets spent a lot of money bringing “Little” Matsui in from the Japanese league, where he was regarded as one of the top players. For whatever reason, his skills have not translated in the majors and, after two years as a starter, the Mets decided that AAA was the best spot for him this year. Despite this, Kaz Matsui can stake claim to a seriously cool feat – no other player in major league history has hit a homer in his first at bat in three successive seasons. Matsui hit homers on opening day in 2004 and 2005 and last night he hit an inside the park homer in his first at bat after being called up. Strange stuff
Another funny thing about baseball is the fragility of the players. Throwing a baseball 90 mph is a taxing and damaging thing to do to one’s body. But beyond that, I don’t think there’s much that ballplayers do that is really terribly injurious. Football and hockey players spend at least half their time dodging other players flying in at maximum speed, looking to make impact. Basketball players spend a lot of time running and jumping up and down the court, and the battles under the basket are a lot more physical than might appear on TV. But baseball players have no excuse for the frequency and variety of their injuries.
In watching the replay of Derrek Lee and Rafael Furcal’s collision, the result of which was Derrek Lee breaking two bones in his wrist, I am stupefied that the injury could’ve turned out so bad for Lee. At 195 lbs., Furcal isn’t a small guy. And yes, he was running down the first base line at full speed. But it didn’t look like Lee’s arm was extended, exposing the wrist to trauma. Instead, it looked like Lee’s arms were close to his torso, as if he expected the collision and was bracing himself. In football, tight ends routinely run into linebackers and safeties in just such a manner and nothing happens to either player. In hockey, defenders use their sticks to spear and slash the arms of their opponents, again with no negative result. I’m not picking on Lee but, man, baseball players are such weaklings. How on earth does a 245 lb. man’s wrist break that badly from a collision like that? I continue to be amazed at how fragile players in the majors are.
Finally, to football. Brett Favre blasted the Tennessee Titans yesterday for his perception of how that franchise as treated QB Steve McNair. As he put it, “[A]ll of the things he has done for that team, he really has been the face of that team for the last 10 or 11 years, the one bright spot really. To be treated that way I think is really unfair. He doesn’t deserve it. It is not right.”
For one thing, why does Brett feel the need to comment on EVERYTHING that happens in the NFL? As if it wasn’t enough that he comments on the contract negotiations of his teammates (an unwritten no-no among players), he now feels the need to voice his opinion on the private dealings of other franchises? What makes it more ridiculous is that he speaks out about fairness but forgets that by hemming and hawing on his own plans for 2006, he has treated his own franchise unfairly. And for all the things he’s done for the Packers, the Packers have bent over backwards for him too.
Brett, don’t you think it’s time you got some help? It’s obvious you’re drinking again. Lashing out at people makes you look pathetic. I’m asking for the last time – please just retire and go away. We’re all just so sick of you already.
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