We Like Twitter, Too.

For all you tweet-addicts, we have set up a twitter account! You know you have a problem when you constantly check your echofon / twitterberry while being out on the town (editor=guilty). SO follow We Like Baseball 2 on twitter, & tell your friends to do the same. Talk to yous on Monday!

-BD / The Cast

Hero Worship: Derek Jeter

The man, the myth, the legend. He's dated pop singers, movie stars, and a former miss universe. His hardware/jewelry collection includes hefty amounts of gold, silver, and whatever materials they use in World Series Championship rings. His many achievements are outweighed only by his personality: clean-cut, intelligent, charitable, and personable. Woman want him; men want to be him. (And men also want him). He is one of the most clutch athletes in recent memory. Who else would be our inaugural selection for hero worship? The shortstop, number 2, Derek Jeter...number 2.

From the beginning, Yankees fans and players alike knew Derek would blossom into something special. At the ripe old age of 21, Jeter already carried himself with such professionalism that his teammates could not find a single reason to administer so-called "rookie hazing" - a ritual that occurs every year to the rookies in each MLB clubhouse. Prior to his first full season, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told the media that he would be satisfied if Jeter hit .250 and played solid defense; Derek responded by batting .314, smacking 25 doubles, fielding a clean .969 percent, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, and helping the Yankees clinch their first World Championship since 1981. All of this at the age of 22! However, Derek's amazing rookie campaign would only be a glimpse of things to come.

You'd be reading this post for a whole week if I attempted to go through all of Jeter's achievements and fine moments, so I'll do my best to keep it concise. Below is BD's list of important achievements in the career of Derek Jeter:

-FIVE time World Champion
-Career hits leader for the Yankees (2747 and counting)
-Only player to win both All-Star Game MVP & World Series MVP in same year (2000)
-10-time All-Star
-4-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award winner
-Lifetime .321 batting average in World Series play

We would be remiss if we didn't feature a photo montage commemorating Derek's unbelievably clutch and memorable plays:









Jeter is also extremely charitable, constantly giving back to the community through his Turn 2 foundation. He's hosted Saturday Night Live, appeared on Seinfeld, is currently shooting a movie with Donnie Wahlberg, and can constantly be seen in TV commercials with his many endorsements, including Nike, Gatorade, Ford, Gillette, etc...dude's a bonafide star. The list of women he's been romantically linked to is so beautiful, it deserves another blog post in itself.

At age 35, Jeet has shown no signs of slowing down after acquiring his 5th world series ring. Now with long-time teammate Andy Pettitte (future hero worship anyone?) back and new acquisition Curtis Granderson on board, there's no reason to think we can't repeat. However, championship or not I know Derek Jeter will still be my hero.

-BD

Remember This Guy!

Bernard Gilkey. Yeah, that guy. He skipped college - like so many of us wanted to - and went straight from High School to the Pro’s in 1984, signing a contract with his hometown Cardinals as an undrafted free agent. It took Gilkey about as long to reach the big club as it took Rothman to gradute college.

Now in 1992, Gilkey somehow managed to hit .302 in 131 games with the Cards. But seriously, dude actually batted over .300 twice more during his career. His strongest season was in 96. His .317 average was eighth in the NL and his 44 doubles ranked fourth (and set a Mets single season record). Gilkey finished fourteenth in National League MVP voting that year. The man was also on the inugural 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks. Guy is even still getting paid! and will continue to get dough from that squad until his 51st birthday!

Of course, he really only remembered for getting plunked in the head while staring at a spaceship in MIB!

-MCG

Our Lives Suck Without You

Thats right. You thought correctly. This post is a Kelly Clarkson inspired English Ode to Kenny Phillips. Enjoy:

Kenny Phillips - free safety - we miss you,
Our defense lacks spark, speed, vision,
Your replacements - Michael Johnson, CC Brown - have no clue,
Lost in schemes, they let receivers roam our secondary with precision.

Remember your performance against the Cowboys,
Two picks energized the squad, sealed victory,
Curse Patellofemeral Arthritos,
Without your leadership our secondary lacks poise,
Without your tackling our defense can't pin,
Anyone back. Ever. A tremendous loss.



For reals. We should all hope that Kenny Phillips gets back. The guy has more talent than octomom has kids and he's capable of delivering championships to New York. With luck, the guy returns, makes millions, takes care of business on the field and is able to provide his family with everything they want. Sadly his prognosis is uncertain. Phillips, his agent, and the Giants , are all optimistic; however, prominent arthropedic surgeons have noted have expressed doubt about recovery from a potentially degenerative condition. If Kenny does return to the GGGGG-Men, remember, you can count on WLBT (WeLikeBaseballToo) for the best celebratory haiku's this side o the Pacific. Yeah I said, celebratory haikus, I said it from a computer in Midtown I said it.

AT

Take out the garbage day...

Today being Friday, we're gonna release from the WLBT vault, all those links/clips we so desparately wanted to share earlier in the week. For your enjoyment:







And just in case those clips didn't help you pass enough time:

Sarah Palin incorrectly attributes a quote to John Wooden in her new book

Now the cast goes to Siena v U Albz! Ship ship...

All-in: The Battle of U.S. internet gamblers against their government.

"Land of the free, home of the brave"

Land of the free my ass, U.S national anthem! We're talking about living in a country that's more confused than Johnny Damon in left-field. Our government just can't seem to get it's shit together about providing health-care, the situation with our troops overseas, and whether or not a man should be allowed to marry another man. While these issues are certainly extremely important, the government hasn't directly impacted me with their bullshit until now: the battle to save internet poker in the United States.

Back in late 2006 a republican congressman from Tennessee, Bill Frist, "attached" the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to a bill that had already been passed in Congress, the Port Security Act. (We won't even get into his other scandals). This act would essentially make it illegal for U.S. banks to process online gaming transactions - making it markedly more difficult for Americans to deposit their hard-earned money onto internet poker websites. What Frist did was essentially add this nonsensical bit of law onto the Port Security Act at midnight on the eve of U.S. elections. President Bush signed off - a piece of information that is useless considering George was probably looking into his magic 8-ball for the "right" decision...(or perhaps he was snorting a magic 8-ball at the time). Congress never even debated the subject! What malarkey! The country clearly has had WAY bigger fish to fry since then, so the UIGEA was thrown onto the backburner...until now. With December 1st, 2009 being the supposed date of "permanent regulation" for the bill, a slight bit of panic began to set in for us internet gambling folk, and action was deemed necessary. Some 1 million internet poker players and supporters from around the country have formed a coalition known as the "PPA" - Poker Players Alliance. Backed by popular MA senator Barney Frank, Nassau County Congressman Peter King, and former NY State Senator Al D'Amato among others, the PPA has effectively delayed the full implementation of the UIGEA for another year. However, it is a war that is far from over.

My question is, how can America's government be so blind? First of all, it's a citizen's RIGHT if he wants to take his hard-earned money and use it to play poker on the internet. Here's a thought: a man (or woman) goes to Atlantic City for the weekend. He or she loses $200 playing poker at the Borgata casino, but has a great time. What is the difference if that same person decides they want a similar experience, but from the comfort of their own home? I don't really see much of a difference, either. Oh, taxation? EARTH TO U.S. GOVERNMENT - Poker players and sites alike have both mentioned they would agree to a taxing of income in exchange for the full legality of online poker in the USA. Hear that, government? Internet poker sites earn so much income per day its nearly impossible to fathom and/or calculate. Remember that little national debt problem? Experts predict the taxation/regulation of internet gambling could save the economy, and bring the country out of national debt in 10 years. WOW! Proponents of the UIGEA have argued that the law protects minors from become gamblers, and likewise prevents degenerates from having their problems expand. You bring up a good point there, guys. EXCEPT that you are ignoring how most major internet poker sites have already safeguards put into place with rigorous age-verification techniques, identity checks for player deposits, and numerous options to limit the amount a player can gamble per day, week, month, and year. The government would have to simply oversee these safeguards and there would be absolutely no problem.

Yes, I'm a card player. I play online poker just about every single day. Call my opinion skewed if you want to. But I don't believe there is any reason that a man can't come home from work and relax by playing an online poker tournament, if that is what he enjoys. You don't have to be Boku87 to get a kick out of the game. Heck, you could be someone who has never gambled a dollar in your life and still understand why this bill is an intrusion of our rights. If alcohol and cigarettes are legal and taxed in this country, there is absolutely no reason for internet poker to be unlawful.

If you agree with me and want to help in the fight to save internet poker, please click this link to join the PPA and send love letters to your local politicians letting them know how bad they are fucking up if they don't make online poker legal. On a final note, it's well known that President Obama is a poker player, and apparently he's not bad! Smarten up, Mr. Obama. Throw us a bone here. And while you're at it, do you think I might be invited to the White House game? I promise I'm not a shark or anything...

-BD

Does Mark Sanchez like the cold...too?

The Sanchize was an early ROY contender while leading the Jets to 3-0 record. In the games since his early start he has clearly looked over matched and looks more like another USC bust; Matt Leinart Now i'm not saying Sanchez is a bust but I believe the question that should be brought up is whether or not he can play well in the cold weather (yah pun intended). Born in beautiful Long Beach, CA, sticking around there by going to USC, the kid has only played in beautiful weather. Any New York fan can tell you the Meadowlands in the Winter is not a fun place to play. Just ask Eli who has had higher QB rating away from home from 2005-2008.

Below is a chart comparing Mark's QB rating against the temperature at game time.

Quick note- The other game with a rating of 27.0 occurred against the Saints in the Superdome and should be ignored.

The chart does show 2 of Sanchez’s 3 lowest QB ratings occurred on the 2 coldest days of the season. He had a rating of 8.3 against Buffalo at the Meadowlands on October 18^th. On November 22^nd against the Patriots he had a rating of 37.1.

Surely weather is not the only factor in his performances. It is also way too early to make any judgments during his rookie year to project how the rest of his career will go. It should be interesting how the Sanchize finishes out the remainder of his rookie year. This is one guy who definitely wants to see him succeed in those cold December games at the end of the year.

Prediction for the Thursday night game at Buffalo-

Game time Temp expected to be between 29-38 degrees.

Mark Sanchez QB Rating 28.7

BL

Whats the difference?

A wise man once told me that in most cases “you can not be great at everything," but emphasized that to succeed "you damn better be pretty good at something”. Teams like the ’07 Pats or ' 72 dolphins don't come along often. Most times we get some rag tag misfits that happen to pull it together at the right time. Look at the 2007 Giants. They had a catalyzing and unifying experience in their loss to the “Perfect Pats.” They also had strong and experienced veterans, and a "pretty good" defense.


Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer were the heart and sole of that team. They were guys that lead by example and did their job every day. There was a strong sense of team and the “we have nothing else to lose” mentality, a mentality that guided them through a hard and long route to the SB. The biggest difference maker between those Giants, and today's 2.0 version, is the pressure of the front 4 lineman. The '07 edition had a league leading 53 sacks, with 40 of them coming from the D-line. That is 3.3 sacks per game with 2.5 coming from down lineman. Now the '09 G-men (projecting based on what they've done so far) will finish with a dismal 30 sacks, only 20 of which will come from the D-line. We're looking at 1.9 sacks a game and only 1 of them coming from down lineman. The near 50% decline has had a snowball effect on the rest of the defensive unit because opposing QBs have had more time to pick apart an already depleted and less talented secondary. Can the situation be rectified? Maybe. The Giants must bring more blitzes, but they've also got to get there, lest they leave their mediocre corners on an island.


Add to these woes, the realization that our line CAN'T EVEN STOP THE RUN! The numbers don't lie people. Defense 2.0 is projected to give up 20 rushing TDs, a huge increase from the beta Giants paltry total of 12. The 2009 squad also is allowing 20 more rush yards a game keeping the defense on the field and getting offenses into manageable third down situations. This Giant collapse, then, is not the offenses fault. Eli and Co are putting up almost identical numbers in 1st downs per game with 20 and 3rd down percentage at 42. Most important, the offense is actually averaging more points a game this year then in 07! The 2007 team was just hungry and had that swagger; it was a beautiful thing to witness.


There are plenty of quantitative stats out there that could be used to advance this argument further, but as an avid fan of sports you just know when a team is special. Its a feeling you get, a sense of toughness and destiny. Now I normally hate people that say “I have a feeling we will have a good team this year” about teams like the Cleveland Browns or Pittsburg Pirates, but the 07 Giants had it and the 09 Giants don't. Now, I do not mean the 09 Giants can't go all the way but if things stay the same they're going about as far as lovrich could throw, well, anything heavy. The team is in a funk and can't shake it. A great team changes and adapts when things go wrong. Great teams make changes at halftime, the Giants wait half the season before they even realize something is wrong. Yes they did win their first 5 games but won 1 of there next 5. The '07 team was stubborn, driven, and detail oriented. The '09 edition is slow, lazy, and defined by malaise.


The bottom line is that the 2009 New York Football Giants need a proverbial shocker! Something that the rest of the league and fans are not expecting. Something to wake them up from this month long funk and put a few good football games together. Perfection is nice but they damn better do something well in order to win! LET’S GO GIANTS!!!!!


-cm

Tiger in the Woods

First of all, can CNN cover something newsworthy instead of chronicling every non-development in this story. I don't need to see live footage of the fire hydrant Tiger hit anymore than I need to see the hearse carrying Michael Jackson in real time. Seriously, 24 hour cable news will be the end of America.

Second, yes I understand the paradox of complaining about the attention this story is getting and then writing about it, so calling more attention to the issue. Call me a hypocrit but I think there are lessons that can be plucked from this delicate situation, much as Melky would pluck a Manny Ramirez homerun from left-center in the old cathedral.

Anyway. Are we as a society incapable of heeding the request for privacy in what really is a family matter. No one would defend what TW is alleged of doing. Cheating on your wife and betraying your kids is an awful and selfish act. But does the public have a right to know whether it happened in this instance. No. Tiger Woods wasn't elected, he doesn't make policy, and he doesn't parent anyone's kids but his own (to whom he is most definitely accountable). We'd love for athletes to be role models, and I certainly take inspiration from what some of them do on the field and in their private lives (see: Nick Swisher), but just because their achievements and missteps are chronicled in the public domain doesn't mean we have a right to know.

If you don't appreciate Tiger keeping mum on the subject, first, read this and then remember not to buy his hats or shirts. If his attempt to deal with these issues in private really irks you, write to Buick, tell them that his silence makes you sick, and demand that they drop his endorsement deal. But how Tiger conducts himself in his personal life should not consume the media and supersede real news. Celebrity culture has gotten too ridiculous.

AT