60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

A very interesting read by Andy Rooney. Interesting as in amazingly stupid. I can't believe they even printed this.

http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/stam...7280850556.php

Among the gems:

"I'm still not interested in the game. I don't watch it on television or follow it in the newspaper. I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."

I am surprised he hasn't received some heat for this. One of the reasons he doesn't like baseball is because there are too many guys named "Rodriguez." Don Imus is wondering where the justice is.

A few others pearls of wisdom from Rooney:

"For example, the player who starts the game as pitcher should have to play all nine innings without a substitution. A pitcher hardly ever plays more than a few innings and then the manager replaces him with someone who isn't as good."

Here is another nice one:

"There are 30 major league baseball teams, but sometimes it seems as though the New York Yankees are the only team that ever wins the World Series."


Please put this man in the retirement home before he writes any more columns.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

jesus

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

Saw this on FJM.

Quite possibly the worst article I've ever read.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

I feel him on the Rodriguez thing.

I used to be a big NHL fan (before they pussified the sport), and it was disconcerting when all the Russians came over, and everyone was named Blank-onov.

"Larionov, passes it up to Kasatanov, over to Krutov, shoots, SAVE by Lynchnikov!"

(That sentence doesn't seem so overwhelming in 2007, but it was mind-blowing in 1987.)

I remember marveling that Al Michaels could keep up with it in the 1980 USA/USSR game.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
" I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."


[/ QUOTE ]



sad, but True

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
" I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."


[/ QUOTE ]

sad, but True

[/ QUOTE ]

Webb
Santana
Peavy
Young
Pujols
Jeter
Suzuki
Guerrero
Howard
Matsuzaka
Ortiz
Youkilis
Bonds

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
I used to be a big NHL fan (before they pussified the sport), and it was disconcerting when all the Russians came over, and everyone was named Blank-onov.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand why this would be disconcerting? You couldn't overlook players' surnames and be happy with an increase in talent?

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
" I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."


[/ QUOTE ]

sad, but True

[/ QUOTE ]

Webb
Santana
Peavy
Young
Pujols
Jeter
Suzuki
Guerrero
Howard
Matsuzaka
Ortiz
Youkilis
Bonds

[/ QUOTE ]

which of these things does not belong here... which of these things is not the same...

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

Youkilis is an awesome name. And he walks a lot.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I used to be a big NHL fan (before they pussified the sport), and it was disconcerting when all the Russians came over, and everyone was named Blank-onov.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand why this would be disconcerting? You couldn't overlook players' surnames and be happy with an increase in talent?

[/ QUOTE ]

the increase in talent decreased the excitement of the game for many fans

it caused the trapping defenses that brought in much lower scores

I believe the high-flying NHL of the mid80s was about the peak of that sport in Americans' eyes

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
" I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."


[/ QUOTE ]

sad, but True

[/ QUOTE ]

Webb
Santana
Peavy
Young
Pujols
Jeter
Suzuki
Guerrero
Howard
Matsuzaka
Ortiz
Orlando Palmeiro
Bonds

[/ QUOTE ]

Fixed You(r)kilis Post

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
I used to be a big NHL fan (before they pussified the sport), and it was disconcerting when all the Russians came over, and everyone was named Blank-onov.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless the names are Beatsov and Wacksov, I don't know why this is a problem.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]

I believe the high-flying NHL of the mid80s was about the peak of that sport in Americans' eyes

[/ QUOTE ]

This is definitely true.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

1) Thank you for the post which named baseball's stars, other than Rodriguez. This was clearly necessary, as no one, anywhere, could have possibly arrived at the conclusion that some people who play baseball aren't Spanish/named Rodriguez. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Brilliant, well thought out analytic posts like this are what keep me coming back to 2p2 time after time.

2) The comment about removing starting pitchers and replacing them with someone who "isn't as good" has some validity to it, don't you think?

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
This was clearly necessary, as no one, anywhere, could have possibly arrived at the conclusion that some people who play baseball aren't Spanish/named Rodriguez.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would hope everyone comes to that conclusion seeing as how there are no Spanish players in MLB. And the post was neccesary to augment the awesomeness that is Youkilis. TTO baby!

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

Nice to see you have the time to split hairs, baby.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

I actually see some shred of validity to his Rodriguez statement. I don't really agree with it, but at least I can interpret where he is coming from.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I used to be a big NHL fan (before they pussified the sport), and it was disconcerting when all the Russians came over, and everyone was named Blank-onov.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand why this would be disconcerting? You couldn't overlook players' surnames and be happy with an increase in talent?

[/ QUOTE ]

the increase in talent decreased the excitement of the game for many fans

it caused the trapping defenses that brought in much lower scores

I believe the high-flying NHL of the mid80s was about the peak of that sport in Americans' eyes

[/ QUOTE ]

oh you mean when the Oilers were winning Stanley Cups and the playoff games were barely on cable television? Yeah, that's right.

Peak of the NHL was clearly from around 1990-1994. My guess is that there were 50 Russian players in the league at that time, so I have no idea what ytf is talking about.

Whatever the case, the foreigners in the game has made the NHL better, plus it's not like the NHL had regular sounding names to begin with. The best players in the sport were named Gretzky and Lemieux.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

It's funny how this thread goes from the OP showing how [censored] retarded Rooney is, and then all of the responders in the thread agreeing with Rooney.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I used to be a big NHL fan (before they pussified the sport), and it was disconcerting when all the Russians came over, and everyone was named Blank-onov.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand why this would be disconcerting? You couldn't overlook players' surnames and be happy with an increase in talent?

[/ QUOTE ]

the increase in talent decreased the excitement of the game for many fans

it caused the trapping defenses that brought in much lower scores

I believe the high-flying NHL of the mid80s was about the peak of that sport in Americans' eyes

[/ QUOTE ]

oh you mean when the Oilers were winning Stanley Cups and the playoff games were barely on cable television? Yeah, that's right.

Peak of the NHL was clearly from around 1990-1994. My guess is that there were 50 Russian players in the league at that time, so I have no idea what ytf is talking about.

Whatever the case, the foreigners in the game has made the NHL better, plus it's not like the NHL had regular sounding names to begin with. The best players in the sport were named Gretzky and Lemieux.

[/ QUOTE ]

you're right...94 was the peak with the Rangers winning the cup because it was the Rangers, ESPN coverage was at an alltime high, and expansion was going places people wanted hockey


as far as devotion and growth in interest, I still think the mid-late 80s had a more positive vibe

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
Peak of the NHL was clearly from around 1990-1994

[/ QUOTE ]

I would agree with this. After that it was all downhill starting with Fox Trax.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
2) The comment about removing starting pitchers and replacing them with someone who "isn't as good" has some validity to it, don't you think?

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
" I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."


[/ QUOTE ]



sad, but True

[/ QUOTE ]

Assuming it is true that all stars are Latino, why would this be sad? Other than the obvious answer being 'because they are Latino'.

craig

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
" I know all about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but today's baseball stars are all guys named Rodriguez to me."


[/ QUOTE ]



sad, but True

[/ QUOTE ]

Assuming it is true that all stars are Latino, why would this be sad? Other than the obvious answer being 'because they are Latino'.

craig

[/ QUOTE ]

There is some element of relation even in professional sports - 'local heroes'. It might sound xenophobic, but I think it's easier for most people to root for a guy named Ruth than a guy named Rodriguez.

Don't understand why the NHL is being crapped on in this thread - the NHL has more American players than ever these days, and the Russian programs have taken a big hit in the last 10-15 years.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]

There is some element of relation even in professional sports - 'local heroes'. It might sound xenophobic, but I think it's easier for most people to root for a guy named Ruth than a guy named Rodriguez.

[/ QUOTE ]

I understand that and it is a valid point. But the term 'sad but true' in reference to the Rooney quote doesn't seem to convey that. And I don't necessarily think Rooney was being xenophobic as much as he was being someone who was reflecting on 'glory days' and as people get older, they tend to not like change as much.

craig

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

the NHL was so much better in 1994 than 2007

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
There is some element of relation even in professional sports - 'local heroes'. It might sound xenophobic, but I think it's easier for white people to root for a guy named Ruth than a guy named Rodriguez.


[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
It's funny how this thread goes from the OP showing how [censored] retarded Rooney is, and then all of the responders in the thread agreeing with Rooney.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, not exactly what I expected to see after reading the OP

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
the NHL was so much better in 1994 than 2007

[/ QUOTE ]

o rly - hmmm, the league had only experienced the greatest single influx of talent a professional sports league has ever seen

yea what a surprise the game was better

as for maryfield, most ticket-buying sports fans are white. meh.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]

"There are 30 major league baseball teams, but sometimes it seems as though the New York Yankees are the only team that ever wins the World Series."


[/ QUOTE ]

The guy is almost 90. He's actually been alive for all 26 of the Yankees championships and probably old enough to remember 25 of them. Give him a break.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

he has some points,

Yankees do make playoffs or win it a ton

A lot of teams do pull starting pitchers too early I would say and it does get annoying when you get 7 pitchers in one game

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

I actually think it would be interesting if a starting pitcher HAD to play a certain number of innings before he could be replaced.

And then any subsequent pitcher had to play AT LEAST one full inning, so no calling in the lefty to face one batter and then replacing him immediately afterwards.

It sure would speed the game up.

I'm actually mostly serious about this.

[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
I actually think it would be interesting if a starting pitcher HAD to play a certain number of innings before he could be replaced.

[/ QUOTE ]

This wouldn't speed up the games if he was getting hammered and they couldn't pull him. Watching him throw BP for his mandatory 4th, 5th, and 6th innings would be torture.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

"There are 30 major league baseball teams, but sometimes it seems as though the New York Yankees are the only team that ever wins the World Series."


[/ QUOTE ]

The guy is almost 90. He's actually been alive for all 26 of the Yankees championships and probably old enough to remember 25 of them. Give him a break.

[/ QUOTE ]

The thing about the Yankees is that for people in their 30s, they really weren't very successful. They went 20 years without winning a World Series, all in the formative years of a mid 30s guy.

So yeah, a person who witnessed the late 30s, early 50s, and early 60s dominance will have a different opinion than someone who only saw them as winners in the 90s.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/20...stly/#more-1812


From a few days ago, just found it in my Saturday morning reading

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

andy rooney is high from his meds obviously.

Re: 60 Minutes Andy Rooney\'s baseball thoughts
 

Player Team Position
Francisco Rodriguez LAA P
Rafael Rodriguez - P
Wandy Rodriguez HOU P
Jose Rodriguez - P
Ricardo Rodriguez - P
Nerio Rodriguez - P
Felix Rodriguez - P
Ricardo Rodriguez - P
Eddy Rodriguez - P
Wilfredo Rodriguez - P
Ivan Rodriguez DET C
Guillermo Rodriguez SF C
Miguel Rodriguez - 1B
Luis Rodriguez MIN 3B
Alex Rodriguez NYY 3B
Sean Rodriguez - SS
Guilder Rodriguez - SS
Mike Rodriguez HOU LF
John Rodriguez STL RF