tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post2439504700672982071..comments2024-03-27T18:24:19.683-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: Pitcher Jamie Moyer wins at 49Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-22560707166798903542012-04-19T17:11:14.706-07:002012-04-19T17:11:14.706-07:00there must be some flaw in this strategy, since no...<i>there must be some flaw in this strategy, since no team has ever done it.</i><br /><br />Yes, there is. Throwing a lot of changeups is the best way for a pitcher with a good fastball to lose it - it's happening to Tim Lincecum right now. A knuckleball, of course, is just a specialized changeup. If you're going to have a young player spend time on developing a knuckleball, better that it be a position player. Every year there are good minor league hitters who will never make the majors because they don't show power. These are the guys who should work on it.played with eichelbergernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-17996994281698985122012-04-19T12:03:52.485-07:002012-04-19T12:03:52.485-07:00I remember Jamie Moyer from his stint with the Cub...I remember Jamie Moyer from his stint with the Cubs. To me,he looked like Jerry Lewis,as he was thin and kind of,you know,Lewis-y.I am happy he is still out there pitching. Apparently the Cubs Curse hasnt affected him too badly. I dont recall hearing about him serving one up in the last inning of the 7th game of the World Series,so...joshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-78978652542414899622012-04-18T22:43:12.050-07:002012-04-18T22:43:12.050-07:00Another problem with the women "women learnin...Another problem with the women "women learning to throw the knuckleball" theory: <br /><br />What happens when someone hits the ball to her? If she's in the NL what happens when she comes to the plate. can she field the drag bunt...beat a man to first base?Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17286755693955361308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-45858886604110210812012-04-18T22:38:39.951-07:002012-04-18T22:38:39.951-07:00The main reason they no longer like knuckleball pi...The main reason they no longer like knuckleball pitchers, from what I understand, is that it is difficult to teach a catcher to CATCH it. Games with inexperienced catchers being flumoxed and getting 3-4 passed balls are not unusual.<br /><br />My question is; why hasn't a guy with good stuff ever learned it as an auxiliary 3-4 times a game pitch?Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17286755693955361308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-54976668604816399652012-04-18T19:30:54.998-07:002012-04-18T19:30:54.998-07:00The thing about Moyer I find most interesting is t...The thing about Moyer I find most interesting is that he reportedly doesn't even hit 80 mph on the radar gun anymore. That is seriously slow for a non-knuckleballer. <br /><br />If you read profiles of MLB pitchers, virtually any of them whose fastballs sit much below 90 mph are referred to as 'crafty', i.e. getting by on slow junk. And Moyer is 10 mph below that . . . . Amazing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-68128949745976580102012-04-18T19:25:36.445-07:002012-04-18T19:25:36.445-07:00I never heard anyone comment on what to me was the...I never heard anyone comment on what to me was the most poetically obviously fact about Tim Wakefield: his surname seems to me so comically apt for a knuckleballer that it feels fictional. Think of vector fields and air currents. Did Tom Wolfe invent him or merely name him?slumber_jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-6953699884854221592012-04-18T19:19:20.750-07:002012-04-18T19:19:20.750-07:00Damn. I means "Soviet female SNIPERS during W...Damn. I means "Soviet female SNIPERS during WWII", of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-15952467035210571142012-04-18T17:50:04.225-07:002012-04-18T17:50:04.225-07:00Honestly Steve how silly. If a woman, why not a mi...Honestly Steve how silly. If a woman, why not a million small, weak men who are equal or better than say the Williams sisters in terms of upper body strength?<br /><br />'Cause for every hypothetical women who *Could* pitch there are 100 real men who would love to succeed using the same technique.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-67367566799285221652012-04-18T17:23:24.432-07:002012-04-18T17:23:24.432-07:00OK, I stand corrected about shooting. Good! It doe...OK, I stand corrected about shooting. Good! It does seem that women do very well against men. E.g. two out of three latest NCAA rifle titles belong to all women team of TCU. Another evidence that I find very convincing is that there were many Soviet female during WWII. Soviets were rather practical in these matters and would not do it for PC. They really should desegregate Olympics in shooting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-62859575354060345482012-04-18T17:20:50.840-07:002012-04-18T17:20:50.840-07:00"Are you joking here? This "beta" s..."Are you joking here? This "beta" stuff is getting out of hand. I doubt there are many "beta" males in the major leagues. Especially after years of shooting steroids."<br /><br />I was kidding. It was my only chance to do a Whiskey impression and it was out of love because I enjoy his writing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-50421928667556631842012-04-18T17:15:51.932-07:002012-04-18T17:15:51.932-07:00Jeremiah: If you had plausible dreams of walking o...<i>Jeremiah: If you had plausible dreams of walking on at that famous basketball program, you are pretty good.</i> <br /><br />He could have been - WOULD HAVE BEEN - on that damned team if only he had taken it seriously.<br /><br />God damn it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-49461562840435103722012-04-18T16:53:49.127-07:002012-04-18T16:53:49.127-07:00Look to Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm. All Star ...Look to Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm. All Star shortstop and arguably the greatest woman soccer player ever, they have 5-year old twin girls.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-79629002106492169272012-04-18T16:47:47.321-07:002012-04-18T16:47:47.321-07:00The knuckler requires hand size and strength. If ...The knuckler requires hand size and strength. If you recall, Bouton talked in Ball Four about forever squeezing multiple baseballs to that end.<br /><br />Specialists require special tools; in the case of a knuckleballer, it's the catcher. Tim Wakefield, who just retired from the Red Sox at age 46, needed a catcher who could handle the knuckler. Jason Varitek, one of the best defensive catchers in the game, never got the knack, and a roster spot had to be saved for someone whose prime attribute was not hitting, throwing or pitch calling, but just catching a knuckleball.<br /><br />They don't, however, need an 80-mph fastball. Wakefield never threw harder than 75-76, but he threw two speeds of knuckler and he had a fair curve for a "show" pitch.<br /><br />All this said, I've been an avid baseball fan since the 60s and have watched them all from Koufax forward, and no one made major league hitters look worse than Wakefield did when the knuckler was dancing. I mean swing and miss by a foot and a half bad. It's the one that spins and doesn't break that gets treated like batting practice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-60432332778827973672012-04-18T16:43:02.018-07:002012-04-18T16:43:02.018-07:00My parents both flew sailplanes and competed in so...My parents both flew sailplanes and competed in soaring, a sport in which women should have no disadvantage, but the delta was still substantial. My father, an accountant, could easily outfly my mother under most any situation and she was a professional flight instructor on cabin class twins and later a Learjet corporate pilot. The situation in aerobatics is similar, although the delta is less as women being smaller tend to tolerate the high G relatively well (G-suits aren't worn.) <br /><br /> Women simply lack the competitive drive needed in all sports, aside from the physical differences. Auto racing is "learning" this now even though women have been driving race cars since before WWII and in SCCA road racing were a good percentage of the sport in the fifties and sixties. Their percentage decreased in the late 60s onward as road racing became a pro activity like NASCAR and open wheel circle track.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-55514378845303743992012-04-18T16:13:58.030-07:002012-04-18T16:13:58.030-07:00I played pick-up ball in college against NCAA wome...<i><br />I played pick-up ball in college against NCAA women champions. I sometimes dream that I could have sat the bench of the men's team as a JV walk-on, but guys of my meager talent easily dominated the best woman. A few of them could beat me down the court (here's a hint, one who could, went on to win and then have to give up several Olympic sprinting gold medals). But that's it. I'd be really surprised if anything has changed in 20 years.</i> <br /><br /><br />If you're who I think you are: Your nephew was out in the field today, eating clover.<br /><br />Like a damned horse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-38430964661184615272012-04-18T15:55:59.438-07:002012-04-18T15:55:59.438-07:00I had to look up Pat Venditte, an ambidextrous pit...I had to look up Pat Venditte, an ambidextrous pitcher in the Yankees organization. he is currently at AAA Wilkes-Barre, after 3 previous minor league seasons. An interesting story, I thought.John Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07512292512993140028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-18495123505382661122012-04-18T15:55:32.564-07:002012-04-18T15:55:32.564-07:00World Pinball Player Rankings:
http://www.ifpapin...World Pinball Player Rankings:<br /><br />http://www.ifpapinball.com/rank.phpC. Van Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09918883799053031223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-25657022583213249292012-04-18T15:49:25.184-07:002012-04-18T15:49:25.184-07:00Some girls have competed against boys in high scho...Some girls have competed against boys in high school wrestling. Not with any huge degree of success, but not as complete failures either. What has helped is that most of the girls are 17- and 18-year-olds competing in the very lowest weight classes, and in those classes the male wrestlers generally are barely pubescent freshmen.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266094188872421777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-83948745905416986582012-04-18T15:40:44.415-07:002012-04-18T15:40:44.415-07:00Pitchers also have to handle fielding and sometime...Pitchers also have to handle fielding and sometimes batting. A woman who can throw a knuckleball would still have to have at least basic fielding skills.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266094188872421777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-21162340715504583282012-04-18T15:35:57.850-07:002012-04-18T15:35:57.850-07:00Pitchers also have to handle fielding and sometime...Pitchers also have to handle fielding and sometimes batting. A woman who can throw a knuckleball would still have to have at least basic fielding skills.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266094188872421777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-20787101826871053942012-04-18T15:32:05.155-07:002012-04-18T15:32:05.155-07:00Hoyt Wilhelm used to say that his retirement was p...Hoyt Wilhelm used to say that his retirement was prompted by his inability to react quickly enough to line drives at age 49 rather than any loss of his knuckleball prowess.Dutch Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02687679491743923216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-70577163985283044392012-04-18T15:27:47.766-07:002012-04-18T15:27:47.766-07:00When shooting in the Olympics was coed, a woman wo...When shooting in the Olympics was coed, a woman won a gold medal against male competition. I believe it was men who asked to segregate the sport after that, although I may be wrong. In general, the percent of men who think competitive shooting sounds like an appealing sport is no doubt much higher than among women.Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-55075051477548331682012-04-18T15:22:27.918-07:002012-04-18T15:22:27.918-07:00Jeremiah: If you had plausible dreams of walking o...Jeremiah: If you had plausible dreams of walking on at that famous basketball program, you are pretty good. <br /><br />How about weekend basketball games involving 20 something guys at my marketing research company: a young black woman who had played big time college basketball played point guard for one men's team and she was definitely one of the best players on the court.Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-14154705978830897792012-04-18T14:58:17.623-07:002012-04-18T14:58:17.623-07:00That freak from Baylor, Brittney Griner, could pla...<i> That freak from Baylor, Brittney Griner, could play forward for the Wizards. She's 6'8" and has more testosterone than most dudes.</i><br /><br />Actually, i think the smart thing to do here is observe that this woman WILL NOT play in the NBA.<br /><br />I played pick-up ball in college against NCAA women champions. I sometimes dream that I could have sat the bench of the men's team as a JV walk-on, but guys of my meager talent easily dominated the best woman. A few of them could beat me down the court (here's a hint, one who could, went on to win and then have to give up several Olympic sprinting gold medals). But that's it. I'd be really surprised if anything has changed in 20 years.JeremiahJohnbalayanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-55698762361093543482012-04-18T14:50:21.641-07:002012-04-18T14:50:21.641-07:00Women aren't competitive with men in sports ot...<i>Women aren't competitive with men in sports other sedentary sports like shooting and equestrian.</i><br /><br />Surprisingly enough, women are not very competitive with men in shooting. That's why all Olympic shooting competitions are segregated. It's even more so for chess - the best of the best women players are "only" ordinary grand masters when they play against men. Which is the same for car driving - Danica Patrick is good but nowhere as good as top men. And is golf really so demanding in physical strength that no woman ever came close to the top?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com