Friday, August 26, 2011
Questionable Choice, Captain
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Challenge Finale Odds
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Shut Up Stevie
First off, where do you get the nerve to completely over shadow your new employer Adam "never trust a man with two first names" Scott. You would think, based on the coverage of Williams that he won the tournament. Scott was clearly the best player in the field for most of the week. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by Stevie's "revenge" over a guy who hasn't played in months. Lucky for Adam he was able to be present for the biggest win of Stevie's career.
Career?
What career? You carry an oversized bag full of clubs around for a living.
How many fairways have you hit?
What is your sand save percentage?
And those 5 footers to save par? Right....
Let's call a spade a spade. You are a good caddy. You won many times on Raymond and Norman's bags, but do you really think that anyone knew, or for that matter, cared who the guy carrying the clubs was? The answer is no.
It wasn't until Tiger that you became a household name. 72 times Tiger reached into the 18th cup and pulled out his Nike ball, took off his cap and smiled victoriously. You were fortunate enough to be behind him in all of those occasions. You were lucky enough to be the guy that got to yell at paying fans to quit taking pictures or talking in Tiger's backswing. A lot of the criticism of those actions were directed at Tiger, but how much of it was you trying to draw attention to yourself. HEY, I'M OVER HERE! IF I YELL AT THESE FANS, I'LL DEFINATELY BE ONE TV. And you were the guy who got to share the screen with the generation's best golfer as the networks showed every single one of Tiger's shots. You owe him your so-called "career."
Yeah so if a casual fan was asked to name a caddy, the odds are that they would name you. However, this doesn't give you the right to run your mouth like you have actually done something. You read putts, carry the bag, and give distances. That's it. On average it is said that a good caddy can save 1 stroke per round. But how many strokes did Tiger save because of his brillance.
Tiger's career was headed down the crapper. He needed a change. He fired Hank Haney. He fired you. Thousands of people get fired everyday. Grow up and accept it. Granted, Tiger could have done it in person, and not over the phone, but this is the same guy that made you a multi-millionaire for simply carrying a bag for 4 days a week. It is what it is. Let it rest. You are financialy set, and you were able to get on the bag of a pretty decent player without any problem. It's Adam Scott, not Briny Baird.
If I was Scott, I'd fire Stevie too. There is no way that a caddy should be a bigger star than the PGA Tour professional. Scott seems like a pretty quiet guy, and the media firestorm that has been following Williams may be too much. If you never watched golf before and based your opinions on media coverage, you would have to think that Stevie won the Bridgestone and is heading into the PGA as a favorite.
How hard would it have been to say, "This was a great win for Adam. I'm thrilled to be on his bag and we are poised to contend week in and week out."
But not for Williams.
Without Tiger, he isn't a star. Not that he ever really was, but without Tiger his face time is exponentially less. He needs to make headlines. He needs to be in the public eye. He's a diva. And obviously his play can't do the talking, so he has to use his mouth.
Tiger's moved on, and now it's time for you to too.
Monday, August 8, 2011
PGA Championship Odds
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tony Larussa; the man who keeps "crying" a part of baseball
Tony came to the ballpark Tuesday in a foul mood after his Cards were beaten by the Brewers 6-2 the night before and immediately filed a protest to the MLB offices accusing the Brewers of flashing a light on the LCD board only when the Cards were batting, because come on that has to be the reason Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker only have 3 combined HR's and why both are hitting below .275. MLB reviewed the footage before Tuesday's game and with evidence that the flashing light occurred for both teams, dismissed the protest promptly. While I am sure the lawyer in Tony began to immediately work on his appeal Tuesday night's game went on as scheduled.
The game was high scoring back and forth affair until Albert Pujols was hit with a pitch in the 7th inning. League wide strategy has been to pitch Pujols inside this year and it has been effective as Pujols is hitting a career low .275 (24 HR's, 65 RBI's, .342 OBP, .513 SLG, .855 OPS) in his last year before free agency. Any little leaguer knew that the Brewers weren't intentionally trying to hit Pujols and even Tony admitted after the game he knew it was an accident, but Larussa did go on to say that he is fed up with people pitching inside to Pujols. I guess in Tony's mind pitching inside is a no-no, but when his mid to late 1980's Oakland A's players (most notably McGwire and Canseco) were shooting up steroids in the clubhouse everything was OK. Larussa and his Cards didn't wait long, in the next inning Cards pitcher Jason Motte threw two pitches over, the best player in the NL Central, Ryan Braun's (.324 BA, 21 HR, 73 RBI, .395 OBP, .582 SLG, .977 OPS) head and then hit him square in the back on the next pitch. Larussa was quoted after the game as saying "Yes, we hit Braun intentionally and to send a message". The Brewers fans were understandably upset and some close to the dugout even started yelling at Larussa, after the game Larussa labeled the Brewers fans "idiots" and said some fans made reference to his daughter and to his recent Shingles ailment. This can hardly be the first time the long time manager has been heckled and the fans were forced to leave by Brewers security (I have seen worse heckling in a middle school girls' basketball game). While we are on the subject of "idiot" fans, in Larussa's first spring training game after his DUI (asleep in his car at a stop sign with BAC of .093) the Cardinals fans gave him a standing ovation, stay classy Cards fans!
After the game and primarily due to Larrussa's comments about "idiot" Brewers fans and intentionally hitting Braun, the headline was the bad blood between the Cards and Brewers, but in reality the bad blood is all due to Larussa, just like every instance of bad blood between his teams recently. A few years ago Larussa refused to play Jason Bay in the All Star game, the Pirates only All-Star, due to a beef with the Pirates that season and last year his Cardinals feuded with the Reds over pitching inside. The constant in all of these instances of bad blood is the Cardinals and most notably Tony Larussa, like a child who can't get along with any of his classmates and refuses to reconize that he is the constant in every incident.
Like I said, Larussa has managed the second most games in MLB history and he likes to think he is "old school", but how many "old school" managers would take to the press to go after an opponent's fans and tell the world he hit Braun intentionally? With Pujols halfway out the door and his grip on the division slipping away for good after this season we can only hope Tony follows him and takes his crying with him.