...he's shown his ignorance and general lack of knowledge many times, but this takes the cake; http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:11488293&startTime=00:07 ...not even a mention of a certain Yankee who had one of the best seasons ever for a pitcher.
Definitely a Hack....!!! Dismisses Kershaws .864 Win Pctg. (what a Hack) unf'kng believable.... and NO mention of Tanaka's .750 WP.....a 12-4 Record, Masahiro was on track to be the 1st Pitcher in MLB to Win 20 games, indeed a HACK.... Or- my biggest Hack peeve: no mention of the incredible Bob Gibson's 68 Season- 1.12 ERA, 304 IP, with a League Leading 268 K's.......seem's like these hacks, not even give Creedence to Gibson's game 1 World Series, 17 K's......only Don Larsen pitched a better W.Serious game....(world serious cuz my son as a child used to say as much)......a Series, as serious as it comes....!!!
My bad 59, I should of thought as much..... Note to self: do not post until you've had at least a cup of Java, or a pot which ever comes last..... Guidry 1978- a more than> incredible year, NTM- a Win Pctg. & ERA; which..... I doubt MLB will ever see again at .893 with a 1.74 ERA......more than incredible, a "cannot duplicate condition" as we said in Aerospace, during Testing phases... .893 Win Pctg. WOW....!!! Catfish Hunter 1973 Oakland .808 Win Pctg. a 21-5 Record, but a less than great ERA at 3.34 Or-The 1st AL Pitcher to log two no-hitters in one season-1951: Allie Reynolds - 1952 .714 Win Pctg. 2.06 ERA, 24 CG's, 20-8 W/L with 6 Shutouts. Led the AL in K's; Reynolds came in 2nd in MVP voting. Vida Blue (not mentioned) 1971 / 24-8, .750 Win Pctg., 1.82 ERA, 8 Shutouts, 24 Complete Games, 312 IP, 209 Hits vs. 301 Strike Outs..... So many others (non-Yankee Greats)' Randy Johnson.... Steve Carlton, (pitched great on some very bad offensive Teams) (Already mentioned) Juan Leg Kick Marichal.... Warren Spahn..... this list is endless............ a boat load of others, just fill in the blanks: ___________, __________, __________
_______________________ Matt, Guidry '78 He lead the Majors in Shut-Outs, ERA, WHIP, Wins and W%. I think that covers all the key pitching essentials when we talk about "success" and having more points on the board than the other guys. lol
Thanks Brides: for clarifying Guidry's 78 Incredible Season..... BTW-here it is 9:30 PM/PST, and I'm still trying to wake up. No body ever said growing old(er) was gonna' be easy....LMAO... again, thanks...!!! PS: I have a few 78 Guidry games, originally recorded on VHS, when pixels were shit. Still got those games and transferred them to DVD's, but the quality/pictures, of the Games, are still shit. Tho- they're good enough to still watch. Guidry's Slider was one of the best in 78 that I've ever seen. better than Carlton's, every bit as good as RJ's, and better than most, especially that great year... Gotta' say I loved Jose Fernadez's slider with eyes in the ball, yet Jose's slider bends, comes in around the waist, and slides outside, whereas, Guidry's slider, came from Outside High (to a RH hitter), and slid to the Inside Shoelaces, right over the plate. Alot like Carlton's but better IMO. Well hell I don't need to say as much, ya'll saw those games......sorry for stuttering or telling you what you already know and witnessed... Un-f'king hittable.... Is there anyone here, who saw a Slider more effective, or broke and slid as far as Guidry's sliders trajectory???? I bet not, but give it a shot........if you can or want......!
_________________________________ Sparky Lyle had a very good slider...very good. Not saying it was better than vintage Guidry, but Sparky's was a good one.
Sparky also had a thing with taking a dump on Birthday Cakes, in the Clubhouse of The Bronx Zoo....! LOL..!
____________________________ Great book. He would pull his pants down and leave an ass indentation on the cake. One time when it was Thurman's birthday and Thurman was aware of what he (Sparky) used to do to birthday cakes...well, Munson was doing his best to both keep an eye on his cake and get ready for the game in the clubhouse....He would keep one eye on Sparky all the time, so finally Thurman HAD to leave to go on the field,.Sparky was hiding and when Thurman was at a safe distance- he pulled those pants down and nailed it. Also, do you remember when Sparky came into a situation at the Stadium with loaded bases...and I think he struck out the side and then he threw the ball into the upper stands behind home plate? Sparky was an absolute beauty!
Yep, Sparky was a great character, as he was reliever. His antics definitely kept the Clubhouse Atmosphere light, never knowing what to expect. I've always said, a Team needs a Sparky Lyle in their dugout, alot like Damon provided laughter, and that light approach, which rubs off on others. Perhaps its a matter of one's craziness, serves to remind another of their own sanity of lack thereof, yet such instances of laughter, are often what a club needs to cut the tensions, that are as thick as a knife in many instances/occasions...
__________________________________ I agree - unless you have some type of great machine-like team....I don't like a team with no personality or characters, and is afraid to loosen it up and joke around.