Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Wingnut Elimination Contest! Abreu Wins Home Run Derby. Hell No, Sheff Won't Go!

Wingnut Survivor

I urge all six of my faithful readers to head over to my "World O'Crap" link and vote off your favorite wingnut in what has to be one of the most entertaining contests to come along in quite some time. WOC is one of the best blogs on these Internets, and has grouped the wingnuts into eight categories. So far, there have been two rounds of elimination. The results to the second will be announced tomorrow.

Tell the world, via WOC, how you really feel about hacks like Jonah Goldberg, Ben Shapiro, John Derbyshire, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Denny Prager, Peggy Noonan, Chuck Krauthammer, Rush and O'Reilly how you feel about their special brands of lunacy. You'll be performing a vital public serive by helping to provide some much needed laughter in these grim times.


Abreu's Big Bat Wins Home Run Derby

Bobby Abreu of the Philadelphia Phillies, representing his home country Venezuela, destroyed the competition in yesterday's Home Run Derby at Comerica Park, home of tonight's Major League Baseball All-Star game. Abreu led off the competition by clubbing a ridiculous 24 homers in round one, six in round two and capped off his win with eleven in the third and final round. The first-round 24 erased the previous record for a round when he passed Miguel Tejada's 15 from last year. Even David Ortiz's 17 bombs in round one seemed insignificant.

Abreu has long been one of baseball's most overlooked stars. His average season is a .300 + average, 25 homers and steals, while driving in close to 100 runs, scoring about 110 runs with over 100 walks, and good defense in right field. Given that Philly isn't exactly a media wasteland, it is a mystery why Abreu has remained below the radar. Maybe this Derby slugfest will help change that.


Hell No, Sheff Won't Go!

In an MSNBC sports story titled "Sheffield Rips World Baseball Classic", Yankee prima donna Gary Sheffield once again displayed his impressive media savvy by complaining about the upcoming international baseball world cup. Excerpt:

Gary Sheffield has no desire to play during major league baseball's offseason. Not even for the United States.

Several MLB players said they would be honored to play in the World Baseball Classic, which features countries in a World Cup-style tournament. The groups for the tournament were unveiled Monday. Sheffield, though, won't be part of the U.S. team.

"My season is when I get paid," Sheffield told the New York Daily News. "I'm not doing that. ... I'm not sacrificing my body or taking a chance on an injury for something that's made up."

"A lot of guys feel that way. They won't say it like I will, though," he added.

Well, maybe Kenny Rogers would, but only if there were no cameramen within punching distance.

If other players feel like Sheffield, Miguel Tejada (Dominican Republic) and Dontrelle Willis (United States) were not among them. They seem to like the idea and can't wait to play.

"I just hope I make the team," Willis said jokingly.

No joke. Willis gets it. He knows first-hand what a difference baseball has made in his life, and seems eager to be a goodwill ambassador for the game, unlike Mr. Warmth.

Tejada said fans back home would look forward to the event, which baseball hopes will be played a second time in 2009. "They're going to be really excited to see all the players on one team," he said.

Tejada also gets it. He's an energetic, productive player who genuinely seems to love every second he is on the field. He's another goodwill ambassador that baseball sorely needs.

The 16-nation, 18-day event opens March 3 in Tokyo or Taiwan, where Group A will include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

Full Story: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8554842/

Okay, the baseball World Cup, or whatever it is being called, seems to have been thrown together rather hastily by Omissioner Bud Selig. Is that any reason for known malcontents like Sheffield to criticize the concept? Hell, if the actual concept was what drew Sheffield's ire, then maybe I could understand his reluctance to play, but when he busts out nonsense about only being paid to play for the Yankees, and having no chance to get a medal, we see where his real motivation to play the game lies. It's just too bad that someone with such incredible talent doesn't understand what Tejada and Willis understand - namely that baseball is a source of joy to a lot of people, and to watch the best players perform is something to which all players should aspire.


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