I'm 48-56-3.
Michigan St. -28 Minnesota(loss)
NCarolina -3.5 NC St.(loss)
Iowa St. v. Kansas under 62.5(win)
Oklahoma v. Texas A&M under 69.5(win)
Stanford v. Oregon St. under 61.5(win)
SMiss -9 ECarolina(win)
Rutgers +2.5 SFlorida(win)
Missouri +2.5 Baylor(loss)
Arizona St. -9.5 UCLA(loss)
LSU+5 Alabama(win)
Oregon v. Wash under 75(win)
LA Tech +3 Fresno St.(win)
Ark St. -17 FAU(win)
9-4
57-60-3
I Watch Every NBA Slam Dunk Contest, 1990-94
Part 2 of a series. Part 1 is here.
1990
-Doug Collins and Rick Barry would have made a cranky couple. They meet cute when both ejected from a meaningless Sixers/Warriors game. Picture them in matching sweats, both wearing headbands, going on a morning jog in the park and then to a local bistro for scones. Later, back to the house for man love.
1991
-Kenny Smith is now a Rocket, Doug Collins is now joined by Hubie Brown (shame he and Rick couldn’t have made it work). ’91 is a little light on starpower when Rex Chapman gets the biggest crowd reaction. Kemp’s this year’s powerdunker – his score gets booed and its unclear if that’s because the crowd thought the total was a little low or because Rex (who was, after all, in effect) was bumped to second.
Hubie tells us that Dee Brown has “very, very big hands.”
Brown pumps the Reeboks and does a little man dunk, getting the Spud hangover score. I liked Kendall Gill in school; I was a sucker for that all court Jimmy Jackson type of combo guard game. I would have made a helluva expansion GM, picking guys who had no real position. A team filled with Gary Trents and Byron Houstons.
Kemp’s second first round dunk is the best of the night all the way until the final round– Rex is a loose, fluid dunker and his second round dunk is good – but it’s immediately overshadowed by Kemp’s power, his second dunk just behind his first. Rex is a good dunker; this might have been the best night of his career. There’s a crush of Dominos pizza boxes on the media table behind Kenny Smith; presumably Bob Ryan and the rest of the coterie feel silly now that Dominos admitted that every pizza they made until like 2010 was saucy sawdust. Dee Brown’s pumping up his shoes probably made old guys angry in '91 like a Justin Bieber hair flip irritates me today. Beebs wasn’t alive in ’91; I heard he drove by Nash in some charity game or at Rucker Park or at Alan Thicke’s house. NBA TV has been airing lockout programming, like The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh and that one Robby Benson movie, I'm surprised they don't let Bieber program the channel for a day. Remember when MTV would have their artists "take over" the channel for a day, "this Saturday, Poison's CC Deville will talk dirty to you ALL DAY LONG!" that would make sense for NBA TV. They need to do more lists on that network; the MLB and NFL channels fill their offseasons with "top 5 this" and "all time that". I'm not sure why NBA doesn't do that type of show.
Brown gets booed for his high score; here’s the thing – as far as little guy dunks go, that semi dunk that shoots him to the top, his homage to the Wilkins dunk, not his homage to the Spud dunk, that was pretty goddamn good. Crowd and announce thought it was overscored; in qualitative evaluation, I always try to ignore both. It’s why I now watch professional wrestling with the sound turned off, I don’t consider crowd reaction when giving a star rating to a movie “well, the guy seven rows away from me was laughing his ass off at Harold and Kumar in 3D, that means it must be funny” and it doesn’t much matter to me what the fans are doing when Triple H makes his frustrated face at the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Facial expressions aren’t workrate. And if crowd reaction drove star ratings, Hulk Hogan would be regarded like Jushin Thunder Liger.
1992
The Fresh Prince and Carlton grooving on the '92 dunk contest.
Doug West’s first round up and under gives me the good feelings, he gets hosed by an under 45 score. I’m a bit of a sucker for power – and Larry Johnson’s second dunk is a beast, all one armed through the hoop mannnnn jammmmm. That’s the best dunk of the night. Magic’s been courtside the past couple of years doing commentary; his appearance this year is just a couple of months after the HIV revelation. Nick Anderson’s semifinal 360 is nifty, but Anderson’s dunks are sort of like his game, just a little wrong in a lot of small but perceptible ways. LJ brings some thump again on his semi-dunk; it’s the second best dunk of the night, and LJ, playing the Wilkins/Kemp card, is powering his way through the competition. Given the dunk contest's clear preference for finesse over power the year before, this may not be a winning strategy. Nick Anderson rubbed his head during his second semi dunk, the broadcast calls this an homage to Dee Brown, mistakenly believing he covered his eyes; had he been doing so, with the blindfold dunk still to come, one could comment about the trend of early 90s NBA stars wandering around with their eyes closed. Larry Johnson’s dominating, just kicking everyone's ass; Starks attempts to fill the Spud Webb/Kenny Smith/Dee Brown role, but LJ’s just punching him in the face, and its Ceballos who slips his way into the final. His first final round dunk is so pedestrian the players in millionaires row laugh at him. Grandmama’s got this in the bag. Magic tells us this is the quietest he’s ever heard a crowd for the slam dunk; he’s forgetting every year previous this decade. This early 90s stretch is a bit of a lost period for the dunk contest, a post-celebridunk period, but we haven’t yet established, at least as part of the broadcast the trope that “the real problem with the dunk contest is the superstars like Jordan” aren’t there anymore; a discussion you’ve been able to hear every year of recent memory, regardless of the qualitative level of the dunks. PTI just hit its 10th anniversary, I'm guessing every Monday after the dunk contest has been some variation of "why do we still have the dunk contest? Remember Dominique Wilkins? He was great. Have you see him wearing glasses? So erudite!" LJ misses. Then misses again. And again. Isiah tells us that its creativity the judges want to see, which was a clue that Johnson was in trouble. Ceballos does a sweet up and under that passes West’s for third best dunk of the night. Johnson misses again. I was looking for a “LJ got screwed” finish to this section, as obviously I recall how this contest turns out, but LJ can’t hit a dunk in the finals and hands the crown to Ceballos. Magic tells us the fans are leaving; not exactly walking on eggshells a few months into his new life. The crowd reacts for the first time really when Thunder Dan brings out the blindfold for his teammate. Critical consensus is that Ceballos could, of course, see, making this the most overrated dunk in contest history. I don’t know Cedric’s current public posture on the visibility of the dunk. Crowd went bananas – and with the primary image of this stretch being Dee Brown’s pumping up his shoes and now Ceballos’s blindfold, we see pretty rudimentary showmanship, really the equivalent of flash paper. The best dunk, LJ's second from round one, is at 1:37.
1993
1994
That will quiet the calls for additional star power.
Allen Houston’s routine could reasonably be described as sleepy. No, it wasn't Zeke who gave him 6 years at 100 million. Not for a guy who bounces the ball in a dunk contest. Hells no.
No character discussion about JR Rider, probably the last time in his life he had this much air time without the adjective "much-troubled" attached to him; he pretty easily is the best dunker in the field; off the top of my head, I'd think his between the legs baseline dunk from '93 is the best college dunk contest dunk ever; but I'd be wrong - here's Patrick Ewing's kid in 2008. That might be the best dunk of all time.
1990
-Lot of nice dunks early on, Kenny Battle, Rex Chapman – Pippen’s free throw dunk was really pretty sweet; ‘Nique gets over with his one armed thunderdunk. 20 year old Rainman matches Wilkins power for power, like if Ernie Shavers fought Joe Frazier in '74.
There's a commercial for Christianmingle.com; were I an entrepreneur, that would be the group I’d target. Jesus jewelry, sweatpants with scripture on the ass. Numbers 22:28 right on the ass. It's an endless market.
There's a commercial for Christianmingle.com; were I an entrepreneur, that would be the group I’d target. Jesus jewelry, sweatpants with scripture on the ass. Numbers 22:28 right on the ass. It's an endless market.
-There’s a bit of a cover band quality to the dunks; were one to graph it out, I think dunk contests show spurts of originality followed by a few years of artistic consolidation. That might be how all culture works; I wonder to what degree the dunk contest could be analyzed as representative of a broader milieu.
-Doug Collins and Rick Barry would have made a cranky couple. They meet cute when both ejected from a meaningless Sixers/Warriors game. Picture them in matching sweats, both wearing headbands, going on a morning jog in the park and then to a local bistro for scones. Later, back to the house for man love.
Kenny Walker has a sweet, sweet, sweet second round dunk going up and under the basket; the best dunk of the night so far; you can’t match Wilkins/Kemp for power, so finesse would be the better strategic choice.
Kemp/Wilkins/Walker/Smith make the semis. I spoke too soon; Walker’s semi dunk is now the second best of the night, and it ups the power. Kenny Smith is getting a little bit of the little man degree of difficulty crowd bump. Ooh, Nique just brought the two handed windmill – Wilkins lands heavy, heavy blows. I’ll say that’s the new second best dunk of the night. Yeah, Smith bouncing Walker out doesn’t make any sense as a matter of booking this contest; it’s as if the multi-year relationship between Turner Sports and the Jet started in Miami in 1990; not only was Walker clearly better – but he was the defending champ; they had the opportunity to take the champ and go mano y mano against an all time great dunker. Walker v. Wilkins was teed up and they let it pass. It could be a Spud Webb hangover; the dunk contest looking to recreate the cultural relevance it had with Spud v. Wilkins, but in doing so it rejects the obvious storyline of a perpetually undercrowned champ against the reigning title holder. Smith was good, but didn’t stand out in a year of good dunks in front of a disinterested crowd. Nique apparently was a late entry, paid a hundred grrrr by his “shoe company” to enter. I’m not of a mind that we need more stars in the dunk contest, but pumping the corporate partners would be the way to go. He wins and deserves it, being solidly better than Smith and the best overall dunker in the contest, but Walker had the best dunk of the night and the dunks enter the 90s missing out on what could have been a really solid final round. You can see that Walker dunk at 2:09.
1991
-Kenny Smith is now a Rocket, Doug Collins is now joined by Hubie Brown (shame he and Rick couldn’t have made it work). ’91 is a little light on starpower when Rex Chapman gets the biggest crowd reaction. Kemp’s this year’s powerdunker – his score gets booed and its unclear if that’s because the crowd thought the total was a little low or because Rex (who was, after all, in effect) was bumped to second.
Michael Jordan’s pick to win apparently is Kenny Williams from the Pacers; #23's eye for talent knows no bounds.
Hubie tells us that Dee Brown has “very, very big hands.”
Brown pumps the Reeboks and does a little man dunk, getting the Spud hangover score. I liked Kendall Gill in school; I was a sucker for that all court Jimmy Jackson type of combo guard game. I would have made a helluva expansion GM, picking guys who had no real position. A team filled with Gary Trents and Byron Houstons.
Kemp’s second first round dunk is the best of the night all the way until the final round– Rex is a loose, fluid dunker and his second round dunk is good – but it’s immediately overshadowed by Kemp’s power, his second dunk just behind his first. Rex is a good dunker; this might have been the best night of his career. There’s a crush of Dominos pizza boxes on the media table behind Kenny Smith; presumably Bob Ryan and the rest of the coterie feel silly now that Dominos admitted that every pizza they made until like 2010 was saucy sawdust. Dee Brown’s pumping up his shoes probably made old guys angry in '91 like a Justin Bieber hair flip irritates me today. Beebs wasn’t alive in ’91; I heard he drove by Nash in some charity game or at Rucker Park or at Alan Thicke’s house. NBA TV has been airing lockout programming, like The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh and that one Robby Benson movie, I'm surprised they don't let Bieber program the channel for a day. Remember when MTV would have their artists "take over" the channel for a day, "this Saturday, Poison's CC Deville will talk dirty to you ALL DAY LONG!" that would make sense for NBA TV. They need to do more lists on that network; the MLB and NFL channels fill their offseasons with "top 5 this" and "all time that". I'm not sure why NBA doesn't do that type of show.
Brown gets booed for his high score; here’s the thing – as far as little guy dunks go, that semi dunk that shoots him to the top, his homage to the Wilkins dunk, not his homage to the Spud dunk, that was pretty goddamn good. Crowd and announce thought it was overscored; in qualitative evaluation, I always try to ignore both. It’s why I now watch professional wrestling with the sound turned off, I don’t consider crowd reaction when giving a star rating to a movie “well, the guy seven rows away from me was laughing his ass off at Harold and Kumar in 3D, that means it must be funny” and it doesn’t much matter to me what the fans are doing when Triple H makes his frustrated face at the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Facial expressions aren’t workrate. And if crowd reaction drove star ratings, Hulk Hogan would be regarded like Jushin Thunder Liger.
They again do big man/small man in the finals – Kemp v. Brown; it’s clearly the trope the dunk contest understood post Spud Webb. Brown goes over and I get it, his dunks were more interesting than Kemp’s – they weren't better, Kemp was the better dunker the best dunk of the night was his final round dunk from inside the foul line, , but if you think of the dunk contest as this battle between craft (doing doings well, doing them precisely, even if the dunks aren’t inherently new or creative) and art (demonstrating a creative spark) this round went to the more artistic dunker. Brown’s meditations on Nique, on Webb, got the nod over Kemp’s more straightline dominance. My head's nodding the other way, but I understand.
1992
Doug West’s first round up and under gives me the good feelings, he gets hosed by an under 45 score. I’m a bit of a sucker for power – and Larry Johnson’s second dunk is a beast, all one armed through the hoop mannnnn jammmmm. That’s the best dunk of the night. Magic’s been courtside the past couple of years doing commentary; his appearance this year is just a couple of months after the HIV revelation. Nick Anderson’s semifinal 360 is nifty, but Anderson’s dunks are sort of like his game, just a little wrong in a lot of small but perceptible ways. LJ brings some thump again on his semi-dunk; it’s the second best dunk of the night, and LJ, playing the Wilkins/Kemp card, is powering his way through the competition. Given the dunk contest's clear preference for finesse over power the year before, this may not be a winning strategy. Nick Anderson rubbed his head during his second semi dunk, the broadcast calls this an homage to Dee Brown, mistakenly believing he covered his eyes; had he been doing so, with the blindfold dunk still to come, one could comment about the trend of early 90s NBA stars wandering around with their eyes closed. Larry Johnson’s dominating, just kicking everyone's ass; Starks attempts to fill the Spud Webb/Kenny Smith/Dee Brown role, but LJ’s just punching him in the face, and its Ceballos who slips his way into the final. His first final round dunk is so pedestrian the players in millionaires row laugh at him. Grandmama’s got this in the bag. Magic tells us this is the quietest he’s ever heard a crowd for the slam dunk; he’s forgetting every year previous this decade. This early 90s stretch is a bit of a lost period for the dunk contest, a post-celebridunk period, but we haven’t yet established, at least as part of the broadcast the trope that “the real problem with the dunk contest is the superstars like Jordan” aren’t there anymore; a discussion you’ve been able to hear every year of recent memory, regardless of the qualitative level of the dunks. PTI just hit its 10th anniversary, I'm guessing every Monday after the dunk contest has been some variation of "why do we still have the dunk contest? Remember Dominique Wilkins? He was great. Have you see him wearing glasses? So erudite!" LJ misses. Then misses again. And again. Isiah tells us that its creativity the judges want to see, which was a clue that Johnson was in trouble. Ceballos does a sweet up and under that passes West’s for third best dunk of the night. Johnson misses again. I was looking for a “LJ got screwed” finish to this section, as obviously I recall how this contest turns out, but LJ can’t hit a dunk in the finals and hands the crown to Ceballos. Magic tells us the fans are leaving; not exactly walking on eggshells a few months into his new life. The crowd reacts for the first time really when Thunder Dan brings out the blindfold for his teammate. Critical consensus is that Ceballos could, of course, see, making this the most overrated dunk in contest history. I don’t know Cedric’s current public posture on the visibility of the dunk. Crowd went bananas – and with the primary image of this stretch being Dee Brown’s pumping up his shoes and now Ceballos’s blindfold, we see pretty rudimentary showmanship, really the equivalent of flash paper. The best dunk, LJ's second from round one, is at 1:37.
1993
Bob Neal tells us that “theoretically” a missed dunk could lead to a 50. Not exactly Kepler’s second rule of thermodynamics for theoretical significance. I wonder what level of double blind testing the NBA did to establish that theory, presumably one more stringent than Ceballos’s from '92. All Star Weekend was in Salt Lake City; not so much the ideal hot spot for Black Thanksgiving. Kenny Smith is the first man to compete in both the dunks and 3 point on the same weekend; Chris Jackson, pre-conversion, pre-anti establishment political speech, pre-blackball, is competing this year Baby Jordan goes up and under for what Bob Neal calls “the most exciting dunk in two years” – burying last year’s contest in the way the broadcast also did in Dee Brown’s year. The "dunk contest is back" as a broadcast trope is as popular as the "dunk contest is dead" in talk radio critical analysis. Clarence Weatherspoon gets a lot of height, Isiah, from the sidelines with Barkley, has a two year running discussion about “selling the dunk” as the key to getting a high score; I’m half expecting him to say that second prize in this year’s contest is a set of steak knives and third is you’re fired. Miner’s bringing some whippet power (Zeke hates dunks where you bounce the ball, by the way; hates it like he apparently hated the CBA – if he ever writes a tell all, I half expect the chapter on the sexual harassment suit that blew up the Knicks to stop halfway in favor of an expletive filled rant about dunk contest competitors who bounce the basketball.)
Did you see the one Curb about how white guys are deferential to black guys with glasses? Here's Nique from courtside in '93.
Weatherspoon’s one armed dunk in the finals winds up as best non-Miner of the night. Neal says Erving gave us criteria, “creativity, innovation, talent” which, since it privileges the artistic component by essentially doubling it favors dunkers, well, like Doc, as opposed to the power line: Wilkins/Kemp/LJ. Isiah prefers Ceballos’s post dunk handflourish to anything he’s seen tonight. Miner cheats, reusing an earlier dunk – but then comes back with a left handed windmill that’s the new best dunk of the night (it's here). and it wins him the contest.
1994
I think this is the first time in the 30 minute dunk packages that we’ve had player introductions – “this rookie point guard has made valuable contributions with the Portland Trail Blazers, James Robinson!”
That will quiet the calls for additional star power.
This year’s a 90 second dunk contest “routine” in which the whole “performance” of the dunkers is being judged; there’s also constant music throughout like its a floor exercise so when Kerri Strug gets a nice one handed throwdown, she continues with the routine. Clearly, this is an attempt to weigh showmanship, the between dunk posturing of the competitors. Obviously, this ratifies Isiah's argument from most of the decade, in much the same way the wisdom of his signing Jerome James will eventually be proven. Charles Barkley just referred to one of Hollywood Robinson’s dunks as a “rub in”. We haven’t been able to play homoertotic double entendere theater in this stretch as much as I’d enjoy.
Allen Houston’s routine could reasonably be described as sleepy. No, it wasn't Zeke who gave him 6 years at 100 million. Not for a guy who bounces the ball in a dunk contest. Hells no.
No character discussion about JR Rider, probably the last time in his life he had this much air time without the adjective "much-troubled" attached to him; he pretty easily is the best dunker in the field; off the top of my head, I'd think his between the legs baseline dunk from '93 is the best college dunk contest dunk ever; but I'd be wrong - here's Patrick Ewing's kid in 2008. That might be the best dunk of all time.
Kemp has a nice two hand powerjam that marks him against Rider as the best possible finals. Kemp’s going to crap the bed later, but if you were booking the contest, you wouldn’t have known that.
Robert Pack references Terrence Stansbury in his final dunk round, and then comes JR Rider – baseline between the legs – the callback from last year's college contest. It’s easily the dunk of the decade to that point. There’s the Rider dunk and everthing else.
Best 5 dunks, 1990-94:
- JR Rider 1994, finals
- Harold Miner 1993, finals
- Harold Miner 1993, first round
- Shawn Kemp, 1991, finals
- Larry Johnson 1992, second dunk
The 90s only had 3 more dunk contests, 95-7. If NBA TV airs those packages, I'll watch and report.
The 200 Greatest Major League Baseball Players of All Time, 2012 Ed. 141-150
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The previous ten is here.
141.Dennis Eckersley RHP 1975-98 A's/Red Sox
61.4
ERA+ 116
210-155, 335 saves
MVPQ=none
IP=3300
142. Gabby Hartnett C Cubs 1922-41
141.Dennis Eckersley RHP 1975-98 A's/Red Sox
61.4
ERA+ 116
210-155, 335 saves
MVPQ=none
IP=3300
142. Gabby Hartnett C Cubs 1922-41
61.4
OPS+126
.276/.361/.509
MVPQ=none
PA=7300
143. Mariano Rivera RHP Yankees 1995-
61.35
ERA+206
106-41, 566 svs
MVPQ=none
IP=1200
OPS+126
.276/.361/.509
MVPQ=none
PA=7300
143. Mariano Rivera RHP Yankees 1995-
61.35
ERA+206
106-41, 566 svs
MVPQ=none
IP=1200
144. Bobby Wallace SS 1894-1918 Browns/Cardinals/Spiders
61.35
OPS+105
.267/.341/.415
MVPQ=1901
PA=9600
145. Ernie Banks 1B/SS Cubs 1953-71
61.3
OPS+122
.278/.340/.526
MVPQ= 1955, 1960
Elite= 1958, 1959
PA=10,400
146. Carlos Beltran CF Royals/Mets 1998-
61.85
OPS+ 121
.284/.365/.489
MVPQ=2006
PA=7700
61.85
OPS+ 121
.284/.365/.489
MVPQ=2006
PA=7700
147. Frank Tanana LHP 1973-93 Angels/Tigers
61
ERA+106
254-215
IP=4200
MVPQ=none
148. Old Hoss Radbourn 1880-91 RHP Grays/Beaneaters
61
ERA+120
160-107
IP=4500
Inner Circle= 1883, 1884
149. Buck Ewing 1880-97 C Giants
60.7
.293/.351/.509
PA=5800
OPS+129
MVPQ=none
150. Hal Newhouser 1933-55 Dodgers LHP
60.45
IP=3000
195-141
ERA+130
MVPQ=1944,
Elite=1945, 1946
Two active players in this section. If Rivera's 2012 matches his 2011, he'll be 114th on the list. If Beltran's 2012 matches his 2011, he'd be even higher, 107th on the list.
Let's start at the top with Hartnett; our current starting catcher is King Kelly, who was only a catcher half the time. Their total value is essentially the same, Hartnett's got 4 more wins above replacement but in an extra 800 plate appearances. Kelly's bat's better, his OPS+ is 12 points higher on the strength of a little bit better ability to get on base. I'm going to make Hartnett the new starter, given he spent the totality of his career behind the plate, but its close. And Kelly's actually going to find himself just off the team, replaced by Buck Ewing, who I'll drop ahead of both of them (but it's a close race).
Rivera's the new best pitcher; his evaluation is superhard. 9th inning closers are overrated; Rivera's got about a third of the innings pitched as Whitey Ford, the most recent pitcher on the list. That has to matter. That said, the impact of Rivera's innings are insufficiently accounted for by this metric, they aren't as great as we are told, but they are greater than reflected here, and it suppresses his career value.
His ERA+ is the best ever. If you had a pitcher in baseball history for just one inning, you might pick Rivera. Going forward, balancing that per inning greatness against his lack of innings will be a constant theme in evaluating the pitchers.
Banks joins the all time team at short. He's the new leader in MVP Quality seasons (8 wins above replacement). He's got 4, with two of those in the tier just above MVPQ (Elite, 10 wins above replacement).
Hoss Radbourn has the 2 best seasons of the list so far, the only 2 in the uppermost tier (Inner Circle, 12 wins above replacement). The rest of his career isn't that special; he's going to go on the all time team just ahead of Bunning. And Newhouser was better than Whitey Ford, better top end, a tick more career value, and in fewer innings. He's our new best lefty.
C Buck Ewing
Gabby Hartnett
1B Hank Greenberg
Jason Giambi
-no change at first base; Olerud had two MVPQ seasons, but runs smack into Giambi having a better top end, a better overall bat, and almost as much value in a thousand fewer plate appearances. They both sit behind Greenberg, as he had a better bat than both and a couple thousand fewer plate appearances than Giambi.
2B Joe Gordon
-putting Gordon in direct comparison with Doerr gets the former on the team; Gordon had a better top end, a better bat (.513 career adjusted slugging from second base) and almost identical career value in 1500 fewer plate appearances.
SS Ernie Banks
3B Dick Allen
LF Ducky Medwick
-2 MVPQ seasons and a career adjusted slugging of .555.
RF Joe Jackson
RF Elmer Flick
-Jackson's the best player in this first 40. He's got 2 MVPQ seasons, a career slashline of 3/4/5, and accumulated his value in fewer than 6000 plate appearances. Flick's also got a 3/4/5 slash but loses to Jackson on every count.
RHP
Mariano Rivera
Amos Rusie
Dazzy Vance
Hoss Radbourn
Jim Bunning
Bret Saberhagen
LHP
Hal Newhouser
Whitey Ford
Let's start at the top with Hartnett; our current starting catcher is King Kelly, who was only a catcher half the time. Their total value is essentially the same, Hartnett's got 4 more wins above replacement but in an extra 800 plate appearances. Kelly's bat's better, his OPS+ is 12 points higher on the strength of a little bit better ability to get on base. I'm going to make Hartnett the new starter, given he spent the totality of his career behind the plate, but its close. And Kelly's actually going to find himself just off the team, replaced by Buck Ewing, who I'll drop ahead of both of them (but it's a close race).
Rivera's the new best pitcher; his evaluation is superhard. 9th inning closers are overrated; Rivera's got about a third of the innings pitched as Whitey Ford, the most recent pitcher on the list. That has to matter. That said, the impact of Rivera's innings are insufficiently accounted for by this metric, they aren't as great as we are told, but they are greater than reflected here, and it suppresses his career value.
His ERA+ is the best ever. If you had a pitcher in baseball history for just one inning, you might pick Rivera. Going forward, balancing that per inning greatness against his lack of innings will be a constant theme in evaluating the pitchers.
Banks joins the all time team at short. He's the new leader in MVP Quality seasons (8 wins above replacement). He's got 4, with two of those in the tier just above MVPQ (Elite, 10 wins above replacement).
Hoss Radbourn has the 2 best seasons of the list so far, the only 2 in the uppermost tier (Inner Circle, 12 wins above replacement). The rest of his career isn't that special; he's going to go on the all time team just ahead of Bunning. And Newhouser was better than Whitey Ford, better top end, a tick more career value, and in fewer innings. He's our new best lefty.
C Buck Ewing
Gabby Hartnett
1B Hank Greenberg
Jason Giambi
-no change at first base; Olerud had two MVPQ seasons, but runs smack into Giambi having a better top end, a better overall bat, and almost as much value in a thousand fewer plate appearances. They both sit behind Greenberg, as he had a better bat than both and a couple thousand fewer plate appearances than Giambi.
2B Joe Gordon
-putting Gordon in direct comparison with Doerr gets the former on the team; Gordon had a better top end, a better bat (.513 career adjusted slugging from second base) and almost identical career value in 1500 fewer plate appearances.
SS Ernie Banks
3B Dick Allen
LF Ducky Medwick
-2 MVPQ seasons and a career adjusted slugging of .555.
RF Joe Jackson
RF Elmer Flick
-Jackson's the best player in this first 40. He's got 2 MVPQ seasons, a career slashline of 3/4/5, and accumulated his value in fewer than 6000 plate appearances. Flick's also got a 3/4/5 slash but loses to Jackson on every count.
RHP
Mariano Rivera
Amos Rusie
Dazzy Vance
Hoss Radbourn
Jim Bunning
Bret Saberhagen
LHP
Hal Newhouser
Whitey Ford
The Weekly Tendown Oct 23-29, 2011: Tendown #100 Every Tendown Linked
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Dear Internet:
For the past two years, I've been writing Tendown, my weekly recap of the week that was. I think it's good; or rather, it's sometimes good, most weeks I don't have time to do much more than take a snapshot, but I think it's a valuable exercise, it gives me a bucket in which to dump thoughts that might otherwise go unexpressed. If there are weeks when you enjoy that expression, then, you know, bonus.
A year ago, I posted this recap of the first year of Tendown, providing links to each post.
Today, I do the same for year two.
This is Tendown 100.
Tendown 51: I compare Barry Bonds to Oprah; the Republicans sweep the midterm elections, I talk about inequality, and the World Champion Giants have a parade.
Tendown 52: I talk about inequality, rip Hulk Hogan, coin the phrase "Moving to Hollywood" (a TV series hitting the reset button; like Laverne and Shirley when they moved to Hollywood; were Obama to go progressive in his second term, one might say he Moved to Hollywood.);
Tendown 53: Almost entirely about inequality.
Tendown 54: I fix social security, talk about plutocracy, support Wikileaks, and Stevie Johnson's tweet.
Tendown 55: I rip Obama, coin "The Jannetty" (the loser in any type of breakup), and link to my 2010 wrestling match of the year post.
Tendown 56: I fire Mike Singletary, discuss the 2010 midterms, and an all women's team won the Amazing Race.
Tendown 57: Rex Ryan's feet pictures come out, the normalization of right wing racism, inequality, the War on Christmas, and began my 11 week long look back at each Giants winning playoff game.
Tendown 58: It's 2011, talk about race in sports, talk about Reagan's role in the current state of the economy, the Germans discuss our inequality, and linked to Barry Bonds's congratulating the Giants for the title win.
Tendown 59: I replace the "n" word in Huck Finn with "ninja" and talk about the Republicans selective reading of the Constitution on the House floor. How I Met Your Mother kills off Dauber, we hire Harbaugh, Bill O'Reilly thinks magic causes the tides.
Tendown 60: Why does Tendown 60 start with a picture I take of my television during an episode of Match Game '74?, Bravo tells lies about sports (lies that would continue, incidentally, during Most Eligible Dallas which featured an Oakland Raiders punter curiously not named Shane Lechler, the Giants get a reality show, and I discussed right wing eliminationist rhetoric.
Tendown 61: My most viewed blog post, I hit Lance Armstrong, Olbermann lost his MSNBC show, the Republicans want to repeal the 20th century, Ricky Gervais whips ass at the Golden Globes.
Tendown 62: I make my SB45 pick (got winning team right, got the spread pick wrong), I hate the state of the Union speech, talk about inequality, childbirth is less healthy than abortion, and better looking people are apparently also smarter.
Tendown 63: I pitch a movie called "My Ex's Parents", link to pieces about cracking the code for the lottery, and the right wing attempt to redefine rape.
Tendown 64: I make you some money picking the Grammy Awards; I discuss right wing US history, Florida's post 2010 election demise is tracked, a great piece on the Price is Right, a local bar not called the Brass Monkey.
Tendown 65: I root for Watson to beat the Jeopardy champs, discuss why we should tax millionaires, talk about Occupy: Wisconsin, discuss the dunk contest and begin watching 2011 wrestling matches.
Tendown 66: this is the week Charlie Sheen went nuts, I coin the phrase "feeding the shark" to describe a project that would catalog ways in which fictional characters died following the end of those characters active existence (like, how do you suppose Hawkeye Pierce died, for example?). There's a computerized rock/paper/scissors game, I start the "don't turn 41, turn 500 months old instead" movement, and discuss inequality.
Tendown 67: I talk about documentaries I've seen, wrestling matches I've watched, my tax millionaires plan, how abortion doesn't cause emotional trauma, and the dude with 82 Julia Roberts tattoos.
Tendown 68: the right wing attempt to marry the Jesus half of their electorate to the give rich guys all your money half, discussion of the Florida demise since the 2010 election, hit a Tendown meme "the right wing doesn't believe in small government", and we go to war in Libya.
Tendown 69: I eat pancakes, which we now call flapjacks in my house; you should see All the Real Girls, I plug a free video game I received but am not smart enough to play, hit some charts about inequality, and finish my look at each Giants playoff victory with Game 5 of the 2010 World Series.
Tendown 70: I go see Kathy Griffin, watch wrestling, discuss the Bonds trial, and post the picture of Vin Scully's autographed photo of the Honky Tonk Man.
Tendown 71: The Giants get World Series rings, I won't vote for Obama again, we should tax millionaires, John Kyl makes a remark "not intended to be a factual statement", and we raise the World Series flag.
Tendown 72: I break down the one conviction the government was able to get against Bonds, every slam dunk contest competitor on a poster, we should tax millionaires, we save 80 bucks on a Publix trip, Ed the cat tries to escape, Ginnifer Goodwin has a website, we're running out of drinking water.
Tendown 73: It's Easter, I go through a week in the life of right wing Christians in 2011 America. You know, Jesus hates the minimum wage and gay kids are bullying straight kids in schools. I also take a picture of a plate of bacon on Happy Endings.
Tendown 74: I tell a Kristin Cavallari/Art Schlichter joke, Obama releases his birth certificate. Again. I dislike the book recapping the Giants world championship season, Peyton Hillis is voted by fans to be the new Madden cover boy, and hasn't that turned out well, I play Moratorium, there's a War on Easter.
Tendown 75: We killed bin Laden, Florida cut unemployment benefits even though we have double digit unemployment, I pick Boston Rob to win Survivor, Willie Mays turns 80.
Tendown 76: I change my PC wallpaper, I pimp the Heat, link to a must read Greenwald piece, the Cubs apparently threw the 1918 Series, I pick Boston Rob to win Survivor.
Tendown 77: The world was supposed to end, more Lance Armstrong, Jane Mayer takes on Obama, the right wing doesn't believe in small government, Shake Shack has the best hamburger, Boston
Rob finally won Survivor and Randy Savage died.
Tendown 78: The Marlins killed Buster Posey, the only upset is I wasn't there to see it. A kid in Louisiana got kicked out of his house for understanding what the establishment clause means. Stephen Hawking says there's no god. Florida gets worse. Community airs its best episode. A letter to the NY Times from 1983.
Tendown 79: Sports Illustrated finally goes after Lance Armstrong, I talk about the top 1%, the Giants shoot an It Gets Better video, I go see Bridesmaids and discuss its politics.
Tendown 80: I root for LeBron. The right wing talks more US history. Tax cuts for the wealthy still don't trickle down. the opportunity costs of the Bush tax cuts, I watch the best wrestling match of 2011, Blackwater gets a video game, I play Moratorium.
Tendown 81: I discuss Oprah's "making of" documentary series and John Kasich's proclamation thanking that Mavericks. It's a bit of a complex essay but good, I think, at least the underlying ideas are good. Rick Perry plans a day of Christian prayer, its our worst weather year in half a century, the scariest states to be an atheist, David Vitter gets to keep his job, and I don't like it when actors play multiple characters.
Tendown 82: the great Speedup, Miss USA believes in science, Olbermann returns, I consider changing the name of the blog to basically gherkins, Florida should be run just like Wal Mart and Clarence Thomas needs to resign.
Tendown 83: Glenn Beck's show died, you have to watch the documentary Hot Coffee, I talk about the conservative assault on the constitution, Bobby Bonilla's still rich, Michele Bachmann thinks John Quincy Adams was a founding father, I do a quiz on the week in news, CM Punk cut that promo, and the Dodgers went bankrupt.
Tendown 84: I take a picture of ducks, Barry Halper was a con artist, my all time 49ers+Raiders roster
Tendown 85: Friday Night Lights ends, I get linked in Deadspin, Netflix makes a mistake, I play Moratorium, and Brian Wilson goes to the ESPYS.
Tendown 86: It's still easy to fix Social Security, ALEC rules the world, Mike and Tom Eat Snacks
Tendown 87: I dislike the 13 year old movie reviewer, the Giants trade for Beltran, Christian terrorism in Norway, Jay Cutler dumps Kristin Cavallari, the awful debt ceiling deal
Tendown 88: The Giants are bleeding, all this debt talk is bananas, Moratorium, Newt Gingrich's fake twitter followers, my pre season college football rankings, tax millionaires, the Glee Project, the American Family Association is the embodiment of evil. And so is Orlando Cabrera.
Tendown 89: I go to the Giants game. How do you suppose it turns out? Chris Mullin makes the Hall of Fame, Florida's multimillionaire "I hate government" governor pays hundreds of dollars less for his health insurance per month than I do.
Tendown 90: I'm mad at the Giants, I join an atheist fantasy football league, Republicans hate social security, Bravo pimps the HCG starvation diet, I rank every Coen brothers movie and more inequality talk.
Tendown 91: Bernie Sanders agrees with me on Social Security, the right wing thinks corporations pay too many taxes, 347 people go to a marlins game, abstinence only sex ed doesn't work, Grantland's Ric Flair piece, I talk some Breaking Bad.
Tendown 92: I go to the art museum, Brian Sabean is bad at his job, I dislike the Wild Card, the right wing calls Obama socialist, I coin a phrase "Carlos's Fault" to refer to a reality competition show challenge in which the contestants are placed on teams knowing that if their team loses they have to turn on each other to avoid elimination, Toobin's Clarence Thomas piece, the documentaries to see before you die, and I Pay it Backward.
Tendown 93: Job Creator Day, the 10th anniversary of 9-11, war's opportunity costs, Social Security's not a ponzi scheme, I give Adam Big Brother advice.
Tendown 94: inequality, Obama says we should tax millionaires, I live on Tea Party Drive, the right wing is trying to suppress the vote, Joe Barry Carroll's civil rights stand, Moratorium.
Tendown 95: awkward handshakes with black men, I turn 41, young Abe Lincoln looks like Cris Collinsworth, no pun intended, I coin a term - the Goldilocks Fallacy, to refer to uncritically viewing the right answer as the one in the middle, the Emmy Awards, Bill O Reilly will quit if you raise his taxes, the Giants get eliminated.
Tendown 96: Lindsay Lohan makes out with her mother, jail or church?, the 360 minute oil change, the last day of the 2011 baseball season, I coin a term: Food Bang, to refer to people blatantly staring at your food, the Steve Bartman movie, law school graduates without jobs.
Tendown 97: The 99% movement.
Tendown 98: The Niners are playing really well, the Mullets will cut off your hair, the worst episode of RAW ever, Big Brother UK, flapjacks.
Tendown 99: The 99% movement.
And here we are at 100.
That's all for this time. I'll be back next time, if there is a next time...
Your pal,
Jim
For the past two years, I've been writing Tendown, my weekly recap of the week that was. I think it's good; or rather, it's sometimes good, most weeks I don't have time to do much more than take a snapshot, but I think it's a valuable exercise, it gives me a bucket in which to dump thoughts that might otherwise go unexpressed. If there are weeks when you enjoy that expression, then, you know, bonus.
A year ago, I posted this recap of the first year of Tendown, providing links to each post.
Today, I do the same for year two.
This is Tendown 100.
Tendown 51: I compare Barry Bonds to Oprah; the Republicans sweep the midterm elections, I talk about inequality, and the World Champion Giants have a parade.
Tendown 52: I talk about inequality, rip Hulk Hogan, coin the phrase "Moving to Hollywood" (a TV series hitting the reset button; like Laverne and Shirley when they moved to Hollywood; were Obama to go progressive in his second term, one might say he Moved to Hollywood.);
Tendown 53: Almost entirely about inequality.
Tendown 54: I fix social security, talk about plutocracy, support Wikileaks, and Stevie Johnson's tweet.
Tendown 55: I rip Obama, coin "The Jannetty" (the loser in any type of breakup), and link to my 2010 wrestling match of the year post.
Tendown 56: I fire Mike Singletary, discuss the 2010 midterms, and an all women's team won the Amazing Race.
Tendown 57: Rex Ryan's feet pictures come out, the normalization of right wing racism, inequality, the War on Christmas, and began my 11 week long look back at each Giants winning playoff game.
Tendown 58: It's 2011, talk about race in sports, talk about Reagan's role in the current state of the economy, the Germans discuss our inequality, and linked to Barry Bonds's congratulating the Giants for the title win.
Tendown 59: I replace the "n" word in Huck Finn with "ninja" and talk about the Republicans selective reading of the Constitution on the House floor. How I Met Your Mother kills off Dauber, we hire Harbaugh, Bill O'Reilly thinks magic causes the tides.
Tendown 60: Why does Tendown 60 start with a picture I take of my television during an episode of Match Game '74?, Bravo tells lies about sports (lies that would continue, incidentally, during Most Eligible Dallas which featured an Oakland Raiders punter curiously not named Shane Lechler, the Giants get a reality show, and I discussed right wing eliminationist rhetoric.
Tendown 61: My most viewed blog post, I hit Lance Armstrong, Olbermann lost his MSNBC show, the Republicans want to repeal the 20th century, Ricky Gervais whips ass at the Golden Globes.
Tendown 62: I make my SB45 pick (got winning team right, got the spread pick wrong), I hate the state of the Union speech, talk about inequality, childbirth is less healthy than abortion, and better looking people are apparently also smarter.
Tendown 63: I pitch a movie called "My Ex's Parents", link to pieces about cracking the code for the lottery, and the right wing attempt to redefine rape.
Tendown 64: I make you some money picking the Grammy Awards; I discuss right wing US history, Florida's post 2010 election demise is tracked, a great piece on the Price is Right, a local bar not called the Brass Monkey.
Tendown 65: I root for Watson to beat the Jeopardy champs, discuss why we should tax millionaires, talk about Occupy: Wisconsin, discuss the dunk contest and begin watching 2011 wrestling matches.
Tendown 66: this is the week Charlie Sheen went nuts, I coin the phrase "feeding the shark" to describe a project that would catalog ways in which fictional characters died following the end of those characters active existence (like, how do you suppose Hawkeye Pierce died, for example?). There's a computerized rock/paper/scissors game, I start the "don't turn 41, turn 500 months old instead" movement, and discuss inequality.
Tendown 67: I talk about documentaries I've seen, wrestling matches I've watched, my tax millionaires plan, how abortion doesn't cause emotional trauma, and the dude with 82 Julia Roberts tattoos.
Tendown 68: the right wing attempt to marry the Jesus half of their electorate to the give rich guys all your money half, discussion of the Florida demise since the 2010 election, hit a Tendown meme "the right wing doesn't believe in small government", and we go to war in Libya.
Tendown 69: I eat pancakes, which we now call flapjacks in my house; you should see All the Real Girls, I plug a free video game I received but am not smart enough to play, hit some charts about inequality, and finish my look at each Giants playoff victory with Game 5 of the 2010 World Series.
Tendown 70: I go see Kathy Griffin, watch wrestling, discuss the Bonds trial, and post the picture of Vin Scully's autographed photo of the Honky Tonk Man.
Tendown 71: The Giants get World Series rings, I won't vote for Obama again, we should tax millionaires, John Kyl makes a remark "not intended to be a factual statement", and we raise the World Series flag.
Tendown 72: I break down the one conviction the government was able to get against Bonds, every slam dunk contest competitor on a poster, we should tax millionaires, we save 80 bucks on a Publix trip, Ed the cat tries to escape, Ginnifer Goodwin has a website, we're running out of drinking water.
Tendown 73: It's Easter, I go through a week in the life of right wing Christians in 2011 America. You know, Jesus hates the minimum wage and gay kids are bullying straight kids in schools. I also take a picture of a plate of bacon on Happy Endings.
Tendown 74: I tell a Kristin Cavallari/Art Schlichter joke, Obama releases his birth certificate. Again. I dislike the book recapping the Giants world championship season, Peyton Hillis is voted by fans to be the new Madden cover boy, and hasn't that turned out well, I play Moratorium, there's a War on Easter.
Tendown 75: We killed bin Laden, Florida cut unemployment benefits even though we have double digit unemployment, I pick Boston Rob to win Survivor, Willie Mays turns 80.
Tendown 76: I change my PC wallpaper, I pimp the Heat, link to a must read Greenwald piece, the Cubs apparently threw the 1918 Series, I pick Boston Rob to win Survivor.
Tendown 77: The world was supposed to end, more Lance Armstrong, Jane Mayer takes on Obama, the right wing doesn't believe in small government, Shake Shack has the best hamburger, Boston
Rob finally won Survivor and Randy Savage died.
Tendown 78: The Marlins killed Buster Posey, the only upset is I wasn't there to see it. A kid in Louisiana got kicked out of his house for understanding what the establishment clause means. Stephen Hawking says there's no god. Florida gets worse. Community airs its best episode. A letter to the NY Times from 1983.
Tendown 79: Sports Illustrated finally goes after Lance Armstrong, I talk about the top 1%, the Giants shoot an It Gets Better video, I go see Bridesmaids and discuss its politics.
Tendown 80: I root for LeBron. The right wing talks more US history. Tax cuts for the wealthy still don't trickle down. the opportunity costs of the Bush tax cuts, I watch the best wrestling match of 2011, Blackwater gets a video game, I play Moratorium.
Tendown 81: I discuss Oprah's "making of" documentary series and John Kasich's proclamation thanking that Mavericks. It's a bit of a complex essay but good, I think, at least the underlying ideas are good. Rick Perry plans a day of Christian prayer, its our worst weather year in half a century, the scariest states to be an atheist, David Vitter gets to keep his job, and I don't like it when actors play multiple characters.
Tendown 82: the great Speedup, Miss USA believes in science, Olbermann returns, I consider changing the name of the blog to basically gherkins, Florida should be run just like Wal Mart and Clarence Thomas needs to resign.
Tendown 83: Glenn Beck's show died, you have to watch the documentary Hot Coffee, I talk about the conservative assault on the constitution, Bobby Bonilla's still rich, Michele Bachmann thinks John Quincy Adams was a founding father, I do a quiz on the week in news, CM Punk cut that promo, and the Dodgers went bankrupt.
Tendown 84: I take a picture of ducks, Barry Halper was a con artist, my all time 49ers+Raiders roster
Tendown 85: Friday Night Lights ends, I get linked in Deadspin, Netflix makes a mistake, I play Moratorium, and Brian Wilson goes to the ESPYS.
Tendown 86: It's still easy to fix Social Security, ALEC rules the world, Mike and Tom Eat Snacks
Tendown 87: I dislike the 13 year old movie reviewer, the Giants trade for Beltran, Christian terrorism in Norway, Jay Cutler dumps Kristin Cavallari, the awful debt ceiling deal
Tendown 88: The Giants are bleeding, all this debt talk is bananas, Moratorium, Newt Gingrich's fake twitter followers, my pre season college football rankings, tax millionaires, the Glee Project, the American Family Association is the embodiment of evil. And so is Orlando Cabrera.
Tendown 89: I go to the Giants game. How do you suppose it turns out? Chris Mullin makes the Hall of Fame, Florida's multimillionaire "I hate government" governor pays hundreds of dollars less for his health insurance per month than I do.
Tendown 90: I'm mad at the Giants, I join an atheist fantasy football league, Republicans hate social security, Bravo pimps the HCG starvation diet, I rank every Coen brothers movie and more inequality talk.
Tendown 91: Bernie Sanders agrees with me on Social Security, the right wing thinks corporations pay too many taxes, 347 people go to a marlins game, abstinence only sex ed doesn't work, Grantland's Ric Flair piece, I talk some Breaking Bad.
Tendown 92: I go to the art museum, Brian Sabean is bad at his job, I dislike the Wild Card, the right wing calls Obama socialist, I coin a phrase "Carlos's Fault" to refer to a reality competition show challenge in which the contestants are placed on teams knowing that if their team loses they have to turn on each other to avoid elimination, Toobin's Clarence Thomas piece, the documentaries to see before you die, and I Pay it Backward.
Tendown 93: Job Creator Day, the 10th anniversary of 9-11, war's opportunity costs, Social Security's not a ponzi scheme, I give Adam Big Brother advice.
Tendown 94: inequality, Obama says we should tax millionaires, I live on Tea Party Drive, the right wing is trying to suppress the vote, Joe Barry Carroll's civil rights stand, Moratorium.
Tendown 95: awkward handshakes with black men, I turn 41, young Abe Lincoln looks like Cris Collinsworth, no pun intended, I coin a term - the Goldilocks Fallacy, to refer to uncritically viewing the right answer as the one in the middle, the Emmy Awards, Bill O Reilly will quit if you raise his taxes, the Giants get eliminated.
Tendown 96: Lindsay Lohan makes out with her mother, jail or church?, the 360 minute oil change, the last day of the 2011 baseball season, I coin a term: Food Bang, to refer to people blatantly staring at your food, the Steve Bartman movie, law school graduates without jobs.
Tendown 97: The 99% movement.
Tendown 98: The Niners are playing really well, the Mullets will cut off your hair, the worst episode of RAW ever, Big Brother UK, flapjacks.
Tendown 99: The 99% movement.
And here we are at 100.
That's all for this time. I'll be back next time, if there is a next time...
Your pal,
Jim
Athlete of the Month, October 2011
September and all of the prior Athletes of the Month for 2011, can be found here.
David Freese.
Runners-up: Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Albert Pujols
10 months down. 2 to go.
David Freese.
Runners-up: Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Albert Pujols
10 months down. 2 to go.
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