Need something to carry you through the agonizing wait before they start to toss the horsehide around? Here's a couple of Bucco-related tidbits to help you weather the angst until February 14th arrives:
* There's a bobblehead battle being waged in the blogosphere. Eron of Sitting In The North Side Notch is championing a Romulo Sanchez doll write-in; DK of the PBC Blog is pushing some old guy named Honus Wagner for the honor, and Michael at Hyzdu Headquarters is tub-thumping for oldie but goodie Fred Clarke.
If you feel like joining in the fray, you can vote at Bobblehead Ballot. There are actual candidates listed, too, for your voting pleasure.
And for the GW pick? He's waiting for a Gunner give-away.
* Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com has the Bucs covered coming and going. Here's her story Hopes High For New Look Bench. She also penned a story back in October that makes her look like a Delphi oracle: Bucs Will Count On Growth From Core.
* DK has the latest pre-camp stuff on the Bucs in his Hot Stove Report, featuring the much maligned Andy LaRoche, who's apparently rarin' to go in 2009.
* Paul Sullivan of Sully Baseball Blog has a post well worth reading, comparing the Buc's All-Time teams. Sully picks the best roster from the homegrown guys that were born and bred Pirates and a team of guys that came to Pittsburgh from other organizations. It's a pretty interesting read, and a great starting point for Bucco debaters.
I just read Andy LaRoche's comments from the Post Gazette blog, and I must say, he sounds to me like he's whistling past the graveyard. A ballplayer's psyche is such a fragile thing; baseball is a strange sport in that you have to be able to accept SO much failure---relatively speaking---in order to have success later on. I mean, a ".300 hitter" FAILS to get a hit 70% of the time! Is there any other task in any other sport where if you succeed just 3 out of 10 times, you are considered to be "great"?!? I can't think of one. Maybe shooting 3 pointers in hoops comes close, but even there it's more like 40%.
ReplyDeleteYah, Will, he'll be an interesting case this year. He did so much so wrong last season; my guess is he'll need a good camp just to get his head together this year.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they actually give away a talking Gunner bobblehead a few years ago?
ReplyDeleteHey Eron - to tell the truth, there's only one set of bobbleheads I've ever kept; that's the four that show the team colors through the eras; the rest I give away, the sooner, the better.
ReplyDeleteYou guys can have fun with them, and it looks like you are - I'm of the opinion that they're just junk, unless you're an E-Bay salesman. Ditto with pierogies, bands, and fireworks, too, ;-)
I know that I sound like the Scrooge of the 'Burgh, but what I'd really like is to go to PNC and see a good ballgame break out.