Or, if you want the title to be more positive, Why Ronny Cedeno Should Start At Shortstop.
When Betancourt come up in 2005, watching him field was a revelation. I've seen bad shortstops and good ones, but I've never been quite so entranced just by watching a guy pick the ball off the ground and throwing to first. It wasn't just that he had a tonne of range, or a cannon arm - there was something else to his play. 2005 Betancourt was as smooth a defensive player as I'd ever seen. He was almost languorous in making plays - something that would have been detrimental were he the type who didn't have the physical talent to make the insanely difficult routine. Watching him make not a single motion that didn't help get the ball off the ground and into the first baseman's glove was amazing, and I used to try to get to Safeco Field as early as possible just to see him field the ball. His beautiful defence helped to make up for the frustration of watching him hit, too.
Those days are long gone. Since his arrival in the US, Betancourt has gone from a stick thin kid to a full grown Yuniesky. The added pounds have sapped his agility and range, and the astonishing efficiency has turned into laziness. Normally you expect a guy to defend worse with age, but to my eyes, Betancourt went from being one of the great defensive shortstops to a complete catastrophe within the span of three years.
All of this might have been mitigated by his development at the plate, but the added weight didn't really give him any power, and the added experience didn't teach him to wait for a pitch to hit rather than swinging wildly at whatever's near the plate. Being chewed out for it in spring training didn't change a damn thing. As a batter, Betancourt's in that horrible limbo in that he's just talented enough to squeak by without knowing what he's doing but not talented enough to avoid being a liability. He'll have his hot streaks here and there (including to start the season), but we've never been the sorts of people who like results based analysis anyway, so that shouldn't factor in.
Enter Ronny Cedeno.
A former top Cubs prospect, Cedeno was part of the return for Aaron Heilman, basically making him a part of the JJ Putz trade by extension. Some of you have not been lucky enough to see him play this year, but he's been quite clearly the best defensive middle infielder on the team. There was a great example of that today, when he started at second base - he made a Boone-esque dash to pick up a ball way over to his left and threw the runner out, making the whole thing look easy. Jose Lopez would have merely frowned gently at the ball as it trickled into right field. Betancourt, on the other hand, made two lazy errors that ended up blowing the game completely open in the seventh, failing to convert a medium-difficult chance at a double play, and then bobbling a ball that was hit straight at him in the next at-bat. I can excuse the occasional error, but Yuni failed to record one out of a possible four outs, and it looked like he was just indifferent to the whole thing. It's pretty safe to say that Cedeno's defence kicks Betancourts's ass.
I'd also make the argument that Cedeno is a far better hitter than Yuni, and probably on par with Jose Lopez. The results haven't been there, but unlike the double play twins, he always shows some sort of plan at the plate. He takes balls and waits for strikes, and he generally hits the ball pretty hard with a nice little line drive swing. When was the last time you remember Lopez or Yuni homering when down 1-2? And considering his success at AAA, I'll take the sort of player who knows to not swing at balls in the dirt or over his head over Yuniesky ****ing Betancourt, who couldn't learn plate discipline to save his life.
Either Yuni is too stupid to realise that he's playing terribly and needs to improve, or he's too secure in his starting gig to care. In the first case, he's irredeemable and doesn't deserve to be on a MLB team, let alone one that may well contend for a divisional title. In the second, he needs a wakeup call.
It's time to send a message. Ronny Cedeno should start every game of the Rays series at shortstop.
12 recs | 228 comments
Cedeno needs to show Yuni how it's done.
Monkey see Monkey do right?
Slurvey - April 19, 2009
That's racist.
johnbai - April 19, 2009
Cedeno's plate appearance in the 9th was beautiful. Negative result, but still WOW!
Preceded by Beltre and Yuni flailing at pitches off the plate (especially low and away), it really highlighted his at bat. I don’t recall him offering at anything outside, and it wasn’t even close. And the pitcher had to start coming in, go figure. Fantastic job.
And Shannon Drayer in the post game came as close as she gets to harsh words, if she’s any kind of gauge for the inner sanctum it sounds like Yuni is running out of rope.
Kermit. - April 19, 2009
I'll believe it when I see it.
We’ve heard for close to two years now how Betancourt is “running out of time” or “he’s playing for his job” or “If he keeps playing bad we’ll replace him” ect. And yet he’s still out there.
I’ll believe they actually mean it when I see him sitting multiple games in a row on the bench.
Goose - April 19, 2009
This is the first time there's been a realistic replacement though, isn't it?
johnbai - April 19, 2009
I believe so yes
The best option we’ve had to replace him these last couple years has been Willie, and that wouldn’t have been an upgrade.
OlSalty - April 19, 2009
Shannon has been pretty vocal for the last two years on Yuni’s need to apply himself, and general lack of interest in doing so
msb - April 19, 2009
Could you please use the subject like, msb?
It’s not a big deal in this case, but we like it when people make a habit of it otherwise moderation becomes a hassle since we don’t get hotlinks to flagged posts etc.
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
Yup.
I realized after I sent it that I’d neglected it.
msb - April 19, 2009
Cheers
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
I was swaying back and forth at the start of the season, because he made a few plays here and there
But that’s not saying much, since I started the season wanting to see Cedeno at shortstop.
Now I don’t really think we have any choice but to put Cedeno at shortstop. He’s at worst a wash with Yuni at the plate, and his glove is infinitely better at this stage. This really has turned into a no-brainer.
cwel87 - April 19, 2009
If you went home and bought yourself a Cedeno jersey we're going to have words.
I saw him first ;)
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 19, 2009
I bet there's more than one Cedeno jersey in existence.
JI - April 19, 2009
Probably but Ronny appears to own them all
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 19, 2009
I bet if you wanted one bad enough you could get the job done.
JI - April 19, 2009
I don't want a restraining order
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 19, 2009
No I mean go to the team store an order a customized jersey.
JI - April 19, 2009
My imagination may have overfloweth.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 19, 2009
Erm.
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
GRAHAM MACAREE YOU ARE IN TROUBLE
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 19, 2009
LL has completely jumped the shark.
JI - April 19, 2009
I wonder if you wouldn't mind keeping your relationship issues off the site
Dewey N - April 19, 2009
Hush boy you'll understand when you're older
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 19, 2009
I hate it when parents fight with their children in public.
JI - April 19, 2009
This went green?
Jesus people, get a life. They never even fucking mention it unless it has some comedic value.
Robert - April 20, 2009
Apparently reccing is the new way of airing grievances
OlSalty - April 20, 2009
Passive agressiveness from Seattlites?
Surprise!
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Or it was just funny
johnbai - April 20, 2009
I read it as dead pan humor, it was amusing.
Kermit. - April 20, 2009
Maybe people rec'd it because it was funny and not because the comment was intended to be serious.
JI - April 20, 2009
Or maybe it was funny because we knew Fogel was being ironic?
Give us some credit Robert. I rec’d not out of bitterness but because it made me chuckle.
Sec 108 - April 20, 2009
The system has broken down, recs have now lost all meaning
We can’t even rely on them as a way of expressing approval if they can be used for so many other contexts. We won’t know if someone is reccing something because they liked the post or if they’re reccing it out of protest. It’s madness I say! MADNESS!
OlSalty - April 20, 2009
I think it wasn't entirely pure
but I realize that I’ve been quite cranky the last few days so it’s properly me seeing something that isn’t there.
Robert - April 20, 2009
But in my defense, when was the last time that retard Fogel made a funny?
Robert - April 20, 2009
The name change ruined his career.
That being said, let people be impure in their thoughts if they want.
I would not even dare to tell you what you should or should not say, because that might stifle your creativity. However, LL is a voyeuristic experience for many and rec clicking is their only way of communicating pleasure.
Sec 108 - April 20, 2009
If people want to bitch about something they should complain to me rather than being whiny little bastards
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Agreed
Sec 108 - April 20, 2009
I need to make a PSA commercial about how much fun flags can be.
Robert - April 20, 2009
Great, so you can ruin them like you ruined recs?
Matthew - April 20, 2009
The logical explanation is that SBN broke my elbow so I could stop bastardizing their features.
Robert - April 20, 2009
Sue to pay for your Vicodin.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 20, 2009
12 dollar bills don't grow on trees.
Robert - April 20, 2009
Also
Once I submit them, Flags aren’t my problem!
Robert - April 20, 2009
I agree almost completely with everything you've written
and I appreciate your lack of personal attacks on Yuni.
yuniform - April 19, 2009
Can you write an open letter to Wak?
“As probably the biggest fan of Yuniesky Betancourt, even I think he should be benched at this point.”
appleshampoo - April 19, 2009
Sadly, the biggest fan of Yuni's actually some old lady in Lake Stevens
I just know how to use the internet.
But yes, he should be benched. If only so he realized he can’t make so many mistakes.
yuniform - April 19, 2009
I have felt this way since we traded for Cedeno.
You have said it perfectly. Well done.
Decatur - April 19, 2009
Fun fact: Cedeno has a higher career OSwing% than Yuni does
That said I rather obviously agree with you.
Jeff Sullivan - April 19, 2009
I've been cursing Yuni for a while...
Watching the game today, after the 2nd error on what looked like it should have been a routine play, my girlfriend turned to me and said, “I understand now.”
The only problem with starting Cedeno at SS, is we can’t put him in 2nd or use him to give the outfielders an off day as often! Man, I love this kids defense.
Kunkoh - April 19, 2009
Yes we can
Just because he’s playing SS doesn’t mean he can’t not play shortstop. When someone else needs a day off, put Yuni at short and Cedeno can move around
Corco - April 19, 2009
If Yuni sucks he should be the one moving down the defensive spectrum
…or to Tacoma (if that’s allowed)
JI - April 19, 2009
I'd demote him to Tacoma if he isn't playing everyday, personally
But if he’s still on the team I’d rather have him playing an incompetent SS then a completely incompetent anything else. Can you imagine Yuni in LF? Frankly I’d rather have Cedeno in LF and Yuni at SS then the other way around.
And if he’s being demoted to Tacoma, we need to find ourselves another infielder anyway (Chris Burke?), either the new guy can move around or Cedeno can depending on who the new guy is. Chris Burke seems ideal to me because he is a competent infielder and outfielder
Corco - April 19, 2009
Can we demote him to Cuba?
I was actually more making a joke that we would lose the “super utility” player by “locking him in” at a position; while trying to point out that he’s played stellar defense at every position. I realize he wouldn’t actually be locked in, and could slide to anywhere, while letting Yuni play SS again.
Kunkoh - April 19, 2009
I think that's somewhat debatable
The player with inferior defensive skills may have more trouble adjusting to playing a new position than someone with good defensive skills. If this was ST and Yuni had time to learn a different position, that would be one thing, but I don’t know about doing it on the fly.
If Yuni’s still got options, sending him to Tacoma might be an intriguing kick-in-the-pants.
ubelmann - April 19, 2009
Yuni played 2B in Cuba some
He would probably be serviceable. I mean, he would make the same boneheaded plays as he does at SS, but I don’t think the position switching would make him any worse.
appleshampoo - April 19, 2009
I just don't see him playing "good" defense at any position.
Sending him down to AAA will probably mean nothing to him. I don’t believe he can be saved. I hope I’m wrong. I think he got all that he wants and that’s pathectic, but I think that’s right. We got nothing.
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
Lopez is at least a league-average 2B
and unlike Yuni, he can hit mistakes hard.
seattlebruin - April 20, 2009
Lopez is going to play pretty much every day and deservingly so.
And using him in the outfield isn’t necessary now that Ichiro is back. Chavez is going to be out there every day, or when Wlad is out there, Chavez can be the defensive replacement.
Rudy4three - April 19, 2009
Or a 3rd title: "Yuniesky Betancourt is a lost cause"
Despite a having completely new organizational staff we’re still seeing the same Yuni. Lackadaisical at Shortstop and really crappy plate discipline.
Heck, I think Cedeno (and/or Chavez) tried to help Yuni with his game in Spring Training. Obviously, no dice.
Gonna have to make a decision on him sooner or later.
ThundaPC - April 19, 2009
I hate it when the entire archives disappear right as I catch gif fever.
JI - April 19, 2009
We need Yuni takes no pride in his defense gifs.
Ok, maybe he does take pride, but if he does’ I’m not sure why.
Kunkoh - April 19, 2009
It's been done.
JI - April 19, 2009
Not to the glory of Ibanez.
Or at least not yet.
Kunkoh - April 19, 2009
Yeah but I don't really think anyone thinks Yuni is still good.
JI - April 19, 2009
What about Yuni?
Or his mom?
Kunkoh - April 19, 2009
Something tells me his mom is unable to watch him on television.
JI - April 19, 2009
She lives in Florida.
I bet he gets her MLB.TV or a dish.
yuniform - April 19, 2009
Of course, there are some who would argue Betancourt > Lopez.
Maybe we should put Betancourt at 2B and trade Lopez.
eponymous_coward - April 19, 2009
Lopez is going to hit. He'll be fine. Watching Yuni play, I have no confidence
that he would even get to more balls than Lopez.
Rudy4three - April 19, 2009
I take the Loafie O+D package over the Yuni one
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
I don't know why anyone would do that.
Lopez has proven to be teachable, and had a good season last year, despite the team falling apart around him. That, and when he makes a blunder, he actually looks like he cares.
cwel87 - April 19, 2009
Some would misconstrue arguments and create strawmen too
davidcameron - April 19, 2009
I would love to actually hear that argument.
Zwakamatsu - April 19, 2009
Betancourt has much more defensive value
Lopez’s projected offense wasn’t much better than Betancourt’s.
It’s an oversimplification, but that’s how I understand it.
JI - April 19, 2009
Well said
It says a lot about my faith in Z and Wak that I fully expect Yuni to lose his job at some point, a question not of if but when.
Omerta - April 19, 2009
I agree. Cedeno is Jack's guy. Yuni was Bavasi's boy.
Cedeno will be the starting shortstop very soon
Rudy4three - April 19, 2009
I like Larry Stone.
But he needs to do a better job after today’s game of getting some quotes in regards to the Betancourt vs Cedeno thing. Where the heck is Baker, he would have jumped all over this topic and gotten Wak to address it.
Rudy4three - April 19, 2009
You beat Dave by seven minutes
Jeff Sullivan - April 19, 2009
I wrote it two hours ago
Just had it set to publish later so that Derek’s anti-Silva post would get some love.
davidcameron - April 19, 2009
Some of us had to walk back from Safeco Field
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
And buy lots of beer because we were just at Safeco Field
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
I see you beat me to this comment by 51 minutes
Jeff Sullivan - April 19, 2009
I'm a talented individual
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
Very well written and rational.
He just isn’t the wonder that he was in 2005. His offense has always been “young”, but as he been playing a while now I would have expected him to learn; that hasn’t happened. His defense used to be a joy to watch, now it’s painful. Cedeno should be given the chance, as he clearly may have more promise at this point, and he certainly would be an improvement defensively.
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
I wanted Yuni demoted for being lazy since last season so frankly I feel as if my ideas were stolen.
JI - April 19, 2009
Lazy has never really made sense to me.
It seems to me that complacency is his problem. He gets by. He’s got a good contract now and is comfortable. He’s bulked up (ick), but that’s really only made his defense worse, his offense is no better or worse than its been. Cedeno finally is here to challenge him and he has no clue, W and the new coaches aren’t going to be looking at 2005 highlight reels, they see what they see in front of them and he most certainly will be sitting on the bench very soon.
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
Congrats, Graham, I just submitted this to BTF's Newsstand.
Hopefully the Primates will have some insights to add, or some entertaining snark at the very least.
esoteric - April 19, 2009
Question: Benching him for Cedeno makes us better defensively, but
how is he useful on the bench? I don’t see him as a pinch hitter. I guess he could be used to give Lopez a day off, but he’s pretty limited in his usefulness off the bench. WFB was better in that sense or am I wrong?
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
I'm not convinced he'd be useful at all on the bench
What I want to see is a message sent that the starting shortstop job of the Seattle Mariners is not Yuni’s birthright, because I think that’s the only way he gets motivated to do anything about his terrible play this year.
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
That's what I thought, but what about all the work he did this summer with Raul?
I thought he got the message, worked at improving himself but that clearly didn’t work. Can he be motivated? Can he regain what he was? Should we just hope that someone needs him way more than we do, anyone?
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
Frankly since he still has 2 option years left and doesn't have so much service time that he can reject those options
I’d send him down to play in Tacoma and bring up somebody useful
Corco - April 19, 2009
I don't know but I'm pretty sure that if he could be motivated, a benching would do it
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
Who cares, they can cut him for all I care.
Rudy4three - April 19, 2009
GIVE HIM TIME HE WILL TURN IT AROUND
Dewey N - April 19, 2009
LFoYB?
Faux - April 19, 2009
I'm new here, what does this mean?
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
There used to be a commented here called the Last Fan of Jose Lopez
Faux is making a play on it
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
Thanks. I feel sorry for the LFoYB, has he been gone for what, 3 years?
Sinking Away - April 19, 2009
Yuniform technically has this market cornered.
cwel87 - April 19, 2009
NOPE
yuniform - April 19, 2009
Most of this, I agree with completely.
There are many reasons to ditch Yuni for Cedeno, most of which have been rehashed quite a few times on this site by numerous people. But we’re statheads here, we don’t know the players. I don’t like the idea of putting value judgments on mental/clubhouse/attitude issues that you can’t quantify.
Saying he has no discipline or is fat or lost his range and so on is something we can measure, whether through stats or with your eyes. You can’t tell if he is being lazy, or is too secure, or is trying his hardest and working with the support staff to fix what they think is wrong. We just don’t know what is going on in his head or in that locker room that affects or doesn’t affect what he does on the field.
Until there is evidence of mental issues from the horse’s mouth, I feel that judgments like this detract from the otherwise sound arguments you put up.
Faux - April 19, 2009
Discipline = Batting
Not a fat joke.
Faux - April 19, 2009
The former is merely a play off the old languorousness
As for the latter… well I have some indication as to what’s going on in Yuni’s head.
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
I'll have to take your word for it.
I was just putting my two cents in about how a common argument from the stat community (Intangibles don’t really affect a team, they can’t be quantified) should be turned around when we as numbers people make value judgments on player’s mental state or intangibles.
If you do have a way to quantify, however, my argument becomes moot. Good on you for sharing, then.
Faux - April 19, 2009
I don't have a way to quantify but in certain circles Yuni is not exactly known for coachability
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
Neither was Raffy, from my recollection.
He seems to be doing ok somewhere else, so maybe it’s still more complicated than everyone would like to think.
Doesn’t change that he seems to not be working out here, and maybe should be somewhere else where he might be more likely to succeed.
I’m just a “the simplest answer is probably wrong” type, so I tend to dislike conclusions/characterizations based on anything besides firsthand information.
Faux - April 19, 2009
Second paragraph: He = Yuni
Faux - April 19, 2009
I'm a skeptic too so I totally understand
But I wouldn’t have made that assertion unless I was pretty sure that that was the situation.
As for Raffy, it was a slightly different situation as it was off-field matters rather than onfield ones which did him in
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
I do think Faux makes an interesting point
about how we discourage people from talking about chemistry and its effect on performance, but are willing to engage in conversation about perceived mental states like complacency or laziness.
johnbai - April 20, 2009
If coaches etc don't think that Yuni is living up to his potential because of those mental states, it's a perfectly reasonable thing to mention
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Preaching to the choir
I think it’s perfectly acceptable to talk about it.
But I also think that the same coaches talk about the positive influence of Griffey in the clubhouse… but we’d rather not indulge those statements. Curious.
johnbai - April 20, 2009
One is an effect on an individual player, one is a nebulous effect on a whole team
Furthermore, we accept that effort/grit/etc can improve player performance, we just don’t value the grit component any higher than we should.
30% talent + 70% hustle does not beat 70% talent + 30% hustle.
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Hypothetically
If I posted a diary about how it would help the entire team if Yuni was benched, how would it be received?
My case would go something like: Currently everyone is allowed to be a free swinger (there are no real consequences to disregarding the coaching strategy) Someone has to be made example of. Who better than Yuni? Imagine the effect on Beltre and the rest of these hackers if a player like Yuni actually lost his job because of his refusal or inability to attempt better plate discipline.
My guess is that the diary would not be ripped or flagged… although I’m clearly suggesting a “nebulous effect on the whole team”. My guess is that I would be spared the lions because people tend to agree with the central core of “Yuni should swing at less bad pitches.” But people don’t tend to agree with the central core of “Griffey will help this team by bringing a winning attitude” so those posts get shot down with prejudice. Faux’s comment made me think about this fallacy.
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Chemistry is non-predictable and never has been shown to have a tangible effect on a team
Which is why people disagree with the premise that Griffey will bring a winning attitude to the team, just like how we disagreed with the premise that Carl Everett and Scott Spiezio would bring a winning attitude to the team.
I’d also disagree with the premise of your hypothetical ‘benching Yuni will help the team in more ways than just having Yuni off the team’ post.
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Well good
I admire your hypothetical consistency then!
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Well the central premise of "Yuni should swing at less bad pitches" is verifiably correct
If your central premise were “benching Yuni will help the rest of the team swing at fewer bad pitches,” I’m sure people would disagree with you, but they’d still be in favor of the benching anyway just because Yuni sucks.
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
Including Shannon Drayer's circle
Latest Yuni post.
ralphie81 - April 21, 2009
?
OlSalty - April 19, 2009
You moron it's a banana
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
This is literally racist, you limey bastard
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
How is literal racism different from typical racism?
JI - April 20, 2009
I can't remember the last time I saw a monkey that black.
Robert - April 20, 2009
I honestly don't see why this kind of comment is tolerated.
No politics, religion, or chatspeak. Racism: a-ok!
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
We also make jokes about 9/11 and Utah miners
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Sub thread closed.
If you have an issue, take it up privately.
Matthew - April 20, 2009
Defying Matthew's STC suggestion
this isn’t an all-blacks-are-monkeys thing. This is a Yuni-has-the-personality-and-idiosyncrasies-of-a-monkey issue. Way different.
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
A pretty fine line to tread, and one a non-LL-intiate might have a hard time discerning.
Especially in light of recent Yuni comments such as “Go back to Africa you stupid monkey” that have gone unscathed. I don’t understand why that kind of humor is such a treasured commodity.
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
The reason the joke is funny is because it's completely innocent and incredibly un-PC at the same time.
JI - April 20, 2009
Also I didn't know equating Cubans with monkeys was a racism thing
Yuni isn’t African-American.
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
And in my defense I know somebody who knows somebody that invited a black person over yesterday.
Robert - April 20, 2009
or African
JI - April 20, 2009
or American.
Matthew - April 20, 2009
Assuming that Cuba is part of the Americas
and that his heritage includes Africans brought over on the middle passage as part of the slave trade… then Yuni’s about as African American as anyone.
johnbai - April 20, 2009
As is literally everyone
JI - April 20, 2009
It's definitely one of those things that makes LL awesomely insular
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
Insulin jokes are a dead meme
Robert - April 20, 2009
I wait for the day we all call each other ningwer
JI - April 20, 2009
When did LL get so sensitive?
Seems like people don’t even have a sense of humor anymore.
OlSalty - April 20, 2009
Why are you afraid of sensitivity?
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Because it's not funny*
Always err on the side of humour.
*And if you don’t find things funny and we do that’s kinda too bad
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Jesus fuck I hate you for reminding me of that movies existence
OlSalty - April 20, 2009
Muwahahaha
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Defense, defence
Aw what the hell. Good article.
JBell523 - April 19, 2009
Some people aren't from America.
Graham is one of those people.
Teej - April 19, 2009
Some day I might have to just switch to US English just because I'm sick of being 'corrected' all the time
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
YOUR IN AMERICA SPEAK AMERICAN
Whatever that is…
Faux - April 19, 2009
You could always add it to the TOS
JI - April 19, 2009
Apparently nobody reads the TOS
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
And if I were to add anything to the TOS it would be 'and you now owe Graham a dollar'
Graham MacAree - April 19, 2009
At least all those wild rumours about you getting paid would finally be true.
JI - April 19, 2009
When I first came, the TOS was:
Therefore I am unaware of any other rules.
One SBN suggestion: A “Site Memo” button, that acts like a mass warn for the next time a registered user opens a lookoutlanding.com page? It could be used to update members on a new TOS, scheduled site downtimes, or other important information that would be site local? (I’m assuming that mods have a bigger piece of clockwerks’ ear than the average user)
Faux - April 19, 2009
More rules were added?
Kunkoh - April 19, 2009
There's been changes since that time long long ago.
http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2009/4/17/843397/griffey-brings-back-old-mojo#14413639
Faux - April 19, 2009
It's a great way to cut down on vowels.
Teej - April 19, 2009
Wheel of Fortune must be freaking expensive in the UK.
abender20 - April 19, 2009
It's kind of funny.
But ultimately, British English is out of context. Imagine if a writer on a Man U site used “center”, “realize”, etc. I’m guessing some consternation would ensue. “Realise”, “defence”, “centre fielder”, all slightly amusing, but “tonne of range” is like reading a baseball critique penned by Milton.
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
Then don't read it?
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Just an observation, my dear ancestral compatriot
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
That assumes people on Man U fan sites are literate
pdb - April 20, 2009
If I found a Utd site I'd be busy posting gifs of SAF doing his 'I'm angry and my head is exploding' dance
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
That would be completely awesome
and oh yeah fuck Chelsea.
By which I mean congratulations.
pdb - April 20, 2009
Yes yes yes.
[even better because it was against City when we crushed them last year].
EnglishMariner - April 20, 2009
You have no idea how happy that first .gif makes me
pdb - April 20, 2009
Maybe people shouldn't be fucking idiots
In Canada they spell it "centre field’ and that country plays MLB.
Both ways are correct.
JI - April 20, 2009
Maybe if they spelled it every now and then they would finish above 3rd place.
Robert - April 20, 2009
But in Canada 3rd place is first because of the metric conversion factor!
pdb - April 20, 2009
Perhaps Silva's struggles can be attributed to the fact that he follows metric time.
Robert - April 20, 2009
I agree
Canadians are idiots
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
My point is right now I would have to imagine that the authors are sick of complaints
and right now isn’t a good time to criticize one of them because they didn’t come from where you came from.
JI - April 20, 2009
I do like where the author comes from, and I'm of English ancestry.
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
This has to be one of the stupidest complaints nit he history of the site.
JI - April 20, 2009
Why are you anti-Milton?
Office Space was awesome.
pdb - April 20, 2009
Quite an honour!
lemonverbena - April 20, 2009
I can't believe that no one mocked this typo.
JI - April 20, 2009
I didn't think I needed to
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
This is a dumb typo
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
THANK YOU
JI - April 20, 2009
Maybe we'll all just call each other nithes when we wish to seem superior.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 20, 2009
In thes?
JI - April 20, 2009
See whqt happens when no one gives a fuck about spelling and punctuation!?
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Why bring THEM to my last sanctuary?
Do you see me talking about Mexican Invaders, or AIDS? No? So why mention Man United??!!!?
EnglishMariner - April 20, 2009
Have I mentioned that we love Christiano Ronaldo around these parts?
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
If that's in a gay way and a gay way only, then I'm fine.
EnglishMariner - April 20, 2009
I love him so much I want to hug his knees with a sledgehammer-chainsaw hybrid
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
I love him so much I want to give him a big passionate kiss to that face with a belt sander
pdb - April 20, 2009
Except (at least around LL) 90% of the corrections are from regulars doing it ironically
seattlebruin - April 20, 2009
I will not speak for Graham or anyone else, but I think the ironic corrections are getting a little gamey on the meme side.
Matthew - April 20, 2009
There's no way for me to respond to this without invoking the deadest of dead memes
but this is entirely true.
pdb - April 20, 2009
This looks like another great opportunity to evaluate the front office.
The last several moves have not been so fantastic (Clement, Aumont, Sweeney), and we’ve again reached a point where a move can be made. Another week or two of this abominable play will be a week or two too many.
abender20 - April 19, 2009
It seems like so far Wak has done a pretty good job of knowing when to yank pitchers when they look to be struggling,
and he has preached the play for your job philosophy since the first day so it will be interesting to watch the Yuni situation. Wak seemed to take a sort of passive aggressive tone when he talked about Yuni’s errors, mentioning that he wants the team to (paraphrase) “…come to the ballpark ready to play 9 innings.” At times I wonder if Yuni can keep his focus for 2 pitches.
At this point, and I know it’s early, I’m pretty fed up with Sweeny and Yuni both. Sweeny because he’s old, and we have similar players with a whole lot more upside waiting in AAA, and Yuni because I don’t think that Yuni is a better hitter or shortstop than Cedeno is, and I really, really don’t think he’s gonna turn a corner anytime soon.
Zwakamatsu - April 19, 2009
Plus, according to the above picture, Cedeno uses protection.
I like my Mariners to be responsible when I’m ready to declare my love for them.
JLC - April 19, 2009
magnum, baby
Ben Tumbling - April 20, 2009
I'm guessing he dips.
esoteric - April 20, 2009
Keep preaching it and someone will eventually listen.
Sec 108 - April 20, 2009
GO GO POWER Z!
Matthew - April 20, 2009
So that's a no on Eckstein?
JI - April 20, 2009
I fear Towers is not that dumb, but hope he is desperate enough.
Sec 108 - April 20, 2009
Watch as we trade them Cedeno
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Has Nola bought the jersey yet?
Matthew - April 20, 2009
I did, so we'd better trade him before he suffers a massive knee injury
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
Shut up Ellliott is going to stay a Senator.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 20, 2009
I wish you two would keep your relationship off the site
Graham MacAree - April 20, 2009
I only wish I had a relationship with Elliott.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 20, 2009
OK now this is making me uncomfortable
JI - April 20, 2009
Rec'd!
Robert - April 20, 2009
Also Ashley Young is not going to be traded to Chelsea.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 20, 2009
*sold for ridiculous wads of cash
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 20, 2009
Chelsea will be broke by 2012
pdb - April 20, 2009
Maybe they have scout already on it:
Jayson Stark
Whomever that scout is, get his team on the phone and work a deal!
Wilder. - April 20, 2009
Pfff
clearly a case of Rule Five Disease.
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
You know what sucks?
Posting an obnoxiously provocative post… anticipating some juicy replies… and then getting your comment banned before you had a chance to read the replies! If only I’d left the thread open. Then, at least, I’d get to read the 2 replies it got before it was shut down. Curse the 3-fingered gods of internet trolling intervention.
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Don't worry, the replies weren't any good
Jeff Sullivan - April 20, 2009
That makes me feel better
I was hoping to get some white defensive rage, deeply rooted in insecurity and onanistic self-righteousness.
johnbai - April 20, 2009
Is that something to do with UZR?
EnglishMariner - April 20, 2009
"Thirteen games aren't enough to prove that Betancourt just doesn't get it."
sez Kirby Arnold
msb - April 21, 2009
I would agree with him if I really felt all I had was thirteen games of eveidence.
Sec 108 - April 21, 2009
I am also calling for Adrian Beltre to be DFA'd
Graham MacAree - April 21, 2009
That's solid reasoning also.
Since Betancourt likes to set up behind third anyway we don’t really need him.
Sec 108 - April 21, 2009
multitasking!
pdb - April 21, 2009
The more informed baseball fan understands that Beltre
Robert - April 22, 2009
Defense is just as important as his offense.
Robert - April 22, 2009
He's been below replacement level this year you retard
Graham MacAree - April 22, 2009
Wow
It’s like this guy doesn’t actually watch the games.
appleshampoo - April 21, 2009
Guess they didn't listen to you.
Kirsten Schlewitz - April 21, 2009
Idiots
Sec 108 - April 21, 2009
Bench him already you damn morons
OlSalty - April 21, 2009
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