Monday, May 7, 2007

Nicknames

Baseball is, and has been full of them for years. From "The Bambino" to "Hammerin' Hank" to "The Say Hey Kid" to "Big Mac" and "The Iron Man," everyone has a favorite. So do I...as of tonight.

Watching Yankees highlights with my wife, who is not one to mince words, the topic quickly switched from Matt DeSalvo's impressive debut (he's the 10th Yankee starter in 30 games, a new record) to Roger Clemens. She wondered which new pitcher would get the ax to make room for Clemens, once he's ready to join the team. But she did not refer to him as "Clemens," or "The Rocket," or by any other name you or I have ever used, or thought of. No, she called him "Old-Man-Fake-Quitter," singlehandedly doling out the most fantastic nickname the game has ever known.

Amanda, thank you.

By the way, OMFQ (that's how I'll be referring to Clemens from now on) is already getting some criticism for not traveling with the team on road games. David Wells (the more outspoken of the two) and Greg Maddux say they wouldn't ever want a clause that says that.

4 comments:

Rob said...

Couldn't agree more with that nickname Amanda. Would any of us if given the chance take the deal he has? Well of course we would, but quit saying its not about the money when it is. If its all about winning a series, then where have you been all year? Obviously it is not benefiting the Yanks or any team you would have chosen sitting at home. Thanks to Tim McCarver for pointing that out as well.

Unknown said...

I think he's helping the Yankees by sitting out April and May. As an old man, he's got maybe 25 starts in him. The Yankees can address their failings in April, May and June through other means (see their yearly June acquisition of a hitter). It's much harder to address problems in September and October. Better to have known quantities (like Roger Clemens) at that point.

I'm probably saying that just because I think everything that Tim McCarver has ever said is incorrect.

Anonymous said...

Here's hoping that it's more like 17 quality starts and not 25. But I agree that McCarver is an idiot. The reason he doesn't start at the beginning of the season is that in 2005 he was cooked by the playoffs, so there is even proof that he can't handle it.

David said...

Everything Tim McCarver is incorrect, matthew. The last time I actually listened to him was a couple weeks ago or something, when he repeatedly insisted that Joe Torre was pinch-running for Jason Giambi for defensive purposes. Problem is, Giambi was DH-ing.