I was at the garden for pistol pete maravich's first game with the celtics.

so long as i continue to get centre stage, it's epic (also, i discovered that the troll comes from Finland, or if not, helsinki airport has an epic sized copywright claim coming against it soon.
doesn't that make you like 120? ANd if so, why aren't you wearing a bowler hat?

but where were you when len bias was blowing lines of coke after he was drafted?

Griffey is pretty well known for his dislike of all things conditioning. To consider him an innocent victim of all the hammy strains and other muscular ailments that put him on the DL is being a little naive.

LOL at using Gold Gloves as a measure of defensive excellence.

To assume that conditioning helps stave off injury is also naive — I realize it's standard dogma and a staple of an entire profession, but strangely enough there is zero peer-reviewed evidence that it's true. Beyond a certain basic level of conditioning (pretty much anything above sedentary), more makes you stronger and faster but not safer.

True about the gold glove thing though — it's pretty much a popularity contest in many cases.

I'm curious about OTI's contention that "the game" is faster; I think it's not a simple question. Players are stronger, but as the stolen base numbers suggest, it's not clear that they're faster (and lol at the idea that they suggest the opposite). Really, the game has moved from the ground to the air as a result of various changes (to bats, balls, the general state of pitching, and the steroid-fueled hitters). Also, stadiums have changed, first getting larger, then smaller. The players may average physically more imposing than they were a couple decades ago, but the demands on an infielder are probably less, and for outfielders I don't think it's clear at all.

Yeah, some athletes are injury prone and some aren't. I don't think you can pin it on conditioning.

Atak,

Dunno how much this goes to your point, but I probably should have used stretching in place of conditioning. Not a doctor or anyting close, but it seems intuitve to me that you would be more likely to have trouble with pulled/strained muscles if you put more effort into getting stretched out. But I dunno.

I guess my point is that KGJ had an immenese amount of baseball talent, played 22 seasons in MLB, hit 600+ hr's, is considered (wrongly, but whatever) as the best player in the 1990s, and still makes me say "he could have been better if....". But hey, thats just me being selfish. I am sure Junior sleeps just fine. (Even at night.)

It may seem intuitive, but again, there is absolutely no evidence it is true. I know there are lots of trainers who will tell you that pre-competition stretching is done to prevent injury, but that doesn't make them right... and no peer reviewed study has ever found any such effect.

Wtf is all this baseball talk, gawd

What's much more interesting is the Webber/Vettel crash in the Turkish GP and the lol way Red Bull handled it, and now they're blaming Hamilton, which is just amusing.

Roland Garros semifinal is going on right now, much more interesting than a Formula 1 crash from ages ago.

I'd guess neither one of those guys hit 600 home runs.

but can we can safely say they are much faster than guys like Nelson Piquet or Alain Prost, right?

Certainly Ayrton Senna IMO

I assume stolen base numbers are down because ppl realize how little value there is in them. This also may mean there are more stronger hitters rather than faster since the market would dictate it.

List all peer reviewed studies ever.

one of these things is not like the other

one of these things just doesn't belong

hint: it's Schilling

let me guess, it's Maddux isn't it?

Answer: Name the only guy above to win three World Series?

edited: clemens won 2 i think, f him though.

My blind hatred of Curt Schilling may bias me a little, but there's no way he belongs in that class of pitchers.

who's the guy in your avatar bsball?

Name the only pitcher to put fake blood on his sock to arouse sympathy from *******************er****** red sox fans

brett anderson, the a's pitcher that will soon go on the DL again

http://www.b3ta.com/links/Lego_printer

this. is. brilliant.

There is SOOOOO much value in a stolen base.

I am certain that Baseball players are faster today than they have ever been, the same as all other professional sports. Just look at the state of professional sprinting. The fastest sprinters of all time are almost always the ones sprinting today.

My explanation for the decrease in stolen bases is an emphasis by coaches on their Pitchers/Catchers to stop them. It is a part of the game you can stop if you defend it well and it increases your chances of winning by stopping it. Also agree that there has been less of an emphasis on stolen bases from an offensive standpoint as the longball has taken over.

wow