Since absolutely nothing is happening in this offseason, and nothing is likely to happen, instead of whining about trades that didn't get made, free agents that didn't get signed, foreigners that didn't get posted, or who was to blame for something that happened last season, I decided that our time would be better frittered away with a trivia quiz.

Unlike previous quizzes, this one actually invloves knowing stuff that players did on the field, although not exclusively so. It is deliberately tilted towards pre- 21st century players, although most of the players involved are well- known. (Which Yankee shortstop committed 80 errors in 1908? is not a question).

You could look up most of the answers, but what's the point? A really high score means you're really old or you need to get a life. A really low score means you're really young or you don't know all that much Yankee lore. Questions after the jump. Answers next week.

Continue reading this post »

This post isn't about my life of crime, or how I ended up lost in the woods and being raised by wolverines.  I picked the Yankees for third place this year, and it now appears that I made errors in my calculations.  I'm sure that none of you did.   If I'm wrong about that as well, I would like to see whether we all made the same mistakes, or whether it was just my natural pessimism that caused me to miss the boat.  My take on this season was that age would take its toll on the position players over 30, and that the starting pitching was not competitive enough to make the playoffs.   I overrated Boston's starting pitching, health, and the contribution of Carl Crawford.  Tampa Bay has been what I expected- I just didn't think we would be good enough to beat their young horses in their starting rotation.

As Linda Richman used to say on SNL-  discuss.

Continue reading this post »

Your faithful correspondent has never been to the New Yankee Stadium.  On Labor Day, this will be remedied.  One of the Quitter's designated children has obtained tickets for the 1:05 game against the Hapless Orioles.  The entire Quitter family will be available for public viewing in Section 417.

While I certainly knew my way around the old Stadium, I understand the new edifice is different.  Therefor, I am requesting your assistance with the following questions after the jump.  Remember, I would do the same for you.

Continue reading this post »

Since tonight is the 40th game, the season will be one quarter played. (Technically, the 5th inning tomorrow). The question is whether the glass is half full, half empty, or whether perhaps the Red Sox stole half our water.   I have also teased a few random items from the box scores that may have escaped our collective notice.

The glass is half full in my view.  I picked this team for third place, and that is where it could still finish, but right now it clings to first place.  The reason for this is starting pitching, which was supposed to be the big question mark, especially Phil Hughes.

Continue reading this post »

Last year I subjected the faithful to two Yankee trivia quizzes, which were slightly more popular than psoriasis.  Since spring training is still a month away, and we will all soon be tired of "it was a good/ bad idea to sign Soriano/ Andruw Jones,  here is another Yankee trivia quiz to help fill time and keep you out of trouble.

Unlike the previous quizzes,  this one can actually be scored.  In each group of questions, the first question is easy (or the least hard), and is worth 5 points. The second is intermediate in difficulty, and is worth 10.  The third is the hardest, and is worth 15.  There are a couple of bonus questions, each worth 10, for a possible 200 points.  You can play at home and score on the honor system.  You can post answers/ educated guesses/ wild stabs in response.  I will probably post the answers Thursday of Friday.  No cheating.

Continue reading this post »

Once again, as I have every year since 2010, Designated Quitter presents the Top Seven Sports Stories of 2010.  These 'top' stories have been culled from a huge stack of 'worthless' stories.   What makes these the top stories is that they illustrate the great theme of this year- supporting your teammates.  Every story selected this year embodies this noble theme.  Naturally, due to the nature of the theme, individual sports like swimming, track and field, and chess could not be considered.  The tragedy is lessened by the fact that no one cares about them.

If any notable moments have been missed, the staff here apologizes in advance. Our holiday party desserts of crystal meth and pumpkin pie have impeded our crack research efforts.  We hope that 2011 will produce enough decent moments for a follow- up post next year, unless we forget.

Continue reading this post »

Although most people are rather pleased that the Jeter and Rivera deals are about to get done, I find myself feeling filled with dread.  I don't derive any pleasure from the endless speculations about what Jeter is worth, why was the team humiliating him, what a greedy guy he is, or any of that. On the contrary, I thought the whole thing should have been done privately.   I also think the Red Sox offer to Mo was purely made from spite to drive up the Yankee payroll. 

The reason that I'm on the ledge, looking down, is that I don't see a championship team re-signing its Hall of Famers. I see a team committing itself to a bunch of guys very likely to disintegrate mid- contract.  And I include Mariano in this group.

Continue reading this post »

Yes yes, Golson made the greatest throw he'll ever make and ARod put the tag on Crawford perfectly, and Crawford is the fastest guy in the majors, and if the throw had hit Crawford he probably would have gotten up and scored, but
that doesn't change the fact that going to third was just plain stupid.  The Yankees caught a huge break.

Continue reading this post »

The AP is reporting that Johnny Damon, former Kansas City Royals outfielder and self- proclaimed "idiot" was waived by the Detroit Tigers.  The "Detroit Tigers" are apparently a professional baseball team allegedly playing in a division called the AL "Central."    The AP says that the team claiming him is "unidentified."  Boston market sports talk radio is split between hoping its the Red Sox and hoping that it isn't.   

Given the Berkman and ARod injuries, would the Yankees be interested?

The good people of Designated Quitter have become distressed at the inordinate amount of panic expressed by readers of this site over common and mundane events in the fortunes of their favorite team.  Usually, this takes the form of excessive worry over fairly minor events.

Months of research have yielded a 1 to 10 table which indicates the appropriate amount of panic which various events should generate, with 10 being the end of the world as you know it.   Simply find the troubling event, or its closest analogue, and check the number on the left. That's how much you should panic on a 10 scale.

For people who prefer the metric system, the same information appears on the right, expressed in the metric unit of concern, the "cervelli."

Continue reading this post »

With all of the attention given (quite properly) to the demise of George Steinbrenner, I know that there is diminshed concern with the quiz.  But I did say that I would post the answers, and here they are, in caps, next to the questions themselves.

I believe that all but three questions were answered.

Part One - Movies.

Who played Babe Ruth in the following movies?1) The Pride of the Yankees (1942, Lou Gehrig’s bio)? THE BABE HIMSELF

2) The Babe Ruth Story (1948) WILLIAM BENDIX

3) The Babe (1995) JOHN GOODMAN

4) What two Yankees starred in the movie "Safe at Home" MANTLE & MARIS

5) Who played the pitcher in "Field of Dreams" against whom Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) hits a sacrifice fly?

ROGER CLEMENS

Part Two - Literature

Which Yankees wrote the following two books-

6) The Year I Owned the Yankees   SPARKY LYLE

7) I’m Glad You Didn’t Take It Personally JIM BOUTON

8) In which Ernest Hemingway novel does the title character devote his interior monologues to the worship of Joe Dimaggio?                                   OLD MAN & THE SEA

Part Three- Real Life

9) This Yankee’s sister was a food critic for the New York Times while he was a Yankee player.

PAUL O’NEILL (MOLLY O’NEILL)

10) On Seinfeld, George Costanza held the position of "Assistant to the Traveling Secretary," which did not exist at the time. The Yankees created that position and hired who’s grandson to fill it? JACKIE ROBINSON (JACKIE ROBINSON III)

11) Dave Winfield earned the eternal hatred of Toronto fans when he killed what? A BIRD FLYING PAST, WITH A THROW FROM THE OUTFIELD

12) The giant bat outside the former Yankee Stadium was not put there so you could meet Uncle Murray before the game. What was its actual purpose? STEAM PIPE

13) Who is the only Yankee on the roster born in New York City? ALEX RODRIGUEZ

14) Of all the 3- brother combinations to have played in the majors, (like the 3 Molina brothers- Yadier, Bengie, and Alvin), the Yankees have had only one set in which all the brothers played for them. Name ‘em. MATTY, FELIPE AND JESUS ALOU

Last December I posted a couple of trivia quizzes which met with whelming indifference.  But if you're like me, the next 3 days are the worst part of the season.  To help you through it, I have decided to post another trivia quiz.  As with the previous two, you have to know stuff about the Yankees, but no statistics or specific game knowledge is involved.   If I remember and no one has all the right answers, I will put them up Wednesday.

To score yourself, use these guidelines-  Too few correct, not a real fan. Too many correct, should seek professional help.   Have fun.

Continue reading this post »

I know that we're all thrilled with the player we got in Curtis Granderson, but look at the deal from the Tiger perspective.

Continue reading this post »

Big League Stew's Alex Remington blogs on this subject today.

Using the 3 main sabermetric prediction models (meh) and his own experience and gut, he provides an answer that "Is Jeter the Greatest Shortstop Ever" posters may not like.  First of all, he says Honus Wagner is the greatest shortstop, possibly the greatest player period, an opinion shared by some, but not all on the Jeter/Greatest post.

Continue reading this post »

Posted below are quiz answers.   I don't have enough even moderately goofy stuff at the moment to do another right now.   The Seinfeld question was incorrectly answered by everyone, including me.  I asked which 2 Yankees appeared, and there were four.    The answer to Question 7 was a mystery to everyone.  I live in southern New England, where trashing the reputation of traitorous Red Sox is a popular indoor sport.   As the question suggests, the answer to #2 is found in the book "Ball Four."

Continue reading this post »

Your lukewarm enthusiasm prompted me to put together a second quiz, different from and perhaps better than the first.  I don't know how I come to know this stuff.  If you get them all correct,  you should consider some form of therapy.  Some of these are easy, some are hard, some can be looked up (although that's cheating), and some you just have to know.   There is a Bonus sudden death tie breaker for those who wish to die suddenly (results not guaranteed).  The questions are 1 point apiece, 1/2 point for each part of part 2.   All correct= therapy.  12-14= get outside more.  9-11= can pass for normal.  4-8=  not the biggest Yankee fan, but can be  brought home on a date. 0-7= I don't know, I really don't.  <0= Can you give me two 20s for this $10 bill?

Continue reading this post »

I see that no quiz responses have been posted since yesterday afternoon, so I'll take that as lack of further interest. I have been making mental notes for another (non- quote, non statistical performance) quiz.   Is there interest?  Please let me know.   Below are the answers to the Time Waster.

In reviewing the questions, I realized that the source of a lot of them were Sparky Lyle's tell- all book "The Bronx Zoo."   The reason there weren't any recent quotes is the fact that no one publishes these books any more except Jose Canseco.

Continue reading this post »

Since the Jeopardy baseball quiz was such a disappointment (Cubs, Pirates, Cubs, Pirates, the Babe), here's a Yankee- oriented quiz.   Just identify the source and/or object of the quote.  Please note:  Nothing quotable has been said recently.   Scoring  0 wrong-  pat yourself on the back.  1-3 wrong, pat someone else on the back.  More than that-  what are you doing on this site?   I'll post the answers in a few days if necessary, but it shouldn't be too hard for most of you.

Continue reading this post »

Please tell me that the only reason that this happened is so that he can packaged in a trade and moved.  I can think of so many better uses for $850,000.  You could feed everyone  in Darfur for 2 months.  You could feed a family of KFC and Bud swilling drunks in the USA for 4 weeks.  You could buy Mitre a bus ticket to the moon.   You get my drift.  There are pitchers starving in Scranton who would be happy to live in Mitre's locker.

The free agent market is set by the Yankees, and to a lesser extent, the Red Sox, Phillies and Dodgers.  If those two teams are not interested in a given player, they come much more cheaply.  Conversely, if the Yankees or one of  other three let one of their own free agents go and he is not snapped up, then that player can be had for the proverbial song.  If the Yankees had shown interest in Jason Bay, then he could have signed for closer to $20 million than the $16 million that he got from the Mets.  Anyone else looking at Holliday can probably get him for Bay money, or less.  

Assuming that the above is true (and it is), then someone like Damon, such as Damon himself, should be available for a number similar to what Matsui got from the Angels.  My preference would be to bring back Damon's bat for one more go- round, with Gardner providing late inning comic relief, and then go after Carl Crawford in 2011. Crawford is Damon's bat plus, with Gardner's speed plus.

I think it would be best if Joe Mauer were left in Minnesota, and let Romine or Monteiro develop.