Mr. September Strikes Again!

[DocDoom187]

2 Outs, 2 strikes, 2 men on base, tie game, Fenway park, last game of the season between these 2 teams, 8th inning. Jeter takes a mighty swing, its up high, and its going foul, is this an out:eek: and its slicing....... out of play! Jeter just burned his protected. ;)

The wind up, a fast ball at The Captain's knees, Jeter goes down and golfs it. It goes up, higher, higher, farther, HOME RUN DEREK JETER. The Yankees take the lead! The Yankees take the lead!

[Frontman]

Actually, Jeter is "Mr. November" for his clutch hitting in the 2001 World Series.

[DocDoom187]

Actually, Jeter is "Mr. November" for his clutch hitting in the 2001 World Series.
I know. I was referring to his hot streak in September.

I'm young, but I'm not too young to remember 01 ;)

[Granite Moose]

Actually, statistically speaking, September has been one of his worst months this year. He does, however, certainly seem to have a flair for the dramatic. More importantly, though, he has been an extremely classy player throughout his career. Something which is unfortunately becoming more and more rare.

[DocDoom187]

Actually, statistically speaking, September has been one of his worst months this year. He does, however, certainly seem to have a flair for the dramatic. More importantly, though, he has been an extremely classy player throughout his career. Something which is unfortunately becoming more and more rare.
I hte you all.:angry:

:p

I'm actually surprised to hear that. Ever night its "and Jeter drives in 2"

Or something like that. Maybe its just the past couple weeks.

[Granite Moose]

I hte you all.:angry:

Hey, I wasn't meaning to rain on your parade. I guess I was more pointing out how quietly solid he was earlier in the year while A-Rod was getting most of the press.

[DocDoom187]

I was joking Moosey. I forgot the happy smiley :p

[Frontman]

Actually, statistically speaking, September has been one of his worst months this year. He does, however, certainly seem to have a flair for the dramatic. More importantly, though, he has been an extremely classy player throughout his career. Something which is unfortunately becoming more and more rare.

Moose, I'd like to introduce you to Jim Thome. Jim Thome, Granite Moose.

;)

Trust me, they don't come more polite or real nice guys compared to Mr. Incredible.
Then there's Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, Kenny Lofton, Ken Griffey, Craig Biggio, CC Sabathia, Johan Santana. All nice guys from what I've been told.

Then in the NFL there's a ton of nice guys who get overlooked for what they do. Most of the former Bears are just incredible to meet and talk to, always seem to have the time to take an extra few moments to make someone's day.

And then of course, there is Tiger Woods.

All incredibly nice guys.

[Konmel]

So Doc (and any other Yankee fan out there, of which I am not) -- would you rather the Yankees play against the Indians or the Angels in the first round?

Would you rather them play against the Red Sox or the Angels/Indians in the second round (assuming they win the first series)?

[DocDoom187]

So Doc (and any other Yankee fan out there, of which I am not) -- would you rather the Yankees play against the Indians or the Angels in the first round?

Would you rather them play against the Red Sox or the Angels/Indians in the second round (assuming they win the first series)?
I hope they play the Indians first round, and the Sox second.


They pwn the Indians, and are 6-0. And are 5-1 uin the past6 games against the sox. The Sox are sucking lately. The Angels o nthe other hand, have a history of pawning the Yanks. I was hoping the Mariners would pull ahead of the Angels, but its too late now.

[Granite Moose]

Moose, I'd like to introduce you to Jim Thome. Jim Thome, Granite Moose.

;)

Trust me, they don't come more polite or real nice guys compared to Mr. Incredible.
Then there's Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, Kenny Lofton, Ken Griffey, Craig Biggio, CC Sabathia, Johan Santana. All nice guys from what I've been told.

Then in the NFL there's a ton of nice guys who get overlooked for what they do. Most of the former Bears are just incredible to meet and talk to, always seem to have the time to take an extra few moments to make someone's day.

And then of course, there is Tiger Woods.

All incredibly nice guys.

Don't get me wrong, Front, I'm well aware that there are good guys in sports nowadays. It just seem like they get pushed to the back burner while the self-promoters get all the attention. I make it a habit to follow the good people of sports regardless of which team they play for. I could add to your list, but suffice it to say, I'm not nearly as bitter as that post might have made me sound. I love sports (especially baseball) and appreciate those who are good ambassadors for it. And I've got very little patience for those who don't respect the very thing that is providing their livelihood. Well, don't I just sound like my father now? When did that happen?

[Frontman]

Don't get me wrong, Front, I'm well aware that there are good guys in sports nowadays. It just seem like they get pushed to the back burner while the self-promoters get all the attention. I make it a habit to follow the good people of sports regardless of which team they play for. I could add to your list, but suffice it to say, I'm not nearly as bitter as that post might have made me sound. I love sports (especially baseball) and appreciate those who are good ambassadors for it. And I've got very little patience for those who don't respect the very thing that is providing their livelihood. Well, don't I just sound like my father now? When did that happen?

As a great song once started:

"Every night I say a prayer in the hope that there's a heaven
And every day I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I've lost my faith"

As we got older, and the 24 hour news cycle took over, we build up our heroes and tear them down just as quickly. And the heroes we have now aren't as genuine or as signficant as they were as kids. To me, Carlton Fisk was a sports hero. Walter Payton (God rest his soul) was a true sports hero. Not for what he did on the field, incredible as that was, but what he did as a human being. When your passing makes grown men openly weep in public, and strangers come up to each other, pat each other on the back, and talk not just of on-field accomplishments, but what effect you had on the city you played for; that's a true sports hero.

Granite, I'm serious. Head on over to this link:

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/mlb/events/thome500/index.jsp

Watch that video in the video section. See how happy fans were for a great player, and see how proud a Dad was of his son. Chuck Thome (Jim's dad) just pulled at my heartstrings, man. Read about how Jim thinks it would be cool just to visit the Hall of Fame with him and his dad, walk around, then turn the ball over to the archives without fanfare.

True story, as I can trust the source. Jim Thome for Halloween will sit on his porch, Sox cap and jersey on, with boxes of the "big" candy bars to pass out. If you want an autograph? No charge. You want a picture with Big Jim? Again, no charge, no hassle. He'll not only spend time with the kids, but the parents; talking baseball, never rushing anyone.

Or last season, when a kid going through chemotherapy for lukemia from Peoria (the town in IL that Jim grew up in) and the kids family was raising funds for treatment. The family contacted the Sox, asking if Jim could donate some stuff for auction. Now, get this. Normally, these types of requests are handled by the players agent and the team's marketing department. The team has items that the players sign in storage, they pack it up, they ship it out.

Not Jim. No, Jim get's word of what this kid is going through. He takes and gets the items from marketing; sits at the kitchen table while eating dinner and signs all of it. TAKES IT TO MAIL HIMSELF, with a hand-written note "auction all this stuff, except the jersey. That's for (the kid.) I wore that the other night when I went 2 for 3 with a home run. When he gets better, he'll be my guest at a Sox game. And I'll try and hit a home run for him and get the ball if I can."

When asked this week about steroids and this era that he hit his 500th home run, if people could trust that he did it "right" Jim simply said,

"Look at my Dad. Look at my brother. We're big men. We eat big meals. No, I can see where people my have that question, but I know in my heart I did it the right way, and my fans never have to worry about that."

Sadly, men like Jim get overlooked due to it not being as press worthy as Mann-Ramm's visits into the Green Monster, Gary Sheffield's insinuations that Joe Torre is racist (and that A-Rod is a "different kind of black man") and that Bill Belichik has to use video cameras to get a leg up on the competition.

Sometimes, we need to be reminded what makes sports great. That the simple dreams we all had as kids, standing in the batter's box for our first swings, is what make sports special. Sure, 99% of us who play games or compete as kids never get beyond a certain level. If we're lucky, we get to compete for the little league championship. If we're blessed, we get to set a record in High School or even get into college on a scholarship. But its those truly great players who go all the way and live out the dream we all shared as kids, but the greatest never forget that their dreams started on a simple league league field; maybe even in Peoria IL.

[mike_houghton]

David Ortiz... Dontrelle Willis... good guys