Earl Weaver vs. Piranhas
July 26th, 2007 by ubelmann
No game today, so naturally, there's no game thread. If you scroll down the main page, though, there should be plenty of stuff to keep you busy if you've been away for a couple of days.
Even so, I ran across a quote yesterday in Earl Weaver's wikipedia page that seemed relevant to this season. There is some adult language (we are talking about Earl Weaver here), so you might want to hide the kids. (Or at least cover BabySBG's ears.)
"Team speed for Christ's sake, you get fuckin' goddamn little fleas on the fucking bases getting picked off trying to steal, getting thrown out, taking runs away from you, you get the big cocksuckers who can hit the fuckin' ball out of the ballpark and you can't make any goddamn mistakes." -- Earl Weaver
Apparently, Earl and Terry Ryan never saw eye-to-eye on roster construction philosophy.
This entry was posted by ubelmann on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Guest Writers, MLB, ubelmann. It is one of 640 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.
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Moss replied on July 26, 2007 at 7:40:47 pm
Bertin' right.
E-6 replied on July 26, 2007 at 7:47:30 pm
Ah, Earl. What a character. I've snuck the link to the audio of that tirade into the comment section a couple of times, most recently here. He also rags on Terry Crowley and some poor fan who just wanted to know about her tomato plants. Be warned, Earl uses language that would make a Teamster blush.
Another pearl of wisdom from the Wikipedia page is this one,
"If you think you're going to hit into a double play, do the right thing and strike out."
SBG replied on July 26, 2007 at 8:04:34 pm
Earl was kind of a shrinking violet, now wasn't he?
Big Mak replied on July 26, 2007 at 7:53:38 pm
Motion to officially rename the "pirhanas" as "f---in' g--d--- little fleas"?
E-6 replied on July 26, 2007 at 7:56:19 pm
aye.
Andrew replied on July 27, 2007 at 12:38:35 am
Agreed. Saying that lets you vent more of your frustration when Punto makes an out on the basepaths.
Dread Pirate Will Young replied on July 26, 2007 at 10:12:22 pm
Weaver's Third Law: The easiest way around the bases is with one swing of the bat.
From Weaver on Strategy which I can review for R_R if he's interested.
brianS replied on July 26, 2007 at 11:00:36 pm
without a doubt, Will. Do it.
Jeff A replied on July 27, 2007 at 7:36:01 am
That's another book that I read many years ago, back when I had time to read books for pleasure. One thing I remember is that he said one of the hardest things he had to do was decide who the twenty-fifth man on the roster should be. He would spend hours agonizing over what he might need more---an extra relief pitcher, a bat off the bench, a defensive replacement, etc. His belief was that every man on the roster had to have some role in helping the team win games, and it was his job to figure out what were going to need most out of that twenty-fifth player.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on July 28, 2007 at 9:30:06 am
...which I can review for R_R if he’s interested
Do you even have to ask?
CarterHayes replied on July 27, 2007 at 11:13:35 am
Another Weaver quote from the Wikipedia page:
"If you play for one run, that's all you'll get ... On offense, your most precious possessions are your 27 outs."
Maybe Earl could do a managing seminar with Gardy.
E-6 replied on July 27, 2007 at 11:19:28 am
He might have a few choice words about our 25th roster spot. (And our 24th, and our 23rd, and our 22nd...