Pie Fight

Will the Braves ever crest .500 for their career?

Interesting post from LGM:

On May 28, 1923 a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies put the Braves at .500 as a franchise. They rallied to win two straight, then lost three to go under .500 on May 31. On June 1, the Braves saw .500 for the last time, as they beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-6. They then proceeded to lose twelve straight, and ended the season 54-100.

In spite of some strong teams in the 1950s and 1960s, the Braves remained below .500. At the end of the 1990 season, the Braves found themselves 523 games short of even. The first edition of the Bobby Cox Braves didn't open strong, and a 3-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on April 20 put the Braves at 3-6 for the season, 526 games under as a franchise. From April 20, 1991 until the end of the 2005 season, Cox's Braves went 503 games above .500. They opened 2006 with a chance to even up their franchise record, needing to go 88-64 to find themselves on the sunny side of .500 for the first time since May 1923.

In the good old days, the Yankees hardly ever won it all

Scott Lemieux says fa-foofarah to those who foolishly believe that sport was more competitive back in the "good old days" when teams had almost all the wage power and players had very little.

Baseball almost got big in the UK?

More from the knowledge:

In 1899 the UK Baseball champions were Nottingham Forest, while Spurs won it in 1906. Which other football teams have had baseball connections or are these team names coincidental?" asks Paul Smith. 

The names are not coincidental. The National Baseball League of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1890. Four teams were involved, all with close links to association football clubs: Derby County, Preston North End, Aston Villa and Stoke City.

Baseball flourished particularly in the north-east with clubs in Middlesbrough, Darlington, Stockton and Thornaby. In 1933 a National Baseball Association was founded and professional leagues were formed in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The first professional games got under way in 1936, with the Yorkshire League made up of sides from Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Hull, Dewsbury, Wakefield and Scarborough. Games regularly attracted 5,000 spectators - and, on occasion, as many as 10,000.

For further information log on to: www.sabruk.org/history/uk.html and www.netfit.co.uk/link_baseball.htm.

Football for mental health

A study by the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health finds that football is good for mental health - even if your team is Mansfielf Town.

One of the key findings was that the terraces are a socially acceptable place to "act out". And while some members of my political persuasion may believe that there should be no need to ever exhibit "anti-social" behaviour, I'd argue that there is - particularly for young males.

Maybe if more middle and upper class types became sports fans, they'd  have less need for therapy.

The findings revealed that belonging to a club was considered to be important         for one's own mental health as it offers a sense of identity, belonging,         security and warmth.

      

The results also show that fans consider stadium terraces to be an environment         where a cathartic release of tension is socially acceptable. Fans commented         that shouting and dramatic hand and body gestures facilitated the release         of emotion and pent-up aggression. Mr Pringle says "the key feature         in health promotional terms is the overwhelming view of fans that the         'carnivalesque' behaviours stay in the football ground where such behaviours         are viewed as acceptable and socially sanctioned."

      

Some of the behaviours described by supporters as beneficial and done         in the 'spirit of carnival' may challenge liberal beliefs and be viewed         as antisocial and offensive. Mr Pringle points out that this type of behaviour         may in fact be the successful vehicle by which some men translate their         frustration and stress.

      

Mr Pringle concludes by saying "if we accept that for people in         general, and in particular young men, the opportunity to externalise tension         and discharge emotion is an important component in maintaining health,         then it may well be that attending live events such as football matches         offers a socially safe environment in which this can happen."

A question of sport

I like sport a lot more since coming over here, and I think I've figured out why: in America, sport is very triumphalist, whereas here it's more often than not a tale of lovable losers. There's a pluckiness to British sport that I find very attractive. As Hugh said while we were watching Henman finally overcome Philipoussis, it's more human.

Fishmonger, fearmonger

Fingerpointer, foo. Mary Riddell on misdirected fear.

The Floating Diego

Inspired by Alex Ferguson's early season string of late game substitutions of Diego Forlan, the man with by far the best skin in football,* my mate Neil and I propose that the Premiership adopt a rule known as the Floating Diego.

Under Floating Diego rules, any team in the Premiership can use Diego Forlan, but only as a substitute. Let's say Man U is playing Arsenal. Diego doesn't belong to either team; he's floating. So if Dennis Bergkamp is struggling and Thierry needs some support, Arsenal can opt to "Float the Diego", bringing the Uruguayan wonderboy onto their side. The drawback, of course, is that the more Diego plays, the more likely he is to end up wandering around the field like a blind dog with only one good leg. So if Arsenal bring him on to early, they'll effectively be playing with ten men toward the end of the game. (Floating Diego may not be substituted for.) But if they wait too late, then Man U can bring Floating Diego in, and if Ferguson times it just right - eg 15-18 minutes of Diego - than he really might get something good out of him.

It will be a battle of wits, with each coach weighing the pros and cons of having Diego on the pitch, either for you or against you.

In the first season of Floating Diego, he will only be available to Man U and the team they're playing against. But once his contract expires, the Premiership should purchase Diego for general use. This would add the fascinating element of having all 20 clubs matching wits to see who will or will not use Floating Diego each weekend. And there would be more than one team, of course. I envision a Floating Diego jet (bring the Concorde back, perhaps?) that could fly him from one finished game to one that's just started.

*Neil argues that Chris Coleman is second, but I have my doubts. Besides, on order of magnitude, comparing anyone's skin to Diego's is like comparing, um, not apples and oranges, but candles and the sun. His skin's just that perfect.