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Duquette speaks again


El Gordo

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The only thing less useful than Duquette's cowardly comments is all of us guessing at who he was talking about.

I don't think lack of effort is a problem for any of the players that we care about going forward.

And here we have the right answer to the question!

I think it's interesting that much of the wild speculation focuses on the underperforming players (Atkins, Hendrickson, Albers, Izzy) as if it's not about talent it's about desire. Gosh darn it if these guys just wanted it more, worked harder etc we'd be so much better. :rolleyes:

Sadly, it's really not much about effort. As much as the board goes off when a guy doesn't run out a ground ball or has the nerve to blow a bubble or maybe goes out to a bar once in a while -- these things happen on winning and losing teams. Winning teams just have talent so their fans don't care and losing teams -- well -- we got nothing to focus on except moan about the stupid stuff.

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"I was the biggest, most hopeless and most violent drunk in baseball." - Sam McDowell

"Either he was out very late or he was out very early." - Casey Stengel, commenting on legendary drunkard Don Larsen after he had wrecked his car at dawn during spring training in 1956.

"I'd give a hundred dollars for a cold beer." - Joe Dugan

"So would the Babe." - Waite Hoyt

(Exchange between Ruth's ex-teammates while acting as pallbearers during Babe Ruth's funeral.)

"You can't drink at the hotel bar, because that's where I drink." - Casey Stengel, to his players.

"To say that Horace (Stoneham) can drink is like saying that Frank Sinatra can sing." - Leo Durocher

"It's not so bad. It's a great place to meet women." - Bob Welch, about The Meadows, the Arizona clinic where he underwent alcohol rehabilitation, 1980.

"As long as I could pitch a little, no one cared that I was getting drunk." - Don Newcombe

"How dare you belittle my drinking!" - Pitcher Red Evans to Leo Durocher, after the manager suggested that Evans was drunk after drinking six beers, 1939.

"Pure elixir of malt and hops, beats all the drugs and all the drops." - 'Smiling' Mickey Welch's formula for his pitching success, 1890s.

"Drink beer, like a real man, not any more of that milk!" - Boston pitcher Roger Clemens, heckling recovering alcoholics Bob Welch and Dennis Eckersley, 1988.

"Whenever the ball looks like this - ooo - take a chance on the middle one." - Advice to Reds players in a Cincinnati newspaper, 1903.

"The kid doesn't chew tobacco, smoke, drink, curse or chase broads. I don't see how he can possibly make it." - Richie Ashburn

**********

When asked why he drinks so fast, Casey Stengal responded"I've drinken fast ever since the accident"

Casey, you were in an accident?!?!?

"Yah, somebody knocked over my beer"

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Ok, then who was he talking about? You should know since you watch every inning of every game. If you're going to drag out this old and moldy ass argument again, at least back it up with some speculation on what you see when you watch the games.

And by using the bolded logic, everyone with poor stats is playing to win because they don't care about stats or a paycheck. They are willing to strikeout or ground into double plays or sac bunt to help the team.

Why don't you go back and read the OP. I suggested 4 names. When I WATCH the games, the body language of Lugo, and Albers, suggests to me that they could give a $%&*. Others are more difficult to nail down. Scott strikes me as playing for his numbers. If there was a shift on and he had RISP hemost likely wouldn't take advantage of it and hit to LF, he would more likely be swinging for the fences. Miggio and Wiggi clearly are giving it there all. So is Nick. Jonesy looks to me like he is playing for himself, but he knows that swinging for the fences and playing shallow is hurting his game. Wieters is just a phlegmatic person and it's hard to tell, but he seems to give it everything behind the plate.
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The only thing less useful than Duquette's cowardly comments is all of us guessing at who he was talking about.

I don't think lack of effort is a problem for any of the players that we care about going forward.

My thoughts exactly. Aren't things bad enough right now without us turning against the players? They stink right now, that is a given, but I don't think its for lack of trying!

If Duquette was as good as he thinks he is, how come he doesn't have a front office job somewhere?

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Exactly. B-Rob stuck around and took a check bigger than he would have gotten elsewhere.

There was no hometown discount in that contract -- which probably would have been an albatross even if he had not gotten hurt.

I like that he stuck around. I like him as a player. And it was good for Baltimore's morale.

BUT. I also kind of disrespect him for sticking around.

Look. It is easy to play and put up decent numbers in a situation when winning and losing is not important. Even if everything with the rebuilding plan progressed as we had hoped, Roberts would have been in the last couple of years of his contract -- and on a serious decline -- by the time the team was ready to compete. And you think that he didn't know that?

He stuck around in a low pressure environment where he is above reproach and did not put himself in a situation where every one -- or any one -- of his at bats had any serious weight as far as competing for a playoff spot. He shied away from that challenge.

Who knows. Maybe he just loves Baltimore and did not want to leave. That is totally understandable. But he could always move back here after his career is over.

He did not accept the challenge of playing under a brighter light and took a bigger contract to stay nice and cozy at home....

And let's not forget. He has not played on a winning team for one day of his MLB career. He had no interest in doing so, even at the tail end of his prime.

Wow!

/tin foil hats

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My thoughts exactly. Aren't things bad enough right now without us turning against the players? They stink right now, that is a given, but I don't think its for lack of trying!

If Duquette was as good as he thinks he is, how come he doesn't have a front office job somewhere?

Working for the Orioles for an extended period tends to make you unattractive to other clubs...

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I'm not a journalist, I'm just relaying information and making an assumption based on that information.

This ain't the Baltimore Sun. Rumors and hearsay are permitted and people can do with them what they wish...

:bs::bs::bs: Like the one about Cal and the lights? Every time something like this comes up they put their foot down here to snuff it out. It is irresponsible and only a troll wouldn't care.:cussing:
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What makes you think he was Bigbird? If you ever read some of Bigbird's posts he sounds like he's a whiny ass baby. I'd hope we didn't have a guy like that running the show for this team. That would be extremely troublesome if that is true.

That's not what he's saying. He's saying that bigbird had Duquette as a source. That's probably true (either directly or indirectly.)

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