tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52649185063205045472011-10-11T15:13:57.975-04:00Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.comBlogger711100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-88156205894815262162011-09-15T10:23:00.000-04:002011-09-15T10:23:13.971-04:00

I'm not sure if I've written about this before or not, but my feelings on baseball's book of unwritten etiquette are complicated. I feel like there are plenty of things that are frowned upon rightly (like baserunners calling fielders off of pop flies, a la Alex Rodriguez), quite a few that are unjustly outlawed (celebrating anything, ever), and some that are considered part of the game that

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-13716075749775643002011-06-17T12:00:00.001-04:002011-06-17T12:00:01.155-04:00

I wrote this a while ago and meant to post it, but somehow never did. It's slightly outdated, but I feel that I should post it unchanged, for reasons that I cannot really explain. Here it is.Mere months ago, Sandy Alderson was installed as the Mets' general manager, and from many of his early comments on the team, it's clear that the Alderson regime (including scouting guru and Moneyball star

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-29767736550202359212011-02-23T09:00:00.001-05:002011-02-23T09:11:33.009-05:00

Photo from RedAction Arsenal supporters group. No infringement or commercial gain intendedAdmittedly it's been a while since I've posted. I didn't get to say anything about the huge first leg win against Barcelona, so I'll have to wait until after the second leg to share my thoughts. Instead, here's Stoke.It's been just slightly less than a year since the last time Arsenal played Stoke City. It's

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-51185866621529711512011-01-21T10:00:00.000-05:002011-01-21T10:00:04.341-05:00

Gary Cahill, gazing into the future. (Creative Commons/Jacoplane)I hate to feed the transfer frenzy stirred up by the general media, but this was something I couldn't resist taking a swing at. For those opposed to transfer mania, I'm sorry. But I'm doing it anyway.The situationThe news concerning Arsenal's defense is not good. Thomas Vermaelen, out since August with an Achilles injury and setback

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-54080519494185992702011-01-16T18:00:00.003-05:002011-01-16T18:30:38.132-05:00

Well, that was better. Arsenal came out with all guns firing and utterly dominated West Ham at Upton Park, who looked well worth their spot at the bottom of the Premier League table. The Gunners managed three goals, and honestly the final scoreline did not flatter the away team's form.In recent weeks Arsenal have not performed to the level they should against lesser competition - not even lower

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-28855463939041523792011-01-13T17:35:00.002-05:002011-01-13T17:37:33.540-05:00

The MLS Superdraft was this morning, and I actually watched ESPN2's coverage. This is pretty big for me, considering less than a year ago I was strongly opposed to following the league at all. I got into football as an Arsenal fan (if you read this blog regularly, you probably know that already), and after watching Premier League and Champions League football, the game in the MLS looked like that

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-73826363453355432092011-01-12T19:07:00.000-05:002011-01-12T19:07:26.782-05:00

Yesterday I placed a very minor wager on the outcome of today's Carling Cup semifinal first leg. I bet on Arsenal to win the match, and I bet on the under (with a line set at three total goals). Well, at least I won half of it.Arsenal played a lackluster match to say the least, and they were not able to escape the deserved result as Ipswich struck again and again on the counterattack and finally

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-75841125876452578262011-01-08T11:00:00.001-05:002011-01-08T11:00:02.824-05:00

Sepp Blatter evidently wants to play the 2022 World Cup in the winter, which pretty much proves that Qatar's magic air-conditioning was bull (I wish the Americans had promised world peace in return for the Cup, it'd be more likely). Twitter is all atwitter with people claiming that a shift will hurt viewership in the United States, and stunt the growth of the game. The idea is that people won't

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-64713527432954242782011-01-07T10:30:00.000-05:002011-01-07T10:31:01.977-05:00

I think it may be sort of sad that I'm actually much more productive as a writer while I'm at my actual job than I am on days I don't work. Perhaps it's the lack of Football Manager at the school at which I am employed. I really need to get that straightened out, I'm in danger of becoming a real live blogger again.Anyway, on to the cup match tomorrow, which will find the Gunners facing Leeds

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-26059001496632396732011-01-06T14:38:00.003-05:002011-01-06T14:40:45.104-05:00

I wanted to expand a bit on my three-paragraph recap from yesterday. It was a boring game and a result that's very annoying, but nothing catastrophic.Manchester City came into the game with a lead over Arsenal in the table, and they were desperate to maintain that lead. They employed a clearly defensive formation (see Zonal Marking for more on that), with Jo and James Milner playing the "winger"

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-12779564993347486192011-01-04T14:08:00.000-05:002011-01-04T14:08:38.248-05:00

I don't typically make New Year's resolutions - not because I think I'm particularly exceptional, but because I'm just not all that moved by the institution. This year, though, I'm making an exception. I've made two resolutions. One isn't germane to this blog, so I'll not bore you with it. The other, though, is relevant, in that it is the blog. I HEREBY RESOLVE that I will more regularly update

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-48144147428561345702010-11-12T10:00:00.001-05:002010-11-12T10:00:09.348-05:00

Tonight, Indiana hosts Florida Gulf Coast to open their 2010-11 basketball season. I'm going, but this week will be a win for IU no matter what happens (okay, that's not true. If they lose to FGC, that will really suck). Indiana basketball has already won the week because yesterday afternoon, Cody Zeller committed to come to Bloomington next year.More stuffWhen Tom Crean took over as coach a

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-88518164600315671712010-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:002010-11-09T09:00:04.190-05:00

When I found out that ESPN was shaking up its Sunday Night Baseball announcing team, replacing both Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, this was my first reaction. In short, sheer jubilation.I've never had a problem with Jon Miller; in fact, I think he's a pretty good play-by-play announcer. As he's gotten older he's become more prone to making mistakes, but he typically catches them and corrects them. I

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-87076003538736955332010-11-08T14:00:00.000-05:002010-11-08T14:00:01.615-05:00

When a team plays like Arsenal did Sunday, it makes it really hard to go back and look at the game dispassionately. That's why this took me so long to write - every time I sat down to start, I had a Vietnamesque flashback to Cesc Fabregas lobbing a long pass into the box and had to find something else to do. I think I'm finally ready to get some thoughts out now.The first thing, and most

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-85651655592854577522010-11-07T07:00:00.000-05:002010-11-07T07:00:06.148-05:00

This has quickly turned into a pretty crazy week for Arsenal, and with things flying around the squad as they are, an already important fixture is becoming more so seemingly by the day. But no pressure, boys.We play Newcastle, who are right smack in the middle of the table (9th, to be exact). They're as good on the road as they are at home record-wise (2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses home and away)

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-37270745385741402492010-10-29T14:45:00.002-04:002010-10-29T14:48:31.188-04:00

Today begins a new era in Mets baseball, one that honestly should have begun years ago - the post-Omar era. Sandy Alderson will officially be named the new general manager, and based on what I've read about him I'm very excited about the next four years.I'm not a fool, I don't expect miracles from Alderson and his new regime; in fact, quite the opposite - I'd bet the Mets of 2011 won't be

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-8685518769407246962010-10-06T14:47:00.002-04:002010-10-06T14:48:41.999-04:00

I went for a run last weekend, and I needed to wear a glove. It's cold out, but it's still the kind of cold that makes you feel more awake than you really are, rather than the kind of cold that makes you wish you lived in Mallorca. And while this means many things, the thing it means for the purpose of this blog post is that it's time for playoff baseball.It's been a rough couple of years for me

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-50591409743472825082010-09-22T10:00:00.007-04:002010-09-22T11:40:10.085-04:00

Lansbury is really pumped about scoring against Spurs. (Tom Jenkins, The Guardian)I've only been an Arsenal fan for a few years, but in those years I've grown to love the club dearly. As a person living on the far side of the Atlantic, and a person who didn't grow up with the club, it's taken a lot of effort to learn all about Arsenal - the history, the traditions, and all that.It has taken no

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-32987804047029514952010-08-21T16:42:00.002-04:002010-08-21T16:44:57.151-04:00

I was about as happy as he was. (sportinglife.com)Last week, Blackpool beat Wigan 4-0 to win their first top-flight league game since 1971. They were a Cinderella story all week leading up to their first ever voyage into the Emirates Stadium. A candidate for relegation from second-level football last year, they won their league to gain promotion, and shocked everyone with their grand first

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-56016429289634881812010-08-20T17:47:00.000-04:002010-08-20T17:47:41.463-04:00

As you will see soon, I am getting pretty excited for the young Premier League football season. Pretty soon I'm going to have a post up about why I love football so much (and why I refuse to call it soccer). But for now, all I have is the latest Follow Friday post.I've been reading a lot of Arsenal blogs lately in preparation for the season. Some have really good analysis, some are very well

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-74321085587549986792010-08-15T18:07:00.000-04:002010-08-15T18:07:41.997-04:00

So I don't have any good excuse for the fact that I haven't posted since the NBA Draft, other than general lack of being productive. Sorry to anyone who had actually been reading this regularly -- I'm going to try to get back into it now.It's a good time of year for me, sports-wise. I'll have a lot to talk about pretty soon -- Premier League football started this weekend, with Arsenal playing

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-83943922944067018872010-06-24T19:30:00.000-04:002010-06-24T19:30:00.172-04:00

NBA Draftapalooza: The Heyward Ultimatum

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-10407781846265359882010-06-24T17:13:00.001-04:002010-08-20T17:53:59.114-04:00

The New York Post is mostly trash, but this is pretty awesome.Take that, The Sun.Also, this is my 50th post here. So that's also pretty cool.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-17568769239273124572010-06-24T14:31:00.001-04:002010-06-24T14:34:59.448-04:00

I miss this.It's been a while since I've posted, due to some business on my part. So apologies for that; I'll try to do a better job of keeping on task.Tonight, of course (?) is the NBA Draft. I'm going to be liveblogging it here with some help from my friend Joe. As Pacers fans, our focus will be on whether or not Larry Bird can manage to draft someone who doesn't suck, but we'll likely also

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-79765736047669156672010-06-16T16:50:00.002-04:002010-08-20T17:53:28.888-04:00

Will I care about one of these people? Or will it be some other group of people?As I mentioned yesterday (and if you have ever watched ESPN, you're probably already aware) the World Cup is ongoing. My personal interest is ebbing for the moment; even though I have pretty much every match on the television, at this point I'm just waiting for the next U.S game (which is Friday morning). I will say

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-16834751113823488362010-06-16T11:28:00.001-04:002010-06-16T11:28:46.114-04:00

In honor of the Mets beating the Indians last night (barely, thanks to the fact that Frankie Rodriguez is incapable of making anything easy ever), I present to you the greatest baseball rant in the history of baseball or rants. This is Bruce Drennan, Indians sportscaster, decrying their crappiness.I don't know what he'd do if he was working for the Pirates.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-8548123739212901622010-06-15T17:01:00.001-04:002010-06-15T17:02:53.744-04:00

There are few rock musicians whose Wikipedia articles start thusly:Gregory Walter Graffin, Ph.D. (born November 6, 1964 in Racine, Wisconsin) is an American punk rock musician and college professor.Greg Graffin, the lead singer for Bad Religion, is a paleontology professor at UCLA on the side. How freaking punk rock is that?I'm having massive amounts of trouble picking a song to include, so I'm

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-36924423995992038202010-06-15T15:47:00.003-04:002010-06-15T15:53:24.936-04:00

It's the World Cup (USA! USA) and BBC is in full swing with their coverage of the tournament. Like most networks, they brought in "expert" analysts to help make sense of what's going on. Unfortunately, they decided to go with Emmanuel Adebayor.And no, I'm not just bitter that Ade took Man City's money and ran, rather than staying with Arsenal. Seriously, I went through a year of high school and

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-21745747881118483592010-06-10T12:00:00.000-04:002010-06-10T12:00:01.490-04:00

Evidently, bros are icing bros at Goldman Sachs and Raymond James. One would think that they have better things to do than frat boy crap like this, but evidently managing all of the money in the world doesn't take that much effort.I'm with Drew Magary. This is lame. Stop doing it, kids of America.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-24041903848677539532010-06-10T10:00:00.002-04:002010-06-10T10:00:00.651-04:00

I am not a Blackhawks fan. However, my close friend Peter is. Peter introduced me to hockey, and I was lucky to get to watch Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals with him last night. The Hawks won in overtime on an absurd Patrick Kane goal, and it was honestly one of the coolest moments ever for me as a sports fan.I see a lot of me in Peter's Hawks fandom. Hockey is his favorite sport, baseball is

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-17801223378888173902010-06-09T17:39:00.000-04:002010-06-09T17:39:12.509-04:00

The Blitzkrieg with pie on his face. Nice game, rook.The history of humanity is littered with those who couldn't live up to the hype. Kwame Brown, Darko Miličić, Mark Prior, Brien Taylor. Every now and then, though, someone actually breaks through. When LeBron James was first coming into the NBA, and the hype surrounding him was at its height, I remember thinking that there wasn't any way for him

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-57655551271964015372010-06-09T16:11:00.002-04:002010-06-09T16:13:43.959-04:00

Okay, this is the best thing ever. Evidently Tom Izzo, coach of the Michigan State basketball team, is the king of Mars.Click to embiggen.That's right. He's not going to end up coaching LeBron James, he's going to coach the Monstars.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-15879006553832847702010-06-09T11:34:00.000-04:002010-06-09T11:35:24.594-04:00

Ike Davis is my new personal hero. I've already commissioned a gold statue.Stephen Strasburg is a chump. There's no way he can hit a ball this far. Ike Davis is already better than Albert Pujols, and he's closing fast on Lou Gehrig. Not quite to Keith Hernandez's level yet, though.EDITOR'S NOTE: Stephen Strasburg is not a chump. This is all hyperbole.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-38854479231794376312010-06-08T18:00:00.003-04:002010-06-08T18:00:02.570-04:00

Okay, so I missed Music Monday yesterday. Sorry. Like I said, busy weekend bled into busy Monday. So here's the weekly music fix a day late.I'm going with Green Day this week. I have two reasons for this. First of all, Green Day is awesome. They were my first favorite band back when I was in elementary school, and I still love them, despite the fact that they're way overplayed on the radio. Of

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-85565389927300583802010-06-08T16:30:00.002-04:002010-06-10T13:54:20.683-04:00

First of all, apologies for the slow weekend. I've had some other things going on, not the least of which is my ongoing attempt to find a paying job. Posting may be slower than it's been (like, down to two or three posts a day instead of four or five a day), but I'll try to keep up.So now on to what I actually want to talk about. I have decided that I'm tired of just making stuff up, so I'm going

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-81373996196881895372010-06-08T13:30:00.001-04:002010-06-08T13:30:01.051-04:00

Pete Rose, circa 538 AD.So evidently en route to the major league career hits record, Pete Rose was corking his bats. Considering what we know about Pete Rose already, this isn't surprising, and it's just another reason for me to not like him. I have many of those already, but this is a nice new one.The best part is that corking your bat doesn't even help. So beyond the fact that Pete Rose is

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-63478314363579917172010-06-05T10:00:00.000-04:002010-06-05T10:00:00.498-04:00

This is the greatest thing ever. It's from a British sketch comedy series called The Mighty Boosh. I have no way to explain it, just watch it. You won't regret the decision.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-75620129860097775942010-06-04T16:00:00.002-04:002010-06-04T16:20:44.717-04:00

There are many reasons, but this is high on my list.I don't even have anything to add.[via The Sports Hernia, who got it from SportsByBrooks]EDIT: This is supposed to be an animated GIF, but it's not working. Just go to one of those links if you want to see it in all its glory. It'll be worth it, I swear to you.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-1215267311734125342010-06-04T14:00:00.001-04:002010-06-04T14:00:03.881-04:00

This week's Follow Friday blog is a good one (well, obviously I think they're all good, or else I wouldn't be recommending them). This week, I'm going with Amazin' Avenue, which is one of my favorite Mets-centric blogs, if not my favorite.It's a really smart blog that leans toward sabermetric analysis (like most of the well-run teams in Major League Baseball) rather than uninformed gut reactions

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-49814092186841436902010-06-04T12:00:00.000-04:002010-06-04T12:00:07.170-04:00

I've made one. I'm tired of hearing about the not-perfect game. I'm tired of thinking about it. I'm tired of talking about it. I was going to write an enormously long post about it for today, but it's just annoying and there's nothing to be said about it that hasn't already been said. So instead of copying the echo chamber, I've decided not to add to the cacophony.So consider this my post on the

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-64004818804061619252010-06-04T10:00:00.002-04:002010-06-04T10:00:05.705-04:00

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!Well, I somehow missed this yesterday, but this blog is now officially one week old. I know that one week is a really lame anniversary to celebrate, but I like anniversaries a lot, so back off. It seems like it's been way longer than that (especially since I think I've been through three different layouts thus far), but I think that's a good thing, somehow. Personally I'm

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-87257021393374869612010-06-03T18:28:00.000-04:002010-06-03T18:28:25.812-04:00

This is my first football post. I don't really like football, so that's why. Sorry.Okay, so evidently Visanthe "I Don't Have a Real Name" Shiancoe and Darren "X Marks the Spot" Sharper are having a Twitter fight. The particulars won't be revisited here, mostly because they're irrelevant. What's relevant is Shiancoe's final salvo.During a team visit with the Minnesota National Guard, one soldier "

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-62670816672801542212010-06-03T14:43:00.005-04:002010-06-03T18:10:32.161-04:00

He used to make these catches ALL THE TIME. Most spectacular player I've ever seen.I'm really upset by the non-perfect game last night. It's terrible that the game had to go down the way it did. But the biggest reason I'm upset is the fact that because of that horrible call, the greatest player of our time is being overshadowed on a day where he should be celebrated.The third headline on ESPN.com

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-60292539707219571432010-06-03T11:54:00.000-04:002010-06-03T11:54:00.432-04:00

I just came across this video while looking at stuff for the thing I'm writing on Ken Griffey, Jr. for later, and it displays two things. First, Ken is not the best ever at reading lines. Secondly, though, and more importantly, Sean Casey is awesome.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-31199297652069650892010-06-03T10:00:00.000-04:002010-06-03T10:00:00.121-04:00

In some alternate universe Junior never got hurt, and he hit 760 home runs. And nobody cared about Barry Bonds.Yesterday was quite possibly the most depressing day I've had as a baseball fan since Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS (the 97-win Mets inexplicably losing to the not-that-good Cardinals). It was just very upsetting.I'm planning on going into more detail about all of this later, but I was unhappy

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-26856887069275288432010-06-02T10:00:00.000-04:002010-06-02T10:00:02.589-04:00

This one needs a little explanation. It was requested in a comment thread on Amazin' Avenue, and I answered the call. Santana is pitching for the Mets this evening, and hopefully he'll be able to smite the Padres. You know, with that enormous sword.So...yeah. WAR JOHAN.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-28858483149116349502010-06-01T21:06:00.002-04:002010-06-01T21:21:04.853-04:00

I don't read comic books. It's not because I hate them or anything, I just never got into them. So basically every time Hollywood sees fit to make another comic book movie, I go in blind, with no expectations based on the original story. This helps me enjoy them a lot more, I think - whenever I see a Harry Potter movie, I'm a little disappointed by the fact that they don't live up to the books.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-56184587812460340092010-06-01T18:28:00.000-04:002010-06-01T18:28:29.282-04:00

Seriously, that hat looks moronic. Especially since more than half of those titles were won with the Bulls.Before every series the Lakers have had thus far in the playoffs, Phil Jackson has made some comment apparently designed to influence the referees in the coming series. He's come for Kevin Durant and Steve Nash, and now he's claiming that the whole Celtics team plays dirty or something.More

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-30804270224756510182010-06-01T16:48:00.001-04:002010-06-01T16:50:36.725-04:00

Not pictured: Ashley Judd's hat, which won Biggest and Most Awesome Hat (Girl Category).Last night was the Indianapolis 500 awards banquet. I didn't watch it, going instead with Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals (even though Indianapolis' WTHR tried really hard to get me to watch the banquet). Since I didn't watch it, I'm going to assume nobody actually watched the awards banquet. Never fear,

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-58593640110850326652010-06-01T12:51:00.001-04:002010-06-01T13:13:27.279-04:00

So evidently it's all the rage now to think you're one kind of Universal movie monster or another. I'd heard before about people who claim that they are real vampires of one kind or another - evidently some subsist only on blood, while others are "psychic vampires," who drain people's life force with their minds or something like that. And now, I just found out about the San Antonio teen

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-36520945787781796702010-06-01T10:00:00.002-04:002010-06-01T11:59:07.811-04:00

As I believe I've mentioned before, I started a Twitter account for this blog a little while back. Since a little bit of time has passed and people are reading a little more, I thought I'd share that again. Here's the link to the Thus Spoke Keith Hernandez Twitter page.If you're interested (and who knows whether you are or not), I have a personal account as well. It's a little more...let's say

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-30879311391165113582010-05-31T17:03:00.000-04:002010-05-31T17:03:11.468-04:00

This is how I've spent most of my day today. I think it's worth it, honestly.In case you didn't see what I posted on Twitter (you probably didn't), I'm changing some formatting stuff on here. I've widened the blog's substantive parts to fill more of the screen (all of it, in the case of non-widescreen-using readers), and as you can probably tell I've also totally changed the color scheme. Also

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-67326284901315277992010-05-31T16:23:00.003-04:002010-05-31T16:26:32.260-04:00

Oliver Perez is not very good. I fact, he sucks. He's been lifted from the starting rotation and is now being used basically as a mop-up reliever. Considering he's in the midst of a 3 year, $36 million contract, that's not the best situation. However, he is contractually able to decline a minor-league assignment to fix what's wrong with him, so he's just sucking in the majors.I saw this today

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-32951733607064235692010-05-31T14:00:00.000-04:002010-05-31T14:00:03.140-04:00

This is another thing that I have decided to steal from Twitter, because I like the idea. Since it's Memorial Day, I thought I would choose a song that has some relation to the military, specifically with what happens when soldiers come home. For the inaugural Music Monday, I give you the Boss, with "Born in the U.S.A."Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. | Music Videos | SPIKE.com

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-87579020465218298362010-05-31T12:00:00.003-04:002010-05-31T16:27:06.201-04:00

Okay, so I'll admit that I've seen the first two Twilight movies. Of course, I watched the RiffTrax versions, so it's a little different. But still, I now know things about Twilight. One of them is that vampires evidently drive very quickly. Well, after getting back from the race yesterday, I found out about this.Scheckter got a speeding ticket Friday night on Interstate 65 in Indianapolis, where

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-7746683308202686562010-05-30T12:00:00.000-04:002010-05-30T12:00:02.936-04:00

This is where I am today. Sorry.Okay, sorry about this, but this is going to be short. I'm not going to be making any more posts until tonight at the latest, because I am going to the Indianapolis 500 today (as i believe I mentioned yesterday). I'll probably write about all of this tomorrow, along with the Lakers-Suns game that occurred last night, and other things.Enjoy the race if you watch it,

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-6678362846274183672010-05-30T10:00:00.001-04:002010-05-30T10:00:04.926-04:00

I just noticed this last night, and now I'm really worried about going to the race today. Check out Tomas Scheckter's birthdate here.That's right. There's only one possible explanation for this.Tomas Scheckter is a vampire.I just hope that he doesn't win, so that he doesn't have to endure the awkwardness of asking for blood to replace the traditional milk.And yes, I did circle his birthdate in

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-45188481441141921132010-05-29T17:00:00.002-04:002010-05-31T15:56:48.341-04:00

I still don't know whether I think this is awesome or terrible.So even though I just ranted about how useless predictions are, I'm going to make some. This is because I find it amusing when I make predictions and through my wrong-ness, prove the point I made earlier.More stuffThe Stanley Cup Finals start tonight. The Flyers haven't won one since 1975, and the Blackhawks haven't won since 1961. To

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-88965665730738247382010-05-29T14:00:00.004-04:002010-05-31T17:11:25.087-04:00

Okay, I was not expecting that at all.After the Magic demolished the Hawks to get to the Eastern Conference finals, the sports world practically had a coronation for them. They were supposedly so good after winning eight of their first eight playoff games that they were going to roll through the Celtics unfettered, and the road to a championship was clear.The Celtics, on the other hand, had gone

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-21701271147019054932010-05-29T11:00:00.001-04:002010-05-29T12:01:58.234-04:00

Since it's officially The Weekend now, I have deemed it appropriate that we have some fun (especially since that last post was so grim). Since I'm not that creative, I'm going to do this by finding awesome pictures from the last week (and some that are just too awesome to leave out). Let's see how this goes.This is from 1986. Evidently someone who works for Sesame Street is a Mets fan. That's

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-43457791531283194272010-05-29T10:00:00.007-04:002010-05-31T17:11:12.920-04:00

First things first, I just want to give fair warning that this weekend may be a little light from me. My brother's graduation open house is today, and tomorrow I'll be attending the Indianapolis 500. I'll be right back up to speed after that, though, and I may be able to write more than I expect.More stuffOkay, now to some real things. This blog has a Twitter account. Well, technically I have a

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-8248046712807431732010-05-28T22:45:00.002-04:002010-05-28T22:51:04.500-04:00

Gary Coleman died today. I never really watched anything that he was in - I have literally never seen a single episode of Diff'rent Strokes, and honestly I don't know of any other TV shows or any movies that he has been in. I don't mean to make fun of him, I'm just ignorant on this matter.I do know one thing in which Coleman appeared, and I don't know of any better way in which to honor the

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-47686595108456334632010-05-28T18:00:00.006-04:002010-05-31T17:10:54.469-04:00

So the other night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Kendrick Perkins was called for two technical fouls and thus was ejected from the game by rule. Typically this would perturb me, as I'm a Celtics fan, but at the time my brother was graduating from high school, so I was less interested than usual.Then I saw film of the fouls, and I reached the appropriate level of rage.More stuffThe

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-58719648533008957942010-05-28T15:00:00.004-04:002010-05-29T11:46:43.464-04:00

On this day in 1974, the NHL Draft occurred. In the first round, the New York Islanders selected Clark Gillies with the 4th pick. In the second round, they selected Bryan Trottier with the 22nd overall pick.So yeah, that was a pretty good day for the Islanders.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-35427634577013509002010-05-28T13:00:00.000-04:002010-05-28T13:00:02.159-04:00

I got this from Ted Berg, who is awesome.It's New York Metropolitan hero Jose Reyes, alongside Miss USA Rima Fakih. Evidently she was on a visit to Citi Field last night. Here's another picture, because she's really attractive and wearing a Mets jersey.Okay, carry on. That's really all I had.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-78237553853400577902010-05-28T11:00:00.001-04:002010-05-29T11:47:06.126-04:00

So I'm stealing this bit from Twitter, straight up. I'm going to (try to) find a blog every Friday to suggest. I can't guarantee that they'll all be to your liking, but I can guarantee that they're all to my liking, and if I like a blog and you like mine, chances are that you'll like the blogs I like. Got it? Okay good, now explain it to me.First up is Hoosier Hockey, which is exactly what it

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-2297875823713142972010-05-28T09:30:00.004-04:002010-05-28T09:30:00.251-04:00

The Mets are working on a team-wide streak of 27 scoreless innings. They shut out the Phillies for an entire series. There must not be a good sightline from the away bullpen to the plate. In honor of this great achievement, I give you the first official Thus Spoke Keith Hernandez Terrible MS Paint:Wasn't that fun? I never would have expected that on a six-game homestand against the Yankees and

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-23508447704466294262010-05-27T18:00:00.001-04:002010-05-28T00:43:15.995-04:00

I'm on my way to go to my high school alma mater's regional track meet (let's go 4x8!), so this is going to be my last post of the day. Thanks to whoever's been reading today, and to whoever reads these in the future, pretending like they're new.I am a uniform nut, for some reason. I have been known to look more favorably on a team whose uniforms I like. That's weird. But I can't help it.Let's

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-35949093797789544072010-05-27T15:00:00.001-04:002010-05-27T15:45:16.892-04:00

Okay, so the Tampa Bay Rays used to be called the Devil Rays, back when they used to be horrible. Devil rays are fish, and they live in the Tampa area's bodies of water and such. They look like this:Sean Rodriguez is a player for the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Google Images, he looks like this:Now here's the interesting part. The former stung the latter on Monday. Yeah, that's right. A Ray got

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-46638727912814504862010-05-27T13:00:00.004-04:002010-05-31T15:51:34.171-04:00

MLB All-Star voting has started. Well, it started a while ago, but they made the first announcement of who's winning. There are some surprises. Not the good kind, either. I'm going to go through some of my favorites.More stuff4. Mark Teixeira, 1st in AL 1BThis one is kind of excusable, what with the whole "being on the Yankees" and "usually being really good" thing. But right now, he's not good.

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5264918506320504547.post-18156364450904990672010-05-27T09:00:00.007-04:002010-05-31T21:03:44.065-04:00

Keith Hernandez is awesome, and you can't convince me otherwise.Why, hello there. If you're reading this, you probably know me (or you're just following me via Facebook or Twitter), so I'm not going to go into too much detail about who I am or why I'm writing this blog. But in short: I'm Thomas, and I'm a sports fan. I like baseball and hockey and soccer; I dabble in basketball and football. I

Thomas Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12756705447163056639noreply@blogger.com0