Chris Ballard on Bobby Valentine, SI 4/30

Can anyone figure out this sentence from the piece?

Fans cut the confetti into perfect little slices to make it easier for the street sweepers to pick up.

 

baseball in general is very uptight and old-school, whichis why bobby v. is so reviled in major-league circles, imo. the king of the uptight is buck showalter. man, do i resent the hell out of that guy.

 

The Baylor line cracked me up. Mostly just that someone would brag about his baseball know-how. "Well Don Baylor always said..." That should be a new wristband, WWDBD.

 

I haven't read Ballard's story yet, but I'm halfway through Verducci's story on A-Rod. The guy is a board favorite, and with good reason. He tells more about why A-Rod's off to this unreal start in this one story than all of the segments on Baseball Tonight, with its former players who are supposed to provide insight. The former players talk in generalities about how A-Rod is more comfortable and all that, while Verducci spoke to the Yankees hitting coach and concisely broke down the three mechanical changes to his swing that have been the real reason why he's hitting the way he is. The guy's just a great reporter.

 

Haven't read it yet, but isn't Valentine's dream job to manage the Dodgers? I thought I've heard him say that before, or read it, or heard someone allude to it.

 

Very nice piece of work, adnd I could care less about the subject.

 

on page 3, but had to post this part because it's funny:

 

Home run ending. I wonder if that line was the premise to the entire story. If you have that kind of ending, the meat and potatoes fall into place.

 

Bobby V is in the level right below Steve Spurrier. I loves me some Valentine.

 

You just want free ballroom dance lessons, IJAG.

 

Um,no. I don't even watch Dancing with the Stars. But if Bobby V were on it I would.

 

Ballard did a good job with the story, but stop me if you've heard this before ... Valentine is the smartest guy in baseball. So smart, in fact, that any shortcomings he has aren't actually his shortcomings so much as they are everyone else failing to appreciate that he's the smartest guy in baseball. Nothing new here. Just a few new twists on an old story. They can love him in Japan all they want.