Gossage: Jose Bautista a 'disgrace,' baseball ruined by 'nerds'

Geez he sucked as a Ranger but I mostly agree.

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"A bunch of f---ing nerds running the game. You can't slide into second base. You can't take out the f---ing catcher because [Buster] Posey was in the wrong position and they are going to change all the rules. You can't pitch inside anymore. I'd like to knock some of these f---ers on their ass and see how they would do against pitchers in the old days.

"Ryan Braun is a f---ing steroid user. He gets a standing ovation on Opening Day in Milwaukee. How do you explain that to your kid after throwing people under the bus and lying through his f---ing teeth? They don't have anyone passing the f---ing torch to these people.

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The sliding into second base would be fine if they actually did just that

Goose let's the whiskey do the talking.

I agree with Harper. Baseball is tired. It's already a slow sport when compared to the NFL and NBA, and while it will never match the flair of those leagues, it needs to liven up a bit. It needs its stars to celebrate a little like Cam and Von. The players' personalities should be on display more. Not being able to celebrate is one of the stupid unwritten rules of the game that should go away. I'm not advocating that it be taken as far as NFL celebrations, but a bat flip here and there is fine with me.

The rules to protect players are a direct result of player salaries. Teams have more invested in their players than ever before and no one wants to see their guy on the shelf because the opposing player "slid" into him or because a pitcher got mad and came up and in on them. The concept of pitchers policing the game by throwing 90+ mph at an opposing player is pretty dumb anyway, and always has been. When you consider the damage they can do with a fastball, you might as well let the batters take a swing at the pitchers with their bats.

As far as analytics driving the game, he has a point. But it works, so don't expect that to change. You don't have to have played MLB to run a team. As long as you have the right mix of nerds and former players, there's nothing wrong with it.

Lastly, when the Astros bounced the Yankees from the playoffs last year, I remember reading an article from a Yankees beat writer about how apparent it was that the Astros had fun playing the game compared to the group of Yankee stiffs. Maybe Goose should give it a read and help liven up the Yanks a bit.

THE GOOSE IS LOOSE

On mike and Mike, Greenbergs outrage is great.

I agree with Goose

If you want a good idea of why the game of baseball is losing fans, look at Goose's rant and realize that there are so many baseball spectators who feel the exact same way. A guy who flips his bat upsets you? Well, how about directing your anger at the pitcher who gave up the moonshot.

Nothing sucks the life out of a sport like claiming it is a disgrace to have a good time while playing the game.

Where does anyone say they aren't angry at the pitcher for giving up the moonshot? And you can have a good time without showing up your opponent.

I get from a "teaching kids to play the right way" standpoint that the showboating, trash talk, and "showing up your opponent" is not a good thing.

But professional sports are an entertainment product. You've got very few players who are loyal to their actual team for long periods of time anymore, they follow the money... So you typically lose that connection with "your guys" after one cycle of free agency.

So what you get is teams playing against each other that really don't have any dislike for one another. They want to win, but the drive and burning desire to beat "that team" doesn't really exist anymore, because "that team" is made up of completely different guys than "that team" was 3 years ago.

It all starts to become very sterile... So why not loosen things up a bit in regards to conduct? Create some hate again. Astros fans hate Odor. Rangers fans probably now hate Bautista... Both fanbases are going to tune in the next time their team plays that opponent to see how things go.... Why is that a bad thing?

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I get from a "teaching kids to play the right way" standpoint that the showboating, trash talk, and "showing up your opponent" is not a good thing.

But professional sports are an entertainment product. You've got very few players who are loyal to their actual team for long periods of time anymore, they follow the money... So you typically lose that connection with "your guys" after one cycle of free agency.

So what you get is teams playing against each other that really don't have any dislike for one another. They want to win, but the drive and burning desire to beat "that team" doesn't really exist anymore, because "that team" is made up of completely different guys than "that team" was 3 years ago.

It all starts to become very sterile... So why not loosen things up a bit in regards to conduct? Create some hate again. Astros fans hate Odor. Rangers fans probably now hate Bautista... Both fanbases are going to tune in the next time their team plays that opponent to see how things go.... Why is that a bad thing?

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Agreed, every fan base needs villains to hate

Odor fits the bill with me, just like Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett used to

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If you want a good idea of why the game of baseball is losing fans, look at Goose's rant and realize that there are so many baseball spectators who feel the exact same way. A guy who flips his bat upsets you? Well, how about directing your anger at the pitcher who gave up the moonshot.

Nothing sucks the life out of a sport like claiming it is a disgrace to have a good time while playing the game.

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Yeah, but pimping a home run down 5 is just dumb which is what it will evolve to like the dumb **** they do in the NFL.

I'm in the minority but I hate watching ncaa bball now because they just jack up 3's since it statistically makes sense if they're good... which most aren't. I find that way more boring.

Call me old but I hate the just try to hit a moon shot every at bat instead of moving guys over like they used to.

/end rant

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I get from a "teaching kids to play the right way" standpoint that the showboating, trash talk, and "showing up your opponent" is not a good thing.

But professional sports are an entertainment product. You've got very few players who are loyal to their actual team for long periods of time anymore, they follow the money... So you typically lose that connection with "your guys" after one cycle of free agency.

So what you get is teams playing against each other that really don't have any dislike for one another. They want to win, but the drive and burning desire to beat "that team" doesn't really exist anymore, because "that team" is made up of completely different guys than "that team" was 3 years ago.

It all starts to become very sterile... So why not loosen things up a bit in regards to conduct? Create some hate again. Astros fans hate Odor. Rangers fans probably now hate Bautista... Both fanbases are going to tune in the next time their team plays that opponent to see how things go.... Why is that a bad thing?

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Where does anyone say they aren't angry at the pitcher for giving up the moonshot? And you can have a good time without showing up your opponent.

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My thoughts aside on pitching inside/elbow pads, the new sliding rule, Ryan Braun, etc....

If he's going to complain that baseball is less physical, that you can't knock a guy on his ass, that "nerds" have ruined the game (He's talking about a lot of you guys, by the way), etc. than I fail to see where Goose is getting at complaining about a bat flip.

If he wants it to be a gritty, dirty, edgy, emotional game then he better be prepared to have a batter show you up when he beats your ass.

He sounds like a self-serving blowhard here that may have hit the bottle a little too hard before that interview.

I also don't know what he means by the "good old days". Does he think he played in the "good old days" of baseball? He played in the dark ages. The good old days came decades before you did Goose, and guess what, it wasn't the kind of physical ball game you're suggesting its supposed to be.

Out geezered the goose. Well done. I've only enjoyed baseball more over the years. Used to be I had to follow my pro team on the radio, now I even get college games on TV. I'm a big fan of the "K Zone", it's so cool being able to see what the pitchers are doing with every pitch. Baseball just keeps getting better.