The Billiken's Bluff

Purists hate pull hitters. This is standard among commentators though it goes unsaid. By gushing about meek hitting, scrappy hitters who use the whole field, who spray the ball the opposite way, who go with the pitch, they are implying that power hitting pull hitters are somehow cheapening the game. They are talented but only with a brute force. They are like cavemen swinging clubs. They lack the cerebral component that allows them to do the little things, to see the whole field. They are suspicious of anyone who makes it look too easy.

The shift is on.



They love Jeter because he is a gamer, he plays the right way. He cares, he looks like he goes home and studies video tape after the game. He might actually go to Bungalow 8 after said game. But perception is reality and if Michael Kay says its so...



So it is said Jeter has a workman's like approach to his profession. He makes smart plays. A double play. A sacrifice bunt. An opposite field single. Moving the runners up. Diving into the stands.



While all of the above have a utility to them, they are less than shocking and aweing. They don't scream prowess, they scream proficiency.



A brief aside. This play, during the 2001 postseason, is the biggest the king's new clothes moment in YES network era Yankees history. No one wants to admit that this play was completely uncalled for. The ball was on line. The throw was in time. Posada would have caught it the runner would have been out. Jeter, with his relay shovel, played the middle man taking nothing more than a mark up in the transaction.



They hate Manny Ramirez. His uniform does not fit. He has dread locks. He basically falls asleep in the field and does not study. He looks like he might not really care either. But he is a force. He rolls out of bed, yawns and hits 45 home runs and 130 RBIs every year. If you are a caveman why bother doing any little things?



I watched American Dad last Sunday.



The wife on the show thinks George Clooney is an overrated actor. She says he makes the same facial expression in every movie. Looks down. Looks up. Stares seriously, furrows his brow, and smiles.



With this expression, this charm, men and women alike melt before him. She says he isn't a good actor, but people can't seem to see past his charisma and good looks. But there is nothing there except for some big vacuous brown eyes. She then says she wants to kill him... you know it's a cartoon.



There is a bias against natural talent acting or otherwise. Making something look easy, making something look good. Are Clooney's facial expressions somehow less deserved, less effective, or less of a craft because he didn't practice them (am I really trying to debate a cartoon character on FOX, yes, yes I think I am)?

Switching topics slightly, I've been watching a lot of NBA playoffs. I haven't had a stake in any team since the mid-90s Knicks, so I've been rooting for or against individual players. I like players who play with some definitive style. I can't support ballers who look awkward or undistinguished.

There is a certain way to walk down the street.



And a certain way you shouldn't look on camera.



It has something to do with body control.



It has something to do with general posture.



Everyone in the know loves Dirk. ESPN analysts Rick Bucher and Mark Stein love him. Awood is fan. Chris "Mad Dog" Russo picked him as MVP.

You should however, lose points for not being able to stick the landing.



Dirk is 7 foot. FreeDarko creatively described Dirk as a, "seven foot German who plays like an educated liquid giraffe." While I love this description, I would say he plays move more like a gigantic German trying to make his way home on stilts after a drinking a few liters of Grolsch lagers.



That's not really fair. I like watching Dirk. He is unique. He has a certain look to him. He can shoot better than almost anyone in the league and at 7 feet tall that can be entertaining to watch. But it has to be said, there is almost no fluidity in his game. It always looks as if he is jumping off the wrong plant foot when he drives for a layup. Maybe you can't be fluid at 7 feet tall. Too much mass moving in opposite directions.

Of those left in the playoffs I like Nash, Leandro, Diaw, and Wade. I think I like Marquis Daniels but that might just be due to the tattoos and cold-blooded stare (btw why don’t the Mavs play him? Is Avery is benching him for missing Sunday Mass or something like that?) I don't like Antoine, Terry, or anyone on the Pistons (Billups is ok because fearless and clutch, but I don't find his game itself compelling). I can't even bring myself to like Tayshaun Prince. He seems like he has some of what I am looking for:



He plays with frenetic abandon like a Ginobli, who I like. But when Prince shoots a jumper it looks like he has his left arm in a sling. Like a chicken wing jutting out.

Style counts.





I think there is more to be said about this.