26 replies to this topic

[diehard24]

Schilling talks about starting up Green Monster Games, the gaming company that will be his new full-time job when he retires from baseball.

(Wasn't sure where to put this, but figured the main board might find it interesting in these slow days).

[Pumpsie]

Since Sunday, November 4, 2001, Curt Schilling has been my nemesis. That was the day he and Randy Johnson teamed up to beat Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera and the rest of my beloved Yankees in game 7 of what has since been called the best World Series of the modern era.

Boy, it's really hard to get past this guy's very first paragraph.

[Rasputin]

Who called that the best world series of the modern era?

[BigMike]

Who called that the best world series of the modern era?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sure some Diamondback fans did

[xjack]

I'm sure some Diamondback fans did

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It was a pretty good World Series. Not 1991 Twins-Braves good, but a good one.

[Gehrig38]

It was a pretty good World Series. Not 1991 Twins-Braves good, but a good one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Come on, you can't honestly tell me that wasn't one of the top 5 World Series of all time? If you go back and watch those games, they were all pretty intense. Even though we won big in game 1 it was still a big game because you had the dynasty getting beat in game 1 by the upstart newbie team. Game 6, the big blowout, was not boring because of the horror, like driving by a car wreck. Not to mention the fact that when we pounced early it meant a game 7 showdown.
Both teams won their home games, NY came back, on back to back nights, with some of the most clutch hitting I've ever seen and that city got a 4 day reprieve from the 9/11 nightmare.
The games, the backdrop, the finish, I still think it was one of the top 2-3 World Series of all time (but I know I am obviously a little biased)

[DJnVa]

You know, if you don't say 2004 was better, well...I'm shutting down DD's site.

[5belongstoGeorge]

Come on, you can't honestly tell me that wasn't one of the top 5 World Series of all time?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That Luis Gonzales "flair" off Fruitbat was certainly sweet. Just thinking about it makes me smile.

[86spike]

That was a great WS... massive amoutns of drama and no WS since then has measured up.

Now - the ALCS in both 2003 and 2004 do compare... but both the WS after those two series were lesser than 2001 when you think about drama.



So G38... do you have to pay the RS a royalty for the rights to the name 'Green Monster Games'?

[xjack]

Agreed, there was a ton of drama. But it was sloppy drama. Arizona would have won in 5 if Kim hadn't pitched like crap. The series-winning hit was a weak grounder. Etc.

Perhaps my definition of the "modern era" is a little broader than that of the SOSH twenty-something crowd. But I'd be interested if there are any SOSHers who watched both the 1991 series and the 2001 series and believe 2001 was better.

[diehard24]

Agreed, there was a ton of drama. But it was sloppy drama. Arizona would have won in 5 if Kim hadn't pitched like crap. The series-winning hit was a weak grounder. Etc.

Perhaps my definition of the "modern era" is a little broader than that of the SOSH twenty-something crowd. But I'd be interested if there are any SOSHers who watched both the 1991 series and the 2001 series and believe 2001 was better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's starting to feel like this should be split off, but since you asked . . .

My two favorites were '82 Cards/Brewers and '85 Royals/Cards. It took seven games for both series' to determine the winner, and it felt like either team could have won. Of course, I was young and impressionable, so there's a heavy dose of nostalgia in my judgement. Each went a long way in me growing to love the sport beyond the Red Sox.

As an adult, '01 absolutely takes the cake for me. Sloppy drama or not, it was the end of the latest run by the Evil Empire. I think all that slop really added to the excitement, because it felt like the Yankees were going to do it again, getting ridiculous home runs in timely fashion. But Arizona kept hanging on, then the Schill/Randy combo in Game 7, a comeback against the Yankees that ended with a weak blooper to beat Mo, The Greatest Closer of All Time and arguably the reason they had the WS run in the 90s. Someone finally beat him, finally beat the Yankees, and did it when it counted. Man, I'm getting fired up just thinking about it.

[jose melendez]

It was a good series, and game 7 was particularly terrific, but 1991 was by far a better series. There was no bad guy in 1991, which may have made it less dramatic, but from begining to end it was nothing short of spectacular.

[OilCanShotTupac]

Arizona would have won in 5 if Kim hadn't been ridden like a rented mule
.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fixed.

[IronManny]

1991 is the first world series I can remember every game of, and 2001 is the only series since then that can measure up.

I wish I had been around for the 75 series. Obviously it didn't work out great for the Sox, but how do you guys think that one measures up? Obviously I've seen game 6 a million times, but not the entire series.


PS - G38, looking for any AI programmers?

[epraz]

The series-winning hit was a weak grounder. Etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually it was a Texas Leaguer. And Tony Womack (!) had the biggest hit of the inning, a double down the right field line. That's Mazeroski-esque, considering how bad Tony was.

[Pumpsie]

It all depends on how you define the term "the modern era." The "modern era" of baseball, for me, begins in the early fifties with the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees and their great teams. Someone else might define "the modern era" as commencing with the era of free agency that began in the 1970's. If Schill and the writer mean in the last 15-20 years, then, yes, they're right of course.

[Eric Van]

I wish I had been around for the 75 series.  Obviously it didn't work out great for the Sox, but how do you guys think that one measures up?  Obviously I've seen game 6 a million times, but not the entire series.

Well, I was at games 2, 6, and 7, but I'll trt to look at this objectively.

The '75 series was tied after 37% of all half-innings and was a 1-run game after another 34%, for a total of 71%. There were 9 leads that were overcome: 4 of 1 run, 1 of 2, 3 of 3, and 1 of 4. There was at least one blown lead in every game except the first, which was scoreless for 6 1/2.

The '91 series was tied after an amazing 56% of all innings, but was a 1-run game only 21% of the time, for a total of 77%. There were only 6 leads that were overcome: 3 of 1 run, 2 of 2 runs, and 1 of 3. Three of the games featured no blown leads (admittedly, one was Game 7), including game 5, the only in either series which was not close (tied or within 1 run) at least half the time, and Game 1, which was the second least close of either series. And of course every game was won by the home team, which may have given the underdog a crucial and arbitrary advantage.

When you add in the disputed Barnett / Fisk / Armbrister play and all the Game 6 heroics, etc., and weigh it against the Puckett HR and Morris' Game 7 performance, etc., I think the edge is clearly with '75.

Numbers for the '01 series: tied 44% of the time, 1-run game 22%. Six blown leads, 4 of 1 run and 2 of 2. Two games that were less close than any of the other two Series, but 5 barn-burners. One of the few WS won in the bottom of the 9th of game 7. Definitely a great Series, but also clearly not as great as the other two.

Edited by Eric Van, 06 January 2007 - 02:22 AM.

[Pandemonium67]

Jeez, the D'backs World Series was an immediate classic. The incredibly dramatic 11th hour home runs, the come-from-behind wins and heartbreaking losses, a dumbstruck Kim squatting on the mound, Unit and Schilling squaring off against Clemens, Pettitte, Mussina and Rivera, a walkoff come-from-behind win in Game 7 against the world's best closer (who made a huge error)...What more could you ask for? When Luis's little bloop landed in the spot Jeter had vacated, my whole family leaped up, yelled, and high-fived. A great, great moment.

And in case anyone has forgotten, THE YANKEES LOST THAT SERIES IN HEARTBREAKING FASHION. They haven't won since. That series is when Aura and Mystique were exposed as a couple of ho's and the yanks used up all the rest of their pixie dust. Absolutely one of the watershed events of the early 21st century.

[The Gray Eagle]

The 1997 Series ending was hugely dramatic, and games 3 and 5 were good too. Either 1997 or 2002 would have to be the two next best World Series of the last 15 years, after 2001.

2004 was by far my personal favorite, but unbiased fans didn't like it much.

[Harry Hooper]

Jeez, the D'backs World Series was an immediate classic.  The incredibly dramatic 11th hour home runs, the come-from-behind wins and heartbreaking losses, a dumbstruck Kim squatting on the mound, Unit and Schilling squaring off against Clemens, Pettitte, Mussina and Rivera, a walkoff come-from-behind win in Game 7 against the world's best closer (who made a huge error)...What more could you ask for? When Luis's little bloop landed in the spot Jeter had vacated, my whole family leaped up, yelled, and high-fived.  A great, great moment.

And in case anyone has forgotten, THE YANKEES LOST THAT SERIES IN HEARTBREAKING FASHION.  They haven't won since. That series is when Aura and Mystique were exposed as a couple of ho's and the yanks used up all the rest of their pixie dust. Absolutely one of the watershed events of the early 21st century.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen, and don't forget the bald eagle attacking Jeter in the pregame ceremonies.

1991, I am sorry to say, was fatally tainted by the Twinkiedome's huge impact on the games. That series also featured the ridiculous play where Hrbek was allowed to shove Gant off of 1st base and tag him out.

[FelixMantilla]

Don't forget the stellar managing job by Bob Brenley.

[GriffinDoerr]

Nothing will ever match '75 for sheer drama. But then again, I guess I'm old.

[Jim Burton]

Nothing will ever match '75 for sheer drama. But then again, I guess I'm old. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Absolutely. I just wish my handle-sake had pitched a bit better.
.
.Pat.

[Rasputin]

There's no question that 2001 was a really good series probably one of the five best of the last few decades. That's still a far cry from saying it is the best one of the modern era unless your definition of the modern era is ridiculously restrictive.

1991 can go toe to toe with any championship in any sport ever and while it may not win out, it certainly won't embarrass itself. 2001 is a step or two behind is all.

[Catch Me Bruno]

Good stuff. Schilling's obviously had a lot of experience as a gamer, and more than enough experience at building good teams. So many gaming houses self-destruct after completing big projects, or they wind up wrapped around their own axles with in-fighting, that nothing gets done. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. McFarlane in this is a big coup - he's got a boatload of cred in the industry, he knows the market.

I feel like less of a geek now, for some reason. If professional athletes can be geeks, I guess it's ok for us non-professional athletes, too.

[Foxy42]

Saw G38 at a Jimmy Find event yesterday...he was sporting a GMG'S hat...heard 2 guys next to me at one point talking excitedly about what GMGs could become...he may have a lucrative little business on his hands in a few years...

[Resonance Wright]

I feel like less of a geek now, for some reason.  If professional athletes can be geeks, I guess it's ok for us non-professional athletes, too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not just a geek, and not just a gaming geek, but an Evercrack geek! I mean, whoa!


They're onto something, though. Whatever their first release is, I am guaranteed to buy it, sight unseen. Todd McFarlane has been the man ever since Batman: Year Two and as for Schill, well, after 2004 he gets all the benefit of the doubt he needs from this Sox fan, and his discussion of what he wants to achieve with GMG was pretty encouraging to boot.



Going from rotation ace to game magnate... don't think I've ever heard of that before, but I like it a hell of a lot, it shows individualism and panache. If G38 is right about how his 'brand recognition', and Todd's, will translate out into the initial impetus to check out the website, they will have one hell of a chance to capture what can only be described as a very large, and uniquely composed, market. I haven't been this interested in a game company since the heyday of Ion Storm.

Edited by Resonance Wright, 07 January 2007 - 06:13 PM.