Quarterfinal Match/Mark C. vs. BtownJay - Page 2

mark_chalifoux · June 6th, 2005, 01:38 PM

I don't believe it. I was completely jobbed. I will be the first to admit I phoned it in, as I practiced all week with the 1980 Russian hockey team. Still though, I have to admit the decision shocked me. I thought the rebuttal round was where it was at, so I was careful not to tip my hand in the opening remarks.

I have to admit, baseball is probably my worst sport, but that takes nothing away from this win. No, the surprise isn't in BtownJay winning, but by winning with the MARLINS. It takes a great debater (or ignorant judges...) to convince the judges that the Marlins, a team that loses to anyone and is barely .500, is going to win the world series. And I didn't even take a team like the reds, I had the freakin whitesox, one of baseball's hottest teams.

Since when do individual stats count more than wins?? Florida playing their best baseball of the season is barely .500, what happens when they hit a rough streak?? Jeez. Pathetic. I let down WhiteSox nation with this one, because even Mike Simonds should have been able to argue that.

Either way, props to Bjay, but its pretty clear what he represents

BtownJay= the Santa Clara to my North Carolina

Aveosmth · June 6th, 2005, 01:43 PM

I have to admit, this was a shocking upset. Mark, you got beat by the smallest of margins. I read both of your articles at least 8 times trying to decide. It was that close.

BtownJay · June 6th, 2005, 01:54 PM

The only thing is, records in the first week of June mean nothing. Neither do all those wins against the Royals, Indians and Tigers. I think you will be suprised come the end of the year Mark. And all those stats certainly do mean something... it means they are and have a complete team. Ah well, i guess we will see.

2 things I was curious about... 1, what six starters could you have possibly been looking at for the sox that could be #1 or 2 guys? They have only used 6 guys to start this year so far and one is Brandon McCarthy (who started only 2 games)?? 2, where did you come up with the "good farm system" for them? They don't have any top prospects (according to baseball america) and their AAA team doesn't have anyone either.

mark_chalifoux · June 6th, 2005, 02:41 PM

Avery, I think its pretty clear we need a word limit. Maybe 2-300 for round 1, 4-500 for round 2. I know i went a hard 1100 words for the rebuttal, and you dont want to be judging that each week, so we should probably cap it.

Santa Clara- The records show that the team knows how to win. Good teams will beat up on lesser teams, that's why they are good. THe Marlins lose to lesser teams, and are barely floating above .500.

How can individual statistics be a greater indicator of a team than the only team statistic you have, wins/losses? If the Marlins are playing their best ball of the year, how are they struggling to stay above .500? If they are such a complete team why are they TWO!!!!! games over .500?? Inconsistency will take you nowhere in the playoffs

1. Buehrle, Garcia, Jose Contreras, Garland, Hernandez and then McCarthy (whos only started 2 because of the solid top five, you will see, this rookie will be a star.)
2. The Sox have scary depth, they don't have a couple studs, but they have a lot of young kids who are going to develop into stars. So the deep farm system doesnt come from one or two guys, but from the overall strength of the players in the system.

Props to you Santa Clara Jay, but this is far from over

Aveosmth · June 6th, 2005, 02:56 PM

Hmmm...I smell REMATCH!!

Mark,

I still debating on the idea of a word count. I think you'll see that going on too long is just as bad as not saying enough. Nevertheless, a word count would promote some uniformity...hmmm....

BtownJay · June 6th, 2005, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aveosmth

Hmmm...I smell REMATCH!!

We'll definitly have a rematch... however he will have to win some matches first to prove he is worthy.

ssigman · June 6th, 2005, 04:02 PM

wow callin him santa clara and calling yourself north carolina after he beat you...clearly you think more of yourself than what most people think of you

i wouldn't take that jay

BtownJay · June 6th, 2005, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssigman

wow callin him santa clara and calling yourself north carolina after he beat you...clearly you think more of yourself than what most people think of you

i wouldn't take that jay

Ah, why not... who am I to stand in the way of him sleeping better at night?

ssigman · June 6th, 2005, 04:11 PM

i'm still mad i lost and i didn't even know my topic

Rusty27 · June 6th, 2005, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssigman

wow callin him santa clara and calling yourself north carolina after he beat you...clearly you think more of yourself than what most people think of you

i wouldn't take that jay

I agree.Jays won fair and square shooting down the Sox weak schedule to date.
Even the Devil Rays made quick work of them in St.Pete.
A good writer doesn't necessarily make a good debator.

mark_chalifoux · June 6th, 2005, 06:00 PM

Avery- my thing with the word count would just to help the judges some

I still maintain that I didn't have much of a shot in baseball. That being said, the good teams win their games, even against lousy competition. You can't take away from the Sox record because of the teams they play when the Marlins struggle against inferior teams. If you look at a handful of games you will see occasionally even the best go down against the rest, but it you look at the bigger picture you see who the good teams are.

As far as the whole Santa Clara- UNC thing goes, relax. I have nothing against Btown and was merely talking trash, it's all in good fun. I don't think highly of myself at all (others do that for me).

He beat me fair and square and he should be very proud of himself. Unfortunately for Bjay, it seems like his PCP career has peaked, as it only goes down from here.

I'm ready for a rematch any day, any way. Now that the wake up call has been served, it will be a long long time before I go down again. All I'm waiting on now is for him to get bounced from the tourney.

Forget just the rematch, consider this an open challenge to anyone and everyone who wants a shot. I've got a nice pile of stones here in my glass house, and my throwing arm is finally rested up. Bring it

Shane · June 6th, 2005, 07:21 PM

Mark,

You are a kick ass writer. I appreciate the fact that baseball is your achilles heal. That being said, I predicted publicly that you would win this competition, and privately, that you would destroy Jay.

I read Jay's article first, and then yours. I knew you had him. Then I read the rebuttals, and that is where Jay snaked on you. He managed to tear you up, and it wasn't because he picked the Marlins, or because you picked the Sox. He just argued his case better.

Like Avery said, it was a win for Jay by the narrowest of margins. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a draw.

I am confident that if you had been given a different topic, Jay would be crying in his beer tonight. Unfortunately for you, it didn't go that way. I know you will prevail though.

BtownJay · June 6th, 2005, 07:39 PM

1st, i did not take offense at all Mark, we have been going back and forth since the whole Vick thing.

2nd, baseball is WAY down on my list of sports also... Hockey, Football, and Boxing are all much better for me. But i do admit that my win was a fluke and realize i probably won't win the tourney. I seriously was only hoping i didn't get KO'd by Mark. I only did this for fun... and i accomplished my goal, i had fun. Win or lose, this thing was going to be fun for me. And now, i get an added bonus to have more fun and do another round.

With that said, depending on the next topic i get, i wouldn't be too quick to count me out. I certainly can't write, but i have too much practice arguing.

June 6th, 2005, 01:38 PM	#16
mark_chalifoux Join Date: 07-02-2004 Posts: 305 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	I don't believe it. I was completely jobbed. I will be the first to admit I phoned it in, as I practiced all week with the 1980 Russian hockey team. Still though, I have to admit the decision shocked me. I thought the rebuttal round was where it was at, so I was careful not to tip my hand in the opening remarks. I have to admit, baseball is probably my worst sport, but that takes nothing away from this win. No, the surprise isn't in BtownJay winning, but by winning with the MARLINS. It takes a great debater (or ignorant judges...) to convince the judges that the Marlins, a team that loses to anyone and is barely .500, is going to win the world series. And I didn't even take a team like the reds, I had the freakin whitesox, one of baseball's hottest teams. Since when do individual stats count more than wins?? Florida playing their best baseball of the season is barely .500, what happens when they hit a rough streak?? Jeez. Pathetic. I let down WhiteSox nation with this one, because even Mike Simonds should have been able to argue that. Either way, props to Bjay, but its pretty clear what he represents BtownJay= the Santa Clara to my North Carolina

June 6th, 2005, 01:43 PM	#17
Aveosmth Join Date: 01-28-2005 Posts: 241 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	I have to admit, this was a shocking upset. Mark, you got beat by the smallest of margins. I read both of your articles at least 8 times trying to decide. It was that close.

June 6th, 2005, 01:54 PM	#18
BtownJay Join Date: 07-14-2004 Location: Lehigh Valley, PA Posts: 30,080 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	The only thing is, records in the first week of June mean nothing. Neither do all those wins against the Royals, Indians and Tigers. I think you will be suprised come the end of the year Mark. And all those stats certainly do mean something... it means they are and have a complete team. Ah well, i guess we will see. 2 things I was curious about... 1, what six starters could you have possibly been looking at for the sox that could be #1 or 2 guys? They have only used 6 guys to start this year so far and one is Brandon McCarthy (who started only 2 games)?? 2, where did you come up with the "good farm system" for them? They don't have any top prospects (according to baseball america) and their AAA team doesn't have anyone either.

June 6th, 2005, 02:41 PM	#19
mark_chalifoux Join Date: 07-02-2004 Posts: 305 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	Avery, I think its pretty clear we need a word limit. Maybe 2-300 for round 1, 4-500 for round 2. I know i went a hard 1100 words for the rebuttal, and you dont want to be judging that each week, so we should probably cap it. Santa Clara- The records show that the team knows how to win. Good teams will beat up on lesser teams, that's why they are good. THe Marlins lose to lesser teams, and are barely floating above .500. How can individual statistics be a greater indicator of a team than the only team statistic you have, wins/losses? If the Marlins are playing their best ball of the year, how are they struggling to stay above .500? If they are such a complete team why are they TWO!!!!! games over .500?? Inconsistency will take you nowhere in the playoffs 1. Buehrle, Garcia, Jose Contreras, Garland, Hernandez and then McCarthy (whos only started 2 because of the solid top five, you will see, this rookie will be a star.) 2. The Sox have scary depth, they don't have a couple studs, but they have a lot of young kids who are going to develop into stars. So the deep farm system doesnt come from one or two guys, but from the overall strength of the players in the system. Props to you Santa Clara Jay, but this is far from over

June 6th, 2005, 02:56 PM	#20
Aveosmth Join Date: 01-28-2005 Posts: 241 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	Hmmm...I smell REMATCH!! Mark, I still debating on the idea of a word count. I think you'll see that going on too long is just as bad as not saying enough. Nevertheless, a word count would promote some uniformity...hmmm....

June 6th, 2005, 04:02 PM	#22
ssigman Join Date: 03-15-2004 Posts: 28,689 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	wow callin him santa clara and calling yourself north carolina after he beat you...clearly you think more of yourself than what most people think of you i wouldn't take that jay

June 6th, 2005, 04:11 PM	#24
ssigman Join Date: 03-15-2004 Posts: 28,689 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	i'm still mad i lost and i didn't even know my topic

June 6th, 2005, 06:00 PM	#26
mark_chalifoux Join Date: 07-02-2004 Posts: 305 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	Avery- my thing with the word count would just to help the judges some I still maintain that I didn't have much of a shot in baseball. That being said, the good teams win their games, even against lousy competition. You can't take away from the Sox record because of the teams they play when the Marlins struggle against inferior teams. If you look at a handful of games you will see occasionally even the best go down against the rest, but it you look at the bigger picture you see who the good teams are. As far as the whole Santa Clara- UNC thing goes, relax. I have nothing against Btown and was merely talking trash, it's all in good fun. I don't think highly of myself at all (others do that for me). He beat me fair and square and he should be very proud of himself. Unfortunately for Bjay, it seems like his PCP career has peaked, as it only goes down from here. I'm ready for a rematch any day, any way. Now that the wake up call has been served, it will be a long long time before I go down again. All I'm waiting on now is for him to get bounced from the tourney. Forget just the rematch, consider this an open challenge to anyone and everyone who wants a shot. I've got a nice pile of stones here in my glass house, and my throwing arm is finally rested up. Bring it

June 6th, 2005, 07:21 PM	#27
Shane Join Date: 06-08-2003 Location: Bend, Oregon Posts: 6,402 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	Mark, You are a kick ass writer. I appreciate the fact that baseball is your achilles heal. That being said, I predicted publicly that you would win this competition, and privately, that you would destroy Jay. I read Jay's article first, and then yours. I knew you had him. Then I read the rebuttals, and that is where Jay snaked on you. He managed to tear you up, and it wasn't because he picked the Marlins, or because you picked the Sox. He just argued his case better. Like Avery said, it was a win for Jay by the narrowest of margins. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a draw. I am confident that if you had been given a different topic, Jay would be crying in his beer tonight. Unfortunately for you, it didn't go that way. I know you will prevail though.

June 6th, 2005, 07:39 PM	#28
BtownJay Join Date: 07-14-2004 Location: Lehigh Valley, PA Posts: 30,080 Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0	1st, i did not take offense at all Mark, we have been going back and forth since the whole Vick thing. 2nd, baseball is WAY down on my list of sports also... Hockey, Football, and Boxing are all much better for me. But i do admit that my win was a fluke and realize i probably won't win the tourney. I seriously was only hoping i didn't get KO'd by Mark. I only did this for fun... and i accomplished my goal, i had fun. Win or lose, this thing was going to be fun for me. And now, i get an added bonus to have more fun and do another round. With that said, depending on the next topic i get, i wouldn't be too quick to count me out. I certainly can't write, but i have too much practice arguing.