#NerdsUnite: Should there be a respect clause in a contract?

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JeffW171

OK, I’m from Baltimore. I never liked the Yankees, but I always respected them because it seemed like they respected the game. Sure, they may have bought a championship or two recently, but they’re playing within the rules, so who cares?

However, recent events unfolded Saturday night that got me thinking some players respect the game, the other team and, on occasion, the fans that pay their salary. What I don’t understand is how a player can claim he’s disrespected.

Former catcher Jorge Posada, of the Yankees, was moved to ninth in the lineup. Dude’s hitting .165 with six home runs and 15 RBIs.  The Yankees are paying him $13.1 million this year. That amounts to $71,000+ per game, if he plays all 162. And, as a designated hitter he gets four, maybe five at-bats per game. That total amounts to, roughly, $18,000 an at-bat.

Isn’t $71,000 a game enough respect to go out and do your job? I’d LOVE that kind of money annually, much less for one game. If manager Joe Girardi wants him to hit ninth he should do it and take it in stride.

Posada claimed that it was disrespect and that he “had a bad day.” I know that if I refuse to do my job because I’m having a bad day I’d be gone in a second. Posada, though, continues to get paid and keep his job.

Is there a respect clause in his contract? I’m going out on a limb here and going to say no, but isn’t the $13.1 million deal the Yankees signed Posada to this offseason a show of respect to a lifetime Yankee? There’s absolutely no reason for Posada to act like he did, especially against the Yankees’ biggest rival, the Boston Red Sox, over the weekend. What do you think is the show of respect where the man bats in the lineup or the dollar amount the Yankees are paying to an obviously aging player?

#nerdsunite

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#Question: Will Madden be impacted by PSN’s issues?

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Jeffw171

It’s that time of year when the buzz of Madden being released. Some treat the release as a holiday and take off work just to play. Sure, some wait (like myself) for the rush to die down because we have tons of games to play. Madden just seems to be one of those things, though, that we just buy it every year even if we’ve played a football video game before.

I enjoy Madden for the entertainment value, playing with my favorite team (the Baltimore Ravens) and learning plays to make it easier to understand the games when I’m watching them on television on Sunday afternoons in the fall. And yes, it is helpful, particularly on certain rules or plays run by the home or opposing teams. Occasionally, I’ll log in with my Playstation 3 and challenge some unknown and beat that person.

I’m not really in to playing Madden with friends, though. There is definitely a good chunk of people who are, but they may have some issues this year. The biggest issue, of course as you know, is that the Playstation Network has been hacked and it’s unclear when it will usable again.

True Madden doesn’t come out until August, but who’s to really know when PSN will be back up and running? I’m aware of the rumors that it could be back up and running at the end of this week, thus rendering this post irrelevant.

The next question that comes up, then, is will users trust the network in time for Madden? Would you trust PSN in just three short months?

I bought DeathSpank: Orphans of Justice and DeathSpank 2: Thongs of Virtue from PSN and it’s still uncertain if my credit card information, among other things, was compromised. We’ll see the changes made in PSN to see if I trust it enough to log on and beat up on some noobs in Madden ’12 when I buy it.

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Jeff on Twitter

And don't miss his blog over yonder!! www.jeffwolfsonsports.com

#NerdsUnite: Baseball and meteorology together on the field

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Jeffw171

My adventures of working in baseball for almost the past three years got me thinking, “what if I chose a different career path like meteorology?” Nerds like weather radars, right? I mean – how can we not? It impacts what we wear and sometimes even our moods. In my case, it affects how long my shift at work will turn out to be.

I really like it when both teams play and there are clear skies because, well, the game is shorter.  Here in the east, for whatever reason, we’ve had an absolutely dreadful April as far as weather is concerned and it has impacted me at work.  I find myself more often than not looking at radars and seeing how long a storm will take to get through the area of a game.

I mean really. I didn’t sign up for this! I’m trained to be an editor/writer not a damn meteorologist. If I wanted a career where I had to track weather I would have just tried to work for a TV news station and be wrong 50 percent of the time. No, I chose a career based on facts not checking weather forecasts and how dark the green, yellow or red is on a map. Let me just stick to sports not how weather will affect my night – or future nights for that matter.

I guess sports and meteorology really do go hand in hand though. I don’t really appreciate having to deal with it, but it does help keep my nerd credentials. In a way that makes me happy.

#thatisall

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#NerdsUnite: Meet @jeffw171, your nerdy sport-y lover!

Alritteeeyyyy then. So this duderino sent me an IM on Facebook last week while I was in Vegas asking if he could write for us. I asked him where his area of nerd-spertise was, and he said sports! Rad! We don't have someone of that! Took a look at his stuff, and dudes - totally didn't suck.

Nerds ... meet Jeff! Hit it!

When I approached Jen about an opportunity to write for her, she was more than willing to oblige and give me a chance to write for Talk Nerdy To Me Lover.  So my best idea for my first post was to introduce myself.

My name is Jeff Wolfson. I graduated from college not very long ago and have held a job in sports media since. I work for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network’s website MASNsports.com while also doing some writing on the side. In my years of helping to cover the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, I’ve learned probably the most important part of my personality: I’m a nerd that has a love of sports.

The nerd part of me is mostly hidden because I was always the athletic type growing up, but I always had a thing for video games, comic books and cartoons.  To this day, I still play video games, read the occasional comic book, and watch countless animated movies.

While writing for Talk Nerdy To Me Lover I will touch on sports from my take, but I may throw some nerd references in there just to keep my nerd credentials. I will have something new every Tuesday. Anyway, to contact me you can tweet at @jeffw171. I’d love to hear from you and get some feedback. You can also visit my personal Web site at www.jeffwolfsonsports.com. Looking forward to interacting with you!

Jeff will be posting every Tuesday. So feel free to tune in and check it out. Or not, whatevs - I'll just boutique direct target market you on Facebook either way ... and like stick it in your face and make you say Uncle. Does anyone even say Uncle anymore? Like is that still a thing? If I walked up to a 12 year old, and said yo! Do you still say uncle - would they even know what I am talking about? Wait, I shouldn't be going up to 12 year olds for anything ... at all ... ever. Am I still talking? Shut up Jen.

WELCOME JEFF!!!!

#nerdsunite

PS. If anyone is ever interested in writing for us, just shoot me an email with a sample post: JenFriel@TalkNerdyToMeLover.com I'm putting my manager hat on, and going to give everyone a day to post so we're not all freakishly random like we have been for the last year. Gotta orrgganniiiizzzeeeeeee!!! But yah! Look forward to hearing from you. HIZZUAH!!