Worst MLB Uniforms

[The_Admiral]

Perhaps Extreme, like Rockies, is a bad nickname no matter how you designate it. They probably could have done better. Denver Bears was surely out of play for obvious reasons, but Denver Zephyrs would have been really cool. Zephs or Z's for short. Not a lot of Z names. Maybe it could have inspired them not to look exactly like the dang White Sox.

 

Denver Avalanche sounds great, and Pat Foley already seems to think they're called that half the time. It was a '70s soccer team name, too, and I doubt anyone was Well Actuallying the city proper's lack of downhill snow-related disasters.

[WSU151]

6 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Perhaps Extreme, like Rockies, is a bad nickname no matter how you designate it. They probably could have done better. Denver Bears was surely out of play for obvious reasons, but Denver Zephyrs would have been really cool. Zephs or Z's for short. Not a lot of Z names. Maybe it could have inspired them not to look exactly like the dang White Sox.

 

Denver Avalanche sounds great, and Pat Foley already seems to think they're called that half the time. It was a '70s soccer team name, too, and I doubt anyone was Well Actuallying the city proper's lack of downhill snow-related disasters.

 

They stayed away from Zephyrs to get away from the AAA team's brand.  

 

A lot of people must have been Not-Giving-A-:censored:ing about 70s soccer team names when the Nordiques came to town.  

[The_Admiral]

Didn't want to be mistaken for some mere minor-league team, just wanted to be mistaken for the White Sox.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

52 minutes ago, the admiral said:

22 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

What's more, the term "the New York island" to refer to Long Island dates at least to the 1940s and Woody Guthrie's song "This Land Is Your Land"

Wasn't he probably referring to Manhattan Island...?

 

I suppose that's one possible reading.

 

But the chorus mentions natural features, not man-made ones.  Let us realise that, at the time the song was written, Long Island did not evoke thoughts of suburban nowheresville as it does now; at that time, Long Island was still largely undeveloped, and was "out in the country".  

 

I think that this is the imagery being invoked in the lyrics that go on to mention "redwood forests" and "Gulf Stream waters".

 

 

[The_Admiral]

Suffolk County was also a KKK stronghold then, which is funny to think of now. AYYY, I'M LYNCHIN' HE-UH

 

I prefer to think it was Manhattan Island, because that's what would come to mind for me, but I'm willing to look it up. I'm glad that Woody Guthrie came up in this thread, though, that's cool. Good socialist anthem! bwhw.

[kroywen]

10 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

I suppose that's one possible reading.

 

But the chorus mentions natural features, not man-made ones.  Let us realise that, at the time the song was written, Long Island did not evoke thoughts of suburban nowheresville as it does now; at that time, Long Island was still largely undeveloped, and was "out in the country".  

 

I think that this is the imagery being invoked in the lyrics that go on to mention "redwood forests" and "Gulf Stream waters".

 

 

According to Joe Klein's biography of Woody Guthrie, the "New York Island" may in fact have originally referred to... Staten Island, of all places.

 

The original 1940 lyrics, sourced from the biography, are posted on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Land_Is_Your_Land#Original_1940_lyrics. That line apparently read "From the California to the Staten Island" when originally written. (More interestingly, the song was also more blatant in being a response to 'God Bless America,' using "God blessed America for me" rather than the now-famous "This land was made for you and me.")

 

I had always interpreted "New York Island" as being Manhattan, but I guess it could be interpreted a number of different ways. Might have just been generalized from "Staten Island" to "New York Island" so as to refer to the various islands that make up the City (and its surroundings).

[oldschoolvikings]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

Wasn't he probably referring to Manhattan Island (as a maximum contrast to the openness of California, not to mention the obvious west-east)? And what did you think of Billy Bragg and Wilco putting his unfinished lyrics to music on the Mermaid Avenue albums? "California Stars" is the only cut I really listen to often.

 

"California Stars" is a good song, although I'm pretty big on "Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key" (the violin break is killer), and "The Unwelcome Guest" has a nice epic sprawl.

[The_Admiral]

"Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key" is really good, but I'm biased against the songs with Billy Bragg on vocals, which I know isn't fair because he has the left-wing bona fides in excess to be doing a Woody Guthrie project, but Billy Bragg is also like the most English person to have ever sung a song, so it kind of clashes with such quintessentially American music. And I'm a Wilco obsessive so he feels a little intrusive in that respect, I guess.

[oldschoolvikings]

7 minutes ago, the admiral said:

"Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key" is really good, but I'm biased against the songs with Billy Bragg on vocals, which I know isn't fair because he has the left-wing bona fides in excess to be doing a Woody Guthrie project, but Billy Bragg is also like the most English person to have ever sung a song, so it kind of clashes with such quintessentially American music. And I'm a Wilco obsessive so he feels a little intrusive in that respect, I guess.

 

That's interesting... I get it, but for whatever reason it doesn't bother me.  I guess I was already used to hearing Billy Bragg sing union protests songs, so it felt relatively seamless to me.  At this point, I can only hear "Which side are you on, boys?" with a crazy thick english accent.

 

For what it's worth, Woody and Marjorie were long time Coney Island residents, but I always assumed "New York Island" referred to Staten Island, for the immigration aspect.

 

(How do you feel about the last two Uncle Tupelo albums?)

[The_Admiral]

Anodyne is fantastic and March 16-20, 1992 is very good as well. "New Madrid" is probably my favorite song of theirs; it really seems to be a perfect segue into the first Wilco album. "Black Eye" kind of predicts a lot of late 2000s Wilco with that dark-and-stormy acoustic sound, stuff like "One Wing" or "Deeper Down" or "Black Moon" or "On and On and On."

Still Feel Gone is the only album of theirs that never clicked with me.

[Cujo]

3 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

Also, the Rocky Mountains are not limited to the state of Colorado.

 

...Nor are gold nuggets, avalanche incidents or white broncos. [insert OJ joke here]

 

When you hear "Rocky Mountains", what state comes to mind first? Exactly. Plus, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park is a stone's throw from Denver. Not the greatest nickname, but it's absolutely appropriate for the region.

 

As for the Avalanche, I think the nickname is atrocious. Will not be defending that one.

[oldschoolvikings]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

Anodyne is fantastic and March 16-20, 1992 is very good as well. "New Madrid" is probably my favorite song of theirs; it really seems to be a perfect segue into the first Wilco album. "Black Eye" kind of predicts a lot of late 2000s Wilco with that dark-and-stormy acoustic sound, stuff like "One Wing" or "Deeper Down" or "Black Moon" or "On and On and On."

Still Feel Gone is the only album of theirs that never clicked with me.

 

"New Madrid" is amazing.  You have fine taste in music, my friend.

 

We've probably highjacked this thread enough now.

[bwburke94]

Uh... let's get back on track.

[SFGiants58]

3 hours ago, Cujo said:

 

...Nor are gold nuggets, avalanche incidents or white broncos. [insert OJ joke here]

 

When you hear "Rocky Mountains", what state comes to mind first? Exactly. Plus, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park is a stone's throw from Denver. Not the greatest nickname, but it's absolutely appropriate for the region.

 

I can concede that point. Denver Rockies doesn't have the nice syllable balance of Colorado Rockies. I still prefer city names over state names, but thankfully some of the most egregious instances of that naming convention are gone (i.e. Florida Marlins and California Angels) and branding has trended away from state names.

[kroywen]

36 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

I can concede that point. Denver Rockies doesn't have the nice syllable balance of Colorado Rockies. I still prefer city names over state names, but thankfully some of the most egregious instances of that naming convention are gone (i.e. Florida Marlins and California Angels) and branding has trended away from state names.

Except in the case of the Arizona Coyotes, apparently, who went in the exact opposite direction in a vain attempt to appeal to the entire state (as if most of Arizona didn't live in the Phoenix area anyway).

 

As mentioned by others, I can give a pass to the Colorado Rockies, Florida Panthers, and Texas Rangers, since those teams are named after actual things. Likewise for the Minnesota and New Jersey teams given the nature of their home markets (without one main city). But the Florida Marlins, Utah Jazz, California Angels, Colorado Avalanche, and all those Arizona teams? No excuses for those.

[OnWis97]

38 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

I can concede that point. Denver Rockies doesn't have the nice syllable balance of Colorado Rockies. I still prefer city names over state names, but thankfully some of the most egregious instances of that naming convention are gone (i.e. Florida Marlins and California Angels) and branding has trended away from state names.

I don't know.  Fairly recent changes include Arizona Cardinals and Coyotes.

 

It may be that teams that are in multi-team states are shying away from that while states with one primary media marked (Colorado, Utah, Minnesota, Arizona) are going to stick with state names.

 

I suppose Oklahoma City bucks that trend, though.  Given that they are the only major team in the state, I remain surprised they went with the city name.  (Their road jersey would look better had they not).

 

Indiana Pacers is a bit of a surprise...they changed quite some time ago, but I'd associate "Pacers" more with the city than the state.

[Ben in LA]

2 hours ago, bwburke94 said:

Uh... let's get back on track.

Love the color; hate the wordmark.

[TVIXX]

2 hours ago, bwburke94 said:

Uh... let's get back on track.

It needs more brown

[The_Admiral]

2 hours ago, OnWis97 said:

I suppose Oklahoma City bucks that trend, though.  Given that they are the only major team in the state, I remain surprised they went with the city name.

 Branding as Oklahoma City was their way of not getting caught up in OU/Oklahoma State bickering.

 

You know, if we couldn't have the Vancouver Mounties in the NBA, we shouldn't have the Texas Rangers, either. They're stealing valor from real Texas Rangers.

[WSU151]

16 minutes ago, the admiral said:

 Branding as Oklahoma City was their way of not getting caught up in OU/Oklahoma State bickering.

 

You know, if we couldn't have the Vancouver Mounties in the NBA, we shouldn't have the Texas Rangers, either. They're stealing valor from real Texas Rangers.

 

I'm just waiting until the CFL team changes its name to the Vancouver Lions.  Because mountainous features should be attributed to the city...right?