Baseball Toaster The Griddle
Log in | Register | Help
You get a DFA and a beating?
2008-05-05 13:09
by Bob Timmermann

Jacque Jones of the Tigers was designated for assignment today.

The headline on Yahoo! Sports about it reads (since fixed):

Tigers OF Jones leaves with contusion

 

Comments
2008-05-05 13:15:53
1.   underdog
This brings up another pet peeve of mine, which I see all the time nowadays -- so frequently, I'm starting to doubt my own sanity. Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't it actually improper to say someone needs to "get untracked"? Shouldn't it really be "on track"? Untracked implies the same as derailed, if you take it literally, i.e., off the tracks. I know people are meaning it as "get unstuck" but it just seems like it's wrong.

Not as wrong as a phantom contusion, though.

2008-05-05 13:28:49
2.   DXMachina
If you consider the ruts in a road as a track, getting untracked might be a good thing.
2008-05-05 13:29:33
3.   old dodger fan
In his last game, about a week ago, he was 2 for 5, scored 3 runs and hit his first HR of the season. He probably thought he had just gotten back "on track". Little did he know he was done in Detroit.
2008-05-05 13:31:03
4.   underdog
2 - Maybe, "in a rut" makes more sense as a way to say that, though. But I'm sure that's what it means. I suppose I should just get off this track and give it up.
2008-05-05 13:36:51
5.   Bob Timmermann
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/untracked.html
2008-05-05 13:53:28
6.   StolenMonkey86
Yep, not everyone can hit .160 and still keep a major league starting job.
2008-05-05 13:55:52
7.   Cliff Corcoran
From Merriam-Webster's on-line:

Untrack

Function:
transitive verb
Date:
1939

: to cause to escape from a slump

Seems it's pretty much a sports-only usage.

More here:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002148.html

That said, as an editor, I've always replaced that use of "untracked" with "on track," even in a sports context.

2008-05-05 14:01:12
8.   underdog
7 Ditto here. I guess editors get paid to be anal (but at least we're not paid very well for it). Anyway, glad I'm not the only one so bothered.
2008-05-05 14:12:57
9.   D4P
I hate "untracked".
2008-05-05 14:41:31
10.   MC Safety
9 LOL
2008-05-05 14:46:17
11.   bobsbrother
Is having something go downhill a good thing or a bad thing? "And from there, it was downhill all the way," seems good, there was nothing stopping you. But then, if you said, something "went downhill fast," that sounds bad.
Next up: anxious vs. eager.
2008-05-05 15:08:27
12.   JoeyP
He was useless PVL that should have never been signed by the Tigers. Another Sean Casey-esque (what the tigers thinking???) type of signing.

Free Marcus Thames.

2008-05-05 15:45:41
13.   Brent is a Dodger Fan
I will offer the following, similar misuses:

- Irregardless: it is either irrespective, or regardless. Those saying "irregardless" are naively (or ironically) combining these two other words.

- Buy Off: you can obtain a person's buy-in, or you can have that person sign-of. Again, those saying "buy off" are naively (or lazily) combining these two phrases.

Likewise, "untracked" seems to be a combination, a made up expression, irrespective of what Merriam-Webster's on-line says.

2008-05-05 17:36:54
14.   fordprefect
13
I twitch the same way whenever irregardless or irrespective is used. Just can't help it.
Post a comment   (Help)

To comment, please log in.

Not a member? Register!
A place where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure, but he has to keep his watch on Pacific Time
Hot from the Toaster
Search
Google Search
Web
Toaster
The Griddle
Archives

2008
05  04  03  02  01 

2007
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2006
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2005
12  10  07 
06  05  04  03 
Suggestions, comments, ring the catcher's interference alarm?

Email me at btimmermann@gmail.com

NCAA Tournament Contest Champion

Andrew Shimmin

2008 contest

Links
The last time ...
If the playoffs started today...

American League:

#2 Los Angeles (West) vs. #4 Boston (Wild Card)

#3 Cleveland (Central) vs #1 Tampa Bay (East)

National League:

#1 Arizona (West) vs. #4 Houston or Philadelphia (Wild Card)
#2 Chicago (Central) vs. #3 Florida (East)

2008 Conference Standings (5/16)
National League
Rank Team W L PCT Division
1 Arizona 27 15 .643 W1
2 Chicago Cubs 26 16 .619 C1
3 Florida 23 18 .561 E1
4T Houston 24 19 .558 C2
4T Philadelphia 24 19 .558 E2
6 St. Louis 24 20 .545 C3
7 New York Mets 20 19 .513 E3
8T Los Angeles Dodgers 21 20 .512 W2
8T Atlanta 21 20 .512 E4
10 Milwaukee 20 21 .488 C4
11 Pittsburgh 20 22 .476 C5
12 Cincinnati 19 23 .452 C6
13 Washington 18 25 .419 E5
14 San Francisco 17 26 .395 W3
15 San Diego 16 27 .372 W4
16 Colorado 15 27 .357 W5
American League
Rank Team W L PCT Division
1 Tampa Bay 25 17 .595 E1
2 Los Angeles Angels 25 19 .568 W1
3 Cleveland 22 20 .524 C1
4 Boston 24 19 .558 E2
5 Baltimore 22 19 .537 E3
6 Oakland 23 20 .535 W2
7T Minnesota 21 20 .512 C2
7T Chicago White Sox 21 20 .512 C2
9T Texas 21 22 .488 W3
9T Kansas City 20 21 .488 C4
11 Toronto 21 23 .477 E4
12 New York Yankees 20 22 .476 E5
13 Detroit 16 26 .381 C5
14 Seattle 16 27 .372 W4
Random Game Callbacks

Select a date:

So where is that book?

Personal favorites that I wrote
The last batter to reach on catcher's interference was ...

Travis Hafner of Cleveland by Gregg Zaun of Toronto on May 12, 2008

FAQs
Cycle alerts

Yellow alert - Player needs triple for cycle
Orange alert - Player needs double for cycle
Red alert - Player need single for cycle

If a player needs a home run for the cycle, the level of the alert varies depending upon the determination of the Cycle Detection Warning System, which is headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

Syndication

rss2.0

Add to My Yahoo!