Moderation PSA
I always recommend a glance at the comment guidelines if you want to chime in. I’m sure plenty of people haven’t, and still do just fine because they know how to behave themselves anyway. But should you run afoul of the moderators, give it a read, and if you have questions, email. We do believe civility is compatible with healthy debate. Make arguments, not insults.
One of the things that occasionally trips people up is spelling. Look, we make occasional mistakes and will happily tolerate yours, but there has to be at least a modicum of effort to follow conventions of spelling and punctuation. Comments should be readable, and if we can’t read them, they’ll get moderated.
The spelling thing goes for names too, including the mildly challenging ones. If you’ve got something to say about Rizzs, for example, but can’t be bothered to spell his name right, no thanks. Most of the roster’s pretty easy to spell right now anyway, or has handy nicknames like Yuni or Tui, but historically this has included getting it right on Piniella or Pineiro.
So practice along with me – Zduriencik. Z-d-u-r-i-e-n-c-i-k. Along about the winter meetings at the latest, we’re going to expect people to get it right. If all else fails, you can always go with Jack instead (this assumes he doesn’t hire McKeon as his manager, or trade for the likes of Cust or Wilson).
As a shorthand, Z works fine, one letter shouldn’t be hard to remember. I’d stay away from initials, just because we already have an author who uses initials and has an unusual last name starting with Z. Witty variations are okay, but often they’re not nearly as clever or original as you think they are (I don’t know how many forms of “Richie Sux” we’ve seen). And just so we’re clear, Jay-Z is a rapper, end of story.
And that should be Piñeiro.
As I mentioned in one of the early GM announcement threads, if you know about the fruit durian, just spell it with an e, add “cik”, and the Z is trivial:
Z – durien – cik
Someone else came up with an equally good and easy spelling mnemonic with a local slant: think of Burien, but with a d:
Z – durien – cik.
Easy!
I like Siedman’s “Trader Jack” from the post Dave linked to.
What about “Z-Dog”?
I had my heart set on Z-Diddy…
Spelling fashists!
Uh, you spelled “facists” wrong…
Realization in…
3…
2…
1…
oh, Ben, you wag.
I wanted Zod, myself, but settled on Z as the least cute.
Prompted by someone else’s observation in an earlier thread (sorry I don’t remember a handle to credit you) I have developed this little mnemonic (said with a German accent):
“I can zee d Burien from my house, that’s cik!”
Z-d-urien-cik
And, fortunately, I cannot zee Burien from my house.
would Zardoz work?
he does have a giant head …
This sounds like a job for…Z-man! Battling the evils of long-term big money contracts for free agent pitchers and beloved hometown veterans and spreading the concept of replacement level throughout the universe!
No snit?
I liked “Trader Jack” as soon as I read it in the “Pitch F/X” link, by Seidman (spelled according to title on his article, not the incorrect spelling Dave used.) I have no problem spelling Zduriencik in the first place though.
Ha! Okay, now pronounce it!
It’s funny, Zduriencik is a name that many people in the Milwaukee area know how to pronounce. Come out here, very few people could say it correctly while only looking at the name. Many more Polish immigrants historically in that area than here.
BTW, it is zur EN sik, as reported here for those who haven’t caught on yet.
Sure, but can Zack Jduriencik pronounce “Sequim” and “Puyallup?”
If so, maybe he can teach Sims…
This has been niggling at me a lot lately.
I understand it’s a mildly difficult name to spell, but I think that he deserves enough respect from us that we can learn how to spell it out fully.
I don’t think people MEAN to be disrespectful, but think of it this way; if you walked up to him on the street, would you call him Jay-Z or some of the other ridiculous names that people have been using?
Zduriencik. It’s easy.
Sure, but can Zack Jduriencik pronounce “Sequim†and “Puyallup?â€
If so, maybe he can teach Sims…
That would be good. I also agree with Jeff Nye, on just about any thread regarding Zduriencik, his name will be spelled out by someone who know how to spell it, often the writer of the thread. It would take perhaps 10 seconds out of your life to spell his name correctly. Come on.
For clarification since it came up in another thread:, the current mods are myself, Mike Snow, and Graham.
Like learning a new pitch, it just takes a bit of repetition. Spell out Zduriencik carefully a few times, and it’ll be second nature. I’m already at the point where I only need to double check the “ie” vs “ei” part. That and my fingers always want to capitalize the D for some reason: ZDuriencik.
I am partial to GM-Z, but that is probably too close to DMZ for comfort.