At least Dan Shaughnessy is honest

Unlike Heyman, Dan Shaughnessy admits that he just goes with his gut when it comes to the Hall of Fame:

Each Hall voter applies his own standards, and mine often references the famous line that Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart applied to pornography. Stewart argued that he might not be able to define what was pornographic, “but I know it when I see it.’'

Which is why Shaughnessy says, regarding Edgar Martinez, “I just can’t bring myself to put him in Cooperstown alongside Ted Williams, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.” That’s well and good if you’re a small-Hall kind of guy.

Of course, given how much time he spent over the past decade arguing in favor of Jim Rice, I’m guessing that Shaughnessy is not a small hall guy. Or at least not when it comes to Red Sox.

Thinking more deeply about it, if his whole pornography/Hall of Fame analogy holds up, Shaughnessy’s yes on Rice, no on Edgar Martinez thing might give us some scary insight into what kind of kinky stuff turns that curly-haired rascal on.

Now try to get that image out of your head.