[Mock GABA 2009 update: we would've had a bonus Sunday, as the Trenton Thunder completed a suspended game from Saturday against New Britain, followed by Sunday's regularly scheduled full game. Bonus baseball! Monday's stop? Allentown, and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. We'd be spending the day trying to find out exactly what an IronPig really is. Monday the 31st is Wall Calendar Night at the ballpark - just one week left in the minor league season!]
I swear I'm not falling down on the job. Well, I do have the balance of Gerald Ford, so I do trip and fall from time to time. It's just not captured by cameras coast-to-coast like Ford's were.
In this case, I'm talking about a dearth of blog entries of late. It's been a wild week, and the details will come soon enough, but in this economy, I still have to focus on Plan A (gainful employment) before Plan B (the 2010 GABA). There are many dreams to follow, and trust me... the GABA is anything but dead.
OK, quick reflection on the week that was:
- Suddenly, there's a horse running away with each of the three NL division races. You could write three teams on the NL playoff bracket in Cardinal red, Dodger blue, and Philly cheese sauce. (Suddenly, I want Tony Luke's. Bad. If I could click my heels and go back to the 2008 World Series, I'd run to Tony Luke's like Rocky in a training scene). The Rockies and Giants look like wild-card frontrunners, but neither team is all that complete. Which leads me to this... what if we just didn't have a wild card team in the NL this year? Phillies-Cardinals first round, and the Dodgers get a bye. I'm down... what do you think?
- I just got a call from the Big Apple. Seems they've slotted me into the 4th spot in the Mets rotation for the rest of the year. Considering I pitched my last competitive inning at age 14, the call was a shock. The bad news is, I think I injured my wrist putting the phone back in its charger. I'm out for the rest of the season.
- Speaking of injuries, rumors abound that Rich Harden may be heading to Minnesota after the Twins claimed him on waivers from the Cubs. The Twins hope Harden can show their other young pitchers how to spend extended time on the DL.
- Mark Reynolds has 40 homers. Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury have combined for 109 steals. And yet I find myself depending on Matt Diaz for those coveted last few runs and RBIs in fantasy this year. Matt Diaz and David DeJesus. Strange sport, this fantasy.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
An open letter to a random Mets fan
Dear Mets fan:
Please, please take a step back from the ledge.
I totally understand. It's late August 2009, and your season of dreams has turned into a six-month long nightmare. One injury was enough to take, but to see a veritable All-Star team of Metropolitans take up the trainers tables all summer has been too much to bear.
Reyes. Beltran. Delgado. One by one, they've become the boys of suffer. And you've spent the sweltering summer months watching Jeff Francoeur hit into three outs in a split second.
And now, the one anchor on a ship otherwise lost at sea has been pulled up. Johan Santana isn't starting Tuesday night, and depending on who you believe, he either needs rest or surgery.
Yes, it sucks. Yes, you've had to watch the Bandbox Bombers muscle their way to the top of the standings, all while finding yourselves closer to the last-place Nats than the first-place Phillies.
I know the desire is there to step in front of the next plane taking off from LaGuardia.
Don't.
There comes a point where the injuries and bad luck just becomes laughable. And that's all you can do sometimes... just laugh it off.
Pirates and Royals fans have to laugh every year, just to keep from crying.
You'll have your boys back and healthy in 2010. There isn't any reason to stress for another second about an absolute lost cause in 2009.
Waive the white flag. Let Fernando Tatis play a whole bunch of second base if he has to between now and the first of October. See what kind of talent's down in Buffalo and Binghamton.
Maybe, just maybe, you're getting all your bad luck out of the way in one season. The Red Sox only wish they'd had that happen to them over that little 86-year stretch.
Please, please take a step back from the ledge.
I totally understand. It's late August 2009, and your season of dreams has turned into a six-month long nightmare. One injury was enough to take, but to see a veritable All-Star team of Metropolitans take up the trainers tables all summer has been too much to bear.
Reyes. Beltran. Delgado. One by one, they've become the boys of suffer. And you've spent the sweltering summer months watching Jeff Francoeur hit into three outs in a split second.
And now, the one anchor on a ship otherwise lost at sea has been pulled up. Johan Santana isn't starting Tuesday night, and depending on who you believe, he either needs rest or surgery.
Yes, it sucks. Yes, you've had to watch the Bandbox Bombers muscle their way to the top of the standings, all while finding yourselves closer to the last-place Nats than the first-place Phillies.
I know the desire is there to step in front of the next plane taking off from LaGuardia.
Don't.
There comes a point where the injuries and bad luck just becomes laughable. And that's all you can do sometimes... just laugh it off.
Pirates and Royals fans have to laugh every year, just to keep from crying.
You'll have your boys back and healthy in 2010. There isn't any reason to stress for another second about an absolute lost cause in 2009.
Waive the white flag. Let Fernando Tatis play a whole bunch of second base if he has to between now and the first of October. See what kind of talent's down in Buffalo and Binghamton.
Maybe, just maybe, you're getting all your bad luck out of the way in one season. The Red Sox only wish they'd had that happen to them over that little 86-year stretch.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Bruntlett's nanosecond in the spotlight
Mock GABA 2009 update: Monday 8/24 would be a travel day. We'd be heading for New York state after watching the New Britain Rock Cats come from behind to beat the Reading Phillies 5-4. Tomorrow's stop would've been Binghamton, NY (Mets AA) and the start of one of the toughest stretches of the trip - 15 straight days in 15 different cities!
As tough as it is to admit, I do follow sports other than baseball. There, I said it... big exhale. This time of year, the crevices between baseball games are filled with fantasy football.
It may be blasphemous, but fantasy football is too much fun to pass up. The teams play once a week, and the positions are simple... it's a fun way to pass the time from the World Series to New Year's Day.
So I was in the middle of a fantasy football draft, debating between rookie wide receivers and their 40-yard-dash times from the combine, when the gamecast I was watching popped up this line:
"J Francoeur lined into triple play, to second, L Castillo out at second, D Murphy out at first."
First reaction: thank God I spot-started Pedro in my fantast baseball league.
Second reaction: holy bizarre endings, Batman! There is officially a black cloud hanging over the Mets' franchise.
Third reaction: certainly if that were an unassisted triple play, something would've been said about it on the Gamecast.
Upon further review (since it's almost football season), this is reason #467 why watching Gamecast just isn't a substitute for the real thing.
It WAS an unassisted triple play, the 15th ever seen in the history of Major League Baseball. The 2nd ever game-ending unassisted triple play, the first ever in the National League (134 seasons). The most unbelievable of plays - one defender is responsible for all three outs on a single play.
Baseball went 40 years without an unassisted triple play from the 1920s to the 1960s... but now we've seen three in three seasons. Are there steroids that help infielders turn triple plays? I would call for an asterisk here, but Barry Bonds has hoarded them all.
Truth is, it's just a freak play that needs a series of things to happen more than it needs a specific skill set. Runners at first and second, nobody out, probably a 3-2 count. Both runners stealing with the pitch, and a middle infielder is coming across to second base in case of a throw. Ball is lined right up the middle, right into the glove of said middle infielder, whose job from there is easier than homering off Oliver Perez - just step on the bag for the 2nd out, and tag the runner coming at you from first for the 3rd out.
It happens so fast, even hardcore baseball fans have to stop and re-count the outs.
It's one reason why random players are the ones that dot the unassisted triple-play list. Ron Hansen. Randy Velarde. Asdrubal Cabrera. That household name Bill Wambsganss, who pulled off his triple in a World Series game. (The baseball purist in me loves the fact that the only World Series triple play was unassisted, and the only World Series no hitter was a perfect game.)
Eric Bruntlett's the newest member of the 3-fastest-outs-in-baseball club. We're talking about a player with 11 career home runs, a guy who made an error in the same inning to set up his nanosecond in the history books.
Bruntlett is the latest exhibit of baseball's nearly perfect metaphor for life. Today's lesson? Sometimes, the greatest moments are nothing more than being in the right place at the right time.
As tough as it is to admit, I do follow sports other than baseball. There, I said it... big exhale. This time of year, the crevices between baseball games are filled with fantasy football.
It may be blasphemous, but fantasy football is too much fun to pass up. The teams play once a week, and the positions are simple... it's a fun way to pass the time from the World Series to New Year's Day.
So I was in the middle of a fantasy football draft, debating between rookie wide receivers and their 40-yard-dash times from the combine, when the gamecast I was watching popped up this line:
"J Francoeur lined into triple play, to second, L Castillo out at second, D Murphy out at first."
First reaction: thank God I spot-started Pedro in my fantast baseball league.
Second reaction: holy bizarre endings, Batman! There is officially a black cloud hanging over the Mets' franchise.
Third reaction: certainly if that were an unassisted triple play, something would've been said about it on the Gamecast.
Upon further review (since it's almost football season), this is reason #467 why watching Gamecast just isn't a substitute for the real thing.
It WAS an unassisted triple play, the 15th ever seen in the history of Major League Baseball. The 2nd ever game-ending unassisted triple play, the first ever in the National League (134 seasons). The most unbelievable of plays - one defender is responsible for all three outs on a single play.
Baseball went 40 years without an unassisted triple play from the 1920s to the 1960s... but now we've seen three in three seasons. Are there steroids that help infielders turn triple plays? I would call for an asterisk here, but Barry Bonds has hoarded them all.
Truth is, it's just a freak play that needs a series of things to happen more than it needs a specific skill set. Runners at first and second, nobody out, probably a 3-2 count. Both runners stealing with the pitch, and a middle infielder is coming across to second base in case of a throw. Ball is lined right up the middle, right into the glove of said middle infielder, whose job from there is easier than homering off Oliver Perez - just step on the bag for the 2nd out, and tag the runner coming at you from first for the 3rd out.
It happens so fast, even hardcore baseball fans have to stop and re-count the outs.
It's one reason why random players are the ones that dot the unassisted triple-play list. Ron Hansen. Randy Velarde. Asdrubal Cabrera. That household name Bill Wambsganss, who pulled off his triple in a World Series game. (The baseball purist in me loves the fact that the only World Series triple play was unassisted, and the only World Series no hitter was a perfect game.)
Eric Bruntlett's the newest member of the 3-fastest-outs-in-baseball club. We're talking about a player with 11 career home runs, a guy who made an error in the same inning to set up his nanosecond in the history books.
Bruntlett is the latest exhibit of baseball's nearly perfect metaphor for life. Today's lesson? Sometimes, the greatest moments are nothing more than being in the right place at the right time.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Take out the trash day...
2009 Mock GABA Update: if we were doing the Great American Baseball Adventure this year, we'd be taking a tour of Connecticut. Saturday night, Connecticut Defenders (Giants AA) third baseman Ramon Castro hit a walk-off home run in a 4-3 win over the Binghamton Mets. Castro had come in as part of a double-switch in the top of the inning. Sunday afternoon, we would be rocking out with the New Britain Rock Cats (Twins AA), hosting the Reading Phillies, 1:35 PM first pitch. It's Family Fun Day, and I would undoubetdly be kicked out for trying to run the bases post-game alongside the under-12 crowd.
- The NL Central has turned back into Comedy Central, with the Cubs now just one game over .500 after Saturday night's loss. The Cards could win this division with one hand tied behind Pujols' back the rest of the way. Only trouble is, Pujols looked like he was hitting with one hand Saturday night. 3 strikeouts in a game is rare for the baseball god-turned-human batter, and he looks like he's opening his stance to speed up his bat. No need to panic, but Tony LaRussa would be wise to give King Albert Sunday off (with Monday being a regular off-day).
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon has given Omar Minaya the old 'vote of confidence', saying Minaya will definitely be back in 2010. Minaya immediately injured himself sneezing, and was placed on the 60-day DL. (I've finally given up on Reyes and Delgado in fantasy circles, and Beltran's next on the 'see-ya' list. Maybe it's time for the Mets to do the same and just throw in the towel on 2009.)
- Maybe the Rays haven't run out of magic after all. Carlos Pena's walk-off hit Saturday kept Tampa three games off the AL wild-card pace. Wasn't it about this time last year when the Rays became possessed by the ghost of the '69 Mets?
- Yes, it's fantasy football drafting season (I have a mock draft starting in 5 minutes), but someone please tell the Yankees and Red Sox they don't have to put up football scores in every game this weekend. (Prediction: Doug Flutie puts on a Red Sox jersey Sunday and tries another one of those drop-kicks late in the game. MLB decides to count it.)
- I know it's way too late for this stat, but only two NL teams had double-digit interleague wins this season. NINE teams pulled off that feat in the AL. Is this another year of National League sacrificial lamb getting slaughtered in the Series?
- Runs, homers, and RBIs are like meat and potatoes of the fantasy baseball diet. And I'm starting to starve. My offense has turned into the San Diego Padres. What do you give a struggling offense in the post-steroid era? I should ask the Giants. I STILL can't name a hitter on that team other than Sandoval or Molina.
- The NL Central has turned back into Comedy Central, with the Cubs now just one game over .500 after Saturday night's loss. The Cards could win this division with one hand tied behind Pujols' back the rest of the way. Only trouble is, Pujols looked like he was hitting with one hand Saturday night. 3 strikeouts in a game is rare for the baseball god-turned-human batter, and he looks like he's opening his stance to speed up his bat. No need to panic, but Tony LaRussa would be wise to give King Albert Sunday off (with Monday being a regular off-day).
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon has given Omar Minaya the old 'vote of confidence', saying Minaya will definitely be back in 2010. Minaya immediately injured himself sneezing, and was placed on the 60-day DL. (I've finally given up on Reyes and Delgado in fantasy circles, and Beltran's next on the 'see-ya' list. Maybe it's time for the Mets to do the same and just throw in the towel on 2009.)
- Maybe the Rays haven't run out of magic after all. Carlos Pena's walk-off hit Saturday kept Tampa three games off the AL wild-card pace. Wasn't it about this time last year when the Rays became possessed by the ghost of the '69 Mets?
- Yes, it's fantasy football drafting season (I have a mock draft starting in 5 minutes), but someone please tell the Yankees and Red Sox they don't have to put up football scores in every game this weekend. (Prediction: Doug Flutie puts on a Red Sox jersey Sunday and tries another one of those drop-kicks late in the game. MLB decides to count it.)
- I know it's way too late for this stat, but only two NL teams had double-digit interleague wins this season. NINE teams pulled off that feat in the AL. Is this another year of National League sacrificial lamb getting slaughtered in the Series?
- Runs, homers, and RBIs are like meat and potatoes of the fantasy baseball diet. And I'm starting to starve. My offense has turned into the San Diego Padres. What do you give a struggling offense in the post-steroid era? I should ask the Giants. I STILL can't name a hitter on that team other than Sandoval or Molina.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Old skool... with a 'k'
Sometimes, those idle last 30 minutes of the work week are a gateway to pure fun. Or insanity.
So it's Friday night, and everything essential's on lockdown at the ol' jobby job. Just sticking around to make sure nothing blows up before it's clock-out time.
And then, an equally bored colleague mentions RBI Baseball. Someone grab Marty McFly, 'cause we're going back in time...
http://nintendo8.com/game/5/r.b.i._baseball_3/
Yes, I know... it's not the original RBI Baseball, which is to modern baseball games what Les Paul is to modern guitars. We're talking Founding Father here, with two capital Fs.
No, this isn't Bret Saberhagen throwing that damn drop ball to Mike Schmidt in the "Am" vs "Na" showdown, but it's close. And in some ways, better.
RBI 3 was an innovator of modern baseball gaming. There, I said it. I have branded myself as old school, and I don't even care. The ability to play as any "current" (1990) team, or past division champs? Instant replays? Home run distances? The Canadian National Anthem when a north-of-the-border team is playing???????
You've gotta be kidding me. In the early 90s, this was futuristic like a hover board. (two Back to the Future mentions in one blog post? It must be the weekend!) And there are so many hidden gems in this game. Clearly, the MLBPA wasn't interested in working with the fine folks at Tengen to get usage of some of the star players from past division champs. And how did our gaming forefathers deal with this?
They used the band names from Rush. That's right, Mike Schmidt is actually Alex Lifeson. And Steve Garvey (who ain't my Padre) goes by Neil Peart in RBI 3. That's it, I'm playing Fly By Night and 2112 all weekend...
Snap, back to reality and the final minutes of work Friday night. I'm playing a Nintendo baseball game, on a computer, using the Z and X keys along with Enter and Ctrl. And my colleague, who apparently has some Arch-sized chip on his shoulder about Jose DeLeon, wants me to play as the Cardinals.
The 1987 Cardinals. Coleman, McGee, artificial turf, and all the steals and sacrifices allowed by law. Yup, you can be that team in this game.
I did him one better. I played as the 1990 Cardinals. Yes, the much crappier version, the one with Todd Zeile hitting cleanup (if only players could get injured in these old games).
And I started Jose DeLeon. So while my buddy was behind me ranting like a Mets fan after yet another injury, I retired the 1990 Braves in order for two innings. Which is like taking candy from a baby for two innings straight.
And then it was quitting time.
My colleague still hates Jose DeLeon. I'm thinking about sending him to therapy. Right after I play as the '84 Padres. That's right, '84 Tigers, let's see how big and bad you are when you have to face Neil Peart!!!
So it's Friday night, and everything essential's on lockdown at the ol' jobby job. Just sticking around to make sure nothing blows up before it's clock-out time.
And then, an equally bored colleague mentions RBI Baseball. Someone grab Marty McFly, 'cause we're going back in time...
http://nintendo8.com/game/5/r.b.i._baseball_3/
Yes, I know... it's not the original RBI Baseball, which is to modern baseball games what Les Paul is to modern guitars. We're talking Founding Father here, with two capital Fs.
No, this isn't Bret Saberhagen throwing that damn drop ball to Mike Schmidt in the "Am" vs "Na" showdown, but it's close. And in some ways, better.
RBI 3 was an innovator of modern baseball gaming. There, I said it. I have branded myself as old school, and I don't even care. The ability to play as any "current" (1990) team, or past division champs? Instant replays? Home run distances? The Canadian National Anthem when a north-of-the-border team is playing???????
You've gotta be kidding me. In the early 90s, this was futuristic like a hover board. (two Back to the Future mentions in one blog post? It must be the weekend!) And there are so many hidden gems in this game. Clearly, the MLBPA wasn't interested in working with the fine folks at Tengen to get usage of some of the star players from past division champs. And how did our gaming forefathers deal with this?
They used the band names from Rush. That's right, Mike Schmidt is actually Alex Lifeson. And Steve Garvey (who ain't my Padre) goes by Neil Peart in RBI 3. That's it, I'm playing Fly By Night and 2112 all weekend...
Snap, back to reality and the final minutes of work Friday night. I'm playing a Nintendo baseball game, on a computer, using the Z and X keys along with Enter and Ctrl. And my colleague, who apparently has some Arch-sized chip on his shoulder about Jose DeLeon, wants me to play as the Cardinals.
The 1987 Cardinals. Coleman, McGee, artificial turf, and all the steals and sacrifices allowed by law. Yup, you can be that team in this game.
I did him one better. I played as the 1990 Cardinals. Yes, the much crappier version, the one with Todd Zeile hitting cleanup (if only players could get injured in these old games).
And I started Jose DeLeon. So while my buddy was behind me ranting like a Mets fan after yet another injury, I retired the 1990 Braves in order for two innings. Which is like taking candy from a baby for two innings straight.
And then it was quitting time.
My colleague still hates Jose DeLeon. I'm thinking about sending him to therapy. Right after I play as the '84 Padres. That's right, '84 Tigers, let's see how big and bad you are when you have to face Neil Peart!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Pine Tar visions dancing in my head
(Note: Mock GABA 2009 would have had us in New Hampshire Wednesday to see the Connecticut Defenders score twice in the 9th, beating the NH Fisher Cats 5-3. Thursday's destination would be Portland Maine, 7PM first pitch against Reading. Tonight's entertainment provided by Christopher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wbBtBWUyY0)
Got wrapped up in another MLB Network replay yesterday. Actually, the replay happened several days ago, but thanks to the modern miracle called the DVR, I never watch TV as it happens. This from a guy who's been in TV news since he left college.
This one was the infamous Pine Tar Game. George Brett doing his best Billy Martin impersonation. Billy Martin also doing his best Billy Martin. Protests, screams, written affidavits by second base umpries... even Gaylord Perry got involved by hiding Brett's bat after the controversial home run!
In the light of the modern steroid era, strikes and all of baseball's other issues, the Pine Tar Game looks kind of funny and tame, like a brewing fight between 7th graders. But it's still a part of baseball's history - a game decided by a league president's ruling, and an anti-climactic finish, three weeks later, with Don Mattingly playing second base and 34 people in the stands.
Several years ago, I bought a DVD recorder to burn some of my personal work to DVD. Since it's from 2004, the DVD recorder looks an awful lot like the first VCR from the mid 70s - big and bulky and built strictly for function, not form. I feel like I should wear a brown '84 Padres road jersey every time I use it.
Anyway, there's smoke pouring out of that DVD recorder lately, and it's all MLB Network's fault. 1991 World Series, Games 6 and 7, my (at-the-time) beloved Braves floundering in the Hanky-Dome... The Pine Tar Game... and the 1978 All-Star Game/Hideous Uniform Showcase... the hits just keep on coming.
Just gotta make sure there's enough room on there for my wife to record Top Chef, The Bachelor(ette), and the occasional HGTV show, and there is peace in the home.
Pudge Fisk's 1975 World Series home run, anyone?
Got wrapped up in another MLB Network replay yesterday. Actually, the replay happened several days ago, but thanks to the modern miracle called the DVR, I never watch TV as it happens. This from a guy who's been in TV news since he left college.
This one was the infamous Pine Tar Game. George Brett doing his best Billy Martin impersonation. Billy Martin also doing his best Billy Martin. Protests, screams, written affidavits by second base umpries... even Gaylord Perry got involved by hiding Brett's bat after the controversial home run!
In the light of the modern steroid era, strikes and all of baseball's other issues, the Pine Tar Game looks kind of funny and tame, like a brewing fight between 7th graders. But it's still a part of baseball's history - a game decided by a league president's ruling, and an anti-climactic finish, three weeks later, with Don Mattingly playing second base and 34 people in the stands.
Several years ago, I bought a DVD recorder to burn some of my personal work to DVD. Since it's from 2004, the DVD recorder looks an awful lot like the first VCR from the mid 70s - big and bulky and built strictly for function, not form. I feel like I should wear a brown '84 Padres road jersey every time I use it.
Anyway, there's smoke pouring out of that DVD recorder lately, and it's all MLB Network's fault. 1991 World Series, Games 6 and 7, my (at-the-time) beloved Braves floundering in the Hanky-Dome... The Pine Tar Game... and the 1978 All-Star Game/Hideous Uniform Showcase... the hits just keep on coming.
Just gotta make sure there's enough room on there for my wife to record Top Chef, The Bachelor(ette), and the occasional HGTV show, and there is peace in the home.
Pudge Fisk's 1975 World Series home run, anyone?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Smoltz as a Cardinal? A lot better than Favre as a Viking
(Note: in the mock GABA for 2009, we would have seen Syracuse beat Buffalo 1-0 Tuesday night. Scoreless game for 8 1/2 innings before the Chiefs string together 4 straight hits in the 9th to win it. Daryle Ward was on base when the winning run scored. Yes, Daryle Ward still plays baseball. Wednesday's mock destination? Manchester, NH... New Hampshire Fisher Cats host Connecticut Defenders.)
So John Smoltz isn't done after all.
Really, we shouldn't be shocked. These days, being over (or near) 40 seems to give a pro athlete reason to think he can stay in the spotlight for five or ten more years. In some cases, it turns out like Steve Carlton (five teams over his last two full seasons) or Rickey Henderson (probably still playing at a semipro field near you). Other times, it's Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson, defying the laws of bodily breakdown well into their 40s.
To be honest, I was starting to see John Smoltz fall into that Carlton/Rickey/Joe Namath category. You know, the club that has Brett Favre pounding on the front door, begging to be let in?
But the more I stare at this picture, the better it starts to look.
Smoltz is expected to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals once he clears waivers around noon Eastern on Wednesday. This comes after Smoltz struggled through a month or so with the Boston Red Sox, trying to prove he could come back after a shoulder surgery and a one-year hiatus.
The memory that's going to stick out in fans' minds was the night we saw Smoltz implode against the Yankees, setting up the momentum for the Bombers' four-game sweep. And believe me, that wasn't the only subpar start Smoltz turned in for the boys from Beantown. But baseball experts, and even Smoltz's own coaches in Boston, said he had strong stuff throughout. The slider was vintage Smoltz. The fastball hit 93 on the gun, even if it was in the hitting zone far too often. And the strikeout totals were there.
I know this may feel like we're trying to pick out all the good parts in Gigli. (Oh wait, there were no good parts in Gigli.) But Smoltz may have something left in the tank after all, and the move to the 'Lou makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Smoltz will try to be the Redbirds' 5th starter, but that stay may be temporary. I live with a Cardinal fan, and when I ask her the one thing she's like to change the most about her beloved birds, she mumbles two words back to me: Jason Motte. Followed by several words I won't repeat on this blog.
So the scenario plays out like this: Smoltz gets a couple of starts under his belt, settles back into the National League. Then, Motte literally implodes on the diamond one night. After they clean up all the Jason Motte guts, Smoltz takes over 8th inning duties. He saves his arm, still throws good stuff one inning at a time (or even one time through the batting order), and preps himself for an October wearing white and red.
Ah yes, October. The month Smoltz owns and keeps on his mantle at the house. Smoltz is one of baseball's all-time best in October, and while it's not 1992 anymore, the adrenaline will still be pumping with the world's spotlight on the mound in St. Louis.
And that might be just enough to make Smoltz a valuable piece of the playoff puzzle. My wife would be thrilled. And I'm seeing a picture-in-picture image on my TV... Smoltz throwing Ks on one screen, and Favre throwing INTs on the other.
So John Smoltz isn't done after all.
Really, we shouldn't be shocked. These days, being over (or near) 40 seems to give a pro athlete reason to think he can stay in the spotlight for five or ten more years. In some cases, it turns out like Steve Carlton (five teams over his last two full seasons) or Rickey Henderson (probably still playing at a semipro field near you). Other times, it's Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson, defying the laws of bodily breakdown well into their 40s.
To be honest, I was starting to see John Smoltz fall into that Carlton/Rickey/Joe Namath category. You know, the club that has Brett Favre pounding on the front door, begging to be let in?
But the more I stare at this picture, the better it starts to look.
Smoltz is expected to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals once he clears waivers around noon Eastern on Wednesday. This comes after Smoltz struggled through a month or so with the Boston Red Sox, trying to prove he could come back after a shoulder surgery and a one-year hiatus.
The memory that's going to stick out in fans' minds was the night we saw Smoltz implode against the Yankees, setting up the momentum for the Bombers' four-game sweep. And believe me, that wasn't the only subpar start Smoltz turned in for the boys from Beantown. But baseball experts, and even Smoltz's own coaches in Boston, said he had strong stuff throughout. The slider was vintage Smoltz. The fastball hit 93 on the gun, even if it was in the hitting zone far too often. And the strikeout totals were there.
I know this may feel like we're trying to pick out all the good parts in Gigli. (Oh wait, there were no good parts in Gigli.) But Smoltz may have something left in the tank after all, and the move to the 'Lou makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Smoltz will try to be the Redbirds' 5th starter, but that stay may be temporary. I live with a Cardinal fan, and when I ask her the one thing she's like to change the most about her beloved birds, she mumbles two words back to me: Jason Motte. Followed by several words I won't repeat on this blog.
So the scenario plays out like this: Smoltz gets a couple of starts under his belt, settles back into the National League. Then, Motte literally implodes on the diamond one night. After they clean up all the Jason Motte guts, Smoltz takes over 8th inning duties. He saves his arm, still throws good stuff one inning at a time (or even one time through the batting order), and preps himself for an October wearing white and red.
Ah yes, October. The month Smoltz owns and keeps on his mantle at the house. Smoltz is one of baseball's all-time best in October, and while it's not 1992 anymore, the adrenaline will still be pumping with the world's spotlight on the mound in St. Louis.
And that might be just enough to make Smoltz a valuable piece of the playoff puzzle. My wife would be thrilled. And I'm seeing a picture-in-picture image on my TV... Smoltz throwing Ks on one screen, and Favre throwing INTs on the other.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Changes brewing in the minors
It's an annual tradition, just like Brett Favre's incessant summer indecision (he's changed his mind twice in the time it's taken me to type this sentence).
Changes in minor league baseball are an offseason regularity. Old stadiums get older, new stadiums are built, MLB teams change agreements, and minor league franchises move around like Reggie Sanders in his prime. (I may be generous to say Reggie had a 'prime'. And you know he's still playing somewhere, for one of those indy teams with some crazy name like the Omaha Mutuals or the Rockford Forest Citys.)
Most people don't follow the twists and turns of the minor league offseason soap opera. And I'll admit, I didn't either. That was, until the GABA dream started sprouting legs for 2010. Suddenly I'm following a whole new plotline of the baseball story.
Example: The Bakersfield Blaze have already announced they're leaving... not just the city; they're ditching the state and the entire California League. The Blaze franchise is moving cross-country to play '10 as a member of the Carolina League. (Note to Blaze staff that are making the move: prepare to replace your tofu with mustard-based barbecue. LOTS of barbecue.)
Big deal, you say. Franchises move all the time. But (see Brewers, 1998, and Jose Hernandez below) additions have to be made in pairs, because after all these years, it still takes two teams to play a baseball game. (A 9-team Carolina League leaves somebody watching from the bleachers every night.)
That means someone else has to move east with the Blaze. Another California League team has to uproot and take the longest drive across I-40. That means another sprawling Cali suburb is gonna lose its ball team. Rumors have it as the High Desert Mavericks. I'll avoid all the jokes that are coming to mind right now.
I'm also wondering where these teams will land in the Carolinas, mostly because that means changing two push-pins on the giant GABA strategy map. I'm guessing Columbia SC and Fayetteville NC, but then again, I'm new to this minor league relocation thing.
I'd say Richmond would make a great destination for one of the Cali teams, but Richmond was a AAA city all these years, and the AA Eastern League has promised Richmond a franchise for '10. All signs point to the Connecticut Defenders fleeing New England clam chowder for Southern sweet tea next year.
The Midwest League is going all Napoleon, annexing the Bowling Green KY and Eastlake OH franchises from the Sally League. Let me repeat that... there were South Atlantic League franchises in Kentucky and Ohio. On the logical scale, this one ranks right up there with finally getting the Braves and Reds out of the N.L. West when MLB went to three divisions. Thank you, Midwest League.
And the Las Vegas 51s are getting a new name next year. Ownership apparently isn't a big fan of the extra-terrestrial references, although I'm fascinated by the thought of E.T. floating around to greet kids who were born 20 years after the E.T. movie came out. Credit one of my co-workers for a great solution to this one - he wants to call them the Las Vegas 21s, as in the winning blackjack hand. The team logo could be an ace and a jack. The marketing possibilities are endless!
I'm sure we'll have more trading places in the minor league ranks in the months to come. And each one will change the path of the 2010 GABA.
It's a fun way to pass the time waiting for Doug Davis between pitches.
Changes in minor league baseball are an offseason regularity. Old stadiums get older, new stadiums are built, MLB teams change agreements, and minor league franchises move around like Reggie Sanders in his prime. (I may be generous to say Reggie had a 'prime'. And you know he's still playing somewhere, for one of those indy teams with some crazy name like the Omaha Mutuals or the Rockford Forest Citys.)
Most people don't follow the twists and turns of the minor league offseason soap opera. And I'll admit, I didn't either. That was, until the GABA dream started sprouting legs for 2010. Suddenly I'm following a whole new plotline of the baseball story.
Example: The Bakersfield Blaze have already announced they're leaving... not just the city; they're ditching the state and the entire California League. The Blaze franchise is moving cross-country to play '10 as a member of the Carolina League. (Note to Blaze staff that are making the move: prepare to replace your tofu with mustard-based barbecue. LOTS of barbecue.)
Big deal, you say. Franchises move all the time. But (see Brewers, 1998, and Jose Hernandez below) additions have to be made in pairs, because after all these years, it still takes two teams to play a baseball game. (A 9-team Carolina League leaves somebody watching from the bleachers every night.)
That means someone else has to move east with the Blaze. Another California League team has to uproot and take the longest drive across I-40. That means another sprawling Cali suburb is gonna lose its ball team. Rumors have it as the High Desert Mavericks. I'll avoid all the jokes that are coming to mind right now.
I'm also wondering where these teams will land in the Carolinas, mostly because that means changing two push-pins on the giant GABA strategy map. I'm guessing Columbia SC and Fayetteville NC, but then again, I'm new to this minor league relocation thing.
I'd say Richmond would make a great destination for one of the Cali teams, but Richmond was a AAA city all these years, and the AA Eastern League has promised Richmond a franchise for '10. All signs point to the Connecticut Defenders fleeing New England clam chowder for Southern sweet tea next year.
The Midwest League is going all Napoleon, annexing the Bowling Green KY and Eastlake OH franchises from the Sally League. Let me repeat that... there were South Atlantic League franchises in Kentucky and Ohio. On the logical scale, this one ranks right up there with finally getting the Braves and Reds out of the N.L. West when MLB went to three divisions. Thank you, Midwest League.
And the Las Vegas 51s are getting a new name next year. Ownership apparently isn't a big fan of the extra-terrestrial references, although I'm fascinated by the thought of E.T. floating around to greet kids who were born 20 years after the E.T. movie came out. Credit one of my co-workers for a great solution to this one - he wants to call them the Las Vegas 21s, as in the winning blackjack hand. The team logo could be an ace and a jack. The marketing possibilities are endless!
I'm sure we'll have more trading places in the minor league ranks in the months to come. And each one will change the path of the 2010 GABA.
It's a fun way to pass the time waiting for Doug Davis between pitches.
Monday, August 17, 2009
GABA dreaming, on such a summer's day
It was an absolutely wonderful, made-to-order weekend, an off-time buffet of my favorite things in life - baseball (who would've guessed that?), Five Guys, Brusters Ice Cream (one of the greatest creations of the last 100 years!), Guitar Hero, and more baseball.
It's possible I may just forget I have a job to go back to. Hold on... I'm getting an email... it's a bill. Oh right, THAT'S why I work!
Well, at the very least, I'll be spending the first part of this week dreaming about GABA 2010. For those of you joining this blog in-progress, the GABA is my dream/insane lab-concocted plan to see every full season pro baseball team, major AND minor league, at home in 2010.
It's 150 games in less than 6 months. Yes, it's madness. Yes, it would require a lot of help from companies willing to sponsor the Great American Baseball Adventure.
But it's got me in full-blown dream mode... and you know how dangerous that can be.
There's a mock 2009 version of this trip in a previous blog entry. And if that mock trip were the real GABA, we would've just seen the Buffalo Bisons (Mets AAA) beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies AAA) 3-0, a five-hit shutout started by a 24-year-old, German-born right hander named Tobi Stoner. (Bisons coaches Carlos Garcia and Dave Hollins were inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, for those of you who love those obscure early 90s baseball names).
This morning, my wife and I would be settling into our seats in Rochester, NY to see the Red Wings (Twins AAA) rumble with the Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals AAA, although one could argue the Nats themselves are a AAA team). 12:05PM Eastern first pitch. We'd both have Red Schoendienst magnets, this afternoon's giveaway. And we'd probably both be really, really tired after seeing 100+ games already, but somehow, that wouldn't matter.
Syracuse would be tomorrow's stop, then New Hampshire, then Portland Maine, etc.
It's all still a dream right now. But with many minor league teams releasing 2010 schedules in the last few weeks, it's one step closer to reality.
It's possible I may just forget I have a job to go back to. Hold on... I'm getting an email... it's a bill. Oh right, THAT'S why I work!
Well, at the very least, I'll be spending the first part of this week dreaming about GABA 2010. For those of you joining this blog in-progress, the GABA is my dream/insane lab-concocted plan to see every full season pro baseball team, major AND minor league, at home in 2010.
It's 150 games in less than 6 months. Yes, it's madness. Yes, it would require a lot of help from companies willing to sponsor the Great American Baseball Adventure.
But it's got me in full-blown dream mode... and you know how dangerous that can be.
There's a mock 2009 version of this trip in a previous blog entry. And if that mock trip were the real GABA, we would've just seen the Buffalo Bisons (Mets AAA) beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies AAA) 3-0, a five-hit shutout started by a 24-year-old, German-born right hander named Tobi Stoner. (Bisons coaches Carlos Garcia and Dave Hollins were inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, for those of you who love those obscure early 90s baseball names).
This morning, my wife and I would be settling into our seats in Rochester, NY to see the Red Wings (Twins AAA) rumble with the Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals AAA, although one could argue the Nats themselves are a AAA team). 12:05PM Eastern first pitch. We'd both have Red Schoendienst magnets, this afternoon's giveaway. And we'd probably both be really, really tired after seeing 100+ games already, but somehow, that wouldn't matter.
Syracuse would be tomorrow's stop, then New Hampshire, then Portland Maine, etc.
It's all still a dream right now. But with many minor league teams releasing 2010 schedules in the last few weeks, it's one step closer to reality.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Feliz Navidad comes early in Arlington
That collective 'Yeehaw!' you hear from the Metroplex? No, the rodeo is not in town. And the state fair/UT-OU football game is still almost two months away.
The delight in Dallas is over the Texas Rangers (when could we ever say that in August?) and their two new young guns.
Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz got 26 of the 27 outs against the Red Sox Saturday night. (Sorry, Darren O'Day, you're not gonna get the props in this blog, even though the 1 out you got was a strikeout of the reigning A.L. MVP). And they did it looking like phenoms the entire way.
Holland's been just what the Rangers needed - a steady, young, fresh arm and an injection of life for a team that has a history of summer swoons. Let's face it, the Rangers invented the term 'fading down the stretch' over the last 15 years or so. The summer swelter hits triple digits, the arms wilt, and the minds of Texan sports fans wander to football training camp.
But Holland has Dallas' football faithful keeping at least one eye on The Ballpark/Ameriquest Field/Rangers Park/Nolan Ryan Stadium/Jim Sundberg Field in Arlington. He's 22, throws a mid 90s fastball, changes speeds well, and maybe best of all, he's left-handed.
Man, am I a sucker for a good left-handed pitcher. It's so bad, there's still a part of me that thinks Dontrelle Willis will be useful again in his MLB career. (Or, if not, I'll get to see him pitch in Lakeland 10 times a year.)
Neftali Feliz isn't left-handed, but it doesn't matter if he throws with his right foot... this kid is the real deal.
By now, you've probably heard the hype about Feliz. Just like you've heard the hype about a bunch of prospects before him. So far, with apologies to Public Enemy, Feliz is making us believe the hype.
8.2 innings, 2 hits, 16 strikeouts. Sounds like one of those stat lines from a Playstation video game with the setting on 'rookie'. But the line is real, and Feliz proudly owns it. His latest trick was finishing out the last two innings of the Rangers' win Saturday night, striking out 4 Red Sawx and hitting 100 mph on the gun. The curve buckled a few knees along the way, too.
Meanwhile, I think Frank Francisco still hasn't gotten out of Friday night's 9th inning.
I'm not calling Feliz the Rangers' new closer just yet. And even if he did take over that role, the extra pressure is a lot for a 20-year-old. Ask the first incarnation of Rick Ankiel.
But Feliz and Holland are bringing some gas to the pennant chasing party. And you know that's got Nolan Ryan smirking up in the luxury boxes.
P.S. - It's OK, Braves. Don't cry. Saltalamacchia, Andrus, and Feliz was a fine price to pay for a couple months of Mark Teixeira, I promise! (This is where I back out of the room, very very gingerly...)
The delight in Dallas is over the Texas Rangers (when could we ever say that in August?) and their two new young guns.
Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz got 26 of the 27 outs against the Red Sox Saturday night. (Sorry, Darren O'Day, you're not gonna get the props in this blog, even though the 1 out you got was a strikeout of the reigning A.L. MVP). And they did it looking like phenoms the entire way.
Holland's been just what the Rangers needed - a steady, young, fresh arm and an injection of life for a team that has a history of summer swoons. Let's face it, the Rangers invented the term 'fading down the stretch' over the last 15 years or so. The summer swelter hits triple digits, the arms wilt, and the minds of Texan sports fans wander to football training camp.
But Holland has Dallas' football faithful keeping at least one eye on The Ballpark/Ameriquest Field/Rangers Park/Nolan Ryan Stadium/Jim Sundberg Field in Arlington. He's 22, throws a mid 90s fastball, changes speeds well, and maybe best of all, he's left-handed.
Man, am I a sucker for a good left-handed pitcher. It's so bad, there's still a part of me that thinks Dontrelle Willis will be useful again in his MLB career. (Or, if not, I'll get to see him pitch in Lakeland 10 times a year.)
Neftali Feliz isn't left-handed, but it doesn't matter if he throws with his right foot... this kid is the real deal.
By now, you've probably heard the hype about Feliz. Just like you've heard the hype about a bunch of prospects before him. So far, with apologies to Public Enemy, Feliz is making us believe the hype.
8.2 innings, 2 hits, 16 strikeouts. Sounds like one of those stat lines from a Playstation video game with the setting on 'rookie'. But the line is real, and Feliz proudly owns it. His latest trick was finishing out the last two innings of the Rangers' win Saturday night, striking out 4 Red Sawx and hitting 100 mph on the gun. The curve buckled a few knees along the way, too.
Meanwhile, I think Frank Francisco still hasn't gotten out of Friday night's 9th inning.
I'm not calling Feliz the Rangers' new closer just yet. And even if he did take over that role, the extra pressure is a lot for a 20-year-old. Ask the first incarnation of Rick Ankiel.
But Feliz and Holland are bringing some gas to the pennant chasing party. And you know that's got Nolan Ryan smirking up in the luxury boxes.
P.S. - It's OK, Braves. Don't cry. Saltalamacchia, Andrus, and Feliz was a fine price to pay for a couple months of Mark Teixeira, I promise! (This is where I back out of the room, very very gingerly...)
Friday, August 14, 2009
Spring training to go international?
The morning online surf's up, and when I came across this one, I thought I was still in a daze from watching Neftali Feliz make Indians hitters look like Little Leaguers last night.
http://www.springtrainingonline.com/200908061415/news/tucson-officials-court-japanese-team-for-spring-training.htm
Yes, this article has some age on it (8 days), but with Jamie Moyer and Pedro Martinez in the headlines, everything old really is new again! (Moyer and Pedro are Phillies, and Big Unit was a Giant until he got hurt... the N.L. really IS the 'Senior Circuit'!)
Let's hop in the fast-forward machine to March 2010. The Great American Baseball Adventure will (hopefully) be just a few weeks away. Tim Lincecum's hair will be glam-rock long. And from Tuscon Electric Park, we'll hear this:
"Welcome baseball fans! Another spring has sprung for America's National Pastime! Grab your peanuts and Cracker Jack, sit back, and enjoy this matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks... and the Hirshioma Carp!!"
And the needle scratches right off the record.
Strange part about this is that I'm not totally disgusted by the idea of a Japanese team training in Arizona next year. Hey, it's an exhibition season, and we spent half of 2009's Spring Training watching the Netherlands play the Brewers, so why not have the Nippon Ham Fighters spend a month in triple-digit heat?
MLB teams might learn a few things from the disciplined training regimens of the Japanese teams. And please don't give me that "I don't wanna see Ryan Braun face a pitcher I don't know" treatment. In most March games, Braun gets two at-bats against pitchers you don't know, then waltzes down the right field line toward the clubhouse by the 4th inning.
It's actually a creative way to handle the scheduling oddity of having 15 teams in Arizona. Remember 1997, when baseball proudly announced it was expanding to Tampa Bay and Arizona? MLB pounded its own chest and boasted of six evenly matched divisions, all with five teams each. What parity!
And then someone figured out that 5x3=15 teams in each league. And, since it still takes two teams to play a baseball game, somebody was left either not playing or playing interleague... every single day of the season.
Bud Selig remembers. He had to fix the mess by having his own Brewers switch leagues, meaning we got to see Jose Hernandez strike out 200 times AND play the infield.
So give me a 16th Cactus League team from Japan. Heck, put a Cuban squad in Florida to make 16 teams there. While we're scouting out minor league prospects, we'll get a good first look at some international players too.
And if they're good enough, maybe one of those teams can switch places with the Kansas City Royals.
http://www.springtrainingonline.com/200908061415/news/tucson-officials-court-japanese-team-for-spring-training.htm
Yes, this article has some age on it (8 days), but with Jamie Moyer and Pedro Martinez in the headlines, everything old really is new again! (Moyer and Pedro are Phillies, and Big Unit was a Giant until he got hurt... the N.L. really IS the 'Senior Circuit'!)
Let's hop in the fast-forward machine to March 2010. The Great American Baseball Adventure will (hopefully) be just a few weeks away. Tim Lincecum's hair will be glam-rock long. And from Tuscon Electric Park, we'll hear this:
"Welcome baseball fans! Another spring has sprung for America's National Pastime! Grab your peanuts and Cracker Jack, sit back, and enjoy this matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks... and the Hirshioma Carp!!"
And the needle scratches right off the record.
Strange part about this is that I'm not totally disgusted by the idea of a Japanese team training in Arizona next year. Hey, it's an exhibition season, and we spent half of 2009's Spring Training watching the Netherlands play the Brewers, so why not have the Nippon Ham Fighters spend a month in triple-digit heat?
MLB teams might learn a few things from the disciplined training regimens of the Japanese teams. And please don't give me that "I don't wanna see Ryan Braun face a pitcher I don't know" treatment. In most March games, Braun gets two at-bats against pitchers you don't know, then waltzes down the right field line toward the clubhouse by the 4th inning.
It's actually a creative way to handle the scheduling oddity of having 15 teams in Arizona. Remember 1997, when baseball proudly announced it was expanding to Tampa Bay and Arizona? MLB pounded its own chest and boasted of six evenly matched divisions, all with five teams each. What parity!
And then someone figured out that 5x3=15 teams in each league. And, since it still takes two teams to play a baseball game, somebody was left either not playing or playing interleague... every single day of the season.
Bud Selig remembers. He had to fix the mess by having his own Brewers switch leagues, meaning we got to see Jose Hernandez strike out 200 times AND play the infield.
So give me a 16th Cactus League team from Japan. Heck, put a Cuban squad in Florida to make 16 teams there. While we're scouting out minor league prospects, we'll get a good first look at some international players too.
And if they're good enough, maybe one of those teams can switch places with the Kansas City Royals.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Welcome back, Pedro
How many of you started reading box scores and game stories Wednesday night and thought you'd accessed a page from 1999 by accident?
You didn't. Pedro Martinez really did pitch five winning innings for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Yes, THAT Pedro Martinez. The one that hasn't pitched in the majors since 1988, or so it seems. The one that was baseball's dominant pitcher for years.
He's back, but before we start crowning the Phillies as back-to-back World Champions, it's time to take stock in the land of the cheese steak.
Pedro's 37, and that right arm's logged a ton of innings, recent off time aside. The last time he logged a respectable ERA in more than a handful of innings was 2005 - the year Freddy Garcia won the World Series clinching game for the White Sox. Over the Astros. Yes, that long ago.
Pedro's in the rotation, which means an unhappy Jamie Moyer heads down the foul line to the bullpen. Half of me really wants to see a normally calm Moyer freak out on that MLB Network reality show (if it happened, the network would edit that part out anyway). The other half wonders what will happen to the always-fragile chemistry of the staff, especially if Pedro's subsequent starts aren't so great and Moyer ends up bailing him out in relief.
Saying the word 'pitching' around a baseball fan is like saying the words 'health care' around almost anyone these days - say it, then duck... because a shoe will be flying your way. Pitching is in an incredibly sad state everywhere (Paul Byrd, anyone?), so it's only natural that someone would let Pedro try to push their playoff hopes over the top.
Just don't expect 1999 results.
P.S. - is it wrong of me to hope Pedro's Phillies rematch with Don Zimmer's Rays in the Series this October? (Don't know why I'm in a base-brawl mood lately...)
You didn't. Pedro Martinez really did pitch five winning innings for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Yes, THAT Pedro Martinez. The one that hasn't pitched in the majors since 1988, or so it seems. The one that was baseball's dominant pitcher for years.
He's back, but before we start crowning the Phillies as back-to-back World Champions, it's time to take stock in the land of the cheese steak.
Pedro's 37, and that right arm's logged a ton of innings, recent off time aside. The last time he logged a respectable ERA in more than a handful of innings was 2005 - the year Freddy Garcia won the World Series clinching game for the White Sox. Over the Astros. Yes, that long ago.
Pedro's in the rotation, which means an unhappy Jamie Moyer heads down the foul line to the bullpen. Half of me really wants to see a normally calm Moyer freak out on that MLB Network reality show (if it happened, the network would edit that part out anyway). The other half wonders what will happen to the always-fragile chemistry of the staff, especially if Pedro's subsequent starts aren't so great and Moyer ends up bailing him out in relief.
Saying the word 'pitching' around a baseball fan is like saying the words 'health care' around almost anyone these days - say it, then duck... because a shoe will be flying your way. Pitching is in an incredibly sad state everywhere (Paul Byrd, anyone?), so it's only natural that someone would let Pedro try to push their playoff hopes over the top.
Just don't expect 1999 results.
P.S. - is it wrong of me to hope Pedro's Phillies rematch with Don Zimmer's Rays in the Series this October? (Don't know why I'm in a base-brawl mood lately...)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Lost and found... 25 years later
Almost every baseball fan in America can point back to some defining childhood moment when their favorite team did something that sticks in their minds forever. World Series wins, no-hitters, game-winning blasts... almost everyone can recall at least one game that still elicits their deepest baseball passions, even decades later.
I'm in that same boat, too. Problem is, I grew up in Atlanta, back when the Braves were frighteningly bad. Bad enough that bumper stickers around town read "Go Braves! And take the Falcons with you!"
But despite a childhood marred by the 1980s version of the Washington Nationals, I still have a few great memories of those hapless teams. And one of the greatest just popped up on "the internets", which Homer Simpson says is available on computers now.
Mad props to Padres blog www.gaslampball.com for digging up one of the obscure greats - a 1984 game between the 'Dres and the wigwam-loving Bravos. A game I've craved for so long that I once convinced a buddy of mine (former Cartoon Network employee) to spend an afternoon searching Turner's archives for this baseball pot of gold.
It wasn't there. But now, it's been found.
http://www.gaslampball.com/2009/8/10/984036/1984-padres-brawl-video
14 ejections, 5 fans arrested, and more 80s fashion humor than a hundred episodes of Cheap Seats. And it all happened exactly 25 years ago, on a random Sunday afternoon in Dukes of Hazzard country. (I'm not proud of it, but I've learned to embrace it. Yes, some parts of that show were filmed in the county where I grew up.)
We're talking almost 30 minutes of video, but I'll give you the cliff's notes version:
Video 1:
Pascual Perez (nicknamed I-285 because he once drove around that highway for 3 hours looking for the stadium) hits Alan Wiggins with the first pitch of the game. Benches clear. You see the teepee in left field. John Sterling speaks, but refreshingly doesn't do that weird banchee-scream followed by 'Yankees win!'
Ed Whitson, upset that he's forced to wear that doo-doo brown road jersey, retaliates. Perez holds a bat while waiting for backup (his teammates were too busy dropping ground balls). Perez comes up again, gets three tight ones, and the ejections begin. Greg Booker takes just one pitch to plunk "I-285". See ya. Pads are on their 3rd pitcher and 3rd manager of the day.
Video 2:
Perez steps in against Greg Harris and bails on the first pitch, which is nowhere near him. Kurt Bevacqua starts giving lip, moreso to show off the great 80s 'stache. (this 'Dres team is LOADED with porn staches!)
6:30 - Craig Lefferts joins the plunk parade, and it's on like Donkey Kong (appropriate for 1984). 30 bodies on the field, including a festively plump umpire John McSherry getting horizontal to break it up. Champ Summers sprints to the Braves dugout for a chat with Perez. Atlanta fans end up on the field, clearly believing the Civil War has re-started. In restraining them, Bob Horner breaks his wrist for the 17th time.
Video 3:
Joe Torre tells umps he's tired of losing and will one day manage the Yankees to a few World Series titles. In the closing seconds, Donnie Moore sets off the best fireworks of the night with a beanball to Graig Nettles' backside.
Video 4:
The game has degenerated to a Jerry Springer episode. A shirtless Ed Whitson is ready to scale the dugout wall and rumble with a fan who reportedly called Ron Burgundy "classless".
Then, the best part of the whole day... at 4:10, a fan who tries to take advantage of the melee and grab a souvenir is pummeled by Jerry Royster. Just pause the video at 4:28 and check out the outfit. And know that, 25 years later, that fan is still hanging his head, knowing that his 15 seconds of fame consisted of being punched by a light-hitting middle infielder.
Absolutely amazing.
I'm not advocating base-brawls. A lot of baseball fights are nothing more than player A standing strategically behind player B, yelling 'if he wasn't stopping me, I'd...'
And I don't like to see baseball become professional wrestling, like it did on this day.
But this game, and this whole day, fascinated me. I woke up for school Monday morning, wondering if it was real, or if I had dreamed up a nine-round fight on a baseball diamond. And since this was long before we had 19 Sportscenters every morning, I never saw a replay... for 25 years.
Until now.
The Padres ended up winning the NL pennant that year. So maybe a go-around with some drunk Southern boys was just what they needed.
And the Braves? Well, this was as exciting as it got back then in the land of the teepee.
I'm in that same boat, too. Problem is, I grew up in Atlanta, back when the Braves were frighteningly bad. Bad enough that bumper stickers around town read "Go Braves! And take the Falcons with you!"
But despite a childhood marred by the 1980s version of the Washington Nationals, I still have a few great memories of those hapless teams. And one of the greatest just popped up on "the internets", which Homer Simpson says is available on computers now.
Mad props to Padres blog www.gaslampball.com for digging up one of the obscure greats - a 1984 game between the 'Dres and the wigwam-loving Bravos. A game I've craved for so long that I once convinced a buddy of mine (former Cartoon Network employee) to spend an afternoon searching Turner's archives for this baseball pot of gold.
It wasn't there. But now, it's been found.
http://www.gaslampball.com/2009/8/10/984036/1984-padres-brawl-video
14 ejections, 5 fans arrested, and more 80s fashion humor than a hundred episodes of Cheap Seats. And it all happened exactly 25 years ago, on a random Sunday afternoon in Dukes of Hazzard country. (I'm not proud of it, but I've learned to embrace it. Yes, some parts of that show were filmed in the county where I grew up.)
We're talking almost 30 minutes of video, but I'll give you the cliff's notes version:
Video 1:
Pascual Perez (nicknamed I-285 because he once drove around that highway for 3 hours looking for the stadium) hits Alan Wiggins with the first pitch of the game. Benches clear. You see the teepee in left field. John Sterling speaks, but refreshingly doesn't do that weird banchee-scream followed by 'Yankees win!'
Ed Whitson, upset that he's forced to wear that doo-doo brown road jersey, retaliates. Perez holds a bat while waiting for backup (his teammates were too busy dropping ground balls). Perez comes up again, gets three tight ones, and the ejections begin. Greg Booker takes just one pitch to plunk "I-285". See ya. Pads are on their 3rd pitcher and 3rd manager of the day.
Video 2:
Perez steps in against Greg Harris and bails on the first pitch, which is nowhere near him. Kurt Bevacqua starts giving lip, moreso to show off the great 80s 'stache. (this 'Dres team is LOADED with porn staches!)
6:30 - Craig Lefferts joins the plunk parade, and it's on like Donkey Kong (appropriate for 1984). 30 bodies on the field, including a festively plump umpire John McSherry getting horizontal to break it up. Champ Summers sprints to the Braves dugout for a chat with Perez. Atlanta fans end up on the field, clearly believing the Civil War has re-started. In restraining them, Bob Horner breaks his wrist for the 17th time.
Video 3:
Joe Torre tells umps he's tired of losing and will one day manage the Yankees to a few World Series titles. In the closing seconds, Donnie Moore sets off the best fireworks of the night with a beanball to Graig Nettles' backside.
Video 4:
The game has degenerated to a Jerry Springer episode. A shirtless Ed Whitson is ready to scale the dugout wall and rumble with a fan who reportedly called Ron Burgundy "classless".
Then, the best part of the whole day... at 4:10, a fan who tries to take advantage of the melee and grab a souvenir is pummeled by Jerry Royster. Just pause the video at 4:28 and check out the outfit. And know that, 25 years later, that fan is still hanging his head, knowing that his 15 seconds of fame consisted of being punched by a light-hitting middle infielder.
Absolutely amazing.
I'm not advocating base-brawls. A lot of baseball fights are nothing more than player A standing strategically behind player B, yelling 'if he wasn't stopping me, I'd...'
And I don't like to see baseball become professional wrestling, like it did on this day.
But this game, and this whole day, fascinated me. I woke up for school Monday morning, wondering if it was real, or if I had dreamed up a nine-round fight on a baseball diamond. And since this was long before we had 19 Sportscenters every morning, I never saw a replay... for 25 years.
Until now.
The Padres ended up winning the NL pennant that year. So maybe a go-around with some drunk Southern boys was just what they needed.
And the Braves? Well, this was as exciting as it got back then in the land of the teepee.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Hysteria in Houston... and Kendry keeps on krushing
OK, I feel a little weird about that last word in the title... despite the fun that people poke at my University of Georgia education, I do know that 'crushing' starts with a 'c'.
Houston has taken hold of GABA 2010! Many thanks to the fine folks at 1560 The Game for getting the ball rolling in H-Town. The trip also popped up on a fan blog called Astros Daily.
Just to clear up any confusion, I'm not soliciting donations from anyone... just trying to build up this blog and see if there's interest in the idea of turning this trip into an online blog/video thing. If it takes off, then we'll see about getting some companies to sponsor the trip. But rest assured, this blog (and the best things in life) will always be free for the people.
Quick man-crush update: Kendry Morales has two bombs in Anaheim tonight. The Rays and Angels are playing baseball's version of an arena football game. It'll be something like 37-24 by the time it's over, and both pitching coaches may be touching up their resumes. Kendry now has 26 bombs on the year, and has my fantasy team in a solid second place despite nearly 1,000 superstars on the DL.
OK, so I exaggerate at times.
Houston has taken hold of GABA 2010! Many thanks to the fine folks at 1560 The Game for getting the ball rolling in H-Town. The trip also popped up on a fan blog called Astros Daily.
Just to clear up any confusion, I'm not soliciting donations from anyone... just trying to build up this blog and see if there's interest in the idea of turning this trip into an online blog/video thing. If it takes off, then we'll see about getting some companies to sponsor the trip. But rest assured, this blog (and the best things in life) will always be free for the people.
Quick man-crush update: Kendry Morales has two bombs in Anaheim tonight. The Rays and Angels are playing baseball's version of an arena football game. It'll be something like 37-24 by the time it's over, and both pitching coaches may be touching up their resumes. Kendry now has 26 bombs on the year, and has my fantasy team in a solid second place despite nearly 1,000 superstars on the DL.
OK, so I exaggerate at times.
Word gets out about the GABA... and the Red Sox demise
The Great American Baseball Adventure has legs! Thanks to proark for posting about the trip on message boards on 1560 The Game (Houston radio) and Astros Daily, a blog for, you guessed it, Houston Astros fans. Thanks for the love, Lone Star State! Here are the links:
http://www.1560.tv/forum/index.php/topic,5634.0.html
http://evilwontwin.yuku.com/topic/15755/t/Great-American-baseball-Adventure.html
People would be buzzing more about the trip if they weren't busy trying to find the Red Sox' dignity after a 1978-esque weekend in the Bronx. Let's review the four shameful games for the Nation:
Thursday: John Smoltz goes from the Social Security office to the ballpark, just in time to hand over a touchdown (complete with two-point coversion) in less than 4 innings in what might be the last start of his career. 13-6 Bombers.
Friday: After combining for 19 runs the previous night, the two teams spend 14 innings trying to hit baseballs with a sponge. A-Rod finally finds something wooden and puts a merciful end to the Friday night marathon. 2-0 New Yawk.
Saturday: Big Papi admits he got a little crazy with the Metabolift, and ChaChing Sabathia challenges Ortiz to a Body Mass Index contest. 5-zip Pinstripers.
Sunday: Sox scoreless streak hits 31 innings before Victor Martinez (who was playing for AAA Cleveland two weeks ago) finally finds the seats. The lead lasts less time than the average ride on a champion bull, as Daniel Bard gives up back-to-back homers. 5-2, Yankees sweep (insert obnoxious John Sterling noise here).
Please understand that I've never lived in New York, Boston, or anywhere near those two cities, so I'm neutral when it comes to this battle of baseball superpowers. But even from Switzerland, you could see the air being let out of Boston's big balloons.
Yes, the Sox were 9-0 against the Yanks in the nine previous meetings. But those were in April, May and June, also known in baseball circles as ancient history. What's more stark, and more stinging for Red Sox faithful, are these lines in the current standings: "W7", "L6", and "6.5"... the Yankees current winning streak, Boston's current losing skid, and the distance between the two in the standings.
The Brewers and Twins are now closer to first in their division than the Sox are to the boys from the Bronx.
And to top it off, Boston has to face another division leader starting tonight, with one of baseball's comeback stories of the year (Edwin Jackson) on the hill.
I'm not calling the Red Sox dead. I watched the 2004 ALCS; in fact, I worked with a Yankees fan who spent most of Game 7 with a bat in his hand threatening to take the head off a Justin Timberlake bobble-head. (Why didn't he pull the trigger?) It's August 10th, not September 10th, and in baseball circles, there are still several chapters left to be written in this drama.
No, the Sox aren't washed up yet. But if I were the Rays or the Rangers, I'd be licking my chops for a chance at that AL wild card.
http://www.1560.tv/forum/index.php/topic,5634.0.html
http://evilwontwin.yuku.com/topic/15755/t/Great-American-baseball-Adventure.html
People would be buzzing more about the trip if they weren't busy trying to find the Red Sox' dignity after a 1978-esque weekend in the Bronx. Let's review the four shameful games for the Nation:
Thursday: John Smoltz goes from the Social Security office to the ballpark, just in time to hand over a touchdown (complete with two-point coversion) in less than 4 innings in what might be the last start of his career. 13-6 Bombers.
Friday: After combining for 19 runs the previous night, the two teams spend 14 innings trying to hit baseballs with a sponge. A-Rod finally finds something wooden and puts a merciful end to the Friday night marathon. 2-0 New Yawk.
Saturday: Big Papi admits he got a little crazy with the Metabolift, and ChaChing Sabathia challenges Ortiz to a Body Mass Index contest. 5-zip Pinstripers.
Sunday: Sox scoreless streak hits 31 innings before Victor Martinez (who was playing for AAA Cleveland two weeks ago) finally finds the seats. The lead lasts less time than the average ride on a champion bull, as Daniel Bard gives up back-to-back homers. 5-2, Yankees sweep (insert obnoxious John Sterling noise here).
Please understand that I've never lived in New York, Boston, or anywhere near those two cities, so I'm neutral when it comes to this battle of baseball superpowers. But even from Switzerland, you could see the air being let out of Boston's big balloons.
Yes, the Sox were 9-0 against the Yanks in the nine previous meetings. But those were in April, May and June, also known in baseball circles as ancient history. What's more stark, and more stinging for Red Sox faithful, are these lines in the current standings: "W7", "L6", and "6.5"... the Yankees current winning streak, Boston's current losing skid, and the distance between the two in the standings.
The Brewers and Twins are now closer to first in their division than the Sox are to the boys from the Bronx.
And to top it off, Boston has to face another division leader starting tonight, with one of baseball's comeback stories of the year (Edwin Jackson) on the hill.
I'm not calling the Red Sox dead. I watched the 2004 ALCS; in fact, I worked with a Yankees fan who spent most of Game 7 with a bat in his hand threatening to take the head off a Justin Timberlake bobble-head. (Why didn't he pull the trigger?) It's August 10th, not September 10th, and in baseball circles, there are still several chapters left to be written in this drama.
No, the Sox aren't washed up yet. But if I were the Rays or the Rangers, I'd be licking my chops for a chance at that AL wild card.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Take Out The Trash Day
Tidbits as another week of MLB action winds up:
- The Mets just refuse to admit that Jose Reyes is done for the year. The guy's had one long string of setbacks in his rehab from a hamstrong tendon injury. The latest news was that he has significant scar tissue and inflammation behind his right knee. I don't know about you, but if I'm in charge of a team that's 8 games under .500 and my top speedster had a knee that's messier than a GM bankruptcy, I'd tell him to prop himself up on the couch and watch MLB Network for a few months.
- Remember when Matt Cain couldn't buy a win for all the metal at the San Francisco mint? What a difference a year makes. He's going for win number 13 Sunday. The Giants have a better record than the Cardinals or Rays, and just a game worse than the World Champion Phillies, yet they're getting absolutely no love right now. Maybe it's because no one can name a hitter on their team not named 'Sandoval'.
- Albert Pujols drove in run number 100 on the season Saturday night in Pittsburgh. The hitting machine is now the ONLY player in MLB history to start his career with nine straight 30 HR, 100 RBI seasons. That's right, the ONLY one. Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Aaron, Bonds, Mario Mendoza... none of them have done what Pujols has done through nine years in the bigs. Could we, one day, be talking about Albert as the best hitter that ever lived?
- My wife reminded me the other day that Kendry Morales was responsible for both of us getting a free taco from Del Taco. It was a promotion the night we saw the Angels during our California ballpark tour back in June. Kendry hit a homer, and a few hours later, we were in some small California town sinking our teeth into pure Del Taco goodness. If I could put a Del Taco in our living room, I'd do it today!
- The Nationals have won seven straight games. No, you haven't entered into some strange parallel alter-universe... the Nats haven't lost a game in a week. Washington even beat Dan Haren Saturday night. That's the good news - here's the bad... you know it's been a bad season when seven straight Ws gives you 39 for the season. And it's almost mid-August. Two more wins and the '62 Mets' record for futility is safe for another year.
- Guess which player belongs to this line: .289-35-79 with 74 runs scored and 20 steals to boot. Vlad Guerrero in his stealing prime? Barry Bonds before his hat size got bigger than Shrek's? Nope... the proud owner of those numbers through Sunday is Mark Reynolds. That's right, the Human Air Conditioner can fill out the rest of a stat line too. Is he fantasy's Non-Pujols Offensive MVP?
- Here's an eerie thought... Josh Beckett and Adam Wainwright each have 13 wins. No one else has more than 12. Could this be a season without a single 20-game winner? And how incredible is it to think the Orioles had four 20-game winners on one team in the early 70s? Where have you gone, Mike Cuellar?
Still taking ideas on how to drum up some sponsorship for the big baseball trip in 2010. Comment away!
- The Mets just refuse to admit that Jose Reyes is done for the year. The guy's had one long string of setbacks in his rehab from a hamstrong tendon injury. The latest news was that he has significant scar tissue and inflammation behind his right knee. I don't know about you, but if I'm in charge of a team that's 8 games under .500 and my top speedster had a knee that's messier than a GM bankruptcy, I'd tell him to prop himself up on the couch and watch MLB Network for a few months.
- Remember when Matt Cain couldn't buy a win for all the metal at the San Francisco mint? What a difference a year makes. He's going for win number 13 Sunday. The Giants have a better record than the Cardinals or Rays, and just a game worse than the World Champion Phillies, yet they're getting absolutely no love right now. Maybe it's because no one can name a hitter on their team not named 'Sandoval'.
- Albert Pujols drove in run number 100 on the season Saturday night in Pittsburgh. The hitting machine is now the ONLY player in MLB history to start his career with nine straight 30 HR, 100 RBI seasons. That's right, the ONLY one. Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Aaron, Bonds, Mario Mendoza... none of them have done what Pujols has done through nine years in the bigs. Could we, one day, be talking about Albert as the best hitter that ever lived?
- My wife reminded me the other day that Kendry Morales was responsible for both of us getting a free taco from Del Taco. It was a promotion the night we saw the Angels during our California ballpark tour back in June. Kendry hit a homer, and a few hours later, we were in some small California town sinking our teeth into pure Del Taco goodness. If I could put a Del Taco in our living room, I'd do it today!
- The Nationals have won seven straight games. No, you haven't entered into some strange parallel alter-universe... the Nats haven't lost a game in a week. Washington even beat Dan Haren Saturday night. That's the good news - here's the bad... you know it's been a bad season when seven straight Ws gives you 39 for the season. And it's almost mid-August. Two more wins and the '62 Mets' record for futility is safe for another year.
- Guess which player belongs to this line: .289-35-79 with 74 runs scored and 20 steals to boot. Vlad Guerrero in his stealing prime? Barry Bonds before his hat size got bigger than Shrek's? Nope... the proud owner of those numbers through Sunday is Mark Reynolds. That's right, the Human Air Conditioner can fill out the rest of a stat line too. Is he fantasy's Non-Pujols Offensive MVP?
- Here's an eerie thought... Josh Beckett and Adam Wainwright each have 13 wins. No one else has more than 12. Could this be a season without a single 20-game winner? And how incredible is it to think the Orioles had four 20-game winners on one team in the early 70s? Where have you gone, Mike Cuellar?
Still taking ideas on how to drum up some sponsorship for the big baseball trip in 2010. Comment away!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Talking trip: breaking down the Great American Baseball Adventure
So with apologies to Don Henley, it's time to get down to the heart of the matter - the anatomy of baseball's ultimate road trip.
The Great American Baseball Adventure, like a lot of great things, sprouted from something bad (in this case, the economy eating my job). I've spent 12 years living a professional dream, but that dream is on hold right now, and the prospects have been so bare that I find myself checking the home phone to make sure it's still working.
But admist the silence, another dream is brewing. And this one involves seeing baseball - A LOT of baseball - in 2010.
What if my wife and I took the 2010 baseball season and tried to see EVERY full-season pro baseball team in the major and minor leagues? Is it possible to squeeze in 150 baseball games in 150 different stadiums (technically 149 stadiums... see July 7th-8th below) in a single baseball season? Exhilirating and exhausting, but like any great dream, worthy of a little investigation.
So I turned back the clock a few months to the start of 2009. What if we had decided to pull off this grand plan THIS year? 150 team schedules, a couple of spreadsheet programs, and 6 days of work later, the result was the most dizzying itinerary I'd ever seen... and a new-found passion to make the 2010 version a reality.
Here's the itinerary, with dates, home teams, locations, and distance from the previous city:
Mon 4/6 - St. Louis Cardinals (St. Louis, MO-my wife's favorite team)
Tue 4/7 - travel day (you need a few of those in this trip)
Wed 4/8 - Minnesota Twins (Minneapolis, MN - 562 miles)
Thu 4/9 - Cedar Rapids Kernels (Cedar Rapids, IA - 277 miles)
Fri 4/10 - Burlington Bees (Burlington, IA - 102 miles)
Sat 4/11 - Peoria Chiefs (Peoria, IL - 97 miles)
Sun 4/12 - Indianapolis Indians (Indianapolis, IN - 215 miles)
Mon 4/13 - Chicago Cubs (Chicago, IL - 185 miles)
Tue 4/14 - Milwaukee Brewers (Milwaukee, WI - 92 miles)
Wed 4/15 - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers(Grand Chute, WI-109 miles)
Thu 4/16 - Beloit Snappers (Beloit, WI - 153 miles)
Fri 4/17 - Kane County Cougars (Geneva, IL - 70 miles)
Sat 4/18 - Clinton Lumberkings (Clinton, IA - 106 miles)
Sun 4/19 - Quad Cities River Bandits (Davenport, IA - 39 miles)
Mon 4/20 - Omaha Royals (Omaha, NE - 300 miles)
Tue 4/21 - Iowa Cubs (Des Moines, IA - 135 miles)
Wed 4/22 - travel day
Thu 4/23 - Memphis Redbirds (Memphis, TN - 618 miles)
Fri 4/24 - West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Jackson, TN - 89 miles)
Sat 4/25 - Nashville Sounds (Nashville, TN - 136 miles)
Sun 4/26 - Tennessee Smokies (Knoxville, TN - 203 miles)
Mon 4/27 - Chattanooga Lookouts (Chattanooga, TN - 136 miles)
Tue 4/28 - Montgomery Biscuits (Montgomery, AL - 233 miles)
Wed 4/29 - Mobile BayBears (Mobile, AL - 170 miles)
Thu 4/30 - travel day
Fri 5/1 - Huntsville Stars (Huntsville, AL - 358 miles)
Sat 5/2 - Rome Braves (Rome, GA - 114 miles)
Sun 5/3 - Birmingham Barons (Birmingham, AL - 120 miles)
Mon 5/4 - Mississippi Braves (Pearl, MS - 232 miles)
Tue 5/5 - New Orleans Zephyrs (New Orleans, LA - 189 miles)
Wed 5/6 - travel day
Thu 5/7 - Houston Astros (Houston, TX - 349 miles)
Fri 5/8 - Corpus Christi Hooks (Corpus Christi, TX - 219 miles)
Sat 5/9 - San Antonio Missions (San Antonio, TX - 144 miles)
Sun 5/10 - Round Rock Express (Round Rock, TX - 98 miles)
Mon 5/11 - Midland RockHounds (Midland, TX - 360 miles)
Tue 5/12 - travel day
Wed 5/13 - Arizona Diamondbacks (Phoenix, AZ - 737 miles)
Thu 5/14 - Los Angeles Angels (Anaheim, CA - 356 miles)
Fri 5/15-Rancho Cucamonga Quakes(Rancho Cucamonga,CA-37 miles)
Sat 5/16 - Inland Empire 66ers (San Bernardino, CA - 22 miles)
Sun 5/17 - San Diego Padres (San Diego, CA - 107 miles)
Mon 5/18 - Los Angeles Dodgers (Los Angeles, CA - 121 miles)
Tue 5/19 - Lake Elsinore Storm (Lake Elsinore, CA - 69 miles)
Wed 5/20 - High Desert Mavericks (Adelanto, CA - 78 miles)
Thu 5/21 - Modesto Nuts (Modesto, CA - 329 miles)
Fri 5/22 - travel day
Sat 5/23 - Stockton Ports (Stockton, CA - 31 miles)
Sun 5/24 - San Jose Giants (San Jose, CA - 81 miles)
Mon 5/25 - Oakland Athletics (Oakland, CA - 41 miles)
Tue 5/26 - San Francisco Giants (San Francisco, CA - 13 miles)
Wed 5/27 - travel day (aka sightseeing in the Bay Area)
Thu 5/28 - Reno Aces (Reno, NV - 219 miles)
Fri 5/29 - Sacaramento River Cats (Sacramento, CA - 132 miles)
Sat 5/30 - Bakersfield Blaze (Bakersfield, CA - 283 miles)
Sun 5/31 - Visalia Oaks (Visalia, CA - 80 miles)
Mon 6/1 - Fresno Grizzlies (Fresno, CA - 44 miles)
Tue 6/2 - Lancaster Jethawks (Lancaster, CA - 198 miles)
Wed 6/3 - Las Vegas 51s (Las Vegas, NV - 258 miles)
Thu 6/4 - Salt Lake Bees (Salt Lake City, UT - 421 miles)
Fri 6/5 - Tacoma Rainiers (Tacoma, WA - one-way flight to Seattle)
Sat 6/6 - Seattle Mariners (Seattle, WA - 34 miles)
Sun 6/7 - Portland Beavers (Portland, OR - 174 miles)
Mon 6/8 - travel day (one way flight back to Salt Lake City)
Tue 6/9 - Albuquerque Isotopes (Albuquerque, NM - 622 miles)
Wed 6/10 - travel day
Thu 6/11-Colorado Springs Sky Sox(Colorado Springs, CO-379 miles)
Fri 6/12 - Colorado Rockies (Denver, CO - 70 miles)
Sat 6/13 - Tulsa Drillers (Tulsa, OK - 696 miles)
Sun 6/14 - travel day
Mon 6/15 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Springdale, AR-111 miles)
Tue 6/16 - Arkansas Travelers (Little Rock, AR - 198 miles)
Wed 6/17 - Texas Rangers (Arlington, TX - 340 miles)
Thu 6/18 - Frisco Roughriders (Frisco, TX - 43 miles)
Fri 6/19 - Oklahoma City 89ers (Oklahoma City, OK - 191 miles)
Sat 6/20 - Springfield Cardinals (Springfield, MO - 286 miles)
Sun 6/21 - Bowling Green Hot Rods (Bowling Green, KY - 504 miles)
Mon 6/22 - Louisville Bats (Louisville, KY - 115 miles)
Tue 6/23 - travel day
Wed 6/24 - Carolina Mudcats (Zebulon, NC - 591 miles)
Thu 6/25 - Kinston Indians (Kinston, NC - 73 miles)
Fri 6/26 - Norfolk Tides (Norfolk, VA - 168 miles)
Sat 6/27 - Lynchburg Hillcats (Lynchburg, VA - 190 miles)
Sun 6/28 - Salem Red Sox (Salem, VA - 68 miles)
Mon 6/29 - Winston-Salem Dash (Winston-Salem, NC - 140 miles)
Tue 6/30 - travel day
Wed 7/1 - Charleston Riverdogs (Charleston, SC - 287 miles)
Thu 7/2 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Myrtle Beach, SC - 98 miles)
Fri 7/3 - Savannah Sand Gnats (Savannah, GA - 227 miles)
Sat 7/4 - Brevard County Manatees (Viera, FL - 300 miles)
Sun 7/5 - Daytona Cubs (Daytona Beach, FL - 74 miles)
Mon 7/6 - St. Lucie Mets (Port St. Lucie, FL - 150 miles)
Tue 7/7 - Palm Beach Cardinals (Jupiter, FL - 33 miles)
Wed 7/8 - Jupiter Hammerheads (same stadium as Palm Beach)
Thu 7/9 - Fort Myers Miracle (Fort Myers, FL - 141 miles)
Fri 7/10 - Tampa Yankees (Tampa, FL - 128 miles)
Sat 7/11 - Sarasota Reds (Sarasota, FL - 62 miles)
Sun 7/12 - Dunedin Blue Jays (Dunedin, FL - 60 miles)
Mon 7/13 - off day
Tue 7/14 - off day (call it our "All-Star Break")
Wed 7/15 - Charlotte Stone Crabs (Port Charlotte, FL - 105 miles)
Thu 7/16 - Clearwater Threshers (Clearwater, FL - 102 miles)
Fri 7/17 - Lakeland Flying Tigers (Lakeland, FL - 57 miles)
Sat 7/18 - Jacksonville Suns (Jacksonville, FL - 195 miles)
Sun 7/19 - Augusta Greenjackets (Augusta, GA - 262 miles)
Mon 7/20 - Gwinnett Braves (Lawrenceville, GA - 155 miles)
Tue 7/21 - Charlotte Knights (Rock Hill, SC - 220 miles)
Wed 7/22 - Greenville Drive (Greenville, SC - 102 miles)
Thu 7/23 - Asheville Tourists (Asheville, NC - 63 miles)
Fri 7/24 - Hickory Crawdads (Hickory, NC - 79 miles)
Sat 7/25 - Kannapolis Intimidators (Kannapolis, NC - 62 miles)
Sun 7/26 - Durham Bulls (Durham, NC - 120 miles)
Mon 7/27 - Greensboro Grasshoppers (Greensboro, NC - 54 miles)
Tue 7/28 - West Virginia Power (Charleston, WV - 244 miles)
Wed 7/29 - Lexington Legends (Lexington, KY - 175 miles)
Thu 7/30 - Fort Wayne TinCaps (Fort Wayne, IN - 283 miles)
Fri 7/31 - South Bend Silver Hawks (South Bend, IN - 122 miles)
Sat 8/1 - Lansing Lugnuts (Lansing, MI - 154 miles)
Sun 8/2 - Great Lakes Loons (Flint, MI - 95 miles)
Mon 8/3-Western Michigan Whitecaps(Comstock Park, MI-106 miles)
Tue 8/4 - Toledo Mud Hens (Toledo, OH - 191 miles)
Wed 8/5 - travel day (finally!)
Thu 8/6 - Detroit Tigers (Detroit, MI - 59 miles)
Fri 8/7 - Toronto Blue Jays (Toronto, ON - 231 miles)
Sat 8/8 - Erie Sea Wolves (Erie, PA - 195 miles)
Sun 8/9 - Akron Aeros (Akron, OH - 126 miles)
Mon 8/10 - Lake County Captains (Eastlake, OH - 48 miles)
Tue 8/11 - Cleveland Indians (Cleveland, OH - 18 miles)
Wed 8/12 - travel day
Thu 8/13 - Dayton Dragons (Dayton, OH - 212 miles)
Fri 8/14 - Columbus Clippers (Columbus, OH - 72 miles)
Sat 8/15 - travel day
Sun 8/16 - Buffalo Bisons (Buffalo, NY - 328 miles)
Mon 8/17 - Rochester Red Wings (Rochester, NY - 73 miles)
Tue 8/18 - Syracuse Chiefs (Syracuse, NY - 87 miles)
Wed 8/19 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Manchester, NH-347 miles)
Thu 8/20 - Portland Sea Dogs (Portland, ME - 96 miles)
Fri 8/21 - Pawtucket Red Sox (Pawtucket, RI - 152 miles)
Sat 8/22 - Connecticut Defenders (Norwich, CT - 62 miles)
Sun 8/23 - New Britain Rock Cats (New Britain, CT - 52 miles)
Mon 8/24 - travel day
Tue 8/25 - Binghamton Mets (Binghamton, NY - 224 miles)
Wed 8/26 - Scranton-WB Yankees (Scranton, PA - 68 miles)
Thu 8/27 - Altoona Curve (Altoona, PA - 183 miles)
Fri 8/28 - Harrisburg Senators (Harrisburg, PA - 130 miles)
Sat 8/29 - Reading Phillies (Reading, PA - 63 miles)
Sun 8/30 - Trenton Thunder (Trenton, NJ - 82 miles)
Mon 8/31 - Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Allentown, PA - 76 miles)
Tue 9/1 - Lakewood BlueClaws (Lakewood, NJ - 112 miles)
Wed 9/2 - Wilmington Blue Rocks (Wilmington, DE - 95 miles)
Thu 9/3 - Frederick Keys (Frederick, MD - 121 miles)
Fri 9/4 - Hagerstown Suns (Hagerstown, MD - 25 miles)
Sat 9/5 - Delmarva Shorebirds (Salisbury, MD - 181 miles)
Sun 9/6 - Bowie Bay Sox (Bowie, MD - 101 miles)
Mon 9/7 - Potomac Nationals (Woodbridge, VA - 43 miles)
[minor league regular season ends]
Tue 9/8 - Washington Nationals (Washington, DC - 21 miles)
Wed 9/9 - off day
Thu 9/10 - New York Mets (Queens, NY - 246 miles)
Fri 9/11 - New York Yankees (Bronx, NY - 13 miles)
Sat 9/12 - off day
Sun 9/13 - Boston Red Sox (Boston, MA - 209 miles)
Mon 9/14 - off day
Tue 9/15 - Philadelphia Phillies (Philadelphia, PA - 310 miles)
Wed 9/16 - Baltimore Orioles (Baltimore, MD - 103 miles)
Thu 9/17 - off day
Fri 9/18 - Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh, PA - 248 miles)
Sat 9/19 - Cincinnati Reds (Cincinnati, OH - 288 miles)
Sun 9/20 - off day
Mon 9/21 - Chicago White Sox (Chicago, IL - 463 miles)
Tue 9/22 - off day
Wed 9/23 - Kansas City Royals (Kansas City, MO - 527 miles)
Thu 9/24 - off day
Fri 9/25 - off day
Sat 9/26 - off day
Sun 9/27 - Florida Marlins (Miami Gardens, FL - 1459 miles)
Mon 9/28 - Tampa Bay Rays (St. Petersburg, FL - 256 miles)
Tue 9/29 - off day
Wed 9/30 - Atlanta Braves (Atlanta, GA - 479 miles)
So we start with my wife's favorite team, end in my hometown... and travel 28,000 miles in between. 28,000 miles!!!!
Again, don't forget, this is a MOCK version of the trip for 2009. Sadly, much like John Smoltz's career, the 2009 season is almost gone.
So is this possible to pull off in 2010 (with sponsorship help of course)? I'll take a break to let you all discuss... there's smoke coming from the computer keyboard anyway.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
My man crush on Kendry Morales
Let's get one thing straight, right off the bat. I'm a happily married man; in fact, I'm still wondering how in the world I got the greatest female baseball fan on earth to actually agree to a legal ceremony that binds her to me for life.
But I'm also a fantasy baseball nut. And that means, just as I feel I'm entitled to a single scoop of Key Lime Pie in a waffle cone at Brusters once a week, I also have a birthright to have nearly unhealthy fascinations with certain MLB players.
Ryan Braun ended up on my Christmas card list in 2007. Last year, Mark Reynolds and I were in the love-hate relationship of a lifetime, and he doesn't even know about it. (Side note: air conditioners are going away in Phoenix, since Reynolds' whiffs are providing plenty of cool air for the city).
This year, I turn into a giddy little schoolgirl when the name Kendry Morales comes up in conversation.
Let me paint the picture for you, with several gallons of bleak prison-wall gray paint. My fantasy team's disabled list has Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Jake Peavy, Ian Kinsler, and Carlos Delgado right now. That's right, my best fantasy players got together, went behind my back, and signed a collective 3-year contract with the disabled list. (You know, the same people that have Mark Prior under a lifetime deal.)
But in the midst of pulling out what remaining hair I have over having to start Cristian Guzman and Josh Willingham in an 8-team league, there's one sunny bright spot beaming from sunny Southern California.
He's Kendry Morales. And if Justin Timberlake were here, he'd have just enough time to call my fascination with Kendry a 'bromance' before I started throwing tomatoes at him.
What, you've never heard of Kendry the Great? Or you can vaguely recall him as some new guy that might play for the Dodgers, the Angels, the Padres, or the Hiroshima Carp?
Wake up and smell the Cuban cigars, man!
The Angel in the outfield has 23 home runs. That's right, 23. More than Paul Konerko, more than Jim Thome, more than Jason Bay... more than the three-headed monster of Josh Hamilton, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Beltran COMBINED! (How many fantasy owners groaned with the mention of those three names?)
23 long balls doesn't exactly inspire memories of Barry Bonds in 2001-2002. But ever since baseball's roid rage has died down to an ember, those coveted homers are harder to come by than a Hollywood celeb without a hoard of TMZ papparazzi following his every move.
The point here is that it's probably a good thing I live on the opposite coast, 'cause I might play TMZ-guy to Morales's John Mayer. Except I'd just thank him over and over for somehow keeping my scrap heap of a fantasy team in second place... until the LAPD put me in a little cell with Amy Winehouse.
So I'll just admire the .293-23-70 line from afar. I'll keep replaying that pair of 3-run bombs in the Metrodome Sunday. And in this era of depleted 401k plans and bursting real-estate bubbles, I'll keep reminding myself that values like Kendry are available - for free - on your local waiver wire.
And I might buy out the Angels team store of Kendry Morales posters. But, then my wife might start to get worried.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
First Pitch
After six long years away (did blogs even exist six long years ago?), I have snuck back into the Great Blogging Block Party through a secret side entrance. Actually, I just jumped back on blogger.com and signed back up, but that sounds so much less magical.
The fact remains, it's 2009, and it's time to get back to blogging basics. Starting this blog again is like coming home from a long road trip to a home cooked meal - it just feels right.
This new blog's purpose is two-fold.
First, I freakin' love baseball, and since my job got eliminated a few months ago, I've had thoughts bouncing around like pinballs in my head (lemme tell ya, that can hurt the sides of your brain). So this blog will be an outlet for thoughts, ideas, and some other random tidbits, both on the national pastime and on other aspects of this crazy recession-driven life we lead now.
Second, this blog will hopefully serve as a launching pad for one of the craziest baseball dreams ever. This is where the title comes from - The Great American Baseball Adventure. More to come soon, but the GABA (acronym, anyone?) is basically my baseball brainchild for the 2010 season.
The plan is to see a home game from EVERY full-season major and minor league baseball team in one season! (Quick math: 30 major league teams + 120 full-season minor league teams = 150 games in a little less than 6 months... and 1 calculator with smoke pouring from the display).
My wife and I are both huge baseball fans (how in the world did I get that lucky?) and we've visited about two-thirds of the major league stadiums, most of them over the last five years. But let's face it, a week-long tour of California's 5 MLB stadiums is a far cry from seeing EVERY full-season team at home in a season.
Obviously, the Great American Baseball Adventure is a lot closer to concept than reality at this point. But maybe, just maybe, this blog will be a first step toward making our baseball dreams come true.
Good to be back, blogging world.
The fact remains, it's 2009, and it's time to get back to blogging basics. Starting this blog again is like coming home from a long road trip to a home cooked meal - it just feels right.
This new blog's purpose is two-fold.
First, I freakin' love baseball, and since my job got eliminated a few months ago, I've had thoughts bouncing around like pinballs in my head (lemme tell ya, that can hurt the sides of your brain). So this blog will be an outlet for thoughts, ideas, and some other random tidbits, both on the national pastime and on other aspects of this crazy recession-driven life we lead now.
Second, this blog will hopefully serve as a launching pad for one of the craziest baseball dreams ever. This is where the title comes from - The Great American Baseball Adventure. More to come soon, but the GABA (acronym, anyone?) is basically my baseball brainchild for the 2010 season.
The plan is to see a home game from EVERY full-season major and minor league baseball team in one season! (Quick math: 30 major league teams + 120 full-season minor league teams = 150 games in a little less than 6 months... and 1 calculator with smoke pouring from the display).
My wife and I are both huge baseball fans (how in the world did I get that lucky?) and we've visited about two-thirds of the major league stadiums, most of them over the last five years. But let's face it, a week-long tour of California's 5 MLB stadiums is a far cry from seeing EVERY full-season team at home in a season.
Obviously, the Great American Baseball Adventure is a lot closer to concept than reality at this point. But maybe, just maybe, this blog will be a first step toward making our baseball dreams come true.
Good to be back, blogging world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)