all things baseball. if you swing that way (1 Viewer)

Every single team in the NL East is above .500 and every single team in the AL East is at or above .500

The solution is obvious.

Move Wrigley Field from Clark/Addison to 49th/Park Ave.

Do I have to think of everything ?
 
I was at Turner Field Friday night to watch the Braves retire the number 29 in honor of John Smoltz. I was fortunate enough to live about 30 miles outside of town growing up; my dad took me to a lot of games started by Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz. It will be a bittersweet moment when Chipper's number is retired, the final chapter from one of baseball's all-time greatest line ups.
 
I remember John Smoltz from the 1991 world series when and old man, Jack Morris, kicked his ass and shut out the Braves in game 7. Great series. For Minnesota fans.

Then, of course, things returned to their natural progression and Minnesota teams resumed their losing ways. '87 and '91 were fun flukes to witness though.
 
In most postseason games, Smoltz was the one doing the ass kicking. But as I grow older I have learned to appreciate seeing a cunning old man edge out a young stud in sports. A lot of sports writers consider the 91 series to be one of the best ever, being on the losing side of it makes it hard to agree with.

It is a sin that the rotation we had in the 90s only brought the Braves one world series title. Still, that is one more championship than any other Atlanta team holds.
 
That WAS a badass trio on the Atlanta pitching staff, as good or better than Palmer/McNally/Cuellar of the early 1970's Orioles.

Found this on great pitching trios of MLB history:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/296956-the-five-great-pitching-trios

mjp - That 1987 World Series was a little weird in a couple of ways. I remember a controversial call at first base, where Kent Hrbek somehow blocked the Cardinals' baserunner from touching the bag ? It looked like interference but the ump let it go or missed it altogether. And don't get me started with those giant exhaust fans in the dome that blew out during the Twins at-bats but magically changed direction during the St. Louis at-bats !
 
Kent Hrbek preventing a runner from touching first? He very well may have done this to a Card during the 87 series, but I remember him throwing Ron Gant away from the base during the 91 series. They even commemorated the act with a bobblehead last year: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kent-Hrbek-...4?pt=US_Baseball_Fan_Shop&hash=item27c7e278fa

Are you an Orioles fan? I don't pay much attention to the AL, but I saw they were off to a brilliant start this year. I like the organization, hopefully they can keep it up.
 
You can't go at first base like a pussy! You'd better come in hard if you want to step on that fucker. That's all I've got to say about that.

You guys should consider yourselves lucky Hrbeck wasn't carrying his steel.
 
Pat Dobson later went on to become a pretty well-respected pitching coach for the O's (and some other teams I'm forgetting.) I remember reading a Baseball Weekly story on him in the early 90's praising his abilities as a scout also.

Jake - I'm a Cardinals fan but have fond memories of watching the Orioles on TV when I was a kid. Brooks Robinson fascinated me, the way he could anticipate where the ball would be hit. He would take a step or two - left or right - before the ball even reached home plate. Some of those O's World Series games were broadcast during the day and we had a very cool Principal who allowed us to watch the game at school - provided all classwork was caught up and no one was shooting spitwads at the teacher. Hooligans we were....
 
R. A. Dickey pitches tonight 0n ESPN against the Yankees. That crazy knuckleball of his has baffled some good-hitting teams this year - Cards and Nats among them. I'm interested to see what he does against the Yankees.
 
Well, he didn't get it done tonight - 5 ER on 5 H over 6 IP with 3 BB. The guy appears to have one quality I really admire in pitchers though, and it doesn't show up in the stats. He can maintain an absolute "poker face" throughout the course of the game. No histrionics on the mound and no dramatic body language, regardless of the situation. I wish pitchers were more like him and less like Jose Valverde of The Tigers.
 
I think a knuckleballer has to have a calm demeanor; if he lets things get to him he may grip the ball too hard, and if he grips the ball too hard, it may give rotation to the pitch. then the knuckleball isn't a knuckleball anymore, but a 78 mph fastball without movement. and we all know what happens to a 78 mph fastball with no movement? that's right, a souvenir for a fan in the upper deck.

a knuckleballer has to have a stoner/zen vibe, I always thought The Dude in The Big Lewbowski would have a good knuckleball, you know, if wearing a uniform and playing/working with a bunch of spoiled millionaires wasn't oppressive, man.
 
My knowledge of knuckleballs goes back to Jim Bouton's Ball Four. And ends about there (Tim Wakefield notwithstanding.) The documentary that is out now about R.A. Dickey and others looks interesting. Will see it if it makes it to a local theatre.
 
Sam had a one day mini camp today with ex major leaguers Scott Bullet, Kelly Gruber (it was his camp) and to my delight, Bill "Spaceman" Lee. My wife made me get a picture with him. I'm glad she did.

20120702_144523.jpg
 
So the Cardinals return to Nationals Park tonight. The results were pretty sensational last time they played there (unless you're a certain Washington Nationals fan/writer from Nova Scotia). However this time around, they have a big ol' dumbass bullpen that likes to ruin things for the rest of the team. They're like five John Martins that swoop in and "edit" the works of other, more talented people. We shall see...
 
Anybody here ever read Roger Angell? He wrote some of the best baseball prose I've ever seen for New Yorker mag back in the day. He was born in 1920 and his last current stuff (that I read) came around 2004. I'm not sure if he's still living. He is a pleasure to read. Try his book The Summer Game. It reads as a book of short stories. You wont regret.
 
Read a lot of Angell. You're right, The Summer Game is excellent.

My favourite baseball book is The Boys of Summer.
 
Digney in Burnaby, thank you for that link. I found out that R.A. is still alive! Damn...he's 93! Some good excerpts on that site. Thanks again!
 
Plays third base and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. One of their top prospects. Huge upside with his bat, defense less so, but not a liability.

In short, a very exciting young player with huge potential.
 
hoochmonkey9 said:
Read a lot of Angell. You're right, The Summer Game is excellent.

My favourite baseball book is The Boys of Summer.
Click to expand...
Boys of Summer is great! Andy Pafko just died and there was a nice obit in the Times.
Also grew up loving Shoeless Joe and Robert Creamers bio of Babe Ruth.
Always used to have a copy of Macmillans baseball encyclopedia every year, but not for many years.
 
hoochmonkey9 said:
Plays third base and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. One of their top prospects. Huge upside with his bat, defense less so, but not a liability.
Click to expand...
One of the most remarkable things about him is his composure. He just turned 21 and he looks completely in control of his game. In the ALCS he had an at-bat (it may have been his first in the series) where he got down 0-2 and hung in there, fouling off a number of pitches, eventually earning a walk. Of course, he's 0-6 so far in the WS, so we'll see if he can snap out of that. Meanwhile, the prospect the Sox traded away for Peavy, Julio Iglesias, made a couple of outstanding plays but committed a costly error at a key moment in game 6 (and struck out to end the game). Tonight we find out once and for all if the Peavy trade was the right move. He was a mess against the Tigers, but if he goes out and pitches a strong game and wins tonight, then it was worth it.
 
He's a good two strike hitter. Cuts down on his swing and tries to put the ball in play and not hit a five run homer that so many young players seem to do. The art of hitting with two strikes is not what it used to be.
 
I'm glad the Red Sox have to make a "Sophie's Choice" between Ortiz and Napoli for these three games in St. Louis. Apparently Ortiz will get the start at 1B and Napoli will pinch-hit if needed.

I'm lining up my good-luck totems for the game tonight. Think I'll go with a miniature Cardinals batting helmet/paperweight and a 1975 Cardinals pocket schedule with a bad pop-art illustration of Lou Brock on the cover. Yes... that should bring good fortune. But if not, I have others. Any one else indulge in sports superstitions ?

EDIT: Just read where Daniel Nava will start in LF for the Red Sox instead of Jonny Gomes, who has been 0-for-7 so far.
 
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Currently watching the Nationals/ Braves game. Nats are 3 outs away from clinching the NL East.

Make that 2 outs away.

And for some odd reason I'm stone cold sober. Not like me.
 
Will the Giants catch a wild card after the Dodgers smacked them down? I'd like to see it, if for no other reason than the Giants were R.I.P. a month ago. At least they made a run for it...
 
Come on boys and speak up... I liked the news articles that showed the stats about where Jeter really ranked and it was not good. My opinion before last night was that he was the only pro out there that managed to play 20 years without a single ghetto moment and i loved him for it -- especially not getting married. And I don't care about the race factor because it comes in all colors. The guy is a hero in my mind for that alone -- I hate most pro athletes. But going back to the begining of this thread... The guy produced in the final moments of his career and his post-game thougts were so honest I felt flushed. To all those Buk fans who could give a rat's shit about professional sports, I salute you. But this one was actually special, even with the hype ...
 

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