Category Archives: Baseball

Either we enforce the rules or we don’t

OK, I’ve seen enough cheap shots at the Yankees for daring to ask Beelzebud Selig to enfore the rules of the game viz the Devil Rays not showing up on time for the scheduled doubleheader on Monday. If you’re going … Continue reading Continue reading

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Press interviews JR Richard

The Houston Press has a fascinating interview with former Astros great JR Richard. If what he says is true here, he really got screwed by his former team: DH: How did the Houston Astros organization help you during your recovery? … Continue reading Continue reading

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We may never get rid of Beelzebud

Beelzebud Selig’s term as Commissioner of Major League Baseball has been extended through 2009. That sound you hear is my teeth grinding. I may have more to say about this later, when I’m done banging my head against the wall. … Continue reading Continue reading

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My son, the baseball player

The Bonassus notes that the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame is going to honor the 143 Jewish men who have played in the bigs. I don’t really have anything to add to this except to note that this is … Continue reading Continue reading

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Maddux wins 300

Congratulations to Greg Maddux for his 300th career win. He’s the 22nd pitcher to reach that milestone and is now tied with Earl Wynn and Lefty Grove for 20th place all-time in victories. What’s amazing to me is that as … Continue reading Continue reading

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Remembering Thurman Munson

Today is the 25th anniversary of the day Yankees catcher and captain Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash. I still remember it like it was yesterday. My neighbor Neil told me the news as I was getting out … Continue reading Continue reading

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The trading deadline

First of all, everybody knows that July 31 isn’t really a “deadline” for making a trade in Major League Baseball, right? It just means that now teams must put any player they want to trade on waivers first, which allows … Continue reading Continue reading

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Phil Rizzuto Park

Hey, they named a park in New Jersey after Phil Rizzuto, the Yankees’ Hall of Fame shortstop and broadcaster. Holy Cow! Former New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto was on hand Wednesday to dedicate a park named in his honor. … Continue reading Continue reading

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Hello, Pittsburgh!

The 2006 MLB All-Star Game will be in Pittsburgh, and you know what that means: It’s time to play the Economic Impact Game! Pittsburgh should get a desperately needed image boost from baseball’s All-Star Game in two years, but it’s … Continue reading Continue reading

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Say goodnight, Jimy

Looks like the era of Jimyball is ending. Astros manager Jimy Williams and his coaching staff will learn their fates at 1 p.m. today with former Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers manager Phil Garner set to become the franchise’s 14th … Continue reading Continue reading

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Scooter

Now hear this: The animated baseball known as “Scooter”, which explains things like the slider (“it’s like a fastball except it slides!”) to children, which Fox has thrust upon an unsuspecting public, is the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a … Continue reading Continue reading

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Gays in baseball

Buried deep within this survey of Major League Baseball players on topics such as steroids and competitive imbalance is this nugget: A strong majority of players, 353 to 73, said having a gay teammate wouldn’t bother them. “I’m sure I’ve … Continue reading Continue reading

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Oh, yeah, the All-Star Game

And a short break for local news: Hey, guess what, the city of Houston is going to be rolling in money thanks to the All-Star Game! About 40,000 tickets have been sold for the All-Star Game, Gardner said. State Comptroller … Continue reading Continue reading

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Beltran revisited

Well, the Astros’ trade for Carlos Beltran has been a mixed success so far. Beltran himself has been spectacular as advertised, but the Stros remain in a struggle to stay over .500, let alone challenge the suddenly surging Cardinals for … Continue reading Continue reading

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Adam Everett??

Now hear this: if Adam Everett is voted as the starting shortstop in the All-Star Game, then the term “All-Star shortstop” will cease to have any meaning. OK, that’s a bit harsh, as this is not a banner year for … Continue reading Continue reading

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Astros get Carlos Beltran

This is a great trade for the Stros. The Astros finally landed the classic center fielder they have craved for years, acquiring Kansas City Royals star Carlos Beltran on Thursday night in a three-team deal that club officials compared to … Continue reading Continue reading

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Nick O’Brien followup

You’ve all heard of the Nick O’Brien story by now – indeed, more than 300 Googlers dropped by yesterday looking for news of the four-year-old baseball fan. Well, it turns out that he’s going to get that baseball after all, … Continue reading Continue reading

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Fan of the year nominee

You know, I attended many baseball games before ever catching a foul ball (the experience in Tokyo was my second time), but I was never ever tempted to act like this guy did. ARLINGTON – Four-year-old Nick O’Brien proved why … Continue reading Continue reading

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3-2-9

Even in Little League, I wouldn’t expect to ever see a play like this. The infield fly rule is a subtle thing. Via Nail-Tinted Glasses, who also points out this excellent Legomation re-enactment for those who need a visual. Continue reading

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RIP, Doug Pappas

On a much sadder note, I’m as shocked as anyone to learn of the death of Doug Pappas, who succumbed to heat prostration while camping in Big Bend National Park this weekend. Joe Sheehan writes a lovely obituary to his … Continue reading Continue reading

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Perfecto!

Congratulations to Randy Johnson for throwing a perfect game last night against the Braves. It’s his second career no-hitter (the 14-year span between his first no-no and this game is the longest ever), and the 17th perfecto in major league … Continue reading Continue reading

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Let’s go over the ground rules

Via Jack, I too enjoyed this article by Rob Neyer on the quirky ground rules at some of Major League Baseball’s stadia. One thing I’d point out is that the well-known “ground rule double” has some history to it that … Continue reading Continue reading

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How much does baserunning matter to run scoring?

With all the recent hoo-hah about productive outs and the poo-pooing by ESPN talking heads Harold Reynolds and John Kruk about “lumbering sluggers” who “clog up the basepaths” (Kruk, at least, should know a thing or two about that), it’s … Continue reading Continue reading

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With cheesy ad gimmicks come great responsibility

I’m not really sure who came up with this Spider-Man on the bases idea, but I’m glad it didn’t fly. A day after announcing a novel promotion to put advertisements on bases next month, Major League Baseball reversed course Thursday … Continue reading Continue reading

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Fixing the Fan Cost Index

You’ve probably heard of the Fan Cost Index, which is the Team Marketing Report’s annual tally of how much it costs for a family of four to attend a sporting event, in this case a Major League Baseball game. I’ve … Continue reading Continue reading

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On steroids and asterisks

The Bleacher Guy takes ESPN talking head Stephen A. Smith to task for what he believes is a disingenuous defense of Barry Bonds and his achievements against critics who assail him for alleged steroid use. Says Smith: It’s curious considering … Continue reading Continue reading

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You forgot the part about artificial enhancements

One liner of the day, from Joe Sheehan of the Baseball Prospectus: One week of baseball games, no matter the month, are a bit like Jessica Simpson. Beautiful to look at, and impossible to get any useful information from. Whoever … Continue reading Continue reading

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Bonds ties Mays

Congrats to Barry Bonds hitting his 660th home run yesterday, tying him with his godfather Willie Mays for third overall in career homers. (Quick trivia question: Who’s #5? Here’s the answer.) Barring injury or unforeseen dropoff in performance, he ought … Continue reading Continue reading

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Aaron’s Anniversary

I missed mentioning on Thursday that it was the 30th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. David Pinto brings it up in linking to this Tim Kurkjian column in which Kurkjian expresses some sadness at the thought that Aaron’s … Continue reading Continue reading

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The J.R. Richard Story

A biopic of former Astros pitcher J.R. Richard is in the works. Resurrection: The J.R. Richard Story will begin with Richard being rushed from the ballpark in an ambulance after collapsing from a stroke in 1980. The movie starts shooting … Continue reading Continue reading

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Ode to Strat-O-Matic

I admit it. I was a total Strat-O-Matic geek as a kid. Had all the games, played in face-to-face and play-by-mail leagues – explaining to Mom why I had to spend an hour on the phone with some guy in … Continue reading Continue reading

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How do you say “Opening Day” in Japanese?

The Devil Rays beat the Yankees earlier today by the score of 8-3 in the Tokyo Dome. The hosts did their best to duplicate the atmosphere of games back home, with some twists, of course. The Yankees, including Hall of … Continue reading Continue reading

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Baseball Day

This is an idea I can get behind: Make baseball’s Opening Day a national holiday. It’s especially appealing for those of us who get no holidays between New Year’s and Memorial Day – we could use something to break the … Continue reading Continue reading

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RIP, Marge Schott

Marge Schott, the former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, died yesterday at the age of 75. For someone as well known as she was for making racist statements, there was a fair amount of effort to find nice things to … Continue reading Continue reading

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