I know he's on the payroll but....

Last night in the Yankees/Royals game, the Royals were leading the Yankees 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Royals brought in Kyle Farnsworth to protect the lead.

Yeah, they really did.

Everybody knew how this was going to end and Farnsworth as usual did not disappoint with his straight-as-an-arrow blazing fastball.

To add insult to injury for the Royals, Farnsworth is also signed through next year.*

I appreciate the disadvantages that the Royals have in playing in such a small market but it is REALLY REALLY hard to generate much sympathy for them here. As a GM in Kansas City, you have less room for error and must be that much SMARTER than the GMs of the larger market teams. You simply don't add the likes of Kyle Farnsworth to your roster on a multi-year deal.**

*I know that the guy can fight and all but like so what?

**Yeah, you can try and get him to quit by spraying shaving cream in his locker or something but he probably won't.

Someone thinks this is wrong

There is an article in Newsday from Neil Best where Mr. Best criticizes the recent Yankees champagne clubhouse celebration of their Division title.

Here he goes:

"The goggles, the tarps across the lockers, the official dousing of home-team reporters....enough already.

Either limit the champagne showers to the really big stuff - i.e. a pennant or World
Series or do what the NFL does and ban alcohol from the locker room altogether.

(The policy has not hurt football's popularity, has it?)

Two reasons among many:

1. Young people should know it is possible for adults to celebrate together without adult beverages.

2. Don't some of these players drive themselves home after these parties."

Ok, if Mr. Best does not like the spectacle of the clubhouse celebrations, so be it but the last two points are a little unfair I believe.

With regards to the first point, frankly I call b.s. on this. Young people are primarily influenced by their parents (or lack of). If daddy or mommy have a drinking problem and this is something a younster is exposed to around the house on a daily basis, this is a much stronger influence on a child than a one-time locker room celebration by the local team. I could go on and on but I am just not buying the "corrupting influence of the locker room celebration" on today's youth. Just not buying it. Finally, many celebrations in every-day life are accompanied by alcohol. That is just how it is and I think young people know this.

With regards to the second point, I am simply not willing to assume based on no further evidence that these players are driving home drunk after these celebrations. I have never heard of a report of a DUI involving a player after one of these things. Maybe I am naive but I would think the team has a procedure in place to handle transportation for these players who have swilled copious quantities of champagne after a game. Further, with these important games, I think generally the families of these players are at the game and probably are the "designated drivers" for the ride home. In other words, I am not buying this point either.

I could be wrong but I don't think I have ever read anything before by Neil Best.

Who is this guy?

Is he ever in the clubhouse or is he critiquing from afar here?

Do any of the players talk to him or give him the time of day?

Does he have any friends?

Just wondering.

Something is not right with the manager here

Last night in the ninth inning of the Pirates/Dodgers game with the Pirates up 11-0 and Zach Duke one out away from a complete game, Pirates manager John Russell lifted Duke and brought in Donnie Veal to get the last out of the game "drawing loud boos" (per AP) from the Pittsburgh fans.

"I wanted it pretty bad, I'm not going to lie," said Duke.

An article by Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a bit more information.

Kovacevic indicates that John Russell's explanation for this strange managerial decision is as follows:

"I wanted Zach to have a nice ovation from the fans. He did a heck of a job, pitched a great game. We were trying to get him a shutout and, unfortunately, they scored the run. We just wanted to give the fans an opportunity to appreciate what he did rather than the game just being over. We needed to get Donnie a little work today with Karstens and him both pitching Wednesday. It was good that we got Donnie in the game. That'll make him a little more prepared."

Hmmm. It's not really getting better for Russell.

Duke responded, "At that point in the game, I think I might have gotten an ovation either way. I was one out away."

Any manager knows how much a starting pitcher values a complete game. Letting Duke, who was not on a pitch count, finish the game here was a slam-dunk no-brainer.

This is nutty.

In fact, this is more than nutty.

This is "Did you really do that?" nutty.

This is "Unless Veal gets into trouble, how much work can he get in here?" nutty.

This is "Did you hit your head?" nutty.

This is "Did someone put something in your Gatorade?" nutty.

This is "People are worried about you" nutty.

This is....

Zambrano threatens to quit

Per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, Carlos Zambrano says he will retire at the end of next year if he has another season like 2009. Zambrano also apparently insisted that he was serious.

"Look, this is the only season I haven't won 16 or 18 or 14 games. If it happens again next season, two seasons in a row, I'll quit. I just have to put this behind me."

I am guessing that he has a marketable secondary skill that will keep him occupied in the event that this contingency plan comes into play.

I trust that he knows what he is doing. He has probably been thinking about his options for next year for some time which among other things would include:

1. Win the World Series with the Cubs and be a World Series contributor and star. Be a hero in Chicago forever.
2. Do not win at least 14 games and quit.

I am sure that he has thought this out rationally and this is not just some spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Otherwise, he would have no credibility the next time he opens his mouth and I am sure he has thought of that.

Ok, Carlos. No problem.

Words have meaning, you know and we are going to hold you to this.

Just so you know.

See you in court!

In follow-up to my 9-25-09 post, I note that Derrek Lee is still out of the Cubs lineup after suffering "severe and permanent personal injuries and grievous harm" when he was "negligently and recklessly battered" by teammate Angel Guzman when Mr. Guzman refused to "cease and desist" during a "prolonged, excessive and unnecessarily dangerous" dugout celebration last Thursday.

Something tells me that the attorney for Derrek Lee will be meeting the acquaintance of the attorney for Angel Guzman very shortly. Something just tells me.

Look, I don't know how many lawyers there are in the United States but it's like a mega-high number* and the constitution has already been written so they all need something else to do, you know.

*Looked it up: 1,143,358 in 2007. They can't all work for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Don't say that!

Per the AP story on the Reds/Astros game which the Astros won 3-2, Reds pitcher, Johnny Cueto was not exactly pleased with the performance of the Reds hitters:

"I felt good and I was really locating my pitches well today. The hitters have a job to do and I have a job to do. I can't tell them to hit. They scored a lot of runs the last two games. There's nothing I can do about it."

Memo to Johnny: I know it is only your second year and you did pitch decently but not lights out* but you can't be saying these things. You just can't. It's very bad karma and you are now almost guaranteed in your next start to be on the losing end of a 12-10 game. You know what Joey Votto is going to say then? Something like this: "We scored the runs but we can't pitch for him." You watch.

*7 1/3 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 5 walks.

Another reason baseball is better

Ozzie Guillen has an opinion on this

In the AP game story of the White Sox/Tigers game, Ozzie Guillen, who we know is an expert on many, many things, had this to say about the Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics:

"I know a lot of people are against them, but I think people should be supporting this because a lot of great things can happen. I think this city is good enough, beautiful enough, a lot of fans to support that."

Hey, this just came to me! Ozzie seems pretty enthusiastic about this and he is a prominent Chicago person who likes attention and likes to talk so maybe he should be the spokesman for the Chicago Olympic bid and then........well now that you mention it, yeah right that would absolutely doom the whole effort.

My bad, sorry.

Forget I said it.

Go on to the next one.

Baseball is better

No tailgating.*

(University of Georgia campus a few Sunday mornings ago)

*I do go to college football games every now and then and have even tailgated but you have to leave the place as you found it. Right?

Ichiro makes (indirect) response to a blog post!

Less than two hours after I posted here that I could not understand how no player, coach or manager from the Mariners has been ejected from a game this year, Ichiro gets thrown out of the game today against Toronto for arguing balls and strikes!

Not a coincidence! Ichiro was reading from the clubhouse!

Hello Ichiro!

Be a "follower" if you like.

Umpires love Don Wakamatsu

There is an article in the Wall Street Journal by Dave Cameron titled "The Dying Art of the Ballpark Tantrum" which talks about how manager ejections are down 30% this year.

What! I love seeing managers get ejected! What is this?!

Ok, let's read further.

Cameron mentions how the Seattle Mariners have not had a single player, coach or manager ejected in a game this year.

OH COME ON NOW! What do their season ticket holders think about this?

Seattle manager, Don Wakamatsu who is described as a "cerebral" type says, "I think that players tend to follow my tendencies," adding that he's "never subscribed to the idea that I have to get kicked out of a game to motivate my players."

Ok, done reading. Don't need to go further. This is nuts.

Don, you are kind of missing the point here. Actually, motivating players is only a small part of this as I think ALMOST all managers know that you must throw a tantrum (on-field of course) every now and then to keep the umpires "honest" so they don't make a "mistake" which negatively affects your team. It doesn't really matter if the game is called correctly. You just cannot have them making calls against your team.

Dude, the players' salaries should provide their sole motivation (though admittedly this does not always work in practice); but that is not the primary purpose for getting thrown out of a game. With this threat of an on-field eruption, you are in a way managing the umpires' behavior as much as you are managing your own players.

Don't believe me?

Imagine this. There is a very close call in an important game which can go either way. You are in one dugout and Lou Piniella is in the other. Ok, with me? The umpire knows at worst, with you he will get a rational, intellectual argument which will eventually end with you walking back to the dugout "agreeing to disagree." With Lou Piniella, he knows that he is in for a face full of spittle, he might end on Sportscenter that night and he has to complete a lengthy report after the game to the league explaining the ejection. Who needs that? Do you know who is going to get the call? Probably not you.

Here is a little tip. Getting obnoxious and crazy with an umpire is a lot like fighting in hockey. Yeah, there are technically rules against it but really it is "allowed". In fact, the leagues tacitly encourage it because the fans like it and the leagues know that where the fans are, the money follows. Now you will never get an official memo from the league explicitly saying this but it is true. It is.

In other words, Don, you need to get with the program here!

Now get there, let your wild side out and go hurl some abuse at an umpire who dared to make a call against your team. It's not too late. The season is not over yet. You do not want to finish the year with a goose egg because they might put that on the back of your baseball card next year and little kids might, you know, laugh about it.

You will feel better too.

Excessive celebration injury!

Per Bruce Levine at ESPNChicago.com, Cubs first baseman, Derrek Lee was injured upon entering the Cubs dugout after scoring the game-tying run in the Cubs eventual win over the Giants Thursday.

As Lee entered the dugout, he was mobbed by teammates and relief pitcher, Angel Guzman slapped the side of Lee's helmet causing him to experience neck spasms that forced him to come out of the game for defense in the bottom of the ninth inning. Lee has a history of neck and back problems and indicated that he was hoping to be back in the lineup Friday though the team's training staff indicated that he may need to sit out a few games.

I guess when you are 9.5 games out in late September in a year when you were expected to compete in the World Series, you have berserker-type celebrations when you tie a game. Who am I to judge?

And they thought Milton Bradley was the problem there!

Give me a break with "fans" like this!

Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland outfielder, Matt Carson does not have the ball from his first major league home run that he hit Monday because the "fan" who caught it wants to sell it to him for a load of cash.

The A's/Carson apparently offered to trade a signed bat for the milestone baseball and hinted that they would throw in a few more items but the fan's response was "I only want money" according to clubhouse personnel.

"He wanted a lot too," said Carson, who heard that the demand was $10,000. "Kind of a bummer, anyway. They authenticated the bat I used, though, so I'll do something with that."

"It would have been nice to have the ball, and I would have been happy to give him a bat and signed it - that's more than a baseball anyway. But that's ok, I have a souvenir, I'm happy."

Where to start?

Well let's go right at him.

To the unidentified fan:

What's wrong with you? Why are you demanding $9950 more from Carson for this ball than you could get from Ebay for this? That just mean and greedy and that is not a very good combination of character traits to possess.

I know you are legal owner of the ball. So what? The ball means more to Carson than to you or to anybody else for that matter. Carson is 28 years old and not a prospect and not going to the Hall of Fame. You did not just hit the lottery. Think!

When you look at this ball, do you get a warm and fuzzy feeling? Exactly, no! You feel like cr*p every time you see it and you should.

Trade this ball to Carson or the A's for some neat stuff. It's probably not too late. Think up some excuse for your behavior. Tell them you were just diagnosed with worms on the brain or something and didn't know what you were doing. With that penicillin prescription, you are now back to your old self and ready to do the right thing.

Every now and then after a historic home run, you will see pictures of the fan who caught the ball in the clubhouse getting his picture taken with the player who hit it, getting some stuff and generally having a good old time.

Who would you rather be? That fan or you?

Bobby Cox is coming back!

Christmas in Jul.....ok September!

It has been announced that Bobby Cox will return to manage the Braves for one more year. Hooray!

They are calling it "The Farewell Tour". Look, I don't want to quarrel with the Braves PR staff but it should really be called "The Farewell EJECTION Tour" as this gives Bobby 162 opportunities to add to his managerial career record of 150 game ejections.

You know what I want to see? A Bobby Cox ejection in every National League stadium in 2010 with the grand finale in game 162. For that last game, they should even let him have dogs or something for some added antagonism towards those dastardly umpires.

Remember when Topps made that special tribute Hank Aaron card in the 1974 set and designated it the #1 card in the set in anticipation of Hank breaking the career home run record?

Topps has got to do the same thing for Bobby in 2010 in their base set. They just have to.

How often does this happen?

Phillies bullpen?!

Another Brad Lidge appearance. Another blown save. Anybody surprised?

Memo to Charlie Manuel:

You have two weeks to figure out who your closer is and it ain't Brad Lidge. That thinking is SO 2008. You don't go into the playoffs with a closer with a 7.48 ERA. You just don't. 2008 was 2008.

You should be well into "tryouts" for this position by now. You gotta think "on the fly" here, you know.

Get moving!

Brain-dead judge releases Red Sox fan from jail to attend game

Per WCVB TV-Boston (www.thebostonchannel.com), a judge in Iowa temporarily released Red Sox fan, Randy Barker of Keosauqua, Iowa from jail to attend a Red Sox game with his father. Barker was serving a 10-day jail sentence for interference with official acts and violation of a protective order (I do not like the sound of this last one but that's just me, I guess).

Barker's father, Norman said that they had been planning this trip to the ballpark for 3 months. Magistrate Judge Benny Waggoner said the request was "reasonable under the circumstances" and granted the request to attend the game. Barker left the jail at 1 p.m. in a Red Sox jersey and hat.

(stunned silence)

(wondering how things work in Iowa)

(if I am going to commit a crime anywhere...)

What the mother!........ok let's start over.

First off, I offer no comment on Mr. Barker's appearance. None. It is tempting but in my book you simply do not judge someone solely on their appearance no matter how....ok forget it. "No comment."

How is this "reasonable"? Doesn't 10 days in jail means 10 CONSECUTIVE days?

Just about everybody in jail has a favorite team you know and those few that don't sure do now! What about Joey in the next cell who wears the Yankee hat? They got the playoffs coming up, you know. Gotta be fair.

What is with this Judge Waggoner anyway? Should his coffee cup should be tested for lead? This is absurd.

Does he even have a law license? Someone should check the file and/or make him produce it (no photocopies either). Maybe you would get lucky here.

Is this guy an elected official?

If so, Iowa voters, do I need to tell you what to do?

At least take away his assigned parking spot or something.

"Bradley-less" Cubs are undefeated!

The Cubs are 3-0 without Milton Bradley!

Sorry Cub fans but there is no cause and effect here. I hear you and I know that he was troublesome and all but there is just no connection. Things don't really work that way.

Overall problem: not solved.

Sorry again.

No comment (well maybe just one)

Comments from Bob Gibson via Jane Henderson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"If I wanted to plunk a batter, I would throw at his ribs, just slightly behind him. Batters usually have a tendency to step back a little bit when they see the ball coming their way...In my view, when batters get hit in the head, it's basically their fault...The head should be the easiest thing to move."

Well at least he's honest (and in character too).

T-shirt revolution

So the Astros fired manager Cecil Cooper yesterday with 13 games left to go in the season. My initial reaction was, "They couldn't wait until the end of the season?". I guess they really wanted him out of there if they simply wouldn't let him finish the season with a non-contending club with nothing to gain or lose.

I then read an article by Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle titled, "Astros fire Coop. What took them so long?" which put it into perspective a little.

The article referred to Cooper's poor game management skills and also a general lack of respect for him among the players. Apparently some of the players had been wearing t-shirts asking, "Really?". Really as in, "Did he really just do that?"

Ok, that is brutal and I am understanding this a bit more. If you have such open ridicule going on in the clubhouse such that your players are brashly wearing shirts like this, the end is no doubt near.

This got me to thinking. What t-shirt slogans would other managers expect to see from the players in the clubhouse in their "dead man walking" final days? How about these?

Lou Piniella - "Milton Bradley was right!"

Jim Leyland - "Second-hand smoke kills!"

Dusty Baker - "How many pitchers on DL?!"

Charlie Manuel - "No age discrimination here."

Ozzie Guillen - "F@&$! Ozzie!"

If these managers start to see these, they are toast.

Bank on it.

He must be a really tricky slider or something

Per Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times, Carl Crawford was a bit upset when he was called out by Triple-A umpire Damien Beal (who was filling in for Sam Holbrook) on a steal attempt at third base in the seventh inning in last night's game against the Blue Jays. Replays seemed to show that Crawford, who was sliding feet first reached the bag before he was tagged at the waist by Edwin Encarnacion.

"I've been looking safe a lot lately; for some reason I've just been getting called out," Crawford said. "I don't know what it is....I think it has a lot to do with me sliding feet first, and they're just not getting in the proper position to see that I'm safe most of the time."

"You look at half of the times I've been called out this year, go look at the replay, I was safe. It is something that seems like to me they're not trying to figure out, and I don't expect them to."

"I'm just getting a bit tired of it, and it's starting to frustrate me a little bit. That's the only reason why I'm extending the conversation to you guys about it."

"So I want to make it clear the next time that I run."

Hmmm, what to do with this?

Well at least Damien Beal did not go all "Marty Foster" on him and tell him that all plays on the bases are force plays and if the ball beats you, you are out like Foster did with Derek Jeter earlier in the year. At least I hope he didn't.

That said, my brain is admittedly of finite size but I am having trouble understanding this "feet first fooling-the-umpire theory". It is my impression that most guys slide feet first because you have more padding in your rump than your chest and also to prevent injuries to your hands and fingers. If this is the case, I would think all umpires are accustomed to the feet first slide and pretty much know how to call a play at the base when they see this.

Oh well, I am still really not understanding Crawford's thinking here but that is just me, you know.

Crawford's reasoning will have to remain a mystery to me but when all else fails, I adhere to the following words of wisdom on base-stealing from Lou Brock who had 938 career stolen bases and was certainly an authority on the subject:

"Don't go in standing up."*

*Look, he probably said it.**

**Ok, I know it was not a stolen base attempt but Brock still should have slid; front, back, sideways whatever.

"It's just negativity"

Per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, Milton Bradley of the Cubs pulled himself from the starting lineup of Saturday's game after taking batting and fielding practice telling the trainer his left knee was sore.

After the game, Bradley continued his season-long battle with the Cubs organization, fans and the Chicago media.

"You understand why they haven't won in 100 years here," Bradley said.

When asked if he enjoyed his first season in Chicago, he responded, "Not really. It's just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy enjoyable environment.....It's just negativity."

Sunday, the Cubs suspended him for the rest of the season.

How's that for negativity?

Carl Crawford was hit by a pitch yesterday against the Blue Jays

Anybody surprised?*

Crawford did not charge the mound and took his base. Rays manager, Joe Maddon did not order retaliation and the game went on.

Problem solved. Successful conflict resolution.

Professional diplomats got nuthin' on ballplayers.

*See yesterday's post.

The Blue Jays take issue with Carl Crawford

There is an article in the Toronto Star today by Morgan Campbell which is titled "Running Rays diss Blue Jays" with a sub-headline of "Tampa speedster's steal of second in blowout a sign of disrespect, but Gaston will let it go".

All of this concerns Carl Crawford's steal of second base last night in the eighth inning with the Rays up by five runs. The article describes this steal by Crawford as "disrespectful" because presumably the game was so lopsided and out of reach for the Blue Jays that a steal attempt by the Rays was unnecessary.

"I just let it go," Cito Gaston said, pausing a moment before elaborating. "(Rays manager Joe Maddon) runs his team the way he wants to. I run mine the way I want to. Just as simple as that."

To begin with, I like Cito Gaston. He generally uses a set lineup. Usually his best guys are on the field and he doesn't tinker nor try and make himself bigger than the game or the team.*

That said, I think the Blue Jays are a bit off base here. Is a five run lead that insurmountable anymore at any point in the game?

Did the Blue Jays pull their position player starters by this time in the game? No.

Did the Blue Jays have a position player pitching which is a classic and even comical sign of surrender? No.

Were the Blue Jay pitchers throwing everything down the middle at that point just to speed the game to it's conclusion so to end the massacre? No.

Do the paying fans deserve and expect a competitive game for all nine innings in a game that is not all that lopsided? Yes.

In this offensive era of baseball, a five run lead in the eighth inning is still a contestable game and I think the Blue Jays need to be ready to contest any type of play out there.

I know as a fan, if my team was down like this, I would not think it was over. Things sure would not be looking good of course, but it is not over. It just isn't.

Sorry Cito!

*We have the direct opposite type of manager in Detroit unfortunately.

Bob Gibson probably would not agree

I note that in the Braves 9-4 loss to the Phillies, Atlanta starter, Tim Hudson was credited with a "quality start" which is a newly popular statistic (though it has been around since 1985) designating a starting pitching performance of at least 6 innings where no more than 3 earned runs were given up.

Hudson pitched 7 innings and gave up 6 hits, 3 earned runs (of which 2 were home runs) with only 3 strikeouts and was pulled with his team losing. In addition to being credited with a "quality start", he also took the "loss".

I wonder what Bob Gibson would have said if you told him that he had a "quality start" with the above line in a game that he also took the loss?

I bet that you would hear language that would make Ozzie Guillen blush.

You also might need an ice pack.

A nice gesture but....

The AP story for the Reds/Marlins game indicates that Reds outfielder, Jonny Gomes gave retiring Dayton Daily News writer, Hal McCoy the bat he hit for a home run that night.

Ok, obviously a very nice gesture and all by Gomes but I don't know that McCoy would even display it. What would he say? "Hey everybody, here is a bat given to me by Jonny Gomes, more known for his fighting than hitting, that he used to hit a home run in a late season game in 2009. I will treasure this forever." I am admittedly being a little sarcastic here as the home run was hit on a night that the club used to honor Hal McCoy but in the end it is still a piece of lumber from marginal player, Jonny Gomes.

Actually now that I think about it there is probably another plus side to this. This is a memento that McCoy's grand kids could actually use and play with. After all, it is not a Babe Ruth signed ball or anything.

Sorry Jonny (or Masked Avenger or whatever the wrestling name is here)

Poor Shane!

In the Phillies/Nationals game story yesterday, it is noted that Phillies center fielder, Shane Victorino left in the seventh inning with a gastrointestinal illness. It is also noted that Nationals catcher, Wil Nieves left with a hamstring injury.

I would rather be Nieves (though it might be hard getting along in life with your first name misspelled*)

*Spellcheck doesn't like it either.

I guess that didn't work

I note that the Rangers have had a hard time scoring runs lately so last night before their game with the A's, Texas hitting coach, Rudy Jaramillo met behind closed doors for about 15 minutes with all of his batters.

The A's went on to one-hit the Rangers beating them 4-0.

Maybe the Texas batters just don't like meetings.

Maybe Jaramillo saves his best advice for his fee-based clients.

Bobby Cox might call it quits?

So apparently the word out of Atlanta is that Bobby Cox may retire and not manage beyond this season.

Per the Atlanta Journal Constitution, when asked if he would be back for a 25th season as the Braves' manager, Cox responded, "We'll see," and when pressed further, he said, "We'll see, OK?"

Hmmm. I didn't know that this was even an issue but when you think about it, Bobby has the record for career ejections for a manager so there appears to be not much more that he could possibly accomplish in baseball.

While I can respect his decision to retire, if that is really what he is going to do, it sure must a kick to have license to hurl abuse at authority figures on a regular basis with the only penalty being that you have to go take a shower or you would face an unlikely short suspension. I know that I would not want to give that up.

Actually there is probably no need to speculate as to whether Bobby will retire as I think I know a sure-fire way to tell if he will quit.

Remember Ted Williams' last at-bat when he hit that dramatic home run?

I see the same thing happening here.

If Bobby Cox gets thrown out in the last game of this season, he's retiring.

I just know it.

I can't wait.

Alex Rios has an "Ozzie Guillen" problem

Well yesterday was truly one mind-bender of a day. I will spare all of the gory details though frankly much of the residue is still lingering today.

That said, there is really nothing better to clear your head than a heavy dose of Ozzie Guillen.

Per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, this is Ozzie Guillen on Alex Rios who has hit .140 since his arrival with the White Sox via a trade with the Blue Jays:

"What have I seen from Rios? A lot of outs. The only batting ninth guy making $5 million was me. This mother (bleeper) is making $10, $12, $14 million, he ain't batting ninth (in 2010). I'm going to make sure he earns his money. But right now I have to put him there because he's struggling. Next year, if we have Rios batting ninth we're in deep (crap) once again."

Memo to Alex Rios:

You have problems.

Like "Ozzie Guillen" problems.

Like "My manager is going to embarrass the hell out of me in the press all year next year unless I pick it up," problems.

I know Cito Gaston in Toronto doesn't do this stuff but Ozzie Guillen does. Cito just trades you. Ozzie makes you roll around in the mud with him.

I know you have a guaranteed contract and all but this just isn't worth it.

You really really need to do something about this; like pronto.

Reason # 1 why in Detroit baseball is better than football

The Tigers have won 151 games (and counting) since the Lions last victory.

Reason # 2 not necessary.

Marlins ticket price freeze!

I note that the Florida Marlins announced this weekend that they will not raise prices for season tickets or individual games next year.

That is freaking drop-dead appendicitis-inducing hilarious!

They get like 3000 people a game!

Like they could have raised prices if they wanted to.

I am sure their fan(s) are so relieved.

Yay Casey Fien!

So seven year old Skate Kid and I went to Comerica Park yesterday to watch the Tigers play the Blue Jays and we were lucky enough to see the Tigers win. A day at the park is always a good time, win or lose but we will take the win.

Anyway, during batting practice, Skate Kid who of course brought his mitt positioned himself in the first row behind the fence in right field hoping to catch a ball. Skate Kid likes to stand alone and I usually sit 5 or 6 rows behind keeping a watchful eye on him.

A few balls came his way but he ended up getting muscled out in the fray by some bigger kids in the area. If you are wondering, no I did not insert myself into that as nobody really did anything wrong. That is just how it works.

Anyway, Tiger reliever, Casey Fien was shagging balls in right field and I noticed that he seemed to be keeping an eye on where the hit balls went into the stands and who got what. Well Fien caught a slow roller and then I noticed that he purposefully turned and walked a bit towards Skate Kid and tossed the ball to him.

Yay Casey Fien! You are now Skate Kid's second favorite player.*

*It would be hard to push Magglio Ordonez out of the number one spot but second is still pretty good, you know.

Brad Lidge - Is there a witch doctor in the house?

This Brad Lidge stuff is bizarre. As in like Twilight Zone/Exorcist/Blair Witch Chronicles all wrapped into one bizarre. Something metaphysical happened to him.

Another day. Another bad outing. A 7.18 ERA this late in the year.

Is he going to give up a 5 run home run next?

Will he start to levitate on the mound?

Hey, forget closing. Is there room for him on the playoff roster? And as much as I hate to say it, on the team as a pitcher?

Can he hit? As a closer, when did he bat last?

Don't laugh. In his present compromised state (by what we don't know), he might be able to hit it 700 feet.

Don't click. It's on the boring side.

I keep this stuff to a minimum but.....

This place really should tighten up their security procedures. And no I am not talking about the guy with the long hair and orange hat. He is the least of my concerns here.

This is baseball related, you know. Check out Computer Boy's shirt which he wore in a neigboring state and lived to tell about it.

How many really cared?

I know that I will probably risk the wrath of my New York readers, of which there are more than a few, with this one but anyway here goes. We strive for truth, justice and the American Way here so let's let the chips fall where they may.


First off, I do not hate, or even dislike, the Yankees. Actually, I kind of like them. As a kid, I immersed myself in baseball history and of course the Yankees are big part of that. If you like the history of baseball, you no doubt appreciate the Yankee tradition. As an aside, anybody that claims that Babe Ruth was not the greatest offensive player of all time is simply wrong. Barry Bonds, sit down.

Further as an added bonus, the Yankees have the second best home uniform behind the Tigers. (Sorry, they aren't better than the Tigers. They just aren't)

Sure, the modern-day Yankees have a very bloated payroll and have a built-in advantage just by virtue of the market that they play in but it is what it is. Somebody has to play in the biggest market. I don't get too worked up about that. When the Yankees are on the tube, I usually watch. I do.

I also like Derek Jeter. I frankly admire his tenacity, ability to hit in the clutch and the fact that he is not prone to off-field transgressions unlike SOME PEOPLE. Also he is from Kalamazoo which is not all that far from here so that is a plus.

All that said, when I was watching Jeter's pursuit of the Yankee hit record, I felt like I was watching some alternative universe where people cared about this.

Did anybody outside of New York or ESPN have the slightest bit of interest in this?

Who?

Ok, how about a show of hands?

Anybody?

Don't be shy.

That's what I thought.

(Any dissenters must post their zip code)

Tony LaRussa is losing his touch

I note that Tony LaRussa was ejected in the Cardinals loss to the Braves last night. My eyes popped out a bit when I saw that this was LaRussa's first ejection of the year.

Tony?!

One ejection? All year?!

Where is the competitive fire? I know you are a baseball guru and all but part of managing is getting thrown out. You are not above that, you know.

Were the umpires perfect all year?

There were no egregious blown calls in 143 games?

There wasn't one umpire that you did not want to work over in a lopsided game?

I guess when you have Pujols, you don't have to do that stuff. Makes the job easier. That's the best I can come up with. A woefully inadequate explanation, I know.

Across the diamond, Bobby Cox shakes his head and makes a note to himself to have a little talk with Tony after the season. Manager to manager, you know.

Jim Riggleman thinks ballplayers are pansies

Apparently Senators manager Jim Riggleman does not much respect the allegedly grueling physical nature of a 162 season that a ballplayer must endure.

Per Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post, these are Riggleman's thoughts on this subject:

"I never like to use that word 'fatigued' or 'tired'. I think it gets way over used in baseball. We're not running up and down the court, we're not playing football with equipment on in 100 degree temperature. It's a baseball game; it's not a physically taxing sport."

Hmm. This certainly goes against conventional wisdom. Could this be true?

Well, let's look at Riggleman a bit closer. Ok, now we see that he never played major league ball. He did play 304 games in four minor league seasons from 1978 to 1981. The most games he ever played in a season was 127 one year in Double A.

In other words, he's commenting on something he has not directly experienced.

Not impressed.

I wonder how his catchers feel about this?

Jerry Manuel says his meetings don't work so why bother

Prior to Thursday's game against the Marlins, Mets manager, Jerry Manuel held a 30-minute meeting with his team. They then went on to fall behind 3-0 in the first inning and eventually lose 13-4.

Per AP: "Every time I have a meeting we seem to play that way so I guess we won't have anymore meetings," Manuel said.

I guess but what did he say in the meeting?

Jerry Manuel is known as a quiet guy and has kind of a professor-type appearance and demeanor. If he did a power-point presentation with a pointer and talked about how their number of wins on the pythagorean expectation theorem was a little low and they should really bring that up, then I can see how that would not be very effective.

On the other hand, if he said something like this: "I am sick and @#$%&! tired of this @#$%! losing crap and this is gonna stop right @#$%! now! You think your "guaranteed" contracts will protect you! I WILL TEAR THEM UP BEFORE YOUR EYES RIGHT NOW! We got attorneys you know!" If he could say this with a menacing look in his eyes and then theatrically storm out of the room and slam the door, that might work.

Then again, Lou Piniella and the Cubs are having a miserable year so maybe not.

Charlie Manuel read them the riot act

In the AP game story of the Phillies/Nationals game, it is noted that Phillies manager, Charlie Manuel needed to vent and he chewed out his team following the team being swept in a four game series against the Astros.

"The guys who've been on this team the last couple of years - they know exactly what they've got to do. We've got to have a little more get up and go to us."

A fly on the wall told me that Charlie Manuel said much more to his team than that. As a matter of fact, I understand that "Country Charlie" said the following (verbatim) to his team:

"Hey, guys, listen up right straight. I've been fixin to have a talk with y'all bout the way we been playin. Let me tell y'all, you guys out there look like sumpin the cat drug in from under the porch. Those other fellas are treatin y'all like a red-headed stepchild. I mean they been whippin us up and down every night with an ugly stick.

I will tell y'all right now that I am slam-ass fresh out of sympathy for y'all now. No more Mr. Nice Guy! Y'hear?

Some of y'all have been playin like you don't have a pot to piss in and I'll tell y'all that makes me madder than a wet hen. Now, I am just plain flummoxed as to why we are gettin our cottin-pickin asses handed to us every @#*!& night but it's gonna stop right cotton-pickin now! Y'all hear?

Look guys, I don't want to be overly cross with y'all but if y'all could win a few games, you sure could make some of our fans and our owner probly as happy as tick on a hound dog. Now let's git out there, meaner n' spit and git to it.

Y'all understand?"

Some did most did not but all knew that Charlie was pissed and things needed to change.

Perry Hill can use Derrek Lee as a reference any time

Per Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Perry Hill who is the infield instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates may not want to stay with the team even though the team carries an option on his contract for 2010 because he is unhappy with the trades of three of his four infielders: Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam Laroche. Obviously it is a poor state of affairs when your infield instructor who is under contract to you does not want to stay with the team. Frankly, I always thought any infield instructor on a major league team should just be "happy to be there" but I guess things don't work that way with the Pirates.

I do note that Derrek Lee of the Cubs who was with Hill when they were together with the Marlins offered these comments on Hill: "Perry Hill is probably the best coach I've ever had. What he preaches defensively, what he brings as an infield coach, I'd say he's worth 10 to 15 wins a year as a coach. That's saying a lot for a coach. We'll take him."

10-15 wins attributable to an infield instructor?!

Just what is he doing out there?

Does he have some special insight on positioning? Does he have special oil for their gloves? Does he apply their eye-black just right?

What is it?

10-15 wins is about what you get from an all-star starting pitcher when you subtract out his losses. Perry Hill is certainly underpaid if we are to believe Derrek Lee!

You know, I bet Derrek Lee wishes that Perry Hill was somehow with him on that card above; like maybe in the background flashing a sign or offering encouragement or even picking up his broken bat. If the guy is worth 10-15 wins a year, surely he should be on a card.

Right? I mean you can't deny him. Not with those numbers.

The strikeout as an offensive weapon

Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports has a recent article on Arizona Diamondbacks free-swinging third baseman Mark Reynolds who set the major league record for strikeouts in a season last year with 204 and is on pace to strike out 220 times this year.

The article contains this gem of a quote from Reynolds: "I don't see how it's such a bad thing. Whoever made that up*, that it's such a bad thing to strike out, is full of crap."

I guess the strikeout gets a bad rap and really needs a new press agent! And all these years we thought a strikeout was bad!

Though he doesn't come right out and say it, I am guessing that Reynolds is saying that 202 strikeouts is an acceptable trade-off for the 38 home runs that he hit last year. For Reynolds, there is no such thing as shortening the swing with two strikes, going with the pitch, hitting to the opposite field, moving along runners etc. Doing all this would interfere with his ability to hit home runs. He can do that one thing well so his development as a player is essentially over.

Reynolds only hit .239 last year and he is not considered to be a good defensive player so aside from his marginal speed (22 stolen bases this year so far), his power is all that he really brings to the table. Probably a step above Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia but not much (though I do see that Reynolds is bringing his average up this year). He also does not walk a lot like Adam Dunn who is another high strikeout guy but walks a ton which mitigates the strikeouts quite a bit. With Reynolds, do you carry a guy who strikes out 40% of the time so to get his 38 home runs? That is a nice figure but not an enormous amount of home runs.

I think Ted Williams is the pretty much the gold standard for hitting. Would Williams who struck out an average of 38 times a year approve of this new theory which elevates strikeouts to the level of "not a bad thing"? I think we know the answer to that.**

*Nobody really needed to "make it up" as it is kind of an obvious truth.

**Yes, I know that we would have to unfreeze Ted and have him reassembled to get the definitive answer but work with me here, ok?

Everybody wants a piece of A. J.

In last night A's/White Sox game, A's pitcher, Brett Tomko faced White Sox batter, A. J. Pierzynski in the fourth inning with the A's up 8-2. This is the same Brett Tomko who when he and Pierzynski were teammates with the Giants in 2004, accused Pierzynski of being a clubhouse cancer. In other words, they are not the godparents of each other's kids or anything like that.

With Tomko now being in the American League with a chance to face Pierzynski and with a big lead, what do you think happened when Pierzynski came up to bat?

Yep! Tomko hit him.

It's not easy being A. J., you know.

Fernando Rodney was just enjoying the moment, dont you know?

Fernando Rodney* of the Tigers has been suspended 3 games for throwing (according to sportswriters it was not just a lob) a ball into the press box at Tropicana Field after the Tigers victory over the Rays Friday.

Per the Detroit News, Rodney said, "It was nothing. I didn't hit anybody." He further indicated that he was just "celebrating the moment."

Ok. I am a Tiger fan so I guess I am supposed to come up with some knee-jerk defense of Fernando Rodney here.

Hmmm.

Still thinking.

Something will come to me sooner or later.

Too hard.

*This probably wouldn't have happened if Roman Colon was pitching like he is on Rodney's card above.

Esteban German - 2009 Topps

Overheard by a fly on the wall at Topps headquarters sometime last year:

"Hey I am looking at the proofs for next year's base set and I have come across card # 559, Esteban German of the Royals.

Is this the only shot that we have of him?

There are no posed shots anywhere on file?

I know he is on the Royals and not a regular player but still this is all that we have?

Is this the only action shot we have of him?

How can that be?

No, I don't think it looks good at all.

Why? Because it is blurry and amateurish and it looks like the photographer was using some type of special psychedelic lens when he took the picture?

I know that is how the scoreboard lights are sometimes but looking at it gives me a headache. Remember all those kids in Japan that were getting sick playing that video game with all the weird colors and shapes. We don't need that.

You need to do something on this now.

I don't know but this cannot go to production as is.

I just told you why. We have standards you know.

Maybe next year if we get that exclusive contract with MLB we could get away with this but as of right now we have some competition in the market and this just won't do.

I don't know but you better do something.

Bye."

I am your Prince!

An immortal among mere men.

Bear witness to my awesomeness.

We shall break bread shortly.

What an "error" card!

Take a look at the above Upper Deck Icons card. Obviously It is a Rick Porcello card. His name is on it. The only problem (well actually there is more than one), if you can call it that, is that the card has a picture of Ryan Perry and not Rick Porcello.

This is not all that unusual in that it usually happens a couple of times a year that a card of one player has a picture of another player (and once a batboy) on it. Sometimes these are mistakes by the card companies and therefore errors but sometimes it is done intentionally by the card companies to create chase cards to boost sales and in no way, shape or form an error.

What makes this card unusual is that it is signed by Rick Porcello and it does appear to be an on-card autograph as opposed to a sticker autograph.

Assuming this was a true mistake, I can imagine the following scenario regarding the evolution of this card.

A lowly Upper Deck employee takes 100 cards to Rick Porcello and tells him to sign the cards. Rick Porcello takes his pen and is just a millisecond from affixing his signature to the first card when he sees that the picture on the card is not of him but that of his teammate Ryan Perry.

"Hey, the picture on this card is not me!"

"What do you mean?"

"That is Ryan Perry on this card. Not me. Do you really want me to sign these cards? Ryan Perry is not here right now so he can't sign them."

"Hmmm. Well, I'll be darned. Hmmm. Well, Mr. Porcello, this check that I have has your name on it and I don't have like a blank check or anything for Ryan Perry. I think you should just sign the cards."

"You sure?"

"I have a check."

Porcello signs 100 of his cards with Ryan Perry's photo on it and accepts payment for his services.

I thought that this was kind of weird so I came up with a game plan with regards to acquiring this card.

I was going to get it on ebay, and no doubt overpay for it a little, and then take it to Tiger Fest in February and get in Ryan Perry's line and have him sign it above Porcello's signature. I would then frame it and display it and it would make an interesting conversation piece. It beats a coffee table book, you know.

I was all set to execute this plan when I noticed (and I referred to it above) that the cards are numbered and there are only a hundred of them. Aw come on now! I am not going to go fighting all the Porcello player collectors for these precious few "error" cards and pay an arm and a leg bidding for it on ebay.* Aw, man!

I will check ebay to see what this card is going for just for laughs.

Well, it was a plan anyway.

*No, I am not going to buy packs of this stuff to try and get the card because if this was an intentional "error" on Upper Deck's part to generate additional revenue, I am just not going to reward that kind of corporate misbehavior. Sorry. I will go get a coffee table book. "The History of Botany" or something.

The Rays have an employee who has a bomb fetish

Per the St. Petersburg Times, a Tampa Bay Rays employee was arrested before Wednesday's game with the Red Sox for planting a fake bomb at Tropicana Field.

Wonderful!

38 year old William Jordan is a mechanic with the team and apparently planted a box taped to a shelf with wires sticking out which emitted a beeping sound. (Geez this guy is easily amused) The device was found in a cabinet near Gate 2 in an area closed to the public.

Of course, the police and bomb squad were called. Once they arrived, Mr. Jordan confessed that he planted this fake bomb apparently laughing hysterically and I guess saying something like, "It was me. This is what I do for kicks. You can all go now. Hey, what are you doing with those handcuffs?! I didn't hurt nobody! Hey, what are you doing?!"

He has been charged with planting a hoax device. As to Mr. Jordan's present employment status, Rays vice president Rick Vaughn would only say, "This will be handled internally."

The article then goes on to give Mr. Jordan's home address. Man, that is brutal.

Who does this post-911? Sorry but this is like a Homer Simpson-level of dimness on display here.

For fun, you make a fake bomb complete with beeping sounds and plant it in your place of employment which just so happens to be a 40,000 seat stadium where there is a game scheduled in a few hours. All the while I am guessing probably watching the festivities while hiding in a closet with the door ajar.

He couldn't get his kicks by spraying shaving cream in the head of the mascot costume or putting crazy glue on the toilet seats in the clubhouse or something?

I thought thousands of years of Darwinism weeded out people like this.

I for one am starting to have my doubts about this "evolution" thing. There is just too much of this stuff going on.

Bobby Cox ejection watch

After being in a mini-slump for a little while, Bobby Cox finally came to life and was able to get ejected from last night's Braves game against the Marlins and this extends his major league record for ejections to 149.

The AP game story is not very specific as to the facts other than he was thrown out in the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes. Sounds like a pretty generic ejection but they all count.

"I think, honestly, I could umpire-just call everything a ball except for pitches right down the middle," Cox said after the game.

Ok, again this does not appear to be one of Bobby's better ejections but I do give him points for the sarcasm which kind of spices things up a little. He's trying.

This career ejection number 149 gives Cox a commanding 18 ejection lead over second place manager, John McGraw who had 131 ejections. As most of you know, John McGraw is dead. Not to be too morbid, but this is the perfect opportunity for Bobby to extend his lead; when his closest competitor is dead. No need for complacency now.

If he could maybe get thrown out of a game this weekend*, he could really gain some momentum and then there would be no stopping this juggernaut.

The only thing that possibly could stop him would be flawless umpiring and well do I need to go further.....

*p.s. rather than doing another post. He did it! 150 tonight! I don't know the facts yet but I know he is gone from the game and can't come back. This has a magical feel to it!