Yankee fans in Philadelphia

There are more than a few Yankee fans in Philadelphia tonight because you can hear their chants and see them standing and cheering as the Yankees score. I note that the chants are sometimes drowned out by boos from Philly fans.

When do we get some soccer stadium action here?

Or are tickets just too expensive for that?

The parking lots after the game should be interesting though.

How do you miss that one?

If you are a right field umpire, you practically have the day off BUT you absolutely must make the one or two calls that come your way. Otherwise, you are the definition of "dead weight."

How do you not see that A-Rod's home run hit a camera sitting above the fence?

Not the time to be filing your nails or doing any kind of personal grooming out there.

(Since I am nice, I will not even mention that McCarver said it hit the fence after seeing it live and after one replay)

The City of Brotherly Love

David Wells has an article in the New York Post where he says this about Phillies fans:

"When I was in Philadelphia earlier this postseason with Cal Ripken Jr., Dennis Eckersley and Ernie Johnson for TBS, we got booed. We were just doing our show out in center field and people were walking by saying 'You fat piece of (bleep)....Tell Cal he's gay....Ernie Johnson sucks.' We're doing the game and TBS stuff and these Phillies fans are just f-bombing us to death. They are angry people."

He later goes on to describe an NFL game he went to in Philadelphia between the Eagles and the Bucs:

"Tampa won the game and advanced to the Super Bowl and we were walking to the car, and people were throwing bottles, breaking car windows, and kicking car doors."

This sounds like post-apocalyptic Thunderdome in those Mad Max movies if you ask me.

Is Queen Tina Turner with that mohawk around somewhere directing these people?

Do they have an arena out back where gladiators fight and the blood-thirsty crowd chants, "Two men enter, one man leaves?"

What's with this place?

You know, Philly might be a cool place to visit for a day or two if you want to get your freak on but I don't know if I would want to live there.

Just sayin.

You tell 'em Charlie!

Per The Morning Call (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania daily), this is Charlie Manuel's response to criticism from Tim Just-Call-Me-God McCarver that his decision to not put his runners in motion in the eighth inning of Game 2 was "wrong".

"I don't give a damn who's played 20 years or 50 years and think they know, that's not the right way to play the game," Manuel said, "I get upset when somebody asks me that because it's not baseball."

"I didn't even have to think about that. That's bad baseball if Utley strikes out and Rollins get thrown out at third base. We've got one of the best hitters in baseball standing on deck (Ryan Howard). That's our game standing right there in front of us."

"We've got only five outs left in the game, we've got our biggest offensive threat standing at the plate. There's no way we could afford to make a mistake there. I'll do that as long as I live."

Charlie has a new fan today.*

*As I have said before, I probably would have sent the runners but Manuel's decision not to is defensible and not "wrong". Do you think Tim McCarver does apologies? Yea, me neither. He is too busy being "right".

Kids will come to the door tonight......

....in various states of costumage apparently not realizing or even caring THAT THERE IS A WORLD SERIES GAME ON TONIGHT!

Oh well, anybody that knows anything about us knows that the kids essentially run things around here. I don't pretend to be in charge.

All goblins welcome here.

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Game 2

1. As to Matsui's home run, I thought only Vlad Guerrero swung at pitches like that.

2. Pedro sure knows how to quick pitch. Just ask Jeter; the guy walking back to the dugout.

3. Computer Boy says that "majestic" music that Fox is playing in between some of the innings sounds like funeral music. Cannot disagree. Don't they use focus groups at all?

4. I know that Matt Stairs is a pretty good pinch hitter and all but Buck and McCarver made him out to be the second coming of Roy Hobbs as he approached the plate. It's only Matt Stairs you know; and he proved it.

5. This can't be happening again with the umpiring. I would love to be the negotiator for major league baseball in the upcoming negotiations with the umpire's union this winter. Just bring a DVD player. That one should go pretty quick.

6. Who made Tim McCarver God? Nobody expects a bunt with two strikes so why not try it? Jeter was not necessarily "wrong". Charlie Manuel's decision not to send the runners, while maybe not what I would have done, is defensible to stay out of a strike out/throw em out result. It is not necessarily a "wrong" decision. How many games has this guy managed? Where is Deion Sanders and his bucket of water when you need him?

Who's your daddy?

Second inning.

Even though they started before the first pitch, the "Who's your daddy?" chants sure did not last long. (One batter by my ears)

Look, Pedro will either be on or not tonight but he isn't going to be affected by a taunting chant. If the crowd wants to have some fun, that is cool but don't kid yourself that you are having any affect on the game.*

Pedro knows his lineage.

(Error by A-Rod. I don't care what the official scorer says.)

*Years ago at Tiger Stadium, the fans would regularly get on Paul O'Neill in the outfield by screaming "Paulie" over and over again. O'Neill incredibly would get visibly angry in the field because of this which of course just exacerbated the problem. Pedro is made of hardier stuff.

Not really Pedro!

In what appeared to be a pretty lively World Series press conference, Pedro Martinez displayed some very severe delusions of grandeur by saying this regarding his alleged status as a Yankee Stadium icon:

"I don't know if you realize this, but because of you guys (the press) in some ways, I might be at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium. I can honestly say that."*

My retort:

Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Mariano Rivera, Kevin Maas (just making sure everybody is awake out there), Phil Rizzuto, Ron Guidry, Billy Martin, Goose Gossage......

The list goes on.

When I was a young lad growing up on the mean streets of Metro Detroit suburbia, I had a hardcover illustrated book on the history of baseball. I loved the book and probably read it cover to cover hundreds of times. You still see it in libraries. I am guessing that books like this were not widely distributed in the Dominican Republic.

*Those sportswriters must have been asleep. The obvious follow up question should have been, "Well then how come you are not on even one of those thousands of Upper Deck Yankee Stadium history cards?" They blew it! They could have nailed him!

Game 1

1.Numerous empty seats behind first base, third base and behind the dugouts; well kind of everywhere close. Is this game "sold out"? These seats are always empty. Have the Yankees "sold out" a game all year? I know that the Yankees are mega-profitable but when you have all of these empty seats for a World Series game, you really need to look at your business model. Don't look so good, you know.

2.If these six umpires blew that easy double play call on Cano after conferring for all that time, major league baseball should have been prepared to do a Ronald Reagan/air traffic controllers thing.

3.Cliff Lee* should have caught that lazy pop-up behind his back. Why not? Not much different than what he did.

4.Charlie Manuel is wearing a batting glove and he is not on the playoff roster that I know of. What gives? Maybe he's got a sponsorship. Does he wear that at home? It looks pretty white. I doubt it.

*That's gotta hurt in that photo above. The left arm "ain't" doing a natural thing there. No injury though. He signed the card.

Goldie likes him?!

The New York Daily News reports that Kate Hudson's romance with Alex Rodriguez definitely has the seal of approval from Kate's mother, Goldie Hawn.

"Goldie more than approves of Alex," a source said.

Goldie Hawn likes Alex Rodriguez with his quite considerable personal baggage and thinks he is right for her daughter?!

As unbelievable as it may seem, I have to assume the above statement attributed to the "source" is true because otherwise it seems like an extremely slanderous statement and who wants to be sued by Goldie Hawn?

So Goldie likes Alex.

You know, they sure don't make mothers like they used to.

Ozzie Guillen - Fox Sports commentator?

I note that White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen has been hired by Fox Sports to do pregame and postgame commentary for Fox's World Series telecasts.

Per Elliot Harris of the Chicago Sun-Times, Ozzie promises profanity-free commentary for Fox and says he only curses when he is upset with his team or when the Chicago media is around:

"I'm not going to talk about my team. I'm going to talk about baseball and different things about the game."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to curse. I only curse when the Chicago media's around me. Keep them away."

This should be interesting and frankly a "profanity-free" Ozzie is really hard to picture. What would he say? Would people even be interested? It would be kind of be like the late William F. Buckley Jr. breaking out into a rap routine or something. I just can't picture it.

I still say that if Fox Sports does not have a heavy FCC fine for Ozzie's expected "on-air" language figured into their budget on this, then they are crazy. Otherwise, they are simply leading with their chin on this one.

If mama's not happy....

Just about every article I have read on the Angels Game 6 loss in the ALCS refers to it as Vladimir Guerrero's last game as an Angel with his contract expiring.

Well, maybe not so fast there.

Per Bob Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, Vlad had this to say regarding his future:

"I'm not thinking so much about the uncertainty, but I'm thinking about my mom and how comfortable she feels in Anaheim. That's always one thing that I'm going to think about regarding free agency. It would be very gratifying to continue to play with the guys I've known here and have gotten used to."

This has "hometown discount" written all over it.

If I am the Angels owner, Arte Moreno, I am thinking short-term contract with Vlad and the first thing I do is take him out to lunch and you can bet I am also inviting his mother. I would also invite my own mama if I thought it would help. Afterwards, these ladies can get massages and whatever else they do at Anaheim's finest spa; complete with Angels towels and bathrobes and whatever else they may want.

I wouldn't need to read any more articles on this if I was him. I would get this done like now.

As an owner, you gotta pick up on these subtle hints from your players you know.

Is Bonds next?

Ok, with Mark McGwire now formally back in baseball, you have to wonder just where is Barry Bonds' hitting coach position.

The dude could seriously hit. Like about a million times better than McGwire, give or take a quarter million.

If Barry Bonds is talking "hitting", I am listening. If Mark McGwire is talking "hitting", I might ask him to show me how far he can hit a ball but that might be it.

As with McGwire, Bonds doesn't like talking about the past but McGwire is now back in so.....

What's the difference?*

Just askin.

*Yea, I know that Barry Bonds is being criminally prosecuted for his lying about his drug use but Dave Parker also took his share of illegal substances and testified in a drug trial and he went on to be a hitting coach. I also know that Bonds is a creep of the highest order but have you ever heard sportswriters talk about Mark McGwire?

Who signed off on those hats?

You fight all season long and win all those games and they give you a hat with cheap looking stitching all over it with a large emblem that it makes it look like a flock of geese just flew over?

Are any of those guys wearing those things today?

The triumphant return of Mark McGwire?

Various media outlets are reporting that Mark McGwire will soon be named the new Cardinals hitting coach and this is apparently just waiting confirmation that Tony LaRussa will stay on with the team as expected.

First off, this seems to be a big "screw you" to the baseball establishment by Tony LaRussa who of course has repeatedly and indignantly denied that Mark McGwire ever took steroids but frankly that is not what this post is about.

Putting aside the steroid issue, would Mark McGwire even make a good hitting coach?

*When did Mark McGwire ever hit behind a runner?

*When did Mark McGwire ever "go with the pitch"?

*When did Mark McGwire ever hit the opposite way?

*When did Mark McGwire ever shorten his swing with two strikes?

*1596 sure is a lot of strikeouts.

*Does he know how to bunt?

*He had 6 career triples in 6187 at bats. Not hitting many gaps there though his turtle-like speed in his Incredible Hulk days is acknowledged.

*An incredible power hitter but his career batting average is .263.

Not everybody on the Cardinals is going to be groomed, or has the potential, to be a one-dimensional power hitter.

What does he say to the other guys?

No coincidence!

Last inning, they cut to a Yankee fan who appeared to be feverishly praying.

Now with the Yankees at bat, Howie Kendrick muffs an easy throw at first base and then Scott Kazmir follows with a bizarrely bad throw well over first base advancing runners.

No coincidence.

We know what happened there.

Atheists take notice.

Jeff Mathis sure is clutchy

Yet another extra base hit for career .200 hitter (yep .200 even) Jeff Mathis.*

If I am the Twins general manager and I have Joe Mauer behind the plate, I would still trade for Mathis. Sorry, Joe.

*This god among men has just scored. I think the Yankees will about nine or ten tonight with Mathis in the lineup.

I want a divorce......and by the way, you're fired!

The Los Angeles Times has reported that Dodger owner, Frank McCourt has fired his estranged wife and team CEO, Jamie McCourt for "insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with a direct subordinate."

Of course, one really REALLY big problem here is that Jamie McCourt claims to be a co-owner of the team by virtue of the team being a marital asset.

Mr. McCourt's letter to his former CEO also advises her to contact team human resources personnel to arrange "a time and date to gather your personal belongings."

Wow! He tells his wife to go to freaking Human Resources to get a box to pack up her belongings and who knows maybe schedule an exit interview? This is classic.

Ummm Frank, she says that she is part-owner of the team. I don't think that she is going to go ask to see Cassie in Human Resources who is the person there that has all the boxes for a cardboard box so she can load up her nameplate, paperweights, desk calendar etc. Dude, obviously your and her attorneys are going to be talking for quite a long time here and I don't have any personal experience with this but I know one thing and that is she is not going to pick up that box. That is not happening. Nice try though.

Oh, and I wouldn't try and have security escort her from the building because she could just fire them and then you are back where you started.

Look, just about every divorce is a tragedy and usually something to stay out of if you are not directly involved but this one sure has a colossal "train-wreck" aspect to it which makes it frankly impossible to avert your eyes. Mine anyway.

No matter how much you try to look for positives here this one just does not have an "amicable divorce" vibe to it.

It just doesn't.

Is A-Rod going Buddhist?

Amanda Sidman of the New York Daily News reports that Alex Rodriguez has been flirting with Buddhism, thanks to girlfriend, Kate Hudson.

Boy, he sure is quite malleable though a more cynical person might label it opportunistic.

Let's see if I have this straight. He started out Catholic, then married into Greek Orthodox, finds Jewish Kabbalah while hooking up with Madonna and is now flirting with Buddhism due to Kate Hudson's brainwashing....err influence.

One thing you gotta admit is that the guy sure does have an open mind.

Do you know how Tiger Woods sometimes refers to himself as a "Cablinasian" as a way of acknowledging all of his different ethnicities?

With that in mind, from now on, I think I will refer to A-Rod as a "buddicathokabborthowiccan".*

*I threw Wiccan in there because I bet that will be his next stop. I don't think he has met Stevie Nicks yet.

Rock Guy wasn't even drunk!

Anaheim Police have advised that 29 year old Jose Cervera a/k/a Rock Guy was not even drunk when he took a bacteria bath as he jumped into the rocky waterfall in the outfield at last night's ALCS game in Anaheim. Not even a little drunk. Blood alcohol level: 0.00. Just high on life.

Frankly, his sober status at the time of his plunge probably makes it even worse and will probably trigger some "we are really worried about you" type talks with his family and friends if he has any.

Next, we are probably going to find out that he did it to get a reality tv show and has been emailing Balloon-Boy's father over the last couple of months.

You know, a friend of mine is kind of a history buff and from time to time, he will tell me that he would rather have lived hundreds of years ago than now.

No way.

Hooligans!

What you did was pretty freaking funny ......but there are laws in this state, you know.*

Next time you think about doing something like that, just go mellow out at a baseball game or something.

*By the way, Louis/Lois (he goes by both names) who is a transitional resident at the place where you are going right now really likes beads.

Scott Boras behind the plate

How many phone calls are you gonna make? Is there even anybody on the other end? We know that you are important. We get it.

Enjoy the game. You don't always have to be "in character" you know.

Sit down too. Like everybody else around you. Nobody else is standing. Look around.

Oh, that's right (smacks forehead), nobody would see you then.

My bad!

Not touching the Steve Phillips thing....

.....or the pictures of his ex-girlfriend which are floating around the internet.

There would be a ton of stuff to work with here but it just wouldn't be a nice thing to do.

You gotta wonder though.*

*If Phillips donated his brain to science (after death of course and no routing through Alcor) I bet that we would learn some things.

Is Manny a VIP or not?

There is a blurb in the "Page Six" section (I know that this is a gossip section, so what?) of the New York Post which indicates that Manny Ramirez arrived with a friend to work out at Bodies in Motion gym in Pasadena and was asked by the front desk clerk to pay the $10 guest fee. End of blurb where they then go to talking about how Rachel Ray was seen buying mushrooms in a market.

Back to Manny. What's the story here?

1. He doesn't carry cash?

2. He is too important to pay for services rendered?

3. Did the $10 charge take into consideration a VIP discount?*

4. Something else?

What's the angle here?

*At my club, they will waive the $10 guest charge if the guest will agree to listen to the club's strong-arm sales pitch in a room with all doors closed and locked and curtains drawn. (I would rather just pay the $10). I don't think the Bodies in Motion club is going to waste time with a sales pitch to Manny so this defaults to "That will be a $10 charge for the day, sir."

Carlos Guillen comments on Jim Leyland's crazy (ahem...unorthodox) lineups

Carlos Guillen per Jason Beck at mlb.com: "How is the offense going to be consistent when you see one guy get three hits and the next day, you don't play the guy? I can't understand that. How is the offense going to be consistent when every day it's a different lineup?"

This is appendicitis-inducing funny because it is so true. If you hit three home runs or god forbid hit for the cycle, you are surely sitting the next day. Get used to it.

You could offer Jim Leyland a trailer full of smokes and he still wouldn't change.

Can't wait to see Adam Everett batting clean up in random games next year because the manager "felt like it".*

*It's not like he's managing with a bottle of bourbon between his legs. (Well, hold now maybe....)

Dodgers blow it though Manny is blissfully unaware as he is showering

Per Jon Paul Morosi at foxsports.com, Manny Ramirez was blissfully unaware of the Dodgers collapse in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS because he was doing a "rub a dub" thing in the shower at the time.

Manny had been removed earlier in the game for a defensive replacement and showering took precedence over cheering on his teammates in this important game.

"When I came out, they were turning the TVs off and everybody was coming in," Ramirez said.

Joe Torre tried to his best to put a not-so-negative spin on this. "Manny has so much confidence," he said. "When we get a lead late in the game, and I've taken him out, whether it be for defense or we have a big lead, when we go to shake hands after the game, he's in his street clothes. So it's nothing different than he's done before. I don't think it's disrespect or anything."

Well what is it?

I can just see it. Manny is pulled from the game and says to his teammates, "I have so much confidence in you guys that I am out of here. The traffic can get really bad after the game, you know. I will be listening on the car radio. Keep fighting!"

I have no way of knowing but I bet the reality is that he said nothing.

What if there is a bench-clearing brawl while Manny is in the shower? Does he come out "as he is"? Ain't nobody gonna fight with him then. Manny would be the ultimate peacemaker.

And they gave the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama!

Don't umpires evolve like the rest of us?

In the space of about 35-40 minutes, the umpires have blown 3 very easy calls in tonight's game:

1. Scott Kazmir easily picks Nick Swisher off second base. The umpire is right in front of the play and inexplicably denies the Angels the out as he decides to give the Yankees an additional out.

2. The third base umpire, Tim McClelland* inadvertently evens it up by calling Nick Swisher out for leaving third base early on a sacrifice fly. Replays clearly show that Swisher did not leave early and also show that the umpire was watching the outfielder and did not look at Swisher at all so he has no idea as to when Swisher left the bag. He calls him out anyway.

3. McClelland then decides that things should not remain even and that somebody must have an artificial advantage so he denies the Angels a double play when their catcher tags two Yankees in a rundown; neither of which are on a base but the Angels are only awarded one out. McClelland was standing right in front of the play and apparently will feel no shame in cashing his check this week.

Don't umpires evolve like the rest of us?

It's like they are stuck in the Mesozoic Age.**

*If I spelled it right, it is dumb luck. I could easily look it up but there is a game on you know. (It is "McClelland" and I have made the change)

**Post inspired by my friend, Rick Watzke who I have been chatting with online about umpiring while posting this. No royalty checks for Rick this time though.

My client is the best there ever was.....

....until my next client comes up for free agency.

Per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, agent, Scott Boras has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch in announcing the greatness of his free agent client, Matt Holliday.

"These guys are blue-collar superstars," Boras said. "They don't hit 50 home runs, but they're complete players. They can give you something without swinging the bat."

"There are differences between hitters and complete players," Boras said. "Matt Holliday is a complete player."*

"There is, frankly, no one like him in the market."

I think free agent, Jason Bay is better but Boras does not represent him so he does not count.

Funny how that works.

*Gold gloves - none. Critical defensive errors in post-season - one.

P.S. - 7 year old Skate Kid's team plays on a nicer field than that.

We be awesome!

That said, white men can't..........well I don't even know what he's trying to do but he can't "do" it.*

*I am not sure that he (is that Carlos Ruiz?) is even "white" but you probably get my drift.

Calling b.s. here

Ron Darling just said that you don't need to get a hit to break out of a batting slump and that you can do it with a walk or a hard hit "out". I think Darling is generally pretty good and this is not really a big deal but I gotta call b.s. on this one.

I have never heard a batter say he broke out of a slump with a walk or a line out (or a hit by pitch or being at the plate during a balk or whatever). Look, I didn't play professional ball or anything but you do need at least a couple hits to break out of a slump. Right?

How would Darling know anyway? He was a pitcher and like all pitchers was likely in a career hitting slump. I think he was just "talking to talk".

It would have been classic if Buck Martinez who I think is pretty good* would have called him out on this. Chip Caray couldn't have done it because it would have never occurred to him.

*I know he talks funny but so what?

(The umpires just blew another one on Belliard's steal of second when he was out; though admittedly a close play. Mr. Umpire, watch these plays closely. Ok?)

Tony LaRussa's feud with Ozzie Smith just won't end

Per Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tony LaRussa was on a local radio show and said that he had never managed a shortstop who had better range than current Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan.

As to this "thing" he has going with Ozzie Smith, I think the dude just needs to let it go.

I have always found that "slowly simmering" vibe that he gives off to be a bit creepy.

A kid once stole his Lincoln Logs when he was little. I just know it.

They couldn't do that today

Would you play chess on a Monopoly board?

I once knew a guy who drove a Gremlin because he liked the design of the car.

I wonder what he would have thought of multi-use stadiums?

Aren't playoff games supposed to sell out?

So I see that the announced attendance for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series was 49,688, almost 3000 people less than the 52,325 capacity of Yankee Stadium.

I don't think it was the cold as that has never stopped fans from coming out in the past. You just bundle up, right?

Apparently most of the empty seats were in the Legends section where seats were going on Ticketmaster before the game for $1406 a piece; and don't forget the $7 "convenience charge".*

Obviously, many fans have simply been priced out of the market. I am all for teams maximizing revenue but when you have thousands of your best seats unsold for a playoff game, your business model seems a bit off. There are only so many rich people around you know; even in New York.

I think they might need like a new stadium or something.

*You know when there is a big dollar "buy it now" card on ebay with the asking price well in excess of it's true value and the seller usually offers free shipping because he is making such a killing on the card? The Yankees don't even do this. Pay us $1406 for the ticket and also pay us $7 to give it to you. Pass.

This isn't exactly Siberia, you know!

Just how cold could Erick Aybar possibly be that he felt the need to wear a ski mask tonight while playing; on national television no less.*

Not impressed one iota. No sireee. Like, come on! Man up, Aybar! People are watching you know. Man card revoked. Maybe permanently.

Could you see Babe Ruth wearing that?

What are the odds that your team will win when you are wearing sh.. (stuff) like that?

Very small. I don't know why but you just don't win when you wear that stuff.

At least it matched his team colors; but so what?

*I only caught the last 10.7 minutes of the game as I just walked in from a high school football game (by the way, I bet that it was just as cold here and not a ski mask in sight at the football field) so if anybody else was wearing this designer Winter Olympics gear while in uniform, this applies to them as well. Also I do not know if Tim McCarver commented on it and don't really care.

That explains it

89 games in Anaheim for Alex Rodriguez - 37 home runs.

He must like playing in front of starlets and pop singers or something.

Revs his engine.

Any other double entrendres that apply here?

Did Chip Caray even play little league?

I have never considered the word "fisted" to be a common baseball term so when a professional announcer says this incessantly, it's like mega-distracting. What does this even mean? I played ball for quite a few years and I don't think I ever "fisted" anything.

Is Chip Caray too big that Buck Martinez can't tap him on the shoulder or a producer can't talk into his earpiece? Better yet, let's put him on some "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" style shock therapy where he is wired and gets a progessively bigger shock every time he says the word "fisted." You know it would work, real quick. Ask Pavlov's dog.

I want to hear him say that Ryan Howard "fisted" a home run. Think it's not possible?

Nepotism blows.

(This unimaginative guy just said it again; top of the 6th inning. I can't keep up)

Good seats available

Major league game is progress.

PNC Park - Pittsburgh - 9/24/09

Time to call in the professionals

John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that general manager, Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox and Jason Bay are in contractual negotiations but they have so far been unable to close the deal on a new contract.

Says Tomase: "Epstein characterized the negotiations thus far as 'weird' in the fact that Bay wants to stay, the Red Sox want him, and neither side is being unreasonable, and yet they still can't get a deal done."

Frankly, I know not to take things which are said to the press at face value but this really is one of the most feeble things I have ever heard a major league general manager say. In other words, Bay wants to be here, we want him here, he is not unreasonable in his demands but for some reason we just can't get this done now, this is so hard. As someone who negotiates for a living, I do know that timing can be everything in putting together a deal and the timing just might not be "right" on this one but I am still missing something here.

I think they need a "conflict resolution specialist" like Dr. Phil or Kate Gosselin to mediate this.* Lock them up in a room with nothing but gummi bears and water and don't let them out until they have an agreement so we don't have to hear any more wishy-washy statements from Theo Epstein on this.

Life is too short for these unresolved "weird" issues to be lingering around.

Get to it!

*I bet if you would agree to televise the arrival and departure of either of these specialists, they would be even more likely to come and do this. Just a thought.

The baseball world lines up to apply for the Astros manager position

I note that the Astros have announced that they will interview 10 (TEN!) candidates to become the team's next manager.

The list of the candidates includes Dave Clark, Al Pedrique, Ned Yost, Randy Ready, Bob Melvin, Manny Acta, Brad Mills, Tim Bogar, Pete Mackanin and last but not least, Phil Garner who the team fired as their manager just 25 months ago.

Hello Astros! Just some random questions.

Have you ever heard the phrase "time is money"?

Do you pay these guys' transportation to get to Houston to interview? What kind of travel budget do you have?

Did Phil Garner suddenly get better without managing a game since you fired him?*

What about Grady Little, Stump Merrill and Lee Elia who for some reason are not on your list? What did they ever do to you? You are interviewing everybody else!

If you interview 10 people for this job, you darn sure better get this hire right.

Forget rebuilding. A dynasty should follow.

*I know that he looks deep in thought in the card above but he hasn't won many games as evidenced by his .477 winning percentage. He could be just looking in the crowd.

I don't know about these Anderson guys

So I was watching the Phillies/Rockies game last night and I was struck by how mind-numbingly boring play-by-play announcer, Brian Anderson is. He seems to have absolutely no personality in his voice. None. Not an ounce.

His voice also just has kind of a "cheap" quality to it to the point that I found it distracting. It kind of reminded me of someone that would be broadcasting a demolition derby on a local UHF channel.

I understand that Anderson is a Milwaukee Brewers announcer and if I was a Brewers fan maybe he would grow on me but I really doubt it.* I am sure that he is a nice guy and all but.....

Sorry, Brian.

*Considering the other Brian Anderson's out there: 1. Current Red Sox outfielder (.227 career average) 2. Retired pitcher with many teams including the Royals (82-83, 4.72 career ERA), that name is just not working for people in baseball. I bet if Brady Anderson was named Brian Anderson, he would not have hit 50 home runs that year.

How important is defense? Apparently, not very.

Want proof?

The Pirates led the majors with only 73 errors.

Vlad pitch selection

TBS showed a "highlight" of a Vlad Guerrero at bat earlier in the year where he swung at a pitch that bounced before it crossed the plate and hit it for a base hit.

As good as he is, "hitting coach" is just not in his future.

Hire me or I will steal from you

Per AP, a masked fan, Matthew Mervine was ejected from a Phillies playoff game. On his way out of the park, 22 year old Mervine detoured into the ballpark office. (Memo to Phillies security staff: Get ejected fans entirely off the property) While in the office, he filled out a job application and a security camera recorded him stealing three World Series rings. (These are just laying around!)

Mr. Mervine was identified and located by.......well the information and address he left on his job application. Obviously, this is a police matter now.

I could probably do quite a bit with this one but really it would be like taking candy from a baby.

This one is so good it stands on his own.

Yankees-Twins

*When you are a "left field" umpire, your responsibilities are rather minimal and it is practically a day off so on the very odd chance that you have to make a call you sure better get it right; especially if the play is six feet away from you. Especially if you are looking right at the play. Especially if the play is not THAT difficult to call. Grade: Fail. No post-game snack for Phil Cuzzi.

*Memo to Joe Nathan: On a pick-off throw to second base, just aim for the base. If you are a foot or two off the bag with the throw, you won't get the runner but you won't end up on Sports Center. If however you throw the ball 15 feet off the bag, you are on blooper reels forever and I don't know that you get any type of "royalties" for that. Baseball is entertainment of course but you do not want you yourself to be the entertainment.

Lightning strike or beating?

First off, this post does not make light of someone's death. I don't do that. This story is a little too bizarre to ignore and pass without comment so I offer it up here.

Per an AP story by Jorge Rueda, it is noted that Venezuelan authorities will be exhuming the body of former major league pitcher Geremi Gonzalez (the card identifies him as Jeremi) to determine whether his 2008 death was due to a lightning strike or a beating.

Hold up! How can this be? I am sure that sentence has never been uttered before in history so I read further.

Apparently, Gonzalez died in May 2008 on a beach in May of 2008. Investigators ruled out homicide after an autopsy blamed an "electrical shock produced by natural causes." A lightning strike, I guess.

Later, apparently doubts surfaced as to the cause of death when there were reports that jewelry that Gonzalez had been wearing at the time of death was being sold somewhere leading some to believe that he was beaten and robbed.

This is weird. Authorities are unsure if the death was caused by a lightning strike or a beating?

I am not a medical examiner by any means but for a medical examiner to determine that a lightning strike was a cause of death, wouldn't this event have had to be witnessed by someone or in the alternative wouldn't the deceased have to have burns on his body and clothing? This would not seem to be a cause of death that you would just pull out of your back pocket if you were stumped as to the cause and finally just offer up "lightning strike" for the death certificate.

This is kind of like a medical examiner doing an autopsy on an anonymous corpse and ultimately determining that the cause of death was either a mauling by tiger or a drug overdose. It is one of those two.

What gives here?

Oh, come on now!

Adam Wainwright on Matt Holliday's dropped ball per the AP story:

"The ball got lost in 50,000 white towels shaking in front of Matt's face. It doesn't really seem fair that an opposing team should be able to allow their fans to shake white towels when there's a white baseball flying through the air. How about Dodger Blue towels?"

Oh my Lord!

Give it a rest!

Has Wainwright ever been to a playoff game before? What do you see in the stands? A LOT of waiving towels.*

Like always.

*Are the towels in St. Louis going to be an "off-white" color?

Not exactly an athletic play to put it mildly

Ok, obviously nobody is perfect and all but how does Matt Holliday drop that ball?

The announcers said he had to run for it. Yeah, like 5 or 6 steps!

He looked like John Q. Public out there.

Well actually, more like Homer Simpson.

No forget that, it was more like Chewbacca.

That or maybe that McDonalds "Grimace" guy.

He needs to hit like a five run home run tomorrow to make up for that.

Not everybody can do it, you know

You just know Cabrera had seen that card and was waiting for his chance......but things don't always work out as planned.*

Don't waste a steroid testing kit here. Go on to the next guy.

*Maybe he could have broken it. Look, he is too far up on the bat and almost into the barrel. Bad technique here. The bat is not even cracking.