Category: MLB General

mlb-general

Categories
MLB General

Rejoice non-Giants fans


Barry Bonds will not be tainting your hometown team with his huge melon and his syringes. Bonds has agreed to a one-year contract with the Giants for $16M. There are incentives in the deal (we wonder if “don’t get caught with steroids” is one of them) that could make the deal worth up to $20M.

While the offseason has been filled with Bonds’ agent and the Giants sniping at each other, apparently money solves everything as both sides played nice. Bonds gets his $16M-$20M and goes back to the only stadium where he isn’t booed and the Giants get to cash in on Bonds as he chases Hank Aaron’s home run record.

Longtime readers of the blog know that we hate Barry Bonds and hope he breaks his arm before he catches Hammerin’ Hank in the home run record books. He’s only got 22 to go. Don’t be suprised if he conveniently breaks the record in San Francisco.

Links:
[SF Gate]: BONDS TO STAY WITH GIANTS
[SF Gate]: Ray Ratto: Magowan’s tough talk was just blather
[Blog Critics]: Savings Bonds: The Giants Should Have Passed

Categories
MLB General

Dec 7 in Sports History: Lou Gehrig inducted in the Hall of Fame


In 1939: Because of his failing health, the Baseball Hall of Fame waived its standard rule that a player must be retired two years before they can be elected to the hall for Lou Gehrig. Gehrig, who once held the record for playing in 2,130 consecutive games, suffered an incurable fatal neuromuscular disease called ALS (which became known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He played his final game in May of 1939, and gave his famous “luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech on July 4, in which his number four was retired by the Yankees. It was the first number ever to be retired by a sports team. Only when Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash in 1972 was the waiting period (which is now five years) waived. (lougehrig.com)

Also in 1939: On the same day Gehrig was enshrined, a brash, cocky nineteen-year-old who was killing American Association pitching was signed by the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams went on to tear up American League pitching that year, hitting .327 with 31 HR and 145 RBI. During his Hall of Fame career, he hit .344 with 521 homers. He was the last player to hit over .400 when he hit .406 in the 1941 season. He also served in two wars (flying 39 missions in Korea) and won two triple crowns (although he didn’t win MVP either year). He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1966 and named the greatest hitter of all-time during baseball’s 1969 centennial celebration. (baseballlibrary.com)

Also, happy birthday to Larry Bird, who turns 50 today and let’s not forget that today is the day the German’s bombed Pearl Harbor.

Categories
MLB General

Nov 4 in Sports History: Diamondbacks solve Mariano Rivera



Bloop Hero

In 2001: The Arizona Diamondbacks stunned the New York Yankees in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the greatest World Series Game 7 in over 40 years.  Despite the other three games played at Bank One Ballpark being ridiculously one-sided in favor of the Diamondbacks (they outscored the Yankees 28-3), Game 7 was a tight, low-scoring affair, with each team having only one run through seven innings. In the top of the eighth, rookie Alfonso Soriano?s solo homerun off Series co-MVP Curt Schilling put the Yanks up 2-1, and future hall of fame closer Mariano Rivera (who had converted 23 straight postseason save opportunities) loomed. In the bottom half of the ninth, Mark Grace led off with a single, and Damian Miller attempted a bunt, which Rivera threw into centerfield. Then Jay Bell attempted to sacrifice the runners over, but Rivera got Grace at third. Tony Womack tied it with a double down the right field line, and Craig Counsell was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Although it’s standard baseball strategy to bring the infield in with the bases full and only one out, Yankee manager Joe Torre might wish he had never done so. Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez hit a soft blooper right over the drawn in infield to give Arizona its first championship in only its fourth year of existence. Randy Johnson, the other co-MVP, got the win in relief. Although Rivera was blamed for the collapse, the fact that the Yankees hit only .183 as a team in the Series should not be overlooked. (baseball-almanac.com).

In 1934 and 1942: If November 1 is considered All-Saints Day, maybe the 3rd can be called All-Baseball-Writers-Are-Mush-Brained-Idiots Day. While the 2006 AL and NL MVP races are considered to be very close with many deserving winners, the snubs that Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams suffered in 1934 and 1942, respectively would be considered criminal in today’s sports-crazy, light-up-the-message-boards society. All Gehrig and Williams did was win the TRIPLE CROWN in their leagues, but writers didn?t see fit to award either player. In 1934, Gehrig hit .363 with 49 HR?s and 165 RBI. He somehow finished FIFTH in the voting. Mickey Cochrane won the award with two homers, 76 RBI and a .320 average. In 1942, Williams smashed his way to a .356 average, 36 HR?s and 137 RBI. Then he left baseball for three years to kick some ass in World War II. Probably because of an ongoing feud with the press (who criticized Williams for asking to defer his military duties until the end of the season), Williams finished behind 2B Joe Gordon of the Yankees. Gordon’s impressive season included leading the league in strikeouts, double plays hit into and errors at his position.

Categories
MLB General

Oct 26 in Sports History: A couple of game 6 meltdowns


In 1985: While everyone remembers the tremendous gag-job by the 1986 Red Sox in the World Series, the previous Fall Classic featured a similar meltdown. This one, many felt was caused by an umpire, as the name Don Denkinger will forever be cursed on the eastern side of Missouri. With the St. Louis Cardinals leading the I-70 World Series three games to two and holding a Game 6 advantage 1-0 into the bottom of the 9th inning, Royals pinch hitter Jorge Orta tapped a weak grounder to first. Pitcher Danny Cox of the Cards cleanly fielded Jack Clark’s flip and clearly had Orta beat by a step. One problem: first base ump Denkinger was the only person in America who thought Orta was safe. The Cards argued bitterly, became completely unglued in the field as Clark misplayed a popup, catcher Darrell Porter had a passed ball, and Dane Iorg drove home the winning run with a bases loaded single to send the series to a seventh game. There, the Royals promptly smacked the shell-shocked Redbirds 11-0 to win their only championship. Karma rules, though, as they haven’t sniffed October baseball since and now are as formidable a ball team as the Springfield Power Plant softball team (pre-Mr. Burns’ ringers).

In 2002: Speaking of awesome, The-Cosmos-Are-OK, Game 6 meltdowns, who can forget the collapse of the Barry Bonds-Dusty Baker-led San Francisco Douche Giants against the Whatever Angels? The Giants built a 5-0 lead through six innings and a smug Bonds was about to wrap up his coveted, undeserved World Series ring. Funny thing was, the Baseball Gods knew stuff we didn’t at the time, and let the Angels claw their way back with a huge rally and a 6-5 win. Baker (who thought it was such a cute idea to almost get his three-year-old son mauled at home plate as a bat boy), suddenly couldn’t manage a Quick Stop let alone a baseball team, made wrong move after wrong move and the Angels eventually ripped the ring off Bonds’ puffy finger in seven games. Those thundersticks and the Rally Monkey were wicked-stupid, though. Baker quickly bailed on the Giants and went on to an even better punishment with the Cubs the following season, when he was introduced to a nerd-fan named Steve Bartman.

Categories
MLB General

No one is watching the World Series


The numbers are in and they are not good. The opening game of the World Series was the lowest rated in history. The Saturday night opener got a 8.0 rating and a 15 share. To put that in perspective, that wouldn’t even have made it into the Top 20. Game 2 fared a little better with a 11.5 share. Overall though the two games still average the 5% lower than the lowest in history.

Now, the folks at Fox will declare the Series a success because both game still won their time slots but this is the World Series folks. Shouldn’t more people be watching it than, say, Two and a Half Men? St. Louis vs Detroit? Nobody on the coasts really cares about that matchup. Meanwhile, NY vs Oakland and all of the sudden you have your east coast/west coast rivalry and tons of people tuning in to root against the Mets. When the only controversy is whether Kenny Rogers had a smudge of dog crap on his hand, you’ve got problems. Either they need to drum up some controversey or rig the playoffs somehow for a better matchup. Bud Selig, David Stern is awaiting your call.

Links:
[AZCentral]: World Series ratings down once again

Categories
MLB General

Oct 24 in Sports History: Albert Belle goes storm chasing



Be verrrry quiet, I’m hunting reporters

In 1995: Albert “Don’t call me Joey” Belle, who had his own legacy of douche baggery, went on a pre-game tirade and chased NBC reporter Hannah Storm out of the Indians dugout. He was fined $50,000. Belle, who was one of the best sluggers of the 90’s, was more well-known for drilling a fan in the chest with a baseball, being suspended for seven games for using a corked bat, chasing kids down for egging his house, throwing another baseball at a photographer, and being suspended for three games for chucking an elbow at tiny Fernando Vina for standing in the base path. Other than that he was a pretty class guy.

In 1972: Almost exactly 27 years to the day he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson died of heart disease at the age of 53. Robinson was the first black player in the 20th Century, and he played his first game in 1947. In 1997, his number was retired throughout baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig and in 2001, April 15 (the day of his debut) was declared “Jackie Robinson Day.”

In 1987: The Minnesota Twins, powered by a Kent Hrbek grand slam, overcame a 5-2 deficit and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 to tie the World Series at three games apiece. It was the last afternoon game ever played in a World Series. Each home team won all seven games, with the Twins winning their first ever title.

Categories
MLB General

Oct 19 in Sports History: When Kenny Rogers sucked


In 1999: Current postseason hero Kenny Rogers wasn’t so much in Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS. With the Mets attempting to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to force a seventh game, Rogers walked in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th to give the Braves their fifth pennant of the decade. The Mets had fought back with a dramatic game-winning grand slam by Robin Ventura in Game 5 and overcame Braves’ leads of 5-0 and 7-3 in Game 6 to force extra innings. Rogers’ walk of Andruw Jones was the only series in history to end on a base on balls.

In 1981: Rick Monday of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the hero in the NLCS with a dramatic, two-out, solo home run of Montreal’s Steve Rogers to give the Dodgers the pennant in the deciding fifth game. The game was played in what was believed to be the coldest temperatures ever for a postseason game, and it was quickly dubbed “Blue Monday,” due to the facts that the game was played on a Monday and Rick Monday (who coolly stopped two morons from attempting to burn a flag in the outfield a few years earlier) almost single-handedly knocked the Expos out of their only postseason appearance.

In 1987: Billy Martin was hired by George Steinbrenner to manage the New York Yankees for the fifth time. Martin replaced the fired Lou Pinella, whom he had spent the entire season criticizing from the broadcast booth. Pinella, in a strange twist, was named General Manager. Martin lasted until halfway through the 1988 season when he was fired and replaced by
Lou Pinella.

Categories
MLB General

Oct 18 in Sports History: 3 for 3 on 3



Mr. October

In 1977: Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees tied Babe Ruth’s record by blasting three home runs in a single World Series game. Jackson only saw three pitches the entire evening in Game 6, but he drove each one farther than the last. When it was over, the Yankees had defeated the LA Dodgers 8-4 to win their 21st championship, Jackson was named MVP and became forever known as “Mr. October.”

In 1997: The worst World Series in history opened on a warm, bandwagon-y Miami evening as the Florida Marlins – with a powerhouse tradition all of five years – entertained the suffering-for-eons Indians from Cleveland in cavernous Pro Player Stadium, the football home of the Miami Dolphins. Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga purchased a fine National League pennant winner with the likes Devon White, Kevin Brown, Moises Alou, Gary Sheffield and Al Leiter. With the exception of a fine Game 7 won by Florida, each game tried to top the last in terms of uninspired play, poor pitching and sloppy defense. It was the lowest rated World Series ever up to that point as fans didn’t feel like tuning in to watch two football cities struggle at baseball in snowy weather. Heaping insult upon insult, Hanson sang the National Anthem to open the series. All of the aforementioned players were jettisoned by Huizenga for financial reasons within a few months of winning the series.

In 1920: An interesting little battle which would’ve seriously altered baseball history took place in a meeting between divided American League owners. Wanting American League president Ban Johnson out of office, the owners of the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox and Tigers threatened to jump to the National League if the remaining owners who wanted Johnson to stay on did not join their movement. Both sides eventually agreed to replace Johnson – who they felt was doing very little to help put and end to the gambling that was destroying the game (re: Black Sox Scandal) – with Kennesaw Mountain Landis, baseball’s first commissioner.

Categories
MLB General

Oct 17 in Sports History: an earthquake hits the World Series


In 1989: The third game of the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s was postponed due to the biggest earthquake to hit the Bay Area since 1906. ABC-TV had just taken the air with the game about 30 minutes away when the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta quake hit, causing minor structural damage to Candlestick park and major damage to the surrounding area. Over 60 people were killed, but it could have been much worse as a 60-foot section of the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland collapsed; but fans getting to the ballpark or home to catch the early start time of the World Series had the bridge and many other roads which suffered damage uncharacteristically quiet at rush hour. The Series would resume 10 days later with the A’s completing a sweep of the Giants.

In 1971 and 1979: The Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their last two World Series in Baltimore on the same day by taking a pair of Game 7‘s from the Orioles. In Game 7 of the ‘71 Fall Classic, Steve Blass threw a 4-hit gem and Roberto Clemente homered as the Pirates won 2-1. In Game 7 of the ‘79 Series, Willie Stargell hit a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to help push the Pirates past Baltimore 4-1. 1979 was the last time a team had overcome a three games to one deficit to win a World Series.

In 2000: Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche cemented his place as the game’s greatest goaltender when he passed Terry Sawchuk on the all-time wins list with 448. Roy defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in overtime to take first-place all time. Roy, who was only the third goalie and 51st player taken overall in the 1984 draft, won three Vezina Trophies as the league’s outstanding goalie and three Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.

Categories
MLB General

Fox fires Steve Lyons for no good reason


Tom Brenneman (unwittingly) makes fun of a blind guy wearing a device that helps him see the game, issues an apology the next day, and all is well. Steve Lyons says something about a wallet after saying something about espanol and gets fired. Nevermind that the two statements were completely unrelated.

After Lou Pinella said something about Marco Scutero’s production being akin to finding a wallet on Friday and expecting it to happen again the next Friday, he added that the A’s were “frio” and needed to get “en fuego”. Steve Lyons said that Pinella was “hablaing espanol” and he still couldn’t find his wallet. From this, Fox made the connection that Lyons was claiming Lou (and other hispanics) steal wallets. If anything, the execs over at Fox are the ones who are racists. Most people watching it took it to be a friendly jab at Lou Pinella, his broadcast partner, not a racial remark. As far as we know, no hispanic leaders complained about the remarks.

For his part, Lyons apologized but said that the comment was not racially motivated and that Fox jumped to conclusions.


My joke was about a wallet. It had nothing to do with race. We were all laughing at the time. I’m being painted as a victimizer of Lou. At dinner later (with Fox announcers and production staffers), we all thought it was one of our better exchanges… I’m happy to apologize to anybody who took it that way. But it seems like a real stretch to lose your job over. It’s hard to understand.

So the moral of the story is this: you can make fun of the handicapped all you want as long as you apologize but don’t even think about linking two statements together if one of them has anything to do with race. Someone at Fox needs to take Logic 101. For example, here are two statements: 1) Tim McCarver sucks as an announcer. 2) Tim McCarver is white. The execs at Fox would conclude that white people suck at announcing. Meanwhile, most people would just conclude that Tim McCarver sucks — which is pretty much just a universal truth by now.

Links:
[Orlando Sentinel]: Fox Fires Lyons for Insensitive Comment
[USA Today]: Lyons defends honor after dismissal by Fox
[YouTube]: partial video of Steve Lyons comments