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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have a unique way of building a large fan base


Hey, fat boy! Yeah, you; the one stuffing your face with pork rinds, sitting on your couch in a pair of stained tighty whities with America’s pastime playing out on the tube. We think we might have found a way to coax you out of your mamma’s basement.

Dodger Stadium now has an all-you-can-eat section of seats out in right field where the Dodger Dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos and sodas flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. OK, so we made up that last part about the babes but you really can stuff your face for one low price and people have been taking advantage of the free dogs ($4.75 throughout the stadium) by downing `em in bulk. The only thing slowing down these ballpark Kobayashis is the limit of four items per trip to the vendor.

But don’t think you’re going be getting on your knees, fumbling through your keys drunk by paying $40 for you ticket o’ gluttony. No, you’re gonna have to get wasted like the rest of the stadium; by forking over either $8 or $10 a brew!

Of course, if you can afford those kinds of prices then you might want to consider upgrading your Dodger dining experience to the Dugout Club behind home plate. Not only do you get a better view of the game (that is what you’re paying for, right?) but you’ll get your food delivered to your seats by the section’s staff. And it’ll only cost you $400 a ticket.

Now, we don’t know if he sat in the Dugout Club or with the right field fatties, but we’re guessing that this sports anchor had one too many of those mystery meat Dodger Dogs before making it into the studio.

Links:

[International Business Times]: All You Can Eat at Dodger Stadium

Categories
Philadelphia Phillies

Nobody enjoys losing more than Philadelphia



The Phillies have been losing for a really long
time now

There’s not a whole lot to cheer about these days in Philly. QB controversy is already coming down on Eagles camp, Allen Iverson split town and the Sixers have no real future to speak of at the moment, and then you have the Phillies. Actually, they are having a fairly decent year so far but that doesn’t mean that haven’t stunk something fierce in the past. In fact, as of this moment the Phillies are just 21 losses away from reaching the 10,000 loss plateau. And Charley DeBow thinks that is something to celebrate.

DeBow started up Celebrate10000.com because, as he says, “Real phans love their losers.”

This year, the Philadelphia Phillies are poised to accomplish what no other team in professional sports history has before: 10,000 losses.

Not only is Philadelphia home to the franchise that has lost the most games in any sport, it’s also the city (with four major sports teams) that’s gone the longest without a championship.

This website is not about celebrating the Phillies 10,000th loss. It’s about celebrating the Phans. We’re the ones who suffer the most. Let’s celebrate each other because without each other we would be watching the games alone, high fiving the wall. Let’s make sure we keep our presence known.

Now, we understand that this site wasn’t intended to poke fun at the town’s loveable losers but, c’mon, there’s a huge ticker that is racking up the losses for cryin’ out loud. If enduring through 10,000 defeats is what it takes to be a good fan then we’d rather jump on the Mets bandwagon. DeBow is also planning a “celebration march” after the team finally loses that historical contest. Wow, and we thought that Raiders fans had lost their minds.

Links:

[Philly.com]: You have to love a team a lot to devote a Web site to its 10,000 losses
[Celebrate10000.com]: Celebrate 10,000 Home Page

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Jake Peavy makes his Cy Young case


1. King of the Hill: Jake Peavy faced Rich Hill in a promising pitching matchup on Tuesday. But this one wasn’t close, as Hill continued his recent struggles while Peavy kept his major league leading ERA. Hill allowed five runs in six innings, the third start in a row he’s given up four or more runs. He allowed four homeruns to the Padres, all of them solo. Meanwhile, Peavy gave up just one run to improve to 6-1 with a 1.63 ERA. If the season ended right now, he would win the Cy Young in a landslide. On offense, Adrian Gonzalez hit his 11th homer and Mike Cameron hit two out to triple his season total. The Padres are just a half game back of the Dodgers now.

2. Twin Powers: The Twins’ three best players–Johan Santana, Justin Morneau, and Torii Hunter–all dominated in a 7-1 win over the Rangers. Santana had one of his best starts of the season, with 13 strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings. He only surrendered a homer to Sammy Sosa, who now has 598 on his career. Morneau powered the offense with two homers, five RBIs, and three hits. With 13 homers, he is now second only to A-Rod in the AL in that category. Torii Hunter also continued his recent hot streak, with another homer and two ribbies. In his last nine games, Hunter has 5 homers and 17 RBIs. The Rangers, followed up back-to-back 14-run outings with 18 strikeouts on offense.

3. Youth over experience: For the second time in six days, Tim Lincecum of the Giants took on Roy Oswalt of the Astros. Last time, both pitchers were even and the game was decided in extras. On Tuesday, Lincecum got the better of the two-time All Star. Lincecum pitched a career-high eight innings and gave up two runs, lowering his ERA to 3.08. After a poor debut, Lincecum has made three straight quality starts. Oswalt gave up four runs in the loss but is still 6-3. Also worth noting for the Giants is how Barry Bonds has completely struggled lately. Since his last homer on May 8, he has no RBIs, just 5 hits, and a .191 slugging percentage. His OPS has fallen from 1.311 to 1.121, though that’s still good enough to lead the NL.

Player of the Day: Kyle Davies, Braves: 8 innings, 1 run, and three RBIs in an 8-1 win over the Mets.

Stat of the Day: After only recording three RBIs in the first 32 games this year, Felipe Lopez of the Nationals has 13 RBIs in his last 13 games, including a 6-RBI effort on Tuesday in a win over Cincinnati.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Rangers are offensive


1. Two games, 28 runs: The Rangers’ pitching may never be good enough, but their hitting is always playoff-team caliber. On Monday they scored 14 runs for their second consecutive game as they pounded the Twins 14-4. Catcher Gerald Laird hit a grand slam, Sammy Sosa had three RBIs, and Kenny Lofton had three runs for Texas. Carlos Silva had his worst start of the season for Minnesota, as he gave up seven runs in just 4 innings. Reliever Julio DePaula also allowed seven runs in just one inning. The Rangers are still one of the worst teams in the AL at 18-27, but they now rank fifth in the league in runs scored. Unfortunately for Rangers fans, they’ve allowed more runs than anybody in baseball except the Devil Rays.

2. A-Rod is Back: After a 22-game streak in which he only had 1 homer and 5 RBIs, Alex Rodriguez is back to his April self. He has homered in three straight games, bringing his major-league leading total to 18. This is his third streak this season of three or more consecutive games with a homer. He helped the Yankees beat the Red Sox to start off a crucial series. On the pitching side of things, Chien Ming-Wang outdeuled the suddenly struggling Tim Wakefield. Ming-Wang pitched six innings and recorded a season-high five strikeouts, while Wakefield allowed six runs. The host Yankees won 6-2 to slash Boston’s division lead back to single digits (9.5 games). The 20-23 Yankees still have a lot of work to do to catch up with Boston, who is the only major league team with 30 wins.

3. The Power of the Brewers: Who would have thought Milwaukee would be one of the most powerful teams in the majors this season? They rank second in the majors in homers (behind Texas) and third in slugging percentage. The Brewers also have the two leading NL homerun hitters in JJ Hardy and Prince Fielder, who have 14 apiece. Fielder hit two bombs last night in their 9-5 win over the Dodgers. Just wait until their most powerful hitter from last year, Bill Hall, finds his stroke.

Player of the Day: Noah Lowry, Giants: 7 innings, no runs in a 4-0 win over Houston. Lowry has silently put up a 2.69 ERA, fifth best in the NL.

Categories
MLB General

MLB Cost Index for May 21 2007


The MLB Cost Index is one measure of how well your GM did over the course of the offseason and during the season. The Index takes a look at the payrolls for each team and calculates a Cost per Win number. Pretty simple stuff right? But in the wide open world of baseball with no salary cap, it’s the best way we can think of to judge teams on a level (monetary) playing field.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already 1/4 of the way through the 2007 season. Looking back at the first MLB Cost Index of the season, we find that some of the earlier struggling teams like the Phillies, Giants, and Astros have climbed into respectability with regard to the Cost Index.

Meanwhile, looking at the past week, not much as changed except the Royals making a big leap based on wining 5 of their last 7. Sure, they’re still firmly in last place but if you’re a Royals fan, you have to take any good news you can get.

The complete Major League Baseball Cost Index after the jump.

Categories
Atlanta Braves

Odds and Ends: Clearing up this whole Craig Sager thing

Craig Sager,the NBA sideline reporter with the ridiculous wardrobe, has been getting a lot of play today because it was mentioned that he was one of the people running alongside Hank Aaron when he broke Babe Ruth’s record. You’ve probably seen the clip 1,000 times by now but it’s below if you have been living under a rock for the past 20 years.

Anyway, the problem is that some bloggers think Sager’s one of the two fans who ran alongside Aaron around 2nd base. No no no. Sager is the creepy guy in the white trench coat that runs with Aaron from third to home and waiting to to interview him.

Just thought we’d clear that up.

In other news…

[Hockey Rants]: Mike York’s Wife will kick your ass

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: Dough Christie and his wife have a book coming out.

[6ABC]: NJ officials want Rutgers to redesign its logo.

[KDSK]: Video of door coming off plane in Fred Taylor African safari incident

[Our book of Scrap]: This Almost Makes Me Wish I Was A Gators Fan (Almost)

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Carlos Lee earns his keep


1. Lee’s the Man: Many thought Carlos Lee was one of this offseason’s most overpaid players. Right now the Astros are looking like geniuses for signing him to a $100 million contract. He single-handedly led Houston to victory on Tuesday, going 4-4 with 2 homers and 4 of the Astros’ 6 runs. His second homer was a solo walkoff shot in the 10th inning that gave Houston a 6-5 win. Lee’s fifth straight multi-hit game has raised his average from .287 to .336. He is tied for the National League lead in RBIs with 37. Lee’s teammate in the Astros outfield, super-prospect Hunter Pence, has been great since he was called up two weeks ago. Pence went 3-3 with a homer yesterday and is hitting .310 with 14 RBIs in 15 games. The Astros have been playing well lately and at 19-19, they’re second in the NL Central.

2. The Big Unit is Back: After his best start of the season, Randy Johnson proved he could still dominate on any given night. Johnson only pitched six innings against the Rockies, but he shut them out and allowed just one hit. Johnson got his first victory of the season as the D-Backs won 3-0 in Colorado. The 43-year old also struck out a season-high nine. Jose Valverde closed the game for his 13th save, which is second in the NL.

3. Under the radar dominance: Everyone knows the Red Sox, Braves, and Brewers are all having great seasons, but the Dodgers have been a slightly quieter team. At 24-16, they have one of the best records in the majors, and they have a significant three-game lead in the highly competitive NL West. On Tuesday they beat the Cardinals 9-7, as their hitting continued to stay hot. The Dodgers lack a power bat, but they have the speedy duo of Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre, Jeff Kent is back to his old self, and Russell Martin has been the best-hitting catcher this year. Furcal had three RBIs on Tuesday in his third consecutive four-hit game. His 12-14 streak has raised his average from .228 to .297. Martin had two RBIs and leads all catchers in steals, hits, and runs.

Player of the Day: Carlos Lee, Astros: 4-4, 2 HR (9), 4 runs, 2 RBIs in a win over the Giants.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Dice-K Dominates


1. The Dice-K we were waiting for: After all the preseason hype and promising first start, Daisuke Matsuzaka was plagued by a streak of poor outings. But to start off a series between AL heavyweights (Red Sox vs. Tigers), Dice-K gave his best effort yet. He threw his first MLB complete game, gave up just one run, and threw a whopping 124 pitches in the Red Sox’s 7-1 win. The victory gave the Red Sox an 8.5 game division lead, their largest since 1995, and they have the best record in the league at 26-11. This four-game series at Fenway should be one of the more entertaining so far this year. The Tigers will send Justin Verlander to the mound on Tuesday to face AL ERA leader Tim Wakefield.

2. Nearly a no-hitter: The Braves-Nationals game featured a pitching matchup of 18-year vet John Smoltz and first-year starter Jason Bergmann. Surprisingly, it was Bergmann who delivered a gem: 8 innings, 2 hits, and 10 strikeouts. He no-hit the Braves until the 8th inning, when Brian McCann hit a solo homer. Smoltz wasn’t bad either, but the Braves couldn’t muster any offense in a 2-1 loss. The win extends a season-high four-game win streak for the 13-25 Nationals, and Bergmann’s start was the highlight of their season so far. Atlanta’s loss combined with a Mets win puts New York back in first.

3. All About the Pitchers: This season has been dominated by pitching, and yesterday continued that trend. Dice-K and Bergmann were great, as well as Greg Maddux, Dan Haren, Gil Meche, and Tom Gorzelanny. Maddux pitched a complete-game with one run allowed in the Padres’ 7-1 win over Cincinnati. Meche and Haren pitched a combined 15 scoreless innings in the Royals-A’s game, giving both pitchers an ERA under 2.00. The Royals won on a ninth-inning homerun by John Buck. The surprising Gorzelanny improved to 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA after seven shutout innings in a win over the Marlins. In other pitching news, the Angels’ Jered Weaver returned to form with a great start against the Rangers, which lowered his ERA from 4.26 to 3.62.

Player of the Day: JJ Hardy, Brewers: 2-5, HR, 3 RBIs in a 6-8 loss to the Phillies. This is more of a season-achievement award for Hardy, who now leads the National League with 12 homers and 37 RBIs. It is hard to even imagine a more surprising start than that of Hardy, who already has set his career high for homeruns.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Rally caps are working


1. Best team in the league?: Right now, the team with the best record in the majors is the Boston Red Sox, who are 25-11 after a huge comeback win over the Orioles on Sunday. The Sox were down 5-0 to Baltimore entering the ninth inning, but a combination of errors, walks, and timely hitting erased the deficit as Boston won 6-5. There were two crucial errors, the first on a dropped popup by catcher Ramon Hernandez, the second on a dropped throw at first by pitcher Chris Ray. The latter error allowed two runs to score and ended the game. The Orioles ruined a great start by Jeremy Guthrie, who went 8 and a third and did not give up an earned run. The Red Sox now have an 8-game division lead, the largest in the majors. They will face the Tigers, Braves and Yankees over the next week in a crucial series of games for them.

2. Another ninth-inning rally: The A’s found themselves down by 2 entering the ninth inning against the Indians. Like the Red Sox, they found the deficit to be no problem. They hit two homers in the ninth–the first a two-run shot by Milton Bradley that tied the game up. Then red-hot Jack Cust hit a three-run, game-ending homer. It was his 6th homer in only 7 games this season. Four of the five runs were charged to Joe Borowski, Cleveland’s struggling closer who now has a 9.00 ERA. However, prior to Sunday he hadn’t allowed a run since April 25, and Borowski’s 12 saves are among the best in the majors, so he likely won’t be relieved of his duties as of now. Both Cleveland and Oakland now are a game back in their respective divisions.

3. Mets shut down Milwaukee: The more experienced Mets took a series against the Brewers that matched two of the NL’s best teams. New York’s 2-1 series win was highlighted by a 9-1 win on Sunday. Oliver Perez pitched 8-plus innings with only one run and two hits allowed. The Mets stole four bases (including three by David Wright) and hit two homers in the rout. However, Atlanta still leads them by a half-game in the division, while the Brewers are up by 7 in the weak Central.

Co-Players of the Day: Torii Hunter, Twins: 3-5, 2 HR (8), 7 RBIs in a 16-4 rout of the Tigers.

Fred Lewis, Giants: 5-6, 4 RBIs, hit for the cycle in only his 16th career game.

Stat of the Day: Of the Twins’ 23 homers this season, 17 have come from either Torii Hunter or Justin Morneau. Only six different players on the team have gone deep all season.

Walk Off: The Brewers are easily the best team in the Central, and should run away with that division. However, I still don’t think they can beat some of the National League’s best teams. Right now they have only played 6 games against teams with a winning record, and they are 3-3 in those contests. Obviously that’s not enough evidence to judge a team on, but there will be after they play the Twins, Dodgers, Padres, and Braves in consecutive series in the coming weeks. If they emerge from those games with a winning record, then the Brewers will be legit contenders instead of a team that’s taking advantage of their weak division.

Categories
MLB General

Didn’t these guys learn anything from "A League of Their Own?"

Apparently the good people over at Maxim do more than just compile sexy spreads of some of the hottest babes under the sun. In fact, according to our sources, their magazines actually have words in them. Who knew? As a result, we did a little hunting of our own and found one of these mysterious “articles” we had been told of, and it turned out to be quite entertaining. So, without further ado, we give to you “Baseball’s Biggest Wuss Bags.”

#10-Mike Piazza, Oakland A’s

#9-Chuck Finley, California Angels

#8-Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

#7-Vince Coleman, New York Mets

#6-Jose Canseco, The Surreal Life

#5-This guy

#4-John Kruk, Philadelphia Phillies/Baseball Tonight

#3-Mark Prior, Chicago Cubs

#2-Bobby Crosby, Oakland A’s

#1-Carl Pavano, New York Yankees

It’s a pretty accurate list considering that it came from a picture book. Ya know, Playboy might want to consider this concept of using stories in their mag as well.

Links:

[MaximOnline.com]: Baseball’s Biggest Wuss Bags