Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Crazy Carl Gets His Ring

Last night I caught a few innings of the Mariners - Indians game. Since it was on XM and the game was in Cleveland, I was treated to the Indians broadcasting crew. At one point they went into a story about Carl Everett receiving his World Series ring on Sunday. They said that, in an on field presentation, Carl was presented his ring by a dinosaur-like mascot.

When I heard that, I thought that was the funniest story I had ever heard. It's funny because Carl Everett doesn't believe that dinosaurs ever existed. If this work was the doing of Sox GM Kenny Williams, then I think Kenny should automatically win the Executive of the Year award, regardless of the Sox performance on the field this season. All I could picture in my head was Dinger (the Rockies mascot) or Barney walking out onto the field at Safeco to hand Crazy Carl his ring.

Unfortunately, it isn't true. Carl (and Joe Borchard) received his ring in a much tamer, clubhouse ceremony.

Friday, April 7, 2006

Opening Week in Review

Baseball season is back! I'm so excited. Some ramblings...

  • ESPN's new Thursday night package (I guess Thursday is the new Wednesday) is absolutely brutal. Not only do we get an extra dose of Joe Morgan, but he's teamed up with Chris Berman. Once I realized that was the announcing team, I just turned it off. I didn't it tune in to see if Peter Gammons was doing the sideline reporter thing, or if they'd found some other legit baseball guy to belittle with that role for the broadcast. Did Gammons really volunteer for that work? Does he need the money that badly? Is it some form of punishment?
  • Barry Bonds has taken more ugly swings this week than I saw him take in the past five years. I know he had a strong (albeit brief) Spring Training, but he doesn't look like the same guy since the season started. I'm no expert, but it looks like his legs aren't there. I'd be ready to write him off, but at this time last year nearly everyone wrote off Ken Griffey Jr. (including myself, after I watched him in person). Griffey was slow to start, but eventually heated up and won the Comeback Player of the Year award. Maybe Bonds is on track to do the same.
  • The Nationals seem to have finally worked out their broadcasting situation. Well, they're at least on the Extra Innings package more than they used to be (with Nats broadcasters -- in the past you always got the Expos/Nats opponents' broadcasters). I really like the team of Bob Carpenter and Tom Patoriek.
  • "Bonds on Bonds" was pretty pathetic.
  • I'm probably going to be staying up late a lot this year. The AL West is going to be a lot of fun to follow and every Bonds AB could be historic.
  • I can't wait to see the Marlins new video board in person. Apparently it's gigantic.
  • "The Fielding Bible" is a great read. I'm not a big fan of the format of it. It "looks" just like the THT annual and the Bill James book. They all feel the same. But the content (just like with the other two) of "The Fielding Bible" is great and completely different than anything I've ever read before.
  • Too bad Jimmy Rollins' streak ended. If he'd reached 56/57 games, it would have equalled/surpassed Joe D's mark in my book. Do all non-Yankee fans feel that way? Maybe it just seems like it.
  • Shea Stadium isn't my all-time favorite ballpark. But it's a nice enough place to see a game. And yes, it will be sad when they knock the old place down. I was sad when the White Sox left Old Comiskey. I'm sure I'll be sad when the Marlins leave whatever-it-is-that-they're-calling-their-stadium. I'll even be a little sad when they get rid of Shea, and any of the other ballparks I've watched a game or two in. At least with Shea we'll always have Suite 36.
  • Braves starting pitchers have gotten roughed up early and often this season. Do Bobby Cox's boys miss Leo Mazzone that much? It's too early to say that, especially when Mazzone's Orioles haven't exactly been shutting everyone down.
  • I hope the Brewers and Tigers (and Chris Shelton!) play this well all year long.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Something New

At one site or another I blogged the past three baseball seasons. But I kind of blogged myself out. Still though, I like this writing on the Internet thing. It makes me feel like I'm following my team(s) a little more closely. But up until the other day, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Now I think I've found something.

Last year one of the things that drove me crazy with the Marlins, and made me happy with the White Sox, was swing games. Ok, I wasn't calling them swing games at the time, but that's really what they were. The Marlins were in plenty of close games, but they often found themselves on the wrong end of them (for instance, the game early in the year that the Marlins lost in extra innings to the Braves when Juan Pierre bunted into a double play). While the Marlins were losing those sorts of games, the White Sox, inexplicably, went 35-19 in one-run games. The differences in success these two teams had last year led (pretty directly) to the White Sox surprising everyone and winning the World Series while the Marlins disappointed many and finished short of the playoffs.

So this year I'm participating, along with some other folks, in a new site on a new project. It's not entirely objective -- much of it is subjective. But we're going to try to track which games are routine, which are significant wins, and which are significant losses. My guess is that the playoff teams will have large, positive scores. I'm curious about a young team, like the Marlins, who are expected to struggle. Maybe it's just because of last night's game, but I think the Fish could surprise us with a large number of "significant wins".

Check it out - and even sign up to participate if you want - over at Swing Score.

Monday, April 3, 2006

Opening Day Stuff

I caught a little bit of the Nats - Mets game at lunch, but I've mostly been radio only so far. For a lot of the day I've been scrolling around on XM, giving some of my favorite announcers a listen.

  • The Dodgers game just started, but Vin Scully is amazing. He still sounds like he always has. And he's still doing it all by himself.
  • President Bush through out the first pitch in Cinci. The announcers said he received a warm reception. They also said that the President was going to visit their booth to talk some baseball, but I couldn't stomach enough of a Cubs game (especially after hearing Juan Pierre lead off the game with a triple), so I didn't hear it.
  • Bob Eucker is great. I may listen to him more this year if the Brewers are as good as everyone thinks they will be.
  • Today worked out just how the Mets want the whole year to go didn't it? I guess Wagner's finger is ok.
  • I really like the Phillies announcers. Too bad (for them) that they're getting shelled.
  • I only caught a few pitches of the Rangers and Red Sox. How did I let that happen? That should be a good series.
  • I miss Joe Angel doing Marlins games.
  • The Marlins should open at home each year. Having games in New York this week is brutal. Teams in the North should wait until the second week.
  • Why aren't the Twins or Blue Jays playing today? Is it because of the Blue Jays? Is Canada in a different time zone now?
  • I am sick: I'm thinking of getting DirecTV's sports package (I have MLB Extra Innings, but not all of the regional sports channels) just so that I can watch Yankees batting practice on YES. Keep in mind, I do not like the Yankees. I just like batting practice. And batting practice on television fascinates me. Yes, I know - I need help.
  • Albert Pujols! The game is still in progress, but Al already has two homers and four runs driven in. Here's a tip: if you're in a fantasy league, pick this guy up if he's a free agent/on the waiver wire. He could be good.
  • Do the Angels own the record for most team and stadium names for a team playing in the same stadium? I'm not even sure what they call their park now, but it's been renamed at least twice (it wasn't that long ago that it was the Big A) and the California/Anaheim/Los Angeles of Anaheim/Los Angeles has changed plenty too. And all without moving anywhere! Yes, I know they significantly renovated the stadium after the Rams left, but still -- it's the same stadium in the same location.

What's up wtih these opening series matchups? I don't like that the Marlins open against the Astros and then at home with the Padres. The home openers should be against division foes. The Pads aren't going to be back in Florida all year. Sure, some of the matchups are good, like A's - Yankees, but A's - Angels would have been just as good to start the year.

Opening Day Fun

I'm not sure what made me think of this (actually, I guess it was that Rob Schneider special that ESPN showed as part of last night's rain delay theater -- it was fun to watch Ray Durham try to teach Schneider to play second base), but if you could put together a team of current players who are your favorites to watch, who would be on it? Not necessarily the best guys in the league, but the guys who you most enjoy watching.

Here's my team. This isn't necessarily an All-Star team (although a lot of them are). It's just guys I like to watch:

C - Paul LoDuca
1B - Paul Konerko
2B - Ray Durham
3B - Chone Figgins
SS - Miguel Tejada
LF - Barry Bonds
CF - Andruw Jones
RF - Vladimir Guerrero

Bench:
Miguel Cabrera
Juan Pierre
Luis Castillo
Jim Thome
Mike Piazza
Manny Ramirez

SP - Dontrelle Willis
SP - Pedro Martinez
SP - Mark Buerhle
SP - Jake Peavy
SP - Jamie Moyer

Bullpen:
Trevor Hoffman
Mariano Rivera
Chad Cordero
Roberto Hernandez
Neal Cotts
Tom Gordon

Ok, so that's pretty much an All-Star team. And I know that Cabrera (or Wright or Chavez, etc) should start ahead of Figgins... but you just have to have Figgins in the starting lineup. Right?

Sunday, April 2, 2006

It's here

Baseball Tonight (I know) is on and the first game of the year is less than an hour away.

It looks like John Kruk got a new hair piece. But I think he has it on backwards.