05.31.05
Posted in Baseball
at 11:26 pm
…Anna Benson, as profiled in this week’s New Yorker (note to David Roth : no photos, so this is “work safe”).
Anna’s less interesting half, Mets starter Kris, was on the losing end of tonight’s 7-0 defeat at the hands of the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks. Jose Cruz Jr. connected for a 2 run HR off Benson in the visitors’ half of the first, while Arizona’s LHP Brad Halsey (above, 4-2) struck out 6 over 7 shutout innings. That Halsey proved more dominant against the Mets than the pitcher he was traded for (Randy Johnson) is something else for George Steinbrenner to groan about.
CF Carlos Beltran made his first start for New York in 9 games, going 0 for 4 while stranding 5 runners. Beltran was hitting .340 against lefties entering tonight’s game, Mike Piazza hitting .367. Neither managed anything off Halsey.
Taking a tip from Frank Thomas’ notebook in how not to make a full recovery, Juan Gonzalez made his 2005 debut for the Indians….and was promptly removed after aggravating his hamstring injury during the first inning of tonight’s victory against the Twins.
Despite all the intense cost cutting measures that have taken place at Time-Warner the past few years, the Atlanta Braves still managed to waste a million bucks on Raul Mondesi. If they raise the prices on Meatwad merchandise, you’ll know why.
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Posted in Blogged Down
at 10:55 pm
Defamer thinks there’s something noteworthy about sneering at Pat O’Brien’s most recent public appearance.
And there was….the day after it happened.
I’m not gonna claim I invented harrassing famous people. Truth be told, I’m not very good at it (and the Pat-ster was already photographed by one and all at Coachella many weeks ago). Which makes a snub like this doubly frustrating.
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:33 pm
K.C. announced today that they would somehow resist the opportunity to give Terry Collins or Art Howe another major league managing job, instead opting for that glittering prize Buddy Bell.
Bell, whose record of 345-462 over six years skippering the Tigers and Rockies makes him all-too qualified to lead the Royals to a last place finish (they have one heck of a head start already) would’ve been my 6th or 7th choice for the job after Whitey Herzog, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine, Darren McGavin as “Kolchak : The Night Stalker”, Leon Lee’s trousers, Stump Merrill and John McGraw.
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Posted in Boxing
at 1:37 pm
…is that Mike Tyson can still get a mortgage worth $1.7 million. From Newsday’s Wallace Matthews.
Tyson creaks when he gets out of bed, worries about his children, frets over how classmates will taunt them about their infamous father, and wrestles with precisely how to break the news to them about his past before someone beats him to it.
He owns fast motorcycles he has grown leery of riding. He recently – get this! – turned down the offer of a free Aston-Martin AR-1, James Bond’s ride, because what he needs more than anything now is a house.
He lost his palatial homes in Las Vegas, Ohio, Connecticut and New Jersey to ex-wives or bankruptcy. Right now he’s sleeping on the couch in the home of the mother of his two youngest children. Last year, home was a rented one-bedroom house in a Phoenix suburb.
Tyson tries to keep up appearances, arriving at the gym in a gleaming white Hummer H2. “It’s all I got left, man,” he said.
Like a lot of people his age, Tyson is downsizing. But “downsizing” is a relative term.
Despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2003, claiming $55 million in debts and $5,583 in cash, Tyson last week was able to scrape up $420,000 for a down payment on a $2.1-million house in Paradise Valley’s exclusive Mummy Mountain district. Despite the bankruptcy and continuing debt, he secured a mortgage with a monthly payment of nearly $11,000.
“His ‘broke’ is a little different from your ‘broke’ or mine,” said Steven Espinoza, Tyson’s bankruptcy attorney.
Epinoza, a master of understatement in this instance, must be one hell of a lawyer. Clearly, solvency is overrated.
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Posted in Baseball
at 10:17 am
Chicago’s Frank Thomas (above) returned from his Charlotte, NC rehab assignment yesterday, just in time to strain his right hip flexor in his team’s 5-4 win over the Angels.
On the same afternoon the White Sox announced a contract extension for manager Ozzie Guillen, it would seem as though GM Kenny Williams has been wise not to negotiate a new pact with Thomas, much as letting Magglio Ordonez walk has yet to kill Chicago.
The Rangers Are In First Place Because : Kenny Rogers, 5-0 with a 0.92 ERA in the month of May. The guy is amazing when pitching in a place where no one gives a shit.
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Posted in Basketball
at 9:50 am
Wondering why the Cavs couldn’t have waited for Detroit’s season to end before interviewing/hiring Larry Brown? The New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence suggests — as will many if the Pistons don’t repeat — that their coach’s latest case of wanderlust has undermined his authority.
As the Pistons melted down late in the fourth quarter Sunday night, they displayed the classic signs of a team that knows that its leader has one foot out the door. How else to explain the two technical fouls assessed to Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups, 40 seconds apart, with the Pistons still having the chance to win? How else to explain a veteran championship team coming totally unglued at the end of a crucial home playoff game? How else to explain a team that seemed to tune out its coach while falling behind to the Heat, 2-1?
Asked if he thought his rumored run to Cleveland is posing a major distraction, Brown, stopped as he walked off the practice floor and wore a quizzical look.
“This has been going on how long?” he said yesterday. “I mean, it was New York. Then it was L.A. Now it’s Cleveland. Before, it was Denver.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 8:50 am
On the brink of his re-entry into the Amateur Draft, P Jered Weaver has come to terms with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Which Is Located On Planet Earth, writes the LA Times’ Mike DiGiovanna.
In the negotiating equivalent of a game-winning, 65-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass with the final seconds ticking off the clock, the Angels and 2004 first-round pick Jered Weaver agreed to a $4-million signing bonus in the final hour before Monday’s 9 p.m. deadline to sign the former Long Beach State ace.
With the sides at an impasse for almost a year and about $1.5 million apart going into the weekend, Weaver, the 12th overall pick in last June’s draft, essentially yielded to the Angels’ demands, agreeing to a minor league deal, pending the passing of a physical this week, for the same amount offered to the right-hander in late February.
Had Weaver, 22, not signed Monday he would have reentered next week’s draft, a prospect that seemed to grow less attractive by the hour Monday, considering there was no guarantee the team that drafted Weaver would accede to his demands, especially knowing Weaver probably wouldn’t sit out a second consecutive season.
“I had no indication that this was going to happen, really, until [Monday], and it still took most of the day,” Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said on a conference call. “There were a lot of last-minute discussions. It was finally completed fairly close to the deadline.”
Though the Angels’ hard-line stance in negotiations clearly paid off — it was Weaver who blinked in what seemed like a high-stakes game of chicken, but it was Weaver who initiated talks that led to the agreement and who compromised the most.
Weaver, who went 15-1 with a 1.62 earned run average at Long Beach last season, striking out 213 and walking 21 in 144 innings and winning the Golden Spikes Award, sought a signing package in the $10-million range before dropping his asking price to $8 million in March to $6 million last week.
Negotiations grew testy at times, with Boras criticizing the Angels for selecting Weaver when they had no intention of meeting his original asking price, Stoneman accusing Boras of putting “a spin on it to make it look like he’s made major concessions to get a deal done,” and Angel scouting director Eddie Bane rebutting Boras’ claim that Weaver could be ready to pitch in the big leagues this season.
Weaver even went so far as to sign with the Camden (N.J.) Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League this month, but he did not pitch in a regular-season game. Instead, Weaver will return to Southern California this week, and speculation about when he can help the Angels’ big league club can really begin.
“I just don’t know enough about him,” Stoneman said, when asked how close to the big leagues Weaver is. “He hasn’t pitched competitively in a year, and we’re not sure what kind of shape he’s in. We definitely don’t want to rush things … but as soon as he’s ready for a challenge, we want to give him one.
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Posted in Baseball
at 8:36 am
Those wishing to learn about the ups and downs of various prospects scattered throughout the Mets’ minor league system could do worse than pay attention to the reporting of the Newark Star Ledger’s Eli Gelman. They could, for instance, read back issues of Hello! magazine, which feature little to no coverage of the Mets’ stars of tomorrow.
On broadcasts of Hagerstown Suns games, the announcer refers to Dante Brinkley as “The Inferno.”
Brinkley (above), the starting left fielder for Hagerstown, laughs at the nickname he has been given for being the team’s top hitter.
“Right now, I’m just trying to stay even-keeled and not get too high or low,” said Brinkley, hitting .371 with 12 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 32 RBI through Sunday’s games. “I don’t look at my stats. I don’t think I’m Dante’s Inferno like everyone else. I’m just picking up a couple hits and minimizing the 0-for-4 games.”
Brinkley’s maturity has impressed his manager Gene Richards, who calls the 23-year-old “a gamer” and said he reminds him of Darin Erstad, the first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, whom he coached as a roving instructor with the club.
“He’s a throwback. He reminds you of an old-time ballplayer who wants to fight if things don’t go right,” Richards said. “He’s my leader. Players tend to listen to their peers and Dante’s not afraid to tell guys what he sees. He criticizes, points them in the right direction.
“He’ll bunt, hit and run, throws his body around out there, will go into the wall. He does a lot of the dirty work that others wouldn’t do.”
Gelman also notes that the Mets’ no. 1 pick from the 2004 draft, Rice’s Phillip Humber (above), allowed 7 earned runs and 8 hits in 3 innings of work against the Yankees’ FSL Tampa affiliate last Wednesday. Compared to fellow ‘04 Big 12 grad Huston Street (seen collecting the win in Oakland’s come from behind victory over Tampa Bay late last night), Humber’s path to the big leagues should be a bit longer.
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05.30.05
Posted in Basketball
at 11:31 pm
ESPN.com’s Chad Ford is reporting that Larry Brown has already accepted the position of Director Of Basketball Operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Given that the league showed no inclination to force the likes of Alonzo Mourning, Glenn Robinson or Jimmy Jackson to live up to their contractual obligations earlier this year, should it surprise anyone that the Head Coach of the defending champs, whom ideally should be solely focused on the task currently at hand in the Eastern Conference Finals, can so easily be tampered with?
(Larry calmly reacts to Darko asking “who gets your parking space?”)
When Jeff Van Gundy questioned the integrity of the league a few weeks ago, he was only skimming the surface of what’s wrong. Detroit players, management and fans alike oughta be pissed. Larry Brown is obviously one of the game’s sharpest minds, and recent reports of serious health problems would certainly explain his reluctance to continue coaching. But it really makes the league and the Pistons look like saps for Brown to be negotiating a new gig with a division rival while Detroit are still fighting for a repeat crown.
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Posted in Baseball
at 7:02 pm
Says Ben Schwartz,
I have no problem with Colin Powell buying into MLB baseball. I wish George W. Bush still was a baseball owner, so let’s hope it starts a trend.
(most of the photos of retired General Powell on Google Image Search are pretty dull, so instead, here’s a gratuitous snapshot of Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Cornette, at least one of whom would make an excellent owner of a baseball club. Lots of good stuff available if you type “Corporal Punishment”, however).
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Posted in Baseball
at 4:48 pm
The Newark Star Ledger’s Don Burke on the oft-replayed moment from the Mets’ 6-3 loss to Florida on Sunday.
Dae-Sung Koo still doesn’t know all that much about baseball here in the United States. But his education is an ongoing process and the Korean reliever learned a very important lesson yesterday.
Grooving a 3-0 fastball to Carlos Delgado is a mistake in any language.
Brought in specifically to face the Florida Marlins first baseman, Koo threw one right down Main Street and Delgado nearly hit it all the way to South Beach. His three-run homer in the seventh inning erased a one-run Mets lead and helped the Marlins avert the sweep with a 6-3 victory.
“I didn’t expect him to swing at it,” the reliever said. “Most of the batters in Korea and Japan don’t swing.”
Of course, Koo isn’t in the Far East anymore. And, as he found out the hard way that when major-league hitters see a fastball that’s just begging to be hit, they usually oblige.
“That was about as grooved as you can groove one,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said.
“I’m employee No. 25,” Delgado said when asked if he knew he had the green light. “I follow orders.”
(Delgado, center, congratulates reliever Todd Jones, left, on a) staying straight, b) not engaging in sex outside of marriage and c) earning his 8th save, not necessarily in that order).
In Koo’s defense, even the screamers doing the game for Fox Sports Miami were predicting that Delgado would take the 3-0 pitch (presumably neither of those guys should be relieving for the Mets, either). I’m not sure if Mike Difelice has learned how to say ‘don’t throw one right down the middle to Carlos Delgado” in multiple languages, but had Koo walked the bases full, we’d probably be hearing about it today as well.
The Bergen Record’s Steve Popper submits that the Mets are haunted by Delgado’s decision to spurn New York’s offer and instead sign with the Marlins, while the Times’ Charlie Nobles wonders along with the rest of us when Carlos Beltran will return to the starting lineup. (Maybe tuesday, maybe not.) Meanwhile, Newsday’s Jon Heyman is puzzled as to how Kaz Matsui managed to talk his way into yesterday’s game.
When Mets writers were looking for Jerry Manuel in an apparent attempt to uncover the story of how a man without a pulse might be hired to manage again (just a joke; the low-key Manuel would make a better hire than the no-key Art Howe), Manuel got a colorful heads-up from a Mets reliever who didn’t like their early reviews.
“Hey,” Roberto Hernandez yelled, “the rats are looking for you.”
Hernandez either has the idea that “rats” and “reporters” are synonymous or tried to reassert the clubhouse caste system, which still places reporters several pegs below relievers, even mediocre ones.
Anyway, we “rats” have to hand it to Hernandez. He still throws cheese (sorry, couldn’t resist), as does Bell, a nice surprise, and all their mates aren’t yet forming the disaster area everyone figured.
The Mets returned home relieved after the trip’s 0-3 start, and one thing to cheer is not playing the Braves in the next 37 games. You can say great things about the new, improved Mets, but everyone knows who’s the daddy in that relationship.
The Mets still turn to goo against Atlanta, responsible for the ugly part of this 3-4 trip. About Atlanta, Cliff Floyd conceded: “I think we’re thinking about it, and I think they know we’re thinking about it. It’s not that we’re waiting for something to happen. But when it does, we say, ‘Oh, –, here we go.’”
Funny, that was my very reaction to Matsui being back in the lineup after an eight-day hiatus. Matsui replaced Miguel Cairo, who had three hits, three runs and two steals in Saturday night’s victory (a good month for Matsui), after finally telling Randolph he was good to go.
Previously, Randolph said Matsui had described a less-than-perfect health situation. But once Matsui finally understood that Randolph wouldn’t play him until Matsui assured him he was perfectly fine, Randolph penciled Matsui back into the lineup.
Matsui and Randolph may understand each other now, but the game still confounds Matsui. When he failed to catch Matt Treanor’s pop-up, it was such a sophomoric miscue that Randolph wrongly figured it must’ve been part of some ingenious strategy to swap Treanor for the faster Alex Gonzalez, whom Matsui forced at second.
“I think he let it drop to change the runners,” Randolph guessed. Not in this lifetime. “I completely lost it in the sun,” Matsui said.
In any language, or in any culture, Matsui continues to play like garbage.
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Posted in Baseball
at 4:25 pm
A day after winning their first away series of the season, Houston returned to Minute Maid Park with Roger Clemens on the hill, and true to form, provided no run support whatsoever for the 7 time Cy Young Award Winner, succumbing to the lowly Reds, 9-0. Clemens (7 K’s, 2 earned runs, 4 hits over 7 IP) saw a 2-0 deficit turned into a 9 run margin as John Franco and Russ Springer combined to face 8 batters and retire just one. Captain Fucko saw his ERA rise to 7.36 ; Springer , 8.62.
Cincy’s Aaron Harang (4-1) struck out 10 in 7 scoreless innings.
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Posted in Baseball
at 2:35 pm
This jet-lagged correspondent caught Kendry Morales homering in his U.S. pro debut for Rancho Cucamonga last weekend, and the LA Daily News’ Joe Haakenson reports that the young slugger has yet to cool off.
Kendry Morales is making a good first impression on the Angels’ organization. Going into Sunday’s game, Morales was hitting .343 with two homers, seven RBI and a .571 slugging percentage in eight games at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. He struck out only four times in 35 at-bats.
How soon the 21-year-old Cuban defector rises through the ranks of the organization remains to be seen.
“It’s a daily evaluation of him,” said Tony Reagins, the Angels’ director of player development. “The coaching staff, the rovers, the front-office staff will see him as much as possible to see when is the right time to move him. Right now, there’s no timetable.”
Reagins would not rule out Morales reaching the big leagues this season.
“Anything could happen in this game,” he said. “If he shows progress that warrants him being here, he’ll be here. But to say it’ll be next month, or in two months, I don’t know if that’s fair to say.”
Morales (above) has been playing first base for the Quakes, but he also can play third base and the outfield. His biggest adjustment has been off the field.
“He does things fluidly and has power to all fields,” Reagins said. “But he’s still getting acclimated to the States. The language barrier is something he has to get comfortable with. He speaks almost no English. It’s just a different environment for him.”
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Posted in Football
at 12:36 pm
Courtesy of former Brighton/Spurs striker Bobby Zamora’s 57th minute goal, West Ham United are back in England’s top flight after a two season exile, beating Preston North End 1-0 earlier today in Cardiff.
Rumors that Michael Jackson will commemorate the event by rush releasing a single of “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” are not only untrue, but the joke is older than dirt, too.
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Posted in Baseball
at 11:30 am
In Sunday’s Newsday, Ken Davidoff writes that Japanese baseball officials aren’t yet sold on the idea of MLB’s World Baseball Classic.
The NPB’s concerns are: 1) Money, of course. The Japanese professional teams think Major League Baseball wants too big a piece of the pie, believed to be 35 percent. A person sympathetic to MLB countered that the 10 Japanese teams would make more, per team, than the 30 MLB clubs, and that MLB, assuming far more risk, should get far more in return.
2) Timing. The Japanese team would begin practice in the second week of February, and if it did well, it could be together until the March 20 final. That would devastate NPB’s spring training, which it regards more seriously than MLB does its own. The Japanese clubs place a premium on team harmony.
3) Personalities. Key Japanese officials simply don’t seem to care for either Selig or Archey. And the wide cultural void as to what constitutes a negotiation has caused further tension. The Japanese generally don’t enjoy the “give and take” of an American-style negotiation. Ideally, a mutually acceptable solution is found at the beginning, and that hasn’t happened.
Of course, Japan could look petty, and perhaps even cowardly, if it declined to play. So the NPB would have to pin the blame on MLB.
With Japan around or not, we just don’t see how this whole idea – brilliant in theory – plays out. If you’re Selig ally Fred Wilpon, for example, how do you explain to your ticket-holders that you’re pushing Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran to exert themselves physically for contests that have nothing to do with the Mets’ playoff run? If you’re Randy Johnson and you’re racing the clock to reach 300 career victories, do you really want to make a “withdrawal” from your finite pitch account to help win an exhibition game?
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Posted in Boxing
at 11:00 am
From the NY Times’ Ben Sisario.
In Tuesday’s season finale of “The Contender,” NBC’s boxing reality show, Sergio Mora defeated Peter Manfredo Jr. in seven rounds, winning $1 million. But viewers were treated to a pummeling of their own during the blow-by-blow commentary, as Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard repeatedly called for a sequel.
“I know the fight’s not even over yet,” Mr. Stallone said roughly 15 minutes into the bout, “but I gotta start thinking about a rematch.”
“I think it’s natural, Sly,” Mr. Leonard replied. “Rematch is natural.”
Given the show’s absence from NBC’s recent presentations of its fall lineup, were their calls for a rematch a coded appeal to television executives to give the show a second chance? Mark Burnett, who created “The Contender,” insists they were not.
“It was just natural exuberance from Sly and Ray – the fight was so close,” he said in a telephone interview late last week, adding that he expected to announce another fight this week and that a rematch of the two fighters is a strong possibility. “You’ve got to remember,” he said, “we don’t consider ‘The Contender’ to be in the reality TV business. We’re in the boxing business. Our business plan all along was to continue along with these fighters.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 12:23 am
ESPN’s Buster Olney on Brian Sabean and the Giants GM’s complaints about recent media scrutiny of Barry Bonds.
On Friday, he told reporters that the coverage of Bonds has been “absurd” and “National Enquirer-type” over the past few months, taking aim specifically at MLB.com and ESPN. “I understand why, but the frustrating thing is there’s a season going on and other storylines,” said Sabean. “It’s reached an all-time low — it’s not journalism in any form. We’re all having to respond to non-stories and non-issues that are fabricated, contrived, you can paint whatever picture you want … The absurdity is that all this attention is being paid to someone not in uniform.”
Too bad. Because now we know Brian Sabean could never be a good news editor. See, you have to have some degree of toughness to do that job.
If Sabean was tougher, he wouldn’t whine about the messengers. He’d take his beef about specific stories right to the source of some of the information: Barry Bonds. The reason why MLB.com, in particular, has had some Bonds stories is that Barry Bonds trusts the reporter, Barry Bloom. If Sabean has a problem with some of the information going through MLB.com, he could simply confront Bonds. The guess here is that he won’t be doing that any time soon.
If Sabean was tough, he wouldn’t go after Bloom, a reporter who is just doing his job; Sabean would go after the guy who ultimately oversees the company for which Bloom works. Sabean might’ve heard of him: His name is Bud Selig. The guess here is that Sabean won’t be doing that any time soon.
I attended the winter meeting when ESPN discussed the idea of assigning a reporter to Bonds daily this season. There was no discussion of knee infections or IV bags or crutches at the time. It was all about chronicling Bonds’ pursuit of Aaron’s record. The estimate was that he would probably break the record in May of 2006. We talked about interviewing peers, rivals, and retired players about Bonds. And we talked about steroids, of course; that’s now a part of the story that will follow Bonds right into history.
Since then, the story has taken a right-hand turn. The story didn’t end; it veered. Pedro Gomez continues to report, aggressively. And because the Giants haven’t had control of Bonds’ regimen — for years, actually — it’s gotten inconvenient for Sabean and other club executives. That’s why he is attacking the messenger and has become a news editor.
Maybe they didn’t teach Sabean the meaning of the word ‘fabrication’ in the ombudsman classes he apparently took: To concoct, in order to deceive.
That’s a pretty strong accusation, and it’s absurd. He is suggesting that Gomez is simply generating stories with his imagination, based on no factual information. That would be like saying that Sabean’s failure to sufficiently stock the Giants’ bullpen last year was because of some secret desire for the Dodgers’ to win. Ridiculous, and irresponsible, and he should know better. Sabean’s claim that stories have been fabricated is a fabrication, in itself.
The guess here is that Bonds will be back, reporters will once again flock to Giants’ games, ticket sales will increase — Ka-Ching — and Sabean won’t complain about the buzz swirling around his team.
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05.29.05
Posted in Baseball
at 9:58 pm
from Jon Heyman in Sunday’s Newsday :
Omar Minaya and his execs have seen St. John’s reliever Craig Hansen (above) so much, you’d think it’s a done deal at No. 9. But some insiders suspect the Mets are watching the local product (Glen Cove) partly for positive press and might take Florida prep outfielder Andrew McCutchen, 6-7 Wichita State righthander Mike Pelfrey or University of Miami third baseman Ryan Braun instead. USC catcher Jeff Clement is moving up but might go to Milwaukee (fifth) or Toronto (sixth).
One scout is convinced the Mets will take Pelfrey (above) after Minaya saw him in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. “The Tigers [picking 10th] are absolutely sick. He was throwing 95, 96 all game,” the scout said.
Mets VP of player development and scouting Gary LaRocque’s draft power has been diminished. The problem isn’t first-rounders (burgeoning star David Wright offsets all the misses) but rounds two and down, which have produced little.
The night after the Red Sox punished Yankee pitching to the tune of 17 runs and 27 hits, it was crucial that the Pinstripes received a solid outing from Mike Mussina (above). It figures then, that Moose exited after just 3 innings and 3 home runs allowed, two of ‘em on bombs by David Ortiz, another by the suddenly resurgent Edgar Renteria. After serving up a pair of first inning HR’s to Derek Jeter and Gary Sheffield respectively, David Wells, seems to have settled down, though no 4 run lead is safe with the 2005 version of the Sultan Of Sloth on the mound.
With both teams’ starting pitching woes, I’d call the Red Sox and Yankees the AL’s premier softball sides, though such a dubious honor do a disservice to this year’s Rangers…and Texas have some serious pitching, with the oft-maligned Chan Ho Park (above) finally contributing.
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Posted in Baseball
at 4:12 pm
As the D-Backs and Padres continue to put distance between themselves and the rest of the NL West, the trailing clubs keep finding new ways to lose. Rather than recap the bizarro last few innings of last nights Arizona/LA game, I’ll let Dodger Thoughts’ Jon Weisman do it for you.
(Javier Vazquez, remained in the game for offense)
The Dodgers have staked Jeff Weaver to a 3-0 lead early in today’s contest in Phoenix. Weaver is looking more and more like Jeff Jarrett gone hackey-sac, and I apologize in advance if Michael Corcoran already made that observation in one of his columns. If you’re a Mets fan not quite sickened enough by today’s defeat at the hands of Carlos Delgado and the Marlins, you’ll note that Jason Phillips’s batting average is nearly 30 points higher than that of Mike Piazza, their slugging and on base percentages are pretty close…and the former is earning about $15 million less than the latter.
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Posted in Hockey
at 3:48 pm
(David Puddy contemplates washing his face)
From the Associated Press (thanks to Jon Solomon for the tip) :
What chance do the New Jersey Devils give a proposal that would give the NHL team a less demonic name?
Think hell freezing over.
“I can assure you the Devils name will never change, and I think there are more important things to be thinking about than something that will never happen,” chief executive officer Lou Lamoriello said. “It’s who we are and what we want to be.”
State Assemblyman Craig Stanley is taking issue with a satanic symbol representing the team, which has won three Stanley Cup championships.
“This is an age where symbolism is very important,” said Stanley, a Baptist deacon whose resolution to rename the team is to be introduced in the Assembly next month. A new name would be chosen in a statewide competition.
Stanley’s legislative district includes parts of Newark, where the Devils are scheduled to move into a $310 million, 18,000-seat downtown arena in September 2007, from the Meadowlands sports complex in East Rutherford.
“I’ve always cringed when people say they’re going to see the Devils,” Stanley said. “The merchandise, the paraphernalia is based on the actual demonic devil. Personally, it causes a little bit of an issue with me.”
For more reminders of the days when top-flight professional hockey was played in North America, Newsday’s Pat Calabria commemorates the 25th anniversary of the New York Islanders’ first Stanley Cup victory. Coming in September, an article marking the two year anniversary of the last time the chant “Potvin Sucks” was heard in public.
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Posted in Baseball
at 12:33 pm
Kaz Ishii’s first win in 8 months, Mike Piazza’s first RBI’s in 60 at bats, and all of a sudden the same Mets that looked so overmatched against the Braves earlier in the week have won 3 straight and are just 2 games out of first place.
Glowering Tom Glavine is facing the hot tempered Josh Beckett this afternoon, with Mike DeFelice getting the start catching for the former. I look forward to a crazed controversy over whether or not Glavine has a personal battery-mate.
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Posted in Sports Journalism
at 11:15 am
Phil Mushnick in today’s NY Post :
An NBA playoffs lookalike worth reprising: Steve Nash and actor Jackie Earle Haley, who played Kelly Leak in “The Bad News Bears.”
Hoo ha. Maybe Phil might wanna check out a rarely watched program called “Pardon The Interuption” on the obscure ESPN cable network. If he does so, Mushnick will find no shortage of gags that have been repeated over and over again.
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05.28.05
Posted in Cinema, Rock Und Roll
at 11:58 pm
One band is despicable, the other merely loathesome. Can an entertaining, evocative documentary be made about bands that are monumentally untalented? Perhaps. But Ondi Timoner’s”Dig” is far more interesting if you’ve never previously encountered someone who is totally attention starved.
(Gallant, Goofus in happier days)
One of the doc’s slower thinkers describes the Brian Jonestown Massacre as “the Velvet Underground of the ’90’s”. Well, yeah, they wear sunglasses really often.
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Posted in Vroom Vroom
at 11:36 pm
From the Associated Press :
Robby Gordon accused Danica Patrick of having an unfair advantage in the Indianapolis 500 and said Saturday he will not compete in the race again unless the field is equalized.
Gordon, a former open-wheel driver now in NASCAR, contends that Patrick (above) is at an advantage over the rest of the competitors because she only weighs 100 pounds. Because all the cars weigh the same, Patrick’s is lighter on the race track.
“The lighter the car, the faster it goes,” Gordon said. “Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or Tony Stewart in the car at 200 pounds and our car is at least 100 pounds heavier.
So if you wanna compete against her, lose a hundred pounds, how hard could it be? Ephedra’s legal again, stomach stapling is cheaper than it used to be. Maybe Gordon would like to petition the Jockey Club to have something done about the blatant discrimination in thoroughbred racing — good luck if you weigh 200 pounds.
Permalink
Posted in Basketball, Sports TV
at 5:24 pm
From the Associated Press :
A woman who claims she had an affair with former NBA star and Fox Sports Net sportscaster John Salley filed a lawsuit Friday alleging Salley mentally and physically abused her during the relationship.
The suit, filed in Superior Court, alleges that the co-host of “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” (above)met Laura Azevedo at Magic Johnson’s “A Midsummer Night’s Magic” charity event in 2002. The two began dating the following December after Salley told Azevedo he was going to divorce his wife, according to court papers.
Azevedo alleges that Salley became increasingly jealous and abusive during their affair, until at one point he “began violently pulling and twisting” her left leg. The suit says that Salley paid for Azevedo to undergo an MRI, which revealed a torn knee ligament that required surgery.
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Posted in Basketball, Sports TV
at 5:19 pm
While the Cleveland Plain-Dealer claims that Pacers assistant Mike Brown is likely to be named the new head coach of the Cavaliers, the paper’s Roger Brown reports on a veteran with championship experience, seemingly desperate to hang on in any capacity.
Former Cavs reserve Scott Williams might be angling for a job as a team broadcaster, but word is he’ll need major repair work if he hopes to replace Mark Price as the Cavs’ cable analyst next season.
The soon-to-retire Williams, who played in just 19 games with the Cavs last season (and none after being put on the injury list in February), has been reportedly lobbying for a job as a team broadcaster. That role is available with Price’s decision not to return as FSN Ohio’s Cavs analyst.
However, Cavs management apparently remains miffed at how Williams asked to leave the team as last season wound down and the club choked away a once-sure playoff spot.
Sources whisper that Williams has been working to soothe the Cavs’ bruised feelings. They suggest that it wasn’t by accident that during a recent appearance as a NBA TV analyst, Williams effusively praised Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and strongly defended Gilbert against criticism that he meddles too much.
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Posted in Baseball
at 2:42 pm
San Francisco have traded Jerome Williams and David Aardasma to Chicago in exchange for reliever LaTroy Hawkins.
At Wrigley earlier today, Derrek Lee (above) continued to do most of the heavy lifting for the Cubs, his 2 HR’s (both of ‘em off Byung-Hyun Kim) leading Chicago to a 5-1 victory over the Rockies.
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Posted in Baseball
at 12:13 pm
From the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Capozzi.
Still wearing his Marlins uniform, pinch-hitter Lenny Harris stormed into the Mets’ clubhouse after Thursday’s game to complain to manager Willie Randolph about being taunted by pitcher Pedro Martinez and coach Sandy Alomar.
Opposing players rarely enter another team’s clubhouse, but Harris, a former Met, was incensed that Martinez and Alomar yelled “Watch for the bunt!” as Harris batted in the seventh inning.
“They’re screaming out of the dugout, I’m thinking I’m still back in high school. I thought it was hogwash,” Harris said before Friday’s game.
The incident actually started on April 21, when Harris bunted for a single against Martinez in a 10-1 Marlins loss at Dolphins Stadium. That day, both players could be seen laughing at each other on the field after Harris reached base.
“I thought that was the end of it,” Harris said. “But they’re screaming, ‘Watch out for the bunt! Watch out for the bunt!’ and I’m thinking, ‘It was really bothering them.’ I told Willie I didn’t think they’d take it that seriously.”
Harris was so distracted that he stepped out of the batter’s box and yelled back, “Are you done?” before striking out.
“There’s a time to play, but when the game starts it’s serious business. You know a fan is going to heckle you — I don’t mind if it’s a fan — but if its a ballplayer, then I want to find out what’s the problem. It kept going on. I thought they took it too far.
Randolph dismissed the situation. “Just chit chat,” he said.
This is genuinely shocking stuff. Who knew Lenny Harris was still playing?
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Posted in The World Of Entertainment
at 11:59 am
Actor Eddie Albert, best known for playing the part of lawyer-turned-farmer Oliver Douglas in CBS’ “Green Acres”, has passed away at the age of 99.
Arnold Ziffel was unavailable for comment.
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Posted in Baseball
at 11:35 am
I can’t vouch for the accuracy of Randy Johnson’s recent quote that he was brought to New York to give the Yankees a chance to win in every game, but I’m surely not alone in thinking the Unit’s new employers had slightly higher expectations. Though the Yankees won last night, Johnson continued to struggle and were it not for the Village People reject coaching 3rd for Boston, his line for the evening would’ve been far worse. From the New York Times’ Selena Roberts.
With his fabled status as the Big Unit downgraded to the Big Mediocre, Johnson didn’t exactly bully the Red Sox. He gave up 9 hits and 3 earned runs – a number that could have easily doubled in the sixth.
Johnson was dizzied from absorbing five consecutive sharp hits – including a double – but was freed from the wrath of the Stadium crowd when Boston’s third-base coach, Dale Sveum, mindlessly waved two runners in a row to their doom at home.
Sveum (above), as much as anyone, spared Johnson from an even deeper position as the Yankees’ old man out.
“He struggled,” Manager Joe Torre said. “He had good stuff, but he had to work hard every inning.”
Out of character, and perhaps out of self-preservation, Johnson was more upbeat than Torre about his effort because of one powerful thought: His velocity was back.
“I was pleased considering my velocity was up 4 or 5″ miles an hour, Johnson said.
If nothing else, this feel-good version of Johnson is a good step in Yankee relations. For weeks, he has moaned about not getting enough work in spring training and whined about receiving an extra day of rest.
At 41, you would think he’d be pleased with more naptime. After receiving a three-year Yankee investment of $57 million – including a contract extension and payment to the Diamondbacks to complete the deal – you’d think Johnson wouldn’t fuss so much about his new employers.
With such petulance without production, Johnson has squandered some of the awe his teammates showed him upon his arrival as the Yankees’ answer to the magic that Curt Schilling worked for the Red Sox last year.
It is one thing to be a surly superstar with a 2.40 earned run average, but it is another to be a clubhouse annoyance with performances that fail to inspire tolerance. This may not matter on the verge of June, but a continuation of Johnson’s act could dog the Yankees if they have to pursue the Orioles into August.
The Yankees can’t afford a malcontent, a misfit ace. The issue has already surfaced on the field. In one unforgettable sequence at Shea Stadium last weekend, Johnson’s frustration distracted him after he gave up an unthinkable double to reliever Dae Sung Koo.
A play later, Johnson failed to cover home plate after catcher Jorge Posada had thrown to first on a bunt, allowing Koo to sneak around third and score with the plate unattended until it was too late.
Normally, such a mistake might go without assigned blame, but Posada quickly pointed out Johnson’s blunder, one hint of possible friction between the two. It has not been easy for Posada to decode the confusing grumbles and groans of Johnson.
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Posted in Blogged Down
at 11:00 pm
If you’re one of those terminal sad sacks that had no friends while growing up, take solace in the knowledge that you never had a friend like this.
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Posted in Baseball
at 7:28 pm
An incident just occured that challenges everything all laws of time and space.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Piazza just gunned down Juan Pierre trying to steal 2nd.
And Pierre didn’t even fall down on the way.
(UPDATE : 8 IP, 5 hits, no walks, 10 K’s, 111 pitches thrown by the otherworldly Pedro Martinez, who ran his record to 5-1 with the Mets’ 1-0 win. Save for back to back doubles allowed to Mike Cameron and Cliff Floyd, the Fish’s Brian Moehler was almost as sharp.)
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Posted in Baseball
at 7:22 pm
Dodgers 3B/SS Norihiro Nakamura had a ghastly first month in the big leagues ; just two doubles, three singles in 39 plate appearances (.128 BA, .171 OBP, .179 SLG). However, since his demotion to Triple A Las Vegas, Nakamura has feasted on Pacific Coast League pitching, hitting 8 HR’s in 15 games (.364 BA, 17 RBI’s, 14 runs) and was a particularly deadly on Round Rock pitching during Vegas’ sweep of the Express earlier this week.
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:31 pm
From Bob Raissman in Friday’s NY Daily News.
Maybe the Mets get on their feet again in Florida. However, if this downward spiral continues, Willie Randolph is going to feel the kind of heat he never, ever, experienced as a Yankee. He won’t have the protection of propaganda organs like Al Yankzeera, or Radio Al Yank, and the variety of on-air shills who are paid by George Steinbrenner.
There will be an endless procession of Mets fans calling WFAN. They will be screaming long and loud, looking – once again – for someone to blame everything on. They will start mocking Randolph’s “we played with energy” or “the kids are having fun” post-loss lines the same way they mocked Art Howe’s “we’re battling” mantra.
Randolph is already showing sensitivity to WFAN callers. On Wednesday, Randolph, during an audience with beat scribes, overreacted to FAN buzz about him resting certain players too much. He also countered Fran Healy’s MSG comments about Cliff Floyd’s slumping having something to do with the way Randolph uses him.
“Don’t you make the grand leap that Willie is beginning a meltdown,” a well-embedded Mets mole said. “This isn’t what those (Floyd) comments are about.”
Whatever. If the Mets eventually descend deeper into the ring of fire, it will take on a familar feeling for Sheaites used to being burned. It will also spell more than the usual sense of doom for Fred (Skill Sets) Wilpon & Co.
See, unlike any other recent season, there are heavier financial ramifications if the Mets move in with the Tidy Bowl Man.
With the quick-to-judge NY fans in mind, perhaps it would be a good idea for one of the Mets (perhaps Eric Valent?) to come forward and announce he’s been in therapy for the past few years.
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Posted in Baseball
at 3:42 pm
Incredibly, Dusty Baker has lost another pitcher and there were no laptops or chairs involved.
(UPDATE : An MRI has revealed that Prior’s elbow has suffered a slight fracture. Nothing a good soak in Dusty’s holy water can’t fix. Well, that and a few weeks on the DL).
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Posted in Basketball
at 12:58 pm
Larry Brown has denied speaking with Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert. Memphis GM Jerry West has let the Quicken Loans magnate know that he’s uninterested in taking over the Cavaliers’ basketball operations.
With each passing day, it becomes more apparent there’s only one man with the basketball acumen, with the raw ambition to take the job. The only question is, does Gilbert have M.L. Carr’s phone number?
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Posted in Baseball
at 11:41 am
Funny, when Barry Bonds started breathing down Babe Ruth’s neck, speculation over the former’s use of illegal substances ran rampant. But as Craig Biggio’s assault on Don Baylor’s HBP mark continues, media and fans alike turn a blind eye. More on the subject (sort of) from the Tacoma Tribune’s Larry Larue.
Four-and-a-half hours before the game Wednesday, Don Baylor was walking across the field at Camden Yards, headed to the batting cages beneath the stands, when a stadium tour guide spotted him.
“That’s Don Baylor, who started his career as a Baltimore Oriole and set the major league record for being hit by a pitch 267 times,” the guide told a gaggle of fans.
Baylor laughed.
“They won’t be able to say that much longer,” he said. “Craig Biggio is getting close.”
Houston’s second baseman began the night fewer than 10 behind Baylor’s big-league record – a mark no one in their right mind would set out to establish. For one thing, it’s a record that hurts.
“I could have been hit another 100 times if I hadn’t gotten out of the way,” said Baylor, the Seattle Mariners’ batting coach. “I didn’t go up there to get hit. I went up and crowded the plate to take away the outside strike and make pitchers come in to me. It evolved into part of my game. Hit me, I’ll steal a base on you.”
Jim Bibby hit Baylor in the head in Class AAA, and it changed the way Baylor approached the game.
“I decided no matter where I got hit, I’d never come out of a game,” he said. “My first year in the majors, Nolan Ryan hit me on the wrist and the Baltimore trainer came out and sprayed that stuff on that was supposed to numb it.
“I told him that day, no matter where I’m hit from now on, don’t come out. I told all my trainers that. I didn’t want a pitcher thinking he could hurt me.”
Baylor set the record in a 19-year career in which he drove in more than 1,200 runs and usually batted in the heart of the lineup. His toughness was unquestioned, and when asked about Biggio breaking the record, Baylor mentioned it.
“Biggio and a lot of guys today wear elbow pads, all kinds of protection,” Baylor said. “I never wore a thing. You wear gear, you hang out over the plate, the pitcher can come inside and hit you and you don’t feel a thing. The game has changed.
“One year in Texas, I hit an outside-corner slider from Ferguson Jenkins and pulled it down the line for a double. My next at-bat, he threw a fastball at my chin. It was his way of saying, ‘You can’t have both sides of the plate on me.’ ”
Surprisingly, Baylor rarely was hit in the head.
“Look at him,” ex-teammate Bruce Kison once said. “You want that charging the mound?”
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Posted in Basketball
at 11:27 am
In addition to speculating about Nate McMillan’s future (ie. he’s not coming to New York), the New York Post’s Peter Vescey drops the following gems on your breakfast table.
The oversized chair Michael Jordan used to watch game films while with the Bulls is up for online auction, according to a Florida newspaper. The custom-made chair has a minimum bid of $200,000.
In an unrelated development, Bruce Ratner is offering twice that if anyone can produce any chair that Byron Scott thought about sitting in while ignoring Nets’ game film.
Georgia’s runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, has been indicted for filing false statements and false police reports. She faces up to six years in the pokey, or, if the judge really wants to stick it to her, six Hawks home games.
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Posted in Baseball
at 11:21 am
The Toronto Star’s Allan Ryan on the perils of sliding head-first.
Let’s call this one “diving” for the cycle — not to mention the disabled list.
Run the video:
The Padres’ Mark Loretta messes up his left thumb (the one he had reconstructive surgery on in 2001) diving into first base and will be lost eight to 10 weeks.
The Jays’ Corey Koskie celebrates his Minnesota homecoming by breaking his right thumb when he tags and tries to go first to second on a fly to centre. Out six to eight weeks.
The Indians’ Coco (Puff) Crisp tears ligaments in his thumb when he jams it oversliding the bag at third. Gone for maybe 12.
And the Angels’ Vlad Guerrero partially separates a shoulder diving across the plate when he tries to score from first on a double (in a 9-0 win). The two-week minimum, it’s hoped.
Common to this recent lot of misfortune: Headfirst slides.
Will they ever learn? Answer, instinct being what it is: No. You do, in that split-second, what you think you have to do.
HEAD TRIP: Given this risk of injury, you’ll never come across a manager who professes to loving nothing better than a good headfirst slide.
And while some players (Robby Alomar comes to mind) have argued that headfirst is faster, fact is, once you leave your feet, you’re slowing down.
Or as Twins manager Ron Gardenhire once explained to his troops: “You don’t see greyhounds diving across the finish line.”
Padre manager Bruce Bochy, who’ll occasionally put a dollar or two on the pooches, smiled when he heard that.
“I’ve seen ‘em take a dive — with my money on ‘em,” he said.
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Posted in Baseball
at 3:43 am
While discussing Mike Piazza’s struggles (0 RBI’s in his last 13 games heading into last night’s action), Larry Bowa echoed CSTB’s recent advice to move David Wright lower in the batting order (Mr. Veiny Brainy says hitting cleanup), with Mike Cameron 2nd, Cliff Floyd 5th, Piazza sixth and Matsui 8th, respectively. Much like everything Bowa says on TV or radio now that he’s not wearing a uniform, it makes plenty of sense.
Given Jose Reyes’ ability to hit balls into the gap (another 2 triples in last night’s 12-4 win over the Marlins) there’s been some talk of moving the young SS to 2nd and having the unconscious Mike Cameron (3 for 5 Thursday, currently hitting .370) bat leadoff. Based on recent results (and Reyes inability to draw a walk), there’s some talk of Cameron hitting first, but under normal circumstances he’s more of a strikeout machine than Reyes.
Maybe you’re not a big Mike Piazza fan. And even if you’re not a huge fan of Savatage, there’s something profoundly depressing about the New York catcher’s interview with Jon Heyman in today’s Newsday.
Piazza has moments when he still looks like a star; he appeared on the verge of a breakthrough just before the Subway Series. But he also has days when he looks every bit his 36 years, eight months.
While there are times Piazza still looks as if he can become a force again, there are days when he looks even worse than his numbers indicate. One Yankee who’s known Piazza for years could hardly believe the way Piazza played last weekend. “Did you see Piazza?” the Yankee said. “He can barely move.”
If Piazza looked off his game in the Subway Series, things worsened in Atlanta, where he went 0-for-9 with six strikeouts to drop his average to .237, 78 points below his lifetime average.
“It’s frustrating. But I’m not going to surrender to it,” Piazza said. “I’ll just do the best I can. I feel like there are times I can do it again and there are times where I’m not swinging well at all … It’s a roller coaster so far.”
He said he isn’t sure whether he’ll play another season. Even if he won’t address it publicly, that question can’t ever be too far from his mind.
At one point, he said, “I don’t feel like I’m over the hill.” But he said it in such a way that he is wondering about it.
The rapid decline of catchers is something Piazza knows about. “It’s just obvious,” Piazza said. “When you catch 1,400 games, that’s a lot of games.”
Piazza’s throwing, never a strength, has slipped further. He’s thrown out only four of 45 would-be base-stealers. While it’s not all his fault (he’s been hindered by mix-ups by the Mets’ young infield), even correctly called pitchouts haven’t helped, and players who rarely steal, such as Hideki Matsui, are taking advantage. Many of Piazza’s throws are fielded on a bounce.
“I wish I could play better. I wish I could throw better,” Piazza said.
One Mets person said he wouldn’t mind seeing Piazza work a little overtime. However, Piazza said he’s far too exhausted for that. He’s started 38 of 47 games behind the plate, and to him it seems like 47 of 47.
“Physically, I feel like I’m getting everything out of my body right now,” Piazza said.
(after getting smacked around by the Blue Jays, Wade Miller wonders if he’s supposed to look for the “volume” knob or the “intensity” switch)
Back to Larry for a moment. After the Red Sox lost to Toronto tonight, 8-1, Bowa said Boston needs to “turn up the intensity volume” heading into their weekend series against the Yankees. I have no idea what that means, but it sounds great.
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05.26.05
Posted in Baseball
at 8:47 pm
(Kenny Rogers interrupts photojournalism in action)
..but Ryan Drese vs. Rod Brajas was one of the better teammate vs. teammate battles that didn’t involve Kwame Brown.
Tonight’s Mets/Marlins tilt got a late start due a 90 minute rain delay. Someone oughta let the FSN Florida guys know that while “Seinfeld”, did indeed “have many good baseball lines”, it wasn’t the character of George Costanza that professed to “despise Keith Hernandez”.
(Mets security lets down the side again, as a bemused Pedro Martinez contends with a crazed stalker last weekend at Shea)
There also seems to be a daschund running loose in the stands at the former Joe Robie Stadium. Much as I’d like to credit Jeffrey Loria’s minions for their enlightened treatment of canine fans, I suspect this was just a desperate attempt to prop up the numbers.
(UPDATE : As it turns out, there are hundreds of dogs watching the Marlins and Mets tonight, but lest you think this a harmless way for Florida to fill up the empty seats, be advised that the dogs are being charged $6 each. Supposedly, the money is going to pooch-related charities, but I still suspect that Loria has a hidden motive for this. When the Fish finally pack up for Las Vegas, they’ll claim their previous home was covered in dogshit.).
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Posted in The World Of Entertainment
at 5:48 pm
From Reuters :
LONDON, — The Spice Girls are being courted to perform together for the first time since singer Geri Halliwell walked out in 1998, charity concert organizers said on Thursday.
Charity Band Aid said it hoped the chart-topping quintet would appear at a new Live Aid concert, aiming to repeat the success of the 1985 event which raised over $100 million for African famine relief.
“We are in discussions with the Spice Girls to perform at Live Aid II if it happens,” a Band Aid spokesman said.
Other headlining groups the charity hopes will appear include Britpop band Oasis and Irish stadium rockers U2.
“We are talking to every act that ever picked up a guitar or sang into a microphone,” the spokesman said.
The above statement is an unfortunate bit of hyperbole, but if the organizers can get the warring factions behind the original Spandau Ballet back on the same stage, well, it just makes the sniper’s task that much easier.
(Throbbing Gristle : are their phones ringing off the hook, or what?)
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:23 pm
Time to eat crow ; I’ve already said that Hideo Nomo didn’t have enough left in the tank to hold down a spot in lowly Tampa Bay’s rotation. If only he could face Oakland every time out. Save for a solo shot courtesy of ex-Met Marco Scutaro, Nomo was flawless today, striking out 7 in the Devil Rays’ 2-1 win.
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Posted in The World Of Entertainment
at 3:30 pm
From the Associated Press (thanks to Craig Stewart for the link) :
NEW YORK — Burt Reynolds slapped a television producer in the face while a camera was rolling at a movie premiere after the man acknowledged he hadn’t seen Reynolds’ latest film.
The producer was asking Reynolds about his new movie “The Longest Yard” outside the premiere Tuesday night when the actor appeared to become annoyed.
“You don’t know anything about the movie?” Reynolds, 69, asked the producer for CBS News PATH.
The producer acknowledged he hadn’t seen it or the original 1974 version — and then Reynolds smacked him. “What … kind of guy are you?” Reynolds asked.
A spokesman for Reynolds said the actor “playfully tapped (the producer) on the cheek, as if to say, ‘Well, that’s not very nice.’ He was kidding.”
Imagine the destruction that would’ve occured at this event had anyone admitted to Brian Bosworth that they’d not seen any of his old movies, either.
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Posted in Baseball
at 11:53 am
From the Hartford Courant’s David Heuschkel.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona denied the reason closer Keith Foulke did not travel to Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame game Monday was because he was in Alabama having his arm examined.
“That’s inaccurate. It’s wrong,” Francona said. “The rest of it, I’ll let him deal with it how he wants.”
Foulke, who concurred with Francona, didn’t want to deal with it at all. He reluctantly answered questions and acknowledged he was in Alabama, but contradicted the rest of the story from an autograph show promoter.
“I did not see a doctor,” Foulke said. “I went down to get some barbecue and that’s it.”
Told it was a long way to go for barbecue, Foulke – who lives in the Phoenix area -responded, “Have you ever had Alabama barbecue?”
Sources said Foulke paid a visit to the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, a facility founded by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, to improve his mechanics.
Foulke, who canceled an autograph appearance Monday in Cooperstown, was upset the man who set up the session said Foulke couldn’t make it because he went to see a doctor in Birmingham.
Foulke accused Jack Berke of “making stuff up” and said he “worked with him one time, and it will pretty much stay that way.”
“I don’t know why he even opened his mouth to tell anybody,” Foulke said. “Besides me having to cancel an appearance, it doesn’t concern that [expletive] guy one bit. He doesn’t need to be going out telling everybody what my business is. If he has all the answers, call him back up. I just don’t like having my [business] put out there by someone that I’ve met one time.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 11:17 am
As you’ve probably read by now, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez was quoted at length in yesterday’s New York Daily News, touting the benefits of therapy. A quote or two from Sam Borden’s piece stuck out :
Manhattan psychiatrist Wayne Myers, who has treated pro athletes, called Rodriguez’s revelation “courageous.”
“For a name player like A-Rod to come and say that is a great thing,” said Myers. “It gives permission for other players to do the same thing.”
Another Manhattan psychiatrist, Michael Aronoff, said, “Rodriguez is just the kind of person necessary to take the stigma away from seeing a therapist.”
(Cynthia Rodriguez wipes the loony drool from her husband’s face)
Though there oughta be no shame in seeking help, regardless of who you are, I think Dr. Aronoff is a little naive (though his drumming on those John Cougar records was the best thing about them). Were Alex Rodriguez universally admired and respected, perhaps Aronoff would be correct. Standing ovations for A-Rod at Fenway Park or Shea Stadium might still be a while in coming, however.
Permalink
05.25.05
Posted in Baseball
at 11:20 pm
Why can’t Mike Remlinger learn to get hurt the way a real major league pitcher does….by spending too much time online? The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan reports :
When the Cubs upgraded their clubhouse decor before the start of the 2004 season, they added a few lounge chairs and soon informed the media they no longer could walk past the recliners to talk to any players.
The imaginary line that separated the players from the media was nicknamed the “Remlinger line” by some, for Cubs left-hander Mike Remlinger, who allegedly started the ban.
In a bizarre twist of fate, Remlinger said Wednesday he suffered a broken little finger on his left hand from accidentally getting the tip of the finger caught between two chairs. Remlinger was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 21.
Remlinger said he was sitting on one of the recliners Sunday when the freak accident occurred.
“The handles on them are wood,” Remlinger explained. “I just kind of turned quickly and didn’t know the other chair was right there.”
Perhaps mindful of the dangers posed by chairs, the Cincinnati Reds have removed two Sharper Image massage chairs, owned by Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., from the team’s clubhouse. From MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince.
On Tuesday, it wasn’t a matter of “who,” but “what,” as manager Dave Miley had the two Sharper Image massage chairs owned by outfielders Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. removed from the clubhouse.
And with the clubhouse still reeling over the loss of popular closer Danny Graves, who was designated for assignment a day earlier, some players saw this move as somewhat comical.
Dunn had grown quite attached to his chair, which he bought last season. It was a popular tool several players used before pregame stretching.
“I don’t know where they’re hiding it,” Dunn said of his chair. “I need it, though. My back hurts. It’s therapeutic. That’s what they’re there for.”
What followed for Dunn was an equally therapeutic lament over the loss of his beloved chair. The big left fielder looked as though he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Poor little guy,” he said, looking at the spot where the chair once sat. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t complain. He just came to play every day.”
Apparently Miley wants his players to come to play without any fancy clubhouse accoutrements.
“We’re just changing it up,” Miley said. “Let’s leave it at that.”
Dunn, who hung Graves’ jersey near his locker as an homage to his departed friend, didn’t leave it at that.
“So now we’re going to start winning,” he said. “It was the chair’s fault.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 6:07 pm
When Reid Ryan purchased the Edmonton Trappers franchise and arranged to move the Astros’ PCL affiliate to Round Rock, TX, it set off a chain reaction which resulted in Houston’s previous Triple A farm club, New Orleans, signing an agreement with the Washington Nationals. The Washington Post’s Thom Loverro on the difering nightlife options compared to Edmonton.
Edmonton’s claim to fame is the West Edmonton Mall. Granted, it’s the largest mall in the world, but it’s still a mall.
New Orleans, meanwhile, boasts the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, voodoo and “Girls Gone Wild” videos. Its economy is driven by gluttony and a few more of the seven deadly sins.
How, then, can the New Orleans Zephyrs behave on Bourbon Street? How can any young, red-blooded American males — ballplayers, no less — keep out of trouble in a town built on temptation?
For the Zephyrs, it has been easy. They keep remembering why they are in New Orleans.
“We’ve had no trouble whatsoever,” Zephyrs manager Tim Foli said. “They understand what they are trying to accomplish. They are trying to get to the major leagues. That is where they want to play, and [they] have to try to do everything they can to get ready for that, so they take care of themselves. A lot of them have families, too. They understand it is a job that can create a lot of benefits for them if they can get to the next level, and that is what they are working on.”
And that’s true from the younger players so close to a shot at the majors to the older ones who want to get back.
“Maybe if it were a lower level, with younger players, it might be a problem,” veteran pitcher Dan Smith said. “But the guys here are mature enough that they are focused on what they are trying to do on the field.”
Adam Wogan, the Nationals’ director of player development, said there were no concerns when the franchise signed a two-year agreement last winter with the Zephyrs.
“Players can get into trouble any place they go,” he said. “We didn’t think it would be a problem. Once they get there and get settled, it’s just another place to live. If anything, it should be a problem for the visiting teams. [The Zephyrs] should have a great home record.”
They don’t, at least not this year. New Orleans is 9-13 in its first 22 games at the “Shrine on Airline,” the local reference to Airline Drive, the street where Zephyr Field is located about eight miles from the French Quarter.
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at 5:23 pm
Blessed with some grip on reality, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mike Kiley debunks rumors that the Cubs’ LaTroy Hawkins was bound for Flushing.
There is a slight problem with a New York Post report that the Mets might be interested in a trade for Cubs reliever LaTroy Hawkins.
First, the sides would actually have to have a conversation about it. The Cubs have not been in contact with the Mets about any such trade.
Second, Hawkins has certain teams in his contract as places he wouldn’t go in a trade. Could the Mets be one? That sounds like a good bet.
Hawkins could decide to waive any contract clauses that currently prohibit him from being dealt to certain places. But there is one more obstacle to a deal — and this is a big one.
While the fans may want to run Hawkins out of town, he remains one of the team’s most talented relievers. With Ryan Dempster impressing as the closer, there is every reason to believe Hawkins still can excel as a setup man, the job he should have had all along.
After suffering yet another beating at the hands of his former club, Tom Glavine’s decision to sign with the Mets 3 years ago is reviewed by the New York Times’ Lee Jenkins.
Glavine’s problems with the Braves are as much about karma as they are about pitching. He took $35 million to join the Mets, and the baseball gods are apparently still making him pay for his decision. With his latest loss to Atlanta, by 4-0 Tuesday night, Glavine fell to 1-8 against his former team, even though his earned run average declined to 8.81 from 9.36.
“It was as good a game as I’ve pitched all year long,” Glavine said. “If I pitch like I did tonight, I’ll win this game more than I lose it.”
But he has lost almost every time, letting a blooper here turn into a three-run inning there. In a composite of so many similar outings, Glavine experienced a minor misfortune, then watched it cascade into a major mistake.
The innings in which Glavine allowed runs were revealing because they started the same way. Raul Mondesi dribbled infield singles to third base and Glavine responded by allowing hits to Johnny Estrada. A twist of fate quickly turned into a jam that predictably brought about a loss.
“Sometimes there’s a little bit of luck there,” Glavine said. “But that’s what makes that team who they are and what they are. They find ways to win games like this.”
I’m not sure what role the baseball gods played in matching Glavine against the impressive Tim Hudson, but the former did pitch well enough to win on most other nights.
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