Nearly one quarter into the season...

And it’s over...

In spite of all of his past successes...

He is an abject failure...

Don’t know what happened...

He must have lost it in the offseason...

He must have forgotten everything he knew about hitting...

It’s over...

Good-bye...

Good riddance...

You’ve lost it, Bucko...

I don’t care what Mike Scioscia says...

You are done...

You are toast...

100% your fault...

We blame you...

And only you...

You crushed our high hopes for you this year...

You blew it...

Make no excuses...

Take the blame...

Be a man...

Face the music...

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out...

Mister...

Mister...

Mister...

Mister Mickey Hatcher...

Now that you are gone...

Albert is free...

Free from your stinking advice...

Free from the jinx...

He was doing just fine...

Just fine...

Until he met you...

Now that you’re gone...

Albert can return to his superstar status...

No more P.U.jols...

How could you do this to our hero, Mickey???

You and your Mickey Mouse advice...

Albert listened to you...

But he should have done the opposite...

It would have brought much success...

And now that Jerry DiPoto has kicked you to the curb...

Albert is back...

Two home runs in two days...

No thanks to you, Mickey...

Good thing he was able to recover...

Recover from your lousy coaching...

We should be 40-0...

Even though we’ve only played 39 games...

Thanks for leaving, Mickey...

Come again when you can’t stay so long...

Don't let the door hit you on the tushie on the way out...

Onward and forward...

Another World Series title is right around the corner...

Now that YOU are gone...

Ya big ninny...

dvt

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/images/photos/001/696/475/143967107_crop_650x440.jpg?1336740497

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2012-05/69963169.jpg

When I think back to the days when I first really started getting into the game of baseball, I always come back to the summer of 1987.

I was 10-years-old at the time, so you can do the math if you want to know my true age. I lived in a townhouse community with my mother and twin brother, so we had access to lots of kids and we would gather after school at the edge of the playground for some pick-up games. Of course, our field was also somewhat one-sided, as a line of trees cut off the 1^st base side of the field, but we made due. You just learned to be a right-handed pull hitter really quickly.

But it wasn’t these pick-up games that have me waxing nostalgic. No, it is the nostalgia of wax that has me remembering those days, as in wax packs.

One of our former colleagues at TSN, FanOfReds, writes a hell of a blog called Nachos Grande, where he chronicles his continued adventures with baseball cards. Over the course of the last few months, I’ve been reading his blog quite a bit and it has reinvigorated my desire to collect cards again. With my kids being 8-years-old now, I figured it would be a perfect time to get back into it.

So I started buying a few packs here and there. And as I did when I was younger, I started with the tried and true classic; Topps.

Sure, Topps isn’t a collector’s favorite. It is overprinted and doesn’t have the quality subsets that other series have. But inside those packs of Topps is where I found my Delorian to take me back to the summer of 1987.

As one of the subsets included in the 2012 series, Topps has miniaturized the 1987 design and randomly inserted the 50 card subset in 1 of every 4 packs.

I was immediately excited when I saw the first one pulled, Evan Longoria, but it wasn’t because I’m a huge fan of the Rays third baseman. No, I was excited because this is the first set of cards I ever started collecting and remains my favorite design to this day.

I still remember opening those first packs. The wood paneled design jumped right out at you after you peeled away the wax wrapper and threw away the stale stick of gum. The Future Stars emblems, the famous Topps All-Rookie Cup in the corner, and the Turn Back the Clock cards were just some of the special features included in that set.

But there was more than just the memory of the design and the set for me. It was the interaction with my friends over the cards, back in the days when you traded for your favorite players and not based on a price guide value. Back in the days before cable, that was how a kid learned about players and it opened up a whole new understanding of the world of baseball outside of your geographic setting.

Needless to say, I have a goal over the next several months, and that is to complete the 50-card collection of the 1987 Topps Mini set. Sure, it may mean buying quite a few packs, but it may also mean getting back into trading with other collectors.

And all the while, I’ll just be taking myself back to those days on the front stoop, passing cards back and forth to my friends.

If anyone is interested in helping me put the set together, here is the checklist.  I only have 3 of the cards thus far, and they are highlighted in Bold. I’d be willing to trade and I have some older cards from my previous excursions that I can dig into for fodder.

Is she pretty Harvey?? Who says I can’t like the Coyotes???

I am going with either the Los Angeles Kings or the Phoenix Coyotes to win the Stanley Cup Finals.

I can’t figure out why aren’t the former NFL players who are suing the league for holding back information on concussions to them, aren’t also suing pee wee football, high school football and college football. Surely they too knew the dangers football posed on the kids as they were growing up.

Congrats go out to Art Monk, Phillip Fulmer, Jimmy Johnson, R.C. Slocum, Ty Detmer, Dave Casper, Jonathan Ogden, Charles Alexander, Otis Armstrong, Steve Bartkowski, Tommy Krammer, Scott Thomas, Greg Myers, Hal Bedsole, Gabe Rivera, Mark Simoneau, and John Wooten who were selected to be inducted into the college football Hall Of Fame. Ceremony will take place in December.

Notice the quiet way the San Antonio Spurs are going about their business. You hear talk of the Celtics, Heat, Clippers and Thunder, but nothing on the Spurs. The Spurs sure look like the team to beat in the NBA.

Is it over for the Lakers? I just don’t mean the playoffs. I mean for the future. Has the team seen better days?

I know its early in the season, but see how the Houston Astros have been playing close to .500 ball. I thought they would lose 120 games this year.

Gee are the Twins really this bad??

Another Yankee pitcher down. David Robertson the pitcher who was suppose to replace Mariano Rivera has followed the pitcher to the DL. He suffered a strained left oblique while pitching against the Mariners.

Maybe my team needs to play like the old Rays teams and have some losing seasons so they can get the number one overall pick for like three years in a row.

Got to give the Rays props for building their team through the draft. Sometimes I wish the Yankees would do that, but they can’t afford to do so. 

I just don’t get you Yankee haters. They play by the rules that MLB has put out. If your team if too cheap to pay to win don’t blame the Yankees. They might overpay as the did for A-Rod (But that’s George for you) but in the end they are consistently in the playoffs.

Come on Yankee Hater's give me the real reason who dislike the team??

Thanks to the Angels and Rangers new local TV contract, the Bronx Bombers will be raking in the $$$ on their next contract that would make Los Angles and Texas look poor. 

Til next time

Scott

Sometimes when you don’t expect things to happen they do. As was the case last week at a remote little league field North of Boston in a heated battle between the Mohing Scrappers and the Tucson Sidewinders as there was friendly banter between the Coaches going back forth me being one. As we were talking to the first base coach of the opposing it happened. It was amazing it was incredible. In this field that’s out of the way even some of the locals don’t know about. It happened a Gabbers name was mention at a little league game. It wasn’t me.

It turns out that the first base coach on the Scrappers and I were only a couple of years apart and we grew up in the same community(not our current one). He starts throwing out names and I start throwing out names than it happens one name we all know and love gets thrown out. That is the one and only drum roll please Kevin Sullivan. So I ask is that the Same Kevin Sullivan  from Charlestown and the reply was one and the same. (After all this is greater Boston and there are a lot of Sullivans around). Sully had lots of family in our community and spent a lot of time there as a kid.

Hey about old Brett Lawrie  sure we know you didn’t mean to throw your helmet directly at the Umpire. We know you didn’t mean to bounce it off the ground and it to hit the umpire. Enjoy your 4 days off. Funny thing was it looked lke a strike just below the letters.

I might be a little optimistic but is there just a little hope that the Pacers beat the Heat. I know one game means nothing but isn’t there a thought a little hope maybe. You know like  just maybe . Frank Vogel has something up sleeve . Maybe he pulls a rabbit out of a hat.

It wouldn’t be any fun unless I had some Red Sox discussion once again last nigt they get called for two Balks. What’s up this ? I mean 4 balks in the past week.They have all been obvious. They seem to be like a High School team worrying about runners on base. Last night  a balk cost them a run against Tampa in a 2-1 game. These guys should know better. Daniel Bard had 2  against the same better in KC.

It was a case of ICY-Hot. The Nationals Steven Strassburg got his first loss. He put some ICY Hot on his shoulders but then he got out  it well we will just say down there.He said he was uncomfortable the whole game. How does this happen. You rub your shoulder than exercise the Arch Bishop.Or was it on his hands and he had to take a leak. Who knows but it’s the strangest story of the year.

Those LA Kings have a 2-0 lead over the Coyotes in the Western Conference.finals on Tuesday they got a hat trick from Jeff Carter. . It looks like this might be  the yea of the Kings. I just find them fascinating being the 8^th seed. I don’t even care that they are an LA Team .

Meanwhile in the East Dave Clarkson scored the game winner last night at 2:31 of the 3^rd period to give the Devils an 3-2 win and tied the series at 1-1.

That’s all folks

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. Damn, I hate getting old. After doing some yard work last weekend, I went to bed Sunday night thinking my back felt a bit tight. When I got up on Monday, it was not any better…but it wasn’t too bad, so I went about business as usual. Tuesday morning, I woke up with a full spasm in the lower back. I don’t know if you have ever experienced this, but it sucks…pure and simple. There is really nothing to do, but rest, ice and drugs… Of course, if my blog sucks today, at least I have an excuse.

With my back out, I spent most of Tuesday sitting in my recliner watching baseball. There were a few things that caught my attention and I think deserve a bit of discussion. Did you see Brett Lawrie get ejected? As this video is on MLB network, the best I can offer is the link: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120515&content_id=31385244&vkey=news_tor&c_id=tor

I truly believe that most umpires do a great job of getting the calls right, but this ump’s zone was terrible.  Some umps call a wide zone, but what he called strike three was clearly up. You can't call em wide and tall, it is just not right. Now, Lawrie should not have thrown his helmet, but did it look like the ump was doing a bit of acting when the helmet grazed him? He acted like Brett threw hot water on him or something. I am not sure what happened in this game, but it sure seemed like he had it in for Lawrie. There is no doubt that a suspension is coming. How many games do you think that Lawrie will be out?  My guess is 7 games….and that is too bad. This umpire needs to remember that he is best when he is invisible. 

Tuesday was the first time that Bryce Harper and Mike Trout hit HR’s on the same day, but I know there will be many more. After watching these two rookies play for the past week, I think I was wrong in my initial assessment. Both of these guys are ready to play now. Of course they will have rough days, but their talent is obvious. I would not be surprised if Harper hit 20 HRs this year. As I am currently re-reading a book about Willie Mays, I could not help but think that Mays also started professional baseball as a 19 year old. I also have to admit that I have changed my view of Harper. I like the way this kid plays. He plays with a bit of old school intensity. Willie Mays was thrown at frequently. As a high schooler playing in an industrial league, he was drilled in one of his first at bats. As he lay in the dirt crying, his manager barked at him to get up. The advice he gave Mays was to steal 2^nd and 3^rd as quickly as you can…this is the best way to get back at a pitcher. I could not help but think of Mays when Harper stole home on Hamels. Of course it was nice to see Harper’s pitcher hit Hamels, but stealing home was the perfect message to send Hamels. Both of these guys are following the 5 tool path that Mays blazed more than 50 years ago, but of course they have a very long way to go to achieve what Mays did.

I have to give a bit of love to the Orioles. While most think that the AL East will eventually catch and pass the Baltimore, I am beginning to sense that Buck has enough talent to hang tough much of the year. The Orioles were once remembered for hitting the three run home run, pitching and defense. While I have not seen Jim Palmer or Mike Cuellar on the mound for the birds, I do see a power resurgence in Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, JJ Hardy and Chris Davis. Did you know that the Baltimore’s bullpen has an ERA of .228 and possibly baseball’s best closer in Jim Johnson? It is funny, but Showalter is winning with three Ranger castoffs. Chris Davis, Darren O’Day and Pedro Strop are all ex-Rangers. I am not sure that the starting pitching is good enough to stay atop the AL East, but with the Yankees struggling health and the Red Sox troubles, this might be the year that Baltimore stays north of .500. There is plenty of time for them to fade, but this group of birds seems very determined to hang around. Buck Showalter is one great manager…

Most have commented that the NBA is not what it once was. I do have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy the hijinks on TNT. Frequently, I will not watch the game, but tune in to see what Charles, Kenny and Ernie are up to on the game recap. In case you missed the great shirt off on Tuesday evening, here is a video recap of the event. In short, Shaq challenged Barkley to take his shirt off and compare their abs. I think that Shaq had a bit of artistic help with his “six pack”. Funny stuff…

As usual, BOB has inspired me with a topic in his blog that I had to carry over to Wednesday. There have been rumors about Florida State moving to the Big 12. I have always wondered why Florida State was not in the SEC. Their proximity to the SEC would be a natural fit for the Seminoles and Miami for that matter. As I started to read about the situation in the ACC, it was quickly clear that money was at the heart of the discussion to leave the ACC. Apparently the new TV deal that was signed only ads about a million dollars to the current agreement. Although the announced deal sounded much better, the TV dollars are apparently back loaded, which may leave the conference under market by the time the bigger dollars are realized. Florida State is in a pickle. They have admitted to running an operating deficit and may have to trim almost 2.5 million in expenses. The rub for the Seminoles is the quality of competition in the ACC and the difficulty of selling out their 80,000 seat stadium. Here is a look at the Noles 2012 schedule:

9-1      vs   Murray State

9-8      vs   Savannah State

9-15    vs   Wake Forest

9-22    vs   Clemson

9-29    at   USF

10-6    at   NC State

10-13  vs   BC

10-20  at   Miami

10-27  vs  Duke

11-03       OPEN

11-8    at  VT

11-17  at  Maryland

11-24  vs  Florida

12-1         ACC championship game

Obviously, the Big 12 would need to add two teams if they decided to add Florida State. Louisville has been rumored as an option, but perhaps Miami would be a better option? This new conference could be split into an East and West division:

East:  Florida State, West Virginia, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Miami

West: Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

With a 9 game schedule, each team would play all of their division and four teams from the other division. This would be a very strong conference and would add back a conference championship game for the Big 12. Is this possible? There are some big advantages for the Big 12 to add two teams of the stature of Florida State and Miami. While the Florida teams are not what they once were, it does not take much imagination to see them back to full strength in a few years. Recruiting would be beneficial for all involved. Texas and Florida are both full of high school talent. I am sure that all of the conference schools would be happy to add visits to both states to their travel. Speaking of travel…how will the alumni embrace the added expense of traveling to out of state games? I know that taking a trip to Florida would be much more fun than visiting Morgantown, or at least would offer an easier trip.

There has been a great reshuffling of college football, but my guess is that we have only scratched the surface of changes. Now that a playoff is being discussed, it is only a matter of time before the NCAA realizes just how much money they are leaving on the table. Then, an expanded tournament will surely be next. This will lead to a push for bigger and better conferences. How long before we have “super” conferences? I don’t think anyone could argue that the SEC is the best football conference. I suspect that this is one reason that the Big 12 might consider adding two quality football schools. And of course, there is added TV revenue. But, there is the small problem for the Seminoles of how to leave the ACC. Leaving the ACC will not be free. It will cost Florida State an estimated 20 million or so to head west. How does a school that is operating in the red come up with this kind of money? Also, many Florida State fans despise the power of the Carolinas and think that the ACC is all about Duke and NC basketball. There are many in the Big 12 that complain of the power of Texas. Will Florida State find the same issue? This is a fair concern, but for my eyes, Florida State fits much better in the Big 12 than they do in the ACC. In the current environment, who can rule out anything?

We all have our favorite sports and for different reasons. One of the cool things that I have noticed about baseball is the uniqueness of the umpires. There is no set manner to signal an out. A safe call is pretty universal, but have you ever really watched how different one umpire is from another? Here is a variety of umpires that offer a bit of flair to the job:

As you can see, a good umpire is unique in the way they call a game. I suppose eventually every umpire will need an aspirin to deal with all of the knuckelheads...

That is all I have today, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey:

“Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told the story around the campfire and nobody got scared.”

 “I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.”

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own.

Maybe it's just me, but summer never seems to come until I make my first baseball game. Technically speaking, I know that I have a while until summer. Heck, I still have around two weeks until Memorial Day, which marks the unofficial start to summer around here. Getting to a game just seems like such a natural part of things and I think I'm getting a little antsy.

Baseball is still a great game for the radio. Summer nights passed with a six pack, a game on the radio and maybe a nice bonfire going are probably some of the best. Not to mention they beat the hell out of having to pay for parking, tickets, and $9 for a beer. (I can't even find the guys selling peanuts like I used to be able to. At Tigers Stadium, you could find guys outside of the park selling home made boiled, salted, or even cajun peanuts. I wonder if the city cracked down on that?) 

Of course, I have Rod Allen to make things interesting on Fox Sports Detroit. He's one of those local guys that you just can't help but find yourself picking up some of his sayings. He's gotten big enough to spawn his own drinking game, which was a huge hit at my fraternity. 

Still, the game just takes on a whole new meaning in person. It involves so much more of you. The true fans have a lot more aspects of the game to see and can watch what they want to watch. You can spy on the bullpen or watch the outfielders prep for a lazy fly. Folks who are less inclined can always people watch. Heck, I've even noticed the wave making a comeback.

Of course, there are draw backs. Ticket prices have become ridiculous in a lot of areas. For a non-premium here in Detroit, you've got about 6 spots where you can sit for under $20. Still, that number is going to inflate if you have kids. They'll want souvenirs and food. A lot of parks also put in rides or other attractions for kids, which are rarely free. The best thing I've noticed is if you have anyone with a military ID, Comerica will give you some seats at half price. It's always something to consider asking about.

What I have never understood about a lot of ball parks is why they've become so strict about seating. I remember the old unwritten rule being that if the game had gone into the third inning and you could find better seats, then you could move down. I've followed that rule. A lot. I always sneak down as close as I can. Lately, though, it's been getting harder. These parks post ushers at every gate. I really don't know what gives. I get that you want to protect revenue, but if you have someone who isn't coming (and if they aren't there by the third, they're not coming) you might as well try to fill the lower seats to put on a better show for the cameras. With nearly every game televised now, do you really want your park looking like the Trop in Tampa? 

I've also never tried standing room only. I don't think I've ever wanted to see a game that bad. If I know downtown is going to be a zoo, I'm just as happy saving myself time and money by watching or listening to the game at home. Admission should cover a seat and I imagine any game offering standing room only spots is going to have tight security and few empty seats. Do any of you think you'd ever pay for standing room spots?

Sticking with baseball, the MLB has decided to give restless fans and hitters a reprieve. Next season, faking to third and throwing to first, a staple pick off move for many pitchers, will be considered a balk. It's no secret that the move is unpopular with fans. Most of the time a pitcher gets booed, it's for trying just that pick-off. Of course, the move has always been impossible for leftys, so no left handers have opposed the rule. 

Still, this just seems like another try at generating more offense. I don't know if it will really. I wonder if it will cause catchers to have to attempt more snap throws. I love watching a good play at second, but I'm not sure if I like taking a move away from JV or any other righty on staff.

I have to wonder, what is going on in Ohio? Beeze, clue me in. How bored are people in Ohio? They have two baseball teams that are doing well. Joey Votto himself has been terrorizing NL pitchers as of late. Still, a guy near Akron, OH was bored enough to try for the world record in consecutive hours spent fist pumping. Inspired by the generation-decemating fad from Jersey Shore, this 34-year-old man pump for 17 hours straight. I know it's a slow news day in Detroit if I see this on the news, but I was a bit more depressed to see it online. I'm glad the tourism commercials make Ohio seem so appealing, only to foster stories like this from locals.

Well, that's it for me this week. Thanks for stopping in to read what I have to offer and thanks for any comments you leave. I'm looking forward to a warm weekend and hoping to get to The Avengers this weekend. The last Marvel movie I got to see was the new Ghost Rider (at the cheap shows for $2) and I gotta say Nick Cage can act crazy with the best of them. Unfortunately, it just made those scenes more laughable than anything. I've neevr seen The Wickerman, but the following clip really makes me want to see it. I leave you with some Cage movie madness and your word of the week.

yellow carded, verb

 
Yeah, Back by popular demand, I've decided to dust off the weekly classic...Sports, pop-culture, maybe a rant mixed in, and of course, some lovely ladies to close it out...Let's get started...

1. Which Eastern Conference team wins and heads to The Stanley Cup Finals...New York Rangers? Or New Jersey Devils?


2. Which Western Conference team wins and goes to The Stanley Cup Finals...LA Kings? Or Phoenix Coyotes?


3. Our favorite comic announced he's going to have small role in that new Lifetime show staring Jennifer Love Hewitt...



A. Have you ever watched it?

B. Now that you know it's about Jennifer Love Hewitt jerking guys off, will you watch?

C. Will Bill Burr steal the scene?


4. Ohio State football player Andrew Sweat was offered and undrafted, free-agent deal from the Cleveland Browns...Sweat decided, based on his own history of concussion symptoms, and all that has gone on with head injuries in the NFL, that he would pass on the NFL and head to Law School...He's actually been ripped by dolts in the media for following in his father's footsteps instead of taking a crack at the NFL...

Did he make the right call?


.....Fuck You! I don't give a shit what you think, and neither should Sweat...Holy fucking shit, they kid may be the smartest mother fucker Ohio State has ever produced...Who the fuck is anyone to say he should have taken a shot at the NFL...He wasn't even drafted, and already has a history of head injuries...If the kid thinks the best thing for him is going to law school, then good for him...Anyone talking shit about that should choke on a big fat dick and die!


And now for the most important question...

5. On this fine Hump Day...Which one of these asses would you most like to pound your pud into?

A.




B.




C.




Audience participation only makes this post better...Nothing like people arguing over which hottie they could never get, but damn it she's the one they'd do!

Later, The Beeze.

The first thing to hit you when you stepped into the batter's box was the stare. It came out from under the bent brim, with the only the eyes being visible behind the curtain of impossible shadow that fell across the scowl on his face. That stare could look right into the soul of a hitter and know almost instantaneous whether or not he had him out before he even threw a pitch.

And more often than not, he did.

For those of you familiar with the Oakland Athletics of the late 1980's and early 1990's, you know that while the press chose to spotlight the exploits of the Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, that these teams dominated because of one simple rule; pitching wins ballgames.

And no other pitched on those staffs better personified that mantra than Dave Stewart.

Quick pop quiz for the baseball fans out there; who was the last pitcher to win 20 games in four consecutive seasons? If you said Dave Stewart, you would have won a lollipop. From 1987 to 1990, Stewart went an amazing 84-45 with a 3.20 ERA, 41 complete games, and 718 strike-outs.

What makes Stewart's statistics even more impressive is the fact that he never finished higher than second in the Cy Young voting, despite consistently winning games and leading the league in complete games twice during the span. Each year, there always seemed to be at least one pitcher who out-shined the erstwhile Oakland ace. Here are the voting results:

1987

1988

1989

1990

Needless to say, Stewart was easily the most dominating pitcher of the period. Put aside the four-consecutive 20-win seasons for the time being. Of the group above, Stewart was the only player to finish in the top-four of the Cy Young voting during each year of that period and the only one to do so twice in the same period aside from Clemens. That alone is huge when you consider that we are talking about Clemens during his utmost dominance, before Brian McNamee, not to mention Frank Viola and Bret Saberhagen.

So to you Dave Stewart, we here at The Baseball Big Brother Project offer you a tip of the cap!

As you know by now the Bella twins have been fired by EVE during Monday Night Raw last week. The company used that angle because the twins did not renew their contract with the WWE.

John Cena is getting a divorce from his high school sweet heart Liz Huberdeau She has hired the same lawyer that Linda Hogan used and if you remember Linda got almost 70% of what Hogan had..

Mark Henry is having surgery done.

Scott Steiner continues to attach, via twitter, Hogan and Bischoff.

Big Show fired from the WWE??

Was it a shock to see Paul Heyman show up on Raw?

Here is a trivia question:

Which President of the United States was a wrestler??

Give it a long kiss Roberto, your team tried to give that title away

Greetings from the Hoodwood, where handshakes are the norm before and after the games.

Its rare when I lead the column off with a musing about soccer and even rarer when the soccer match has nothing to do with a US team, but I had to give some thoughts on the Manchester City match yesterday in which they clinched their first Premier League title in over 40 years.  Now the Premier league has only been in existence since 1992, but there has been some sort of top division of English Football (Soccer) title up for grabs for over a hundred years and Man City has not been at the top of the standings (or table as the English call it) since the 1967-68 season. Your humble scribe wasn’t even an afterthought, his mother still in high school! Nevertherless, Man City was in in the drivers seat against its hated wealthier rival Manchester United the defending Premier League Champs , needing only a win or to match whatever  Man U did, Man City would hoist the cup and Playing Queens Park Rangers that had just made it to the premier league and was in danger of being relegated (kicked out, more on that later) it looked like a walk in the park. Win the game at home and win the title.

As ESPN’s Chris Berman has said about so many sporting events. That’s why they play the games. QPR played tenaciously Man City took the lead late in the first half only to see the Rangers tie it up early on in the second half. Man City looked like they would be able to toy with QPR after Joey Barton got a red card for a nasty elbow to the head of a Man City player. Playing with a man advantage for the duration, it looked to be a matter of time before a goal was scored. It was but it was by QPR as Armand Traore made a slick move on his defender and launched a smooth crossing pass which Jamie Mackie buried in to the back on the net on a sweet diving header . Man City fans were apoplectic and some looked to be on the verge of tears. Keep in mind that while all this was going on ManU, the hated crosstown rival was sitting on a 1-0, if the scores stayed as they were. ManU would defend its title and send Man City to the cruelest of defeats. Later and later into the match it got and you could feel the tension in City of Manchester Stadium get thicker and thicker. The camera kept cutting to fans of the Sky Blues getting more and more frantic as the clock counted toward 90 minutes and as it crossed from regulation into stoppage. But the after having at least three shot hit the post or go tantalizingly wide City cashed a chance in and tied the game but there was no leaping or celebration or hugs for Edin Dezko. Just an urge to hurry, the ManU game had went final and the Man City fans knew that their squad needed to get the go-ahead goal, a draw was as bad as a loss. QPR seemed quite content on laying back and playing defense, knowing that they weren’t going to be relegated, that they were still shorthanded and that the draw would deny Man City their coveted title. But 3 minutes into stoppage time, after repeated shots at the goal, Sergio Aguero stepped around two different defenders and beat the QPR goalie shortside to give Man City the lead. I literally fell out when the winning goal was scored. It was an unbelievable turn of events leading the great soccer announcer Ian Darke (fast becoming one of my favorite announcers) to ask rheotorically. “Who is writing this?” To be honest it did seem like something out of movie, perpetual underdog team finally gets its shot to win its title but has to claw back out of impossible circumstances.  Man United fans watching at Old Trafford could only look on in stoic stony silence as Man City celebrated at the double whistle of full time. Like Ive said before, Im no big soccer fan but I can appreciate the game and actually enjoyed that match. 

NBA: LA Story

Well Hollywood didnt burn again. Both the Lakers and surpringly the Clippers both won do or die 7th games and move on the Western Conference Semis. Seemingly bouyed by the return of the basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest (After what he did to James Harden, Im sure as shittin not calling him World Peace) the Lakers routed the Nuggets Saturday Night to advance, had the Lakers lost Im sure for sure that Mike Brown would have been looking for work. Having had blown a 3-1 series lead. You could have excused their Staples Center cohabitant the Clippers had they lost. I mean they are the Clippers and have only won 2 other playoff series in their team history. But lead by the irrepressible Chris Paul the Clips rallied smartly in the 4th quarter to beat the Grizzlies in the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis 82-72 to win. The schedule maker of Staples Center has got to be worried as all three inhabitants of the Staples Center keep on getting deeper in the postseason as the Kings are in the NHL Western Conference final and with a 2-0 lead are guaranteed at least 3 more games at home at least. Thats the good kind of logistical nightmare to have.

LA Story 2: Does Bynum get it?

I don’t know why, but there has always been something that has always annoyed me about Andrew Bynum. Maybe it was because he was one of these uber cocky high schoolers that was jumped directly to the NBA(the last of his breed). Maybe it was the fact that the game comes so easily to him. Rare is the find of a big man who runs the floor as fluid, has a soft hands and can be a terror to contain on the boards. The Lakers have always seemed to snag world class big men, from Mikan to Chamberlain to Jabbar to Shaq and Bynum has the tools and talent to be in their class. Note that the first three are in the hall of fame and Shaq will be joining that list in a couple years. But Bynum more often than not seems to let his mind wander or plays this “I got mine, I don’t care.” Mentality. His intensity wavers to and fro and in the most maddening ways. Witness is inane 3 pointer he jacked up in the middle of a game this season. I don’t think that anyone would have cared had it been late in a meaningless game, like he had taken and made a game earlier. But suddenly Bynum decided he was a three point shooter. He missed, got benched and had this “Oh well, it is what it is” look on his face. I have no problem with a player being a happy go lucky type. I think Kobe’s ultra serious demeanor is a bit off putting and kinda fake but no one ever questions his commitment and desire to win. Bynum? Meh…you can never be too sure. The point Im making is that Bynum aint a rookie, he isn’t even a 3^rd or 4^th year player who you could excuse a mental lapse here and there and chalk it up to youth, hes a 7^th year vet whom this team will soon become increasingly dependent on as Kobe ages (Hard to believe but Bryant is a 16 year vet.) With Pau Gasol looking more and more like he wants to be a complementary player along the lines of Scottie Pippen, this team will be Bynum’s soon. His antics, like pouting outside a huddle because he wasn’t playing and his petulant outbursts like giving the Nuggets plenty of bulletin board material in saying that close out games are easy make you forget how immensely talented Bynum is and makes you wonder is he worth building a team around.

NHL: Could a Dream Stanley Cup be in the making?

With no Canadian team anywhere close to the Stanley Cup the NHL is quietly hoping that a pair of super huge markets in the Stanley Cup Final will draw the big numbers. The New perpetually star crossed New York Rangers teeter ever so close to another disappointing elimination but manage to survive a thrilling 7 game series with the Washington Capitals (another star crossed team, whose radio announcer John Walton is a friend and Hoodwood hero) but careen to an Eastern Conference title tilt with their regional rival New Jersey Devils. The Rangers like to think of the Devils as a little brother that they can kick around, but the Devils have won 3 Stanley Cups since Gary Bettman summoned Mark Messier of the fabled 1994 Rangers to get the Cup. I remember the epic series in 94 when in the game 7 double overtime,  Stephane Matteau stuffed a shot past Martin Brodeur (who incidentially is still the Devils Goalie today) and sent the Rangers to the Cup final and Howie Rose’s now legendary call of “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” as MSG shook to its pillars. Will this be another epic series? The Rangers need not another 7 game death match.

Meanwhile out west the LA Kings are enjoying a deep playoff run not seen since the halcyon days of Gretzky and Barry Melrose in 1993. As the ragged 8 seed they looked to be a playoff afterthought but after shocking the Canucks and Blues in 5 and 4 games, they have jumped on the Phoenix Coyotes (a team that has never been this deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in franchise  history) and lead 2-0, as mentioned earlier they are guaranteed at least 3 more home playoff games. You know that NBC is salivating at the thought of a New York-LA Stanley Cup to garner huge ad revenue. Boston-Vancouver last year  was bi-coastal and international but it wouldn’t have the same flavor. The thought of the two largest markets in the US playing for the oldest trophy in team sports may in turn be stomach turning to Canadians who think any team that still isn’t digging out from snow at this time of the year shouldn’t be in Cup contention.

Phat Dap/Head Slap

Phat Dap

To Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto of the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds respectively. Hamilton matched a major league record with 4 homers in one game and had 8 RBI’s against the Anaheim Angels. Votto had three dingers on Sunday including a game winning walk Grand Slam against the Washington Nationals. Chicks dig the long ball, always have and always will.

Head Slap

To the basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest (im not calling him anything with Peace in it, after the way he acts) Who dismissed any notion of a apologetic handshake to Oklahoma City’s James Harden who he leveled with a elbow late in the regular season which netted him a 7 game suspension. When asked if he would make some sort of conciltory gesture to Harden. The former Artest scoffed and said “I don’t shake hands with subs.” This guy has to be from another planet, cause he just has not an ounce of sense.  

Thats the view from the Hoodwood...until next post fellow sports fans!

Welcome to the tantrums where Uncle B.O.B.  is starting to pack up the family for the South Florida roadie.  I’ll be gone from Wednesday to next Thursday.  It’ll be great to see my mother and brother and his family.  But before I jet my way back there, I thought I would leave you with some rants…

Rant #1 - NBA Playoffs.  As crazy as this sounds coming from me, if the NBA plays this right then they can have one helluva future.  Memphis, Denver, Utah all are looking good in the future as is the Los Angeles Clippers, though I question the way they play ball.

The Denver Nuggets are a team that has a bright future ahead of them.  They made some youthful mistakes in Game 7 that cost them big-time when the pressure got too hot, but man look out for this team in the future.  Javale McGee and Kenneth Faried will be something special and Denver has the right coach to get them to the next level.

My daughter and her boyfriend surprised the hell out of me by telling me they scored two tickets to Game 5 of Heat/Pacers while we are down there.  They paid good money, but the seats are decent.

Memphis absolutely should be kicking themselves for blowing this series to the Clippers.  Giving away a big lead at home, and then when they are rolling, they lay an egg like that Game 7 on Sunday?  Sorry, but after last year's success this has to be considered unacceptable to score only 72 points in a Game 7.

LA fans will be insufferable now, but hopefully we can get some retribution on the bandwagons if San Antonio and OKC can put both out.

Speaking of LA, right on cue after Magic opened up his cakehole, here comes Phil Jackson running smack about having "the itch" again.  Hey Mike Brown, best of luck overcoming horrific attitudes, inconsistent play, Tragic Johnson's idiotic comments that do have weight, and now this...

Rant #2 - NHL Playoffs.   Rangers/Devils has the potential to be a phenominal series, as does Coyotes/Kings.   Now you all know my hatred for all things LA/NYC, who you all know I’m rooting for Phoenix/NJ.  Either way, the Stanley Cup chase is exciting as hell.

Rant #3 - Florida State.  So apparently, Florida State is leaking it out that they might be interested in leaving the ACC for the Big 12, and I only have one question – Is tomorrow soon enough?  That’s hypocritical I know, but CFB is changing and teams in the ACC and Big East are being left out in the cold.  But who cares, they dominate college Basketball anyway.  You have to do what you have to do.  Seminole Football is coming back, the Basketball team is solid, and the Baseball team is super and adding FSU would be a huge coup for the Big 12 and really help them with BCS issues.  Would they be level with the SEC?  I'd say they need one more name school to get there, but I think the have a chance.

But let’s think about the Big 12 as I understand it.  Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Florida State, and  West Virginia is a solid base to build from, Kansas State can always rise up, Iowa State is always good for a surprise for a year, and if Baylor can keep its momentum going, I really like what this conference can be.

Rant #4 – MLB.  I seem to always find something in MLB to lighten my mood, and John Axford’s outstanding memo to the media post-game after he had a bad game was hilarious:

This is about the time where I start looking at stats to kind of understand what’s going on with certain teams, and for the second year in a row, San Diego and Oakland are stuck on the bottom of team batting average sitting at .221. 

It’s been talked about frequently, and now I can see why – The Washington Nationals have the best team ERA sitting at 2.60 as compared to the #2 team in MLB, the Dodgers at 3.19.  You have to figure that the Nats can’t continue on that pace, but that is incredible.  The sticks (a .238 BA) had better wake up quickly.  Losing Werth hurt, but if you’re batting .238 as a team you are in trouble.

Oakland is raising some eyebrows by being over .500 in mid-May, especially considering their .221 team batting average.

Rant #5 - Olympics.  I used to remember being glued to the TV when the Olympics came on.  I was a big honk for the Olympic games, but my idealism gave in to cynicism.  Well, the games are scheduled to start on July 27^th, which is actually smart because it’s in the middle of “dead season”, but just as NFL camps are starting.  I think the thing I’ll care about most will be 007 opening the games with some sort of run through Buckingham Palace.  In other words, not that important.

Yeah, I’ll probably get in an idiotic rant about the d-bag American Basketball team, but…

Rant #6 – NFL.  I don’t say this often, but mark this down – props to the New York Jets!  By not agreeing to do “Hard Knocks”, the organization might be starting to figure out that louder isn’t always better.   Now it’s up to Rex Ryan to shut down this Tebow-mania and knock some sense into Santonio Holmes.

Seems like the Vikings are going to stay in Minny and I couldn’t be happier.  I guess in the meantime while they are waiting for the new stadium to be built, they are going to go and play at the stadium for the University of Minnesota for the years that it’s going to take to build.  Now they are talking about having a retractable roof for their new stadium, and I for one think that’s a great idea.  Keep the dang thing open in September and into October, then close it off.

Dummy of the week has to go to Darius Heyward-Bey, WR in Oakland.  There is a culture change in “da bigga da biggity O”, and this genius is speeding and weaving ON THE BAY BRIDGE, earning himself a visit from Johnny Law who promptly whacks DHB for failing a field sobriety test!   Yep, that’s the longer version of saying:  DUI!    Hey DHB, you are a Raider, not a Raider fan.  Put down the “yac” and get into the gym.  C’mon man!

LET'S GET TO GABBING!!!

As most of you probably know already, I'm an avid reader (and if you didn't already know that, now you do). While I can read just about anything (except for those stupid romance novels with half-naked dudes on the cover), my favorite books to read revolve around sports, especially baseball (big surprise, I know). I figured that, since I read a lot of books anyway, why not do a book review so you, my fellow gabbers, can find out about a book that you may not have read?

As to what kind of review you can expect, I will say that if you're looking for a New York Times type review, then go buy a copy of the New York Times. I'm not going to review the book as if I'm a critic, but rather as someone who just enjoys reading. Also, I'm not going to come up with a bunch of one-liners that you see on the first few pages of books, because frankly I think those are mostly stupid and don't provide much information on the book itself. This review is going to be based on what I as a reader thought of the book being reviewed, and will provide my opinion on whether or not you should bother putting the book on your reading list (if you have a reading list).

Anyway, I guess now would be a good time to tell you the book I'm reviewing: Jim Bouton's Ball Four.

For those of you who don't know who Jim Bouton is, allow me to give a brief biography. Jim Bouton is a former Major League pitcher who pitched for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots*, and Houston Astros from 1962-1970, and for the Atlanta Braves in 1978. He wrote Ball Four as a daily journal during the 1969 season, when he played with the Pilots until he was traded to the Astros on August 26.

* - Now known as the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pilots were only in Seattle for one season (1969). They were forced to relocate due to bankruptcy in 1970.

And now, on to the review.

Ball Four is very in-depth, especially when talking about the daily life of a baseball player. Bouton not only provides details about the life inside the clubhouse, but he gives names as well. He talks about players' use of drugs (notably "greenies", another word for amphetamines), drinking, womanizing (Especially the practice of "shooting beaver". One of my favorite terms in the entire book, it's used to describe the act of looking up a woman's skirt by any means necessary.), and the poor treatment the players were given by upper management in terms of salaries and bonuses.*

* - This was during a time when baseball players made peanuts compared to the outrageous salaries they make today, and owners did everything within their power to avoid paying players high amounts of money.

One of the things that I like about Ball Four is the honesty. Bouton gives us real feelings, both good and bad, and doesn't feed us with a bunch of unnecessary bull shit and false praise. He tells us that baseball players did drugs, drank too much, stayed out too late, chased women, and enjoyed the lifestyle. He calls out managers and pitching coaches for their unusual decisions during games, and is man enough to admit when he didn't play well himself.

Even though I loved the honesty of the book, a lot of people -- especially those in baseball -- didn't like the book at all. In fact, then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to get Bouton to sign a document claiming that the information in the book was false, but Bouton declined. It is reported that the majority of players named in the book never forgave Bouton for airing their dirty laundry, and the Yankees, even though they never officially excommunicated Bouton, refused to invite him to their annual "Old-Timers Day" because of the tell-all book.*

* - One of the players who refused to forgive Bouton was Mickey Mantle, whom Bouton had established a close friendship with while playing for the Yankees. After the book was published, Mantle refused to speak to Bouton because of the negative publicity the book gave to him in regards to his drinking and womanizing. It is reported that their friendship was reconciled in 1994 after Bouton sent Mantle a sympathy card following his son's death from cancer. According to Wikipedia, the Yankees have also forgiven Bouton, and since 1998 he has been a participant in Old-Timers Day festivities.

If you like baseball, you should definitely read this book. In fact, you should read this book even if you don't like baseball, because it's just that damn entertaining. You feel the same feelings that Bouton feels in the book, from the highs of pitching well and winning to the lows of being sent down to AAA and traded away to Houston. You experience the juvenile humor of the players pulling pranks on each other, and the feeling of what it means to be a teammate.

Ball Four has been republished three times since it was written. (The latest in 2000, 30 years after the original publishing date.) Bouton adds an updated appendix to each edition, and the copy that I read (the Twentieth Anniversary Edition) has two appendices titled Ball Five and Ball Six, which discuss the players discussed in the book and their lives in the 10 and 20 years since the book was published. According to sources regarding the latest publication, Bouton explains the reconciled friendship with Mantle and the Yankees organization.

A few of my favorite passages from the book:

Right now, the fact is that I love the game, love to play it, I mean. Actually, with the thousands of games I've seen, baseball bores me. I have no trouble falling asleep in the bullpen, and I don't think I'd ever pay my way into a ballpark to watch a game. But there's a lot to being in the game...

 

A lot of it is foolishness too, grown men being serious about a boy's game. There's pettiness in baseball, and meanness and stupidity beyond belief, and everything else bad that you'll find outside of baseball. I haven't enjoyed every single minute of it and when I've refused to conform to some of the Neanderthal aspects of baseball thinking I've been an outcast. Yet there's been a tremendous lot of good in it for me and I wouldn't trade my years in it for anything I can think of.

* * *

Baseball players will take anything. If you had a pill that would guarantee a pitcher 20 wins but might take five years off his life, he'd take it.

* * *

I've had a lot of conversations with my arm. I ask it what the hell I ever did to it. I ask why won't it do for me what it used to do in the old days. I whisper lovingly to it. Remember '64? Remember '63? Wasn't it fun? Things could be like that again. Just one more time, one more season. It never listens.

* * *

Then there's the tale Jim Gosger told about hiding in the closet to shoot a little beaver while his roommate made out on the bed with some local talent. Nothing sneaky about it, the roommate even provided the towel for Gosger to bite on in case he was moved to laughter. At the height of the activity on the bed, local talent, moaning, says, "Oh darling, I've never done it that way before." Whereupon Gosger sticks his head out, drawls "Yeah, surrre," and retreats into the closet.

* * *

Coming out to the bullpen just before the game began, in front of thousands of empty seats, I took off my hat, made a deep bow and generally behaved as though I was being acclaimed by millions. Then I looked up and all I could see was San Diego uniforms. "What are you guys doing in our bullpen?" I said. Of course I had it all wrong. I was in their bullpen, act and all.

* * *

You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.

If you would like to purchase Ball Four, you should be able to find it in your local bookstore, or you can order it online. It's still widely published, so it shouldn't be too difficult to locate. I strongly recommend it for reading, as it is one of the better baseball books I've ever read.

If you've already read this book, feel free to share your thoughts of it in the comments section.

Until next Monday...

I no longer feel as though I am the only one that hates Nickelback.  I almost hate Nickelback as much as I hate the Leafs.  And yes, FlyerFanatic, I am still waiting for my money.  You came here like a man, talked shit (which I can respect), made a bet, but neglected to follow through on your end of the deal.  That, I cannot respect, especially since you were the one that encouraged me to take your bet.  I would have ate my crow if the leafs neglected to make the playoffs, but seriously, anyone who knows anything about hockey (and no, not just the Utica Devils) knows that they are NOT a playoff team.  So what happens?  You bail on your bet.  I have been anxiously waiting politely to see if you would own up to the bet, but alas, it hasn’t happened.   Now, I will say this one more time.  Shoot me a message, and I will give you my paypal address.  Unless of course, you need that money to put your parrot through therapy after all the times it has seen you abuse yourself in front of your computer monitor, while it sits contentedly on your shoulder, quietly shitting down your back.

Wow.  I hope this league takes off.  After perusing their home page, I noticed that it doesn’t mention the ability to play hockey.  All that is required for a casting call is a head shot (not the Cooke or Torres version), a full length bikini body shot from the front and the rear, and your contact information.  This league is going to be based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The league founder, Cary Eskridge, will be holding the tryouts on a format similar to the UFC or The Flavor of Love; all entrants will be housed in a mansion.  The interest has already picked up, with former fitness model and daughter of former NHL’er Jim Van Boxmeer, Ashley Van Boxmeer.

Ashley was an outfielder for the Cal State and University of Ron New Mexico, has been listed as one of the 20 hottest softball players, and has represented Canada internationally for softball.  Is she in shape?

Yeah…you could say that.  This league will be an inline league, which only makes sense.  Not exactly fair to have the ladies wearing bikinis on the ice.  However, if that was the case, we may see some items that may be able to cut diamonds.  I sincerely hope that this league takes off, and I am personally looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

Blitzen Trapper…I’m really liking these guys lately…

How do you like playing in Philadelphia now Bryzgalov?  Kinda make you regret those disparaging remarks that you made about Winnipeg?  But hey, if you wanted to make the big money, you need to be able to take the big money heat and big money fan backlash.  Bryz has been feeling the wrath of the Philly faithful, and I believe I have said it from the start; he will soon realize that playing in a market like Philadelphia is vastly more intense than playing in Phoenix.  Now, Bryz is signed to a massive $51 million dollar 9 year deal.  Philadelphia has always had problems with their goalies, since the departure of Hextall in 1992.  Earlier this year, I listed the majority of the names that have had their shot at glory in Philly, but failed to capitalize on the chance to be the number 1 goalie that the team sorely needs.  Bryz managed to make it through the first round of the playoffs against Pittsburgh, even though he finished the series with a .886 save percentage.  That my friends, will not make the grade in the NHL.  The only reason that they managed to emerge from the first round, was simply because Fleury played that much worse, finishing the first round series with an .834 save percentage.  After watching that round, I didn’t have high hopes for Philly emerging out on top of a traditionally stifling Jersey defense.

Are all politicians essentially corrupt?

I thought that the Winnipeg Jets did something noble earlier this season.  Prior to their home opener, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, requested 14 tickets to the game.  He was rejected that total, and was allowed to purchase 2 tickets for his personal use.  Now, as it seems, the Provincial Government in Manitoba has been accused of abusing their positions as politicians and have been receiving and handing out free tickets to the Jets games.  Should anyone really be surprised by this?  Typically, no.  Corruption and bribery, lamentably, are two common staples of politics in this day and age.  Why, for any reason, deny the Prime Minister of Canada tickets to the home opener, only to allow local provincial level Members of Parliament distribute tickets as they see fit?  But here is the thing; the MLCC (Manitoba Liquor Control Commission) is the only licensed retailer of alcohol in the province.  Why are they getting free tickets under the “advertising” budget?  Does that make sense?  No one in the province is legally allowed to sell booze, so why do they need to advertise?  Here is where it gets interesting; out of the 188 free tickets that the MLCC received, they issued tickets to the Office of Healthy Living Minister.  Politicians going to the game are not an issue to me; it is simply that they are using tax payer’s money to do it.  At least offer to pay out of pocket for the ticket and pretend that you care.  Since the return of the Jets to Winnipeg, finding tickets for home games is very challenging.  At least make it a fair playing field.

Today, since it is Mothers Day, let’s take a moment to reflect and thank those marvelous ladies in our lives.  Me?  I can’t wait until my boys get older and they can start buying shit for their mother on their own.  I signed out of that deal, why am I still on the hook for recognizing her?  For me, it is no longer Mothers Day, but MILF day. 

Mrs. Doutzen Kroes

Mrs. Eva Herzigova

Alessandria Ambrosia

And of course, Niki Taylor.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great week.

Hotchnuts

Hello Gabbers and Happy Mother's Day to all of your special mates, hope their day is special. I really find it rather interesting that this is my lead into my weekly blog, but I felt it only appropriate to wish your wives a great day. Since I always work on Sunday's at the store, I will miss out on most of the fun of this particular day. But life is good as the Mrs would say. I thought I would start my weekly rant with some "Uncle Ted," a great spokesperson for hunters and fisherman around the world.

This Michigan made rocker, is a great advocate and teacher to all of us about the do's and don'ts of hunting, hell I remember one time he blew up a blazer on his show to prove a point about how dangerous explosives are. But anyway, where the hell is the prolific Tiger's offense? I mean I realize they are playing the Athletics, but there are guys in the minors who have better batting averages than some of these jokers that are in the starting lineup right now......

How can Dombrowski and Leyland justify him still being with the club after dumping Inge a couple of weeks back. This boy is hitting .124 and doing nothing at the plate whatsoever, they could have got the same results out Inge. But I guess that's what happens when you are the teacher's pet, you get the extra chances that no one else gets.

How about Josh Beckett missing a start, then going out to his local golf course. Must have had an early Tee time the next day. He got his ass lit right up, and then fired f-bombs at the press after the game. What class, no wonder no one wants him the Red Sox have tried and still can't give him away. 

Now that he is returning in time for game 7 Saturday night, will it be enough to save the Laker's from an embarrassing loss to the Nuggets, or will it be another explosive offseason in Laker land? Since when did Magic Johnson become the spokesperson for the Laker's, calling for the firing of Mike Brown, and trading Gasol, Bynum and the rest of the team if they lose? This team is not good enough to win a championship anyway, they do not have a deep enough bench and getting rid of Derek Fisher was an awful mistake one that they could regret as soon as this evening.....

With all this being said, Taylor and Noah were being their typical selves while I was at work today driving their mother to the brink of drinking or even something worse. But that is a typical weekend around here, the kids are being themselves. Sometimes its nice to have a 40 hour a week job, with a variety of different hours. That is why I wish my wife a very happy Mother's Day, because of all things she is the reason I do the things I do, I would not trade her for the world after nearly 12 years of marriage to her. 

I off to do what good husbands do, keep their kids in line and try and finish some classwork before I hit the sack for another busy day at work....

Welcome friends and baseball fans to another edition of This Week in Small Market Baseball. This week, we tackle the Pirates, the Nationals, the A’s, the Twins, and the Cleveland Indians, so let’s jump right onto the diamond and hit the bases.

-         - Pirates’ starter James McDonald is having a solid season despite his team’s offensive struggles. He is 2-2 on the year with a 2.42 ERA and 39 strike-outs over 44.2 innings pitched. Still, the 27-year-old righty deserves better, as he’s allowed 3 earned runs or less in all 7 of his starts and has taken a loss or a no-decision in 5 of those. He can blame the offensively challenged Pirates who are last in Major League Baseball with only 89 runs scored in 32 games. You can’t win a lot of games when the offensive can’t give you at least 3 runs scored.

-         - Just when I was ready to admit that Bryce Harper had become the mature player that I had previously said he needed to grow into, he proves me right. His leap to the majors has been successful, minus the power that will come, but his ability was never the question. He has shown the need to become more professional and on Friday night, he showed why he still has a long way to go. Harper took a strike-out badly and decided to take his frustration out of the dugout wall. The only problem was that this was the one time he didn’t have good bat control, and the bat rebounded off the wall and clocked him in the melon. The subsequent wound required 10 stiches to close up and cost Harper a little bit of the luster from his star. Hopefully it is a lesson learned because Kevin Brown and Amare Stoudemire are horrible role models for a young player.

-         - Think the Tigers are wishing that they had waited out Brandon Inge’s struggles? The third baseman, now with Oakland, has 4 home runs and 17 RBI in 10 games since joining the A’s.  More impressive is the streak he is on, with 4 RBI or more in four of the last five games he’s played. Inge is still batting only .197 on the season, but he’s been a solid boost for an A’s line-up looking for a power bat.

-         - At 29-years-old, Joe Mauer should be entering the prime of his career, yet he is starting to look like his best years are behind him, with a .274 average and just 7 extra-base hits in his first 113 at-bats. Since signing the biggest contract in club history prior to the 2010 season, Mauer has played in just 250 games, hitting .308 with a total of 13 home runs and 120 RBI. Granted, he’s had trouble staying healthy through the last two seasons, but his lack of power makes paying $23 million a season to an Ichiro type hitter a bit much. It was a contract that the Twins needed to sign in order to show the fans that they were committed to fielding a winner, but six more seasons at that rate may be a big chunk to swallow for a team that cannot afford to make those kinds of mistakes.

-         - Watch out folks, but the best trade in the entire off-season may have been the Indians acquisition of right-hander Derek Lowe from the Braves. Cleveland sent minor-leaguer Chris Jones to the Braves for Lowe and $10 million to offset his salary prior to the 2012 season, and Lowe has made them look brilliant. The 38-year-old is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA for the first-place Indians. Causes of concern include the fact that batters are hitting him at a rate of .303 on the season and he sports a meager 2.7 strike-outs per nine innings pitched, but Lowe is also getting a solid 2.33 ground-outs to air outs. He may not keep it up throughout the season, but it may almost be safe to say that the Indians are getting their $5 million worth.

I was walking home from high school one nice spring day; the weather was so great that day that I decided not to take the bus.  When you are 15 years old a three mile walk home amounts to almost an afterthought, and if one is in a hurry you can always run home if you choose.   It was an eventful walk for, as I was cutting through a residential neighborhood, my eyes came upon a most awesome sight.  Parked in some guy’s driveway was the most macho looking car that I had ever seen.  Another 50 years have passed, and the vision of that day has never been topped.  Parked in the drive-way was a brand new shiny black 1963 Shelby Cobra, and I walked up to it to gawk at its awesome beauty.  It was a very stark looking machine, and as I stared inside the auto my eyes met with a stark matte black metal dash filled with silver Stewart Warner gauges.  The two bucket seats were jet black, with a silver steel roll cage encompassing the interior. I then noticed that there were no doors on the race car, and it was also devoid of windows.  The outside mirror was chromed, as were the shiny silver wheels that were wrapped in huge, fat tires under its flared fenders. I have just described the entire sight, except for the wondrous Ford 289 power plant that was laying in wait from the driver's seat and through that flat windshield and under its long hood.

I was shaken back to reality when a voice boomed, “Hello kid, do you know what you are looking at?”

“Sure mister”, I said.  “It is a Shelby Cobra.  I read about it in Road and Track magazine.  The title to the article said ‘Zero to 100 mph to Zero in ten seconds flat!’”

The man smiled at me and said “Catch”, and he threw the keys at me.  “Let’s go for a ride”.

“I am only fifteen”, I said.  “I do not have a drivers’ license yet!”

“Just kidding”, he said.  “Come on, let’s go around the block and I will give you a ride home.  Step right into the car, there are no doors”.

The man talked at length to me as we roared around the neighborhood and took the long way to my house.  He explained that he could have purchased a 1963 Corvette for $5800, but decided instead on the Cobra for only a thousand dollars more.  In retrospect both vehicles were excellent purchases, but the Cobra has trumped the Corvette in 2012 dollars.  A pristine 1963 Corvette (the only year of the split window coupe) is worth about $90000 today; a prime 1963 Shelby Cobra would top the $200,000 dollar mark.  He also told me that he had not read that “Road and Track” article that I had mentioned. I told him to wait a minute when he dropped me off, and I ran into my house and came back out and handed him the magazine.

“Thank you mister”, I gushed, “I will never forget that ride!”

“Thanks for the magazine kid”, he said as he roared off in that incredible machine. 

I learned that Carroll Shelby passed away yesterday morning at the age of 89, and the vision of that black beauty suddenly emerged from the recesses of my memory, as did the unbelievable ride home that I received from a very nice man so long ago.  I was compelled to share this story with you in deference to Mr. Shelby, and I hope that you have enjoyed it.  May he rest in peace.

  Well folks, it’s that time again… time for a little Sexy Action Sports on your Saturday with IHM. Seems like this week just took FOREVER… am I the only one? Might be the shitty work week, might be the Tigers playing out west and my dumb ass trying to stay up and watch the games… I hate it when my teams are on the west coast during the week.

   Been a pretty crazy week no matter what the excuse is, especially with the Tigers out west facing the Mariners first, and now the Oakland A’s. In Oakland, of course, they are reunited with ex-Tiger Brandon Inge… who hasn’t exactly hit for average in his 9 games with the A’s, but has produced three home runs and 13 RBI, including two grand slams. The second slam came Thursday night against the Tigers, although the Tigers were up 10-2 at the time, and still wound up winning the game 10-6. Still, had to feel nice for Inge to hit a blast like that against his ex-teammates and fanbase, all of which essentially turned on him at the end of his stay in Detroit (yours truly included). Still, I’m not very worried about Inge having any long-term success with the A’s, or anywhere for that matter. No matter what way you look at it, the guy is going to hit closer to .200 than .300, and might give you 15-20 home runs and around 70 RBIs in a full season. Lucky for him he can do it in Oakland, where a .200 average at 3^rd base is actually an IMPROVEMENT over what they had at the position.

   The worst thing about the late starts this week is the lack of sleep… lack of sleep because no matter what the Tigers lead might be, I am never confident the bullpen is going to HOLD that lead. Hell, Jose Valverde for the first time I can remember this season actually held an opponent without a hit or walk in his one inning outing against the A’s on Thursday. The entire bullpen is a mess right now, from the closer to the set up man, to all the middle relief guys. The bright spot has actually been the rotation, even without Fister for around two weeks thanks to the arrival of Drew Smyly in the rotation. Smyly has made six starts, and has an ERA of 1.59, but only a single, solitary win despite not allowing more than two runs in any of his six starts. He’s the first pitcher to do it in the modern era… now hopefully the bats can help him snag a few more wins for his efforts.

  But enough of me yaking about the second-place Tigers… let’s hear it for those 4^th place Yankees. It almost gives me wood just being able to say it. Not only are they in 4^th place in the AL East, they’re without their closer for the rest of the year, and now they’ll be without offseason acquisition Michael Pineda in their starting rotation for the rest of the season. Their misery just makes everything much, much better for me. Ah, haven’t said this in a while, so let’s get it out there… FUCK THE YANKEES.

   Let’s move on to the biggest joke in the world of sports this side of the WNBA… that of course being the NBA. Yeah, guess who won another MVP award this season… Mr.Choke himself, LeBron James. James picked up his 3^rd MVP award in the past 4 seasons. The thing that gets me about this guy winning an MVP award really boils down to what my definition of an MVP is… the most valuable player to his team, let alone the entire league. Without James, the Heat would still be a top 4 seed in the East, they’d still be a threat to win the conference, if not the whole damn thing. Hell, if you gave me my choice of any of the “big three” to build my franchise around, James would not be my choice… I’d take Wade in a heartbeat.

  So, my question to all of you is this… what are YOUR personal qualifications in naming an MVP? My first and most important factor is their impact on their team… i.e. would this team be as successful without this guy on the roster. You also have to consider the stats, sure, and another factor I consider is what this guy does in the big spots. To me, all James has is the stats. He’s not a leader, he’s not a closer, he pads the stats in the first three quarters of the game, and then shrinks into the shadow of Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, hell, even Mike Miller when the game is on the line. He’s got the killer instinct of a fucking koala bear.

   Elsewhere in the NBA… Pacers coach Frank Vogel came out and called the Miami Heat the “biggest flopping team in the NBA”, adding it would be “interesting to see how the series is officiated”. The way I see it, brilliant move by Vogel… you KNOW you’re going to get SCREWED by the refs in this series, so why not call them out on it before it even starts. Of course, the entire league is full of flop artists, which just makes the game its self a fucking joke… but hell, it’s good to see somebody else sees what is going on basically league-wide every time somebody drives to the bucket these days.

  According to reports, the home of Chris “Birdman” Anderson was raided by police earlier this week… nope, not for reasons you would expect, coke for example… but on kiddie porn allegations. If this is true, you have to hope this guy is DONE in the NBA, and hopefully locked up for a long, long time. According to attourneys for Anderson, the charges are drummed up by a scorned female fan of Andersons’. We’ll have to see how it all plays out over the next couple weeks, but what a fucking mess this would be.

  Speaking of pedophiles, more specifically people who HARBOR pedophiles, it looks like Penn State administrators will be let off the hook for the failure to report suspected child abuse because a date was changed, which put it just out of range for the statute of limitations. Wonder how much THAT cost the university. But, more than likely, nobody is going to get any conviction on a failure to report child abuse. The most important thing here, still, is getting Sandusky behind bars and the hell away from ANY child. As for the rest of the people involved, including McQueery, they know what they did… or DIDN’T do… and they’ll live with it on their heads the rest of their lives.

  Finally, before I call it a day, I’d like to spend a minute and address the lawsuit against the NFL that around 100 former players are filing because the league “didn’t properly protect them against concussions”. I’m not saying I don’t feel bad at all for the things these guys are going through after their careers are over… but you can’t blame the league for all of this. These guys knew there was an inherent risk to playing football professionally, and that risk was injury. Hell, Chris Henry, the former Bengal, was never diagnosed with a concussion during his career, but had as much damage to HIS brain as many of those examined post-mortem of ex-NFL players.

   It’s sad to see what some of these guys are going through… but they knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed the contract to get paid to play professional football. Not a whole hell of a lot was known by ANYONE about the long-term impact concussions can have on athletes. It’s not like the NFL was covering it up… in fact, I’d say they’ve been pretty forth-right about concussions since Goddell took over as commish. There have been a LOT of steps taken in the right direction as far as player safety goes under Sherriff Goodell’s watch, some of these steps even bordering on ruining the game of football as we know it.

  At the end of the day, I look at these guys who made good money to play professional football, and it’s a damn shame what they are all going through. But at the same time, these guys bring in $60,000 in pension every year… not to mention what they can make doing autograph signings, public appearances, etc. Does the league owe it to former players to step up their contributions to their healthcare? I say if I can “manage” to pay for healthcare on $25,000 a year, these guys should be able to get their own medical coverage on at least double that. 

   That’s all I’ve got this week, folks. Thanks as always for reading and for any  comments you leave on the way out.

It’s kinda like watching a tennis match...

Without having to swivel your head...

The NBA Playoffs...

And the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs...

Back and forth...

Back and forth...

Simultaneously...

Love it...

And though they’re here together...

They are very different...

For the most part, that is...

So...

When you’re watching the NBA Playoffs...

Just get out your chalk...

Forget the first forty-some-odd minutes...

Just watch the last few...

Forget the first round or two...

Just wait ‘til it gets real interesting...

Oh yeah... 

NBA has it’s early moments...

Every once in a while...

But in the end...

It usually ends according to Hoyle...

Whoever Hoyle is...

Maybe Hoyle is David Stern...

Which is why they call him Stern...

“Yoo vill vin ziss series...”

“Ooohnt yoo vill like eet.”

Not like that in the NHL...

The players get to decide who gets The Cup...

What a concept...

You see...

If a seven or eight seed wants to run the table...

It’s okay in the NHL...

The Bett Man is down with it...

The Stern Dictator is not...

Now I know some of you don’t like the Bett Man...

But he steps aside when Stanley is around...

And David???

He has a stern hold of The Larry...

I like that...

One is named Stanley...

The other is named Larry...

I would have picked a different name...

Something like The Joe Cup...

The Cup of Joe...

Joe is more authoritative than Stanley or Larry...

Which is why David likes Larry...

Laurence is more sophisticated than David...

So it’s just The Larry...

With the Irish O'Brien surname...

No wonder the Celtics win it a bunch...

They have a distinct advantage...

And no wonder the Jazz haven’t won it...

Jazz ain’t Irish...

Maybe they should be the Utah Cloggers...

But I don’t think David would allow it...

He’s the boss of everything...

Who wins the series...

How many games...

Who gets hurt...

Can’t have too short of a series...

Gotta rake in more money...

It’s a communist plot...

But Gary doesn’t care...

The original six don’t have to be in the finals...

Heck...

Didn’t the Nordiques play the Whalers one year???

Anything can happen with Stanley...

He runs the show...

I think it’s because he’s a lord...

Not THE LORD...

Just A Lord...

He doesn’t care if an eighth seed wins it...

If you have a hot goalie...

You can win The Stanley...

Even if you only qualified with twelve points...

Because...

Everybody and their brothers make the playoffs...

In both leagues mind you...

But both playoffs are completely different...

David and Larry are predictable...

Gary and Stanley are not...

That’s why I prefer the NHL to the NBA...

And one more thing...

They both have overtime...

That’s good...

But Stanley has Sudden Death...

Larry doesn’t...

Stanley’s game may not end until September...

Larry prefers the five minute quickie...

And the best part about Stanley’s game???

You don’t have to watch Lebron blow the title...

Year after year...

dvt

http://www.nhlsnipers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/nba-v-nhl1.jpg

We are now roughly 1/5^th of the way through the Major League season and this season has been full of surprises, ups and downs, and general mayhem. We’ve seen perfect games, no-hitters, 4 home-run contests, appearances of top prospects, and intentional plunkings.

I love baseball!

But what I love most about the game is the parity. Sure, there are some teams that always seem to be near the top, but at this time of the year, there are also a handful of surprise teams making improbable, and sometimes short-lived, runs to the top of the division.

With that in mind, I thought I would take a look at some of the teams I am buying and selling at this stage of the season; the over-achievers, the under-achievers, and the real deal teams of the league.

Washington Nationals – Selling

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Nationals and the way they are playing the game. And yes, I’m watching the Bryce Harper show the same way I used to enjoy the “Tiger Watch”. Their pitching is absolutely phenomenal, with Strasburg, Detwiler, Gonzalez, and Zimmerman all showing the talent that makes them one of the best young rotations in baseball. That said I’m selling because I don’t think this offense can do enough to sustain the momentum. You cannot rely on pitching every night of the week and a team that ranks 27^th in runs scored and 24^th in average is not going to be there to bail out the pitcher when he fails to carry the load.

This is a good, young team, but they are still a year or so away from contending for the long haul.

Los Angeles Angels – Buying

At 14-18, the Angels have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball, and with Texas having such a solid start to the year, they have dug themselves a big hole to start the season. Still, this is a team that is underperforming more than any in baseball and the signs are pointing to them coming out of it, as they have won 7 of their last 10 games. Remember, this is a team whose best hitter, Albert Pujols, is swinging the bat to the tune of .198 with just 1 home run and 11 RBI. They also can expect better things out of rotation stalwarts Ervin Santana and Dan Haren, both of whom have been inconsistent but have shown flashes of brilliance during the year.

You just can’t keep a team with this much talent down.

Boston Red Sox – Selling

Well, it appears that the Red Sox have figured out a way to beat the new MLB Draft slotting system, as they are bound and determined to secure a high pick after a 12-18 start. They have the second worst ERA in all of baseball and the struggles of their top three starters (Lester, Beckett, and Buchholz) are not showing any signs of getting better at this stage. You can tell that times are desperate when fans start looking forward to the return of Daisuke Matsuzaka from Tommy John surgery to stabilize the rotation.

The offense is doing its job, but when you have to consistently score 7-8 runs to stay in a game, there is something else offensive going on.

Cleveland Indians – Selling

Sometimes it is hard to justify selling on a first place team, but the numbers do all the talking for me with the Indians. Despite ranking 18^th in team hitting and 21^st in team pitching, this team has managed to place itself atop the mediocre American League Central division. That said, is it just dumb luck that Cleveland is holding on to the division lead or is it more of a bi-product of the disappointing season thus far for the Detroit Tigers?

I’m more apt to believe the latter and banking on Detroit making a similar run to the one they did to close out 2011, while Cleveland flirts with the division title, but fades by August.

Toronto Blue Jays – Buying

If there is a team that has been dying for the chance at a division change or an additional playoff spot, it is the Toronto Blue Jays. This is a team that has been on the cusp of contending only to suffer because of the division they play in, getting leaped by the Tampa Bay Rays along the way. Still, there is a lot to like in Toronto, with some electrifying young players (Brett Lawrie, Eric Thames), Edwin Encarnacion having a career year, Jose Bautista set to get back to being Joey Bats, and a top quality, young pitching staff coming into its own, the Blue Jays are poised to snap up that extra wild card slot.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Buying

Remember when people were trying to argue that Matt Kemp should have won the MVP award over Ryan Braun a year ago, and that was before the PED controversy? Well, Kemp is out to prove them why by going out and playing as the MVP this year. But the Dodgers are so much more than Kemp. Andre Ethier is one of the more exciting young bats in baseball and is in a walk year. The top four starters in the rotation all have an ERA under 3.32, and have the third lowest starters ERA in the majors.

And now with new ownership decided, the team can focus on winning games and winning back the Los Angeles market share back from the Angels.