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#452
05-31-2010
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With a few extra free moments this morning, I want to respond to the other parts of oldawg's post that I did not address earlier (I already wrote about the DH). I'm using red to make it easy to differentiate between oldawg's words and mine.
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Finally, let me add my voice to the welcomes to oldawg to this thread. 
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#453
05-31-2010
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More on the DH
I thought baseball lovers here might be interested to read an excellent article on the Designated Hitter that appeared in yesterday's Boston Globe. It touches on virtually every aspect of the debate, and I will let it speak for itself, reserving comment except to say that the Boston Globe has some of the absolute best baseball writing anywhere, consistently, and even throughout the entire dead of winter. It's no accident that Peter Gammons comes from the Globe. Nick Cafardo, the author of this piece, writes a weekly full-page "Baseball Notes" article in each Sunday's edition, and the Red Sox are not the focus of the page. I encourage baseball lovers to look up the paper on Sunday's on the web.
Here's the article, reprinted in its entirety, and set off in another color to make a clear distinction between it and my comment above. BASEBALL NOTE DH topic continues to get batted around By Nick Cafardo | May 30, 2010 DH or no DH? It has been the question for some 37 years. ?I see it remaining status quo for the foreseeable future,?? said commissioner Bud Selig from his Milwaukee office. ?It would take a cataclysmic event for us to change it. Now, if we started looking at possibly realignment, which we haven?t discussed seriously to this point, there would be discussion. But I would anticipate the status quo long after I?m gone from this office.?? The issue now is the relevancy of the position. For years, it was a haven for older players like Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Carl Yastrzemski, and George Brett, who were able to tack on numbers to their totals. Yet there seems to be diminishing returns for DHs. Teams are beginning to use the spot as a place to rest position players now and again. The Red Sox still employ David Ortiz as a full-time DH, but this is likely his last season in Boston. After that, depending on what happens with Victor Martinez in free agency, the position will likely be occupied by multiple players. Vladimir Guerrero is giving the DH spot a boost with his huge season in Texas, and last year?s World Series MVP was a DH (Hideki Matsui). But for the most part, you wonder whether the spot is running out of oomph and usefulness. The debates continue. Fans defend their league. The National League can claim that its brand of baseball is the way the game should be played. The DH also can turn players into one-dimensional pieces. Toronto?s Adam Lind and Minnesota?s Jason Kubel are two DHs who should be playing defensive positions. Others support the DH. ?I love the DH,?? said longtime baseball man Bill Lajoie, now a senior adviser with the Pirates. ?I love offense. I love runners on base as opposed to the pitcher hitting and having a wasted out. ?I wish the National League had the DH because it really reduces your roster because you have to make more pitching changes and your bench is restricted because you have to save your backup catcher, and your utility infielder is usually someone who can?t hit, so your roster is suddenly, for practical purposes, 22 or 23.?? There have been suggestions to give the DH a proper resting place. Use it for spring training, some say, so hitters can get their at-bats, or for the All-Star Game where fans come mostly to see offense (it will be used in All-Star Games starting this year). Removing the DH could help the pace of games by eliminating older, base-clogging players who take a lot of pitches and prolong at-bats. Of the owners who voted to adopt the DH, Selig is the only one remaining in the game. Back in 1973, attendance in the American League was sagging and the league needed something to create excitement. Selig, then the owner of the Brewers (who were then in the AL), remembers vividly former Red Sox general manager Dick O?Connell telling him, ?We?ve got to get the DH!?? ?There are very few players who like to DH,?? said Jim Rice, who made 2,256 plate appearances (of a total 9,058) from the DH spot. ?If it went back to no DH, I don?t think anyone would be too unhappy about it. Players like to play in the field. When you can?t do it anymore, you retire. So many players just hang on and DH for a year or two.?? According to Selig, in all of his years as commissioner ? and even prior to that ? the DH issue has been split right down league lines. The American League loves it, the National League doesn?t. ?I like the dialogue on it,?? said Selig. ?It?s good for the sport. I?m always trying to find ways to make the sport better, and enjoy the conversation and debate that goes with it. But I have heard no compelling reason to do away with it.?? The New York Times did a story before the World Series last year examining the potential advantage AL teams had in using their regular DHs as opposed to the NL teams having to use one of their extra players to DH. In 86 games over 27 World Series, the NL DHs had a .254 average with 10 homers and 34 RBIs, while the AL DHs had a .237 average with 9 homers and 40 RBIs. The AL won 15 of the 27 Series. Then Matsui stole the show. Selig has a committee to study all baseball matters, and while the DH comes up once in a while, there will likely be no outrage about it until realignment jumbles the leagues together. The Players Association endorses more jobs for the union, though the days of the $12 million DH like Ortiz are likely over. It would never support any measure to eliminate the DH in its entirety. DH or no DH depends on your viewpoint and self-interest. Houston manager Brad Mills, whose offense has been pathetic, quipped, ?You might be asking the wrong guy. I came from the AL East, with powerful lineups, and would I like to see a DH who can hit on our team right now? I like the game without the DH, but when you need hitting, it looks awfully good.??
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#454
06-02-2010
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Major League Baseball announced today that two Red Sox, David Ortiz and Jon Lester, are the American League Player of the Month and Pitcher of the Month, respectively. The Ortiz pick is especially satisfying here in Red Sox Nation, since it recognizes that a guy who had a dismal April, and who the "pundits" began to talk of as "done," has turned things around tremendously. The Sox are nipping at the Blue Jays' heels, are not far behind the Yankees, and are making a race of it in the AL East, just as should be expected.
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#455
06-03-2010
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#456
06-03-2010
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I was wondering what everyone else thought about Armando Galarraga losing his Perfect Game due to a blatantly wrong call by umpire Jim Joyce. I honestly believe that Bud Selig should step in and change it to a Perfect Game. It was the final out(and he was out) so it would have been the game had that out counted. If it had been either the first or second out of the game, I can see leaving it as is(since anything could have happened with different pitch selections, etc.), but since it was the FINAL OUT, it should be a Perfect Game.
Here is an article about it from tsn.ca. BLOWN CALL COSTS TIGERS' GALARRAGA PERFECT GAME Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Detroit's Armando Galarraga was one out away from the third perfect game of 2010 and the second in less than a week, but a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce cost him immortality. After retiring the first 26 batters in succession, Indians shortstop Jason Donald was called safe on a ground ball to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Replays showed that Galarraga clearly beat Donald to the bag while receiving Cabrera's toss, but Joyce made an emphatic safe call to the dismay of the entire Tigers team and the fans at Comerica Park. "This isn't 'a' call. This isn't -- This is -- This is a history call," Joyce said. "And I kicked the (expletive) out of it. And there's nobody that feels worse than I do. I take pride in this job, and I kicked the (expletive) out of it, and I took a perfect game away from that kid who worked his (butt) off all night." Despite the call, Galarraga finished with the first complete game and first shutout of his career -- a one-hitter -- as the Tigers beat the Indians, 3-0, in the second of three games. "That's the nature of the business, that's just the way it is. The players are human, the umpires are human, the managers are human, the writers are human," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We all make mistakes. It's a crying shame. Jimmy's a real good umpire, has been for a long time. He probably got it wrong." Following the play and immediately after the game, Leyland and most of the Tigers players -- most notably Cabrera -- were yelling furiously at Joyce. The crowd vociferously booed him, realizing the call on the field was incorrect. After seeing a replay postgame, Joyce apologized to Galarraga. "I give that guy a lot of credit to that guy saying, 'Hey I need to talk to you because I really want to say I'm sorry," Galarraga said. "You don't see an umpire telling you after the game saying 'I'm sorry.' He apologized." Cabrera's solo shot in the second inning was all Detroit needed to post its eighth home win over Cleveland in the last nine tries. Galarraga (2-1) needed only 88 pitches in the masterpiece, nearly the Tigers' first perfect game in the team's illustrious history. Joyce has been a major league umpire since 1987 -- full-time since 1989 -- and is one of the most senior umps in the game today. He was on the field for Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout and Robin Yount's 3,000th hit and has worked two World Series, three league championship series and six division series, although he has not appeared in a playoff game since 2006. It marked the 10th time in baseball history that a perfect game bid ended on the 27th batter. The last time it happened was when Boston's Carl Everett singled with two strikes off the Yankees' Mike Mussina on September 2, 2001. "I thought he beat the play, and now that I am standing here and I've seen it on the replay, and naturally every Tiger out there was telling me that I kicked the call because they'd seen the replay," Joyce said. "So the first thing I did when I got in this locker room -- I told our clubhouse guy to queue it up, and I missed it. I missed it." It also wasn't the first time an umpire controversy cost a pitcher the perfect game on what would have been the final batter. On September 2, 1972, umpire Bruce Froemming called ball four on a borderline 3-2 pitch to San Diego's Larry Stahl, costing Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas a shot at history. Galarraga was bidding for the third perfect game of 2010 and the first since last Saturday's masterpiece by Philadelphia's Roy Halladay. Oakland's Dallas Braden also accomplished the feat on May 9 against the Tampa Bay Rays. No single season has ever seen three perfect games, and only 1880 ever saw multiple perfect games before this season. The Indians, meanwhile, avoided being on the wrong end of a perfect game for the first time in team history. Cleveland has notched a hit in every game since the Yankees' Jim Abbott no-hit the Tribe on September 4, 1993. "I don't know. Everything just happened so fast," Donald said. "I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could. I thought Galarraga threw a very, very good game. He kept us off-balance all night and threw all his pitches for strikes." Galarraga was denied the Tigers' seventh no-hitter in team history and first since Justin Verlander did it against Milwaukee on June 12, 2007. Lost in all the controversy was a solid start by Cleveland's Fausto Carmona (4-4), who pitched a complete game (eight innings) and allowed three runs -- two earned -- on nine hits while striking out three without walking a batter. Galarraga's bid nearly came to an end at the start of the ninth inning on a hit ball by the Indians' Mark Grudzielanek. Grudzielanek blasted the first pitch he saw into the left-center field gap, and center fielder Austin Jackson made a tremendous running catch to preserve the no-hitter. Cleveland hit into 14 groundouts while striking out only three times. The three strikeouts would have tied a record for least amount of strikeouts in a perfect game -- the same amount as the Cleveland Naps' Addie Joss in 1908. Detroit's other runs came in the eighth, when Jackson and Johnny Damon hit back-to-back two-out singles. Magglio Ordonez followed with a base hit to score Jackson, and Damon raced home on a throwing error by right fielder Shin- Soo Choo. Game Notes Ironically enough, Joyce was working second base during Braden's perfect game...Detroit leads the season series, 5-2...The Indians fell to 5-19 this season when they commit at least one error...Cabrera has 12 homers in 43 games against the Indians since joining the Tigers in 2008...Galarraga lowered his season earned run average to 2.57...Cabrera's home run was his 15th of the season and fifth in his last six games.
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#457
06-03-2010
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Blown Call Costs Galarraga Perfect Game
 I've been witness to some extremely bad calls by MLB umpires recently, but this has gotta be one of the worst ive ever seen. Thank goodness my Mets didn't get screwed this time, but i feel really bad for this kid. Heres the story: Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning when a blown call prevented him from making history. Indians hitter Jason Donald reached first base on an infield single. Detroit disputed the call and replays later showed that Donald was out. Galarraga's perfect game would have been the third this season and the second in just a matter of days after Roy Halladay was perfect against the Marlins on Saturday. Donald hit a bouncer that first baseman Miguel Cabrera cleanly fielded to his right. He took his time and made an accurate throw to Galarraga covering the bag. The ball appeared to be in Galarraga's glove just before Donald made it to first base, replays indicated. Galarraga quickly retired Trevor Crowe for the one-hit shutout after losing out on history. A few notes from the game that I noticed myself: First of all, I am unfamiliar with this pitcher (I'm an NL guy). However, watching him behave with the utmost class during this 9th inning, I'm now a fan. This is a life-changing mistake by the umpire Jim Joyce, one that could actually cost Galarraga million$ in the long run (Pitchers who throw no-hitters get multimillion dollar contracts. Those that don't may or may not). When Joyce emphatically called the runner safe, ending Galarraga's perfect-game bid, the pitcher just smiled a big smile & walked back to the mound. No yelling, no crying, no arguing, no fighting. Classy. I like this guy. Secondly, veteran umpire Jim Joyce, who blew the call, is a stand-up guy. After the game, after viewing replays of the blown call, he actually apologized to Galarraga personally. That's refreshing as well. It doesn't excuse the mistake, i know. But both of these men have dealt with this with such class & respect that I think it will help the league get past this horrendous error. As I stated earlier in this post, I have been dismayed many, many times because of terrible calls by these professional umpires, only to have them make it even worse by ejecting the players & managers for arguing the blown calls. For myself, this has done it. Usually old-school & traditionalist, I have had enough. I am now interested in implementing computerized umpiring wherever possible. If ESPN can show us digitally EXACTLY where a pitch is, can't we utilize that technology within the game itself? Umpire Jim Joyce made an error, came clean & should be forgiven. But I've seen way too many arrogant umps with a chip on their shoulder looking for a fight, after THEY messed up the game. I understand that at home we see WAY more much slower than these guys do. But c'mon, these guys have been REALLY, REALLY bad the last few years. At least once a game I see blown calls. Congratulations to Armando Galarraga for pitching a perfect game, even if the books will never show it.
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#459
06-03-2010
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I was listening to the Red Sox game on the radio and they kept mentioning this perfect game in progress, so in the 9th inning of the Tigers game I ran upstairs to the TV, turned on the MLB network, and watched the bad call.
My thoughts, in no particular order: 1. Gallaraga's behavior was truly admirable. 2. Jim Joyce did the right thing by apologizing, and he will never forget that he did this. That is probably punishment enough. 3. The idea that Bud Selig should step in and declare this a perfect game is an invitation to chaos. 4. There will be more calls now for instant replay in baseball. I think the home run review is enough. I want baseball to stay the most human of games for as long as possible. Think about how much this wonderful game is still exactly like the game of our youth. We stop playing when the weather gets bad, waiting until the last possible moment to suspend play. There are arguments about who saw what, and everyone's friendly at the end no matter the outcome ("I don't think you touched the lawn chair at second base, man! But let's see if my mom bought some popsicles.")
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#460
06-03-2010
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Check it out...GM gave Galarraga a Corvette for the almost-perfect game:
Jun 03, 2010 Perfect: GM gives Chevrolet Corvette to Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night, but GM found his performance impressive enough in the Tigers' 3-0 shutout to hand him the keys to a 2010 Chevy Corvette convertible. That's some consolation prize. But it couldn't be more deserved: Galarraga retired 26 straight Indians' batters before the 27th and final batter, Jason Donald, stepped to the plate. Donald hit a ground ball between first and second base, which was fielded by Tiger's first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera threw to Galarraga, who stepped on first base, but umpire Jim Joyce blew the call and said Donald was safe. Galarraga had to settle for a 3-0 shutout. Shortly after the game ended, Joyce admitted to missing the call at the base, saying, "I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career." The umpire apologized to Galarraga last night. GM North American President Mark Reuss found the performance impressive enough anyway. No matter what the record books say, Reuss decided Galarraga deserved recognition for his achievement. One has to wonder what kind of car Galarraga would have gotten for a perfect game. --Stephen Markley/Cars.com's Kicking Tires pretty cool! SMC, as for your 4 thoughts, I strongly agree with the first 3 (especially #3- this is an important point). As for #4, i agree there will be more calls for replay now, & I am a case in point. In fact, I'm usually old-school, someone who would rather keep new influences out of the game, as I've argued in this thread before. But things are changing. For the past 3 or so years I feel the umpiring in MLB has gotten progressively worse. I don't keep track, but in the past year I would need at least two hands to count the games in which a bad call has changed the outcome of the game I was watching. (For what its worth, I see a lot of baseball. I watch Mets games daily, & I live with a Braves fan & Yankees fan so I'm always seeing their games, & I have the EXTRA INNINGS Baseball package for out-of-market games. For me, I love the Mets, but baseball is always on in the background. As a musician, I'm always working...I write & practice music all days & nights, & usually the TV is on mute the whole time). Anyway, honestly I am fed up with all the bad calls. I'm sick of watching Jose Reyes get called out stealing 2nd base just because the throw beat him there. I'm tired of watching umps give the "ghost calls" during a double play or at first base. If the fielder never touches the bag, theres no way the runner should be out. & how about the check swing strikes? & the ridiculous strike zone many umps have? I mean c'mon, its not a form of self-expression, its letters to knees! I'd prefer to keep more replay out of the game, but weve got to get these calls correct, so ive now changed sides & Im hoping we get as much computerized umpires as possible!!! 
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#461
06-03-2010
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#462
06-03-2010
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You say there are precedents?
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#463
06-04-2010
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Shadows, I wanted to respond to a few of your comments to me earlier:
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In reality, I'm sure I would at least attempt to watch my team with a DH, but earlier I was stating what I'm sure the end result would be, I get very bored with American League-style baseball. Quote:
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This is a large enough variance, but at least sets some limits so possibly the Pirates, Royals, & Marlins would be 1) forced to comply, & 2) possibly in contention again? Quote:
As a point of interest, he & his father, Ron Davis, are the 197th father-son combination to play in the big leagues...Ron played in the majors for 11 seasons, for the Yankees, Twins, Cubs, Dodgers & Giants...He was the setup man for Goose Gossage, earned 130 saves, holds the NY Yankee record for consecutive strikeouts in a game (8), is tied for the record of most blown saves in a season (14 in 1984), and was an AL All-Star in 1981.
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#464
06-04-2010
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I personally feel that this is a unique case and would not make it so everything has the potential to be changed. Galarraga had 26 outs and only needed to get one more. The 27th(and final) out was the mistake by the umpire. If he had not made that mistake, the game was over. Plus, Galarraga got the next batter out, so he made 28 out of 28 outs. If this had happened during the first out of the ninth, or even the second out of the ninth, I would say the call would have to remain as there would be too many variables(with a runner on the base, the pitcher's pitch selection would be different, he would be pitching from the stretch, etc.). However, with this being the LAST out, and the score not being changed either way, it should become a Perfect Game. It should have been a Perfect Game, and it would have had Jim Joyce not decided to make such a bad call. I hope that outside sources puts pressure on Selig(who is one of the worst Commissioners I have seen. I liken him to Buttman of the NHL), but I am not going to hold my breath. I take solace in the fact that Selig is gone in 2012. One thing I will say that I do NOT agree with in all this is that there are some "fans"(allegedly) threatening Jim Joyce's wife and kids because of this. While I think it was an idiotic mistake, he certainly does not deserve to be threatened, and especially not his family.
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#465
06-04-2010
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#466
06-19-2010
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With hockey and now basketball done, and not withstanding World Cup fever, it's time to bump up the baseball thread and get the discussion going again.
In the AL East, where my team (GO RED SOX!!) resides, things have gotten very interesting. The expected decline of the Blue Jays (sorry, shadows), who held third place for a while, has happened, but not to the extent expected. They have suffered more from the good play of their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Red Sox -- who looked "done" early -- have surged, thanks in large part to David Ortiz coming alive after a dismal April, and also to some very good pitching despite losing Beckett and Matzusaka. The Yankees continue to go strong, but not as strong, and the Rays can't seem to keep up the amazing start from April. So, waking up this morning, we find the Rays and Yankees tied for first place but with the Sox only one game behind.
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#467
06-19-2010
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 Toronto actually has a 3-game winning streak going on and they are only 4.5 games out of first place in the East, and only 4.5 games out of the Wildcard spot(3.5 games behind Boston). So it is fair to say that Toronto is by no means out of the picture. And considering how this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jays, I can honestly say that I am impressed with how they are playing. As long as they are still playing meaningful baseball in the latter days of the summer, I will be happy. 
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#468
06-20-2010
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#469
06-20-2010
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#470
06-20-2010
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Apropos of the Toronto Blue Jays, and on a more serious note than my post above, it is worth noting that soon the team's management will find itself at the proverbial fork in the road. Specifically, in what shadows correctly identified as a "rebuilding" year, the trading deadline of July 31 looms. Does the team decide that it is hopelessly out of contention and choose to keep building its arsenal of young players by trading a few veterans (Overbay, Bautista, Gonzalez, and McDonald come to mind), or does it go for broke and try to bring in some "rented" players to help make a run at the Wild Card in the American League. It is an unenviable position in which to be.
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#472
07-10-2010
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it ain't over till it's over
Went to the Phillies Reds game tonight and i'm glad i stayed for the whole game, yes i was templed to leave early as it was an ugly game from the start and going in to the bottom of the *9th it was 7 to 1 in favor of the Reds
 but My Phillies came back to tie it and took it to extra innings and Howard hit a walkoff HR in the 10th to win it 9 to 7, So this Jerseygirl had a good time at the park tonight even after suffering thru 8 innings but the end was worth it Jerseygirl Jen
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#473
07-10-2010
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My rule is: never leave early, even if the people you're with are ready to drag you out of the park!
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#474
07-10-2010
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Just for you, smc. With thanks to the comic strip Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller.
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#475
07-10-2010
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But at least we actually have fans, filling the ballpark. I'm watching the Sox in Toronto right now, and I can honestly say that no one would ever, ever, ever, ever have to travel through five sections with no one seated in them to hunt down a foul ball -- as just happened.
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#479
07-11-2010
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and Haveing both Chase and Placido both on the disabled list but on the plus side the Phillies ended the first half of the season with a sweep of the RedsPhilliefan Jen
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#480
07-14-2010
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#481
07-14-2010
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I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the passing of George Steinbrenner!
 Here is an article on it from tsn.ca. YANKEES OWNER STEINBRENNER DIES AT 80 NEW YORK -- He was baseball's bombastic Boss. He rebuilt the New York Yankees dynasty, ushering in the era of multimillion-dollar salaries and accepting nothing less in return than World Series championships. He fired managers. Rehired them. And fired them again. He butted heads with commissioners and fellow owners, insulted his players and dominated tabloid headlines -- even upstaging the all-star game on the day of his death. George Michael Steinbrenner III, who both inspired and terrorized the Yankees in more than three decades as owner, died Tuesday of a heart attack at age 80. "He was and always will be as much of a New York Yankee as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and all of the other Yankee legends," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. Once reviled by fans for his overbearing and tempestuous nature, Steinbrenner mellowed in his final decade and became beloved by employees and rivals alike for his success. Steinbrenner was taken from his home to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and died about 6:30 a.m., a person close to the owner told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not disclosed those details. "George was a fierce competitor who was the perfect fit for the city that never sleeps -- colourful, dynamic and always reaching for the stars," former President Bill Clinton said. Yankees captain Derek Jeter added: "He expected perfection." In 37 1/2 years as owner, Steinbrenner whipped a moribund US$10-million team into a $1.6 billion colossus that became the model of a modern franchise, one with its own TV network and ballpark food business. Under his often brutal but always colourful reign, the Yankees won seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants and 16 AL East titles, going on spectacular spending sprees that caused Larry Lucchino, president of the rival Boston Red Sox, to dub Steinbrenner's Yankees the "Evil Empire." He moved the Yankees from their tradition-rich "House that Ruth Built" into a new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium. Call it the "House the Boss Built." He appeared there just four times: the April 2009 opener, the first two games of last year's World Series and this year's home opener, when Jeter and manager Joe Girardi went to his suite and personally delivered his seventh World Series ring. "He was very emotional," son Hal Steinbrenner said then. Steinbrenner's larger-than-life outbursts transcended sports and made him a pop culture figure whose firings were parodied on the TV comedy "Seinfeld" and even by Steinbrenner himself in commercials. "George was The Boss, make no mistake," said Berra, the Hall of Famer who ended a 14-year feud with Steinbrenner in 1999. "He built the Yankees into champions, and that's something nobody can ever deny. He was a very generous, caring, passionate man. George and I had our differences, but who didn't? We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much." Steinbrenner's death, about 14 hours before the first pitch of the all-star game in Anaheim, Calif., was the second in three days to rock the Yankees. Bob Sheppard, the team's revered public address announcer from 1951-07, died Sunday at 99. A video tribute was shown and players bowed their heads during a moment of silence before the national anthem was played at Angel Stadium. Jeter and the Yankees wore black armbands, and the U.S., Canadian and California flags were lowered to half-staff. New York was 11 years removed from its last championship when Steinbrenner, then an obscure son of an Ohio shipbuilder, headed a group that bought the team from CBS Inc. on Jan. 3, 1973, for about $8.7 million net. Forbes now values the Yankees at $1.6 billion, trailing only Manchester United ($1.8 billion) and the Dallas Cowboys ($1.65 billion). Former commissioner Faye Vincent, who fought many battles with Steinbrenner, said his legacy would be turning the Yankees "into an absolute gold mine and a monster of power and success in baseball." "He was one of the few who realized he this was an iconic franchise, and he could turn it into something really special, and he did," Vincent said. "He was an incredible and charitable man," Steinbrenner's family said in a statement. "He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again." He ruled with obsessive dedication to detail -- from trades to the airblowers that kept his ballparks spotless. When he thought the club's parking lot was too crowded, Steinbrenner stood on the pavement -- albeit behind a van, out of sight -- and had a guard check every driver's credential. But he also tried to make up for his temper with good deeds and often-unpublicized charitable donations. His rule was interrupted by two lengthy suspensions, including a 15-month ban in 1974 after pleading guilty to illegal contributions to the re-election campaign of President Richard Nixon. Steinbrenner was fined $15,000 and later pardoned by President Ronald Reagan. He also was banned for 2 1/2 years for paying self-described gambler Howie Spira to obtain negative information on outfielder Dave Winfield, with whom Steinbrenner was feuding. Through it all, Steinbrenner lived up to his billing as "The Boss," a nickname he clearly enjoyed as he ruled with an iron fist. While he lived in Florida in his later years, he was a staple on the front pages of New York newspapers with his tirades. Steinbrenner was in fragile health for the past 6 1/2 years, resulting in fewer public appearances and pronouncements. He fainted at a memorial service for NFL great Otto Graham in December 2003, appeared weak in August 2006 when he spoke briefly at the groundbreaking for the new stadium, and became ill while watching his granddaughter in a college play in North Carolina that October. At this year's spring training, he used a wheelchair and needed aides to hold him during the national anthem. As his health declined, Steinbrenner let sons Hal and Hank run more of the family business. He turned over formal control of the Yankees to Hal in November 2008. Dressed in his trademark navy blue blazer and white turtleneck, however, he was the model of success. "He was truly the most influential and innovative owner in all of sports," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. "He made the Yankees a source of great pride in being a New Yorker." Until his dying day, Steinbrenner demanded championships. He barbed Joe Torre during the 2007 AL playoffs, then let the popular manager leave after 12 seasons because of another loss in the opening round. The team responded last year by winning his final title. "I will always remember George Steinbrenner as a passionate man, a tough boss, a true visionary, a great humanitarian, and a dear friend," Torre said. "It's only fitting that he went out as a world champ." New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered flags to half-staff at City Hall Plaza. "Few people have had a bigger impact on New York over the past four decades than George Steinbrenner," Bloomberg said. "George had a deep love for New York, and his steely determination to succeed, combined with his deep respect and appreciation for talent and hard work made him a quintessential New Yorker." When the former Big Ten football coach bought the team, he famously promised a hands-off operation. "We're not going to pretend we're something we aren't," he said. "I'll stick to building ships." It hardly turned out that way. He changed managers 21 times and got rid of about a dozen general managers. When a Yankees public relations man went home to Ohio for the Christmas holiday, then returned in a hurry for a news conference to announce David Cone's re-signing, Steinbrenner fired him. "There is nothing quite so limited as being a limited partner of George Steinbrenner's," said John McMullen, one of his associates. Steinbrenner hired Billy Martin in 1975, 1979, 1983, 1985 and 1987, firing him four times and letting him resign once as the two battled over substance and personality. Martin disparaged outfielder Reggie Jackson and Steinbrenner by saying: "The two of them deserve each other -- one's a born liar, the other's convicted." After Steinbrenner dismissed Berra as manager 16 games into the 1985 season, the 10-time World Series champion vowed he wouldn't go to back to Yankee Stadium for a game until Steinbrenner apologized -- which he did 14 years later. END OF PART 1(Too long for post)
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#482
07-14-2010
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PART 2!
In 1985, Steinbrenner derided future Hall of Famer Winfield as "Mr. May" for poor performance -- comparing him negatively to Jackson, whose nickname was "Mr. October." He also once called pitcher Hideki Irabu a fat toad. Players sometimes responded with their own insults. One night in 1982, reliever Goose Gossage let loose and called Steinbrenner "the fat man." Steinbrenner made no apologies for his bombast, even when it cost him. "I haven't always done a good job, and I haven't always been successful," Steinbrenner said in 2005. "But I know that I have tried." Still, Steinbrenner could poke fun at himself. He hosted "Saturday Night Live," clowned with Martin in a beer commercial and chuckled at his impersonation on "Seinfeld." Steinbrenner spent freely on the likes of Jeter, Jackson, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, CC Sabathia and others in hopes of more titles. "Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing," Steinbrenner was fond of saying. "Breathing first, winning next." He kept a sign on his desk that read: "Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way." All along, he envisioned himself as a true Yankee Doodle Dandy -- born on the Fourth of July in 1930. Steinbrenner liked to quote military figures and saw games as an extension of war. In the tunnel leading from the Yankees' clubhouse to the field in the old stadium, he had a sign posted with a saying from Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "There is no substitute for victory." He joined the likes of Al Davis, Charlie O. Finley, Bill Veeck, George Halas, Jack Kent Cooke and Jerry Jones as the most recognized team owners. But Steinbrenner's sports interests extended beyond baseball. He was an assistant football coach at Northwestern and Purdue in the 1950s and was part of the group that bought the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League in the 1960s. He was a vice-president of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1989-96 and entered six horses in the Kentucky Derby, failing to win with Steve's Friend (1977), Eternal Prince (1985), Diligence (1996), Concerto (1997), Blue Burner (2002) and the 2005 favourite, Bellamy Road. To many, the Yankees and Steinbrenner were synonymous. His fans applauded his win-at-all-costs style; his detractors blamed him for wrecking baseball's competitive balance with spiralling salaries. Steinbrenner negotiated a landmark $486-million, 12-year cable TV contract with the Madison Square Garden Network in 1988 and launched the Yankees' own YES Network for the 2002 season. The Yankees later became the first team with a $200 million payroll, provoking anger and envy among other owners. When the Yankees signed Steve Kemp after the 1982 season, Baltimore owner Edward Bennett Williams said Steinbrenner stockpiled outfielders "like nuclear weapons." There was no denying the results. When Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, they had gone eight seasons without finishing in first place, their longest drought since Ruth & Co. won the team's first pennant in 1921. "George has been a very charismatic, controversial owner," Selig said in 2005. "But look, he did what he set out to do -- he restored the New York Yankees franchise." Former AL president Gene Budig sometimes was on the wrong end of Steinbrenner's barbs. After he left office, Budig maintained a friendship with him and even promoted Steinbrenner for the Hall of Fame. Steinbrenner also had a soft side. He sometimes read about high school athletes who had been injured and sent them money to go to college. He paid for the medical school expenses of Ron Karnaugh after the swimmer's father died during the opening ceremony at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Steinbrenner had a way of rehiring those he had once fired and liked to give second chances to those who had fallen from favour, such as Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. "I'm really 95 per cent Mr. Rogers," Steinbrenner said as he approached his 75th birthday, "and only 5 per cent Oscar the Grouch." While Steinbrenner grew up in the Cleveland area as a Yankees fan, his first passion was football. He fondly recalled watching the Browns on winter days, and many believe the NFL's must-win-today mentality shaped how he approached all sports. Steinbrenner was raised in a strict, no-nonsense household headed by his father, Henry. The oldest of three children, Steinbrenner attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana. At Williams College, he ran track, specializing in hurdles. After that, he enlisted in the Air Force. Following his discharge, he enrolled at Ohio State, pursuing a master's degree in physical education. It was his intention to go into coaching, but after working at a high school in Columbus and at Purdue and Northwestern, he turned to the business world. In 1963, Steinbrenner purchased Kinsman Transit Co., a fleet of lake ore carriers, from his family and built a thriving company. Four years later, Steinbrenner and associates took over American Ship Building and revitalized the company. It was in Cleveland that Steinbrenner met baseball executive Gabe Paul and became involved with the group that bought the Yankees. With 13 partners, Steinbrenner purchased the team from CBS. "When you're a shipbuilder, nobody pays any attention to you," he said. "But when you own the New York Yankees ... they do, and I love it." With that, the Bronx Zoo days began. It was while he was under suspension that the Yankees ushered in baseball's free-agent era by signing Catfish Hunter to a $3.75 million contract. Even though he officially was barred from participating in the daily operation of the team, no one believed Steinbrenner was uninvolved in the deal. For the first five years of free agency, Steinbrenner signed 10 players for about $38 million. Steinbrenner's $18-million, 10-year deal with Winfield was the richest free agent contract in history at the time. During those days, Yankee Stadium underwent a $100 million facelift and reopened in 1976. That year, the Yankees won the AL pennant, but got swept in the World Series by Cincinnati's Big Red Machine. The Yankees surged back to win the World Series in 1977 and 1978 and the pennant in 1981. Forbes magazine has estimated Steinbrenner's estate at $1.1 billion. By dying in 2010 -- during a year-long gap in the estate tax -- his heirs could realize an unexpected bonanza, depending on how his holdings were structured. In addition to his sons, Steinbrenner is survived by his wife, Joan, daughters Jennifer and Jessica and 13 grandchildren. A private funeral was expected to be held this week, followed by a public memorial. He never expected to die this way. "I don't have heart attacks," he once said. "I give them."
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#484
07-14-2010
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I was taught by my grandmother never to speak ill of the dead (she, by the way, never followed her own rule). So before posting this, I contacted her via a seance and asked her what to do. She said, "Steinbrenner, that shtick drek? Pull no punches, boychik!" So, here goes: Good riddance, George Steinbrenner. I despise what you did to baseball. I only wish that the long-term negative effects your outrageous financial behavior have had on the game, that have created the greatest lack of parity among the teams in any of the major sports in the United States, would die an ignominious death along with you, so you can both rot together in hell where you belong. You should be buried just off first base, in the basepath of one of the stadiums used by a team that can't compete with the Yankees because of money, so that players as they dance off first preparing to steal second will be dancing on your grave. On the other hand, I hear he did give some of his filthy luchre to charity.
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#487
07-14-2010
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#488
07-17-2010
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Speaking of chance, Bengie Molina(quite a rotund fellow for baseball) hit for the cycle against Boston! His homerun was a Grand Slam! Getting both of those in the same night is a rare accomplishment indeed. I still can't believe that Bengie hit a triple.
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#490
07-17-2010
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#494
07-19-2010
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#495
07-19-2010
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#497
07-24-2010
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Beautiful Losers
I see the Rangers are playing very well and i would love to see them make it to the world series not because i'm a Rangers fan but because for a long time they have been a nothing team, Teams like the Cubs, Rangers are the beautiful losers teams you can't help but cheer for
Sadly when and if they do finaly win they lose there charm the Red Soxs come to mind there all of baseball were happy when they finaly won and now there charm is gone unless you live in Boston SO go Cubs and Rangers Philliefan Jen
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#498
07-24-2010
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#499
07-25-2010
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Jerseygirl Jen
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#500
07-25-2010
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Linear Mode
