Bases Loaded Balk

Jumping Ship

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:28:00 +0000

Hey everybody! I know it's been a while since I've posted anything on here.

Well, I'm jumping ship. I'm relocating the blog to Wordpress, and you can find it at:
http://pastorswish.wordpress.com

You'll also be able to find Bases Loaded Balk on Wordpress as well:
http://basesloadedbalk.wordpress.com

The primary reason for the change is that I'm thinking about upgrading so that I have my own domain name without the .wordpress, or .blogspot adding to the address. Simply put, I can't do that on Blogger.

We'll see how the move goes, but for now, I want to encourage you to make the changes in the necessary places.

Peace!

Cub Fan Follow Up on UCONN Booster Demands

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:06:00 +0000

After a UCONN booster demanded his $3 million donation be returned because he wasn't consulted on the hiring of the football team's new head coach, thousand of Cub fans have requested their money back because of the hiring of Mike Quade as the new manager of the team.

Judging by this picture:

Quade doesn't give a rip because he is going to the bank with his big ol' paycheck. In fact, he is quoted as saying, "I'm cashing in on this baby. I'm even going to wear my uniform all over town just to rub it in!"

Blyleven, Alomar Given HOF Nod

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:48:00 +0000

Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar received an important phone call today - a call congratulating them on their induction to the Hall of Fame. Blyleven received the honor after a mere 14 years on the ballot, while Alomar was elected on his second go-around.

As we all know from a previous post, Blyleven is awesome, and the picture below merely sums up that statement.

Meanwhile, Alomar's awesomeness is not only summed up by his ability to hover...

...but also for his restraint, as he only spit on an umpire once in his career. And we can't really blame him for that. Mentally, he just wasn't in a good place at the time... well, physically, he wasn't either, as you can see the Baltimore Orioles jersey in the picture.

Strangely enough, Alomar received 90% of the votes cast after falling just 8 votes shy in 2010. I'm not exactly sure what he did to cement his legacy and give him the third-highest vote total in history in the last 12 months, but whatever it was Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, Mark McGwire, Lee Smith and others are going to be calling him to figure out what it was.

Cubs Close to Reunion

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Rumor has it that the Chicago Cubs are nearing a deal for pitcher Kerry Wood. That's right, folks, Kerry Wood is rumored to be returning to the place where it all started... and then went horribly wrong. It's a nice bookend on an otherwise promising, but mediocre career.

Indians Legend Passes

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:38:00 +0000

The baseball world mourns the passing of another legend this year. The winningest pitcher in Cleveland Indians history, Bob "the Smeller is the" Feller passed away. Feller was an 8-time All Star and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1962. It was erroneously reported to have passed away last week, but was merely placed in hospice before passing away on the 15th.

The Cliff Lee Sweepstakes

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Once again, delivering top-notch, late-breaking news long after it happens, Bases Loaded Balk has learned that Cliff Lee has decided to join the Philadelphia Phillies after coming to an agreement on a 5-year, $120 million deal with a vesting option for a sixth year. Lee personally let the Rangers know, and his agent broke the news to the Yankees.

Here's what we have learned:
1) Players don't always want the maximum years and the maximum dollars. Lee turned down more years and more dollars from both the Yankees and Rangers to go back to Philadelphia, where he spent the last half of the 2009 season and went to the World Series for the first time.

2) The Yankees can't get whoever they want if that person doesn't want to be on the Yankees. Don't worry, Yankee fans, I'm sure this had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you spit on the guys wife during the playoffs. I'm sure he felt safe and welcomed by that reception.

3) The Phillies will be the overwhelming favorite to win the National League in 2011. In fact, some are already arguing that this may be the best rotation in baseball history... before Spring Training even starts. There is certainly that possibility. Two years ago, Hamels was the staff ace, since then, they have traded for Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee - three guys that would be the ace on just about any other staff in all of baseball. However, let's hold off on the accolades until the season is over.

4) The mystery team is not always a fabrication by the agent. ESPN's Buster Olney had tweeted the other day that most of the time, a "mystery team" is simply created by the player's agent in order to gain some leverage in the negotiations. Clearly, the Phillies were the mystery team that was involved - quite unexpectedly because...

5) Just because you trade a player away, don't assume that he's never going to come back. The Phillies traded Lee to the Mariners last offseason as part of a three-team deal that brought Roy Halladay to Philadelphia. The reason they traded Lee: they didn't think they could work out an extension with him.

6) The Yankees are no longer the Yankees of old. Just a couple of years ago, the Yankees would have signed at least one, if not two, of the top free agents. This year, they looked like Alex Rodriguez in a playoff game - going 0-3 on the big fish. In fact, with the signing of Crawford and acquisition (and extension) of Gonzalez, I'd say the Red Sox have become the very thing they hated.

Finally, the Yankees and Rangers have to move on, and perhaps their respective fanbases will be excited to hear the rumors that are flying around regarding Plan B for these teams.

Apparently the Rangers have expressed interest in former Yankee Chien-Ming Wang, and the Yankees could possibly be the next stop in the Mark Prior comeback trail. Yeah, that's what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket... or some other metaphor that conveys a similar idea.

Tribute to Ron Santo

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:52:00 +0000

I'm a Cardinal fan. That doesn't mean I'm heartless. Not long ago, long-time Cubs player & announcer Ron Santo passed away. Santo certainly deserves HOF consideration, but has still be passed on every year. Below is a first-person account of a third-person conversation that I had with a friend of mine just a few months ago:

"So, we have to take the elevator down, and when the doors open, there's Ron Santo standing there. It was so cool."

I don't remember if those were the exact words of the conversation, but you get the idea - Ron Santo liked to ride the elevator... and he was pretty cool.

Rest in Peace, Ron.

Catching Up on the Offseason

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:24:00 +0000

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the baseball world. As I write this, the Winter Meetings are being held at the ~~Goose & Manatee~~ Swan & Dolphin Resort at Disney World. All kinds of crazy things are happening in the baseball world. So... to the best of my ability and desire to spend only a certain amount of time working on this post... here's an update on the 2010/2011 Baseball Offseason:

Victor Martinez became the first big name off the board when he signed with the Detroit Lions to play outside linebacker. Wait a minute... that doesn't sound right....
Jayson Werth made the Nationals severely overpay for his services by signing a 7-year, $126 million deal. That's the price you pay for quality free agents when you are a bad team. Rumor has it that there wasn't another team even willing to go 5 years on the outfielder with the awesome beard. In fact, his agent, Scott Boras, didn't even bother going to the other teams in the bidding for a counter-offer because the Nationals overpaid by that much.
Mark Reynolds, the holder of the top 3 spots in "most strikeouts in a season" was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for a pair of relievers. He should solidify an already mediocre lineup with his 2010 sub-.200 batting average. Let's face it, though, it doesn't matter what the Orioles do, they are the fifth best team in a division with four good teams.
In a move that can only be explained by the Padres hatred of almost winning the NL West in 2010, Adrian Gonzalez was traded to the Boston Red Sox. This is a move that had an effect on another free agent, who will be discussed next.
Adrian Beltre got the shaft in Boston. With the other Adrian being traded to Red Sox nation, Beltre is out of luck. Gonzo plays 1st, Youk moves to 3rd, Beltre gets left off the roster.
Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko are going to be wearing White Sox uniforms next season, which won't be odd for Konerko because that's what he has been wearing for quite some time, but Dunn will actually be playing on a team with a shot at its division title, which will be a first for him.
Carl Crawford inked a 7-year deal with the Red Sox, which is significant for two reasons: 1) he becomes the highest paid "Carl" in the history of the world (at $142 mil over the 7 years), and 2) the Red Sox have turned into the Yankees North.
Speaking of the Red Sox and Yankees, rumor has it that the Red Sox contacted Mariano Rivera's agent about bringing the lifelong Yankee to the Yankees North. In turn, the Yanks got involved in the Crawford negotiations. You see how that worked out for both teams, as Crawford is a Red Sox and Rivera is still a Yankee.
While we're on the topic of Yankee players, the Jeter negotiations went smoothly, didn't they? Cashman and Jeter decided that the best way to negotiate this contract was through disparaging remarks in the media. I think they trade him to the Orioles in two years.
In the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, apparently the Yankees really, really want the 32-year old pitcher because they have now upped their offer to seven years for around $160 million. After all, who doesn't want to pay a 38-year old pitcher $20+ million for two more years? There's no way that's a bad contract for the Yankees.
A couple of mid-name shortstops are on the move. J.J. Hardy was traded to the Orioles, who will be trading for Jeter in two years, and Jason Bartlett was traded to the Padres, where he will be teamed up with whoever it was the Padres got from Boston for auctioning away their future.

Well, that about sums up the major and minor news from the Winter Meetings. The Rule 5 Draft is taking place Thursday morning, but it's doubtful that anything significant will come from there.

Pujols' Extension

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:21:00 +0000

One of the big things that Cardinal fans are thinking about this offseason is the fact that the Cardinals need to sign star Albert Pujols to an extension that will make him a Cardinal for life.

MLB Trade Rumors recently put up a post that SI's Jon Heyman tweeted that the Pujols camp is seeking something around A-Rod's 10 year, $275 million deal from 2007. A-Rod was 32 when that deal was signed. Pujols will be turning 31 next month.

I think in all of the offseason rumors that are milling about, this has to be the biggest "Duh" rumor out there. I mean, seriously, should the best player in the game get paid like he is the best player in the game? I imagine so... duh. After 10 seasons, Pujols is sitting at a career line of .331/.426/.624, 408 HRs, 1900 Hits, 1230 RBIs, 1186 Rs, 9 All Star Games, 3 MVP awards (never finishing out of the Top 10 in MVP voting either). Yeah, I'd say A-Rod type money is deserving for his final 10 years in the Bigs. Duh.

Oh Yeah, Those Other Ones

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:20:00 +0000

While the ROY, MVP, Cy Young, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and Manager of the Year are the major awards to which people actually somewhat pay attention, there actually are a few other awards in the postseason that aren't really worth mentioning, but I thought I would anyway.

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Francisco Liriano
NL Comeback Player of the Year: Tim Hudson
Also known as the Imagine What We Could Have Done Last Season If So-and-so Didn't Get Hurt (IWWCHDLSIS&sDGH), a pair of pitchers who helped lead their team to the postseason this year walked off with the hardware... or plastic... I'm not really sure what this stuff is made of.

Delivery of the Year: Heath Bell
Can you imagine if his last name was Bar? That would be so awesome.

Clemente Award: Tim Wakefield
Also known as the Most Likely to Die a Premature Death in a Plane Crash Award (What? Too soon?).

AL Hank Aaron Award: Jose Bautista
NL Hank Aaron Award: Joey Votto
So... let me get this straight. Votto wins the Hank Aaron Award (given to the top offensive player in each league), and he doesn't win the Silver Slugger? Interesting...

You Down With M-V-P? Yeah, You Know Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 14:17:00 +0000

The National League and American League MVPs were announced earlier this week. Quite frankly, neither one was much of a surprise.

Joey Votto won the NL Award over Albert Pujols and Carlos Gonzales. Legitimately, any of those three could have won the award this season, but Votto still managed to garner all but one first place vote. For my Reds friends who now want to talk smack about Votto getting it over Pujols - once Votto has finished in the Top 4 nine times in ten seasons (and 9th in the other season), we'll talk.

In a rags to riches story that could only be written in Arlington, Josh Hamilton won the AL MVP, just a few short years after everybody thought he wasted his talent on booze and drugs. I'm not sure what the moral of the story is, but I have a feeling that if you are a recovering drug abuser, then I'm pretty sure that Arlington, TX is your place of fairy tale endings.

Attention V-Mart Shoppers

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 04:15:00 +0000

Since this is everybody's first place for breaking news, the first major free agent signing of the winter took place just seconds ago...

Victor Martinez, the 1B-DH-C-BNAS (Backup National Anthem Singer) formerly of the Indians and Red Sox, signed a 4-year, $50 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. The career .300 hitter should solidfy an already half-way decent, mildly dangerous, frequently injured lineup.

Cy Youngs Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:49:00 +0000

The National League Cy Young Award was handed out a couple of days ago, so hopefully, you don't come here for breaking news. Meanwhile, breaking news, the American League Cy Young Award was handed out about an hour ago... well, as of writing this, it was an hour ago. How am I supposed to know when you are reading it?

Roy Halladay, traded from the Blue Jays to the Phillies in the offseason, won the NL Award. Everybody assumed that he would totally dominate the National League simply because he was a good pitcher in the American League. Let's face it, everybody pretty much gave him the award once he was traded to Philadelphia, all he had to do was show that he earned it... and he did.... unanimously.

Continuing their trend of bestowing the hardware to pitchers with poor records, the AL Cy Young winner was Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. He posted a 13-12 record on the year, but more impressive was the fact that his bullpen/offense didn't manage to blow every game that he pitched for them. The only other player to win a Cy Young with 13 wins was Fernando Valenzuela, who did it in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign.

Managing for the Hardware

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:02:00 +0000

There have been a lot of captains throughout the years.

Captain Planet

Captain Jack Sparrow

Of course, who could forget...

Captain Caveman

And... Captain.... whoever the heck this guy is.

But the main guys at the helm for National League and American League teams, the ones who bravely led their team to defy all expectations, the ones who were named Manager of the Year:

American League

Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins

National League

Bud Black of the San Diego Padres

It's hard to really argue with the selection of either candidate. After being the runner-up for five of the last eight seasons, Gardenhire wins his first Manager of the Year. He led the Twins to the AL Central division title, in spite of the fact that one of his top players had an awful year at the plate (not so well played, Mauer), and another missed basically the last half of the season trying to come back from a concussion. Honestly, I think Ron Washington is more deserving, but mostly because I wanted another reason to put up a picture of him eating an imaginary apple.

Yup, that picture.

I imagine that some people really wanted Dusty Baker to win the NL award because of how the Reds finished and made the playoffs, but quite honestly, Black was a better decision. He took the Padres from the cellar of the 2009 season into contention until the last day of the 2010 season... all without any major overhauls on the roster. In the 2009-2010 offseason, the talk was all about where the Padres were going to ship first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and closer Heath Bar.... errrr... Bell.

Speaking of people that really wanted Baker to win it. I'm assuming that Captain Jean Luc Picard, clearly a Reds fan (look at what he's wearing), is one of those people. Here is he expressing his feelings to the AP.

Sorry, kids. That is an action unbecoming of a Starfleet officer. Unbelievable.

The Marlins are Idiots

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but word came down not too long ago that the Florida Marlins have agreed to trade Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Omar Infante and and reliever Mike Dunn. I think the Braves got the better end of this deal. Infante had a nice season, but he's no Uggla. And, Dunn? Well, honestly, I have no idea who he is in the first place.

So, why are the Marlins idiots? You don't trade one of your best players to a team in the division... you know, one of the first teams that you have to beat over the course of the season. Okay... maybe it worked out for the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded Donovan McNabb to the Redskins... but the Redskins didn't just make the playoffs like the Braves did.

But perhaps the greatest part in all of this is Mark Bowman's tweet on the situation.

@mlbbowmanMark Bowman

#Braves appear to very close to nearing deal for Dan Uggla.

35 minutes ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply

That's right, the Braves were indeed "very close to nearing a deal." This guy's a writer? Geez!

ROYs Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:41:00 +0000

The National League and American League Rookie of the Year Award was handed out today to the top first year players in each league. Can't really say that there were a lot of surprises here.

Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants won in the NL after being called up in May and putting up slugging and on-base numbers that were only bested by some scrubs named Pujols, Votto, Carlos & Adrian Gonazalez. Personally, I was pulling for St. Louis pitcher Jaime Garcia, but after he was pretty well shut down at the end of the season I knew that he didn't have a chance. Garcia ended up 3rd in the voting trailing Posey and runner-up Jayson Heyward of the Atlanta Braves.

In the American League, Rangers' closer Neftali Feliz took 20 of 28 first place votes to walk away with the award. Feliz had 40 saves in his debut season for the American League champion Rangers, a team record. Also, in related news, Feliz won the Major League Award for coolest name, beating out players such as: Jo-Jo Reyes, Marc Rzepczynski, Nelson Figueroa, Esmerling Vasquez and Wilfredo Ledezma.

Silver Slugs

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Quite possibly the coolest creepy-looking thing I've ever seen: a dragon slug

As the awards season presses onward to its inevitable conclusion, the Silver Slugger Awards were handed out to the top offensive player at each position. Here are your winners:

American League
C: Joe Mauer (well played... again...)
1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Adrian Beltre (wait a tick, is it 2004 again?)
SS: Alexei Ramirez
OF: Jose Bautista (raise your hand if you had Bautista as the MLB HR leader. Anybody? Anybody?)
OF: Carl Crawford
OF: Josh Hamilton
DH: Vladimir Guerrero (yeah, that totally makes up for those errors in San Fran)

National League
C: Brian McCann
1B: Albert Pujols (plus the Gold Glove & somehow Votto is favored for MVP)
2B: Dan Uggla (soon to be a former Marlins player from the looks of things)
3B: Ryan Zimmerman
SS: Troy Tulowitzki (So, a mullet's just a bunch of hair?)
OF: Ryan Braun
OF: Carlos Gonzalez
OF: Matt Holliday (so much for people ragging on his inability to hit in the clutch)
DH: Yovani Gallardo (he's a pitcher... why is he listed as DH?)

Can I Paint His Glove Gooooooolllldd?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:42:00 +0000

Much to the delight of a certain villain from Austin Powers, the Gold Gloves were awarded to (allegedly) the best defensive players at each position. Here are your winners:

American League
C: Joe Mauer (well played indeed)
1B: Mark Teixeira (Remember, I before E except in Teixeira)
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Evan Longoria (no, Evan, that's not your hat!)
SS: Derek Jeter
OF: Carl Crawford
OF: Ichiro Suzuki (10th consecutive GG)
OF: Franklin Gutierrez
P: Mark Buehrle (who sealed his up in April with this play)

National League
C: Yadier Molina (at least he didn't hit .262 in vain)
1B: Albert Pujols (once again showing why he is the best player in the game)
2B: Brandon Phillips
3B: Scott Rolen (Remember when he used to play on the Cardinals... that was awesome)
SS: Troy Tulowitzki (I thought a mullet was a fish!)
OF: Michael Bourn (Michael Bourn... not Jason Bourne)
OF: Carlos Gonzalez
OF: Shane Victorino (the only guy on the NL list whose team actually won a playoff game)
P: Bronson Arroyo

I have only heard of mild controversy about these choices. Most don't seem to think that Jeter deserved to win, and I've heard a few rumblings about Zimmerman getting overlooked at NL 3B. All in all, this is an award that often ends up being based more on reputation instead of the actual defensive numbers. Of course, you know how I feel about advanced statistics.

Breakfast of Champions

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 14:17:00 +0000

Pablo Sandoval, also known as Kung Fu Panda in some circles, plays for the recently crowned World Champion San Francisco Giants. Some have noticed a severe dip in his production from last season to this season (.330 to .268 BA; 25 to 13 HR; 90 to 63 RBI). I saw this awesome tweet from ESPN's Buster Olney today that might help explain why.

@Buster_ESPNBuster Olney

Pablo Sandoval will go into the spring training on notice. A friend saw him power down this breakfast during WS: Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

I can't even begin to describe how much this makes me laugh. It sounds as though Timmy's habits may have caught on to some other guys who have succumbed to the munchies throughout the season. No word yet on Sandoval's reaction to the destruction of Proposition 19.

Passing of a Legend

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:14:00 +0000

In case you haven't already heard, Sparky Anderson the first manager to lead teams from both leagues to victories in the World Series passed away earlier this week. Anderson managed the Red and Tigers to World Championships. Incidentally, only one other manager has led teams in both leagues to a World Series Championship - Tony LaRussa, who led the Cardinals and the A's to baseball's version of the Promised Land. Sparky will truly be missed, after all, with a name like Sparky, you know he has to be awesome.

Stories of Sparky's generosity abound. Here he is about to share a piece of gum with Cecil Fielder.

Sparky cared a great deal about his players.

Some would say he could only be faulted for caring too much.

This picture is awesome because pipes make a person 35% more awesome.

Here he is letting God know that they'll be seeing each other soon.

Putting a Bow(tie) on 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:20:00 +0000

Well, I guess that does it. So much for the Rangers winning the World Series in their first trip. The San Francisco Giants are your 2010 World Series Champions. I don't know if I have it saved, but at some point during the season, I think it was on an MLB Network Radio status update midseason, I said that the Giants are a darkhorse for the World Series because of their pitching. If they can get into the playoffs - seriously, this is what I said at the time - they have a legitimate shot of winning it all simply because of their pitching staff. And then they scored 20 runs in the first 2 games.

While small victories are just that... small... I would also like to note that Timmy Lincecum is not going to legally be able to celebrate in his usual way, as Proposition 19 was shot down by California voters by half a million votes. The reason: stoners weren't sensible enough to actually vote... because they were stoned.

Regardless, I think this officer of the law has the right expression as far as the Giants actually winning the Series is concerned.

World Series Wager

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:04:00 +0000

Pete Rose's favorite hobby, gambling on baseball, is coming into play as the World Series starts this week. Rumor has it that the mayors of San Francisco and Arlington have put a friendly wager on the game. In addition to a day of community service in the victor's town while wearing that team's jersey, the losing mayor is going to have to send over some food.

If the Rangers win, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco will ship out Dungeness crab, sourdough bread, Ghirardelli chocolate and Anchor Steam beer. If the Giants win, Mayor Robert Cluck of Arlington will ship food from a local BBQ joint called Spring Creek BBQ, reportedly the best in Texas (though, this has yet to be verified from an inside source).

Perhaps what catches my eye in all of this is the fact that Arlington's mayor's last name is Cluck. I find it really funny that a place so steeped in the finer qualities and traditions of beef shares the last name with the noise from a chicken.

Giants Advance to World Series

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:48:00 +0000

I suppose to be fair, I just probably mention that the San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to advance to the World Series. Sorry if I'm just not that excited about the Giants in the Series. I'm really, really, not a fan of Lincecum. Maybe I'm still a little bitter that he won the Cy Young over Wainwright (who totally deserved it more) last season, maybe I'm just not a fan of a guy who was busted for possession and didn't receive any kind of disciplinary action from the league, or maybe I just don't like the fact that an f-bomb is his go-to adjective. Either way, congrats to the Giants, blah, blah, blah.

And, just a fun side note, Benji Molina, who was traded from the Giants to the Rangers earlier this season is officially the first person to win a World Series ring this season. Good to see another Molina brother get a ring.

Pictures? We don't need no stinkin' pictures.

Rangers Advance to World Series

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:46:00 +0000

Congratulations to the Texas Rangers for 1) putting a beat-down on the New York Yankees, and 2) making it to the first World Series in franchise history.

Just think, in Spring Training, manager Ron Washington was admitting to doing blow around this time last year (if you had to manage this team last year, you might've as well), everybody was penciling the Mariners in as the best team in the West, and the Rangers were a "good offense with no pitching."

Then they stole Cliff Lee from the grasp of the Evil Empire, and used him to take down the Yankees. Then Nolan Ryan took over as owner of the team. Then, just as everyone had imagined ten years ago, Alex Rodriguez was at the plate in Arlington with a chance to go to the World Series.... of course, everybody thought that he would be wearing a different uniform, but regardless, A-Rod played an integral part in the Rangers run to the World Series.

To honor the Rangers in their charge to the World Series...

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clearer picture, but Ryan's face as the bullpen blew Game 1 was hilarious. That, or former owner... and President... George W. Bush said something really stupid.... again.

Not that he needed it, but here is Nelson Cruz receiving directions as to the location of home plate.

And, of course, no Ranger post would be complete without Ron Washington eating another imaginary apple.

Taking a Break

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Swish) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 03:02:00 +0000

Well, folks, I know that this is the sporadic highlight of your day, but I'll be taking a break for the next week or so as my wife and I are heading off for vacation with her family. I look forward to catching up on all the baseball madness when we get back.