Washed Up Righty

An Alzheimer's Poem

2012-10-24T13:32:00.000-04:00

Recently I wrote a poem about Alzheimer's Disease. Many caregivers out there may recognize its significance and even though it's short and simple, it hits the nail right on the head. Not bad for coming up with it while taking a shower one afternoon. Let me know what you all think in the comments section below.

She stares at me like I’m a stranger

As if her life is now in danger.

I say hello and say her name

As if her mind were still the same.

She stares at me still confused

In her company she’s not amused.

I tell her stories of our past

Knowing this moment may not last.

She stares at me with more fervor

An hour longer we go further.

We share a laugh, a hug, and a kiss

A time I did not want to miss.

She stares at me now with a smile

It has made my trip so worthwhile.

She says goodbye and says my name

As if her mind were still the same.

2012 Tri-State Preseason Writeup

2012-04-30T17:17:00.004-04:00

The Tri-State Baseball League opens its 79^th season of play on Sunday May 20^th with all eighteen teams in action. Each team will play a 20 game regular season with the ‘Top Twelve’ teams qualifying for post-season play in August to determine a league champion. In addition, five teams will qualify for the AABC Stan Musial ‘State’ tournament to be held the last week of July to determine a state champion. One Tri-State team will also qualify for the AABC ‘Regional’ tournament in Wallingford, CT beginning on Thursday August 2nd with a chance to qualify for the AABC World Series to be held in Port St. Lucie, Florida beginning August 9th.

Tri-State has also joined the National Amateur Baseball Federation for the 2012 season and will send one team to the NABF Regional tournament held in West Haven, CT beginning Thursday August 9^th with a chance to advance to the NABF World Series in Buffalo, NY beginning on August 16^th. There is no state tournament for the NABF.

Parity is the name of the game in the Tri-State Baseball League as there have been five different league champions in the past five seasons. The Litchfield Cowboys (2011) are the defending league champions while the Bethlehem Plowboys (2010), Brass City Brew (2009), Winsted Whalers (2008), and Torrington Rebels (2007) will all be gunning for another championship. Equally impressive are the Tri-Town Trojans whom have advanced to the Tri-State World Series each of the last two years and the 2011 AABC state tournament champion Naugatuck Dogs. The Wolcott Scrappers and Watertown Blaze, who finished in the top 5 rankings in each of the last two seasons are also in the hunt for their first league title as well as the Waterbury Wild whom qualified for last year’s AABC Regional tournament.

The Ansonia Valley Vikings will be playing their inaugural season in 2012 as the eighteenth member of the league and will be coached by Mark Georgia. Rounding out the league will be the Bristol Greeners, Terryville Black Sox, Amenia Monarchs, Thomaston Threshers, Prospect Chargers, Burlington Hunters, and Lakeville Outlaws.

For the second year in a row, the Tri-State all-stars will take on the Torrington Titans in a ‘Fourth of July’ game at Fuessenich Park – game time is 7pm. The mid-summer classic will be filled with festivities including a pre-game skydiver carrying the American Flag and a Home Run Derby. A Public Home Run Derby will begin at 3pm sharp with the winner joining the Tri-State stars and Titans players in the Main Home Run Derby beginning at 4:15pm. More announcements will be forthcoming on the day-long events.

Tri-State will host a Campership Fundraiser on Saturday July 14^th with three games being played at Fuessenich Park – game times will be 10am, 1pm, and 4pm. Admission will be FREE at the door but donations will be accepted all day long to benefit the Glen E. Winn Campership Fund. The Torrington Rebels will host the Sandy Hooks Vintage Baseball team on Saturday July 28^th at Fuessenich Park. Game time is 1pm. The baseball game will be played under 1867 rules. The Easton Banjo Society Band will provide old fashioned entertainment during the game featuring music from the 1860-1880’s era. Admission will be FREE but donations will be accepted at the door for the Campership Fund.

The 2012 Old Timers Day game and Hall-Of-Fame ceremony will be held on Sunday June 3^rd at Community Field in Litchfield. Batting practice will begin for the Old-Timers at 11am sharp followed by the Hall-Of-Fame ceremony at 12noon and the start of the Old Timers game at 12:30pm. The Litchfield Cowboys will host the Amenia Monarchs in a Tri-State regular season game at 3:00pm to round out the day’s events. This year’s Hall-Of-Fame class includes Rich Blazek, Fred Bunnell, Jeff Merchant, Mark Murphy, Bob Clinch, Don Rhynhart, sportswriter Rick Wilson, and umpire Jim Shove.

Tri-State will also participate in the first annual CT Classic Showdown which will showcase 2011 league champion teams from (Tri-State, Wallingford, Housatonic, and Bridgeport) in a ‘friendship’ fundraiser for charity on Saturday June 16^th to be held in Danbury. A Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser is also being planned in Mid-August in Wallingford, CT which would feature ‘all-star’ teams from the ‘four’ regions as well.

Photo of the Day: Blue Jay Edition

2012-04-10T12:52:00.000-04:00

The Miguel Cabrera Experiment...Fail!!!

2012-03-19T16:37:00.000-04:00

Check this out before ESPN squashes the video....

Miguel Cabrera Hit in Face - Watch more amazing videos here

R.I.P. Gary Carter (1954-2012)

2012-02-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Gary Carter passed away at the age of 57 from brain cancer. Carter will always be remembered for his never say die 2 out base hit in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series which thanks to Bill Buckner helped the Mets win one of the most memorable World Series in history. Carter was a fan favorite throughout his career spending a majority of his time with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gary's family and fans during this extremely tough time. Cancer has once again claimed another life way too early.

R.I.P. Whitney Houston (1963-2012)

2012-02-14T08:31:00.001-05:00

Here's a simple sports related tribute to the late Whitney Houston. This will probably be known as one of the greatest renditions of our nations anthem in history, appropriately by one of the greatest pop singers in our history.

The Real Reason We'll Miss Jorge.....Laura Posada

2012-01-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I really will miss Jorge Posada who officially announced his retirement this past Tuesday. It makes me feel real old to say that I witnessed his entire 17 year career from his 1 game appearance as a September call up back in 1995 all the way to his last game in the 2011 postseason. As Yankee fans we were also blessed by being able to ~~stare at~~ admire his wife Laura. Laura is certainly a hot baseball wife who has developed a love of being in the spotlight over the years and has not been afraid to flaunt what she's got. Hopefully Jorge will return to the Yankees in some capacity so we don't miss out on the rest of Laura's prime years. Let's take a look now at some of Laura's hotness over the years. Enjoy! (you can all follow Laura Posada on twitter by clicking HERE)

Never afraid to show off the cleavage

2 reasons for Regis to be smiling

Laura's finer years came as her hair began to straighten out

¡Ay Mami!

Wow....I think I need a cold shower now. Got any more favorite Laura Posada pics?? Let me know in the comments section below.

Music Monday: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Low Road

2012-01-23T11:53:00.000-05:00

Voter Ignorance Creates Potential For Something "Killer" in 2013

2012-01-16T03:38:00.000-05:00

*Before I start this I just want to congratulate Barry Larkin on his induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame. His election is definitely warranted and it is because of guys like him and Cal Ripken Jr. that have led to the resurgence of great power hitting and great fielding shortstops like Derek Jeter and Jose Reyes. Congratulations Barry!

Unfortunately the voters did not elect the best player to be featured on this year's ballot, Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell's case is unfortunate because he happened to play during baseball's infamous "steroid era." Although never linked to any form of cheating, he was a big muscular guy and is something that may haunt his chances at ever getting into the Hall. Known users such as Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro haven't even garnered over 20% of the vote in the years they have been on the ballot. Luckily for Bagwell he earned a jump in votes this year and although it's painfully obvious that he is collateral damage from all of baseball's bad boys, he should eventually earn enshrinement. A leap from 56% to the necessary 75% may seem unlikely but if he does manage to earn enough votes there is the potential for him to be inducted with his former teammate Craig Biggio.

Bagwell's cumulative WAR begs for Hall of Fame consideration (Fangraphs)

Bagwell's numbers speak Hall of Fame volumes. A career .297/.408/.540 guy with 449 HRs, 1529 RBIs, not to mention winning the 1991 NL Rookie of the Year and 1994 NL Most Valuable Player. Most of Bagwell's prime production occurred in Houston's Astrodome, which was a notorious pitcher's park. For fans of sabremetrics, his career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 79.9 is certainly higher than a majority of Cooperstown's elite.

Craig Biggio without a doubt in my mind should be a first ballot Hall of Famer, especially with the prospects of having to vote for the likes of steroid beasts Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the backs of voter's minds. Biggio has always been one of those stand up guys and put up the numbers to easily garner election. As you can see above in the cumulative WAR graph, Biggio's career lines up nicely with Barry Larkin's. Another lifetime Houston Astro, Biggio has put up Hall worthy numbers including 3060 career hits, 1175 RBIs, and 414 SBs. His 668 doubles gives him the record for most all-time as a right-handed hitter. Biggio did all this primarily as a leadoff hitter, who started his career as a catcher and earned an all-star selection as such. He has moved to second base for which he played most of his career and even played several outfield positions when the Astros acquired the likes of Jeff Kent and later Carlos Beltran. Add the fact that he is a 7-time all-star, 4-time gold glove winner, and 5-time silver slugger, and Biggio would certainly have my vote.

These two ~~will~~ should be inducted next year

If the "Killer B's" happen to be elected next year it would mark the first time that teammates were elected to the Hall since Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were elected back in 1974. These two were the good guys during their respective careers and represented MLB and the city of Houston extremely well. The numbers that they both put up should alone earn them enshrinement into Baseball's hallowed hall and until anyone can prove that Bagwell ever came within an inch of a needle or any form of steroids, he should not be dragged into the torture chamber that current and future Hall of Fame candidates will be placed in.

Let's hope that the voters get it right in 2013, but if history serves as any indication, I won't be holding my breath on this one. Best of luck to Biggio and Bagwell, they certainly deserve it.

Picture of the Day: The Cutter

2011-12-17T12:26:00.001-05:00

"Being able to throw like me is about as crazy as Tim McCarver being inducted into the Hall of Fame"

MLB's New Media Dress Code And Its Aim At Women

2011-12-12T09:58:00.003-05:00

This past Tuesday on the second day of the General Manager Winter Meetings in Dallas, Major League Baseball announced a new dress code policy for members of the media. This new policy is the first of its kind in any of the four major sports (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA), and it's an attempt to keep a more professional atmosphere in and around the ballpark during games. MLB is clearly trying to prevent any incidences like what had occurred in the NFL between Mexican TV reporter Ines Sainz and the Jets locker room. Her attire and beauty drew much attention to a room full of men which led to claims of harrassment. We could get into the whole Erin Andrews deal but that occurred in a hotel and not a ballfield.

Can't imagine anything she wears on the field is inappropriate

According to the guidelines, members of the media should dress "in an appropriate and professional manner." Clothing should be proper for a "business-casual work environment" when in clubhouses, press boxes and on fields. Muscle shirts, ripped jeans, visible undergarments, sheer clothing, one-shouldered and strapless shirts or clothing exposing bare midriffs will be banned. Skirts, dresses or shorts cut more than three or four inches above the knee will be deemed to be in violation. Never in my lifetime have I seen any male media members wearing muscle shirts or tank tops during a broadcast so clearly this policy was designed for the female media contingent. The thought of Jon Miller or Michael Kay in a muscle shirt leaves a tinge of vomit in my mouth.

The only real problem that has been mentioned in baseball has been around the ~~Florida~~ Miami Marlins where female reporters have been known to wear much skimpier clothing. I can't imagine why they would be wearing less in Miami. Maybe 100 degrees with 100% humidity is an issue. The real problem in Miami is the new player uniforms and not what their reporters are wearing. "This is not in response to any single incident," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told The Associated Press. "It can be a fine line. What one person views as appropriate may not be seen the same way by someone else." They say that albeit the only incident in the big four of sports has been the Ines Sainz issue so clearly that had to be a major factor in creating this new policy.

In my opinion female baseball reporters have always been professional. Growing up in New England and watching NESN (The New England Sports Network) has provided us the opportunity see many classy female baseball reporters including Hazel Mae, Tina Cervasio, Kathryn Tappen, and Heidi Watney

All in all MLB has much more to worry about than some dress code so in honor of those female reporters that keep it classy and professional, lets take a look at them......

Heidi Watney

Kathryn Tappen

Tina Cervasio

Keep it classy ladies!!!....and thank you NESN!!

Rookies of the Year and the Rest of MLB's Award Predictions

2011-11-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

Rookies of the Year. Craig Kimbrel (L), Jeremy Hellickson (R)

Yesterday Jeremy Hellickson and Craig Kimbrel won the 2011 Rookie of the Year award for the American and National Leagues respectively. Kimbrel won the award unanimously for a season which included setting a Major League record for saves by a rookie with 46 and was an easy choice for voters. Hellickson was also deserving of this award beating out Anaheim's Mark Trumbo for the honor.

Today I believe the AL Cy Young Award winner will be announced. I'm going to list my predictions for the rest of the awards with a quick little explanation for each. Let's see how I do.

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

This one is obvious and nobody even comes close to matching the performance from the big righty from Detroit. The man went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA, pitched a no-hitter during the season, and led the Tigers to another AL Central crown. This should be a unanimous decision.

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

Kershaw led the NL in Wins (21), ERA (2.28), K's (248). Leading the league in those categories means that Kershaw won the pitching triple crown in the senior circuit. Case Closed.

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

After losing Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Peña, and Joaquin Benoit, Joe Maddon still managed to lead his team to the playoffs. Maddon certainly had to work much harder to keep his team in games and had to deal with injuries to their best player, Evan Longoria. It took a collapse from the Boston Red Sox but Maddon kept his team playing hard through September and the season's last game to win the AL Wild Card. Job well done Joe!

NL Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Leading a team to 94 wins and a NL West title after coming off of back to back 90-loss seasons is just remarkable. This was a team nobody expected to do well at the beginning of the season and most would have been content with a 3rd place finish let alone finishing 1st. Gibson was the right choice as manager for this young ballclub and deserves this award.

AL Most Valuable Player: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

This one gets controversial with Verlander being a pitcher. I may be biased as a pitcher myself but this guy just had one special season which should not be overlooked. The baseball purists won't vote for a pitcher out of general principle so this award will more likely be dished out to a hitter. The problem with this is that there are too many choices and the votes are going to be spread out so widely that a true MVP won't be decided on, turning this more into a popularity contest with Verlander sitting in the corner. Cases can be made for Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez and Ellsbury are going to split votes between baseball writers in the Boston market. If you go purely by stats then Jose Bautista should be the clear cut choice. This one will be interesting to see.

NL Most Valuable Player: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

Two men prevented Matt Kemp from winning the NL Triple Crown. Jose Reyes and Ryan Braun had batting averages higher than Kemp's .324 and other than that Kemp led the NL in HR (39) and RBI (126). Kemp was pretty much the only offense the Dodgers had which can explain how the team could have both the MVP and CY Young award winners on one team and still be a terrible team. Baseball is funny that way and just goes to show how a collective team effort is more important than individual performances.

FOX's Terrible Broadcasting

2011-10-26T16:47:00.000-04:00

Since 1996, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have been broadcasting Fox's Saturday Baseball and World Series coverage. This year is no different as they have once again joined forces to commentate this year's World Series. Joe buck has been shot down by many as a terrible play-by-play man, who has lost his emotion for the game and as son of the late great announcer Jack Buck, is a disgrace to the family name. As for Tim McCarver, he has been doing World Series since the dawning of the age of Aquarius. But why? Listening to McCarver is like listening to Joe Morgan (who was finally let go by ESPN). Certainly McCarver is past his prime and just typing this post up is making me hate these two more and more.

Let's take a look at these two broadcasting stooges and what they have brought to this year's World Series.....

Joe Buck led off the World Series with as much fanfare as having a zit popped. Buck began this year's telecast by apologizing to the world.....(Apologies myself for the audio quality)

In game 2, Buck decided to discuss where Journeyman Colby Lewis has played ball in his career. After putting up this graphic we all should have noticed one big mistake, especially those of you from St. Louis. Last time I checked Kansas City was in Missouri right there with St. Louis. Those at FOX feel that KC is in Kansas but who am I to judge?

FOX is not smarter than a fifth grader

Tim McCarver decided to woo us with his spelling abilities this year but must have disregarded math way back when.......

Oh and while I'm on the subject of Joe Buck, he also mentioned in one game that Hamburgers were invented in Athens, Texas. Being from Connecticut I am truly offended by this as most of us in New England know that hamburgers were invented in New Haven at Louie's Lunch. Hell even the Library of Congress recognizes Louie's Lunch as the creator of the great hamburger and if the government says it's true it must be.....right?

Behold The Power of Water

2011-10-06T14:33:00.002-04:00

And they said they would be able to get this game in...

From the incredible snowfall totals from this past winter to the floods in the midwest to the widespread affects of Hurricane Irene, the destructive power of water has been felt especially harder this year than most years that I can personally remember. This destructive force has even been felt in the world of Major League Baseball. Game 1 between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees had to be suspended and continued the next day. Both team's aces, Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia were deemed unavailable on this next day and would only be able to make full starts for game 3 (with possible appearances in game 5). With both teams having to forfeit a useful off day they would be forced to use a 4th starter and in the Yankees case that man was AJ Burnett. Burnett silenced his critics by leading his team to a 10-1 victory in Detroit forcing a game 5 tonight. Tonight's game in the Bronx will feature Doug Fister and Ivan Nova, both having never pitched in the postseason before this series. Instead of a dual of aces we are faced with an even more intriguing matchup of uncertainties, so let's take a look at both starters:

Doug Fister

If he only knew Cano was shooting for 4....

Fister resumed game 1 and in the beginning looked like he wasn't ready for the task after giving up a single to Jorge Posada and a double to Russell Martin. With two on and nobody out, Fister toughened up and get out of the inning unscathed. From my perspective Fister was getting ahead with fastballs down the middle and then finished hitters off by jamming them inside with his good sinker. The Yankees in typical fashion of trying to get a pitcher to throw a lot of pitches were letting that get me over fastball go by them and trying to work the count. This wasn't working for them until the fifth innings when they stopped letting that ball go and taking hacks early on in the count. I was getting increasingly furious every time they watched a fastball down the middle. Once they started swinging early they were able to knock Fister out of the game in the sixth, capped off by a grand slam by Robinson Cano off Fister's replacement Al Alburquerque. Fister and Alex Aviles will need to change things up a bit if they plan to shut down the Yanks potent offense.

Ivan Nova

(Reuters)

You can't say too many things bad about Ivan Nova. The kid hasn't lost a game since returning to the rotation after a brief send down to AAA and has shown the poise of a young Andy Pettitte. Nova had what seemed to be an easy time with the Tigers' lineup, getting strikeouts and groundouts when he needed only giving up 2 runs to the tune of a 9-3 victory. He began to tire in the ninth and Luis Ayala was called in to try to finish the game but had to be rescued by Mariano Rivera to end the game. As long as Nova can keep doing what he's been doing all season he should have no problem giving the Yankees a chance to advance to the ALCS.

Instead of a matchup of aces we get a matchup of unsung season heroes from both teams. I really don't have a prediction for this one seeing as I have witnessed 3 game 5 loses by the Yanks in my lifetime (I still have nightmares of Edgar Martinez). I do however feel very confident with Ivan Nova taking the bump tonight. The Yankees will have a tougher time with Doug Fister if he is able to make some adjustments to his game 1 plan but I don't see his as a shutdown kinda guy.

Tonight's X-Factor guy.....Robinson Cano.

Your Moanday Video

2011-09-26T18:03:00.000-04:00

I know. I know. It's fake but it's definitely entertaining to watch. Neat idea and video gone viral.

Memorable MLB Rookie Hazings

2011-09-17T10:37:00.001-04:00

UPDATE: Just got an word of Mike Trout in drag. Here it is....

Angels' Mike Trout as Lady Gaga

September in the MLB brings about expanded rosters/September rookie call-ups, and that means one thing...Rookie hazings. Back in the day hazings were fairly physical in nature that came in the form of physical abuse and harassment. Nowadays teams are tamer, usually making rookies dress up in some form of costumes and parading around in public. This season brought about the usual costumes and pink backpacks, nothing extraordinary but the Washington Nationals did stand out by making their farm kids dress up like the smurfs with Stephen Strasburg as Papa Smurf. Wilson Ramos was the poor bastard that had to wear the skirt and dress as Smurfette.

The Washington Smurfs

Here's a sampling of some of my favorites from years past including Yankees cheerleaders (Chien-Ming Wang in a skirt is hilarious), Padres Hooter Girls, and an appearance by Saturday Night Live's Ambiguously Gay Duo. Enjoy!!!


Nothing like a 6'3" Asian in drag

Hooter ~~Girl~~ Dude Night in San Diego

I feel bad for the two that got stuck as Ace and Gary in public.

The Fight To End Alzheimer's Disease

2011-09-13T19:45:00.002-04:00

Team Cusato

For the past couple of years I have been participating in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's event. I decided to take part after hearing a story from WTNH's Kristen Cusato about how her mother was diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called Lewy Body Disease. After learning of this I decided to join her walk team and try to help out by raising money for the cause. This year is no different and once again we will be taking part in the walk at New Haven's Lighthouse Point Park on October 2, 2011. This year will mean much more to me since my grandmother was recently diagnosed with dementia and I will be dedicating my walk this year to both her and Kristen's mother. As you can see to the right I do have link buttons to my donation page if anyone would like to help out. You can also reach that link by clicking here.... http://NewHavenWalk.kintera.org/jaypelletier

Our team will also be hosting a fundraiser this Thursday, September 15. at BAR in New Haven. For a $20 donation you can enjoy beer, pizza, and live music provided by Kristen's brother Mike Cusato and friends. There will also be a raffle with some awesome prizes including a 4-pack of tickets to see a Phillies/Mets game, an autographed Carlos Beltran baseball, tickets to see Big Head Todd/John Hiatt at the Klein, officially licensed NFL merchandise, and many other great items. The event will go from 5:30pm-8:30pm and all proceeds will go to the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's, Team Cusato.

For those that don't know, as many as 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and millions more are faced with the financial and emotional challenges of caring for a loved one with the disease. If current trends continue, Alzheimer’s will bankrupt families, communities and our healthcare system.

The Alzheimer’s Association®, the leading voluntary organization in Alzheimer research, care and support, is dedicated to finding prevention methods, treatments and an eventual cure for the disease.

Sunday Fun-Day

2011-09-04T19:30:00.002-04:00

The following illustration was posted on Baseball Prospectus not too long ago by Dustin Parkes of Getting Blanked. Several hilarious areas of the map to look at are "Burnett's Ocean of Tears," "The Narcissist's Corner," and "Posada's Path." This illustration was also posted on the great Yankees blog, River Ave Blues so I'm just trying to get it a little more "air time." Enjoy!

Starlin Castro, Just Move On

2011-08-24T20:14:00.000-04:00

I wasn't going to weigh in on the whole Starlin Castro incident until I heard Kevin Millar's take on the MLB Network the other day.

Turn around Starlin!!!!!

For those that are unaware on the topic at hand, Castro was caught on camera not paying attention in the field as a pitch was thrown. Castro was clearly miffed at an at bat earlier and his emotions sidetracked his job on the field. A rookie error indeed but unfortunately for him this happened during ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball national telecast. ~~Joe Morgan~~ Bobby Valentine then went on a seven minute rant during that half inning lambasting the young star. At one point Bobby V even stated, "If those things are allowed to exist, then a cancer will form within the team." Really Bobby? This is the cancer that takes the Cubbies down? I guess things like winning games, huge multimillion dollar contracts, Jim Hendry, and Carlos Zambrano have nothing to do with the downfall of the Cubs.

Not a cancer

The next day Millar went on the offensive against Castro, however he waffled continuously over whose fault this was and could never definitively come up with a true opinion. Nobody wants to give this guy any slack only because he has had lack of concentration issues in his short past as a pro. Guess what guys, he's only 21 years old still. Nobody ever yelled at Paul O'Neill of the Yankees for taking imaginary swings out in right field especially after he had a bad at bat earlier. The only argument these guys use is that anyone at that level should know better and it's totally inexcusable. Young players, especially the ones from the Latin countries are pulled up so fast to play ball in the bigs that they have even less time to grow up and mature. It's obvious that we expect way too much from these guys in such a short amount of time. Castro is already being likened to guys like Derek Jeter which are huge expectations for a kid trying to make it. Jeter is a one of a kind superstar and putting pressure on a kid to be something that he may not be is not fair to him and in the end may make him a worse ballplayer.

The Cubs did the right thing for the game after by benching Castro and giving him a "Metal Day Off." I'm sure this is only because on the national attention that this got. I for one know that things like this happen more than not. Even though guys are facing the batter doesn't mean they are paying attention to the next pitch or are ready to field a ball. I've done this, you may have, let's get over it and start paying more attention to a guy who is a bright spot on a Cubs team that is mainly a disaster.

For those of you that can actually manage listening to Bobby Valentine here's the rant:

I Should Not Be Laughing At This.......But I Am

2011-08-20T15:59:00.000-04:00

Where Did All The Day Games Go?

2011-08-20T15:09:00.000-04:00

I finally get a weekend off from work and would like to sit back, enjoy a cold beer, and watch a ballgame. This to my dismay will not be happening on this fine Saturday afternoon as the earliest game happens to be the national Fox telecasts at 4pm. The rest of the day's slate of games start at 7pm eastern time or later. Not too long ago everybody seemed to play at 1pm. Business won't be booming for MLB in the primetime slot on a Saturday night. Nobody cares....bring back afternoon weekend games. I really don't feel like watching the Mets at 4pm as I would probably want to gouge my eyes out but I'll have to man up and deal with it. Feel like discussing anything else? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Respect the Game: Headhunting Edition

2011-08-17T12:45:00.002-04:00

Over the past several weeks there have been several incidents of pitchers throwing at batters. I'm going to detail two recent episodes and show how at times it is appropriate to throw at hitters. Let's see if you recognize any of these scenarios.

Scenario 1:

Pitcher A is locked in a pitching dual with the opposing team's ace. Late in the game Pitcher A gives up a homer to Hitter A who stands in the box and admires his big fly. After a few tense moments Pitcher A gets into a verbal spar with Hitter A to get moving. The homeplate umpire warns both benches before any fisticuffs erupt. Hitter B steps up to hit in the next at bat and promptly watches a fastball coming at his head which he avoids. Pitcher A is then thrown out of the game, the benches empty but no fight ensues. Pitcher A later receives a 6 game suspension from the league for his actions.

Scenario 2:

Pitcher B is struggling in his outing. After giving up his fifth homerun in the game, he clearly becomes frustrated and can be seen fuming. Hitter C steps up to the plate after the latest homer and gets a ball thrown at his hip and manages to avoid it. Pitcher B, clearly not satisfied with the last pitch, throws another pitch at the batter's hip and is ejected from the game. Pitcher B walks off the field, empties his locker and tells clubhouse staff that he's going to retire. Pitcher B later receives a 30 day ban from his team.

Conclusion:

Do any of these situations sound familiar? If you guessed that Pitcher A was Jered Weaver and Pitcher B was Carlos Zambrano then give yourself a big pat on the shoulder. In my opinion Weaver was justified in what he did, unlike Zambrano who probably should not be playing baseball ever again.

Pitcher A

Pitcher B

In Weaver's case it is becoming more and more popular for a hitter to stand there and watch homeruns fly out of the park without punishment. Back in the day if you did that pitchers like Don Drysdale or Bob Gibson would ensure that you never did it again. There's a certain respect for the game that needs to occur here so batters really need to put their heads down and round the bases and celebrate with your team in your dugout. I understand that homeruns are MLB's moneymaker but as a pitcher myself I understand the frustration in giving one up and having to watch a fool make a mockery of you. Maybe there should be fines for doing it like in the NFL where touchdown celebrations have been cut down.

Carlos Zambrano's situation should not have occurred period. Just because you're having a bad day doesn't mean you get to take it out on the other team. He deserved his team suspension and should just retire. Somebody with an ego that volatile needs help.

Let's end this with one of my own personal stories. My team was playing a game against one of the top teams in the league. After our team was down by like 8 runs the other team started making a mockery of us and started a game of whoever hit into an out had to do pushups in the dugout which became very annoying. I came in to pitch in an effort to stop the bleeding and I got the first batter I faced to pop out to the shortstop. As I turned to watch my fielder catch the ball, the batter dropped to the ground and did a set of pushups right on homeplate. Sure enough the next guy I faced had one thrown at his head which he ducked out of the way of. I made no attempt to throw at him again as I was only looking to send a message. After the inning ended, the offending batter came up to me to express no ill will with what happened. I told him flat out if I ever faced him again that he'd be eating a fastball. Never again did that team try anything stupid with us from that point on.

RIP Hideki Irabu....We Hardly Knew Thee

2011-07-29T12:35:00.000-04:00

Sunday's Pic: 2011 Baseball HOF

2011-07-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

Gillick, Alomar, Blyleven (Mike Groll, AP)

My Pitch Series: The Slider

2011-05-12T09:40:00.000-04:00

The next entry in the "My Pitch Series" is the slider. I started throwing the slider out of the blue before one start a couple years ago when I felt my changeup (which will be featured at a later time) lacked movement and was pretty much stale. The typical slider is held like a conventional curveball but instead of coming directly over the top with the ball to get forward rotation you attempt to get a clockwise rotation on the ball. The best way to describe its release is to think about either throwing a football with a perfect spiral or turning a doorknob with your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

This pitch is perfect to use against those fastball happy teams. The pitch moves enough to miss the sweet spot of the bat and can also be used as a strikeout pitch throwing it away to a righty batter (as a righty pitcher) and getting them to chase it or by throwing it inside and catching the black of the plate. Personally I use it to induce weak grounders from the righty batters and as a strikeout pitch to lefties trying to backdoor the pitch on them.

Some of the great all-time slider throwers include: Steve Carlton, Randy Johnson, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry, and Jeff Nelson. Guys like Johnson and Nelson used big sweeping sliders to strike guys out while guys like Lyle and Guidry had more drop to their pitch which made them dominant.