Archive for the ‘MLB’ Category
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
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Sure, I could say something about Gimpy Tiger’s crazy-good U.S. Open win over Rocco Mediate, or the NBA Finals, or this morning’s 3 a.m. firing of Willie Randolph, or how Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner threw a hissy fit over the weekend, calling for the National League to “grow up” because they don’t have the Designated Hitter and, as a result, Chien-Ming Wang hurt his foot running the bases in interleague play on Sunday.
But I’m not going to discuss any of those things.
I just want to bring your attention to the fact that I am now in first place in the Prayers for Blowouts Fantasy Baseball League:
Please notice that my team — the prophetically named “Team of Winners” — has made the fewest roster moves of any team in the league. In fact, the second place team has made 10 times the moves my winners have made. That, friends, is known in the business as Having Serious Fantasy Baseball Skeelz.
It’s also occasionally known as Being a Big Nerd.
Either way, I’ll own up to it.
Tags: awesomeness, gloating, winning
Posted in MLB | 3 Comments »
Friday, June 6th, 2008
Former Yankee great Dave Winfield arranged so part of the Major League Baseball amateur draft this weekend included old Negro League players who never made the majors — but should have — due to the color barrier. So guys like 103 year-old Millito Navarro (a Puerto Rican who played with Cool Papa Bell and Satchel Paige) got drafted by the Yankees. And 87 year-old Joe B. Scott got picked up by the Brewers.
Excellent idea, Dave.
“This is about letting them share,” Winfield said. “They’re on the fringes of the baseball family. Bring them in a little closer. Let them share in what the game has become. You have to build a platform and let people know that these guys are important. These guys were their heritage. Their connection to the sport is important. That’s what it’s about, why they’re still alive.
“The main thing is I’m happy that we’re doing something this year. You wait too long and there’d be nobody left. I think we have one chance to do something really good. It’ll be a great day.”
Winfield got the idea when Negro League player, coach, and statesman Buck O’Neill passed away, never having been honored by Cooperstown. “I kept thinking we should have done something for Buck,” Winfield said.
One of my big regrets in life was in 2006 when I was waiting for a Southwest Airlines flight in Kansas City, bound for Chicago. I saw an old black guy wearing a baseball cap and a Negro League Museum t-shirt sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area. He was laughing and telling a story to the guy next to him. I heard his conversation partner say the name “Buck.” It was Buck O’Neill. I told my wife who he was. She told me I should find a way to sit next to him when we boarded. And when I walked onto the plane, the seat across the aisle from Buck was empty.
I smiled at him and kept walking. Stupid, stupid, stupid Jason. I’ve regretted it ever since.
Buck O’Neill died four months later, in October 2006.
Here’s a lesson, kids. Don’t pass those opportunities up. They won’t come again.
Posted in Causes, MLB | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
Back in January we pointed you to the amazing story of Josh Hamilton’s rise and fall as a big league star, and how he rose again (in life and in baseball) thanks to a newfound faith in Christ and a commitment to stay clean and disciplined.
If you’ve watched any baseball this year, you know that the story is only getting better. Hamilton is absolutely raking. Like Big Brown and his cracked hoof, Hamilton is a legitimate triple crown threat, with a batting average of .327 (4th in the AL) with 17 HR (1st in AL) and 68 RBIs (1st in AL). Considering his average draft position in ESPN Fantasy Leagues was 112th, it’s safe to say that he’ll be the centerpiece of many a winning fantasy team come September.
The MLB Baseball Package on DirecTV has afforded me the opportunity to watch a handful of Rangers games this year, and I’ve been just as impressed as everyone else. In fact, he hit a home run the other day on a pitch that was up at his nipples. Not sure anyone else in the game could have put that pitch in the seats except for Vlad. (and maybe Barry Bonds, except, he’s not actually in the game).
This morning, Deadspin picked up on a story from SI.com that Hamilton has switched agents in the middle of contract negotiations with the Rangers. According to Jon Heyman, Hamilton switched from Matt Sosnick to Michael Moye, and apparently told friends he made the switch because he wanted to be with “a christian stable.”
You see? And you thought the only thing Hamilton had in common with Big Brown was that whole Triple Crown business.
(h/t: Deadspin)
Tags: Big Brown, Josh Hamilton
Posted in Christianity, MLB | 4 Comments »
Monday, June 2nd, 2008
So, here’s my dilemma. I mentioned it a few weeks back on my personal blog, and Bryan linked to it. My simple problem is this, in syllogistic fashion:
A: I like the Chicago Cubs
B: Fans of the Cubs do not like Jim Edmonds.
C: Jim Edmonds is now a member of the Chicago Cubs.
A and B are true, therefore C means Cubs fans’ heads are exploding across the U.S.
Up to this point, it’s been a good year. The Cubs are dominating the National League, are unbeatable at home, have the best record in the Major Leagues, and may actually be headed to the World Series…100 years since their last Series win. It’s a dream season. It’s poetic. This makes us fans happy. Except there’s a dark, flopping, frosted-hair cloud on our sunshiny day. His name is Jim.
The first couple of weeks of the Jim Edmonds Experience were not too bad. Jimmy made a few spectacular plays in center field — not even that suspiciously floppy — but was a total bust at the plate. He continued his .100 hitting ways, even in Cubbie Blue. Which is why San Diego cut him. Cubs fans enjoyed booing him every time he came to the plate to strike out, ground out weakly, dramatically dive to avoid an inside pitch that didn’t come within 18 inches of hitting him, and pout when the ump called a third strike. We expected this. And the Cubs were still winning, so we kind of enjoyed his failure. A few more days of this, we reasoned, and the Cubs would cut him, too.
But then he started hitting. He’s 6 for his last 14 at-bats. He hit a big home run last Thursday. He’s got 5 RBI in the last three games. He’s hitting like the Jim Edmonds we used to hate when he was a Cardinal. He’s helping the Cubs win.
I don’t know what to do. I still roll my eyes and let loose a deadbeat, unenthusiastic “Yay” when he gets a hit. I still secretly enjoy him getting an out. But I want the Cubs to win. And Jim Edmonds is a Cub. Still.
I am confused. Still.
Help me. I’m not just a bad Christian for deeply disliking a fellow human, but I’m a bad baseball fan for rooting against a player on my team. Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Posted in MLB, morality | 4 Comments »
Monday, May 19th, 2008
Like Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and Johnny Damon before him, Jim Edmonds has joined the Dark Side; suiting up for the arch rivals of the team he spent most of his career with (though admittedly, the circumstances are a bit different). Over at his blog, Jason Boyett has some thoughts from a Cubs fan’s perspective.
His name was Jim Edmonds. He was arrogant. He had dark hair with dorky looking frosted tips. He pouted after EVERY. SINGLE. CALLED. STRIKE. He stood too long to admire his home runs. He made amazing catches as a centerfielder, but most of baseball has always suspected he turned routine plays into diving catches by timing his approach…just so he’d look awesome doing it. Jim Edmonds was a flopper. A surly, full-of-himself, whiny, goofy-looking flopper. All Cubs fans hated him, more than any other Cardinal ever. Ever!
(kinda of reminds me of how I felt in December 05 when Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees, only in reverse. Of course, looking back at that now, I couldn’t be happier that Captain Caveman and his girlie arm bolted for the Big Apple.)
Posted in MLB | 3 Comments »
Friday, April 11th, 2008
The following post was written for PFB by Jason Boyett, author of the Pocket Guides to the Bible, the Apocalypse, and Adulthood (among others). If you’re not subscribed to his blog, you better have a really good excuse.
Forgiveness is a powerful thing. Nothing better soothes the sharp edges of sin than the mercy and restoration that forgiveness provides, and sometimes it takes the sporting world to show us that.
Earlier this week, Bill Buckner threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Boston Red Sox home opener, and by all accounts, it was a profound moment for everyone involved. A few quotes from coverage of the event:
“I’ve probably never almost been in tears for somebody else on a baseball field. I think that was just the most unbelievable thing,” [Red Sox first baseman Kevin] Youkilis said. “I wanted to shake his hand, because that’s a true man in life.” (USAToday)
The experience, Buckner said, was “probably about as emotional as it could get.” (ESPN)
“It was kind of neat. I know he was emotional on the mound. You know, it was emotional for me, too.” (Dwight Evans in the Boston Globe)
Buckner was one of my favorite players as a kid. My brother and I were Cubs fans, and we loved the great mustachioed one. I was sad when he left the Cubs in 1984, but I was even sadder for him when he made the error that cost Boston the 1986 series. I wasn’t surprised, though. As the Cubbie faithful, we learn to expect that kind of thing. (It wasn’t even that surprising when it was revealed that, underneath that fateful first baseman’s glove when Mookie Wilson’s ball passed through his wickets on October 25, old Billy Buck was wearing a Cubs batting glove. Figures.)
So I was thrilled to read that the whole ugly episode might be put to rest at Tuesday’s home opener. And by all accounts, it was. Buckner almost didn’t come — he knew the questions about the play would come up, and after having had that scab ripped open time after time after time over the last 22 years, he wasn’t interested in doing it again. But finally he agreed to do it. And the crowd cheered for the goat. An entire ballpark got goosebumps. Eyes turned red. Grown men got a little weepy. At the press conference afterwards, it took Buckner several seconds to gather himself enough to speak.
He had been forgiven, but he had to forgive, too.
“I really had to forgive…not the fans of Boston per se, but I would have to say, in my heart, I had to forgive the media…” Buckner told reporters. He stopped again to collect himself. “… for what they put me and my family through. So I’ve done that. I’m over that. And I’m just happy that I just try to think of the positive. The happy things.”
The guy made one mistake, and it defined the last two decades of his life. That’s incredible. That’s horrible. Hopefully he can put it behind him. Hopefully Boston can let it go, too. Hopefully we can remember how good it is to forgive, and to be forgiven.
Next in line? Steve Bartman. Someday.
Tags: Bill Buckner, Forgiveness
Posted in MLB, sports | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
This piece is almost 6 months old, but hey, it’s new to me: The Huffington Post’s Tom McNichol on God and Baseball.
“Isn’t the God that helps a player hit a mammoth home run the same God that helps him strike out the next time up on three nasty sliders? Why aren’t there any baseball players who point to the sky after they whiff on three pitches, or pop out to the mound, or ground into a rally-killing double play? How about pointing after a successful sacrifice? Surely, God has a special place in His heart for the sacrifice.”
Tags: Thankfulness
Posted in Christianity, MLB | No Comments »
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Why is it that we like to make predictions for an upcoming sports season?
To sound smart? To say “told you so” if our guesses turn out to be right? To convince ourselves that our team has what it takes? To me, making predictions is about hope. Not necessarily about the hope of an individual team, just the hope of a new season.
In my opinion, each new sports season is great because it’s like getting your hands on the newest book in your favorite series of books. Major League Baseball has been around for a while, so this year’s book has got to be Volume 158 or something like that. (I’ll let my editor do the research)
(editor’s note: I have no editor)
Those of us who are baseball fans all read the last book that came out in the series called “The 2007 MLB Season”. It was a great book. There were good guys, bad guys, plot twists, historic moments, mysterious events that changed the course of the book (remember those flying midges on Joba Chamberlain’s neck in Cleveland?), and of course, a big finish.
Not everyone loved the way the last book ended of course, but that’s the beauty of a new season. There will be new characters introduced to go along with the ones we love and love to hate (world, meet Evan Longoria), there will be pages of comedy, tragedy, and plenty of moments that inspire (like on Page 1 of this year’s book when Ryan Zimmerman hit a game winning homer in the Nationals brand new park). Inevitably there will be plot twists we never saw coming and ultimately there will be a big ending that maybe, just maybe, will be the one you are hoping for.
With that in mind, I give my predictions for how this book, “The 2008 MLB Season”, will play out. While I’m not a baseball expert, the reality is I’m not much different than Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark, Buster Olney, or Atreyu. They don’t know how this book will end any more than I do. And even though they know the previous books in the series a lot better than I do - seeing as how it’s what they do for a living - in the end we’re all just guessing.
OK, enough with the overworked analogies and Neverending Story pics…here’s how I think this will play out
13 Predictions for 2008
1. The Yankees will win the AL East - do I really think this is going to happen? I don’t know. I’m torn between the Sox and the Yankees. While I’m not sold on Girardi as the right manager for this team, I do think the pinstripers are going to have another monster season at the plate. Cano might win the batting title, Giambi is in a contract year, Matsui and Jeter will be as solid as ever, and A-Rod will probably put up MVP numbers again. Most folks think it will come down to their young arms, and I tend to agree. So I guess what I’m saying is that Joba, Phil, and Ian might all be the real deal.
2. The Mets will win the NL East - Without Santana I’d be picking the Phillies or Braves here, but Johan will be strong in September when they need him most.
3. The Diamondbacks and Angels win the Wests - I see the Rockies regressing, and I don’t see the Mariners living up to the hype. If the Big Unit (worst.nickname.ever.) can get healthy and give the D-Backs 12-15 quality starts, he’ll be a great compliment to Haren and Webb. Over in Seattle, I’m with the chorus of experts who think the M’s won’t score enough runs to keep pace with the Angels.
4. Ryan Howard will lead the NL in homers this year - rounding out the top 5 will be Ryan Braun, Adam Dunn, Alfonso Soriano, and Matt Holliday. In the AL it will be A-Rod, Manny, Carlos Pena, Miguel Cabrera. and Big Papi who make up the top 5.
5. The Cubs will win the NL Central - and it has nothing to do with the 100-year anniversary thing. I’d consider picking the Reds as a sleeper over the Brewers to keep it close, but my buddy Geof would probably kill me. This is the one pick that most experts seem to agree on, which is probably bad news for the Cubs.
6. The Houston Astros will finish in the bottom 3 of their division - I only add this to the list because Cliff Young and Jeff Miller of Caedmon’s Call were adamant with me last month that the Astros had a shot at winning their division. I think they’ve been smoking some of their 40 Acres.
7 - The worst record in baseball will belong to the Orioles - Not only are they bad, but the rest of the division is great. I’m not as high on the Blue Jays as many are, but I’m predicting the Orioles will fare no better than a 6-13 record against any of their division foes this year.
8. The Tigers will not win their division - But they will win the AL Wild Card. Their lineup is great, and so is Verlander. But Bonderman, Willis, Rogers, and Robertson? I’m not ready to write them in for 100 wins yet. I’m going with the Indians in the AL Central, but I think it’ going to be close. These two teams might finish 1-2 record-wise in the AL.
9. The Cy Young awards will go to Santana and Halladay - I like Roy and Johan to win 21 games each and walk away with some hardware. I was tempted to pick Kazmir in the AL, but his recent elbow issues scared me off.
10. The final playoff spots will be won by the Phillies and Tigers - the fightins’ will hold off the Dodgers and Braves for the Wild Card, and the Tigers will eliminate the Red Sox in the last week of the season.
11. The Yankees and Indians will meet in the ALCS - The Yankees will out-hit the Tigers and the Indians will out-everything the Angels to meet in the ALCS. Without the midges, I think the Yankees will come out on top.
12. The Diamondbacks and Cubs will face off in the NLCS - Unless the Mets can figure out how to clone Johan this summer, they will fall to the D-Backs in 6 games. Same goes for the Phillies, who will wish they had a few more Cole Hamels when they lose to the Cubs. I like the Cubs to take care of business in the NLCS, not because I think they have a better club than the D-Backs, but because I have no desire to see a Yankees-Diamondbacks matchup in the World Series.
13. The Yankees will beat the Cubs in the World Series - If you think this whole thing was me trying to jinx the Yankees, you’re crazy. (not that I would complain if that happened). I just think Jeter, Posada, and company have one more title run in them before they start to fade into Bolivian. I hope I’m wrong. Wicked wrong.
OK, one more creepy Neverending Story pic.
Falcor says, “Enjoy Opening Day, everyone!”
(I originally posted this piece on my personal blog)
Tags: baseball, MLB, predictions
Posted in MLB, previews | 5 Comments »
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
In a Good Friday NYT piece, Murray Chass asks if the reason that baseball organizations have faith nights is just to make money…or is it an evangelism tool…(or is it to make money to buy tools for evangelists)?
Over at Moderately Cerebral Bias, MCBias asks what exactly was Murray’s point, and why does he contradict himself in his own article?
Tags: Faith Nights
Posted in Christianity, MLB | 1 Comment »
Friday, March 21st, 2008
A bunch of the Chicago Cubs players totalled their strength coach’s car the other day. Acutally, it was his wife’s car. And yes, they destroyed it.
Why such an act of destruction? Because earlier that day they had bought him a brand new Nissan XTerra.
(h/t: The Junky Car Club - where Jason Boyett discusses the honor of such generosity and the horror or ruining a perfectly good car.)
Tags: Chicago Cubs, Generosity
Posted in MLB | 1 Comment »
