Baseball In The Daytime: 30 September 2009

Welcome, boys and girls, to the very last Baseball In The Daytime of September. Tomorrow we hit the month that Reggie Jackson made famous, the month that includes the playoffs--unless of course the World Series goes longer than five games.

Today we're starting off with the front ends of two doubleheaders necessitated by rainouts, and then wrapping up the day slate with a Mets-Nats tilt from DC. Every single team playing today has been eliminated from postseason consideration, these games are beneath meaning. Not even degenerate gamblers or fantasy geeks care--if you're betting on games involving the Pirates, Cubs, White Sox, Indians, Mets or Nats, you're probably also living under a bridge. And if your fantasy team contains players from any of those teams, your season is most likely done.

But hey, let's celebrate the pastime anyway! Joyous previews and sunshiney trivia after the jump!

Pittsburgh @ Chicago Cubs, 12:05 Mountain At least the Pirates are still trying--they took three of four from the Dodgers over the weekend to delay LA's not-quite-inevitable division championship a few days. In the final game of that series Monday, Zach Duke took an 11-0 shutout into the ninth. He yielded a run in that frame, yet one out away from a complete game blowout manager John Russell yanked him.

Look, we keep tabs on the Kansas City Royals in this space, so we know a little something about bad baseball teams and thickheaded management making not-smart decisions. But these Pirates--wow. Just wow. Charlie Morton gets the nod from Russell today opposite Ted Lilly.

Chicago White Sox @ Cleveland. 2:05 The other Windy City failure sets up shop next to Lake Erie this afternoon, as some kid who goes by the name of Carlos Torres dons the uniform of Eddie Cicotte and Horacio Ramirez. Will Torres throw the World Series and/or post a WHIP of 2.50? You'll have to watch to find out, as he battles Fausto Carmona in front of several dozen fans.

Los Mets @ Washington, 2:35 Tim Redding and John Lannan pitch, you decide. That's my little Fox News intro for this game. Take care, folks, we'll see you during Rocktober!
Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 28 August 2009

It's almost time to go back to school, kids. You have one more chance to get to Wrigley and soak in the day baseball before another year of soul-crushing education begins. Or, you could just ditch. So then there's no time crunch at all.

After the jump, get friendly with our single game that's not under the lights...

NY Mets @ Chicago Cubs, 12:20 Mountain Mets Baseball, Don't Misch It! That's my slogan. Don't like it? Get bent. The Mets have had about a kajillion injuries this year, and you can throw Johan Santana and Oliver Perez on the pile--both starters were shut down last week with season-ending wounds. So your Metropolitan arm today is Patrick Misch. If you want details on Mr. Misch, I got nothin. He's an enigma, a ghost. He could give up ten earned in the first frame, he could blank the Cubs.

Flying the home colors today is Ted Lilly, who needs no introduction. Everybody knows what you get from Ted Lilly. Rub up your balls with Mississippi Mud, and Play Ball!
Read more

Baseball in the Daytime: Dualing Reacharounds

It's the last week of August which means baseball games that take place in the daytime will be coming to a close, which is sad, really. Day baseball is glorious, and when it involves mostly bad teams wrapping up four-game series, well, it's even gloriouser. Today there are two reacharounds on tap, and surprisingly, they're both rubber matches. Enjoy them while you can because September means pennant races, prime-time baseball, and less focus on bad baseball, ideally. Normally Old No. 7 is your reacharound expert, but he's a bit tied up this morning, what with all of the Sunday reaching around in which he usually engages. I could write more sentences, and try to use the word "which" a few more times, but let's skip that notion, and get to today's slate, post-jump.

Philadelphia @ New York, 12:10 Central: A lefty by the name of Cliff Lee seeks win number 12 on the season today in New York. He'll do battle with righty Bobby Parnell of New York, who, like his Los Mets counterparts, is not very good. New York could settle the series with a win today, which would not really help their case -- 15 1/2 back -- that much. Philly, however, could use the extra cushion as Atlanta's a half-game notch over the six mark behind them. Catch all the thrills nonetheless on DirecTV 721 if you're watchin', XM 183 if you're blind.

Milwaukee @ Washington, 3:35: Our second contest pits two righties against one another. It's Yovani Garllardo for the Brew Crew, Collin Balester for the Nats. Much like our first contest, the visiting starter's looking to tally his dozenth win of the season, while he who toes the slab for the home team, is, uh, not good. Milwaukee's hopes of a wildcard race have faded quickly. They've dropped to fourth in the N.L. Central and are nearly 11 games behind St. Louis. Washington, on the other hand, really wants Bryce Harper. Catch this tilt, if you must, on DirecTV 722 or 723, or have a listen on XM, same station as Philly-New York.

That's all the reacharound one man can handle for a Monday afternoon. Enjoy.
Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 12 August 2009

Five games dot our landscape of day baseball this morning and afternoon, and we have teams representing five of the United States and one Canadian province. Break out your atlas and a rosin bag and get ready to head round the world of baseball...

Toronto @ NY Yankees, 11:05 Mountain The Yanks keep bulldozing toward a seemingly inevitable AL East crown, which will buy Joe Girardi at least two weeks of job security. Lose in the first round again, though, and Joe might be toast. A.J. Burnett, today's starter against his former BJ's teammates, holds a major key to the Bombers' postseason puzzle. If he can be an effective No. 2 behind Commander Cheeseburger, start planning a tickertape parade down Broadway. If he acts like A.J. Burnett, though, and the load falls to Joba and Pettite, Girardi may want to hold off on buying Manhattan real estate. Ricky Romero hurls for the visitors.

Oakland @ Baltimore, 11:35 It's very possible that these two clubs will sport two of the finest young staffs in the majors next year. Of course, a big reason for that is because they have zero veterans and they're playing kids that would be normally be in the minors. Oakland's Vin Mazzaro looks like a future ace, but he gets lit up a lot because he's 22. Oriole Jason Berken, a relative graybeard at 25, is not among Baltimore's elite prospects like Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and David Hernandez, but he still shows big-league potential.

Tampa @ Los Anaheim, 1:35 After their deadline deal to trade their old "Devil" name to the Yankees fell through, the Bay-Rays were able to get the moniker through waivers this week. It's possible that the Angels, in need of some thump for the stretch drive, might deal Tampa a lefty reliever and a player to be named later, because the Los Anaheim Devil-Angels of Costa Mesa is a fucking sweet tag. On the field, these two gangs take up hostilities again this afternoon, after the Halos swept the first two games of this series. Jeff Niemann tries to salvage one for the Bay-Rays, while Trevor Bell becomes the 100th pitcher to start a game for the Angels this season.

NY Mets @ Arizona, 1:40 In an air-conditioned box in downtown Phoenix, two lousy baseball teams will play a baseball game that means absolutely nothing. If no one attends and they forget to turn on the cameras, will it actually happen? Of course it will, there are fantasy implications. Oliver Perez and Jon Garland take the balls from their respective catchers, and if you're counting on either Oliver Perez or Jon Garland for your fantasy baseball hopes today, I'd suggest some strong liquor.

LA Dodgers @ San Francisco, 1:45 The Giants rolled into this series after beating up on some damn good teams, including taking a series from the defending champion Phillies. They'd closed to within four and a half of the Dodgers, who'd lost 10 of 15 and have No. 1 starter Chad Billingsley gimpy and missing today's start.

So what happens? The Dodgers simply fuck the Giants up in the first two games of the series and stand to sweep today. San Fran has very nice pitching, but even with Fat Ichiro and new additions Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez their lineup is really, really weak. At least reigning Cy Younger Tim Lincecum starts today, against Weaver. Which Weaver, you ask? Both brothers play in SoCal, they have similar haircuts, and both of their first names start with J. So which one? The bad one. Oh, you mean Jeff. Try to throw strikes, my brother, and Play Ball!
Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: August 5 2009

When you think about it, day baseball is one of the most environmentally friendly civic movements one can imagine. By leaving the lights off, we're preventing like eleventy billion tons of smog-forming emissions from reaching the atmosphere, and our kids will breathe easier in the future. Baseball in the Daytime: hippie-approved since 1837!

So whizz your Prius down to the old ball yard or fire up your hand-cranked radio device for the game action, detailed below if you click right about here...

St. Louis @ NY Mets, 10:10 Mountain Citi Field is the venue and the Cardinals and Mets are the teams for this renewal of a classic Senior Circuit rivalry. Kyle Lohse gets the start for the road Birds, and Lohse is one of only two Native Americans on MLB rosters (the other is flaming fuckstick Joba Chamberlain). Rookie lefty Jonathan Niese dons the home whites of the Metropolitans, who really suck. Yeah, yeah, injuries, cry me a river. Isn't it fun when the team with the second highest payroll in baseball is dreadful? Yes? No? I think it's fun.

San Francisco @ Houston, 12:05 Entering last night's games, the NL Central was bunched into a cute little pattern--you had the Cubbies and the Cards tied in first, the Brewers and the Astros knotted together at 4 games back, and the free-falling Reds and perennially rebuilding Pirates locked at 11 and a half in arrears. So these clubs all played a bunch of baseball games--Albert Pujols hit his fifth grand slam of the year (five fucking grand slams?), Tom Gorzellany won his Cub debut, and everyone else lost. So the NL Central is still bunched into that cute little pattern, only with different numbers.

Joe Martinez makes his first big-league start for the Giants, so we're all pulling for old Joe. Except fans of the Rockies, who are engaged in a gladiatorial death brawl with San Fran for the wild card, they want Joe Martinez to immolate on the mound at Minute Maid Park. Brian Moehler is your Astros starter, he's been around if you know what I mean.

Atlanta @ San Diego, 1:35 There's a faux beach in right center at Petco Park, where you can get some sand in your shoes. Don't goof off in that litterbox too much or you'll miss the rampaging Atlanta Braves, who are in the midst of a violent siege of the Phillies. At press time the Braves sat six and a half back of the champs after winning four of their last ten. Wait, that's not any good. Atlanta does have a nice rotation, represented today by rookie phenom Tommy Hanson, who's kind of fat and nasty yet locates his breaking pitches nicely. Chad Gaudin starts for the Friars, and Chad Gaudin is scheduled to make $1.8 mil this season. So the drinks are on him after the game. I like pina coladas, and getting caught in Play Ball!

Read more

Classic.

If I'm the only person in America banging the World Baseball Classic drum, so be it. I love this shit, I'm nuts for it, and last night's incredible comeback win for Team USA merely cemented my disturbingly inappropriate lust. That game was over, done, and I was mentally preparing myself to pull for Puerto Rico the rest of the way. They're really good, they're not run by socialist dictators like Cuba and Venezuela, and at the end of the day Puerto Rico is America. Like literally, they belong to us.

But then, in the bottom of the ninth, the gritty, speedy, pain-in-the-ass U.S. lineup pulled a miraculous victory from their ass. Our country may be broke and broken, our political system in shambles, our military might compromised, our way of life delegitimized. We can still beat a small, poor territory in baseball, though! Take that France.

So WBC baseball lives on for American fans, all six of us. Let's get into what lies ahead in this tournament, from tonight's bullshit "Pool Championship" to possible U.S. roster changes to this weekend's Final Four in LA, after the jump...

Throughout Team USA's games in the WBC, two weaknesses have emerged. One is that the starting pitching has been far below-average, and the other is that the Americans have been far too reliant on the long ball. Those two problem areas cost them an opening-round game against the Venezuelans, and they murdered the U.S. in their embarrassing mercy-rule blowout loss to Puerto Rico Monday.

The four U.S. starters (Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt, Ted Lilly and Jeremy Guthrie) are all fine, but none are anywhere close to midseason form. Oswalt is the unquestioned ace at this point, and Lilly bounced back from a rough loss to Venezuela with a solid performance last night. Relievers Heath Bell and Jonathan Broxton spoiled the 3-3 tie they inherited from Lilly, however, and the U.S. found themselves down 5-3 headed to the bottom of the ninth.


When the Americans have won WBC games, they've typically scored via the home run. Adam Dunn and Kevin Youkilis have been notching taters at a healthy clip, and Jimmy Rollins and Brian McCann have gone yard as well. That's all well and good, because chicks dig the long ball, but the situation late last night in Miami dictated a small ball approach rather than waiting for a titanic blast. A series of U.S. batters--Shane Victorino, Brian Roberts, Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins, Youk and finally David Wright--ground out sustained at bats which loaded the bases, chased J.C. Romero, walked in a run and finally won the game.

USA Baseball has some decisions to make before Saturday's first semifinal at Dodger Stadium. Chipper Jones needs to be replaced due to his injury, and Evan Longoria is the only other pure third baseman on the provisional roster. Longoria's a nice player and contributes a lot of power, but I pray that manager Davey Johnson keeps him on the bench and leaves Wright on the field. I can't see Johnson ditching Peavy, even though he's killing his team, but why not lose Guthrie or Lilly for John Danks or Justin Verlander, both of whom are pitching well this spring?

If you're wondering why the U.S. plays again tonight, even though they're already ticketed for the semis, join the club. This game against Venezuela will determine the seeds for the Final Four, with the winner playing Saturday against the Pool 1 runner-up, the loser going Sunday versus the Pool 1 champ. Neither opponent has been determined, as Japan and Cuba play a knockout game tonight, the winner advancing to the Pool 1 finale tomorrow night.

Whom would I like the U.S. to face? Although I feel Japan's the best club in Pool 1, I think they're also our best matchup due to familiarity. Far fewer Koreans have made it to MLB, and Cuba is a closed baseball mystery. So root, root, root for the Japanese tonight. Oh, and hope Guthrie can limit Venezuela to less than a dozen runs as well.
Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 8-18-08

It may be easy to forget about baseball, what with the Olympics and preseason football and that wicked case of crabs you caught over the weekend, but it's still here. Yup, for another month and a half, plus playoffs! Now if you think baseball is boring, that may be a bad thing. But if you're an intelligent individual that appreciates the graceful nuance of scratching nuts and spitting, rejoice.

We have a pair of reacharounds on tap, so take a good firm grip and pull...

NY Mets @ Pittsburgh, 10:35 Mountain Back in 1898 the USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor, precipitating the Spanish-American War that made both Teddy Roosevelt and a young private named John McCain famous. Some years later, John Maine was born in Parts Unknown, USA (actually Virginia).

Today Maine (John, not USS) takes the hill against Paul Maholm and the Pittsburgh Pirates. His Mets are aiming for a sweep of this four-game set and their seventh straight win overall. It's no coincidence that their recent hot streak has coincided with Maine's removal from the disabled list. Remember the Maine, To Hell with Spain (and Maholm)!

San Francisco @ Atlanta, 2:30 There are no foreign war entanglements associated with this contest, starting pitchers Barry Zito and Jorge Campill are both pacifists. Zito knows all the words to Afternoon Delight, however, and Campillo is really good at the card game Uno. Today's baseball trivia has been brought to you by Lucky Strikes, now with Flavor Crystals! Light 'em up and Play Ball!
Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 8-11-08

On Saturday night at Coors Field, I had a lot of fun. Even though the home team lost, I got a chance to heckle Brian Giles mercilessly. Giles turned down a deal to the Red Sox last week, passing on a chance to play in the postseason for the first time. He's rather stay in last place. So I called him a bum and a loser and he went 0-for-5. Good times.

Much has been made about Manny Ramirez's actions just before the trade deadline, what many see as him quitting on the Red Sox. Manny was traded to the Dodgers, and all of a sudden he's hitting like crazy, hustling, and his "aching" knees seem perfectly healthy. On Saturday, Buster Olney posted this on his blog:

These are observations made only with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, and not meant to be a criticism of Bud Selig. Nobody in baseball is conditioned to deal with the possibility that a player might willfully become a cancer on his team in pursuit of a contractual change. But privately, as the smoke has cleared, many folks within the game believe that what might have taken place with Ramirez represents a threat greater to the core tenet of baseball competition than any player ingesting steroids -- "At least those guys were trying to get better for themselves and the team," said one GM -- and perhaps as great as the Pete Rose and Black Sox betting scandals.

Now I'll agree Manny's actions were shameful. Any player that does not appear to give full effort toward winning should be benched, fined and publicly lambasted. But why is there not a similar outcry over what Giles did? Why is choosing to play for a lousy team and spurning a winning one any different than the petulant tantrums of Manny Ramirez?

But that's enough deep thought, let's get to the sunshine hardball...

Pittsburgh @ NY Mets, 11:10 Mountain It's always interesting to see what happens to dominant pitches as they get a little older. Some, like Nolan Ryan, just stay dominant. Some, like The Rocket and The Unit, maintain much of their bite but see their ERAs climb a little and their strikeouts decline. Some, like Kevin Brown, simply go away.

And then you have guys like Pedro Martinez. He was the finest pitcher on the planet at the turn of the millennium, an untouchable artiste. His filthy stuff was matched only by his shocking bravado and Jheri curls. But then Pedro milked one last big contract out of the Mets and fell apart. His starts are less appointments than little surprises--"Hey, Pedro's pitching today." He can barely register 90 on the gun, he tires quickly, and his breaking pitches just sort of roll. It's a little sad, but at least he's out making a living, as opposed to swimming in Kevin Brown's pool full of stolen money. Zach Duke goes up against Pedro today at Shea.

Washington @ Milwaukee, 12:05 As the Brew Crew tries to hold on in both the NL Central and wild-card races, the Nats are playing out the string. Today the start a kid named Garrett Mock. You'd think I would make sport of that handle, but you'd be wrong. Nothing to Mock here. The Brewers go with Dave Bush, whose Spanish name is Arbusto. Play Ball!

Update: Upon doing a little research, I discovered that Brian Giles actually has playoff experience. Quite a bit, matter of fact. He played on the excellent Indians teams that went to the dance from 1996-98, and his Padres snuck in to the NL postseason in '05 and '06. He has a .208 lifetime October average with no homers in 29 games.

My point still stands. If you're satisfied with a career that peaked with four at-bats in the '97 World Series loss to the Marlins, you're playing for the wrong reasons. San Diego is beautiful and its ladies are magnificent. But you can live there in the offseason and live there for the rest of your life. If you're afraid of playing for a good team, you're a loser.
Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 8-7-08

It's Live Attendance Week here at the HoG, as our various staff members have decided to purchase tickets for actual baseball games. Banky took in the Royals' home tilt against the defending champs last night, where his boys got smoked and his one of his key fantasy cogs left with an injury. Cecil and I are scheduled to drop by for the Rockies' game versus San Diego on Saturday with the wives, where I'll watch Greg Maddux pitch live for the first time. And I'm sure Anachro is bunkered at the Los Anaheim Sports Complex scouting his Halos. He's the only one of us that makes the time to regularly watch his team in the flesh, although the duties of fatherhood and husbandry definitely take their toll.

Even if you live in the remote wilderness like I do, I think it's vital to take in at least one pro baseball game each summer. We went to a few spring training contests back in March, which was nice. But I'm talking real baseball, baseball that counts. Although we're discussing the Rockies, Royals and Padres. Never mind on that, let's go to Baseball In The Daytime...

San Diego @ NY Mets, 10:10 Mountain As botched as the firing of Willie Randolph was--and make no mistake, it was botched--it did give the Mets a boost in the short term. They're back to underachieveing, but today's starter is the key to their postseason hopes. If Johan Santana pitches like Johan Santana, that's the edge over the Phillies and Marlins that Los Mets need. Josh Banks is the other guy.

Florida @ Philadelphia, 11:05 Those two teams that New York is chasing in the NL East face off in Philly today, with Chris Volstad and Cole Hamels doing the honors of starting. These Marlins are basebal zombies, they will. not. die. Uggla and/or Ramirez in slumps? No problem. Awful pitching? Who cares? They have the resilience of cock-a-roaches, which Tony Montana can not kill.

LA Dodgers @ St Louis, 12:15 Another day, another closer for the Cards. After Jason Isringhausen battled injury and suckitude, the Redbirds installed Ryan Franklin, who was great. But then Izzy came back off the DL and infected Franklin with his funk, now neither can get an out. Enter Chris Perez, last night's savior. Today? Tune in to find out. Kyle Lohse tries to get a lead to Perez or whomever, while LA's Clayton Kershaw tries not to shit his pants.

Washington @ Colorado, 1:05 & 4:00 That's right, kids, let's play two! Due to last night's torrential storm that forced many residents to build arks, a doubleheader is on tap at Coors this afternoon. The return of Jeff Francis has been delayed, further proof that Mother Nature loathes Canada. Francis faces Jason Bergmann in the opener, while Odalis Perez and Ubaldo Jimenez do the deed in Game Two. Head on down to LoDo and Play Ball!
Read more

Baseball in the Daytime: 7-24-08

We've got a trio of matches slated for this fine day of late-July baseball. One of today's games feature league leaders, while the other two tend more towards the bottom of their respective divisions. Of the three, two are of the National League variety, while the lone AL contest features a guy looking to keep up with the Mussinas in the double-digits wins category. I'll give you a hint: he hails from Denver, CO and boasts 1200+ strikeouts in his career. That, and he just might be the cat pictured here on the left, but I can't give away any other details. Find out more on this mystery man after the jump.

Phillies @ Los Mets, 11:10: The first on the docket today is a slugfest between the tied-for-first-place-in-the-NL Central clubs that call Philadelphia and New York home. The Phils send lefty Jamie Moyer to the mound, he of the 9-6 record and winner of his last two starts. His opponent will be the also-southpaw Oliver Perez, who currently sits at 6-6. The Mets took yesterday's contest 6-3, likely angering the Phanatic and all baseball fans in Philly. Check 722 for your Philly DirecTV feed, 723 if you root for Los Mets. XM calls the pitches on 189.

Blue Jays @ Orioles, 11:35: Twenty-five minutes later, 11-win Roy Halladay and the Canadian Blue Jays take on Daniel Cabrera and the Baltimore birds. Both of these righties are on the positive side of .500 for their personal records thus far, and both clubs likely don't enjoy their spots at the bottom of the AL East. The Jays are 10 games behind the Rays, while the O's have another half game to whittle away. DirecTV's got the match on 724, and XM will hook you on the 178.

Capitals at Giants, 2:45: Later in the afternoon, it's a war between the coasts, as two more righties square off in the form of San Fran's Matt Cain and Washington's Tim Redding. Both pitchers have their E.R.A.s above four, and will seek to lower them in the Bay Area. Nats feed over on DirecTV is 725; Giants is one digit higher. XM delivers the broadcast 183-style.

That's what's in store for BitD today. Now get out there and gripe about that strike zone!

(Update: It just occurred to me that this post didn't get published before I left the house this morning -- a.k.a. prior to the start of these games -- which certainly had nothing to do with the fact that I was still drunk when I woke up, which renders this post totally useless. Annoying? I'm in agreeance. I blame Al Gore.)
Read more

Baseball in the Daytime: 6-20-08

Today we have one -- count 'em, one -- sunshine-sparked contest on the diamond...ah-ah-ah. And of course it involves the Cubsters of Chi-town. But wait...this single unit of day baseball is bursting with windy-city glory as, you guessed it, the visitors are Ozzie Guillen's stockings in white. You don't need me to tell you that that's good stuff, folks. We'll examine the game a smidge, along with some other news of the diamond sort, once we (Editor's Note: Please. Use your best Casey Kasem voice for these next four words.) jump, jive...an' wail.


Read Jump Jive An’ Wail lyrics


Alrighty then. Now that that's done...

Sox @ Cubs, 1:20: Really. Call the contest what you will. It's a battle of lefties, the challenge of Chicago, an Illinois scrap of first-placers. Either way, John Danks dukes it out with Ted Lilly in a dual of last names with endless joke possibilities. Danks and the visiting stockings bring a 41-31 lead (4-4/2.90 for the hurler) into Wrigley, while the Baby Bears sit at 45-28, and place Lilly's 7-5/4.76 in front of them. The leaders of both these Central divisions will be eager to gain ground on their second-place foes as each starts a new series today. The Cubs are coming off a three-game skid, but slightly relish in the fact that St. Louis just dropped three in a row as well. The White Sox, on the other hand, have won three straight, but so have the pesky Twins. Currently, St. Louis is three and-a-half games back, while Minnesota must chop one more contest out of the first-place way. Anyway, catch this gem on the WGNs, of course. The DirecTVs will also have it, if you crank that dial to the 722 mark, while 184 can plug you in to it over on W-BALZ the XMs.

In evening games of HoG noteworthiness, the Giants come to KC for a visit, and neither team has Barry Bonds on the payroll. Thank. Christ. We would never've heard the end of that one. The Red Sox travel to Busch Stadium for a rematch of the '04 World Series, and, as has been the gig throughout this inter-league run, one of these kids is doin' his own thing; Los Mets travel to Coors Field for some regular ol' NL baseball.

Elsewhere in the baseball 'spheres, Walkoff Walk has an extensive write-up on the Seattle manager firing. Speaking of firings, here's an interesting dilemna, thanks, Bugs and Cranks. In other Mets news, Cousins of Ron Mexico scared me with this post on The Big Lead. And everyone knows you can't mention New York baseball without talking about the Yankees, so Knuckle Curve reminds us that Derek Jeter is overrated. By a lot.

That's it for today, y'all. Enjoy your weekend of great baseball matchups if you're in the stands. If you're on the diamond, I beg you: Please hustle on the base paths, especially down to first on those infield grounders.
Read more

Tradition Tuesday: Dear Mr. Postman

Since the price of a first-class stamp went up last week, I needed to make a trip to the post office. So I could buy a one-cent stamp. So I could absolutely mail in this edition of Tradition Tuesday. Enjoy.

Not much going on in the Choncosphere this week--no self-inflicted injuries or arrests, no big signings or cuts. So we take you, dear readers, to the suburban wilderness of New Jersey. Mets manager Willie Randolph, who's hanging on to his job by a thread, lashed out at the fans and the press over the weekend. He came up with some pretty wacky theories, and along the way invoked the name of our favorite coaching quote machine: Herman Edwards.

We encourage you read the full text of Ian O'Connor's interview, but here's the money shot:

Asked directly if he believes black managers are held to different standards than their white counterparts, Randolph said: "I don't know how to put my finger on it, but I think there's something there. Herman Edwards did pretty well here and he won a couple of playoff (games), and they were pretty hard on Herm. Isiah (Thomas) didn't do a great job, but they beat up Isiah pretty good...I don't know if people are used to a certain figurehead. There's something weird about it."

Now I'm not going to get into an analysis of race in this space. It's not what we do here. I'm sure there's some merit to what Randolph is saying, and I'm sure there's also some defensiveness and bitterness from a man who's about to get canned. Let's leave it at that.

But I do have to comment on the spectacular parallels Willie draws between his own situation and those of Isiah Thomas and Herman. If you're going to select kindred spirits, you may want to dig a little deeper.

Isiah Thomas was perhaps the worst coach or manager in the history of professional sports. He singlehandedly bankrupted the CBA. He took a loaded Pacers team from Larry Bird, a team that was fresh off an Eastern Finals appearance, and led them through several disappointing seasons. Immediately after he left, Rick Carlisle took them back to the Eastern Finals.

Then he went to the Knicks, and the fun really began. After loading the roster with complete shit as GM, he engineered the ouster of Larry Brown and took over the coaching duties himself. Under Isiah's "leadership," the Knicks were a leaguewide laughingstock, compiling a 56-108 record over two seasons. On top of that, Isiah was sued for sexual harassment by a team employee, and that lawsuit resulted in a jury award of $11 million and revelations that point guard Stephon Marbury banged an intern in his truck.

Courtesy of Deadspin, here's Isiah Thomas' Knicks legacy, summed up in one possession:



I'm sure Willie Randolph can see why the press and the fans "beat up Isiah pretty good." They pay the highest ticket prices in the NBA to watch the team with far and away the league's highest payroll, and Isiah gives them 56-108.

Now let's move on to Willie's other brother-in-victimhood, the honorable Herman. We adore Coach Edwards around here, because he's always giving us something to work with. He's an international television superstar due to his appearances on Hard Knocks, his YouTube cred is unmatched, and in his spare time he can even coach up a defense a little bit.

But go back to Herman's tenure with the Jets, the time period Randolph mentioned in relation to his own struggles, and it's hard to find much evidence of unfair treatment. Herman replaced Bill Parcells, who took the team to the AFC Championship game and left behind a fairly loaded roster. Herman did engineer three playoff appearances and two postseason wins, and for that he was praised in the media and rewarded with a fat new contract.

But in 2005, the Jet crashed and burned, and black box recordings reveal that pilot error on the part of Captain Herman was the main cause. Sure, they lost several key starters, including Chad Pennington, to injury. But Herman mailed in his job performance more egregiously than I've half-assed this post. The team reached open mutiny while Herman looked for another contract extension, and the final record was 4-12. All the while Carl Peterson brazenly broke league rules concerning tampering with another team's coach. The Jets and the Chiefs eventually worked out a deal, with KC sending a draft pick in exchange for Herman's services and the league offices burning all of the incriminating evidence.

Herman compiled a 39-41 record with the Jets. He was criticized heavily on all fronts, but that was almost entirely based on the ugly, unseemly, catastrophic 2005 campaign.

We could argue all day whether a white coach who turned in the job performance of Isiah Thomas or Herman would have received the same scrutiny. But it seems to me that the hostile fire directed at these men, as well as Willie Randolph, is attributable to working in the crucible of the New York media market. Win there, as Joe Torre and Tom Coughlin have, and you'll be sainted. Lose, like Ray Handley and Rich Kotite and Larry Brown did, and you'll get skewered.

Herman knows this, which is why he finagled his way out of the crucible and toward sleepy Kansas City. Draw your own conclusions about the level of racial enlightenment in either market. I just know that if I were the coach of a losing team, I'd rather that team be in a one-paper town in Missouri than The City That Never Sleeps.

Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 5-20-08

Back from a weekend hiatus in which Banky travelled to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (which is overrepresented by Chiefs and Steelers) and I went to a gay play manly ballgame with Cecil, we bring you another edition of Baseball In The Daytime. We're stuck with but the one contest this afternoon, and it's a Mets game no less. So after the jump we'll get into a few fun no-hitter morsels.

NY Mets @ Atlanta, 11:05 Mountain When I looked at the NL East prior to the season, I saw flaws in all of the teams. Florida has no money (they're in first place), Washington has no stars (accurate), Philly has no pitching (likewise), and Atlanta has a weird mix of elderly stars and low-upside prospects (pretty close). Los Mets, however, seemed to be stacked--they added Johan Santana to an above-average rotation, their lineup was loaded, and I still has faith in Willie Randolph.

Well, I was dead wrong. Santana has been effective but he's no panacea. Outside of today's starter John Maine (who's facing the Braves' Tom Glavine) the other starters have been atrocious (especially Oliver Perez). The bullpen can't hold a lead and the closer's a dick. And that vaunted offense has sputtered mightily. On those times I am forced to watch this wreck of a team, I find myself thinking that if you can retire David Wright you can pretty much sail through this lineup. It's basically a one-man batting order.

Lester No-Hits Royals It's nice to know that my personal no-hitter jinx has been exorcised. I watched the beginning of last night's KC-Boston game, left for dinner in the fourth, listened a bit on my way home, but only found out about Lester's bid in the ninth. I'm happy for the kid, happy for my own decision to stick with him on my fantasy team, and I'm blessed with a few leftovers this morning.

As Royals fan Rob Neyer pointed out (Insider required) on ESPN.com today, KC hadn't been no-hit since 1973. In fact, the last one (hurled by Nolan Ryan, his first of seven) occurred six days before I was born. This most recent no-no comes the same week I turn 35.

In that time, Neyer continues, the Royals have been one-hit a whopping 23 times, including once by current Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell.

I also find it remarkable that Jason Varitek has now caught four no-hitters in eight years, while Los Mets have been around since 1962 and have never had a pitcher record the feat (Ryan, Tom Seaver, David Cone and Dwight Gooden notched their hitless games after leaving Queens). So go get 'em, John Maine, and Play Ball! Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 5-7-08

Our first day games of the week tee off this afternoon with two selections from the Senior Circuit and one from the Junior. If I seem a little hung over today, well, it's because I am.

One of the few things my brain has been able to handle this morning was this video, suggested by Mr. Olney. MLB does not allow you to embed its clips into the blogs, but even if they did I doubt I could have pulled it off. Blame the tequila. After the jump, we'll get our hands dirty with some game previews and vomit...

Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati, 10:35 Mountain Adding intrigue to BITD for exactly two people in the world is a fantasy baseball trade made on Sunday. I acquired Carlos Guillen from my cousin Brian for a package of players that included Reds righty Edinson Volquez. It was tough to part with the kid, but my infield is in shambles. Now, in a cruel gesture fit for Shakespeare, Brian sends Volquez to the mound against me today. Jon Lieber is your Cub starter, if you require these sorts of details.

NY Mets @ LA Dodgers, 1:10 The NL representatives for the nation's two largest media markets wrap up their series today with a getaway contest in Chavez Ravine. John Maine, who was actually born in Virginia, goes against Brad Penny, who makes more than one cent. So what I'm saying is these guys' names are totally misleading. Just wanted to clear that up.

Baltimore @ Oakland, 1:35 I love The Wire, and I love Tupac, so whom shall I pull for in this game? Both the seminal television series and the rap kingpin are dead, but today their legacies are honored by starting pitchers Jeremy Guthrie and Joe Blanton. Two street gangstas if I ever saw 'em. Since I acquired Blanton as a throw-in in the aforementioned Guillen deal, I suppose I'll side with the A's and hope Omar doesn't come after me.

XM Radio MLB game schedule

DirecTV Extra Innings schedule

MLB.TV entry page Read more

Baseball In The Daytime: 4-22-08

Tuesday delivers us a pair of NL games and a Pennsylvania Primary where Hillary...will...not...die. I'll take the baseball, but only on the radio, thanks. It is, after all, Turn Off TV Week.

Word also has it that it's Earth Day, so the House of Georges will recycle as many jokes as we can. Expect a number of references to fat chicks and bars that never close...

St. Louis @ Milwaukee, 11:05 Mountain The Cards beat the Brewers 4-3 last night, maintaining their hold on second place in the NL Central. While most expected Milwaukee to challenge Chicago this year, the inclusion of St. Louis in the early scrum is eye-opening, as is the unblemished excellence of today's starter Kyle Lohse. The Beermakers give Manny Parra a chance to keep his job.

NY Mets @ Chicago Cubs, 12:20 The First City visits the Second for a continuation of this series, as Ted Lilly hosts Nelson Figueroa on the Wrigley bump. It's quite a step down from Maine-Big Z last night, but knock back enough Old Styles and you won't be able to tell the difference.

Walkoff Walk Watch Today we'll look back on the most recent day both BITD and WoW previewed afternoon games which would be last Friday. There's no reason for this. No reason at all.

Looks like a blowout. Once we get through the maddening inconsistency of WoW's title treatment (today it's "I Have Eaten The Plums In The Icebox"), Camp Tiger Claw lands blow after blow. Get back in the happy column? Extended offensive foreplay? Inspired, sir. Compare that to my lame mail-in job and we may soon see the end of Walkoff Walk Watch out of sheer embarrassment. The best I could muster was a dimwitted crack about Billy Butler's birth certificate. Final score: 9-1 Tiger Claw.

If you can summon the strength, Play Ball!


Read more