Enjoying the Sun

Hottie sighting in Peoria Az.
March 23, 2008, Peoria Stadium

Mr. Met Suspension

The New York Mets front office has issued a two game suspension to Mr. Met for "unsupportive behavior" during the Mets loss to the Florida Marlins on Sunday. The suspension will be served at the beginning of the 2008 season. The beloved and normally upbeat team mascot had held his emotions in check through the team's September nose dive in the N.L. East, but was clearly unable to contain himself on Sunday. Mr. Met was sarcastically wrapping his gloved hands around his throat during the top of the first inning, symbolizing the Mets choking, and was heard screaming profanities while making his way through the sellout crowd.

"Thank goodness his huge bulbous head was muffling what he was yelling." "What I did hear was definitely not family friendly," said Elizabeth Brookson who was at the game with her husband and two children.

What ultimately brought about the suspension occurred during the 7th inning stretch when the disgruntled mascot turned his T-Shirt slingshot on the Mets' dugout, firing high speed cotton torpedoes at the players. Mr. Met was not immediately available for comment.

Mets handing division to Phils?

Bad pitching and errors have crushed the Mets over the past week. Meanwhile the Phillies have cut the Mets lead in the N.L. East to 2 games with 12 games left in the season.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=270918120&prov=ap

Got Pedro?

It was great to see Pedro Martinez back on the hill for the Mets on Monday. Even though he wasn't overwhelming (yet) he still managed to get batters out and also logged his 3000th strikeout.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070903&content_id=2186434&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The Knuckler

I noticed that Tim Wakefield is pitching tonight against the Orioles which reminded me of a great Knuckleball website I recently ran into, Knuckleball Headquarters http://www.oddball-mall.com/knuckleball/.
If you ever wondered how to throw a knuckleball or wanted to know what the physics were behind it's movement, this is great site to check out.

I also recently came across a video of Wakefield striking out A-Rod (Japanese commentary.) Wakefield has been having a great year with 16 wins prior to tonight's game, and you can see why.
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=644996&fr=my-vert-vid-top

W-L 16-10
ERA 4.16
K 98
Walks 57
WHIP 1.27

Boomer's Back!

David Wells looked good in his Dodger debut last night. Unfortunately, for me, it was against the Mets. It will be interesting, as Joe Morgan pointed out numerous times during last night's broadcast, to see how Boomer will do in his next few starts. It's clear he still has great stuff and that when motivated he can still be a dominant pitcher. Motivation is likely the key with Wells as he obviously had something to prove to the Dodgers and Major League Baseball last night and was able to pull off an impressive start.


Of course in Wells' finest moment, his perfect game in May of 1998, he also had something to prove. Shortly after Joe Torre questioned his physical fitness and ability to pitch as a result of his weight, Wells threw his perfect game. Not that Wells started working out or dieting, in fact, rather than going on a diet he went on a bender the night before the game and admitted to pitching hung over. Hung over or not it was a masterpiece. Here is a 1998 Washington Post article on the game.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/baseball/daily/july99/19/wells18.htm

Chase Field, Arizona Diamondbacks

Here are a couple of shots sent in by Phil from Chase Field in Phoenix. These were taken Saturday night 8/25/07 when the DBacks beat the Cubs 3-1. Jose Valverde rang up his 39th save in this game and then brought his total up to 40 on Sunday.

Wiffle Ball Tribute

I played a lot of Wiffle Ball in my neighborhood growing up. We used a lawn chair for a strike zone and while we normally used the traditional yellow plastic bat, we did tape up our Wiffle Balls for extra velocity. I had an awesome curve and riser, but nothing like the nasty stuff you'll see in this YouTube video http://youtube.com/watch?v=GMk-ZXEhpOE . If you want to brush up on your Wiffle pitches or maybe even enter a tournament with some of your buddies, here are some links that will point you in the right direction http://www.wiffleballusa.com/pitch.html

http://www.wiffleball.net

Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers...sort of

If you remember at the beginning of this season the Indians borrowed Miller Park for a series against the Los Angeles Angels, since their field was snowed under. Here are photos sent in by Theron from the April 11th Angels vs. Indians game. The action shot is of a Vlad Guerrero base hit.

PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates

This photo from PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, was taken by Nicole. These are great seats, I love sitting behind the dish. I've heard from several different sources that this is one of the best ballparks in the NL.

Bobby Cox Thought Bubble

How in the hell are we losing to the freakin' Giants!

At least that's what I figured he was thinking last night.

The Bronx Is Burning [more backstory]

I've been Tivo-ing The Bronx Is Burning on ESPN which has been conjuring up memories of the summer of '77. I love all the Ramones songs they use in the soundtrack which remind me of my brother and his friends blasting the Ramones in the basement of our house, my introduction to punk rock. Actually, I think the summer of 1977 was the world's introduction to punk rock, wasn't it?


One of my favorite parts of the show are the backstory segments. Here's some additional backstory from the October 22nd, 1977 edition of The Sporting News that goes along well with episode #7, The Game's Not as Easy as It Looks, Fellas . [click on article to enlarge]

Petco Park, San Diego Padres [Park at the Park]

This shot was sent in by Howard and shows one of the many cool features of Petco, the Park at the Park.

Petco Park, San Diego Padres [condo view]

Okay, if you're a baseball fan you've heard of the condos overlooking Petco Park in San Diego. This shot was sent in by a lucky couple who actually has one.

Blue Heaven: Mets Give Out Broadcaster Baseball Cards

Blue Heaven: Mets Give Out Broadcaster Baseball Cards

Phil Rizzuto Dead at 89

Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizzuto died today at the age of 89. He was the oldest living member of the HOF although he wasn't elected until 1994, long after his playing career ended in 1956. I grew up listening to Rizzuto broadcasting Yankee games. I didn't learn much about baseball from him, but he was entertaining. He was a riot to listen to and quite often missed whole innings of action as he told long stories about pretty much anything, quite often not about baseball.

He won an MVP award in 1950 after an amazing season on offense and defense with the Yankees. Here is a story from the November 1, 1950 edition of the Sporting News announcing the award.

[click on article to view larger]

More Yankee Suspensions?

Earlier in the week Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens and manager Joe Torre were both suspended for the plunking of Toronto's Alex Rios. Meanwhile in a surprise announcement from the world of fantasy baseball Yankee captain Derek Jeter was suspended for off the field activity.Check out this probing piece from Bugs and Cranks.

http://bugsandcranks.com/new-york-yankees/man-suspends-jeter-from-fantasy-baseball-league-after-alba-rumor/

History of Steroids in Major League Baseball

Here's a great in depth article from Onion Sports providing a timeline of steroid use in major league baseball.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/46402

AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants (2)

This shot of AT&T Park was sent in by Gino (sweet seats Gino!) from the Giants vs Nationals game on August 7, 2007. This makes Gino one of the 43,000 people who can actually claim to have been in attendance the night Barry went yard for the 756th time. Millions will claim to have been there.

If only the Giants could have won the game the evening would have been perfect.

Gone!

756 was hammered out to center field in the bottom of the 5th inning, August 7, 2007. It was a great shot which capped off a great at bat. Bonds took the count full then fouled off the first 3-2 pitch before plowing the ball to the deepest part of AT&T Park. Barry's speach to the crowd showed his human side and he was clearly choked up as he looked to the sky and thanked his dad for everything.

Side note:
As a Mets fan I love that a guy wearing a Reyes jersey got the ball. The dogpile that this guy was at the bottom of looked pretty crazy. I'm looking forward to hearing his account of it, hopefully he'll have a good New York accent. Fuhgeddaboudit!