Monday, April 30, 2007

Blasts From The Past, Chapter 2

What happened to the old fire, Joe?

Labels: , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 5:45 PM   0 comments







 

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Why in the World is Doug Mientkiewicz Batting Second?

.163 / .250 / .256

No, your eyes do not deceive you, that really is his 2007 batting line. Torre is putting an automatic out before Abreu and A-Rod. I would love to see the Torre Zombies defend this one.

Labels: , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 6:03 PM   2 comments







 

Sunday, April 22, 2007

The Wisdom of Joe Morgan

Tonight's QOTD:
"The problem I see with Wright is that he’s falling into a pattern. He’s not throwing his fastball unless he’s ahead in the count, or behind in the count."
You tell 'em, Joe.

Labels: , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:35 PM   0 comments







 

Friday, April 20, 2007

Pearls of Wisdom from ESPN

For some reason, ESPN thought it would be a good idea to place three guys with little to know play-by-play experience in the booth together for tonight's Red Sox-Yankees game. The nuggets of goodness from John Kruk, Karl Ravetch and Dusty Baker were plentiful. A sample:
Baker: People say that if [Jeter] was on another team, he wouldn't be considered a good player.
Exactly what people are saying this? Are people saying that Michael Young is not a good player?
Ravitch: You would never really associate "delivering" with A-Rod.
(while DHL delivery graphic is on screen)
Red Sox homer Ravetch's best attempt at ripping into Rodriguez for not being clutch. Amazingly Kruk called him on it.
Ravetch: How about the career of Doug Mientkiewicz? You can kind of put it in perscpective based on the kind of month Alex Rodriguez is having. 59 career home runs.
As anti the eyechart signing as I was, this is a great example of apples and oranges. Or maybe Karl is just mad that eyechart wouldn't give back the ball.

Labels: , , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 7:45 PM   2 comments







New York Highlanders

A-Rod: Sons of New York! I am Alex Rodriguez!
NY Fan: Alex Rodriguez is seven feet tall!
A-Rod: Yes, I've heard! Kills pitches by the hundreds! And if he were here, he'd consume the Red Sox with balls of fire from his eyes...and bolts of lightning from his arse! I AM Alex Rodriguez! And I see a whole army of my teammates, here in defiance of idiocy. You've come to watch as free fans, and free fans you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you cheer?
NY Fan #2: 'Cheer? For that?' 'No, we will boo, and we will set expectations ridiculously high.'
A-Rod: Aye, cheer and you may be disappointed. Boo, and you'll be honored by the media. At least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that...for one chance...just ONE CHANCE to come back here to tell your children that you cheered the best player of the 21st century?

Labels: ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 5:29 PM   0 comments







 

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Look Out For The Dangerous Pineiro

Strong words from MLB scrub (and former potential Red Sox closer) Joel Piniero. Commentary from Peter Abraham:

'I can’t wait to get out there. I can’t wait to go out there and beat up
on the Yankees. ... The fans in Boston, they want us to rip their heads off.'

Good luck with all that. Oh, by the way, you’re Joel Pineiro. If the Red
Sox hadn’t offered you a contract you’d be pitching for Starbucks in the Seattle
Slo-Pitch Coed League on Sunday mornings. Take it easy.

Labels: , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 7:01 PM   0 comments







 

Monday, April 16, 2007

The Futurama is Now

How far away are we from Blernsball?

Labels:

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 8:25 PM   0 comments







QOTD

Thank you Ken Tremendous.
Aura. Mystique. That indefinible je ne sais quoi de sinistre that the magical underachieving Yankees of 1996-2000 had in spades. Think about the improbable run of that team. They were made up entirely of career minor leaguers, rag-tag humps, 42 year-old semi-retired recovering-alcoholic player-coaches, a pretty-boy third baseman (Corbin Bernsen), a young, raw base-stealing phenom with a batting glove obsession, a placekicking horse, Kathy Ireland, that weird quiet kid Jimmy who swore he would never play basketball again, and a simple Iowa farmer who ploughed his field because Ray Liotta/his own dead dad/he himself talked to him in a funny way, and they were all coached by Emilio Estevez. And somehow, someway, they overcame extraordinary odds, came together, and using nothing more than guile, team chemistry, mystique, aura, and togetherness, won four World Series in four of the biggest upsets in the history of professional sports!

Labels: , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 2:37 PM   4 comments







 

Sunday, April 15, 2007

QUIZ: Where Did Joe Morgan Grow Up?

The answer: Oakland!

I know this because on five seperate occasions during the Padres/Dodgers/Jackie Robinson Appriciation Fest, he has made the statement "I grew up in Oakland." This always followed someone (Gammons, Miller, a guest) mentioning something regarding getting more African-American youth involved in baseball. It is only the 7th inning.

Joe Morgan's solution to the racial divide in professional sports: having grown up in Oakland.

Labels: , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 8:00 PM   0 comments







 

Saturday, April 14, 2007

The Perfect Take on the Ridiculous Jackie Robinson Number-Wearing Thing

Courtesy of The Onion:

Jeff Kent To Wear No. 42 To Honor Mariano
Rivera


LOS ANGELES—Though all the players on the Los Angeles Dodger roster will be wearing No. 42 on April 15 to commemorate the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier, Dodger second-baseman Jeff Kent told reporters yesterday that he will wear the much-celebrated number to honor Yankee great and future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. "Mariano is easily my favorite pitcher, and I think it's wonderful that I finally have the opportunity to show how much he has meant to both me and to the game of baseball," said Kent, adding that Rivera is "the greatest player to ever don the No. 42 jersey." "Most important, he made it possible for Panamanians everywhere not to be afraid to chase their dreams." Kent added that he hoped Major League Baseball would eventually "get their act together" and retire No. 42 for good, which he feels would be the ultimate tribute to Rivera.

Labels: , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 5:15 PM   1 comments







 

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

How Do We Know Alex Rodriguez isn't on Human Growth Hormone?

Simple: he's not human.

A-Rod just jacked #6.

Labels:

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 5:56 PM   0 comments







Sorry Barry, But It May Be Alex

I know I'm getting way ahead of myself here, but let's face it: Alex Rodriguez is on an absolute tear right now. There's no way he's going to maintain this level of power production throughout the season, but if he can somehow keep some measure of high homerun results throughout the season, wouldn't it be nice to see the media more focused on Rodriguez's pursuit of Bonds than Bonds' pursuit of Aaron?

It would also be poetic justice for the guy the media unfairly trashes to steal the spotlight from the guy the media fairly trashes (although not nearly enough). Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

Labels: ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 12:57 PM   1 comments







 

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Bernie's Back

Well not in pinstripes, but in front of a crowd in New York. He showed up at the April 7th Allman Brothers Band show at the Beacon Theater and joined them on guitar for "Who's Been Talkin'." Two videos below, the second one has Bernie playing a lead/solo.





Now no matter what I've said about the Yankees needing to get rid of Bernie in the past, I still always liked the guy and appreciated him, and it's good to see him enjoying his retirement.

No matter how many outfielders go down for the Yankees though, I hope everyone remembers that Bernabe Williams is no longer capable of playing the outfield. Which is fine, since he's a badass guitarist.

Labels:

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:09 PM   4 comments







Once Through the Rotation

.. and so far it's been awful. Pavano, Pettitte, Mussina, Igawa, Rasner, and not a quality start (or anything closely resembling one) to speak of.

On the flipside, the bullpen thus far has been lights-out. Henn so far has proven his value over Ron Villone and may in fact soon earn Joe Torre's elusive "trust." Henn should most likely take out an insurance policy on that left arm as re-attachment surgery can be expensive. Farnswoth has looked good. Mariano has been unhittable.

I've always been of the opinion that cold weather tends to affect control/breaking ball pitchers far more greatly than it does the fastball pitchers. With frozen fingers and harder baseballs, it makes it much more difficult to grip a curve, slider, or cut fastball and get the proper movement on it. If you look at the rotation above, none of the starters could accurately be called "fireballers." Pavano is a sinkerballer, Igawa relies on control, changing speeds, and his breaking pitches, Pettitte needs his location and cutter, and Mussina is all about spotting his pitches and getting the knuckle-curve over for strikes. Rasner is probably the only one who can be said to lean much on his fastball, but Sunday was probably his only start for the time being anyway.

The bullpen, however, is full of arms that bring the heat. Rivera, Farnsworth, Proctor, et al don't relay on junk balls nearly as much.

My hypothesis here is that MLB's ill advised scheduling of opening week in cities experiencing snow (such as New York) may have contributed to the poor start by Yankee starters thus far, and hasn't affected the relief corp. At least, that's my hope. I'd bet that once they hit the road in the coming week, we'll see better results overall in Minnesota and Oakland.

Labels:

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 6:48 PM   0 comments







Lest We Forget...

This isn't the first time the third baseman has been clutch.

Labels: , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:34 AM   1 comments







 

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Lidle to Get Statue

The City Council of West Covina, CA has voted to erect a bronze statue in honor of Cory Lidle at the entrance to its baseball park.


City Council members approved a plan Tuesday to have the statue placed in a baseball park currently under construction.

The statue, to be unveiled in October, will depict Lidle delivering a pitch in a Yankee uniform. It will be positioned at the entryway of Big League Dreams Sports Park, a replica of a major league baseball park.
I'm not sure which part they're building in West Covina, but those Big League Dreams parks are really, really cool. I wish I could have played on one as a kid.

For reference:



Labels:

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 5:17 PM   1 comments







 

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Cheaters Never Win! (Part II)

Francisco Rodriguez is a big fat cheater. An over the top, flaunt it in your face because he cheated you cheater.

Don't believe me? That's fine. Check out the Cheater's Guide, and please read the whole thing as it gets worse and worse towards the end. If you're going to cheat, at least don't act like a complete jerk and showboat about it (Sosa, Rogers, Rodriguez...)

The below images are theirs, by the way.



As I mentioned previously in the Rogers case (Cheaters Never Win), MLB specifically prohibits such acts.
MLB rule 8.02:
The pitcher shall not --(b) Have on his person, or in his possession,
any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section (b) the penalty shall
be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended
automatically for 10 games.
Of course nothing will happen to him. Baseball turns a blind eye to cheating, whether it's corking, drugs, or substances. Even in the World Series.

Thanks to good friend lupe! for the tip.

Labels: , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 8:04 PM   3 comments







 

Monday, April 02, 2007

Olney! Rodriguez! A-Rod! Bust-O!

I've now seen and/or heard Buster Olney on four occasions over the last 2 days. Every time Buster was asked what the "biggest story" of opening day would be, the answer is obviously...... A-Rod, of course. To paraphrase every appearance by Olney: "If he goes 0-for-2 with a couple of strikeouts, the fans are going to get all over him. It willbe a bad year for A-Rod in New York."

So now it's not even 10 post season at-bats by which we should judge a player. Now it's the first two at bats of the season. I bet when Alex struck out and had an error in the first, Olney started rubbing his crotch, all the while ignoring the Jeter error.

Oh yes, and Rodriguez homered in the game, but it was "meaningless" as the Yankees were ahead by one. He was just "tacking on" runs when "the pressure was off."

Labels: , , ,

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:01 PM   1 comments







 

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Fake News Story!

Yankees trade for Johan Santana! Send Andy Phillips to Twins! LOL FAKE INTERNET APRIL FIRST STORY!

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:24 AM   3 comments








 L   I   N   K   S



P   R   E   V   I   O   U   S
P   O   S   T   S
A   R   C   H   I   V   E   S


C   O   N   T   A   C   T  




Subscribe to High and Tight via your favorite RSS reader:
Add to Google

Powered by Blogger