Blogs By Fans

Not Quite The Start I Was Looking For

2008-07-04T01:57:30Z

Lester dominated the Yankees tonight. It was a sad sight to behold. Three double plays to kill the pitiful attempts at rallies the Yanks put together. Melky and Cano had two hits apiece, Jeter added the fifth in the ninth. There isn't much more to say about this one.

Pettitte pitched to bad luck early on. A Jeter error was responsible for the first two runs. The third scored on a couple of broken bats. The fourth on a bloop single, stolen base, bunt and sac fly.

This series has me extremely worried at this point. I'll be in the Bronx tomorrow afternoon and to be honest with you, I can't say it's a pitching match-up I'm looking forward to. Rasner vs. Beckett, ouch.

The Yanks fall 4.5 games behind the Sox with this loss. A split in this series would be a stroke of luck after losing this one tonight. Another dark day for me, hopefully tomorrow will be brighter.

Player of The Game: Melky. 2 for 3, single and double.
Team Record: 45-41
Damon: Nada.

Either way, this Brett Favre business will likely end gloriously

2008-07-03T20:03:10Z

I'm not sure if anyone can concentrate on football the day Megan Fox becomes single, but here goes it. For blogs, this is just as momentous as the day Jay Bruce was called up or that one time Erin Andrews ate a sandwich.

Brett Favre apparently has the itch to come back and play football, which may or may not be a strange side effect of abusing pain killers. Either way, this story seems to be one with disaster written all over it, which is to say that it is delightful for me and readers of this here weblog.

If Favre really wants to play football next year, then it would seem that the only reason he retired is to skip Green Bay’s offseason workout program. You know, the workouts that get a player ready for the grind a 16-game NFL schedule. It’s likely that Farve isn’t in great shape right now, and since he’s like 100 years old, doing so will take longer than ever before. After all, I’m not sure how much of a workout one can get from playing backyard football in Louisiana, especially when wearing such comfortable jeans. You don’t want to get those puppies dirty.

Clearly, though, the best part of this story is how the Packers almost certainly want nothing to do with their gun-slinging legend. As the still mighty MJD wrote on Yahoo, no one could blame the Pack if they just told Favre to go to hell. Or Minnesota. They’ve been preparing Aaron Rodgers for this momentous occasion for years, and all reports this offseason have been glowing. Why let Old Man Rivers come in and ruin everything?

I’m not sure which situation is more fun, if the Packers tell Favre they don’t want him, or if Favre does come back and gets pulverized from the start. I suppose option three is that Favre just stays retired, which is great as well.

Ideal scenario: Jared Allen (one of my fav non-Bears in the NFL, though now that he’s a Viking that may change) breaks Favre in half on the first play opening night in Green Bay. Then Favre comes back from injury (what great courage!) and Dusty Dvoracek mangles him week 16 at home, ending all Packer playoff chances.

Loge13 Contest: Win the Greatest Games of Shea Stadium

2008-07-03T15:21:47Z

Welcome to the first-ever Loge13.com contest.

I'm giving away a copy of the new A&E 6-DVD set: The new York Mets: Essential Games of Shea Stadium.

I've been watching the films in pieces with my kids and they are a real trip. We wrote about the DVDs a few weeks back. There are six complete games here, plus lots of great bonus stuff, including the endings to the 1969 World Series, Shea division clinchers, an interview with Bill Shea and plenty more.

And you can have it for free.

I am going to do a random drawing on Sunday, July 13. Very simple rules to enter:

1) Write a short note (at least 50 words) describing either your favorite memory of Shea Stadium OR something you will miss about Shea Stadium.
2) Send your note to Kingman AT Blogsbyfans.com.

Limit two entries per person (one entry on each topic).
I reserve the right to publish your entry on Loge13.com, unless you request that I not publish your entry on Loge13.com.

I will draw a winning name from the list of entries.

Of course, doing a random drawing doesn't ensure that the best written, most touching entry will win. Therefore there will also be a special "Mayor's Trophy" prize, awarded by an unbiased board of non-Mets fans that I will assemble. They will review each entry and select what they feel is the best written piece of the non-winning bunch.

The Mayor's Trophy prize: a copy of the DVD "New York Mets Vintage World Series Films.", another great collection from A&E.

So there you have it: two chances to win some fantastic New York Mets flicks. It beats watching any Mets games these days.

Good luck!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

2008-07-03T13:42:34Z

My seven-year-old son is doing baseball camp this week. On Tuesday, a real live former major leaguer dropped by to visit the camp: Steve Balboni.

I wasn't there to witness this but I'm told Steve walked around chatting with the kids. When introduced, my kid said," I don't really like the Yankees. I'm a Mets fan."

Steve apparently laughed and congratulated my son for being honest.

Today Steve Balboni is returning to camp and my son is bringing a ball for him to autograph, so I think they're cool with each other.

I don't know where my son gets this stuff...

A Little Early On the Fireworks

2008-07-03T11:58:33Z

Stop me if you've heard this before. The Cards jump out to an early lead, posting a crooked number in the first. However, they don't score again and the other team comes back to take the lead.

Last night's game matched that script again, but it was the later innings that deviated from the norm and made for an exciting win for the Cardinals.

I know Troy Glaus had two home runs, including the walkoff winner. You have to like how he's heated up in the last month or so. I checked the stats back in May and he and Rolen were almost in a statistical dead heat. Not so much any more.

But the Hero isn't always about the best player in the game. Chris Duncan pinch-hits the two-run, game-tying home run off of a lefty. For everything that Duncan's been through, this Hero's for you.

If I didn't have a firm rule about keeping the Goat tag on a player, Tony LaRussa would probably get the tag for last night's game. What was he thinking bringing Mark Mulder into that situation? I know Mulder had thrown a good inning last time out. But it was just one inning. Let's not just dump him straight into a high-leverage situation, OK? Especially when the guys coming up had good career numbers against him.

Kyle McClellan was looking sharp. He'd faced five batters and retired four of them. Granted, his splits show that righties have done pretty well against him this year, but he owns lefties. Church (L), Delgado (L) and Easley (R) are coming up. Is it really worth playing the percentages and bringing in a untested lefty in that situation?

Mulder actually didn't look quite as bad as you'd think. It seemed to be watching that he had little control of his pitches. The movement was great, but he didn't know exactly where he was going with it. The first pitch to Church was a nasty one and Mulder got burned on that AB with a bloop single. The hit by Delgado, though, was as solid as they come. A sac fly and then, representative of his control problem, a HBP and he was done. It's not a huge setback, but it's not exactly what you want to see out of the bullpen either.

Albert Pujols almost got the Goat tag, not only for his 0-5, but his anxiousness in the ninth. Everyone hitting in that inning seemed to want to end the ballgame with one swing. I'm sure AP thought the first pitch would be his best chance of doing that, but I'd have rather seen him draw the walk and have something going than popping out like that.

Tonight the Cards could get the series win. A couple of young pitchers head to the mound as Mitchell Boggs, who of course hasn't ever faced the Mets, goes up against former top prospect Mike Pelfrey. The only Cardinal Pelfrey has faced is Jason LaRue (twice). He's got a 4.47 ERA but has been pitching pretty well of late. Could be a low-scoring affair, or it could be a wild one. As the philosopher said, "Youneverknow."

Elton Brand's Priorities

2008-07-03T07:18:00Z

Things got a little more interesting tonight for Elton Brand when the Golden State Warriors reportedly offered him a max contract for 5 years. Somewhere in the $85M-$90M range.

This brings up an excellent question, and I think the ultimate decision will show Brand's true colors.

Look at it this way. If Elton cares most about making the playoffs and playing for a franchise who should compete, and get deep into the playoffs for the remainder of his career, the clear choice is the Sixers.

If Elton cares most about money, well Golden State just put more money than anyone else can on the table.

If Elton cares most about making movies, then L.A. is where he needs to be and he'll toil in mediocrity for the rest of his career, but continue his love affair with Tinsel Town.

Over simplification? I don't think so. When he opted out he lathered on the lip service about wanting to play for a winner, etc. Well, assuming the Sixers extend an offer to him (or even have a chance to), he'll be able to show exactly where his priorities lie when he makes his decision.

That's More Like It

2008-07-03T07:04:43Z

It's feast or famine with this team. Let's just hope that tonight's offensive explosion was a sign of things to come, rather than a blip on the radar.

Sidney Ponson reverted back to his usual garbage self, but to be fair, he was facing a monster lineup that had been held in check for two consecutive games. It was bound to happen. The same can be said for every pitcher the Rangers trotted out there.

Two things I want to talk about, then I'm heading to bed. The first is Brett Gardner's first hit. The hit itself was nothing, a broken bat single over the Kinsler's head into shallow right. What he turned the hit into is another thing. He stole second, after almost being picked off. Then he tried to steal third, but Damon fouled the pitch off (breaking his bat in the process!!!!). Damon singled through the left side, and Gardner flew around third, beat the throw to the plate to score what was still a meaningful run at that point. I don't know if the kid is going to hit enough at this level. The early results haven't been heartening, but it's still very early. Either way, he has to be on this roster the rest of the way. Even if he can't hit a lick, they need his speed off the bench. Best-case, he turns out to be a .300 hitter with a .350+ OBP at the bottom of the lineup who drives pitchers crazy every time he gets on base. Worst-case, whenever the Yanks need a run late in the game and Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi or any of the other speed-challenged vets finds himself on base, Girardi has a secret weapon to go to.

The other thing I want to talk about is A-Rod's home run. I'm 100% convinced that he came up to the plate in that situation looking to hit a home run to right field. He was keyed in on the outer half and you could tell by the swing he took earlier in the at bat that he was going that way, and going that way with power. I don't know if he did it for fun, just to see if he could. I don't know if he did it because he had a scouting report showing they were going to work him away with fastballs. I have no idea why, but he did it with premeditation, and he made it happen. Amazing.

Player of The Game: The Giambino, his salami was huge.
Team Record: 45-40
Damon: 1 tonight (42 on the season. The graphic will be back over the weekend).

Tomorrow is the first of 4 against the Sawx. Check out Who Made You Mirabelli for you Bahston fix. I'll be in attendance on the 4th. It'll be my daughter's first regular season game. Looking forward to it. By the way, if the Yanks sweep the series, they're in 2nd place.

Yankee Bats Explode All Over Rangers

2008-07-03T02:46:10Z

Hank sure knows how to motivate.

Sidney Ponson was awful in his second start, but Jason Giambi drove in six and Alex Rodriguez scored four runs as the Yankees thrashed the Rangers 18-7 at The Stadium. The Bombers unloaded with nine runs in the seventh and followed that with a three-run eighth to bury Texas. It was an orgy of singles, doubles, homers and walks as every Yankee regular finished with at least one hit. Even rookie Brett Gardner got in on the act, picking up his first Major League hit and run batted in with a single to right in the seventh.

The offensive outburst snapped the Yankees mini-malaise at three games.

The Good:

Jason Giambi. The legend of the mustache continues. The Giambino stepped up to the plate in the third with the bases loaded and the Yanks down 3-1. Not for long. Giambi drilled a 2-1 pitch into the upper deck to give the Bombers a 5-3 lead. With one swing of the bat, Jay Jay equaled the Yankees offensive output in the past three games. But Giambi wasn't done. The Yanks blew a 6-3 lead and trailed 7-6 when Giambi batted with runners on first and second in the seventh. The Giambino laced a double into the left field gap to give the Yanks a lead they would never relinquish. I think it's time the Yanks waive their obviously discriminatory "no beard or long hair" rule and allow Giambi to grow his locks and chops. I'm tellin ya -- he would be an unstoppable offensive force! Giambi finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 6 ribbies.

Alex Rodriguez. The game was already out of hand, but A-Rod launched career homer No. 535 to cap the Yankees nine-run seventh. It wasn't one of the typical, high-arching boomers that Rodriguez usually hits -- it was a line-shot to the short porch in right. I guess that shows that A-Rod is completely locked in right now. Rodriguez finished 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs.

Edwar Ramirez. It may get lost in the shuffle of all the runs scored, but Ramirez really gave the Yanks a chance to rally back with two innings of shutdown relief. Edwar had a rough month of June (7.36 ERA), but he looked great in his first July appearance. Keep it up, Urkel. Ramirez picked up the win and upped his record to 2-0 with this: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

The Bad:

Sidney Ponson. I guess lightning doesn't strike twice. Ponson wiggled out of trouble in his first Yankee start against the Mets and finished with six shutout innings and the victory. That wasn't the case Wednesday night. Ponson zipped through the first two innings, but then the wheels started to fall off. The Arubian Knight couldn't hold on to an early 1-0 lead and then blew a 6-3 lead by giving up two homers in the sixth. Shake it off, Sidney. Ponson was fortunate to pick up a no-decision with this: 5 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 HR.

The Ugly:

The end for Godzilla and Frankenstein? Hideki Matsui will be out until at least the All-Star break with that sore left knee. The Yanks had hoped to have Godzilla take batting practice this weekend, but that's not going to happen. "He did some work with the physical therapist and he hasn't gotten cleared to do anything," Cashman said. "Once the knee calms down, the swelling gets out of there, he'll start doing some work. But he's not there yet." Maybe I'm just being a nervous Nancy, but I get the feeling Matsui's season is sitting on a razor's edge. And the season may be over for Shelley Duncan. The Yankee sparkplug separated his shoulder making a diving catch Tuesday night for Scranton. "We're going to deal with some timeframe, it's just a matter of how long," Cashman said. "That's a lengthy injury. That's all I got right now."

The Red Sox head into the Bronx for a four-game set starting Thursday night. Andy Pettitte (9-5, 3.98 ERA) will go against Jon Lester (6-3, 3.48 ERA). Lester is 3-0 in his past five starts and hasn't lost since May 25 against the Oakland A's. But the young lefty was rocked for six runs and allowed two homers in his last start against the Houston Astros. Lester has had one career start against the Yanks and was ripped for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. Pettitte was super in June, going 4-0 in six starts with a 3.76 ERA. Andy was won four straight starts and hasn't been on the losing side of the ledger in six weeks. Pettitte is 15-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 27 lifetime appearances against the BoSox.

First place may not be on the line this holiday weekend (damn Rays), but I don't think that will diminish the intensity.

Do you?

The Final Question

2008-07-03T01:22:39Z

With tonight possibly being C.C. Sabathia's last game as a Cleveland Indian verse the White Sox, I wanted to raise an issue that's pretty much always been on my mind since I saw C.C. for the first time: Does he look like Forest Whitaker?

Instead of posting a side-by-side picture for at least a potentially legitimate comparison, I came up with a better idea: random copying and pasting with my crappy MS Paint program (includes: hats).

So...

Whitaker = Sabathia?

Oh, and while we're at it...

Andre The Giant = Bartolo Colon?

And just one more...

The Guy Who Played Karl The Giant In "Big Fish" = Peja Stojakovic

Thoughts from the TUP community?

Derrick Rose is fast

2008-07-02T18:13:08Z

So two months ago, Derrick Rose got a speeding ticket for going 105 MPH on a local highway. Today, Jay Williams jokes will be made far and wide, but not on this site because those jokes are unoriginal and lame. I realize this story probably is news, but let's hope people don't blow it out of proportion. Teenagers like to drive fast. Who knew!? Maybe it'll be a good thing: we won't have to read anymore of those stupid "Rose is a better person than a player!" columns anymore.

One thing that bothered me a little was how Rose was said to have such an impeccable character. I think a lot of that had to do with the shadiness of Beasley more than anything. By all accounts, Rose is a great kid. But more than anything, he's just really shy. You can tell that just from listening to him talk. So as soon as people started saying how he'll never have any off the court issues, I got worried. He's only 19. He's going to do a few dumb things. Driving a car over 100 MPH certainly qualifies as such. I'm fairly positive Rose will never have a major arrest or anything like that, but we can't expect the kid to be perfect off the court.

***
Also, here is a really good post on Tyrus Thomas and Shawn Kemp. I still think Tyrus is going to be an awesome player, and he'll begin to show it this year. Having Rose and him on the floor together almost isn't fair. If Vinny knows what's he's doing, that pairing should be unstoppable.

***
Finally, Corey Maggette. The Bulls need a big shooting guard who can score consistently more than anything else, and Maggette certainly fits the bill. He's probably the top free agent out there right now, but since only the 76ers and Grizzlies have money, maybe Maggette would take the mid-level exception from the Bulls to return to his hometown. I'm not sure if LA has renounced his rights yet, but if they didn't, I'd even be cool with a sign-and-trade swap of him and Ben Gordon.

How Does Phil Jasner Still Have A Job?

2008-07-02T16:00:35Z

You can read it if you want, but here's a beauty from Jasner's latest work of amateur journalism at professional prices.

Childress, 25, a 6-8 forward who came off the bench in 76 games last season, is scheduled to meet with the Sixers later this week. Childress is being considered for the Sixers' need at small forward.

Yes, that's right. The Sixers apparently have a need at small forward because having two starters at that position already isn't enough. Brilliant.

His article is filled with more drivel, including a piece about the Sixers trying to clear more cap space. It may be true, but who would they use it on?

An article from PhillyBurbs lists Channing Frye, Charlie Villaneuva and Chris Wilcox as possible trade targets. I want no part of Frye nor Villaneuva. Wilcox, it would depend on the price, I guess. Those are some exciting names, huh?

What Do You Have to Say?

2008-07-02T15:27:43Z

Last week, I ran the first ever NBA Draft Contest and it went fairly well. Congratulations to NLee aka TheGuyThatJackedUpMyKnee for his win. The entries had eight correct picks, but he won with his tiebreaker answer.

What I want to do now is a little different. I want to have the readers participate a little more. I want this to be a bit more interactive than most sites. Here is what I want you to do:

I want you, the reader, to send me an article on your favorite athlete or athletes. I will then post those entries on the site. This is not a contest, but more of a "getting to know you" session.

The length does not matter. All I ask is that you leave out as much profanity as possible, kids read my site apparently!

There you have it, I'm giving everyone out there an opportunity to voice their opinion and to show off their literary skills. You can send your entries to me at ardthomp@iupui.edu

There is no deadline to this, so send them in at your own pace. Thanks

Good Start, Lousy Finish

2008-07-02T11:57:54Z

Another one of those "get a lead, but don't add to it" games for the Cards, as they get ahead 3-1 but lose 7-4. Not really the way to start off a month.

You have to wonder what that stellar, Pitcher of the Month May did to Todd Wellemeyer. Since the end of May, Wellemeyer has a 6.60 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. His strikeout rate has stayed fairly strong--his K/9 rate is 6.12--but last night his inability to finish off batters killed him.

Heroishly, even though Rick Ankiel had a nice two-run HR, for his work saving the bullpen (and doing it very effectively), I'll award it to Brad Thompson. Four innings and only two hits, though one was a David Wright long ball. Thompson may be increasing his trade value as well.

Speaking of trade, I got to hear some of the FSN interview with John Mozeliak last night. Mozeliak is probably playing cards close to the vest, but it doesn't sound to me like he feels there's much reason to do any dealing, which is understandable. Hopefully he keeps that mentality and doesn't overpay to make a run this year. Of course, he also says he's not been in touch with the Rockies, reports about the Cards asking about Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday to the contrary. If he's going to bring someone in, a guy like Holliday (who won't be a free agent until the end of '09) wouldn't be a bad choice.

For a farm system that's lately been considered fallow, the Cardinals look to have a stranglehold on the Futures game this year. Colby Rasmus has been added to the roster, which already includes Jamie Garcia, Bryan Anderson and Jess Todd. Cardinal fans may have more reason to watch that game than the All-Star Game this year! For more, of course, head to Future Redbirds.

Joel Pineiro goes for the Cardinals tonight and they could use a strong start out of him to get the taste of last night's game out of their collective mouths. The Mets haven't seen him all that often, though Delgado has done a pretty good job against him in the past, something St. Louis doesn't want to see after not being able to retire him last night.

Pineiro goes against Pedro. Not surprisingly, the Redbirds haven't done much against him. Even Pujols is just 2 for 10. Still, Martinez isn't the Pedro of old, sporting a 7.12 ERA this season in just over 30 innings. He's only had one really decent outing (1 ER in 6 IP against Texas) and in his last two starts he's allowed a total of 12 earned runs.

Still, knowing the Cardinal luck, he'll find his old form tonight. Hopefully Pineiro can match him.

A special guest post by Dubs

2008-07-02T05:33:01Z

From yesterday: "No more of this Dwayne Wise crap." See people, though I'm smarter than John Paxson, that really isn't saying much. Whatever, I like being wrong if it leads to White Sox victories, as it did last night. I'm busy today, I've got a Bears list up at Top Ten and the morning post at The Fantasy Factor, so here is Dubs. I might post something else in the afternoon...

***

By Dubs

I think Balls Deep (Drew Magary) of Deadspin put it best on the reason I will stay anonymous today: I have a fucking job! (Ironically he revealed his real name in the same story)

I have been the antagonist on this splendid site for about three weeks now and why, because I’m a Cubs fan? I’m sorry I grew up in the northern suburbs. That clearly makes me gay, innately retarded to anything baseball related and I obviously eat cat shit. To be fair, you guys are drunk, wife-beating, jailbird trash.

Sure, you hate the media coverage that the Cubs get and sure we don’t understand why you have such a problem with Wrigley Field - it’s fun to go to games there, isn’t baseball supposed to be enjoyable? I get that there are idiot Cubs fans [ed note: linking to something I wrote? Now that's how you earn more guest posts here. Take note, soldiers] at Wrigley every game, but as I have stated many times, the reason for this is that Wrigley is sold out every game. The real fans get washed out by the out-of-towner douches. It is not as prevalent at Cell Phone Company Field because it does not sell out (ironic since that is exactly what they did).

But, should these differences really make us bitter enemies?

Not necessarily.

I think there is more that binds us Cubs/Sox fans than that tears us apart.

For one, we both hate the McCaskey family, Ron Santo, the Yankees and can confidently say that Derek Jeter is a closet-homo and feel no regrets. We both love our deep dish pizza, Ditka, the Bulls, Second City and of course Da Bears. And most importantly we both agreed to beat up this guy, despite team loyalty:

Very little truly separates Cubs fans from Sox fans. There might be a little awkwardness as we take off our black and gray or blue and red, but that will pass when Derrick Rose hits a soaring Tyrus Thomas for a game winning alley-oop or Sexy Rexy actually steps into a throw and delivers a perfect deep ball to a streaking Devin Hester.

So, in the mean time let’s enjoy the next few months and our respected division races. Hopefully, we will see two Chicago teams in October and just maybe a Red Line series.

And if that happens, once again, you all can eat shit and die.

But until then, can’t we all just get along?

Shit-hole Mariotti conclusion tying it all together (check!)

-Dubs

How Much Pain Can One Man Take

2008-07-02T03:59:44Z

Joba didn't have it. I suffered through another dominating pitching performance turned in by the worst staff in the league only to watch the Yanks claw back into the game late and have Mo blow it. Unbelievable.

Melky should've bunted in the 9th. It's Girardi's fault that he didn't, that's unforgivable. Brett Gardner is lighting the world on fire. At this point, whoever gets a hit first, he or Melky, deserves the center field job.

I don't have anything else after this one. Terrible sports day.

Player of The Game: David Robertson
Team Record: 44-40
Damon: 1 to end the game. I'm sorry to say I'm in too foul of a mood to put together the Damon Deforestation image tonight. I'm going to lick my wounds and fall asleep.