Harmon Killebrew 1936-2011

My first favorite ballplayer. I got to shake his hand in Cooperstown 11 summers ago.

Rest in peace.

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Stupidest idea ever

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig appears to be increasingly in favor of proposing more playoff teams during collective bargaining with the union next year, which will determine the postseason format for 2012 and beyond.

“We have less teams than any other sport,” he said last month. “We certainly haven’t abused anything.”

One more mark on the Bud Selig is the evilest man alive tally. If the union goes along with this, Michael Weiner can join him on that list.

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Quick baseball note

Last night both the Mets and Yankees played scoreless games through nine innings, the Mets winning 1-0 in 10, and the Yanks falliing 1-0 to the Rays in 11. I'm trying to find out when the last time that happened with 2 New York teams, excluding any games they may have played against each other. Any ideas where to look?

UPDATE: Whaddaya know! Elias Sports Bureau says it's the first time it's ever happened.

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Da Bulls

Well, i had a great time at the game tonight. Ended up sitting next to a multi-generational family, with one of whom i had a very casual acquaintance some years back. And thanks to Eli, a rising freshman at Chapel Hill High, i now have a much better understanding of the rules and tactics of lacrosse, the explanations of which occupied us during pretty much every between inning shenanigans the Bulls tried to distract us with.

All i know is that my friend Tony's suggestion for a free beer inning did not, apparently, make the cut.

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Bob Sheppard

I once heard it said of Bob Sheppard, that his diction was so precise, you could hear both "g's" when he introduced Wade Boggs.

That's what a ball park should sound like.

Fare well.

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Da Bulls

I like that over on their Facebook Page the Durham Bulls are asking for suggestions for a new between innings promotion.

Leading the pack is "quiet time" - glad to see i'm not alone in thinking that the multi-media sensory overload that accompanies baseball games in our town detracts from the experience.

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Memo to ESPN

Don't let Jon Miller and Joe Morgan talk about soccer, K?

Thanks.

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WTF?

Commissioner Bud Selig has the power to reverse umpire Jim Joyce's missed call that came with two outs in the ninth inning Wednesday night in Detroit.

Holy Christ, the last person in the universe you want with that kind of "power" is Bud Selig.

The ump blew the call, Galarraga lost a perfect game, and baseball fans will remember him for at least as long as they remembered Harvey Haddix, who once retired the first 36 batters in a game, only to give up an error, a sac bunt, an intentional walk, and a double, and lose 1-0 in 13 innings almost exactly 51 years ago. Oh, yeah, and both pitchers went the distance in that one.

Quick, name the last three guys to throw perfect games without looking it up.

It's baseball. Bad calls happen. Move on.

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Road trip 6 - Target Field

I've been a Twins fan as long as i can remember. The only explanation i can think of is that my father must have taken me to a ballgame during those dead years when the National League abandoned New York (1958 - 1961), and the Twins were playing the hated Yankees, which would date it to 1961, the year the old Senators moved to Minnesota. So it's beena nearly 50 year dream of mine to catch a Twins home game.

Some sights from the new Target Field, Wednesday, May 12. Twins 3 - White Sox 2.

The Killer:

Some things are universal:

My favorite logo of all time:

Rodney:

Babe wins the cartoon race:

Mauer:

Nostalgia display:

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He didn't need no stinkin' steroids

I was lucky enough to grab this classic Harmon Killebrew shot off the TV screen during tonight's ESPN Classic broadcast of a 1960 episode of Home Run Derby. That guy could hit.

One thing i didn't know is that Mark Scott, the host/announcer of the show, died of a heart attack in the summer of 1960, and the producers decided not to replace him, and the show never made it to a second season.

Gotta say that the "W" logo on the Washington Senators cap from 1960 is a stone classic.

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At last

Someone figured out a way to shut Steve Phillips up.

Although, as i recall, ESPN fired Harold Reynolds on the spot when a staffer accused him of sexual harassment a few years ago (a charge which Reynolds continues to deny.) Phillips is merely suspended, which isn't much of a big deal as ESPN is pretty much done with baseball except for highlight shows until April.

The scary thing? Omar Minaya is making Phillips' tenure as the Mets GM look like the golden age.

UPDATE: He's gone.

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Sad

How sad is it that i've been reduced to rooting for two teams from Los Angeles?

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Win Twins!

Can you believe this Twins/Tigers game?

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We're number (thirty) one!

Congratulations to the Durham Bulls on beating the PCL champs Memphis Redbirds to win the Triple A Championship.

Anybody else notice a complete lack of Durham boosterism during the game? I saw commercials for Louisville, Utah, Toledo, Memphis, Albuquerque, Nashville, and Red Rock freakin' Texas during the game, but nothing from DCVB, the Bulls, or the city. What's up with that?

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Da Bulls

A couple of private conversations over the past few days convinced me to head over to the DBAP for the Bulls final home game of the 09 season. It's game 2 of the Governor's Cup, the International League Championship series, which the Bulls are now leading 2 games to none over the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

A sparkling double play started by Bulls shortstop Elliot Johnson in the second inning, which kept the game in reach, was the on-field highlight.

In the stands, though, the spontaneous "Yankees Suck!" chant started by fans along the left field line in the 8th and 9th innings warmed the cockles of my heart, and disproved my theory that Bulls fans were incapable of making any noise whatsoever unless directed to by the electronic scoreboard. Well done.

In other Bulls news, look forward to May 10 next year when the Bulls will take on Cpl. Klinger's beloved Toledo Mud Hens in a Monday night game at the old, but recently refurbished, Durham Athletic Park. No word yet on how the Bulls are going to handle ticket sales at the old park, which only seats a couple of thousand people. I'd imagine that season ticket holders are going to get first dibs on these, which makes it highly unlikely that you'll be able to walk up to the window on game day and buy a ticket. So be prepared.

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Suh-wing batter!

Minor League Baseball will hold a free, public Grand Opening at the renovated Durham Athletic Park (DAP), in Durham, N.C., this Saturday, August 15, from noon until 5 p.m. The event will feature a softball game with Durham politicians, area baseball coaches and former Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball players; several Minor League Baseball, city and local college mascots; free food and drinks; the Durham Divas cheerleaders; and a child’s play area, among other activities.

Looking forward to watching Howard Clement rounding third and heading for home myself.

BTW - Mrs D has designed one of the new outfield fence ads. Hope it looks as good on the filed as it did on the computer.

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Job security

Me, last September:

Wait till next year.

There are a lot of ways that the (Mets) could respond to crashing and burning two years in a row. Giving Omar Minaya a 4 year contract extension isn't one of them

Why does this guy still have a job?

Mets general manager Omar Minaya fired a team executive Monday for a series of blowups, then openly questioned the motives of a local beat writer who reported the turmoil after asking about getting a job in baseball.

Vice president of player personnel Tony Bernazard was dismissed after getting into a heated argument with All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez, challenging Double-A players to a fight and berating a team employee over a seating mix-up.

Then the news conference took a bizarre turn when the focus shifted to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News and a series of stories he wrote, documenting problems in the club's minor league system.

"You got to understand this: Adam for the past couple of years has lobbied for a player development position. He has lobbied myself, he has lobbied Tony," Minaya said.

Rubin was seated near the back of the room and buried his face in his hands after hearing his name come up. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, then asked Minaya if he was alleging that he conspired to get Bernazard fired.

"No, I'm not saying that," Minaya said. "I am saying, in the past, you have lobbied for a job."

. . .

After the news conference, Minaya discussed what had transpired with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon. The pair visited the Citi Field press box about two hours later, before the start of the Mets' game against the Colorado Rockies.

Minaya said he stood by his comments about Rubin but acknowledged that it "was not the proper forum to raise those issues." Asked if he would reach out to Rubin, who left the ballpark shortly after the news conference, Minaya said, "Possibly."

Thank goodness the Mets play in the same division as the Nationals, eh?

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So sad . . .

The ACC has shifted its baseball championship from Myrtle Beach to Durham in 2011 and 2013, acting on objections to South Carolina's prominent display of the Confederate flag.

You'd never know it was almost 2010 to talk to some people.

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Yeah, right

So, let me think this through. I've just signed a contract making me the world's highest paid athlete, and i'm going to let somebody (my cousin!) inject some stuff into me that i don't know what it is but he says it'll make me perform better, so i say OK?

I'm the world's highest paid athlete, remember? $25 mil a year for 10 years because of the stuff that my body can do, and i'm going to inject it with something that i don't even know what it is?

What a maroon.

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A-Rod

I don't have much to add to this piece which discusses the discrepancies between the way Michael Phelps was treated after a photo of him with a bong surfaced recently, and the way Alex Rodriguez is being treated following his admission of steroid and other PED use this week.

This caught my eye, though:

Rodriguez may pay when he plays in rival cities like Boston, where the fans are sure to jeer him with relish.

"I think A-Rod's going to suffer a little bit in his performance because it's going to be on his mind wherever he goes," said Jason Teitler, senior vice president of Steiner Sports Marketing. "It might take him a while to get the forgiveness of fans even in New York."

Make that especially in New York, where the Yankees have won exactly bupkis since A-rod's arrival in 2004. He may have the best stats of any player in the game, but there's no doubt he doesn't do much to make his team better. Scott Brosius doesn't have A-Rod's stats by a long stretch, but the Yankees sure went to World Series a lot when he was playing third base, didn't they?

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