Month: March 2006

This goes under the rumor mill category.  You know, a guy heard from a guy.  Neverless, it’s interesting.

I was talking to my distributor this afternoon.  He’s a die-hard Cubs fan and we often catch up on the latest Cub news between placing orders.  Turns out one of his co-workers just got back from Vegas.  He was hanging out at Caesar’s Palace and who should he see from afar but Pete Rose. 

Oh, the irony of it all.

My friend is actually planning to go to Vegas himself.  He’s planning to catch a Cubs game if he can get tickets.

 

I’d just like to officially note that my trip to Arizona for some spring training baseball was a success. This my 3rd trip west to watch Cactus League exhibition baseball and what a fun time it was. Met up with DonS, his brother Kevin, sister-in-law Dawn, and DonS’s friend Tom. Kevin participated in the White Sox fantasy camp this past January, it was cool to see him interacting with Harold Baines, Kevin Hickey, & Man Soo Lee. Also Kevin & Dawn rent an RV, which makes tailgating all the better. DonS arranges EVERYTHING for the trip, from lodging to game tickets. Tom & Dawn are two of the coolest people you’d ever wanna hang with. Also got a chance to see my friend Lora who recently relocated to Scottsdale, it’s been a couple years, way too long! Thanks to everybody, it was a BLAST!!!

Edinson Volquez didn’t have it as he allowed five runs over two innings, on five hits, and three bases on balls. Corey Koskie hit two balls over the wall and Gabe Gross hit one, both came over to the Brewers from Toronto. Geoff Jenkins hit two doubles, one about 430 feet, high off the centerfield hitting back drop. Tomo Ohka struckout seven over five innings for the Brew Crew, but did allow seven hits, and four runs (two earned). Knuckleballer Jared Fernandez pitched two shutout innings for Milwaukee, who ended up doubling up the Rangers 10-5.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim South of San Francisco North of San Diego looked like world beaters against a team outside of Chicago. This was a different Jeff Weaver that took the bump for the Halos than the guy who pitched earlier in my trip versus the Cubs. Weaver allowed no runs over five innings of work, striking out five, allowing only three base knocks, and no walks. Meanwhile the Angels hitters ripped four homers, Juan Rivera, Chone Figgins, Tim Salmon, & Jose Molina each hit one. Rangers Superstar Mark Teixeira went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and is in an 0-for-23 slump, including the World Baseball Classic. This was no contest, 9-0 final.

Got the opportunity to meet a sports beat writer for the Rangers Kat O’Brien. Kat played softball in Iowa for the infamous DonS. Also contributed some money to PAWS of Arizona, they help adopt out stray cats & dogs, and were volunteering their services selling a Weiss Beer in the leftfield stands.

Got a surprise in Surprise, AZ as Hideo Nomo was warming up for the White Sox. Nomo is a 37 year old Japanese righthander who enjoyed his best success with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hideo was 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA in 1995 as a rookie, 16-11 in 1996, and 14-12 in 1997. After suffering through a couple of injury riddled seasons he rebounded for a 12-8 mark in 1999 with the Brewers. As recently as 2001 he posted three consecutive years with records of 13-10, 16-6, & 16-13. So you might ask, how did were the Sox able to bring such an obviously talented pitcher into camp? Well Nomo fell on hard times the last couple of years and he is once again looking to recapture the magic that made him one of the best pitchers in the game, 123-109 lifetime.

Nomo had a shakey first inning allowing two runs, but rebounded with a couple of K’s and no runs in the 2nd. Brandon McCarthy was horrible in his quest for a job in the Sox bullpen. McCarthy walked three, allowed two hits (one of which was a HR), and three runs, all this in one-third of an inning. Boone Logan pitched 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball, hasn’t allowed a run all spring. Cliff Politte, Bobby Jenks, & Neal Cotts all threw an inning of scoreless ball. A.J. Pierzynski had three hits, Alex Cintron drove in a couple, and Jermaine Dye launched one over the fence. Although Doug Mientkiewicz went 3-for-3, a double, a homer, with four RBIs, it wasn’t to be as the Good Guys posted a 6-5 win.

It’s supposed to be sunshine in Arizona, but there was no way the White Sox would be getting in their game versus the Brewers in Maryvale. Or so that was the thought as the RV headed out of Tucson following the World Champs. But the weather cleared as we entered the parking lot and we fired up the grill. Went to the bathroom in the RV and heard some banter outside, bad bladder timing cost me the opportunity of meeting Man Soo Lee. Man Soo is the White Sox bullpen catcher. He was a star in the Korean League where he was known as the Babe Ruth of Korea. Lee put up career numbers of .296, 252 homers, and 861 RBIs. Paulie Konerko was 3-3 with a double & a homer and Alex Cintron was 3-3 with a double. Armando Almanza threw two shutout innings, Javier Lopez pitched an inning without allowing a run, as did Tim Redding, all are competing for spots in the Sox bullpen. Derrick Turnbow was dominating against White Sox minor league hitters in the 9th. The Brew Crew scored a 9th inning run for a 8-7 Milwaukee winner.

I’ve gotten an advance copy of The Last Nine Innings: Inside the Real Game Fans Never See by Charles Euchner.  I’ve been reading a chapter or two each night and it’s unlike any baseball book I’ve read before.  I’d recommend it for hard core baseball fans or for those casual fans who want to get a little more out of the game.

As a backdrop, The Last Nine Innings uses the last game of 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees.  But it would be inaccurate to say that the focus was on that particular game itself.  Rather, Euchner dissects each practically each at-bat and uses it to analyze the game of baseball and how it is played.  From there, he draws in outside references, historical and current, to give us an inside look of baseball.

The story begins with the first pitch of Game 7 and goes from there.  Euchner covers the physics of baseball, the selection and location of pitches, the importance of the catcher, the swing of the bat, managerial decisions, pretty much everything that happens during the course of a baseball game. 

For those baseball experts who think they know everything there is to know about baseball, read The Last Nine Innings.  I guarantee you will learn one or two things you didn’t know before and you will get more out of watching the next ballgame you go to.

The Last Nine Innings is now available at Amazon.com.