Month: November 2008

Volquez tries to sneak in the NL ROY voting

The Rookie of the Year voting this year was pretty much a shoo-in for both the National League with the Cubs’ Geovany Soto winning it all and the American League with Tampa’s Evan Longoria taking it. I don’t know of anyone who predicted otherwise. 

nlrookie

That didn’t stop Cincinnati pitcher Edison Volquez, who wasn’t even officially a rookie, from getting some votes from the the baseball writers.  By doing so, Cincinnati performed a hat trick by getting Volquez, Joey Votto, and Jay Bruce in the top five.

Under baseball rules, if a player spends more than 45 days on a team’s active roster in a previous year, he is not considered a rookie. 

Buck O’Neil & Black Baseball in Chicago

Last night while watching the Blackhawks win big over Calgary, I was flipping the channel to my TV, and what should I see, but baseball! Needless to say, I stopped flipping, and my eyes became transfixed on the images on the screen. Channel 20 in Chicago was airing the premiere of Buck O’Neil & Black Baseball in Chicago, an encore showing will air November 13th at 7:30 PM, again on channel 20.

The late, great, Buck O’Neil talked about his days in the Negro Leagues and becoming the first African American baseball coach in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs. O’Neil said, he never really resented not being allowed to play in the big leagues, because the best ballplayers of the day were in the Negro Leagues. Bob Kendrick, the Director of the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, stated how upset he was when Buck didn’t make it into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown before his death. Seventeen former Negro Leaguers were inducted in the last induction before O’Neil’s death. Buck didn’t feel sorry for himself at not getting in, but rather was thrilled 17 others had made it, according to Kendrick.

The documentary brings the past to life. It talked about the Double Duty Classic, which features the best young high school African American ballplayers competing in this East/West Classic, named after Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe. It also shows the statue of Buck O’Neil that resides in the HOF, and there’s a lifetime achievement award named after O’Neil. Buck was the first winner of this award. Back in the day, the East/West Classic was the Negro Leagues All Star Game, was played at Comiskey Park in Chicago, would draw 50,000 fans, and featured the best African American ballplayers playing all out.

The show talks about how O’Neil managed Ernie Banks for the Kansas City Monarchs and then coached Banks with the Cubs. Buck also talked Billy Williams out of quitting after experiencing racism in Texas before coming up to the Cubs. Jermaine Dye, of the Chicago White Sox, came up with the Kansas City Royals, commented how fortunate he was to have met Buck O’Neil, while coming up to the big leagues.

There is also mention of the Chicago Baseball Museum, a work in progress, that can be checked out at www.chicagobaseballmuseum.org Also, if you can, checkout Buck O’Neil & Black Baseball in Chicago when its encore performance airs on Thursday the 13th on channel 20.

Little Havana Coming to the Southside

There is a little more excitement about the Chicago White Sox possibly signing 19 year old thirdbaseman Dayan Viciedo out of Cuba than there was in signing Alexei Ramirez one year ago. There is some tremendous upside for this kid! He’s got 30-35 home run potential, which is just what the doctor ordered with Joe Crede out the door. The White Sox are said to have the inside track according to an article in the Chicago Sun Times written by Joe Cowley. The Southsiders already have fellow countrymen Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez, not to mention Minnie Minoso, the Cuban Comet. From what I’ve heard Ramirez is instrumental in recruiting Viciedes to the Pale Hose. Let’s go White Sox!!!

11/6/08 (night) Phoenix @ Mesa

Without a day/night AFL doubleheader and it not being Monday, it was time to get the best pizza in the world at Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. If you haven’t noticed from past postings, I love food! Joe & I arrived at Pizzeria Bianco, forty minutes before they opened 4:20 PM, and there were 43 people waiting to be seated. How do I know there were exactly 43 people waiting? Because we were the last two people seated in the initial seating, otherwise there would have been a two hour wait, which would’ve been bad as the night game started 1/2 hour away in Mesa at 7:05. The crust is light & airy, the ingredients are so fresh, and the pizza is even better than I had remembered. I had a pistachios pizza and Joe had a pizza with cheese, red sauce, & fresh basil leaves. We shared both and there wasn’t a crumb left after we were finished eating. I had to tell the owner, Chris (who makes all the pizzas), that no matter how good I remember his pizza being, it always exceeds my wildest expectations. Also we had Dave, my favorite server in the world, he always remembers us, and thanks us for coming in. Everyone is so excited with anticipation from first timers to repeaters, talked with the people sitting next (Jeanne & Rick) to us at the ballpark, they agree, it’s the BEST! My favorite place to eat, period. If you’re in Phoenix, this place is located in the Heritage Center off of 7th & Washington, and is a must!

After the game we zoomed over to Mesa, with some on-the-fly directions from DonS’ little brother Kevin (cellphones are wonderful), we walked into the ballpark as the National Anthem was being played. Tommy Hanson of the Braves was on the mound for the Solar Sox, while Chaz Roe of the Colorado Rockies was on the hill for the Desert Dogs. This was the meeting between the two guys charting the game one day earlier. But before settling in behind home plate, I needed to stop by to say hi to my friend Marteese Robinson. I’ve met the nicest people!

Tommy Hanson lived up to advance billing, striking out 11 guys in five innings, walking one, allowing two hits, and one run (on a Sean Doolittle OAK home run). This 6’6″ righty out of Riverside CC & Tulsa, OK has really impressed, despite being a 22nd round draft choice by the Atlanta Braves. Hanson has worked 18 2/3 innings, striking out 30, while allowing only one run, with an unreal 0.48 ERA, and a 3-0 record. Chaz Roe matched Hanson, by tossing four shutout innings, before being lifted. This was Roe’s best performance of his AFL, it lowered his ERA to a lofty 9.33. Chaz struckout seven and allowed only one hit.

Eric Young, Jr. got a pair of singles, but it was a rough night for him as he was picked off by the catcher & nailed when he rounded first base a little too far. Sean Doolittle touched Hanson for his first run allowed of the AFL and then sparkled when he shifted to first base. Twins (Phoenix) SS Steve Tolleson got a big two run triple after striking out his first three times up and then scored, accounting for three Desert Dog runs in the 8th.

Tigers slugger Jeff Larish, a local kid, slammed a big fly for Mesa and Matt Young of the Braves was 2 for 2 with two walks, & a stolen base. Logan Morrison was two for three with a walk, raising his batting average to .457.

Went back to the Quality Inn on Scottsdale Road in Tempe, AZ. I didn’t realize I’d stayed at this place for spring training, I don’t think I’ll be back. But I will be back to watch more AFL action next year, the best secret in town, but before that comes spring training, whether it’s in Florida or Arizona, it’s always a treat!

11/05/08 (night) Saguaros @ Scorpions

Jimmy Rollins & Eric Wedge joined previous AFL HOF inductees Garret Anderson, Dusty Baker, Jermaine Dye, Terry Francona, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Shawn Green, Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Derek Jeter, Derrek Lee, Grady Little, Ken Macha, Jerry Manuel, Tony Pena, Troy Percival, Mike Piazza, Albert Pujols, Mike Scioscia, and Alfonso Soriano. Better than that though, was the fact Rollins was on hand for the ceremony. I’m sure he had no idea when he accepted the invitation to be on hand, it’d be less than one month after the Phillies won the World Series. How many players would have stuck to their commitment and showed up at a minor league ballpark in the middle of the desert? Carlos Ruiz, the Phillies catcher, was in the stands to see his teammate recognized. Roland Hemond presented Jimmy with the award. It was also the day the NL announced their 2008 Gold Glove Award winners, Rollins was the SS for the 2nd straight year. He gave a little pep talk to the two teams playing that night, saying, always give your best, you never know who’s watching. Larry Bowa named Rollins starting shortstop for Philadelphia based on his 2002 AFL performance.

The 6’3″ lefthanded hitting catcher out of the White Sox system, Cole Armstrong hit a two run big fly to right for the Saguaros. The person making out the lineup sheets misspelled Gordon Beckham’s name as Beekham. The PA announcer followed suit, of course several of Gordon’s teammates started chirping, “Go get em Beekham!” Beckham singled & doubled in four at bats. He also went up the ladder to snag a line drive from his secondbase spot. The PA announcer also called Jordan Danks, John, to which Jordan banged his bat on the plate (brother John is a pitcher for the White Sox). There were other players besides members of the White Sox out there for Peoria, but none that distinguished themselves in this game.

SF SS Kevin Frandsen & LAA LF Chris Pettit each had two hits for Scottsdale. While Mark Ori, from the Astros, hit a home run, deep in the night, to right. Ori, out of Chicago, just looks like a ballplayer. Tampa native Sergio Perez even his record at one, working five innings, allowing three hits, one run, walking two, while striking out three, to pick up the victory for the Scorpions.

It was nice once again to visit with the Scorps manager Shane Turner’s wife, Beth. Beth ate some Italian food at a place within walking distance of the park and showed up after the Rollins hoopla. She is such a nice lady, it’s a shame she was heading back to the Reading area in the morning. She was telling of a recent class reunion where several baseball players showed up, it seems though several Reading classmates hooked ballplayers, calling it the Reading Web.

11/05/08 (day) MESA @ PHOENIX

I took a taxi from my hotel to the ballpark in Phoenix and go there before the gates officially opened to the public. But being the unofficial kind of guy I am, I walked through an open gate, picked up a program, and was the first fan in the stands. Later I went back, bought a ticket, re-entered, and paid for the program.

It was great being in an empty ballpark, with the Mesa Solar Sox taking BP on the field. A young firstbaseman/outfielder with the Florida Marlins, Logan Morrison, caught my eye. This big lefthanded batter, who was a 22nd round draft choice, was really ripping them! The balls were exploding off his bat, some of them staying in the ballpark. Ray Burris was serving up BP, maybe that’s why this kid was on fire. I kid Ray Burris. I felt inspired to call The Baseball Zealot himself, to share this wonderful moment with him.

A few minutes later I ran into one of my favorite people in the baseball world, Marteese Robinson. Marteese played college ball with John Valentin, Mo Vaughn, & Craig Biggio, and Robinson was the best hitter in the lineup. Marteese is now a scout for the Washington Nationals, he was with the Cardinals the last time I saw him, but that was before Walt Jocketty was shown the door. Robinson is always in a good mood, with time to talk, even on no sleep, having arrived in the desert, with no sleep, from DC, late the night before. The sunglasses hid eyes that were woken up by his ringing cell, way too early, as friends wanted to discuss the election results. Marteese, like me, supported Obama, and was excited about the future of our country. He said several people, from outside the USA, had called to let him know how pleased they were that Barrack had won.

I told Marteese, I liked Morrison’s bat, but Robinson said, that might be as good as he gets. Still, besides a quick bat, I saw a young man, who listened to his hitting coach after his BP session. I’m eager to see this kid’s ceiling! Logan was leading the AFL in batting average, with power. In his second at bat in the game, he bombed a three run shot, high & deep over the rightfield wall. He got three hits on the day.

Other Solar Sox players who impressed were Detroit Tigers 5’9″ 155 pound, secondbaseman Will Rhymes. Lefty batting Rhymes, Mesa’s leadoff man, was smoking line drives all over the place, must’ve served up 12 foul ball souvenirs on the day. He got three base knocks on the day and started a nifty glove-to-glove 4-6-3 doubleplay on a sharp grounder up the middle. Then there was the big Chicago Cubs righthander Jesse Estrada. The 6’8″ 280 pound El Paso native threw five innings, spreading out five hits, walking one, while striking out three.

Eric Young, Jr. impressed again as the leadoff hitter for the Desert Dogs. The little 5’9″ Colorado Rockies outfielder walked, stole a base (without even a throw), and lined an RBI single. Toronto Blue Jays catching prospect J.P. Arencibia impressed behind the dish.

Two bigtime pitching prospects, Tommy Hanson & Chaz Roe were charting this game for their respective teams. What a show they’d put on, but that’s a story for another day.

Sox invite Obama to the Cell for ’09

Sox GM Kenny Williams seemed quite moved by the election of Barack Obama.  And guess what?  He talked to the press about it. 

“It was a surreal moment,” said Williams, one of baseball’s two African-American general managers and a friend of Obama’s. “It was overwhelming and just a tremendous feeling of pride.

“The fact that Barack is biracial can bring us together in a much greater way than we can imagine.”

Williams’ Obama-fever moved him to extended an invite to Obama, who is a Sox fan, to throw out the first pitch in the opening game of the 2009 season. 

It won’t be the first time.  The president-elect was handed the ball for Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the Angels. 

“They were 0-1 at the time, but they won eight straight,” Obama told the Chicago Tribune in 2005. “I’m not saying there is a correlation, but I e-mailed [White Sox chairman Jerry] Reinsdorf and said if they start getting in a jam, my arm was rested. I was ready to go.”

Don’t expect to see any Barack action in Wrigley, though.  He’s made it clear he’s no Cub fan. 

Lloyd Mac heading for Seattle??

Could Lloyd McClendon be on his way to managing the Mariners?  It’s a possibility. 

Most remember Lloyd as the manager of the Bucs earlier this decade (2001-2005) but as for me, I remember him for his couple of years with the Cubs as a OF/1B.  He even managed a few games at 3B.

He played eight seasons in the majors and of the 35 career homers he hit, 12 were in 1989 with the Cubs. 

Mac didn’t exactly wow them in his five-year stint with Pittsburgh (336-446 record).  But considering the team he was given, I thought he was an ok manager.

AL Gold Glove Awards announced

The Gold Glove Award recipients were announced yesterday.

The outfielders, Sizemore, Suzuki, and Hunter (who played for a different club) were identical from 2007.  On the other hand, the entire infield did a turnover from the year before with sole exception of 3B Adrian Beltre.

As a result, there were four first time winners in Joe Mauer, Carlos Pena, Dustin Pedroia, and Mike Young. 

A changing of the guard?