February, 2009 | The Baseball Zealot

Some words of calm wisdom from Tom Glavine… or is it damage control?

Tom Glavine talked to the press Friday about PED testing standards in the major leagues.

“I think that it’s easy to sit on the outside, look at what has happened and blame Bud Selig or Don Fehr and the Players Association by saying that one of these guys or all of these guys knew more and should have known more,” Glavine said. “You know what? I don’t think it’s fair to say that.

While I’m certainly not ready to absolve Bud Selig on the matter especially considering what he said the other day about not taking responsibility on the steroid issue, Glavine’s point is somewhat well taken. The fans and the media are busy playing the blame game and most of the dialogue I hear is more directed at hatin’ on the player rather than solving the problem.

My friend Nick once told me, “C’mon, fans like to boo!”. Of course, he was talking about within a ballgame. However, you could extend his point to the broader context of Major League Baseball and problems it faces. A lot of fans (most?) would just as soon read the headlines and listen to the sound bites throw ARod to the wolves. Most of the media, unfortunately, is complicit in this as well, fueling the fire of contempt rather than providing good solutions to the issue.

I’m not an ARod fan and I’m certainly not condoning what he did. I’ve just seen and heard what has happened in the past with similar issues. Bonds, McGwire, the list is long and problem is still here.

Glavine does advocate for consequences for Alex Rodriguez, as well he should,

“There comes a time for everybody in life — I don’t care where you are or what you do — that you have choices to make, and sometimes people make bad choices. If you make a bad choice, then that’s your responsibility to deal with the consequences of that bad choice, and certainly Alex is having to deal with that.

However, baseball management was definitely responsible, at least in part, for not quelling the steroid issue at some point. With his statement to the press, Glavine needs to be careful while he treads a fine line between calm, reasoned thought and being a ‘yes’ man for the MLB (ironic since he is the player rep for the NL).

All parties need to take responsibility…

Illinois full of win … and a bit o’ trivia

Illinois won their season opener 8-3 against Iowa. Yippie!

I did a recap over at the Illinois Baseball Report.

Tonight, the Fighting Illini play the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. That’s unusual in of itself since both team name don’t end in ‘S’.

How many NCAA team names can you think of that don’t end in the letter ‘S’? There are about fifteen.

When you give up, wikianswers.com has the answer.

Ten Reasons why I like college baseball (and the Illini)

In celebration of opening day of college baseball I present to you my top ten list of what makes college baseball (and Illinois baseball in particular) so fun.

1. It’s affordable.

In this day of rising costs of attending Major League Baseball games, you can’t discount this. I can’t speak for other Big Ten teams but at the University of Illinois, you can get into a game for six bucks or so. Parking is thrown in for free.

And, if you’re lucky enough (and smart enough) to get the Go Illini family card for $50, it gets your whole family into all home games for the season. Whatta deal!

2. You can get so close to the action.

3. It’s my style of baseball.

While the major leagues have gravitated toward power, power and more power, I find that college baseball has a more balanced attack maybe even favoring the “small ball” style of play.

I like the homerun just as much as everybody else but I also enjoy a well-executed hit-and-run or a double steal.

A perfect example of this small ball action was two years ago in a non-conference game against Robert Morris College when Shawn Roof took it upon himself to score the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.

From an article I wrote after the Robert Morris game:

Shawn Roof led off the bottom of the 8th. Robert Morris pitcher Chris Murchek plunked Roof in the upper arm and Roof took his base. I leaned over to Brando and said, “Here he goes!”. And Roof stole second on the first pitch. Brando and I wondered to each other will batter Ryan Hastings bunt in this situation? In a lot of situations, it would make sense but Hastings has been good with the stick so I didn’t think he would. Hastings didn’t square for the next pitch, he took it for a strike.

The next pitch, though, he squared for the bunt and the thirdbaseman rushed to cover for the bunt. The key here is that the shortstop didn’t cover third and Roof was banking on that. He stole third easily.

The very next pitch Murchek threw a wild pitch and Roof scored what proved to be the winning run.

Now THAT’S exciting!

Another point, since not all college hitters are sluggers, it gives more value to the homerun capability of those cleanup hitters in the college ranks. You really fear them!

4. The players are friendly.

Ok, maybe that’s a generalization but in my experience, many I’ve met have been nice and some have been downright decent. A couple that I’ve met I’ve maintained friendships after they’ve left the U of I.

5. It brought back my “school spirit”.

I’ll admit it. I root for the Illini football and basketball teams but I don’t intensely follow them like some of my sports fan friends follow their alums. Illini baseball is MY college sport that I follow.

When I’m asked at work, “Did you hear how the Illini did last night?”. I’ll go on about the slugfest this or the one-run game that and get a quizzical look. Then I realize they were talking about the OTHER sport.

I don’t care. Baseball is my college sport.

6. No salaries, no contract disputes, no arbitrations

It’s true, college baseball players play baseball for different reasons. Those with a future ahead of them are looking ahead to a possible MLB draft. Others are just playing because they love the game.

But what’s really great is when you see the really rare player who steps up and assumes a leadership role on the team. Those players are destined to go somewhere in baseball.

7. Gametracker

If it’s a road game and I can’t be there, at least I can follow the game via CSTV’s Gametracker which rivals MLB’s Gameday…sorta.

8. Meeting the players’ parents

I’ve enjoyed meeting the moms and dads of the players the last few years. I don’t restrict myself to Illinois parents either. Sometimes I’ll introduce myself to the opposition’s parents sometimes and (if it’s a home game) welcome them to Illinois Field. I almost always get a good conversation going and learn something I didn’t know before.

Like players, parents come in different varieties. There are competitive types and then the more laid back types. Interesting to see the similarities (and differences, I guess) between parent and son.

9. No Wisconsin

Haha! Just kidding, Badger fans!

10. Just try to show me a better time!

For my money, there’s not a better time. Whether I’m hanging with my buddies, taking my family or just taking in a game by myself, it’s a lot of fun. The baseball program at the University of Illinois have done a fantastic job putting a quality product on the field not to mention a fun time all round (yes, they do promotions… the days when the players play wiffleball with the kids after a game are a big hit, so to speak).

So before you complain to me about those outrageous prices of major league games and the exorbitant salaries the big league athletes make, try a college baseball game on for size.

It might be a perfect fit.

Event to honor surviving St Louis Browns on pennant anniversary

Babe Martin of the St Louis Browns

The last two surviving members of the St Louis Browns will be honored at an event on April 28 in recognition of the 65th anniversary of their pennant-winning season.

It’s being put on by the St Louis Browns Fan Club (who knew?) and the event will be billed as “Lunch with the Browns”. The Browns attending: Babe Martin who broke in the bigs in 1944, the year of their pennant and pitcher Al LaMacchia, who played for the Browns between 1943-1946.

You can find out more about who, when, and where at the St Louis Browns Fan Club blog.

Blackjack’s a rocker

A friend and colleague of mine sent this link to a CD. He found out about my interest in baseball and thought I might get a kick out of it.

You see, my friend was in a band back in the day and one of his bands’ songs made it onto a CD compilation along with none other than former MLB pitcher Jack McDowell. McDowell at the time was playing with a band called Stickfigure. His song is called “Hey Man”.

The CD is called Small, My Table and some proceeds are going towards Riley’s Hospital of Indianapolis.

It brought back memories of back in the late 80’s (during the off-season), McDowell came down to play at the campus town club (the now defunct Mabel’s for C-U townies). His band if memory serves, was called “Thrash”. I wasn’t heavy into the music scene or anything like that but he had an ok sound.

Music obviously has a pretty important part of Blackjack’s life if 15 years later, he was still playing (and putting out CDs).

Bradley being Mr Nice Guy

Not only did Milton Bradley show up to camp two days early (something I always like to see) but he had some good things to say about us Cub fans:

He called the Cubs Convention a “nice fest,” and added: “It helps the transition for me when you’re dealing with people that are nice and appreciative and always in your corner. It hasn’t always been that way for me.”

Is this a turn for the mean ol’ Milton Bradley? He went on about why he was so happy joining the Chicago Cubs:

“It’s the Cubs,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want to play for the Cubs? Wrigley Field, already have a great team in place. … I’ll come in and just try to add something to that mix.

Who IS this guy? Give me the old MB back. I want the Milton Bradley with an edge to him. The aggressive one. The MEAN one. Ok, maybe take that last one back. Maybe.

I’m sure the Milton Bradley we all know and love will return. Give him time.

By the way, it wasn’t so much that I was against the Cubs getting Milton Bradley this off-season but that I felt the media was portraying Bradley as this savior that was going to lead our Cubbies to the promised land ala the World Series. There’s no doubt Bradley is talented but there’s no excuse for exaggerating reality.

Heads up, Illini baseball fans! Illinois Baseball Report is online!

It’s hard to believe that you can see actual live baseball in less than a week. And most of us can’t… unless you’re lucky to enough to live in the the south. But true enough, the college baseball season does start this Friday.

And to correspond with that, I’ve decided to create a new blog focused on the University of Illinois Baseball team. I’ve imported all the Illini Baseball content from The Baseball Zealot to the new site which is called Illinois Baseball Report. I spent some time tagging the posts so they’re good and indexed.

I’m looking forward to the new season and beyond. Illini fans, stop by and hi (and don’t forget to bookmark the site).

Illinois Baseball Report

BTH reviews Illinois Baseball

Zealot friend Brian D from Big Ten Hardball does his annual review of Big Ten baseball team and predicts Illinois to at least make the tournament in 2009.

Brian’s bottom line??

Illinois will go as far as their pitching lets them. This team, like many of the recent Illini squads, should swing the bats well enough, steal a few bases and play tough day-in and day-out. The question will be how their arms, especially the unproven ones, hold up.

The thought here is that the Illini should secure another top six Big Ten finish and a trip to Huntington Park and the conference tournament

His review of Illinois is pretty spot on. You can read it at his blog, Big Ten Hardball.

White Sox Trivia

white_sox_77_1080 One June 19, 1977 this White Sox firstbaseman sang the pre-game National Anthem then went out and went 4-7 with a pair of home runs, playing error-less ball in the field, in a doubleheader sweep versus Oakland. Who was this multi-talented Alabamian?

I remember this day 30+ years ago like it was yesterday, but don’t ask me what I had for breakfast.

AROD, AROID???

alex-rodriguez-picture-5 FINALLY!!! A BIG FISH, AROD has been caught in baseball’s roid dragnet. I’ve been complaining about this for a long time, the only players being caught have been minor league Hispanics of marginal talent. Now it comes out Alex Rodriguez tested positive in 2003, but this story comes from a Sports Illustrated’s article, written by David Epstein & Selena Roberts, rather than MLB.

Four independent sources have told SI that Alex tested positive for two anabolic steroids. In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez’s name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball’s ’03 survey testing, SI’s sources say.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. “You’ll have to talk to the union,” said Rodriguez, the Yankees’ third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, “I’m not saying anything.”

Baseball’s drug policy prohibited the use of steroids without a valid prescription since 1991, but there were no penalties for a positive test in 2003.

As part of an agreement with the players’ union, the testing in 2003 was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

The results of the testing of 1,198 players were meant to be anonymous under the agreement between the commissioner’s office and the union. SI reported that Rodriguez’s testing information was found after federal agents, with search warrants, seized the 2003 results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., in Long Beach, Calif.

Now the question has got to be, does MLB FINALLY get it? This steroid problem needs to be taken seriously. It wasn’t just a few players then, it isn’t a few minor league Hispanic players today, this problem is rampant, it needs to be taken seriously, and it needs to be addressed now!