Month: March 2009

Frying in Florida

roy_halladay Went to Dunedin to watch the Blue Jays host the Buccos on Wednesday. Roy Halladay was on the hill for the Jays, opposed by Paul Maholm for Pittsburgh. I bought great tickets ahead of time, don’t know what I was thinking, as it wasn’t a sellout, I paid $8.00 in service charges, Mom ducked out till the 7th inning, and we both left after 9 innings. Enough sun!

Our seats were near homeplate along the thirdbase line, right in the sun! Didn’t wear sunscreen, except on my nose, don’t know what I was thinking. By the time Mom arrived in the 7th, I was fried, welcome Mr. Tomato!

Andrew McCutchen bounced a double down the thirdbase line, but Doc left him stranded there. Travis Snider ripped two singles, both line shots. Michael Barrett bounced into a doubleplay, midseason form. Matt Capps & B.J. Ryan looked sharp in their one innings stints, while Jeff Karstens was shaky two runs in two innings. Aaron Hill doubled and looked stellar in the field, concussion is behind him.

Craig Monroe took a 9th inning meatball over the leftfield wall to tie the game at 2, another reason to hate Craig Monroe! I was cooked after regulation, headed to the convertible. Only three games in the Sunshine State, off to the Cactus League Monday, no PC, will recap when I return to the Windy City.

Baseball Clearwater Revival

jason-donald Reds starter Bronson Arroyo allowed solo homers to Geoff Jenkins & Ryan Howard. The law firm of Hanigan, Alonso, & Valaika went yard for Cincinnati (a 2-run, a solo, & a granny).

Phillies SS Jason Donald played 3B, after playing 2B on Saturday, and all this kid did was hit, three base knocks on Monday, raising his average to .320 on the Spring. Jason has an heir about him, will be a star, soon fans in Philadelphia will be wearing Donald jerseys. He looks like he belongs in the bigs.

Was looking forward to watching Jay Bruce, but was disappointed as he looked to be going through the motions.

Cole Hamels didn’t look as impressive as Bronson Arroyo. Chris Coste got the biggest ovation from the crowd when he took over behind the plate. Former star running back Eric Dickerson’s cousin Chris was hungry when he came into the game. Dickerson showed energy lining a basehit & stealing a base, looks to have a starting outfield job.

Baseball in Clearwater

mouse Arrived in Florida Friday night, didn’t know the Phillies were playing the Blue Jays in Dunedin. Enjoyed flaming cheese in Tarpon Springs instead, getting ready for the Tigers at the Phighting Phils in Clearwater on Saturday. 80 degrees every day, kinda tough to take, not really.

John Mayberry, Sr. walked by where we were standing behind home plate, still looks great, like he could still play today, looks quicker than his playing days. JM2 was penciled into RF for Philadelphia. He took a 2-0 Edwin Jackson far over the Frenchy’s sign in LF in the first inning with two aboard staking the Phillies to a three to nothing lead.

Tigers secondbaseman Scott Sizemore caught a Jamie Moyer third inning pitch on the sweet spot and carried it over the centerfield fence. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed with Sizemore in the Arizona Fall League, but this poke was quite a feat.

Then this Howie guy or Howard Ryan or Ryan Howard hit a three run bomb, I’ll go out on a limb and say, this kid’s gonna be pretty good.

Clete Thomas of Detroit, batting lefty off lefty Scott Eyre, knocked one out over the rightfield wall in the 8th.

J.A. Haap made a strong showing, striking out seven, allowing two hits, over three innings. Haap should fill in for J.C. Romero till his suspension is over, then sliding into the rotation. I thought cloning wasn’t allowed, but J.A.’s a Cole Hamels look-a-like.

As an Illini fan, I’m on cloud #9

The University of Illinois baseball team just defeated #1 LSU tonight thanks to continued dominant pitching by starter Phil Haig and a down-to-the-wire, ninth inning, two-run homer by catcher Aaron Johnson. 

More on that and me kvetching about streaming content delivery systems at the Illinois Baseball Report.

Beckham’s Better

beckham There is a current battle underway for the starting secondbase spot with the Chicago White Sox, with the incumbent Alexei Ramirez sliding over to SS replacing Orlando Cabrera. So the guys battling are Jayson Nix, Chris Getz, and Brent Lillibridge. What I really don’t understand is why there hasn’t been more discussion about leaving Alexi at 2B, with Gordon Beckham taking over the starting SS position.

Beckham was the White Sox #1 draft choice out of the University of Georgia, where he led the NCAA last season with 28 homers, while batting .411 in 197 games at Georgia. Gordon is a born SS and a born competitor. He reminds me of former White Sox SS Bucky Dent in the field, but with a much better bat.

Jayson Nix is a solid fielding secondbaseman, with pop, however he strikes out quite a bit, and is not a leadoff type hitter. Nix was handed the starting job last season with the Colorado Rockies, but couldn’t get the job done. Now Jayson, at 26, understands the importance of not taking this opportunity lightly.

I really like Chris Getz. He’s a lefthanded batter out of the University of Michigan, he’s a real battler, does all the little things well, not as good a fielder as Nix, but he can bat leadoff.

Brent Lillibridge was a SS in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but is competing with Getz & Nix for the starting secondbase job. Brent has excellent speed, but lost his stroke last season with Atlanta, batting only .220 in AAA.

Competition’s good, I hope it’s not a closed competition. Last season Jerry Owens won the starting CF job last year, but was injured, so Carlos Quentin got a shot, and we all know how well that turned out. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think Beckham needs to pay his dues in the minors, this kid’s from a big time college, and he’s ready to PLAY BALL!

RIP (and thanks) Jerome Sacharski, T-ball pioneer

TBallSacharski

Jerome Sacharski, a former teacher who is credited with popularizing the game of T-ball, died Friday at the ripe age of 93. 

No one knows who actually exactly invented the game of T-ball.  But many credit Sacharski for popularizing it in his hometown of Albion, Wisconsin where he was teacher and coach.  It is said that here in Albion is where it was first played as an organized sport.

US Rep. Nick Smith even offered a tribute to Jerome Sacharski for his contributions:

“After he started teaching, Jerry took it upon himself in 1954 to head up the Albion recreation department’s summer baseball program,” Smith said at the time. “Because of this position, he was able to see the lack of opportunity for younger children that two years later would drive him to develop one of the largest innovations in youth sports.”

T-ball is similar in so many ways to baseball yet made simpler for younger kids by giving them a fighting chance to hit the ball by hitting a ball off a tee rather than a thrown ball.  Today, millions of boys and girls play the game which emphasizes fairness and education of the game over competition. 

So for all the parents (and for that matter, kids who have grown up) out there going back all those years, I say thanks Mr Sacharski.  That tee made it sooo much easier to hit.

Smile Politely interviews me

Joel Gillespie of the local online magazine, Smile Politely sat down with me Saturday and interviewed me for what can be best described as a “get-to-know-your-local-blogger” profile.  The end product, Zealous about Illini baseball turned out really well in my opinion. 

It was a fun chat.  Joel as it turns out was a baseball fan himself.  An Iowa product, he roots for the Twins.  I tried to goad him into talking trash about the White Sox but to his credit, he would have none of it. 

It also seems that he follows the Illinois baseball team.  It won’t be long before they start playing at Illinois Field so I’ll have to invite him out for a home game sometime. 

thanks for the great article, Joel! 

Smile Politely:  Zealous about Illini baseball

Cubs News Bits

-Curt Schilling says he’s not sure he’s coming back but if does, the Cubs are on his short list.

-“I’m going to strike him out.  I’m going to try. He’ll be the enemy out there.”   Marmol said this with a smile about Geovany Soto.  The two of them may face each other in the World Baseball Classic.

-Carlos Zambrano pitched a near perfect two innings Monday in his first appearance in 2009.  Big Z only sin was giving up a walk and he struck out three.  Lou Piniella is still debating the Opening Day starter issue, though.  It’s ok, Lou.  You still have about a month.

-Finally, Lou Piniella supports Carlos Marmol’s decision to attend the WBC.

“It’s an honor to represent your country.  He’s here competing for a job, and he was a little concerned. I said, ‘Lay your fears to rest. We’ll let you compete for that job when you get back and we’ll make a decision then.’ No decision will be made without Marmol being here.”  

Now, just stay healthy, Carlos.

Knucksie Niekro Back With The Braves

lance-niekro1 His father was pitcher Joe Niekro, his uncle was Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro. But Lance made it to the San Francisco Giants as a firstbaseman, batting .246 with 17 home runs in 499 big league at bats. After being released by the Houston Astros farm team last May, the younger Niekro has embraced his inner knuckleball and give it a go with the Atlanta Braves.

Lance learned everything he knew about baseball from his knuckleball pitcher (who started throwing it after 1971 in the bigs) father Joe, who pitched 22 years in the big leagues, and was a 20 game winner twice. Lance learned the pitch as a youngster from his father, but would be the Giants opening day firstbaseman in 2006, hitting two homers in a game against the Marlins, his only multi-homer game of his career, the last time his father saw him play, father Joe was dead of a brain aneurysm five months later.

Lance was despondent, playing baseball only brought back painful memories of his deceased father, and the closeness the two had experienced on the diamond. He was released by Houton’s minor league team 17 games into the next season. He was tired of baseball and declined his uncle’s request to work on his knuckler.

After a few months of working in the real world, baseball tugged at him. He thought of coaching or possibly broadcaster, before a conversation with his wife led him back onto the field. “I’d want to know if my dad was proud of me right now,” was what Lance would ask his dad, if he could. He concluded that answer wouldn’t be tied to how much money he was earning or whether he was in baseball, but rather he would be proud because his son was happily married and soon would be starting a family. That’s when the light clicked on and Lance decided he wanted to play baseball for himself, not for his dad.

Phil Niekro, still involved with the Braves, the team he’d starred for, arranged for a minor league deal. Lance worked on his knuckleball all winter, sometimes throwing five or six days a week. Niekro could have a long career ahead of him; his father and uncle combined for 450 of their 539 victories after each had turned 30.

I’ll be pulling for Lance Niekro. There’s a baseball in my bedroom with Joe Niekro’s autograph on it, also signing that ball were Woodie Fryman and Chuck Seelbach. In 1972 they all pitched for the AL East first place Detroit Tigers. I have a special place in my heart for knuckleball pitchers. Maybe it’s because I’m a White Sox fan, and grew up watching Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm (only saw him on TV for the Sox in 1968, my first year watching baseball), Wilbur Wood (the last pitcher to start both ends of a doubleheader), Eddie Fisher (was 15-7 with 24 saves in 82 games out of the pen for the Sox in 1965, before my time, but returned to the Southside in 1973), Charlie Hough (was in the Sox rotation in 1991 & 92, as a 43 & 44 year old, winning 9 & 7 games, pitching in the bigs till he was 46, 216-216 record 25 years), and then there are old timers Eddie Cicotte & Hall of Famer Ted Lyons (who started throwing a knuckler after a 1929 arm injury). Then there was the Washington Senators of the forties who featured an all knuckleball rotation.

I’ve said for years I’d like to see each team have a knuckleball instructor. When pitchers are no longer prospects, they could try throwing the knuckler. The latest knuckleball pitchers are Tim Wakefield, Steve Sparks, and the infamous Charlie Haeger.