Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Curt Schilling upped his season mark to 3-0 with a nifty 1.64 ERA with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox Ace appears to be healthy once again, which spells trouble for the rest of the AL east. Curt Schilling W 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 … Continue reading “4/14/06 Linescore of the Day: Curt Schilling”
Curt Schilling upped his season mark to 3-0 with a nifty 1.64 ERA with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox Ace appears to be healthy once again, which spells trouble for the rest of the AL east.
Curt Schilling W 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 Ks
5’9″ 203 pound Cody Ross put all his weight into a couple of big flies against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first came in the 5th inning and broke a 2-2 tie, putting the Dodgers up by four, a Grand Salami! His next homer was a three run blast in the very next inning, putting the … Continue reading “4/13/06 Linescore of the Day: Cody Ross”
5’9″ 203 pound Cody Ross put all his weight into a couple of big flies against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first came in the 5th inning and broke a 2-2 tie, putting the Dodgers up by four, a Grand Salami! His next homer was a three run blast in the very next inning, putting the game on ice.
Cody Ross 3 for 5, 2 HRs, 1 GS, 7 RBIs, 2 runs
Happy 1st Birthday to theBaseballZealot.com!!! Happy 40th Birthday to Greg Maddux!!! Happy 50th Birthday to me!!! There are quite a few baseball players, past & present, born on April 14th. Including All Time hits leader Pete Rose and Greg Maddux who picked up his 320th win just two days ago. Wanna give a Baseball Happy … Continue reading “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU”
Happy 1st Birthday to theBaseballZealot.com!!! Happy 40th Birthday to Greg Maddux!!! Happy 50th Birthday to me!!! There are quite a few baseball players, past & present, born on April 14th. Including All Time hits leader Pete Rose and Greg Maddux who picked up his 320th win just two days ago. Wanna give a Baseball Happy Birthday shout out to Bobby Sprowl (born on my day), Brad Ausmus, Gregg Zaun, Kyle Farnsworth, David Justice (what was he thinking divorcing Halle Berry?), Greg Myers, Steve Avery, Roberto Mejia, Jesse Levis, Carlos Perez, Chris Welsh, Mike Trombley, Brad Pennington, Joe Lahoud, Mark Bomback, Frank Bertaina, Marty Keough, and Don Mueller.
Went to the Bleachers again today, beautiful day, 80 degrees, sunny, South wind, Cubs lose, Sox win! Doesn’t get much better than that! Neglected to mention the other day the new & improved Bud Light Bleachers are wheelchair accessible, there’s a nice little area in CF for fans in wheelchairs and there’s an elevator up … Continue reading “CUBS DUNN IN AGAIN”
Went to the Bleachers again today, beautiful day, 80 degrees, sunny, South wind, Cubs lose, Sox win! Doesn’t get much better than that! Neglected to mention the other day the new & improved Bud Light Bleachers are wheelchair accessible, there’s a nice little area in CF for fans in wheelchairs and there’s an elevator up to that level, plus don’t forget the accessible bathroom.
Adam Dunn launched a 1st inning shot to left, Felipe Lopez knocked a three run blast in the 3rd, and Austin Kearns ripped a three run bomb in the 8th. Cincinnati did score one run without the benefit of a long ball when Carlos Zambrano balked home Eric Milton after the Reds pitcher tripled in the 5th. Cleanup hitter Matt Murton drove in two out of three Cub runs with a solo drive and an RBI single, the other run scored on a (SURPRISE) error when Adam Dunn bobbled a ball in LF. 8-3 Redlegs.
Ronnie Woo Woo was sitting in the row in front of me in the RF Bleachers, sitting between two cute Bleacher Bums. That guy gets around, last time I saw him was in Arizona when I had him give a shout out to KevinS (DonS’ brother) over my cell. I finally told Ronnie back then that I was out of minutes, to which he replied into my cell, “Outta minutes Woo! Cubs Woo! Outta minutes Woo!” I noticed something kinda cool, Buck O’Neil autographed Ronnie Woo Woo’s Cubs uniform.
Before the game Greg Maddux was shagging balls with his son, his son is a chip off the old block when it comes to fielding, plus the youngster’s got an arm! It was great to be out at the ole ballyard the day after Maddux won his 320th game and the day before his 40th birthday. Tomorrow is also my birthday, I turn the BIG 5-0! More on birthdays tomorrow!
Greg Maddux & Derrick Lee also received their Golden Glove Awards before the game. From the looks of things nobody on the Reds is gonna win one of those for quite some time, lotta butchers out there for Cincinnati. It was Maddux’ 15th in the last 16 years, Mike Hampton won it in 2003. And it was Lee’s 2nd in the last three years.
The 6’2″ 200 pound right hander out of Scottsdale, AZ is emerging as the ace of the NY Mets pitching staff. Brian is the son of former big league pitcher Floyd Bannister. The youngster, who pitched at USC, shutdown the Washington Nationals, scattering three hits over seven innings of work, walking none, and allowing only … Continue reading “Rookie Watch: Brian Bannister”
The 6’2″ 200 pound right hander out of Scottsdale, AZ is emerging as the ace of the NY Mets pitching staff. Brian is the son of former big league pitcher Floyd Bannister. The youngster, who pitched at USC, shutdown the Washington Nationals, scattering three hits over seven innings of work, walking none, and allowing only one run on an Alfonso Soriano 7th inning homer. Bannister relies on his cutter and is not overpowering as illustrated by his one strikeout. Even CBS Sports online is saying he’s a strong Rookie of the Year candidate and a must have in Fantasy Baseball leagues. Click here to read more about Brian Bannister.
4/11/06 Saw it was gonna be in the seventies with a South wind blowing 20-30 miles, which means out at Wrigley, which means lotsa home runs, which means I had to be there. Got to Wrigleyville at 9:30 AM, picked up my ticket at Will Call, and proceeded to the Salt & Pepper Diner South … Continue reading “DA BLEACHERS”
4/11/06 Saw it was gonna be in the seventies with a South wind blowing 20-30 miles, which means out at Wrigley, which means lotsa home runs, which means I had to be there. Got to Wrigleyville at 9:30 AM, picked up my ticket at Will Call, and proceeded to the Salt & Pepper Diner South of the ballpark on Clark Street. Ate a delicious Greek Salad and a MUST HAVE chocolate malt. My waitress even put in extra malt, YUM! Then got in line to go into the Bleachers at 10:30 AM. Got to talkin to the people ahead of me in line and it turns out the lady in front of me’s father won the largest Lotto jackpot in Ohio history $255 million. So he calls her cell, he just got 8th row season tickets on the 50 yard line for Ohio State football games. He also bought himself a place in Arizona, his kids new homes, Suns season basketball tickets, D*Backs season tickets, and a new Porsche. It must be nice, I was even inspired to buy Lotto tix after the game, after eating a very tasty veggie Sloppy Joe at the Chicago Diner on Halsted & Roscoe. But enough about the other stuff lemme tell you about the game and the Bleachers.
The Bleachers were totally full while there were plenty of other seats to be had throughout the ballyard. Cincinnati’s batters were really nailing balls and they were flying over the wall. Everytime one of the Reds shagging balls in the outfield would snare one, the Bud Light Bleacher Bums would scream they wanted the ball, everytime the Reds players didn’t throw the ball into the stands they were called names & told they sucked! “You Suck!”, became a rallying cry for fans all over the Bleachers, but it was a special mantra for one fan in particular in the CF Bleachers, from the start of the game till the last out he yelled, “Griffey, You Suck!”, at least ten times per inning for nine innings. I was wishing Griffey would get a shot at pummeling this idiot once for each time he yelled this at him. The Cubs spent all this money on improving the Bleachers and then allow this type of behavior to persist, ridiculous! The new & improved Bleachers are very nice and you wouldn’t know they were even changed. There is a bar on the halfway up level, an elevator, a flat area in CF (possibly for wheelchairs), and a bathroom for wheelchairs on the upper level. I once peed in the Bleachers under my poncho on a rainy day rather than risk walking down & up the rain soaked & slippery ramp, so the elevator is a good idea.
Griffey Junior launched a shot in the first, Adam Dunn blasted a monster in the 2nd, Bronson Arroyo (the pitcher) hit a bomb onto the street beyond LF in the 3rd, in the 4th Dunn cracked another, nothing in the 5th, and then Edwin Encarnacion hit a Grand Slam & Austin Kearns added a solo blast in the 6th to make it 9-0. I couldn’t resist yelling, “Let’s Go Cubbies!”, I was really enjoying myself and half thought security might ask me to leave. God Bless Michael Barrett broke the ice for the Cubbies with a meaningless home run and the Cubs scored once more to make the final 9-2 Reds.
4/9/06 Don’t remember seeing this before, but Cardinal relievers Ricardo Rincon & Jason Isringhausen issued three straight walks on 12 straight balls in the eighth inning against the Cubbies in last Sunday night’s ESPN game. Then Izzy threw one over the dish and Michael Barrett hit one over the leftfield wall, turning a defeat into … Continue reading “TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE”
4/9/06 Don’t remember seeing this before, but Cardinal relievers Ricardo Rincon & Jason Isringhausen issued three straight walks on 12 straight balls in the eighth inning against the Cubbies in last Sunday night’s ESPN game. Then Izzy threw one over the dish and Michael Barrett hit one over the leftfield wall, turning a defeat into a victory. It was weird to see Isringhausen being brought on to protect(?) a one run Card lead in the 8th inning, neither he nor Rincon even came close to throwing a strike on any of those bases on balls. Cubs win 8-4!
4/8/06 I TIVO’d the Tigers Saturday night game and watched an amazing performance Sunday morning. The 2nd pick in the 2004 draft put on quite a show, totally dominating the Texas Rangers 7-0, striking out seven, allowing two bloop singles, walking two, and hitting a batter through seven innings of work. Detroit jumped out to … Continue reading “ROOKIE WATCH – JUSTIN VERLANDER”
4/8/06 I TIVO’d the Tigers Saturday night game and watched an amazing performance Sunday morning. The 2nd pick in the 2004 draft put on quite a show, totally dominating the Texas Rangers 7-0, striking out seven, allowing two bloop singles, walking two, and hitting a batter through seven innings of work. Detroit jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the kid even took the mound enroute to their fifth straight win to open the 2006 campaign. This 6’5″ 200 pound right hander out of Old Dominion made the Ranger hitters look sick, varying speeds from 78, topping out at 100 MPH, spotting fastballs, change up, & curves with pinpoint control & amazing poise. With little effort Verlander was hitting 98 MPH in the 1st inning and getting it up there at 96 MPH in the 7th, he threw just 89 pitches. Justin doesn’t waste any time as the game was over in 2:11, but truth be told it was over when Verlander took the mound.
The wheels on the White Sox wagon came off last night in Kansas City. The hapless Royals starter Jeremy Affeldt surrendered five runs before KC even stepped to the plate, it was 6-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd. Then it happened, Pablo Ozuna (an infielder misplaying in the outfield) misjudged a fly ball … Continue reading “DANGER KENNY WILLIAMS”
The wheels on the White Sox wagon came off last night in Kansas City. The hapless Royals starter Jeremy Affeldt surrendered five runs before KC even stepped to the plate, it was 6-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd. Then it happened, Pablo Ozuna (an infielder misplaying in the outfield) misjudged a fly ball that fell in front of him for a double(?), it was an error if there ever was one. Ozuna also misplayed another flyout into another double later in the game when he went back to the wall, feeling for the wall, which wasn’t even close to, as the ball landed in the middle of the WARNING track. It was too much for the White Sox & Jon Garland to put up with as the All Star starter from 2005 gave up nine earned(?) runs in 5 1/3 innings. Matt Thornton came on, was throwing hard, but he let up a couple of runs himself to make the final unlucky 11-7 Bad Guys.
KC hadn’t won a ballgame this year. This White Sox team has some needs that won’t go away. Ignoring them will not help. In 2005 Chicago won the close games with pitching and solid defense, which is why the 2006 team is losing the close ones. Brian Anderson is hardly adequate in CF, Jermaine Dye & Scott Podsednik have been hurt. The only other guy who can play OF is Rob Mackowiak. As illustrated last night Pablo Ozuna can’t play outfield. And while Brandon McCarthy & Neal Cotts have been throwing well out of the pen, gone are Dustin Hermanson, Luis Vizcaino, & Damaso Marte. The only other relievers are Matt “I throw it hard, it gets hit harder” Thornton, Boone “Look at me I’m a big leaguer, who was that?” Logan, & Bobby “He’s too fat for me” Jenks.
I’m a die hard White Sox fan who knows a good team when I see one. Kenny Williams seems to always find a way to get the missing pieces. So I’m not jumping off the band wagon, but something needs to be done, NOW! Surely a 162 game schedule is a marathon, not a sprint, but the Sox were at the top from start to finish last year and need to wake up before it’s too late.
Went to Wrigley for Opening Day to see the Cubbies & Greg Maddux defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. Derrick Lee hit one over the leftfield wall in the very first inning to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. That shot was hit into the teeth of a gale wind coming out of the north. The … Continue reading “MADDUX WINS 319”
Went to Wrigley for Opening Day to see the Cubbies & Greg Maddux defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. Derrick Lee hit one over the leftfield wall in the very first inning to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. That shot was hit into the teeth of a gale wind coming out of the north. The Cubs never trailed as they built up a 5-0 lead before Jim Edmonds launched a ball out to rightfield in the 7th that found the Bud Light Bleachers, Maddux gave way to a much improved bullpen after walking the next batter. Matt Murton caught a ball blown back from being a homer, fired on one hop from left, and caught Juan Encarnacion who had strayed too far off firstbase. There were over 40,000 fans freezing out there at the Friendly Confines today.