Author: Teddy Ballgame

One of the magical things about baseball is it’s connection to the past. History is such an integral part of the game. Yesterday Ken Griffey, Jr. reached out and touched a couple of legends with one swing of the bat. Jimmy Rollins stepped closer to immortality when he doubled in yesterday’s game keeping his streak going.

Ken Griffey, Jr.
April 5, 2006 Ken Griffey, Jr. passed Mickey Mantle in homers & Joe DiMaggio in RBIs (RBIs were not recorded as an official stat until 1920) in the history of the baseball. The home run was Griffey’s 537th of his career moving him soley into 12th place all time. Ken’s solo shot yesterday against the Cubs also moved him into 31st place all time with 1,538 career RBIs.

Jimmy Rollins
Jimmy Rollins continued his hitting streak on 4/5 when he doubled in his first at bat of the game for the Phillies against the Cardinals. 38 is the special number of games in a row Rollins has gotten at least one hit in, moving him ahead of Tommy Holmes who had a 37 game streak in 1945. Next up on the list is Paul Molitor who hit safely in 39 straight games in 1987. Of course Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak is the longest.

We’ve all heard the term, “Can o’ corn” referring to a high fly ball easily handled by an outfielder. Now I’m gonna ask you, where the term comes from? So as not to spoil it for others, e-mail your answer with Can O’ Corn in the subject to malltedd@yahoo.com

Went to the Cell yesterday to get a replica World Series Trophy and see the White Sox take the rubber match of their opening series, I got neither. 20,000 trophies were given out and even though we got in line when the gates opened by the time we walked into the ballpark they were all gone. I know I shouldn’t have stopped at Grandstand on 35th to pickup a Mark Buehrle tee shirt.

Jose Contreras was a little wild in the first inning and the Indians took a 2-0 lead. Even though the thermometer read in the 50s it was cold out there, which might have explained Jose’s lack of control. The Good Guys came back to take a 3-2 lead, before Boone Logan was greated by Travis Hafner with a game tying bomb off the kid from rookie ball, welcome to the Show! The Sox went on to lose 4-3 in extras.

Freddy Garcia White Sox starter in game #2 versus the Cleveland Indians did his best Barry Zito imitation, Zito let up seven runs in only 1 1/3 innings in the A’s opener against the Yanks yesterday. Freddy allowed seven runs on nine hits, two walks, over 4+ innings of work. Garcia gave way to rookie Boone Logan with two on & nobody out in the 5th, Logan allowed both runners to score. The disturbing fact was that he didn’t have his fastball, which topped out at 89 rather than his usual 93 MPH fastball. Neither Hawk nor DJ brought up the fact in spring games that Garcia was trying something new, but today it was the topic of conversation. It wasn’t like Freddy was hurt or couldn’t throw hard, it was like he was trying to fool hitters rather than blow them away.

Before the game the White Sox received their World Champion rings. It was a nice ceremony. Some guys that were traded away were back to receive their hardware, El Duque, Willie Harris, Timo Perez, & Aaron Rowand all showed up. But Rowand received the biggest ovation and seemed to mist up. Jim Thome, the guy the Sox received for Aaron jacked his 2nd in two days far into the RF stands. Final score 8-2 Bad Guys. I’ll be at the Cell tomorrow.

LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!

The Chicago White Sox were back on the field for the first time since the rifle arm of SS Juan Uribe cutdown any chances the dillusional Astros might have had in last year’s Fall Classic. Here is a picture of Teddy Ballgame along side the World Series Trophy from spring training and this is what it’s all about. Defending their World Champion status is what the ’06 season is all about. Certainly there are some questions going into the year, but this White Sox team may be better the team that won it all in ’05. People might say, “there goes Teddy Ballgame again off on crack”, and the experts have the Tribe winning the division. But the experts didn’t predict last season’s outcome and they’ve been wrong so often in the past that I pay them no more mind than the weather man. This year’s team has newcomers Jim Thome, Rob Mackowiak, Alex Cintron, & Javier Vazquez. Gone are Carl Everett, Timo Perez, Willie Harris, & El Duque. I’ll take that trade any day of the week. Also gone is the Big Hurt, but enough has been made of that departure already. Replacing Aaron Rowand is rookie Brian Anderson, trusting their own talent. Newly acquired lefty Matt Thornton will take Damaso Marte’s spot in the bullpen. And the good looking youngster Brandon McCarthy takes his talents to the pen. The LARGE MAN Bobby Jenks is again the closer, with Neal Cotts setting him up. But everyone knows the White Sox strength is their starting rotation. In a game where Championships are won with pitching & defense the White Sox can’t be beat. There isn’t a team in baseball that has a stronger five man rotation than the Sox Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, & Javier Vazquez. And the team’s defense is right up there with the best of them. Chicks may dig the long ball, but baseball people will tell you pitching & defense is what it’s all about. Was at the Cell (US Cellular Field) last night for the Opening Day Ceremonies & the unveiling of the World Championship banners. Got the opportunity to take it all in from 34 rows right behind the dish. Doesn’t get any better than that! There was a LONG rain delay and ended up getting home about 2:00 AM, but our seats were covered so I was warm enough in just a sweatshirt. I know it’s a long season, but last night’s opener did alot to address some of my concerns about this year’s ballclub. Brian Anderson handled centerfield and hit at the plate. Both Brandon McCarthy & Matt Thornton looked sharp out of the pen after rocky springs, Coop seems to have turned Thornton around. Jim Thome launched a 431 foot rocket into the night over the rightfield wall, his eighth homer since last Sunday. Checked out ESPN to see what games were going to be televised today and then remembered I’ve got the MLB package and can pretty much watch whatever I’d like. Don’t bother calling me today cuz I’ll be watching a little baseball. Next games on my schedule are the Sox hosting the Indians Wednesday and then the Cubbies home opener Friday versus the Redbirds. LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!

It was hard enough to believe that Nick & Jessica were no longer an item, especially after the breakup of Jennifer & Brad, but now the baseball world is rocking at the news that Anna & Kris are done. Rumors have it that the Oriole clubhouse was visibly upset when the news was announced. An unnamed source was quoted as saying, “I was really looking forward to the team’s Christmas party this year”.

Update:  Anna Withdraws her request for a divorce -TBZ

Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth once ate between a dozen and 18 hot dogs before collapsing. Ruth was renowned for his ferocious appetite for hot dogs, beer, & women. I know hot dogs weren’t illegal, nor were they a banned substance, but they added bulk to the Babe’s frame giving him the strength to hit baseballs out of ballparks. His beer drinking eased his mind so he didn’t have to worry about which pitch a pitcher was going to throw him. All he had to remember was his home run trot. And all the women in his life relieved tension, making it easier for him to perform on the baseball diamond. Now you can’t tell me these weren’t unfair advantages over the typical major leaguer. Back in his day the Bambino hit more home runs than several teams.

Barry Bonds
Have you seen the picture of Bonds in drag? Enough said. Hasn’t this man suffered enough? Everybody knew Barry was doing steroids, but baseball chose to ignore the situation. Bonds wasn’t the only one doing it either, the problem came to a head when several stars needed more than one baseball card to fit their picture on. While juice wasn’t a banned substance, it was illegal, but baseball was rebounding from a strike and home runs were great theatre. I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy, but there certainly was some complicity.

Hank Aaron
And we’re certainly not going to let Hank Aaron off the hook. Hank was larger, stronger, and possessed greater hitting skills than most of his fellow ballplayers. Just looking at Aaron’s physique you could tell he worked hard to sculpt his body into the Hammer he’d become. Alot of other players weren’t paid as much as he was, making it necessary for them to take on offseason jobs, while Henry could just work on his baseball abilities. Talk about an unfair advantage!

I guess what I’m trying to say is, Give it a rest Bud Selig! Go back to selling used cars! Baseball decided not to test for steroids and “allow” players to use them while other sports weren’t, live with that decision. Now steroids are banned and there’s a testing system in place. You can’t go back and change what’s happened. Stop pretending you didn’t know it was happening! I’m tired of the hypocricy! Let’s not whine about unfair advantages of the past, LET’S PLAY BALL!!!