Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers 4 for 5, HR, 4 runs, 2 rbis Polanco’s performance puts him at .348 for Detroit (he hit .316 for Philly in 158 ab earlier in the year). He’s at a even .300 for his 3000+ career at-bats.
Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers
4 for 5, HR, 4 runs, 2 rbis
Polanco’s performance puts him at .348 for Detroit (he hit .316 for Philly in 158 ab earlier in the year). He’s at a even .300 for his 3000+ career at-bats.
For those who didn’t catch it, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews dropped the ball when interviewing Texas Gov. Rick Perry when asking about the Astrodome, which was being used to temporarily house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. This comes from The Political Teen: MATTHEWS: Small point, I don’t mean to be whimsical but at this time it … Continue reading “Hardball’s Chris Matthews- Do your research, man.”
For those who didn’t catch it, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews dropped the ball when interviewing Texas Gov. Rick Perry when asking about the Astrodome, which was being used to temporarily house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
This comes from The Political Teen:
MATTHEWS: Small point, I don’t mean to be whimsical but at this time it wouldn’t hurt for a little whimsy. How did you get the Astros out of their ballpark?
GOV. PERRY: Well they’re playing at a place called Minutemaid, not the Astrodome.
MATTHEWS: Oh really?
GOV. PERRY: Welcome to this year in baseball.
Hehe… love that last line.
Barry ESPN calls it “The Barry Show”. I call it media overload. Update: Bonds didn’t disappoint Giant fans in his first at-bat back. He nearly hit a homerun. It was ruled ground rule double and he eventually scored. Andruw Is it official? Has Andruw Jones after hitting his 49th homerun, now reached his full potential? That may … Continue reading “Monday Roundup- Barry, Andruw and Cubs’ Wild Card Chances”
Barry
ESPN calls it “The Barry Show”.
I call it media overload.
Update: Bonds didn’t disappoint Giant fans in his first at-bat back. He nearly hit a homerun. It was ruled ground rule double and he eventually scored.
Andruw
Is it official? Has Andruw Jones after hitting his 49th homerun, now reached his full potential?
That may be a bit harsh. After all, AJ has hit over 25 HR for the last 8 years, driven over 100 runs for 4 years and scored over 100 for 3. But am I the only one who feels that he hasn’t played up to his potential (at least what we were told he could do when he came up) until now?
In 2006, Jones will have to deal with “perceived expections”. Whether or not, he can match this year’s performance remains to be seen.
Cubs Wild Card Chances?
Wait, can that be right? Ok, they may be slim but after going nine for their last twelve, their names are beginning to be mentioned. At this point, they are 5 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race. And the difficult part is that there are lots of teams ahead of them. But that won’t stop a die-hard from from hoping.
Bleed Cubbie Blue takes us back to 1995 when the Cubs were in a very similar situation as they are now. They lost the last two games of the season and didn’t win the Wild Card race. But it was dang close.
Jorge Sosa, Atlana Braves 8 IP, 6 H, 0 runs, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (Win) What a year Jorge Sosa has had! After 3 less than mediocre seasons with TB, Jorge skipped to the NL and found success with the Braves. As a starter/reliever, he currently has a 2.55 ERA and an 11-3 record.
Jorge Sosa, Atlana Braves
8 IP, 6 H, 0 runs, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (Win)
What a year Jorge Sosa has had! After 3 less than mediocre seasons with TB, Jorge skipped to the NL and found success with the Braves. As a starter/reliever, he currently has a 2.55 ERA and an 11-3 record.
Vermilion Voles take on the Deep River Grinders I finally made it out to Kennekuk Park to see an honest to goodness vintage base ball game on Saturday. For those not familiar with vintage base ball, check out the Vintage Base Ball Association’s web site. It was close to 90 degrees and my first thought … Continue reading “Vintage Base ball”
I finally made it out to Kennekuk Park to see an honest to goodness vintage base ball game on Saturday. For those not familiar with vintage base ball, check out the Vintage Base Ball Association’s web site. It was close to 90 degrees and my first thought was that while the uniforms looked very authentic, they also looked very hot.
Never mind. The game was fun to watch and there were 20-30 spectators (“cranks”) on hand to cheer their team.
A Deep River Grinder striker takes his turn at the plate.
A Vole player waits patiently to bat.
I’m not sure what what a Grinder is but they sure “ground” the Voles today. I kid, I kid. :)
Final score: Grinders 15 Voles 3
A striker gets a hold of one. I was quite impressed how hard these guys hit the ball. They obviously practice a lot at this. We also witnessed more than a few good plays in the field, too.
The Vermilion Voles line up after the game to wish their opponent well.
An exchange of “Huzzahs!” after the game. This is the Deep River Grinders team.
It was a great way to spend an afternoon. Unfortunately, this was their last home game this year. Please check out the team’s web site next year for their 2006 schedule. For anyone who is interested in participating, I think they are looking for more team members. Contact them through their web site.
Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers 3 for 4, HR, run, 5 rbis The five rbis brings this young stud up to 120 for the season.
Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers
3 for 4, HR, run, 5 rbis
The five rbis brings this young stud up to 120 for the season.
My family and I went to see the opening game of the University of Illinois women’s softball season. They faced the cross-town Parkland Cobras. The energy was already high at Eichelberger Field when we got there in the third inning as the Illini were already up 5-0. I have to admit up front, this is my … Continue reading “UI Softball season underway”
My family and I went to see the opening game of the University of Illinois women’s softball season. They faced the cross-town Parkland Cobras. The energy was already high at Eichelberger Field when we got there in the third inning as the Illini were already up 5-0.
I have to admit up front, this is my first UI softball game. Never made it to a game last year. After last night’s game, I see what I was missing.
Starting pitcher Kacey Coonce had her stuff going allowing only 3 hits and no runs in 5 innings. She also went 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 2 rbis.
Yeah, she’s big and burly… that’s Jenna Hall, last year’s All Big Ten selection for firstbase. And in case you’re wondering why…
…I think the look on the Parkland catcher says it all. She’s watching the ball that Hall hit clear the right-centerfield fence.
I enjoyed watching Hall. She’s definitely a team leader, giving teammates encouragement, watching the game, always part of the action. As for her performance, she was 3 for 3, with a homerun, double and 3 rbis. Good job, Jenna.
Jackelyn Diekemper came in relief with a 9-run lead. She had a rough inning allowing 3 runs but I have to say she was fun to watch pitch. She had a hard, fast pitch but was a bit off with her control last night.
As it goes with two little ones, we had to leave early so we missed the 5 run sixth inning by the Illini. Brooke Buzard shut down the Cobras in the final inning. Final score: Illini 14 Cobras 3
Congrats team!
Tony Clark, Arizona Diamondbacks 2 for 6, 2 HR, 2 runs, 5 rbis Hitting .310 with 25 homers and 20 doubles, Tony is surprising everyone by having quite a year for Arizona. But no one is more surprised than the managers in my Illowa APBA League. See even though the IAL is a continous ownership league, … Continue reading “9/8 Linescore of the Day Tony Clark”
Tony Clark, Arizona Diamondbacks
2 for 6, 2 HR, 2 runs, 5 rbis
Hitting .310 with 25 homers and 20 doubles, Tony is surprising everyone by having quite a year for Arizona. But no one is more surprised than the managers in my Illowa APBA League.
See even though the IAL is a continous ownership league, we are, under certain circumstances allowed to drop a player. Well, the owner of Clark saw fit to drop him and when that happens, that player can usually can be had for a song. No IAL manager saw the need or desire to pick him up. I’m sure a lot of us are wishing we had given Clark a second look.
Even with Pujols at first, I certainly could have used him for trade bait..
I walked into my son’s third-grade classroom two days ago to find his teacher wearing a genuine St Louis Cardinals jersey. That was the day after the Cubs defeated the Cards 5-2. I almost went up to give her heck about it but I decided to save my son the embarrassment. Closer examination revealed it had a … Continue reading “Cubs/Cards… Feel the Rivalry”
I walked into my son’s third-grade classroom two days ago to find his teacher wearing a genuine St Louis Cardinals jersey. That was the day after the Cubs defeated the Cards 5-2. I almost went up to give her heck about it but I decided to save my son the embarrassment.
Closer examination revealed it had a big red “5” on the back. I had to give her credit for that.
Aflac Trivia Question for that game: Two pitchers drafted by the Cubs in 1984 have amassed over 500 wins in their career. Who are they? It’s an easy one. Answer later.
The Cubs have just finished a yummy 2-1 series win over the Cards. That puts them at 8-4 over them for the year. If they can avoid a four-game sweep at home, they can win the season series against St Louis for the first time since 1995. A friend and I were discussing this and his comment was “Now if we could only beat teams like Pittsburgh”.
Aflac Trivia answer: Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer
J J Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers 4 for 6, 1 GS, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, 2 runs Defensive specialist J J Hardy got offensive Wednesday. Hardy is the Milwaukee Brewers rookie shortstop who might be the best defensive shortstop in the National League right now, if not all of baseball. Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds he … Continue reading “9/7 Linescore of the Day – J J Hardy”
J J Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers
4 for 6, 1 GS, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, 2 runs
Defensive specialist J J Hardy got offensive Wednesday. Hardy is the Milwaukee Brewers rookie shortstop who might be the best defensive shortstop in the National League right now, if not all of baseball. Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds he showed it’s not all about the glove. J J hit a grand salami in the 6th, to go along with two doubles, while driving in six in the contest. Hardy missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and the Brewers thought it would take a half season for him to recover. His club looks to be right on with this assessment as he’s batted .308, with five of his six homers, and 23 of his 42 RBIs since the All Star break, raising his average to .235.