Home Run Derby

The Cubs don’t have a mascot.  That’s the official word.

They’ve had some unofficial ones though … namely Harry Caray, Ronnie Woo-Woo, and the Goat.

Add another one to the list.
One who’s not above a cheap feel of a Mets fan …

I don’t think his actions are sanctioned by the Chicago National League Baseball Club.

You’ve got to wonder what the Cubs’ official position is about some guy in a cuddly bear suit wearing a Cub Jersey (with no pants) walking around outside Wrigley Field.

Thanks to a reader named J who emailed the pic. 

Found another pic …

I was getting ready to kick off the second round of Home Run Derby’s MLB Mascot Brackets when I realized that the first round wasn’t complete … 

Somehow, a number one seed in the tournament didn’t get his matchup. 

Let’s right that wrong … with a showdown for the best baseball-headed mascot in the NL East … Ready … get set … VOTE!

First Round Mascot Bracket Results can be found HERE

#1 Mr. Met (New York Mets) vs #8 Homer the Brave (Atlanta Braves)

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On Sunday, May 11, the Cincinnati Reds batted out of order in the ninth inning of a 8-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Backup catcher David Ross came to the plate to lead off the inning and lined out. But the batter in the No. 8 spot should have been outfielder Corey Patterson, with Ross hitting ninth after an earlier double switch.

Mets manager Willie Randolph came out to inform the umpiring crew of the mix-up. Patterson was charged with the out, which officially counts as a putout by the catcher, and Ross came up again. This time, he singled.

Good God.  Corey Patterson is finding new ways to make outs.  This time he didn’t even leave the stinking dugout. 

I thought of that one-liner myself, but Walkoff Walk beat me to publishing it.  Damn you, Iracane!  I’m stealing a picture for that.

But what’s also funny is that Cincinnati Reds’ manager Dusty Baker, who took responsibility for not catching the mix-up, has a short memory when it comes to teams batting out of order in games …

Baker said his only other experience with a team batting out of order came when he was a player and he was the one who hit when he wasn’t supposed to. When he came up the second time, he hit a three-run homer.

I’ve learned never to believe Chris Berman’s geography lessons, Jon Miller’s recognition of players named Lee, or any recollection of baseball history that comes out the the mouth of Joe Morgan or Dusty Baker.

Because Dusty Baker has been involved in two games where a team batted out of order … in the past five years.  From The Baseball Blogger’s Gift from God that is Retrosheet …

Sept 5, 2003 -

The Brewers’ Bill Hall started to bat out of order in the bottom of the second inning against the Cubs but did not complete the plate appearance. 

Hall was listed eighth in the batting order but came to the plate in the seventh spot the first time through the order. He took the first pitch for a ball before the mistake was rectified.  Keith Osik took his proper place at the plate, and despite being spotted ball one, struck out on five more pitches.  Hall then popped out to end the inning. 

I can see how Baker might have forgotten that - According to rule 6.07.a.1 there was no rules violation since the Brewers caught the error and corrected it before the end of the at-bat.

But Dusty should have remembered this one …

April 16, 2004 -

In the top of the seventh inning, Cubs manager Dusty Baker intended to place two new players in the lineup with a double switch but failed to tell Umpire C.B. Bucknor.

When the Cubs batted in the bottom of the inning, shortstop Ramon Martinez came to the plate in the ninth spot in the order and doubled.  The Reds protested that the Cubs were batting out of order.  Pitcher Kent Mercker, the proper batter, was called out. Baker argued with the umpires but was told that the call stood. Yelling & screaming, he tossed his lineup card on the ground and was ejected by Bucknor.  Baker threw his hat, walked away and returned; he tossed his hat again, stomped to the dugout and kicked some items in the on deck circle before finally leaving the field.

Why doesn’t Dusty remember that one? 

Well, for one, he was the one who looked like a dumbass, even though the Cubs came back and won the game after he got thrown out.  Also, Baker’s son called him “Mad Dog” after the game because of his tantrum.

Most of the time you see a video of heckling at a Major League Baseball game, the fans are giving it to a player, whether he be an outfielder or the bullpen catcher.  There’s usually some profanity or something witty (or not so much) bantered about until the player acknowledges them.

But how often do you see a Major League player giving it to the fans? 

Here’s Joe Smith, a relief pitcher for the New York Mets, throwing some vulgarities towards the Bleacherites in Left Field at Wrigley on Tuesday, April 22 …

… Oh yeah, be warned … because Joe Smith has a potty mouth. 

“You ain’t shit.  You got nothin’.  I’m in the big leagues, you idiot.  I’m right here” or something like that.  I love it.  I’m not so sure Mets management will dig it - but it was Cub fans and not Met fans.

No word if Cincinnati Reds announcer Marty Brenneman sent Smith a fruit basket after the game.

Mind you, Smith gave up three hits and a run over 2/3 of an inning in the game and the Cubs went on to win 8-1 and sweep the Mets in the two-game series.

Remember when you used to get a stick of gum in a pack of baseball cards?  That oblong piece of stale bubblegum hasn’t been seen since 1991 … and I’ve always felt that something was missing from my baseball cards ever since.  Maybe we should replace it with something …

I know!!  A Bottle of Wine!!  It tastes better than gum, and it’ll just get better with age.  Not to mention the side effects you can’t get from gum.

In 2007, a trio of Red Sox players unveiled wines which would benefit some of their favorite charities.  There were wines for …

Manny Ramirez: ”Manny Being Merlot” (CHARLEE Homes for Children)
Tim Wakefield: “CaberKnuckle” Cabernet (Pitching in for Kids)
Curt Schilling: “Schilling Schardonnay” (Curt’s Pitch for ALS)

The response was so good, that there’s a lot more players on wine bottles in 2008.  Something called Longball Cellars is at it again with wines produced by Selby Winery, but now there’s 21 baseball players (past and present) on wines which go for about $12 or $13 a bottle, all available in Spring 2008.  100% of the proceeds go to a charity of the player’s choice. 

The art on some of these bottles rivals the baseball cards my dad has in his collection from the fifties. 

Let’s see whose face you could be drinking, and who they’re supporting. 

You can believe that the Red Sox are back on the bottle with new “Championship Edition” bottles …

David Ortiz: “Vintage Papi” (The David Ortiz Children’s Fund)
Jason Varitek: “Captain’s Cabernet” (Pitching in for Kids)
Kevin Youkilis: “SauivignYoouuk Blanc” (Kevin Youkilis’ Hits for Kids)

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Last season, Chipper Jones griped about the inequities of Interleague Play …

What’s not fun is when they’re all contenders and your competition doesn’t have to play the same competition you do. If you play the top teams in the AL and everybody else doesn’t, it’s pretty unfair.
Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves OF (2007)

Chipper might not be so chipper about interleague play again this season.  Because the NL East has another tough road against the AL in 2008 …

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What the heck?

The New York Times says that Pedro Martinez occasionally practices throwing pitches with his eyes closed because it “has helped him develop a consistent arm angle and release point.”

But I’m pretty sure Pedro’s just imagining throwing a ball at the guy that found that video of him at the cockfight.

There have two bold predictions bandied about by a couple National League ballplayers so far this offseason …

• Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster has already told us that he thinks the Cubs will win the 2008 World Series
• Philadelphia Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins told us back in November that he thinks the Phillies will win 100 games in 2008.

Personally, I have no problem with players thinking their teams will succeed before the season starts.  I wouldn’t want a player on my team that thought ”Damn, we’re gonna get our asses handed to us this season.” 

But I present the counter argument to Dempster and Rollins.   One of the American League’s most dominant pitchers is no longer pitching in the AL.  Johan Santana is now pitching for the New York Mets.

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It’s been over 21 years since Game Six of the 1986 World Series … you know, when the Red Sox were only one strike away from winning their first World Series in 68 years … and Bill Buckner let that lazy Mookie Wilson grounder roll through his legs to give the Mets new life and eventually the Championship.

Since then, the Red Sox have won two World Series Championships.  Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson even co-sign photographs of the play and baseballs.  Red Sox Nation has forgiven Buckner and has expunged October 1986 from their franchise history. 

So it’s been long enough.  Home Run Derby presents … Buckner’s Revenge.

For those of you weren’t around to remember any video games before Madden and Sega Genesis … that’s the graphics from RBI Baseball (the greatest baseball video game ever) combined with the music and sound effects from Custer’s Revenge (which was a naughty game for the Atari 2600).