Home Run Derby

I’ve railed on the stone-faced and stone-voiced Joe Buck of Fox Sports a bunch of times in the past … for those of you new to HRD, here’s why I don’t like him.

• That Randy Moss thing
• He underannounced Scott Podsednik’s Home Run in the 2005 World Series
• He completely blew Conan O’Brien’s 2007 World Series “Jub-Jub” request … wasting it on Chris Myers
• He’s a smarmy douchebag

And now, let’s add being the direct beneficiary of misuse of Federal Government resources -more specifically the US Marshall Service (USMS) - to that list.

Wait, what? 

Okay, Buck’s not directly responsible for the misappropriation – that would be one Joseph Band, an attorney in the US Marshalls Office of General Counsel and a part-time statistician for the likes of the Washington Redskins, ESPN, CBS, and Fox Sports. 

But Band seems to have a soft spot for Joe Buck. 

According to a January 9, 2009 filing at the US Department of Justice …

“Deputy US Marshalls (DUSM) drove Fox Sports broadcasters Tim McCarver and Joe Buck in an official government vehicle (OGV) to two World Series games at Fenway Park in October 2007 …”

Mr. Band’s use of the Marshals as his personal limo service didn’t end there … and neither apparently, did Joe Buck’s benefit …

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The Chicago Cubs have traded catcher Michael Barrett to the San Diego Padres.

The Cubs will get Padres backup catcher Rob Bowen, minor league outfielder Kyler Burke, and possibly some cash.

A lot of people are saying the Cubs didn’t get enough for Barrett.  I don’t think so.  The Cubs tried to make a lateral move here to remove a catcher who’s become a distraction in their clubhouse. 

I’m surprised at what they got in return.  They got a decent replacement for Barrett and got a early 2006 2nd Round pick (albeit a project) in return.

This season, Rob Bowen has better offensive stats (except for Home Runs) than Barrett while playing at pitcher-friendly Petco Park.  He has a career .273 AVG and .442 SLG at Petco, which rank him 12th best for hitters with at least 75 At-Bats at Petco.  Playing full-time at Wrigley Field could improve those numbers – just as they did when Barrett came to the Cubs from Montreal (.253 AVG / .388 SLG with Montreal and  .284 /.484 with the Cubs).

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Two Days ago, for the Vernon Wells Heckler Interview, Home Run Derby got a big mention over at the awesome BallHype and then later got the main page treatment at Deadspin, one of my favorite sports websites.  That was cool.  Record site traffic.

Yesterday … Home Run Derby got Farked.  Another one of my favorite websites for years, Fark.com drove more traffic to the site than we had in our entire two-plus month existence and had us worried whether the site would crash or not.  It didn’t.

But late last night, while I was in bed (I was still tired from watching the Cubs’ 15-inning marathon Tuesday night), we hit the Big Time.  Cue the Peter Gabriel …

There, on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann is the Vernon Wells Heckler Baseball story, and a pic of the ball.  And unbelievable free site advertising …

I’ve been a fan of Keith Olbermann since the early 1990’s during his stint on ESPN – in my opinion the Golden Age of ESPN SportCenter.  To hear him talking about a story we broke on MSNBC while CREDIT: HOMERDERBY.COM is superimposed on the screen is really just unbelieveable.

I talked to Jeff Raycher (the Heckler) this morning and he said that pics of the ball had shown up on ESPN’s Around the Horn and PTI as well. 

One of the things a blogger or writer wants more than anything else is for people to read and be affected by what you’ve written.  Thank you to everyone who’s clicked, read, linked, or broadcast anything from this site. 

And a big Thank You to my wonderful wife, who’s had to deal with me running off to the computer whenever some idea pops into my head.

Stay Tuned.  We’ve got more in store … 

This past Sunday, we wrote about some hecklers who got a ball from Blue Jays CenterFielder Vernon Wells. Wells politely gave back some of the heckling he was getting during the game …

The Toronto Sun originally told one side of the story … Vernon Wells’ side.

They’ve since come out with another article about the Heckler ringleaders, Jeff Raycher and Tom Montague.

Last Wednesday during a game at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field, Raycher and some of the other “Bleacher Creatures” had a running, good natured banter going with Wells that ended with Wells tossing a ball to Raycher complete with a tongue-in-cheek message.

“Usually all we get is a tip of the hat or a wave,” Raycher said of their heckling of whomever the centre fielder is that’s playing against their beloved Indians. “This night we had at least 100 or so (fans) jumping on board and getting on Vernon pretty good.”

Home Run Derby also had a chance to talk to Jeff Raycher – the guy who actually has the infamous ball. And as you can see, Jeff sent us pictures. I haven’t seen them anywhere else.

Home Run Derby: Based upon the report of heckling that I read in the Toronto Sun, I called your comments “lame-ass criticism.” Care to refute me?

Jeff Raycher: Our heckling was superb. You cannot get that kind of response (the ball) from something that didn’t work. Vernon has a great sense of humor, and we commend him for it.

HRD: Tell me what you guys were saying then.

JR: There were many chants … While the gist of the quote is close, it’s not the same … If you were there listening, you’d see it was humorous and not lame.

HRD: Did you ask for a ball?

JR: We never asked for a ball. That was his idea.

HRD: Do you plan on putting the ball up for auction on eBay, like I speculated?

JR: The ball is not for sale, so you won’t see it on eBay.

HRD: Any plans to keep on heckling?

JR: Next up: Road trip to Detroit in September for the Tigers/Blue Jays rainout make-up game (Sept 10). Vernon is getting another dose In the mean time, the Blue Jays still suck. GO TRIBE.

HRD: We are so going to Detroit – ROAD TRIP !!

Home Run Derby would like to thank Jeff Raycher for his time, his wit, and his pictures.

And we wish him continued success in heckling millionaires who play a kid’s game.

MAY 10 UPDATE – Read Jeff Raycher’s story in his own words … Only at Home Run Derby.

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Blue Jays CF Vernon Wells had a very unqiue way of handling some loudmouth hecklers while he was in Cleveland last week.

He heckled back – via a baseball.
This past Wednesday, a group of Cleveland Indian fans were tossing some lame-ass criticism towards Wells …

“You Suck!” “You like men”

How original. Randy Quaid did a better job of heckling Rick Vaughn in Major League II.

One of the Hecklers wanted Wells to give him a ball. Why he thought he’d get one is beyond me, but I suppose it never hurts to ask.

Wells gave him a ball. And even personalized it for the guy …

“Here’s your ball, now please tell me what gas station you work at so I can come and yell at you when you’re working. Please sit down, shut up and enjoy the game. From your favorite centre fielder, Vernon Wells.”

How long until the ball ends up on eBay?

Hat Tip: The lovely ladies at Babes love Baseball, via Sox and Dawgs

5/8/07 UPDATE: Please check out our interview with the Heckler, Jeff Raycher. Exclusive pics of the infamous ball!

5/10/07 UPDATE: We also have Jeff Raycher’s story in his own words.

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Twins CF Torii Hunter might find out the hard way what you can and can’t do in baseball.

See, Mr Hunter sent a “Thank You” to the Kansas City Royals the other day, in appreciation for when the Royals swept the Twins’ AL Central rival Detroit Tigers in a three-game set back in September 2006. The sweep helped the Twins win the AL Central.

Attached to that Thank You note were four bottles of Dom Perignon Champagne. He made the promise back in September. That seems pretty nice of Torii, now doesn’t it?

However, that runs afoul of a Baseball Rule, Rule 21-b to be exact

The rule states, “Any player or person connected with a Club who shall offer or give any gift or reward to a player or person connected with another Club for services rendered … in defeating or attempting to defeat a competing Club … shall be declared ineligible for not less than three years.”

THREE YEARS? That could be some expensive bubbly. The Royals did not open the Champagne and have agreed to return the four bottles to Minnesota. The Twins and Hunter all said they didn’t know about the rule.

I seriously doubt that the MLB will suspend Hunter for his act of generosity towards the Royals. But I wouldn’t be surprised in he gets a fine for it. Because the MLB doesn’t want to stop one of its premiere centerfielders from playing.

The story was Broken by the Cheaters Guide to Baseball.

I wonder if the NFL has this kind of rule?

Didn’t the Packers go all out a couple years back when the lowly Arizona Cardinals upset the Minnesota Vikings on the last weekend of the 2003 NFL Regular Season – allowing the Packers to go to the playoffs? IIRC – they gave Nate Poole the key to the city of Green Bay.

Barry Bonds smacked his 6th Home Run of the season on Sunday afternoon. It was his 740th career Home Run, moving him within 15 Home Runs of Hank Aaron’s all-time career mark of 755 Home Runs.

Bonds currently has a AB/HR ratio of 7.67. He’s averaging just over three At-Bats a Game through the Giants’ 17 games (he’s played 15) so far this season.

Let’s extrapolate. At Bonds’ current pace, he’ll need about 123 AB to hit 16 more Home Runs and set a new Record at 756. That’s about 40 games. Provided that he continues to hit Home Runs at his current pace and sits most of the Giants’ day games, Bonds will be in the vicinity of 755 and 756 in mid-June.

• June 11-13: vs Toronto
• June 15-17: at Boston (VERY short RF porch)
• June 18-20: at Milwaukee
• June 22-24: vs NY Yankees

Make your travel plans accordingly.

The most baseball drama would come if Bonds is sitting on breaking the record before heading to Milwaukee for games vs the Commisioner’s beloved Brewers and where Aaron used to play. Selig’s head might explode if he had to preside over the eventual HR torch-passing in his home town.

Of course, Bonds could prefer to surpass Aaron in San Francisco in front of his fans rather than in front of a crowd which could be hostile.

I think it’s safe to say the Derby is probably divided into those who have Alex Rodriguez, and those who are out of the running.  Five HR in 11 days and he’ll set the all-time MLB record for Home Runs in the month of April.

How about some other tens …

Time for a Home Run Derby whipping boy update …

Guess who’s back in the major leagues?

Rockies infielder Kaz Matsui and right-handed pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim, both former Sky Sox, were both placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Infielder Clint Barmes and right-handed reliever Zach McClellan have both been called up to the Rockies

Derek Jeter better watch out. Barmes who was batting .200 with two Home Runs at Triple A Colorado Springs is back in the bigs.

He’ll be gunning for the Rockies starting SS, Rookie Troy Tulowitski, who’s batting .209 with no power and two RBI.

(In case you’re wondering, back in 2005 a Home Run Derby member touted Barmes as being better than Derek Jeter. We haven’t let up since.)