Home Run Derby

Baseball fans of all allegiances flocked to Camden Yards on Wednesday hoping to see Manny Ramirez make history by hitting two home runs to reach the 500 home run milestone.

He did make history in one sense, but not in a manner anybody expected.  He did so by turning late Orioles PA Announcer Rex Barney’s famous saying “Give that fan a contract” into “Give that fan an assist.”

Manny turned what could be seen as the first 7-10-4-3 double play in baseball history in the bottom of the fourth inning by high-fiving a fan between making a running catch on a Kevin Millar fly ball and firing the ball into cut-off man Dustin Pedroia.  Pedroia then relayed the ball to first-baseman Kevin Youkilis to complete one of the funniest successful plays you will ever see.

I say “successful” because it’s hard to top Jose Canseco’s Zidane-esque home run helper with the Rangers, Jack Cust’s ‘03 home stretch stumble with the Orioles, or Ruben Rivera running the bases for the Giants like a squirrel crossing a busy street (unfortunately I couldn’t find a picture or video of the last play).

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Another day, another Red Sox Home Run in the ninth to beat the Cleveland Indians.  Yesterday, it was Manny Ramirez.  Today, it was Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek.  This marks the first pinch hit Home Run honored with HRoD this year. 

This time, with Joe Borowski on the DL, Jensen Lewis was on the mound to lose the game for the Indians, who are struggling just as much as the Tigers (they are only one game better at 5-9).

The Greek has been having trouble embedding MLB video, but I have found something so much better.  You all saw Richie’s post on Lego MLB Stadiums (or is it Stadia?).  Apparently, there is a strong connection between Legos and baseball, because some kid put together a Lego Jason Varitek. 

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2008’s first rematch of the 2007 American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.

Top of the ninth.  Red Sox and Indians tied 4-4.  David Ortiz on first after a bloop single.

Manny Ramirez steps to the plate and sees one pitch from Indians reliever Sweaty Joe Borowski …

And that’s five straight painful losses the Indians have given up to the Red Sox.  All that was missing was Manny admiring it for a while before trotting to first.  But he’s been burned on that a few times already this season.

Manny sure can hit the longball in Cleveland.  That was his 132nd Home Run in that ballpark … but ihis first under the name of Progressive Field.

HRD Standings are updated.

Update: Joe Borowski has landed on the DL.

The Anaheim Angels have the Rally Monkey …
The New York Yankees have the Rally Squirrel …

The Boston Red Sox could have had the Rally Hawk …

… until it went and attacked a middle school student on a Fenway Park tour on Thursday. 

Here’s a pic right after the attack.

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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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The Interleague Inequity Series is winding down …

And since Nick just previewed the Angels, let’s head out West.  As in the American League West.

There are two likely contenders in the AL West (Angels and Mariners) and two likely also-rans (A’s and Rangers) … even before a singl;e pitch has been thrown.  Seattle and California will be locked in a tight battle all season … so a easy Interleague schedule for one of them could easily tip the scales in one team’s favor.

The MLB Schedule makers didn’t absolutely screw one contender over another one like they did in the NL Central.   But the Angels have a right to complain …

2008 AL West Interleague

A quick glance shows you that the AL West is playing the NL East.  All four teams in the Division have Interleague Rivals, so each team misses at least one team from the NL East.

And among the Contenders … the Angels drew the short straw.  They get back-to-back series against the Phillies and the NY Mets, missing only the lowly Florida Marlins.  They also get six games against the crosstown Dodgers, who will likely be better than their 2007 record. 

Meanwhile, the Mariners also miss a NL East team.  But they don’t miss an also-ran like the Marlins or Nationals.  No, the M’s miss the defending NL East Champion Phillies.  The Mariners do get the honor of facing the pitching-rich San Diego Padres for six games.  Someone needs to explain to mean why this is considered a rivalry?  San Diego?  Seattle? 

Meanwhile, rebuilding Texas and Oakland get sextets against two lousy teams.  And get to get whomped by the Mets and Phillies and Braves.

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). 

So Mitt Romney bowed out of the Presidential race yesterday.

The Wall Street Journal had its own analysis as to why Romney couldn’t win the votes of Republicans …

He looked the part … He sounded the part … And he acted the part … But in the end, Mr. Romney didn’t fit the part.

He looked presidential, but ran a beginner’s campaign and never managed to ignite passion among voters.

That’s pretty spot on from the point of view of a credible news source. 

But this is a baseball blog … who cares about that?  The real reason (in my overly-baseball-tainted mind) that Mitt Romney lost is that he couldn’t tell the difference between a Baseball Mitt and a Baseball Glove.

Here’s a sample of some of Romney’s campaign merchandise …

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Baseball is a game with a lot of downtime. 

For nearly half of the game, you hang out and wait for something to happen.   If you’re not in the starting lineup, you have even more free time.

• You wait for your turn at bat.
• You wait for someone to hit a ball towards you
• You wait for the starting pitcher to get tired so you can come in from the bullpen

Spring Training, practice, and days off present even more opportunities to develop some really cool skills like … 

• Spitting sunflower seeds
• Dating Alyssa Milano
• Putting gum on Dice-K’s hat 
• Berating the clubhouse kids
• Talking about free tacos   
• Or bouncing a baseball off the skinny end of a baseball bat …

Watch as Red Sox CF prospect Jacoby Ellsbury demonstrates his mad ball-bouncing skills … 

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