Yesterday was a pretty cool day for Home Runs. We had 4 multi-homer games (Delgado, McLouth, Konerko and Phillips).
We had power hitting third baseman that were swapped for each other hit their first Home Runs for their new teams (Rolen and Glaus) - more than 25 games into the season.
We had a total of 22 Home Runs to choose from, and today’s winner is Melky Cabrera. His Home Run has the distinction of being the only run scored in the game between the Yankees and Indians. Run, Melky, Run.
Sometime before the White Sox played the New York Yankees on Wednesday, ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews had a chat with Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain.
Chamberlain was talking about his father, who apparently has been getting better after collapsing earlier this month.
But as Andrews wrapped up the interview … she reached out and held his arm in support … and it looked as if Chamberlain said something that made her roll her eyes and scrunch up her face.
Okay - who can read lips? Does he say “I love you” or something like that?
Whatever Chamberlain said isn’t picked up by the microphone … but it made Erin Andrews wince in exasperation, if not disgust. She looks like she got Punk’d after showing genuine emotion towards Chamberlain about his family situation.
If that’s the case (and it might not be - I really can’t tell what the heck Chamberlain said or if that’s what caused her reaction) - that’s just obnoxious.
Andrews gets and takes a lot of crap from horny college students (and coaches) at NCAA basketball and football games - solely because she’s an attractive woman. But this is the first time I think I’ve ever seen her catch it from a professional athlete.
The Golden Sombrero
Four At-Bats, Four Strikeouts.
It’s a badge a hitter doesn’t want.
And it rarely happens to the best hitters in the league. And it should NEVER happen to a three-time MVP who happens to be the highest paid player in the history of the game.
But it did last night.
Against the Kansas City Royals, Alex Rodriguez struck out looking three times against Brian Bannister (!) and flailed away against Ramon Ramirez. Watch for yourself.
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 …
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 …
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
I/L
ATL
NYM
PHI
FLA
WAS
HOU
LAD
SD
SF
ARZ
TEAM
SOS
.519
.543
.549
.438
.451
.451
.506
.546
.438
.556
LAA
.512
3
3
3
3
6
SEA
.508
3
3
3
3
6
TEX
.494
3
3
3
3
6
OAK
.490
3
3
3
6
3
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.
Okay, this post is in complete homage to something one of Jayson Stark’s readers found.
But that awesome blog is via ESPN subscription only, so I’ll share with you.
The Red Sox have a number of four-game ticket packages called “Sox Pax“ for the 2008 season. You get to see four different opponents at Fenway Park thoughout the year (okay not anymore, they’re all sold out). Two of those packages, the Boomer Pack and the Brew Crew Pack feature either Friday or Saturday games against the Tigers, Angels, Brewers, and Yankees.
“Brew Crew” Pack makes sense with Milwaukee on the schedule but I’m not sure of why the other one is called the “Boomer” pack. Maybe the Red Sox know something about David Wells’ 2008 plans that I don’t. Mind you, Wells has played for the Red Sox, Tigers, and Yankees during his career.
But I think the Red Sox wanted to call those packages something else …
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