Home Run Derby

We’ve seen some great rookie hazings around MLB the past couple weeks.  The Red Sox, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Pirates with their outfits …

And here’s the Chicago Cubs, who waited until they clinched the National League Central Division crown to humiliate their rookies … and it was worth it.

Raggedy Ann, Supergirl (Carmen Pignatiello) , Batgirl (Sam Fuld), and Wonder Woman (Kevin Hart) outfits!! 

Mike Fontenot as little Pink Riding Hood!! 

Felix Pie in pink baby pajamas!! 

And the first-timers on the Cubs’ coaching staff are not immune to rookie hazing, either.

And there’s video!!  Len Kasper and Bob Brenly break it all down …

(more…)

Damn you New York Mets …  I wanted to see the four-way clusterfark that would have occurred if the Mets had won yesterday.  Instead, we only get one bonus game tonight.

Any Home Runs hit by Colorado Rockies Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe or Matt Holliday in tonight’s NL Wild-Card play-in game against the Padres will count towards the regular season stats and (by rule) the Home Run Derby Contest standings.

What does this mean?  Well, it doesn’t affect the top spot in the full year Derby and the second half Derby contest is done too.  The Great Hambino is your winner.  But if Empire of Dirt can get two Home Runs out of his Holliday/Atkins combo he will pass Master-Batters for 2nd Place.  M-B holds the HR/AB tiebreaker.

By the way, the best summation of the Mets late-season collapse comes to the blogosphere from an HRD blogroller.  The Legend of Cecilio Guante sums it up perfectly …

The expression on Mikey McD’s face after getting cleaned out by Teddy KGB in Rounders is the only adequate analogy I’ve been able to come up with that about covers it. 

If you’ve never seen the movie Rounders, here’s the clip for reference.  Mike (Matt Damon) is the Mets and Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) is the Phillies.  By the way, if you haven’t seen Rounders, there’s something very very wrong with you.