Well, That Kind Of Puts A Damper On Even A Marv Gomez Dance
Posted by Steve L. on May 17th, 2012 · Comments (0)
Not So Peaceful Naboo Movement?
Posted by Steve L. on May 16th, 2012 · Comments (0)
Used Baseball Teamwear
Posted by Steve L. on May 5th, 2012 · Comments (5)
If anyone knows of any places that buy/sell or consign used sports team-wear in the NJ/NY/CT area, please let me know. I have a friend with a huge collection of caps and other things that they may be looking to move.
Monte Markham
Posted by Steve L. on March 4th, 2012 · Comments (0)
Gary “A-Rod Is An” Oldman
Posted by Steve L. on February 27th, 2012 · Comments (2)
Denzel, Don’tcha Know!
Posted by Steve L. on February 10th, 2012 · Comments (13)
Eli Manning Steps Up To The Plate!
Posted by Steve L. on February 6th, 2012 · Comments (6)
And, he’s been doing it for a while now.
Craig Carton had a good point this morning – Has there ever been a QB to win two Superbowl MVPs where his team was the underdog in both games? And, Mike Francesa had a good point this afternoon – There’s only one QB in the history of New York football to win two Superbowls and his name is not Namath or Simms. It’s Manning.
The Pats Have A Giant Daddy
Posted by Steve L. on February 5th, 2012 · Comments (8)
Not So Bold Superbowl Prediction
Posted by Steve L. on February 3rd, 2012 · Comments (4)
I know it seems like a cliché. But, it will be a close game determined by turnovers and the ability to protect the quarterback.
The team that does the best job in those two area will win the game.
Don Cornelius Dead In Apparent Suicide
Posted by Steve L. on February 1st, 2012 · Comments (0)
Always very sad when someone thinks things are so bad that it’s not worth living.
Superbowl Tynes Again!
Posted by Steve L. on January 22nd, 2012 · Comments (14)
Big Daddy Magrane
Posted by Steve L. on January 20th, 2012 · Comments (1)
He really looks unhappy here. Then again, I would probably have the same reaction.
A Very Mike’d Up Christmas
Posted by Steve L. on January 17th, 2012 · Comments (0)
This is very funny. The end – after the credits – is pure LOL stuff.
Eli!
Posted by Steve L. on January 15th, 2012 · Comments (3)
Baseball Prospectus
Posted by Steve L. on November 28th, 2011 · Comments (3)
I want to say it was around 9 years ago that Baseball Prospectus was huge. But, does anyone visit that site and/or read their books any more?
2011 World Series
Posted by Steve L. on October 17th, 2011 · Comments (11)
So, what do you think? Are the Cardinals a team of destiny? Or, are the Rangers just too strong?
There’s just two former Yankees in this World Series – by my quick count – and neither of them were in New York for very long.
In any event, as a Yankees fan, who are you rooting for in this one?
To Phiten Or Not To Phiten
Posted by Steve L. on October 13th, 2011 · Comments (5)
Even with the Yankees season over, there’s not a day that goes by where my 7-year old son doesn’t nag me with “I want a necklace like the one that Curtis Granderson wears!”
If you ever wondered what the deal was with those Phiten ropes, he’s a great summary that a doctor did on them last year -
If you’ve been watching the World Series, you’ve probably noticed players wearing bulky necklaces that look like rope straight off a sailboat. I assumed at first that they must be some kind of fashion fad, but after doing some digging, it turns out athletes are wearing them in an attempt to enhance their performance on the field.
Sold on the Major League Baseball website, Phiten ropes claim to “stabilize your electric current inside the body” by “allowing the flow of energy.” All Phiten’s products have been treated with metal that has been dissolved in water – what they call aqua titanium.
Electric currents? Aqua titanium? Is there real science behind these necklaces, or is it just a fashion statement?
The popularity of wearing bracelets and necklaces infused with magnets and other materials to improve balance, flexibility and endurance all started in 2001 after MLB players found the products in Japan. Three years later, the trend really took off when Boston Red Sox players wore Phiten necklaces during the team’s World Series title run.
Today, for $50 a rope, fans are jumping on the bandwagon as they watch their favorite 2010 World Series players like Giants outfielder Andres Torres and Rangers catcher Bengie Molina sport their team colors around their necks. And baseball players aren’t the only ones pushing this fad – just last year, Phiten’s sales topped $200 million.
If you ask me, it’s a little bit mental, a little bit fashion, and a little superstition. It’s true that magnets have been used in alternative medicine in the past. Greeks used to wear magnetic rings to treat arthritis, and in the Middle Ages, doctors used them to treat gout, food poisoning and even hair loss.
Now, I’m a superstitious man myself, but speaking as a medical professional – there are no concrete studies to back up the claims that these ropes will enhance performance, and the Food and Drug Administration has not recognized them as having any therapeutic value.
Although I did come across one study, from Massey University in New Zealand, that found “performance gains in response to wearing Aquatitan-treated garments are likely of trivial consequence. However, improved joint range of motion during recovery indicated the garments reduced muscle-tendon stiffness suggesting enhanced compliance, which warrants further investigation.”
Either way, I say, if you are looking for a new jewelry item and want to look like your favorite baseball player, then by all means, go for a Phiten rope. But if you are looking to improve your athletic ability – save your money for a personal trainer.
I’ve yet to get my kid one of these. (It’s insane to buy a seven-year old a $50 rope necklace.) But, I do see lots of kids older than him wearing them down at the Little League field. Between that and Granderson’s collection, I suspect I have yet to hear the last of this from my son…
3 of 4 LDS Go Five & All Were 1-Run Games
Posted by Steve L. on October 8th, 2011 · Comments (16)
The wins by the Cardinals and Brewers yesterday were just crazy. Add the Tigers nipping the Yankees by a run in their Game Five to that – and we had three LDS this year going down to the 5th game, and being decided by a run (each).
Putting Yankees fandom aside for a moment, and just looking at all this as a baseball fan, I have to say “Holy Smucking Foke!”
It’s a shame that the Rays couldn’t push the Rangers to a Game Five too. Now, that would have been something.
So, no Yankees, Rays, Phillies – or Red Sox – in this post-season now. Ditto the D-backs – and Braves and Giants. Who would have saw that back in August?
It’s left to the Tigers and Rangers, and, the Cardinals and Brewers.
I hope that both LCS go seven games – and the World Series too. Again, as a baseball fan, this could be a post-season for the ages.
BP+
Posted by Steve L. on September 28th, 2011 · Comments (0)
True Story?
Posted by Steve L. on September 21st, 2011 · Comments (4)
Behind The Seams: The Stat Story
Posted by Steve L. on September 15th, 2011 · Comments (0)
This one looks good. It’s on this Sunday. Here’s the press release:
BOB COSTAS NARRATES THE EVOLUTION OF STATISTICS IN BEHIND THE SEAMS: THE STAT STORY ON SEPTEMBER 18 AT 10:00 P.M. ET
Documentary from MLB Productions Features Interviews with Hall of Famers, Managers, Current Players and Sabermetricians
Author Bill James Discusses How His Analysis of Statistics Broke the Baseball Mold
Secaucus, N.J., September 13, 2011 – From awarding a player a base hit to the rise of sabermetrics, the evolution of statistics in Major League Baseball is the focus of Behind the Seams: The Stat Story, a special produced for MLB Network by MLB Productions, premiering Sunday, September 18 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Behind the Seams: The Stat Story will feature statisticians and experts, including Elias Sports Bureau’s Steve Hirdt, MLB’s official historian John Thorn, Baseball-Reference.com’s Sean Forman, Sports Illustrated’s Joe Sheehan, Fangraphs.com contributor Jonah Keri, New York Times writer Alan Schwarz, Rotisserie League Baseball creator Dan Okrent and SB Nation’s Rob Neyer discussing the history of baseball statistics, highlighted by the formation of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
The hour-long documentary will feature current general managers, managers and players, including Sandy Alderson, Billy Beane, Tony La Russa and Jered Weaver explaining how in-depth statistical research have influenced their decisions in baseball today and the growth of fantasy baseball, and Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Tony Gwynn, Tommy Lasorda and Earl Weaver describe the advantages and disadvantages to using statistics during games. Plus, author Bill James, the Boston Red Sox senior adviser on baseball operations, tells his story from being a security guard in Kansas to the leading pioneer of a statistical revolution that culminated with the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez winning the 2010 A.L. Cy Young Award with a 13-12 record.
Quotes from Behind the Seams: The Stat Story include:
Hall of Famer Lou Brock: The point about statistics – and I was a math major – is that we can make those things work any way we want them to work, but can a player deliver in the clutch? I don’t think computers can gather that and produce that for a manager.
Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn: As a former baseball player, I can’t tell how you many times people came up to me and said, “You know what man, you’re a good hitter, but you don’t steal enough bases.”
Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda: Today, they manage with statistics. You can’t do it. Statistics are lies. Believe me, they’re lies.
Author Bill James: When you go to a game, the team that wins is the team that has a better number on the scoreboard at the end of the game, and that central fact makes all the other numbers really important.
MLB Official Historian John Thorn: What Bill James was saying was the old adage, “Things are not what they seem.” Being a .300 hitter if you only draw 20 walks in 600 plate appearances may not be such a good thing.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pitcher Jered Weaver: When you’re doing good, all the fantasy players say, “Hey, I’m so glad I picked you up.” But if you’re not doing so good they start talking about who they want to trade you for. [Fantasy players say,] “I’m getting ready to trade you if you keep this up.”
Radio, Radio
Posted by Steve L. on September 9th, 2011 · Comments (4)
I’ve mentioned in the past that my 7-year old son likes to listen to the Yankees game (or any game if the Yankees aren’t playing) on the radio as he falls asleep each night.
And, he really struggles with nodding out when there’s no game. He just can’t unwind and relax without his baseball on the radio.
So, I was thinking “I’m going to have a problem after this post-season” and then it dawned on me to get him some old games on CD that he can play on his Clock/Radio/CD player. And, I’ve now picked him up the following from the Miley Collection -
- 10/02/49 – NEW YORK (AL) 5 Boston 3 – Yankees win battle for AL pennant (Curt Gowdy & Mel Allen)
- 10/02/60 – YANKEES 8 Red Sox 7 – Dale Long 2-run HR in B9 gives NY a record 15 wins in a row to end season (Phil Rizzuto & Red Barber)
- 05/24/70 – Yankees 8 INDIANS 7 (11 innings) – Game 2 is game of oddities that features 9 HRs (Bob Gamere, Frank Messer & Phil Rizzuto)
- 08/29/72 – YANKEES 7 Rangers 6 (11) – Bobby Murcer dramatically hits for the cycle (Bill White, Frank Messer & Phil Rizzuto)
- 09/06/73 – YANKEES 8 Brewers 6 – Mike Hegan’s 3-run homer gives Yankees a comeback win (Bill White, Frank Messer & Phil Rizzuto)
- 07/26/77 – YANKEES 5 Orioles 4 (10) – Dramatic homers by Johnson in 9th & Jackson in 10th spark Yanks to win (Messer, White & Rizzuto)
- 10/09/77 – Yankees 5 ROYALS 3 – Yanks score 3 in 9th to win ALCS in 5 games (Frank Messer, Bill White & Phil Rizzuto)
- 06/17/78 – YANKEES 4 Angels 0 – Ron Guidry strikes out Yankee record 18 (Fran Healy, Bill White, Frank Messer & Phil Rizzuto)
That’s a whole lot of Scooter to listen too. I just may have to borrow these from my son when he’s not listening to them!
Stevie Baseball
Posted by Steve L. on September 7th, 2011 · Comments (5)
I’ve been selected to manage my son’s Fall Ball Little League team. (He’s 7-years old and just starting the 2nd grade.)
The name of our team is the Dodgers.
Now, I know just how Donnie felt when he got the nod!
So, What I Miss?
Posted by Steve L. on August 27th, 2011 · Comments (17)
Just got back (late last night) from five fun filled days down in Disney with my family.
So, we had an earthquake? The Yankees fell out of first? Colon, Hughes and Burnett pitched like crap. (That’s going to be great if that happens in October, huh?) Three grand slams in one game? A-Rod had a Little Jack Horner moment? Jim Thome went home. Minka Kelly is out? Very sad news on Mike Flanagan. Posada to Swisher was the 4-3 moment of the season. And, here comes Irene. (I was soooo happy to beat her back up the coast.)
Seriously, for all those in the way of Irene, please be careful and accept my sincere best wishes for good fotrune during her pass through. I’m about 3.5 miles from the ocean (and about 2 miles from the Raritan Bay) and hoping that we don’t have to evacuate. I’m also surrounded by trees. So, I’m going to be sweating this one out. And, of course, there’s always the chance of a prolonged power loss. So, this may be it, from me, for a while.
Please take care during Irene. Be smart. Be careful. My fingers are crossed for you. And, I can’t wait until this over.
Domingo Santana
Posted by Steve L. on August 16th, 2011 · Comments (7)
“Domingo Santana” rolls off the tongue like “Inigo Montoya.”
Astros just got him from the Phillies. He’s just 18-years old. So, no one knows if his bat will ever let him move up. But, boy, can he throw. I loved watching him let loose from right field.
That always gets me – someone with a cannon out in right.
Yankees have had a few in my time: Winnie, Barfield, Mondesi, Gerald Williams. And, out of those, I would say that Barfield was the biggest “shut down” arm they had out there. He had a true weapon.
It’s a gift. And, only a few get it.
Record Rain
Posted by Steve L. on August 15th, 2011 · Comments (0)
Via the Daily News -
New York broke an all-time record for a one-day rainfall Sunday as up to 8 inches of water soaked the city, snarling trains and flooding roadways.
By 9 p.m., 7.7 inches of rain had fallen at Kennedy Airport.
It was the most recorded there in a single day since the National Weather Service began keeping records 116 years ago.
The heavy tropical rain is expected to continue Monday, and a flash flood warning is in effect until 9 p.m.
The normal rainfall for all of August in New York is 4 inches – which means the city was socked with two months worth of rain in a single day.
“This is what you would expect in a major hurricane,” said Steve Wistar, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Kennedy Airport’s old one-day rainfall record, 6.3 inches, set on June 30, 1984, fell by noon.
Central Park, where the city’s official rainfall total is recorded, saw 5.8 inches by 10:45 p.m., making it the fifth-wettest day of all time there.
The heavy rain caused scattered power outages and transit disruptions. Cars got caught in flash floods, and the Long Island Rail Road reported localized flooding and trees on the tracks, delaying several dozen trains and closing the Far Rockaway and Long Beach branches.
In the subways, water flooded into tunnels, knocking out parts of seven lines in the morning. By evening, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said, things were under control.
On Staten Island, firefighters rescued two construction workers who got trapped in a stalled elevator rapidly filling with water.
“We thought we were dead,” said one of the rescued men, Ed Tyler, 26, of Milltown, N.J. “I literally thought I was going to die.”
And, via the AP -
Heavy rains soaked New Jersey on Sunday, spurring minor to moderate flooding in many areas and causing travel delays for drivers and airline passengers.
The Pascack Brook in Hillsdale is known to swell during constant rainfall, and that’s what happened Sunday. It flooded parking lots and some of the roads there.
But it was not just Hillsdale where a lot of water was causing a lot of problems.
Sunday’s deluge drenched homes and businesses across the Garden State.
In Bergen County, rains flooded roads and parking lots. In Hoboken, rain and high tide backed up the drainage system and forced water into the street. It’s a problem people in the area say they deal with during severe storms.
“This is terrible,” one resident said. “But this is normal for this place. We need boats out here.”
Authorities had to close some streets due to severe flooding, forcing drivers to find creative solutions. Some people put up sand bags to protect their property, but others couldn’t keep the rain out.
“We live here, and the elevator was flooded through, and the parking garage was flooding,” one man said.
Many people are resigned to their soggy fate for another day.
“I did have rain boots, but I found out they had a hole in them,” one woman said. “And my feet got wet anyway. So my feet will be wet regardless.”
Officials continue to keep a close eye on the Pascack Brook.
At least two counties in southern New Jersey – Salem and Cumberland counties – declared states of emergency.
Most areas had seen 1 to 4 inches of rain by early Sunday night. But about 11 inches had fallen in the Salem County town of Pittsgrove, and several Gloucester County communities had received 6 to 7 inches.
In Bridgeton, Cumberland County, emergency management officials urged residents living along parts of the Cohansey River to evacuate their homes and head to a Red Cross shelter.
Other communities also reported that bodies of water, such as Assunpink Lake in Trenton and the Millstone River in Somerset County, had flooded.
Several major roadways were closed at times on Sunday due to flooding, causing headaches for drivers but no major problems.
Meanwhile, delays of up to 90 minutes were being reported for arriving flights at Newark Liberty Airport.
Better now than in October, I suppose…
I never liked rain outs in the post-season. In my mind, they usual lead to bad news in Yankeeland. But, that could just be my memory playing tricks on me and/or my wanting to blame something else for the 2004 ALCS.
Kawika Kualii Emsley-Pai
Posted by Steve L. on August 6th, 2011 · Comments (0)
Last night, I went to see the Lakewood BlueClaws host the West Virginia Power. (I had the tickets since the start of the season. It was Fireworks Night. Was able to catch the Yankees game starting with the last out of the bottom of the 8th inning, on the radio, on the ride home.)
The Power’ catcher in the game was Kawika Emsley-Pai.
Ever since Thurman Munson, I’ve had a soft spot for catchers with unique names. So, I decided to look this kid up, today, and this is what I found:
The Pirates signed 22-year old minor league catcher Kawika Emsley-Pai on Thursday [January 20, 2011], an intriguing case for a few reasons:
1. He’s a catcher. You can never have enough young catchers, especially with the likes of Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie and Zack Von Rosenberg in the system to have to bring along.
2. And here is the most intriguing part — Emsley-Pai was drafted just last year (June 2010), by the Diamondbacks, in the 10th round. While he didn’t light the world on fire in short season Yakima (.167 batting average, .265 OBP), he hasn’t played all that much pro ball and, again, is a young catcher.
So why has a guy like this landed in the Pirates organization? Perhaps it could have a lot to do with a man named Jim Dedrick. Dedrick was the scout who signed Emsley-Pai when Dedrick worked for the Diamondbacks, but in this offseason, he shifted jobs and now works for the Pirates. In fact, Arizona had a shakeup in their scouting and development operation, as they now have a new scouting director, new farm director and some other changes.
That said, this is most likely a case of a new regime coming in with the Diamondbacks and identifying that — for one reason or another — Emsley-Pai wasn’t “their guy” and cutting him loose. That was on the back side; on the receiving side, it would be Dedrick speaking on his behalf to his new organization, putting in a good word and leading to the Pirates signing him.
And, I also found this:
One of the milder surprise players in the 2011 Pirates’ minor league system is Kawika Emsley-Pai, the Catcher/Designated Hitter for the West Virginia Power. Emsley-Pai was originally a 10th round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, but was cut after just one short-season stint for them. He signed with the Pirates in December and to date it is like the Pirates got a “bonus” 10th round pick from last year’s draft.
Although he has slumped in June, Emsley-Pai still has an AVG/OBP/SLG of .306/.447/.408 (855 OPS) for the year. He has an exceptional walk/strikeout rate of 23 walks and 15 strikeouts in 98 at-bats.
He grew up in Washington state and has four older sisters – two of them now in their 40′s or close to it. That must have been interesting – growing up with five ladies in the house. I wonder how many major league baseball players had four or more sisters and no brothers?
In any event, seems like this kid has an eye for the strike zone and is a switch-hitting catcher. Is he a prospect? No, probably not a major one…but, like Thurman Munson, he’s got that type of name…once you hear it, once, you will remember it.
Mosquitoes!
Posted by Steve L. on August 5th, 2011 · Comments (6)
The same bastard just got me four times – twice on the left foot, once on the left knee, and once on the base of my left thumb.
I’ve had it this year. It seems like I’ve been bitten 100 times already – and I work in an office 9 hours a day, four days a week.
Granted, part of my problem is that, between two kids and two dogs, the doors of my house are opened and closed like twenty times a day.
In any event, I’m losing it. I want to be ensconced in DEET at this point.
Bad News Bears
Posted by Steve L. on July 21st, 2011 · Comments (1)
The Rock and the King must be wondering where they are…
