Month: November 2008

The Hot Dog Launcher and the Science behind it

This documentary about the Philadelphia Phillies Hot Dog Launcher was put together with people with a obvious sense of humor.

Personnel from Hatfield Quality Meats  who helped create the Hot Dog Launcher are featured in the video along with the Phillie Phanatic.

The launcher is an air cannon which shoots hot dogs to fans between innings… usually in one piece.

Dang, that cannon is huge.  Though the way the Phanatic was acting in the video, I would have taken it and aimed it for his…

never mind.

(via Neatorama)

THE PITTSBURGH INDIANS???

Remember when I was in Arizona for the Arizona Fall League the beginning of November I was telling you about a couple of East Indian pitchers who were trying out for major league scouts in Tempe? Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed both hurlers. A White Sox fan friend out west was telling me, although the righthander threw harder, he thought the lefthander had a better shot at the big league, both were all over the place during the tryout.

Let me refresh your memory, Barry Bonds agent held a Million Dollar Arm Contest in India, whereby the winner would receive $100,000, specialized instruction from pitching coach Tom House, and a tryout in front of major league scouts. Dinesh Patel (20 years old), the 5’11” righty, threw 91-92 MPH, while Rinku Singh (19 years old), the 6’2″ lefty, threw 89-90 MPH.

While these two youngsters do have a shot at becoming the first major leaguers from India, they already are the first Indians ever to sign a professional contract outside of India. Recently the Pirates also signed a switch-hitting South African SS Mpho Ngoepe.

With 1,129,866,154 people in India with a Bucco rooting interest, can Pittsburgh really be considered a small market ballclub?

PHOENIX 5-PEATS AS AFL CHAMPS

The Phoenix Desert Dogs are howling after winning their fifth straight Arizona Fall League Title. In 2008 the five teams that made up the Desert Dogs were the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies, the Minnesota Twins, the Oakland Athletics, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Each year there new players on each team of the AFL, which makes Phoenix’ five year run even more amazing.

The Mesa Solar Sox took on the Phoenix Desert Dogs on November 22nd in Phoenix. Atlanta Braves Tommy Hanson handcuffed the Desert Dogs, allowing only one run, over the first five innings, leaving the game with a 3-1 Mesa lead. Two of those Solar Sox runs came off the bat of Jeff Larish who ripped a two run 4th inning blast off Phoenix starter Minnesota Twins (Golden Domer) Jeff Manship.

The Desert Dogs batters went to work once Hanson was removed from the game, scoring nine runs in two innings, overcoming a three run deficit, cruising to a 10-4 win. Big Josh Donaldson of the Oakland A’s provided much of the offense, driving in four, three on a 7th inning big fly. Another offensive hero was Edwardsville’s own, Arizona Diamondback, Evan Frey, who drove in three.

Congrats to the Phoenix Desert Dogs!

Guillen happy to be Swisher-less?

Apparently, Ozzie Guillen didn’t see eye-to-eye with Nick Swisher during the Swish’s stay in Chicago.  According the Chicago Tribune, they didn’t gel.

 

Was Swisher a bad influence in the clubhouse late in the year?

You’ve got to ask the players about that. To be honest with you, I was not happy with the way he was reacting at the end of the season. He wasn’t helping me either.

 

Guillen just got the Chicago Easter Seals Award for his work in helping autism research so I’m going to refrain from saying anything snarky about him (at least in this post).  The White Sox donated $1 million to the cause.  Good on them.

Mussina: Will he get the call in 5 years?

Since Mike Mussina retired, many pundits have asked the requisite question:  is the Moose Hall of Fame-worthy?

A valid question, to be sure.  We’ve had a few retirees in the last decade who were no-brainers (i.e Ripken, Gwynn etc).  But Mussina doesn’t necessarily fall in the “sure thing” category.  That he isn’t a household name doesn’t mean he shouldn’t warrant consideration though.  Let’s take a look. 

The Over-under on his Overall

His career stats are certainly formidable and fall within the parameters of Hall of Fame caliber pitchers.  

W   L   G   GS  CG SHO  IP     ER   HR  BB   SO    ERA 
----------+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+-
270 153 537 536  57  23 3562.7 1458 376  785 2813 3.68

A durable pitcher, Moose has pitched the qualifying amount since his second year in the league in 1992.  His 270 wins is tied for 33rd all time.  Winning percentage?  He’s 38th.  In strikeouts, he’s up to 19th. 

While Mussina’s actual ERA of 3.68 puts him  at 549th all-time (tied), his adjusted ERA+ (which is adjusted for the league and ballpark) of 123 moves him up to 78 (tied with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal). 

All of that plus Mussina’s longevity, gives him a decent shot at the Hall. 

The Down Side

But there are the detractors.  There are those who say he never won a Cy Young (he came in 2nd in the voting in 1999).  They say he never won 20 games… well, they USED to say that.  They also point to his 7-9 postseason record. 

These such detractors have dubbed Mussina with the nickname “Mr. Almost” with references to singer Kenny Loggins (due to his song, “I’m Alright”).  Plus the worst insult of all… saying he should be be inducted to the Hall of Very Good. 

Ouch.

Ok, maybe they’re not being fair.  Many defend the Moose, in particular saying that his stats were across the board better (BB/9, WHIP, ERA, even strikeouts) in 2001 than Roger Clemens when Clemens won the Cy Young.  The one thing that Clemens had going for him was his gaudy 20-3 record compared to Mussina’s 17-11. 

That is just one example but it almost typifies Mussina’s career.  Getting the dirty work done, doing it well, and not getting much of the credit.  We’ll see what happens in five years.  Most certainly he will be on the ballot and the same discussion will be had again. 

I would vote yes but ask me again in 2013.

Clem’s Stadiums info… very cool

I just spent the last half hour browsing around Clem’s Baseball blog.  Clem’s site is a plethora of information about baseball stadiums both current and past. 

pologrounds

A look at the oddly shaped Polo Grounds from Clem’s Baseball Blog

He has a profile on all stadiums including detailed diagrams with dimensions, and an extensive history. 

I’m not sure how he got all his information but it is impressive.  Diagrams and dimensions are available for every major change they made to each stadium.  There is even an option to easily compare two stadiums.

Check it out if you’re a baseball stadium buff.

Teddy Ballgame’s got his own blog

teddfacemed

For those of you who enjoy reading what Teddy Ballgame puts up on The Baseball Zealot, you might be interested to know that he’s got his own blog now. 

Whatteddsedd.com will contain the daily spewings of Teddy.  Near as I can tell, it will be an eclectic sort of blog which is a nice way of saying he talks about just about everything. 

Seriously, check it out. 

MLB Network has a head start on Jan 1

On January 1, the Major League Baseball Network will debut.  And unlike the NFL Network, it will already be carried on major cable systems throughout the country. 

The very first thing viewers will see is a show called Hot Stove which will (of course) discuss trades, signings, and other off-season moves by teams. 

MLB Network will also air a show called MLB Tonight, a seven-hour evening show which will consist of highlights and analysis.

A couple other points:  At this point, MLB Network has NO plans to have any programming specific to the fantasy baseball audience (boo hiss).  Interesting, since that angle has been so integral in their MLB.com programming. 

Oh, for any of you Bob Costas fans out there, MLB Network isn’t making any promises yet that he’ll be part of the network but they’ve been talking.