A Harry Caray-style heist

It seems a man wearing “Harry Caray” glasses was successful in his attempt to rob a Palos Heights, IL bank.  He is being dubbed the “Harry Caray Bandit”.  Wearing the familiar glasses and a wig, the robber got away with $2000. You know bandit backwards is “tidnab”.   Tags: Cubs

It seems a man wearing “Harry Caray” glasses was successful in his attempt to rob a Palos Heights, IL bank.  He is being dubbed the “Harry Caray Bandit”. 

Wearing the familiar glasses and a wig, the robber got away with $2000.

You know bandit backwards is “tidnab”.

 

3/31 – THREE TIMES A HOMER

Albert Pujols is ready for the season to start. In today’s game against the NY Mets Albert went yard on three consecutive at bats. A two run homer and two solo shots put the Cards up 5-2. Pujols represented the Dominican Republic in the WBC. All three home runs went over the leftfield wall and … Continue reading “3/31 – THREE TIMES A HOMER”

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Albert Pujols is ready for the season to start. In today’s game against the NY Mets Albert went yard on three consecutive at bats. A two run homer and two solo shots put the Cards up 5-2. Pujols represented the Dominican Republic in the WBC. All three home runs went over the leftfield wall and he seems primed to defend his MVP Crown. Pujols hit 41 homers, batting .330, with 117 RBI, and 129 runs scored last season for St. Louis. He’s only 26 years old, with the best left to come. Did you know his given name is Jose Alberto Pujols?

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ANNA & KRIS, SAY IT AIN’T SO

It was hard enough to believe that Nick & Jessica were no longer an item, especially after the breakup of Jennifer & Brad, but now the baseball world is rocking at the news that Anna & Kris are done. Rumors have it that the Oriole clubhouse was visibly upset when the news was announced. An … Continue reading “ANNA & KRIS, SAY IT AIN’T SO”

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It was hard enough to believe that Nick & Jessica were no longer an item, especially after the breakup of Jennifer & Brad, but now the baseball world is rocking at the news that Anna & Kris are done. Rumors have it that the Oriole clubhouse was visibly upset when the news was announced. An unnamed source was quoted as saying, “I was really looking forward to the team’s Christmas party this year”.

Update:  Anna Withdraws her request for a divorce -TBZ

 

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UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

Babe Ruth Babe Ruth once ate between a dozen and 18 hot dogs before collapsing. Ruth was renowned for his ferocious appetite for hot dogs, beer, & women. I know hot dogs weren’t illegal, nor were they a banned substance, but they added bulk to the Babe’s frame giving him the strength to hit baseballs … Continue reading “UNFAIR ADVANTAGE”

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Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth once ate between a dozen and 18 hot dogs before collapsing. Ruth was renowned for his ferocious appetite for hot dogs, beer, & women. I know hot dogs weren’t illegal, nor were they a banned substance, but they added bulk to the Babe’s frame giving him the strength to hit baseballs out of ballparks. His beer drinking eased his mind so he didn’t have to worry about which pitch a pitcher was going to throw him. All he had to remember was his home run trot. And all the women in his life relieved tension, making it easier for him to perform on the baseball diamond. Now you can’t tell me these weren’t unfair advantages over the typical major leaguer. Back in his day the Bambino hit more home runs than several teams.

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Barry Bonds
Have you seen the picture of Bonds in drag? Enough said. Hasn’t this man suffered enough? Everybody knew Barry was doing steroids, but baseball chose to ignore the situation. Bonds wasn’t the only one doing it either, the problem came to a head when several stars needed more than one baseball card to fit their picture on. While juice wasn’t a banned substance, it was illegal, but baseball was rebounding from a strike and home runs were great theatre. I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy, but there certainly was some complicity.

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Hank Aaron
And we’re certainly not going to let Hank Aaron off the hook. Hank was larger, stronger, and possessed greater hitting skills than most of his fellow ballplayers. Just looking at Aaron’s physique you could tell he worked hard to sculpt his body into the Hammer he’d become. Alot of other players weren’t paid as much as he was, making it necessary for them to take on offseason jobs, while Henry could just work on his baseball abilities. Talk about an unfair advantage!

I guess what I’m trying to say is, Give it a rest Bud Selig! Go back to selling used cars! Baseball decided not to test for steroids and “allow” players to use them while other sports weren’t, live with that decision. Now steroids are banned and there’s a testing system in place. You can’t go back and change what’s happened. Stop pretending you didn’t know it was happening! I’m tired of the hypocricy! Let’s not whine about unfair advantages of the past, LET’S PLAY BALL!!!

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SOUTHPAW ON THE NORTHSIDE

Lefty Sean Marshall is making the leap from Double A West Tennessee where he had a 2.52 ERA, 24 K’s, & five walks in 25 innings of work over four starts for the Diamond Jaxx. Sean spent the lion’s share of last season pitching in Class A for the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State … Continue reading “SOUTHPAW ON THE NORTHSIDE”

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Lefty Sean Marshall is making the leap from Double A West Tennessee where he had a 2.52 ERA, 24 K’s, & five walks in 25 innings of work over four starts for the Diamond Jaxx. Sean spent the lion’s share of last season pitching in Class A for the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League. There Marshall was a solid performer putting up a 4-4 mark, over 12 starts, striking out 61 & walking 26 batters, with a 2.74 ERA, working 69 innings there. The 6-6 lefty out of Virginia Commonwealth has allowed no runs on three hits over 10 1/3 innings this spring earning him the number four spot in the Cubs rotation. The door was left open for Marshall when both Kerry Wood & Mark Prior ended up on the DL to start the season, no real surprise there, but it was a surprise this portsider was ready to seize this opportunity. Sean has a twin brother Brian who is in the Boston Red Sox organization, you can checkout their website.

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Q & A with Ozzie

MLB.com had a Q & A with Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.  When I read these kind of things, I wonder to what extent does it have to be approved by team and league management.  That said, I thought it was thoroughly Ozzie and therefore interesting. Some excerpts: MLB.com: Kenny Williams? Guillen: Crazy. He hired me … Continue reading “Q & A with Ozzie”

MLB.com had a Q & A with Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.  When I read these kind of things, I wonder to what extent does it have to be approved by team and league management.  That said, I thought it was thoroughly Ozzie and therefore interesting.

Some excerpts:

MLB.com: Kenny Williams?

Guillen: Crazy. He hired me as a manager. Kenny is a guy who also is underrated. Anything he does since he got the job is because he’s trying to win. You look around at the players Kenny brings here and the trades he made, he just wants to win. Kenny and myself will both tell you the truth, whether you like it or not, and I think I can live with that.

This man did a lot of things in his power to get this ballclub better.

MLB.com: How about Frank Thomas?

Guillen: He’s the best player ever to play for the White Sox. That’s it. He was one of the best hitters I’ve ever been around. People don’t appreciate him in Chicago, and maybe that’s his fault. But he did a lot of good things for the city.

and this one I particularly liked:

MLB.com: Final question for you: Where is Ozzie Guillen going to be 10 years from now?

Guillen: Managing the White Sox.

Yeah, I’m a Cub fan but I gotta say I like Ozzie’s style. 

APPIER PITCHES FOR ANOTHER SHOT

Kevin Appier was sent to Seattle’s minor league camp in a move that gives him time to improve his health and possibly return to the major leagues. The year was 1989 when Appier was first brought to the bigs by the Kansas City Royals. It was a Royals team that won 92 ballgames and featured … Continue reading “APPIER PITCHES FOR ANOTHER SHOT”

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Kevin Appier was sent to Seattle’s minor league camp in a move that gives him time to improve his health and possibly return to the major leagues. The year was 1989 when Appier was first brought to the bigs by the Kansas City Royals. It was a Royals team that won 92 ballgames and featured such stars as George Brett, Bo Jackson, Bret Saberhagen, & Mark Gubicza. This is the same Kevin with a 169-137 mark, a lifetime 3.74 ERA, and 1,994 strikeouts. He didn’t pitch at all in 2005 and only brief appearances in 2003 & 2004. The 38 year old right hander last pitched a full season with the Angels in 2002 when he was 14-12 with an ERA of 3.92 in 32 starts. His best years were in 1993 when he was 18-8 with a 2.56 ERA & 1992 when he had a 15-8 record and a sparkling 2.46 ERA. He had a 2.84 ERA with two wins this spring with the Mariners before being shipped out to give his calf time to heal.

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HIT IT THOME

Jim Thome the new DH for the World Champion Chicago White Sox is on fire! The fire started Sunday March 26th versus the Kansas City Royals. In that game Thome hit his first two homers of the spring going three for four with three RBI and three runs scored, Sox won 9-7. The next day … Continue reading “HIT IT THOME”

Jim Thome the new DH for the World Champion Chicago White Sox is on fire! The fire started Sunday March 26th versus the Kansas City Royals. In that game Thome hit his first two homers of the spring going three for four with three RBI and three runs scored, Sox won 9-7. The next day against the dreaded Cubs Jim hit two more longballs going four for five with three RBI and two runs scored, tie game 4-4. His two homers a day took Tuesday off as Thome was one for four with a double on Tuesday in a 3-1 loss to the D*Backs. But Jim was back on track on Wednesday incredibly hitting two more balls over the wall going two for three with a walk, three RBI and two runs scored besting the Brewers 5-4. I know it’s just spring training, but anytime a guy hits six taters in four games it’s noteworthy. Kenny Williams took a lot of heat trading fan favorite Aaron Rowand for Jim Thome who was injured last year. It was also questioned why Williams would trade for injured Thome and allow Frank Thomas to exit stage left. But who’s laughing now? I predict Thome will hit 40+ homers this season for the Southsiders. GO SOX GO!!!

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Show Him the Money!

No, I meant David Pinto. David maintains Baseball Musings, one of the best baseball blogs out there.  Right now, David is holding a pledge drive.  Unlike most of us, David’s blog is his main source of income so if you use Baseball Musings like I do, make a pledge. If you don’t read Baseball Musings, … Continue reading “Show Him the Money!”

No, I meant David Pinto.

David maintains Baseball Musings, one of the best baseball blogs out there.  Right now, David is holding a pledge drive.  Unlike most of us, David’s blog is his main source of income so if you use Baseball Musings like I do, make a pledge.

If you don’t read Baseball Musings, you’re missing out.  David aggregates the latest news in baseball interspersed with his analysis and comments.  Very valuable, in my opinion. 

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George Brett: A prankster who needs a sense of perspective

George Brett has always been a prankster, a joker of sorts.  I used to be good friends with the mother of Nick Swartz, the trainer of the Royals so I would hear stories of Brett’s kangeroo court and practical jokes he would play on KC rookies. But his latest “prank” has gone a little too far … Continue reading “George Brett: A prankster who needs a sense of perspective”

George Brett has always been a prankster, a joker of sorts.  I used to be good friends with the mother of Nick Swartz, the trainer of the Royals so I would hear stories of Brett’s kangeroo court and practical jokes he would play on KC rookies.

But his latest “prank” has gone a little too far as far as I’m concerned.

Brett’s target was Andre David who was born in Afghanistan.  Brett wrote “Ahmed Mohammed Ahi” on David’s cap before a trip to the Orlando airport.  TSA officials immediately profiled David and took him to a special room to process him.

The “joke” didn’t end there.  While processing David, TSA officials found plastic knives that Brett had put in David’s bag.  Fortunately, all was explained away. 

What’s wrong with a little, harmless prank?  Well, Brett fails to understand that, in this day and age of heightened security, you don’t play games especially in an airport.  As a white man, Brett may not fully appreciate this but post-911 attitudes have done an injustice against innocent Muslim men and women simply because of their background.  I don’t seriously think David would have gotten in trouble because of plastic knives but do you really want to take that chance?

 

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