Teddy Ballgame | The Baseball Zealot

GO SOX!!!

On a tour of Florida , the Pope took a couple of days off to visit the coast for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the beach in the Pope-mobile when there was a frantic commotion just off shore.

A helpless man, wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey, was struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 25-foot shark. As the Pope watched, horrified, a speedboat came racing up with three men wearing Chicago White Sox jerseys aboard. One quickly fired a harpoon into the shark’s side. The other two reached out and pulled the bleeding, semi-conscious Cubs fan from the water. Then using (autographed by Paul Konerko himself) baseball bats, the three heroes in Sox jerseys beat the shark to death and hauled it into the boat.

Immediately the Pope shouted and summoned them to the beach. “I give you my blessing for your brave actions,” he told them. “I heard that there was some bitter hatred between White Sox and Cub fans, but now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not the truth.”

As the Pope drove off, the harpooner asked his buddies “Who was that?” “It was the Pope,” one replied. “He is in direct contact with God and has access to all of God’s wisdom.”

“Well,” the harpooner said, “he may have access to God’s wisdom, but he doesn’t know shit about shark fishing…. how’s the bait holding up?”

ERSTAD IS OUT

Darin Erstad Last year White Sox GM Kenny Williams was lauded for picking up veteran CF/1B Darin Erstad. Now the club has declined to exercise their option on him. Erstad, who plays the game as hard as anybody, seems to have broken down at the age of 33. This past season Darin batted only .248 … Continue reading “ERSTAD IS OUT”

Darin Erstad

Last year White Sox GM Kenny Williams was lauded for picking up veteran CF/1B Darin Erstad. Now the club has declined to exercise their option on him. Erstad, who plays the game as hard as anybody, seems to have broken down at the age of 33. This past season Darin batted only .248 and was limited to 87 games as he experienced a myriad of injuries. It appears he may be at the end of the line.

RENTERIA’S MOTOWN BOUND

Edgar Renteria

Tigers acquire Edgar Renteria from Braves for two minor leaguers. I used to view deals like this much differently when I was young. I’m not going to say Detroit made a mistake in picking up the veteran shortstop who posted a .332 batting average at the age of 31 with Atlanta in 2007. Current Tiger SS Carlos Guillen will shift to firstbase in 2008, and a lot of baseballs would roll into the outfield through the vacated shortstop spot wasn’t filled. But giving up OF Gorkys Hernandez and RHP Jair Jurrjens might’ve been a bit much.

Jair Jurrjens is a 21 year old righthander from Curacao who was 3-1 with the Tigers after going 7-5 with a 3.20 ERA in Triple-A. Venezuelan outfielder Gorkys Hernandez stole 54 bases in the minors last year, batting .293, and might make Braves fans forget Andruw Jones if he opts out of Atlanta. Meanwhile Yunel Escobar who batted .326 appears ready to takeover for Renteria for the Braves.

OH NO, NOT LUTHER HACKMAN!!!

Luther Hackman

MLB-Suspended free agent RHP Luther Hackman 50 games for violating baseball’s minor league drug program after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

When is baseball going to get serious about performance-enhancing drugs? Well here’s the first step, no baseball isn’t going after the guy with more homers than anyone in the history of the game, but rather the notorious Luther Hackman. In his minor league career Luther is 57-76 with a 4.46 ERA, and has a 9-10 record with a 5.09 ERA in the bigs. But at the age of 31 in the Independent Leagues Hackman posted an 8-0 mark, with eight saves, and a 2.81 ERA. It’s obvious something was fishy and I’m glad baseball did something about it.

2007 AFL REPORT

Jed Lowrie Boston Red Sox infielder Jed Lowrie provided the most excitement of my visit to the AFL as his two-out two-run homer lifted Mesa over Scottsdale 9-8. It seems as though the rich get richer as Lowrie looks to be the real deal both in the field and at the plate. The former Stanford … Continue reading “2007 AFL REPORT”

Jed Lowrie

Boston Red Sox infielder Jed Lowrie provided the most excitement of my visit to the AFL as his two-out two-run homer lifted Mesa over Scottsdale 9-8. It seems as though the rich get richer as Lowrie looks to be the real deal both in the field and at the plate. The former Stanford infielder might be the starting SS in Boston in 2008, move over Julio Lugo.

I’m looking forward to doing a podcast about my AFL experience, but in the mean time I thought I’d write a little bit about what happened.

Here are some prospects that were there…

PEORIA JAVELINAS
05/1 Jeff Clement SEA – didn’t see him, was with Team USA
05/4 Justin Maxwell WAS – didn’t impress, although he played with the Nats in 2007

PEORIA SAGUAROS
07/1 Joe Savery PHI – he was supposed to start the game I went to, but didn’t, disappointing
NO Chin-Ling Hu LAD – this LAD SS will provide lots of “Hu’s on 1st” in 2008

SURPRISE
03/1 Adam Miller CLE – looked good, should be ready for the Tribe’s 2008 rotation
05/1 John Mayberry TEX – big – just like his daddy, fast – not like his daddy

MESA
05/1 Jed Lowrie BOS – walkoff homer, next year’s Bosox SS, impressed in the field
05/4 Josh Flores HOU – out of Triton JC, just like Kirby Puckett & Lance Johnson
07/1 Matt LaPorta MIL – big time power, 2008’s Ryan Braun
04/10 Sam Fuld CUB – fast, with power, older though

PHOENIX
05/3 Ryan Mullins MIN – lefty strikeout pitcher, Big League ready
02/33 Nyjer Morgan PIT – played hockey in Canada explains late start, 2008 Pirates CFer
03/2 Ryan Sweeney SOX – didn’t impress, looked sluggish
05/1 Andrew McCutchen PIT – star of the future, this kid can do it all
04/3 Eduardo Morlan MIN – power pitching Cuban, 2008 MLB bullpen ready

SCOTTSDALE
02/39 Calvin Medlock TB – old, but impressive, should be in Tampa’s pen this year
04/2 Reid Brignac TB – Devil Rays SS of the future, looks like a star
05/6 Aaron Cunningham AZ – Sox giveaway OFer to AZ, this kid is a hustling, fast, leadoff man
06/1 Travis Snider TOR – 5’11” 245, fast, with power, young, on the Blue Jays fast track
04/9 Mike Carp NYM – NYM firstbaseman, good power, nice glove, 2009 major leaguer
NO Wilkin Castillo AZ – can play everywhere, was a switch hitting catcher when I saw him
06/1 Evan Longoria TB – didn’t see him, was with Team USA

Here were some interesting facts I found in the Media Guide about the players…

OF JOSH FLORES (HOU) won the national junior college batting title by hitting .519 at Triton Junior College.

OF MATT LaPORTA (MIL) was a two-time SEC player-of-the-year at Florida. He hit a Gator single-season record 26 home runs as a sophopmore in 2005 and was a member of Team USA National Baseball Team.

C JEFF CLEMENT (SEA) played on the 2003 and ’04 US/National team. He set the national high school record at Marshalltown HS (Iowa) with 75 career home runs. Clement also played on the 1996 Marshalltown team that played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.

IF MATT TUIASOSOPO (SEA) is the youngest brother of NY Jets QB Marquis and the son of former Seattle Seahawk Manu. His grandfather is Chief Asovalu of a village of 800 people in American Samoa, one of six men who hold that title.

IF CHIN-LUNG HU (LAD) was MVP of the 2007 MLB Futures Game in SF.

LHP MARK ROSEN (AZ) was forced to take the mound in relief of Mobile AA teammate Matt Elliot, a 2006 AFLer, who was trapped in the bathroom for over 40 minutes after slamming the door shut behind him. The game continued with Rosen on the mound after a brief delay. The fire department eventually was called to extricate Elliot from the bathroom.

Also saw Team China defeat the Phoenix Desert Dogs 2-1. Team China’s manager is Jim Lefebvre. Some coaches instructing Team China are Bruce Hurst, Duffy Dyer, Barry Larkin, & Tom Lawless.

Some 2006 AFLers that made a big splash in the big leagues in 2007 were Yunel Escobar, Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, Mark Reynolds, & Troy Tulowitzki. The AFL is a great place to see tomorrow’s stars today. The tickets are only $6.00, there are only about 100 fans in the stands, including scouts.

Some other highlights of my trip were meeting Tom (a freelance NY scout), meeting a 90-year-old fan (who’d seen Ruth & Gehrig, his wife was a vocalist for the Sammy Kaye band for five years), saw Ryne Sandberg at Don & Charlie’s in Scottsdale, said hi to Roland Hemond at the ballpark in Scottsdale, and the absolute best thing about my trip was the best pizza in the world at Pizzeria Bianco. I love baseball, but I love food more!

AROD SCHMAY-ROD

Alex Rodriguez Last night while watching the final game of the World Series, with the sound off, I saw Alex Rodriguez’ picture flash across the screen. I said to myself, I thought the Yankees had been eliminated from the World Series picture. So I flicked on the sound to hear the knuckleheads talking about how … Continue reading “AROD SCHMAY-ROD”

Alex Rodriguez

Last night while watching the final game of the World Series, with the sound off, I saw Alex Rodriguez’ picture flash across the screen. I said to myself, I thought the Yankees had been eliminated from the World Series picture. So I flicked on the sound to hear the knuckleheads talking about how the Yankees offered ARod a contract and he decided to test the free agent market. Could the timing be any worse? Here we are about to crown this year’s baseball champion and they’re talking about Alex Rodriguez and money. I turned off the sound and watched the Bosox clinch in a clean sweep.

Congrats to the Red Sox!!!

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLPARK

Jon Garland

Went to the Cell last night to see my White Sox for the last time this year. When I was a kid I used to try to make it to the last game of the season. Alot of fan like all the hoopla of the season opener, but I prefer the reality of the finale, maybe that’s the difference between being a White Sox fan as opposed to being a Cub fan. I watched my first last game in 1969, the Sox dropped that game to KC 10-3 Moe Drabowsky over Fred Roth, but Chicago did finish their home schedule above .500 at 41-40. The team was woeful on the road, 27-54, finishing four games above the Seattle Pilots. After my team was thumped I went to the parking lot, where the player’s parked their cars, with my father and got a ball autographed by almost every member (Louie Aparicio, Walt Williams, Tommy John, among them) of the Sox. It was quite a night for a 13 year old boy.

But last night my White Sox avenged the last home game of 1969 against Kansas City by beating the Royals 3-0. I know last night wasn’t technically the last home game of the season by the Pale Hose, but it would be the last game I’d attend this year and it’s close enough. Any way we got them back and that’s the important thing.

Jon Garland took the bump for the good guys against Zack Greinke. It has been rumored this might have been Garland’s last start in a White Sox uniform. IMHO, this would be a mistake, good pitching is important and hard to come by. Chicago already has three very solid starters with Javier Vazquez, Mark Buehrle, & Jon Garland. Garland has averaged over 200 innings, 32 starts, & 13 wins over the past six years, not bad for a 28 year old sinker baller.

Katie, CLuke’s daughter, a huge Jon Garland fan, met me at the Fullerton stop along the Red Line, and we were Cell bound. Katie must’ve assisted Ozzie Guillen with his lineup as Josh Fields was back at the hot corner with another Katie fave, Scotty Podsednik, in left. Katie went down to the bullpen and got some warmup photos of Garland, and then got Josh & Scotty shots of them coming off the field into the dugout.

Jim Thome hit the 33rd longball of the season and the 505th of his career in the very first inning. It would be enough, but Jermaine Dye added a two run 4th inning bomb as insurance. Jon Garland had his sinkerball going on. It was a fun night at the ballyard, hanging out behind homeplate, 35 rows up, with friends Tade, Roland, Al, Anthony, & Dan, and Caramel-corn Mike & Scott.

We were all standing around talking about what changes we’d like to see, looking over the 2008 home schedule, and talking about going to Spring Training. GO SOX GO!!!

SAME OLE CHARLIE

Charlie Manuel – 1970

I have been watching alot of Philadelphia Phillies games on TV this year, maybe it’s because I have three Phillies players on my Illowa APBA League Chicago Champions team, maybe it’s because I have two ten dollar bets on Philadelphia, 6-1 to win the Penant, 12-1 to win the World Series. Sadly I already won my only other baseball bet, $100 that my White Sox would not win 90 games this year.

However this post is not about my gambling, but rather it is about Charlie Manuel. I finally connected the dots during last night’s Phillies extra inning win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Charlie Manuel from my youth, pictured above, is the same Charlie Manuel that starred in Japan, and is now the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Love him or hate him this good ole boy from West Virginia has led a pretty interesting life. The Charlie Manuel I knew as a child was a struggling major league outfielder mostly with the Minnesota Twins, who had a lifetime MLB batting average of .198, just under the Mendoza Line. Charlie, aka Chuck, started his professional career in 1963 with the Wytheville Twins, hitting .358 with seven home runs and 45 RBI’s. Then he struggled till he found his stroke again in his 4th year in A-ball, at the age of 23, when he hit .313 with 15 homers and 70 runs batted in, on the downside his nose was broken, jaw fractured, and lost ten teeth when a Jerry Reuss pitch hit him in the face. Manuel had a great spring training in 1969, made the big league club, batted .266 in limited action before an ankle injury brought on an 0-for-36 drought, resulting in a .207 final batting average in his rookie campaign.

After an undistinguished major league career with the Twins and the Dodgers it was time for a trip to Japan. In his 2nd season with the Yakult Swallows Chuck batted .312 with 39 HR’s & 103 RBI’s, all this despite his escapades allegedly started early in the evening and concluded right up to the pre-game warm-ups. One of the most famous incidents involving Manuel was when he, Clyde Wright and Roger Repoz fought the East German hockey team in a Japanese bar (the Americans clearly lost the brawl). The Swallows won their first-ever Central League pennant in 1978 and his game seven Japan Series home run gave Yakult the victory there as well. While a hero to fans, Manuel did not get along well with Yakult’s management. They did not like Charlie’s refusal to participate in drills, for not shining his spikes, for eating fast food and for his poor outfield defense.

Off to Buffalo, despite his success with the Swallows Chuck was sent to the Kintetsu Buffaloes, where he hit 24 homers in the first two months, Kintetsu, which had never won the Pacific League, was in first place. A Japanese pitcher with good control hit Manuel in the face with a 90 mile per hour fastball, Japanese sportswriters speculate Japanese pitchers were afraid an American might break Japanese hitting records. Charlie made it back to the regular lineup in August, posting 37 HR’s 94 RBI’s to go along with a .324 batting average, leading the league in home runs. He was the first American position player to be named PL MVP, Kintetsu won their first pennant ever, Manuel batted .391 in the 1979 Japan World Series. In 1980 he led the Buffaloes to their 2nd straight pennant, batting 325 with 48 HR’s & 129 RBI’s. Despite his outstanding season the fans soured on Charlie when he left the club midseason to attend his son’s high school graduation.

After retiring as a player he returned to the US to take a scouting job with the Minnesota Twins where his salary fell from $225,000 per year to $20,000. Charlie became the Cleveland Indians hitting coach in 1988, then managed in the minor leagues, before coming back to Cleveland as their hitting coach once again in 1994. Jim Thome and other Indian hitters attributed their success to Manuel, in 1997 Cleveland set a club home run record. Chuck’s health declined, he lost forty pounds, had a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery, five weeks later he was back in the dugout. Charlie led the Indians to a 90-72 record as their manager in 2000, despite a rockie start in which he had surgery to repair a ruptured colon in spring training. Ejected from two of the first three games, he banned card playing in the clubhouse and took away the Ping-Pong table when his team was struggling and he felt the players were too distracted. The Indians won the AL Central Division title in Manuel’s second year at the helm. He was let go partway through the 2002 season after a slow start.

On to the City of Brotherly Love is where Charlie found himself in 2003 as a special assistant in order to persuade protege free agent Jim Thome to sign. In 2005 Manuel took over as the skipper of the Phillies, leading them to 88 wins, they fell to 85 wins in 2006, and this year is their year. GO CHARLIE GO!!!

9-16-07: Josh Anderson Sunday to Remember

Josh Anderson (photo Jim Pierce)

Josh Anderson became the first rookie to reach base six times in a game since Arizona’s Conor Jackson on Aug. 25, 2006, and he was the first Astros rookie to do it since Joe Morgan on July 9, 1965 in a 12-inning game in Milwaukee. Anderson, who played 131 games with triple-A Round Rock, where he batted .273 with 17 doubles 6 triples & 2 homers, before arriving Sept. 1, had five hits and a walk.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” said Josh, who started his third straight game in centerfield and raised his batting average to .500. “I had a six-hit game in A-ball in 2004 and I had five hits one other time in the minors. It was just one of those days when you feel good, you feel locked in. It’s hard to describe. I guess it’s like a basketball player hitting several threes in a row.”

GREAT DAY AT THE CELL

Some time over this three game home stand against the LA Angels of Anaheim, I got a cold, with a wicked cough, and some nasty stuff in my lungs. Still I knew Sunday could be the day that Jim Thome would hit his 500th home run of his career, something never accomplished by a player … Continue reading “GREAT DAY AT THE CELL”

It was Jim Thome Bobblehead Day, so I got on the L at 10:10 AM, but didn’t arrive at the Cell till two hours later, “surprise” there were delays on the Red Line. I chugged down a purple Gatorade, settled in along with my bobblehead, and my Sox friends 35 rows behind home plate. After saying hello to one of Scot Shields’ family, 21 were in attendance, she told me that Scot didn’t miss the tag on a disputed call from the night before, it was almost time to play ball. But not before saying hello to the always smiling Nancy Faust. Even said hello to Jermaine Dye’s Dad as he was picking up his daily bag of caramel corn/cheesey popcorn mix.

With Mark Buehrle toeing the rubber, eight good White Sox fan friends (Tade, Al, Anthony, Dan, Dick, Bea, & Caramel Corn Mike and his brother Scott) in attendance, it was a perfect day for Thome’s 500th, Jim’s picture was even on the day’s tickets.

The White Sox couldn’t get their offense going, while the Halos took advantage of the Sox bullpen to build up a 7-1 lead. Alot of the fans stuck around hoping to see Jimmy’s Big Fly and then in the bottom of the 7th Chicago jumped back into the game 7-5, tied it seven up in the bottom of the 8th. After the 7th the group by Nancy counted off and knew Jim would bat in the bottom of the 9th. Tade said, “Wouldn’t be cool if it was a walkoff!”

After Darin Erstad leadoff the bottom of the 9th with a single against his old mates, Jim Thome drove one over the left centerfield wall to end the game. Everybody was truly happy for Thome, he’s such a great guy, a local kid from Peoria, who made good. The fans went crazy cheering as Thome hugged his father, wife with tears in her eyes, and several members of his family, before being hoisted onto Jenks & Dye’s shoulders.

This is what baseball is all about! Even Bubba had to smile…