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MLB keeps Joyce quiet for Tiger reunion

It is apparently big news that umpire Jim Joyce has to have his interviews approved by MLB.

This news comes in time for Joyce’s return to Detroit’s Comerica Park and his reunion with Armando Galarraga whose perfect game he bumbled earlier this year.

USA Today Sports’ headline really puts the clamp-down on MLB officials. “Umpire Jim Joyce muzzled by MLB over Armando Galarraga reunion”, it says. For a second or two, it even got my blood boiling. Then, I realized it was pretty much standard operating procedure for baseball employees whether they be players, umpires coaches or managers. Unless you’re Ozzie Guillen, most statements to the press need to go through a PR person who is sanctioned by MLB.

I don’t like it but that’s how it goes. It should be any surprise to anyone that MLB is still doing damage control.

They did take the muzzle off Joyce briefly so he could talk to the press about NOT talking to the press:

“You know me — I’d normally do it in a heartbeat," Joyce said about 90 minutes before Friday’s game between Detroit and Baltimore. "But I got a call yesterday from Major League Baseball saying that I’m under restriction, and that all interview requests have to be approved by them."

Wait for Joyce’s auto-biography. We’ll hear all about it then.

Friday night at Victory Field

I went to the Triple-A Indianapolis-Toledo game Friday night. Admittedly, the main reason was to see my friend and former Illini Shawn Roof play. It’s the first time he’s played close to this area so I couldn’t pass up the chance.

But the idea of going to Indianapolis’ Victory Field thrilled me too. It’s been a while. The last time I went the Indians were the Brewers’ farm team. Victory Field is one of nicest Triple-A minor league parks I’ve been to. I’m not the only one to think so… Baseball America named it Best Minor League BallPark in America.

The banners along the runway of former Indian player like you see above (I know a couple readers who might appreciate my choice of Minnie Minoso) were a nice touch and very well designed.

Look out! Indian mascot Rowdie looks angry.

I thought the scoreboard designed like a Facebook page was kinda hokey but I bet it goes over pretty well.

Not a particularly great photo but it does show how many people show up at games. Over 12,000 were at Friday’s event.

No one left after the last out. It was Fireworks night.

The Mud Hens won 8-2. Shawn Roof helped the cause by going 1 for 3, scoring a run.

The Corn Crib hosts Illini night Aug. 26

As we were passing by going north of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, I got took this photo of the home of the Normal Cornbelters.

The Cornbelters who are in the independent Frontier League, have one of the more original names for a ballpark, in my opinion. It’s called “The Corn Crib”.

My city-dwelling friends are snickering already. I know it. But as a farm kid who had a “corn crib” not too far away from the house, I think it’s pretty cool.

The Corn Crib is officially sponsored by the Illinois Corn Farmers. In this day and age of sports sponsors that consist of wireless phone companies, soda drinks manufacturers, and insurance companies, that’s a little refreshing in my opinion. Note the tractors out front of the stadium.

For those University of Illinois sports fans, the Cornbelters have declared August 26th, “Illini Night” and have even convinced men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber to come down and throw out the first pitch. There’s added significance since the Cornbelters will be playing a team in the vicinity of Weber’s former team, the Southern Illinois Miners. More info at the Normal Cornbelters website.

Dawson: Cub, Expo, what does it matter? He’ll be in.

I did a quick poll of the top stories of Andre Dawson entering the Hall of Fame. Of those articles with photos of him playing, the ratio of him in a Cub uniform as opposed to an Expo uni was about 2 to 1.

But I’m not jealous. Really. I’m just happy he’s getting in. And part of me is glad the Expos aren’t forgotten. But Joe Jaffe from ESPN thinks Tim Raines should have been the first Expo, though.

and what’s this… more talk about Lou Piniella eventually getting into the Hall? So says soon-to-be inductee Whitey Herzog.

My cat’s getting hopped up on her treats

I chuckled a bit when the wife brought these Feline “Greenies” treats home for our cat. Whatever gets our cat through her day, I guess.

My first thought? Pete Rose.

I ran this by a younger baseball fan (by younger, I mean someone born after the Ford Administration). He gave me a blank stare. Perhaps the more “seasoned” baseball fans out there remember the significance of “greenies” in baseball.

Oh yeah, drugs aren’t funny.

Meaningless manager streaks

I’m still on this manager kick. Bear with me.

Has anyone heard of Jim Clinton or Joe Miller? Yeah, me either. They share the distinction of having lost the most games as a manager without a win. Interestingly, they both did it in 1872 and managed eleven games without taking home a win. Clinton did it with the Brooklyn Eckfords as a player/manager. He did go on to have a ten year career after that.

While Germany-born Miller did technically bat for the Washington Nationals (yeah, haha) in 1872, it was only four times so calling him a player/manager would be a misnomer. Calling him a ballplayer would almost be a stretch since he only played one more year after 1872.

To look at the other side, you won’t find as extravagant streaks on the winning end. You only have to go as far as Mel Harder. Yes, THAT Mel Harder. The All-Star Cleveland Indian pitcher managed three games and won them all. And that’s as the most games a anyone has managed without losing a game.

Harder did this over a period of two years, 1961-62.

I guess this proves that it’s easier to lose than to win.

Do as I say…

What do MLB managers Jim Leyland, Manny Acta and Jim Riggleman have in common?

None of these managers have ever played baseball at the major league level. In fact, of the current 30 managers, seven haven’t ever played in the bigs.

Here’s the list:

Rk	Mgr	Yrs	G	W ?	L	W-L%	Plyof App	WSwon	PennWon
1	Jim Leyland	19	2944	1461	1481	.497	5	1	2
2	Jim Riggleman	11	1345	596	748	.443	1	0	0
3	Joe Maddon	7	793	392	401	.494	1	0	1
4	Manny Acta	4	505	198	307	.392	0	0	0
5	Fredi Gonzalez	4	555	276	279	.497	0	0	0
6	David Trembley	4	470	187	283	.398	0	0	0
7	Trey Hillman	3	359	152	207	.423	0	0	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/22/2010.

Leyland is obviously the most successful with 1461 wins, more than double than the #2 guy, Riggleman. He’s also seen plenty of postseason time, too.

Who exactly is doing the drug testing of the minor league players?

Major League Baseball has now implemented random drug testing for minor league baseball players. It’s all part of the plan… the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program to be specific.

Who will be doing the actual testing? A company called the National Center for Drug Free Sport.

For those interested in clicking deeper, you can find out the details on Drug Free Sport’s methods of specimen collecting (the SCAN method, Secure Collection Automated Network) and specimen analysis (they test for Anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, drugs of abuse, and masking agents, urine manipulators, adulterants).

Drug Free Sport has a wide clientele indeed. They are being used by the NCAA, the PGA, MLB and the NBA.

Lou Piniella, lame duck

Some quick thoughts on Lou Piniella’s retirement and a few questions.

To start, Rob Neyer examines Lou’s HOF potential and thinks he comes out pretty well. More on that later.

Piniella came to the Cubs with the rep as hot-tempered, base-throwing skipper. What we got was a grandfather-type who usually didn’t sweat the details. Usually.

Many have lauded Piniella for what he’s done as a Cub manager. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve liked him just fine but much of his success came from a team that he inherited and he rode that wagon as long as he could. It seemed evident when he took over that this would be his “sunset” team considering his age and stage in his career.

My take on Piniella for the first part of his reign of the Cubs is this: His managing ability to get the Cubs to the postseason was fine. Once they got there, they stalled. Does Piniella share some of the responsibility of not inspiring his team when the going got tough? Maybe.

My questions…

Was his retirement a surprise?

Not to me. This is Lou’s last year of his contract. With grumblings already about his performance, I just didn’t see him re-upping.

Is Piniella really retiring?

Yeah probably. Piniella deserves some retirement and I mean that in a nice way. I just don’t see another team picking him in the future. Look to see him as an analyst behind an ESPN desk soon.

What’s next for the Cubs?

Fortunately, the Cubs have time to think about this. I’m not as pro-Sandberg as some might think. If I had my druthers, I’d like to see them pry Joe Giardi away from the Yankees (yeah, dream on) or give Alan Trammell a shot.

While we’re changing leadership, is Jim Hendry’s job safe?

Yes. There are a lot of fans calling for Hendry’s head at any given time. That said, for any bad move he’s made (and there have been some), he’s made some quiet deals that have kept the team afloat.

Piniella in the Hall of Fame? Really?

I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. Between his above average performance as a player plus his seven postseason appearances as a manager, he has a shot. He ranks 14th all-time in wins which isn’t too shabby. I wouldn’t count it out.

Interesting addendum: Gene Mauch is the only non-active manager with more wins than Piniella who is not in the Hall of Fame. He has 1902 wins.

Perhaps the fact that Mauch has only two playoff appearances (and no World Series ring) in 26 years has something to with it. That and his losing record (.483).

Al Hrabosky the Mad Hungarian

Bruce Markusen has a very well-researched piece The Hardball Times all about a player I remember from one of my favorite era of baseball, the 70s- Al Hrabosky.

I remember the Mad Hungarian well. What I didn’t know was how he got his nickname:

The unusual routine prompted a nickname from the Cardinals’ front office. The team’s public relations director, Jerry Lovelace, began calling Hrabosky “The Mad Hungarian.” The name, which accurately reflected his heritage, caught on with writers, broadcasters and fans, giving Hrabosky one of the most identifiable alter egos of his time, or any other for that matter.

Just think, the club front office not only approved but capitalized on Hrabosky’s behavior.

No doubt I’ve said this before but I wonder if Al’s stomping around the mound and talking to the ball would be tolerated in today’s world. The 70s were a more colorful time (in more ways than one… you’ve seen the uniforms) and probably a little more tolerant of differences and eccentricities.

Sadly, if Hrabosky tried to pull what he did in 2010, someone would complain, there would be an investigation by an appointed MLB committee and a 50-page policy written up detailing what is acceptable and not acceptable.

Miss you. Al.