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There is a fan that attends all the Tampa Bay Devil Rays home games and to quote Jackie Gleason, “He has a BIG MOUTH”. I’ve got the MLB package, every game he picks out one player on the opposition to ride, tonite it was A.J. Pierzynski of the Chicago White Sox. A few times this season he’s made it on TV, he’s a buffoon, but to top it off he brings his little kid to the game, boarderline child abuse. After this goofball chiding A.J. all game, Pierzynski came through with a comeback two RBI double in the top of the 8th inning. 5-2 White Sox winner, YES!!!

By now, many of you have seen or heard or at least heard about ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe’s visit to the broadcast booth during a Padres game while in a very drunken state.  There’s no question, he made a fool of himself. 

I’m not going to provide a link to a video or audio.  I don’t see the point.  Sut has been humiliated enough.  Sutcliffe entered the stadium in a very inebriated state with no intention of “working”, that is, going on the air.  The San Diego ESPN affiliate people knew full well Sut had drank more than a few yet proceeded to bring him on the air.  Which producer made the decision that doing that was a “good idea”?

Yet, it’s Sutcliffe who has to come out and make an embarrassing apology. For what?  He was a drunk baseball fan having a good time.  He was no drunker than half the guys in Petco, I’m sure.  His only gaffe was that he wasn’t able to make the wiser decision not to go on air.  But that decision should not have been his decision to make.

The Pirates’ AA affiliate Altoona (PA) Curve are having a rather unusual promo night on July 2nd. 

Salute to Frivolous Lawsuit Night. 

It’s reportedly inspired by an Los Angeles Angels fan who has filed a lawsuit simply because he didn’t receive a nylon tote bag as part of the Mother’s Day promotion. 

According to the Altoona Curve website, promotions at the Salute to Frivolous Lawsuit Night include:

• A Pink Tote Bag Giveaway to the first 137 men in attendance ages 18 and over
• The first 137 women 18 and over will receive lukewarm coffee so they will not burn themselves
• The first 137 kids will be given a beach ball with a warning not to ingest it
• Angels merchandise and novelty items given away throughout the game honoring some of history’s “Most Frivolous Lawsuits” during the game

 

The Curve General Manager appears to have a sense of humor. “We realize that these giveaways as part of our Salute to Frivolous Lawsuit Night are fairly stupid and serve no real purpose,” said Curve General Manager Todd Parnell. “But if our fans don’t like them, then they can sue us!”

The Curve team management must have a field day with PR.

All kidding aside, my bet is that this kind of stuff really appeals to the fans.  I’ve always felt that the minors had it above the majors when it comes to public relations, promotions and just plain showing the folks a good time.  The MLB clubs could learn a lot from the minor league organization in this area and to be honest they have been taking their ideas and trying to incorporate them, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

 

 

Buster Olney of ESPN had a link in his blog today to the inspiring story of one exceptional high school baseball player in Houston, Texas. Congratulations to Nate Holthaus on a fine high school career. I hope he gets the chance to play at the University of Cincinnati.

Rickie Weeks played with and against Prince Fielder when they were 11 year olds playing in the Orlando, Florida area. Today they are teammates with the Milwaukee Brewers making up the right side of the infield. Also Fielder is the Godfather of Weeks’ child. Both Weeks & Fielder are off to good starts with the bat this year, although they’re not nearly as talented with the gloves as they are at the dish. Rickie is only 23 years old, Fielder is a 21 year old rookie, while shortstop J.J. Hardy is 23 years of age. This threesome on the infield reminds folks of three former Brewers who played together for 15 years starting in the 70s. Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, & Jim Gantner were the Brewers for many a year and these new Brew Crew Kids will be the cornerstone for Milwaukee for years to come. Check out a cool article about this story that appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Cincinnati Reds prospect Dernell Stenson was killed in Arizona November 3, 2003 when a carjacking went bad. Ken Griffey Jr. called the Baseball Hall of Fame to set it up so that Dernell’s son could throw out the first pitch before an exhibition game that was to be played May 15th between the Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the game was washed out, it was still a good day for young Kobe Stenson. Junior took Kobe to meet all the players. “I just wanted to see how much the little man looked like his father”, exclaimed Griffey. This is what being a star is all about, being a man gentle enough to reach out to a kid.

I love this photo from USAToday.  Especially the look the woman on the left is giving the kids.  But when it comes to Phat Albert, what can you do?  My son’s third-grade teacher, who is a St Louis Cardinals fan, calls Albert a “man among men”.  She would understand.

USA Today’s Jon Saraceno, has written an article about Albert Pujols.  It’s something that should be read by all those fans booing (and for that matter, the media who are glorifying) Barry Bonds right now. 

It’s quite simple.  Saraceno claims, “the real story is Albert Pujols, not Barry Bonds.”

 

 

White Sox starting pitcher Mark Buehrle allowed seven first inning runs (one earned), but amazingly still got the win. It was the first time that ever happened in the American League. And it was only the second time in MLB history, the last time was over 100 years ago. Chicago beat Minnesota 9-7 to hang on to 1st place in the AL Central. The Sox also turned a triple play in the ballgame.

Brian Giles walked five times for the Padres against the Cubs in a nine inning game tying a Major League record. Of course the Cubbies lost the game 9-0. Giles’ linescore was two runs and five bases on balls. The last time a player had five walks in a game was Barry Bonds on Sept. 25, 2004, against the Dodgers.

I ran across this link at Baseball Musings but it really bears repeating.  Stephen Keener, Chief Executive Officer of the Little League, was a keynote speaker at a Little League Diamond Dinner in Syracuse, NY.  Keener had a few surprising, and in my view positive comments about the role of Little League in our communities. 

From an article by Sean Krist at The Post Standard:

Keener said he’ll get calls every year from Little League coaches around the country, who’ll tell him their teams had undefeated seasons and won numerous championships. Those coaches want to know if there are special awards for going unbeaten.

Keener said he’ll tell them, every time, “No, there aren’t.” And then he tells them he kind of wishes their teams had done a little losing.

Because the point of Little League, Keener said, is not to win all the time. The point of Little League is community, and offering small lessons in dealing with adversity that might help children when they someday encounter the real thing. I think Keener used the word meaningless, or something like it, to describe the long-term meaning of the actual winner or loser of a Little League game, which was incredibly powerful, if you think about the ridiculous tension that can surround Little League competition.

 

That may not go over with some over-achieving coaches (and parents).  But I think it’s worth thinking about.  I have seen some youth sports teams who have become so accustomed to winning that when the time of adversity comes, they are not prepared to deal with it.  Parity and competitiveness should be the goals, not domination.