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The UI Softball team held #1 seed Northwestern to 4 runs but that wasn’t enough.  They were eliminated from the Big 10 tournament on the Wildcats’ home turf by the score of 4-1. 

The Illini finishes the season at 24-31.

Jenna Hall… one-woman wrecking crew

That said, the end of Illini’s softball season would not be complete without paying tribute to Jenna Hall who will be graduating.  Hall was one heckuva softballer.  According to Coach Terri Sullivan, “Jenna is the best player to ever put on an Illinois uniform.”  Hall has been named as one of the 25 finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year, a first in Illini history.  Her 13 homeruns this year are a single season record for the Illini.  Her 59 walks broke the single season record set by… Jenna Hall.  She holds numerous fielding records for her work at first base.  I could go on and on.

I’m glad I had the pleasure to see her jack one out. 

I just got finished reading Strat-O-Matic Fanatic and it brought back all kinds of memories for me. Even though some people would say, I’m still living my childhood at fifty by playing APBA Baseball. The two games are different and similar at the same time, and just like Cub fans and White Sox fans, the players don’t seem to cross over to the other game. Richard Seitz invented APBA Baseball and came out with it in 1951, his Philadelphia Phillies won the Penant in 1950 and the cards were based on that year. Hal Richman invented Strat-O-Matic in 1948 and came out with it shortly after APBA hit the market. The cards are based on the previous season, games are replayed using dice, and stats come out pretty darn close to what the individual players actually did. In APBA dice rolls are either good or bad, and even Cy Young himself couldn’t do anything about a really good roll. Strat-O-Matic on the other hand has its results split up into either rolling on the batter’s card or rolling on the pitcher’s card, so it’ll be really hard for a good hitter to get a hit off a good pitcher if he ends up on the pitcher’s card, but will have pretty good luck if he ends up on the batter’s card. I started playing Strat-O-Matic with cards based on the 1967 MLB season. Then changed over to APBA for the 1969 MLB season when my cousins made the switch. I’ve purchased the APBA cards every year from 1970 to the present. I’ve been the manager of the Chicago Champions since 1976. The Champions are one of ten draft teams in the Illowa APBA League. The Champs have been fortunate enough to win the League Championship a record ten times, behind such stars as Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice, Gary Carter, Joe Carter, Cal Ripken, Jeff Bagwell, Dennis Leonard, Dave Stieb, Orel Hershiser, and Greg Maddux. The league was formed in 1975 and each year when players retire, rookies are drafted to take their place. Some alumni who have played the games include Spike Lee, Jon Miller, Ken Singleton, Doug Glanville, & Len Dykstra for Strat-O-Matic and David Eisenhower & George W. Bush have played APBA.

Ken Griffey couldn’t believe it himself.  He hadn’t played in about a month, since he tweaked something in his knee in centerfield at Wrigley Field.  That was the same day I was sitting in the Bleachers and there was a jerk out there screaming, “Griffey, YOU SUCK!!!”  ten times per inning till he left the game with an injury.  Well Griffey certainly didn’t suck 5/11 as he ripped a three run game winning home run into the rightfield stands off Nats reliever Joey Eischen. Washington Manager Frank Robinson tried everything to avoid the inevitable, but it wasn’t to be as Cincinnati clawed back to take the game 5-4 in 11.

Pinch hitter Rey Olmedo led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, went to 3rd on Ryan Freel’s single to left, but Freel was thrown out at 2nd when Ryan Church fired a strike to 2nd (greed is never good, especially when trailing by three in the bottom of the extras).  Felipe Lopez plated Olmedo with a single, Edwin Encarnacion reached, setting the stage for Junior.  After the ball cleared the RF wall the Cincinnati broadcaster exclaimed, “Griffey is the King of the Queen City tonite!!!”

Hideki Matsui tried for a sliding catch last night, landed funny on his wrist, and it broke. He’s scheduled for possibly season ending surgery today. The streak officially ended when Hideki left the game, not completing 1/2 inning of play. Matsui, a 31-year-old who is Japan’s most famous baseball star, took pride in his consecutive games streak. Before coming to the major leagues, he played in 1,250 consecutive games with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League from Aug. 22, 1993, through 2002, then in every game since joining the Yankees the following year. His consecutive games streak was over at 518 with the Yankees, and perhaps his season, too. The Yanks also lost the game to the Red Sox, but it’s nothing compared to losing Godzilla.

Aaron Rowand broke his nose last night when a two out bases loaded double died in his glove and his nose hit the outfield wall in Philadelphia against the Mets. Rowand had requested the Phillies install extra padding on their outfield walls to save him from injury.  The pads were on back order, now they look to be coming a little too late.  Aaron left the field, blood streaming from his nose, in a rain shortened contest, which Philadelphia won 2-0 thanks to Aaron Rowand.

Hookshot over at Cardinals Diaspora pretty much captures the essence that is Albert Pujols.  Even as a Cub fan, I can’t disagree with his sentiments.

But Pope?  Why stop there?

Since when do we celebrate second place when it comes to baseball records? Why is everybody making a big deal about MLB not celebrating Barry Bonds’ 714th and/or 715th home runs? I’ve actually heard media people say it’s a travesty that MLB won’t celebrate Barry’s breaking of Babe Ruth’s record. What record? Babe Ruth’s daughter and grandkids say they won’t participate in any celebration. Do we really care? No offense but the Babe is SECOND! Last time I checked Hank Aaron has the record for lifetime homeruns. I don’t remember much fanfare when Pete Rose moved into second place on the all-time hit list. Does the casual fan even know who is now third? When Nolan Ryan moved into second place on the all-time strikeout list did they stop the game and have a celebration? There was probably an announcement made on the scoreboard and a nice round of applause from those in attendance. MLB is correct in it’s decision not to celebrate Barry’s next two homers. If he breaks Aaron’s record (which I don’t think is going to happen) then MLB should have a celebration worthy of that accomplishment. As for those who think the record will be tainted well too bad. He was not the only player who was juiced and he should not be singled out. There’s no doubt that there is a double standard when it comes to Bonds. It’s funny how during the summer of Mark and Sammy they were feted like no other players in history even though there was little doubt and much speculation about their increased body mass. When a bottle of Andro was found in McGwire’s locker the spin was that it wasn’t banned by baseball. Well neither were steroids. And everybody chuckled when Sammy talked about getting strong by taking Flinstones vitamins. Heck, they were even credited for “saving” baseball after the strike. Now here we are 8 years later and baseball decides to launch a steroid investigation but it really seems like a Barry Bonds investigation. Can we really even take any investigation commissioned by MLB seriously? All I know is that Barry Bonds is the best player I’ve ever seen play and I’m pulling for him to break the record – the real record of 755.

Cinco de Mayo, in only his 2nd start with the Nationals after being claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, Day pitched a gem. And his first start with Washington was a 3-1 loss on April 30th against the St. Louis Cardinals. Zach Day was originally with the Montreal Expos before being traded to Colorado, so Day is back where he started, but in a different city. Nick Johnson paced the Nats offense with 2 two run homers, and Washington added a couple of more runs making the final 6-0. But the story was all about Day. Zach threw 66 of 105 pitches for strikes, picked up by Jon Rauch & Felix Rodriguez who each pitched an inning of scoreless relief to keep the donut alive.

Zach Day W 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Two coincidences about the #1 and #2 home run hitters in the history of MLB. Both scored the exact same number of runs, 2174. See what you learn watching the ESPN Sunday Night Game of the Week? Also both players started playing in a town and ended their careers in the same city, but for a different team. Babe Ruth started with the Boston Red Sox and ended with the Boston Braves. Hank Aaron started with the Milwaukee Braves and ended with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Heh, heh, Bob Dupuy must have been having a bad day or something.  After hearing second hand that his own organization was not planning on “marking” the balls used by the Giants during Bonds’ run for Babe Ruth’s record for homeruns for a lefty, he did a quick turn around.

(from ESPN):  (He) said the matter had not been brought to his attention until he saw an ESPN.com story, written by Darren Rovell, in which MLB spokesman Pat Courtney was quoted as saying there was no reason to mark the balls because Ruth’s 714 home runs were no longer “the record.”

“I was surprised when I saw Darren’s [story], to be honest with you,” DuPuy said. “And I was surprised we weren’t doing it. I asked why. Nobody had a reason. So I said, ‘We should be doing it.’ “

The best was yet to come from the well-mannered Dupuy.  When asked about flip-flopping on the issue because of public pressure, he well, expressed his feelings on the matter:

“You can tell them they’re full of crap, and you can quote me on that.”

You tell him, Bob. 

My feeling on matter:  One, it’s the right decision to do it.  Homerun ball #715 could be worth a lot.  I’ve heard figures ranging from $10-25k.  For a small price, this could avert future court costs.  Not to mention the safety of the fans in the stadium.  It’s a sad fact but it’s true.

Second and a small matter… get over yourself, Bob. Maybe it was “public pressure” that brought this to a head.  If it weren’t for “public pressure”, your office might have bungled this whole matter. 

 

On May 1st Assistant GM Roland Hemond made a trip to Napa on behalf of White Sox team owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Dario Lodigian, 89, was due to receive his reward for his years of service. Dario played with theSox in the 40s and has been a scout in the organization for 42 years. After Lodigani got his ring he got a call from Reinsdorf, Dario told the Chairman, “I want to thank you and the White Sox for taking care of me. Thanks a million. This is a day I’ll never forget. LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!