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Seems like a lot of ballplayers are taking some time off these days.

At least Vladimir Guerrero has real good reason.  Sadly, Vlad lost three cousins in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.  Word has it that Vlad is grieving and having a hard time concentrating on baseball.  As a result, he’s pulling out of the WBC.

The Dodgers pitcher Eric Gagne has left camp for “personal reasons”.  He’s expected to be back by the beginning of next week.  No reason given yet why.

That brings us to Zach Greinke.  Two years ago, he put in a solid rookie season then fell into a sophomore slump in 2005.  Greinke has now asked for an “extended” leave of absence from the team.  The team denies it is for health reasons nor his desire to play baseball. 

I suppose it would be prudent to respect his privacy but as those of us looking inside the fishbowl, we can’t help but wonder.  Some folks have rumored that he is considering retiring from the game of baseball.  Some have gone as far to suggest that he wants to take up golf professionally. 

 

 

This CBS photo gave me a chuckle.  Barry Bonds was having some fun portraying American Idol judge Paula Abdul in a spoof of the show. 

That’s Jeff Fassero on the left pretending to be Simon Cowell and Ray Durham on the right imitating Randy Jackson.

 

BMX Racing will be a new sport in the 2008 Summer Olympics but on the other hand, Baseball and Softball will be taken off the docket as of 2012.

Am I missing something?

 

Yeah, it’s not about baseball not directly at least.

I just wanted to give mad props to the Swedish hockey team for pulling out a victory against the Finnish team to get the gold.  You see, I’m of Swedish descent and my family never let me forget it.  So when I see a Swedish team/athlete in the Olympics, I’m always pulling for ’em.

Today, their hockey team certainly didn’t disappoint with a come from behind win to win it all.

One thing I noticed during the medal ceremonies (which I admit, get me a tad emotional) was how every Swedish player was singing the Swedish national anthem.  I don’t mean moving their lips and hoping someone doesn’t notice that they’re faking it.  They were actually singing it.

Why don’t the American athletes do that?  For that matter, why do the majority of American citizens in general avoid singing the Star Spangled Banner in favor of letting the performer sing it for them?

Those who know me are probably a bit surprised to read this.  But yes, despite how I feel about the current state of the U.S government, I love the Star Spangled Banner.  If more people would sing the words to the song (and more importantly, understand the context that they were written), they would have a greater appreciation for the freedoms we still have.

Two years ago at a baseball game, (see, here comes the baseball part), I was incredibly proud of my then 7 year old son who (with no prompting from me) stood up for our national anthem and took off his hat.  Part of me wanted to run around get the attention of the annoying yuppies in our section still talking on their cell phones and point to my son and say, “THERE!  That is what you should be doing now!”.  Of course, I didn’t.

I’ll get off my soapbox now.

It’s below zero here in Chicago, but tomorrow I’ll be on my way to the Sunshine State to watch preseason baseball. My yearly pilgrimage will be as always to the Tahitian Resort in Holiday, Florida. The Tahitian is at best a fixer upper with the traditional painting of pink & turquoise cementing its exterior somewhere in the 60s. Just down the road from the Tahitian is the best Greek food to be found in Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs got on the map when sponge divers came over from the Greek Islands in search of sponges. Although the sponge divers still do their thing today, Tarpon Springs is better known for its tourist shops and delicious Greek cuisine, my personal favorite is Costa’s Restaurant. As you travel further down Highway 19 you’ll come upon Clearwater, where the Phillies train. It’s strange to see the Phillie faithful in a sunshine backdrop. New Jerseyese is widely spoken with alot of deese, does, & dem. Somehow the sunshine even brings out optimism out of the people from the City of Brotherly Love. A couple of years ago I watched as Jim Thome launched a couple of bombs over the fence and out onto the highway. I’ll have to check out new hope Ryan Howard and also checkin on Jimmy JRoll Rollins as he prepares to go after the most sacred record in baseball Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. The only game I’ll be able to see before heading back to the frigid north of the Windy City will be on March 2nd when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays take on the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, FL. Dunedin is a Scottish town with the quantist shops you’ll ever see, but the highlight of Dunedin has to be Casa Del Tina’s. Tina’s has the freshest & tastiest Mexican food you’re ever gonna experience, and the Margaritas! I’m eager to see young Rays Delmon Young & BJ Upton. Other teams that train in the area are the Devil Rays who train in St. Pete and the Yankees who own Tampa. My talk of my trip to Florida wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention the German Restaurant. I’m German and this place makes my mouth water just thinking about eating there. Germans are usually stoic and serious, but nothing could be further from the truth when dining there as owners Uwe & Dagmar Kasper always make me feel at home when I come to visit. Hey, was this an article about baseball or food?

Ken Davidoff, sports columnist for Newsday has an interesting column entitled Fear of injuries is main interest of American fans.  The headline is a bit misleading since there’s more to it than that.  It essentially looks at American baseball fans’ reluctance to embrace the WBC for a variety of reasons. 

 

 

The Zealot’s “5 Young Pitchers” article put me in a contemplative mood.

When I first became a baseball fan (1959, age 10), the CUBS had 5 Young Pitchers. These guys were the envy of baseball, at least among the scouting world. They portended a bright future for the Cubs. They were:

1. Glen Hobbie. Age 23. Southern Illinois Boy. While my definition of “downstate” is “anything south of 127th Street,” Hobbie was from “real Southern Illinois:” South of Springfield. In 1958, he had gone 10-6 with an ERA of 3.76. In 1959 and 1960, he won 16 games each season. Unfortunately, those 32 wins were accompanied by 33 losses, 20 in 1960. And that was the high-water mark. He had 42 of his 62 major league wins before his 25th Birthday: 42-39 before Age 25 and 20-42 thereafter. The Cubs swapped him to the Cardinals in June, 1964, for aging Lew Burdette. That turned out to be “not the worst trade the Cubs made with the Cardinals that month.” In 1961, I was at Wrigley Field when Glen Hobbie hit two home runs in his first two at bats. He sacrifice bunted his third time up and, in the seventh inning, the Cubs pinch-hit for him. I didn’t understand that at age 12; I’m not sure I understand it NOW. Glen Hobbie’s final major league total was 62-81.

2. Bob Anderson. Age 23. East Chicago, Indiana. In 1959, Anderson went 12-13 at Age 23. That was his best year. He won 24 games before Age 25, 12 games after that age. After 1962, the Cubs traded him to Detroit for Steve Boros. The Tigers used him out of the pen for one year, then included him in the trade that sent Rocky Colavito to Kansas City. My memory is that Anderson took one look at Charlie Finley’s organization (Charlie O was still in the learning phase of running a baseball team. Remember the “Pennant Porch?”) and promptly retired. True or not, he never pitched in the major leagues after leaving Detroit. Bob Anderson’s final major league total was 36-46.

3. Dick Drott. Age 22. Cincinnati Kid. He was 15-11 with a last-place team in 1957 (Age 20), and won 7 more (losing 11) in 1958. He won 22 games before Age 23, FIVE afterward. The Cubs did not protect Drott from the expansion draft following the 1961 season. He was drafted by the Houston Colt .45’s, and pitched two years for them. It has been stated that the turning point of Dick Drott’s career was the day he turned 21. Drott REALLY liked the bars on Clark Street. According to reports: About twice a year, John Holland (Cubs GM) would get a late night call from the Addison Street Lockup (Chicago Police Station, Addison and Halsted). The officer would say, “Hello, John. We’ve got your Pitcher again.” Holland never had to ask, “Which Pitcher?” He simply replied, “I’ll be right over.” It was reported that he had a sore arm, but rumor was that he was constantly “drying out.” Dick Drott was dead before Age 40. For some reason, I have the idea that Teddy Ballgame knew Dick Drott. But he might have instead known Ryne Duren, who had many of the same habits. Dick Drott’s final major league total was 27-46.

4. Moe Drabowsky. Age 23. Ozanna, Poland. He was 13-15 with the last-place 1957 team. Drott and Drabowsky were 28-26 for the Cubs in 1957; the rest of the staff was 34-66. His three years with the Cubs after 1957, he was 17-21, and probably led baseball in “not getting out of the second inning” in that time-period. Following the 1960 season, the Cubs swapped him and Seth Morehead (now, there’s another story) to the Braves for Andre Rodgers, a shortstop who hit OK but made too many errors. When Drabowsky was with the Cubs, he beat the Pirates regularly, but had less success against other clubs. Drabowsky actually had a decent “second career” as a somewhat above average relief pitcher, first with the Baltimore Orioles, then with the expansion Kansas City Royals. And, of course, he had the one spectacular World Series game. Moe Drabowsky’s final major league total was 88-105. 43-73 as a starter, but 45-32 with 55 saves in relief.

5. Dick Ellsworth. Age 19. Wyoming. Dick Ellsworth actually came up in mid-1960 at Age 20. But, in 1959, he shut out the eventual pennant-winning White Sox in the Boys’ Benefit Game. He lost 20 in 1962, then won 22 in 1963. His final season with the Cubs was 1966, when he lost 22 games for first-year Cub manager Leo Durocher. Leo wasn’t known for his patience, and following that season, he told the Cubs, “You might as well get whatever you can for Ellsworth, because I’m not going to use him any more.” “Whatever” turned out to be Ray Culp, who had a sore arm. Ellsworth ended up 84-109 in seven seasons (1960-1966) with the Cubs. 62-99 if you don’t count the 22 win season. Ellsworth was traded to Boston a year later, then bounced around through the early-‘70’s. He was involved in the trade where the Red Sox dumped Ken Harrelson on the Indians: The Hawk had gotten “too weird.” Boston’s words, not mine. Ellsworth finished his career with GO BREWERS GO. Dick Ellsworth’s final major league total was 115-137.

It may be too cold to play baseball but the University of Illinois softball season has just started.  The team is down in Waco, TX for the Getterman Classic.  The event is hosted by the Baylor Bears.

Only there was no game today.  Today’s season opener got rained out.

Play hopefully begins tomorrow, weather permitting.  Good luck, women!

Update:  For the weekend, the UI women split.  They lost to Tulsa twice but defeated Baylor and Wichita State.  The 12-6 win against Baylor was worth savoring since Baylor was #10 in the nation.

 

 

When it’s the dead of winter and it’s 18 degrees out and there aren’t any baseball games to talk about (at least in this country), we baseball fans tend to analyze, predict, re-analyze, forecast, and over-analyze.  It’s in our nature.  Oh and we make lists.  Lots of lists.  Because they’re nice and neat and orderly. 

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN does his part.  He came out with his list of five young pitchers with Cy Young potential. 

I won’t quote the article but I will tell you who the pitchers are.  If you want to see his review of each one, you can read his article on ESPN’s web site.  For time being, you’ll have to put up with my comments.

1.  Dontrelle Willis:  Kurkjian saying that Willis is Cy Young material isn’t much of a stretch.  After all, he was among the top three candidates in 2005.  Granted he is 24 years old but putting the D-train on a list like this isn’t saying much.  Captain Obvious to the rescue.

2.  Rich Harden:  Harden is a pitcher who’s been in the majors for 3 years, pitched well but hasn’t really made a name for himself.  Yet, 2006 may be the year he puts it all together and name recognition may not be an issue.  His WHIP is low and control is “well under control”.

3.  Zach Duke:  I was a big Duke fan during the 2005 season when he won his first 6 starts.  That was very exciting.  But I’m hearing suspect reports over the off-season.  Nothing really negative.  Just that his 2005 season was really a fluke and more specifically what you saw in the latter part of the season was the real Zach Duke as opposed to the Zach Duke that won 6 straight.  Maybe the batters just figured him out.

4.  Scott Kazmir:  Ok, here I will quote Kurkjian:

 Future Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar wasn’t easily impressed by pitchers, especially young ones, but the first time he faced Kazmir in batting practice in spring training, he said, “I’ve never seen a young left-hander who throws that hard, and his ball moves that much.”

I got a chance to see Kazmir pitch on the TV two straight starts.  Very impressive.  Cy Young?  Maybe.  But give him a couple years.

5.  Felix Hernandez:  I don’t know a whole lot about Hernandez other than the media’s comparisons to Dwight Gooden.  The young pitcher has some obvious real talent.  Youth generally is an advantage in scouting.  But when you get down to the teens, it does have some drawbacks (see Dwight Gooden).  For his sake, I hope he can hold it together.

 

I knew with Barry Bonds getting close to the Babe’s 714 mark (not to mention encroaching on Hank Aaron’s all-time mark), the media would be in a feeding frenzy.  We should have seen this coming.

Plans are in the works for Bonds to be appearing in a reality-type show on ESPN and will be getting paid to do so.   ESPN will be following Bonds beginning spring training and continuing throughout the year.  

ESPN will air this as part of their entertainment programming not their normal news coverage.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

For the show, a new set of cameras and microphones would follow Bonds on and off the field through the season as he pursues Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron on the all-time home-run list. With 708 homers, he needs seven more to pass Ruth. Aaron’s record is 755, which Bonds is not expected to reach this year.

Granting Bonds his own reality show — an ESPN official prefers to call it a documentary — would give fans a fly-on-the-wall perspective on his personal life, and it would give Bonds a forum to improve his public image in the wake of his well-chronicled ties to the BALCO steroid scandal.

The move by Bonds and ESPN does bring up some concerns of the role of sports journalism.  More from the SF Chronicle:

But that might be up for debate — and a conflict of interest.

“If (ESPN Entertainment) and the production company get news in the course of (their) work, do we use this news (on “SportsCenter”), knowing we paid for that access?” Vince Doria, ESPN’s senior vice president and director of news, asked ESPN.com’s ombudsman, George Solomon, for Solomon’s column about what he called “an impending business relationship between ESPN Original Entertainment and (Bonds).”

Doria added, “We want to be thought of, first and foremost, as objective journalists.”

That and the age-old concern of the news media becoming part of the story.