Category: Uncategorized

Chipper likes the fast lane

Apparently, Toronto, Canada didn’t suit Atlanta Brave Chipper Jones as he spent a couple days there as part of the World Baseball Classic.  There just wasn’t enough to do. 

“We stayed in Toronto for a week and played three games. I don’t know if you ever stayed in Toronto, but it’s not exactly Las Vegas.  To say that we were plucking our eyebrows out one at a time would be an understatement.”

I have no sympathy for Mr Jones.  He must have no creativity or wherewithal.  He sounds like my nine-year daughter when I turn off the TV.  “I’m bored… I don’t know what to do” 

The only difference is that after a few minutes, my daughter can find something to occupy her time (and she doesn’t embarrass herself by talking to the media about it).

Not only that, I’ve been to Toronto and maybe I’m easy to please but the town seemed to offer a lot. 

Get a life, Jonsie.

Knucksie Niekro Back With The Braves

lance-niekro1 His father was pitcher Joe Niekro, his uncle was Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro. But Lance made it to the San Francisco Giants as a firstbaseman, batting .246 with 17 home runs in 499 big league at bats. After being released by the Houston Astros farm team last May, the younger Niekro has embraced his inner knuckleball and give it a go with the Atlanta Braves.

Lance learned everything he knew about baseball from his knuckleball pitcher (who started throwing it after 1971 in the bigs) father Joe, who pitched 22 years in the big leagues, and was a 20 game winner twice. Lance learned the pitch as a youngster from his father, but would be the Giants opening day firstbaseman in 2006, hitting two homers in a game against the Marlins, his only multi-homer game of his career, the last time his father saw him play, father Joe was dead of a brain aneurysm five months later.

Lance was despondent, playing baseball only brought back painful memories of his deceased father, and the closeness the two had experienced on the diamond. He was released by Houton’s minor league team 17 games into the next season. He was tired of baseball and declined his uncle’s request to work on his knuckler.

After a few months of working in the real world, baseball tugged at him. He thought of coaching or possibly broadcaster, before a conversation with his wife led him back onto the field. “I’d want to know if my dad was proud of me right now,” was what Lance would ask his dad, if he could. He concluded that answer wouldn’t be tied to how much money he was earning or whether he was in baseball, but rather he would be proud because his son was happily married and soon would be starting a family. That’s when the light clicked on and Lance decided he wanted to play baseball for himself, not for his dad.

Phil Niekro, still involved with the Braves, the team he’d starred for, arranged for a minor league deal. Lance worked on his knuckleball all winter, sometimes throwing five or six days a week. Niekro could have a long career ahead of him; his father and uncle combined for 450 of their 539 victories after each had turned 30.

I’ll be pulling for Lance Niekro. There’s a baseball in my bedroom with Joe Niekro’s autograph on it, also signing that ball were Woodie Fryman and Chuck Seelbach. In 1972 they all pitched for the AL East first place Detroit Tigers. I have a special place in my heart for knuckleball pitchers. Maybe it’s because I’m a White Sox fan, and grew up watching Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm (only saw him on TV for the Sox in 1968, my first year watching baseball), Wilbur Wood (the last pitcher to start both ends of a doubleheader), Eddie Fisher (was 15-7 with 24 saves in 82 games out of the pen for the Sox in 1965, before my time, but returned to the Southside in 1973), Charlie Hough (was in the Sox rotation in 1991 & 92, as a 43 & 44 year old, winning 9 & 7 games, pitching in the bigs till he was 46, 216-216 record 25 years), and then there are old timers Eddie Cicotte & Hall of Famer Ted Lyons (who started throwing a knuckler after a 1929 arm injury). Then there was the Washington Senators of the forties who featured an all knuckleball rotation.

I’ve said for years I’d like to see each team have a knuckleball instructor. When pitchers are no longer prospects, they could try throwing the knuckler. The latest knuckleball pitchers are Tim Wakefield, Steve Sparks, and the infamous Charlie Haeger.

The Yankees and confidentiality agreements

It’s being said that the New York Yankee organization is thinking of putting in a “non-disparagement clause” in management and player contracts to help dispel future tell-all books that reflect badly on the team. 

It’s already being done on the front office level. 

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Yankee official said yesterday that some members of the front office staff already are required to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to protect “proprietary knowledge of our business model.” The proposed clause is intended to ensure that future books about the Yankees are “positive in tone,” and “do not breach the sanctity of our clubhouse.”

One, I’m surprised it’s not being done already.  I don’t agree with the policy but most large corporations do this on some level and to some degree.  With the high popularity of baseball, it surprising that all team organizations don’t do this.

Two, assuming that this is in place, I’d be surprised that this would hold up in court.  Say Joe Torre did sign this and then wrote The Yankee Years. I’m not a lawyer (and don’t even play one on this blog) but I’d reckon the Yankees would be hard pressed to make a good case in court despite the confidentiality agreement. 

Three, *if* it went to court, I hope it someone like Torre.  Maybe it’s me, but Joe Torre seems to have a little more authority (fairly or unfairly) compared to a lowly draft pick or a rookie who would probably have to sign the the same the clause. 

No, I don’t like the non-disparagement clause.  It smacks of withholding information.  Yes, there’s the danger of inaccurate information which Steinbrenner and Co insinuate.  But let’s be realistic,  that’s not what they’re after.  It’s an issue of media control.  If they don’t have to worry about players or managers leaving and speaking their mind, then that’s less work for their PR guys.  They get pretty dizzy from all the spinning they do, you know.

(h/t The Hardball Times and Baseball Musings)

Antique dealer finds out the real value of baseball card

Antique dealer Bernice Gallego found out in the nick of time that a baseball card she was going to sell on Ebay for $10, was worth much more than that. 

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Photo: Craig Kohlruss- Fresno Bee

The card was a photo of ten men and was labeled “Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati”.  Not knowing much of the game of baseball, she slapped a price of $10 on it and put it up for auction. 

When she got multiple requests for info on the card mostly as to the card’s authenticity, she got a little suspicious.  After some research, it was found that it from the year 1869 and was indeed worth a lot more. 

Spooked with all the questions she was getting on eBay, she picked up the phone at 9:30 that night and called her good friend George Huddleston and asked his opinion.

“I never make phone calls after 8 o’clock at night,” Gallego says. “My mother taught me never to do things like that.”

Huddleston’s answer was simple: End the auction now. Figure out what you have and what it’s worth before selling it. Her husband, Al, agreed: “Get this thing off the Internet.”

The card is now off the Internet now.  The card’s security is at stake now so “she put it in a sandwich bag and push-pinned it to her laundry room wall.”

“If it fell off the wall, the cat would have ate it,” Gallego says. “Well, or the dog.”

Now that she knows the full value (one dealer estimates six figures), Gallego plans to put up on Ebay again.  This time with a higher reserve price, I presume. 

Tolan Caught Not Stealing

robbie-tolan Robbie Tolan, son of former major league outfielder Bobby Tolan, was shot by police outside his on December 31st at 2:00 AM. Robbie and his cousin had just arrived home from a late night run to Jack-in-the-Box fast food restaurant (another reason not to eat at Jack-in-the-Box) when an unidentified man with a flashlight approached them. Turns out he was a police officer, who suspected Tolan of stealing an SUV (it was his SUV, not stolen), told Tolan & his cousin to stop, ordered them on the ground, at gunpoint. At this juncture Tolan’s mother came out of their house to see what all the commotion was about, an officer pushed her against the wall. When Robbie raised up to see what was happening to his mother, an officer shot him, the bullet piercing his lung, and lodging in his liver. The incident happened in Belleaire, a prominent, mostly white suburb of Houston. The officer involved in the shooting is white, this is a case of racial profiling, at its worst. Tolan remains hospitalized in alot of pain.

Robbie Tolan, 23 years old, was with the Washington Nationals organization in 2007 (rookie league & Class A) where he batted .207 with one home run, as a reserve outfielder. He was released after spring training 2008, and played with the Bay Area Toros of the independent Continental Baseball League. While Tolan is expected to recover, his baseball career is over.

EI League Tournament: Down to 2 teams

Congrats to the Lexington Snipes and Buckley Dutch Masters of the Eastern Illinois Baseball League.  They played well enough at the EI League Tournament this past weekend to advance to the final round.   

They will face each other in a Best of Three round next weekend (Aug 9 and 10) for the Tournament Championship. 

I have seen Buckley face Chambana and they are formidable adversaries.  But this is baseball and anything can happen. 

Good luck to both teams!

EI League: A brain hiccup

They say memory is the second thing to go. 

When I was told about the Eastern Illinois League this spring, it didn’t ring a bell with me.  It did sound interesting… a wood bat league that apparently has been around for quite a while.  So, as avid readers know, I’ve been going to a good amount of Chambana games recently and enjoying it along the way. 

Then today, Bob Swisher wrote an article in the local News Gazette about the history of the EI League (its history can be traced back to 1930) and mentions one of EI’s greats, Ehm Franzen. 

Some EI unis on display at the exhibit last March

Ehm Franzen??  Then Boom! Bang!  The circuits in my brain did a somersault when I realized that I’ve had a run-in with the EI League last year.  Shawn Lee (of Vermilion Voles fame) and I went to a talk and exhibit at the Early American Museum in Mahomet that was entitled "A Whole ‘Nother Ball Game".  While the focus was on the Three-I League (a different league all together), there were exhibits on the Eastern Illinois Baseball League being displayed. 

Ehm Franzen

Even better, EI League great Ehm Franzen was in attendance at the talk.  Shawn and I got a chance to talk to him afterwards and boy, he had some stories!  He claimed to have faced Satchel Paige twice. 

Here are photos I took last March from "A Whole ‘Nother Ball Game" Exhibit.

EI League Tournament this weekend

dutchmaster The Eastern Illinois Baseball League kicks off their weekend tournament with a Cash Bash tonight at 6pm at the Gifford Fall Festival Building in Gifford, Illinois. 

Tomorrow, the tournament starts and goes through Sunday.  Here is their schedule (all subject to change):

Saturday, August 2
At Buckley
Game 1  1:00 p.m.  Paxton vs Effingham
Game 2  20 minutes following game 1
                Buckley vs Central Angels
At Lexington
Game 3  1:00 p.m. Lexington vs Chambana
At Gifford
Game 4  1:00 p.m.  Royal vs Gifford-Flatville

Sunday, August 3

At Buckley
Game 5  2:00 p.m. Winner game 1 vs Winner game 2
At Lexington (subject to change)
Game 6  2:00 p.m.  Winner game 3 vs Winner game 4
FINAL– BEST OF 3 SERIES  August 9 & 10
Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6
Game 1: 2:00 p.m. Saturday, August 9
At home of lowest  seed
Game 2: 1:00 p.m.  Sunday, August 10
At home of highest seed
Game 3 (if necessary) 20 minutes following completion of game 2

Check the EI League website for updated details.

Since I don’t drive, I doubt I’ll be able to make the trip up to Lexington as much as I’d like to.  It sounds like a lot of fun. 

Go Chambana!!!

EI League: Buckley crushes Chambana

 

Buckley starter Justin Schroeder pitched a complete game win in game 2.

 

When I got to McKinley Field today to watch Chambana today, the home team had the lead!  That was something I hadn’t seen much of since I started following the Eastern Illinois Baseball League team. 

Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long.  Their opponent, the Buckley DutchMasters, simply overpowered Chambana and came back from a 6-3 deficit to win Game 1 11-7. 

As for Game 2, it was all Buckely and then some.  Their offense was just too much for Chambana.  By the time I left in the fourth inning, it was 12-2 and the rest of the game was superfluous.   Congrats to Buckley’s Justin Schroeder for pitching a complete game win. 

I did run into Robin, a friend of mine I knew from University of Illinois games.  It was Robin who actually told me about the EI league and suggested I check it out.  Turns out Buckley is his home team so he and I hung out during the games today. 

Some photos:

The EI League has two things that University of Illinois baseball doesn’t.  Wood bats and lots of dust.

 

A near collision in the infield.  Buckley’s catcher made the play at first.

 

Buckley has a cowbell that travels with the fans and gets rung after every good play by their team.

 

I’m sure Chambana catcher Jake Mathis is saying something nice to the ump in this photo.  Mathis was 5 for 7 for the day with 2 runs and 2 rbis.

Lots more photos in the Photo Gallery.