not the obvious that bothers me, its the calling runs points.  

Ho hum. Just Kenley Jansen,......, and his 98 mph CUTTER -

Sorry, Pickles, but I came across this while checking out some minor league goings on.

"The Phillies were playing the Marlins at the time, but we wanted to see professional-level baseball, so we went instead to see the double-A Reading Fightin Phils take on the Erie Sea Somethings, or possibly the Erie Something Cats."

Now that is pretty dog gone funny. LMAO

www.bloggerstobenamedlater.com/2013/04/24/minor-league-baseball-vegetable-races-hot-dog-launchers-and-ostriches/

now my life can be complete..........

Chris Carter has some ridiculous power. Slugging .494 despite a .225 BA. 77 hits on the year, with 18 of them being doubles, 1 triple, and 24 HR. Hell, his wOBA is .345 even though his OBP sits at .299.

He's even better the last month or so.

They may get desperate enough to try anything to get the fans to come out to their games. And they could sell a lot of shorts. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have their own special way of celebrating home runs: Bubbles.

Up to this point, when a Dodgers player hits a homer, a machine that spits out bubbles is turned on in the dugout. Yasiel Puig received the bubble treatment earlier this season, as you might remember. Clayton Kershaw even bent the rules a bit, getting the bubble machine after his no-hitter.

Now, Major League Baseball wants that to stop. Joe Torre, executive vice president of MLB, stopped by Dodger Stadium before Tuesday's game to advise the team to stop using the machine, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Not everyone received the message.

When Juan Uribe homered in the second inning Tuesday, the scoreboard at Dodger Stadium flashed the words "Bubble Machine." But no bubbles were dispensed in the dugout, much to the Dodgers' disappointment.

Then, when Matt Kemp belted a home run Wednesday, the bubble machine again was seen in the dugout. The Dodgers had it up and running, letting bubbles flow through the air, according to Shaikin.

"We're just having a good time with it," Andre Ethier said. "If it's not hurting anyone, other than bubble soap getting in someone's eyes, it shouldn't be a big deal."

Torre and MLB haven't commented on the situation. Regardless, are bubbles really baseball's biggest problem?

The best ballparks for beers, and, the best beers in ballparks. Here is what I am sure is a very scientific study on the issue. It's the Washington Post, so it has to be good, right?



www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/sports/best-beer-in-baseball/?wpmm=AG0003386

It’s a gold ticket, the size of a credit card, that says “Lifetime Pass.”

The card is given to any player with eight years’ service in Major League Baseball. For players who hold one, it’s more of a symbol than anything else.

“It’s great to have that and reaffirm all the hard work and the sacrifices we as players made to get here,” said Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, who recently received his gold pass from Major League Baseball.

“It’s a symbol of all the things you do, the work, all those things that it takes, and one day you can look at (the pass) and look back on what you did.”

Bautista and teammate Maicer Izturis were the latest Jays to get the pass, which allows free admission for the holder and a guest to any park in the major leagues for life.

The commissioner’s office offers the pass for meritorious service to baseball, and it’s given to players, umpires, scouts, executives and employees.

There is a certain status and appreciation of owning one, especially for the body of work it represents.

“I think it’s cool, yeah, it’s a rite of passage,” said Jays infielder Mark DeRosa. “If you take a step back when you’re done playing, you think, hey, there aren’t that many people who make it that far in the game. It’s something you should be proud of.”

The pass fits into a wallet, but the players don’t keep it there.

Jays bullpen coach and former Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen has his in a safe.

Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer has his in a dresser door in his bedroom.

Bautista said his will rest in a safe place.

Hentgen, who retired in 2004, said he has used his pass.

“It was in Detroit and I had a friend (Rob Ducey) scouting there so I got the pass out and went to see him there,” Hentgen said.

But many players consider the pass symbolic and would rarely use it for its intended purpose.

“I don’t think I ever will,” said Palmer, now a colour analyst for Orioles games.

“I have a media pass with my picture on it. Sometimes I get stopped at stadiums and then I have to explain who I used to be,” he said, laughing.

All players have identity cards with photos, and Bautista said none of them should have trouble getting into ballparks, anyway.

So, if the pass sits in a dresser drawer or in a safe and never gets used, that doesn’t mean it’s not appreciated and respected.

“It’s more of a symbol of the hard work and good fortune it takes to remain in this game,” DeRosa said.

Added Bautista: “Eight years is eight years.

“No matter what you do, that’s a long time, and I’m proud and honoured to have done it. And I hope I play eight more years, too. It’s a lifetime memory.

“I can walk into any stadium and someone will find a seat for me, that’s pretty cool.”

The thing I hate today.

Real baseball G.M's don't care a thing about fantasy baseball players.

I learned 10 hours ago that both Neil Wlker of the Pirates and Jacob deGrom are going to be D/L'ed today. 10 HOURS AGO!!! Still nothing.

A little help guys.

Breaking sad news, Comedian Robin Williams has appearently killed himself. Another big part of my childhood down the drain...

As the Royals are still in the hunt, they decided to pick up some pop, and traded for Josh Willingham of the Twins. The Royals will pay him $ 1,836,000 for the 48 days they will have him this year. Young pitcher Jason Adam is going to the Twins. Look for Willingham to steal Raul Ibanez's at bats at the D/H spot for the foreseeable future.

Kids. What are you going to do?


Mike Schmidt recently had an op/ed for the Associated Press about how today's hitters don't seek the advice of Hall of Famer hitters like himself. (hat tip to darenstevens for the fanshot). While some of it comes off as "get off my lawn" grumpy old man material when he talks about .250 batting averages, strikeouts, and $10 million salaries, he does give an interesting perspective about how young hitters treat hitting advice from their coaches. Schmidt has an especially interesting take on George Brett's brief stint as Royals hitting coach last year.

One of the most telling stories was shared by George. He said when he was hitting instructor last year, there were two indoor cages, and he would be in one flipping balls and the assistant coach in the other. The young Royals hitters were lined up to hit in the cage with the assistant, and none to hit in George's cage.

I find that hard to believe, but at the same time know why. George, one of the greatest hitters ever, was there to coach, to offer his expertise, to suggest mechanics that might make a young hitter better.

The other coach was there to coach as well, but not with a sense of urgency — rather, more by telling the hitters what they wanted to hear. George eventually quit because he felt he was wasting everyone's time in a failing effort to connect with them.

There could have been other issues going on behind the scenes. Maybe his cage-side manner was uncomfortable, maybe he was too quick to criticize, perhaps his stature made them uncomfortable. But I got much the same report from all the HOF guys, which confirmed my personal experiences over the last 10 years that young hitters resist coaching, especially from the great ones.

They listen out of respect, but don't hear.

Now, we are presented this without much context, and basically from George Brett's perspective. Its possible George was a lousy hitting coach. Or lousy at connecting with people, particularly young people.

On the other hand, it does say something that few players seemed to even seek his advice at all. And this attitude seems to reinforce other stories from this organization, that the hitters don't seek to improve themselves and are too complacent. This arrogance seems to almost be organization-wide. Its been a fun season thus far, but if this club learns the wrong lessons and keeps repeating the same mistakes, we're not any closer to a championship than we were eight years ago.