“You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball; and
in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.”
Jim Bouton Pitcher 1962-1970
Once again, my turn with the pen follows the All-Star game, unlike last
year I am not in 10th place, but actually enjoying a little of the luck
that the pen seems to bring. I’m not sure what the rest of you thought
about the All-Star game but I found it somewhat boring this year as it
seems to be more of a PR stunt than a baseball game. I must admit that I
did not sit down and watch most of the game but the few innings I did
catch and my updates from Wells did not leave me pining to see the game.
To name Tejada the MVP because of his first inning homer kind of tells you
the game was lacking excitement. Or maybe it’s because the American League
has the better players. Or could it be they want the World Series home
field advantage more than the National League? Not!! What a dumb idea that
is. They should consider a rule that the winning League gets one year of
no steroid testing and see what happens! Should Kenny “Slugger” Rogers
have been able to be at the game? And what exactly is he appealing ? He
did the crime, so do the time!! And the Home Run Derby contestants being
selected by Country is another dumb idea. But I was duly impressed by
Bobby Abreu. Wow, was he in a groove!! At least the Celebrity Softball
game was exciting!
All- Star Game Points
Bombers |
96.0 |
Skipjacks |
94.5 |
Reds |
90.0 |
Redbirds |
85.5 |
Senators |
84.0 |
Tigers |
73.0 |
Blues |
54.0 |
Cubs |
50.0 |
Irates |
40.0 |
Chiefs |
40.0 |
Tribe |
30.0 |
Wahoos |
24.5 |
I can only
hope that the All-Star game points are a true indicator of the final
League point standings!! I know what you’re all thinking, but hey, it
doesn’t hurt to dream does it? It’s not often that I get to view things
from the upper division!
“There are three things the average man thinks he can do better than
anyone else: build a fire, run a hotel and manage a baseball team.”
Rocky Bridges Infielder 1951-1961
Weekly Standings
Skipjacks |
414.0 |
Bombers |
380.5 |
Tigers |
355.0 |
Tribe |
325.5 |
Redbirds |
308.5 |
Irates |
303.0 |
Senators |
302.0 |
Reds |
270.5 |
Chiefs |
269.0 |
Blues |
265.5 |
Cubs |
218.5 |
Wahoos |
154.0 |
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YTD Standings |
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Skipjacks |
5515.5 |
Redbirds |
5494.5 |
Bombers |
5195.5 |
Chiefs |
5142.5 |
Reds |
5046.5 |
Irates |
5027.5 |
Blues |
4996.5 |
Senators |
4979.5 |
Tigers |
4902.0 |
Cubs |
4812.5 |
Wahoos |
4784.5 |
Tribe |
4656.5 |
Last year at this time the Wahoos were running away with the league with a
pont total of 5763.5, 133.5 points ahead of the second place Skipjacks,
followed by the Senators with 5501.5 points. At the other end of the
spectrum, the Tribe had already packed it in for the year with their
3936.0 points, 1827.5 behind the Wahoos. This year is setting up to be a
dogfight to the end as only 859 points separate the Skipjacks and the
Tribe. And all the teams are just one good week from moving up in the
standings. So put on your batting helmet and do a cup check, as it’s gonna
be a fun ride! See you in September!
As for the
trip, it’s not that I don’t have the “nads”, it’s because... “I never
mingled with people in Philadelphia. I developed a bad taste for the city
because of the fans. They cheered when you did well, but when they got
mean, they were meaner than anyone else. They booed Gus Zernial when
he was being carried off the field with a broken shoulder- and he was our
most popular player! They used to throw beer and mustard at the players’
wives from the upper deck. My wife almost had a nervous breakdown because
of that.” Joe DeMaestri Infielder 1951-1961
Mouse’s Minute
If I
haven’t bored you to death with my selected quotes, you should consider
getting the book “The Quotable Baseball Fanatic” which has hundreds more
to read. Speaking of books, another quick read is “Coach”, a feel good
book by Michael Lewis of “Moneyball” fame. What trades are more
collusional, the Tribe and Irates or the Wahoos and Reds? Do they split
the prize money? Is Raffy Palmeiro a first ballot HOF? Only the fourth
player ever to join the 3000?500 club. Didn’t he play in the College World
Series in Omaha? Are the White Sox for real and can they win it all? Who
is your pick to win the World Series? Schilling as a closer?? Can Derrek
Lee win the Triple Crown? Will the Skipjacks continue their black magic to
add yet another crown to their owner or will the Red Birds finally break
their 10 year hex? Things to ponder while we continue to peer through the
available free agent lists looking for “lightning in a bottle”
“But baseball is a very humbling game. Just when you think you are on top
and feel like you are big and nobody can get you out, you go into a slump
and everybody gets you out.” Bernie Williams Outfielder 1991-
Mouse
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SKIP'S BLIPS
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Since Possum stiffed us on last week’s guest
edition of our little newsletter, I was not able to share with you all
last week my wonderful experience in seeing a game in Anaheim one week
earlier, between the Angels and the Mariners. Although I was staying
in a hotel in downtown Los Angeles in preparation for a deposition of
a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon the following day, I was willing to
make the two-hour trek to travel 20 miles on the magnificent L.A.
freeway system to catch a ballgame at the Big A. However, as I
learned when I got to the ballpark, they don’t call it the Big A any
longer. They also don’t call it Edison Field any longer, because
their former sponsor has apparently filed for bankruptcy, a la Enron
Field in Houston, so they had to change the name of the park once
again.
Anyway, my trip to Angels Field was a total joy
for a rabid baseball fan, and I have to compliment the current
ownership on the level of excitement that he has been able to generate
with this club. All of the beer vendors seemed happy and cheerfully
willing to accept your $7.50 for a cold brew, ditto with the brät
vendors for six bucks, and ditto with the people in the souvenir
shops. I was also quite impressed with how accessible the Angels
players seemed to be in terms of giving out autographs during batting
practice, and by the overall good feel of the ballpark and all of the
people in it.
Now, a few random notes from Angel Field:
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Bartolo Colon has got to be the widest ballplayer
of all time. He and Norm from Cheers could wear each other’s pants
with no problem.
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Alfredo Griffin coaches first base for the
Angels. What is the connection there? Once you’re in the Club, you’re
in to stay, I guess.
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Not everybody looks good in a baseball cap. Big
Guy and I are living proof of that. Darin Erstad also doesn’t look so
hot in his Angels lid, because his grape is just too darned long. The
hands-down winner of the “Looks Bad in a Baseball Cap” Award has to go
to Bartolo Colon. It looks like somebody took a bad, misfitting rug
and glued it to the bottom edge of his hat. Take a closer look
sometime when he’s pitching on TV. Not pretty. If I was his agent,
I’d be pushing hard for him to shave his head or at least get someone
to give him a new ’do.
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It’s surprising that Vladdy doesn’t tear ribcage
cartilage every at-bat, as hard as he swings the stick. Cheated, he
doesn’t get.
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Why do people who once looked normal start
looking so strange as they age? I mean, pretty much everyone but me.
Take Bob Kerrey, for example. He was once considered to be a
handsome, very eligible bachelor, when he was in his 40s and living in
the Governor’s Mansion in Lincoln. Now, some 25 years later, he looks
like a Martian prisoner-of-war. How that skinny neck supports that
enormous globe which rests atop it, I’ll never understand. Not to
pick on one of our own, but the older one of our beloved brethren in
this league gets, the more I wonder if he isn’t a shirttail kin of
Wolfman Jack. Owww-oooh!
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If you have to watch baseball, Angels Field isn’t
the worst place in the world to be. Unless you have something against
young, tanned blonds in robust health. Women, that is. Just an
observation, mind you. I’m not in the market.
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On the opposite side of the ledger, I should add,
is the troublesome practice of not having beer vendors patrol the
stands to hawk their product. What’s up with that? Must be a
Southern California thing.
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Everybody got on Curtis Ledbetter for botching a
foul ball in the Huskers’ elimination loss to ASU, but Richie Sexson
and second baseman Which-a-ma-digger Lopez of the Mariners just pulled
a boner which looked even worse, colliding on an Adam Kennedy foul
ball that clearly should have been caught. It happens, even in the
big leagues.
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Nothing like seeing my ex-Senator Randy Winn go
deep into the right field bleachers for a home run, when he couldn’t
hit squat while on my roster. Loser.
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Man, Richie Sexson is a tall unit.
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Hal the usher has turked at least ten people in
my section tonight. U-Bob would be white-knuckled, even if he was
sitting in his rightful seat.
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What would possess a portly, middle-aged Jewish
gentleman to spend half of the game jockeying for an autograph from
Scott Spiezio. You got me. Is Scott Spiezio one of the chosen ones?
I know this, he sure is much smaller than I thought he was.
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The Angels organization must be a hotbed of
political correctness. When walking toward my seat, I heard the
announcement over the loudspeaker that, “When expressing your feelings
for the Angels or their opponents, please be considerate of your
neighbor.” You won’t hear them say that at Yankee Stadium, will you?
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Much more to say, but the press time looms.
Thanks to Mouse for his mirthful observations, and most of all, for
getting them to us in a TIMELY FASHION.
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Skipper |
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