Baseball. Blogging. Whenever.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Comment of the Day:  Denny McLain makes an appearance at ShysterBall


This morning I and some commentors fired a couple of missiles in the direction of Denny McLain. This evening, Denny -- or someone claiming to be him, but I'm pretty sure it is him -- fired back:

it is amazing to me that some of you toss these missiles as though thoughtlessness is an art. Please if nothing else get the facts straight and don’t be afraid of checking facts. Blogs are opinionslike some body parts! I know that you folks also have something else in mind since all of us have one of THOSE also. Entertainment folks that is what we try to do and to get you to think a little, a little emotion and disagreement never hurts anyone, as far as things that may have occurred 15 yrs ago check the facts, at least ck the facts and lastly, you know my baggage I wonder if any of you folks have any at all? I always wonder about folks who throw nasty insults without facts, their baggage remains in secret. Thank you for reading and your comments, we all make a few mistakes, it is human.talk to you soon!

Fair enough, Denny. And you're right: the facts matter. For those of you who accuse before you write, here are a ton of facts on the life and times of Mr. McLain. I mean, I'd hate for someone not to have all of the reasons to fire missiles at Mr. McLain beforehand.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 7:25pm (21) Comments

Is Trey Hillman going to get canned?


Unless this is just some sloppy writing, I'd say yes:

Owner David Glass says planned to meet with other team officials to discuss why the Kansas City Royals are in last place in the AL Central . . . Manager Trey Hillman has come under fire from fans and the media. But Glass said Friday he has complete confidence in his general manager.

And as we all know, Hillman is not the general manager.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 3:00pm (10) Comments

The Red Sox get Gonzalez


Lugo, Renteria, Cora, Gonzalez, Lowrie, Green, Cabrera, Reese, Garciaparra, Crespo, Vazquez, Pedroia, Gutierrez, Bellhorn, Clayton and now, once again, Gonzalez:

The Red Sox, who have had a revolving at shortstop in recent seasons, reacquired a familiar face this afternoon in attempt to help solve their ongoing problem.

Alex Gonzalez, who was spectacular with the glove but so-so at the plate during 2006, his lone season in Boston, was reacquired by the club today from the Cincinnati Reds after he cleared waivers, the only way a player can be dealt after the July 31 deadline.

It was unclear immediately whom the Sox dealt to Cincinnati in exchange for the 32-year-old veteran of 11 Major League seasons, but WEEI.com is reporting that the Sox have sent 23-year-old old Single A shortstop Kris Negron to the Reds to complete the deal.

Alex Gonzalez is currently hitting .210/.258/.296 in a bandbox in the National League. Something tells me that he isn't going to be der differencemacher for the Red Sox. At least in a positive sense.

(thanks to Pete Abe's post for the list of Sox shortstops)
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 2:50pm (4) Comments

Great Moments in intellectual convergence


Joe Posnanski in a post he put up last night:

I don’t like that players took steroids and some certainly still do; but again … reality. Many elite athletes in an effort to succeed will push the boundaries of fair play. As Buck O’Neil always said: “The reason we didn’t do them is because we didn’t have them.” Or as Leo Durocher wrote on the very first page of his autobiography: “I don’t call that cheating. I call that heads up baseball. Win any way you can as long as you can get away with it.”

I swear, I didn't see that before I wrote my ATH entry for the Astros-Marlins game. In fact, as far as I can tell, I was writing that at almost exactly the same time Joe was writing his thing. Unless I'm told otherwise, I'm going to assume he got his review copy of Nice Guys Finish Last just like I did the other day, read the same bit, and got the same idea as me. Except, as usual, he was inspired to write about 3,000 words and I was inspired to write a two-sentence quip. There's a reason he writes for Sports Illustrated and I crack wise in the blogosphere.

(thanks to Levi Stahl -- the dude who sent me the review copy of Nice Guys Finish Last, it so happens, for the heads up)
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 2:32pm (5) Comments

My Morning in Exile


  • Bronson Arroyo has been called on the carpet for his honesty yesterday. At times like these, it's worth remembering that baseball is a part of corporate America, and that corporate America is not a big fan of honesty.


  • The Wrigley beer-tosser has turned himself in. Our long national nightmare is over. Personally, I hope he is punished to the fullest extent of the law. Not for dousing Victorino as such -- even Victorino is shrugging that off now -- but for wasting precious, precious beer.


  • Hank Aaron says that Barry Bonds is the real home run champ and that asterisks are a dumb idea. If you think that will stop people like Wallace Matthews from ranting and raving about it all, well, you just don't know people like Wallace Matthews.


  • I hate it when writers talk about "storylines." There's a ballgame. If that's not enough of a "storyline" for you you're beyond helping.


  • Theo Speaks.


  • Jake Peavy dazzles in his first AAA rehab start. Ian Snell fainted when he saw the intimidating Pawtucket lineup Peavy faced.


  • Carlos Delgado's latest injury is described as a good thing in that it allows Daniel Murphy to play more first base. Because there's nothing better than Daniel Murphy playing more first base.


  • Some folks are trying to rehabilitate Carl Mays' legacy. I mean, it's not like he killed a guy or anything. Oh wait . . .


    • No legal work today -- I'm home with the kids. I tried to lay down the parental law with them this morning and I was openly mocked, so I can't say for sure that I'll survive the afternoon absent a trip to Graeter's, some time in the sprinkler and stuff like that. The kids may need some things to distract them too. Assuming I survive, there will be blogging, although I can't say how much.
    Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 10:58am (8) Comments

    Great Moments in being unbelievably clueless


    Definition of chutzpah: a man who blew his arm out in his 20s criticizing a manager for monitoring his young pitchers' pitch counts.

    Definition of outrageous f*cking chutzpah: a man who did time for literally stealing millions from people criticizing a player for "stealing" millions by not playing up to the size of his contract.

    Both of those things together: Denny McLain.

    (link via BTF)
    Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 9:48am (10) Comments

    And That Happened


    Reds 7, Nationals 0: Johnny Gomes (Johnny Gomes?) hits three homers and Bronson "Flintstones kids, ten million strong and growing" Arroyo throws a two-hit shutout. Obviously his best game of the season, so maybe he decided to use his one DUI last night. Hey man, he earned it.

    Tigers 2, Red Sox 0: Justin Verlander (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 8K) helps the Tigers salvage one. He also hit Chris Woodward twice, but no benches cleared and no punches were thrown because, hey, it's just Chris Woodward.

    Rockies 10, Pirates 1: Yesterday I complained about Josh Beckett's possible Cy Young. No such worries about Jason Marquis, though. Sure, he has the wins, but there are a lot of guys pitching much better than him overall who are close enough in the oh-so-critical win column and who pitch for contenders (e.g. Lincecum, Carpenter, Cain, Wainwright). I don't think that even baseball writers are dumb enough to overlook all of them and give Jason Marquis an award. But hey, he did pitch well yesterday (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER).

    Royals 5, Twins 4: Joe Mauer was 2-4 with a homer and four RBI, but it wasn't enough as (a) no one else on his team knocked anyone in; and (b) Carl Pavano allowed 5. The Royals take the series 2-1, which is their first win since the signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. At least it seems like it.

    Phillies 6, Cubs 1: And the sweep. Cliff Lee, he's pretty good (8 IP, 6 H. 1 ER, 8K). Easily the best pickup for Philadelphia this year. In any sport.

    Rangers 4, Indians 1: A day game, but they replayed it on STO last night. AMC was showing "Major League" at the same time. I don't think I need to tell you which one I watched. Kind of wished I had watched the seventh and eighth of this one, though, as Neftali Feliz struck out five guys in those two innings of relief work. Gotta love that Mark Teixeira trade!

    Brewers 12, Padres 9: Prince Fielder and Mike Rivera each had two dingers, and Ryan Braun launched one too. They needed it all, though, as despite jumping out to a 9-0 lead, they never really put the Padres away until the very end. According to the game story, Fielder and Braun wouldn't talk to the media after the game, choosing instead to defy the requests of the Brewers' P.R. department and hide in the meal area that is off limits to reporters. What gives with those guys? As the season goes on, they seem to get gotten pissier and pissier.

    Yankees 11, Mariners 1: CC Sabathia (8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER. 10K) and Hideki Matsui (4-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI) beat the tar out of the Mariners. Ian Snell: "That lineup is just stupid. They shouldn't be allowed to have a lineup like that, but that is why their payroll is what it is. That is a lineup nobody in the National League has."

    Marlins 9, Astros 2: Every couple of weeks I come across a game about which I find nothing interesting. Nine out of ten times it's an Astros game, though I have no idea why. In light of coming across yet another one, I'm going to note that I am currently re-reading Leo Durocher's Nice Guys Finish Last (which is being re-released very soon). I'll further note that, on the first page of the book, Leo talks about all of the various ways he, his teammates and his opponents cheated throughout their careers. He sums it up by saying "If you get away with it, fine. If you don't, what have you lost? . . . Win any way you can as long as you can get away with it." I sit here this morning wondering why, then, we're all so shocked and sanctimonious about everything that has transpired in the past few years.
    Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 5:29am (13) Comments