The famous and super-busy scramble crosswalk at Shibuya.
Here we are on the last (full) day of the Main Tour. It would be the last day that Dave and I were together in Japan, so we decided to hit up all our Tokyo loose ends. That mostly meant wandering around getting the last of our souvenirs and checking out some of the famous districts within Tokyo.
Our first mission of the day was to head to the NHK building, home of Domo-kun. Other tourgoers told us that the building was in Shibuya, so we hopped aboard the subway and arrived at Shibuya Station, only the fourth-busiest station in Japan with 2.4 million passengers a day, and made our way outside to witness something we hadn’t seen before: a crowded Tokyo. At each end of the scramble crosswalk you can see above, there was a full compliment of tourists and businessmen going about their business throughout Shibuya. Finally, I thought, I’ll have some pictures to prove that Tokyo isn’t the ghost town that Eric thinks it is.
These horns are pretty famous. I've seen them in videogames.
The NHK building wasn’t as close as we were led to believe, but as we wandered around we ran into some cool storefronts, like the one below.
The second most elaborate entrance to a Disney Store that I've ever seen.
After a long walk, we finally saw the NHK building in the distance. Our morning’s journey would finally come to a close and we’d experience the awesomeness that is Domo-kun!
I don't know what the other NHK mascot's name is, but Domo is the only important one.
It turns out that Domo-kun and the NHK gift shop cater almost exclusively to small children in Japan. All that walking and our hilarious attempts to try and bridge the language barrier to get to what we were seeking was for naught. I still love Domo, but this was a seriously disappointing start to the morning.
What Dan doesn't know is that the smile on his face will be wiped off immediately after entering the gift shop and finding no cool Domo-kun merch.
Seriously…why can I buy cooler Domo-kun merchandise on the American Amazon.com page than in the NHK’s very own gift shop?
They lure you in with the giant Domo, but it's ultimately a disappointment to anyone over seven-years-old.
From the NHK building’s remote location in Shibuya, Dave and I wandered in search of a rail line to get back to the hotel and look up the location of our next hopeful spot, the Square Enix store. We wandered for another half hour or so and even came across a large contingent of teenage girls dressed like goth rockers queuing up outside a concert hall.
The concert hall in question. (Not pictured: hundreds of goth rocker teenage girls)
At some point we came across the shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife, the Meiji Jingu. The shine was in a huge park, so David and I gave up on getting to the shrine (we had things to do!) and hightailed it to the nearest Metro station, which turned out to be Harajuku.
The most extreme fashion we saw at Harajuku. I assume it gets better on Sundays when school and work are out.
Unfortunately, it was a Tuesday afternoon, so the people who might have been here dressed up in bizarre fashions were all in class or working or just plain not here. That didn’t stop us from wandering around a bit and spotting the essential commandments of Harajuku.
I don't want to know what smorking is, but touting sounds even scarier since its picture does not match its definition in the slightest.
At this point we realized we had no idea where the Square Enix store was (turns out we were looking in the wrong part of Tokyo), so we decided to pop back to the room to do some research and then head back out again. Back to Shibuya we went!
Above David's head is the famous Shibuya 109 (BONUS: It looks like a taxi cab is about to drive into Dave's ear).
When we got back to Shibuya station we finally spotted a landmark we were desperately searching for, the statue of Hachikō. If you don’t know the story, Hachikō was the dog of a professor who took the train from Shibuya every day. Hachikō saw his master off every morning from his front door and met him at the station every evening when he got back from the University. One day, his master suffered a stroke and died at the university, but poor Hachikō could not know such things, for he was a dog. He went back to his master’s house repeatedly after being given away, but eventually realized that the preofessor was never coming back home. After that, Hachikō returned every evening at the appointed time to Shibuya station to search for his master for ten straight years until he died. He became a hero and a symbol of loyalty and affection for the Japanese and a statue was erected of him at the station where he awaited his master throughout the years.
Dave posing with the cutest, most loyal dog in Japan.
Quick research in the room showed us that we never found the Square Enix store because it was in Shinjuku, not Shibuya. We quickly set out again now that our maps were recalibrated. Since we only had time for that stop and little else before we had to be at the ballpark, this would be our last stop for the day. Lucky for us, it wasn’t that hard to find the Squeenix store, although we did manage to end up on the wrong side of the road and had to walk quite a ways before we found a crosswalk.
A picture of Lightening from the upcoming FF XIII. I thnk Dave's in the picture too.
The Square Enix store sits in a nondescript part of Shinjuku. There are no other stores immediately surrounding it, it has a fairly bland facade (the picture of Lightening and the logo above the shop are the only really standout things aside from the merch in the windows), and it is closed on Thursdays (a fact I would later regret not remembering), but the interior store is definitely cool, if not too small. Since Squeenix’s biggest recent release was Dragon Quest IX, a full half of the store was dedicated to DQ merchandise ranging from slime t-shirts and hats to figurines of iconic DQ monsters (including slimes) and Dragon Quest-themed DS accessories. Also available were plush figures from DQ and Final Fantasy, various Kingdom Hearts and Snoopy (random, I know) related merchandise, KH clothing, and even a section containing soundtracks from their various game franchises. It’s the back room that features the most iconic piece of art within the store.
I don't even want to think about all the uncontrollable fangirls who have licked the floor above Sephiroth's face.
A just-under-life-size Sephiroth lies encased within the “lifestream” in the back room that contains various pieces of overpriced Square Enix action figures and themed jewelry. Ever wanted a key chain in the shape of a keyblade? It’s here for ¥2000. A replica of the same pendant Squall wears throughout Final Fantasy VIII? Yours for a much less reasonable ¥19000. You can even buy ridiculously overpriced “materia” (read: marble on a chain) for ¥12000.
Beyond this point there be baseball talk.
Our mission accomplished, Dave and walked to the further (and free with our rail pass) JR station about 15 minutes away to head over to Meiji Jingu Stadium, home of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. As Tokyo’s “second team,” the Swallows get about as much respect in Tokyo as the Mets do in New York City. While the Giants play in a nice dome in the heart of Tokyo that even has an amusement park associated with it, the Swallows play in a smaller, open-air ballpark owned by the Meiji Shrine.
One of the gates to Meiji Jingu Stadium. I forgot to mention in the article, but Dave went to the hotel to work on some homework at about this time.
The hallways within the stadium are narrow and dingy, but the food options are pretty neat. Dave and I ate at a curry place earlier in the day that featured a novel way to order your food. Instead of placing the order with a waitress and having her relay it to the chef, patrons simply select their meal based on text and a picture on what looks like a soda machine, put the money in, and give the ticket that comes out to the chef.
Put money in and tickets for curry come out!
Some of the food in the ballpark was like that and some was your typical ballpark fare, hotdogs, the occasional hamburger, and bento boxes.
I didn't think about it before, but this box of katsu was served at room temperature, which I don't find ideal for eating fried pork.
It took me until this ballpark to realize it, but it’s a very Japanese feature in most ballparks, even non-domes, to only have real dirt in the area immediately surrounding the bases and on the mound. The base paths and the rest of the infield is all artificial turf. Even more bizarre is that even outdoor stadiums like Meiji Jingu have artificial turf in their outfield too instead of real grass. It blows my mind, considering how much baseball players absolutely hate playing on artificial turf, that they’d do something so ridiculous in an outdoor ballpark.
It's hard to tell, but if you look closely you can see that the dirt around second base is differently colored than the artificial turf made to look like dirt surrounding it. The grass is fake too.
Other than my gripes about the field, Meiji Jingu Stadium is a decent ballpark with a pretty fervent fanbase. The Swallows have a unique tradition of raising umbrellas during their 7th inning stretch and whenever the team scores a run. Hearsay from the tour tells me that it’s a subtle jab at the Giants as a way of saying, “We don’t need a dome, we’ve got umbrellas.” If that’s true, it’s a little weak, but I might be saying that because I developed a strong anti-Swallows sentiment at this game.
It's not a bad ballpark at all once you get over the fake dirt.
My dislike for the Swallows stems from a few arbitrary reasons, but, really, since I’m not from Japan, my feelings about these teams can only come from arbitrary decisions made right on the spot. How else can you explain me becoming a Hiroshima Carp fan?
Reason #1:
At about this point on the tour, I realized that my schedule had me seeing the Swallows four times on this tour!
Domo-kun shares my feeling about the Swallows.
Reason #2:
One of the tourgoers, Ken, loves the Swallows (and the Lions). For some (evil) reason, this made me want to root against them. It’s thanks to him that I realized that the Swallows played on fake dirt and grass too.
These player intro slides were the only awesome thing about the Swallows.
Reason #3:
The most important reason. They were playing my beloved Hiroshima Carp that day.
My favorite NPB player, Akihiro Higashide, hit his 1000th hit against the Carp the same night I was there! This is him accepting a bouquet in honor of the achievement.
The game turned out better than I could have hoped. Hiroshima creamed the Swallows, winning 9-0 and netting Akihiro Higashide’s 1000th hit just for us. It was a pretty special moment in a great game that I had a good time at.
The always cool Bob Bavasi striking a pose above the dry-eyed Leon.
After I got back to the hotel room, I grabbed Dave and we went out for karaoke again.
Dave making what I'm sure he thinks is a cool face for the picture.
I’d say the highlight of the night was the performance of “Love Shack” by the B-52s.
After a hard night of partying, it was finally time to hit the sack and say goodbye to Dave and most of the tour.
Domo-kun had a little too much to drink.
It’s time for Wednesday Morning Night Quarterback, your weekly sports round-up.
Instead of the usual sports roundup today, it’s going to be a battle of the new stadiums. That’s right, it’s Yankee Stadium vs. Citi Field!
A view of Citi Field from the parking lot
VS.
Yankee Stadium from the subway platform
Yankee Stadium
When you’re the New York Yankees, you’ve got certain expectations attached to your new stadium project. Yankee Stadium, even with all the revisions and reconstructions throughout the ages, stood for baseball history, really. Its departure was significant. Along with Fenway and Wrigley, Yankee Stadium stood tall in the face of the new ballpark craze. Yankee Stadium was the House that Ruth Built. You don’t get to be much more important than that. So it goes without saying that there was plenty to be said against building a new ballpark in this era of retro-new baseball stadiums. It would have to ostensibly be exactly what it was while trying to improve itself in every way. As someone who’s never been inside old Yankee Stadium, I can’t definitively say that they succeeded on that front, but anecdotal evidence seems to support that fact. Looking at the shell of the old park right next door, I’d be hard-pressed to argue with that assessment. The Yankee organization succeeded in taking the old and turning it new, but it begs the question. Why?
A view of the old. Tough shoes to fill for the new.
Make no mistake, Yankee Stadium is a joy to visit. It’s state-of-the-art and every surface almost sparkles, it’s so new. The fans seem mostly enthusiastic about the new park and they come to see the games in droves.
"I sold my kidney to afford a ticket!"
Right when you enter the ballpark, you see precisely where the millions have gone. There are bright, high definition televisions everywhere and an overall regal atmosphere throughout the interiors.
Yankee Stadium is very shiny and new. It certainly looks like a lot of money was spent.
Unfortunately, all those shiny new additions to the ballpark seem to have taken its toll on the common man. In the current global recession, it seems rather ridiculous that the cheapest seats in the ballpark cost $14. Doesn’t seem that outrageous until you realize that those $14 seats are right next to the batter’s eye, a huge restaurant that obstructs the view of the opposite end of the outfield. You read that right. You pay $14 and you can’t even see Damon on the left if you’re sitting on the right. There are TVs up on the walls to allow you to see what’s going on the other side, but it seems like a major oversight. The next cheapest are the nosebleeders in the outfield for $23 and it goes up from there to over $1000 the closer and lower you get. It seems designed to bring in more money to the already bloated franchise, but at what cost? Do you think the working man with his two kids can afford a day at the ballpark at these prices? $92 just for admission, not to mention any food (which is also overpriced) and you’re looking at an expensive night just for three hours of entertainment.
A beautiful screen, but at what cost?
That being said, you can’t blame them too much for the extravagance. The park is beautiful and the Yankees are a rich team with rich fans. In the back of the park, by the bullpens, lives the Monument Park, commemorating the greats in Yankees history. In fact, the whole park is filled with historical reminders that go a long way in reminding the fan that this team is serious business. I’m making it sound worse than it is above, it’s really a solid location to catch a game of baseball. I’ve gone into the home run business plenty on this site, but let me say that I personally saw two go over that infamous right field wall (one by Cano and one by Rodriguez). It’s funny to me that this park can give up so many while Citi gives up so few. As of this post, no Met has more than six home runs in their own ballpark.
"It's really a solid location to catch a game of baseball." -Dan Mesa
Citi Field
Unburdened with a stadium fondly remembered, Citi Field also stands right next to the park that housed the team since the 1960s, the abomination known as Shea Stadium. That place was such a generic, character-less hole that the public was more than happy to see it torn down and replaced. Thanks to the lack of love for Shea, the ballpark designers were free to get creative and they came up with this unfortunately named little gem.
I'll bet not one of those says "We will always miss Shea."
Corporate sponsored names pretty much stink for all ballparks (I don’t mind Tropicana Field for some reason, maybe it’s because that’s synonymous with oranges for me?), but what doesn’t is the inspiration for the new ballpark (what a crappy segue…). Modeled after Ebbets Field, former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first thing you see after you are padded down or EM wanded by security (I kid you not, they were padding down incoming fans), is the Jackie Robinson rotunda, a beautiful callback to Ebbets and a worthy celebration of the man to break the color barrier in baseball.
A monument to Jackie Robinson is nice, but all the Dodgers gear can confuse. "Hey Dad, aren't we here to see the Mets?"
My friend Lee pointed out that a monument to a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the Mets stadium is kind of out of place. I’m inclined to agree, but the space is so beautiful and the cause so important that I can neither fault them nor be mad about the inconsistency.
Urinals from the future!
I don’t really have anything bad to say about Citi Field. Prices are still more expensive at the ballpark than others in smaller markets, but that’s just New York, I guess. The urinals look kind of funny, I guess, the outfield wall is colored black and orange, making it look like the Giants play here, and they’ve still got the same problem with airplanes flying over and disrupting the calm of the game.
Wouldn't be a Mets game without planes taking off and landing.
The park feels smaller than Shea, and for a reason, they cut out about 15,000 seats, but it really does the ballpark some major good. Gone are the super steep stairs and feelings of vertigo up in the nosebleed section. The diminished size and the warm feeling that brick evokes gives the park a homey, intimate feeling that the cold concrete of Shea just didn’t offer and the aloof, superior atmosphere of Yankee Stadium just can’t match. One of the major tenets of the retro-new ballpark craze is to have ridiculous corners and unique parts of the park that really bring the home to home-field advantage and make for a unique park. One look at right field in Citi and and rational right fielder would faint. There are so many odd angles, an overhanging patio (hitting it counts as a home run, even if the ball bounces back into the field), and super-high walls that help keep the home run numbers down, but will undoubtedly increase the number of triples given up in the park.
Right field is full of insane angles. BONUS: Clay Zavada's mustache is on the big screen.
Even the backstop is made of brick, making getting home on a wild pitch that much harder. BONUS: This picture is following Angel Pagan's game-winning, first-in-his-career grand slam.
The best thing I can say about Citi Field is that it rekindled my love for baseball. Entering the ballpark I was feeling some fatigue from the long season. By the end of the game, I was pumped for my upcoming baseball trip to Japan and I couldn’t wait to get back home and watch more baseball this season. How can you not love a ballpark that reminds you of everything you love about the game?
The only welcome holdout from Shea, the home run Big Apple
Verdict
New York City is lucky to have not one, but two great new ballparks this season and they both succeed at the goals they were shooting for. Yankee Stadium is everything it was, almost down to a ‘T’ and to its own detriment while Citi Field was allowed to be something completely new and chose to embrace its past. Maybe I’m just a sucker for brick (I love you Camden Yards!), but Citi Field just feels more like baseball to me.
Winner: Citi Field
It’s time for Wednesday Morning Quarterback, your weekly sports round-up.
Here we are at the middle of the 2009 MLB season and things could not be more different than I expected. Dark horse candidates lead wild cards, division standings are mostly in shambles, it’s just not what most anyone predicted.
Let’s take a look at the current standings:
AL East
Yankees Red Sox 1GB Rays 4.5GB Blue Jays 10.5GB Orioles 15GB
No doubt about it, the AL East has seen a return to past form with the rise of the Yankees after last year’s dismal (for them) results. At the season’s opening it seemed like the Blue Jays might make a run for it, but their strong start quickly eroded away putting them way far behind in the standings. It will be interesting to see who finishes last: Baltimore or Toronto.
The East remains a three-team race this year and the Rays have a lot of ground to make up. I’ll be revising my predictions as follows:
Red Sox Rays Yankees Orioles Blue Jays
I think the Rays can win the wild card with a strong second half and the Yankees will struggle late in the season to give Tampa Bay the go ahead. Baltimore’s strong youth combined with Toronto’s impending Roy Halladay trade will allow the Os to pull ahead of the Jays.
AL Central
Tigers White Sox 2GB Twins 2.5GB Royals 13GB Indians 13.5GB
It’s a real surprise to see Detroit go from last place last year to first place this year. I guess the bigger surprise was that they were last place last year despite a strong squad. It’s a strong three team race in this division too. You can count out the surprisingly terrible Indians and predictably bad Royals this year. Will Kansas City ever field a good team in the near future?
The division will wrap up:
Tigers Twins White Sox Royals Indians
Detroit is really looking to perform this season and I think they have a great chance thanks to superb young pitching. So long as the team keeps hitting, they should be fine, especially if they can make a move before the deadline for more starting pitching. I predict that Mauer will give the Twins the needed boost to stay above the Sox all year long, but, who knows, it might come to a playoff between the teams again, they’re relatively evenly matched.
AL West
Angels Rangers 3GB Mariners 5.5GB Athletics 15GB
The AL West will be one of the most surprising and exciting divisions this year, I can just feel it. LA won’t be able to hold onto their lead and the Rangers are hungry for their first World Series appearance. Seattle has done quite well for itself this season thanks to the steady lead of Don Wakamatsu and, really, all it takes is a good streak to put them in a competitive spot in the west.
Rangers Mariners Angels Athletics
It’s a bold prediction, but I’m going to forecast a late season collapse for the Angels that puts them a hair behind Seattle in the west. We all know Oakland is going nowhere.
NL East
Phillies Braves 6.5GB Marlins 7GB Mets 10GB Nationals 27GB
I could not be more surprised about the way a division is turning out. NL East was close coming out of the All-Star break, but a sweep of the Marlins by the Phillies blew this wide open. All the East can hope for is a Phillies slump, but with NL competition being what it is, this may not happen. The Mets place in all of this is rather surprising too, but not unbelievable since almost their entire roster is on the DL. They’re practically fielding a AAA team.
Phillies Marlins Braves Mets Nationals
New York won’t be able to recover from all of these injuries and the Braves won’t be able to pull ahead of the Fish. Philadelphia holds on to the top and Washington is just terrible.
NL Central
Cardinals Cubs 2GB Astros 2GB Brewers 2GB Reds 5.5GB Pirates 8.5GB
Is there a closer division in baseball than the NL Central? Four teams within two games of first place has got to be some sort of record. The most surprising story in this division has to be the terrible play of the Cubs after their amazing 2008 season.
Cardinals Cubs Brewers Astros Reds Pirates
Predicting this one is almost like flipping a coin. St. Louis has all the pieces they need to go the distance this year, barring injury. I think they have the best chance to do well considering Chicago’s lack of initiative this year.
NL West
Dodgers Rockies 9.5GB Giants 9GB Diamondbacks 20GB Padres 23GB
After the exciting NL Central, how do we arrive at this mess? The largest first place lead in baseball goes to LA (again) this year, but in the opposite league. The Dodgers are in a dangerous position with such lax competition and could find themselves floundering in the playoffs this year. I’m still amazed that both Colorado and the Giants are leading the wild card race this year. Colorado has been on a tear since changing skippers to Jim Tracy and the Giants seem to have found their niche with standout pitching by Lincecum and Cain. If only these teams found their stride earlier in the season, this division might have been interesting.
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay NL Wild Card: Giants
Controversial choices, I know, but I love both of these teams and I hope to see them succeed this year.
It’s that time of year again, the MLB All-Star game is upon us! Last night was the Home Run Derby and, despite being in his team’s stadium, Albert Pujols did not quite manage to make it to the third round. Instead the final competition was between Prince Fielder, of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Nelson Cruz, of the Texas Rangers. In the end, Fielder took it and even bashed in a homer over 500 feet.
So begins the liveblogging event of the year! I’ll be making updates through the evening and night.
Time: 1929
I’m really loving the MLB Network coverage of the All-Star game. The network is in its first year and it shows in their broadcast. There are some boom microphone errors and sound issues at times, even a video error or two, but they are enthusiastic about their presentation and having so much fun that it’s just too fun to watch. I hope that the channel sticks around for the long run.
1938
There have already been some great commercials. Pepsi has one of those “Forever Young” commercials with baseball that I’m a fan of and State Farm has a great commercial featuring MLB gear. My favorite part there is when the Cubs baby is being friendly with the Cardinals baby and the parent of the Cardinals baby turns their kid away.
Get the Braves dog! Chase him away!
2001
A lot is being made of St. Louis being the greatest baseball city because the fans are so knowledgeable. I think this is great, but St. Louis felt so abandoned the last time I was there. They have such a rich NL history, between their World Series wins, the legacy of Branch Rickey, Bob Gibson, and, more recently, Albert Pujols.
I hope the game starts soon so I don’t have to keep waxing poetic. Obama’s gonna throw the opening pitch!
They’re showing footage of Obama in the locker room. So cool. He’s just shooting the breeze with these players and some are pretty awestruck. The expression on Ichiro’s face as he has Obama autograph a baseball for him is great.
2008
Introducing the teams now (minus the starting 9 for both teams).
The AL
Trey Hillman Don Wakamatsu
Adam Jones Josh Beckett Kevin Youkilis Tim Wakefield Jonathan Papelbon Mark Buerhle Victor Martinez Brandon Inge Curtis Granderson Justin Verlander Edwin Jackson Zack Greinke Chone Figgins Brian Fuentes Justin Morneau Joe Nathan Mariano Rivera Andrew Bailey Felix Hernandez Evan Longoria Jason Bartlett Carl Crawford Ben Zobrist Carlos Peña Nelson Cruz
NL
Joe Torre Tony La Russa
Justin Upton Dan Haren Ted Lily (boos? I thought these guys were nice) Francisco Cordero Brad Hawpe Jason Marquis Josh Johnson Hunter Pence Miguel Tejada Orlando Hudson Jonathan Broxton Chad Billingsley Prince Fielder Trevor Hoffman Johan Santana Francisco Rodriguez Ryan Howard Jayson Werth Freddy Sanchez Zack Duke Ryan Franklin Heath Bell Adrian Gonzalez Matt Cain Ryan Zimmerman
AL Manager and starting lineup:
Joe Maddon (Manager, Rays)
1. Ichiro Suzuki (RF, Mariners) 2. Derek Jeter (SS, Yankees) 3. Joe Mauer (C, Twins) 4. Mark Teixiera (1B, Yankees) 5. Jason Bay (LF, Red Sox) 6. Josh Hamilton (CF, Rangers) 7. Michael Young (3B, Rangers) – should have been Longoria =*[ 8. Aaron Hill (2B, Blue Jays) 9. Roy Halladay (P, Blue Jays)
NL Manager and starting lineup:
Charlie Manuel (Manager, Phillies)
1. Hanley Ramirez (SS, Marlins) – GO HANLEY! 2. Chase Utley (2B, Phillies) 3. Albert Pujols (1B, Cardinals) – huge cheers, gigantic Pujols smiles, hat comes off like a curtain call 4. Ryan Braun (RF, Brewers) 5. Raul Ibañez (LF, Phillies) 6. David Wright (3B, Mets) 7. Shane Victorino (CF, Phillies) 8. Yadier Molina (C, Cardinals) – big applause 9.Tim Lincecum (P, Giants) – I love this guy!
They went and mowed the arch and a famous St. Louis building into the lawn. It looks very nice.
2021
5 presidents giving a speech.
Obama, Bush, Bush, Carter, and Clinton.
These speeches are pretty standard political and feel good stuff. Not too bad, nothing too special.
2031
Sheryl Crow sings the anthem. She’s from Missouri. She does a good job! There’s a flyover, as you’d expect.
Stan Musial and Obama are due out next. Pujols is due to catch the first pitch.
Thanks for spoiling the end of the House season FOX. Why are you advertising for September in July?
2037
Stan the Man comes in from RF on a cart carrying the baseball for the first pitch.
88-years-old. Man, we’re lucky this guy is still alive.
It looks like the players are all wearing their team’s actual uniforms. I like that. It shows where they’re from compared to just a league shirt.
Obama comes onto the field in a White Sox jacket to mixed reaction. There are definitely boos mixed in there.
Doesn’t matter, he throws a great strike to the plate, maybe a little low. After the pitch the cheers FAR outweigh the boos.
2044
Some of you readers don’t ever watch commercials anymore, but I, strangely, kind of like them. I inexplicably love the rollover minute AT&T commercials.
Top of the 1st – 2047
The NL takes the field! Lincecum’s last outing in Busch Stadium was a shutout. Wow, Lincecum only weighs like 167 lbs.
Busch Stadium has some cool little Cardinal friezes on the trim. Obama likes Maddon’s glasses. He asked Wakefield how to throw a knuckleball and, when asked if he had a good curveball, he said “If I did, I wouldn’t have run for president.”
Ichiro almost hit a homer his first time up. Wow. Went foul. Lincecum has such a great rhythmic windup and delivery. It’s so cool to watch.
Broken bat single. What else would you expect from the great Ichiro?
Ouch. Lincecum just nailed Jeter on the bottom of his fist. That was a loud collision. He wasn’t very happy. Worse off, two on, no outs for the AL.
Joe Mauer grounds to third and they almost get a double play, but Pujols’ foot comes off the bag.
Teixiera hits to Pujols and he botches the catch. AL up 1-0
Bay hits one out to CF and Victorino holds Mauer at third.
Hamilton gets one to Pujols who throws Bay out at second, but they can’t make the DP. AL 2-0.
Young hits it to Wright who gets the third out.
2102 Bot 1st
Hanley’s leading off against Halladay, lucky for the NL. Ramirez and the Marlins have done quite well against the Blue Jays this year. He hits it hard to 2B, but Hill is right there. One out.
Utley up to bat. Grounds to first. A quick one-two, but Pujols approaches. Can he turn this around?
The park is on its feet with a standing ‘O’. He’s got a lot of ground to make up by making that error. Pujols is such a patient hitter. I love that about him. Ball goes right to third and Michael Young finishes off retiring the side.
AL: 2 NL: 0
Top 2nd
Aaron Hill grounds to Hanley and he makes a great catch and out.
Halladay up to bat no. Should be an easy out, so work him hard Tim. Seems that Halladay didn’t even pack a helmet for the at bat. They put a sticker in front of Longoria’s Rays helmet so that he could have a helmet. What a moron. Of course you’re gonna hit Roy. It’s a game in an NL park. Timmy strikes Hallady out looking, but it was a solid at bat.
Ichiro is back up to bat. His at-bat motion is so iconic as e holds the bat out in front of him while the pitcher sets. Ichiro lines right out to Braun. Apparently Obama told Ichiro, after handing back the ball, “Here you go hall of famer.” That will be true, I’m sure of it.
2117 Bot 2nd
Braun steps up to the plate. Obama is now in the broadcast booth. Holy cow. “This is as much fun as I’ve had in quite some time.” Obama’s in a White Sox jacket. He says his wife thinks he looks cute in it. Braun takes it up to CF and Hamilton snags it.
Ibañez now up to bat. Shane hits one to Hill and it’s yet another out for the NL.
David Wright comes out to hit. Obama is reluctant to predict who will win the Series without more information. Wow, he just commented on how terrible the Nationals are. Wright gets a broken bat single to short right. NL finally gets a man on.
Wow, Victorino smacks one into right. Two on, two out. Victorino apparently gave Obama Macademia nuts at the white house.
Molina’s up to bat. Obama is agreeing that the AL has been better of late. Molina takes a base hit up to center. Wright runs it in, the throw to third is wild and Victorino is able to run into home from third on the botched throw. Way to go Molina. They’ve tied it up 2-2 and Molina gets some RBIs. Turns out the ball bounced off of Victorino’s shoulder. Halladay was covering home instead of third.
The NL pinch hits for Lincecum with Prince Fielder. Fielder bashes one into the LF corner and it bounces into the stands. Molina scores on the ground rule double and Fielder stays on second. 3-1 NL. Buerhle is warming up.
The Marlins send Hanley up to plate again. They’re joking that once Buerhle is done, Obama will leave. Hanley hits it back to Hill and gets tossed out at first.
Obama’s headed home. Good times. That was so great to see him just talking baseball like a regular guy.
Top 3rd
Ryan Franklin goes out to pitch for the NL squad against Jeter. Hits a comebacker to Utley and gets tossed out at first.
The catcher, Mauer, steps back up to the plate. I’ve gotta say, I kind of wish Lincecum could have stayed in the game longer. Joe lines out to Pujols who makes a great catch.
Interview with Halladay about what it was like, but the microphone went out. Sad. Teixiera comes right back up to the plate. Franklin almost strikes Teix out, but he barely gets a piece and stays up to bat. Strong grounder to Pujols and he gets the out.
The Taco Bell “If You Like Piña Coladas” commercial is hilarious. I guess I just like Taco Bell Frutista Freeze commercials playing during all-star games. I love the boss with the exploding fist bump.
2135 Bot 3rd
Buehrle is on the mound now and Utley flies out to Hamilton.
Big Al comes back up to bat. He’s got two guaranteed at bats. Maybe third. Teixiera has good positioning to catch the Pujols grounder so Pujols grounds out.
Milwaukee’s basher Braun comes up to bat. Little grounder to Jeter and the NL is back out on the field. The score remains
NL 3 – AL 2
2141 Top 4th
The NL has swapped pitchers to Dan Haren. Apparently he was in the Cards system before he was traded and they regret that. Jason Bay hits one out to Ryan Braun for the first out.
I don’t really think that Josh Hamilton deserves to be in the game today, but he’s on thanks to the way he hit in last year’s Home Run Derby. Hard hit pop fly that’s shy of the warning track. Victorino catches for the second out.
Young angers me because he’s in for Longoria, even though Longoria can’t play. He hits a single and it upsets me.
Haren has such a strange delivery when he doesn’t have anyone on the bag with that hesitation pause. Aaron Hill at bat and Molina contains a wild pitch to hold Hamilton at first. Grounder to Ramirez and it’s half-inning over.
Bob Dylan and will.i.am are not on the same level, sorry Pepsi.
Bot 4th
Ibañez pops out to third and Greinke’s on the mound.
That brings NY Met David Wright up to the plate with one out. Greinke has been fantastic this season and he proves it with a slider that just barely got called a strike on Wright who goes down looking.
Greinke’s a monster on the mound tonight. He gets Victorino to strike out swinging.
I’m pretty excited to see Funny People. Judd Apatow’s a comedic genius, but I wonder how his more serious offering here will do.
2155 Top 5th
Ryan Zimmerman takes over at third for the NL. Brad Hawpe takes RF for Braun. Crawford is up to bat for Greinke, I believe. He’s a speedy fellow. Takes a good pitch into CF and finds himself on first against Billingsley. Will Crawford try to steal?
The left-handed Ichiro will make a throw harder for Molina, but Mo is top notch. All Billingsley has to do is get it to the plate quickly to hold Crawford. Ichiro is also pretty fast, this is a bad situation. Crawford goes, hit-and-run, and Ichiro fouls it back, phew. Crawford’s got such great acceleration. Billingsley tries to catch Crawford sleeping at first, but fails. Utley makes a daring toss to 2nd to get Crawford out and his high toss is well handled by Hanley to get Carl out. The announcers don’t seem to be giving Hanley Ramirez his due. He really stretched to grab that.
Ichiro Suzuki on first. He’s also fast. Jeter at the bat. Quickly works an 0-2 count on Jeter. Billingsley is trying to keep the runners honest with plenty of tosses to first. The ball goes ripping at Pujols and he’s able to keep Ichiro off second, but Jeter’s too fast for the DP.
The hitless Joe Mauer comes up to bat. It’s been a good game so far. I’m loving the close score. Chad Billingsley falls behind Joe 2-0. Saw Jason Bay on the sidelines and, let me tell you, it sure is nice to not have Pedroia in the game with that stupid batting glove nonsense that he subjects everyone to each pitch. Braun kind of jobs to retrieve Mauer’s ball to LF and that allows Jeter to get into home from first base. I suppose it’s not really Ryan’s fault, Mauer’s a left-handed hitter and Ryan was positioned with that in mind.
Baltimore-native Mark Teixiera on base with Joe Mauer on second. Pujols makes yet another fantastic dive to throw out Teixiera for the third out.
NL 3 – AL 3
2209 Bot 5th
Carl Crawford remains in the game and Adam Jones pops in while Edwin Jackson comes up to pitch. Yadier Molina grounds out to Jeter.
Jackson’s success in Detroit is bittersweet for me. He’s doing so well out there that I can’t help but be happy for him, but I wish he were still pitching for the Rays. Ryan Zimmerman makes good contact, but he flies out to Hamilton in center.
Hanley is, thankfully, still in the game, but he grounds out to Michael Young, ending the inning.
I love that line in the Punch-Out Wii commercials, “I’m gonna make him cry like a little girl and then I’m gonna mop the floor with his tears.”
Top 6th
Remember when Gatorade wasn’t called G? Those were better days. Adam Jones is up against Trevor Hoffman and he sends one all the way out to Brad Hawpe in RF. It worried me for a second.
Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton gets himself a single to RF.
Lincecum could use a haircut, but his glorious mane probably gives him strength. Young could have used more strength as he hits into a 4-6-3 double play (that’s 2B Utley, to SS Ramirez, to 1B Pujols).
The Taco bell Roosevelts commercial is dumb, but I’m strangely drawn to it.
2219 Bot 6th
Jason Bartlett is mislabeled as Ben Zobrist at SS and Curtis Granderson is in CF while Victor Martinez is catching and King Felix Hernandez is pitching. The O-Dog, Orlando Hudson, flies out to Adam Jones in right.
The last Pujols at bat of the night. I’m hoping for some power from Albert, but grounds to Bartlett and the NL has two outs. I hope he doesn’t feel to badly, he’s had some great defensive plays.
An NL substitution in place with Justin Upton coming in for Ryan Braun. Upton is Rays player B.J. Upton’s younger brother. Another ball straight to Bartlett and Upton is the third out.
Top 7th
It’s been a great game so far. This tie has got my heart rate at a nice, high level. Go NL! You guys can do it! Pujols comes out for Adrian Gonzalez after a curtain call from his hometown. Francisco Cordero is up to pitch and Aaron Hill flies one to Justin Upton. It hasn’t been mentioned, but Jayston Werth seems to be in CF for Shane Victorino.
Crawford is back up again? Scary. Hits it straight to Miguel Tejada (when did he come in?) and gets thrown out.
Last year’s Derby winner Justin Morneau of the twins comes up to bat and he whiffs for two straight strikes. Line drive to Zimmerman ends the inning and we go into the 7th inning stretch while my keyboard gives me problems every time I try to push the ‘h’ key.
I guess it’s a good thing that they support the country with “God Bless America” now, but I miss “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” The lady who’s singing GBA is way over fake tanned. She’s almost orange. Looks like Kevin Nealon in the most recent episode of Weeds. That’s not a good thing, they were making fun of him for it for a lot of the episode. Her name was Sarah Evans. Sarah, you did a great job, I’m not harping on that at all, just, you know, cut back on the fake tanning stuff.
2233 Bot 7th
Looks like Jonathan Papelbon won’t get to close again today. Brad Hawpe comes within inches of a home run, but Carl Crawford robs all chances with his amazing catch. So close.
The Houston Astros send in Miguel Tejada for the second NL batter of the inning. He hits one out to the warning track and the bubblegum chewing Adam Jones gets the ball.
Two exciting hits precede Jayson Werth’s at bat. He doesn’t take the first pitch, unlike the previous two batters. Werth’s goatee makes him look like an evil villain to me. Ugh, now I’m watching Jonatan Papelbon make his stupid lip-pursing ‘O’ that he does before each pitch. I hate that stupid look so much, but it’s just based on Red Sox resentment. Werth works up to a full count. Come on NL, score a run on Papelbon again. Make me happy. Jayson is really keeping this at-bat alive with plenty of foul balls and a full count on top of that. Swing and a miss and the NL goes down with no extra points thanks to Carl Crawford.
2242 Top 8th
Heath Bell of the Padres is now pitching for the NL. First pitch almost hits Bartlett in the head. Wow, that was wild. Bartlett taps one to Tejada who sets and throws Jason out at first.
Curtis Granderson gets up to bat now in the 8th. Bell has a really short, quick windup and throw. It’s awkard and hard to follow. Granderson makes it to third on a triple…great. Now he’s in position for a sac fly. It’s up to you Bell.
For some reason the NL decides to intentionally walk Victor Martinez. I guess it makes sense, setting up for the DP, but everyone on this club is a pretty darn good hitter.
This puts the speedy Adam Jones up to bat and the infield returns to double play depth. I’m feeling pretty tense about all of this, especially as the announcers claim that Heath Bell has never pitched in any all-star situations. He works the count to 0-2 on Jones. If the NL don’t get the DP, they’v egot Youkilis up next. Damned if you do…
Jones gets himself a sac fly and the score becomes 4-3 AL. Ugh.
Now we’ve got the Youkilis up to bat and things could turn ugly. Base hit to center. AL has men on first and second.
Ben Zobrist, the Zorilla, steps up to bat. He has homered from five different positions this season, according to the announcers. Pence strikes him out swinging. Hurts to see, but I’m happy for it.
AL 4 – NL 3
Bot 8th
Brandon Inge is now in the game along with Joe Nathan. Brian McCann is at bat with his glasses. Poor guy had a Lasik procedure go terribly wrong and had to return to glasses. He pops up for an easy out to Victor Martinez.
That brings everyone’s favorite Ryan Zimmerman to the plate. Flies out to cross-town rival Adam Jones.
We’ve got power hitter Adrian Gonzalez at the plate now, hopefully to save the NL. It’s crazy how well this guy hits considering that the Padres play in a hitter hostile park. Nathan walks Gonzalez. Let’s make something happen now.
O-Dog time. Orlando Hudson up to bat. Grounder up the middle deflects off of Bartlett’s glove despite a terrific dive allowing Adrian Gonzalez to get to third.
This allows the NL to put Ryan Howard up to bat. A great pinch hitter for the Phillies, let’s see if he can make something great happen. The shift is put on for Howard. Will the St. Louis native be the key to the NL victory in this game? The stadium is going wild for Ryan. Howard quickly gets to 0-2. Orlando Hudson takes advantage of the up and away pitch to steal second. Two in scoring position now and the count gets up to 2-2. It is tense in my living room right now. Ryan Howard makes a stupid check swing at a ball in the dirt and the NL ruins a great chance. So close! We’ve still got one more inning, don’t worry!
2309 Top 9th
Man, I’m getting tired. Last year I made it much longer, but I wasn’t working then. K-Rod comes up to pitch against Inge who hits a broken bat grounder to Tejada for the 6-3 out.
Crawford remains in the game. I can’t be too mad at the guy for catching that out since he’s a Rays player, but I want the NL to win so badly. K-Rod strikes out Crawford. It was a fantastic pitch.
The AL squad sends Justin Morneau to the plate for their third man of the inning and he knocks one back that Jayson Werth barely catches. What a great play.
2315 Bot 9
It’s crunch time for the NL. We’re down to the final three outs and the scary-good Mariano Rivera is on the mound. Justin Upton grounds out to Bartlett. One down.
The second batter to step up is Brad Hawpe who was robbed a home run his last at bat. The AL dugout seems so cheery. It also seems overfull. Hawpe goes down looking on a pitch to the outside. Brad Hawpe looked lost. Two outs.
Our final hopes rest on Miguel Tejada’s bat. Tejada hits a shallow fly to Zobrist and the AL wins it 4-3.
The streak of losses continues.
It didn’t quite go as long as other years, but that dramatic robbery by Carl Crawford really changed this game.
Maybe next year NL. See you guys for another live blog next year!
I don’t tend to report on tennis news, but I happened to watch various parts of the Federer/Roddick match on Sunday, so I thought I’d say a few words on it.
It’s worth nothing that this is probably one of the most lopsided rivalries in tennis. In fact, the 2 wins by Roddick (of 21 matches) is so embarrassing I’m sure that he wishes people would stop calling it a rivalry so he wouldn’t have to hear that stat.
Federer was chasing a tennis record hoping to win his 15th Grand Slam title, which would put him just ahead of Pete Sampras’ 14.
Their match was the longest in Wimbledon history with 30 total games played in the fifth set (a record) and 77 sets played total. The match itself lasted a grueling four hours and sixteen minutes, with the final set lasting 95 minutes on its own.
Some are saying it’s the best Wimbledon performance in the history of the sport. I don’t watch enough tennis to have an opinion, but I will admit it was epic.
All-Star Starting Rosters
For the American League we have:
C Joe Mauer (Twins) 1B Mark Teixeira (Yankees) 2B Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox) 3B Evan Longoria (Rays) SS Derek Jeter (Yankees) OF Jason Bay (Red Sox) OF Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners) OF Josh Hamilton (Rangers)
A strong lineup which leaves almost nothing to complain about. Since coming back from the DL in May, Joe Mauer has been a hitting machine, Teixeira is playing well in NYC and Youkilis would have fit just as well into that spot. Pedroia is always a good choice for 2B and Bay/Suzuki are fantastic outfielders.
Despite the fact that I love this outcome, it’s definitely shocking to see Longoria at third in lieu of Alex Rodriguez. His long injury combined with the steroid allegations seem to have forced him out, which is just fine by me. Jeter is the most popular player in the game, but I don’t think that he’s the best shortstop in the game by any means. He should still hit well, regardless, and I can’t really argue that the younger Hanley Ramirez on the NL squad is that much better defensively. Finally, Josh Hamilton has played only a few games this year thanks to injuries and not all that well. If people would choose based on performance this year instead of last year’s Home Run Derby, we wouldn’t see him on this roster.
and the National League voted in
C Yadier Molina (Cardinals) 1B Albert Pujols (Cardinals) 2B Chase Utley (Phillies) 3B David Wright (Mets) SS Hanley Ramírez (Marlins) OF Carlos Beltrán (Mets) OF Ryan Braun (Brewers) OF Raúl Ibáñez (Phillies)
The NL manages to make better choices all-around, with the only bad choice being Beltrán and then only because he’s currently injured. Despite the mishaps in the AL lineup, they might actually have a slightly stronger one, considering that David Wright hasn’t been hitting all that well and who Charlie Manuel replaces Beltrán with.
Let’s hope they get it together, because the NL hasn’t won an all-star game outright since 1996. It’s kind of embarrassing.
As I’ve stated a few times already, I’ll be doing a much more live blog than usual, so be prepared for that. The game will be next Tuesday, 14 July, weather permitting, probably around 2000, but the pre-game and broadcast itself is scheduled for 1900. I can’t wait!
Ever wondered which baseball team you should be rooting for, based on geographic location in the US? Wonder no more.
I do believe you have now found an acceptable excuse for not rooting for a baseball team if you live in Utah.
Injuries, Home Losses, and the Fish Are Back!
The NL East has had what some may call a troubled month.
The NY Mets are basically fielding a AAA team due to all the injuries their players have suffered on the field. It’s a wonder that the team is even in contention at this point, but it seems like it’s starting to catch up to them. The recent losses in interleague didn’t matter too much, since the Marlins and Phillies also lost a few, but they’re now three games back. It’s kind of crazy to think about how close they are, considering that they’re a sub 0.500 team. Who in their right mind would have believed that the Giants, Rockies, and Reds would have better records than the Mets so close to the All-Star break?
Meanwhile, the Phillies have a bit of a problem. They almost never win at home. Their 13-22 record in Citizens Bank Park (that’s a 0.371 win rate, if you’re curious) just looks ridiculous compared to their away record of 26-12 (0.684). For those of you keeping score at home, the only team with a worse home record: the Washington Nationals (13-25 0.342). Pathetic. It’s a wonder they’re in first place.
Which brings me to my next point: the Marlins are only 1.5 games out of first! We’re coming back! This is mostly due to Josh Johnson’s fantastic pitching combined with Ricky Nolasco’s recovery from his minor league stint and some fantastic performances put up by rookie Sean West. Our young rookie didn’t do quite as well last night, but the Marlins were still able to put together a win. If they keep at it, it’s possible the Fish could even be in first by the all-star break.
West Wins?
A lot of strange things have been happening out in the west of late. While LA remains six games ahead of the Giants and wants for a challenge, the Giants have miraculously emerged as a powerhouse, leading the wild card race with the Colorado Rockies (I know!) 1.5 games back. There’s got to be something wrong with this picture…
My best guess: the NL East is really hurting right now, the NL Central is weak and beating up on each other, and the NL West is bizarrely having a great year. This could throw my pre-season predictions completely off balance!
The rest of the news
Manny Ramirez will be starting back up with the Dodgers next week as he completes his fifty game suspension. There was a lot of talk about his playing for the minor leagues when suspended, but I think it’s alright. I mean, if the rules were in place to forbid it, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. MLB wants it this way, so why does everyone care?
Another letter of mine was featured on an ESPN podcast. If you listen to the 24 June Play Ball! episode you’ll get to hear a letter written by me criticizing the press’ (specifically Christine Brennan’s) perception of bloggers. I want to note that I fully support Brennan’s work as a journalist and I think she’s a fine example for women everywhere, I just took umbrage with her claims that the enthusiast press, for lack of a better term, was useless, uninformed, and unethical. We don’t have the training or the access, but I think we do an important job. I’m pretty sure my brothers would know nothing about baseball if it wasn’t for this weekly post I did, so it can’t be all that bad.
The All-Star game approacheth! The game will be played on 14 July, approximately two weeks from now. My plan is to live-blog it (for real this time) on Tuesday night. As a result, there won’t be a true WMQ post that Wednesday (15 July) unless I want to sum up the game. I can’t wait for the game. I hope the NL can finally knock the AL down from its lofty perch.
There was a lot of talk about the mistakes Joe Maddon was making in not bringing David Price up at the start of the year. I think last night speaks volumes about why he thought he needed more work.
Price gave up ten runs to spearhead a 10-1 loss to the Phillies last night, meaning that he was embarrassed by a pitcher more or less twice his age (Jamie Moyer, age 46).
It’s days like these that I’m glad I can at least root for the Marlins, who won last night against the Orioles and took two of three from the Yankees this weekend. Not only did Hanley Ramirez snap his homerless streak against the Yankees, he hit himself a grand slam last night to bust open the game. Of course, the Marlins bullpen gave up so many runs that the game went on to the 12th inning, but still, go Hanley.
While I’m up here, I think it’s worth laughing at the Yankees AND the Blue Jays for each dropping two games to the Nationals last week. Way to play to win.
Last week was also notable for being the day I saw, in the flesh, Matt Wieters hit his first big league home run against the Mets. In a strange coincidence, I also heard Wieter’s second home run while listening to the Orioles at Marlins game last night.
Daisuke Matsuzaka landed himself on the DL due to sucking, since Boston can’t send him to the minors. It’s an interesting practice, but basically all a team has to do is get a sanctioned doctor to sign off on some sort of injury and, BAM, instant DL stint. This is how we get loony injuries like an anxiety disorder diagnosed through blood work. Dice-K has been having a tough season, likely from WBC-related exhaustion, so this should hopefully get him all better. Too bad he cost the Red Sox 103M$, because he sure hasn’t seemed all that worth it yet.
And that’s all I’ve got for now. Here’s hoping that the Nats take two of three from the Sox, the Marlins keep moving up the standings, and the Rays start beating the Phillies.
Like all sports, baseball has its unspoken rules regarding conduct and retaliation on the field. It all more or less boils down to: you do something stupid or mean, the pitcher on the other team is going to drill you with a pitch. Everyone knows this, but the key is that it’s supposed to remain unspoken. The few times this year that idiots have brought it up, they’ve been suspended or fined.
Now, it’s no laughing matter to get hit by a pitch. If the opposing team locates it wrong, you could be looking at a DL stint, like the accidental HBP that knocked Jorge Cantú out of the lineup earlier this year against the Mets, or you could even see death if it hits the batter in the helmet right. Only one player has ever died from this and it was way back in 1920 (Ray Chapman of the Indians, if you’re curious).
So why do I bring this up? This past Sunday, Hanley Ramirez was at bat against the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada for the start of the second set of interleague games. He was struck by a pitch, I think after having knocked in a run or two at his last at bat. Josh Johnson, who pitched a complete game for the Fish, did not hit any Blue Jays and the Marlins coasted to an 11-3 win.
The same day, in a press conference, Hanley was complaining about not getting protection, stating:
“Everybody knows it. I think Fredi knows it. J.J. knows it,” said Ramirez, who was drilled by an 88-mph fastball. “[Hayhurst] was throwing strikes. I don’t know why [he hit me]. You’ve got to ask him why.” [...] “You know, incredible,” Ramirez said in remarks made in Spanish, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel. “There’s going to come a point where I’m not going to feel protected. I’m going to be scared to hit a home run because I know I’m going to get hit.”
Naturally, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez immediately shut down the press conference when he heard of the statements and he has supposedly taken care of the situation internally.
Win Streak SNAPPED
Colorado thought that maybe it had something going. Then it hit the wall.
After a surprising 11-game win streak, their hopes and dreams were smashed by my beloved Tampa Bay Rays today with the final score being Rays: 12, Rockies: 4. It’s a good thing for Tampa Bay, considering that they’re trying to climb the AL East, but that may prove difficult with Boston playing against the Marlins in Fenway (yesterday was NOT pretty for them) and the Yankees playing the Nationals at home. Still, if Philadelphia can string together some wins the next few games against Toronto, the Rays have a chance of securing third place and starting to close that three game gap between them and New York. If only the Nats could put together a win against the Yanks…
Misc
Peavy is on the DL. Too bad San Diego didn’t trade him yet. That’s looking like a huge waste of money now…
The Rays have a few guys returning to their lineup. Bartlett was back last night and Burrell will be back soon (who cares about him though?).
Zobrist (AKA the Zorilla) is still smashing his way around the majors. He’s been a major contributor to the Rays leading baseball in runs scored.
Not really news, but I’ll be at the game tonight, Mets at Orioles, to get my Adam Jones Bobblehead. Pictures will be available if I get one and if the game isn’t rained out. Please help us out rain gods, I don’t want to miss the game!
Jayson Stark had this to say about Randy Johnson’s recent 300th win:
“It’s always a good idea to shoot for a milestone against those hospitable Washington Nationals. On Sunday, they were the victim of Jamie Moyer’s 250th career win. Four days later, they were on the wrong end of Randy Johnson’s 300th. So how rare is that? Glad you asked. If we use 200 wins as the official milestone cutoff, the last team to be victimized for two milestones (200, 250 or 300) in the same season was Rob Deer’s 1990 Brewers (Nolan Ryan’s 300th, Frank Tanana’s 200th). But if we raise the cutoff to 250, the Elias Sports Bureau reports, the Nationals become the first team to do anything like this twice in one year since Pop Corkhill’s 1891 Pirates helped Old Hoss Radbourn win his 300th and John Clarkson win his 250th. Hard to believe, folks.”
and…
“Ryan Howard has hit two grand slams this season off the same pitcher: Washington’s Shairon Martis. Loyal reader Chris Rosenberg wondered how unusual that is? Eh, pretty darned unusual. The only other times that’s happened in the division-play era: Steve Garvey off Clay Carroll in 1977, Fernando Tatis off Chan Ho Park (in the same INNING) in 1999 and Jermaine Dye off Ryan Rupe in 2000.”
Another month of baseball has passed and it’s a testament to the sport that things have gotten a bit crazy. As I write this on Tuesday, the standings look a little something like this:
Yankees Red Sox Blue Jays Rays Orioles
Tigers White Sox Twins Royals Indians
Phillies Mets Braves Marlins Nationals
Brewers Cardinals Reds Cubs Pirates Astros
Dodgers Giants Padres Diamondbacks Rockies
The biggest surprise would have to be the collapse of the Blue Jays in the face of stiff competition. They are a meager 6-9 in the East and have dropped from their pedestal of 3.5 games ahead at their best to 1.5 games back, amassing a nine-game losing streak to get them to where they are today.
As mentioned by Rob Neyer, the Rays are somehow leading the league in batting average, doubles, homers, RBIs, walks, stolen bases, extra base hits, and they lead the league in runs scored, among other feats. Despite all of this, the Rays happen to lie six(!) games back in the East. Hopefully things start breaking their way soon, they deserve it.
My beloved Marlins sit 6.5 back in the NL East and all the injuries the team is suffering from seem to predict that this won’t change all that much.
Zack Greinke is still murdering batters at a ridiculous pace. His ERA sits at 1.10 after 11 starts and he shows no sign of slowing down. Keep an eye out for him.
Matt Wieters made his debut for Baltimore and he’s doing alright. Expectations are high for the catcher to help turn the team’s fate around.
Evan Longoria is leading the All-Star ballot and I encourage each and every one of you to keep him on top.
Manny Ramirez just might get selected on the ballot, despite being suspended for fifty games following a drug test failure.
The Yankees set an MLB record by allowing no errors in 18 straight games.
Quick me plug: I got my e-mail read on Monday’s ESPN Baseball Today podcast. It was pretty awesome.
And for our last bit of news, good luck on win number 300 Randy Johnson. The Big Unit will go for win number 300 tonight against the Washington Nationals. There’s also a delightful bit of symmetry in the fact that Randy Johnson was first drafted by the Montreal Expos, the team now known as the Nationals, and will be facing them in this historic game.
