So here are some random baseball notes and thoughts...
You know I hate the Deadbirds with every ounce of my being - but the Rick Ankiel story is pretty incredible. That he hit a three run homer in his first game back in the big leagues since 2004 just makes the story all that more appealing. Ankiel is replacing Scott Spiezio, who is having substance abuse issues. Now, I can't stand Spiezio and that stupid red soul patch on his chin, but I hope he gets the help he needs and overcomes his problems.
Does losing make all GMs sound like jackasses? The Padres Kevin Towers is blaming former D'backs GM Joe Garagiola Jr. for not winning the NL West the last time they didn't win it. Why? Because Garagiola wouldn't trade him Steve Finley to him. Towers told the Union Tribune that Garagiola treated the Padres like a leper colony.
The Chub$ are a half game out of first. Sorry Sausages, you aren't going to win this division. The Sausages just lost Graffinino for the rest of the season. Ben Sheets is still hurt. Plus, the Chub$ are rich now that they've undertaken the blasphemy of putting advertising all over the sacred Wrigley Field. Let me ask something - when you see a sign at the ballpark, does it make you buy the product? I mean, having a giant outfield sign saying "Toyota" actually makes me NOT want to buy a Toyota because their garbage is on the wall. I realize that teams need the revenue, but I think some outside the box thinking would work really well in today's rapidly changing baseball. You know what I think would be interesting? A team having a private school in its home city - a baseball academy, if you will. They have these things in the Caribbean, where kids go to school and then play baseball. Just think of what kind of revenue a private school could bring in - or not just revenue, but player development, too. Shoot, if the Reds had a private baseball school, I'd have a kid just so I could send him there. Or what about selling customized paint jobs for cars bearing the team logo? Not only would you have people buying the paint jobs, but you also would have cars driving around with the logo - free advertising! There's a ton of stuff that can be done if execs would just step away from conventional thinking. And we don't have to see the eyesores on the outfield walls and the insanity of "This call to the bullpen brought to you by..." and "Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week."
The Apocalypse is on - the Giants and the hated Dodgers made a trade with each other.
And finally, this guy has an awesome story about a game at Shea Stadium in the seventies against the Big Red Machine.
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