Category: Dailies

This Week In New York Baseball

Dillon Gee is now 6-0.  6-0?  Man, he’s got to be due for an injury soon.  (He is a Mets Pitcher after all.)

 

The Yankees are 5-3 on their current West Coast Trip.  Regardless of what happens today, I still consider this a great victory.  Let’s face it.  The Yankees are normally terrible on these West Coast swings.  If they didn’t come home with a decent record, you know they would have left Nick Swisher in Oakland.  (With the way he’d been hitting as of late, that wasn’t necessarily a joke.)

 

Finally, Jeter is 15 hits away from 3000.  I think we’re all looking forward to him achieving this goal.  First, it’s virtually locks him in for the Hall of Fame.  Second, it stops the “drunk text” countdowns from my friends at all hours of the night. Finally, the Yankees can focus on winning games and Jeter can go back to those terrible Ford Fusion commercials.

 

Seriously Folks, do you really believe he would drive a Ford Fusion?

A Salute to a Newly Relevant Cleveland Indians

 

With
the Yankees battling injuries and the Mets battling…themselves? This week I
turn my attention to the AL Central. 
It’s May 7th and the Cleveland Indians are in first.

 

What?!

 

That’s
right.  This is a team once voted the most
disliked team in all of Major League Baseball (even over the Yankees)!  A team picked to place dead this year is actually in
first place.

 

Sure,
we’re only entering the second week of May but according to the “experts”,
shouldn’t the Cleveland Indians be a hundred games out of first by now?

 

Maybe
it’s just me, but have you noticed how this year’s Cleveland Indians are
looking more and more like the Tribe from the movie, Major League?   It’s true and this is not a thinly veiled reference to Charlie Sheen ranting like “Captain Crazy Pants” in a Chief Wahoo
hat.  Think about it…

Left for dead, they have become the team to beat in the AL Central.  And just like the Yankees in the movie, the Boston Red Sox couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn when they faced Cleveland.

 

Just like the movie, the Indians have a big bopper with questionable immigration status as well (i.e. Pedro Cerrano).  I’m looking at you, Shin-Soo Choo!  If he didn’t carry his team to a Gold Medal
in the Pan-Asian games, he was looking at mandatory military service… in South
Korea!  

 

They also have a crafty veteran looking for that elusive championship.  However, I’ll say it now.  Grady Sizemore sports a far cuter hairdo than
Jake Taylor.

 

Finally,
have you checked out Closer Chris Perez? 
This left-of-center (or in his case, right-of-center)
hurler is making the 2011 Cleveland Indians a relevant contender through out
the league, even if his look screams NHL 1994.  

 

And
I bet he would be far funnier in front of a microphone than Charlie Sheen ever
could.  But, that’s not that hard.

Why Phil Hughes and Chauncey Billups Aren’t That Much Different…

Sure, they might
share a city, but the Knicks and Yankees have more commonalities than you
think. I’m talking specifically about Phil Hughes and Chauncey Billups.

 

Hear me out…

 

Yankees fans
have been pretty disappointed by Phil Hughes and his “dead arm.”  However, I encourage them to look at the
situation from a Chauncey Billups point of view.


A Chauncey Billups point of view?  Like I said, hear me out…

 

Is this post-Hughes Yankees pitching staff a dream
scenario?  Of course not.  Is Chauncey Billups the Knicks’ ideal point
guard? No.

 

Chauncey Billups is essentially a placeholder.  He’s holding fourteen million dollars to get the missing stud the Knicks so desperately need after
the new CBA agreement (and probable NBA lockout) are negotiated.  


Garcia and Colon are more than capable
placeholders until Hughes comes back. 
If he doesn’t come back, then they hold the fort until a sexier ace
hits the block around the trading deadline.


And if there’s one thing the Yankees are fairly decent at, it’s negotiating the trade deadline to their advantage.

 

If Billups can stay healthy and Garcia/Colon can
continue to eat up innings, each respective team has the ability to turn the
corner and cure serious Achilles’ heels.

Why Mike Francesca is one of the most Irresponsible Journalists on Television

 ….if you even want to call him a journalist. 

 

Did you get a chance to check out Mike Francesca’s
Radio/Television show on WFAN or YES today? 
About half way through the show, Francesca announced that he had
breaking news, a story that would change the face of sporting news …
irrevocably. 

 

The NFL Lockout was back on.  What?

 

There was only one problem.  The report was flat out false and after
listening to Francesca pontificating for fifteen minutes, he promptly had to
issue an apology. 

 

So, let’s see here. 
Mike Francesca just willy-nilly announced a “breaking news” story in
which people’s livelihoods are at
stake and it’s completely false?  People
normally get fired for this.

 

Did he miss the first day of Journalism 101?

 

How does one report a completely unsubstantiated story
without fact-checking it?  His excuse, it
was reported first on ESPN.  So
what?  Shame on you Mike Francesca and your crew for not double checking
your sources before you go air.  Does
Brian Williams report every AP story that crosses his desk?  If he does, you can be damn sure that he’s
got his facts in order.  Frankly, today
was just another example of Francesca’s desperate attempt to revitalize his
tired format. I marvel at the longevity of his career and can think of a
multitude of radio personalities that can make better use of his valuable air
space.

Sure, do this AFTER I stop working as Macy*s!

Cincinnati
Reds pitcher Mike Leake was arrested on shoplifting charges, after being  accused of
trying to steal sixty dollars worth of American Rag t-shirts from a downtown Macy*s.  Sure, I used to work at Macy*s.  I know the lines tend to get long, especially around “Friends and Family” time and sure, maybe our employees tend to lose their Macy*s “Magic” on occasion.  But T-shirts?  And not even design ones to boot?   The man makes just about $425,000 a
year.  I’m sure American Rag would have
been happy to send him boxes of t-shirts, if he just asked.

 

The
23-year-old starter was booked at the Hamilton County Justice Center on a
first-degree misdemeanor charge of shoplifting, a charge carrying a maximum of 180
days in jail. I doubt that the Reds will loose too much sleep regarding their stop-gap measure for an injured Johnny Cueto. If Barry Bonds can lie to the US Government and walk, this punk won’t even see an ankle bracelet.

 

Leake was arrested two hours before Cincinnati pitchers were expected to take
batting practice before the final game of the Pittsburgh series. Of course, he
was out in time to make his next start and get the victory in an 11-2 win over
the Pirates on Saturday.  I’m sure if he made a salary closer to an employee at Macy*s, the CPD wouldn’t have
been so flexible.

Umm, Excuse me?

Can someone explain to me why
there is any sympathy for Manny
Ramirez today?  No, seriously.  Please walk me through this.  I’m willing to listen.  


            I’m listening to the talk radio and I’m
reading blogs (not unlike my own) and all I hear about is what a great
character Manny was.  Character?   Seriously?  What’s your definition of character?


            Don’t
get me wrong.  I appreciate the great
“characters” of the game.  Tommy Lasorda,
Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra were all great
characters of the game, yet not one of them ever made a mockery of the game
like Ramirez did.    Telling your team that you need to arrive
late to Spring Training for family reasons only to collect an appearance fee for an
Atlantic City car auction doesn’t quite give you the same warm fuzzy feeling as, “It’s not over, till it’s over.”


            Let’s not get me started on Ramirez’ flagrant disregard for the game as well.  First, he was named in the Mitchell report for
allegedly testing positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs during the 2003 season.  Ok.  Go ahead and make the argument that he was
just one of many and there were no laws against PEDs at this point in
baseball.  However, fast forward to 2009.  Manny is suspended 50 games for violating
baseball’s drug policy…allegedly.  I heard a caller yesterday on the radio actually
say, “but he was only caught with a
female hormone.”  What?!  Did you think Manny was trying to get pregnant?!  Sadly, at this point, it’s pretty much common
knowledge that female hormones are used to restart natural testosterone
production after a steroid cycle.   Fast forward to this week, Manny is informed of yet another violation of the
drug policy.   That’s two positive test results since Major League
Baseball implemented their PED rules. 
In true “Manny style,” Ramirez spat in the face of Major League
Baseball again.  He rather retire than face
the 100 game suspension he deserves.


            Does
Manny Ramirez deserve to a ticket to the Hall of Fame?  Maybe, if he pays admission.  Manny might be retiring with a lifetime
batting average north of .300 and 500+ Home Runs under his belt; however, he hasn’t
shown once that he was able do it on his own without any help.  


           The great tragedy of Barry Bonds was that he did have the talent to make it on his
own.  The great tragedy of Manny is that
we let Manny be “Manny” as long as we did.

The 2011 Baseball Season – Predictions

With the first week of the baseball season under our belts (almost), I take a look at the season ahead.
*This will be my first season in three years that I am not playing Fantasy Baseball.  My social life will grow immediately by two-fold.
*This will be “The Year of the Catcher,” regardless of Buster Posey choking worse than a fat man at buffet in his first Opening Day start.
*Barry Bonds’ trial may not be getting the buzz I thought it would, but it will be a whole new ballgame once Roger Clemens goes to trial.  It’s all fun and games, until someone from Arliss is indicted by the Feds.
*Both the Red Sox and the Phillies will not make it to the World Series.  One of them will, but not both.  The Fall Classic can only take so much of their obnoxious green mascots.
*The expiration of Baseball’s CBA won’t be half as messy as Football’s, but just in case, New York fans have a fresh pack of batteries prepped for throwing.
*The return of Baseball will always be like the return of an old boyfriend…sweet, but only tolerable in 3 minute intervals. 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/12473/field-of-dreams-ray-and-his-dad-play-catch

Democracy is lovely, but baseball’s more mature.

With Opening Day upon us, I was trying to come up with something poetic to say about the new season, new beginnings, etc.  Then I thought about the work of playwright Richard Greenberg.  If you don’t know who he is and you’re a baseball fan, look him up.  This man can encapsulate the spirit of baseball more succinctly and eloquently than Ken Burns, Field of Dreams or I ever could.

The following is from my favorite play “Take Me Out” by Richard Greenberg.


In baseball there’s no clock.

What could be more generous than to give everyone all these opportunities and the time to seize them in as well?  And with each turn at the plate, there’s the possibility of turning the situation to your favor.  Down to the very last try.

And then, to ensure that everything remains fair, justices are ranged around the park to witness and assess the play.

And if the justice errs, an appeal can be made.

It’s invariably turned down, but that’s part of what metaphor so right.

Because even in the most well meant of systems, error is inevitable.  Even within the fairest of paradigms, unfairness will creep in.

And baseball is better than democracy – or at least than democracy as it’s practiced in this country – because, unlike democracy, baseball acknowledges loss.


While conservatives tell you, “Leave things alone and no one will lose,” and liberals tell you, “Interfere a lot and no one will lose,” baseball says, “Someone will lose.”  Not only says it – insists upon it!

So that baseball achieves the tragic vision democracy evades.  Evades and embodies.

Democracy is lovely, but baseball is more mature.

A Look Back at Fever Pitch

 

As
each Grapefruit and Cactus League game inches us closer to Opening Day, I’ve
looked back at some of the most beloved cinematic salutes to our national
pastime…except this week, of course. 
Seriously, folks, they can’t all be winners.  So, today I look back with all the crankiness
of a Nick Hornby novel at one of the most overcooked of all cinematic baseball
turkeys – Fever Pitch. 

 

No, I’m
not talking about the funny 1997 Colin Firth vehicle about a long, suffering
soccer fan.  I’m talking about the
terrible 2005 American version, starring the woeful Jimmy Fallon, as a long,
suffering baseball fan.  Oh!  So
that’s what makes it American…baseball.  What?  Does Soccer not transfer from English to English? 
If I didn’t spend $10 on the ticket and wasn’t the designated driver, I
would have walked out on this disaster 15 minutes in. 

 

Fever Pitch (2005) was directed by the
Farrelly Brothers (Hall Pass) and
written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (A
League of their Own).  The film
introduces us to Ben (Fallon) and Lindsey (Drew Barrymore).  Opposites in everyway, they fall in
love.  Everything is going great until
Opening Day reveals a deep secret about Ben – he’s a Red Sox Fan.  Can their budding romance survive the
baseball season?  Better yet, who cares?

 

I am
not exaggerating when I say that I have
never sat through such a flawed movie in my life.  It wasn’t even bad enough to be good.  The Farrelly Brothers were so wrapped up in
location (with scenes actually shot at and around Fenway Park), authenticity
(cameos by actual Red Sox) and rewriting the ending that they forgot about a
little thing called, acting. (Note: I don’t want to give away too much about
the 2005 or 1997 movies, but when the Red Sox actually won the World Series, some major scenes had to be reshot.)

 

Watching
Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon as romantic leads on screen is as exciting as
watching paint dry.  You know the
performances in the film are pathetic when ex-Red Sox, Johnny Damon, easily puts
in one of the more charming performances in the film.  Stella Adler and Babe Ruth must be rolling over in their graves.

 

I
was never a Nick Hornby fan, but I always liked the novel, Fever Pitch.  Because it’s
autobiographical, I feel like it speaks to some inherent truth in all of
us.  If I could make a business card that
said “Trish Vignola – long, suffering sports fan”, I would.  Seriously, Fever Pitch is not Hornby’s typical heaping helping of whinny men
suffering from “Peter Pan” complexes.  It’s
actually good.

 

Maybe
the 1997 film worked so well because Hornby was actually involved in the
production, writing the screenplay. 
Maybe the 2005 film failed so badly, because the Farrelly Brothers got
so wrapped up in Americanizing the film, they forgot about story or dynamic casting.  Maybe a film that was less than 10 years old
at the time had no business being remade? 
Thank god Hollywood learned its lesson with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Oh, wait! Too late.

A Look Back at The Rookie

Today,
we look at Disney’s The Rookie (2002).  Directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and written by Mike Rich (Secretariat),
The Rookie tells the story of
real-life Major League Pitcher, Jim Morris. 
A High School Chemistry Teacher and Baseball Coach, Morris is looking for
a way to inspire his kids.  He promises
his team that if they can win the
championship, he’ll go to the professional tryout they’ve been bugging him
about.  The kids win and he reluctantly goes
to the tryout expecting to be cut immediately. 
There’s only one problem.  Morris
throws 12 consecutive pitches at 98 miles an hour and he’s signed by the then
Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Rookie follows Morris (played by the
exceptionally rugged Dennis Quaid) on his unconventional road from the
classroom to the majors and all of the challenges in between.  He still has a family to take care for on a
Minor Leaguer’s salary, which for those of you keeping score is far from a Major Leaguer’s salary.  Oh, and did I mention that he’s 35?  If he gets injured once, it’s all over. If you don’t tear up when he sees his name
sewn onto his jersey at the Ballpark at Arlington for the first time, you have
no soul.  (Please note: I teared up while
typing that sentence.)

The
real Morris lasted two seasons in the Major Leagues.  He had a 4.80 ERA and struck out 42 guys in a
162-game career.  That’s not Hall of Fame
numbers, but that’s still two more seasons than you or I ever pitched in the
Majors.  Today, Morris is justifiably a
motivational speaker.

The Rookie employs all of the hackney
stereotypes of a Disney movie: sweeping shots, a swelling soundtrack and lighting
that always makes the female lead (Rachel Griffiths in this case) look amazing. 
Nonetheless, in regards to this movie, I fall for all of it.  Who wouldn’t? 
Apparently you can still “wish upon a star”, even at the ripe old age of
35.

It’s
hard to look on this movie with any cynicism. 
At its core, it’s a beautiful story about making your dreams come true.
It’s got a strong cast, including the kid from Two and a Half Men (before
he was afraid to go to work) and most importantly… it’s a great excuse to watch of a montage of a sweaty Dennis Quaid
pitching in the rain.