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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Baseball Teams Secretly Monitor Players v Drug Tests--NY Times

"When the Yankees’ pitchers and catchers arrived for spring training in mid-February, they saw signs taped up in the clubhouse bathroom reminding them that they would be tested for drugs. They knew the drill: They would have to lower their pants and lift their shirts to prove they were not hiding tampering devices, then give their urine samples with the collector in front of them.

What few, if any, of them reporting to their training camp in Tampa knew was that the Yankees — and every other major league team — had assigned someone in the organization to monitor them discreetly from the time they were notified of a test until they produced a urine sample, sometimes hours later. This behind-the-scenes procedure is not listed in Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. It was quietly put in place in July 2005, during the season that baseball was embarrassed by Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for a steroid after declaring to Congress that he had never used such drugs. The policy was introduced because top baseball officials perceived that some players had too much freedom on testing days.

It is with this revised system that all 1,200 players on the 30 major league rosters were tested for performance-enhancing drugs within five days of arriving at spring training."

  • (MLB, Inc. can say it's working since only 14 major leaguers have tested positive since the current drug program was installed in 2005).

"In interviews, more than a dozen players explained what happened on the day that they showed up at the ballpark to find a urine collector waiting for them. Under the testing program, negotiated by the players union and Major League Baseball, which has been toughened twice in recent years, a player has leeway when he is being tested. If he cannot quickly produce a urine sample, he has up to an hour to participate in baseball activities before returning to the collector. If he is still unable to give a sample, he can wait up to an hour after that day’s game ends.

“If a guy can’t do it, he comes back in an hour?” said Dr. Gary I. Wadler, an associate professor of medicine at New York University and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “Comes back in an hour? Give me a break. They should say that he will be chaperoned from the moment of notification. It shouldn’t even be 30 seconds later.”

During any time that players are not chaperoned, antidoping experts said, they could drink a lot of water to try to dilute their urine, use masking agents or use devices that allow them to fill their bladders with someone else’s drug-free urine."

  • (One general manager felt there were loopholes).

"The general manager, who was granted anonymity to discuss the testing procedure, said that during the season the collectors routinely showed up four and a half hours before a night game — about 2:30 p.m. in most cities.

After a player spotted the collector, the general manager said, he could alert teammates who had not yet arrived at the ballpark that testing was taking place that day. If a player planned to use amphetamines, the general manager said, he would know not to do so until he found out if he was going to be tested that day.

Like baseball players, National Football League players are notified on the day of their tests. If a player cannot produce a sample, he is free to work out or attend meetings without being chaperoned. But he must remain at the team facility.

Three of the 30 baseball player monitors are general managers, 18 are assistant general managers, 4 are vice presidents, 4 are directors of baseball operations and the title of the other one was not disclosed.

If a monitor is unable to observe a player or players, a preapproved designee can take over, a fairly common occurrence. Still, the general manager who spoke of the loopholes said, some teams consider it more of the collector’s responsibility to watch the players than it is the club’s.

Chris Capuano, a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, said that players were asked to produce a sample as soon as they arrived and that he had never encountered a problem doing so. Capuano added: “Some guys take their time, get changed, whatever. There’s not someone with you the whole time, certainly.”

  • But Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players union, insisted that players were chaperoned."
  • (Which is fine with me, but he must be very special to know this). sm

"“There is absolutely no evidence that a player scheduled for a test is left unattended for a period of time that permits him to defeat the purposes of the test,” Orza said in an e-mail message. “Absolutely none. From the moment the player is designated for a test, he is under observation by the team coordinator.”

Beyond the questions about supervision, baseball’s policy — like those in other sports — still has a notable blemish because it does not test for human growth hormone, even though it is banned. Players realize that, for now, human growth hormone use will go undetected.

Orza said the union and Major League Baseball “didn’t trade one substance for another.” He said the longer agency list of banned substances included some found in over-the-counter drugs, like cold medications. It would be unfair, he said, for a player to be suspended for 50 games, the punishment for a first-time offense, for using a product that anyone could legally buy.

Manfred and Orza are on baseball’s four-member Health Policy Advisory Committee, which oversees the testing regimen. It has two representatives from management and two from the union.

Wadler questioned the committee’s effectiveness, saying he doubted it could act as an independent group like WADA or the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Because the committee has a financial interest in the sport’s success, he said, there are potential conflicts of interest.

“The real question is, why the reluctance to farm it out to an independent, transparent and accountable agency and get out of the business in which you don’t belong?” he said.

Manfred strenuously maintained that the baseball panel had an independent administrator, Dr. Bryan Smith. Smith is paid by baseball, but another entity would also have to be paid."

  • (Why does anyone listen to these people?) sm

The United States Anti-Doping Agency “doesn’t do things for free, either,” Manfred said."

Portions of the NY Times article by Jack Curry, 4/1/07, "To Tighten Drug Tests, Baseball Teams Secretly Monitor Players."

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Claire Smith: to create new players, CREATE NEW FANS

Until tonight, I'd never seen Claire Smith, just heard her voice several times on XM 175. I liked everything she said but I especially liked her tone of voice. She speaks clearly, at a perfect pace, and a conversational tone as opposed to many others in her field who affect a very high pitch in their voice (which I turn off). In speaking to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on ESPN TV's coverage of the Civil Rights Game/Cleveland @ St. Louis, the subject of African American players was raised. Claire offered an idea that the MLB, Inc. guys haven't made their #1 slogan or priority and they should. It's free, which may be why they haven't thought of it.
  • TO CREATE NEW PLAYERS, CREATE NEW FANS. GET PEOPLE, AFRICAN AMERICANS INCLUDED, INTERESTED IN THE GAME.
I live in Manhattan, but bought a small place in Tampa, Florida in 2003 for the purpose of following some Yankee spring training baseball and to give my 2 dogs, Asta and Fred, a more interesting life. I was shocked from day 1 about the lack of interest in baseball among the average population in Tampa. Legends Field is right in the middle of town, lots of players live in the area, but baseball doesn't exist for most people there. What I've done each day when I'm there is bring up the subject of baseball to everyone I meet, everytime I'm in a check-out line at Home Depot, Lowes, car repair places, grocery stores, Walmart, and the countless workers I've needed to help me with the handyman's special house I bought. Once a worker comes into my house, he has no choice. He listens to me talk about baseball.
  • (Last year a guy who cut my lawn said he'd been bidding for a job at Jorge Posada's house. Earlier this year, I employed a painter who's not only met Mariano Rivera, he's been in his house in Tampa).
But these guys were the exception, and neither was a good candidate to BE a baseball fan. During the baseball playoffs, I've gone to sportsbars in Tampa to see if they had the game on. None ever do. ZERO. I talk to the wait staff at these places, ask them about the YES Network, and no one has ever heard of it. But, as a fan I must continue to talk about baseball everyday. When you've seen the blank looks I've seen, you know there's work ahead.
  • Claire Smith is Assistant Sports Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Pat Pickens' baseball article

Pat Pickens' 2007 preview may mislead readers about the documented performance of Mariano Rivera. Pickens misses 2 recent post-season series-clinching performances by the Yankee reliever:
  • 2003 Game 7, ALCS, Rivera pitched 3 consecutive scoreless innings, took his team to the World Series, was named ALCS MVP, and was the Winning Pitcher of record. Pickens may think this doesn't count because it wasn't technically a "Save,"and says Mo has done nothing since 2001. Pickens may wish to look at that game someday.
  • 2004 Game 4, ALDS, Rivera pitched 2 innings in an extra-inning game that clinched the ALDS for his team, taking them on to the next level of post season play, the ALCS. Again, Rivera was the Winning Pitcher of record. Pickens tells you Mo hasn't clinched a post season series since 2001. Additionally, he was used in all 4 games of the 2004 ALDS.
These are Pat Pickens' words from Sacred Heart University's college paper (Fairfield, CT.),
  • "By the way does anyone else realize that Mariano Rivera hasn't saved a playoff series-clinching game since the 2001 ALDS? He's blown two since then. But�"
Pat, enjoy your career at ESPN or BP, if you're not already doing so. From the publication, media.www.sacredheartspectrum.com, 3/29/07.
  • As soon as people get their facts straight, I'll move on to other topics.

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Red Sox highest, D'backs lowest in avg. tix prices

'The Team Marketing Report said Friday, that the average price of tickets is up 2.5 percent from last year's adjusted average of $22.14. Baseball's major league average is $22.69 this season.

  • Boston has the highest average for the 10th straight season, going up 2.7 percent to $47.71.
  • Arizona's average of $13.79 was the lowest in the majors and was a 29.9 percent drop from last year.'
From SI.com, Baseball Today, 3/31/07

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Friday, March 30, 2007

Canada sees its baseball success linked to Olympics funding

But while baseball's popularity and the number of Canadian players in the pipeline are on the rise, problems loom under the surface.

The removal of baseball from the 2012 Olympic program means Baseball Canada will be facing a cash crunch in 2008 and beyond, an issue that threatens its productive national junior team program.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and Sport Canada provide funding to various Canadian governing sports bodies to help athletes in pursuit of Olympic medals. That money - nearly $300,000 annually for Baseball Canada, more than 17 per cent of its budget - disappears after the Beijing Games.

Further, promising players who are part of, or prospects for, the Canadian Olympic baseball team program will no longer be eligible for national card status, which provides athletes with a financial stipend.

The trickle-down effects of the financial losses could help push young players away from baseball, particularly during the critical 15-16 age range when elite athletes begin zeroing in on one sport.

If the scenario unfolds like that, many of the gains made over the past few years would quickly be lost.

From SLAM

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Swindal situation not so dire--Bill Madden, NY Daily News

  • Bill Madden's take on the Swindal situation sounds right with one surprise. Bill says it wasn't Swindal who saved Torre's job, it was Torre's own words:
"First of all, it is important to know that Steve Swindal, who is being divorced out of the Yankee hierarchy, was never inheriting the Earth, as was the popular belief. When George Steinbrenner designated Swindal as his heir apparent a few years ago, it was nothing more than a means to quell speculation about the fate of the Yankees amid recurring reports of The Boss' declining health.
  • Maybe he isn't as actively involved in all the highly complex aspects of owning a baseball team anymore, and maybe he has designated baseball and business decisions to others, and maybe he's lost something off his fastball, but as long as he's alive, Steinbrenner is still The Boss and the final authority on all things Yankee.
  • It has been widely reported that Swindal had offered the most influential opinion in Steinbrenner's relenting on the firing Joe Torre last October.
  • The fact is, no one's voice in the Yankee high command had more import in that decision than Torre's himself. While none of the others dared make a case either way, Steinbrenner was ultimately swayed after Torre talked to him personally, told him why he wanted to continue managing for him and subtly reminded him of all he had accomplished for him."
From Bill Madden's NY Daily News column, 3/30/07, "George Needs a Pinch Heir."

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The YES Network is a hopeless mess and conveys no Yankee image

The NY Daily News' Bob Raissman has some Yankee vs YES gems today starting with alleged YES honcho John Filippelli's delivering orders from the Boss to the on-air guys:
  • "What eventually exits the mouths speaking into YES microphones may sometimes be independent opinions. Nonetheless, there will be times when A-Rod commentary will not only reflect what's on the minds of the Yankee high command, but be passed down directly from Pinstripe Mountain through YES production boss John Filippelli."

"Remember last June? That's when someone up top encouraged - perhaps even ordered - YES pregame and postgame show analyst David Justice to put a verbal hit on Rodriguez."

Raissman remembers this while watching YES' "Yankees 2007: Pride, Power, Pinstripes."

  • "After Kay asked the panel for its take on A-Rod's opt-out clause, Ken Singleton, a mild-mannered guy, basically told Rodriguez to shut up.

"Just play ball," said Singleton, showing more passion than usual. "Go out and try to win a championship. Get as close as you can. If you don't win it just give the effort. Show that you tried."

  • Singleton went on to highlight A-Rod's miserable playoff performance (1-for-14, dropped to the eighth spot in the lineup) against Detroit. "That's not what Alex Rodriguez is supposed to be," Singleton said.

Girardi entered the discussion, saying A-Rod is already a major "concern" for Joe Torre.

  • No one is suggesting that this was just another orchestrated hit on A-Rod. That said, George Steinbrenner is well aware how the media's reaction to everything A-Rod influences the overall perception of his team. Well-embedded moles say that on occasion, Steinbrenner still can find an issue on which to vent his anger."

(Now, Raissman shows why the Yankee message has been usurped and perverted. The so-called new PR flack for the team takes heat for a back page featuring Arod. It had made Arod look like a twirp, but the PR guy got in trouble anyway).

  • "That's exactly what he did two weeks ago. In a rare old-Boss moment, Steinbrenner confronted new Yankees PR chief Jason Zillo at Legends Field and ripped into him over negative newspaper back pages regarding A-Rod's "I want to be wanted here" opt-out tempest. Spies say The Boss called Zillo a man "on thin ice" and then invoked one of his favorite nonendearing terms, which described a portion of Zillo's posterior."

"Steinbrenner's rant had nothing to do with what was said on YES, which means Singleton and Girardi are skating on very thick ice. Ever since Justice put the wood to the Yankees' third baseman last June ("If the game is 9-2, he might make it 9-4. If the game is 7-1, he might make it 9-1. But when it is 2-2 late in the ballgame he can't get it done.") it has been bombs away on A-Rod on YES."

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Journalism & the Connection with Drink, Depression, & Dissipation--CJR

"Should we care about a reporter's personal problems?
  • Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin answer with a burped, "Hell, yes." For over a decade, the two ex-hard drinkers and legendary newsmen have been saying that print owes its readership woes to a dead corporate air in the newsroom. "Everything's more restrained and we've lost a certain edge," Hamill told the Denver Post in 1995. Meanwhile, Breslin knows what's missing: "It's the drinking."
Psychologists have shown that neurotics can make good journalists when they project their inner doubts and dissatisfactions onto the world. This is the energy behind investigative reporting and the source of journalism's vaunted distrust of power, the argument goes.
  • "Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers," Breslin says.

For good or ill, journalism and neurosis may be inextricably caught up together, tangled in the timeless conundrum of what comes first. Does the profession break talented people with steady pressure, severe constraints, and public censure for missteps?

  • Or does it attract broken talent who seek unstable schedules, extreme experiences, and the megalomaniacal pleasure of their name in print? At a glance, today's journalists may appear to be clean and industrious. After all, it's no longer acceptable, let alone glorious, to self-destruct quite so publicly. But that doesn't mean the dissipated journalist is on the road to extinction.
  • More likely, he's simply taken a private path, the whiskey bottle in the top drawer replaced by a pill bottle behind the family photo."
From the Columbia Journalism Review, 3/29/07, by Tony Dokoupil

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Bud Selig on WFAN with Mike and Chris

"Chris, How'd you know I have DirecTV?"
  • Bud's response to Chris regarding viewing games.
The rest of it was boilerplate, with phrases including he "agonizes," he "knows in his heart," and "not that I don't care about Yankee fans...or, or Red Sox fans,..or Cubs fans, BUT....."
  • I don't know how anyone can listen to this person.

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SI.com writers hype awards rather than actual performance

SI.com's BBWAA guys sell themselves and their awards (demonstrably flawed and political) rather than the actual performance of players they seem to be writing about. (As I've mentioned before). Today's example, "Baseball 2007, the Dice-K Show & Power Struggle in he AL Central," shows the guys' bitterness about teams in the northeast. They tell you those rivalries are no big deal,

  • that many focusing on a 'mysterious rookie' (Dice-K) are blithering idiots, because the real story is IN THE MIDWEST. On top of that, TWINS WIN AWARDS, TWINS WIN AWARDS, and that should shut everyone up. OK.
  • "But while so many eyes are fixed on baseball's most mysterious rookie this season, the toughest tug-of-war around lies smack in the middle of America's heartland - the AL Central."
  • "The Minnesota Twins boast two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, league MVP Justin Morneau and batting champ Joe Mauer. By the way, they've won four of the past five Central titles."
Really? "By the way...?" Whoa, no kidding. All your buddies have been telling us the opposite about the Yankees. That all the American League titles mean nothing, they never win anything anymore. I thought these SI.com BBWAA guys like Ulman, Withers, and Verducci knew everything.

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Is Baseball Tonight propaganda predictable or what. Can we get a fist-pump?

About 15 minutes into the show today, they pick their top 5 closers. The big fist-pump remains a requirement, and they give a nice piece of video on the current winner there--aims right into the tv camera every time. Of course that's Krod. Then they choose Joe Nathan. They're sensitive to the fact that he doesn't have as many multi-inning appearances as some others, so to throw you off that objection, they say, Nathan's a good bet because his team's really managing him well, he only pitched 5x in multi-innings last year, that's good, yeah. Then BJ Ryan. Fine. Then Billy Wagner, with video of a more violent delivery and their reference to his powerful fastball. Fine. Then they do a big hoopla about Hoffman, saying he's a sure bet because he's in a contract year so he should be really great even if he's a little older. That's their 5. Before going to another topic, Steve Phillips looks aside and says in effect there's Mariano Rivera, but he won't be pitching 3 days in a row this year, and Joe Torre only wants to use him for 3 outs. And to make sure he disappears, there's NO video of Mariano. This is what the passive baseball consumer buys as expert analysis. Karl Ravetch adds Papelbon will be returning as closer this year as well. End of discussion on game's closers on ESPN's Baseball Tonight. I'm just documenting another example of their bias. They're entitled to be biased, but no one should buy advertising to support them.

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ESPN Ombudsman Solomon 'critiqued' network where his son was employed

ESPN's recent 'ombudsman' George Solomon, is the father of an ESPN producer. Yet he was supposedly delivering a service about ESPN content "separately." This connection has never been secret, but I hadn't known of it. Why would anyone advertise on an outlet with no apparent conscience? From Solomon's column 3/28/07, and after the news the sports media company has hired a new 'ombudsman' no wrongdoing implied on either end:
  • "Navigating the choppy waters of trying to critique my own son's work (producer Aaron Solomon's "Around The Horn") and my former Washington Post employees Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon proved tricky at times. But getting ATH panelists to tone down the volume and trying to stop Kornheiser from referring to Queen Elizabeth II as a "babe" and Wilbon from calling his viewers "knuckleheads" proved fruitless. So did having a conversation with Sean Salisbury on how some viewers might misinterpret his inane ramblings, and trying to explain the duties of an ombudsman to some of the network's biggest stars."
They do these things because no one cares. Item quoted from ESPN.com, Ombudsman/Solomon, 3/28/07

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Hank and Hal Steinbrenner seem current favorites--NY Times

Richard Sandomir on likely candidates in line of succession: Hank and Hal top the list:

  • "Hank Steinbrenner’s enhanced role — if not a major public profile — contrasts with the dramatically reduced presence of Swindal at spring training since his arrest on a charge of driving under the influence on Feb. 15, the day after he and his wife separated, according to the divorce filing.

Swindal had until then grown more comfortable in his role, projecting a calm and positive personality while remaining deferential to his father-in-law, who seemed almost to blurt out the news that Swindal would succeed him during a news conference in 2005 about the new Yankee Stadium.

  • Two Yankee front office executives who discussed the situation felt the Swindal announcement meant little, and one of them said the reason Swindal would never take over for Steinbrenner was simple: he is not a Steinbrenner.

Harvey Schiller, a former chairman of YankeeNets, the predecessor to Yankee Global Enterprises, said, “George has nurtured his children well and all of them are capable of running the team.”

  • In the areas that the brothers are said to work in, Randy Levine, the team’s president, Lonn Trost, the chief operating officer, and Brian Cashman, the general manager, have considerable power.

“We’re not going to describe any of their activities,” Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Steinbrenner, said yesterday of the sons.

And he has been observed wearing an ensemble that seems straight out of his father’s closet: a blue blazer and a turtleneck."

  • From the NY Times article by Richard Sandomir, 3/30/07, "Power Atop the Yankees Looks to Remain a Steinbrenner Affair." Requires cookies.

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Francesa: Yankees are being "cavalier" about Mariano Rivera

On WFAN today, Mike mentions Brian Cashman's words a few days ago (in effect) oh, we'll sign him, Mariano will be with the Yankees next year, yeah. Mike wouldn't bring up something like this if it weren't true, and it's in line with the attitude to date, so I'll go from there.
  • Francesa says, accurately, that the Yankees are being "cavalier" about Rivera. First, you don't make the statement that you'll have ANY player under contract next year on any team unless you have it on paper, which he didn't claim to.
Francesa doesn't suggest what Rivera will do, but says, "The Yankees have earned the right to be paid back by Rivera. He should file for free agency, and IF the Yankees call, tell them he's testing the market."
  • I've already made my comments on the subject. No one is in a position to guarantee Mariano will be a Yankee. Yet, many are saying they're sure he'll be back and you're stupid if you don't think so. Then they change the subject. Cavalier people.
***UPDATE on Brian Cashman's recent comment alluded to here by Francesa: Reported in the Palm Beach Post 4/01/07 by Carlos Frias.
  • ""He's the best and he'll still be the best," Cashman said.
  • "We'll get something done with him at the appropriate time.""
In the same article referencing the Yankee future of Rivera:
  • ""Something will get done," Jeter says, facing his locker as he pulls on his jersey. He turns to make eye contact and stresses the point.

"Something will get done.""

Comments from article in the Palm Beach Post, 4/01/07 by Carlos Frias, "Rivera Relishes Role as Yankees' Anchor."

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YES Network may be worth more than Yankee team

This article came out 8/21/06. I saved it at the time as it has the most details about YES Network ownership. Opening here suggests eligible time frame for sale of 40% stake is in effect:

"By the end of this year (2006), Goldman Sachs & Co. and Providence Equity Partners will have gained the right to sell their 40% stake in the regional network, without the approval of the Yankees or any other shareholder, according to several executives in the sports-programming industry.

Estimates of the value of the network created March 22, 2002, range from $1.2 billion to $3 billion. The higher number and potential sale was first reported by the New York Post on Aug. 11.

Parties who might be interested in buying the 40% stake in YES Network currently owned by Goldman Sachs and Providence Equity Partners:
Verizon: Gives it a chance to burnish its new FiOS TV brand with that of the Yankees — and horse trade with Comcast and other operators of sports networks.
Comcast: Gets operating efficiencies. Owns six regional nets now. Big question: What would it do with its 10% interest in SportsNet New York, which features the New York Mets?
Fox Sports Net: Gets to put the No. 1 market in the country into its lineup of 21 owned and affiliated regional sports networks. And drive traffic to Fox's non-sports networks.
Time Warner Cable: Already big in New York, this would make it bigger.
Yahoo: Would say it has arrived as serious video player, as Fox did with its landmark deal for NFL broadcast-TV rights in 1993.
NBC Universal: Got back into the NFL this season, after eight years on the TV sidelines. Might go to bat for a hoped-for homer in baseball.
Viacom: King of content. And Yankees are kings of summer.
SOURCE: Multichannel News research

If accurate, that would make the Yankees' regional sports network more valuable than the team. In April, Forbes valued the ball club at $1.03 billion, the first Major League Baseball franchise to cross the billion-dollar mark.

Goldman and Providence put an estimated $340 million into the network at the outset. According to the Sports Business Journal, the investors last year may already have been paid a dividend that makes them essentially whole on their original stakes. Now, the two financial investors' stake in the Yankees network could be worth between $480 million and $1.2 billion.

Fox, though, has no interest in acquiring a stake in YES, according to one industry executive. One potential issue: The fact that Goldman Sachs and Providence Equity hold a minority stake in the network.

The other 60% is split between the Yankees, run by team owner Steinbrenner, and a group led by Ray Chambers, a former owner of the New Jersey Nets, whose National Basketball Association games appear on the network during fall and winter months.

That could put Chambers in the catbird seat. If a sports programmer such as Comcast or Fox wants to gain majority control, in order to operate the network as it sees fit, that company will need to buy out Chambers.

“You're absolutely right,” said Ed Stier, chief executive of the Community Youth Organization, which holds the Chambers stake in the network.

But, Berke noted: “it's good to have content these days. It's good to own content. If you can offer up content, branded content, then you've got a card to play.

“And I would assume that he's likely to going to go out there and figure out whether to play that card,” Berke said.

Stier did not rule out selling out if a serious buyer emerged. “We're investors, just like Goldman Sachs,” Stier said."

  • From the article in Multi-Channel News, 8/21/06, "Steinbrenner May Get New Partners in YES," by Tom Steinert-Threlkeld

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Rival scout gives %'s of Rivera's Changeup

Last item in Ken Rosenthal's grab bag:
  • "Finally, a rival scout scoffs at the notion that Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will throw more changeups this season.

"He throws 50 changeups a year, 40 in the spring," the scout says.

Rivera had a good chuckle when informed of the comment; the scout, he says, had it right.

"I'm just having a good time," he says of his flirtation with the changeup. "Maybe I'll throw 60 this year.""

For those keeping track, from FoxSports.com, Around the Horn, MLB 3/29/07

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Strat-O-Matic Moving Toward New Owners--NY Times

"For 45 years, Hal Richman and his family have controlled Strat-O-Matic, which began with the baseball board game he invented as a teenager and grew into a small empire of sports board, video and Internet games. Now the Richmans are seeking an investor to buy a significant part of the company.
  • “We’re solicited every year, and we’ve come close to selling the company before, but for various reasons we haven’t,” said Adam Richman, Hal’s son, who is a filmmaker. “Now we’re taking a more aggressive approach. We’re coming off strength: Our last two years were incredible, among our best two.”

Passionate Strat-O-Matic players, many of whom started playing the board game as children, still roll the 20-sided dice, check the cards of their team of players, and schedule full or partial seasons with their friends. Some wait in line outside the company’s offices in Glen Head, N.Y., each February to buy the new season’s card sets.

From the article by Richard Sandomir, NY Times, 3/29/07, "Strat-O-Matic Owner is Making a Move Toward an Investor." Req. cookies.

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Satellite TV on each airline seat (maybe your baseball)--NY Times

“This is the reason I travel with JetBlue,” said Adams, who watched Ohio State prevail in the Round of 8. “It’s better than whatever foolish movie they usually have on planes.”

  • JetBlue, which offers 36 channels of DirecTV, said ESPN consistently ranked among the three most-watched channels. On Frontier, where customers pay $5 to use a 24-channel system, ESPN is the most-watched station by far."
***I believe Jet Blue and others also carry XM Satellite Radio, which carries all MLB REGULAR SEASON games...*** (sm)
  • "JetBlue was the first airline to offer live satellite television; when the airline started in 2000, all of its planes had small, seatback screens. In 2002, it acquired LiveTV, which installs seatback televisions and equips planes with satellite systems. Frontier purchased its systems from LiveTV, and as of 2005, all its airplanes were equipped with televisions. On Delta, Dish Network satellite television is available only on cross-country flights from Kennedy.

Airlines must negotiate the specific set of satellite TV channels they want to carry. Sometimes sporting events are not included in their channel range, so the airline can try to work out a special arrangement. Frontier has done this for several years to allow passengers to watch the Super Bowl.

“On that one day a year, we negotiate with DirecTV and LiveTV to basically replace a channel with the station broadcasting the Super Bowl,” said Joe Hodas, a spokesman for Frontier, which has not made such an arrangement for the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament or the World Series."

  • (Article notes Jet Blue carries CBS, so you could view NCAA basketball. I note, I wonder why no agreement has been reached for the World Series? I guess "Bud" is tied up with more glamorous opportunities for himself). sm

"But there is at least one downside to watching a live game on a plane. When it arrives at its destination, the TV screens may be turned off at exactly the wrong moment. Hodas, the Frontier spokesman, said he heard about this from Frontier’s chief executive.

“The year before last, Jeff Potter, our C.E.O., was on the plane the evening of the Super Bowl,” Hodas said. “They pulled into the gate with three or four minutes left in the game. No one wanted to get off the plane, so Jeff went up to the captain and said, ‘Let’s just sit until the game’s over.’ The captain made the announcement, and Jeff, along with everyone else, sat there and watched the end of the game.”"

From NY Times article, "Satellite TV Creates Sports Bar in the Sky," 3/28/07, by Kate Torgovnick. requires cookies

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Murray Chass, sources with knowledge=John Henry's "Malarkey"--NY Times

Murray Chass has found someone who thinks the Red Sox wanted Matsuzaka, but in any case didn't want the Yankees to have him:

  • "The Red Sox will never acknowledge that publicly. But in private, at least some members of their ruling triumvirate — John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino — have told a person who works as a consultant in Major League Baseball that had they been unable to sign Matsuzaka to a contract, they would still have considered the enterprise a success because he wouldn’t be on the Yankees.

The person who spoke to the Red Sox ownership about the pursuit of Matsuzaka requested anonymity because of what he viewed as the private nature of his conversation with Red Sox executives. In an e-mail message, John Henry, the team’s principal owner, called the account “malarkey” and “utter nonsense.”

The Red Sox, according to the account that Henry is denying, figured that they would get the negotiating rights to Matsuzaka but would probably be unable to negotiate a deal for him with his agent, Scott Boras, who can be particularly tough to deal with in high-profile bargaining."

  • Of course, it all ended up working out. But Chass has a priceless segment at the end of his column--some Sox were asked their 2007 predictions:

"And so, a question was recently posed to Red Sox players: Is there any reason why Boston shouldn’t be picked to win the division title?

  • “No,” Mike Timlin said, laughing at his bluntness.

“I don’t know,” David Ortiz said. “I don’t have no time right now. We’re looking good, we’re looking good.”

  • “I can’t answer that,” Manager Terry Francona said, opting to be diplomatic. “I would never fall into that trap. You guys are the experts. That’s what I always hear. I’m just a manager.”"
From Murray Chass article, NY Times, 3/28/07, "Boston Got What it Wanted, or So it Seems." (cookies req.)

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Talk Radio 'Freedom of Speech' Award goes to Michael Savage

San Francisco--Michael Savage has been named as this year's recipient of Talkers Magazine’s Freedom of Speech Award. The magazine’s Talk Radio First Amendment Committee has selected Talk Radio Network’s syndicated host of Savage Nation, to receive this prestigious honor at this year’s New Media Seminar on June 9, 2007.
  • This will be TALKERS Magazine’s 16th consecutive annual convention, and is generally recognized as the most important and highly attended gathering of key players in the talk media industries.
According to TALKERS Magazine, Savage is being honored, “For being the first major conservative radio talk show host to criticize President George W. Bush on his policies and encourage hosts of all political ideologies to remain independent of partisan loyalties.”
  • Previous recipients of the Freedom of Speech Award include Howard Stern (2006), Al Franken (2005), Rush Limbaugh (2004), Hannity & Colmes (2003), Norm Pattiz (2002), Bill O’Reilly (2001) and Brian Lamb (2000).
In addition to their traditional Freedom of Speech award luncheon and presentation, the convention will concentrate on the talk media industry’s programming and talent. During the two-day convention, over 65 speakers will present topics ranging from podcasting, internet streaming, technological advances to intellectual property, marketing and branding.
  • From Talk Radio Network

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Phil Rogers on WFAN with Mike and Chris, 3P hour

Phil speaks very well of Alfonso Soriano...
  • Will continue being leadoff hitter, apparently this topic came up in his contract discussions & Pinella told him they'd keep him at leadoff, which Soriano loves.
  • Rogers says he's ok in the outfield, may improve
  • Cubs have a young Dominican outfielder who'll probably start in AAA, Felix Pie. Says the kid looks up to Soriano and Cubs view him as good role model. Phil says this wouldn't have been the case with Sammy Sosa.
  • Phil thinks Lou won't be as tempestuous as in the old days but will still make a difference over others. Alan Trammell as bench coach is a "really good hire," Pinella's overall coaching staff is much better than Dusty Baker's.
On White Sox, Rogers would've been happier if they hadn't made any changes from their 2006 pitching staff. Thinks Jermaine Dye will continue to be good. Didn't like Erstad at first, but is currently sold on his running ability.

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No Shame--San Diego BBWAA/AP baseball writer gets ink

THEY'RE BACK AND THEY'RE MAD. THE BASEBALL MEDIA THOUGHT POLICE/BBWAA AWARDS POSSE IS IN A SNIT--THEIR AGENDA HAS BEEN HIJACKED BY THE COMMENTS OF LATE INNING RELIEVER, JON PAPELBON, WHICH CAUSED THE NAME OF MARIANO RIVERA TO BE IN THE PAPERS A LOT RECENTLY. IT WAS ALL PAPELBON'S DOING, OF COURSE--THE WRITERS WOULDN'T HAVE PUT RIVERA IN THE NEWS AT ALL--UNLESS HE ALLOWED A RUN TO SCORE OR SOMETHING EQUALLY BAD.
  • The San Diego Chapter BBWAA member/AP sports writer Bernie Wilson picks up his typewriter in a desperate attempt to get his guy, Hoffman, some ink. Of course, he has nothing new to report--just rehashes the 'total saves' stat, doesn't mention all the appearances of only 1 IP, NEVER WITH MEN ON BASE, OF COURSE.
THEY HAVE NO SHAME. FLOGGING THE SAME CRAP, TO GET YOU TO BELIEVE THEIR GUY IS BETTER, SAINTLY, JUST BECAUSE OF THE TOTAL SAVE COOKIE STAT. PARENTHETICALLY, ANOTHER CLOSER, THEY ADMIT, HAS SOME WORLD SERIES RINGS, OK. END OF STORY THEY SAY AND CHANGE THE SUBJECT BACK TO MR. COOKIE. AREN'T THERE ANY OTHER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE 2 LATE INNING RELIEVERS IN THE SAN DIEGO REPORTER'S COLUMN? NO. HOW ABOUT:
  • Their guy had his chance in the post season too:
  • Hoffman 2 HR/13.0 post season IP= 1HR/6.5 IP
  • Mariano 2 HR/112.2 post season IP= 1HR/56 IP
If you want regular season, there's plenty to see. First, Hoffman's winning % is under 500. OK?
  • 2nd, Mariano has 447 career saves, not 413.
I've detailed this topic countless times on this blog and elsewhere if anyone is interested. Naturally, the Bernie Wilson San Diego/AP/BBWAA public relations shriek was picked up by a piece of fishwrap on its last legs--the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
  • More:
2006 AL Cy Young Votes by BBWAA:
Johan Santana 28 0 0 140
Chien-Ming Wang 0 15 6 51
Roy Halladay 0 12 12 48
Francisco Rodriguez 0 1 2 5
Joe Nathan 0 0 3 3
Kenny Rogers 0 0 3 3
Justin Verlander 0 0 2 2
Scoring: 5 points for 1st-place vote, 3 points for 2nd, 1 point for 3rd. 2006 NL Cy Young Votes by BBWAA
Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks 15/ 12 7/ 3 7/ 8 103/ 77
Chris Carpenter, Cardinals 2 16 5 63
Roy Oswalt, Astros 3 3 7 31
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs -- 1 3 6
Billy Wagner, Mets -- 1 1 4
John Smoltz, Braves -- 1 -- 3
Takashi Saito, Dodgers -- -- 1
  • The point: THE BBWAA'S MESSAGE IS LOUD AND CLEAR: MARIANO RIVERA DOES NOT EXIST. TREVOR THEY LOVE.

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Monday, March 26, 2007

NY TIMES: TORRE SAYS ONLY 3 OUTS FOR RIVERA

  • ALERT ESPN AND ALL BBWAA MEMBERS. WHY IS THIS A NY TIMES HEADLINE? IF MARIANO HAS MAINLY BEEN COUNTED ON AS A 1-INNING PITCHER ALL THESE YEARS, WHY WOULD THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT TORRE WANTS TO ONLY USE HIM FOR 1-INNING BE NEWS, YOU TWITTERING BUNCH OF FAILED PHONIES?
Also a NEWS FLASH for many bloggers, even so-called Yankee bloggers, who for years have MISTAKENLY REFERRED TO RIVERA AS A 1-INNING PITCHER. From the article:
  • "The most harrowing nightmare for the Yankees is not losing a starting pitcher to a spring injury, which has happened three times in the last eight days. It is losing Mariano Rivera.
There are others who can start. But there is only one Rivera, a certain Hall of Famer and possibly the greatest closer in history. He finished off the Philadelphia Phillies in Monday’s 5-1 victory with his ninth scoreless inning of the spring. Opponents are hitting .133 against Rivera, who has not walked a batter.

“Pretty good, good or just O.K.?” Rivera asked reporters, laughing. “I’m ready.”

  • His duty will be different this season, because Manager Joe Torre says he has decided not to ask Rivera to get more than three outs. “I’m serious about that,” Torre said.

It will be a significant departure for Rivera, who recorded four or more outs in 27 percent of his games last season. It was his highest percentage of such outings since 2001.

  • One night in May, he worked three innings in a regular-season game for the first time in 10 years."
(Thanks Kepner, but you must be feeling future job offers slipping away--you explicitly ignore the greatest 3 inning post season performance by any late inning relief pitcher, that of Mo's in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS--3 scoreless innings for the W. YES, I GET TIRED OF BRINGING THIS UP, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE MASS MEDIA PRETEND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN).

"Torre told Rivera of his plans at the start of spring training. Rivera said he respected Torre’s wishes, but he would not say if he thought the change would help him.

“I never ask for those things,” Rivera said. “Hey, I’m a worker here. I’m not a boss. I do what they want me to do.”"

  • (NOTE: THIS IS NOT MARIANO'S IDEA. A POPULAR BASEBALL BLOG RECENTLY SAID IT WAS, WHICH OF COURSE WAS FALSE).

"Torre made the decision in consultation with General Manager Brian Cashman. While Cashman said he had no problem with the way Torre used Rivera, he added that it was wise to back off this year.

“It’s not because he can’t handle it, but just because we want him at his best,” Cashman said." UPDATE: NY TIMES LATER CHANGES HEADLINE TO DOWNPLAY DRAMA AND IMPORTANCE OF RIVERA (ie, They 'don't NEED him for more.') AS FOLLOWS: "Three Outs Will Be All the Yankees Need From Rivera" 3/27/07 Here.

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"DirecTV set the market. It is up to the other bidders to meet it."

Who made this statement?
  • 1. Scott Boras?
  • 2. MLB, Inc. spokesman Bob DuPuy?
"Setting the market" sounds like Scott Boras, but it was Bob DuPuy, attorney for MLB, Inc. interests. Just in case you thought your interests had anything to do with it.
  • Reported by AP's Ronald Blum and posted on BizofBaseball.com, 3/26/07

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CITIZENDIUM: A New, Accountable WIKIPEDIA--Poynter

  • Debuted officially March 25th:
"Citizendium is the project of Larry Sanger, one of the pioneers of Wikipedia. AP reports on the new project: "Like Wikipedia, Citizendium will be non-profit, devoid of ads and free to read and edit. Unlike Wikipedia, Citizendium's volunteer contributors will be expected to provide their real names. Experts in given fields will be asked to check articles for accuracy."

As of this writing, Citizendium offers over 1100 "live" (vetted) articles. Here is Citizendium's definition of CZ Live status: "An article is live if (1) we started it ourselves; or (2) it is externally-sourced (e.g., from Wikipedia), and there have been at least three significant changes in three different places to the wording of an article. ...Only significant changes, which involve adding or completely rewriting sentences, can make an externally-sourced article CZ Live."

For quite a while, I expect that Wikipedia's substantial head start on content and community will make it a far more useful and popular resource than Citizendium. Over time, over course, that lead can narrow.

It remains to be seen whether Citizendium will prosper -- quite possibly its vetting model may prove too cumbersome or vulnerable to the inevitable cliquishness that develops within any large online community. And, of course, every system can and will be spoofed. However, it could become a preferred and authoritative resource -- at least on on some topics or for some communities."

  • From article by Amy Gahren, Poynter.org, 3/26/07

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Papelbon takes baseball writer (proud BBWAA member) to school

Jon Couture says in his column:

  • "Much has been made of Papelbon's usage, and an importance he be used only in the ninth a la Mariano Rivera, but the numbers don't necessarily bear out of a difference between the two. Among American League closers in 2006, Rivera made 17 multi-inning appearances, just one fewer than the 18 Papelbon made through his Sept. 1 shutdown."
"Much has been made..used only in the 9th a la Mariano Rivera."
  • Jon, I don't know where you or your associates in the BBWAA have been for the past 12 years, but Rivera first made his mark in late inning relief in the post season of 1995 with a 3 inning appearance in relief of John Wetteland. He pitched late inning setup throughout the regular and post season in 1996,
performing as full time closer from 1997 to the present. With Rivera's many multi-inning appearances as closer, HE has pioneered the way teams are trying to use closers today for more than 1 IP. (You get credit for looking up 2006's numbers which were apparently news to you, otherwise you wouldn't be writing about them).
  • In Rivera's 112.2 post season ip, 65% were multi-inning. You might recall his 3 consecutive scoreless innings for the Win in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, or 2 innings for the win in the 2004 ALDS deciding game in extra innings v the Twins. You want regular season, in the dead heat pennant race with your team the Red Sox? In Sept. 2005, he pitched 6 out of 8 days in desperate situations to help his team to the pennant.
  • In that stretch, 2 of the 6 games were more than 1IP, 5 OF THE 6 GAMES WERE 1-RUN GAMES. In case you're interested.
"Only Seattle's J.J. Putz (20) and Toronto's B.J. Ryan (19) made more multi-inning appearances. The average among AL closers was 14 for the season,"
  • In this "14" figure, are you including Rivera, Papelbon, Putz and Ryan, the leaders in multi-innings? To do so would render the stat meaningless in your context. If you EXcluded those 4 to reach the average among other AL closers, that WOULD be meaningful.
"...with the lowest numbers five (Detroit's Todd Jones and Minnesota's Joe Nathan), one by Cleveland's Bob Wickman and none by Akinori Otsuka of Texas."
  • Now, Couture uses the powerful baseball media's most common tool to trick you--trying to equate Mariano with their buddy Trevor. I understand Trevor's good, a nice guy, has many friends, etc. But if you take the time to look up the numbers, you'll see no comparison whatsoever between the 2. Here, Couture makes a statement for which I've been unable to find substantiation:

"Looking at pitch counts, Papelbon averaged only 15.1 pitches per inning in 2006. Among the 169 relievers who threw at least 40 innings, that ranked 152nd most. The only closers who were more efficient are the sort of names Papelbon's been throwing around as idols — Rivera and San Diego's Trevor Hoffman."

  • Countless media have reported Papelbon recently saying he'd like to follow in the footsteps of Mariano Rivera. I've looked all over, tried google, etc., and can find no reference to Papelbon comparing himself to Trevor Hoffman. Maybe Papelbon knows more than Jon Couture. In addition to 12 regular seasons of late inning relief in which among other things, Rivera gave up very few HR. How about the post season--don't you think Papelbon was thinking about that when he said he wants to go after records? Why would he mention Hoffman?
  • Rivera in 112.2 post season IP, gave up 2 HR (1/56 IP)
  • Hoffman in 13.0 post season IP, gave up 2 HR (1/6.5 IP)
I wish Mr. Couture had included quotes from Papelbon about the 'sort of names' he'd been throwing around other than Mariano Rivera. I couldn't find any. From SouthCoastToday.com, 3/25/07, Inside Baseball by Jon Couture. Couture is also listed as a Red Sox reporter for another newspaper.

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Sunday, March 25, 2007

DirecTV Selling MLB Extra Innings now @ $160; Hi-Def=$39 more

Washington, D.C. (March 25, 2007)by Phillip Swann -- "DIRECTV says it will offer up to 10 'Extra Innings' baseball games each week this season in High-Definition. But it will cost you an extra $39 to watch them.
  • The satcaster is now selling the basic 2007 MLB Extra Innings package online for $160. (After April 7, the price goes up $40.) The package includes up to 60 'out of market' games a week.
For an extra $39, DIRECTV viewers can get the 'Super Fan' version of the package, which includes:
  • * Up to 10 games a week in high-def;
  • *Up to eight games on one screen with DIRECTV's "Game Mix" channel;
  • *The "Strike Zone Channel," which shows highlights from live games.
MLB and DIRECTV reached an agreement this month that said the satcaster could have the package exclusively if other TV providers did not match the offer. DIRECTV is planning to show most of the games in High-Definition by 2008. Baseball officials said last week that it rejected an offer to carry the package from the cable TV provider In Demand. Unless MLB accepts a new offer from a cable company or satcaster EchoStar by March 31, DIRECTV can offer Extra Innings exclusively."

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The NY Times fans the flames again--fails to mention crimes by Duke prosecutor

Selena Roberts has a gift for writing, but the NY Times' point of view encourages suffering and at the extreme, death. She writes a column about the possible end of the so-called "Duke rape case," her thesis of course is the racial divide aspect. Ms. Roberts, Pinchy Sulzberger, et al,
  • WHY DO YOU THINK THE PROSECUTOR DREAMED UP THE PHONY CHARGES TO BEGIN WITH? TO INFLAME RACIAL ANIMUS TO MOTIVATE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR HIM IN AN UPCOMING ELECTION. WHATEVER PROBLEMS THAT EXISTED WERE MADE INFINITELY WORSE, STRICTLY TO WIN AN ELECTION. WHICH HE DID.
  • WHY WEREN'T THE CHARGES DISMISSED IMMEDIATELY? BECAUSE WHITES HAVE BEEN INTIMIDATED TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'LL MEEKLY ACCEPT MOB RULE RATHER THAN STAND UP FOR THEMSELVES.
  • I'M GLAD THE SYRACUSE LACROSSE PLAYERS WERE THROWN OFF THE TEAM FOR HAVING BEEN ARRESTED OUTSIDE A BAR. BUT SELENA ROBERTS, OF ALL PEOPLE, DOESN'T RAISE THE QUESTION OF FOOTBALL OR BASKETBALL PLAYERS BEING ALLOWED TO REMAIN ON TEAMS FOR SIMILAR OFFENSES. WHY?
THE NY TIMES WRITES SYMPATHETICALLY OF A VICIOUS LIAR, DRUG ADDICT, ETC. WHO WAS FREELY ALLOWED TO SWAY THE ELECTION OF A MAJOR OFFICIAL, WASTING WHAT THE TIMES WOULD NO DOUBT AGREE ARE FINITE PUBLIC FUNDS AND TIME WHICH WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ON EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINE. RIGHT? NOT A WORD OF SYMPATHY FOR THE VICTIMS--STANDARD FOR THE NY TIMES.
  • THE NEW YORK TIMES WITH THIS COLUMN FANS THE FLAMES OF STEREOTYPES AND AVOIDS THE SIMPLE TRUTH, THE ACTUAL CRIME, LIKE THE PLAGUE.
THE NY TIMES' ISN'T BOTHERED BY REALITY.

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Saturday, March 24, 2007

Jim Kaat to throw pitch at Twins Rochester Minor League game

Jim Kaat stopped by to say hello to Michael Kay and John Flaherty on the YES broadcast today, Blue Jays v Yankees. Jim and his wife will be driving around the country this summer in their RV, taking in the sights along with some minor league games. He mentions he's been booked to throw out the 1st pitch at a Twins minor league game in Rochester. Jim didn't mention the date but maybe the office there could tell you.

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Back room deal--Umpires bagged by MLB, Inc. to work next WBC in exchange for re-instating 2 other umps & WEARING MIKES

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Major League Baseball's umpires agreed to work the 2009 World Baseball Classic and wear microphones during some games this season to get two umpires who lost their jobs in a labor dispute reinstated.

Tom Hallion and Ed Hickox, who were among 22 umpires that weren't rehired after resigning eight years ago, were made full- time umpires for this season, said Rob Manfred, baseball's chief labor negotiator.

``We wanted the best umps available for the WBC because it is a world-class event,'' Manfred said in an e-mail.

Minor-league and fill-in umpires officiated the inaugural World Baseball Classic, an MLB-created international competition, last year because baseball couldn't reach an agreement with the umpires union. Calls on some game-changing plays were disputed.

A message left with the World Umpires Association wasn't immediately returned and President John Hirschbeck didn't return a message left on his mobile phone. Messages left for Hallion and Hickox through Major League Baseball weren't immediately returned.

1999 Resignations

Hallion and Hickox lost their jobs in 1999 when 57 umpires resigned during a labor dispute. The umpires rescinded their resignations, and baseball only rehired some of them. The union splintered, a new organization was formed and 22 umpires ended up unemployed.

Hallion and Hickox worked in recent years as substitutes for big-league umpires who were on vacation.

A controversial call marred the U.S.-Japan second-round game during the World Baseball Classic. The home-plate umpire overturned a play in the eighth inning that would have given Japan the lead. He ruled the Japanese runner on third left too early on a sacrifice fly. Television replays supported the initial ruling that the runner didn't leave the base before the ball was caught.

****Good luck getting all the players through Olympic drug testing for the 1st time.****sm

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Killer Pet Food ingredient in USA comes from China--ABC News

You still want to send our baseball players to China? Now we find their permitted pesticide, one illegal in the US, has killed our innocent cats and dogs:
  • "ABC News has learned that Menu Foods bought wheat gluten...from China. That possibility raises questions about the safety of pet and other food products in the United States.
  • ABC News first reported that the rodenticide may have been present in the wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods, according to a source close to the investigation.
  • Aminopterin is not registered for use as a pesticide in the United States, and it has been known as a potential source of birth defects in humans."
Items from the ABC News report, by David Kerley and Dan Childs, 3/23/07

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Bochy asks for more than 1 inning from his new closer

"Even reliever Armando Benitez, who occasionally bristled under Alou, has sounded agreeable to starting fresh under Bochy. Relating his discussion with Bochy about pitching more than one inning in save situations -- which some closers are reluctant to do -- Benitez said, "I told him, 'Yeah, no problem.'" from MLB.com, "Giants players appreciate Bochy's faith," 3/23/07.
  • I looked on Baseball Reference and Benitez has considerable experience working more than 1 inning as a closer. You wonder why the press (with continual help from Goose Gossage) flogs a false belief. Closers from the mid 90's til the present day frequently come in with men on base and give more than 3 outs to their team.
  • Business is booming for closers who can pitch more than 1 inning.

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Racetrack in China features Poison Dart Shooter aimed at Horses--Reuters

Buying the hype that China's a great place for MLB, Inc. to spend fans' money? It's something quite different than they want you to think. Elaborate systems to poison horses--suspected 'gambling' interests involved.
  • HONG KONG - "Police in Hong Kong are investigating an elaborate device found embedded in the turf at a world-famous horse track apparently designed to shoot poison darts at the animals at the start of a race.

A track supervisor unearthed the device on Wednesday morning while making routine checks of the starting points for races scheduled that evening at the Happy Valley racetrack, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said in a statement.

The remote controlled shooter included 12 metal tubes, each a foot long, filled with darts buried in the grass under the spot where the starting gates would be situated for 3,937-foot races on Wednesday night."

Article from MSNBC.com by Reuters, 3/22/07

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Checking out stats broadcast by XM on Papelbon

Chuck Wilson just read a list of stats about Papelbon 2006 that he said were from the Elias Sports Bureau. These will go all around the world and be given heavy meaning and were delivered in Chuck's sincere tone of voice. I checked one out and it turns out it wasn't too meaningful, except to show it was too much at the time for Papelbon. The stat:
  • "Papelbon pitched more than any other closer in the month of August." They don't say if that means IP or #appearances, but Baseball Reference says it was 15 IP, 12 games. I looked up some others--month of August only:
  • Bobby Jenks, 14.2 IP, 12 games.
  • Mariano Rivera, 14.2 IP, 12 games
  • Francisco Rodriguez, 13.1 IP, 14 games
In the case of IP, he has a total of 1 out more than 2 other guys, and played 2 games fewer than 1 other guy. If people don't check out the stats the media puts out, they might be mislead. Technically in a limited way, the stat was correct, but put in proper context wasn't meaningful.

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THE PAWTUCKET TIMES TROUNCES AP SPORTS

Why can the Pawtucket Times have their facts together yet AP Sports puts out garbage? This from the many details in today's Pawtucket piece:
  • "Let Papelbon do for Boston what Rivera has done for the Yankees. Can the kid stay healthy for the next 12 years? Who knows?
  • "Baseball analyst Peter Gammons predicted in 1997 that Rivera's elbow wouldn't hold up for more than a couple of seasons. If Gammons can be so wrong, then none of us can feel certain that Boston made either the right or wrong move with Papelbon.
We'll have to let time be the test of this move." Article entitled, "Schilling Laid Groundwork for this Move," 3/22/07, by Terry Nau, Pawtucket Times Sports Editor.
  • P.S. Mariano Rivera had Tommy John surgery in 1992, thereby reducing some injury concerns for ensuing years.

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Atlanta Braves auditioning for PA announcer--NY Times

"The job is a seasonal position with no contract, and it will pay $200 to $500 a game, depending on experience." (But, hey...)

"The signature moment for each candidate was applying the right emotion to Chipper Jones’s name when reading the starting lineup from a script. He is the biggest baseball star in town, so each candidate understood the importance of making the name sound special.

The crescendo of “Chipper Joooooooooones” must have been heard for blocks around Turner Field.

“Got to get that name right,” said one candidate, Al Gay, who has announced high school and college sports events, but whose full-time job is selling custom wheels for cars.

Evaluating the candidates from seats in the stadium were Mike Plant, the executive vice president of business operations; Derek Schiller, the senior vice president of sales and marketing; and other members of the Braves’ marketing and game staffs. The Braves said a decision would be made within the next several days. The job is a seasonal position with no contract, and it will pay $200 to $500 a game, depending on experience.

Schiller knows a good public address announcer when he hears one. He was with the Yankees from 1996 to 1997 as a vice president of business development. Bob Sheppard has been the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium for more than 50 years."

From NY Times article by Ray Glier, 3/23/07, "Braves Cast a Wide Net in Finding a Franchise Voice." This gets you to their cookies page.

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I tried to use the "ESPN Corrections Page"....

On their website, it's listed in the drop-down menu under the espn tab. I clicked about 10 times on "Submit a correction," BUT IT REFUSED MY ADMITTANCE. It had a heading called "Submit feedback," so I tried that to complain about not getting through to Corrections. After a few pop-up ads, I finally saw the box for submitting "feedback," and gave my information. Overall the page is unfriendly, hard to read, and generally without impact or authority. They might as well not have one. ESPN CORRECTIONS PAGE.

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AP Sports Editor Awards--Bill Plaschke tops list

"Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times wins the sports column writing category for the second time in three years. First-place columnists in other divisions are Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (100,000-250,000), Kalani Simpson of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (40,000-100,000) and Rial Cummings of the Missoulian in Montana (40,000 and under). PLUS: More awards." From Romenesko@ poynter.org, 3/22/07

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YANKEE'S WEAK PR, YES NETWORK FLOP, ALLOW BASEBALL BARBARIANS EASILY THRU THE GATES

This AP story BY ROB MAADDI* published on FoxSports.com: Congratulations, Yankees and YES! WITHOUT FEAR OF CORRECTION OR CONSEQUENCE, RIVERA AFTER 12 CONSECTIVE POST-SEASONS IN LATE-INNING RELIEF AND 11 REGULAR SEASONS IS MISTAKENLY DESCRIBED MERELY AS "A DOMINANT CLOSER FOR SEVERAL YEARS."
  • "A" dominant closer...for "several years"....he doesn't even get to be "the" dominant closer....SINCE THE 1995 POST SEASON THROUGH THE PRESENT.
Again proving I'm right as I've documented on this blog and elsewhere. The baseball media in power has successfully downgraded Mariano Rivera for all time. Honorable mention goes to his weak agent, Fern Cuza.

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Red Sox to announce Papelbon to close--ESPN TV

Watching the Red Sox-Phillies game now on ESPN tv, the 2 announcers said the Red Sox are expected to announce this after today's game. The ESPN cameras have been on Papelbon about 90% of the time, on the game about 10% of the time. Amazing what half a season of performance gets you if the media is behind you. They're saying Papelbon's heart is in the bullpen, but he won't be used as much as he was last year to preserve his arm. But, ESPN LIED: The announcer said "they won't use Papelbon 4 or 5 days in a row like they did last year." MILLIONS HEARD THIS LIE.
  • # TIMES PAPELBON PITCHED 4 DAYS IN A ROW: 0
  • # TIMES PAPELBON PITCHED 5 DAYS IN A ROW: 0
Papelbon did pitch 3 days in a row 4 times over the season, the last of those 4 for only 1 out, and was the last day he played in 2006, going down with an injury.
  • IF YOU WANT TO LIE, YOU SHOULD BE FIRED FROM ESPN.
  • ESPN SAID IT STARTED A 'CORRECTIONS' PAGE? ANYONE KNOW WHERE IT IS?
P.S. Chris and Mike on WFAN hear this and call Gordon Edes--he says he hasn't heard about it, will check it out and call them back. Again I'm proven right--ESPN is in business with the Red Sox.
  • Meanwhile, at the Yankees v Reds game, "The talk-show host Jerry Springer, a former mayor of Cincinnati, sat behind home plate Thursday and posed for pictures throughout the game." This item reported by Tyler Kepner, the NY Times, 3/23/07, 'Inside Pitch' item from "Numbers only tell part of the story for Pavano." This gets you their cookies page.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Cory Lidle's Widow May Throw First Yankees Pitch

TAMPA, Fla -- "The wife of late New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle may throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the team's April 2 season opener against Tampa Bay.
  • The Yankees said Wednesday that talks were ongoing and that a decision to have Melanie Lidle throw out the ceremonial first pitch had not been finalized.
New York will wear black arm bands on the left sleeves of uniforms this season to honor the pitcher, who was 34. The Yankees acquired Lidle from Philadelphia last summer." AP Report
  • Lidle was the Game 5 winning pitcher of the 2006 Boston Massacre at Fenway Park on August 21st, 6IP, O ER.

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NY Times' Richard Sandomir dishes MLB Extra Innings Cable deal--3/22/07

"The rejection sets up two showdowns: one on Tuesday, when M.L.B. and DirecTV officials are to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee about their seven-year, $700 million agreement; and another March 31, the deadline for cable and the Dish Network to meet baseball’s terms."
    • So, Tues. the 27th and Sat. the 31st are deadlines.
"In rejecting InDemand’s offer in less than an hour, Bob DuPuy, M.L.B.’s president, said in a statement that it “falls short in nearly all of the material conditions” laid out in baseball’s deal with DirecTV.
  • Tim Brosnan, baseball’s executive vice president for business, said in a telephone interview that “the correspondence they sent us amounts to a misleading press release and a failed strategy if their intention is to make a deal and to truly deliver this package to their customers.”

"Robert D. Jacobson, the president of InDemand," (InDemand — the cable consortium owned by Comcast, Time Warner and Cox) "said by telephone that he was surprised by baseball’s quick rejection of his proposal because “we understood that if we matched the terms of the DirecTV offer, we’d have a deal. We feel we’ve done that.” He added, however, that he was never shown the contract between baseball and DirecTV.""

  • In other words, MLB, Inc. won't discuss or make a counter offer. The bucks they're getting from DirecTV have already gone out the door in their minds.
(The only point that jumps out to me is the 80% figure promised from each service to the Baseball Channel. InDemand knows that 80% of its base would be a much larger number than 80% of DirecTV's. So they're offering a number equal to DirecTV's 80%, which is of course fair and equal to what DirecTV is offering, which is what's pissing off MLB, Inc. But the offer is not duplicitous or misleading at least in that key area, which they're claiming. One other point involves ownership of the Baseball Channel):

"In its offer to baseball yesterday, InDemand said it would match DirecTV’s total subscribers for the channel in 2009, however much it increases from 15 million.

  • The parties were also split on how to count Extra Innings subscribers and, thus, how to calculate what baseball would be paid for those digital cable customers.

Later in the day, Jacobson issued a statement that said, “By rejecting this matching offer, M.L.B. has proven it never intended for InDemand to have a fair and equal opportunity to bid for Extra Innings.”

  • Baseball and DirecTV officials were headed to an exclusive deal on Extra Innings when fans who watched out-of-market games on cable voiced their outrage in e-mail messages, chat rooms and petitions. The fans’ anger prompted baseball to give InDemand and Dish 23 days to make a deal. (Dish is still in talks with M.L.B.)
  • But one thing they would not get is a stake in the channel; DirecTV owns 20 percent of it."
I'm not sure what the ownership conversations involve. I just don't get it from this. Article does say MLB, Inc. is still talking to DISH Network.

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Stephania Bell joins Jeff Erickson on XM Fantasy Focus

Discussing player injuries, easy to listen to, informative, and pleasant, Stephania is a physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist. Her appearance was notable in that fans want more info on player health, and we're open to skilled people talking to us about the subject. Ms. Bell also provides an injury report on Rotowire.com. I happened to hear the discussion about Jason Isringhausen's condition. Although he'll probably need hip replacement surgery after his baseball career, she felt the doctor who did recent work on him will have given him one more good year.
  • (I'd originally posted Jim Edmonds' name in place of Jason Isringhausen's, and am grateful to Jeff E. for pointing this out). sm 6:35PM

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

LA's MATT HURST SCREWS UP--SHOWS HIS TRUE FEELINGS ABOUT MARIANO RIVERA

Being a BBWAA member means you can be selected to vote on post season baseball awards which have huge financial implications. Matt Hurst controls millions of dollars though he simply works for a suburban California newspaper. Why? He gets 'opportunities' to cast votes in AL post season awards. Today, BIG MATT SEZ:
  • "Move over Mariano. At just 25, (Frankie) Rodriguez has become the standard for closers."
"THE STANDARD FOR CLOSERS?" Mariano should move over from being the standard for closers, Matt Hurst says.
  • MATT MAY BE ADMITTING HE FAILED TO ACT ON HIS TRUE UNDERSTANDING. IN 2005 HE LEFT MARIANO RIVERA'S NAME ENTIRELY OFF HIS BALLOT FOR AL CY YOUNG AWARD WHICH HELPED LA ANGEL BARTOLO COLON GET THE AWARD. MATT HURST NOW LETS SLIP HE VIEWS RIVERA AS HAVING BEEN THE STANDARD UP UNTIL THIS MOMENT, WHEN HE PROCLAIMS HIS GUY KROD IS KING.
Hurst's proof for this grand statement? Other guys on the Angels team. Not saying Krod isn't great or the team guys might feel a tiny bit like supporting their own team mate. He spends the rest of the column pumping the "total saves" stat which is the baseball media mafia's way of diverting your attention from a bunch of more interesting closer stats. 2006 K-rod Stats:
  • Wild Pitches by K-rod: 10
  • Wild Pitches by Mariano: 0
  • HR given up Krod: 7
  • HR given up Mariano: 3
  • Walks Krod: 28
  • Walks Mariano: 11
  • G/GF Krod: 69/58 (84%)
  • G/GF Mariano: 63/59 (93.6%)
  • 1 out "Saves" Krod: 2
  • 1 out "Saves" Mariano: 0
  • GO/AO Krod: .94
  • GO/AO Mariano: 2.16
  • WHIP Krod: 1.10
  • WHIP Mariano: .96
  • Just a few stats Matt Hurst failed to mention about Krod in 2006 I looked up. I guess Matt Hurst thought everyone would believe his reliance on the "total saves" stat and not look up other important stats for a closer. Mo didn't have a manager who gave him cookie "saves" like the 2 1-out saves Krod got.
Oh yes....
  • Fist-pumps Krod: Dozens
  • Fist-pumps Mariano: O

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Seattle Mariners Radio Broadcasters get Perfect Score

I heard them Saturday on XM and was elated. I've looked around to find out their names, but no source indicates this info. I'm guessing one is Dave Niehaus and one is Rick Rizzs, though sites only list them as 'broadcasters,' which could mean tv as well. First, they had good voices, not phony, high pitched, sing-song, or like that of a 10 year old boy--all of which are the types currently being hired for baseball on radio by teams and the hideous ESPN. Second, their voices were good together. Third, they spoke in CONVERSATIONAL tones, didn't put phony excitement in their voices over nothing. This also allows a listener to relax. I don't have to wonder if a guy is putting on an act because he's afraid of losing his job.

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Sunday, March 18, 2007

YES NETWORK shows another example it's run by ESPN--3/18/07

On its "replay" of today's spring training Pirates-Yankees game tonight from 9P-11:30PM, the YES Network DELETED MARIANO RIVERA'S ENTIRE APPEARANCE IN THE TOP OF THE 6th inning. As I've detailed on this blog and in letters to so-called YES Network officials, they go to great lengths to avoid acknowledging Rivera's existence. Tonight, after not editing but eliminating his entire appearance, they gave 1 second of video of him throwing in the bullpen. (Often he gets less than 1 second). Michael Kay's audio over the small snapshot simply said Rivera was throwing in the bullpen because he only threw 6 pitches from the mound in his top of the 6th frame--gave no other re-cap, who the batters were, where the balls were aimed, overall progress, etc. NOTHING.
  • SINCE THIS TREATMENT IS BLATANT AND ON-GOING FOR QUITE SOME TIME, WHEN IS SOMEONE GOING TO ADMIT THE YES NETWORK IS A FRAUD, POORLY MANAGED, AND HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY ESPN BASEBALL BULLIES AND POLITICIANS? WHY ARE THE YANKEES SO WEAK ABOUT RIVERA?

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Friday, March 16, 2007

Bangor Native Helps Young Dominican Baseball Players

"The poverty is beyond anything that exists in this country," said Mosseau. "One in every 50 kids can afford a glove. They make gloves out of cardboard and bats out of tree limbs."

  • He also said lawn mowers are scarce, so during the rainy season, farmers will take their livestock to the baseball field where they will "eat the grass down to a reasonable height."

"Then we’ll hire people with machetes who will crouch down in a catcher’s position and cut the grass," said Mosseau, who noted that some of the fields there are "hideous."

Somewhere in the Dominican Republic, you’ll find youngsters running around wearing Garland Street Middle School baseball uniforms.

When the Bangor middle school had its name changed to William S. Cohen Middle School in honor of the Bangor native and former Secretary of Defense, it didn’t need the Garland Street uniforms any more.

Enter Tom Mosseau.

Mosseau had played baseball in the Dominican Republic and it proved to be a life-changing experience for him.

"It’s amazing. People have so little, but they have great spirit and energy. They love the game of baseball," said Mosseau, who lives in Monroe. "And it is glaringly obvious that they have athletic talent over there.

"They are fabulously talented. There are over 100 Dominicans [in the majors] and that’s amazing considering the size of their country and the poverty. Every little town has a baseball diamond even though there might be a palm tree in the middle of center field."

They play year-round and have some topflight winter leagues.

"It’s the national focus, the national pastime," said Mosseau. "Pedro [New York Mets and former Boston Red Sox ace righthander Pedro Martinez] is more important than the president of the country and they both know it."

But the poverty also left a lasting impression on him and he decided he would try to solicit baseball equipment for the Dominican people.

That was approximately 20 years ago."

From the article in Bangor Daily News, 3/15/07, by Larry Mahony

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Mariano Rivera asks for 1 autograph--Fergie Jenkins'-NY Times

"Mariano Rivera received an award at the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. Rivera asked for one autograph, from Fergie Jenkins, who signed a ball for him," reports Tyler Kepner in the NY Times (3/14/07, 'Inside Pitch.')
  • Overheard on Red Sox radio yesterday: The exact midway point between New York and Boston is New Britain, Connecticut.

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Sunday, March 11, 2007

Bruce Markusen on prison atmosphere at Legends Field

"A final thought has to do with the suffocating atmosphere around Legends Field. (Yankee Spring Training ballpark). I know some of the hosts over at MLB Radio who have openly discussed the restrictive air around the Yankees.
  • Even with a new PR director and a new director of stadium security in Tampa, the Yankees still conduct spring training as if it were a penitentiary. Members of the Yankee staff, who walk the premises with cold, unsmiling looks, spend much of their time shooing the media from one location to another. Given such a joyless atmosphere, it's not surprising that the new security director recently booted some fans from box seats at Legends Field, only to realize they were members of Brian Cashman's family.
  • Bruce wrote on 3/9/07, guesting on Bronx Banter with his "Observations from Cooperstown."
Bruce is correct. After my negative experience at Legends this year, I won't go out of my way to visit there again. I understand global society has evolved to celebrate rudeness, crime, and general uncivil behavior, necessitating the heavy bars, distances, and plethora of minimum-wage type "security guards" mainly there to make sure you don't laugh or look happy. But the atmosphere is so heavy, so unaware of the fan (except as some kind of animal to be moved along) I've very little respect left for whomever is managing this organization. (sm)

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WILL THE COMING 'CARBON TAX' REDUCE YOUR ATTENDANCE AT GLOBALLY WARMED BASEBALL GAMES?

Will corporate suites now be empty due to global warming? This is what you wanted, isn't it? BBC Reports airlines may have to tax passengers to pay "green tax." You know, CO2 emissions. Have a nice day.

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Baseball Thought Police/Awards Dandies Pumping Minnesota Twins Again

They "decide the daily discourse" as an ESPN'er said, so I guess you like things being decided for you. I don't. As I've said, the baseball politicians' latest tool to keep certain Yankees from the limelight they deserve (and to a lesser extent keep hatred, envy and misinformation boiling about the team as a whole) is the Twins and aspects thereof. The NY Times' Murray Chass proves I'm right by coming out with a column today pumping the Twins in its headline,
  • AND REFERENCING ITS BBWAA AWARDS RECIPIENTS AS PROOF OF ITS SUCCESS. THEY PUMP THESE AWARDS FOR THEIR OWN SELF-PRESERVATION, SAYING THE AWARD IS WHAT PROVES A PLAYER OR TEAM IS GREAT. BUT IT'S POLITICS. "In Minnesota, as in Oakland, Some Credit Is Due."
'"SOME CREDIT IS DUE?" IT'S THE SAME OLD WHINING--BILLIONAIRE CARL POHLAD'S WHINING BBWAA GUYS SAY MINNESOTA DOESN'T GET ENOUGH CREDIT. THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE, BUT IT'S THE LINE PUSHED IF YOUR MAIN INTEREST IS HYPING THE BBWAA. CREDIT IS DISPENSED BY THE MEDIA & BBWAA, AND THEY CONSTANTLY PUMP THE TWINS.
  • MINNESOTA VOTERS CONTROL THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR AWARDS, HAVING HAD AT LEAST 3 OF THE 28 AL MVP VOTERS IN 2006, ALL GUARANTEED TO KEEP THE YANKEE OUT OF THE AWARD. NEW YORK VOTERS? THERE WERE ONLY 2, and ONLY 1 OF THEM VOTED JETER 1ST PLACE. SINCE JETER ISN'T CANADIAN, HE DIDN'T GET THE 2 1ST PLACE VOTES OF THE 2 TORONTO VOTERS WHO GAVE BOTH THEIR #1's TO-- THE MINNESOTA TWIN, JUSTIN MORNEAU. THE TWINS COMMANDEERED LAST YEAR'S ESPN AWARDS SHOW AS WELL, AS I'VE DETAILED ON THIS BLOG.
Murray Chass isn't about to miss a chance to jump on this train. More evidence if you needed it about this very serious issue involving millions of dollars as well as the lives and futures of players, teams, their families, and fans.

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Saturday, March 10, 2007

Another pitcher's problems blamed on "World Baseball Classic"

From The Daily Southtown, 3/10/06 regarding Astro Brad Lidge,

"He thought playing in last year's World Baseball Classic disrupted him, and that he rushed his delivery last year and wound up too much on the first-base side of the mound. He blew two saves in April after blowing only four in the previous 1½ seasons.

"He got to the end of spring training (in 2006) and his arm wasn't producing like it normally produced, velocity-wise," said Houston general manager Tim Purpura. "That may have been the first time Brad experienced not having all his stuff that he usually has, and that got him into some bad habits."

  • Once the regular season started, Lidge said his new mechanical flaw was so ingrained, he couldn't reverse it."
From Baseball Notebook, Daily Southtown, AP Story, 3/10/07
  • P.S. You probably won't see this item on MLB.com, or hear Gene Orza talk about it too much. For that matter, no one will talk about it too much. You might ask why. (sm)

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Alex Rodriguez is the best 3rd baseman in baseball today--NY Times, Tyler Kepner, 3/11/07

Says Kepner, "the greatest third baseman in baseball history (Mike Schmidt) can reflect on his career as a cautionary tale for the greatest third baseman of today (referencing Alex Rodriguez)." Kepner: "Mike Schmidt won multiple Most Valuable Player awards, home run titles and Gold Gloves in his career, just as Alex Rodriguez has done in his. Each had an unquestioned work ethic and a spotless off-the-field reputation. Yet they struggled to win over their home fans."
  • The thesis of Kepner's article is to relate the supposedly mysterious lack of fan love for Mike Schmidt to the same situation for Arod. Kepner breaks no new ground, just goes round and round the sensitivity issues and incredibly TO ME uses the phrase "PERCEIVED LACK OF CLUTCH HITS." "PERCEIVED?" Reality. Check 'Close and Late.'
  • REASON #1 IS PERFORMANCE. STOP FEEDING US THE STANDARD TOTAL SEASON NUMBERS. THERE ARE OTHER STATS THAT TELL THE STORY.
  • REASON #2-HE'S TOO MUCH TROUBLE AND HAS SAID THINGS TO UNDERMINE HIS MANAGER TO THE PRESS. WHY DON'T YOU GUYS EVER BRING THAT UP, KEPNER? NO REAL TEAM PLAYER WOULD DO A THING LIKE THAT YET HE DOES SO EASILY AND PUBLICLY.
  • REASON #3 WHICH COULD ALSO BE REASON #1--IT'S OBVIOUS--AROD HIRED SCOTT BORAS, WHO GOT A TEAM TO PAY MANY MILLIONS MORE THAN IT HAD TO. THEN THE PLAYER, AROD, DECIDED HE DIDN'T WANT TO PLAY FOR THAT TEAM, THE TEXAS RANGERS. BUT HE WAS MAKING TOO MUCH MONEY FOR MANY TEAMS. HE WAS DESPERATE, SO EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO SHORTSTOP POSITION OPEN ON THE YANKEES, HE SAID HE'D PLAY FOR THEM. 3B WAS AVAILABLE & HE ACCEPTED THAT. END OF STORY.
But Kepner had to write the same old stuff about Arod, which ignores the above facts. Also, ENOUGH WITH THE PUMPING THE MVP AWARDS AS A REASON FANS SHOULD LIKE HIM.
  • HIS AGENT PUT EXTENSIVE LANGUAGE IN HIS CONTRACT ADDING SALARY BONUSES FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT BBWAA POST SEASON AWARDS. THESE AWARDS ARE DEMONSTRABLY INVALID AND MEANINGLESS WHICH I'LL SUBSTANTIATE IF YOU'D LIKE. MANY PAPERS LIKE YOUR OWN (THE NY TIMES) NO LONGER ALLOW THEIR EMPLOYEES TO VOTE IN THESE AWARDS DUE TO ETHICS CONCERNS. THE REMAINING VOTERS ARE DESPERATELY AFRAID THE AWARDS ARE IN JEOPARDY, SO DON'T YOU THINK THEY'D LIKE TO VOTE FOR A PLAYER WHO PROPS UP THEIR JOKE OF A SYSTEM LENDING IT UNDUE IMPORTANCE BY MAKING ITS ACTIONS TRIGGER SALARY INCENTIVES?
I'm not arguing about Arod myself, just trying to POINT OUT THE BASEBALL MEDIA WANTS YOU TO THINK A CERTAIN WAY AND THEY ARE WRONG--THEIR ARGUMENT IS WRONG. If you accept my 3 reasons above, you can let go of the whole issue and move on to more important topics.

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