XM MLB Chat

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Last night in Anaheim

Above Rafael Soriano and Russell Martin in Anaheim, 5/30/12, final 6-5, reuters

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Hideki Matsui hits 2 run home run in 2nd at bat for Tampa Bay Rays

Luke Scott and Carlos Pena greet Hideki Matsui in the dugout after Matsui's 2 run home run in the 4th v White Sox, 5/29/12, reuters

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Rockies Fowler doused after walk-off RBI in bottom of 10th

"Dexter Fowler of the Colorado Rockies is doused with water by teammates (L-R) Esmil Rogers and Carlos Gonzalez after hitting a walk-off RBI triple in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Rockies the 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros at Coors Field," 5/28/12, final 7-6. getty. (Much preferable to pies. ed.) Leading up to the dousing above, Rockies win 5/28/12, getty

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day 2012

Above, World War II US Air Force pilot and his Stearman biplane; below same soldier in his Air Force Uniform sometime in the 1940's, surviving.
  • Born in Brooklyn, 1922.
Here he is on Mother's Day, 2012. Thanks, Dad.

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Umpire briefly sees stars after hit by ball in Nats-Atlanta game

Umpire Kerwin Danley after being hit by a ball in Atlanta in game w Nationals, Sun. May 27, 2012, ap Umpire Kerwin Danley helped up after being hit by a ball in Nationals-Braves game in Atlanta, 5/27/12, final 7-2 Nats, getty

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Arod greeted in the dugout after sac fly

Arod greeted in the dugout after sac fly in the 5th in Oakland, 5/26/12, final 9-2 Yankees. reuters

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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Sid Rosenberg to get another chance in Miami

5/22/12, Miami Herald, "Rosenberg Resurfaces: The general manager of WMEN-640 AM said he intends to hire Sid Rosenberg, who was dumped by WQAM last month after a DUI arrest. WQAM will allow Rosenberg out of his non-compete clause (which runs through early August) in exchange for financial concessions; discussions between the stations are ongoing. An agreement is expected to allow Rosenberg to start very soon at 640, but WMEN manager Steve Lapa said he wants to hire Rosenberg even if he has to wait for several months.

Lapa said he has met with Rosenberg and is not concerned about Rosenberg’s past personal problems (involving drugs, alcohol and gambling) but hasn’t decided what daypart to use him in. “He’s a talented guy, and he wants to work,” Lapa said."...

via NY Radio Message Board
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2012/05/lots-of-fins-notes-from-practice-philbin-responds-to-ross-claimum-new-gig-for-sid-rosenberg.html#storylink=cpy

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Angels fans in Seattle cheer Pujols home run

Angels fans in Seattle cheer Albert Pujols home run, 5/25/12, final score 6-4, Angels, ap

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Recent journalism school graduate asks, 'Would you like fries with that?'

5/25/12, "The job new j-school graduates fear," Rob Tornoe, Poynter.org

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Hurricane Bud heads for Mexico, government issues watch-Reuters

Bud is first hurricane of the season. "With maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, Bud is threatening heavy rains and a storm surge around the port city of Manzanillo, the Miami-based center said.

Mexico has no significant oil installations on the Pacific coast, but Bud could hit near the popular tourist town of Puerto Vallarta. The hurricane is expected to weaken before making landfall on Friday." via Tom Nelson

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Don't Stop Relievin' by Tennessee Smokies for Smokies relief pitchers

Uploaded June 18, 2011 by Tennessee Smokies Productions in honor of Smokies relief pitchers
  • ---------------------------------------------
"Don't Stop Relievin'" 2012 for Mariano Rivera Uploaded May 11, 2012 by NOC

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sirius-XM offers free access to 60 channels through June 4

"If your car radio features Sirius-XM, but you don't subscribe, flip over and try it out today for free. From now through June 4th, Sirium-XM has unlocked 60 of its 130 satellite radio channels, offering you free access to music, sports, news, talk and entertainment selections. You can sample things like MLB Home Plate, NHL Home Ice, Ozzy's Boneyard, Prime Country and more. You don't have to register or pay anything, just turn your radio on and enjoy. You'll find a complete list of stations unlocked here."...
  • (Ed. note: The author may be right about free MLB Home Plate, XM89, but I didn't see it listed on the Sirius-XM link).

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Andy in the 8th

Andy Pettitte in the 8th surrounded by team members as he finishes his day's work, 5/23/12, v Royals, final 8-3. reuters

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Torrie Wilson at the Stadium in Arod section

Torrie Wilson at Yankee Stadium in Arod seats, May 22, 2012, v Royals, final 3-2 Yankees, reuters

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Advocating government censorship of Mr. Ricketts' free speech before he even said anything

"Our friend Doug Schoen, the Democratic pollster, is a political centrist, ideologically much closer to the post-1994 Bill Clinton than to Barack Obama. That makes all the more troubling his advocacy of government censorship of political speech, the kind of expression that is at the core of First Amendment protection.

Schoen finds it "more than just disquieting" but "shameful and embarrassing" that, as the New York Times reported (and we noted) last week, Chicago Cubs part-owner Joe Ricketts considered funding an anti-Obama super PAC ad that would have reminded voters about the president's "spiritual mentor," Jeremiah Wright. Under political pressure, Obama in 2008 repudiated the America-hating pastor, whose views even the New York Times concedes are "clearly racist."

"Speaking frankly," Schoen writes, "racially divisive negative advertisements of this sort do not belong in a presidential election. Whether one supports the president or not, he should be judged on his record, and an ad hominem attack of any sort should have no home in the public arena."

He would like to use the power of the government to suppress this speech of which he disapproves, as he has made clear in other columns. His complaint about the Ricketts ad that wasn't shows just what a pernicious idea this is and why the Supreme Court was right to uphold free speech in the celebrated case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Schoen's objection to the Ricketts ad proposal is imprecise, to say the least. In particular, he doesn't quite seem to know the meaning of the phrase "ad hominem." The argumentum ad hominem--"argument to the man"--is high on any list of logical fallacies. It consists of citing irrelevant facts about a person's actions or character in an effort to undermine his position....

Schoen's contention that "an ad hominem attack of any sort should have no home in the public arena" is bizarre in the context of a political campaign. Such a contest is a choice between men, not merely an abstract comparison of issue positions. Even to the extent that it is the latter, character is important: A voter has to judge, among other things, the sincerity of the candidates' convictions and their competence to carry out their promises.

Every political campaign is an ad hominem argument--a claim that the man seeking the office is fit for it. Mitt Romney argues that his business experience qualifies him to make economic policy. The Obama campaign has responded with an ad hominem attack--an advertisement featuring workers who lost their jobs after a Bain Capital investment failed. This ad may be unfair and misleading, but even if it's completely truthful, it's still ad hominem.

Barack Obama ran for president saying, as he put it in his 2008 convention speech, that he would realize "America's promise--the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort." His connection with figures like Wright gave reason to doubt the sincerity of such professions. His actions as president have shown that such doubts were fully justified....

It sounds as though the proposed Ricketts ad would have been a waste of money (especially now that the New York Times has demonstrated its willingness to propagate the message free of charge).

But Schoen's appetite for government censorship of political speech based on his disapproval of its content, and his insouciance about even articulating a coherent standard to explain his disapproval, shows why it is so important to guard our First Amendment rights vigilantly. Schoen is in no sense a political extremist, yet he is eager to stifle dissent.

Schoen makes one other argument that deserves a response:

Perhaps this makes me a bit of an anachronism, but I still firmly believe that a presidential campaign is supposed to be a dialogue--or a battle--between the two campaigns and parties. Super PACs change the equation so that elections are reduced to a situation where candidates and their henchmen are responding to moves made by outside groups.

The solution to this problem isn't more censorship, as Schoen argues, but less. The Supreme Court has held, wrongly in our view, that lawmakers have the authority to limit contributions to candidates and parties. But they have no obligation to do so. If Congress passed legislation abolishing all such limits, it would obviate much of the incentive to form super PACs. The censorship Schoen advocates is not even necessary to achieve his goal."...via Lucianne

  • ------------------------------------------

5/17/12, "Joe Ricketts’s children...include Obama bundler Laura Ricketts."...

  • -------------------------------------------

Ed. note: In 2004 George Soros spent $26.5 million trying to defeat George Bush. No one was upset about that or angrily scolded the US Supreme Court on prime time television about it. The wealthy can always give anonymously if indirectly to political candidates via 527 groups which can buy the same ads Super PACs can.

  • ---------------------------------------------

5/22/12, "Whispering the Truth in Obama's America," American Thinker, Stella Paul

  • ---------------------------------------

10/30/2008, Tom Brokaw and Charlie Rose 4 days before Obama's election say they know very little about him. Brokaw says he knows Obama went to Harvard Law School.

Charlie Rose notes we're coming into "what may be the most historic election of our time." He says what we know about Obama is primarily from his autobiography and 2 speeches. Rose asks esteemed journalist/opinion leader Tom Brokaw,

  • "What do you make of Barack Obama?"
Charlies Rose says, we've not have a real in depth discussion about foreign policy, we don't know a lot about the universe of this thinking. Brokaw: "We don't know a lot about Barack Obama and the universe of his thinking. China has not been examined at all,
  • which is astonishing."...
Brokaw: "I don't know what books he's read."...
  • -----------------------------------

Illustration at top via Breitbart Big Government, 4/6/11, "Free Speech for me, but not for thee," Chris Berg

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Monday, May 21, 2012

2008 high school pitcher sued school district for allowing him to pitch too much

5/21/09, "Coaches who don't use extra care with their pitchers may be responsible for the health of the players, but they aren't liable. A year ago, Jason Koenig lost a lawsuit in which he sued the North Mason School District near Seattle for negligence after he was allowed to throw 140 pitches in a high school game on one day of rest."

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Yankees 6 for 67 with RISP

Yankees are 6 for 67 with Runners in Scoring Position as of 5/21/12, bottom of the 7th, 1 out v Kansas City. John Sterling mentions YES just showed this as a graphic.

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Friday, May 18, 2012

'Dandy' Andy Pettitte, back pages

Above, NY Post back page, Sat. 5/19/12

Above NY Daily News back page, Sat. 5/19/12

"Pettitte threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, retiring seven of them by strikeout. He kept the Reds off balance by mixing pitches, speeds and locations, worked quickly and looked at ease with Stewart, who also threw out Drew Stubbs at second in the sixth inning.

Pettitte threw 115 pitches, allowed one walk and got seven groundouts. His nine strikeouts were the most since he struck out nine in eight innings against Seattle in July 2010. He kept his team in the game while the offense flailed."

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Fans in Wrigley bleachers scramble to catch Konerko home run

Fans in Wrigley Field bleachers try to catch Paul Konerko's first inning home run, 5/18/12, getty

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

'Mariano told me he'll be watching every day,' said Rafael Soriano

5/16/12, NY Post, "Now, because of Mariano Rivera’s torn ACL and David Robertson’s oblique injury, Soriano has become one of the most valuable Yankees. He is the closer who has finally found a home. He’s excited that for the first time as a Yankee he can show his true ability....

Soriano is in touch with Rivera every day and believes there is a chance Rivera will be back late in this season.

“I want him to come back this year,’’ Soriano said. “Mariano has helped me so much. I always knew I could pitch, but he has helped me and how I am around other people and to be comfortable, especially in New York....

It was a difficult adjustment coming to the Yankees after saving 45 games for the Rays in 2010. He was signed by the Yankees to a three-year, $35 million contract with team president Randy Levine pushing to get the deal done. It’s a deal that could save the 2012 Yankees.

I talked to Mariano last year, and he told me, ‘Sori, when something happens in baseball, it happens for a reason. There is nothing you can do about it,’ ’’ Soriano explained. “ ‘Jesus gives you that. Try to make yourself better because of it. Come back stronger.’ That’s what I’ve done.’’

Several Yankees told me Soriano, at this stage of his career, is better suited for the ninth-inning role than Robertson. The team believes Soriano can do the job as closer.

Soriano really gets pumped up for that role,’’ said one Yankee. “It’s great to see.’’

“We’re two guys down, and it will not be easy for us,’’ Soriano said of the challenge ahead.

Soriano must step up. The Yankees need him more than ever.

I love it,’’ he said of the ninth inning responsibility of being the closer....

“I love it. I like when the game is tight,” he said. “ I want to be there, but I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.’’

It doesn’t matter how Soriano got the job, all that matters is doing the job. He wants to hold down the ninth until Rivera returns.

Mariano told me he will be watching every single day,’’ said Soriano, who has two saves. “He told me to be ready. I am ready.’’

Soriano is the Yankees’ closer. It’s his job now. He doesn’t want to let Rivera or the Yankees down.

“If I have to get four-out saves, whatever the team needs,’’ he said.

Soriano has gone from a pitcher with a diminishing role to having one of the most important roles on the team. He is where he belongs, on the mound in the ninth inning. Now, it’s a question of getting the job done.

Rafael Soriano believes his most difficult days of being a Yankee are behind him."

Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera at Yankee spring training, 2/17/11, reuters

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tampa restoring Hall of Famer Al Lopez childhood home, could be part of Tampa Baseball Museum

"A museum dedicated to Tampa's rich baseball history is coming to Ybor City and could eventually be housed in Baseball Hall of Famer Al Lopez's family home.

Members of the Ybor City Museum Society on Wednesday will ask Hillsborough County commissioners to lease land at the northeast corner of Ninth Avenue and 19th Street to the city of Tampa. The city would then sublet it to the museum society for the baseball museum.

"I think the Al Lopez Baseball Museum will not only serve as a tribute to a major league baseball legend, it will increase tourism and serve as an economic engine for the Ybor City area," said Commissioner Kevin Beckner, who has been working with the museum society on the effort.

The Florida Department of Transportation has agreed to move Lopez's childhood home, now at 1210 E.12th St., to the leased site, across from Centennial Park. The land is at the southwest corner of the old county Environmental Protection Commission site and now serves as a parking lot for the sheriff's office.

"What we want to do is create a museum for Al and other baseball greats we have in our county," said Mary Alvarez, treasurer for the Ybor City Museum Society and a former Tampa councilwoman.

Once the lease is granted, it will take the transportation department about six months to move the house and another year for the museum society to rehabilitate the structure. The society will use grants or loans for the rehabilitation work and operations. No county money will be needed.

In the meantime, the museum society plans to open a baseball exhibit on Oct. 18 called "For the Love of the Game" at the Ybor City Museum State Park. The exhibit will be kept and shown in the former Ferlita Bakery until the Lopez house is ready. The society will also solicit memorabilia from around the city and county.

"The concept is trying to keep the Al Lopez house in Ybor," said Chantal Hevia, president and chief executive officer of the Ybor City Museum Society. "Not only did he live there, but it will provide

  • a beautiful tie-in that baseball had to Ybor City and West Tampa."

Lopez was the first Tampa native to play in the major leagues. When he retired as a player in 1947, he held the record for the most games played as a catcher: 1,918. He then turned to managing and won American League pennants with the 1954 Cleveland Indians and the 1959 Chicago White Sox. Both teams lost in the World Series.

Lopez's mother, Faustina, and father, Modesto, moved into the house about 1910 or 1912, said Al Lopez Jr. His father was the eighth of nine children. Family members lived in the house until 1959, he said.

Lopez Jr. said he had heard rumors that there were plans to save the house, which was acquired by the DOT to make way for Interstate 4 expansion.

"Anything that is meant to honor my dad or help honor the past of the Latin community is a wonderful thing," Lopez Jr. said. "But I haven't been made aware of it."

Hevia said the museum will focus on baseball in the Tampa area, including the teams representing cigar factories or different ethnic groups in the first half of the 20th century.

The museum will feature famous major leaguers who hail from this area. Two of those players, Fred McGriff and Tino Martinez, said Monday they were excited about the prospect of a baseball museum.

"I've always said Tampa has to be one of the greatest towns in America for producing baseball talent," McGriff said. "There's a long story to be told there; we need to keep telling that story."

Martinez said when he was growing up he looked up to earlier Tampa players such as Lou Piniella and Steve Garvey.

"I'm curious to know more about the players who came before us," Martinez said, "and I know I'm going to follow the players from here who are coming up now." photo from Tampa Tribune

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NY Times graphics of baseball closers-RevolutionAnalytics

"Kevin Quealy, graphics editor at the New York Times, has published another fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the Times creates data visualizations for print and online. In his latest post, he looks at how a visualization of the Yankee's Mariano Rivera performance compared to other Major League Baseball pitchers was created. (Detail below, click for the full image.) The infographic began its life as a hand-drawn sketch, that begat a line-chart created using R (based on data scraped from the Web). The R chart was was then cleaned up and annotated using Adobe Illustrator for publication. One interesting detail of the process: the source R graph is deliberately created using garish colours (purples, greens, etc.) to make the color-selection process easier in Illustrator.

Check out the ChartsNThings archive for other great studies of the process of data journalism. Many of the case studies involve the use of R code, such as these visualizations of visitors to the White House, Santorum's primary support, Santorum/Romney exit poll data, NFL players mentioned on ESPN, the defense budget and the richest 1%.

ChartsNThings: Sketches: How Mariano Rivera Compares to Baseball’s Best Closers"

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Rafael Soriano fills in for David Robertson

"“I feel as comfortable as 2010,” said Soriano, who insisted he was prepared to pitch in any role he had to after struggling as a setup man a year ago.

This year, I don’t think about that,” Soriano said. “Last year, I didn’t feel comfortable. This year, no matter what the inning, I will be there. We don’t have Mariano and Robertson is not there. I will be there.”

The Yankees have to hope that’s good enough, especially if Robertson ends up being out for an extended period of time.

I was hoping it was one of those things that would go away real quick,” Robertson said. “But it keeps hanging around.”"

  • ================

5/15/12, "Robertson Goes Down, So Soriano Steps Up," NY Times Bats blog, Waldstein

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Monday, May 14, 2012

'Welcome home Andy' fan sign at the Stadium

Jeter greets Andy Pettitte before first pitch of Pettitte's return, May 13, 2012, reuters

5/14/12, "Yankees bats give Andy Pettitte little help in return to mound against Seattle Mariners," Bill Madden NY Daily News

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Yogi at the Stadium for his 87th birthday

"Yankee Legend Yogi Berra celebrates his 87th birthday with former Yankee Ron Guidry prior to the game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium," 5/12/12, game final 6-2, NYY

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Friday, May 11, 2012

David Robertson's pitches per batter

"This year Robertson was averaging 4.51 pitches per batter."

"One notable distinction between Joe Girardi and his predecessor, Joe Torre, is how much more Girardi emphasizes not overtaxing his relievers. His near iron-clad rule has been to avoid using any of his setup men more than two straight days.

Which is why I was surprised last week — before Mariano Rivera was injured — when an AL official told me David Robertson is worked too much. This was about Robertson’s lack of economy,

  • not his number of appearances.

Consider this staggering statistic: Rivera pitched just 5 1/3 fewer innings than Robertson last year, yet threw 298 fewer pitches than his setup man. That speaks to Rivera’s brevity, but also Robertson’s large number of strikeouts, walks and deep counts. This year Robertson was averaging 4.51 pitches per batter — fourth most among relievers with at least 13 innings.

Robertson is a hard worker and — like Rivera — has great flexibility. Maybe he, too, will be a genetic freak able to withstand throwing so many high-leverage pitches."...

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'Not quite closing time,' Doug Glanville on Mariano Rivera

"When news came of his injury, all of baseball wanted to fly its flags at half-mast."

"As rare as a blown save from Mariano Rivera was the freak accident last week that put him on the disabled list for the first time since 2003, ending his season and perhaps his career.

I was a Yankee once, so I came to understand the power of a legacy in baseball. In 2005, I walked into the team’s spring-training locker room in Tampa, Fla., with a lot of preconceived notions about what that environment might contain. I grew up in Teaneck, N.J., and for years watched the bravado, the tantrums, the embarrassment of riches, the controversy, from Billy Martin to Reggie Jackson to George Steinbrenner to Dave Winfield.

Still, at that moment, the Yankees represented my new possibility, the team I was trying to make by the end of camp. Free agency had thrust me into uncertainty.

I arrived carrying a red Philadelphia Phillies bag — my previous employer. But once inside the Yankees clubhouse, each passing moment made that red look more and more out of place amid the elegant, unified and ubiquitous blue palette of the Yankee logo. My bag was whisked away as if some sort of alarm had gone off — the clubhouse assistants ran over, disarmed it and disappeared only to reappear with a more appropriate Yankee bag. I rolled my eyes, discreetly. But then I began to see my new teammates. Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui. And Mariano Rivera.

Before this encounter, I had known him only in the context of staring him down from the batter’s box. Yet he immediately welcomed me as if I were his brother, and every day during the six weeks I was part of the Yankee camp he asked me how it was going, how I felt about being there, if there was anything he could do. His warmth never wavered, his smile never dimmed. It was never about him; it was always about something considerably bigger than a win or a four-for-four performance. What he helped us all focus on was something that couldn’t fit into a Yankee equipment bag.

In fact, I was surprised by the humility that coated that entire locker room. Matsui broke through the paparazzi to say hello; Sheffield offered to schedule a haircut for me; Posada made sure I had enough room next to his locker; Giambi, far from being defensive or silent on the topic, apologized for having used performance-enhancing drugs.

I assumed it had something to do with the fact that, as players, they were following some of the giants of the game and had standards to uphold. Besides, many of those giants hadn’t exactly gone away: Reggie Jackson was there, showing off his new ab workout in the weight room; Ron Guidry talked shop around the batting cage, teaching and watching; Yogi Berra cruised around on a golf cart. Yet I could not help noticing that even the greatest of this group gravitated to Rivera. He sat in his chair, holding court, surrounded by listeners.

Even then, he was considered the best in the business and of all-time. As is well known, he has dominated the sport for nearly two decades with just one pitch. The best hitters in baseball know exactly what is coming — when he will enter the game, what his plan is, what he’ll throw and how fast — and still they can do nothing to counter it. He has thrived despite having the ultimate disadvantage: the lack of an element of surprise.

On the field, trying to hit his fastball, something I had tried one summer as a member of the Phillies, makes you understand what people mean when they say “the gods gave him a lightning bolt for an arm.” Hitting him — or, again, trying to — made me wonder whether my hitter’s eyes were still working. The ball danced, it seemed to accelerate and defy gravity.

Off the field, you immediately noticed how the greatest closer of all-time was still humble, disarming any clubhouse tension, adding perspective to the most trying of times with a pat on the shoulder or a grin. I have been in locker rooms where the tension could be cut like a knife, and also in locker rooms so fulfilling that you couldn’t wait to be there. But never before had I experienced one that seemed to have a cloud of divine inspiration hovering over it. With his remarkable statistics, Rivera has been the personification of that cloud year in and year out. But he is also the big brother who makes sure that everyone gets to the family reunion or that you don’t forget to call your cousin Glenda on her 50th birthday. Everything he does feels as if it’s for some sort of greater good.

I would not play for much longer after the Yankees released me at the end of that 2005 spring training. But I came out of that locker room a changed and completed man. Something about the way baseball is constructed reinforces the idea that life (not just baseball) can change in the blink of an eye. There is a beauty to that understanding, because its earthy grounding allows you to relate to everyone around you, on the team and in the organization, no matter what their role.

It’s a lofty concept, and hard to find in one place or one person. But Rivera has that kind of soul. And it was no surprise that when news came of his injury, all of baseball wanted to fly its flags at half-mast. He is more than a pitcher you can’t hit. He embodies the spirit of the game, and the game, we all feel, cannot possibly end on this note. Mariano Rivera seems to agree."

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8/12/11, "Facing Mariano's still far from easy," Doug Glanville, ESPN.com

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Fan sign at Red Sox game for Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe

Fan sign at Red Sox game v Cleveland Indians in Boston, 5/10/12, ap. final, 8-3, Indians.

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Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Temporary power outage in Yankee Stadium press box

Listening to Yankee radio in the bottom of the first v Rays I heard a male voice not John Sterling. Eventually realized it was Michael Kay and the YES Network feed on radio. There were a few blips during which Sterling's voice came back for a bit sounding like he was on a telephone line. Then back to Michael Kay who said they were having power outage problems in the press box but engineers were working on it. Then Sterling's voice was back, things seemed ok by the top of the second. Knowing that electricity is considered evil now, perhaps the Yankees are using algae or a similar new 'green' technology to power the stadium.

In Reply to: Re: Re: Yankees Radiocast Temporarily Off Due To Power Outage posted by Sean on May 10, 2012 at 07:20:31:

>>>how do you run a mix console and all the ancillary equipment without power?<<<

A good battery powered UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) would do the trick.

A fairly cheap inverter and a deep cycle boat battery, or a even a car battery, would probably work too.

In a real pinch, a separate battery-operated portable mixer, and microphone could just feed audio to the phone line, or even a cell phone.

There are all sorts of options that would get you through a double-header, and some are very cheap to do, although WCBS certainly can afford the best."

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Rivera 'complications' were a blood clot in right calf which is being treated

Mike Francesa said doctors also want to strengthen the knee before surgery, that doing so will create a better result. Suzyn Waldman said they kept Rivera in the hospital overnight to check on the blood clot which is being treated with blood thinners. "Mariano Rivera said on Wednesday that the "complications" discovered during an exam of his injured knee are a blood clot in his right calf.

"I'm OK," Rivera said.

Rivera also revealed that his plan all along was to come back and play next year. Even with his forthcoming knee surgery, Rivera reiterated on Wednesday he will return next season.

On Monday, the New York Post quoted Rivera's agent, Fernando Cuza, saying that Rivera had "complications" when he went to see New York-based doctors about his injured knee that is expected to keep him out all of 2012.

Rivera said the blood clot wasn't discovered until he met with doctors on Monday.

"I was scared," Rivera said.

He said he will not have surgery for a few weeks. The blood clot is expected to completely heal.

Last week, Rivera hurt the knee when he tumbled in Kansas City shagging fly balls. The initial diagnosis was a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a damaged meniscus in his right knee.

On Monday, team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Russell Warren, a knee specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and Mets' team doctor, Dr. David Altchek all examined Rivera's knee.

Most estimates have Rivera missing this year and returning in 2013. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday that Rivera won't be back on a major league mound until next season. Cashman said the "complications" would not impact Rivera's knee recovery.

"I look forward to see him back in a Yankee uniform," manager Joe Girardi said.

Prior to the injury, Rivera had hinted that this could be his final season. After the diagnosis, though, Rivera defiantly said he will return.

"I can't go out like this," Rivera said."

May 3, 2012 in the outfield in Kansas City, Rivera, Girardi, team mates, YES Network video via AP

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Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Goose Gossage suspended from Padres in 1986 for objecting to team drug policy

9/3/86, LA Times: "Rich (Silly Goose) Gossage, the noted relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres, is in trouble with the front office. Padre president Ballard Smith has suspended Silly Goose for the remainder of the season. He'll probably be reinstated soon, but it has been an ugly incident.

Silly Goose got mad at Smith because Smith indicated that the team would not sign free agents with a drug history or those who refused testing. Gossage got even madder when Smith banned beer in the Padre clubhouse in early July.

So Gossage called Smith "spineless and gutless.""...

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Milwaukee Police Dept. starts website to correct media errors, special welcome to Journal Sentinel

"To the Journal Sentinel I say, “Welcome to the 21st Century.”"... "The Milwaukee Police Department says its The Source website “provides the whole story — the one that television, radio and newspapers don’t have space or time to provide their audiences.” Also, “we’ll correct the news stories that got it wrong and highlight the ones that got it right.”

Police Chief Ed Flynn writes in one post:

This news site replaces the outdated face-to-face briefings with a select few media representatives, with a contemporary platform that enables anyone who wants to, with access to information for all. That is the essence of public information. To the Journal Sentinel I say, “Welcome to the 21st Century.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has aggressively covered the police department, while Milwaukee Magazine has been friendly to Chief Ed Flynn and his department. One of its writers said earlier this year that “no Milwaukee chief in modern times has presided over a bigger reduction in crime. Yet, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has done series after series of ‘Watchdog’ stories criticizing the department.”

The police department’s press release is after the jump."...
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Ed. note: For the record, Gov. Walker made no changes to police and fire fighter collective bargaining agreements. These groups are hardly partisans for Walker in case a Journal Sentinel editor was worried about that:

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Monday, May 07, 2012

Discussion of coverage of new ESPN NY radio signal at 98.7FM

5/7/12, "ESPN/NY FM Not As Great As It May Seem," NY Radio Message Board, Allan Sniffen, Chmn.
  • "I fully understand the need for ESPN to find an FM station in New York both for improved coverage and potentially improved demos.

But I also think there has been an overreaction to its upside. While 98.7 is an improvement, it's got flaws in coverage. For example, from what I'm hearing, the coverage in Suffolk County on L.I. is *worse* than 1050's, FM drops out to the north near Poughkeepsie (while 1050's is solid at least during the day) and even in New Jersey there are holes for 98.7 due to terrain.

The bottom line is that it's not a good business decision to turn 1050 into "ESPN Deportes" in September because 98.7 is going to have some significant coverage holes that 1050 fills in. Those holes are going to be a major problem when ESPN takes a run at grabbing either the Yankees or the Mets from CBS-Radio.

In this era of "all things FM are better", it's worth keeping in mind that it isn't always true. Yes, smaller, top of the dial AM's have virtually no advantage but a 50,000 Watt AM does, even if it's not clear channel.

I have real questions about who is running ESPN Radio. Do these people understand AM vs. FM and just how all this works in the New York metro area? It's almost as if someone far removed from New York is sipping the FM Kool-Aid without understanding how it actually works in practice.

The smart ESPN/NY move is to simulcast 1050 and 98.7 and worry about ESPN Deportes in the future. Don't worry... there will be plenty of AM's out there as we go forward. The more important issue is having the best possible coverage for the main station in order to grab a New York baseball franchise. Leave the simulcast.

P.S.: WFAN still has a big coverage advantage.

P.P.S.: ESPN needs a NEW YORK *radio* executive running the station or mistakes are going to be made. There's too much on the line to let that happen."
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In Reply to: ESPN/NY FM Not As Great As It May Seem posted by Allan Sniffen on May 07, 2012 at 09:26:03:

Odd that you mention that, because even back in the years I lived and worked in New York, I always felt that 98.7 had a poorer signal in the outlying areas than many other FM’s coming off Empire. I thought then that it might have to do with 98.3 suburban Class A’s and also 99.1 in NJ, both second adjacencies. Of course, in the city 98.7 was great.

Since then, FM radio's selectivity has improved, so second adjacencies shouldn’t be an issue anymore. I’m not up-to-date on what rebuilding has gone on at Empire. 98.7 used to be on the FM master and probably still is.

I’d be interested to read what some listeners and engineers could post about the current propagation status of 98.7. "

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Sunday, May 06, 2012

NY City hidden subway station completed in 1904, closed in 1945, still a gem

"It was opened in 1904 with the hope of making it the crowning glory of the New York subway system in elegant architecture and a place for commemorative plaques to honour the work that had resulted in such a successful underground mass transit system. It was to be the original southern terminus of the first ‘Manhattan Main Line’; however the station was closed and boarded up in 1945. The gem of the underground began gathering dust, forgotten by the general public, as passengers were forced off at the Brooklyn Bridge Stop before the train continued on to the terminus to make its turnaround. The reason for its closure was that newer longer cars were required to match the demand of passengers that passed through the system. But as the stations tracks were severely curved, a dangerous gap between the train doors and the platform was formed making it an unsafe area. This combined with the fact that only about 600 people used it, resulted in its closure with only mythical plans of turning it into a transit museum. But this was never followed through."... via Instapundit

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Friday, May 04, 2012

Sea level not rising in Manhattan, landfill is settling

Tide gauge measurements in lower Manhattan differ from satellite data which in this case indicates landfill is settling and not that sea level is rising. "Tide gauges show that sea level in Manhattan is rising about 4mm per year and accelerating.... Data and Station Information for NEW YORK ( THE BATTERY)

But satellite data shows little sea level rise at that same location, and has been flat since 1998....Essentially all of the claimed “sea level rise” (red line) is actually subsidence.

The map below superimposes lower Manhattan in 1660 on modern day lower Manhattan. Most of the land in modern lower Manhattan is fill dirt. The tide gauge is locate on fill and is subsiding.

Global warming geniuses in government tell us that we can stop subsidence by buying a hybrid or imposing a tax.

Mayor Bloomberg has financial interests in the catastrophic man-caused CO2 and rising sea levels industry. Therefore millions of NYC taxpayer dollars will continue to be diverted to 'climate' related expenditures. ed.

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Happy Red Sox fan catches bat of Cody Ross in stands

Game in Boston v Baltimore in 5th inning, 5/4/12, getty

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Mariano Rivera says he will pitch in 2013, won't go out like this

Kansas City, Mo. "Mariano Rivera said definitively that he will pitch next season less than 24 hours after tearing his ACL in batting practice.

"I'm coming back," he said. "Write it down in big letters."

Rivera was on crutches today and said that he's heard he could be back to work in 3-5 months. He would not rule out pitching this season but said if everything goes right he'll be completely ready by spring training next year.

He plans on telling his teammates as a group, something he hadn't done by the time the clubhouse opened to the media.

Rivera said he decided late Thursday night in his hotel room and that he will fly back to New York Saturday.

"You don't go out like this," Rivera said.

He was optimistic that he could breeze through the recovery process.

"I'm a quick healer so that's good. It's all good."

Rivera, though, was unclear on whether it was his initial plan to play next year anyway, or if the injury motivated him to play another season.

"Miracles happen miracles happen, guys," he said. "I'm OK, I'm a positive man and I'm OK. The only thing is I feel sorry I let down my teammates.""

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Mariano Rivera covers, Friday, May 4, 2012, Exit Sandman

Above, Newsday back page, Fri., May 4, 2012, "Mo Pain, Girardi: Rivera has torn ACL"

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Thursday, May 03, 2012

Giambi's pinch hit, game winning, 3 run home run v Dodgers

Above, Jason Giambi mobbed by Rockies teammates after game winning, pinch hit, 3 run home run v Dodgers, 5/2/12, getty. Above, Jason Giambi is congratulated by Troy Tulowitzki as he steps on home plate after pinch hit 3 run game winning home run v Dodgers, 5/2/12, ap. final 8-5

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