When was the last time you wrote a song in honor of your team’s trade deadline pickup? Check out this tribute to Mark Teixeira from a couple of Auburn students (those Auburn kids have way too much time on their hands). Side note- I heard that Francouer comped some tickets for these kids to an upcoming game and that they might even perform before the game. Sweet!!
Looking for things to do now that fantasy baseball is over (whohoo- I finished ahead of the three teams that did nothing all year long)? Want to vent about the 2006 MLB season and the ongoing playoffs? Here is your chance- just chime in via the comments and we’ll have an ongoing baseball thread that continues throughout the rest of the season. Richie beat me to the punch this morning:
I hate f-ing Derek Jeter. I don’t really even know why. I don’t really care that the Yankees beat the Tigers yesterday, other than I don’t want the Yankees to win. But I really hate Jeter, and I hate his 5-for-5, and I hate all the press he’s getting for it. I always thought of Jeter and Kobe in the same terms. I sort of feel redeemed about how I felt about Kobe. Maybe Jeter isn’t a rapist, but I still don’t like him. I feel like I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t. I think he just seems smug about everything. I’ve always thought he’s a bit overrated offensively too. I like A-Rod, and it seems I’m the only person who likes A-Rod. Oh well.
Everyone remembers Game 6 of the 1986 World Series- Mets vs. Red Sox and the ground ball heard ’round the world. I was a huge Mets fan at the time as one of my dad’s colleagues is David Magadan’s brother-in-law (he was a late season call-up that year but not on the postseason roster- he gave us tickets when they played the Braves, had lunch with me, and even took me to the batting cage to give me some hittings tips). But, I digress.
Some guy has paintakingly recreated the Mets comeback in the 10th with Nintendo’s RBI Baseball complete and in-sync with Vin Scully’s original commentary. Everything is authentic including the location of foul balls, outs, and, of course, the part with that Buckner guy. You gotta see the video (8:30) and then read the article about the making of it (you might have to try twice to get to the article).
Memories of that game? RBI Baseball on the Nintendo? Feel free to leave your comments here. I remember playing that game with my neighbor for hours at a time, and the video brought back some memories. Man, that music used to drive me crazy. Thanks to Pete for the link.
Other baseball/softball related posts:
Fantasyland (an exploration of fantasy baseball craziness)
New Bat (Scandium, Synergy, and “Spam”)
Now that March Madness is over, it is time to turn to the next rite of spring- baseball. For many of us, the start of the baseball season is accompanied by another ritual- the start of the fantasy baseball season. With nothing more than bragging rights on the line, we obsessively research, draft, manage, trade, check box scores and the ESPN crawl, peruse injury reports, and watch “meaningless” games just to see how our teams are doing (heck, our “We Hate Tim” league is going on ten years with roughly the same group of guys). Baseball Tonight is must-see TV and we know players like Delmon Young and Steven Drew (they aren’t even in the majors yet) in the quest to find the next big star and that sleeper who’ll put your team over the top. Sounds crazy, right?
Read the rest of this entry »
It is October and as usual, the Braves have won the division and are in the playoffs. Just as October baseball for the Braves is a fall rite of passage, so is the email exchange that occurs between Richie and me regarding the Braves’ playoff run. Now, we are no “experts” like those guys at ESPN, but we are real Braves fans- the ones that live and die with the team, that were Braves’ fans when they were bad (really bad- i.e. the “worst” in the “worst to first”), that remember Bruce Benedict, Glenn Hubbard, Chris Chambliss, Dale Murphy, Gene Garber, Steve Bedrosian, Al Hrabosky, Jeff Blauser, Gerald Perry, Rick Mahler, that remember the elation of Sid Bream’s slide to beat the Pirates (we GT boys were partying in the streets), and the heartache of the loss to the Twins (Lonnie Smith not running and Jack Morris outdueling John Smoltz) and the Yankees (I think Jim Leyritz cursed us- bad Mark Wohlers) and the Yankees again, and the Cardinals, and the Astros. This year, Richie and I will conduct our conversation via the blog- I’ve posted the previous emails and we’ll continue the conversation via the comments. Feel free to read through and join in the coversation!!
Richie started the conversation:
The Braves sure backed into the playoffs, thanks to the bullpen. They can only win in the playoffs if the bullpen steps it up.
My response:
I saw that the Braves lost their last few games. But, my impression was that they rested a bunch of the guys and played a ton of the rookies. Unfortunately, the Braves have Houston again in a short series. Their pitching scares me and they certainly have a good closer. The Braves bullpen will be key as runs will be at a premium.
Richie’s response:
Hopefully this season ending swoon doesn’t mean anything. Houston will be tough. I think the Braves are 3-1 or 4-1 against Houston in the postseason. But Clemens, Oswalt and Pettite will be tough. Hopefully Smoltz’s shoulder is fine, and the bats come alive.
My response:
I couldn’t agree with you more. I think game 1 will be big- if Smoltz pitches well and the Braves take the first one at home, they’ll have some confidence for the rest of the series. Maybe the bats will get hot all of a sudden and they’ll lay the wood to the Astros. Where is Mark Lemke when you need him?
Here is what Richie wrote today after the Braves loss last night.
Well, the Braves are up to their old tricks. Will Reitsma see the light of another playoff game? Hudson had too many walks. I hope Smoltz shuts them down, and they manage to get a few runs off Clemens. They can’t leave Atlanta down 0-2. It might not be as great of a pitchers match up as everyone thinks though, considering Smoltz and Clemens are both hurt a little. Who knows how Smoltz really is, plus he hasn’t pitched in so long. But he is money in the playoffs.
Cox was up to his old tricks yesterday. I don’t think he should have started Jordan over Langerhans. Cox is the reason the Braves have won 14 straight division titles, and I think he is the reason they’ve won only 1 WS title. He over manages in the postseason.
The Braves kill me in the postseason. I take every game way too seriously, but I can’t help it. I try to stay calm, but I get so worked up over every loss. And it always ends the same.
Read on for my response and more of the conversation (feel free to join in too)…
Matthew’s baseball team is in the state playoffs. Go BT Titans!! Here is a summary from Dad:
Several of you have asked me to keep you abreast of Matthew’s baseball season, so here it is. Matthew’s baseball team finished second in the region and made the state play-offs. The state play-offs are best of three series against teams from around the state in their region (AAA). They won their first series last Friday in a double header (10-0 and 9-0). Matthew got to pitch one (hitless) inning in the second game so now they are one of sixteen AAA teams still left in the state playoffs. They will have a tough second round this week against Cartersville, a team that has won the state AAA championship 3 years out of the last 4. In case you are interested, the link below shows some pictures of Matthew taken by a photographer at a couple of the games this past season.
You can view pictures of Matty playing using the following link:
Matty’s Baseball Pics
