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6/9/2008
Billy-Ball Daily
Bill Chuck (Billy-Ball his own self)
Billy-Ball - From the diamond to your desktop…
By Baseball Newstalgist, Bill Chuck
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The only spin here is on my screwball
Monday, June 9, 2008
Top of the 1st
HE’S ALL GONE
"Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports…"
For those of you too young to remember life before ESPN, those were the 11 words that would be enough to get your heart racing on a weekend for it meant that ABC’s Wide World of Sports was beginning. Wide World was 90 minutes of seeing sports that we didn’t think about every day from parts of the world we had often never seen before. This was as close as we would get to seeing historic events and moments of minor sports that seemed both real and imagined. That would mean Triple Crown horse racing and Grand Slam golf tournaments to lumberjack championship and ice barrel jumping. And it was all brought to us by the host, Jim McKay, who passed away this weekend at the age of 86.
One doesn’t become a baseball fan like I have in the isolation of other sports. In my youth, I was introduced to the NBA and college basketball, the NHL, and the NFL and have followed each with varying degrees of intensity over the years. But Wide World brought me to so many other sports and Jim McKay made them come alive and feel every bit as important as the so-called “major” sports because McKay understood the essence of everything he covered was not the sport itself, not the statistic, and not the records, although all were important. He so eloquently shared with us the story of the athlete, the person (or the horse) who was competing. He always understood that even if it were a machine (car racing) or a mountain it was the human element that was the drama that we wanted to see whether we realized it or not.
Long before the networks chose to focus on “up close and personal” with video vignettes that do a better job at filling time than our hearts and minds, Jim McKay in just a few paragraphs told us the story of what made each athlete unique, of their road to this moment and what this moment in time meant. He, of course, expressed to us “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” enabling people like crashing ski-jumper Vinko Bogataj to become familiar to us (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWt_Dt4ces&feature=related).
ABC calculated that McKay traveled some 4˝ million miles to work events so that we could just travel to our television set. Part of his greatness was that he loved what he did both for the athletic event and for the fans. "People are nice," McKay told Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post. "They think they're bothering me when they tell me they remember me and what I said. A bother? It's an honor to be remembered that way. It makes me proud."
"He brought a reporter's eye, a literate touch, and above all a personal humanity to every assignment," Bob Costas said. "He had a combination of qualities seldom seen in the history of the medium, not just sports." I love what Al Michaels said, "His enthusiasm permeated every event he covered and thus always made it far more interesting," he said. "I always thought of him as a favorite teacher."
It goes without saying that the most memorable broadcasting moment for McKay was his emotional coverage the 1972 Munich Olympics at which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists. These were the days before 24-hour news channels, these were the days when one man was the connection to the event. With the words, "They're all gone," he reported their tragic fate. Shortly after McKay delivered the news in Munich, he received a telegram (no kids, there was no e-mail yet) . "Dear Jim," it read. "Today you honored yourself, your network and your industry. -- Walter Cronkite."
I didn’t find out until his passing that Jim McKay was a minority owner of the Orioles. Here’s a statement from the O’s majority owner Peter G. Angelos: “Jim McKay was a visionary and a pioneer of sports broadcasting and brought the excitement of live competition into the homes of millions of Americans.
He is an iconic figure in sports media and was at the forefront of so many historic moments in the last 60 years. He was an innovator whose passion for sports was matched only by his integrity. He was a trusted voice in the world of broadcasting.
Even with all of his national and international success, Jim never forgot where he came from, or his Maryland roots. He built the Maryland Million to showcase the best in our state's horse racing industry, and he was a valued partner in the Orioles ownership group.
He will be greatly missed, but we are grateful for his life and legacy.”
In closing, let me add that while McKay was known as a brilliant broadcaster, his skill came from being an outstanding writer. We all remain in his long shadow.
Top of the 2nd
PUT UP YOUR DUKES
Today the Washington Nationals outfielder Elijah Dukes will visit Kimball Elementary School and attend their fifth grade promotion assembly. Elijah will congratulate the students on their accomplishment and encourage them to continue their hard work. Kimball Elementary School has been the Nationals adopted school since January 2007.
Let’s hope Dukes doesn’t act like he did Thursday night after hitting a homer over the center-field fence at Nationals Park? Plate umpire Doug Eddings apparently wasn't happy that Dukes turned and thumped his chest after hitting the ball several pitches after showing frustration with a borderline strike call. Dukes also appeared to gesture toward Eddings just before he crossed the plate after rounding the bases. Nationals manager Manny Acta said word got back to him Eddings wasn't pleased.
Top of the 3rd
THE WEBB WATCH
Brandon Webb is now 11-2 and has needed only 13 starts for his 11 victories, getting a decision every time he has gone to the mound. He has lasted at least six innings in all but one start and seven innings or more eight times and has a 2.58 ERA.
Top of the 4th
BONDERMAN & WESTBROOK GONE FOR THE SEASON
The Tigers announced Saturday that Jeremy Bonderman is likely to miss the rest of the season after doctors treated a blood clot near the pitcher's right arm. They later performed an angioplasty, the insertion of an inflatable balloon attached to the end of a catheter for the purpose of promoting better blood flow through an artery. The right-hander, who is 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA in 12 starts this season, was placed on the 15-day disabled list before Saturday's game.
Cleveland Indians starter Jake Westbrook will have surgery on his right elbow, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Westbrook was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to May 29, and Indians trainer Lonnie Soloff said he will have surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the next week or two. Westbrook went 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA in five starts this season. He was sidelined for about a month with a strained oblique muscle, then felt pain in his elbow after his first start back.
Top of the 5th
AT BAT – MASTERSON
With yesterday's 2-1 win over the Mariners at Fenway, the Red Sox’ Justin Masterson remained undefeated, 3-0, with a 2.59 ERA. Masterson, who made his major-league debut April 24 as an emergency starter, is proving to be one of the BoSox most valuable additions. Don’t hesitate to write and complain to me but I truly feel that Masterson has a better upside for the Sox than Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholtz, despite their hype, salary, and no-hitter.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 23-year old Masterson is the first pitcher in major-league history to make his first four appearances at Fenway Park and remain unbeaten. He was not involved in the decision April 24, leaving with the lead as Manny Delcarmen was charged with the loss and Hideki Okajima with a blown save.
He has gone six innings in each of his first four career appearances -- the seventh Sox pitcher since 1956 to accomplish the feat, joining Dice-K (five appearances in 2007), Dave Morehead (five, 1963), Don Schwall (four, 1961), Nate Minchey (four, 1993), Lynn McGlothen (four, 1972), and Bob Heffner (4, 1963). Masterson has given up three hits or fewer in three of his four starts.
Top of the 6th
BILLY-BALL-SITE-OF-THE-DAY
What’s your favorite ballpark food?
Add your comments here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/06/08/travel/20080608_BALLPARK_GRAPHIC.html
Top of the 7th
PROBABLE PITCHERS
AL
Royals (Luke Hochevar) at Yankees (Mike Mussina), 1:05
Twins (Glen Perkins) at White Sox (John Danks), 2:05
Indians (Cliff Lee) at Tigers (Dontrelle Willis), 7:05
Mariners (Jarrod Washburn) at Blue Jays (Jesse Litsch), 7:07
Rays (Edwin Jackson) at Angels (Joe Saunders), 10:05
NL
Diamondbacks (Randy Johnson) at Pirates (Zach Duke), 12:35
Giants (Matt Cain) at Nationals (Tyler Clippard), 7:10
Reds (Edinson Volquez) at Marlins (Mark Hendrickson), 7:10
Top of the 8th
DID YOU KNOW?
The Red Sox are 26-6 in Fenway Park this season. They have lost one home game since May 1.
Top of the 9th
ANATOMY OF WINNING STREAK
The Padres just completed a four game sweep of the Mets which is the Padres' first series sweep of the season; and their first four-game sweep of the Mets since Aug. 23-26, 2004; and and their first four-game sweep of the Mets in San Diego since Sept. 4-7, 1980. During the Padres' five-game winning streak, the bullpen, in16 innings, it has allowed one run, six hits and four walks and struck out 15. The starters' ERA during the streak is 2.70, and the staff ERA is 1.76.
The Friars are now only seven games behind Arizona.
Bottom of the 9th
FATHER’S DAY IS THIS SUNDAY
Show Dad where his memories rank among the greatest baseball moments of all time
Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs: Baseball's Grand (and not-so-grand) Finales
By Bill Chuck and Jim Kaplan, Foreword by Jon Miller
This Father's Day, relive some of the most memorable finales in baseball history with dear 'ol Dad by flipping through the pages of Walkoffs, Last Licks, and Final Outs. This book is the definitive collection of baseball's grand—and not-so-grand—final acts, including:
The greatest postseason finishes of all-time
The last moments of the most distinguished old stadiums
Heroic (and not-so-heroic) endings to Hall of Fame careers
Boxscores and linescores for some of the greatest games ever played
A slew of career statistics, ballpark data, and photographs
$14.95, 213 pages, paperback.
Plus, buy just one copy and receive The Bill James Daily Match-ups for your favorite team delivered FREE to your email inbox every day between now and the All-Star break—a $30 value!
To take advantage of this optional special offer, mention the "Father's Day Special" when calling (800) 397-2282 or enter the name of your favorite team under "Additional Comments" when checking out online. One team per book.
http://www.actasports.com/detail.html?&id=3427
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Information provided in Billy-Ball has been gathered from A.P. reports, espn.com, sportsline.com, mlb.com and numerous other e-sources. Opinions expressed in Billy-Ball are obviously solely the opinions of the author of Billy-Ball and do not reflect those of source material no matter how off the wall they may be.
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