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6/23/2008
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 23, 2008
Top of the 1st
GEORGE CARLIN, R.I.P.
Baseball and Football by George Carlin
Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.
Also: in football,basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.
In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform,you'd know the reason for this custom.
Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.
I enjoy comparing baseball and football:
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park!
Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.
Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.
In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.
Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?
Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error.
In football the specialist comes in to kick.
In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.
Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.
Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.
Baseball has the seventh inning stretch.
Football has the two minute warning.
Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.
In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness.
In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.
And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:
In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!
George Carlin, had a brilliant mind. I hope he’s safe at home.
Top of the 2nd
SWEEPS
With a three-game sweep of the White Sox, the Cubs extended their home winning streak to 14 games, the eighth time in franchise history they've won that many in a row at home. Ryan Dempster improved to 9-0 at home, Aramis Ramirez hit his fourth homer in three games. The Cubbies are 32-8 at Wrigley Field this season. The White Sox have lost 8 of 12 and their lead in the AL Central over the Twins is down to 1˝ games. The last time the Cubs won 14 straight at home was June 4-June 10, 1936.
The Twins completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks improving their win streak to six straight. The D-backs have now lost six of eight, and are 20-30 in their last 50 games, and are on their way to Fenway. Brandon Webb (11-4) was the loser yesterday. The 2006 NL Cy Young winner started the season 9-0, but is 2-4 with a 4.64 ERA since. The Twins took the finale 5-3 and scored all five of their runs in the 5th, the fifth straight game they have scored at least four runs in an inning. The Ywins have won six straight, their longest winning streak since July 2006. Arizona lost for the sixth time in eight games and 17th in their last 23 away from home. It was the Twins 115th win in interleague play, third most behind the Yankees and Oakland who each have 119.
Jered Weaver held Philadelphia in check, Casey Kotchman homered and the Angels beat the Phillies 3-2 yesterday to complete a three-game sweep. The AL West-leading Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine road games and are a major league-best 24-12 on the road this season. The Phillies have lost five straight and seven of nine and has lost four straight series since it swept the Braves in Atlanta. Jimmy Rollins stole two more bases giving him 17 for the season and a major league-best 31 consecutive steals, dating to last season. Rollins has Los Angeles limited the Phillies to five runs in the series. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless 9th for his major league-leading 30th save in 32 opportunities becoming the fastest reliever to 30 saves, a statistic that became official in 1969:
Most saves in 76 games
'08 Francisco Rodriguez 30
'04 Mariano Rivera 29
'04 Danny Graves 29
'03 Eric Gagne 29
'93 Lee Smith 29
Top of the 3rd
NEW MANAGERS
Interim NY Mets manager Jerry Manuel has to be pleased. New York lost in Manuel's debut, but rebounded to beat the Angels and then take two of three from the Rockies this weekend. It was the first series loss in the last six for the Rockies, their last coming in a sweep by the Chicago Cubs from May 30-June 1.
Jim Riggleman lost two of three in his first series as Seattle manager as the Braves prevailed. Mark Teixeira recorded his second career three-homer game in the finale for Atlanta.
The Blue Jays snapped a seven-game losing streak, earning Tom Brokaw, I mean Cito Gaston, his first win, defeating the Pirates yesterday, 8-5, in his return as the safe choice as the Toronto manager. Toronto avoided the third 0-6 road trip in franchise history. The Blue Jays scored only 21 runs during a seven game losing streak. Gaston, who managed the Blue Jays from 1989-97 and won two World Series titles, took over again Friday when the club fired John Gibbons. He went 681-635 during his first stint before guiding the team to losses in the first two games of the series. Pittsburgh fell to 60-100 in interleague play.
Top of the 4th
THE DOUBLE SWITCH
Brooklyn Cyclones designated hitter Ralph Henriquez is a switch-hitter and stepped into the batter's box of Thursday night's Class A game vs. Staten Island, to face Staten Island pitcher Pat Venditte, taken in the 20th round of this month's draft by the Yankees out of Creighton, who is ambidextrous. Enriquez stepped in as a right-handed batter. Venditte promptly put his specially made glove (it has six fingers, two webs and fits on both hands) on his left hand, and got ready to pitch right-handed.
Henriquez called time and switched sides of the plate. Venditte responded likewise with his glove. Then it happened again. And again. And again.
Apparently unsure of how the rules handle such an oddity, the umpires didn't stop the cat-and-mouse game until Venditte walked toward the plate and said something while pointing at Henriquez.
Umpires and both managers then huddled and the umps decided the batter and pitcher can both change sides one time per at-bat, and that the batter must declare first. The ruling favored the pitcher, since he gets to declare last.
About seven minutes after he first stepped in, Henriquez struck out on four pitches as a righty against a right-handed Venditte and slammed his bat in frustration.
It's unclear what the MLB rule book says on the matter, but Justin Klemm, executive director of the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation, said his organization was working with major league baseball to remedy the lack of a clear rule.
Top of the 5th
JOHNSON STILL HURTING
Nationals general manager Jim Bowden revealed Saturday that injured first baseman Nick Johnson will go to the Mayo Clinic today because he's still feeling soreness in his injured right wrist. Johnson tore a tendon sheath in the wrist and has been on the disabled list since May 15. Johnson had the cast removed about three weeks ago, but continuing soreness forced the wrist to be recasted. He had it removed again on June 15, but more pain in the wrist will now force Johnson to get a second opinion.
Top of the 6th
BILLY-BALL-SITE-OF-THE-DAY
A petition urging the New York Mets to hire Wally Backman as a manager has begun to circulate on the Internet. The disgruntled New York fan base has begun passing the petition around, hoping to convince team ownership to bring the former second baseman back into the organization.
Check it out:
http://www.petitiononline.com/backman/petition.html
Top of the 7th
PROBABLE PITCHERS
IL
Arizona Diamondbacks at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 pm
(R) Dan Haren (7-4) vs. (R) Josh Beckett (7-4)
LA Angels of Anaheim at Washington Nationals, 7:10 pm
(R) John Lackey (4-1) vs. (R) Jason Bergmann (1-5)
Seattle Mariners at New York Mets, 7:10 pm
(R) Felix Hernandez (6-5) vs. (L) Johan Santana (7-5)
Colorado Rockies at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 pm
(L) Jeff Francis (3-6) vs. (R) Brian Bannister (6-6)
NL
Milwaukee Brewers at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 pm
(R) Ben Sheets (8-1) vs. (L) Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4)
Top of the 8th
DID YOU KNOW?
Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman, 30, is in the final season of a $16.8 million, four-year contract, and is hitting .318 with 22 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBIs in the leadoff spot, and if he continues his current pace, his next deal could be worth $25 million for three years which will be a bargain for some team.
Top of the 9th
HAPPY BIRTHDAY G-MAN
Jeff Garmel served as our agent for our book and did it because he is one of the great humans I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Have a happy birthday Jeff and many, many more.
Bottom of the 9th
BUY THE BOOK
Bill Chuck is the creator of Billy-Ball.com and, with Jim Kaplan, is the author of the book, “Walk-Offs, Last Licks, and Final Outs – Baseball’s Grand (and not so Grand) Finales,” with a Foreword by Jon Miller available now from ACTA Sports.
Autographed first editions are available by contacting, Bill@billy-ball.com or order directly from Acta Sports, http://www.actasports.com/detail.html?&id=3427 or from your favorite bookstore worldwide.
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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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