Major League Baseball ToDay

Pete Rose was a great baseball player. After being accused of gambling, while he was a manager for the Cincinnati Reds and having a long and exhausting investigation. Pete Rose was banned from by style, because of this meaning he has never been allowed to be in the baseball Hall of Fame. There’s really mixed emotions about disbanding and about the fact that Pete Rose cannot be in the Hall of Fame. It is very sad that the leading hitter of all time is being left out of our Hall of Fame. It is like the Hall of Fame is not inclusive of everything for every body that should be in. Rose is very differently a great baseball player, and if not for the fact that he had bet on baseball. He would most actually be deserving of being in our Hall of Fame. But the fact remains that Pete Rose did that on by style, and then he lied about it. He told his fans. He told the press. He told everyone that he did not bet on baseball, which he later came back and said it was a lie. So even though he was a great baseball player fact remains that his integrity and his lack of honesty is the very thing that is keeping him out of the Hall.

The Boston Red Soxs have been in the spotlight alot lately. With the contract extension of of Francona, a trip to DC to be honored by President Bush,  a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center and Thursdays doubleheader game with Boston College and Northeastern University the Soxs have been busy to say the least.

According to Ian Browne (MLB.com), “A day after their whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C., the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox had a mixture of awe, perspective, laughter and indelible memories to put in their mental scrapbooks.”

It must have been an incredible experience to visit the White House, personally meet the President of the United States and visit with some truly great military heroes at the Walter Reed Medical Center.

Here is what Curt Shilling had to say about the visit, “For me, it’s a chance to truly acknowledge them and tell them, ‘I’m not just telling you it’s an honor to meet you, it really is an honor to meet you.’ These guys, a lot of them are Red Sox fans. When they’re sitting there and they’re missing both legs and they’re in a wheelchair and they’re trying to get something signed for the buddy that saved their life that is still over in Iraq, it’s like, ‘OK, how bad are my problems?’”

I was so impressed with the patriotism and humility of what Curt said I just had to repeat the above quote he gave in an interview with WEEI-850 AM radio. 

The St. Petersburg Times reported Monday that the Tampa Bay Rays have had internal discussions about certain veteran un-signed agents, such as, Kenny Lofton, Mike Piazza and Barry Bonds.

Manager Joe Maddon, admitted he knew very little officially about what was going on.  He called the newspaper article a “no-story”. However, he did admit that “some thought” and “minor discussions” had been given to  Bonds.  Maddon did not give an straight answer when asked in the interview how he thought Bonds might fit with the Devil Rays program.

In my opinion, Barry Bonds would be an asset to their team. Wonder what Tampa Bay fan think?

Kyle Kendrick, the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, I wrote about yesterday who was “punked” by convincing him he had been traded for a player named Kobayashi Iwamura (who doesn’t exist). Kendrick was told there was an immediate trade and he had to leave for Japan the next day. 

Who was in on it? Brett Myers, also a pitcher who has a locker right next to Kendrick; manager, Charlie Manuel; Ruben Amaro, Jr. , Kendrick’s agent and the other Philly players also in the video.

Kendrick has become an overnight celebrity because his viral video has been email and blogged about around the globe. Yes, even in Japan.

Kendrick hopes 2 things to come from the prank. First of all, he would like to be recognized for his pitching ability and build off what he was able to accomplish last year. In past performances, “he pitched well against the White Soxs.  And then he won our only game in a series against the Mets. And then we’re like, ‘Boy, he ain’t bad,’” according to Manuel his agent.

The second thing, when the timing is right, payback to Myers, who masterminded the video idea. Kendrick said, “And when I do, everyone will know.”

Personally, I think we will be hearing alot more from this story. It ain’t over and Brett Myers need to be looking over his shoulder or he might have his own video on the net. This is just too funny.

Watch this video of Kyle Kendrick, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, as he is being traded to a Japanese League. You can check it out at Yahoo Sports MLB Video…

Raw Video: Phillies pitcher victim of prank.

The look on Kyle’s face is hilarious. I hate to see what they will do on April1st!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6508758

Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox manager,  gets 3 year contract extension that goes to 2011.  At the age of 48, Francoma is starting his fifth season as manager.

Red Sox fans will always remember winning the title in 2004 and the win against the Colorado Rockies last year.

I think this was a wise move on the owner and general manager to make the extention now.  Francoma leadership has produced 2 World Series Championships in 4 years and I know that both Red Sox fans and players don’t want to lose him.

 The pitcher in baseball is the most talked about position and rightfully so. Having your ace pitcher on the mound almost equals success and having a rookie who has never started a game before almost equals a loss.

That’s why the play the game. As the way it is in all sports, things do not always turn out the way people expect them to. That what makes the game so intriguing. There would be no reason to go to the games if things always happened the way the experts said they would.

The most important thing about baseball is timely hitting and solid pitching by your pitcher. Defense comes after those two.

Every team needs a consistent pitcher. Starting pitching usually has more impact on who wins the game more than the closer because the starting pitching sets the tone and often the tone for the rest of the game.

The Florida Marlins don’t have a reliable pitcher and to make things worse for them, Dontrelle Willis will be playing for the Detroit Tigers.

Every since their world series win several years ago, Florida Marlins merchandise sales have plummeted.

Dontrelle Willis is the closest person to a consistent starter that the Marlins had. Everyone who follows baseball knows about his failure to keep many players off base.

It is very bad when a team gets solid pitching but their bats refuse to awaken when their team is on offense. Having decent defense will win most games but sometimes exceptional defense is needed to keep runners from advancing and scoring runs.

Dontrelle’s style of pitching will make the Detroit Tigers a bigger threat to opposing teams. The Tigers have gone out and gotten players that they feel can make a great impact on their team.

He’s glad to be now playing for a World Series caliber team. The Tigers appear to be the front-runner of the American League Central Division.

Can Dontrelle adjust from the hot summers and cool winters in Florida to warm summers and frigid winters in Detroit? Snow will likely be falling down at the start of the baseball season in Detroit and people think the cold will affect players who are used to different weather. Detroit Tigers merchandise will be on the rise next year.

The Boston Red Sox has the kind of team that overcomes almost any obstacle. They could be losing by many runs in a game one minute and one of their players usually carries the load and brings the team from an improbable losing situation.

Red Sox fans almost expect David Ortiz to hit that walk off grand slam that will win the game in dramatic fashion. The Red Sox are an offensive machine. The thing that makes the Red Sox tick is they have many go to guys.

The Red Sox had the league’s only twenty game winning pitcher. They have key players in every position. Most people fail to mention the Red Sox’s stellar defense. It seems as if they are always making the tough plays to get the opponent out.

Good defense sometimes can make the difference in whether the opponent is safe or out.

When the Red Sox play road games, the home team often feels like they are the road team because of the lack of fans that come to the games. Red Sox merchandise is selling faster than it did back when they won the World Series in 2004.

The last thing the Boston Red Sox needs is for their bitter archrival to get some key players. They did not need Alex Rodriguez to resign with the Yankees.

A Rod is good in regular season games but hasn’t proven himself in the playoffs. He severed ties with the Yankees and tried to sign with another team but no other team could afford to pay him the large yearly figure that he requested.

The Yankees with their league’s biggest salary budget is the only team who meets A Rod’s demands for the millions of dollars he wants. In fact, the Yankees offer to keep him is way more than all of the rest of the teams that were out to get him.

One thing is certain; A Rod wants to play for a team that has a good chance of winning the championship. He also wants to be paid well. The Yankees went back on their word that they were not taking A Rod back if he opts out of his contract. With or without A Rod, New York Yankees merchandise is certainly to sell, as they are one of the country’s most liked teams.

Can you believe it but spring practice games will be here in about a month? It seemed like just yesterday that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.

Maybe this is the year for the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t won a world championship since 1908, which was a century ago. It is not like “The Friendly Confines” team hasn’t had good squads in the past. As a matter of fact the team has come mighty close to achieve something this franchise desperately needs.

Some would say that every franchise needs a world championship but most franchises that haven’t won one have been in existence for only fifty years or less.

Teams like The New York Yankees have won a total of twenty-six championships and unlike many teams the Yanks make it blatant that they have to win a championship or their season is in vain.

Every team’s goal is to win a championship but most teams don’t put it on a big bulletin board like the Yankees would. That is meant to emphasize how important they make the playoffs out to be.

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers are model franchises who have won many championships in the past. The world series champion is often the team who played the best ball heading into the playoffs. That’s why it is of the utmost importance for viable teams to have quality starting and relief pitching, excellent defense, and hot hitting.

Every year attendance in major league baseball seems to rise. Last year was no exception. If estimates are correct, attendance records this year are projected to be slightly higher than 2007’s. Rival games contribute to ticket sales.

Most people would say that the Yankees-Red Sox , Dodgers-Giants, and Cubs-Cardinals are the three biggest rivalries.

What separates the Cubs-Cardinals rivalries from any other MLB rivalry in America is that any time these teams hook up (which is approximately 15-18 times in a regular season), half of the home stadium can be seen with a barrage of Chicago Cubs merchandise and the other half St Louis Cardinals merchandise.

With other rivalries, the home team usually has at least 90% of the fans. It just goes to show that fans of the two teams are willing to drive or fly proudly declaring their favorite baseball team. Either way, the Cardinals fans want to beat the Cubs just as bad as the Cubs want to beat them and also their cross-town Chicago White Sox, as the city nearly shuts down for the cross town classics.

 Hats are a fashion accessory. I think it is pretty ridiculous when I walk into a department store in a large city and see a plethora of hats for outrageous prices. I am sure people who live in the area do not think the prices of the hats are high. I certainly think so.

Designer hats are so easy to come by when you are living in an urban sprawl. In the big cities, you will find almost every professional, college, and even some high school hats. You cannot find an array of hats like that in a small city. I mean you could but you have to go to different hat stores to get them. Major cities mainly have hats of teams in their city. I mean that is totally expected because a small city does not have anything to lose. For instance, a large city with many pro teams like Chicago is not going to have many New York City hats. That is truly unheard of. All I see when I go into hat stores is whatever city I am in. The cities have so many variations of a team’s hat. I know New York Yankees hats primarily look the same but I have seen so many different Chicago Cubs hats and I like all of them too.

One thing I noticed is that the good-looking hats sell way too quickly. That is the way it is with anything. If someone wants to get one, they have to get it early or else they will be out looking for a substitute.