Results tagged ‘ Detroit Tigers ’
The First Golden Ticket of 2011
Image courtesy of Major League Baseball
Well…they won.
The Detroit Tigers won the American League Central Division last night against the Oakland A’s by doing what they do best – win. At the Oakland Coliseum (I mean, who cares what they call the place they hoped to have left by now for a bigger traffic disaster down Interstate 880), the Tigers knew they could do it on the West Coast without really trying. The rest of the division simply gave up. The Royals are looking to build with their new young nucleus – though a few seasons away. The Cleveland Indians gave it a good fight, but Manny Acta’s cub simply ran out of steam. The White Sox are a mess. Great talent, but one wonders what’s been happening that Ozzie Guillen couldn’t tweet about. The Twins – Mauer’s got pneumonia. ‘Nuff said.
What went right for the Tigers? Justin Verlander. Actually, there’s more than that. Verlander was boosted by the resurgent Doug Fister and Mark Scherzer. In fact, Fister had a good outing to enable the clincher to happen. That’s a change of plans since languishing in Seattle earlier this year.
You can also point to the emergence of Jose Valverde as one of the top closers of the year in the AL. If you slide away Mariano Rivera’s 600th save milestone, there had been few closers who actually got the job done. Valverde was one of them.
Then, there was everyone else. Miguel Cabrera was sober long enough to get his team across the line and stay out of trouble. Victor Martinez is ageless and enjoying his best season ever – not as a Cleveland Indian. Alex Avila is this decade’s Joe Mauer – for now. He may not have the sick boy’s numbers, but he has the defense to match.
As for the postseason, we’ll see how far they’ll go. One hopes for a World Series. One hopes to fulfill Jim Leyland’s career once and for all. Perhaps my cohorts in the automotive world will celebrate in November when their beloved ball club brings home the trophy.
Heck, congrats to the Tigers. You got this now. Enjoy it.
Heirloom Memories: My Favorite Season
All photos by Randy Stern
What was my favorite season of baseball?
That’s a tough answer. It may take some thinking to get around to an answer…
I could go back to 1975, though I do not recall every moment of it. One instance did put up an argument for the entire year – Carlton Fisk’s home run in Game Six of the World Series. Other than that…that was it.
Perhaps 1979 would be a better answer. The “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates was a team that caught my attention all season long. Add the “Yes We Can” California Angels and it was certainly a year to remember in terms of how baseball could be shaken up from all angles.
There’s probably a few more years to throw out there: 1987 for the first of the division title “Humm-Babe” San Francisco Giants. Maybe 1989 when it was great to live in the Bay Area to have both teams in the World Series – until Loma Prieta decided to change things forever. I could throw in 1991 with both League Champions coming from worst to first – with the Minnesota Twins winning in the end.
Since I’m recalling time era of The Heirloom – 2009 was a natural choice.
It was the year where I stretched my baseball legs more by visiting more ballparks than I usually do in a single season. I returned to Miller Park in Milwaukee after a six-year absence. Then, I made my way to new places, such as U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
It wasn’t about where I went, as it was the experiences I had at these places. Though I was put off by some of the insecurity on the South Side, the ballgame was fine. Being in Milwaukee with an exciting ball club was something I never had to experience earlier in the decade when living in the same state. Even the down home feeling of ballplayers from afar making their home in Central Minnesota was an experience I’ve finally got to witness.
Trumping all of these road experiences would be enjoying an amazing day inside the New Cathedral. Having never been there and heard the horror stories of fans getting hassled inside and out of the old building. Once inside, I noticed a paradigm shift in the way the Yankees fused the old with the new. The new being the attention to customer service by the Yankees staff. Not to mention being around fans that would talk to you instead of threatening you. This new Yankee world was indeed strange, but welcoming at the same time.
But that was not the biggest highlight of 2009.
For the Twins’ fan, that year was a special one. On August 20, I told my fellow local fans to count the Twins out. I was wrong. They came back as they have done a few times over the past ten years.
As soon as everyone thought the Metrodome would become football-only by the end of the regular season, fate gave it an extension. I was there for Game 163 – perhaps the greatest game I ever witnessed in person. There was so much going on since the final day of the regular season that it was beyond amazing. The crescendo of Game 163 was more than any sporting ever experienced in person.
To recall the entire five-plus hours of extra innings baseball would be a waste of bandwidth. However, the only way to describe the resonance of this particular game was “life changing.”
There is another highlight from 2009 I want to add to all of this. However, I’ll save that for another posting…
How Do I Close This Properly…
Photo by Randy Stern
How do I begin to close out The Heirloom?
I was thinking how to recall the past four seasons inside this MLBlog by recalling the best moments doing it. Not just the games, but the experiences of being a blogger – Top 100 Fan’s MLBlogs for two seasons – and doing my best to bridge the game to you, dear reader.
Someone mentioned the importance of diversity. In a year where MLB clubs are trying to show sincerity in the face of helping all young people out, there were moments where it is done through example by fans and the ballclub. In a time when more people are standing up on either side of the culture war, attempts to find a path towards the middle were found only through the game itself.
I remember a long time ago when Jim McKay lamented that the Olympic Games were supposed to be devoid of politics. Baseball was never immune from such cultural politics for as long as the game’s been around. Sadly, it has not been filtered properly. I wished I did a better job doing so.
Not when a teenager in nearby Anoka took his life because the school district could not protect him from the bullying at his school. Not when you have politicians screaming to institute a program of Apartheid based on sexual orientation. Not when you have people on my side asking for money on one hand to protect us from political bullying, while feigning the true diversity of the people it’s lobbying to protect.
That’s why I failed to filter this crap out.
My approach has always been to discuss the game first and foremost. Not just Major League Baseball, but every level of the game where we as fans would come and enjoy in person. The Minors, independent leagues, summer collegiate leagues and college baseball – when a ball is pitched to a batter and a few people show up is a game worth watching. There’s enough of the game to go around and I attempted to interpret as much of the passion for it on here as possible.
Why put all my marbles into the automotive world? I found it to be a place where I can be out and open to the industry, my colleagues and my readership. Now that I have expanded my automotive coverage to a soon-to-be launched lifestyle blogsite from Minneapolis-based LGBT publication Lavender magazine, my time has been crunched to deliver to a wider readership.
I’m not giving up on baseball. I do keep an eye on certain teams. The Boston Red Sox looks like they’ll go to the wire with the New York Yankees in the AL East. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been on a tear with MVP talk of Matt Kemp. The Detroit Tigers are holding on with potential AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in control. There’s the Philadelphia Phillies with the best rotation in baseball – still. Not to mention the Milwaukee Brewers taking command of the NL Central.
Lastly, the St. Paul Saints are in their division playoffs in the American Association. If they could leave behind the Winnipeg Goldeyes, they’ll face the winner of Grand Prairie and Wichita for their first league title.
You see – I’ve been paying attention.
What memories should I recall in this last month of The Heirloom? Let me think about that and get back to you…
The Timing’s Right…
Video courtesy of Major League Baseball via YouTube
This week, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association kicked off their annual convention in Philadelphia. One of the break-out sessions was about the coverage of gays in sports, or, rather, the reaction of the sports community to gays and lesbians. Moderated by ESPN’s LZ Granderson, the panel included Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald, Jemelle Hill of ESPN, athlete Joanna Lohman, Jeff McMillan of the Associated Press, and former athletes Hudson Taylor, now of Athlete Ally and Brian Sims, now President of the board of Equality Pennsylvania.
Damnit, I wished I was there…but, I’m not a member…yet!
However, no one knew what would happen the same time Irene was about to hit landfall down the Atlantic coast as it had Philly in its sights. Somewhere down Broad Street – off Pattison Avenue – the Philadelphia Phillies uploaded their 30-second PSA supporting the It Gets Better project and along with the Trevor Project. It’s a quick run-through featuring some familiar members of the NL East leading Phils.
Coincidence? Perfect timing? Not just on the hurricane, but of the NLGJA convention and the most important discussion on this topic by the scribes and other LGBT participants.
Good for you, Phillies…but, damnit, I wished I was there!
…but, wait, there’s more!
MORE BILL SMITH: Last week, the Minnesota Twins put “Mr. 600 Home Runs” Jim Thome on the waiver wire. The result was, to say the least, interesting. Thome is now back where he started from – the Cleveland Indians. He was there through the World Series appearances for the Tribe and is seen as potentially the pivotal piece for September’s run towards the Detroit Tigers and a possible AL Central crown. Last Friday’s home return was an amazing tribute to a guy who helped plot the course for Mike Hargrove’s Tribe clubs in the 1990s. His new teammates hiked up their socks to where they truly should be – up on the lower leg.
Fine. The Tribe can have him. Bill Smith may think he’s smarter than the rest of us, but one wonders who else would be put on waivers before the deadline is up. Jason Kubel was rumored to be heading that way. We also heard Denard Span was also considered for the same fate.
Yeah, we’ll miss Thome. I hope he can be the difference between a division title and no postseason for Cleveland. Yet, there’s a gap of 6-1/2 games to close for Manny Acta’s first division title as manager can happen.
C’MON IRENE: First, an earthquake hits somewhere outside of the Washington area – now a supposedly huge hurricane is blowing through the Mid Atlantic and Northeast corridors. In all, five scheduled game shave been postponed in Philadelphia, Baltimore and in Queens. The Red Sox moved their Sunday game to this evening ahead of Irene’s potential arrival into New England.
All the teams are doing what they can to accommodate the extra games this weekend and into Monday. The Yankees were scheduled to play the Baltimore Orioles tonight at Camden Yards. That game has been moved to Sunday evening as part of a day-night doubleheader. Another game was squeezed onto a travel day on September 8, as the O’s and the Yanks travel together back down to Baltimore after their three games series in The Bronx. Them, the Yankees take off immediately for their six-game road trip on the West Coast.
Gotta love natural disasters…or, something like that.
SIXTH GEAR: Next week is September. I don’t believe it…do you? If you believe the hype, you’ll know what’s in store for the next few weeks.
For example, there will be six more games between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees to play for the entire season. You’d think there would be more, but that’s show the schedule shakes out. The Yanks’ finale at Fenway is this coming Tuesday with three games on the slate. They will not play each other until September 23 for a weekend series in The Bronx. For either team to win the division or take the Wild Card slot in the AL postseason, both the Red Sox and Yankees will have to play a slew of division rivals – Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Toronto.
However, there could be an open opportunity for the Red Sox to take advantage of the Yanks. As mentioned above, hurricane Irene forced a reschedule of a previous postponement between the Yankees and the Orioles in Baltimore the day after they finished a three-game home series in The Bronx. Then, there’s the West Coast trip with Anaheim and Seattle – scheduled right after the make-up game in Baltimore. The magic date is September 15 for the Yanks – a travel day before a three-game road series in Toronto.
One more thing to take in consideration for the AL East race: Neither team will finish the season at home.
JUSTIN VERLANDER… Before anyone gives him the AL’s Cy Young Award, the Tigers’ ace won his 20th game against the Twins at Target Field on Saturday. Congrats, Justin…well deserved.
How Joe West Almost Ruined Mother’s Day
Well…MLB Advanced Media delayed the WordPress conversion for another weekend. No worries. There’s plenty to say, I suppose…
AIN’T NO WAY, JOE WEST! Quick! Name the two of the worst umpires in the Major Leagues? Well, two of them were at their worst Friday evening at Fenway Park. It was when Boston Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield was trying to throw a pick-off move to third, but switched to first. It eventually got the Minnesota Twins’ Denard Span in a rundown. The initial call was Span was out. However, Angel Hernandez, working home plate, called a balk Wake. Replays show that neither foot was pointed to home plate, as the rule states. The feet turned when Wake switched from third to first, but never landed pointing towards home.
That brought out Terry Francona. He wanted clarification whether the balk was correct. As soon as Francona got within smelling distance of Hernandez, the Red Sox manager was tossed from the game. True, Francona violated the rule arguing a balk call. I will argue again that the call was incorrect.
It got worse when Francona’s ire was raised a level never seen before. It was prompted by Joe West’s trot from third base. West decided put himself between Hernandez and Francona. Francona appeared to be heading back to the dugout, but trying to get a few last words in. What West did was unreal. As he was creating a wall between Hernandez and Francona, it appeared that West was touching the Red Sox manager appearing to push him away and back to the Sox dugout.
For the past couple of days, the screams of umpire governance again reared its head. Luckily, Francona did not get himself into a situation that would prompt a call from the league’s new schoolyard cop – Joe Torre. However, no one is policing the umps. Not even the Commissioner. That continues to be a sad state of affairs.
If a league can screw over Dave Pallone months after the infamous Pete Rose “he poked me” incident, why can’t they (a) teach the two worst umpires in the game what a bloody balk is and (b) get rid of Joe West once and for all. I’m tired of seeing him continue to put the game in repute every time he puts himself into a situation similar to Friday’s night!
‘DRE ENDS AT 30: Just 26 games short of Joe DiMaggio, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andre Ethier ended an exciting hit streak at 30 games on Saturday night against the New York Mets. He was also one game short of the franchise record.
Why was the streak something to watch? It gave Dodger fans one positive thing to look at while the club was riddled with bad news. After Frank McCourt cried wanting his team back from the Commissioner’s Office, Ethier’s streak came into play. It was a diversion – like Osama Bin Laden’s death, the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the rise of the NDP as Canada’s official opposition to the Tories’ new majority government causing the fall of the Liberals and the Bloc from federal parliament.
Yes, the streak was huge. Will there be another attempt?
VERLANDER’S SECOND NO-NO: Yesterday in Toronto, we saw the second no-hitter of the season. It was also Justin Verlander’s second no-hitter in his career. The Detroit Tigers’ ace had the Blue Jays for only a walk and four strikeouts throwing 108 pitches.
Before you compare this no-hitter against Verlander’s previous one in 2007, understand one thing: He was dominating either way. The Jays’ bats were swinging and they connected into strong defensive plays. One such play appeared to be close – an Edwin Encarnacion hit slaps Verlander’s glove, rolling towards third. Verlander got to the ball and threw it to Miguel Caberra within millimeters of Encarnacion’s toes to dig up the crucial out.
Congrats to Justin! We needed that second no-no his week!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY: Finally, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day full of flowers, cards, memories, pink bats, shoes, gloves, etc.
Because this blog is dedicated to the memory of my own mother, it is always a special occasion to celebrate this day. Just thinking about her and the gifts she gave her sons years ago before she moved on from this planet.
Do something good for your mother – or the mother of your children – and celebrate this day at its best! Cherish her for life!
That Was April…
Without further ado…here’s what went down last month….
THE SURPRISES: First off, look at the top of the American League Central. Then, look at the bottom. The Cleveland Indians share the best record in April with the Philadelphia Phillies – which comes as a surprise. I argue otherwise as the Tribe had been building a young core to replace its regulars from last decade, yet keeping Fausto Carmona and Shin-Soo Choo at its core. They also added journeyman Orlando Cabrera for that extra spark to this young team. It doesn’t surprise me that a Manny Acta team can be on top of a table this early in the going.
While the Tribe sit on top of the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals are right behind them, followed by the Detroit Tigers. However, at the bottom half sits the Chicago White Sox (along with Ozzie Guillen’s bilingual Twitter feeds) and the Minnesota Twins (with more problems than you see on the surface – even without Nishioka and Mauer in the lineup). Is something strange happening in this division? If so, please let me know…
The Colorado Rockies may not seem like a surprise, but having a commanding record in April is a sign that things may have stabilized in Denver. By building a core that began with the 2007 National League Championship team, a once young team has matured into a feared unit using their high-altitude ballpark as a major advantage. Well, not exactly…the Rox have a better record on the road than at home. In fact, it’s the best road record of any ballclub in the Majors – and, that’s a surprise!
Want a big surprise? The Boston Red Sox. All the hype over the deals they made in the off-season ran them into a string of bad luck in April. Now, they sit at the bottom of the AL East. It’s truly puzzling, but there is optimism at Fenway for a summer comeback. I hope so…
THE BENCHMARKS: Aren’t benchmarks fun? They make this game interesting as it is. And, we’re glad for that!
This past week, Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves tied with Mickey Mantle for second on the all-time RBI list – for switch hitters. Really? I never knew that made that distinction somehow. But, in this game, any benchmark will do? Who does Chipper need to beat to become the greatest of his kind? Not Hank Aaron! In case you’re wondering, Chipper needs 788 more to tie the RBI record owned by The Hammer. Chipper’s next mark will be Eddie Murray, the switch-hit RBI king. He needs bring in 408 more runners to match that mark. Could Chipper do it?
Also, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andre Ethier attained the longest hitting streak – in the month of April. The mark was set for just 26 straight games. Sure, it matters to have a hit streak of some sort, but the talk shouldn’t be above mature conversation level unless he is closer to the ultimate hit streak of Joe DiMaggio’s. Sure, Ethier could safely hit in 33 more games – piece of cake! But, that’s not even easy. Many have tried and failed to match DiMaggio’s lofty benchmark. Perhaps owning a monthly record would be fine for Ethier.
MORE INDIVIDUAL AWESOMENESS: The Chicago Cubs’ Matt Garza has the most strikeouts in the Majors. You can say what you want about his attitude and the past with the Minnesota Twins organization and a few bouts with the Tampa Bay Rays, but Garza is for real at Wrigley. However, Garza’s 51 K’s is just two better than Jered Weaver’s 49 for the Los Angeles Angels. Not only that, Weaver had a perfect April: 6-0. That’s good news for Mike Scioscia’s ballclub.
The Cubs’ also own a monthly home run king along with their NL Central rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. Both Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Braun slammed 10 dingers last month. Braun also brought 23 runs in April as well. Ryan Howard had the most in the RBI column with 27, sandwiching Braun with Prince Fielder and Ben Zobrist. Zobrist got 10 of his 25 RBIs on Thursday during the day-night doubleheader at Target Field against the Twins. Is that a record somewhere?
Speaking of the Cubs, how about Matt Holliday’s batting average in April? The Cards’ outfielder has a .408 average coming into today – which may not stick if the reality of the season carries on. But, hey, we love .400 batters, do we? And, how about that NL Central?
Putting the PowerPoint Down…
Where the journey will end on Saturday… Photo by Randy Stern
I’m taking a break from preparing for my Capstone presentation on Saturday, since there seems to be a flood of insanity in and around the game of baseball. Geez, how much can a fan take? Let alone a blogger…
But, what’s more interesting: The Barry Bonds mistrials on the three most important counts in his latest trip to court or a discussion on audiences being challenged due to their perceptions and points-of-views on the representation of culture, ethnicity and community identity in the performing arts?
While I let the let the latter rest until tomorrow, let’s go through everything else…
BARRY: The point being that he was found guilty on the lesser of four charges brought against him in his trial. He won’t go to jail. He may get some nods from some of the Hall of Fame voters. Bob Costas said he’d vote for him – but not on the first ballot. Sometimes, I wonder if the truth will come out about Mr. Bonds on whether he juiced himself up to catapult himself with an asterisk on the record books.
OZZIE: Our favorite manager in baseball decided to visit his son Ozney in Miami to watch him play baseball. Actually, that’s not the case. Ozzie Guillen has a bullpen problem he wants to fix – but can’t right now. Not that Kenny Williams won’t pull some deals, but he could. I understand Ozzie’s frustration – but telling the press he’d rather have Bobby Thigpen back in a baseball uniform at age 47 and away from coaching pitchers in Winston-Salem is borderline absurd, if you ask me.
JOE: The Twins placed Joe Mauer on the disabled list today. That hurts…seriously…
JERRY: I’m still surprised that Jerry Remy is following my Twitter…and vice versa! What did I say to have the Red Sox’ television commentator (on NESN, BTW) to want to follow me? Maybe beacuse I’m using the #WeWontRest hashtag too much on my Twitter feed out of frustration with the slow start the Nation is having. Don’t get me wrong – Jerry is awesome! Put a stuffed Wally on an Adriondack Chair at Fenway for all of NESN’s subscribers to see, and you got our attention! Well, better than the so-called “hastag fail” NDP leader Jack Layton threw down on Prime Minister-in-limbo Stephen Harper at the English Language debate of this Canadian election….
BRYAN: The latest I heard is that Bryan Stow is improving at L.A. County-USC Media Center. This is good news. Better news was the fundraiser at Dodger Stadium went well as did Monday’s Giants-Dodger opener at AT&T Park. Sadly. the kumbaya will soon come to a close and the pleasantries will continue acrimoniously. I haven’t heard whether they arrested the two idiots who attacked Stow. There’s a lot of money riding on their capture.
JOSH: Seriously, you can be sober and evangelical…but, c’mon Josh Hamilton! Injuring yourself and blamining your third base coach for said injury is a bit out of line. Dave Anderson saw an opening and thought you had the wheels to beat the throw to Victor Martinez. I guess being sober and evangelical is still hard for you, mate…
KOBE: Yeah, it’s not a baseball story. Yeah, he said what he did out of frustration. Yeah, his apology was shallow. Yeah, David Stern slapped him on his wrist to the tune of $100,000. Still, the bloody prima donna said what he said – no matter what his intended target identifies as – and we saw it on TNT. I hope I don’t see this in this game…
Well…back to looking at way to discuss audience development strategies for Saturday…
Majors and Minors and More Craziness
Plenty of ground to cover…I better get to it…
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE RED SOX? I have no clue, really. I wished I had an answer as to why the Sox are coming home to Fenway with an 0-6 start. They open at home against the New York Yankees, who are 4-2, including taking two from the visiting Minnesota Twins. How long do you think this will go on? Um, well…
…AND THE RAYS? Same thing – a mystery! They’re on the South Side facing Ozzie Guillen’s team and there’s no let up. It’s puzzling when you have two contending AL East clubs winless after the first six games…
DID I FORGET ABOUT THE TUCSON PADRES? I did, I’m afraid. The former Portland Beavers opened their 2011 campaign on the road in Colorado Springs with intentions on making their temporary home a good spot to make a run in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific South division. They’ll have some tough company with the Fresno Grizzlies and Sacramento River Cats. However, day 1 of the Tucson Padres ended on a high note: An 18-14 victory over the host Sky Sox.
HOW DID BRYCE DO? The Hagerstown Suns’ Bryce Harper – the first pick of last year’s Amateur Draft for the Washington Nationals – went 2-for-4 against the host Rome Braves. He brought in a run, but struck out once. From all reports, he certainly impressed everyone with an array of fielding skills and poise at bat (if you take out the strike out, that is). How soon do you think he’ll make the next level at Woodbridge, VA and the Potomac Nationals? No clue there…
THE INFIRMARY: The White Sox’ Adam Dunn went in for appendectomy. He appears to be recovering nicely as Dunn trotted out for the South Siders’ home opener on Thursday. Then, Tsuyoshi Nishioka of the Minnesota Twins broke his leg on a slide defensive slide by Nick Swisher at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. While Nishi sits on the Disabled List, the Bloke from Perth, Luke Hughes, will fill in for the time being. As sad as I am to see Nishi hurt, I’m happy to see Hughes up for the time being.
BACK TO THE TOP: The Texas Rangers remain the only undefeated ball club in the week of the season. That may not last long as they travel to Baltimore to meet the Orioles. The Orioles sit on top of the AL East with a single loss to their record. This could be an early series to watch. Maybe the Rangers will give Vlad his ring for his work with them from last year.
FRIDAY’S HOME OPENERS: Besides the Twins and Red Sox, there’s a slate of home openers happening on Friday. The Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers open up their doors for the first time in 2011. The Giants will celebrate 2010 with the presentation of the World Series championship rings, awarding Buster Posey’s Rookie of the Year nod and the hoisting of the pennant – all wrapped in gold. That could be tarnished quickly – Sammy Hagar will be singing the National Anthem.
Opening Day 2011: The Heirloom’s Guide to Tomorrow’s Festivities
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph.co.uk
All of us who love this wonderful game are excited for Opening Day. This is the first time that it will fall on a Thursday. No, seriously…
It is odd, but, hey, this game has been through so many changes since Bud Selig showed up to work as Commissioner. Some of these changes are dumb, but what can you do…
If you’re wondering when to actually celebrate the start of the regular season, here’s a primer of events for tomorrow (all times are Eastern)…
11:00AM – CINCINNATI: Joe Morgan is set to be the Grand Marshall of the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade – the traditional first act of the baseball season. The parade usually runs through downtown Cincinnati until it reaches the gates of the Great American Ballpark. This should be a special parade as the Reds are celebrating last year’s NL Central pennant.
1:05PM – THE BRONX: This is perhaps the first time in a long while that the Yanks would be the first to throw the first pitches of the season. They start their 109th season with the usual fanfare as expected from the Yanks as they open up against another AL original – the Detroit Tigers. Moose – yes, Mike Mussina – will toss the ceremonial first pitch o the delight of the fans inside the New Cathedral. Haley Swindal will sing the National Anthem. Who’s Haley Swindal? The Boss’ granddaughter who happens to be on a cast of some Broadway production somewhere…
1:05PM – THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Where South Capitol Avenue meets the Anacostia River, the Nats will start the NL off with the rival Atlanta Braves in tow. The President of the United States will not throw out the first pitch. That honor will be in charge of five members of the armed forces – one from each branch. The U.S. Navy Band will play the National Anthem instead of singing it. After all, the ballpark is a few blocks from the Navy Yard and it is one of the most powerful cities in the world. Not to mention that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will soon be history (I hope for sure), I have no problem propping up our armed forces! Ironically, Livan Hernandez will start for the Nats…
2:10PM – CINCINNATI: The parade may be over, but the party will be in full swing. The Reds meet Nyjer Morgan and the Milwaukee Brewers for their first game of the season. Edinson Volquez gets the nod against Yovani Gallardo when the pleasantries begin. Prior to Volquez taking the mound, the former police chief of Cincinnati, Tom Streicher, will toss out the first pitch. Better still, Brian McKnight and his two sons will sing the National Anthem. I’d go just for that!
4:10PM – KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Kaufmann Stadium returns to the Opening Day ritual with the Los Angeles Angels in tow. By then, the Yankees-Tigers and Nationals-Braves games would be finished, just in time for Luke Hochevar and Jared Weaver to trade pitches. As I was trying to find out who will throw out the first pitch or do the National Anthem, a curious bit of hoopla is scheduled to occur before the game: A bridge opening. Not just any bridge mind you – one with George Brett’s name on it. I’m sure it’ll be just fun…
4:15PM – ST. LOUIS: Across Missouri, along Interstate 70, is yet another opener…the Cardinals! Chris Carpenter will get the ball against Tim Stauffer and the San Diego Padres. That also means Albert Pujols will be there, too! To celebrate all things Cardinals, there will be pep rallies outside the ballpark and inside. After all, there is a new nation on this planet – Cardinal Nation. Nikko Smith, formerly of American Idol, will sing the National Anthem and Jim Edmonds will toss out the ceremonial first ball.
8:00PM – CHAVEZ RAVINE: Last, but not least, it’s the Dodgers and the Giants. They get the nightcap as they renew their absolute hatred for each other fueled by the Jints’ World Series title. But, remember, this is Los Angeles! San Francisco may have the better opera opening night gala – but the Dodgers have Placido Domingo (pictured above), the General Director of the LA Opera, singing the National Anthem. That’s how they do it in Los Angeles!
There’s your agenda for Thursday. What are you watching/listening/following?
Oh, Miggy…What Now?
Welcome to the first week of Spring Training. Already, we’re having problems. Irresolvable – or, at least we thought they were resolved – problems.
Remember before the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers played Game 163 in 2009 that Miguel Cabrera was arrested in an assault case fueled by his drinking? Boy, did we let him have it inside the Metrodome.
After the Tigers crashed out in the extra frames of Game 163, Cabrera somehow claimed sobriety and had an almost MVP year in 2010.
What happened? Cabrera got busted on a DUI last night.
You know, I could call him every inappropriate word known in the English language. I won’t. Just like every Tea Party supporter would like to call me every homophobic epithet known to the human race for calling Miguel Cabrera every inappropriate word known in the English language.
There’s a lot more respect I have for humankind where the failures of the soul prevent a ballplayer to attain sobriety for the better good of his life, his family, his employers and his supporters. I am not one to judge here.
However, we’ve seen this time and time again. We’ve also seen people rise above their low moments to attain greatness – and stay in the realm of sobriety and happiness. I’ve also seen people continue in freefall after hitting a low.
Again, I’m not here to judge. But, we just appear to be nonplussed when Miguel Cabrera falls from sobriety into the abyss – or, are we not being honest with ourselves?
Do we honestly believe that Cabrera was destined to fall off the wagon? Do we honestly expect Cabrera to screw up so badly that we will lose respect for anything he does – on and off the field?
That’s not our job to decide. That’s the job of the courts in St. Lucie County, Florida.
Still, we read every year of some so-called hero getting pulled over by law enforcement for some crime or another. We see some of them get away with it. We see some of them get punished accordingly – or, not. Naming names is inappropriate here – we can list them out, if we wish.
How do I reconcile reading Miguel Cabrera’s latest brush with alcohol and the law? There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m at the point where I can expect heroes to fall. I also expect a rash of opinions, thoughts and pontifications to flood my usual reading sites. What’s so different about someone calling for Cabrera’s head than a Facebook friend posting a link about Wisconsin Governor’s Scott Walker’s push to shrink the state’s budget by going after organized labor or some politician caught in an act of hypocrisy?
My resolution on Cabrera is simple: Let the courts and the Tigers’ brass take care of this one.
Randy Stern
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