Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Now that the Indians have removed Eric Wedge from managerial duties, the search is on.  It has been widely assumed that nobody currently managing at a different level within the Indians system will be promoted.  This leaves a couple of hard choices for management.  I figured I would add my two cents (in case the great Mark Shapiro googles his name and hits this article) to post choices which would merit strong consideration.  Without hesitation, here are my top candidates to manage the Cleveland Indians:

 

#1. Reuben Kincaid

For all of my younger readers who have no idea, Reuben Kincaid managed The Partridge Family.  He propelled the Partridge’s to the top of the charts in the 1970’s.  He even has experience keeping eyesore Danny Partridge (Danny Bonaduce) in line.  If you hire Kincaid, you also gain a bench coach in Shirley Jones.  The only drawback on the Kincaid proposal would be having to suffer through “I Think I Love You” instead of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” for the 7th-inning stretch.

#2. Captain Lou Albano

Why not bring in Captain Lou Albano?  He has managed champions throughout his career.  If he can keep The Wild Samoans and George “The Animal” Steele under control, why would he struggle with Kerry Wood or Travis Hafner?  Pro wrestling and baseball are about neck-in-neck on the steroid abuse charts, it would be a magical fit.  The Indians may have to allow facial rubber banding, but what a small price to pay for someone with such a brilliant track record.

#3. Pete Rose

The legalization of casino gambling is a hot topic in the State of Ohio these days.  Some argue that they hate seeing the tax dollars earned go to surrounding states that Ohioans are frequenting.  By bringing in Pete Rose, you would have a win-win situation regardless of what happens to the proposed gaming legislation.  Someone has to bet on the Indians, why not Pete?  The bookies are dying for a fish to start betting consistently on the Tribe.  Yeah he may concede every third game by chewing up his bullpen to win some money but people know he would be firing on his own team causing a contagious reaction to betting on Cleveland to win.

#4.  Sir George Martin

This guy was able to make Beatles albums without the Beatles around each other.  He and his son then remix everything 40 years later and are making a killing in Vegas on the “improved” product.  Why don’t the Indians owners take a chance on Sir George Martin coming in to ‘remix’ the Indians?  Teach Grady Sizemore how to throw a curve, show Kelly Shoppach how to be the cutoff man on a single to right, work with Jensen Lewis on stealing second.  Remix things.  Could it be worse than it was most of this past season?

#5. LeBron James

This may be the most realistic choice on the menu.  Think about it.  He is now wearing #6 because he wanted to change things up.  He won a gold medal wearing #6, he is now #6 for the Cavs.  Braylon Edwards punches his little buddy and ends up in New York.  LeBron was instrumental, intentional or not,  in getting Braylon sent away.  It is probably a blessing for Cavs fans that Edwards is a jet.  The only bad scenario would be if LeBron went to New York after the season ended, he may order the Jets to ship Edwards back to Cleveland. 

The Indians can use that kind of stroke.  If you don’t think James has more power in Cleveland than anyone else than you are naive.  He pretty much dictates what the Cavs do, he is now dictating what the Browns do.  Hell, give him all of the keys to the city, let him say what the Indians should do too. 

 

The 2009 MLB Playoffs sure pose some interesting scenarios.  A potential Boston vs New York ALCS, an all-L.A. world series, who can cool off the red hot Twins, the wisdom and leadership of Joe Torre vs Tony LaRussa, the thin air of Colorado, and pitching.  P-I-T-C-H-I-N-G…  Whoever has it is going to keep advancing, whoever does not get it can start priming the snowmobiles now.

Twins vs Yankees

Depending on how long the Twins were out partying or not CC Sabathia should dominate Game 1.  The Twins trot out their rookie Brian Duensing as the lamb in this one.  However, the unpredictable AJ Burnett and the predictable Andy Petitte are pitching games 2 and 3 for the Yanks.  If the wrong Burnett shows up and Petitte throws his normal game, the Yanks could be in a 2-1 hole.

The Twins are just hot enough to start a descent, in this case, a season-ending fall.  The Yankees know that Jeter is a gamer in the postseason and A-Rod struggles.  Mark Teixera will make a difference and Nick Swisher will have one of those unlikely big games in leading the Yanks to the ALCS.

Yankees over Twins: 3 -1

Rockies vs Phillies

Pitching is really going to push the Phillies in the playoffs.  Cliff Lee gets the call for game one.  Cole Hamels gets game two.  That should be enough for a 2-0 Phillies lead.  They haven’t even announced a starter for game three yet but it won’t be Jamie Moyer.  The offense has been sluggish at times, but Jimmy Rollins is a big-game guy and Ryan Howard is always a threat.  Shane Victorino also knows how to turn it up in the postseason.

Yay Rockies!  You made it to the dance again!  Unfortunately for Colorado, Jorge De La Rosa (16 wins) isn’t active for the series due to injury.  This puts all of the pressure on Ubaldo Jimenez.  If Jimenez gets two starts and Colorado can grind out another win somewhere, they could stun the Phillies.  Don’t hold your breath.  Jimenez will walk a few guys in game one.

Phillies over Rockies: 3-1

Cardinals vs Dodgers

This series will be more of a chess match between the two best managers in baseball, Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa.  Unfortunately, LaRussa has a lethal queen (Pujols) and not many other pieces on offense.  With Clayton Kershaw limping down the stretch and Vicente Padilla’s unpredictability, the pitching edge would have to go to St. Louis.  However, I am not so sure that the Cards can muster enough offense to win.  Look for many close and low-scoring games in this series.  Manny Ramirez might play a role in games one and two, but I look for the Cards to handle him with care if they get burned once.

St. Louis over LA Dodgers: 3-2

Red Sox vs Angels

Perhaps the toughest series to break down, the pitching favors Boston and the offense favors the Angels.  However, the Angels pitching is capable of throwing shutouts and the Red Sox offense can score 13 runs in a game.  Josh Beckett has a reputation for throwing his best stuff in postseason competition.  If the series goes 5 games, Beckett gets two starts.  If Lester or Buchholz can squeeze a win, I think Boston will prevail.

This will also serve as Kendry Morales’ national stardom party.  I expect Morales to hit like crazy throughout the series.  I just don’t feel he will get much help. 

Boston over LA: 3-2 in a coin flip

When an unprepared student gets called to go to the blackboard in a group activity and isn’t sure what to do, they write anything they can to get close.  Usually, the student is not very lucky, and is asked to return to their respective seat.  A good teacher will not make an example of the bad student but rather call on a prized pupil to come up and erase the board.  Once the slate is clean, the good student is then given repeat directions and comes through.

In Cleveland, they are running out of students.  Eric Wedge was the most recent student to bomb the visual demonstration.  In this case, the teacher (Mark Shapiro) let the student (Wedge) struggle longer than he should have.  Shapiro should have taken the chalk away from Wedge around Memorial Day and handed it to another student.  Unfortunately, Shapiro figured he would let his understudy try to work it out and get it right.  The sad part is the teacher knew the student was on the wrong track so long ago that he made the mistake of letting this student dig himself into a deeper hole.

Eric Wedge is a nice guy.  That may be the whole problem.  You never turned on Sportscenter and saw Wedge throwing a tirade about his team’s heartless play.  Yet everytime Lou Piniella batted an eyelash toward a player for not hustling, it was news.  Wedge is too passive to be the head guy.  He knows the game but lacks the firepower to motivate a team struggling to win.  This was obvious at the beginning of the season when the Tribe lost a bunch of games to start the season and dug a hole that they ultimately could never climb back out of.

When Shapiro saw the writing on the wall but opted to keep Wedge around until the end, he failed to establish future leadership which may cost Cleveland at the beginning of next season.  Why not bring in the new guy to have some game experience with his future instead of making an unnamed student wait until after recess to get to the board when they already may know the answer?

Maybe it is the teacher who should be evaluated for competence for leaving a struggling student at the board for so long.  Not only did Shapiro screw that up, but he traded his three best pupils to gifted classrooms for a larger quantity of special needs students.  Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia have improved at addition since leaving Shapiro’s classroom.  They are able to add larger numbers (wins, strikeouts, and payroll potential), subtract smaller numbers (ERA and WHIP), and have really taken a true understanding to greater than and less than quantitive equations.  They even got a couple of merits for excelling (Cy Young Awards).  Victor Martinez won a spelling bee and is the new steady pitcher for his classes kickball games. 

In all reality, Cleveland ownership needs to sweep the whole room, not just the corners.  If I owned the Indians, Mark Shapiro would be dealing cards at Mountaineer Casino (owned by the Jacobs family).  There is no reason to constantly do the wrong thing and not be punished. 

If the students keep failing, isn’t it time to evaluate the teacher?

Twenty years ago, Pete Rose did what Major League Baseball wanted him to do, step up and take responsibility for his alleged gambling habit.  Rose, who has been cooperative since, followed orders and confessed his wrongdoing.  Still not in the Hall of Fame, and still jumping when being told to jump, I cannot figure out why he has not gotten his second chance yet.

Athletes have done so many things worse than Rose on the totem pole of ethics.  I am not here to rip on the other athletes, but rather convey the message that Rose is still being punished for much less.  Michael Vick, a name we are all sick of hearing, ran a dogfighting ring, did his time, and is suiting up for Philadelphia.  Vick was given a second chance that quick. 

Steroids in baseball have more to do with altering the course of a game moreso than a manager [Rose] betting on his team to win every night.  I understand that Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafel Palmeiro, A-Rod, and Big Papi will probably never see the Hall of Fame either.  However, they cheated.  How is betting on the team you are managing to win cheating?  It is unethical, but it is not cheating.

Donte Stallworth killed another human being because he was drunk.  He served some time (minimal), coughed up a small fortune, and you can bet he will be back on the field next year.  How can these guys literally get away with murder, and Rose still be punished 20 years later?  It makes no sense to me.

Rose is baseball’s all-time leader in hits.  If Bud Selig decides that enough-is-enough already, he would be making the right decision.  Selig seems to want to milk this and turn Rose’s funeral into his induction period.  Selig knows he belongs.

Rose played from 1963 until 1986.  Without him, there was no Big Red Machine, no Charlie Hustle, no advertisements that featured a baseball player so much.  Rose did so much more good for the game than the bad he is still being judged upon. 

There are common people who serve less than 20 years for murders.  To keep a star like Rose out of the limelight is dumb.  He is still charismatic,  loves the game, and hurt no one but himself.  Time is up, do the right thing and re-instate Pete Rose.

I was very sad and disappointed to learn that Topps has acquired exclusive licensing of Major League Baseball cards.  The deal starts with the printing of the 2010 baseball cards.  Upper Deck, making cards since 1989, is the big loser in the deal.

Up until 1981, Topps was the only consistent manufacturer of licensed trading cards.  There were times before that when Fleer attempted to issue cards to compete, but Topps was so recognized and popular that all minor challenges were beaten back.  That all changed in 1981 when Fleer and Donruss both issued player cards for the 1981 baseball season.

Upper Deck got into the action in 1989.  Their cards featured a much thicker card stock, better photography, and the ‘premium’ tag.  In 1991 Topps countered by issuing Stadium Club, a set which featured borderless cards and premium Kodak technology (their logo was on the wrappers).

From there, things went nuts.  Every company producing cards started issuing a premium set, a mid-level set, and a low-end product designed for kids.  It seemed as though the hobby shifted from the collector to the investor overnight.

 

This ruined the hobby for many.  To get all of the cards of a player a person rooted for became next to impossible because companies stressed the scarcity of a card to appeal to the hobbyist only collecting to sell.  There were cards issued with serial numbers on the back.  You could get a card that said 1 of 1, meaning it was the only card created for that player.

Eventually, the competition got to be too much for Fleer and Donruss.  Upper Deck stayed around and is now being penalized for promoting the league.  Upper Deck is allowed to issue cards with the likeness of a player, but not allowed, under the new agreement, to use team logos and trademarks.  Basically, if Upper Deck continues to produce, the consumer will have a choice to buy pieces of what will look like someone’s Facebook page.

I hate the new deal.  Granted, the average collector could walk into any shop and have to decide between 25 different packs of cards to choose from, that was ridiculous.  But to hand Topps the keys to the kingdom while everyone else gets pushed into the moat makes no sense to me. 

The perception of collecting is also a problem right now.  A kid does not open a pack of baseball cards in hopes of finding his or her favorite player, but rather hoping to get lucky and pull a high dollar insert card.  It Topps wants to do the right thing with their new exclusive licensing, they will eliminate insert cards altogether and focus on the players instead of the gimmicks.

Topps has been quoted as saying that the move will help bring kids back into the collecting realm of the hobby.  News Flash to Topps *** The people who put cards in the spokes of their bikes in the 50’s owned a bike.  I seldom see a kid riding a bike, no less with his or her glove on the handlebar.

Warner Fusselle is not flashy or boastful about what he has had a chance to do in his life.  Fusselle hosted ‘This Week In Baseball’ after Mel Allen and had a weekly show on ESPN.  His current role as radio announcer for the Brooklyn Cyclones is tiring, but he enjoys it.  I recently had a chance to have a sit-down with this guy who has more good stories than Aesop.  Here were the highlights of our conversation.

Paneech:  Tell me how you got your break to start with ‘This Week In Baseball’.

WF: I was in Virginia broadcasting the Virginia Squires games and the ABA folded, so I needed to get in my car and get a job.  I started riding around with no idea where I was going.  I was going to apply for a job with the Washington Bullets, but the PR guy wasn’t there that day, so I got back in my car and drove toward Trenton, New Jersey.  I was at a place where there was a right lane that went one way and a left lane that went another.  I went right not knowing what awaited.  I was there about two weeks [New York] and I got a job for Major League Baseball Productions that was kind of starting this show called ‘This Week In Baseball’.  I was hired to work for $200 a week, and my first day was the blackout of July 13, 1977.  Everything in the world happened like it always does, bit it all worked out and that is how I got my start.

Paneech:  Do you still follow the majors or are you too wrapped up in the Brooklyn Cyclones job?

WF: I follow it but it’s hard.  We got here [Youngstown] two days ago and I couldn’t name one player on the team [Scrappers], tomorrow we have got an eight hour bus ride to Oneonta and right now I couldn’t name one player who plays for Oneonta.  You get there and you are playing these teams you have never seen before and you don’t have a roster so you really have to take time to concentrate on what is going on in this league [New York-Penn League].  I have a slight working knowledge of what is going on in the majors and when this is over I will pick up more on that.

Paneech:  Who was a better announcer, Harry Caray or Jack Buck?

WF: The St. Louis Cardinals were my team and I listened to those guys every night.  I loved Harry Caray, Jack Buck may have well been better, but Harry Caray had so much enthusiasm.  Caray was my guy and I loved listening to him and the St. Louis Cardinals on KMOX.

Paneech: Talk about your collection of records.

WF:  When I was growing up you would hear an ad on the radio for a St. Louis Cardinals record that you could get by sending a dollar to KMOX.  I Have a Cleveland Indians record from 1949 or 1950, which is one of the earliest highlight records.  So it didn’t start out a record collection, I was just a baseball fan.  When I got to New York. I met a guy who had all sorts of baseball songs and I got interested in that and things got out of hand somewhere and I had actually been put in charge of putting together a couple of collections of baseball songs on Rhino Records that are still available, they were very successful.  Today, my collection is mostly rock and roll, but I’ve got a little bit of everything.  If you were to come to my house, I’m sure I would have something that you like.

Paneech:  If the Phillies called and said “we need an announcer”, would you go?

WF: It depends on who called and what kind of tryout they wanted.  If somebody wanted me to do something, and I wasn’t one of ten different announcers and I didn’t do just cable or I didn’t do just TV, you know, radio is so much more important to me, I would go anywhere.  Right now I’m here because I am in New York, and this is where the Brooklyn Cyclones are.  The rich heritage of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and of Brooklyn and baseball, it’s an honor to know right now that I am the voice of baseball in Brooklyn.  I knew Red Barber, I interviewed him on ESPN for ‘Major League Baseball Magazine’.  I didn’t know anybody in Brooklyn, I was just lucky that I got the job.

 

 

Paneech:  I heard a story about you meeting Dizzy Dean, tell me about that meeting.

WF:  I was working for the Phillies team, the Spartanburg Phillies.  We were in South Carolina for a game.  I read in the newspaper there that Dizzy Dean would be nearby and that he was going to be speaking at a banquet.  So I said, ‘this is great, I was a St. Louis Cardinals fan, and Dizzy Dean was going to be there’, I was not a big fan of his as an announcer because I wanted everything to be done properly.  I went down there and they said that Dizzy Dean was going to come in and work an inning with me, and I said, “Oh really?”, so I met him and asked him to come over, he was with all of the Falstaff people who were promoting Falstaff at the banquet.  He was kind of reluctant, but he came over, he was there for an inning and didn’t want to leave.  The Falstaff people had to drag him off, but he told some of the greatest stories.  Somebody from the wire services came in and took a color picture of both of us, which I still have today.  Then I was going to get him to autograph it a few weeks later by sending it to his hometown in Mississippi, and he died a few days before I could do that.  That was one of the greatest experiences I had.  It was a thrill and came out of nowhere.

Paneech:  Talk about steroids and today’s game, does it bother you?

WF:  It does, but you hear so much about it everyday, that you kind of get numb to it.  I don’t like it, but I am so busy with what I am doing that I don’t get caught up with it.  I hope it ends, but the next day something else trickles out. 

One Word Answers with Warner Fusselle

Favorite Meal?  Whichever one I can find the time to eat, usually my only meal.

Favorite Musician or Group?  Bruce Springsteen, Elvis, and Pink Floyd.

Favorite Current MLB Player?  Albert Pujols, I like guys who wear their socks right.

Tears For Fears or Kiss?   Tears For Fears, definitely.

Favorite TV Show?  For a guy that doesn’t have a TV, I would have to think about it.

Favorite Food?  Barbecue, Fried Chicken, Bagels, Pizza.

Favorite College Football Team?  Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Favorite Non-Sports Activity?  I don’t know of any, sleep I guess.

One Word To Describe Pro Boxing?  ‘Not interested’ is two words.

I Have To Move Up or I’m Happy Here?  I don’t have to do anything.  I would be happier if it wouldn’t rain every game in Brooklyn.  I have to build a fortess to survive because it rains every game in Brooklyn.  That’s why I love the road, it is beautiful here and it will not rain!

Fusselle also joked when I asked him if he was Italian.  He said yeah, and then he said on Latino Heritage night he is Fusselleis, and on Irish Day is Fusselligan, so if I wanted him to be Italian I can call him Fusselli.

 

Andrew McCutchen had the offensive game of his young major league career Saturday.  He hit three home runs, drove in six, and joined Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell as the only Pirates outfielders to hit three in a game.  Stargell accomplished the feat four times, Clemente did it twice, and McCutchen did it for the first time in just 57 games.

The Pirates won the game, beating the equally minor-league potential Washington Nationals, 11-6,  in a matchup of diluted teams.

What’s really impressive?  He doubled his homer total for the year coming in with just three.  There were plenty of people in Pittsburgh to witness the fete, 26,855 to be exact, 70% of the capacity of PNC Park.

What’s scary?  We now have to root for McCutchen to go into the tank for a few games so he doesn’t get traded.  Will someone who lives close to PNC Park please go there and cut the damn phone wires before they get the chance. 

Man, when it rains, it pours.  It has been pouring in Cleveland all week.  Victor Martinez was sent packing by the Indians Friday.  In return, they failed to obtain Clay Buchholz, the prized pospect.  Instead they took a chance on potential with Justin Masterson and a couple of bowls of clam chowder. 

What can only be considered as weird, Saturday is Victor Martinez bobblehead giveaway night, in Cleveland, where Martinez used to play.  Maybe the front office can schedule CC Sabathia bobblehead night for September.  People will want the Martinez dolls, but you don’t go to McDonald’s and order a Whopper too often, do you?

The Indians trades are getting mixed reviews.  Some experts are saying that they did a wonderful job of stocking the cupboard with potential hurlers.  They traded one pitcher and got back nine in the three trades.  Other experts are ridiculing the front office for following the Pirates formula of finishing in the bottom five in MLB’s win column, but in the top five in MLB’s profit margin column.

Victor Martinez had his heart broken by the trade.  He cried as he hugged teammates and said his goodbyes.  He felt a loyalty that players need to become callous to in today’s economy.  I hate the fact that the Indians drafted him as a 17-year old and just kicked him to the curb so they can save a few bucks. 

The Pirates five-year rebulding plan has been in motion for 17 years now.  It still has not worked.  Being sandwiched halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland is annoying as a baseball fan right now.  Anyway, be one of the 20,000 in attendance at Progressive Field tomorrow and grab yourself a Victor Martinez Cleveland Indians bobblehead doll.

You would think that the Cleveland Indians would have learned a little something from the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the week.  If not, you would think that the Indians may have learned something from the CC Sabathia trade last year.  Instead, the Indians are following the formula that has done so well for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1992.  Dump salary and get prospects.

What the Indians should have learned from Toronto was not to donate Cliff Lee for prospects.  The Blue Jays traded offers with the Phils.  AJ Happ is a major league pitcher who is young and shows potential.  The Jays asked for Happ and Kyle Drabek, their #1 prospect for Roy Halladay.  Philadelphia said they wanted too much.  So Cleveland turns around and offers Cliff Lee AND Ben Francisco for neither of the aforementioned Phillies.  They get back four prospects with the best being Carlos Carrasco who is having a terrible year.  Good work Mark!  Give that extra guy and get neither big gun back.

What the Indians should have learned from the CC Sabathia trade last year was to get major leaguers back in the trade.  Cleveland basically gave Sabathia away to dump salary.  Sabathia and Lee, both Cy Young Award Winners should command a bit more demand than what they got back.  There are players on major league rosters who don’t make $10 million per year.  Young players with Major League futures.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, unless they traded their name away too, are the farm system for baseball.  Call them MLB’s only AAAA team.  Their role in sports is not to win, but rather to draft talent, develop it, and then sell it away for other talent to raise.  If you put together a team of Pirates traded away in the past five seasons, you would have half of a decent all-star team. 

You know the Indians are nowhere near done.  Victor Martinez will be heading away soon.  Guaranteed.  Kelly Shoppach is OK, but Martinez is special.  Carlos Santana is ripping the cover off of the ball at Double-A Akron and is a good defensive catcher.  That would make this trade more sensible, if and only if, Cleveland gets something back that they can insert NOW, not a future hopeful who might make it up someday.

I understand the economics of baseball.  There are two ways to play.  One is the greedy George Steinbrenner way.  Buy everything and field a bunch of big names.  The other way is to survive.  Cut your losses and hope for a better showing next year.  The Indians are reverse current on both right now.  They are buying very little.  Mark DeRosa was what they bought, and they already dumped him before the break.  Kerry Wood is what they kept, and frankly, he sucks this year.  Survival does not mean liquidation of every functional asset.  It means balancing the budget.  Cleveland is trying to ultimately show a profit when they do their taxes in April. 

Tim Lincecum looked worthy of some Cy Young hype with his effort agains the Pittsurgh Pirates Monday night.  Lincecum pitched a complete gams and struck out 15 Pirates.  The San Francisco Giants won the game 4-2.  The two Pirate runs were unearned gifts courtesy of wishy-washy and heavily traveled shortstop Edgar Renteria. 

Lincecum only surrendered three hits and made the Pirate lineup look foolish from top to bottom.  No doubt about it, The Freak was cranked up and rolling at the bay!

Granted the fete was somewhat downplayed because it happened against the Karen Carpenter-offense of Pittsburgh.  The Pirates had been shut out their last two starts and Lincecum was not the man they needed to see to get the offensive bus moving forward.