First Day of the Long Winter
I would be remiss if I didn't send out congratulations to my good friend Scott - yes, his Yankees won the World Series and I am sure he is still on cloud 9. If you're a regular reader here you know that Scott and I have had friendly wagers going on all season whenever our two teams played. We were tied for wins when the regular season ended and as is always the case for two teams who play in the American League - only one could advance farther then the other. And this year, Scott's team went farther then mine. Scott - I've enjoyed our battles this season and did you notice - the MLB scheduler's smiled on us - the Red Sox and the Yankees open and close the 2010 season against each other, so yes Scott - It is most definitely GAME ON! However shall we pass the time until then? There's always hockey and football and how about those 6-0 Celtics? ;-) But, far be it from me not to be a gracious "loser" for a last time this season - so for you my friend. Enjoy a little something from a "favorite distraction"....
posted on YouTube by CrisVS
GO RED SOX!! ;-)
I can not take it anymore! Something has got to be done about them. And the sooner the better.
I had some other things I was going to write about - but as I was writing my blog today, the news broke about the attack at Fort Hood in Texas..
posted on YouTube by CrisVS
GO RED SOX!! ;-)
With the World Series ending - finally - baseball moves into its third season - the Hot Stove Season!
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While maybe not as exciting as the regular season (or post season), the Hot Stove Season is always full of drama and suspense. Who will be traded? Who will be acquired? What will my team look like come Spring Training? Each team has their own plan for this off-season; their own priority list. But before that even begins, there are a number of things that I saw in the post season that I think Major League Baseball needs to address before any of the teams can move forward.
1.
http://carolynbaker.net
Either we round up all the Major League Umps and send them off a cliff like a bunch of lemmings or else MLB needs to pay for a lot of eye exams. The number of blown calls this post-season alone should be an embarrassment to Bub Selig and the powers to be. When all is working right, we don't even notice that the umps are at the game. And that is the way it should be. And this post season? Calling runners safe when they are out by 4 feet? Calling balls foul when they are clearly fair? And seriously - what rule says that the strike zone is suppose to be in constant flux during the game? High school kids calling little league games would have done a better job. It is not acceptable - to fans and players a like - to have so many errors made by umps. Do I think there should be instant replay for all calls? No. But maybe there is room for some sort of limited expanded instant replay so certain calls. I don't have the answers but Buddy and his croonies better find one and find it soon.
2.
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Can we please do something about the number of meetings that take place on the pitcher's mound? Seriously. The Yankee fans were booing when Pedro felt the need to have a little chat after the first pitch in game 6, but what about the 6 & 7 trips to the mound PER INNING that Posada and Molina were making during the games in Philly? I know - some of it is just to "psych out" the batter, but is it really necessary to make that many trips? It interrupts the flow of the game. The manager is allowed 2 trips and the pitcher has to be pulled. And why is that? Because in the 1970s Billy Martin, then manager of the New York Yankees, would make so many trips out to the mound that the league felt it had to step in and change the rules. I think it might be time for them to look at the rule again.
3. Please, please PLEASE!!! Can something be done about the baseball announcers on FOX & ESPN and to a lesser extent TBS. When I watch Red Sox games on NESN, I expect Jerry Remy and Donny-O to have a certain bias towards the Red Sox. But a National Broadcast team? We should be able to expect an impartial broadcast team who actually talks about the two teams who are playing! When my Red Sox are playing the TB Rays - I really do not want to hear about the Yankees! Over and over and over again...
http://1.bp.blogspot.com
While maybe not as exciting as the regular season (or post season), the Hot Stove Season is always full of drama and suspense. Who will be traded? Who will be acquired? What will my team look like come Spring Training? Each team has their own plan for this off-season; their own priority list. But before that even begins, there are a number of things that I saw in the post season that I think Major League Baseball needs to address before any of the teams can move forward.
1.
http://carolynbaker.netEither we round up all the Major League Umps and send them off a cliff like a bunch of lemmings or else MLB needs to pay for a lot of eye exams. The number of blown calls this post-season alone should be an embarrassment to Bub Selig and the powers to be. When all is working right, we don't even notice that the umps are at the game. And that is the way it should be. And this post season? Calling runners safe when they are out by 4 feet? Calling balls foul when they are clearly fair? And seriously - what rule says that the strike zone is suppose to be in constant flux during the game? High school kids calling little league games would have done a better job. It is not acceptable - to fans and players a like - to have so many errors made by umps. Do I think there should be instant replay for all calls? No. But maybe there is room for some sort of limited expanded instant replay so certain calls. I don't have the answers but Buddy and his croonies better find one and find it soon.
2.
http://3.bp.blogspot.comCan we please do something about the number of meetings that take place on the pitcher's mound? Seriously. The Yankee fans were booing when Pedro felt the need to have a little chat after the first pitch in game 6, but what about the 6 & 7 trips to the mound PER INNING that Posada and Molina were making during the games in Philly? I know - some of it is just to "psych out" the batter, but is it really necessary to make that many trips? It interrupts the flow of the game. The manager is allowed 2 trips and the pitcher has to be pulled. And why is that? Because in the 1970s Billy Martin, then manager of the New York Yankees, would make so many trips out to the mound that the league felt it had to step in and change the rules. I think it might be time for them to look at the rule again.
3. Please, please PLEASE!!! Can something be done about the baseball announcers on FOX & ESPN and to a lesser extent TBS. When I watch Red Sox games on NESN, I expect Jerry Remy and Donny-O to have a certain bias towards the Red Sox. But a National Broadcast team? We should be able to expect an impartial broadcast team who actually talks about the two teams who are playing! When my Red Sox are playing the TB Rays - I really do not want to hear about the Yankees! Over and over and over again...
I can not take it anymore! Something has got to be done about them. And the sooner the better.I had some other things I was going to write about - but as I was writing my blog today, the news broke about the attack at Fort Hood in Texas..
and that put a lot of things into perspective. As of this time - 13 people have been killed (including the suspected gun man), 31 people have been wounded and the relative safety that those who live and work at the largest US Army base in the world enjoyed has been shattered. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and to all our men and women in the military. It shakes our feelings of safety when we see something like this happen to those who are charged with protecting us. God Bless you all and thank you.
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http://freepages.military.com
Finally my season is over, and I am sure that you are at least happy about that aspect of it! I am anxious to hear your reaction to the Jeremy Hermida trade by the Red Sox. I agree with Theo's logic and why not take a shot at a former 1st rounder who is only 25. A replacement for Jason Bay, perhaps? j/k Well, I'm off to set up TiVo to record David Letterman tonight. I heard from a friend that he is planning very special guests tonight! :) P.S. I hadn't heard about the tragedy in Texas. That's horrible news...
Scott
http://fotr.mlblogs.com
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It’s good to hear how Yankees won the World Series and of course it gives the people pride and honor to be called YANKEES. Well this is more worthy to talked about that the rumored Brandon Spikes eye gouging video. I can also say that Hot Stove Season is always full of drama and suspense. And that is the mystery why they have that spices? Well, more updates for us and thanks for the wonderful blog. I love it!
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Julia, I was horrified by the killings at Fort Hood. There is so much security but who protects the soldiers from each other? The weird thing is that the killer is a psychiatrist.
I noticed that the Dodgers have quite a few free agents, key players are Wolf, Garland and Padilla, our pitchers. Also Hudson. And still waiting to see if Manny picks up the option.
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I feel ya on the broadcasters and good lookin' out for our soldiers too. I imagine seeing the Yankees win is tough on a Red Sox fan... just like the old days, eh? Let's hope not.
--Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
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