lou piniella rang up another one on saturday by sleeping thru the most strategic point of the game in the fifth inning. obviously exhausted by his dust-up with milton bradley the day before, boo-boo lou had no clue as he let an exhausted ryan dempster, who had already thrown 100 pitches in less than five innings, face left handed hitting a.j. pierzynski with the bases loaded and two out.
the result? aj singles in two runs and the cubs eventually lose by one.
now let me introduce you to sean marshall, the only left hander in the cub bullpen. all marshall did the day before was induce aj to hit into a one pitch bases loaded double play which saved the game for the struggling north siders. was marshall even warmed up? noooooooooooooo. lou must have been 'saving him' like zambrano in the 2007 playoffs. how'd that work out for you, boo-boo?
lou did awake in time for the for the ninth inning and brought in marshall and guess what 2 outs he got? that's right. left-handed hitters aj & jim thome.
this guy is brutal and i'm happy to finally hear rumblings from the media that it may be time for boo-boo to head to florida......permanently.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
MICHAEL JACKSON
in 1984, i was a five year veteran of the police department and lucky enough to be asked to work security at comiskey park where michael jackson was performing three concerts in mid-october. the bulk of the security people were off duty chicago officers and most of them opted to 'work' the upper deck where the chances of a problem were almost non-existent. as a matter of fact, the night i worked there was ONE arrest out of the capacity crowd of 45,000 and that was for trying to sell a counterfeit ticket OUTSIDE the park. very tame.
after the senior guys grabbed the upper deck, i was asked by the director of security what my preference was regarding location of my post for the evening. after some discussion, i was assigned the third base dugout area and my assignment was to keep people from rushing the stage set up at second base. for the record, i was perfect in my assignment.
but the real thrill of the night was watching michael jackson perform from 125 feet away on a cold october evening. at that time, he was 26 years old and already had nine gold records as well as the largest selling album of all time, "Thriller," in 1982. sales on that disc have been verified at forty million but may be as high as 100 million. no one else has ever come close.
the best part was that i got paid to lean against the white sox dugout and watch jackson perform every hit from motown thru his pop years, 'ben' to billie jean' and 'beat it.' totally mesmerized for two hours. he was the best while he was on stage but you can't ignore the total package, which includes his personal life.
his personal life was a mess and long ago i felt that he should be in prison. but we don't live in a perfect world and money definitely talks (just ask robert blake or o.j. the first time). when you combine his pedophilia with the whitening of his skin. multiple nose jobs and weird interviews, there is only one conclusion. freak. a total disaster off stage.
but the spotlight of celebrity shined so bright that people dismissed his prior actions and accepted his foibles as part of his superstardom. his upcming london concerts would have grossed a half billion dollars. with a B. he was weird, strange, offbeat, freaky and just plain strange. but he was the greatest i ever saw in concert. i will miss his music.
after the senior guys grabbed the upper deck, i was asked by the director of security what my preference was regarding location of my post for the evening. after some discussion, i was assigned the third base dugout area and my assignment was to keep people from rushing the stage set up at second base. for the record, i was perfect in my assignment.
but the real thrill of the night was watching michael jackson perform from 125 feet away on a cold october evening. at that time, he was 26 years old and already had nine gold records as well as the largest selling album of all time, "Thriller," in 1982. sales on that disc have been verified at forty million but may be as high as 100 million. no one else has ever come close.
the best part was that i got paid to lean against the white sox dugout and watch jackson perform every hit from motown thru his pop years, 'ben' to billie jean' and 'beat it.' totally mesmerized for two hours. he was the best while he was on stage but you can't ignore the total package, which includes his personal life.
his personal life was a mess and long ago i felt that he should be in prison. but we don't live in a perfect world and money definitely talks (just ask robert blake or o.j. the first time). when you combine his pedophilia with the whitening of his skin. multiple nose jobs and weird interviews, there is only one conclusion. freak. a total disaster off stage.
but the spotlight of celebrity shined so bright that people dismissed his prior actions and accepted his foibles as part of his superstardom. his upcming london concerts would have grossed a half billion dollars. with a B. he was weird, strange, offbeat, freaky and just plain strange. but he was the greatest i ever saw in concert. i will miss his music.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
STEROID SOLUTION
over the last couple of months, we've all heard more steroid stories involving a-rod, manny, pablo ozuna and sergio mitre and their subsequent 50 game suspensions and most recently sammy sosa, but instead of decreasing with long suspensions, the problem continues to fester for major league baseball and for that matter, all areas of sports.
turns out jose canseco was dead on with his allegations and while i understand his motives were financial rather than moral, i can still remember his reaction on '60 minutes' when asked if he feared legal action from the players named in his first book. canseco stared into the camera and stated "there isn't a player mentioned in my book who would dare to file a lawsuit against me and risk being under oath at a deposition. i can guarantee there will be no lawsuits from the players." that's when i was convinced that MLB was in deep trouble. (canseco was right--there were no lawsuits filed)
but the solution is right in front of bud selig's face. total amnesty. simple and to the point. players who have used performance enhancing drugs would have 30 days to file a sworn affadavit with MLB in which they admit their former drug usage. they wouldn't have to name their suppliers or the people who injected them or the person who introduced them to the drug in the first place. those players would then receive total amnesty from MLB and their names would be forwarded to the HALL OF FAME so in the event they were enshrined, their spot in the hall would be duly noted with an asterisk that signified they were an admitted user of performance enhancing drugs during their career.
i can hear you now. veit, what kind of b.s. is that? total amnesty with no punishment? no way!
ah, but here's the rub. effective opening day, 2010, the ZERO TOLERANCE policy goes into effect. ANY player testing positive is banned from baseball. period. good-bye. adios. sayanora.
if you test positive at my local township highway department at ANY TIME, you are immediately terminated. done. finished. severed. all the employees receive this information on their 'hire day' and sign off on a document that they understand the consequences. simple. cut & dried. pack your bags and leave.
second chance? no. ZERO tolerance. feel free to try and catch on with the northern league or the joliet jackhammers or go to japan or cuba but you are done with MLB. you knew the risk and still decided to roll the dice. you lose.
harsh? you bet. unforgiving? yep. but america is tired of being lied to and having cheaters win awards and championships. you don't like it? then quit baseball and go get a job at the local warehouse. can't wait to see your reaction when they have a surprise urine test for all the guys on the loading dock.
how about the sosas and mcgwires and other retired players? another day ...another blog.
turns out jose canseco was dead on with his allegations and while i understand his motives were financial rather than moral, i can still remember his reaction on '60 minutes' when asked if he feared legal action from the players named in his first book. canseco stared into the camera and stated "there isn't a player mentioned in my book who would dare to file a lawsuit against me and risk being under oath at a deposition. i can guarantee there will be no lawsuits from the players." that's when i was convinced that MLB was in deep trouble. (canseco was right--there were no lawsuits filed)
but the solution is right in front of bud selig's face. total amnesty. simple and to the point. players who have used performance enhancing drugs would have 30 days to file a sworn affadavit with MLB in which they admit their former drug usage. they wouldn't have to name their suppliers or the people who injected them or the person who introduced them to the drug in the first place. those players would then receive total amnesty from MLB and their names would be forwarded to the HALL OF FAME so in the event they were enshrined, their spot in the hall would be duly noted with an asterisk that signified they were an admitted user of performance enhancing drugs during their career.
i can hear you now. veit, what kind of b.s. is that? total amnesty with no punishment? no way!
ah, but here's the rub. effective opening day, 2010, the ZERO TOLERANCE policy goes into effect. ANY player testing positive is banned from baseball. period. good-bye. adios. sayanora.
if you test positive at my local township highway department at ANY TIME, you are immediately terminated. done. finished. severed. all the employees receive this information on their 'hire day' and sign off on a document that they understand the consequences. simple. cut & dried. pack your bags and leave.
second chance? no. ZERO tolerance. feel free to try and catch on with the northern league or the joliet jackhammers or go to japan or cuba but you are done with MLB. you knew the risk and still decided to roll the dice. you lose.
harsh? you bet. unforgiving? yep. but america is tired of being lied to and having cheaters win awards and championships. you don't like it? then quit baseball and go get a job at the local warehouse. can't wait to see your reaction when they have a surprise urine test for all the guys on the loading dock.
how about the sosas and mcgwires and other retired players? another day ...another blog.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
BRADLEY PUNCHES TICKET OUT OF TOWN
milton bradley, the thirty million dollar bust, guaranteed his seat on the 'one way express' out of town by taking a cavalier attitude towards the fans after making consecutive inning defensive blunders and a base running mistake during a 7-4 loss to the minnesota twins.
bradley dropped a fly ball, which happens to the best of them (of which bradley is not), and then committed a little league mistake an inning later by throwing a ball into the stands with only two outs. those two gems were amplified by his 'baseball 101' running mistake in the 6th when he tried to advance from second on a grounder to third.
his comment to the fans? "sue me." the obnoxious miscreant acknowledged that both he and the fans have high expectations but that "i've made much worse mistakes than today." oh, good.
a couple of seasons back, a very nice guy named jacque jones fanned the ire of cub fans when he started slow and displayed less than awesome defensive skills. despite the fact that his bat came alive and he was very productive most of the season, the fans rode him mercilessly until he was given his walking papers. bradley, bereft of jones' public relation skills, has basically told the fans to kiss his behind and to get over it. i can't wait to see how this plays out with the bleacher folks.
bradley is toast and will be heading back to the american league as soon as the cubs find a sucker desperate for offensive help. the cubs will sell the package by saying that chicago was a 'bad fit' for poor milton and he simply needs a change of scenery.
i hate to say i told you so but.......
bradley dropped a fly ball, which happens to the best of them (of which bradley is not), and then committed a little league mistake an inning later by throwing a ball into the stands with only two outs. those two gems were amplified by his 'baseball 101' running mistake in the 6th when he tried to advance from second on a grounder to third.
his comment to the fans? "sue me." the obnoxious miscreant acknowledged that both he and the fans have high expectations but that "i've made much worse mistakes than today." oh, good.
a couple of seasons back, a very nice guy named jacque jones fanned the ire of cub fans when he started slow and displayed less than awesome defensive skills. despite the fact that his bat came alive and he was very productive most of the season, the fans rode him mercilessly until he was given his walking papers. bradley, bereft of jones' public relation skills, has basically told the fans to kiss his behind and to get over it. i can't wait to see how this plays out with the bleacher folks.
bradley is toast and will be heading back to the american league as soon as the cubs find a sucker desperate for offensive help. the cubs will sell the package by saying that chicago was a 'bad fit' for poor milton and he simply needs a change of scenery.
i hate to say i told you so but.......
Thursday, June 11, 2009
IS RICKEY HENDERSON THE BEST EVER?
twenty five years. a quarter of a century. incredibly, that's how long rickey henderson played major league baseball and he played it at such a high level that his first ballot opportunity into the HALL OF FAME brought him the second highest vote percentage in the history of baseball, being named on 511 of 539 ballots for an overwhelming 94.8 percent, trailing only tom seaver, who was named on 98.8 percent of the ballots.
is he the greatest ever? well, if you're talking about likeability, the answer is a resounding 'no' because rickey alienated the press, media, teammates and the fans with his egotism, third person references and his general frostiness towards the general public.
but my oh my, what a career.
without argument, rickey was the greatest leadoff man to ever play the game. a career batting average of .279 was amplified by his incredible on-base percentage of .401. think about that.
for every 10 at bats, rickey reached base four times. when you factor in 2190 walks coupled with over FOURTEEN HUNDRED stolen bases, 510 doubles and 66 triples, you can see the effect rickey had on the opposition. he also cracked 297 home runs and led off a game 81 times with a dinger as he displayed speed and strength to burn.
he led the league 12 times in stolen bases, was a 10 time all star, selected as the 1990 MVP and scored just shy of 2300 runs while winning two world series titles. absolutely staggering statistics which make rickey one of the five best of ALL TIME, if not the best. and he did this for twenty five years.
by the way....baseball was rickey's second best sport. he was a TWO TIME high scholl all-american running back at oakland tech and had 57 scholarship offers before he decided to pursue baseball.
rickey, welcome to the HALL OF FAME. a well deserved honor.
is he the greatest ever? well, if you're talking about likeability, the answer is a resounding 'no' because rickey alienated the press, media, teammates and the fans with his egotism, third person references and his general frostiness towards the general public.
but my oh my, what a career.
without argument, rickey was the greatest leadoff man to ever play the game. a career batting average of .279 was amplified by his incredible on-base percentage of .401. think about that.
for every 10 at bats, rickey reached base four times. when you factor in 2190 walks coupled with over FOURTEEN HUNDRED stolen bases, 510 doubles and 66 triples, you can see the effect rickey had on the opposition. he also cracked 297 home runs and led off a game 81 times with a dinger as he displayed speed and strength to burn.
he led the league 12 times in stolen bases, was a 10 time all star, selected as the 1990 MVP and scored just shy of 2300 runs while winning two world series titles. absolutely staggering statistics which make rickey one of the five best of ALL TIME, if not the best. and he did this for twenty five years.
by the way....baseball was rickey's second best sport. he was a TWO TIME high scholl all-american running back at oakland tech and had 57 scholarship offers before he decided to pursue baseball.
rickey, welcome to the HALL OF FAME. a well deserved honor.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
BOO-BOO LOU NOTCHES LOSS NUMBER 5!!
lou piniella is one step closer to the unemployment office after his absolutely BONE HEADED DECISION cost the cubs a 12 inning loss in atlanta tuesday night, bringing his total of managerial losses for the 2009 season to five as the cubs gagged it up to the braves, 6-5.
in the tenth inning, boo-boo lou actually made the proper decision by intentionally walking future hall of famer chipper jones with first base open and the winning run in scoring position, a statistically sound baseball move which worked out just fine when garret anderson grounded out to end the inning.
BUT in the 12th, the worst in-game manager in major league baseball was exposed again as he chose to PITCH to chipper jones in basically the same situation. with a man on second and only one out, rather than walk him and set up a potential force or inning ending double play, boo-boo lou chose to challenge jones (the leading hitter on the team) who promptly won the game with a hard base hit. what makes his decision even worse is that the next hitter due up was having a terrible night with an 0-4 performance to that point.
lou piniella is a functional illiterate whose mental faculties are constantly being challenged by the stresses of the game. he is no longer able to function at the high level needed to compete for league championships and needs to disappear. this is his FIFTH LOSS of the year and when you only have a .500 ball club, each victory is worth it's weight in gold.
i don't know if cub fans deserve better but the players certainly do. say goodbye, boo-boo.
in the tenth inning, boo-boo lou actually made the proper decision by intentionally walking future hall of famer chipper jones with first base open and the winning run in scoring position, a statistically sound baseball move which worked out just fine when garret anderson grounded out to end the inning.
BUT in the 12th, the worst in-game manager in major league baseball was exposed again as he chose to PITCH to chipper jones in basically the same situation. with a man on second and only one out, rather than walk him and set up a potential force or inning ending double play, boo-boo lou chose to challenge jones (the leading hitter on the team) who promptly won the game with a hard base hit. what makes his decision even worse is that the next hitter due up was having a terrible night with an 0-4 performance to that point.
lou piniella is a functional illiterate whose mental faculties are constantly being challenged by the stresses of the game. he is no longer able to function at the high level needed to compete for league championships and needs to disappear. this is his FIFTH LOSS of the year and when you only have a .500 ball club, each victory is worth it's weight in gold.
i don't know if cub fans deserve better but the players certainly do. say goodbye, boo-boo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
