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When I was little, Lego was by far my favorite toy (I did not have a glove nor a baseball), but I never did anything like what Home Run Derby discovered.
Well, now that a new baseball season is upon us … it’s time to do the opposite and show some well constructed Baseball Stadiums and Ballparks. But instead of ballparks which are made of bricks or steel - let’s look at some venues which were built with some of my favorite bricks.
[…] a Lego version of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minnesota […] But that Metrodome is just kid stuff. Check out the truly incredible replicas of MLB Stadia that Lego Artist Jason Burik has put together.
Chris Mottram of Mr. Irrelevant reads Ryan Zimmerman’s lips when he hit the walk-off for the Nats yesterday.
And in case you stopped watching after the homer, you may wanna go back and peep around the 3:10 mark. They show the replay and you can read Zimmerman’s lips: “Get the *bleep* out.”
Personally, I only see him phrase "Get out", but judge for yourself:
Considering its pedestrian origins, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" has come far in a century.
As one story goes, Jack Norworth, a vaudeville entertainer and songwriter, was riding the New York City subway one day in 1908. He noticed a sign that reportedly read: "Ballgame Today — Polo Grounds."
Baseball lyrics jumped into his mind, and Norworth wrote those lyrics down on scraps of paper.
Albert Von Tilzer then took Norworth’s lyrics and put them to music, and the song, written as a waltz, became an instant hit — a Billboard chart topper had Billboard existed at the turn of the last century.
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game."
Neither Von Tilzer nor Norworth had ever been to a ballgame when putting their song together, and the most popular version of the song begins with the second of four verses, which perhaps no baseball crowd in America — from Wrigley, to Turner Field to Safeco Field — can sing in its entirety, even if Caray got them queued up.
Former Montreal Expos fan CJ Cote from Baseball Digest Daily has a unique suggestion for baseball fans without strong team loyalities:
So this year I decided to take a different approach. Like many hundreds of thousands of fans throughout the American continent, I have no team in my city and although I do feel a certain attachment to some teams more than others, my heart does not bleed any particular color at this time. So why not explore a new path to fandom for me. […] So, this year, I’m signing a one year fan deal with the Tigers. From now and until the end of the season, I’ll root for the Tigers, follow the Tigers and get upset with them for not living up to their full potential all 100% of the time.
I thought about the criteria, which I would use to find the right team for me, if I had no allegiance with the Angels already. The most important thing for me would be that the teams’ games often start before 5 p.m. eastern time, so I can watch them live across the ocean.
FOX Sports’ Dayn Perry asks ten questions that the 2008 season is going to answer for him.
1. Can the Red Sox repeat?
2. Will the Cubs end a century of failure?
3. Can the Mets stay healthy?
4. Will the Yankees’ young starters do the job?
5. Do the Tigers have enough pitching?
6. Can the Pirates avoid making history?
7. Will Randy Johnson get to 300 wins?
8. What will become of Barry Bonds?
9. Who will be this year’s surprise team?
10. Will the Wests be wild?
Why wait until October? 1. yes, 2. no, 3. no (but they will win the division anyway), 4. partly, 5. yes, 6. no, 7. not this year, 8. he will retire, 9. the Rays, 10. yes. Who has other answers?
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal asks for it and he shall receive.
Not that you ever need prompting to rip apart the latest ill-informed splattering from the mainstream media, but here’s an invitation on a gold-engraved, all-but-autographed platter: Embarrassing as it is to admit, my annual column predicting which team will win the World Series often defies sabermetric orthodoxy, not to mention conventional logic. Sort of like baseball itself. […]
Bloggers, man your keyboards!
My choice to win it all is the Braves.
As much as I would like to crush Rosenthal for his choice (I picked the Braves to finish third - like in most other predictions I have seen), I’m just not that sure that the Braves do not have a chance. If the Braves really make it to the postseason, they have a pretty good 1-2 punch in Smoltz and Hudson and an offense that can really smash. Other than maybe the Mets, I don’t see a team that is built better for the postseason. The problem for the Braves is to get there. If any of their starters misses any extensive time, I don’t think they have the depth to overcome this.The bullpen also does not look that good to me, but relievers are never easy to judge and you never know who might have a career year in the pen.
Yesterday, the Dodgers and Red Sox played an exhibition game in the Los Angeles Coliseum before a record crowd of 115,300 fans. The Coliseum, where the Dodgers played their home games after they moved to L.A. from Brooklyn, featured a 201 feet left field with a 60-feet high screen. This unique field prompted manager Joe Torre to go with some unusual defensive alignment. It didn’t help.
The Dodgers used a five-man infield against the Boston Red Sox. Too bad they weren’t allowed to put a player or two in the Los Angeles Coliseum stands.
Kevin Cash and Kevin Youkilis hit cheap homers off Esteban Loaiza to account for five runs in the first three innings, and the Red Sox beat the Dodgers 7-4 Saturday night before an announced crowd of 115,300 — largest ever to watch a baseball game.
Check out the picture on the page, you won’t see anything like that for a while.
Woody Williams was put on unconditional release waivers Saturday by Houston Astros, who owe the pitcher $6.5 million. The 41-year-old right-hander was 8-15 with a 5.27 ERA last season and had an 11.32 ERA in spring training this year. He gave up five runs and five hits in three innings during Friday’s 10-0 exhibition loss to Detroit. […] First baseman Lance Berkman questioned the timing. "Possibly a bit premature,'’ he said. "The game is completely different in the regular season than it is in spring training, especially from a guy like Woody who has been around the block a few times.'’ […] KRIV reported Williams plans to retire.
While Berkman is right that spring training stats should not be overrated, when you look at last season’s numbers, Williams appears to be done. Better to accept the costs of $6.5 as sunken and see who else can throw the ball. The Astros aren’t going anywhere anyway this year.
What I find intriguing is Williams’ perspective on this. Instead of grinding through another 32 starts for a losing team and risk more injuries, he can comfortably watch the season from his home and still collect his $6.5 million paycheck (I guess he gets all at once now?). God, I wish I could retire like that.
Jim Kaat, announcer for the Yankees’ YES network, is not a fan of games played abroad.
I need someone to explain the logic behind opening the Major League Baseball season in a foreign country to promote "America’s game". Do owners need money that badly? […] First and foremost, we need to grow the game in our country, the USA. […] I have heard in recent years that baseball is not appealing to young athletes in the black community. There are not as many Hank Aarons or Willie Mayses or Joe Morgans or Bob Gibsons. Why? I do[…]If Japanese and Chinese citizens learn to play the game skillfully enough to play in the Major Leagues, good for them, but let’s not neglect promoting "our" game in "our" country. […] Opening Day was a red-letter day on our calendar. Opening Day held many significances — a father/son bonding experience; it meant that spring was here; the fresh air and green grass.
I can’t say I agree with everything Kaat is ranting on about, but I do not understand why regular games need to be played in Japan either. Now the regular season is already on the way while 28 teams are still playing Cactus or Grapefruit League. Even rhe Red Sox and Athletics are playing exhibition games again. Apart from being unfair to the A’s, who have two "real" home games less, it does take something away from Opening Day in my opinon.
If the goal is to promote the MLB game in Japan, I’d rather see the World Series winner going there to play the Japanese champions. Or why not send an All-Non-Signed team over for some games in spring? They would be motivated, too.
ESPN has a rundown of all 99 years of the Cubs drough. I wonder why everyone focusses on the Billy Goat, there are plenty other possible curses:
1909 - The Steinfeldt-Curse: The club falls out of first place on May 30 after getting swept in a doubleheader by the Pirates. Despite going 81-34 the rest of the way, the Cubs finish with 104 wins, six fewer than the Pirates and the highest winning percentage ever for a team that didn’t finish in first place. Third baseman Harry Steinfeldt also is left unable to cash in on licensing the term "three-peat."
1918 - The Comiskey-Curse: In a season cut a month short because of the Great War, the Cubs meet the Red Sox in the World Series. Ruth beats Vaughn 1-0 in Game 1 and then wins Game 4, 3-2. Maybe the Cubs never should have played their home games at Comiskey Park (they played there because Comiskey was larger).
1926 - The Alexander-Curse: Under new manager Joe McCarthy, the season’s big news happens on June 22, when the Cubs waive Hall of Fame pitcher Alexander after he clashes with McCarthy over his drinking. (Alexander was an alcoholic.) The Cardinals pick him up and he helps them to the pennant and World Series title. In fact, he’s far from done; he wins 37 games the next two seasons and could have pushed the Cubs to pennants both years.
1935 - The French-Curse: Thanks to a 21-game winning streak in September, the Cubs reach the World Series, where they trail the Tigers, three games to two. They appear poised to even things up after Stan Hack’s leadoff triple in the ninth inning of Game 6 puts the go-ahead run 90 feet from home plate. Alas, three straight Cubs batters (including pitcher Larry French, who is allowed to hit) fail to bring Hack home. Goose Goslin puts Chicago fans out of their misery in the bottom of the ninth with a series-ending RBI single.
Mark Prior - remember him? - might actually help the Padres this season.
The San Diego Padres right-hander, who had shoulder surgery in April while with the Chicago Cubs, threw 25 pitches during an eight-minute session.
"It was good," Prior said. "It was nice to see their reaction to how I’m throwing even though they’re way ahead of me as far as being prepared. It was good to get in there and see where you’re at."
Prior is currently on the 60-Day-DL and could be activated as early as May 15th. If he really pitched effectively in San Diego this year, I’m sure the Cubs are going to kick themselves in the a**. Then again, it is a long way from throwing 25 pitches to facing a major league lineup in a game that means something. I wouldn’t put any money on Prior’s arm. We’ll see.
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