March 2008
Up Sheets Creek; Love for RemDawg
Dan:
Watching a great pitchers’ duel between Zambrano and Sheets in the Brewers-Cubs game. Seeing all the talent on the Brewers, I feel even better about picking them to win that division.
There was a rain delay in the game, and ESPN2 jumped around to a bunch of other games; Nationals-Phillies, Red-Dbacks, White Sox-Indians. Whenever I get a chance to hear those other commentators we rarely get to hear, I’m always left appreciating Jerry Remy that much more.
Nationals Opener
Jason -
It was wonderful to be able to watch a regular season game last night and not have it end at 8am. Still, I was mortified to see the stands at 50% capacity in the 9th inning of a one-run ball game. Yes, the Nat’s aren’t supposed to be that good, but they do have some young, exciting bats. They were also we opening up a new ball park. What does it say about the baseball fans in our nation’s capitol if they aren’t willing to stick out a quality home-opener? The Nat’s won in the end. Their fans, though, got a loss.
Also – for my fantasy baseball team, which is in a keeper’s league, I decide against holding onto Ryan Zimmerman. After last night I’m wondering if I made a mistake.
MLB Crackdown?
Dan:
This morning, I read the following excerpt from the Cincinnati Enquirer. The reason for my interest in this follows.
As the Reds ready for the first pitch of the 2008 season, Major League Baseball is battling an opponent of its own: the news media that cover its teams. Baseball has been negotiating for months with sports editors over the terms under which reporters, photographers and bloggers can hold media credentials and what news outlets can do with the content they gather during games. The spat started when baseball issued its annual credential guidelines, which include tight restrictions on digital content such as photo galleries, audio and video on Web sites and blogs. The issue hasn’t gotten much traction among fans, many of whom may be unaware of its potential ramifications for how and where they get information about their teams. But sports marketing experts say the dispute is rooted in a larger issue in professional sports. They didn’t print newspapers and we did that, so we weren’t competitors. Now, we have Web sites, they have Web sites and so they view us as competitors,” said John Cherwa, chair of the legal affairs committee for the Associated Press Sports Editors.
My interest in this was probably heightened by the fact that I just checked out the new MLBlogs features this morning after being away this weekend, and I had some concerns, which I’ve already mentioned. A big concern, though, is there seems to be no way to browse other fan blogs by team anymore. There is only a tool to browse “pro blogs.” And, let’s face it, the player blogs are usually, if not always, written by pr people and are pretty dry. I haven’t found other “pro” blogs, like by reporters, broadcasters or mascots, all that interesting. However, I do like browsing other fan blogs, as they are usually the most entertaining, and written with passion and voice.
My reflexive fear, especially in light of this article, is that fan blogs are getting squeezed. That they want fans to blog simply as a way to drive up site traffic, get them to visit pro blogs to drive up traffic even more. But other than a way to drive up traffic they really don’t see much value in them, especially since they may say things that don’t follow the MLB party line. They won’t promote them. And, perhaps, maybe even make it difficult for bloggers to place their own ads on the site.
This is hopefully just a ridiculous, reflexive fear by me. I sincerly hope MLBlogs takes bloggers’ concerns to heart in the following days and weeks and makes it a place where fans truly want to blog (because they can be found and read, and maybe even make some money doing it). The new features are a great step toward improving the site. But I hope it isn’t trying to put a dress on a pig. Let’s keep the core of what makes the site great.
Mo Features, Mo Problems?
Dan:
Just got back from a weekend away, and excitedly jumped on the blog to see those new features we have on MLBlogs.com. I bet after I have a chance to play around with it and check them out, I’m really going to like it. At least, I hope so . . . . because right now I’m kind of freaking out.
You see, we just started running our first ads on the blog using TypePad. And we were about to run some other ads, and pop in some Google Ads. Money is good.
Now, I’m really new to these new features, but from what I can gather, the new “Link Lists” that has replaced TypePad doesn’t support HTML. That may make the link lists look funny, although I still may be able to work that out . . . but when a go to create a link I get “error on page.” So I’m freaking out about that.
Also freaking out I may not be able to plop in Google ads. Not too happy about not being able to control the number of columns on the blog page, either. So I’m freaking out. Hopefully in time . . . a time in the very, very near future . . . these things will be fixed or work themselves out, because have I mentioned I’m freaking out?
Drew’s Aching Back
Dan:
Moments before he jacked a pitch into the centerfield bleachers for a grand slam in Game 6 of last year’s ALCS, I said if J.D. Drew did something big at that moment, I’d never say anything negative about him again. Now, with his back aching, am I violating that pact by voicing my hope that Drew lands on the DL so the Sox can void his terrible contract after Year Three (next season)? I’m quite conflicted here.
BTW, how awesome was it to hear The Garden absolutely rocking the other night as fans chanted “MVP” every time Kevin Garnett went to the foul line during the Celtics-Suns game? It’s the first time the C’s have really been alive since the Bird Era, and it’s fun as (h)ell to have fans energized again. Can’t wait for the real season to begin (playoffs). In the NBA, the regular season really is extended preseason, because if your team isn’t in the Top 5 of your conference, you’d rather have a top draft pick.
Greatest Red Sox Managers
Dan:
If you haven’t seen it yet, the Boston Globe has a gallery ranking every manager in Red Sox history. (Check it out.) Terry Francona ranks first, of course, with two rings to his credit while managing in arguably the game’s most difficult environment. Meanwhile, it is a mystery to me how Grady Little (Number 20) ranks behind John McNamara (Number 19), who was every bit as bad in the playoffs as Grady, and was much worse overall. Even more of a mystery to me is how Kevin Kennedy ranks Number 10.
Dead last: Joe Kerrigan. How bad was he? The Sox were two games out of the wildcard when he took over on August 16 of 2001. By the end of the season, they were 19 1/2 games out of the wildcard.
A few years ago, while Joe Kerrigan was a pitching or bullpen coach for the Phillies, they played a friendly exhibition game against the D-Rays at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. There was polite applause for all the coaches when they were introduced, except Kerrigan, who received a few loud, boisterous, hateful boos from a couple of the fans in attendance . . . fans that just may have been my brother and I. It was a proud, proud moment.
What Now & Handicapping Rock of Love Final Four
Dan:
So now what? The opening two games in Japan got our baseball juices flowing, but now we have to wait almost a week til the next real game. (Don’t tell me you really care about the exhibition games with the Dodgers. Just don’t say it.)
In the meantime, there’s plenty to blog about. And I have some Red Sox countdown lists coming up that Sox fans should really enjoy. But before that, let’s get down to the business of handicapping The Final Four. No, I’m not talking about the NCAA Tournament (in which, by the way, I am destroying my brother). I’m talking about the final four contestants on the greatest show on TV (outside of The Pickup Artist), VH1′s Rock of Love 2. It’s been a great season for Brett Michaels, with plenty of drunks and amateur strippers to choose from. Now, he’s whittled the field down to the four best(?) competitors. Here’s the way I see everything going down:
Destiny
10-1 Odds
Destiny may have the best rock resume and seems to have made the rounds as a groupie. So she has the experience. She’s also stacked. But she doesn’t have much personality. Not that personality is the biggest factor for Poison’s lead singer, but, for some reason, I just don’t see it happening for her.
Daisy
8-1 Odds
Daisy is like last year’s Mets: On paper, she’s a winner. She has all the ingredients for what a hair-bander would want. She’s tatted-up; clinically dumb; I don’t want to say easy, but it looked like she already hooked up with Brett when she was still one of 12 competitors; and she has more replacement parts than a 1968 Dodge pickup. But in a way, all of that works against her. If they have hooked up, there’s no mystery left for Brett. She is so amazingly – AMAZINGLY – dumb, too dumb for even the steady girlfriend of a rocker. And she has had so much work done on her face that she looks like it was done at a discounted price using a butter knife and ductape in a back alley by some half-blind, one-armed Bulgarian freshman med student. Yikes. And, at the end of the day, she is just way too annoying. . . . Oh yeah, and there’s that little detail about her still living with her ex, and it sounds like there are more secrets to come. Oh goodie.
Amanda
4-1 Odds
Amanda is this tournament’s Cinderella team. She was originally set to be voted out at the first elmination ceremony. But when one of the women decided not to stay in the competition, Brett, being the gentleman he is, gave her the chance to stick around. She’s made the most of that opportunity. She currently seems to be Brett’s favorite, and has certainly made the biggest personal connection with Brett of any of the ladies. But, at the end of the day, personal connections only go so far.
Jessica
2-1 Odds
It seemed Jessica didn’t even exist for the show’s first four weeks. But she has come on strong. Maybe she is too young (is she 23?). Maybe she can’t handle the rocker lifestyle (not a drinker who was catastrophically drunk on the last episode). Maybe she is too sweet and nice, as the other girls say. But her mix of really good looks, personality and her personal connection with Brett will win the day and make her Brett’s Rock of Love . . . that is, until Season 3.
Wildcard
Heather
In the first season of Rock of Love, Heather was the devastated runner-up. A stripper and notorious partier who seemed to mesh with Brett, most viewers were shocked when she wasn’t chosen. Maybe being too perfect a fit, it would have meant no Season 2. Now, she is back as Brett’s ‘friend’ to help him choose the next winner. But with no clear home-run winner among the candidates, Heather may be Al Gore waiting in the wings.
Cheerleaders Rock
I was originally against the Celtics getting dancers/cheerleaders. Some garbage about tradition or something; I’m not sure in hindsight. But I’ve since changed my mind. Here, thanks to SI.com, are 25 reasons why.
-Dan
Ellsbury Catch Clip
Whether you missed it, or just want to see it again, here it is . . .
Game Two Thoughts
Dan:
- Emil Brown’s 3-run homer. It always hurts when you write that a guy is a "terrible baseball player" one day, and he hits a 3-run homer to beat you the next. Ouch.
- I couldn’t tell whether the crowd was really quiet or there just weren’t enough (or well-placed) microphones, until Jerry Remy mentioned how quiet the crowd was. Made me think of when Buster Douglas knocked out MIke Tyson in Tokyo, and the crowd reacted with all the volume and enthusiasm of a first-round match at Wimbledon. In the States, the crowd would have blown the roof off that night.
- The tough thing about games this time of year is you over-analyze each single game instead of analyzing a pattern over two or three weeks. You can’t put each game under a microscope in baseball. However . . . Daisuke’s five walks; Lester doesn’t make it to the fifth. It is disturbing to see last year’s troublesome pitching trends continue into this season. If these guys had made adjustments, you’d think we’d see at least of hint of that.
- I’m pretty satisfied with a split out of these games.
- Now the tough part of jet lag — the flight back. Hopefully the team handles it well and they are ready to go come the real games next week.
- I noticed some fans said they were tracking the Red Sox flight over to Japan. They’ll probably track the flight back. I love the Sox. But, to me, that’s a sign that you might need medication.
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