Sports Then and Now

With Opening Day only four weeks away, it doesn’t get any better than hearing Jason Grilli talk about the ticket that got him here. Grilli sits down with Cleveland Indians beat writer, Nick Camino, on WTAM 1100 AM Cleveland Indians Radio, aka The Big One in this up close and personal talk about Spring Training 2010.

Listening to Grill Cheese talk about topics including, his chances of making the 2010 version of the Cleveland Indians, his off-season preparation and pitching for Team Italia in the World Baseball Classic makes it nearly impossible to think of anything, but Opening Day.

Grilli and fellow Italian, Camino, share some good ol’ Pisan humor during this candid and entertaining interview at the Indians Spring Training facility in Goodyear, AZ.  Grill and Camino even break away from baseball for a bit and discuss Grilli’s business, Perfect Pitch Marketing and the new CU3000 Globalinx Video Phone. Read the rest of this entry →

Elwin Charles “Preacher” Roe was born on this day in 1916 in the town of Ash Flat, Arkansas.  Around the age of three, a relative asked him his name.  Roe, who had been spending a lot of time with the family’s pastor who took the local kids for horse-and-buggy rides, answered with the name “Preacher”.  It stuck and lent an air of the eccentric to one of the premier pitchers of the 1940’s and 50’s.

"Why anyone would think it was a good idea to get a photo of me with a bat is beyond me."

Roe was a minor leaguer in the Cardinals organization before ending up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1943.  His talent developed quickly and Roe found himself as the opening day hurler in 1944 and lead the National League in strikeouts in 1945.  After a few more seasons in the steel city, Roe was picked up in a trade by the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Branch Rickey had remembered Roe from his days with the Cardinals organization ad decided to get him for the Dodgers.

Roe excelled while in Brooklyn, becoming one of their most solid starters.  In 1951, though the Dodgers lost the pennant to the Giants with “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” Roe had a carreer season, posting a 22-3 record in 33 starts.

Roe was known for his excellent control that he utilized to make up for not having an amazingly powerful arm.

“My three pitches are my change, my change off my change, and my change off my change off my change,” Roe was quoted as saying.  Which wasn’t exactly true as Roe reportedly made use of the “spitter” on occasion, as well.

He played in three World Series with the Dodgers (’49, ’52, 53) while posting a 2-1 record in starts and logging a 2.54 ERA.

After retiring from the game after the 1954 season and bought a small store in Missouri.  He stayed active in youth baseball and his community throughout his life. Read the rest of this entry →

As February winds to a close, baseball enthusiasts across the country perk up.  Spring is in the air, even if the temperatures deny it, because there are signs of the baseball to come.  Pitchers and catchers report.  Lists of spring training invitees and late free agent signings pepper the sports pages.  And don’t forget the first prima donna move of the spring, this year provided by non other that Manny Ramirez when he stated upon showing up at Dodgers camp that he won’t be there next year.

Ramirez announced yesterday (more or less unprompted) that he will not be with the Dodgers in 2011.

“I already accomplished all the things I wanted to accomplish… for me, all this is just extra. I know I’m not going to be here next year, so I just want to enjoy myself.”

Aside from the timing being odd, one must wonder what might be in the mind of Ramirez with comments such as these.  Do the fans of the Dodgers, fans who have not had a World Series win since 1988, think that Ramirez has accomplished everything?  What of the Dodgers organization? While they pay him his $20 million for 2010, are they thinking that this is all just gravy?

Ramizez showed his usual "layed back" priorities and set the tone for 2010 when in a press conference he stated "I already accomplished all the things I wanted to accomplish..."

The reality is that Ramirez time in Dodger blue has put “butts in the seats”.  He helped them get to the post season two years running.  But if Manny has accomplished everything he wanted to, what does that say about his priorities?

While sports opine about athletes who give stock, canned responses like, “All I’m concerned about is winning,” some might be temped to say that Ramirez’s honesty is refreshing.  Certainly being honest is a great virtue, but so is being professional.  The latter is a virtue that, once again, Manny has proven to be very short on.

over the years, Ramirez has turned himself into persona non grata, particularly in seasons where his contract is about to expire.  After coming to the Dodgers in a trade from Boston – a trade precipitated in part by Ramirez intentional (and unprofessional) lackluster performance – he exceeded expectations in the late summer of 2008.  The Dodgers technically held and option for 2009 that was being waived, so Manny was being a good boy.

Where as this year the free agent news has been dominated by Johnny Damon, this time last year the over-covered gun for hire was Ramirez.  He haggled with the Dodgers for months, rejecting offer after offer before finally signing a two year, $45 million deal at the eleventh hour.  Many speculated that the issue for Ramirez was he wanted not just more money, but more years.  After his behavior in Boston, as well as the in consideration of his age (37 last season), two years was all that L.A. was willing to do. Read the rest of this entry →

John McCain (seen here with Rob Manfred (L) executive vice president of labor for Major League Baseball, during a news conference on dietary supplements, on Capitol Hill, February 3, 2010) has the support of MLB. Should he?

Just days before the Super Bowl, Senator John McCain (R – Arizona) officially announced the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 (DSSA10). The bill, which he is co-sponsoring with Senator Byron Dorgan (D – North Dakota) proposes to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) control over the dietary supplement industry.

Inspired in part by the questionable make-up of certain non-prescription supplements, some of which have been blamed by athletes for their positive drug tests, has many supporters (including Bud Selig) that believe that, if signed into law, this bill would be beneficial for both sports and the public at large.

On the surface the bill seems likable enough. The profit margin on dietary supplements and vitamin sales topped $2.25 billion in 2007. Many of the items are marketed so as to lead consumers to the notion that they had true medicinal value while they are supposedly made up of ingredients heretofore not regulated.

McCain’s speech specifically mentioned the concept of certain manufacturers who are less than honest about ingredients, including substances that they should not be. This is the argument that the jocks use, as in, “I was only taking supplements. I had no idea they contained a banned substance!” According to McCain, they may not be lying after all. The issue gets a little bit cloudier, though, when one stops and thinks about that very issue. If the supplement manufacturers are adding substances that they should not be, they are already subject to scrutiny by the FDA. This from DailyPaul.com (as in Ron Paul): Read the rest of this entry →

Will Frank Thomas and Tom Glavine enter the Hall of Fame when they become eligible in 2014?

Now that Frank Thomas and Tom Glavine have both officially retired from Major League Baseball, it is time for that time honored tradition of debating whether they are Hall of Fame bound.

In both cases, I don’t think it is a matter as much of ‘if” they will get the call from Cooperstown, but instead “when” they will actually receive the prestigious honor.

With first-year nominee Roberto Alomar just missing selection in 2010, it served as a reminder that not everyone who seems a lock to get into the Hall of Fame will receive enough support in their initial year of eligibility.

In fact, when you look at players with comparable careers to both Thomas and Glavine, it might actually be considered a surprise if either of these great players actually reach the 75% mark during their first year of eligibility.

Given that he eclipsed the magical 300-win plateau, it might be a bit of a surprise to suggest that Glavine is not a first ballot lock.

However, both the history of similar candidates and the other candidates on the ballot in 2014 could conspire to hurt Glavine’s chances of first time induction.

Of the 20 pitchers with 300 or more victories and who are now eligible for the Hall of Fame, all 20 have plaques in Cooperstown.

However, of the eight pitchers who have reached 300 victories since 1950, only three (Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan) reached the Hall of Fame in their initial year of eligibility. Read the rest of this entry →

In the realm of general managers in Major League Baseball Theo Epstein is known for, among other things, the fact that in the years he’s been the GM of the Red Sox he has never gone through an arbitration hearing. His ability to negotiate, the team’s liquid financial status, and a bit of common sense have prevailed over his nine year career.

Well, that and the fact that he’s never had a player quite the caliber of Tim Lincecum to deal with. That’s Tim Lincecum, the 25 year old San Francisco Giants phenom, he of the two consecutive Cy Young Awards in his first two full seasons on the mound.

Including Lincecum, there have been eight Cy Young winners who took the award in consecutive years in the history of the game. In the AL there was Denny McClain (’68-’69), Jim Palmer (’75-’76), Roger Clemens (twice – ’86-’87 and ’97-’98), and Pedro Martinez (’99-’00). In the NL, we saw Sandy Koufax (’65-’66), Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson (special honors for the 4-peats – ’92 through ’95 and ’99 through ’02, respectively.) Of that group, Lincecum is tied for the youngest to accomplish the feat (he, McClain, and Clemens all did it at ages 24 and 25).

Of that group, Koufax and Palmer are Hall-of-Famers. Maddux and Johnson are first ballot men to be sure, as would Clemens be if not for steroid controversy. Martinez stands a good chance of making the HOF as well. Maddux, Clemens, and Johnson are all in the 300 Win Club. Johnson, Clemens, Maddux, and Martinez, all posted 3000 plus strikeouts.

Lincecum's early stats place him in very good company.

Suffice to say that, thus far at least, Tim Lincecum is in great company.

But if the two CY’s in a row get him a seat at the table, what about his other qualifications? How does he stack up otherwise at this early stage in his career?

Lincecum’s win/loss percentage (.702) is second only to Clemens. His ERA is better than that of McClain, and his WHIP (1.61) is better than that of McClain, Martinez and Johnson. And in a group known for strikeouts, Lincecum leads this impressive pack in strikeouts per nine innings (10.17).

In 2008, eight players chose arbitration and only two of them won. Ryan Howard of Philadelphia received $10 million after the club offered $7 Million and Oliver Perez of the Mets was awarded the $6.2 million he asked for instead of the $4.745 the club had in mind. In 2009, saw only three cases go to arbitration with Dan Uggla of the Marlins winning $5.35 million and Shawn Hill of the Nationals received $775,000. Read the rest of this entry →