Over the past few weeks, several articles have been published dealing with some of Shedd's Spot favorite subjects: Robert Byrd, Dan Snyder, the Washington Nationals. Seeing that the Shedd's Spot postings have been few and far between lately, I thought I'd share the articles with you.
A couple of days before Christmas, The Washington Post ran this story on the ol' Exalted Cyclops and how important he was to healthcare reform passing in the Senate. Three days after the article was published, The Post ran this brief feedback piece from the literary editor of The Weekly Standard that reminds readers of Robert Byrd's involvement in the Klan.
In early December, the Washington City Paper's Dave McKenna used his Cheap Seats column to sum up all of Dan Snyder's 2009 missteps. Read the column and get a laugh or two here.
On December 30th, soon to be ex-Washington Post Nationals beat reporter Chico Harlan wrote this Nats Journal piece on the 10 biggest Nationals developments of 2009. To me, the post affirms my claim the biggest mistake the Lerner family made since acquiring the team was keeping Jim Bowden as general manager. The team bottomed out in spring of 2009 with the Smiley Gonzalez scandal and, since then, the team has made massive positive changes in its front office. Unfortunately, those changes don't translate immediately to wins on the diamond. But, some of us have faith the team is finally headed in the right direction.
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Quickies
Starting this post on a rather serious note, I highly suggest you watch the episode of Frontline that airs tonight (8/31) on WETA (D.C. channel 26) tonight at nine. Poisoned Waters examines the problem of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound. I watched most of this program one night last week and found it interesting how far the clean up of the Potomac River has come in last 30 years. Yet, the modernizing of sewage treatment plants along the Potomac was just a first step in cleaning up the River and thus the Chesapeake. There is still a long way to go. If you can't watch or DVR the program tonight, you can watch it online here.
On a lighter note, I'm hoping, now that Jim Bowden is nothing but a bad memory to Nationals fans, that items like this one in the most recent Sports Illustrated stop popping up in the sports media. SI polled 380 Major League players asking them "Which player get the the least out of the most talent?". The top five includes two former Nationals and two current Nationals.
Finally, "J.D." sent me this link to a TV news story about a supposed 15 year old stripper and her very angry grandmother.
On a lighter note, I'm hoping, now that Jim Bowden is nothing but a bad memory to Nationals fans, that items like this one in the most recent Sports Illustrated stop popping up in the sports media. SI polled 380 Major League players asking them "Which player get the the least out of the most talent?". The top five includes two former Nationals and two current Nationals.
Finally, "J.D." sent me this link to a TV news story about a supposed 15 year old stripper and her very angry grandmother.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Quickies
I'm starting to think I should post weekly links to Dave McKenna's weekly "Cheap Seats" column in the Washington City Paper. McKenna seems to have it in for Dan Snyder and his money grubbing tactics more than I do. McKenna's latest column focuses on Snyder's use of adding "parking fees" to ticket prices for non-Redskin events at FedEx field.
The Washington Nationals announced recently the team had made a record breaking offer to Stephen Strasburg, the number one overall pick in this year's amateur baseball draft. That would mean the offer is more than the $10.5 million the Cubs gave to Mark Prior in 2001. I bolded amateur above to indicate Strasburg has never thrown a pitch above the college level. Still, his agent, Scott Boras, thinks Strasburg is worthy of the type of money paid to established veterans, although Boras may be the only one who believes that. I think many true Nationals fans, and I'm one of them, are to the point where it wouldn't bother us if the Nationals tell Boras and Strasburg to f**k off. Nationals color commentator Rob Dibble had this to say directly to Strasburg via Dibble's MASN blog and I think it summarizes the siutation fairly well. (Dibble reiterated these views during the broadcast of Saturday's Nationals-Reds game, using Drew Storen's negotiations with the Nationals as an example of what a young player should do once drafted.) The deadline for signing Strasburg, and all other 2009 draft picks, is today. My hope is that, if Strasburg doesn't sign, none of Boras' other clients are signed (he is the agent for 5 of the top 13 picks including the top 3) and that Boras loses credibility with amatuer players going forward.
The Washington Nationals announced recently the team had made a record breaking offer to Stephen Strasburg, the number one overall pick in this year's amateur baseball draft. That would mean the offer is more than the $10.5 million the Cubs gave to Mark Prior in 2001. I bolded amateur above to indicate Strasburg has never thrown a pitch above the college level. Still, his agent, Scott Boras, thinks Strasburg is worthy of the type of money paid to established veterans, although Boras may be the only one who believes that. I think many true Nationals fans, and I'm one of them, are to the point where it wouldn't bother us if the Nationals tell Boras and Strasburg to f**k off. Nationals color commentator Rob Dibble had this to say directly to Strasburg via Dibble's MASN blog and I think it summarizes the siutation fairly well. (Dibble reiterated these views during the broadcast of Saturday's Nationals-Reds game, using Drew Storen's negotiations with the Nationals as an example of what a young player should do once drafted.) The deadline for signing Strasburg, and all other 2009 draft picks, is today. My hope is that, if Strasburg doesn't sign, none of Boras' other clients are signed (he is the agent for 5 of the top 13 picks including the top 3) and that Boras loses credibility with amatuer players going forward.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Shedd's Spot Has Been on Hiatus
What do you get when you combine a lot work and some time visiting family out of state? An unfortunate, unnanounced hiatus for Shedd's Spot.
I'm sure there is a multitude of things I could write about, but let's keep it simple to begin with and talk about three men who have birthdays today, August 8th, Frank Howard, Mel Tillis, and Webb Pierce.
Frank Howard was one of the few bright spots in the history of the expansion Washington Senators. Howard came to the Senators from the L.A. Dodgers in a trade prior to the 1965 season. In L.A., Howard had been a part time player. Once arriving in D.C., he became a full time player who put up monster home run numbers in a non-steroid age, including a tear in May 1968 when he hit 10 homers in 20 at bats. Recently, there has been talk of Howard joining the Washington Nationals in some capacity and the Nationals will give away Frank Howard bobbleheads at their August 22nd game againt the Brewers. It's sort of funny they are not doing it tonight because tonight's game features an Adam Dunn bobblehead giveaway. This prior Shedd's Spot post features a link to an Nationals.com interview with Howard.
When most people hear the name Mel Tillis they think of a light hearted, stuttering singer who had a string of country hits in the 1970s and also did some TV and had a few roles in some Burt Reynolds movies. But prior to any of that, Tillis had a hall of fame songwriting career. The first hit he had as a songwriter was Webb Pierce's 1957 version of "I'm Tired", although not all the words were Tillis'. Prior to Pierce recording the song, Tillis had pitched the song to Ray Price at the Florida State Fair. Price took the song back to Nashville, but didn't record it. Instead, Pierce got wind of the song at the Grand Ole Opry one night as Price was singing it backstage. Pierce decided he wanted to record the song, but Price would only give him the first verse. So, Pierce took the first verse to songwriter Wayne Walker who wrote two additional verses that Pierce tacked on to Tillis' first verse. Tillis did not know about the Pierce recording of the song or the changes until he heard Pierce's record on the radio one night while still living in Florida.
"I'm Tired" was the first of many classic country hits Tillis wrote or co-wrote. Pierce recorded several more Tillis songs, inlcuding I Ain't Never", "Tupelo County Jail" and"Honky Tonk Song". (If you can believe it, the Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor, coverered "Honky Tonk Song" on her 1975 LP I've Got What it Takes.) Ray Price had hits with "Burning Memories" and "Heart Over Mind". Probably the two most famous versions of Tillis compositions are Bobby Bare's "Detroit City" and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's version of "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". When Rogers released his version of "Ruby" in the late 60s, many thought Tillis had written the song about a soldier who had been wounded in Vietnam. Instead, Tillis had written it about a man in his hometown who had been wounded in World War II. (I'm surprised someone hasn't covered the song in the past few years, slightly changing the words for the song to be about someone wounded in Iraq.)
In 1984, Tillis released his autobigoraphy, Stutterin' Boy. The book is by no means high brow reading, but includes dozens of great stories about the golden days of Nashville in the 1950s and 1960s. Any fan of real country music history would find it an entertaining read.
Nowadays, Webb Pierce is widely remembered for his flashy style as much as his music. For years, buses ferried hundreds of tourist a day past Pierce's Nashville home to see his guitar shaped swimming pool. But, for a time from the late 1950s through the early 1960s, Pierce was one of the hottest country stars going. Maybe I'll write more about Pierce in the future, but for now you can watch him perform the afforementioned "I'm Tired" in appearance recorded prior to Pierce overdosing on rhinestones.
I'm sure there is a multitude of things I could write about, but let's keep it simple to begin with and talk about three men who have birthdays today, August 8th, Frank Howard, Mel Tillis, and Webb Pierce.
Frank Howard was one of the few bright spots in the history of the expansion Washington Senators. Howard came to the Senators from the L.A. Dodgers in a trade prior to the 1965 season. In L.A., Howard had been a part time player. Once arriving in D.C., he became a full time player who put up monster home run numbers in a non-steroid age, including a tear in May 1968 when he hit 10 homers in 20 at bats. Recently, there has been talk of Howard joining the Washington Nationals in some capacity and the Nationals will give away Frank Howard bobbleheads at their August 22nd game againt the Brewers. It's sort of funny they are not doing it tonight because tonight's game features an Adam Dunn bobblehead giveaway. This prior Shedd's Spot post features a link to an Nationals.com interview with Howard.
When most people hear the name Mel Tillis they think of a light hearted, stuttering singer who had a string of country hits in the 1970s and also did some TV and had a few roles in some Burt Reynolds movies. But prior to any of that, Tillis had a hall of fame songwriting career. The first hit he had as a songwriter was Webb Pierce's 1957 version of "I'm Tired", although not all the words were Tillis'. Prior to Pierce recording the song, Tillis had pitched the song to Ray Price at the Florida State Fair. Price took the song back to Nashville, but didn't record it. Instead, Pierce got wind of the song at the Grand Ole Opry one night as Price was singing it backstage. Pierce decided he wanted to record the song, but Price would only give him the first verse. So, Pierce took the first verse to songwriter Wayne Walker who wrote two additional verses that Pierce tacked on to Tillis' first verse. Tillis did not know about the Pierce recording of the song or the changes until he heard Pierce's record on the radio one night while still living in Florida.
"I'm Tired" was the first of many classic country hits Tillis wrote or co-wrote. Pierce recorded several more Tillis songs, inlcuding I Ain't Never", "Tupelo County Jail" and"Honky Tonk Song". (If you can believe it, the Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor, coverered "Honky Tonk Song" on her 1975 LP I've Got What it Takes.) Ray Price had hits with "Burning Memories" and "Heart Over Mind". Probably the two most famous versions of Tillis compositions are Bobby Bare's "Detroit City" and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's version of "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". When Rogers released his version of "Ruby" in the late 60s, many thought Tillis had written the song about a soldier who had been wounded in Vietnam. Instead, Tillis had written it about a man in his hometown who had been wounded in World War II. (I'm surprised someone hasn't covered the song in the past few years, slightly changing the words for the song to be about someone wounded in Iraq.)
In 1984, Tillis released his autobigoraphy, Stutterin' Boy. The book is by no means high brow reading, but includes dozens of great stories about the golden days of Nashville in the 1950s and 1960s. Any fan of real country music history would find it an entertaining read.
Nowadays, Webb Pierce is widely remembered for his flashy style as much as his music. For years, buses ferried hundreds of tourist a day past Pierce's Nashville home to see his guitar shaped swimming pool. But, for a time from the late 1950s through the early 1960s, Pierce was one of the hottest country stars going. Maybe I'll write more about Pierce in the future, but for now you can watch him perform the afforementioned "I'm Tired" in appearance recorded prior to Pierce overdosing on rhinestones.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Midweek Time Killers: Two Very Different Subjects
According to this NPR interview with actress Beth Broderick, times are hard for Hollywood's working class actors. It seems the combination of bad ecomomic times, the explosion of reality television shows, and last year's writers' strike have caused the actress' annual income to decrease from a range of $300,000 to $500,000 per year down to $70,000 per year. During the interview Broderick says "Nobody wants to sit where I'm sitting and say, 'Hey, this is the reality. I did two movies, six guest-star spots and I starred in a one-woman show, and I'm not making any money. I'm on TV every day in every country in the world, and I don't make any money.' "
Meanwhile here on the East Coast, former Washington National Matt LeCroy has started a new career as minor league manager in the Nationals farm system. This recent Washington Times piece talks about LeCroy's new career and, of course, tells about the Nationals game in 2006 when the Astros stole seven bases in six innings while LeCroy was playing catcher. Then Nationals manager Frank Robinson pulled LeCroy from the game and then was brought to tears while talking about it in his post-game press conference. To me, that was Robinson's second finest moment during his tenure here in Washington. The first was the incident discussed in this previous Shedd's Spot post.
Meanwhile here on the East Coast, former Washington National Matt LeCroy has started a new career as minor league manager in the Nationals farm system. This recent Washington Times piece talks about LeCroy's new career and, of course, tells about the Nationals game in 2006 when the Astros stole seven bases in six innings while LeCroy was playing catcher. Then Nationals manager Frank Robinson pulled LeCroy from the game and then was brought to tears while talking about it in his post-game press conference. To me, that was Robinson's second finest moment during his tenure here in Washington. The first was the incident discussed in this previous Shedd's Spot post.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Politically Incorrect Nationals Report
Yesterday's Washington Times sports page included Mark Zuckerman's weekly Nationals Report. The lead item in the report was Shawn Hill, the talented but often injured starting pitcher the Nationals released during spring training, and his recent Tommy John surgery. As Zuckerman commented, many fans were upset about Hill's release and I readily admit I was one of them. But obviously, Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo made the right call on Hill.
After the item on Hill, Zuckerman went on to write about minor league pitcher J.D. Martin, who is putting together a fine season at AAA Syracuse, before moving onto some poor attempts at humor. One of those attempts happened to involve Adam Dunn's 300th career HR, which he hit Saturday. I had the pleasure of seeing the homer sail over my head in right field Saturday and be caught a fan further back in the upper deck. That fan happened to be William Sanders, a U.S. Army colonel, who just happens to be African-American. Sanders returned the ball to Dunn after the game and Dunn gave Sanders an autographed jersey and autographed balls in return. Of course, Zuckerman reports, in his attempt at humor, that Colonel Sanders "exchanged it for a bucket of chicken". I guess Zuckerman didn't actually see Sanders in person or see a picture of the colonel, but who knows. And, I have to think the sports editor at the Times wasn't paying much attention either. I guess that's what happens when a last place baseball team is being covered by a major city's second rate newspaper.
(As a footnote, I'll point out I love politically incorrect humor and do not want to sound hypocritical. Obviously, I've made several attempts at politically incorrect humor here on Shedd's Spot. But in my opninion, there is really no place for it in what is supposed to be a legitimate newspaper's reporting on sports or the news.)
After the item on Hill, Zuckerman went on to write about minor league pitcher J.D. Martin, who is putting together a fine season at AAA Syracuse, before moving onto some poor attempts at humor. One of those attempts happened to involve Adam Dunn's 300th career HR, which he hit Saturday. I had the pleasure of seeing the homer sail over my head in right field Saturday and be caught a fan further back in the upper deck. That fan happened to be William Sanders, a U.S. Army colonel, who just happens to be African-American. Sanders returned the ball to Dunn after the game and Dunn gave Sanders an autographed jersey and autographed balls in return. Of course, Zuckerman reports, in his attempt at humor, that Colonel Sanders "exchanged it for a bucket of chicken". I guess Zuckerman didn't actually see Sanders in person or see a picture of the colonel, but who knows. And, I have to think the sports editor at the Times wasn't paying much attention either. I guess that's what happens when a last place baseball team is being covered by a major city's second rate newspaper.
(As a footnote, I'll point out I love politically incorrect humor and do not want to sound hypocritical. Obviously, I've made several attempts at politically incorrect humor here on Shedd's Spot. But in my opninion, there is really no place for it in what is supposed to be a legitimate newspaper's reporting on sports or the news.)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Midweek Time Killers...Stupid and Serious Sports Stuff
Many D.C. area residents have probably heard about the awkward in game interview Senator John Kerry gave MASN's Debbi Taylor during one of the Red Sox-Nationals games at Nationals Park last week. I was at the game, so I didn't have the...uh....pleasure of seeing it, but the bulk of it can be read in this D.C. Sports Bog entry. If you dig a little deeper, it's easy to find more examples of Senator Kerry's stiffness and general lack of knowledge when it comes to sports. This Boston Herald column discusses a few of them.
A few weeks after being let go from Dan Snyder owned WTEM radio, Brian Mitchell speaks out about it to USA Today here. (I think it's time Mitchell and ol' CP, Clinton Portis, have it out in a celebrity boxing match. I know a certain fledgling charity in Arlington that would love to sponsor the match and collect the proceeds.) According to this Washington Post piece from a couple of weeks back, the managment of WJFK is planning a jump into full time sports radio. Maybe Mitchell can catch on there.
For a little lighter fare, that is not stupid, check out this WRC-TV website page which features Sonny Jurgensen's 1994 interview with Sammy Baugh.
And finally, "J.D." forwarded me this Jason Whitlock column about the recent HBO Real Sports piece on Jim Brown and Bill Russell. Seeing that Tiger Woods is in town for the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club, it seems appropriate to post a link to the column because part of the column discusses Jim Brown's feelings toward Tiger Woods. That happens, of course, after Whitlock talks about his fascination with strip clubs. Who else would write "Jesus walked with prostitutes. Jason walks with strippers."?
A few weeks after being let go from Dan Snyder owned WTEM radio, Brian Mitchell speaks out about it to USA Today here. (I think it's time Mitchell and ol' CP, Clinton Portis, have it out in a celebrity boxing match. I know a certain fledgling charity in Arlington that would love to sponsor the match and collect the proceeds.) According to this Washington Post piece from a couple of weeks back, the managment of WJFK is planning a jump into full time sports radio. Maybe Mitchell can catch on there.
For a little lighter fare, that is not stupid, check out this WRC-TV website page which features Sonny Jurgensen's 1994 interview with Sammy Baugh.
And finally, "J.D." forwarded me this Jason Whitlock column about the recent HBO Real Sports piece on Jim Brown and Bill Russell. Seeing that Tiger Woods is in town for the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club, it seems appropriate to post a link to the column because part of the column discusses Jim Brown's feelings toward Tiger Woods. That happens, of course, after Whitlock talks about his fascination with strip clubs. Who else would write "Jesus walked with prostitutes. Jason walks with strippers."?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Quickies
First off, Variety reports in this story that Columbia Pictures is scrapping the movie version of Michael Lewis' book Moneyball. The movie was to have starred Brad Pitt as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane. The A's have a history of fielding competitive teams on a small budgets thanks to Beane's use of statistical analysis which allows the A's find productive young players who do not yet command outrageous contracts.
According to this Yahoo Sports piece, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella doesn't "know a steroid from a reefer". FYI Lou, a reefer is a refrigerated rail car used for shipping food and perishables.
And speaking of Lou Pinella, here is a TV station flashback to 1992 when Pinella was the manager of the Cicinniati Reds and he got into a tussle with then Reds relief pitcher, and now Washington Nationals color analyst, Rob Dibble.
Finally, I've done my share of Dan Snyder bashing here on Shedd's Spot and I believe he has deserved every bit of it and more. In an entry back in March, I mentioned how I had received mailings from the Redskins for a couple of years telling me I had risen to the top of the 200,000+ person season ticket waiting list. Everyone in D.C. with half a brain knows the length of that list is a bigger lie than anything that's ever come out of Marion Barry's mouth. Well, this April snipet in The Washington City Paper further proves it.
According to this Yahoo Sports piece, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella doesn't "know a steroid from a reefer". FYI Lou, a reefer is a refrigerated rail car used for shipping food and perishables.
And speaking of Lou Pinella, here is a TV station flashback to 1992 when Pinella was the manager of the Cicinniati Reds and he got into a tussle with then Reds relief pitcher, and now Washington Nationals color analyst, Rob Dibble.
Finally, I've done my share of Dan Snyder bashing here on Shedd's Spot and I believe he has deserved every bit of it and more. In an entry back in March, I mentioned how I had received mailings from the Redskins for a couple of years telling me I had risen to the top of the 200,000+ person season ticket waiting list. Everyone in D.C. with half a brain knows the length of that list is a bigger lie than anything that's ever come out of Marion Barry's mouth. Well, this April snipet in The Washington City Paper further proves it.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thom Loverro Hates Rob Dibble
Columnist Thom Loverrro has this column in today's Washington Times which is very critical of MASN's Washington Nationals telecast color commentator, Rob Dibble. Loverro's primary criticsm of Dibble is that Dibble is uninformed, especially when it comes to the Nationals pitching staff. This differs from other writers who have criticized Dibble for being too much of a homer, particularly when it comes to his use of "us" and "we" and encouraging words like "let's get two and get out of this" and "atta boy". Of course, as Loverro points out his column, Dibble's fan-like mentality has won over many Nationals fans.
For me personally, the jury is still out on Dibble as a commentator. I will readily admit I wasn't very enthused when I read during the offseason that he had been hired by MASN. And, during the first few weeks of the season I thought his criticism of rookie starting pitchers Sharon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann was a little too harsh. But, I will say Dibble's enthusiasm during the broadcasts is an improvement of the dull delivery of Don Sutton who seemed to talk about his playing days during game broadcasts as much, or more, than Dibble.
Speaking for myself, and I'm sure many longtime D.C. area residents will agree, the best local baseball television announcing team I've ever heard is Mel Proctor and John Lowenstein. They kept fans entertained and interested as they blended just the right mix of baseball knowledge and levity on Home Team Sports Orioles broadcasts from the mid-80s until the mid 90s . No one who saw it will ever forget the spring training game broadcast when Lowenstein yelled out the back window of the broadcast booth for the hot dog vendor on the ground outside the stadium to send two hot dogs up to the broadcast booth. Cameras stayed on the vendor as he bewilderdly looked around to see who was trying to get his attention. If I remember correctly, Lowenstein got his hot dogs a couple of innings later.
But, back to present and the Nationals. My friend and fellow blogger, Tadcranky, has a theory about the Nationals inability to sign upper level free agents. Tadcranky's theory is that as long as the Nationals appear as if they are going be awful the following year, no upper level free agent is going to sign with them. A premiere player is going to get the same the amount of money to play for a contender, or at least a team that will flirt with .500. So, why would the free agent sign with a team that may lose 100 games? I think the same theory holds true for broadcasters. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of studio analyst and color commentator jobs associated with Major League Baseball. So, why would a top tier TV analyst sign on to follow a losing team with a new and questionable fan base for the length of 162 game season?
For me personally, the jury is still out on Dibble as a commentator. I will readily admit I wasn't very enthused when I read during the offseason that he had been hired by MASN. And, during the first few weeks of the season I thought his criticism of rookie starting pitchers Sharon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann was a little too harsh. But, I will say Dibble's enthusiasm during the broadcasts is an improvement of the dull delivery of Don Sutton who seemed to talk about his playing days during game broadcasts as much, or more, than Dibble.
Speaking for myself, and I'm sure many longtime D.C. area residents will agree, the best local baseball television announcing team I've ever heard is Mel Proctor and John Lowenstein. They kept fans entertained and interested as they blended just the right mix of baseball knowledge and levity on Home Team Sports Orioles broadcasts from the mid-80s until the mid 90s . No one who saw it will ever forget the spring training game broadcast when Lowenstein yelled out the back window of the broadcast booth for the hot dog vendor on the ground outside the stadium to send two hot dogs up to the broadcast booth. Cameras stayed on the vendor as he bewilderdly looked around to see who was trying to get his attention. If I remember correctly, Lowenstein got his hot dogs a couple of innings later.
But, back to present and the Nationals. My friend and fellow blogger, Tadcranky, has a theory about the Nationals inability to sign upper level free agents. Tadcranky's theory is that as long as the Nationals appear as if they are going be awful the following year, no upper level free agent is going to sign with them. A premiere player is going to get the same the amount of money to play for a contender, or at least a team that will flirt with .500. So, why would the free agent sign with a team that may lose 100 games? I think the same theory holds true for broadcasters. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of studio analyst and color commentator jobs associated with Major League Baseball. So, why would a top tier TV analyst sign on to follow a losing team with a new and questionable fan base for the length of 162 game season?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Midweek Time Killers...More Freakin' Baseball
As expected, the Washington Nationals selected San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick in last night's first round of the baseball draft. As soon as the pick was made, all the so called "experts" began to chime in on when and if Strasburg will sign, how much money will the contract be worth and when Strasburg will make his Major League debut. I could post links to dozen of articles and columns on those questions, but I'm already sick of hearing the speculation. My breaking point came this morning when I heard Steve Phillips predict on ESPN radio the Nationals will not come to terms with Strasburg and that Strasburg will sit out a year and then re-enter the draft next year. With all that said, I did find this Monday pre-draft piece from the Nationals' website on Ben McDonald, which included his thoughts on Strasburg, very interesting. 
Many of you will remember back 20 years ago when Big Ben was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the draft. Many thought he would be the cornerstone of the Orioles starting rotation for years to come. Unfortunately for both McDonald and the Orioles, things didn't work out that way.
Meanwhile up I-95 a piece, Raul Ibanez had this to say in The Philadelphia Inquirer about accusations by bloggers that he is using performance enhancing drugs:
You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.
"I'll put that up against the jobs of anyone who writes this stuff," he said. "Make them accountable. There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement. It demeans everything you've done with one stroke of the pen.
I haven't accused Ibanez of using PEDs, I don't live in my mom's basement and I'm not 42 (yet), so I guess I'm in the clear when it comes to Ibanez's wrath. Of course, he is batting something like .500 against the Nationals this year and has something like 85 HRs against them in 2009. Hmmm....maybe that's the reason for his improved stats at age 37...he's playing the Nationals 18 times a year????? You can read the entire Philadelphia Inquirer article here.
Many of you will remember back 20 years ago when Big Ben was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the draft. Many thought he would be the cornerstone of the Orioles starting rotation for years to come. Unfortunately for both McDonald and the Orioles, things didn't work out that way.Meanwhile up I-95 a piece, Raul Ibanez had this to say in The Philadelphia Inquirer about accusations by bloggers that he is using performance enhancing drugs:
You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.
"I'll put that up against the jobs of anyone who writes this stuff," he said. "Make them accountable. There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement. It demeans everything you've done with one stroke of the pen.
I haven't accused Ibanez of using PEDs, I don't live in my mom's basement and I'm not 42 (yet), so I guess I'm in the clear when it comes to Ibanez's wrath. Of course, he is batting something like .500 against the Nationals this year and has something like 85 HRs against them in 2009. Hmmm....maybe that's the reason for his improved stats at age 37...he's playing the Nationals 18 times a year????? You can read the entire Philadelphia Inquirer article here.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Quickies
First off, baseball fans in Japan are doing their best to keep manager Bobby Valentine from losing his job. The New York Times details the saga here. Maybe if Baltimore Orioles fans would have done something similar for Davey Johnson, the Orioles would not have sunk to the level they have.
I'm to the point where I can't have a Quickies post that doesn't mention my beloved Washington Nationals. This weeks Sports Illustrated includes this story on Bryce Harper, the 16 year old high school phenom, who is considering dropping out of high school and getting a GED so he can be eligble for next year's baseball draft. Seeing the Nationals are once again on their way to the worst record in baseball, they could very well be in a position where they have to make a decision on whether Harper should be selected with the first overall pick in the draft. Of course, The Washington Times' Thom Loverro is convinced the Nationals' problems can be blamed on The Curse of Teddy Roosevelt. Maybe he is onto something. After all, Teddy was out to a commanding lead during the presidents race on the Saturday of Memorial Day only to lose when the Oriole bird jumped from the stands and leveled him with a tackle that would make Ray Lewis proud. Thus, another loss for Teddy.
Regular readers will remember a post a while back that included info sent in by "J.D." on the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine. "J.D." forwarded me this piece last week detailing the destruction of the Grand View due to arson. "J.D." blamed the arson on a right wing conspiracy, while a few readers who left comments on the newspaper website blamed it on feminists. I guess we'll know it was a conspiracy if any Cowgirls Expresso locations are burned to the ground.
I'm to the point where I can't have a Quickies post that doesn't mention my beloved Washington Nationals. This weeks Sports Illustrated includes this story on Bryce Harper, the 16 year old high school phenom, who is considering dropping out of high school and getting a GED so he can be eligble for next year's baseball draft. Seeing the Nationals are once again on their way to the worst record in baseball, they could very well be in a position where they have to make a decision on whether Harper should be selected with the first overall pick in the draft. Of course, The Washington Times' Thom Loverro is convinced the Nationals' problems can be blamed on The Curse of Teddy Roosevelt. Maybe he is onto something. After all, Teddy was out to a commanding lead during the presidents race on the Saturday of Memorial Day only to lose when the Oriole bird jumped from the stands and leveled him with a tackle that would make Ray Lewis proud. Thus, another loss for Teddy.Regular readers will remember a post a while back that included info sent in by "J.D." on the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine. "J.D." forwarded me this piece last week detailing the destruction of the Grand View due to arson. "J.D." blamed the arson on a right wing conspiracy, while a few readers who left comments on the newspaper website blamed it on feminists. I guess we'll know it was a conspiracy if any Cowgirls Expresso locations are burned to the ground.
Friday, June 5, 2009
I Hope Stephen Strasburg Doesn't Like Calamari
I was perusing The Washington Times sports section this morning when I came accross this article on the presumed number one pick in Tuesday's baseball draft, Stephen Strasburg. As I stated in a post a few days back, some folks think Strasburg, with his 100+ MPH fastball, will be the Nationals' saviour. The Times article tells how San Diego State baseball coach Tony Gywnn has limited Strasburg's innings in an attempt to not damage Strasburg's arm prior to him beginning his professional career.
One thing the online version of the article does not include is the sidebar from the print edition which details the struggles (to put it nicely) of the pitchers who have been drafted with one of the top five picks in recent drafts. Everyone know the struggles Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have had with arm injuries. But lesser known are the travails of Matt Anderson, the overall number one pick in the 1997 draft. Anderson injured his arm, but not on the pitching mound. I'll use this direct quote from Wikipedia to describe Anderson's situation:
Anderson holds the dubious distinction of being the only player to injure himself in an octopus throwing contest. During a Detroit Red Wings game at the Joe Louis Arena, Anderson participated in an octopus throwing contest in an effort to win Red Wings playoff tickets and tore a muscle in the armpit of his throwing arm as a result. After returning from the injury, he was unable to hit 90 mph on his fastball in his remaining days in Detroit, after regularly topping 100 mph on the radar gun, including a high mark of 103 mph twice.
After reading about Anderson, I decided the Nationals should put a clause in Strasburg's contract prohibiting him from being within 500 feet of any nautical creatures, dead or alive, especially squid or octopus. So, I hope Strasburg doesn't calamri.
One thing the online version of the article does not include is the sidebar from the print edition which details the struggles (to put it nicely) of the pitchers who have been drafted with one of the top five picks in recent drafts. Everyone know the struggles Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have had with arm injuries. But lesser known are the travails of Matt Anderson, the overall number one pick in the 1997 draft. Anderson injured his arm, but not on the pitching mound. I'll use this direct quote from Wikipedia to describe Anderson's situation:
Anderson holds the dubious distinction of being the only player to injure himself in an octopus throwing contest. During a Detroit Red Wings game at the Joe Louis Arena, Anderson participated in an octopus throwing contest in an effort to win Red Wings playoff tickets and tore a muscle in the armpit of his throwing arm as a result. After returning from the injury, he was unable to hit 90 mph on his fastball in his remaining days in Detroit, after regularly topping 100 mph on the radar gun, including a high mark of 103 mph twice.
After reading about Anderson, I decided the Nationals should put a clause in Strasburg's contract prohibiting him from being within 500 feet of any nautical creatures, dead or alive, especially squid or octopus. So, I hope Strasburg doesn't calamri.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Prospects for Baseball and Baseball Prospects in the Mid-Atlantic
"J.D" has been keeping me abreast on the latest news regarding minor league baseball returning to Richmond. You may recall the Atlanta Braves moved their AAA team from Richmond to suburban Atlanta, leaving Richmond without a team. Lately, there has been talk of building a new stadium in the Richmond area in hopes of bringing a AA team to the area. This article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch is the latest news as of Saturday. Some of the potential ownership groups have the names of baseball legends attached to them, Ripken and Ryan.
My hope is Richmond will get a AA team and that the Nationals will have the team as their AA affiliate. I have jokingly told my friends any new team in Richmond should be called the Richmond Grays in homage to both the Negro Leagues and Richmond's historical significance. And, I think the team mascot should be an African-American Conferderate Army officer. Yes, I know that mascot would be offensive to everyone, that's why I said was joking. Of course, a friend of mine pointed out to me Clayton Bigsby may have already set a precedent for the mascot. If you're wondering who Clayton Bigsby is, you can watch part 1 of the "Frontline" profile of him here and part 2 here.
Friday's Washington Times had profiles of the two young baseball players who are considered the saviors of the mid-Atlantic's two major league clubs. Of course, pitching prospect Steven Strasburg hasn't even been drafted by the Nationals yet. The piece features some interesting thoughts by Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Famer, who now coaches Strasburg at San Diego State. (Virginia gave Strasburg his first loss of the year in the NCAA baseball playoffs Friday night. The AP story on the game is here.) Meanwhile in Baltimore, catcher Matt Wieters was called up from AAA by the Orioles Friday and was immediately made the O's starting catcher. The Times piece details the excitement in Baltimore.
My hope is Richmond will get a AA team and that the Nationals will have the team as their AA affiliate. I have jokingly told my friends any new team in Richmond should be called the Richmond Grays in homage to both the Negro Leagues and Richmond's historical significance. And, I think the team mascot should be an African-American Conferderate Army officer. Yes, I know that mascot would be offensive to everyone, that's why I said was joking. Of course, a friend of mine pointed out to me Clayton Bigsby may have already set a precedent for the mascot. If you're wondering who Clayton Bigsby is, you can watch part 1 of the "Frontline" profile of him here and part 2 here.
Friday's Washington Times had profiles of the two young baseball players who are considered the saviors of the mid-Atlantic's two major league clubs. Of course, pitching prospect Steven Strasburg hasn't even been drafted by the Nationals yet. The piece features some interesting thoughts by Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Famer, who now coaches Strasburg at San Diego State. (Virginia gave Strasburg his first loss of the year in the NCAA baseball playoffs Friday night. The AP story on the game is here.) Meanwhile in Baltimore, catcher Matt Wieters was called up from AAA by the Orioles Friday and was immediately made the O's starting catcher. The Times piece details the excitement in Baltimore.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Midweek Time Killers...Old School Baseball Style
(No, that is not the blogger known as Shedd in the picture to the right.)Every year about this time, the Baltimore Orioles visit the District for a series the Nationals promote as "The Battle of the Beltways". Honestly, it's more like the "Contests of the Cellar Dwellers", but the series usually draws well and the fans seem to have a good time. When the Nationals were still playing at RFK, some friends and I would always take in the Sunday game of the series after a couple of hours of tailgating. On one of those Sundays, my friend "Drycleaner Chris" and I were approached by the weekend sports anchor for local channel 9. She wanted to interview Chris and me for a story examining the Nationals-Orioles rivalry. Weekend anchor girl was your typical nice bodied TV blonde type, so, in our buzzedness, we readily agreed to step in front of camera. Chris BS'd his way through what seemed to be a five minute answer, then I babbled for a while, hoping my drunkedness wouldn't show up on video. (Believe me, I have a face and a voice made for blogging, so if I would have been sober, there's no way I would have let myself go on camera.) Soon, interview time was over and we headed into the game. When I got home that evening, I set my DVR to record channel 9's late night sports show and then readily forgot about the entire incident.
A few weeks later, I was visiting my parents in West Va. when my mom told me a friend of hers had seen me on TV. I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face, because I had totally forgotten the interview. (15 beers or so on the day of an interview will do that to a guy.) My mom went on to tell me her friend said it looked like I was "at a ball game or something". Then it dawned on me what she was talking about. I was truly expecting the next words to come out of my mom's mouth to be her friend said "and he looked like he was three sheets to the wind". But, I got lucky. Once I got back home, I watched the story on my DVR. My minutes of babbling was edited down to about 20 seconds for the story. And, geez did I look like a** in my drunkedness.
In honor of this weekend's "Contests of the Cellar Dwellers", we'll take a look back at some old school baseball items from the Washington and Baltimore areas. (I refuse to lump the two cities into one geographic region because the two cities could not be more different.)
First, there's the best ever of the buzzed baseball fans, Baltimore's Wild Bill Hagy. This Washington Times piece was written by Dick Heller shortly after Hagy's death in August 2007. But, even more interesting is this 1979 Evening Magazine story on Hagy.
Lastly, is this NationalsPride.com review of Stephen J. Walker's 1999 book A Whole New Ballgame. The book details the Washington Senators 1969 season, their first under the leadership of Ted Williams. Although everyone remembers the Senators as perennial losers, they actually had a record of 86-76 in 1969. Personally, my lone memory of the Senators was going to a game at the age of four with my dad and grandfather in 1971, the Senators final year in D.C., and spilling orange soda all over myself and being hot and sticky the rest of the day. I guess it could have been worse, I could have a memory of a loss.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Shedd's Spot 100th Post
It's been a little over four months since I set this blog up and posted my first entry. That entry, celebrating the end of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd's tenure as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was inspired by my visit to West Virginia over the holidays. During that trip, it seemed every turn I took led me to something named after Byrd, who is one of the all time kings of pork barrel spending.
Since then, I've tried to be informative and funny while trying not to take myself too seriously. There have been quite a few posts on the Washington Nationals, a few lamenting the days of old here in the D.C. area, and a lot of posts on music.
Not surprisingly, two of the most read posts were ones picked up by other blogs or websites. "Frank Goes Nuts" was picked up the L.A. Angels fan blog Three Days of Cryin' while "Music News from Elvis Costello and Bill Kirchen" was linked to by the website Elvis Costello Fans. Another widely read post was "The Godfather Winds Up the Crowd at Wolf Trap" about Chuck Brown's April appearance at the Barns of Wolf Trap.
A post that has been suprisingly popular is the Friday Frolics post featuring Junior Samples. It has made its way around the world wide web a few times via email. Who knew there were that many Junior Samples fans out there?
One thing I have noticed is that if you mention the NCAA in a post, someone with that organzation is going to read it. Every mention of the NCAA here on Shedd's Spot has garnered at least one hit from a PC (or Blackberry) on the NCAA's network.
I want to thank a few folks for their help so far...Tadcranky for his blogging tips, same for "M.K. in Portand and "J.D." in Richmond for his topic suggestions. Most of all, thanks to all of you for reading, even the reader who called me a "big p*ssy fair weather fan" in an anonymous comment on my post "With Eight Tickets You Get a Haynesworth" that criticized the Washington Redskins for signing Albert Haynesworth. As long as y'all keep reading, I'll keep posting.
Since then, I've tried to be informative and funny while trying not to take myself too seriously. There have been quite a few posts on the Washington Nationals, a few lamenting the days of old here in the D.C. area, and a lot of posts on music.
Not surprisingly, two of the most read posts were ones picked up by other blogs or websites. "Frank Goes Nuts" was picked up the L.A. Angels fan blog Three Days of Cryin' while "Music News from Elvis Costello and Bill Kirchen" was linked to by the website Elvis Costello Fans. Another widely read post was "The Godfather Winds Up the Crowd at Wolf Trap" about Chuck Brown's April appearance at the Barns of Wolf Trap.
A post that has been suprisingly popular is the Friday Frolics post featuring Junior Samples. It has made its way around the world wide web a few times via email. Who knew there were that many Junior Samples fans out there?
One thing I have noticed is that if you mention the NCAA in a post, someone with that organzation is going to read it. Every mention of the NCAA here on Shedd's Spot has garnered at least one hit from a PC (or Blackberry) on the NCAA's network.
I want to thank a few folks for their help so far...Tadcranky for his blogging tips, same for "M.K. in Portand and "J.D." in Richmond for his topic suggestions. Most of all, thanks to all of you for reading, even the reader who called me a "big p*ssy fair weather fan" in an anonymous comment on my post "With Eight Tickets You Get a Haynesworth" that criticized the Washington Redskins for signing Albert Haynesworth. As long as y'all keep reading, I'll keep posting.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Quickies
This week's Quickies post is a day early in order to make room for a special Shedd's Spot post on Monday.
Sports Illustrated recently ran this piece listing the five best and worst owners in each of the four major professional sports. Not surprisingly, two local owners, Dan Snyder and Ted Lerner, made the worst lists for their respective sports. All regular readers know how I feel about Redskins owner Dan Snyder. How anyone whose only football playing experience is smear the queer as a child (and I'm guessing he was the queer) can have a big enough ego to think he can be the end all when it comes to player personnel deccision is beyond me. As to Lerner, I'm still drinking the Kool-Aid and believing the Nationals will turn it around in the next couple of seasons. Ted Lerner's biggest mistake, and it was a HUGE one, was keeping Jim Bowden as general manager when Lerner took ownership of the team in 2006.
Regular readers may remember a post a few weeks back mentioning the state of Delaware was consdering legalizing a form of sports betting. The orginal bill died, but a revised version passed the state's lethe Clock"gislature last week. Here is a story on the updated legislation. By the way, the NCAA is still opposed to the bill.
55 years ago today (May 10, 1954), "Rock Around the Clock" was released by Bill Haley & His Comets. "Rock Around the Clock" is considered to be the first rock and roll song to make #1 on the pop charts, although it did not make #1 until 1955, after its inclusion in the movie Blackboard Jungle. Haley died of natural causes in 1981, but there are several stories of very bizarre behavior in his final days. Haley's life and death was the subject of Dave Alvin's song "Haley's Comet" which was released on Alvin's 1991 CD Blue Boulevard.
Sports Illustrated recently ran this piece listing the five best and worst owners in each of the four major professional sports. Not surprisingly, two local owners, Dan Snyder and Ted Lerner, made the worst lists for their respective sports. All regular readers know how I feel about Redskins owner Dan Snyder. How anyone whose only football playing experience is smear the queer as a child (and I'm guessing he was the queer) can have a big enough ego to think he can be the end all when it comes to player personnel deccision is beyond me. As to Lerner, I'm still drinking the Kool-Aid and believing the Nationals will turn it around in the next couple of seasons. Ted Lerner's biggest mistake, and it was a HUGE one, was keeping Jim Bowden as general manager when Lerner took ownership of the team in 2006.
Regular readers may remember a post a few weeks back mentioning the state of Delaware was consdering legalizing a form of sports betting. The orginal bill died, but a revised version passed the state's lethe Clock"gislature last week. Here is a story on the updated legislation. By the way, the NCAA is still opposed to the bill.
55 years ago today (May 10, 1954), "Rock Around the Clock" was released by Bill Haley & His Comets. "Rock Around the Clock" is considered to be the first rock and roll song to make #1 on the pop charts, although it did not make #1 until 1955, after its inclusion in the movie Blackboard Jungle. Haley died of natural causes in 1981, but there are several stories of very bizarre behavior in his final days. Haley's life and death was the subject of Dave Alvin's song "Haley's Comet" which was released on Alvin's 1991 CD Blue Boulevard.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Hitting Streaks: Ryan Zimmerman & Dom DiMaggio
At the time of this writing, Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is riding a 26 game hitting streak. Everyone knows the record for the longest hitting streak in baseball history is Joe DiMaggio's 56 game streak during the 1941 season. But few people remember Joe's younger brother Dom had a 34 game hitting streak while playing for the Boston Red Sox in 1949. The streak, was in effect, ended when Joe DiMaggio caught a sinking liner off Dom's bat in the eigth inning of a game against Joe's New York Yankees. Dom's 34 game streak is still a Boston Red Sox team record.
Dom DiMaggio, who played for the Red Sox for 11 seasons and who was a seven time all star, passed away last week. An MLB.com story on DiMaggio can be read here.
Back to the present and Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman's hitting streak is just one piece of what should be an All-Star season for the third baseman. As of today, he is batting .339 with 5 HR's and 20 RBI in 121 AB. The Nationals finally put their money where their mouth is earlier this month when they inked Zimmerman to a 5 year/$45 million contract. The Nationals had been calling Zimmerman "the face of the franchise" since shortly after drafting him in 2005.
Dom DiMaggio, who played for the Red Sox for 11 seasons and who was a seven time all star, passed away last week. An MLB.com story on DiMaggio can be read here.
Back to the present and Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman's hitting streak is just one piece of what should be an All-Star season for the third baseman. As of today, he is batting .339 with 5 HR's and 20 RBI in 121 AB. The Nationals finally put their money where their mouth is earlier this month when they inked Zimmerman to a 5 year/$45 million contract. The Nationals had been calling Zimmerman "the face of the franchise" since shortly after drafting him in 2005.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
It's Official, Jim Bowden is an Arse
Normally, if I heard that someone compared the Washington Nationals to the Washington Generals, those lovable losers who have lost 10,000 or so straight games to the Harlem Globetrotters, I would find it sort of amusing. But, I don't find it amusing when the person making the comparison is the man who is one of the primary reasons the Nationals are in the shape they are in, former general manager Jim Bowden.Since "resigning" as GM of the Nationals in March, Bowden has been making appearances on a sports talk radio station in L.A. It seems he had quite a bit to say about the Nationals during his first appearance back on April 1st, including the Washington Generals comparison. You can read more details about that appearance in this column by Thom Loverro from today's Washington Times.
I'm trying not to get too worked up about Bowden's comments. I know it's just a matter of time before he gets arrested for operating his segway under the influence while on the way to meet up with an undercover cop who posed as a teenage boy on the internet.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Midweek Time Killers
Here are a couple of items that may help you pass the time here on hump day and one TV viewing item for hump night. (Geez, that came out the wrong way!)
As the regular readers know, I signed up on Facebook about the same time I started this blog. Since then, I've tried to include stories and links, both good, but mostly not-so-good, here about Facebook. The latest Facebook item comes from today's Washington Times, which reports some members of the Capitol Police are using Facebook to promote a group called the "Make-it-Rain Foundation for Underprivileged Hoes". If that piqued your curiousity, you can read the entire story here.
Some of you may have heard D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is involved in a squabble with the city council over control of the city's tickets at Nationals Park. I think this is hilarious considering Fenty was an outspoken opponent of building the stadium when he was a member of the council. Of course, now he's out at the stadium mugging for the camera everytime he gets the chance. Here's a recent Washington City Paper column on the squabble.
Finally, seeing that I have bad habit of falling asleep with the TV on, usually tuned to the History Channel, I often wake up in the wee hours of the morning to an informercial called "Is Colon Detox Hype?". I'll spare you the details of the infomercial that have permeated my brain. But, let's just say the first few times I woke up to the infomerical, I thought I was having a nightmare. I don't know if "Is Colon Detox Hype?" will be a subject of the CNBC special "As Seen on TV", but I plan on setting my DVR tonight to record the special which is set to include pieces on infomerical "stars" Billy Mays and Vince Shlomi. Maybe the two of them will square off in an old fashioned wrestling cage match with Geraldo Rivera as guest referee.
As the regular readers know, I signed up on Facebook about the same time I started this blog. Since then, I've tried to include stories and links, both good, but mostly not-so-good, here about Facebook. The latest Facebook item comes from today's Washington Times, which reports some members of the Capitol Police are using Facebook to promote a group called the "Make-it-Rain Foundation for Underprivileged Hoes". If that piqued your curiousity, you can read the entire story here.
Some of you may have heard D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is involved in a squabble with the city council over control of the city's tickets at Nationals Park. I think this is hilarious considering Fenty was an outspoken opponent of building the stadium when he was a member of the council. Of course, now he's out at the stadium mugging for the camera everytime he gets the chance. Here's a recent Washington City Paper column on the squabble.
Finally, seeing that I have bad habit of falling asleep with the TV on, usually tuned to the History Channel, I often wake up in the wee hours of the morning to an informercial called "Is Colon Detox Hype?". I'll spare you the details of the infomercial that have permeated my brain. But, let's just say the first few times I woke up to the infomerical, I thought I was having a nightmare. I don't know if "Is Colon Detox Hype?" will be a subject of the CNBC special "As Seen on TV", but I plan on setting my DVR tonight to record the special which is set to include pieces on infomerical "stars" Billy Mays and Vince Shlomi. Maybe the two of them will square off in an old fashioned wrestling cage match with Geraldo Rivera as guest referee.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Frank Goes Nuts
I wanted to save this post subject until June when the fourth anniversary of it comes around. But, the Nationals are off to an awful start and I'm thinking reminiscing about one of the true highlights in Nationals history may help change the mojo.On Monday, June 13, 2005, the Washington Nationals rolled into Anaheim for a three game series with the Angels. And, I do mean the Nationals rolled in to Angels Stadium. The Nats had a ten game winning streak going and had won 13 of 15. The Angels walloped the Nats in the first game of the series, 11-1. But, the Nats returned to their winning ways the following night in a game where manager Frank Robinson showed he was afraid of nothing.
The Nationals were down 3-1 in the top of the 7th when Angels manager Mike Scioscia called in pitcher Brendan Donnelly from the bullpen. Before Donnelly ever fired off his first pitch, Nationals manager Frank Robinson asked the umpires to check Donnelly's glove for a foreign substance. The umpires ejected Donnelly after finding pine tar on the heel of Donnelly's glove.
Immediately after the ejection, Angels manager Mike Scioscia began jawing at Robinson and a fierce arguement ensued with Robinson being restrained several times by the umpires. Robinson was quoted in USA Today as saying:
He took me by surprise when he came over to me and I took it as a threat. He told me that he was going to have every one of my pitchers undressed when they came out there to the mound — no matter who it was.
If you've ever seen a replay of the incident, you can plainly see Scioscia didn't want to tangle with the then 69 year old Robinson. But, Scioscia was talking a big game while the umpires were between him and Robinson. Robinson went on to say:
I lost a lot of respect for Mike tonight — as a person and as a manager. And there's nothing he can say to me now, nothing. I don't even want him to approach me, I don't even want him to apologize to me. I would not accept it or have anything to do with it.
If you're wondering how all this started, it wasn't because Frank Robinson was a mind reader. Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen had played for the Angels in 2004. As that season wound down, Guillen was suspended by the Angels for the remainder of the season, thus leading to his departure from Anaheim. After the Nationals-Angels game, it was widely assumed Guillen tipped Robinson off to the pine tar in Donnelly's glove. During the melee that followed Donnelly's ejection, Guillen had to be restrained and forcibly taken back to the Nationals dugout. But after the resumption of play, Guillen hit a two run homer to tie the game. The Nationals went on to score three more runs before the game was over en route to a 6-3 victory.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find video of the incident anywhere on the internet because I would have loved to email it to Manny Acta as a reminder that a manager needs to show a little fire now and then.
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