Big Ten Tourney Champs!

Ass-kicking-makers

The Purdue Boilermakers won the Big Ten baseball tournament last night by kicking Indiana's ass twice -- the way that mattered was the second time on the field (6-5) in as many days; the other way was in a bench-clearing scuffle after a dust-up at third base. 

The Boilers went 3-0 in the tourney and are now outright regular season champs as well as tourney champs. As mentioned the other day, they also have the pitcher, player AND coach of the year in the Big Ten. They've now received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, their first appearance in the big tourney in a quarter century.

The all-tournament team was also announced and featured five Boilermakers:


P: Jonny Hoffman, Indiana P: Tony Bucciferro, Michigan State
P: Lance Breedlove, Purdue
C: Kevin Plawecki, Purdue
1B: Ryan Krill, Michigan State
1B: Richard Stock, Nebraska
2B: Micah Johnson, Indiana
3B: Cameron Perkins, Purdue
SS: Kirby Pellant, Ohio State
SS: David Miller, Purdue
OF: Will Nolden, Indiana
OF: Anthony Cheky, Michigan State
OF: Barrett serrato, Purdue
DH: Michael Pritchard, Nebraska
Most Outstanding Player: Kevin Plawecki, Purdue



Of course, this all makes the mess that happened in the 9th inning that much more frustrating. 


As you can see, Purdue's success is tied to their commitment to hustle (a familiar Boilermaker trait). That hustle, combined with the Hoosiers throwing it around like a little league team, led to the Boilers take the lead. Eric Charles then slid awkwardly into Michael Basil at third and apparently didn't acknowledge the famous IU banners, which Basil didn't like so he kind of knees him and there's a little shove and then before you know it, the benches have emptied, and someone (probably an umpire) is yelling "Get back in the fu-king dugout!"

Charles and Dustin DeMuth were ejected yet Basil, who started it all, was apparently not. I know there are always different way rivals see such a situation... BUT. Whether you like it or not, this was a baseball play until Basil started a fight, simple as that. I don't care if you don't like the slide or if you don't think it was textbook -- that doesn't matter. If a guy is blocking a base, you can barrel into him. That's how it works. Always has, and if you can't handle that, you shouldn't be playing baseball.

Watch the video above that Riley Schmitt had up last night. At 1:43, you can see Basil doing a headlock maneuver. At 1:49 you can see Charles -- who is on the ground and a bit more defenseless than the ogres standing over him -- get hammered by Basil who I guess took a bump from behind as an excuse to forearm shiver Charles. For a few scary seconds, Charles looks like a cowboy who fell under the herd.

The upshot is that Charles may likely be suspended for at least a game in the NCAA tournament as a result of this, which kind of seems like a bitter pill to swallow. Sure, we're biased, but here are the facts: Purdue has their first legit shot at the college world series perhaps ever. IU was frustrated and started a bench-clearing fight with their rival who was in the midst of taking their candy yet again. Somehow Purdue will have the biggest negative impact from this.

All that said, let's simply enjoy the fact that your Boilers are conference champs X 2.

Choo-choo, muthas.

Grab Your Balls, Boiler Fans

I'm talking Boiler baseball, of course.

Your Purdue Boilermakers -- outright Big Ten champs -- are now in the throes of the Big Ten baseball tournament as the #1 seed. They defeated Ohio State yesterday 5-4 with some late inning heroics by Big Ten Player of the Year Kevin Plawecki, the Boilers heart-and-soul catcher and with the save locked down by their Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Joe Haase.

The BT baseball tourney is double-elimination (bracket is here) and the top seed gives you a deserved reward in the sense that a bye past the first day, followed by two victories puts you in the tourney championship game.

Of course, because this is how life works out, our Boilers play #2-seed IU tonight to go straight to the championship game. The loser of this one goes to a game which becomes a must-win (obviously, with double-elim and all) and, if won, routes them right back to the championship game. So it's quite possible the Boilers and Hoosiers will be meeting again this weekend.

Tonight's game against IU is at 7 PM and is scheduled to be broadcast -- along with all Big Ten tourney games -- on BTN. Unless, you know, a transmitter in the BTN truck gets ice cream spilled on it or something.

The train is a-coming. Plenty o' seats on the bandwagon. Go Boilers.

Your ALCS and NLCS Non-Sequitor Post

It was cute when I put up my predictions for the first round and got told -- by some -- that they would have gone the other way on all four series picks I made.

I also got the most static from Reds fans who claimed I was overlooking them and they belonged, dammit! They were for reals, yo!

As it turns out, I got 3 out of 4 correct and if the Rays hadn't thrown the baseball around like a drunken Curtis Painter in Game 5, it might have been 4 for 4.

Anyway, your championship series breakdown goes like this.

NLCS: San Francisco Giants versus Philadelphia Phillies

Yes, I know everyone is in love with SF's pitching. However, Philly has Roy Halladay, who is unreal, and then they have Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, both of whom were machines down the stretch. And SF's young guns are a tad overrated. Lincecum is excellent, but Cain's record didn't do much for me. Oh, and then there's this: the Phillies can hit. And hit and hit and hit. And San Fran cannot. That should just about do it. Phillies in 5.

ALCS: New York Yankees versus Texas Rangers

This one is definitely intriguing. The two teams split the regular season series 4-4, but the Rangers swept the Yankees in Arlington a month ago. And they keep bringing that up, because Mariano Rivera hit a batter in one of the games for a walk-off win for the Rangers. Let me explain something: uhhhh, so what? That doesn't matter. Not one bit. Mariano Rivera is a bit different in the playoffs. And if the Yankees have a lead in the later innings, the Rangers will be thinking about him looming.

That said, the Rangers do have weapons and they do have that nonsencial baserunning style. It worked against Tampa because Tampa threw the ball into the outfield. The Yankees probably won't do that, but they're not good at throwing guys out, either.

I think this series is going the Yankees direction, largely because Cliff Lee can only pitch two games, with one being Game 7 (assuming they don't bring him back on short rest earlier). If the series goes 7, the Rangers probably win (again, assuming Lee isn't brought back to pitch Game 6 on short rest, for example). I respect Lee and I respect the Rangers offense. But I think the rest of the pitching favors the Yankees and New York's offense takes a backseat to nobody. Yankees in 6.

Yankees Finally Bolster Rotation

Andy Pettitte struggles to bring himself to sign such a low-priced contract.

The Yankees brought back Andy Pettitte yesterday, signing him to a one-year deal for $5.5 million, with another $6+ million in incentives. From the linked story:

Pettitte might have been able to get a multiyear deal from another club.

"I could have made an awful lot more money than what I signed for," he said.

Indeed. Who out there isn't looking to sign aging, .500 pitchers with a history of elbow and shoulder pain to lucrative, multi-year deals?

I kid, of course, because Andy Pettitte is a fine addition to the Yankees staff and finally brings some stability. I mean, who has heard of these shmoes? The rotation heading into 2009 looks something like this:

CC Sabathia
Chien-Ming Wang
AJ Burnett
Joba Chamberlain
Andy Pettitte

They've also got Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who were supposed to be the future of the rotation, waiting for when one of these guys invariably gets hurt.

Just to be safe, though, the Yankees also have contract offers on the table for Greg Maddux, Jake Peavy, Nolan Ryan, Satchel Paige and Sandy Koufax.

You know, just to be careful.

World Series Predicto -- Rays versus Phillies

[Yes, I know theses lasses were featured in an earlier playoffs post but they're just too good to pass up on and remind us all what's great about having a Florida team in the World Series.]

Tampa Bay Rays versus Philadelphia Phillies

So here we are, with the World Series beginning tonight in Tampa Bay. Well, more accurately, in St. Petersburg. I've never really understood why they're called "Tampa Bay" since "Tampa Bay" isn't even a city. Tampa Bay is just that... a freakin' bay. I can't think of another pro sports franchise that's named for a body of water instead of either a city or a state -- can you?

And raise your hand if you had Rays-Phillies in the World Series. Now, if your hand is up, close it into a fist... and now bring it down quickly and slam it into your testicles. Because you're lying and we punch liars in the balls.

What's even better, though, is that to mock the "experts" on ESPN, we don't even have to go back to the beginning of the season... we can go back to... October 1. Of 2008. When they were all asked to make their playoff predictions, now with the helpful knowledge of which eight teams actually made it in. And backed with the knowledge one assumes baseball analysts at ESPN have -- which is to say, thousands of baseball games' worth of viewing during the season, thus knowing more about the teams in play than any of us schmos. And out of 18 "experts," here's their collectively wonderful showing:

-Zero of them got the World Series matchup correct.
-Zero of them picked the Phillies to make the World Series.
-Two (out of eighteen!) picked the Rays to make it to the World Series.
-ONE (Keith Law) picked the Rays to win the World Series.

So if the Rays win it, Keith Law is officially the only guy at ESPN who knows anything about baseball. And if the Phils win, then they all should be fired.

As for me, I thought the Rays were the AL champs when the playoffs started -- really! -- because they were clearly better than the ChiSox and I thought that, in the end, they had outplayed Boston all year and would have home field... plus Boston was really banged up. I had the NL all wrong, but hey, so what. Each round I've been 50% correct, which should qualify me to be at ESPN.

As for this series, it's hard for me to pick because I've been so consistently wrong about the Phils. They just don't strike me as that good of a team, plus they've got half-witt Charlie Manual running the show and I just can't imagine him winning a World Series.

In addition, the Phils were a second place team for almost all of the past two seasons and if the Mets were not complete and utter chokers wouldn't have made the playoffs (or won the division) in either of the past two seasons. Think about that -- if the Mets don't make an historic collapse last September and then follow it up with another nearly-historic collapse this September, then the Phillies aren't even a playoff team and Manual is probably history by now.

But the Mets did collapse twice and the Phils are here. So then you look at how they've performed in the playoffs. Well, last year, they barely showed up and were probably spent from chasing down the Mets, and they got swept in the first round against the Rockies. Then this season they got to face the Brewers -- who were the ones who eeked by the Mets for the Wild Card and, thus, had to be exhausted, too. Hell, CC Sabathia was pitching on three days rest for a month. And then they faced a talented Dodgers team that... well, how talented were they? They were a .500 team all season until Manny arrived. And then they become a trendy pick. So if you want to be anti-Philly, it's easy to feel they haven't had to go through much to get here, plus it's not like anyone on the team has eye-popping stats this postseason.

On the Rays side, they actually did have to go through a hot Chicago team and then through a really determined Red Sox team that is always a tough out. They also held off the Sox and Yanks all season and, if ever a young team was battle tested, this was it.

Sure, it's possible that they'll let down and just be happy to be there. But I don't think so. Not after taking out the Red Sox and coming within a few outs of humbling the Sox at Fenway in three straight. After that, I don't think there's anything in Philly that's going to scare them.

As crazy as it sounds to be talking about the Rays being in the World Series, start getting used to the idea of the Rays being World Series champions.

Rays in 5.

I'm Glad The Rays Won

Obviously, I'm glad the Rays won... because I don't like the Sawx, their fans, their players, etc. But more than that, seeing the joy exhibited by the Rays players after they won last night was just one of those really cool things in sports. They were thrilled, relieved, joyful.... and many of these guys were part of the worst team in baseball last season.... and to be part of that journey has got to be just amazing.

And as much as I hate the Red Sox, I do have a grudging respect for them. Bill Simmons, who jumped the shark a long time ago in most peoples' eyes, wrote a column after the 2001 World Series, when the Yankees lost in seven games to the Diamondbacks on a bottom-of-the-ninth rally. Simmons wrote about how much he respected the Yankees and that you can tell the mettle of a champion not only when they win, but in how they are toppled. Like when a dynasty ends, the mark of a champion is in how hard they fight to the bitter end. Those Yankees struggled to push that series to seven games and almost pulled it out in the end... and they fought to the last second.

The same can be said of the 2008 Red Sox. Through the Manny disaster and trade, Ortiz slumping badly this season, Lowell not even being on the ALCS roster, injuries all over the places, etc... this team still played hard to the end and did not give the Rays anything. Down 7-0 in the 7th inning of Game 5, with TBS and everyone else already talking about the Rays versus the Phillies, and with Sox fans (who likely became Sox fans in about October 2004) the Sox players had to be the only ones who still believed they could do it. And they almost freaking did. Incredible.

Back in October of 2004, on my old site, when the Yankees were initiating their collapse to the Sox, I wrote that you couldn't ever take your boot off the Sox throat. Here's what I said on October 18, 2004:

"The Sox are a team I just don't feel comfortable around until they're gone.You need to run them over with the bus, then back over them, then run over them again. And then get out and hit them with the tire iron. Repeatedly. And then back over them again."

And they're still that team. They're still hungry, they still believe they can win no matter what the situation. And last night, if a few things had bounced their way... or if Drew wasn't called out on strikes on a pitch a foot outside that even the pitcher said he thought was a ball in the postgame.

I still don't like them or a lot of their players, but they refused to give up their throne easily and I respect them for that.

"Dude! I know! We was rahbbed! I can't believe the Sawx lost! I'm gonna go home and beat my girlfriend now... should cheeah me up."

SI Ballpark Rankings

Cleveland just can't stop winning.

I meant to bring this up a while back, but SI released their ballpark rankings (just a few short years after ESPN had already done it).

My issue with how they handled it was that they had the fans rate the parks. Well, isn't this a little inaccurate? Maybe it's because part of my day job involves survey research, but I can't help but feel surveying people about things as personal as their team's ballpark isn't likely to produce a non-skewed result.

Tim and I have been to over 20 MLB ballparks each so we know a bit about this sort of thing. And if I recall correctly, Tim thought his favorite of all the ones we've visited was Citizens Bank Park in Philly. As for me, the ones I've enjoyed the most have been Miller Park in Milwaukee, Pac Bell in SF (or whatever it's called now -- the place where Barry hit pellets into the bay) and Minute Maid in Houston.

According to SI's research, Progressive Field (formerly the Jake) in Cleveland is number one, followed by Miller Park, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Comerica Park in Detroit, the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Safeco Field in Seattle, Coors Field in Denver, US Cellular in Chicago (this one really surprises me), the Big A in Anahem and Citizens Bank in Philly rounding out the top ten.

Where did my beloved Yankee Stadium finish? Well, in 20th place out of the thirty parks in play. As much as I love it there, I guess I can't argue with this. It's not new, it's not state-of-the-art and there's nothing particularly fancy about it. But if you're a Yankee fan, there's a very special feel when you walk into it. Just trust me. When my lovely wife and I went there two weeks ago and walked up the tunnel to our seats, she said, "I just don't get this feeling at an Astros game!" Well, sure, you're not from Houston, honey. But I knew what she meant.

Fenway was right behind Yankee Stadium in 21st place. Fenway and Yankee went 1-2 in "Tradition" and 2-3 in "Fan IQ" (trailing only St. Louis, which I can't argue -- they know their baseball). Yankee Stadium was second to last in both "Affordability" and "Food." While I have no argument about the affordability thing, the food isn't that bad. They have a real food court, plus a cheesesteak grill, gyros, a deli area, etc. It's not horrible. So I would argue that. But I realize it's not as plentiful as the new parks.

It's interesting to me that a couple of pretty new parks finished in the bottom ten, including the Diamondbacks' park, Chase Field, and the Rangers' park, the Ballpark in Arlington. And, like I said, US Cellular, home of the White Sox, made the top ten. This interests me because it's widely regarded as the last park built before the boom of "retro" parks happened. I've been to one or two games there and I liked it but I can see why people might not. Not as much forced "charm" or hills in center field. Those sorts of goofy-ass things.

Other interesting rankings:

The Tigers were rated number 1 in "Team Quality." While I realize they've been competitive again in recent years, they really only had one really good year -- when they made the World Series (and lost) in 2006. Otherwise, this is still the team that lost 109 games five or six years ago. So that's interesting.

US Cellular was rated number 1 in "Traffic," with 1 being the best. I'd ask South-siders to weigh in on this. I don't remember it being disasterous when I went but come on -- it's Chicago! How good could it be?

The bottom five in "Hospitality," in order starting with the worst: Philly, Shea (Mets), Yankee, Fenway, Dodger. Only one Western team in that and they're originally from New York.

A great night out for the whole family? Go to KC. The Royals' Kauffman Stadium provides the cheapest tickets (1), good food (8), really nice fans (2), and cool promotions (7). Eh, but they have a low team quality (25) and, according to SI, the fourth-worst neighborhood of any team (27). Which is, like, ridiculous, since Kauffman is in the middle of a field in Missouri. I guess they just mean it's not a hip, happening neighborhood. When I think bad neighborhood, I think of bullets.

Opinions?

Larry Bowa Forgets He's In LA Now (and other baseball notes)

Continuing my lazy-ass habit of posting YouTube videos instead of original, creative content, I thought I'd share with anyone who didn't see it (which is most of us) Larry Bowa's first emotional outburst of the year, from last night's Dodgers victory over the Giants.

Bowa was the third base coach for my beloved Yanks' the past few years and is a fiery guy. He also used to manage the Phillies. So this guy is pretty intense to begin with and then he sprinkled on a number of years of Philly and New York redass-ness... and then he moved to sunny California to continue coaching with Joe Torre.

Seriously, Larry, it's sunny, it's LA, and nobody cares about baseball, especially in April and especially when the Lakers are doing well.

I also love it when coaches and players get violently angry when told to basically obey the rules. I've seen batters get thrown out for being told to stay in the batter's box and in this case, Bowa is apparently being told to stay in the third-base coach's box. He's already pissed that he has to look ridiculous and wear a helmet, and now you want him to stand in the coach's box, too?

All that said, however, I hate it when umpires incite near-melees. Watch this video and notice that Ump Ed Montague seems intent on continuing the argument even after he has A) ejected Bowa and B) several Dodger coaches are trying to keep Bowa from killing him.

In other news, the Yanks won the final home opener for Yankee Stadium. The immortal Melky Cabrera made two impressive catches and hit a home run. At the end of the game, Mariano Rivera presented the ball to Manager Joe Girardi since it was his first win at Yanks skipper. They laughed, they cried, it was better than Cats.

Everybody! Do the Melky!

In more midwestern baseball news, the Indians had an off day on Tuesday and the faithful who are freaking a bit about Victor Martinez didn't learn much more than that he's "day-to-day." But, then, aren't we all?

Victor Martinez is powerless against Juan Uribe's "Vulcan Ankle Tag" move.

Besbol!!!

That's right, Boilerdowd and other non-baseball fans, baseball got underway last night... err, or this morning, or whatever... with your World Champion Red Sox taking on the Oakland A's of Moneyball fame in Japan at 6 AM, Eastern Time, this morning.

The Sawx won it 6-5 in ten innings, with Fatsuzaka starting the game and promptly giving up a home run to the second batter, Mark Ellis.

More importantly, though, I thought Terry Francona was told not to wear his stupid-looking nightie anymore and that he had to wear a jersey top? Now, in addition to the top, MLB will have to keep a close eye on Terry Francona's feet, too, since he's apparently going to wear shower shoes while managing. I guess when you win two World Series in Boston, you begin to think you can do anything. Pretty soon we'll see him wearing boxer shorts and smoking a cigar while lying in an adirondack chair.


The Red Sox have become baseball's traveling circus... they play one more game that officially counts tomorrow morning in Japan, then come back to LA and play three meaningless exhibition games against the Dodgers (including one in the Coliseum, with weird-ass dimensions for baseball), and then re-start their season against the A's in Oakland. What does this do for pitching rotations? Who the hell knows?

I saw something today though that I hadn't even thought about. Because of the Sox winning the World Series last year, Terry Francona will be the AL manager in the All-Star Game this year, which is being played in Yankee Stadium in honor of the old ballpark's last year. That ought to be interesting.

More baseball preview info coming soon. I know you can't wait.

Another Brilliant Idea By The Best-Run Franchise is MLB

Oh, sure, you thought you wouldn't have to deal with my inane ramblings on baseball. Sure, sure, you thought you could duck it. But you can't. And pretty soon, college basketball will be over and it'll be wall to wall baseball. And you know you'll read because you're just as bored at work as anyone else.

Anyway, in case you haven't heard, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are at least considering signing Barry Bonds.

Oh, that's just brilliant. I think the "Rays," as they now insist on being known, would consider this. I mean, an aging superstar clouded in controversy and well-known to be a complete prick who demands leather recliners and multiple lockers... yeah, he sounds like a perfect fit for a team that has finished in last place 9 out of the 10 years they've existed. He's definitely the final piece of the puzzle for a title run.

What the hell are the Rays thinking? From the article...

Manager Joe Maddon said Monday he knew "little" about what was going on, but acknowledged some thought has been given to the career home-run leader.

I think you could just stop that sentence at the comma.

It gets even better, too, because the Rays brass is apparently huddling and considering offering contracts to Kenny Lofton (almost 41 years old) and Mike Piazza (40 in September and completely washed up). I think they should sign them all. And maybe lure Fred McGriff out of retirement so they could have an outfield that all falls asleep during games because they're so old.

What else do you expect from a franchise that renamed itself because old people in Florida didn't like "devil" in the name of the team and then chose to rename themselves after sunshine rays despite playing in a dome?

Can't Keep the Evil Empire Down For Long

Hey, remember back in May when the Yankees were scuffling and I said the Sux couldn't play .700 ball all season and that it was only two months in? And how boilerdowd reveled in the Yankees sucking and called me out, I guess, for not conceding the season? Well, only losers concede things that early.

Last night, the Yanks completed their turnaround and clinched a spot in the playoffs. The numbers really are amazing, whether you like the Yankees or not. They were 21-29 after 50 games and since then have gone 70-38. That's ridonkulous.

Have they perhaps blown their wad just to get into the playoffs? Possibly, but I am the first to admit (unlike most Yankee fans) that this team isn't built to win the World Series, it's built to win the division (or, in this case, the Wild Card).

See, you can slug your way through the regular season, pounding on teams like the Orioles, Jays and Devil Rays, but you don't get to play teams like that in October. When the Yankees were winning all those titles, they really were the best, most complete team in the majors. Pitching, hitting, baserunning, defense. They were just solid in all areas. Now they're average (at best) defensively, a little above average in starting pitching, perhaps climbing to above average in the bullpen and excellent in the hitting department. Well, what wins championships, kids? That's right, pitching. I have confidence in Wang and Pettitte, but then....? Old Man Clemens? Kid Phil Hughes? Erratic Mike Mussina? It'll be an adventure, as always.

But that's to worry about next week when the playoffs begin. For now, let's have some fun with photos in this post. Enjoy.


Mo Rivera and Roger Clemens douse Hideki Matsui ("of Japan," the ESPN caption actually says) with champagne, while Matsui mumbles, "Yeah, but we still got your asses at Pearl Harbor."


Derek Jeter scopes the groupies for the three he will bang that night.


Joe Torre reminds Doug Mientkiewicz of their deal from back in May, when Mientkiewicz said, "If we turn this thing around, I'll put on a pair of goggles and make out with Joe Torre."


Upon realizing that making the playoffs means he'll make more money as part of his playoff bonus, Roger Clemens is overcome with emotion.


Joba Chamberlain explains: "Hey, I'm just a rookie... Alex told me to hold this bottle right here while he grabs it... I don't know, I just do what I'm told."

Eric Wedge Looks Serious For Just Having Been Pie-Faced

For those that may have missed it, the Cleveland Indians made a triumphant return to the playoffs yesterday by winning the AL Central. Two years ago, in 2005, they had closed to within a game and a half of the White Sox during the final week only to fumble away a trip to the playoffs. They won 93 games that year and looked poised to be very good. In 2006, they took a major step back, finishing under .500 despite scoring a lot of runs. In 2007, they've put it all together, getting better and better this year and now they're seeing the payoff as they head back to the playoffs.

This is pretty impressive because the state of Ohio is putting together quite a year. The Ohio State Buckeyes began the year in the national title game and the Cleveland Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals. Sure, both of those teams got pasted in their respective championship showdowns but, hey, it's Cleveland -- were you expected perpetually sunny skies?

And hey, if you act now, you can get the Cleveland Indians Central Division... coin.

You might have heard about this from our Cleveland-based Boiled Sports contributor, Tim, but he's been awfully busy lately with chili cook-offs, trips to Bed, Bath & Beyond and, presumably, antiquing.

We've got uniforms and everything, it's really great!

bunt (bŭnt) Pronunciation Key
v. bunt·ed, bunt·ing, bunts

v. tr.

1. Baseball

1. To bat (a pitched ball) by tapping it lightly so that the ball rolls slowly in front of the infielders.

2. To cause (a base runner) to advance or (a run) to score by bunting.

2. To push or strike with or as if with the head; butt.

v. intr.

1. Baseball To bunt a pitched ball: The batter squared away to bunt.

2. To butt.

n.

1. Baseball

1. The act of bunting.

2. A bunted ball.

2. A butt with or as if with the head.

[Dialectal, to push, strike.]

bunt'er n.



If you don't understand the purpose of posting a definition here, allow me to explain the situation.

The Indians and the Tigers are tied for first place in the AL Central. The Indians and Tigers are playing each other on Tuesday in Cleveland. The Indians and Tigers are tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 9th.

The Indians have a man on second with no outs. None. Not even one. Zero. No outs. Man on second. No outs. What do they proceed to do? Let's swing away shall we! It will be a grand ole time. Let's swing all night long. What proceeds to happen? It goes something like this... in order:

Strike out.
1 out.

Strike out.
2 outs.

Strike out.
3 outs.

Let's play extra innings shall we? Then the Tigers score 4 in the top of the 10th and win 6-2.

Hence, my suggestion to BUNT THE FREAKING BALL! Bunt like your life depends on it, because it does. If you keep playing like dung then you will miss the playoffs again. BUNT! When you only need one run, and you have a man on second with no outs, you bunt. It's simple really. They're major league baseball players. They should all be able to bunt. So bunt. Just bunt. For the love of God, bunt the ball.

What Will Happen With A-Rod?

It's hard for me, as a Yankee fan, to truly enjoy the season that Alex Rodriguez is having this year because I think there's a really good chance he's going to be elsewhere next season. And the reason will be the endless beating he takes from the media and fans of the New York metropolitan area about how he's no good, and non-clutch, etc.

Everyone piles onto Alex and I actually do feel bad for him, despite the fact that he's a bit aloof at times. But since he's been in New York, I've come to like him a lot more and Derek Jeter a lot less. I still marvel at how good Jeter is at the game, but Jeter seems to be getting more and more arrogant all the time. That's unfortunate.

A-Rod, on the other hand, is putting up insane numbers, year after year, and is still bashed. He's hittong over .500 this year in the 9th inning with something like seven home runs. How do you define clutch? How many games does he have to win by himself? There have been studies of this year's numbers that suggest Alex has been responsible for 7 or 8 wins, by himself. And if you don't think that's a lot, you don't know baseball. For one guy to swing a team that much is amazing. So instead of being on the fringe of contention they'd be under .500 and fading fast. Big difference.

It also almost feels like the Yankees are setting Alex up to be the villian in all this. He's a free agent at the end of the season, if he wants to be. He would need to opt out of the remaining three years of his ginormous, famous $252 million deal. But if you could make $25 million per year for three years or perhaps more than that per year for, like, six or eight years... wouldn't you at least find out about the possibilities?

The Yankees, though, asked him about extending his contract, mainly because they like the fact that Texas is on the hook to pay $9.5 mill per season of his $25 mill for the next three years (the remaining years on the original deal). Basically, the Yankees are getting ARod for a modern-day steal, since he's costing them about $15.5 million a season. Or less than Giambi... or Jeter.

So when ARod said, hey, I'd like to maybe consider testing the free agent market, the Yankees made this public knowledge and painted ARod as tying their hands since, you know, they're on such a strict budget and all.

Of course, nobody can win here. If ARod signs another mega-deal, he'll further cement his legacy as a money-hungry athlete (again, not that I think anyone can blame him) and he'll be further buried in the press. And if the Yankees sign him to a $30 million a year deal, they'll be further demonized by the press and other fans as a team "buying" their titles (even though they haven't won since their payroll began to really skyrocket).

Which brings me to another point: who the hell could afford to pay one player more than $30 million per season? I can only imagine the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and maybe the Cubs as being in that category.

The Mets won't do it, not with Wright and Reyes on the left side of their infield. Although, if it were me, and I was running the Mets and was opening a new ballpark the same year as the Yankees, I would throw as much money as possible at him and either make him a first baseman or move David Wright to first. What difference would it make? If ARod retires in ten years, you move Wright back to third. Who cares? And wouldn't that just piss off the Yankees if the Mets won even a single World Series with ARod as the hero? Of course, he'd still have to deal with the New York media and he's shown how that can get to him. Still, and this is a Yankee fan speaking, I think the possibilities would be delicious.

The Dodgers think Garciaparra is a good third baseman so that shows their baseball sense.

The Sox won't do it because Theo Epstein thinks he's a genius based on one eight-game luck-steak in 2004. Plus all of Boston hates ARod, including the mouth-breathing, overrated captain of the Sox.

The Cubs could consider it, especially if they're primed for a real run in the next few years. Pinella has a good connection with ARod and if Mark Cuban ever really did buy the Cubs, I think the chances of them going after ARod increase dramatically.

However, I think it's most likely that ARod ends up in Anaheim. The Angels have money to burn and an owner willing to burn it. It's Los Angeles, which means ARod is still in a big market but nobody there really cares that much about sports so the pressure would truly be off. He'd be at every awards show and his hookers would be from Rodeo Drive instead of Toronto. Major upgrade.

He could, of course, still end up back in New York because when push comes to shove I think the Yankees leadership is run by good baseball men, such as Brian Cashman, who hopefully knows just how amazingly, jaw-droppingly good ARod really is. Plus, in eight to ten years or so when he's beloved as he approaches Barry Bonds' all-time home run record, it would be nice for the Yankees to have him in their still-fairly-new Yankee Stadium.

Still, my guess for next year? LA Angels.

Jeter Is Good

Since I posted about Jeter being considered infallable the other day, I thought I'd take a real look at his numbers today. I know his average was way up there, but I really didn't understand just how good he has been playing and how consistently good he's been of late.

Sure, he's hitting almost .370 and that's good no matter what, but it's only May, right? And he's got just three homers and 28 RBIs. So it's not like he's doing anything amazing...right?

Except if you begin to look at his game-by-game log for the season so far, you see that he's only had two -- two! -- true, zero-hit games thus far this season. On April 7, he went 0-for-4 with a walk and on May 4, he went 0-for-6. That May 4 game was the only game he's appeared in this season where he has not reached base.

Think about that. That's actually incredible. He's currently riding an 18-game hitting streak and, as I said, has gotten on base in every single game this year except for one (including one game where he was plunked in the first inning and had to leave the game -- a 0-for-0 with 1 HBP).

But let's take it back even further. If you go back to his game-by-game for 2006, you'll see that the last time Jeter had two straight games with no hits was August 16 and 17 of last year. Since last August 19, Derek has only had three games (the aforementioned two this year, plus Sept 17 of 2006) where he put up an 0-fer. That's it.

So over his last 82 games (just more than half a season's worth of games), Derek Jeter has had hits in 77 of them, with two games being 0-for-0 games (one the aforementioned HBP game and one last year, also against Tampa, where he went 0-for-0 with three walks and three runs scored).

Three 0-fers in 82 games. And only two games in the past 82 where he did not reach base. Two.

Last night, he cleared 2,215 hits to move ahead of Joe DiMaggio on the Yankees all-time hits list and won't be 33 until June 26. Jeter has averaged about 195 hits per season so far in his career. Even if that drops to 175 per year, Jeter will clear 3,000 hits in about four and a half seasons, or at the end of 2011, the season in which he'll turn 37. It's quite conceiveable that he will approach 3,500 hits. Do you know how many guys have even 3,400 hits, all-time? Eight.

I know a lot of people have taken a liking to mocking Jeter as being a media-created legend, but he's doing a pretty good job of it himself. Sure, he's not hitting 700+ home runs like Bonds or things like that, but I'm also not writing this talking about his "little things" or "intangibles," the stuff that knowledgeable people make fun of since it kind of is hyperbole. No, I'm talking about his actual numbers and they're beginning to look pretty incredible.

Thus ends my public love note about Derek's skillz.

Stop Hating On Interleague Play

Every year, we're subjected to another round of people bashing on interleague play, one of Bud Selig's few solid ideas since he hijacked the commissioner post from Fay Vincent all those years ago.

It's no different this year, the tenth anniversary of interleague play, as people are now more frequently questioning whether or not it's "fair."
Yeah, there was actually an article in SI this week about the "fairness" of interleague play since a team like the Mets has to play a tough series of interleague games while the Brewers play a group from the AL with slightly lesser records. Well, now, wait a minute. With the imbalanced schedule in place in recent years, haven't the Yankees and Red Sox had a nice advantage in getting to pound on the Devil Rays and Orioles 19 times each per season? Is that not fair? I mean, since, lately, the AL Central has been so good and they only have one team to pound on (the Royals)?

The fact is, interleague play is a good thing for baseball. It gets the fans even more into the game, right as the summer is approaching. And it gets the fans talking about baseball for reasons other than A) steroids, B) what a jerk Barry Bonds is, or C) huge home runs.

This complaint about fairness is a switch from the old Lupica-esque complaint, which was that it matched up teams like the Royals and the Pirates and, whoo, isn't that fun. He would never fail to make this asinine point on The Sports Reporters each year and then laugh uproariously at himself. Yes, yes, we get it Mike, nobody is longing to see the Devil Rays and Nationals face off. But couldn't you also argue that nobody is longing to see the Devil Rays and the Royals face off, either? And they're in the same league, you traditionalist!

Interleague play provides some excitement, whether those who hate it want to admit it or not. Sure, there are a bunch of games with no more excitement than any other regular season game. But then there are matchups like the Mets-Yanks, Cubs-Sox and Dodgers-Angels series where people actually do care, since their next-door neighbor or co-worker could very well be a fan of the other team. And not just a passing fan since they're both considered local teams.

This weekend, co-author Tim and I will be among a group attending the Cleveland-Cinci (Battle of Ohio!) game on Saturday night at Jacobs Field. Stop by Section 103 to say hi if you want. Or, if you're one of our haters... don't.

Hired Gun

I just got the picture to the left in my inbox from a Red Sox-fan friend of mine who has also pelted me with emails over the past two days about what a joke Clemens is and, well, you know the drill.

Well, that's definitely true -- he plays just for the money. As opposed to gamers like Curt Schilling who plays the game for free. Or Manny Ramirez, who donates all $20 million of his salary to barbershops across Boston.

I once heard Jason Varitek promised to wear whatever letter of the alphabet he was able to get to without looking above the blackboard for help. What a guy!

Those Red Sox sure are likable. I especially like how when Manny hits a home run he stands there and postures and walks to first base. And then, if anyone dares to pitch him on the inner half of the plate, he absolutely flips out. Those guys sure are awesome!

And let's not forget their two-week dynasty in 2004 -- their fans sure haven't forgotten it!

But yes, the truth is, Roger Clemens IS a hired gun and is just having a hard time turning down the boatloads of money he is getting offered each year. And if he had chosen the Red Sox, the fans would be lining up to kiss his fat ass.