Articles from June 2010

Even though Votto has not notched a sombrero, he sure looks good in that hat

After watching both Jason Heyward and Mark Teixeira fall victim to the Platinum Sombrero over the weekend, I thought it would only be appropriate to reflect on all of the golden and platinum sombrero performances this season.  Some of the names on the list may surprise you, most of them will not.  For those of you who may not have noticed, there is a scrolling ticker in the top, left-hand corner of the site that offers an up-to-date list of every player that has notched either a 4 or 5 strikeout game.  Regardless, here is the current, chronological list in an easy to read format, as well as a few notes about its constituents.

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“Hell, If I’d known 40-40 was going to be a big deal, I’d have done it every year!”- Mickey Mantle

“40/40 club/ESPN on the seats”

This is exclusivity at it’s best.  Fellow blogger Brett (aka my lil brother) wrote a piece on baseball’s influence over hip-hop music.  I felt that out of tribute, I should find my own quote from this same influence.  The above quote is from Jay-Z.  He is rapping about how he is above the rest.  He spits about pushing weight (crack-cocaine to be exact) to promote his growth as an exclusive member.  He is actually the owner of a NY night club called The 40/40 club.  Can you name all of the club member VIP’s?  Jay-Z probably couldn’t either, so it’s all money.

The 40/40 club is exclusive.  So exclusive in fact, that it only has 4 members. Quick, what do Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano have in common?  If you guessed being homos you were close, but not correct.  They have all been linked in one way or another to steroids.  (As a responsible reporter, ehhh, I should note here that Soriano has only been indirectly linked to ‘roids.)  That’s right; the 40/40 club is the prime example of what the steroid era meant for baseball.  Sure, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Vlad Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano (for a 2^nd time) and Carlos Beltran all came close.  But that is no horseshoe or hand grenade throwing.  These 4 men (using the term loosely) are the only  to achieve such asterisk laced glory.

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Yesterday the Florida International Panthers fell to Ivy League Champs, Dartmouth College, for their second, and eliminating, loss at the Miami regional.  Three-hole hitter and infielder Garrett Wittels had a 3 for 5 day with a double to end the season hitting .413/.463/.541.  Wittels closed the season with a 56-game hitting streak intact, ready to continue it in 2011.  Luckily for baseball fans, Wittels is only a sophomore this season, so the only threat to this streak outside the game between the lines is injury.  Were he a junior, he surely would be drafted early and sign, right?  With a 56-gamer?  The all-time record holder for longest hitting streak is Robin Ventura with 58, and he went 10^th overall in 1988.  I’m not so sure about Wittels.  With the draft set to begin tomorrow and to continue through Wednesday, let’s use Wittels as an example of some important things to keep in mind as we scratch our heads as guys like Chevez Clarke, a Georgian outfielder with tools to drool over but with mediocre high school statistics, are taken ahead of proven collegiate hitters like Wittels, who will be lucky to be taken inside the first 20 rounds next year.

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When will that asshole Joe West be stopped?  On Friday night, West added to his already long rap sheet of abuse of power with his ejection of the Nationals’ Ian Desmond in the bottom of the 7^th.  After tagging from 2^nd to 3^rd on a fly ball to the center, Desmond over slid the bag with a pop-up slide but was called safe by third base umpire Paul Schrieber.  After Dusty Baker complained, the umpires lead by crew chief Joe West, gathered to discuss the play and ultimately ruled that Desmond was in fact out.  Frustrated with the ruling, Desmond dropped his helmet to the ground and was immediately ejected by West.  Much like when he tossed Mark Buehrle and Ozzie Guillen on May 26^th, the ejection was unprompted and absolutely preposterous.  Maybe it wouldn’t anger me and the rest of baseball so much if West didn’t immediately waddle off after the ejections, showing no desire to explain himself and avoiding confrontation at all costs like a complete coward.  What a country-music-singin’ asshole. It’s absurd that we are so concerned about the accuracy of umpires’ calls when we have fat assholes like Joe West sucking the life out of professional baseball games.  Despite it’s significance to the game, Jim Joyce’s screw up was part of umpiring and part of the game.  Joe West’s screw up(s) is just the product of him being a genuine, egocentric asshole.  Major League Baseball needs to step in and put a stop to Joe West before somebody decks him on the field- seriously.   Then again, I guess it’s hard to can somebody when they are already only being paid in Cracker Barrel gift certificates.



First off, let me apologize for my delay in releasing any new pieces for all the people of Sombrero Nation.  This last month has been quite a ride.  First there was the state tournament (in which the Scorps lost their semi-final game in heartbreaking fashion), then I had to finish up my first year, as a high school teacher, and most recently I have just become an uncle for the first time.  Big ups go out to my sister, Blaire.  She needed a mere 3 pushes to pop that beautiful baby out and into the world.  Congrats, I love you Blaire and baby Londyn.

Anyways, on to what the article is really about, Ricketts Park.  As I helped as an assistant to the varsity squad in May, I took notice of how special Ricketts was.  This was not the first time I had felt this way, but it was the same feeling from a different perspective.  I had casual conversations with graduating seniors about what it meant to have played at such a great field.  I also had conversations with younger guys who have their whole high school career in front of them.  There were as many similarities in their answers as there were differences.  No matter who I was talking to, I started each conversation the same way, “So what has it been like to play as a Scorp at Ricketts?’  Older guys answered with comments like, “It’s fuckin’ awesome, man” or “It’s so badass” and one kid, who will remain unnamed, responded with “It’s the fuckin’ shit.  There is nothing else like it.”  The second half of this last quote is what stuck with me, mostly because there really is nothing like playing at Ricketts Park.

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