On Wednesday, left-handed power hitters Adam LaRoche and Brad Hawpe cleared waivers and it appears that they will be traded in the coming days.  Although neither the Arizona Diamondbacks nor Colorado Rockies seem close to a deal involving either player, there are several organizations that will undoubtedly express interest.

The fact that LaRoche was placed on waivers should come as no surprise as the Diamondbacks openly expressed his availability, as well as anybody not named Reynolds or Upton, during July’s trading frenzy.  Prior to the 2010 season, the Diamondbacks signed LaRoche to one year, $4.5 million contract that has a $7.5 million mutual option for 2011, and would increase to a $9.5 mutual option if he is traded.  The Diamondbacks also have the ability to buy out LaRoche’s contract for $1.5 million.

Continue Reading »

Former Major Leaguer Bobby Thomson passed away Monday at the age of 86, but his 1951 “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” will undoubtedly live on as long as the game of baseball is played. Thomson’s walk-off homerun, which sent the New York Giants to the World Series over their bitter cross-town rival Brooklyn Dodgers, capped an improbable comeback that saw the Giants 13 ½ games back of the Dodgers on August 11 and going 37-7 down the stretch to force the three game playoff. This playoff was eventually, and so famously, decided by Thomson’s left-field wall-scraper that barely escaped the confines of the Polo Grounds.

Thomson’s homerun, labeled the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” because of the large number of American troops listening to the game from Korea on Armed Forces radio broadcast, has been etched into national lore for reasons much bigger than the smash itself. Thanks to the exuberant commentary of radio broadcaster Russ Hodges alone, as a young sports fan growing up I was captivated by the play even with zero understanding of its context or importance, other than the obvious fact that the Giants had made the World Series. This happened half a century before I ever saw it and I didn’t know any of the incredible back story, but even still I could certainly have told you about the time “THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT!”

Continue Reading ‘Saying Goodbye to Bobby Thomson…’ >>

On Thursday night, the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers surrendered a 5-run lead against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up 3 runs in both the 8^th and 9^th innings and ultimately losing 10-9.  Although many of the Dodgers’ players lent a helping hand in making the late-inning collapse exceedingly memorable, the brunt of my focus is on Ronald Belisario’s mental error- a blunder so rare that it baffled every umpire on the field, as well as the manager of both teams.

With nobody out in the bottom of 8^th inning, Belisario opted to do a 3^rd-to-1^st pickoff move, hoping to catch an anxious Jayson Werth with too large a lead.  There was just one slight problem, there was no a runner on 3^rd base.  The only guy on base was Werth…and he was on 1^st.  That’s right, this means that Belisario made a move to an unoccupied base(3^rd) in an attempt to deceive Werth.  BALK.  However, this was no ordinary balk, it was arguably one of the most bone-headed and unthinkable balk in baseball history; it should have counted for a run, not just a single base.  If we refer to a players’ mental errors as “brain farts,” then Belisario’s gaffe should be recognized as “brain explosive-diarrhea.” Here’s why:

Continue Reading »

As the end of the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season edges a little closer every day, playoff races from around the league are gradually taking form.  The final months of the season have the potential to produce any number of dramatic, memorable outcomes, especially with some divisional races being three teams deep.  Although the teams with the greatest divisional leads- Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres- seem to be on the verge of pulling away, their respective magic numbers are still 42 and 46.

Oddly, those are not the magic numbers that I care about at this time.  The only number that matters to me is 45, because that is how many days must slowly pass before the Season 2 premiere of HBO’s Eastbound & Down on September 26^th, which just so happens to be my birthday, as well as a mere 24 hours after Dee’s birthday on the 25^th.

Whether you are an actual fan of baseball or not, the show is sheer genius and absolutely hilarious.  Out of all the conversations that I have had with others about the show, I can honestly say that I have never had someone openly assert their distaste. In fact, I have never even experienced an individual who seems to be on-the-fence, or “ehh” about it.

We are a society that loves, “The Man With The Golden Dick.”

Continue Reading »

The baseball blog Batter Chatter is a wonderful website where, as they put it, “baseball and language intersect.”  Each day Batter Chatter gives a break down on some unique baseball terminology, in the form of a definition and references to its historical usage.  As one who has always been as interested in the history and culture of baseball as much as the game itself, I find this place to be infinitely fascinating.  So I could not have been happier when today I found the topic of Batter Chatter to be the bit of baseball vernacular so dear to all of our hearts.  Thanks to David Wright’s dreadful performance last night (sorry, Dee) Batter Chatter found it appropriate to discuss the Golden Sombrero.  They even mentioned this very website and its relation to the atrocious accomplishment of being crowned with that sweet, gilded, Mexican hat.  Kudos to you Batter Chatter; keep up the good work.