Durham Bulls, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, Texas Rangers

Astros and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Game

My affinity for the movie Bull Durham is well known.

In fact, I have been known to quote the movie quite frequently as there seem to be quotes that fit almost any occasion in life.

So while I was watching Monday night’s debacle of a game between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers there were many Bull Durham lines that came to mind as the Double-A talent level Astros players with the big hearts and limited talent fell victim to the much more talented and much more Major League Baseball level Texas Rangers.

Bull Durham is one of my favorite movies. The Houston Astros are spending the season reenacting many of the scenes from the movie, and not in the good way. Photo R. Anderson
Bull Durham is one of my favorite movies. The Houston Astros are spending the season reenacting many of the scenes from the movie, and not in the good way.
Photo R. Anderson

One line from Bull Durham that kept coming to mind as I watched the wheels fall off for the Astros once again was, “You guys. You lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you?”

And of course anyone who has seen the movie knows that the answer is lollygaggers.

The Astros have found ways to make a very simple game of throw and catch anything but simple the past few seasons as they lollygag through their games. Of course this year they look like doctoral students in the study of ways to lollygag during ballgames.

Quite frankly, each game tends to lead itself to even more absurd ways to lose. Balls falling between three outfielders? Check. An overworked staff of pitchers giving up more leads than a reporter on deadline? Check.

The list goes on and on with the creative ways that the Astros have found to lose this year. But Monday night seemed to find new levels on the losing scale.

In addition to the game reminding me of some scenes from Bull Durham, it also harkened back to some bedtime stories that my mom used to read to me.

One of those books in particular came to mind Monday night as I was watching the Astros go through yet another epic fail. That book was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which was written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.

In the book, as the title suggests, Alexander has a bad day.

The way the Astros' season has gone I wouldn't be surprised if the song Bad Day is on a constant loop in the clubhouse. Photo R. Anderson
The way the Astros’ season has gone I wouldn’t be surprised if the song Bad Day is on a constant loop in the clubhouse.
Photo R. Anderson

The book came out in 1972 which was long before the days immortalized in Daniel Powter’s one hit wonder song Bad Day.

So, for the more musically minded readers one can replace the imagery of the printed page with the melodies of song if they wish.

Whichever way works the fact remains the Astros had a very bad day, err night Monday.

As part of the bad night the Astros gave up 11 runs in the third inning with all nine Rangers players in the batting order scoring at least one run during the third inning scoring marathon.

Then in the fourth inning the Astros lost their catcher to concussion like symptoms. Normally when that occurs the backup catcher is rushed into the game since most squads carry two catchers on the active roster for situations like this.

Of course when you are using your other catcher as the designated hitter, as the Astros were doing, a little rule goes into effect where they cannot go behind the plate without a team being forced to use a pitcher at DH to replace them.

So with the options limited at catcher, the Astros turned to their emergency catcher, Jake Elmore. It is not like Elmore had never caught before. The announcers on the broadcast were very quick to point out that Elmore once caught an inning in a Double-A game in Mobile, Alabama a few years back.

To his credit, Elmore did a good job behind the plate. Of course he was helped by the fact that the Rangers were not trying to steal any bases with such a sizable lead.

At least the hats are sharp for the Astros to make up for some of the less than sharp play on the field. Photo R. Anderson
At least the hats are sharp for the Astros to make up for some of the less than sharp play on the field.
Photo R. Anderson

The night for Elmore got even weirder in the eighth inning when he was called upon to pitch since it was determined that with the game so out of reach the Astros would just give the rest of the bullpen the night off.

Elmore needed only 11 pitches to get three outs and proved to be the most productive pitcher of the night for the Astros. Not bad for a guy making his Major League debut as both a pitcher and a catcher.

While there have certainly been games where infielders have been called on to pitch these are usually extra-inning games when the bullpens have been completely depleted. Elmore became only the 14th person to be both a catcher and pitcher in the same game.

The Astros keep preaching rebuilding and patience but when they decide to completely rest an ineffective bullpen in favor of an infielder who has never pitched in a Major League Game and he makes it look easier to get batters out than the bulk of the full time pitchers, there is definitely something horribly wrong and will certainly test the patience of Job.

So, it is likely that there will be many more terrible, horrible, no good, very bad games for the Astros this year. And the trend will likely continue for several years to come. There is no quick fix for a team that does not want to spend money on talented players.

Of course, there are players like Jake Elmore that have the talent and the heart to be Major League ballplayers for the Astros they just aren’t being given the supporting cast to be successful and are left feeling like they woke up with gum in their hair day after day after day.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there is a certain book from my childhood that I think I will pull off of the shelf and read.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Major League Baseball

A Topps Quest 30 Years in the Making

Through the years, I have collected everything from Matchbox Cars to books from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

It has been said that my collections have collections.

Among all of my collections and interests, one of the earliest things I collected were baseball cards.

Back when packs of baseball cards could still be purchased for pocket change and included a stick of card staining bubble gum, I collected cards with the best of them.

I even had a small business selling cards to my friends and neighbors and would buy boxes of cards at the Sam’s Club. I would also ride my Diamondback bike to the neighborhood 7-11 and get a few packs of cards, some comic books and some powdered doughnuts.

Of course, I would not look at the cards and comic books while eating the powdered doughnuts. No one wants to get powdered sugar on their cards and comic books.

From 1983 to the mid-nineties, I collected cards with a vengeance. My collection was not limited to baseball cards.  Football, hockey and NASCAR cards were also collected. I even have some cards from various televisions shows and movies.

This album was started 30 years ago. This is the year it is finally completed. Photo R. Anderson
This album was started 30 years ago. This is the year it is finally completed.
Photo R. Anderson

Put quite frankly, my collection of cards had a collection of cards.

A goal each year was to compile a complete set of cards.

Many of the sets were put together pack by pack, which meant many doubles, triples, and even fourths of cards were inevitable.

In some cases, the extra cards could be traded for missing cards needed to complete the collection. In most cases though, the extras went into boxes in a closet to be forgotten about.

While I always preferred the traditonal method of completing a set one pack at a time, some times sets joined the collection as part of factory sealed sets which allowed me to finish the set with a single purchase. Factory sets also ensured that the dreaded gum stained cards would not be an issue.

The other day, it was announced that Ryne Sandberg had been named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. That announcement got me thinking about baseball cards again.

So, what does Ryne Sandberg’s promotion have to do with baseball cards? I am glad you asked.

It has to do with baseball cards in that the promotion of Ryne Sandberg got me thinking about my 1983 Topps baseball set; which included Ryne Sandberg’s rookie card. The 1983 Topps set also included the rookie cards of Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn.

Recently named Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg was a rookie with the Cubs in 1983. Photo R. Anderson
Recently named Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg was a rookie with the Cubs in 1983.
Photo R. Anderson

As I was thumbing through my 1983 set, I was reminded that while it was the first year that I started collecting baseball cards. It also represented my only unfinished set in my collection.

So, 30 years after I first started the set, I decided while sitting on my living room floor that I would finished the set before Christmas this year.

It would have been much easier to have had this grand vision back in January to have eight more months in which to work on the goal. However, I have always worked better under the pressure of deadlines. So, over the next four months I will complete the set.

Finding assorted 30-year old baseball cards will not be easy. While there are a few shops that may still have a dusty binder full of cards, it is more likely that I will end up using the internet to find the missing pieces of cardboard.

Back when I was collecting my sets before, I carried around checklists in my wallet for each set I was working on. The checklist was numbered from 1 to 792, or how ever many cards that particular set had and has I found a card I would cross it off of the list.

The checklists came in quite handy whenever I was trading cards with friends or looking through boxes of cards at a baseball card shop. With a single glance I could tell which cards I had and which ones I needed.

After creating a new list it was determined I am around 100 cards short of completing the 1983 Topps set. Photo R. Anderson
After creating a new list it was determined that I am 125 cards short of completing the 1983 Topps set.
Photo R. Anderson

Sadly, I could not locate my 1983 checklist when I went looking for it. So, the first step in resuming the quest to finish the set was to determine how many cards I still needed by creating a new checklist.

One by one, I went through my binder with the 1983 set in it and crossed of the corresponding number on the checklist. I was encouraged as each number was crossed off since it meant that it was one less card that I needed to find.

After a very detailed review, it was determined that I still need 125 of the 792 cards in the set to complete my 30-year quest. While the number is larger than I had hoped, it is certainly doable to complete.

A quick search online showed that I could order the complete 1983 set for around $50 if push comes to shove. However, I think I will try the old fashioned one card at a time route just like 30-years ago me would have done.

This time I will have Ebay at my disposal. So, I will only have to worry about getting the powdered doughnut stains on the keyboard instead of the cards.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to try to figure out where to find some 30 year-old baseball cards.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Major League Baseball

Upon Further Review, Replay Coming to Baseball

Baseball is often a game that is slow to embrace change.

This can at times be both charming, as it harkens to a simpler time, as well as being frustrating to some when the old ways can shift the outcomes of games through blown calls that seem obvious to everyone other than the umpires making the calls.

This is not to say that umpires are to be blamed for all blown calls. They are often times having to make a split second decision between safe and out without the benefit of the high definition slow motion angles that the viewers at home have.

Managers and umpires have had a love/hate relationship for years. Some of the strain in the relationship comes from blown calls by the umpires. Starting next year managers can challenge three of those calls a game as part of an expanded instant replay. Photo R. Anderson
Managers and umpires have had a love/hate relationship for years. Some of the strain in the relationship comes from blown calls by the umpires. Starting next year managers can challenge three of those calls a game as part of an expanded instant replay.
Photo R. Anderson

That is also why a close call is never replayed in the ballpark. This is done to avoid further inciting fans who feel that a call was not made the way it should be.

Many sports already use replay to help with questionable calls. The NFL has replay on all scoring plays in addition to coach’s challenges on non-scoring plays.

A few years back Major League Baseball dipped their toes into the replay pool by allowing replay on whether certain balls that bounced back into the playing field were home runs.

When it was announced that home runs were now able to be reviewed there were those that were happy and felt that baseball was finally catching up with the times and others who thought that an already long game would get even longer through the inclusion of replay where the umpiring crew left the field to view a television monitor.

Both of those sides of the argument were given something else to cheer and/or jeer Thursday when it was announced that Major League Baseball will implement instant replay on virtually every play but the strike zone starting next season. And much like the NFL manager’s will be allowed up to three challenges per game.

While announcing the change Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig called the announcement “a historic day” for baseball.

Whether a pitch is thrown for a ball or a strike will still be the umpire's call despite expanded replay rules coming to Major League Baseball. Photo R. Anderson
Whether a pitch is thrown for a ball or a strike will still be the umpire’s call despite expanded replay rules coming to Major League Baseball.
Photo R. Anderson

While still giving the home plate umpire the final word on balls and strikes, mangers will be able to challenge up to three calls during a game.

The challenges will be broken down with one available during the first six innings, and two beginning in the seventh inning. There will be no additional challenges given for extra-inning games.

After a manager has used his allotment of challenges, an umpire crew can make a review of its own only to determine home-run calls.

The ruling on a challenge will be determined by umpires stationed in a central command center in New York and will not be determined by the on-field umpiring crew.

Time will tell whether the roll out of the type of instant replay that certain fans have wanted will improve the quality of the game or will just add another delay tactic for managers to use.

Time will tell whether the new power to challenge calls improves or strains the umpire/manager dynamic. Photo R. Anderson
Time will tell whether the new power to challenge calls improves or strains the umpire/manager dynamic.
Photo R. Anderson

There have certainly been some high profile examples of umpires making calls that have altered the outcome of a game. There was a blown call on a perfect game attempt a few years back as well as some other examples where human error led to a different outcome.

Personally I have always felt that an equal number of bad calls go against each team so that in the end they all sort of even out. But, I can certainly see where replay could be beneficial to help ensure the quality of the game and to avoid post-game press conference by umpires who after further review admit they should have made a different call.

While the reply roll out should help clear up game altering calls, I would much rather see a system that implemented a universal strike zone across all 30 Ballparks than a system that looked at whether a runner beat a tag at second base or not.

Pitch tracking software for years has shown subtle differences in how umpires call balls and strikes despite a defined strike zone in the rule book.

Much like the batters each manager will be given three challenges, or strikes a game. Once the challenges are gone a manager has no more recourse to dispute a blown call. Photo R. Anderson
Much like the batters each manager will be given three challenges, or strikes a game. Once the challenges are gone a manager has no more recourse to dispute a blown call.
Photo R. Anderson

It seems that maintaining control at the plate was one victory that the umpires were able to hang on to as it has been a point of debate for many years now. It just seems like Major League Baseball would want to enforce the same strike zone since getting called out on a ball that was called a strike seems to happen far more than a questionable tag out.

I remain hopeful that the next major change in replay rules includes the universal strike zone. Until then I guess we will just have to see how the managers manage their challenges and whether they will be given a red challenge flag to throw on the field like their NFL counterparts or will just run out of the dugout when they want a challenge.

Either way starting next year the game of baseball will be forever changed. Time will tell if it will be remembered as a good change or a bad change.

Now if you’ll excuse me, upon further review, I have a snack to go make before finding a game to watch.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Minor League Baseball

Cleansing the Web One Viral Video at a Time

Since Al Gore gave us the internet so many years back it has brought us many things.

Granted, I know that Al Gore did not invent the internet but who am I to burst the man’s bubble since he so famously said that he did?

While for the most part the internet is a positive thing there are certainly many negative aspects to avoid while navigating along the information super highway. And while the internet is certainly not going anywhere it is up to each of us to do our part to ensure that is kept pristine for future generations.

According to an often repeated quote, former vice president turned winner of the 2000 popular vote in presidential election, Al Gore invented the internet. If that were true he could be blamed for all that is bad and praised for all that is good on the internet.
According to an often repeated quote, former vice president turned winner of the 2000 popular vote in presidential election, Al Gore invented the internet. If that were true he could be blamed for all that is bad and praised for all that is good on the internet.

Think of the internet as a more visited National Park with each of us acting as Park Rangers to safe guard it if you will.

So, fellow internet Park Rangers the time has come to pull the weeds known as viral videos.

Just the very name makes it sound like something in need of a serious dose of antibiotic. Of course like most virus strains viral videos have morphed through the years from videos of cats playing the piano into something far more deadly.

While a viral video was once some that just organically happened from friends sharing a video over and over again it has now become a marketing tool with companies trying to “create” the next viral sensation in their marketing lab.

To me this is where the viral video went wrong and needs to be eradicated. By “creating” a viral video with the express purpose of becoming viral one takes out the entire accidental discovery of previous viral videos.

And now with all of the created video viruses out there I am now even more skeptical than usual when it comes to watching videos on the web. Of course that added skepticism is not entirely a bad thing.

The other day I was sent a link from a coworker regarding a wedding proposal gone wrong at a Minor League Baseball game in Connecticut. In the video a man asks a woman to marry him, as ballpark proposals often start, and then instead of her saying yes which occurs 99 percent of the time, she says no to the utter dismay of the assembled crowd in the stands.

Okay, so one could just leave it at that and think that the guy probably should have made sure that she was into the idea of marriage before popping the question in front of 5,500 strangers at a Double-A ballpark.

The rise in faked viral videos has left my computer and me feeling a bit ill lately. Photo R. Anderson
The rise in faked viral videos has left my computer and me feeling a bit ill lately.
Photo R. Anderson

The video did not end there as the woman who had seemingly broken the man’s heart runs away into the stands.

Again, one could argue that she was embarrassed from the experience and wanted to get off of the field as quickly as possible. But then the man runs off of the field as well but instead of chasing after her he runs into the home dugout and then down the tunnel into the clubhouse.

This of course threw up huge red flags for me and I told my coworker that the video was definitely staged since no professional sports franchise would let an average fan just run down the tunnel into their clubhouse and/or locker room.

Sure enough the next day it was revealed that the video was as fake as a $4 bill and that the man and woman were members of the team’s marketing staff.

While the video certainly drew attention to the fact that the Minnesota Twins have a Double-A affiliate in Connecticut it certainly can’t make the parent club happy that the marketing staff is going around faking marriage proposals for the sake of publicity.

Then again there is that old saying about all publicity being good publicity.

As a side note, having grown up watching the Orlando Twins when they were the Double-A Affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, I had often wondered where they went after leaving Tinker Field and thanks to the viral video I now know.

There are of course other examples of fake videos making the rounds from NASCAR drivers in disguise as people on test drives, etc.

Usually there are elements in the videos that are so obviously staged that it is easy for me to tell that the videos are fake.

In the instance of the Jeff Gordon in disguise video there are tons of red flags to show that the video is fake so they are not really deceiving the consumer since anyone with have a mind should see right through it.

The danger becomes when consumers miss the warning signs and consider the videos real. While advertisers have been deceiving customers for some degree to sell their products for years it seems like we are entering a whole new level of deception where the lines between reality and fantasy get blurrier by the day.

The internet will never be free of the viral video outbreak but hopefully with more discerning eyes consumers will not fall into their trap and will instead focus their attention on other things like those cats playing piano.

And to the next Minor League Baseball team wanting to make a name for itself through a video sensation history is full of so many other promotion ideas that don’t begin with deceiving the paying customers in the stands in the name of viral video infamy.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all of this talk of viral videos has me feeling like I should check my temperature to make sure that I didn’t catch anything.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Major League Baseball

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

Conventional wisdom would say that this should be a column about the massive hammer that fell down Monday in Major League Baseball regarding the 12 players who were suspended for performance enhancing drug (PED) use.

After months of buildup, and names being leaked to the various media outlets, it finally became clear Monday who the accused were and what the penalties would be for their transgressions against baseball. Under the collective bargaining agreement the players were given penalties ranging from 50 game suspensions all the way to the granddaddy of all suspensions a 211 game one.

While the suspensions were a long time coming, and I agree that the game of baseball needs to be as free of cheaters as possible, the thought of giving the cheaters any more press really does not appeal to me.

One could go so far as to say that I have lost the passion for the PED story.

And as one of the players caught with their hand in the banned substance cookie jar plays through his appeals process it is clear that the start of at least one of current suspensions will drag out for the remainder of the season meaning that the PED story will not go away any time this season.

So while my passion for the PED story has left me, there was another story in the news from Monday involving an athlete getting injured while following his passion that caught my attention.

Tony "Smoke" Stewart is a three-time NASCAR Champion and ambassador for all forms of racing. But as owner of a million dollar racing empire some mat question why he still races on dirt and risks injury or worse. Photo R. Anderson
Tony “Smoke” Stewart is a three-time NASCAR Champion and ambassador for all forms of racing. But as owner of a million dollar racing empire some might question why he still races on dirt and risks injury or worse.
Photo R. Anderson

I am of course talking about three-time NASCAR Champion Tony “Smoke” Stewart.

Stewart broke the tibia and fibula of his right leg in a sprint car crash in Iowa Monday night and will need a second surgery on his right leg in the coming days.

The injury will force Stewart out of his NASCAR ride for the first time since he joined the Cup Series in 1999. How long he stays out of the car remains to be seen.

I have been a Smoke fan pretty much ever since he entered the Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.

While he has certainly had a bumpy relationship with the media at times, I enjoy his passion for the sport and the fact that he speaks his mind and seems to genuinely care for those around him.

Those are the same traits that I find in Kyle Busch who is a former teammate of Smoke and another driver that I follow.

I certainly wish Smoke a speedy recovery from his recent injury since I think the garage area and racing in general is certainly better off with him there than not.

As is the case any time an athlete is injured away from their main sport, there are those who say that athletes should not compete in areas other than their main job because of freak injuries just like this.

Tony Stewart broke is leg in two places Monday night putting the rest of his current season in jeopardy. Photo R. Anderson
Tony Stewart broke is leg in two places Monday night putting the rest of his current season in jeopardy.
Photo R. Anderson

I don’t really share that particular point of view. Athletes by their nature, especially the ones who make it to the highest levels of sport, are highly competitive people.

That competitive fire cannot be turned off and only show up on game time or in Stewart’s case whenever the green flag drops.

And yes that is the same competitive fire that causes some athletes, such as the suspended PED using ballplayers whose names shall not be named here, to break the rules to gain any advantage that they can in their quest to be the best.

The competitiveness needs to be fed and for Stewart and many other drivers that fuel comes through racing on dirt tracks like the one he was injured on. Race the same course hundreds of times and there are likely to be no injuries but roll the dice, or the car enough times, and injuries will occur.

That does not mean that people should never take chances or feed the passion and the competitive fire that burns within.

A few years back Stewart’s teammate at the time, Denny Hamlin, blew out his knee playing basketball. While Hamlin’s injury occurred on a court and not a track it still meant that he missed time from is “day job.”

The competitive spirit that drives Tony Stewart to risk his career on the race track is described in his biography. Stewart, like many drivers on the circuit simply put were born to race. Or has Ricky Bobby would say, "They wanna go fast." Photo R. Anderson
The competitive spirit that drives Tony Stewart to risk his career on the race track is described in his autobiography. Stewart, like many drivers on the circuit simply put were born to race. Or as Ricky Bobby would say, “I wanna go fast.”
Photo R. Anderson

The world of sports is full of stories of athletes missing time due to freak injuries so saying that NASCAR drivers cannot race in other non NASCAR sanctioned races, as some will likely suggest, is clearly not the answer since injuries can happen anywhere.

The fact is people are injured all of the time in day to day living so risks are not limited just to the track and other “high risk” scenarios.

I could just as easily turn an ankle by tripping over something on the way to the fridge to get some iced tea.

Granted that is an extreme example, but I would much rather be the type that has a cool story to share about any potential injury incurred than being the type to say, “I tripped over my cat and sprained my back.”

I have little doubt that once the leg is healed Smoke will go right back to racing on dirt tracks across the country since it is in his nature to do so and it fuels his passion for racing.

We should all be so lucky to find things to be passionate about in our daily non dirt track racing lives.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to attempt an injury free walk to the fridge to get some iced tea, wish me luck.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Covering the world of baseball one pitch at a time.