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Baseball is Good

C.C. Cant See The Strike Zone

cc sabathia base ball is good

Well the Yankees started off the year in dramatic fashion. They had their 100 million dollar man C.C. Sabathia on the mound to kick off the season, and the Baltimore Orioles shell shocked him.
Hey? Whaddaya gonna do? Even if you pay the guy all the money in the world, isn't it asking just a little bit too much to win every start?

Has a pitcher ever gone undefeated? That would be a question to ask the other bloggers here on orble. Those guys provide just about any kind of stat that you would want to know. I say this cuz I read their blogs and I enjoy reading them. Those guys never say hi to me.

I was once a pitcher. That's right. I almost went undefeated in the 1976 stick ball season.
But I guess that doesn't count. I never made the induction to the stickball hall of fame but i should have dammitt.
jimmy james baseball is good
stick ball hall of famer jimmy james


The Yankees lost again to the Orioles today with all the big guys like Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and the new kid Mark Teixeira giving it up for the Orioles, saying how they have such a great team this year. I don’t think so. It is highly unlikely that the 2009 Baltimore Orioles are going to turn out like the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays did. But if you wanna make the bet, the O's have a 35-1 chance to win it all this year.

It is likely that the Yankees will underachieve this year, and with the hefty price tag they paid for Teixeira, Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett, it is even more likely that there will be some heads to roll. Look for 2nd year manager Joltin Joe Girardi to be the first to go if things don’t get any better.
With all due respect to the Yankees, the American League East is the toughest division in baseball. Tampa Bay has proven that they are a force to be reckoned with, and the Boston Red Sox are still a great team, and the Blue Jays aint no slouch either. Toronto finished 4th in the division last year, 11 1/2 games out of first, yet they finished the season 10 games over .500 at 86-76. That’s one tough division.


So that's all I have to report for now. I hope your team does well this year. I hope you get a chance to go see a game this year. Don’t forget to take your family, friends, and even the dog and cat out to the ball park! May you catch a foul ball and have the time of your life.

Those Amazin Mets
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April 9th 2009 @ 05:55

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


the world baseball cup

The WBC trophy

world baseball crap
In Bud We Trust

The WBC starts Thursday. That’s the 39 game tournament that features a lot of players from MLB. Perhaps somebody out there could bring me up to speed as to why this whole WBC thing got started in the first place? Is it just another brainstorm from Cap’n Bud Selig?
base-ball-is-good bud selig
Bud got some mad money, YO!


I know you didn’t ask me but the whole idea is just wrong. I am all for the unity and diversity of getting the entire world together,but my feeling is the only reason this whole things is actually happening is to generate more income for MLB. It’s a no brainer. Every player wants to come and play for USA after all is said and done because of the millions of $ that they can make. I am sure there are some countries that have a great baseball program. Japan is a thriving baseball market, but every year it seems that there are more players from Japan coming over to play in America. I wonder why that is? I am sure there is somebody out there that can straighten me out on all this. They will point out that I haven’t done the research .They will say how I don’t know what I am talking about. I don’t know the first thing about business.
world series baseball- is -good
The Yankees have 26 of these. How many does Japan have?



Maybe that’s what really bothers me. It’s become too much of a business to be fun anymore. Not only that, but Selig and Co. have made so many changes, that the game is really starting to lose its identity. I am still miffed with the All-Star game fiasco. I guess alternating the home field advantage wasn’t working out. I am sure that the bottom line was being affected so they decided to make the game count. I guess the Homerun derby wasn’t pulling in as much as they were hoping it would. Why do you gotta make a change Bud? Things aren’t working? Let’s try and figure out a way to generate more revenue. How about having the World Series go into November? Is he trying to reinvent the wheel? Why realign the divisions and add a wild card? It just doesn’t make sense.


I’m just getting to be an angry old man. I miss the days when they would play a World Series game during the day. Now you can watch a World Baseball Classic game in the morning. Isn’t that exciting?
baseball-is-good
The good old days




I had just finished explaining to my girlfriend the whole MLB playoff structure. The wildcard, the LCS, and finally, the biggest contest in all of sports: The World Series.
When she heard about the WBC, she ran to me and said, “What’s this? I thought you said the World Series was only played in October? Now they are playing it in March, this Thursday in Japan?"



Wake me up when it’s April !


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March 5th 2009 @ 06:10

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


A-Rod steps up to the plate


Every year around this time the grapefruit league and the cactus league are buzzing with anticipation. The teams that survived last years ups and downs of a long baseball season only to find themselves at home come October are basking in the sun talking about their dismal season past with a new found faith and hope that is promised by off season surgery to a key player or an acquisition of another player to firm up a team that just seemed to be missing one element that could propel them into the playoffs. That is what spring training is all about. At least that is the way it used to be until all this steroid stuff has been raising its head again.


Baseball just can’t seem to get away from it. There are all kinds of people talking crazy things like this could ruin the game forever. Back in 1998 when Mark McGuire was chasing that elusive 61 home run season record those same people were saying; “This is what baseball needs”. “This is exactly the thing that will bring the fans back after a cold hard slap in the face“. That cold slap was the 1994 season ending strike that never saw playoffs or a World Series.
kids love baseball



But Mark McGuire was tearing it up all year long. The skinny kid that came up with the Oakland A’s in 1986 and played in 18 games while hitting 3 homeruns. The very next year, he played in 151 games and hit 49 homeruns. We saw him bulk up from the skinny kid, to becoming the other half of the bash brothers with teammate Jose Canseco.
little mark
Mark mcGuire in 1986


We saw how he bulked up and his numbers shot up. I am sure we all thought about it. We might have thought he did get real big real fast but that was just the training right? But all of a sudden he was going to single handedly save the game of baseball by breaking the all-time season homerun record.
........and in 1998



Those same people that crowned him the homerun king and the man that saved baseball are the same people that started accusing him of using steroids. Why do they accept things one minute and the next they are selling you down the river? Some things never change. They are doing the same thing to Michael Phelps. One day you are a king, the next you’re crap.


Alex Rodriguez hit a homerun his first at bat in the Yankees first exhibition game of the year. It almost really didn’t matter what he did. If he would have struck out or grounded out, the speculation would be that maybe he’s lost a step.The juice took another great talent and ruined his career and his life. Or would A-Rod be accused of not being able to take all the media hype, after all, he did go through a spit with his wife and the Madonna thing last year and now this. Too much. Too much to handle. He can’t even hit grapefruit league pitching. New York is too much for him. See? Some guys can’t handle the big city. Then there will be rumors of Alex wanting to go back to Seattle to reunite with Ken Griffey Jr. Geez! When does it end?
griffey jr and a rod in seattle
please come to seattle for 2009

While sitting in the diner with my son Joseph enjoying a nice early evening supper, Joe looked up at the television and nodded his head and asked me “Hey dad, does that guy do steroids too”? I looked up at the screen and saw what appeared to be the Houston Astros Lance Berkman talking on ESPN. I was then reminded that exhibition games were starting today and as much as I really didn’t care about the scores, I was more interested to hear Berkman talk about hitting and the upcoming season, and then I heard him mention steroids. I know I am sounding like I wish this stuff would go away. I might sound like a little kid whose hero has just been dragged through the mud and his image tarnished forever. But enough already. We all knew in the back of our minds that this stuff existed. We can not make it all go away. But we can not keep banging it around back and forth. Let’s just figure out who is guilty, and have them pay the price. The guilty players are the ones that can ruin the game, and the media doesn’t do much to help, and the fans are the one’s that end up paying the price. Enough. Just play friggin baseball.

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February 26th 2009 @ 05:28

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


The return of the boys of summer

Jimmy James
return boys summer
Trailing clouds of glory! Can you believe it? Pitchers and catchers have already arrived and it has been a week of full team workouts! And to top it all off, the first spring training games will start in five days! It has been a long, cold, lonely winter indeed. Although we still have the rest of February left, March is gonna get here quick. The only problem I see is getting through all that college basketball. I just aint a fan of it. I tried, I really did.


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February 23rd 2009 @ 06:06

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I'm not wild about Manny...............


Am I the only one that is getting tired of hearing about Manny Ramirez?
I just don’t get what the big deal is. The Red Sox have the edge in the trade that landed them outfielder Jason Bay. Jason Bay is eight years younger than Ramirez, so that will give the Sox some piece of mind in the outfield for a while. Plus, Manny’s presence in the clubhouse was wearing his teammates down; even David Ortiz said it was time for Manny to leave.

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August 4th 2008 @ 15:43

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Delgado's hot-hot-hot


Carlos Delgado loves the month of July. He has been an integral part in the New York Mets resurgence in the NL East. After last nights win against the Marlins, Delgado has 9 homeruns and 24 RBI’s for the month. The Metropolitans are still in first place with a ½ game lead over the Phillies.
Earlier in the season, there were those that thought Delgado’s best years were behind him. I was one of those that subscribed to the theory that the Mets should have held on to the young first baseman Mike Jacobs. Based on Delgado’s lethargic attitude at the plate and his sloppy fielding, he would better serve the team by selling yearbooks and scorecards on the first base side. But he seems to be redeeming himself. The rest of the team seems to be fired up. They have a lot of heart after all they have been through the past year. Maybe that’s what is giving them the fire they need to caoture the divsion and move on to the playoffs this year. Manager Jerry Manuel is 24-14 since taking over for Willie Randolph and the players are responding very well to his leadership. The National League East is a tough division these days. The Marlins and the Phillies are right there in the race. This is going to be very interesting as the season heads into the final two months. Mister Met has a lot to cheer about lately.
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July 30th 2008 @ 14:21

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


The Break



The 2008 baseball season is half way through as the All-Star break is upon us. The trade deadline is just a couple weeks away and when play resumes later on this week, the dog days will begin to set in. Those dog days always reveal the teams that are for real, and the teams that aren’t quite there yet. That’s when the division races get very interesting.
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July 15th 2008 @ 02:55

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


The Bronz zoo all over again

The bronx zoo madonna a-rod


Way back in the 70’s, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was always close and up front with his team, getting involved in things that he shouldn’t. At one point, the Yankees offense wasn’t producing so he promptly fired the pitching coach.

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July 4th 2008 @ 14:23

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


How 'bout that?

Baseball commentary is an art, especially when the play by play is done over the radio. Mel Allen was perhaps the most memorable baseball announcer . His unforgettable voice and infamous quips have been etched into the memories of baseball fans for years. He certaintly is missed doing the weekly "This week in baseball" show.

great baseball announcers

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July 3rd 2008 @ 20:19

Posted By: jimmy james - Category: No Category
   


Let's play two

ernie banks baseball is good


Hey there baseball fans. What a beautiful summer day eh? In the Infamous words of Ernie Banks, Let’s play two. There’s nothing like working around the yard on a nice day and listening to a ballgame on the radio. I always enjoyed hearing the sound of hedge clippers coming from the neighbor’s yard with the sound of a baseball game echoing off our fence that divided our yards. The game was a great way to get a conversation going with the neighbors by simply asking what the score was. That sometimes caused a long pause in the yard work as the conversation would usually go further than the score; to what players were bums and which ones were our favorites. Then it would continue with a story of the last time we were at the ballpark, or better yet, if our kindly neighbor was offered tickets to a game but couldn’t go, he just might offer them to a good, deserving neighbor. Maybe offer to watch their house and bring in the mail when they go on vacation, cuz hey, what are neighbors for?
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July 2nd 2008 @ 03:22

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