Week 4

Hey All,

Welcome to this week's edition of the Longball League Report or as I like to think of it, the week that the Commissioner's team moved in to the cellar. Ouch.

Roster Moves

4/26/2013
The Eclairs and the San Pedro Sea Monkeys both drop J. Hamilton LAA and pick up P. Fielder DET.

4/29/2013
The San Pedro Sea Monkeys drop J. Shields KC and pick up A. Wainwright STL.

Who's Hot/Who's Not This Week

HItters
Hot: Ryan Howard hit two HRs and knocked in 10 RBIs for the Phightin' Phils

Not: Josh Hamilton turned in another 0 point week. This is a recording.

Pitchers
Hot: Matt Moore won two games and struck out 18 for the Tampa Bay Rays

Not: James Shields picked up exactly zero wins and struck out just four batters for Kansas City.


This Week's Three Trivial Things

1. Is it really spring? There have been 18 games postponed this year due to "inclement weather."  That's the most April games in one season postponed in MLB history.

2. There are two good backstops in the Show-Me state.  Most fans know how good Yadier Molina is for the Cardinals, but young Salvador Perez is turning heads with his work behind the dish in Kansas City.  He has bigtime potential with a knack for picking off runners.  Coming into 2012 he had eight career pickoffs to his credit.  That's more than any other catcher in Royals history.

3. The Cubs don't win much, but they keep it interesting.  All 24 Cubs games this year have been decided by four runs or less. That ties the Cubbies with the 1918 Cardinals for the second longest streak to start a season in MLB history.  The record for this kind of start is 33 games by the 1914 Tigers.

Cool Baseball Card of the Week: 1966 East Hills Pirates #21 Roberto Clemente

I have always had a fondness for what I like to call "oddball" card sets.  "Oddball" is not a hobby term, but my term for card sets that weren't made by mainstream national card companies like Topps or Upper Deck.  These sets could be either regional or national, but most were made for advertising purposes. They have a kitschy-coolness to them that appeals to me.  The above card is a great example of this quality. The advertising is far from subtle with the East Hills logo taking up about a quarter of this 3-1/4"x4-1/4" card.  Then, the photo is classic.  It's obviously a spring training photo, taken on a back field in Florida with small a stadium in the background.  It's not slick or sharp, it's just kitschy-cool.

Requiem for a society (or to paraphrase Paul Simon, where have you gone, Arnie Portacarrero?)

The Philadelphia A's historical society is about to be no more. The Society is shutting the doors, selling off all its' memorabilia and will be merged into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.  The reason is for the closure is simple.  There are few people left who remember the A's 1901-54 tenure in Philadelphia and even fewer left who played for the blue and white. The old adage that time is toughest adversary of all, rings true here.  So here's a cheer for everyone from Connie Mack's 100,000 dollar infield to the 1954 squad that lost 103 games. The society might be closing, but as long as organizations like SABR exist, the Philly A's wont be forgotten.

Until next time folks, remember that teams can't win the pennant in April, but they sure can lose one.

-The Commissioner

Week 3

Hey All,

There were no bench-clearing brawls, but it was another point-packed week in the Longball League.

Roster Moves

There were no roster moves in the Longball League last week.

Who's Hot/Who's Not This Week

Hitters

Hot: Mike Napoli had a one HR 9 RBI week for the BoSox

Not: Josh Hamilton did not help anyone at all, especially the Angels, with his scoreless effort.

Pitchers

Hot: Boston's Clay Buchholz won two games and struck out 17 hitters for the Old Towne Team.

Not: Philip Humber lost two games and gave up 10 earned runs over 7 1/3 innings for the hapless Astros.


This Week's Three Trivial Things

1. April 14-18 was a pretty bad five day stretch for the Mets.  The Mets were snowed out three times. Once in Minnesota and twice in Colorado.  Then, in the middle of those postponements, they suffered a there-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies. The worst of those losses was the second game of a double header where they blew an 8-2 lead and lost, 9-8.

2. Nobody told Houston it was gonna be easy coming over to the American League, but they didn't think it would get this bad.  On Saturday night, the Indians whipped the Astros, 19-6.  It was 14-0 Erie Warriors before the Astros got their first hit.  Wow.

3. Angels outfielder Peter Bourjos hit three infield singles in the Halo, 10-0 win over the Tigers Saturday.  He was only the second Halo to have three infield hits in a game in the last 10 years.  So, who was that other Angel?  It was Albert Pujols.  He did it as part of the Angels 4-0 shutout of Oakland on May 15, 2012.


Cool Baseball Card of the Week: 1909-1911 T206- Orval Overall

There has been much ado about the latest T206 Honus Wagner selling for a little over $2,100,000 at auction a week or so ago.  Personally, outside of it being regarded as the Holy Grail of baseball cards, it has never impressed me.  It's just not an attractive card.  Luckily, the T206 set is loaded with easily more affordable, good looking cards. Take a look at this card of old Orval Overall here.  He was a mainstay of the Cubs pitching rotation in their heyday on top on the National League in the first decade of the 20th century. The card is great looking with the orange light of sunset and silhouette of the grandstand painted in the background.  In addition to being great to look at, this card is also historically significant. the Cubs won the 1908 World Series in five games.  In that fifth game, Overall threw a three-hit shutout, which made him the last Cubs pitcher to earn a World Series-clinching victory for the Cubs.

Loving that schedule maker

With the new scheduling formula unveiled this year due to Houston's addition to the American League,  the Detroit Tigers really lucked out.  This week they made their only west coast trip all season.  They also play the NL East in interleague  play.  So, the Tigers will never make a longer than one time zone trip from April 22nd to the end of the season.


From an old copy of The Sporting News

While perusing the July 4, 1970 edition of The Sporting News, I came across this headline, Trojans Don NCAA Crown in Marathon.  USC had just won the NCAA baseball title with a 15 inning, 2-1 win over Florida State. USC's Jim Barr pitched eight innings of shutout relief to earn the win.  Oh yeah, and some guy named Dave Kingman played for the Trojans too.

Until next time folks, remember that almost all bases are stolen off the pitcher, not the catcher.

-The Commissioner

Week 2

Hey All,

The second week of the 2013 season is in the books.  There were beanballs and brawls this week as well as some great baseball plays on the diamond.  Here's a quick look at the week that was in the Longball League.


Roster Moves
4/9/2013
The Eclairs and The A Team both dropped J. Weaver LAA and picked up C. Kershaw LAD. Both were injury moves.
4/11/2013 
The AngelSox dropped J. Hamilton LAA and picked up C. Davis BAL. It was a roster move.
4/12/2013
The Oxford House Elves dropped J. Hamilton LAA and picked up C. Davis BAL. It was a roster move.

Who's Hot/Who's Not This Week

Hitters

Hot: Mets catcher John Buck had a 4 HR, 10 RBI week.

Not: Matt Kemp of the Dodgers had a 0 HR, 2 RBI, but at least he gets mad well.

Pitchers

Hot: The Braves Paul Maholm went 2-0 while striking out 14 batters.

Not: Zack Greinke. Yup, Greinke had a bad week.


This Week's Three Trivial Things

1. The 12th of April, is a big day as far as the city of Philadelphia and ballpark history are concerned.  On that date in 1909 Shibe Park opened in The City of Brotherly Love. Then, in 1955, the A's had moved to Kansas City and opened up Municipal Stadium on that date.  Lastly, to finish the Philly trifecta, the Astrodome played host to its' first regular season MLB game as the Astros lost to the Phillies, 2-0.  Third sacker Dick Allen propelled the Phils to victory with his two-run blast off
 Bob Bruce in the third inning.

2. The Yankees turned a 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 triple play last Friday night v. the Orioles.  That was just the second time that a triple play has been turned by the Yanks in the last 45 years.  The other triple play was turned v. the Twins in 2010. The truly odd thing about that two triple plays is that CC Sabathia was the pitcher for NY when both those triple plays occurred.

3.  30 for 30 cardboard style; 30 years ago a pack of Topps baseball cards cost 30 cents. For your 30 cents, you had a shot at getting one of the big rookie cards of the 1983. The top rookies in that set were Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, Ryne Sandberg, and Cal Ripken, Jr. (Commissioner's note; I still say thanks to my sister Liza for giving me the 1983 Topps Set for Christmas that year.)

Cool Baseball Card of the Week: 1974 Topps #117- Ron Blomberg

40 years ago, the Designated Hitter became a part of the American League as Ron Blomberg stepped up to the plate on April 6, 1973.  In the first inning of the New York's game at Boston, Blomberg faced Red Sox ace Luis Tiant with the bases loaded.  Blomberg walked, thus ushering in the age of the DH in the AL. So, why didn't I put up a shot of Blomberg's 1973 Topps card?  The reason is that the 1974 Topps cards were the first ever issued with DH listed as a player's position.

The DH at 40

I know there is a great divide among those fans who love the DH and those who think the DH is just awful.  Being an American League kid, I love the DH.  One of my best and simplest arguments for the DH was given by Boston Globe baseball writer Tim Murnane back in 1903, "The idea of giving the pitcher the option of sending up a substitute batter is well worth consideration...the sight of a tired pitcher strolling to the plate to go through his usual strikeout act is not an attractive feature of the game."  Well said, Tim.

Beer Blues
I have seen many many people spend lots of money on bad beer at ballparks across the land.  According to a survey by "The Street" the highest price for a small draft beer in the majors is at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.  Their small cup of suds goes for a whopping $8.25!

No Pop Warner Background
By looking at the way Zack Greinke lunged into Padre slugger Carlos Quentin, you know he never played a down of tackle football in his life.

Until next time folks, remember that the best pitch any pitcher throws is strike one.
-The Commissioner

Week 1

Hey All,

Week one is in the books for the MLB season and the standings for the Longball League have been posted.  Some teams had a great start and others know that there are still about 25 weeks left to play. Now, onto league business.

Roster Moves
No roster moves were made in the league this week

Who's Hot/Who's Not This Week

Hitters
Hot: Baltimore DH Chris Davis hit four homers and drove in 17 runs this past week.  Wow.

Not: Josh Hamilton.  The new high-priced Halo is batting a whopping .160 with 0 HR 2 RBI and 10 strikeouts in just six games.

Pitchers
Hot: Hurler Yu Darvish of Texas won two games and struck out 20.

Not: Cole Hamels is 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA to start the 2013 campaign.

Closers
Hot: White Sox Stopper Addison Reed picked up three saves and struck out four batters last week.

Not: Carlos Marmol of the Cubs had one blown save and one loss in three save opportunities.  He was demoted from the closer's role on Sunday.

 This Week's Three Trivial Things

1. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers hurled a 4-0 shutout and hit a home run on opening day v. the Giants.  How rare a feat was that?  Well, the last time a pitcher hurled a shutout and hit a home run on opening day was 60 years ago.  On April 14, 1953 Indians righty Bob Lemon shutout the White Sox, 6-0.  Lemon hit a solo shot in the fourth inning off Chicago's Saul Rogovin.

2. The Angels struck out 17 times on opening day, yet managed to  beat the Reds, 3-1 in 13 innings.  That's a high K total, but the Halos have done that before.  On April 12, 1966, the Angels struck out 17 times in a 14 inning, 3-2 opening day loss to the White Sox.  The two starters in that game were Dean Chance for California and Tommy John for Chicago.

3. Emilio Bonifacio of the Blue Jays struck out four times and committed three errors at second base as he helped his team lose 6-4 to the Red Sox. Bonifacio became only the second player in the last 100 years to accomplish this dubious single-game feat.

Cool Baseball Card of the Week: 1965 Topps #519- Bob Uecker

With all the seriousness that permeates the game, I have a special thing for those who help us all remember that baseball is fun. Whether you've heard him as the voice of the Brewers on WTMJ, saw him as a Miller Lite pitchman, or laughed out loud at his Harry Doyle character in Major League, The Ueck has been doing this for a good 50+ years.  This card makes me laugh every time I see it.  I laugh because I know why Bob is smiling in this classic baseball card shot.  Old Ueck pulled a fast one on Topps. He's actually right-handed.


Pun-tastic!

With the season starting, I ran across some punny fantasy team names.  Here's five groaners.

1. Angels in the Troutfield
2. D'Jeter Unchained
3. The Kemp-ire Strikes Back
4. Horse Walks into Aybar
5. Yu Da Man

Old Sporting News Quote of the Week

"During spring training the Yanks had an extraordinary run on injuries."

I guess baseball is a cyclical game.  That quote came form an article  by C.C. Johnson Spink in the April 13, 1963 issue of TSN

Until next week folks, you gotta get hits with runners in scoring position.  You can't put it on the board, if you don't get 'em in.

-The Commissioner

Opening Day

Play Ball!

The Longball League is back for 2013!  The league sports 12 teams this season.  If the league gets any bigger, I may have to hold winter meetings.  Let's have a great year with a pennant race that goes down to the wire.

Division placement of teams was by random draw.  Here's the results...

East
Alpha Dogs
Invisible Hands
Hot Shots
San Pedro Sea Monkeys
Tatooine Womp Rats      
Thunder Mountain Lightning

West

AngelSox
Eclairs
Oxford House Elves
Sierra Vista Coachwhips
Tax Dodgers
Taylor Run Red Foxes

Playoff Structure

The Champion of each division will make the playoffs.  

After the division championships are decided, two wild card teams will be chosen. The two wild card teams will be the two teams with the highest remaining point totals regardless of division.

The first round of the playoffs will run from September 1 through September 14 with the Longball League World Series running from September 15 through September 29.


This Week's Three Trivial Things: Opening Day Edition

1. A funny thing happened to the New York Giants on opening Day in 1907. The New York Giants ended up forfeiting their game with the Philadelphia Phillies when the fans at the Polo Grounds wouldn't stop throwing snowballs onto the field of play.

2. The fans truly saw red that day. Back in 1946, the Boston Braves gave their outfield seats a fresh coat of red paint just in time for opening day.  Unfortunately, the paint didn't dry in a timely manner. A couple thousand angry fans with red paint all over them stormed the front office.  The Braves ended up paying the cleaning bills for the angry fans and even took out an ad in the newspaper to apologize for the incident.

3. With the Houston Astros moving over to the American League West,  the first inter league opening day game will be played this year.  The Angels will take on the Reds in Cincinnati on April 1.


Cool Baseball Card of the Week: 1984 Topps #707

Back in 1984, The powers that be at Topps decided that they would create a subset of cards that featured the active career stat leaders in the NL and AL.  I think it was a pretty good idea.  Old card #707 here features three Hall of Famers.  The Express, Lefty, and Tom Terrific came into the 1984 season with 10,658 Ks between 'em.  The trio would finish with an amazing 13,490 Ks.   Remember folks, leader cards are a great way to pick up a load of Hall of Famers for a cheap price.


Old Sporting News Quote of the Week

This quote comes from an Ad by Monsanto in the April 5, 1969 edition of The Sporting News,

"Today's AstroTurf, means the same natural ball bounce and sure footing in all weather. It gives the fan the good game he paid to see. So you might say that AstroTurf was created to make baseball's second hundred years even better than the first."

Ummm, Yeah right.

Until Next week folks, remember to hit behind the baserunner.

-The Commissioner