School is out all over the nation and summer calls to us in the form of sunny days, barbecues, and baseball. Here's whats going in the Longball League.
Roster Moves
6/3/2013
The A Team dropped Bryce Harper WAS and picked up Miguel Cabrera DET
The Tax Dodgers dropped Jose Bautista TOR and picked up C. Davis BAL
The T.M. Lightning dropped Bryce Harper WAS and picked up Miguel Cabrera DET
6/4/2013
The A Team dropped Matt Kemp LAD and picked up Yasiel Puig LAD
The Hot Shots dropped Matt Kemp LAD and picked up Yasiel Puig LAD
Who's Hot/ Who's Not
Hitters
Hot: Yasiel Puig had a pretty good debut this week hitting 4 HR with 10 RBI and a .464 batting average for the Dodgers.
Not: All other Dodger outfielders. Someone is gonna find a lot of bench time in his future.
Picthers
Hot: Chris Tillman won a pair of games and K'd 13 hitters this week for Baltimore.
Not: Matt Moore lost a pair of games while giving up 14 earned runs in seven innings pitched for Tampa Bay.
This Week's Three Trivial Things
1. I have never come close to catching a foul ball, much less a home run ball at a major league game. I'm incredibly envious of the guy in deep center field at Fenway Park who caught two home runs on Sunday as the Red Sox smacked the Angels, 10-5.
2. It usually occurs less often than triple plays or no-hitters each season, but a case of catcher's interference popped up in game one of the Angels-Red Sox double header on Saturday. In the eighth inning, Halo catcher Chris Ianetta got his glove in the way of Red Sox batter Jacoby Ellsbury's swing and made contact with Ellsbury's bat. Ellsbury was awarded first base. If you're scoring at home it, goes down as an error on the catcher. I usually mark it as an E2CI. One of the reasons I take note of catcher's interference each season is that I actually reached base that way in little league once. With the way I hit, every time reaching base was treasured.
3. There were lots of zeroes in Seattle and New York this week. The White Sox downed the Mariners in 16 innings, 7-5. The game was scoreless for the first 14 innings. Then on Saturday, the Marlins downed the Mets, 2-1 in 20 innings. That game was scoreless for a 14 1/2 inning stretch from the bottom of the fourth through the the 19th. I'm a big baseball fan, but games like that drive me nuts.
Cool Baseball Card Set of the Week: 1963 Fleer
The 1963 Fleer set consists of 67 cards that matter more for what they represent than what they really are. The set features an attractive simple design with good photos. Card #42, Sandy Koufax shows how great these cards are.
However, the legal battle behind the set is what makes it a classic. Topps sued Fleer over the set, claiming that they had exclusive rights to make baseball cards due to the individual contracts that they had signed players to since 1951. They also relied on the age old argument that there can only be one card manufacturer because there is not enough of a market multiple sellers. Isn't that an interesting argument for a capitalistic society? In one of the dumbest decisions ever, the court ruled in Topps' favor and handed them a legal monopoly. The monopoly would last from 1963-81. So, Fleer had to stop production and the set stands at 67 cards. For those of you interested, the most valuable card in the set is the 67th and last card in the set.
Until next week folks remember that you just can't buy a pennant.
-The Commisioner
