Blog Psychic, Episode 3

There’s a lot of chatter regarding the predictions for the World Series, especially down here in enemy territory.  Rare is it when the Post and the Daily News have the same back cover…SHUT ROLLINS UP!!! 

My evil plan would be that the New York Football Giants would play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and win.  And the twin-bill nightcap of Philly/New York, the Yanks would win Game 4 of the World Series for a sweep.  Now while I’m pretty confident the G-men will beat the Iggles convincingly, especially coming off a loss to the Cardinals, I wouldn’t expect the Yanks to sweep.  I say they do it at home in Game 6, which means they’ll do it in five.

But don’t count out the sweep just yet.  Go Girardi wouldn’t pitch CC Sabathia on Games 1 and 4 if he didn’t think he’d have a very good chance of winning them.  So let’s assume he does win both.  Game 2 is AJ Burnett vs. Pedro “Who’s your Daddy?” Martinez.  Pedro is older, and will have to work very hard against a Yankee lineup that will look at a lot of pitches.  I say he’s doesn’t make four innings.  The Yanks pounce on the underbelly of the the Phillies bullpen and win Game 2.  Game 3, Andy “Mr. Most Wins in Postseason History” Pettitte vs. a shaky Cole Hamels.  Get in Cole’s head, he’ll cough up runs, throw a hissy fit, and the game.  And look at that…a four-game sweep.

Game 2, 2004 ALCS

So you heard it here…book a flight to Vegas, and you can thank me later.  Hell, if the NFL didn’t dick over Delaware, you could have driven here instead.  Well, you could bet on the Giants, but you need two more games for the parlay (sucker) bet.

There's always room on the shelf for one more.

Nobody would be saying anything if it wasn’t the Yankees playing…

Oh my God!  The world’s coming to an end!  The sky is falling!  A major-league umpire made a bad call.

Game 4 of the 2009 ALCS had more “bad calls” than a usual game.  I’m not going into detail about Swisher and the pick-off attempt, Swisher and the tag-up, or Cano/Posada on third.  Or at least I don’t want to.

Let me first squash the conspiracy theorists.  The Yankees have not paid off the umpire squad.  They have not bought the World Series (yet, but they’re no different than the Red Sox…again another argument for another time). 

So-called “bad calls” are bad because we, in the confines of our living rooms, enjoy a view the umpires do not have.  There’s all kinds of cameras covering a typical baseball game.  I believe the YES Network employs no less than 17 at a typical Yankees game.  Hence, we, the viewing public, can enjoy MULTIPLE camera angles showing the action from different points of view, in super-slow-motion, and if you have it, in high definition. 

Umpires, on the other hand have a very different point of view of the action.  They’re at field-level, not tens of feet above the action like the cameras up on the middle deck or the outfield, up on the backstop, or even on top of the stadium.  Sometimes where they be may not be the best angle to see what really happened.  Take Nick Swisher tagging up on third.  The instant replay showed Tim McClelland looking down the line into left field.  He’s looking for the catch, not if Swisher left the bag early or not.  It’s impossible to be looking at two things at once.  Now I know some of you will say that umpires have “blue” eyes…one blew this way, one blew that way.  But seriously…

Or here’s an every-game example.  The batter hits a ground ball to short, he fields, and fires to first.  Where’s the umpire?  He’d behind the first baseman in foul territory.  He doesn’t have the best point of view to see when the ball hits the glove.  That would be somewhere inbetween the pitcher and the first baseman.  So the umpire looks at the bag to see when the batter hits it, and listens for the snap of the ball hitting the glove, and makes the call from there.  Bottom line, he doesn’t have a clear view of the ball.  But one of the TV cameras sure does.

I challenge anybody to come off the street and do what the umpires do.  They’re pretty much on the road for the entire season, unlike the players who are home for 81 games.  The umpires are standing the entire game in the heat or the cold.  And they’re expected to be the pope.

But for the most part, we wouldn’t even know if the umpires were even making bad calls if it weren’t for all the instant replays on TV.  Now I’m not saying all these camera angles are bad for watching the game at home.  But if Major League Baseball wants to expand the instant replay beyond the current home run call, there needs to be some serious structure in place, and it needs to be used sparingly.  While the guys in the TV control trucks do an excellent job getting the replays up, many times they’re being shown while the next guy is up to bat.  While I hate limiting the number of challenges the NFL has (so the coach can’t be right a third time?), games in the playoffs are long enough as it is.  Adding an extra two or three minutes here and there can really drag things out.  It’s bad enough when they add an extra 30 second commercial after every half inning for the national games as it is.

But what we really need, not right now in the playoffs, but say next year on some random game, is the umpire cam.  Fos has buried cameras in the pitchers mound, and we’ve even had “catcher cam”.  Why not make the umpire wear that mask, so we, the great unwashed, can see exactly what the umpire sees as he’s hunching OVER the catcher so he can see the plate to call balls and strikes. 

And to further the point, how many times do you see grainy black-and-white footage from decades back, and see umpires making “bad calls”?  They had, what no more than three cameras back then?  And none of them were in the outfield.

Sure umpires have a job that people love to hate, but it’s all part of the game we all know and love, that is baseball.

Got this on twitter last night...

Three Strikes, and Yer Out!

Today is a day that all New Yorkers (including displaced ones like myself) take to heart.  One of the most despecible things to happen not only in this country, but in the history of this planet.  No need to give a replay to history here.  But here’s what pisses me off. 

First of all, it’s been eight years, and the Trade Center site is still a hole in the ground.  The red tape, bickering among interest groups/designers/planners, etc., and we still have nothing to replace the Twin Towers yet.  NYC built two baseball stadiums since 2001.  The Empire State building took 406 days to build.  Clearly the terrorists have won.

But nothing worse is people that profit from 9/11 merchandise.  I’m not talking about all the American flags that were made in Taiwan.  Or the hack CD’s of bad parody songs that not even a two-bit morning zoo show would play.  What pisses me off is what I saw on TV earlier this evening.  The Yanks/O’s were in a rain delay, so we shifted over to the Phils/Mets, and since they’re playing down here, and the rain has already passed, they were actually playing.  Mets batted in the top of the first, and then the Phils came to bat.  But I got confused for a minute because the Mets were wearing red caps.  You know, the ones MLB forced ALL teams to wear (with their own logos in stars and stripes) which were red, even if your team doesn’t wear red anywhere on their uniform.  That means the Yankees, a team that hasn’t changed their uniform since the early part of last century, has to wear a dopey red cap.  It looks horrendous.  And it’s sole purpose is that dopey fans will buy one with their team’s logo.  It is purely for profit.  And that, among other reasons for another rant, is why I’m calling for Bud Selig’s head on a platter.

Know who you’re rooting for…

So tonight’s the All-Star Game.  Anybody who knows me knows I’m a huge baseball fan.  America’s pastime.  Ballparks, beer, and brats.  I’ve travelled countless miles to attend games in numerous stadiums, some of which no longer stand.  I pay through the nose to watch my beloved Yankees on TV, since I don’t live in the home market.  I listen to games on the radio at work, in the car, etc. 

But did you ever realize that a bunch of pansy names the teams have?  Hardly any invoke an image of strength, competitiveness, or machismo.  Then again, many of them were coined in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  They spoke a different English back then, which probably began the tradition of naming teams after the most ridiculous stuff.

Like garments.  And by garments, I mean stockings…er…socks: the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and the Cincinnati Reds.  No, the Reds weren’t named after the Communist party, they were the Red Stockings. 

Or birds.  Nothing says fierce like the Baltimore Oriole.  No eagles, raptors or other birds of prey in baseball.  The NFL gets the Falcons.  The NBA gets the Hawks.  Instead we get the O’s or the Toronto Blue Jays or St. Louis Cardinals.  And don’t tell me that blue jays are aggressive towards other birds of their size.  They’re still small.

One of the most non-confrontational names in MLB has to be the San Diego Padres.  And their mascot isn’t that goofy monk but rather the San Diego Chicken.  What do you fear more, poultry or a priest?  (No pedophile punchlines here, please.)  Or what about the Los Angeles Angels?  A cute fluffy Angel with wings and a halo?  Not exactly a warrior.  But really the Angels are named after…

Locations.  The City of Angels.  I’ve never been to LA, nor do I know why they’d name a city after angels.  And the Colorado Rockies.  OK, the mountains are strong, but they don’t move.  The Colorado Avalanche on the other hand is something to fear.  Who wants to get buried alive in moving snow?  The Philadelphia Phillies…are they named after the city or the bad cigar used for smoking pot?  (That one can go either way.)  Or the New York Metropolitans and the New York Yankees?  What the hell is a Met or a Yankee?  Why not just call the Mets the Cosmos (after the girly drink, not the former soccer team)?  And the Yanks are named after the good guys during the Civil War?  Wow, way to be current, especially since they didn’t adopt the name Yankees until almost 50 years after the Civil War!

OK, let’s get the so-called racism out of the way.  Everybody thinks the Indians and the Braves are derogatory names.  But both team names in my opinion invoke a tough, sparring people.  Nobody is saying they can’t handle the firewater.  Or they’re making up for years of racism by opening casinos.  OK, Chief Wahoo straggles the line a little bit.  And I’m getting a little sick of the hillbilly tomahawk chop.  So we have two teams that may qualify for tough status, but they’ll get proverbial asterisks. 

There’s a whole bunch of ambiguous names.  The San Francisco Giants are giant whats?  Kittens?  Cotton Balls?  They’re not the Jolly Green Giant, since it’s the cross-town A’s that are green.  The Oakland A’s have an elephant mascot, but when I hear the name Athletic, the image that comes to mind is early 1900’s circus strongman with the handlebar moustache and knee-high boots, the big trapezoidal hunk of iron with the ring on top that they pick up with one finger, and it says 1000 lbs. on the front of it.  The Washington Nationals kept the wimpy name tradition since they wanted to shed the Senators name.  And the Minnesota Twins…what can I say?

The Los Angeles Dodgers used to be the Brooklyn Trolley-Dodgers.  There aren’t any trolleys in Brooklyn any more, and neither are the Dodgers.  The name just doesn’t make sense for LA, just like the Lakers, named after what, the Hollywood Reservoir?

Until I did the research for this piece, I never knew the Kansas City Royals were named after the annual rodeo held there.  Again, clueless as to why…

There’s a bunch of occupations.  The Seattle Mariners.  We all know the fellows on the Deadliest Catch are the real tough guys.  So who exactly are the Seattle Mariners named after, ferryboat operators?  The Texas Rangers?  I’d only be scared if they were the Walker, Texas Rangers, with a picture of Chuck Norris on the caps.  Now the Houston Colt .45s had a cool name.  It was the gun that won the west.  But it didn’t matter as they were named after the Astrodome, which was named after the importance of the space industry in Houston.  I only think of space and Houston in the same sentence when I hear  “Houston, we have a problem.”  They couldn’t come up with Oil Rigger?  Oh, that rhymes with a bad word, so that’s why the NFL team probably used the name Oilers. 

Then there’s the Milwaukee Brewers.  Bernie Brewer can’t slide into a mug any more.  Ooooo…scary beer.  If he can’t slide into a mug any more just go ahead and change the team name already to the Two-Faces (not to be confused with the Twins), named after Bud Selig. 

The Florida Marlins are named after a fish.  And while the Tampa Bay Rays used to be named after deadly sting rays, they’re now opting for the more tranquil sunshine rays. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are named after deadly rattlesnakes.  But for those of us who don’t live in the desert, why not just call them Rattlesnakes?

The Cubs are named after bears, but not Da Bears.  They’re cute cuddly cubs, which puts them on the level of teddy bears.  That leaves one team.

The Detroit Tigers.  It’s obvious.  Pretty to look at, but they’re maul you to death.  The command respect.  And you have to respect any team that played that long at the corner of Michigan and Trumball. Good thing they didn’t name the team after the auto industry.

I’m not about advocating for changing names of teams, because they’ve been ingrained into our culture.  I don’t want to root for the New York Toughguys.  And I’ll never root for the Boston Can’t-Pronounce-The-Letter-R’s. 

And it’s just a silly team name, and nothing more.

Is it the mid-life crisis?

Ever since the days of  forced phys. ed. classes back in high school, I’ve slowly gained weight.  Lots of beer in college put on a few pounds, as did a long career as a desk jockey.  I’m not sure what finally was the kick in the ass, but I decided to finally get off mine and do something about it.  Nothing too drastic.  No fad diets.  Just cutting down on the junk, eating smaller portions, etc.  But what really got the pounds to drop was actual physical exertion.  Go figure. 

Instead of making the most of my Septa trailpass (taking the bus or subway the last few blocks to work), I decided to walk from Market East Station.  A few weeks later, I started walking from Suburban Station.  Now 30th Street.  It’s a nice 25-block, two-mile walk in the morning.  It’s a habit now. 

Then I started jogging in the morning when I have time.  A mile or two in the neighborhood, around the blocks, up and down the hills.  And by jog I mean run.  8 minute miles.  I don’t know how to relax. 

Needless to say, I’m down about 20-25 pounds.  And my pants are loose.  My belts on the last hole don’t do much to keep them up. Worse yet, my cargo shorts are loose.  Really loose.  I was pushing my daughter on the swings the other day, and my shorts were so low, my boxers were hanging out a couple of inches.  I’m not trying to dress like a teenager.  Really, I’m not. 

Back in March, I wore a different Yankee cap every day without repeating, and chronicled it on facebook.  Anybody who knows me knows I wear one all the time.  People may think I’m balding, since I wear one all the time, but I’m not.  As one could assume, I have “good” ones and “bad” ones.  Some have been relegated to yard work, and now, my morning runs. 

My go-to is a faded and paint-splattered Twins Enterprises fitted slouch cap, size medium.  It’s probably more than 10 years old, and has countless road-trip miles.  The great thing about it is that I can sweat in it like an animal, and then throw it in the wash.  It comes out clean and smelling great, ready for more abuse.  But now that it’s nice and broken in, it’s starting to show it’s age…the fabric on the edge of the brim is starting to go.  Oh, the horror.  And it’s in my line of vision, and driving me nuts.

You can tell the generational difference that I’m 35 and still bend my rims, and the young kids keep them flat.  But what drives me insane are the hats that you can buy stained, faded, and frayed – RIGHT OFF THE FUCKING SHELF!!!  This hat took YEARS of hard work to look this way.  Those whippersnappers don’t appreciate an honest day’s work…

The House that Steinbrenner Built

The one thing about being a Yankee fan is that there is never a lack of drama.  There’s always stories in the tabloids about some off-field antics.  Some years, it’s better to follow them than to follow the team.  I lived through the 80s.  And during the lean times, George Steinbrenner wanted to get out of the Bronx in the worst way.  He threatened to move the team to Jersey.  NEW FUCKING JERSEY???  I figured I’d have to pick some other team to follow than to root for a team that played in Jersey. 

Then came the 90s, they win a few World Series, and now that they’re the hot team in town, they wanted to leave the Bronx.  This time for midtown Manhattan…the cursed West Side Yards.  I call it a cursed site, since they’ve been talking about building anything and everything on that site, and nothing has been built.  Back in the 70s, Sears wanted to build their tower there rather than Chicago.  The Jets were promised it a few years ago, but were cock-blocked by Cablevision, which will try to build a new Madision Square Garden on the site.  We’ll see…

Bottom line, the Yanks have been talking about leaving the Bronx for over 20 years now by my count.  Then they said they would build a new stadium across the street.  Again, I said I’d believe it when I see it.  Boy, did I see it. 

I was able to get tickets to the first exhibition game at the new Yankee Stadium against the Cubs on April 3.  I’m still walking on air.  The place has by and far exceeded all fan’s expectations.  It is a combination of the old (pre-70s-renovation) Yankee Stadium, and a brand new futuristic ballpark.  I think the Yanks started to get the itch when they built their Legends Field spring training facility in Tampa.  They brought back the frieze along the top of the stadium there, and being flush with cash coming off a few World Series and record-breaking attendance, they couldn’t have picked a better time to do so.

The subway is the only way to get to Yankee Stadium, as driving and parking there is an absolute nightmare.  We took the 4 train, which is my preferred subway to get there.  It pops above ground just before the old Stadium, and the small gap in the old stadium gave you a glimpse inside.  The field is gone, and it’s just dirt in there.  Weird.

But right across the street where McComb’s Dam Park used to sit, now stands a new Stadium so big, so new, so over-the-top amazing, you almost feel bad that you turn your back, literally, to enter the new Stadium.  You get the feeling how people felt back in 1923 when the showed up to the old Stadium and found a brand new imposing venue, the first to be worthy of the designation “Stadium.” 

When Derek Jeter gave his speech after the last game at the old Stadium, he said we should bring the old memories across the street, where we’ll have new memories.  While the game itself wasn’t all that memorable, walking into the new Stadium sure was.  Not only is everying shiny and new, it seems that architects finally combined the retro concept and the modern concept.  From the friese along the roof to the Monument Park in centerfield, there is no doubt you’re in Yankee Stadium.  And with a nod to all the history and the pictures and banners in the Great Hall and the concourses, there is a modern feel to the venue, as the place is dripping with technology, be it HD televisions (all 1100+ of them), or the ribbon boars, or the largest true HD jumbotron in the world. 

When you enter the Stadium, you quickly find yourself in the Great Hall, the outer ground-level mezzanine.  The lights and banners and animation and inside jumbotron are so overwhelming, you feel like you’re a kid again, in a giddy haze wandering about, not paying attention, walking into other people’s pictures.

Great Hall

Reggie Jackson talks to Lou Pinella prior to the game.

Can you tell the difference between the old and new Stadiums?

Here’s the bottom line.  While it’s a completely new place, sitting at my seat, I got this eerie familiar feeling that I’ve been here before, even though it was the every first game played there.  It’s no doubt Yankee Stadium.  But even though it’s a brand new place, it has a very familiar feel about it.  And while I was glad to be able to drag my infant daughter to the old Stadium, I can’t wait to bring her to the new one.  And like Jeter said, create new memories…

Who is this guy? And why does he think he can be President?

I used to think that if W can be elected, then any schlub could actually make Leader of the Free World.  However, since Obama was elected, I realize I don’t hold a torch to him.  He went to Harvard.  So did I.  But he went to the University, where I went to the Tower Records and Out of Town News in Harvard Square…I don’t think they come out to be the same thing.  But Obama has great ideas, and so do I.  So I figure I have a good decade or so to polish and prep.

While it seems like the President takes a beating every day in the news, it can seem like a thankless job.  But the perks, including a salary much higher than what I’m making now, are great.  Private plane, house staff, and if Obama doesn’t rip it out, your own bowling alley!  So could you say I’m pursuing this for the money?  Well, it’s not bad work if you can get it.

My goal here is not necessarily to plot out policy and election strategy, but to throw out ideas, give alternate views to things going on.  No heavy lifting here.  And more often than not, try to get away from politics, as we need to take a step back, and have a laugh from time to time.  As always, take everything with a grain of salt, as there’s at least three sides to every story.

Oh, and me?  I grew up on Long Island.  I went to school in Boston, where I ran for Hall Council President (where I stole the name of this blog), winning the second time around.  Upon graduation, I’ve been up and down the east coast, finally settling down in the great state of Delaware.  I’m a die-hard Yankee fan, and a huge baseball fan in general, having been to over 20 MLB stadiums so far.