The Pine Tar Game: George Brett Goes Wild

Twenty five years ago today, in what is considered one of the more bizarre incidents in baseball history, George Brett jacked what appeared to be a game winning home run that might have beaten the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. But in a highly unusual move that will forever be known as the Pine Tar Incident, the Yankees (with advance knowledge) objected to the bat that Brett was using to hit the home run. They suggested that he had too much pine tar on his bat. The umpires examined the bat and after a few moments of consultation, they agreed and nullified the home run. Brett went bonkers and had to be restrained by teammates. Quite an amazing moment, I have to say.

Personally, I was wondering, in the seconds leading up to the nullification, knowing what he (the umpire) had to do, what was going through the mind? He had to know Brett was going to go ballistic. This was no journeyman shortstop hitting just above the Mendoza Line. We're taking about getting an earful from a superstar and future hall-of-famer. Unless he didn't mind the sure-as-hell confrontation that was about to come his way, I have to believe, he made that call with pure dread.

Anyway, click here for a great story in today's New York Post. Then click here to see the video of the incident.

Sunday Brunch.....Are You Ready For Some Football?

Well, training camps will be opening across the country this week and so, the season is just about upon us. And for thousands of fans, that means its fantasy football time.

Fans all over the country are in various stages of draft preparation (yous truly, included) and so I thought I would refer a few websites in this post to serve as a sort of starter kit /resource center. Of course there's no way to list all the good sites because I'm sure there are a gazillion of them (since apparently, everyone is an expert with an opinion).

DiMaggio's 56-Game Hitting Streak Comes to An End

On July 17, 1941, the Cleveland Indians, led by Ken Keltner put an end to Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. The streak is considered one of the greatest feats in baseball history. This (like hitting .400) is one of those records that when you compare to today's athletes, you just marvel at how such a streak ever happened. How is it possible?

Whether such a record(s) could ever be broken remains to be seen, of course. We live in a different world now. Modern sports athletes are subject to unbelievable pressures and distractions that come with the need for instant gratification, the so-called 24/7 information society. If a player would get anywhere near the record, the focus and attention brought upon him would be almost unimaginable. Under those circumstances it seems like breaking this record is just inconceivable.

The All-Star Game - Longest Ever Played. Yawn

Ya know, everyone is making a big deal about last night's all-star game at Yankee Stadium. I know, they played 15 innings before the AL won for the 12 year in a row. And I know, it's the last one ever at Yankee Stadium and there was lots of buzz and hoopla and nostalgia and tradition and glory of the game and blah, blah blah, blah. But honestly? I wasn't feeling it. To me, it's still just a boring exhibition game.

Now in fairness, and for purposes of full disclosure, I'm a Mets fan. But in all sincerity, my apathy has nothing to do with my allegiance to the Mets, but more with the fact that the game for so many years has had no meaning and very little significance other than to "showcase" the talents of the best players in the game, as selected by the fans. But after a generation of apathy and disinterest by the athletes themselves (A-Rod, the leading vote getter among all athletes went home; left the stadium after the 5th inning), I just can't get too excited about the outcome of this game, even though MLB has tried to add some incentives to the players by awarding home field advantage in the World Series to the winners of the game. Even with that little biscuit, it's still not enough for me to tune in.

Oh, by the way, the five minutes of the game that I did watch before going to sleep, it was 3-3 in the 12th. It didn't help that I half jokingly presumed that it was Billy Wagner who gave up the tying run in his appearance, only to wake up in the morning to find out it was true (I hate it when I'm right). This guy is just killing the Mets, but I digress.

Farve vs Pack: It's Getting Ugly

As many of you know, Brett Farve now wants to "un-retire" and play football again. So much so, that he even asked the Packers for his release so he can sign on elsewhere. Now to me, this is starting to deteriorate into one of those things where everyone is nice to each other for as long as they can be and then their true colors show through.

In this instance, the Packers have been very gracious. When Farve couldn't make up his mind last year about whether he wanted to retire or continue to play, they waited very patiently for him to decide without saying a word (at least publicly), eventhough I'm sure they would have loved for him to have made his decision sooner than he did (dragging it out through the off-season). Certainly there must have been some consternation about his fence sitting when you consider that, with all due respect to Farve, there is a business side to football (or is it a football side to business?) and that business side involves making decisions about player personnel, i.e., the drafting of players, cap issues, etc. Farves' delay in making his decision last year almost certainly put their draft strategy in jeopardy if it didn't actually determine who they drafted.

Sunday Brunch......with Dad

From the moment you're born, you are destined to die. Everything else we do in between serves as a distraction 'til that moment comes. So don't forget to take some time out of your busy lives to enjoy the simple things in life, like a catch with your son...or dad.

Former Yankee Bobby Murcer Succumbs to Cancer at Age 62

Jones Quest For .400 Is Likely Over

Well now that Chipper Jones has cooled off slightly, I believe his chances of hitting .400 are virtually zero. So let's take a look at the math. As of today, Jones has 108 hits in 288 at bats through 80 games played. His average is .375. That means Jones has been averaging 3.6 at bats per game. The Braves have played 92 games so that means there are only 70 games left to play this season. If he were to play all 70 games, he would get approximately 252 more at bats (70 x 3.6). That would mean that Jones would finish the season with about 540 total at bats (288 + 252). For Jones too finish at .400, he would need to finish the season with 216 hits (216 / 540). Since he has 108 at this point, that means he would need 108 more hits in the next 252 at bats. In other words, Jones who is already hitting a phenomenal .375, would have to hit a whopping (and unsustainable) .429 the rest of the season. To me, this just seems like one of the records that are destined to never be broken. Since 1941, the year in which Ted Williams was the last person to hit .400 (he hit .406), there have been several players who have made runs at .400, including Nomar Garciaparra who, 2000, was hitting .403 as late as July 20. But he like all the rest eventually failed. Here are the three players since 1941, who finished the season within striking distance of the elusive club.

Tony Gwynn - 1994 - finished at .394
George Brett - 1980 - finished at .390
Rod Carew - 1977 - finished at .388

Another Athlete Arrested on Felony Charge

See what I mean? Earlier this week, Tony Gonzalez made news by saving a man's life in a California restaurant. I had inferred that this was an aberration because it was a nice "feel good" story, which we almost never hear about. Usually today's off-field stories about our athletes are about their criminality and/or arrogance and sense of entitlement. So just to underscore my point, just 3 days after my previous post, we have this story about Matt Jones. Just another day in the world of sports.

A Nice Story For A Change: Chiefs Tony G. Saves A Life

We have become so desensitized about almost everything these days that almost nothing shocks us anymore. We live in a society where everything/everyone is fair game to our pop culture standards, which depending on your point of view is either passe or, plummeting faster than the China Syndrome. In general, athletes today are perceived on a scale somewhere between overly paid entertainers with an irrational sense of entitlement or malcontent thugs that belong in prison. Neither of this is true (save of a few) of course, but the public persona of sports athletes has been severely tarnished based on what's been reported over the years. So with that in mind, it was nice to hear that Kansas City Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez was credited with saving a man's life this past Thursday night in California. Nice going Tony.

Sunday Brunch....Who's On First?

I remember growing up in New York City in the 1970's. Back then we called it...well, just growing up. Today, it's recollection with melancholy of the years gone by, it's waxing nostalgia about one's childhood, it's assigning romance to what in reality was just the mundane. Or to put it simply, it's remembering with fondness the simple, less complicated pleasures of a life that was lived long ago.

I remember Saturday evenings in our household. It was so wonderfully routine and predictable. Every Saturday night my dad would head out in the early evening to pick up some bagels, a pack of smokes and the early edition of the Sunday Daily News and

Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech - July 4th, 1939

Sixty nine years ago today, Lou Gehrig delivered his famous speech that is still considered one of the greatest moments in sports history. Here is the full text version of the Farewell Speech

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

-----Lou Gehrig, 7/4/39

This Soap Opera Moment Is Brought To You By The Rodriguez'

Good Lord! Do I really care who A-Rod is boinkin'? Does anyone care? The world of sports is already in the gutter, can it sink any lower?

Okay we get it, A-Rod is a slime ball---maybe. But really, c'mon he's a 32 years old superstar playing for arguably the greatest sports franchise; who already banked $250 million and just signed another contract for another $275 million. This guy is among the few who walk among us that is living a charmed life. And with that kind of float, who wouldn't feel a sense of entitlement? Who wouldn't want to see what the world has to offer. I can't even imagine the kind of "opportunities" this guy must get on a daily basis, but I would guess that after a while you just give in to temptation. He's not doing anything differently than any one of us would do if we were in his position. The problem is......

It's July: All-Star Game and football training camp

For most "four-sport" fans, July's primary sporting events are baseball's All-Star game, which this year will be held at Yankee Stadium and the start of football training camp. Here is the 2008 training camp schedule for all 32 teams.