Baseball-Related Program Activities

Recent baseball dreams

2009-12-16T20:57:00.004-06:00

The following are all baseball-related dreams I've had in the past month. Seriously: the past month--a month in which there has been no baseball.

1 The Cardinals won the 2009 World Series. For some reason, I watched it all at Chuck E. Cheese. When I woke up, I was really happy for nearly a minute before realizing it was a dream; at that point, I began to ponder whether a world championship would really be worth sitting in Chuck E. Cheese for upwards of 20 hours.

2 I was watching the 1982 World Series. In the top of the first inning, Andy Van Slyke--who, my waking self knows, was not on that team--hit a double. He had long braids dangling beyond the back of his helmet, like many a football lineman. In the bottom of the first inning, the first two Brewers made outs, and then their third hitter came to the plate . . . and he was Darth Vader. Vader's a lefty, and--I hate to say this about one of the universe's greatest villains, but he's got a sweet stroke. He hit a double, and as he slid into second, his cape flew behind him beautifully.

3 The Cardinals were having trouble re-signing Jason LaRue. This was one of those dreams that you forget about until reality reminds you: I read an article the next day about the Cards re-signing LaRue, and for a moment I was perplexed. Then the wisps of dream came back to me--and made me feel like the lamest person in the universe. I mean, the dude's facial hair and hygiene are nothing less than wonders of the universe, but what it boils down to is the sad fact that I had a dream about the contract status of a backup catcher. I swear my life is better and more fulfilling than that fact would make you think.

And this is all without even getting into the dream I had about Vinegar Joe Lieberman Sunday night!

Ichiro!

2009-08-23T09:32:00.004-05:00

{Photo of an Ichiro mouse on a kleenex box in Japan taken by rocketlass.}

From a New York Times article about Ichiro's nine straight 200-hit seasons comes this quote:

"Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me,” he said. “I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

Two questions:

1. How can anyone not love Ichiro?

2. What on earth must it be like to be his translator?

Perfection

2009-07-23T16:43:00.004-05:00

Mark Buehrle's perfect game today is the first to occur since a few months before our road trip, which I note is coming up on its 5th anniversary. Of course I'm sorry it came against the Rays, but we like Buehrle here at baseballrelated.com.

One would expect the Cardinals, Orioles, or Blue Jays to tweet, but...

2009-07-08T18:16:00.002-05:00

Joe Maddon is apparently the only MLB manager on Twitter, as @RaysJoeMaddon. His tweets can be a bit obtuse and incoherent...kind of like the Rays' offensive strategies. Ha ha!

And here's a sentence I never, ever thought I'd use: I learned about this from Alyssa Milano.

Both L.A. teams in one day

2009-05-11T20:31:00.006-05:00

Longtime fans of Baseball-Related Program Activities may remember that, on August 30, 2004, Levi and I went to two baseball games in two cities in one day: White Sox vs. Phillies in Chicago, and then Brewers vs. Pirates in Milwaukee.

We finally had a chance to recreate that experience. Levi came to Los Angeles for business, and both the Dodgers and Angels were at home, and on May 9, the Dodgers were scheduled for an afternoon game, with the Angels playing at night.

The only thing that put a damper on the experience was Manny Ramirez being suspended for 50 games just three days before we were going to see him.

What Levi, I, and hanger-on Jason did end up seeing was the Dodgers defeating the Giants 8-0, followed by the Angels over the Royals, 1-0. Yes, we saw no visiting team runs. We also saw complete games by three pitchers -- Eric Stults of the Dodgers, Joe Saunders of the Angels, and Zack Greinke of the Royals. Greinke entered the game with a 0.40 ERA, which meant that his ERA went up after pitching a 1-run complete game, which is almost as rare of an event as the Dodgers and Angels both playing at home the same weekend. The Angels game finished in 2:07 -- not quite as short as the 1:56 Indians-White Sox game on our road trip, but impressive nonetheless.

(Special shout-outs to Maggie, Kimiko, and Kate for being hangers-on for the first game.)

There have already been plenty of Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium pictures on this blog over the years, so all you get here is a picture of Greinke looking intense during his warmup:

The 2009 predictions

2009-04-04T16:59:00.001-05:00

And without further adieu...

*Sports Illustrated*	Bill James formula
AL East
1. N.Y. Yankees (97-65)	1. Boston Red Sox (95-67)
2. Boston Red Sox (96-66)	2. N.Y. Yankees (91-71)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (90-72)	3. Tampa Bay Rays (87-69)
4. Baltimore Orioles (80-82)	4. Toronto Blue Jays (85-77)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (79-83)	5. Baltimore Orioles (68-93)
AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins (85-77)	1. Cleveland Indians (86-76)
2. Cleveland Indians (82-80)	2. Minnesota Twins (85-77)
3. Chicago White Sox (79-83)	3. Chicago White Sox (83-79)
4. Detroit Tigers (77-85)	4. Detroit Tigers (79-83)
5. Kansas City Royals (74-88)	5. Kansas City Royals (73-89)
AL West
1. L.A. Angels (86-76)	1. L.A. Angels (98-64)
2. Oakland Athletics (81-81)	2. Texas Rangers (78-84)
3. Texas Rangers (73-89)	3. Oakland Athletics (75-87)
4. Seattle Mariners (69-93)	4. Seattle Mariners (70-92)
NL East
1. N.Y. Mets (92-70)	1. Philadelphia Phillies (91-71)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (89-73)	2. N.Y. Mets (89-73)
3. Atlanta Braves (84-78)	3. Florida Marlins (80-82)
4. Florida Marlins (77-85)	4. Atlanta Braves (76-86)
5. Washington Nationals (70-92)	5. Washington Nationals (64-98)
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs (93-69)	1. Chicago Cubs (93-69)
2. Milwaukee Brewers (84-78)	2. Milwaukee Brewers (88-74)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (82-80)	3. St. Louis Cardinals (83-79)
4. Cincinnati Reds (80-82)	4. Houston Astros (82-80)
5. Houston Astros (70-92)	5. Cincinnati Reds (73-89)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (64-98)	6. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-95)
NL West
1. L.A. Dodgers (88-74)	1. Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks (87-75)	2. L.A. Dodgers (83-79)
3. San Francisco Giants (77-85)	3. Colorado Rockies (79-83)
4. Colorado Rockies (76-86)	4. San Francisco Giants (72-90)
5. San Diego Padres (69-93)	5. San Diego Padres (72-90)

Looking forward to another baseball season!

2008 predictions in review

2009-04-04T15:33:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to do this last year, especially given what happened in the American League East! In my defense, I was more interested in this prediction at the time.

For those of you just joining us, every year, baseballrelated.com presents the predictions from the baseball preview issue of Sports Illustrated, as well as the predictions produced by an extremely quick-and-dirty formula from a Bill James Baseball Abstract of the 1980s. It's now time to compare the 2008 predictions against the 2008 final standings.

*Sports Illustrated*	Bill James formula	Actual results
AL East
1. N.Y. Yankees (94-68)	1. N.Y. Yankees (95-67)	1. Tampa Bay Rays (97-65)
2. Boston Red Sox (92-70)	2. Boston Red Sox (95-67)	2. Boston Red Sox (95-67)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (87-75)	3. Toronto Blue Jays (84-78)	3. N.Y. Yankees (89-73)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (80-82)	4. Baltimore Orioles (69-93)	4. Toronto Blue Jays (86-76)
5. Baltimore Orioles (64-98)	5. Tampa Bay Rays (64-98)	5. Baltimore Orioles (68-93)
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers (90-72)	1. Cleveland Indians (90-72)	1. Chicago White Sox (89-74)
2. Cleveland Indians (89-73)	2. Detroit Tigers (90-72)	2. Minnesota Twins (88-75)
3. Chicago White Sox (77-85)	3. Minnesota Twins (85-77)	3. Cleveland Indians (81-81)
4. Kansas City Royals (73-89)	4. Chicago White Sox (78-84)	4. Kansas City Royals (75-87)
5. Minnesota Twins (72-90)	5. Kansas City Royals (67-95)	5. Detroit Tigers (74-88)
AL West
1. L.A. Angels (87-75)	1. L.A. Angels (92-70)	1. L.A. Angels (100-62)
2. Seattle Mariners (82-80)	2. Seattle Mariners (85-77)	2. Texas Rangers (79-83)
3. Oakland Athletics (75-87)	3. Oakland Athletics (82-80)	3. Oakland Athletics (75-86)
4. Texas Rangers (72-90)	4. Texas Rangers (77-89)	4. Seattle Mariners (61-101)
NL East
1. N.Y. Mets (91-71)	1. N.Y. Mets (91-71)	1. Philadelphia Phillies (92-70)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (86-76)	2. Philadelphia Phillies (88-74)	2. N.Y. Mets (89-73)
3. Atlanta Braves (85-77)	3. Atlanta Braves (82-80)	3. Florida Marlins (84-77)
4. Washington Nationals (73-89)	4. Florida Marlins (73-89)	4. Atlanta Braves (72-90)
5. Florida Marlins (72-90)	5. Washington Nationals (72-90)	5. Washington Nationals (59-102)
NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs (91-71)	1. Milwaukee Brewers (80-82)	1. Chicago Cubs (97-64)
2. Cincinnati Reds (87-75)	2. St. Louis Cardinals (80-82)	2. Milwaukee Brewers (90-72)
3. Milwaukee Brewers (85-77)	3. Chicago Cubs (79-83)	3. Houston Astros (86-75)
4. Houston Astros (74-88)	4. Houston Astros (76-86)	4. St. Louis Cardinals (86-76)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (73-89)	5. Cincinnati Reds (75-87)	5. Cincinnati Reds (74-88)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (70-92)	6. Pittsburgh Pirates (68-94)	6. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-95)
NL West
1. Colorado Rockies (89-73)	1. San Diego Padres (89-73)	1. L.A. Dodgers (84-78)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks (88-74)	2. Colorado Rockies (85-77)	2. Arizona Diamondbacks (82-80)
3. L.A. Dodgers (85-77)	3. Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77)	3. Colorado Rockies (74-88)
4. San Diego Padres (79-83)	4. L.A. Dodgers (84-78)	4. San Francisco Giants (72-90)
5. San Francisco Giants (68-94)	5. San Francisco Giants (73-89)	5. San Diego Padres (63-99)

Neither prediction did particularly well in 2008. Both failed on the surprising Rays, and on predicting the Tigers to finish first (actually, the Bill James formula had them tied with the Indians). The Bill James formula also predicted the Padres to finish first -- yikes.

But now we start with a clean slate for 2009, and two fresh sets of predictions. They will be posted here soon.

Take Me Out...

2009-03-10T19:40:00.004-05:00

Those of you who know me know why I think this poster, now appearing on my living room wall, is totally awesome -- it combines two of my interests.

It's also a bit of a lie. There's no regular "historic streetcar" service to AT&T Park right now; it's only in the planning and occasional demonstration stages. The folks at Market Street Railway are a little anticipatory (and, actually, selling the poster to promote and raise funds to help the service along).

Yes, we can (create a minor-league baseball promotion)

2009-01-13T13:04:00.002-06:00

On June 23rd, the Brooklyn Cyclones will become the Baracklyn Cyclones -- and there are a lot of amusing elements involved in the promotion.

Just how bad is the economy?

2008-12-23T11:23:00.002-06:00

On the trip in 2004, the lowest price we paid for gas was $1.789, in Ohio.

Gas here in Los Angeles, which tends to be a bit pricier than in Ohio (due to higher taxes and a special low-emission blend), is now running about 10 cents per gallon below that.

Fire up the TV set

2008-12-19T11:23:00.003-06:00

At 7:00 P.M. Eastern on January 1, the brand-new MLB Network will present a rebroadcast of Don Larsen's perfect game from the 1956 World Series. As I understand it, the source is a kinescope that was discovered fairly recently.

Channel 213 on DirecTV. For other services, check your listings.

The right opportunity at the right time

2008-12-05T13:00:00.004-06:00

Via Sports by Brooks: the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays are looking for a new person to portray Pansy the Wuss-Wuss Fish, or as they call him, Raymond. Here's the actual job posting.

That Times report mentions that the previous Pansy was fired last month; no word on any official cause.

The predictive power of baseballrelated.com

2008-11-05T12:39:00.003-06:00

On this very blog, on May 25, 2004, Levi made a comment referring to a future Barack Obama presidency. As you may notice, that was several months before Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention brought him into the spotlight. See for yourself.

However, Levi assumed Obama's election would come in 2012 (presumably, after John Kerry served two terms) -- and Levi's not so good at predicting who is and isn't going to do something stupid to ruin his political career.

Fortunately, they've solved the "extra baseballs" problem

2008-11-04T14:17:00.001-06:00

From the February 13, 1967, issue of Sports Illustrated (via Uni Watch):

Ghost of Jack Norworth, please feel free to haunt Bud Selig

2008-11-03T11:42:00.003-06:00

On November 15 of last year, this blog reported on a Major League Baseball press release detailing plans for a 100th-anniversary celebration of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during 2008.

I saw no actual evidence of any special 100th-anniversary festivities this past season. Most notably, contrary to that press release, the All-Star Game's televised 7th-inning stretch featured Josh Groban singing "God Bless America", not a contest winner leading the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

Not that it should necessarily be a priority for the next President, but surely he can do something about this fairly easily.

We hold these truths to be self-evident

2008-10-30T20:58:00.003-05:00

When Jim and I started this blog more than four years ago, we shared a couple of fundamental principles. To wit:

1 The Devil Rays suck and will forever suck.

2 Bud Selig is evil, or at least incompetent.

Good to know at least one of those truths still shines.

Congratulations, Rays, on your first pennant of many. Congratulations, Phillies, on your World Championship, and congratulations to longtime Baseball Related Program Activities favorites Matt Stairs, Geoff Jenkins, Jamie Moyer, and So Taguchi. I'm glad Ryan Howard buck-bucking onto the dogpile didn't kill Brad Lidge.

Rays awesomeness watch, The Onion edition

2008-10-23T15:29:00.001-05:00

Double-Booked Tropicana Field Holds First Haunted House World Series

"[D]ates for the haunted house were reserved in late July, a time when the possibility of the stadium being used for the World Series did not seem realistic to anyone in the Rays' front office."

Fox being Fox

2008-10-20T11:11:00.005-05:00

If the World Series had been Dodgers-Red Sox instead of Phillies-Rays, Fox's TV coverage would have gone something like this...

Joe Buck: Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny Manny?

Tim McCarver: Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny Manny, Manny Manny Manny Manny.

Joe: Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny -- Chris Myers?

Chris Myers: Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny. Manny Manny Manny, Joe.

Joe: Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny -- there's a grand slam by Rafael Furcal -- Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny.

Tim: Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny Manny (continues until end of inning)

By the way, don't let anyone claim that the Rays are a "small-market" team -- Tampa-St. Petersburg is the 13th-largest media market in the U.S. (link is to a Nielsen PDF). Larger than Seattle-Tacoma (#14), larger than Minneapolis-St. Paul (#15), larger than Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (#16).

Rays awesomeness watch rolls on

2008-10-19T23:59:00.000-05:00

Well...we knew back in April that something was happening, but not necessarily this!

Rays awesomeness watch, Comedy Central edition

2008-10-14T23:36:00.001-05:00

Locations scrolling across the globe on the "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" set this week: New York (as usual), Cooperstown, Williamsport, Tampa Bay.

I have nothing to say about this

2008-10-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Rays awesomeness watch, election edition

2008-10-07T23:33:00.003-05:00

Appearing on "The Colbert Report" tonight, baseball statistician Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com compared Obama to the Rays -- and McCain to the Seattle Pilots.

Baseball HD chili

2008-10-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

"HD" stands for "Highly Delicious" (or, perhaps, "Holycow, Dodgers!").

In retrospect, Levi and I saw this coming at Wrigley Field on September 2nd, when we saw the Astros beat the Cubs 9-7 in 11 innings -- a game which obviously impressed neither of us enough to write about it on this blog. (Also, that game lasted long enough that we had to get to bed, one of us to go to work, and the other of us to catch a flight back to L.A.)

More dramatic than the playoffs?

2008-10-03T14:53:00.005-05:00

Courtesy of my father, here's the last half-inning of Vin Scully calling Sandy Koufax's perfect game on September 9, 1965. I've heard a bit of him on the radio during both Dodgers division series games so far, and he still sounds pretty much the same, 43 years later.

During the regular season, for the games he broadcasts (everything but away games east of the Rockies), Vin does the entire game on TV, with the first three innings simulcast on the radio; Charley Steiner and Rick Monday do the rest of the game on the radio. For the playoffs, with no local TV, Vin is doing the first three and last three innings on the radio, which means he gets to take three innings off. In his L.A. Times column today, T.J. Simers suggested that he uses the time to take an extended bathroom break, but I prefer to imagine him going over to the WGN booth to try to distract Pat Hughes and Ron Santo. (Yes, I know he's too much of a professional to actually do that.)

The Yankees as a metaphor for society at large

2008-09-22T15:41:00.003-05:00

Today's post from Uni Watch, ostensibly about the last game at Yankee Stadium, makes some piquant points about the Yankees and how their current status is related to other things that are going on in this country, and the world. (Link almost sent straight to Levi, since I have a feeling he'll enjoy it, but I figured I might as well post it here.)