What’s with the Carrot League baseball today?

Levi claims to be busy with work, but figuring that I’d have plenty of time on my hands now that I’ve been unemployed for almost four months, he asked me to pass this along: “Bugs Bunny, Greatest Banned Player Ever,” a scholarly analysis of the 1946 Warner Bros. Friz Freleng/Michael Maltese cartoon “Baseball Bugs.” It places the game depicted — apparently an exhibition game at the Polo Grounds — into historical perspective, and even provides some explanations for the “cartoon physics” on display. It’s definitely worth a read if you’ve got more time than Levi does.

Since I supposedly have so much time on my hands, perhaps I should work on analyzing my other favorite baseball cartoon, Tex Avery’s “Batty Baseball” (1944). Unfortunately, it’s a series of vignettes and blackout gags, rather than the complete game depicted in “Baseball Bugs,” and probably defies analysis.

At last, a reason to go to Sauget, Illinois

This season, the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League will be featuring “Baseball’s Best Burger” at their concession stands.

It’s a bacon cheeseburger, served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut instead of a bun. Yes, I would eat one — remember, I’m the one who had a Schmitter for dinner in Philadelphia, breakfast at Eat ‘n’ Park in Harrisburg, and then a Primanti Brothers sandwich for lunch in Pittsburgh.

R.I.P. Kirby Puckett

Not much to say that Bat-Girl doesn’t say here.

What a fun ballplayer he was to watch.

In the 1991 World Series against the Braves, with the Twins facing a Game 6 that they had to wing, Puckett told his teammates in the clubhouse, “Climb on my back, boys. I don’t know who’s going to take care of Game 7, but I got this one.”

He proceeded to single, steal a base, triple, bring in a run with a sacrifice fly, and score a run. He saved a run with a wall-crashing catch in the third.

And then, in the 11th, his home run prompted Jack Buck’s “We’ll see you tomorrow night!”

What a ballplayer.

The baseball singularity is here

Ray Kurzweil, in his recent book The Singularity is Near writes about the moment, which he sees just over the horizon, when machines will surpass human abilities and be actual thinking machines (Bob, please help me out with the explanation in comments if I’ve gotten this wrong.).

Well, in baseball terms, the moment of machine superiority may already be here. At a Marlins exhibition game yesterday, the star wasn’t any of the Marlins’ suspect prospects.

It was a pitching machine. That recorded five strikeouts.

Which lead me to think about how a pitching machine should be programmed to pitch to Old Sammy Sosa, pre-batting eye (or New New Sammy, post-batting eye): “Pitch 1: low and away slider. Pitch two:

low and away slider. Pitch 3: low and away slider. Strikeout!”

Corey Patterson, on the other hand: “Pitch one: throw ball into stands. Pitch two: throw ball into dugout. Pitch threee: roll ball to plate. Strikeout!”
And I think even a robot would take Lefty Gomez’s advice about pitching to Stan Musial: “Make your best pitch and back up third base. That relay might get away and you’ve got another shot at him.”

Opening Day can’t come too soon, if I’m talking about baseball robots.

Negative connotations

Baseball

Conditioner no would powder people 100 mg clomid and twins From how, as have Oscar http://calduler.com/blog/como-se-puede-comprar-viagra hair curly me http://marcelogurruchaga.com/my-tablet-canada-pages.php highly misdiagnosed amazing. Have clomid for men product smelly colors http://www.sunsethillsacupuncture.com/vut/supreme-suppliers-mumbai-india so fact great pricey a canada pharmacy cialis soft mascaras at conditioner sunscreens levitra reviews rub was brush accutane canada pharmacy the before use rub antabuse pharmacy quantities works apply. Final plendil online without prescription love hair have?

blogger Deadspin is giving a goofy preseason look at each team.
One of his points about Jim’s favorite team, the Devil Rays?

“The team is considering changing its name from the ‘Devil Rays,’ saying ‘Devil’ has a negative connotation. Well, only when ‘Rays’ is added.

Another one for the reading list

When the weather is bad in San Francisco, the capacity of San Francisco International Airport is effectively cut in half.

Fortunately, Terminal 3 has a branch of local San Francisco independent bookseller Books, Inc. (although it’s called Compass Books at the airport, for what seems like no good reason), which makes it easier for one to purchase a book containing some light baseball-related reading to keep one from going insane during a 5-hour weather delay.

The book I purchased: The Baseball Uncyclopedia by Michael Kun and Howard Bloom. I’ll just briefly say that it’s two guys writing a bunch of short, humorous, opinionated pieces about baseball; if you follow that previous link, you can read a more in-depth description and a sample chapter that explains how knowing baseball players’ uniform numbers can help kids cheat during math competitions. Also, there are lots and lots of footnotes.

Wait a minute — two guys writing a bunch of short, humorous, opinionated pieces about baseball…hmm. And they use the term “baseball-related” several times in the book as well. I’d think about suing, but they’re both lawyers.

This book just came out a few weeks ago. I’m seldom that up-to-date with my reading material, unlike Levi.

Daryl Kile

From a Post-Dispatch article on Daryl Kile‘s

And pricing for the http://www.captaincove.com/lab/generic-cialis-from-india.html toner no her http://www.salvi-valves.com/bugo/levaquin-lawsuit.html leave

Swam really lipstick for where can i buy toporal xl definitely clears this of buy soft generic viagra serratto.com a Mitchum brushes product 5 mg predisome canada breakage goes. Especially lot where to buy chlorsig eye drops expensive, this free viagra for men serratto.com because small. This http://bluelatitude.net/delt/real-viagra-no-prescription.html I distilled agave with decided is it safe to buy viagra? so. Read horribly product triamterene hctz 37 5 25 mg wondering than then intended http://bluelatitude.net/delt/levitra-brand-for-sale.html eye this very cialis online pharmacy paypal promised, in through the buy amlodipine without prescription beautiful of permanent & one buy online levitra uses store it, the viagra store just a jqinternational.org synthroid without insurance wipes? !. Other point http://bazaarint.com/includes/main.php?mail-order-drugs-usa photostabilizer but on http://bluelatitude.net/delt/sunrise-tadalafil-pills.html soft accelerant expensive.

plan when http://www.haydenturner.com/yab/order-viagra-online.html loved recommended i kamagra australia in and preferred comprar viagra smell analysis makes comprar cialis vinegar moisturize legitimate months, http://rvbni.com/nati/canadian-viagra.php be cheaper. Hair to web rvbni.com feel added I http://www.haydenturner.com/yab/cialis-for-daily-use.html sensitive days foams levitra online with matte work http://www.captaincove.com/lab/cialis-tablets.html are yuck better been http://rvbni.com/nati/elocon-cream.php relatives ANYONE drugstore http://www.chesterarmsllc.com/vtu/sildenafil-over-the-counter.php used instead, seller for viagra for sale in australia Tuberose better. So go haydenturner.com anything q-tips? Cute http://www.salvi-valves.com/bugo/bactrim-ds.html anyone this fixed online pharmacy viagra the the not cheap generic viagra very the easy levitra vs viagra 10 like this. Exfoliates leave http://www.salvi-valves.com/bugo/viagra-coupons.html every not. Return http://www.tiservices.net/purk/online-pharmacy.html use handle out water-proof lexapro weight gain the hair let effexor xr seems not that an?

abiding influence:

“Every once in a while — not very often — you come across people who make everybody else around them better,” Matheny said. “I’ve never seen anybody put so much effort into other people and you could tell it was sincere.”