Al Lopez's Ghost

Look, don't blame Magglio. Dmitri Young assured him that the Tigers would be in the playoffs.

There are a lot of places you can get it, so shop around. If you do a Froogle search you can compare prices. Here's a link, though, that at the bottom has a complete description of what's on the DVDs. It's obviously a must-have. http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?prod...rentPage=family

Well, this is gonna totally screw up Soxfest 2013!!

I got a weird one, and it's off the field. When Jencks "blew" the save in game 2 of the World Series, Buehrle went over to him in the dugout, rubbed his neck and I would guess said to him, don't worry about it, go get'em next time, that sort of thing. It was Buehrle's win that he blew, and there are plenty of guys who would be pouting about his own misfortune, rather than worry about his teammate's feelings. That, to me, is what makes Buehrle Buehrle, and a true team leader.

Ozzie's probably sick of Harold's constant yammering on the bench. You just can't shut the guy up.

One of the Chicago papers today - think it was the Sun Times - said that Raines is now the bench coach and Baines is the new first base coach. No reason has been given as yet.

No TV whatsoever on Sept 30 for the 11:10 AM game vs. Minny. Damn Golden Gophers. (I wanted to be the first to complain about it this year.)

Now that I've read the whole thing, you'll want to read this article. He puts a major rip on A-Rod.

I got in the mail today - it's dated 2/20/06 and the cover picture has that Olympian "The Flying Tomato" on it. Anyhow, the story is yet another behind the scenes look at Ozzie, but covering heavy stuff. You may remember a player named Gus Polidor who was Ozzie's best friend and was murdered in Venezuela ten years ago. The story begins with Ozzie facing the murderer, and telling Ozzie junior "That's the motherf----- who killed Gus." To be honest I haven't finished reading the article, but it looks like it will be an interesting read.

Those of you who frequented McCuddy's in the 1980's up until it closed may remember the lady who ran things after Frances McCuddy died. She passed away Saturday, and here is the SunTimes' obituary. She was always good to talk to, as I spent many pregame hours there. http://www.suntimes.com/output/obituaries/...nws-xsen14.html

The guy never b****ed or moaned when his role changed last year, never made excuses or pointed fingers. Plus in some small way he helped pave the way for Iguchi. Thanks Shingo!

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Feb 11, 2006 -> 11:04 AM) This actually might be a blessing for Young. This break will force the D-Backs not to rush him. A year at AAA may be real good for him. You hate to see this because you want to get your first major league camp under your belt, to acclimate yourself so that the next time you're comfortable and able to step right in. So even if this probably wasn't gonna be his break-out year, it's still going to retard his progress.

So let's say the Nats decided to have LeCroy catch, with Sammie in right and Soriano at second. That would be one hell of a defensive lineup. "For the Nationals tonight, 5 runs, 10 hits, 70 errors."

QUOTE(TLAK @ Feb 6, 2006 -> 08:52 PM) The oldest player going to camp is 47 year old Met Julio Franco, born 8/23/1958. I thought Contreras was 75 or something.

I heard a commercial on the Score yesterday for one of those rooftop bleacher deals at Wrigley. Midway through Mike North says something like "See the Cardinals, the Dodgers, and don't forget the World Champs are coming." Yeah, that made me feel all warm and fuzzy! See, Cub fans, you knew all along sometime Wrigley would have a Chicago World Champion playing there.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 6, 2006 -> 05:00 PM) I still expect him to wind up with the Yankees, with Matsui moving to right to take over the position of Sheffield, whose contract ends and who seems like he's approaching retirement age there. CLee in left and Matsui in right in Yankee Stadium? You'd need Jim Edmonds and Rowand in Center at the same time to cover the alleys for those guys. Carlos as DH for the Yanks, that I can see. But he'd be a great fit for the Cubs, the way he hit at Wrigley.

It's nice to have so many to choose from, but Duque's performance was the stuff of legends. Years from now people will talk about it when a pitcher comes in with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Zisk was maybe the first rent-a-player. Veeck got him (in a trade for Rich Gossage and Terry Forster - extra credit if you remember the second player the Pirates threw in) and back in those days we were naive enough to think, boy if he likes it here maybe we'll get him to re-sign with us. IIRC he got a 4 year, $200,000 per contract with the Rangers instead. He was booed every time he came back, and never hit well at Comiskey again. Silvio Martinez was the throw-in we got from Pittsburgh. Lastly, Nancy played "My Melody of Love" for Richie when he came to the plate, in reference to Bobby Vinton, who is also Polish. Many happy returns to the man who inspired the banner "Pitch at Risk to Zisk."

QUOTE(hi8is @ Feb 3, 2006 -> 10:59 AM) SWEET! anyone know what time (pacific) this show airs? It's on a few times. It comes on Tuesday at 9:00 pm Chicago time, so that's 7:00 pacific I think, but then it gets rerun later, and if you get multiple HBO channels it's kinda all over, so, consult your local listings for times and stations, as they say.

It kinda looks like old County Stadium in Milwaukee. (But it still could be a Cub fan, you never know.)

He's the "Sports Illustrated Feature" on the episode debuting on February 7.

Has anyone else wondered why Mota passed an exam to be traded to the Red Sox, but couldn't pass the exam to go to the Indians? Who does the exams for the Red Sox, Toronto's old team physician?

Best of luck to the best White Sox player of all time. Wear the ring proudly, Hurt.

According to the morning papers, the trade's on hold because Mota failed his physical. Today's Boston Herald is saying that the Reds want to make it a 3 way, with them getting Clement, according to ProSportsDaily.com

Here's the link. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,5420211.column