With all of the distractions off the field this season -- Biogenesis, the debate about renovations to Wrigley -- and lack of winning by my teams -- the Cubs and Brewers are terrible -- I'm not finding a whole lot to stake to my archive of baseball memories lately.
Even the All-Star Game seems to be more of a chore as the years go by. With both managers on a mission to play every player who makes the team and MLB's tinkering to draw more attention to the game, it doesn't seem to hold the charm it once did. Blame it on the cynicism that comes with my aging and experience.
I watched the Home Run Derby Monday night. As usual, I was rooting for Prince Fielder, but that didn't work out this year. So thank you ESPN for finally teaching me how to pronounce Yoenis Cespedes' name.
And I'll remember Tuesday night's All-Star Game for three things ...
Prince Fielder's triple. I watched him leg out extra bases again and again as a member of the Brewers, and the big man showed off his base-running skill again Tuesday ...
And Mariano Rivera's final All-Star Game appearance. Truthfully, I've never been a huge Mariano fan, but the spectacle of the game and the response he drew from the New York crowd was pretty awesome.
Watching this year's festivities also brought back some good memories of my glorious fun in Kansas City last year.
Good reads ...
a For Fans at Home Run Derby, It’s Back, Back, Back to Their Youth
a World Series home-field edge back in hands of AL
a Rivera's tribute latest, and greatest, of its kind
a Yankees’ Rivera Spends His Goodbye Tour Saying Hello
a For Rivera, an Ending to Savor
a All-Star MVP hardware fitting close for Rivera
a Power, Pirates and pitching lead top 10 storylines of second half
Showing posts with label Prince Fielder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prince Fielder. Show all posts
7.17.2013
1.25.2012
Prince and stuff
I've read 85 pages in "The Shaping of American Higher Education" -- it kept me up until 1:30 a.m. this morning, thank you very much -- and I've finished the written reflection for my graduate assignment this week -- one of these weeks I'm going to work "peachy keen" into a paper as a tribute to Kates. Now I can write about more pressing issues.
Like -- holy crap -- Prince Fielder signing with the Tigers.
Now, let the record show that I thought when the offseason began, if Prince didn't resign with the Brewers, the Tigers would be the next best fit.
Fairly quickly, the Tigers seemed to be out of the picture, thanks to a notion that Prince refused to play there because of a riff with his father. Whatever. (... Hey, Prince, accept the olive branch already.)
There was little doubt in my mind that he'd sign with an American League team because of the advantages he could give a team in a DH role. I never saw the Yankees or the Red Sox as contenders for his services because they didn't need him. Baltimore seemed like a decent fit. So did Anaheim until they swiped Albert Pujols from the Cardinals. I never took the talk of Seattle seriously.
But Detroit. He would stay in the midwest. Detroit is built on hard-working, blue collar fans -- just like Milwaukee. He could rotate playing first base and DH and be part of a fearful one-two punch with Miguel Cabrera. Prince could help Detroit finally reclaim a world series title and get a deserving Jim Leyland one more before he has to hit the road.
I should also say I did love the ideas floated of Prince signing with the Cubs because of his connection to Dale Sveum, but Theo Epstein never let those rumors persist.
As the process drew on, and the Rangers and Nationals seemed to be the only teams hanging around, I was rooting for Prince to accept a Rangers uniform. The Rangers are now a legitimate contender and I see a lot of the same characteristics in their team make-up that the Brewers possess. ... Not for a minute did I see Prince landing with the Nationals and being happy in D.C. In some ways I felt sorry for him, that the process had drawn on so long, that maybe his big-time agent was calling the shots, and that maybe if he could do it over again he would stay put in Milwaukee.
Then, bam. Tuesday afternoon arrives and the reports come that Prince signed with the Detroit Tigers.
I'm already giddy about the idea of catching some Tigers games in Kansas City.
Meanwhile in Milwaukee ... The Division Champion pennant was hung, and there may still be hope for Ryan Braun. (Watch his acceptance of the NL MVP Award)
(Updated: 01.26.2012) Some good reads ...
a Tigers introduce Prince Fielder
a Were it not for V-Mart's injury, Fielder might have been a Dodger ... As I stated above, I felt the Tigers could have made a play for Prince at any time, but the Victor Martinez injury certainly made things more interesting.
a Determined to win, Tigers make Prince fit
a With echoes of A-Rod, Fielder deal gives Tigers a powerful punch
a Still a 'sad day,' Melvin says
a Prince provided Milwaukee many memories ... These are great. So many good memories. Especially the video associated with No. 3 on the list.
a Start your engines: Prince arrives in Motown
Seriously. Kansas City. Music black hole.
A short time later, those feelings were replaced with pure elation brought on with a Facebook posting by Ben Folds that read:
Like -- holy crap -- Prince Fielder signing with the Tigers.
Now, let the record show that I thought when the offseason began, if Prince didn't resign with the Brewers, the Tigers would be the next best fit.
Fairly quickly, the Tigers seemed to be out of the picture, thanks to a notion that Prince refused to play there because of a riff with his father. Whatever. (... Hey, Prince, accept the olive branch already.)
There was little doubt in my mind that he'd sign with an American League team because of the advantages he could give a team in a DH role. I never saw the Yankees or the Red Sox as contenders for his services because they didn't need him. Baltimore seemed like a decent fit. So did Anaheim until they swiped Albert Pujols from the Cardinals. I never took the talk of Seattle seriously.
But Detroit. He would stay in the midwest. Detroit is built on hard-working, blue collar fans -- just like Milwaukee. He could rotate playing first base and DH and be part of a fearful one-two punch with Miguel Cabrera. Prince could help Detroit finally reclaim a world series title and get a deserving Jim Leyland one more before he has to hit the road.
I should also say I did love the ideas floated of Prince signing with the Cubs because of his connection to Dale Sveum, but Theo Epstein never let those rumors persist.
As the process drew on, and the Rangers and Nationals seemed to be the only teams hanging around, I was rooting for Prince to accept a Rangers uniform. The Rangers are now a legitimate contender and I see a lot of the same characteristics in their team make-up that the Brewers possess. ... Not for a minute did I see Prince landing with the Nationals and being happy in D.C. In some ways I felt sorry for him, that the process had drawn on so long, that maybe his big-time agent was calling the shots, and that maybe if he could do it over again he would stay put in Milwaukee.
Then, bam. Tuesday afternoon arrives and the reports come that Prince signed with the Detroit Tigers.
I'm already giddy about the idea of catching some Tigers games in Kansas City.
Meanwhile in Milwaukee ... The Division Champion pennant was hung, and there may still be hope for Ryan Braun. (Watch his acceptance of the NL MVP Award)
(Updated: 01.26.2012) Some good reads ...
a Tigers introduce Prince Fielder
a Were it not for V-Mart's injury, Fielder might have been a Dodger ... As I stated above, I felt the Tigers could have made a play for Prince at any time, but the Victor Martinez injury certainly made things more interesting.
a Determined to win, Tigers make Prince fit
a With echoes of A-Rod, Fielder deal gives Tigers a powerful punch
a Still a 'sad day,' Melvin says
a Prince provided Milwaukee many memories ... These are great. So many good memories. Especially the video associated with No. 3 on the list.
a Start your engines: Prince arrives in Motown
* * *
In other news, Ingrid Michaelson announced a new tour today. That literally circles the United States and never comes close to Kansas City, located quite conveniently in the middle of the country. And she's haunting me with ads for her new album appearing on nearly every web page I visit.Seriously. Kansas City. Music black hole.
A short time later, those feelings were replaced with pure elation brought on with a Facebook posting by Ben Folds that read:
7.15.2009
Late nights with all-stars
Compared to most of my summers, this one has been brutal for me.
Since my switch to working early mornings in the spring, the night life I once knew has nearly been erased. All the things I was used to enjoying at night had to be avoided …
It became a marathon just to finish out the TV season with “Lost” and “American Idol” and all the other programming Kates and I have loved watching together.
Then, once the baseball season started – forget it. I probably could count on one hand the number of games I’ve watched this season. On most mornings now, I’m cursing my work schedule when I get in the shower at 4:15 in the morning and I have to get my sports updates by reading the morning newspaper. Ha, getting updates from the morning newspaper. Imagine that.
But this week, I was set out to defy my early bed time. It’s the All-Star Game, the Midsummer Classic, for cripes sake. And I was not missing it.
(Sure, I figured I could sneak in some afternoon naps to accommodate my move. But seriously, when’s the last time I came home from work and wanted to take a nap instead of doing yard work or cleanup around the house or some free writing. Yeah, I wasn’t taking any naps.)
On Monday night, Kates cooked up some Chicken Salad Veronique (thanks, Joel and Stephanie!) while I gladly stretched out on the couch and soaked up every moment of the All-Star festivities. The pregame show with the “Baseball Tonight” gang. The Home run Derby. And the celebrity softball game, arguably the most fun-to-watch event of them all ... Watching guys like Bobby Knight tower over Shawn Johnson in between her doing back flips around them, not to mention Nelly playing like he belonged with the rest of the Hall of Famers on the field, was tremendously entertaining.
For the record, while everybody else was picking Albert, Albert, Albert to win the Home Run Derby, I confidently said to Kates beforehand, I think Prince is going to win it this year. … Sure, he was a bust two years ago when he only hit home runs in the derby. But I was banking on an older, wiser and more patient Fielder this year, and that was exactly the way he played it.
497 feet. 503 feet. Prince hit like four of the five farthest homers of the derby. The guy was launching ‘em, and it was so fun to watch.
Then last night: the All-Star Game.
I didn’t enjoy watching the AL knock off the NL again … but it was a well-played, gripping and entertaining game. All the makings of a classic. Another gem, although not quite as good as last year’s thriller.
We had Carlos Crawford’s home run-stealing catch that saved the game for the AL. We had some great defensive plays in the infield, most notably by Chase Utley and Albert Pujols. We had a stellar lineup of AL pitchers mowing down the NL hitters. We had Curtis Granderson hustling around the bases for a triple. We had Barack Obama, clad in his White Sox gear, throwing out the first pitch (despite the shady camera angle) and yuking it up with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the TV booth.
If there was one thing I was bummed about after the game, it was that Prince Fielder was used so early and as a pinch-hitter … But the more I think about it, NL manager Charlie Manuel probably couldn’t have used him in a better spot – pinch-hitting for pitcher Tim Lincecum in the third. Fielder ended up hitting an RBI-double that gave the NL a 3-2 lead.
One more thing: If Major League Baseball ever makes the players wear universal jerseys for the All-Star Game, I think I'll puke. I can stand the American and National jerseys, the color of the host city's team, for batting practice and the Home Run Derby, as another marketing ploy / money-maker for the league ... But seeing the array of individual jerseys across the field in baseball's All-Star Game is one of the things I truly love about the Midsummer Classic game. Don't change that.
Good reads (Updated 07.17.2009) ...
a Crawford stole the show
a Some good, and bad as baseball heads to break
a All-Star Game photos
a President Barack Obama shows poor form
Since my switch to working early mornings in the spring, the night life I once knew has nearly been erased. All the things I was used to enjoying at night had to be avoided …
It became a marathon just to finish out the TV season with “Lost” and “American Idol” and all the other programming Kates and I have loved watching together.
Then, once the baseball season started – forget it. I probably could count on one hand the number of games I’ve watched this season. On most mornings now, I’m cursing my work schedule when I get in the shower at 4:15 in the morning and I have to get my sports updates by reading the morning newspaper. Ha, getting updates from the morning newspaper. Imagine that.
But this week, I was set out to defy my early bed time. It’s the All-Star Game, the Midsummer Classic, for cripes sake. And I was not missing it.
(Sure, I figured I could sneak in some afternoon naps to accommodate my move. But seriously, when’s the last time I came home from work and wanted to take a nap instead of doing yard work or cleanup around the house or some free writing. Yeah, I wasn’t taking any naps.)
On Monday night, Kates cooked up some Chicken Salad Veronique (thanks, Joel and Stephanie!) while I gladly stretched out on the couch and soaked up every moment of the All-Star festivities. The pregame show with the “Baseball Tonight” gang. The Home run Derby. And the celebrity softball game, arguably the most fun-to-watch event of them all ... Watching guys like Bobby Knight tower over Shawn Johnson in between her doing back flips around them, not to mention Nelly playing like he belonged with the rest of the Hall of Famers on the field, was tremendously entertaining.
For the record, while everybody else was picking Albert, Albert, Albert to win the Home Run Derby, I confidently said to Kates beforehand, I think Prince is going to win it this year. … Sure, he was a bust two years ago when he only hit home runs in the derby. But I was banking on an older, wiser and more patient Fielder this year, and that was exactly the way he played it.497 feet. 503 feet. Prince hit like four of the five farthest homers of the derby. The guy was launching ‘em, and it was so fun to watch.
Then last night: the All-Star Game.
I didn’t enjoy watching the AL knock off the NL again … but it was a well-played, gripping and entertaining game. All the makings of a classic. Another gem, although not quite as good as last year’s thriller.
We had Carlos Crawford’s home run-stealing catch that saved the game for the AL. We had some great defensive plays in the infield, most notably by Chase Utley and Albert Pujols. We had a stellar lineup of AL pitchers mowing down the NL hitters. We had Curtis Granderson hustling around the bases for a triple. We had Barack Obama, clad in his White Sox gear, throwing out the first pitch (despite the shady camera angle) and yuking it up with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the TV booth.
If there was one thing I was bummed about after the game, it was that Prince Fielder was used so early and as a pinch-hitter … But the more I think about it, NL manager Charlie Manuel probably couldn’t have used him in a better spot – pinch-hitting for pitcher Tim Lincecum in the third. Fielder ended up hitting an RBI-double that gave the NL a 3-2 lead.
One more thing: If Major League Baseball ever makes the players wear universal jerseys for the All-Star Game, I think I'll puke. I can stand the American and National jerseys, the color of the host city's team, for batting practice and the Home Run Derby, as another marketing ploy / money-maker for the league ... But seeing the array of individual jerseys across the field in baseball's All-Star Game is one of the things I truly love about the Midsummer Classic game. Don't change that.
Good reads (Updated 07.17.2009) ...
a Crawford stole the show
a Some good, and bad as baseball heads to break
a All-Star Game photos
a President Barack Obama shows poor form
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