Throughout Opening Day, I’ll be blogging. So check back on this thread throughout the day. Go BELOW THE JUMP, since this could get long.
The 2013 Opening Day Diary-Blog
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Category Archives: Baseball
Video of the Day: People Will Come
Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.
Happy Opening Day, everyone.
Picture of the day: The Season Begins Here
Tonight, the first game of the season will take place here, at Minute Maid Park in Houston:
This picture, by Barclay C. Nix (as the picture says), is used under a Creative Commons License.
The 2013 Season Prediction Spectacular
Okay, so maybe it’s not so spectacular. But here’s my predictions for division winners, awards, etc.:
American League:
East: Tampa Bay Rays
Central: Detroit Tigers (best record)
West: Oakland Athletics
Wild Cards: Blue Jays and Angels
MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Justin Verlander
Rookie of the Year: Jurickson Profar
Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon
National League:
East: Washington Nationals (best record)
Central: Cincinnati Reds
West: San Francisco Giants
Wild Cards: Cardinals and Dodgers
MVP: Joey Votto
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
Rookie of the Year: Oscar Taveras
Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson
World Series: Nationals over Tigers, 6 games.
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Previous Previews for 2013:
2013 MLB Preview part 5: 162 Things Guaranteed to Happen in the 2013 MLB Season (Part 4)
Okay, part 1 of the 162 can be found here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Now, the final installment of the 162 things guaranteed to happen in the 2013 MLB Season. Go below the jump and buckle up, because some of these could be weird/tongue-in-cheek, because, hey, there are only so many reasonable predictions somebody can make.
Random Thought: Have more MLB-Service Academy games
Sorry that the remaining predictions aren’t up yet- it will be tomorrow during my preview spectacular. Instead, a random thought:
As I mentioned earlier today, the Yankees were playing Army at West Point.I watched some of the game, and it was, far as I could tell, pure class, with the respect between the two teams evident throughout.
So, what I’m wondering is: why can’t this be something done regularly? There are three service academies in Division I, would it not be a good idea to have MLB games at those academies every spring so long as the schedule of the academy team and MLB team allowed? Couldn’t the Orioles play Navy at Annapolis, or the Rockies play Air Force in chilly Colorado Springs? Or maybe have the Nationals rotate with the Orioles at Annapolis? Or maybe have the Mets go to West Point?
Actually, scratch that last one. The men and women of our armed services deserve better than the Mets these days.
Just a random thought.
Picture of the day: West Point, 1914
Today, the New York Yankees are playing a game in West Point against the Military Academy team. Almost 100 years ago, Army’s baseball team looked like this (from the Library of Congress Flickr Feed). Check it out and then go below the photo for some info on some of the players in this picture.
In this photo, by the way, are some notables:
The the far left (our left) of the second row, crouching, is Frank Milburn, who would later be a general during WWII and Korea.
Two over from Milburn, third from the left, is Omar Bradley, probably the most notable on the team. Bradley was one of the top Allied generals of WWII in Europe, and second only to Eisenhower in the American chain of command there. Later, as the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Bradley was elevated to a 5-star General, the last in American history.
In the very front, looking down, could be Robert Neyland, who would serve in France during WWI and an aide for West Point superintendant Douglas MacArthur but would later become a 4-time National Champion football coach at Tennessee.
Although I’m not sure where he is, Paul A. Hodgson- Dwight Eisenhower’s college roommate and a lifelong friend of his- was also on the team. Eisenhower wasn’t, and considered his failure at making the team one of his biggest disappointments in life.
The Alamodome is going to be hosting baseball this weekend
As I noted way back in November, the Rangers and Padres are going to be playing a 2-game exhibition series in the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Well, that series is coming up this weekend. Tonight (Friday night) and tomorrow (Saturday), to be more exact. There are pictures and a story of how the venue (which was made with basically everything but baseball in mind) has been transformed for the games here, if you are interested. In addition, both games will be shown nationally on tape-delay on MLB Network, and hopefully there will be video on MLB.com of any weird plays that come about from such a strange set-up.
2013 MLB Preview part 4: 162 Things Guaranteed to Happen in the 2013 MLB Season (Part 3)
Picture of the day: Johan in happier days
Johan Santana will almost certainly be placed on the DL and is expected to miss the entirety of the 2013 season after a re-tear in the anterior capsule of his left shoulder was detected in an MRI. Surgery is a true possibility, and the last time he had such surgery (in 2010), he was not able to return to MLB pitching until 2012. Now 34, it is quite possible he has thrown his final pitch in the big leagues.
So now, let us remember back during Johan Santana’s glory days with the Minnesota Twins by looking at this picture:
Photo by Keith Allison, used under a Creative Commons license.
The Baseball Continuum 