With apologies to other players like Eric Hosmer and the tragic figure that is Tim Hudson (more on him later today), the MVP of Yesterday is David Price, who had a complete-game victory with just one ER allowed.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
“What are we going to do this week, Dan?”
“The same thing we do most weeks, readers… try to find Bizarre Baseball Culture!”
(JUMP)
So, I finally broke down and started reading eBooks. I dunno how I’ll do with it, since I so much like the feel of the paper page and reading things on a computer always seems to lead me to getting distracted a lot, but, hey, it’ll let me read some books I otherwise wouldn’t have read, such as this one: Cellar Dwellers, by Jonathan Weeks
As the name suggests, this book is about the crummiest teams in baseball history, ranging from the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys to the 2003 Tigers. Each chapters is about a team, and gives some background on how the team became so crummy, some bright spots (for example, a 21-year-old Walter Johnson went 13-25 on the 1909 Senators despite a 2.22 ERA) and particularly bad players, while also spreading in some color about how baseball was at the time.
Overall, it’s a good breezy read, full of little anecdotes (some of which may be apocryphal, given old-time baseball writers love of exaggeration) and horrific statistics that further show how bad some of the teams covered were. There is even a bit at the end that features “dishonorable mentions”.
However, there are some sins of omission, with some of my favorite stories or bad teams not making the cut. For example, Weeks does not include Eddie Kolb of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who was a clerk and semi-pro player who was hired from a local tobacco shop to pitch the final game of the season. Seriously, that really happened, and I was kind of disappointed it wasn’t included.
That is a small quibble, however. Overall, while hardly a groundbreaking work by any means, I’d recommend Cellar Dwellers to anybody looking for a quick read about bad teams.
This book was reviewed using an eBook from my local library’s website.
You probably will have noticed that there are now more ads here at the Continuum. Well, that’s no surprise, as I have asked WordPress to move me up to the “optimized” version of WordAds, which means that the site will have more ads and (hopefully) I’ll get a bit more money. As always, I’d like to note that this change is not due to any type of greed but rather as a way of improving the Continuum itself, with proceeds going back towards the site, such as paying hosting fees, keeping certain softwares and equipment in order, and perhaps acquiring items for future Bizarre Baseball Culture use.
In addition, you’ll notice that the main header image at the top of the page is gone. This is mainly an aesthetic change to allow for you to see the newest story upon opening the page- otherwise you would have had to scroll down due to the space the top advertisement takes up. In the future, I intend on fiddling around a bit with the theme and perhaps reintroduce the top header image- maybe even a new one entirely- and perhaps get a better format for reading the articles.
If you have any questions or problems, please let me know.
Thanks!
In the hours since the Ryan Braun news broke, you could see a wide variety of responses. Here are the types I found… I am not including examples as a way to protect the innocent and/or guilty. In addition, many tweets may be crosses between the below.
The Purely Informational Tweet: Tells us what’s happening, how people are reacting, give us further details, etc.
The “He had it coming” Tweet: Self-explanatory.
The “He should apologize” Tweet: He should apologize to his teammates, he should apologize to that sample-collector, he should apologize to the arbitrator, he should apologize to the fans, he should apologize to his family, he should apologize to those who defended him, he should apologize to Matt Kemp for winning the 2011 MVP Award instead of him, etc.
The “Not Enough” Tweet: Suggesting that Braun got off easy. Other suggestions can range anywhere from 100 games to some who suggest expunging Braun from the record books, banning him for life and then shooting him on a rocket towards the heart of the Sun. Only slightly exaggerating.
The “Who Cares?” Tweet: Somebody either says they don’t care about PED use anymore or don’t see what the big deal is because the Brewers are already out of playoff contention.
The “A-Rod’s Next” Tweet: Self-explanatory.
The “Tie this into another event” Tweet: Ranging from the rather apt comparison of the reaction to Braun’s suspension to the reaction to the suspension of the NFL’s Von MIller to the rather silly, such as saying that this means that the Royal Baby won’t be named “Ryan”.
The “Get off your high horses” Tweet: Again, self-explanatory, usually aimed either at sportswriters or MLB itself.
The “MLB is just as bad” Tweet: Focuses on the fact that some of the methods that MLB has used in these investigation are rather suspect morally or ethically. In extreme cases this may appear to be an attack on MLB instead of a condemnation of both MLB and Braun.
The “Anti-Semitic” Tweet: I haven’t seen any, but given the fact that this is Twitter and some real scumbags are on it, I’m sure they exist.
The “Woah” Tweets: People are so stunned at this development that they just can say “wow” or “woah” or something similar.
Any types I’m missing?
Prologue:
(Note: If you want the review, just go to the jump)
September 8, 2015. Another lost season for the Buffalo Upstatesmen, the long-time butt of jokes in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Association of the Unified North American League. 38 games out of first, over 24 games out of the Wild Card. They were going to, barring some sort of 0-for-the-rest-of-the-season streak, finally finish with fewer than 100 losses, the first time in god-knows-when, but, still, a lost season. All that was left now was to avoid having the worst record in the league and maybe give some of the young guns some good September-callup experience.
Now, they were in the top of the 10th, tied 5-5 against the Atlanta Georgians. At one point, they’d held a 5-2 lead, but then a 3-run homer by Barry Davis off Bryan Absher tied it up. If there was one thing that the Upstatesmen had going for them, though, it was their bullpen, so the team’s skipper was hopeful. Jorge Apodaca, the star reliever of the Upstatesmen who’s stamina on the mound was good enough where he had been used as a starter once or twice, now was going to begin his second inning. Just in case, Shawn Gardner had begun warming up in the ‘pen.
The inning didn’t start well- Juan Martinez got to first on an infield hit and then was replaced by the speedier Jorge Gonzalez, who’d been rated as a 20-20 threat on the basepaths by the scouting department. Thankfully, Zachary Jenkins then had a weak flyout. Next came a pinch-hitter for the pitcher-spot (which had moved up to the 6-slot earlier in the game on a double switch): Gabriel Garcia. An okay hitter, batting .280 on the year with four homers.
He wouldn’t do anything, however. On the first pitch, Gonzalez stole second. Immediately, Apodaca was ordered to walk Garcia to set up a double play. Now up to the plate came Jorge Lujan, a September call-up. The first pitch was a strike… and Gonzalez stole third without a throw. For a second, Buffalo’s skipper considered walking Lujan to set up a force at any base. But he had faith in Apodaca, and he was rewarded with the strikeout.
2 outs, men at the corners. The light-hitting Juan Lopez coming up. Apodaca wouldn’t let him reach base- he struck him out.
To the bottom of the 11th they went, facing righty Jorge Rodriguez: Jeff Cochran flew out, pinch-hitter Bill Hatcher grounded out. Up came Bruce Cunningham. Once the number two prospect in the league, he’d been disappointing during his previous stints in the bigs. This was his third September call-up, and he’d yet to get a permanent position.
Whack! The ball chopped on the ground, past the second baseman, and into right. A man was now on with two out. Walt McKay was now coming to the plate. Like Cunningham, McKay was a top prospect who had had trouble in the big leagues, although his ability to hit righties had kept him with a constant position ever since he had been drafted. There would be no heroism here, however, as he grounded out to end the 11th inning.
Shawn Gardner came in for the top of the twelfth, along with Hayden Caswell, the ordinary 2nd Baseman, who was being brought in as a defensive replacement. Gardner worked around a leadoff single, and to the bottom of the 12th the game went. Cornell Goodwin grounded out, but then Vicente Candelaria, the slow-moving slugger from Massachusetts, somehow got on with an infield hit, and was pinch-hit for by Mike Dunn. Ricardo Gonzalez, the hard-hitting Puerto Rican 3B, stepped to the plate… and fanned. Bryan Castle didn’t fare much better.
Gardner pitched a scoreless top of the 13th. Meanwhile, some of the starters ran out to the bullpen. Collin Perry came out to pitch for the Georgians, and promptly walked Hayden Caswell. Cochran would line out and then Christian Martin- pinch-hitting for Gardner- grounded out (moving Caswell to second), but Bruce Cunningham flew out, ending the inning.
Eugene O’Neal pitched a scoreless top of the inning, and then the bottom half started promisingly, as McKay doubled. The Georgians intentionally walked Cornell Goodwin, and then came Mike Dunn, who had earlier pinch-run for Candelaria. The skipper for the Upstatesmen regretted the move, as he could have used the big bat that had hit 25 home runs so far this year. Thankfully, he had another bat on the bench: Manuel Leon, a big slugger they’d found doing well in the Venezuelan League and had given a shot… and had not been disappointed, at least at the plate: with 18 HRs this year despite a pitiful .238 batting average.
He shot the ball on the ground through the box and into the outfield. The speedy McKay was waved home, but the good arm of centerfielder Jorge Ortiz was ready. It was a close play, a slide, a gasp going through the stadium….
and then the Umpire’s call: OUT!
The Upstatesmen had gambled, trying to get a final victory… but had failed. At least for now. Ricardo Gonzalez came to the plate, with two men still on and one out. He too, hit a sharp grounder, but unlike Leon, his ball wouldn’t find the outfield, as the Atlanta 2B snagged it and got him at first. There were now two men in scoring position, but now there were two outs. Brian Castle stepped to the plate… and popped out.
Out of the bullpen now came Jack Hoffman, a crummy starter with an okay cutter but not much else. Two years ago, he’d lost 21 games. The hope, the manager for the Upstatesmen had, was that maybe he could go an inning before he was pinch-hit for in the bottom half.
In a minor miracle, Hoffman just gave up one hit, and the game went into the bottom of the 15th tied. Not like it mattered, as the Upstatesmen went down 1-2-3. Jack Bray, a lefty picked up from St. Louis earlier in the year, worked a scoreless top of the 16th.. but, once again, the Upstatesmen couldn’t capitalize.
Ty “Tank” Edwards, a long-reliever who also was the Upstatesmen 5th starter on weeks when the starting rotation was being hit by injuries. He sent down the Georgians one-two-three. To the bottom of the 17th the game went. Leon struck out, Gonzalez walked, and then up came Brian Castle, who quickly worked a 2-1 count.
AND THEN HE FOUND A GOOD FASTBALL!
The ball flew deep, deep into the night to right-center… and over the fence! The Upstatesmen had won it 7-5 in 17 innings!
….
(JUMP)
One of the most underused but coolest (no pun intended) superpowers is that involving ice. I’m not sure why I think this. Perhaps it’s because of the Western New Yorker in me who full knows what it’s like to fall on your butt on a icy day, or maybe it’s because it’s a contrast to all the superpowers that rely upon warm temperatures or fire.
Either way, it’s kind of a bummer that so few heroes seem to have it- it seems to be more of a villain power. There’s Mr. Freeze, for example, and Captain Cold. The only ice-hero I can think of off the top of my head is Iceman from the X-Men.
But there is also one called Sub-Zero, a Venusian who landed on Earth and used his freezing powers to fight crime in stories published by Novelty Press.
…I don’t know why a Venusian would have ice powers either. But he did appear in a baseball story, so he’s now going to be in the rare company of superheroes who have been featured in BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE!
This story, from December 1940 in Blue Bolt Comics #7, can be found here, starting on page 21.
The second half starts tomorrow! Here’s what to watch for:
The Wild East: The craziest and most interesting division in baseball will remain the American League East, with four teams over .500 and another that could conceivably do so (the Blue Jays). Can Boston keep it up? Can the Orioles or Rays finally get a good enough winning streak to overtake them? Will the Yankees finally decide whether they are a good team or a bad one? Can the Blue Jays finally put it together, or are they headed towards a giant flop?
Trade Deadline… without that many big names: By the end of the month, the following players may be traded: Matt Garza, Justin Morneau, Marlon Byrd, maybe Jesse Crain and… jeez, these are hardly game changers, aren’t they? I mean, they certainly are players that can decide the outcomes of games, and even one game can often make a difference between playoffs or not, but it feels like the days of big names getting moved at the deadline are at an end. Well, they are unless the Phillies finally give up on the year and start shopping Cliff Lee around.
Record Chases: Chris Davis is aiming for the AL HR record. Manny Machado has his sights on the season doubles record. Raul Ibanez is gunning for HRs in a season by somebody over 40. Can any of them do it?
Pirates! Will they collapse again? Will they finally make the playoffs for the first time since Barry Bonds was skinny? Heck, will they finish .500 or better? Outlook good, but, well, it would be foolish to make assumptions.
Yasiel Puig. Can he keep it up, or will he turn out to be a flash-in-the-pan?
Well, we start finding out tomorrow…
Cal Ripken went hitless in his final game. In fact, with some rare exceptions like Ted Williams, most baseball greats go out quietly. It isn’t a surprise, really, since most of the time they are retiring for the good reason they don’t have what it takes to be a good everyday player anymore.
Which is why last night’s All-Star Game was important. Much like with Ripken in 2001’s All-Star Game, it allowed us, as a baseball culture, to say goodbye to Mariano Rivera. Oh, he will pitch again, probably many times. There’s even a chance he could still have more chances to close out a game in October. But none of them will be as perfect as last night: there he stood, alone, just him and his catcher (the highly underrated Salvador Perez of the Royals) with both fans and opponents giving him a round of applause for the finest career a reliever has ever had.
And then, of course, he put down all three batters he faced, 1-2-3. No hits, runs or walks allowed.
Yes, it wasn’t perfect- he came out and pitched in the 8th inning, as Jim Leyland took an abundance of caution to make sure he played in the game (although I highly doubt that a bullpen that had Joe Nathan, Jesse Crain and Glen Perkins in it would have given up a 3-run lead). But in some ways, it was fitting, a passing of the torch from Rivera to Nathan and the other closers, young and old, who hold the role that Mariano has defined: the near-invincible 9th inning guy.
Of course, it is unlikely that we will see another player like Mariano again. The increased parity of baseball makes it unlikely that anybody will ever be able to have as many World Series saves, since it’s unlikely that a team will so dominate baseball again like the Yankees of the late 90s did. It’s also unlikely that anybody will ever be able to truly throw the cutter as well as Mariano Rivera– if they could, they’d probably have shown up by now. But the real reason why we won’t see another Rivera is simple: he, like Ripken, is a almost singular icon, not so much a man as he is an ideal.
“This is what we wish all our athletes could be like,” we say, “intimidating but friendly, ruthless on the field but charitable off it, respectful of the game’s history even as they make it themselves”
And although there may one day be another closer like that, perhaps one even more dominating than Rivera, it likely won’t matter, for our nostalgia will have made the last man to wear Number 42 just as untouchable in our minds as the most famous man to wear number 42.
And last night proved it, and gave fans of every team a chance to show it.
So, the All-Star Game is tonight, so here are some questions that will be answered tonight:
See you tomorrow, everyone.
The Baseball Continuum 