Some of the members of this blog play intramural sports at their respective universities and we like to share our tales of intramural glory. This is another one of those epic tales.

I love Baseball. Like really love Baseball. So much so that I have Honus Wagner's lifetime BA in my brain. So much so that I often tell my girlfriend how much time she has left with me (meaning how much time until the first pitch of the Rays game) and so much so that I study everything I can about the history and lore of the game. Yet the reasons I love Baseball are for another time, like a weekly series coming this summer.

Today my love for the history of this fine sport mixed with me actually playing it.

I'll set the scene. It was the intramural softball scrub division semi-finals. My team, a wonderful team built of friends and other who enjoy the game of baseball/softball. We were 5-1, our only loss coming against the team we had to face today...one made of RDs. How is it allowed? I don't know, but they honestly should have been playing in the Pro division.

It had been raining all day, and the day before that and the day before that. The ground was in horrible condition. The batter's box a decently sized divot in the earth. The areas around the bases were composed of nothing but mud. It was an unfit plane for the epic competition that was about to unfold, or perhaps it was a fitting setting for these two goliaths of Anderson University intramural softball.

Throughout the season (which I missed half of due to class occurring during games) I was batting .440, but on this day the Baseball Gods were none too kind. It was the top of the 5th, the final chance for us (time constraints shortened the game). We had been winning, but alas, in the bottom of the forth they rallied from two down to take the lead by two. There was one out, and I a hitless 0 for 2 was up to the plate.

My shoes had failed me on this muddied battleground. I was having a difficult time keeping footing in the batter's box and my imitation chuck taylor's provided me with no great traction as I had worn down the soles to their thinnest state. I decided I must look to baseball players past and find an answer. Then, like a message from the Baseball Gods themselves, I threw off my shoes, commended my socks to the soil and stepped in like Shoeless Joe. I heard laughter from the infield, but I knew the spirit of Shoeless Joe would guide me.

I performed my usual pre-bat ritual (which is a motion for motion copy of Ichiro's rituals) and firmly planted my feet into the mud. I thought about the fact I was hitless, I thought about my team needing me in such a clutch situation, but panic came over me, as I could not find any holes to hit into (RF was decently open, but I'm a horrible push hitter). The pitcher nodded and released the ball. It hung up in the air for what seemed like an eternity. Then, as if the Baseball Gods whispered in my very ear I heard the words, "Deadball era." I knew at that moment what I was required to do. I swung down on the pitch. Contact. And then a plunk into the ground. As I left the batter's box I saw the ball just inside the first baseline. I knew no one was expecting such a move. The ground was muddy. The ball would behave just like it did in the Deadball Era. I ran to first and before I could reach the bag I heard an infielder yell, "hold it." I knew that I had reached safely before even touching first. Ahh, a hit.

I couldn't believe my exceptionable luck. I took a chance based off of my knowledge of the history of the game and it worked out. The Deadball Era got me a basehit.

As for the rest of the game...there wasn't much of one. The next batter grounded to second, they turned two and the season was over. I did contemplate for a few seconds trying to spike the second baseman on a slide, but I then remembered I didn't have anything on my feet to "spike" him with. So the season ended, but I actually wasn't upset because I was happy due to my last at bat. We didn't win the championship, but to me being able to actually do something I had only read about was enough of a reward for me.

And since this is my blog and I'll do whatever the hell I please, here are my season stats:

5 for 12 (.417), .417 OBP, 2 2B, 3 R, 2 E

MOAR!

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Wherein I break down what are, in my opinion, the best and worst picks in this year's NFL draft in terms of value.

Round 1

Best value: Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State to the Arizona Cardinals, No. 31 overall

There are a couple candidates here. I thought Michael Oher would be a top-15 pick for sure, and I'm wishing he didn't go to a division rival of my favorite team. Micheal Crabtree was a great pick at No. 10.

I didn't expect Beanie Wells to be a top ten pick. However, I never expected him to fall all the way to No. 31. This is a fantastic pick for the Cardinals as well, as they were set to head into next year with Tim Hightower as the feature back.

Worst value: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Maryland to the Raiders, No. 7 overall

If the Raiders wanted a WR, Heyward-Bey wasn't close to the best one available. Crabtree was still on the board, as was Percy Harvin. Heyward-Bey had a problem with drops all through college, and there were plenty of sure-handed options available. Not only that, the Raiders probably could have gotten this guy in subsequent rounds if they wanted him that bad.

Biggest chance of being a bust: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia to the Lions, #1 overall

The Lions made the right move in picking Stafford. He does have the talent, and he could be a franchise QB.

However, I'm not sure the Lions have the right system for Stafford or anybody, really, to succeed. In this draft, most of their picks were upgrades to the defense. Again, that's the right move, but it doesn't put Stafford in a great position for his first year.

For all the WRs the Lions drafted under Millen, after the trade of Roy Williams the only weapon they have left is Calvin Johnson. He's a beast, sure, but other teams know this as well and triple-cover him every game. With nobody else to spread the ball around to and a sub-par offensive line, Stafford is going to have to work some real miracles to have a good first year.

Round 2:

Best value: Max Unger, OT, Oregon to the Seahawks, No. 49 overall

Unger is a quick-moving, athletic offensive lineman who can play just about every position on the line. He'll be an upgrade for Seattle's pass-blocking for sure, though I'm not sure how well he'll do in the run game. He was projected to be a late first-rounder and has the talent to produce like one. Good pick for Seattle.

Worst value: Mike Mitchell, SS, Ohio to the Raiders, No. 47 overall

Al Davis doesn't understand the draft. There's no other explanation as to why he would draft someone he could get in the seventh round—or possibly even as an undrafted free agent—in second round.

Whether he surprises everyone and produces like a second round pick isn't the point. The point is that he would have been available much later in the draft, and the Raiders could have gotten a more sure thing here.

Biggest chance of being a bust: Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State to the Browns, No. 36 overall

As an Ohio State fan, I hate to pick Robiskie as a bust. However, I'm just not convinced his skills will translate well to the NFL. He's physical enough to succeed in a system like Cleveland's, so maybe I'm wrong. I just have a feeling is all.

Round 3:

Best value: Kraig Urbik, OT, Wisconsin to the Steelers, No. 79 overall

Considered by some as high as the fourth best guard in the draft, Urbik is a good pick in the third round. He can play both guard and tackle, which increases his value, and he has the upside to be a solid producer in the NFL for years to come. He's still raw, but the third round and later is all about upside, and Urbik has it.

Worst value: Bradley Fletcher, CB, Iowa to the Rams, No. 66 overall

This is a big reach for the Rams. Fletcher projects to be a package DB with no upside as a starter, and is slower than a corner needs to be to cover the game's best receivers. In round three, the Rams could have done better.

From here on out, I won't be projecting busts. As I said in the beginning, the third round and later are all about upside rather than established, immediate talent additions. As such, it's hard to call anyone a bust.

Fourth round:

Best value: DJ Moore, CB, Vanderbilt to the Bears, No. 119 overall

Simply a fantastic value by the Bears here. Moore has potential to be a solid No. 2 or 3 corner in the NFL, and that's a good value for the fourth round.

Worst value: Stanley Arneux, LB, Wake Forest to the Saints

It's not that Arneux is a bad player, I just think he wasn't the best linebacker the Saints could have gotten here and was far from the best player they could have gotten overall. The Saints had a pretty good draft, but this isn't the symbol of that.

Fifth round:

Best value: Nate Davis, QB, Ball State to the 49ers, No. 171 overall

This may be a homer pick on my part as I'm a Ball State student, but I really feel like Davis can be a solid contributor in the NFL. He's probably not a franchise QB, but at the very least, he'll make a fantastic backup QB, and is a nice value in the fifth round. Davis should have a chance to start in San Francisco, and he may surprise a lot of people with his good arm.

Worst value: Duke Robinson, OT, Oklahoma to the Panthers, No. 163 overall

Robinson was a good lineman in college, but even then he was pretty inconsistent. This pick may pan out very well for the Panthers if they can straighten him out and get him to perform well on every play, but odds are he's slated for a backup role in the NFL.

Sixth round:

Best value: Brandon Gibson, WR, Washington State to the Eagles, No. 194 overall

Pretty good upside pick here, as Gibson will give the Eagles immediate depth at WR. He'll probably spend his career in Philly as a No. 4 guy, maybe moving up to No. 3 eventually, but he should produce very well in those roles.

I'm not going to name a worst value for this round, as I feel like every team drafted pretty competently here.

Seventh round:

Best value: A.Q. Shipley, C, Penn State to the Steelers, No. 226 overall

Shipley was a dominant college center, but fell due to doubts about his skills being able to translate to the NFL. In the seventh round, however, a team as thin on the offensive line is wise to take the reigning Rimmington Award winner on the chance that he pans out.

And again, I'm not picking a worst value here, simply because in the seventh round, teams pretty much expect the players they draft not to turn out. Anybody that pans out this late is a pleasant surprise.

Best value overall: Chris Wells
Worst value overall: Mike Mitchell

MOAR!

LESS!

To all of our loyal readers who check the site daily, we apologize for our inconsistent posting. We aim to have at least one new post up every day, but all four of us are college students and are bogged down with tons of classwork.

After the first week in May we'll return to the usual posting routine, along with an average of more than one post per day.

Thank you for your support of this blog, it means a lot to us that people actually read this thing. We'll still be posting as much as possible, but we just wanted to explain the inconsistent posting.

We're sorry our professors hate you.

Smooches,

Peter, Nate, Thomas and Joe

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In the NHL today, the Pittsburgh Penguins are heading into game 6 of a playoff series against the hated rival Philadelphia Flyers. If the Penguins win, they'll be heading into round two of the playoffs, but if the Flyers win they'll send the series to a game seven final.

It's clear what Pittsburgh needs to do in this game. They need to play fast, physical hockey and take their shots at the goal. That's the kind of play this team is built around, and it's the kind of play that's won them three games in this series so far.

It's very simple, really: the games the Penguins won, they won with fast skating, taking their shots, finishing checks and wearing the Flyers out. The games they lost, they were simply outplayed physically.

In game three, it seemed like the Penguins were aversive to taking a shot. After Philly jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, the Pens played overly defensive hockey in an attempt to limit the damage, and it didn't pay off.

Evgeni Malkin was the only player on the ice for Pittsburgh that day who had any sense of playing the game the right way. With the Flyers scoring six goals that game, it's safe to say the damage wasn't limited, and a 6-3 final is a bit of an embarassment.

The Pens came back in game four with a fantastic showing from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was simply on fire the entire game and seemed to stop everything that was thrown at him. The team was able to take advantage of this by controlling the puck and taking shot after shot on goal against the Flyers, and it paid off with a victory.

Of course, they couldn't count on Fleury having that same type of game the next time the two teams met, so instead they played overly cautious once more. Every shift, they were dropping 2-3 players in front of the goal. While this certainly took some of the pressure off of Fleury, it didn't exactly provide a lot of offensive opportunities for the Pens, who were shut out that gaame. Once again, they looked to have an aversion towards taking shots and steadfastly refused the one-timer, and played overly cautious hockey even when they were on the power play.

Tonight, the Pens need to get back to doing what they do best: stealing the puck, controlling it, and bombarding the goal with shot after shot. This cautious type of hockey isn't what this team is built for. This team is built to score. Too much of this type of play resulted in a mid-season coaching change, so why would they go back to it in the postseason?

MOAR!

LESS!

The internet is full of idiots. Hell, you may believe that this blog is filled with idiots, and that's your opinion. It seems only logical that some of these idiots would find their way on to articles and wreck them for everyone else.

This isn't exactly "new" news, but Keith Olbermann has recently launched a blog on the MLBlogs network. Well he's now part of the MLB Advanced Media "roster" and gets a salary from Major League Baseball, which Olbermann has already said he will donate to three charities: the Baseball Assistance Team, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and the Jayden Braden/Ariana Marzano College Fund. This was the first time I had heard of this, and I think it is great when people who already make an assload of money acknowledge that. I mean, even if you don't really like the guy, you have to at least realize it was very kind gesture.

In the interest of putting my following rage in perspective I feel I should at least give my opinion of Olbermann. I am not here to start a political debate, but merely point out how idiotic these comments seemed to me. I am what you would call a center-left independent. I'm in the middle, I don't align myself with a party, but I lean more so to the left than to the right when it comes to issues. I study Political Science along with two other subjects at a private college. Also for the record, I think George W. Bush would be a fantastic commissioner of the MLB.

As for Olbermann, I watched his show when he started because I thought it would be interesting to watch a liberal talking head as opposed to the usual conservative one you see on cable news, and because from when I was a little kid, I loved Olbermann. I mean what sports fan in my generation didn't? Olbermann, Patrick and Mayne as anchors of SportsCenter is one of my favorite sports-related memories from my childhood. Yet, despite my love for the man, I really tire of his show. It's the liberal version of The O'Reilly Factor. He seriously spends half the show talking about how stupid Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly are, which if I wanted to hear gossip like that, I'd call my niece in middle school because at least the story would be more interesting. That's not to say he doesn't have his moments, because he has let off some epic rants that make me wonder why he doesn't speak so brutally honest all the time.

But that's enough for background. I've given you my bias on this enough to let you understand where I sit politically and in my opinion of Keith, so that readers aren't left assuming that I am a stone cold democrat or that the "idiots" are ones who disagree with my opinion.

So I return to the subject of idiots. Some idiots like to comment on stories and insert things that aren't there. Also, based upon where you go you can easily tell if you're dealing with people who actually know what they're talking about or if the idiots are taking over. For example, youtube commenters. That's really all I need to say. In case, you're not "in the know" I'll sum up the comments left to a youtube video: The first comment has something to do with the video, and then every comment following that will be people calling others "gay". Two other great examples of idiotic commenters would be those on the Indianapolis Star (newspaper) website and those on NBA.com especially in the Pacers section.

Well tonight as I was on MLB.com I saw the link to the story mentioned above and I decided to click on it to see if there was any new information to learn. Well after reading the article I saw the most recently posted comment which was:
"If MLB is trying to get attention by stirring up controversy, this will do it. I think Olbermann is arrogant and have no interest in his opinion, but I hope he will give his salary to the charities named and not MoveOn.org."

Seriously? Please tell me we're all playing the internets game where we say silly shit that we're being extremely over the top about. Also, I'm aware that this isn't a completely horrible comment, but it's stupid. I mean the man is a lifelong baseball fan, who WAS AN ANCHOR ON SPORTSCENTER!

Well without further to do, here are some of my favorites:

"what a horrible person!"

Well thanks for your opinion?

"What are you thinking? Olbermann? I hope this is just poor judgement and not some political statement from MLB. I will never come back to this site as long as he is on your staff. Goodbye mlb.com."

I'm posting this one because it isn't uncommon. There are a lot of people claiming they're boycotting the site until he's gone and are getting rid of their MLB.tv and MLB extra innings packages, well have fun people, we'll see you next week.

"has keith come out of the closet yet??"

I feel like it's an impossible situation, but I'm going to try to follow the logic here...if you're liberal...you're gay?

"oh for for the two neophytes in love with Olberman .....when no one reads or lsitens to the dribble of Keith Olberman ...MLB will realize what a financial disaster this is ....what the heck could they be paying this moron ??"

Neophytes? Did he look that word up before or after he didn't read the article?

"Olbermann? This is my last visit to this site. KO is a commie and I love this country. wmd1919"

I know I posted one similar to this above, but really...this one HAS to be a joke. Please? Just to reassure my faith in Americans ability to understand simple political concepts. I don't care, lie to me.

"Judging by the caliber of people complaining about this, MLB appears to have made a great decision. I'm counting on each and every one of you Philistines on here vowing to boycott MLB over this hire to keep your word. If you do, the average IQ at baseball games should skyrocket and attending games would be that much more enjoyable for those of us with a clue."

This comment is made of pure win.

"I can see his next blog now: "How the neo-cons on the right are covertly planning to destroy our national pasttime..." Why, MLB? Why are you doing this to the fans? Why?"

I feel like this is sarcasm, and it's hysterical.

"Bill O'Reilly likes baseball, why didn't he get the job?"

I'm not even going to touch this.

"Why would you allow this idiot to spew his hatred. He is a disgusting human being who has the IQ of a tree. You just lessoned your product, I am very displeased with MLB, You should be ashamed of yourselfs. Let him stay with his fellow communists over at MSNBC. We sure dont want him ruining our National pasttime. I hope you reconsider allowing him in this realm, I know I will get my baseball news from someplace else until you do."

I'm going to let the next commenter speak for me: ""Yourselfs?" Your education and intelligence says it all..."

And just like a fireworks display I'm letting it all loose, GRAND FINALE!

"The people smoking the barakcrack are the ones who are scary. I bet most of them never even played baseball. Go play with your Ken and Brett Malibu beach houses and leave mlb.com for folks who love America, enjoy baseball, pay their taxes and their mortgages on time and aren't asking for government bailout."

"This sickening fella is pathetic, biased, selfserving and has NO PLACE on MLB. I will either go to ESPN Sports now or USA-Today. Who was the moron that hired this piece of garbage? I know of NOBODY that respects the guy.....he is a shameful excuse for a man. Looks like pansys are in charge of MLB because no real MEN would listen to this liberal maggot."

"Miss CA is a bimbo. Are U now advocating we elect certain "beauty queens" with no brains to government office in this country? Oops, I forgot! U folks tried that with Palin! Note the ratio of the misinformed extreme right to the rest of us. Why? Because they have absolutely nothing better to than stay glued to Faux, Rush & their PC. I'm outta here for now. Life's too short to be debating someone who brings a toothpick to a gunfight. BTW 32X, I'm in WI ... just in case U want to find out whether your theory of "liberals can't fight" or "thin skinned" is true or not?"

"Maybe he can have MLB applogize to Cuba,Dominacan Republic or any other country if AMERICAN umpire happens to make a bad call and offend their country"

"The left wingers will mostly die of disease. Most liberals have Barney's Frank or somebody else's frank up their rear end. The left aren't hygenic enough to survive the future. lmao"

So there you have it. The internet. I'm all for freedom of speech, but generally I'm more willing to listen if what people say is intelligent. I have read Olbermann's blog and after reading it I didn't see any "liberal bias" or anything like that. I just don't understand the insanity going on.

Honestly, I'd be completely ok with Bill O'Reilly having a blog on the site, like Olbermann. I'm just more inclined to read Olbermann's because he's a former, well I guess current, sports commentator and is a SABR member. I'm completely fine with political commentators becoming sports commentators, especially baseball, but that's because I believe there's a link between interest in politics and interest in baseball. Well...I'm for it as long as you don't do something stupid.

MOAR!

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A few days ago the Lions unveiled a new logo. I guess it's an improvement over the last one. I know I am the logo aesthetics person on this blog, but I honestly can't figure out if I really hate it, or if I'm just indifferent to it.

More importantly, why try to rebrand after a season like that? No one is going to forget about it just because you throw up a new logo that looks like it took you 10 minutes and a white pencil to create.

Three things I know about this logo:

1) The word logo looks like excrement. You're an old, storied franchise in the NFL, act like it.

2) It's not the worst logo ever used by a Detroit team.

3) Half the time I see the new logo I see it as this. I think it's the font.

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I'm not sure if everyone knows, but we have a Twitter account (Just like Aston!). We use it to post what we're thinking during the day when it comes to sports and anything sports related that we find on the internet that we don't want to devote a full post to. So please go to www.twitter.com/sixtyftsixin and follow us!

MOAR!

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With two weeks behind us in this young baseball season, there are a high number of what could be called "surprise teams" in baseball right now. There are also a number of teams that are underperforming expert expectations. Allow me to come to your aid and provide hope to the hopeless and rain on a few parades.

1. Florida Marlins

Fish fans are understandably excited about the Marlins' Major League best record of 11-2. However, as last night's 8-0 loss to the Pirates illustrated, they're not as good as they look. Suffice it to say, it's easy to win when 6 of your 13 games are against the Washington Nationals.

Offensively, the Marlins are striking out more than all but one team in the Major Leagues. Their team batting average is just .261 with an on-base percentage of .333. They are in the middle of the pack for almost every important offensive statistic.

Things are looking pretty mediocre on the other side of the ball as well. There's a lot of hype about the great young Marlins rotation, and that's true. Their pitchers are ranked 8th in the Majors for strikeouts, and they keep their walks down to a reasonable rate.

The problem is in the fielding. The Marlins may rank 6th in team ERA with a nice 3.63 line, and they're ranking in the top third as far as total runs allowed, but they've got a team WHIP of 1.42 and are simply allowing too many hits to fall. That puts a lot of pressure on those pitchers, who feel like that HAVE to strike out the batters, and this team's defense is going to catch up to them.

Now for some realistic hope for Marlins fans: this IS a great young team. This is probably not their year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this team win somewhere in the neighborhood of 85 games this year, and I think in a few years they'll be the class of the NL East.

2. Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa has some of the same offensive issues thus far as the Marlins, with only a .266 team average and .333 team on-base percentage. You could say their hitters have stumbled out of the gate. That's the bad news.

The good news is that they're tied with the Yankees for fourth in the Majors at hitting the long ball, sitting pretty at 20 team homers. They also have a .472 team slugging percentage, which suggests that when they hit the ball, they hit it with authority for a lot of extra bases. That's a good thing.

In addition, the Rays have a Major League leading 19 team steals, and have only been thrown out attempting to steal once. That kind of base-stealing efficiency from the entire lineup can really bring another element to the table from this team.

As many analysts have been quick to point out, a lot of the Rays success last season had to do with an improved team defense, and their defense is still playing well. They have a horrendous team ERA of 5.37, but have not surrendered any unearned runs this season.

The problem lies in the pitching. This rotation has not been striking out as many batters as they're expected to, and have been walking far too many.

However, I expect all this to change. With David Price coming up later this year, the Rays will have a rotation featuring Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price. Will Price single-handedly reverse their fortunes? No, but he's a significant improvement over Jeff Niemann, and the rest of this staff is due to start striking out batters at a rate they're more accustomed to.

The bottom line is that this is a young team that won 97 games last season in baseball's toughest division, and that's no fluke. They can only improve from here. Keep your heads up, Rays fans.

3. Cleveland Indians

The Indians were a disappointment last year. I don't expect this year to be a repeat of that.

Cleveland has a 4-9 record. They also have a ridiculous team OBP of .380, are tied for second with 22 home runs, and are second in the league in slugging with .495. Simply put, this is a murderer's row. Offense alone could easily carry this team to 92 wins even if the defense and pitching only put up league average numbers.

The problem thus far is that the pitching has been VERY below average. League worst, in fact. The Indians have an ugly team ERA of 6.95 and have given up 23 home runs, more than all but two teams. They're in the bottom third of strikeouts and have issued more free passes than any other team.

Is there any hope? Who knows. This staff needs to start performing. All of their batted ball data is right about what you would expect, so we can't exactly fault bad luck here, but at the same time I think we can.

We all know what kind of season Cliff Lee had last year. We know that Fausto Carmona and Carl Pavano usually pitch better than they have this year. Anthony Reyes is not very good, but Aaron Laffey still has a lot of untapped potential.

If the Indians can make a deal or call up someone that's at least a solid pitcher, I think the rest of this rotation can and will turn things around. They've simply been underperforming, and I expect them to pull it together and start at least doing a few things to limit the damage enough for their offense to start winning games.

4. Los Angeles Angels

Thought to be one of the best offensive teams in the Major Leagues before the season began, they've been disappointing so far in that category.

The Angels pitching has been bad, but not so far below average that they can't keep the team in games for the offense to win. The problem with this team lies almost entirely on lack of hitting.

LA currently has a .250 team average, .316 on-base percentage and .360 slugging percentage. Those are pathetic numbers for any team, let alone one that was thought to be so good.

Batted ball data suggests a slight regression from the average. Their BABIP is .287, their line drive percentage is only 15.4. Both of those numbers are due for a correction, and when they correct themselves we'll see the team offense look better as well.

Of course, we know the reason the Angels are this bad. All of their stars are currently injured. Three pitchers out of their starting rotation are on the DL, as is offensive star Vlad Guerrero. As a result, the team is left in shambles. When their stars come back, I expect the Halos to live up to all those expectations we had for them pre-season.

5. San Diego Padres

The Friars are off to a hot start at 9-4.

Knowing what we know about Petco Park, we can probably assume that their pitching will continue to look good, even if they don't start striking out more batters. They're not walking too many batters either, so for the most part they can let their pitcher-friendly park do the work for them.

What we can't assume, however, is that they'll be able to keep scoring runs. The team only has a .261/.339/.438 line with only an average amount of home run pop.

There is exactly one hitter on this team with any promise, being Chase Headley. The rest are marginal players and veterans way past their prime. There's a good farm system in San Diego right now, and they've got a lot of hope vested in their future, but this is definitely not a team that will continue to win this season.

MOAR!

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Yesterday I attended my second Indians game of the season. As opposed to the whole Sixty Feet, Six Inches crew, this one was just a trip with myself, Peter and his room mate Josh.

We got there when the gates opened, an hour and a half before game time, just in time to see the Louisville Bats take BP. I'm not sure why, but the Indians never seem to take BP for the crowd.

We didn't get any balls hit into the outfield our way, but we did learn that whoever wears No. 21 for the Lousville Bats does not appreciate people asking him for BP balls.

The highlight of the pregame was the Indians coming out of the dugout to sign autographs. This is only a highlight because I happen to own the Andrew McCutchen 2005 Topps Draft Class card, so I brought it with me to get it signed.

The players were all friendly and seemed to appreciate the fans coming out to the park, and I feel the need to make special mention of three individuals in that regard: Brian Bixler, who was the first out of the dugout and signed every autograph asked of him and Jeff Salazar, who was one of the last out but also one of the most engaged with the fans.

The third was Neil Walker, who seemed like a genuinely nice person. A fan from Pittsburgh came out to the Indianapolis park with Steve Pearce and Neil Walker spring training jerseys that she bought at PirateFest, and when she presented Walker with the jersey to sign, his eyes seemed to light up as he asked "where did you get this jersey?" It was at that moment that I realized the burning desire that Walker has to be a Major League player.

But enough about us. We're boring. On to the game:

Summary:

This was a frustrating game, because it's one the Indians should have won. We got great production from our starting pitcher, and our offense cashed in on almost every opportunity, but bad defense caused us the game. If you need a sign of just how bad things are, take a look at Daniel McCutchen's line from the game:

6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 1 ER.

You read that right. Four runs, one earned from the starting pitcher. The defense cost this team three runs, which would have been enough to win us the game with a 3-1 Indians final instead of the 4-3 Bats final.

Oh well, so it goes. On to the highlights and lowlights.

Highlights:

• Every game I attend, Andrew McCutchen delivers at least one breathtaking play in the field and a multi-hit game, and this one was no exception.

The defensive play came on a hit that was smoked to DEEP center field and looked like a home run, but instead died at the wall. It was about to bounce off when McCutchen got his glove between the two and retired the batter with a long line-out that should have been a triple.

McCutchen went .500 at the plate with two hits, both doubles. One was literally as close as a person can get to a home run, as it bounced off the top of the scoreboard in deep left and back into the field of play.

Last year McCutchen's HR numbers didn't pan out, but so many of his doubles and triples go DEEP into a pitcher-friendly park and would leave the park in other stadiums. Each year he seems to develop more pop, and I think he could be a perennial 30 HR/35 SB player in the Majors when he establishes himself there.

• The other McCutchen, Daniel, pitched a gem of a game.

Daniel McCutchen is in the odd position of being touted by the front office as the immediate next-in-line for a starting pitching job, but never getting the call when that situation actually arises. He's a fly-ball pitcher, which I think scares the front office a little, but only two pitches were hit with any authority this game. The rest of the time he was either striking batters out or making them hit lazy pop-ups.

In addition, McCutchen's speed was incredible, as was his ability to change speeds. According to the stadium radar gun, he was hitting 92 consistently on his fastball, occasionally cranking it up to 95 and once or twice even 97. His off speed pitch? 80. Now that's how to confuse a batter.

Also, his GB/FB ratio was only one away from being exactly even, as he pitched for 7 flyouts and 5 groundouts.

• Brian Bixler's defense looked much better this game.

The last time I attended an Indians game, I derided Bixler's defense. This game, he seemed much better at short. This may be because most of the balls put in play were flies, but he looked a lot sharper on ground balls.

Who knows how much of that has to do with Neil Walker and Shelby Ford covering some of his zone, but I'll take any improvement. He did turn a nifty 6-4-3 double play this game, and a shortstop that bats .333 with discipline (.415 OBP and a 9/5 K/BB split so far) and speed isn't exactly a liability in every respect of the game.

• Neil Walker continues to impress defensively.

This wasn't Walker's best day. He had a throwing error that cost the team an unearned run and an 0-for-4 day at the plate, but he redeemed himself with fantastic range that saved a couple of sharply hit grounders from heading to the outfield and a great arm that turned what should have been an infield single into an out.

• ¡Romulo! Sanchez

His name alone is worth a mention in the highlights. The fact that he threw three straight groundouts is worth another mention.

The only other reliever used was Denny Bautista, one of GM Neal Huntington's trademark "throws really hard with no control" pitchers. This day, he struck out one batter in two innings of work, walked none, and surrended one hit with no runs.

Lowlights:

• Daniel McCutchen gives up a home run.

Good thing: With a runner on first, Daniel McCutchen kept the ball low and induced a grounder to get a double play for the first two outs of the inning.

Bad thing: He gave up a solo shot to the next batter...Matt Maloney, the pitcher.

I think McCutchen could be a successful Major League pitcher. If he stops giving up home runs left and right, he could even be a top of the rotation guy. However, if he can't stop doing things like giving up home runs to the opposing pitcher, it will take him a while to even find his way into the rotation, and he'll end up as a No. 4 at best.

• Aside from McCutchen, the Indians may have the worst defensive outfield I've ever seen.

At least two of the hits McCutchen surrendered were on routine fly balls that would have been easy outs for even an average outfielder. One dropped right in front of Garrett Jones, one was dropped by Salazar for a fielding error, and another one dropped in front of Salazar on a diving play that he shouldn't have had to dive for.

• You know what? The defense was just bad in general.

As I alluded to earlier, this is a game the Indians would have won if not for their defense. Along with the bad outfield defense, there was a throwing error by Robinson Diaz and another by Neil Walker. I'm not a fan of using errors to judge defense, but these were all terrible plays that led to unearned runs.

Hilarity:

• I'm pretty sure the Indians gift shop hates us.

After seeing that the gift shop offered the option for customized jerseys, I knew what I had to do. I had to own a No. 52 jersey, and instead of Sanchez, it had to read ¡Romulo! Unfortunately, the gift shop does not carry exclamation points, and seemed annoyed by the mere question of it. It only further annoyed them when I asked if they could fashion one by chopping an I and using a period. Oh well.

• Neil Walker's walk-up music was "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys.

I don't feel like I need to say anything else here. That may be the best walk-up music since Adam LaRoche came up to "You're The Best Around" from Karate Kid.

Other than that, nothing notable for hilarity, unless you count sitting in front of obnoxious drunks who don't know what level the Indians play on, why Steve Pearce would want to stick his glove out towards the pitcher with a runner on first, and who say things like "I can't enjoy baseball unless I'm drunk" and "Any foul ball opportunities here yet?" "...No, we're sitting behind the net." as hilarity.

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If you're unaware at this point in the season, the Pirates have gotten off to a hot start, then sputtered, and are playing at around .500 ball right now.

There have been a few standouts on the offense, mostly Adam LaRoche—one of the league's more well-known slow starters—who is hitting .294/.314/.697 with 3 homers so far.

Another stud is Nyjer Morgan, who at the beginning of the seaon caused a riff among Pirates fans. Although he's simply a placeholder until CF Andrew McCutchen gets called up later this year, some fans wanted him to be the starting left fielder, while others wanted Eric Hinske or Steve Pearce to take the last outfield spot. Personally, I was and still am in the latter camp, but so far Nyjer has produced well, hitting .400 with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 3 stolen bases.

Meanwhile, there has been a sputterer in this offense that us Pirates fans were really hoping would be able to turn it around this year.

I'm speaking, of course, of Andy LaRoche.

Yesterday, I sarcastically put up a celebratory post of his first hit of the season, but in that same game, he hit into a rally-killing double play.

Considering this guy was once the Dodgers top prospect and has perennially been in the top 10 of every prospect list in baseball, it's disappointing to say the least to see the centerpiece of a trade that sent Jason Bay to Boston sputtering so badly.

But I wonder...what's the difference between Andy LaRoche's slow start and Nyjer Morgan's hot start?

LaRoche's problem hasn't really been strikeouts... in 21 plate appearances, he's put the ball into play all but 5 times, and one of those times was a walk.

Courtesy of fangraphs.com, I looked up some batted ball data to see if I could get an answer. I decided to compare LaRoche, off to the most surprisingly slow start, to Morgan, who is off to a surprisingly hot start.

If you don't know these stats, they're pretty self-explanatory. Contact % is the percentage of all balls thrown at the hitter that he makes contact on, GB/FB ratio is the amount of grounders as compared to the amount of fly balls, line drive % is the percentage of balls put in play that are line drives, etc.

Here are the results:

Nyjer Morgan:

Contact %: 86.6%
GB/FB ratio: 2.13
Line drive %: 26.5%
Ground ball %: 50%
Fly ball %: 23.5%

Andy LaRoche:

Contact %: 75%
GB/FB ratio: 1.00
Line drive %: 25%
Ground ball %: 37.5%
Fly ball %: 37.5%

As you can see from the results, Morgan's success has come mainly from emulating Willie Mays Hays from Major League. He's striking the ball hard into the ground and sprinting to first, relying on his legs to beat the ball to the bag. When he hits a line drive, he stretches it for extra bases. A guy like Morgan can do that, but it's not sustainable over a full season. I'd expect him to regress to around .275 once the sample size grows.

LaRoche, on the other hand, is hitting the ball for the type of spread you'd like to see from a dynamic hitter. 25% of the balls he puts into play are line drives—he's just not hitting them where they ain't. The Hardball Times estimates that on average 75% of line drives fall for hits, so we can expect to see that luck turn around soon.

In addition, LaRoche doesn't hit the ball on the ground very often. I was surprised by that number, because every time I watch him bat it seems like he's hitting a weak dribbler to the second baseman, but the numbers are what they are.

And finally, LaRoche is hitting a lot of fly balls, which may explain his problem. Early on—in cold weather like this—those balls aren't carrying. From a subjective point of view, it seems like a lot of the flies he hits are pop-ups, but it also seems like a lot of them are going just short of the warning track. Later in the season when the heat starts to set in, we can expect to see more of those balls travel out of the park.

My final assessment? Give them some time. Nyjer Morgan won't be able to sustain this pace, but neither will LaRoche. Given more time, we should see a nice spike in production by LaRoche, maybe even with some pop. This is the difference between good and bad luck in a small sample size, folks.

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I love being a Hoosier. I don't know if anyone else has done this, but if you think of 10 words that describe you, that sum you up, Hoosier will be in my list every time. If you haven't tried that, I suggest it, it's actually kind of fun and challenging. Also, we love getting to know our readership, so if you want to leave your list in the comments you're more than welcome to it.

Now I have gone way off course. As per tradition with my posts, I digress.

I am an Indiana boy, and actually you'd be surprised how many Hoosiers are actually pretty amped up on being from Indiana. Some of the stereotypes about us are true, but for this article I'm only going to focus on one: Our state's passion for basketball.

Now, not everyone in the state loves the game, but we all know the rules and how to play it. Only our neighboring state of Kentucky knows the game nearly as well as we do. I'm not saying that we're the only ones capable of really understanding the game, just that from birth it's ingrained into our brains.

Nate, the only non-Hoosier on this blog, can attest to this: most of the time, people from a non-basketball area don't really understand why we're all so obsessed.

Honestly, I really don't either, but we are.

I couldn't tell you exactly why I love basketball, I can with my two other favorite sports of Baseball and Hockey. Yet with basketball I can't. It's just sort of part of me, I guess like being from Indiana or being an American. It just can't be separated from me. I'm sure most Hoosiers would tell you the same.

The reason I post this is because there are events every once in a while that remind me of that. This time, it was what happened Wednesday night.

There is a person on the Pacers Digest boards (the fan forums for the Pacers) who has watched the Pacers for most, if not all, of their 41 year existence. He constant says that Indianapolis is not an NBA city, and he's right. We're not. In fact, we've almost lost this team twice already. We are a basketball state, but we'd prefer to watch a college or high school game. Usually the NBA ranks third if you ask us, but also that's not always true. I'll almost always take an NBA game over a college game. That's not to say that we don't love our Pacers though, because we do and Wednesday was a reminder of that.

Pacers basketball has fallen on hard times. The brawl, the arrests and the personalities involved drove a lot of us from the stadium to invest our time in the local high school team or our favorite college program. The passion for the team was still there, but Indiana is definitely a Midwestern state, in the fact that we generally only support things that match up with our values, which are often defined as "family values." Then last off-season everything changed. We made major moves which pretty much dismantled the team and restocked it with players who loved the game and showed it every night with their effort. Or at least that's what they told us. The year went by and what they said proved true. They did play hard, the really didn't ever seem to give up. They treated us to close games...maybe too many close games, but we were excited by what we saw. Yet, although the Pacers were playing hard and making the games fun to watch, people weren't exactly showing up in droves. It just seemed like the word somehow had not reached the majority of the state who still thought, "the Pacers are a team of thugs."

Yet recently, something changed. Out of nowhere people started packing the Fieldhouse. Magically it seemed that people from all corners of the state had heard word about the team assembled in the state capital. For the last eight games of the year the stadium was nearly full and it was like a playoff atmosphere every night.

Then came Wednesday which reminded me why I love my state so much.

It was a meaningless game, one that had to be played just because it was scheduled. Wednesday night the Pacers suited up one last time for the year at, our cathedral to basketball, Conseco Fieldhouse to face Milwaukee.

Although by the way the crowd reacted, you would have thought it was a playoff game.

To start the 4th the Pacers were down 16, and despite that deficit the crowd was still in it. Then with about eight minutes to spare, the basketball gods came down into our shrine we had built for them and in front of "Basketball Jesus" (Larry Bird) gave the golden touch to Danny Granger and Brandon Rush. Anything they threw up fell effortlessly into the basket and with 2:58 left in the season Granger shot from beyond the arc and the masses of Hoosiers in that stadium collectively willed that ball into the hoop. A crowd already on its feet erupted. The Pacers had taken the lead. It didn't stop there though, the crowd never relented and neither did the Pacers. The ended the season on an incredible high note with a wonderful come from behind victory.

It didn't matter that we didn't make the playoffs, we're Hoosiers, if you play well, that's all the reward we could ever want. We do care about championships, we want them just as much as anyone else, but for this one night, it was our championship. We won back our team, and they won us back. The future is bright for the Pacers, and I'm sure the state will be with them every step of the way.

So reason #938 of why I love Indiana, we passionately love our teams, regardless of outcomes.

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That's right, it finally happened! 9 games into the season, former Dodgers top prospect and cornerstone of the Jason Bay trade for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Andy LaRoche has gotten his first hit of the season on a line drive single! Surely this can only lead to a ridiculous tear during which Andy LaRoche will break the all time home run record IN ONE SEASON.

Time to celebrate!

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Today is an important day for baseball, but also for American history. Today is the day that Jackie Robinson stepped onto a Major League Baseball diamond to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

A momentous occasion, certainly. This was the first time in the modern era of Major League Baseball that a black player had played for any team. Learned baseball scholars will tell you that Robinson wasn't the first black baseball player, simply the first in a long time, and they would be right. They would also be missing the point.


There was nothing unusual about a black person playing professional baseball. Major League Baseball had no rule explicitly forbidding them to play, there were several black minor leaguers, and they had even established a successful Negro League Baseball.

Nor was there anything unusual about the notion of Jackie Robinson being a gifted athlete. He was a standout football player at UCLA, and was the school's first athlete to receive a letter in four sports: football, basketball, baseball and track. On top of that, prior to this date, Robinson was a Negro League all-star. The fact the kid was gifted was not a secret, and it was not of any significance until one day:

April 15, 1947. The day Jackie Robinson stepped on first base in Ebbets Field.

The idea of a black person playing professional baseball was not alien, but the idea of a black person playing Major League baseball? That was insanity.

April 15, 1947.

Before Brown vs Board of Education de-segregated the schools.

Before Martin Luther King, Jr. dared to have a dream.

Before Rosa Parks refused to vacate her bus seat.

Before the NAACP.

Before Willie Mays stepped into center field and proved to be the best all-around athlete to ever play the game of baseball.

Before Hank Aaron did the impossible and broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.

Before Barry Bonds broke Aaron's record.

Before America elected an African-American President in a landslide victory. Before blacks were even allowed the right to vote in every state.

Before any of this, Jackie Robinson stepped on first base in Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947.

Before blacks across America had to demand to be treated equally, Jackie Robinson defiantly proved that blacks could perform and even out-perform whites when given the chance. And all he had to do was play baseball.

Today, Robinson's No. 42 is retired by every Major League team. The only active player who can still wear No. 42 is Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, because he was already wearing it before the rule went into effect.

Today, however, every player on every Major League team will be wearing No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.

But let's take a step back. Is this what Robinson would have really wanted, or is this just a publicity stunt for Bud Selig and Major League Baseball?

The answer is: no, Robinson would not want this grandiose celebration of his career.

Jackie Robinson didn't want to be remembered as a great black baseball player, but as a great baseball player period. He didn't want any special treatment because he happened to constitute an historical event. It was in this vein that when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he requested that his plaque not make any mention of his breaking of the color barrier—he simply wanted his numbers and awards posted, and he would let those speak for themselves.

Honoring his request, Robinson's plaque read as follows:

"Jack Roosevelt Robinson
Brooklyn N.L. 1947 to 1956

Leading N.L. batter in 1949. Holds fielding mark for second basemen playing in 150 or more games with .992. Led N.L. in stolen bases in 1947 and 1949. Most valuable player in 1949. Lifetime batting average .311. Joint record holder for most double plays by second baseman, 137 in 1951. Led second basemen in double plays 1949-50-51-52."

And it stayed that way until last year, when Cooperstown saw fit to defy Robinson's wish and make him a new plaque that reads as follows:

"Jack Roosevelt Robinson
'Jackie'
Brooklyn, N.L., 1947-1956

A player of extraordinary ability renowned for his electrifying style of play, over 10 seasons hit .311, scored more than 100 runs six times, named to six All-Star teams and led Brooklyn to six pennants and its only World Series title, in 1955. The 1947 Rookie of the Year, and the 1949 N.L. MVP when he hit a league-best .342 with 37 steals. Led second basemen in double plays four times and stole home 19 times, displayed tremendous courage and poise in 1947 when he integrated the modern Major Leagues in the face of intense adversity."

Today, Bud Selig is again defying Robinson's wish to be remembered not for the color of his skin, but the greatness of his play. This time by forcing every Major Leaguer to wear Robinson's No. 42. Ostensibly, this is "to demonstrate the magnitude of his impact on the game of baseball."

We don't need a demonstration, Bud. We already know. Robinson's play spoke for itself. Please don't cheapen that with publicity stunts like these.

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Alright, this season has started out in an odd manner. The deaths, the large amount of surprise teams, the Citi Field opening (which was just bizarre) and now we have a repeat of something that happened in 2007. Someone has hung a dead goat from the statue of Harry Caray. I don't know if this is a taunt or a sacrifice to the baseball gods, but it's fucking weird. I'm all for Baseball lore and the stories/history of the game, but what the hell Wrigleyville? Seriously.

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I'm not a superstitious man, really I'm not. The only thing I'm superstitious about is Baseball, and to a lesser amount my favorite teams, but mainly Baseball. However there is an old saying that seems to be true, although it's a silly superstition, it really does seem like people die in threes. Well, in the Baseball world, that seems to be true as in the last week Baseball has lost a young man with a promising future, a longtime announcer who was truly "the voice of his team", and a pitcher who beyond his quirkiness gave the city of Detroit a truly memorable season.

All of these men were heroes in their own right, and all of them will be remembered for varying reasons. Now a lot of other blogs and news services will focus on how sports history will remember them, but this is my blog and I want to do it my way. So I am.

Here's why I'll remember all three of these guys:

I'll remember Nick Adenhart as a story of great talent taken from us too early. It's not to the same level as Clemente, but it's in a similar vein. Baseball fans will always talk about "what if" especially Angels fans.

As for Kalas, I'll always remember his voice and the countless times I took great joy in just hearing the man's voiceovers on NFL Films. I'll also remember taking advantage of MLB.tv to listen to the Phillies broadcasts over whoever they were playing based completely on the premise that I wanted to hear Kalas do commentary. Honestly though, sometimes during spring training it was because I wanted to hear the man who did the voiceovers for the most epic moments in NFL history give the play by play to a Phillies/Pirates spring training game, because the hilarity of hearing him commentate on such a meaningless game was much too tempting to avoid.

Finally, we come to Mark "the Bird" Fidrych. I never had an opportunity to see him pitch live, but I have seen him on tape and during that magical year in 1976 he was a pitching god. He was an odd character, but that's one of the many things I love about the game of baseball, the characters. He groomed the mound, he talked to the ball and even requested a new ball when the ump gave him one that "had hits in it." He had his own way of expressing things, if you don't know what I'm talking about, I implore you to read an interview with him. The next year he tore his rotator cuff and he was never the same. It actually took about 7 years before he was actually diagnosed correct and by that time, there was no chance for a comeback.

These men will all be remembered by me for different things, but to me they are all now part of baseball lore, which regardless if Heaven exists or not, is a fine fate to have here on Earth.

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Sad news for sports broadcasting today, as Harry Kalas, best known as the voice of NFL Films, has passed away today at 73 years old.

Kalas, the Phillies play-by-play man, was rushed to the hospital prior to the start of the game today after collapsing in the broadcaster's booth, and while listening to the Pirates vs the Astros on MLB Radio today, word came back that he passed away in the hospital.

Kalas is known for narrating the NFL Films recaps of historic games. Whenever I hear about Lambaeu Field, I can't help but think of Harry's voice narrating the Ice Bowl with "the frozen tundra at Lambaeu Field..." He's also known for his famous home run call of "OUT OF HERE!" for the Phillies. It's basically a stock call today, but Harry Kalas made it come to life even well after other announcers started using it.

Kalas was a Hall of Fame broadcaster and recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award in 2002. He will be missed not only by Phillies fans, but sports fans all across the United States. Kalas received his World Series ring recently.

No word yet on whether the Phils-Nationals game will be postponed today in honor of Kalas.

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Yesterday, we went to the Indianapolis Indians season opener. It was great fun, until they started getting blown out. Then we made our own fun. More on that later.

The game opened up with some promise, as Indians pitcher Jason Davis sat the Toledo Mud Hens down quickly. Two flyouts started the game, followed by a hit, which then became a stolen base and an advance to third on a throwing error by catcher Erik Kratz. However, Davis got Mike Hessman (he still plays baseball?) to fly out to right. No runs scored.

Following this, Andrew McCutchen came up to lead off for the Indians, and lined a pitch into DEEP left-center field. For those of you unaware of the dimensions of Victory Field, left-center is the deepest area of the park. McCutchen took it to the warning track, but if he hit it anywhere else, it would have been gone. As it was, he ended up with a triple, but from our vantage point it certainly looked like it could have been an inside-the-park home run if the third base coach sent him.

This was followed up with another triple this time to straight-away center by Brian Bixler, scoring McCutchen. Indians get on the board first with a one-run lead.

Up next was Jeff Salazar, who flew out, but got the ball deep enough to get Bixler home. This was followed up two flyouts from Garrett Jones and Neil Walker to end the inning, 2-0 Indians.

Then it happened. By "it," I mean a combination of horrible pitching and horrible fielding.

Jason Davis managed to give up four runs the next inning, and following that inning was a series of Corey Hamman, who gave up five runs while walking two and still managed to stay in the game for not only that full inning, but deep enough into the next inning to give up three more runs, including a home run. His ERA on the night? 54. That is the most ridiculously high ERA I have ever seen. I know it's a small sample, but it's hilarious to look at.

Hamman was followed by a combination of Jeremy Powell and Dave Davidson, who were equally as bad. By now, we'd accepted as a foregone conclusion that the Indians were going to lose, so we started entertaining ourselves. More on that after the highlights and lowlights of the game.

Highlights:

• Andrew McCutchen was 2-4 with a single, a triple, and a walk. He's showing great patience at the plate, making pitchers work, and hitting his pitch. He also made possibly the best out I've ever seen on the basepaths. Allow me to explain:

McCutchen was standing on first when a ball was grounded weakly up the middle. With two outs, he proceeded to sprint to second at full speed. As the fielder bent over to pick up the ball, he got in the way of the basepath, so McCutchen leapt over him to get to the base. He made it, but unfortunately for him his back foot clipped the fielder and he was out.

• Brian Bixler also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a double and a triple. Too bad he'll also be featured prominently in our lowlights.

• Evan Meek came into the game late and looked incredibly sharp. The knock on him in the majors is that he doesn't show enough control, but he was popping mitts for the entire inning of work he had. He did hit one batter, but he struck two batters out and made them look silly in the process. After seeing him live for the second time, I think he really may have a future with the Pirates organization, perhaps as a setup man for Matt Capps.

• Neil Walker had a decent day at the plate with one hit and one walk, but he worked every count deep and had one AB where he had to have fouled off at least ten pitches. The important thing is he's showing a lot of discipline that he lacked early last year.

In addition, Walker showed tremendous range defensively at third base. It's clear he's still learning the position (which you'll see in the lowlights), but he absolutely has the raw defensive skills to be a fantastic third baseman.

Midlight:

I wasn't sure if this should be considered a highlight or a lowlight, but at one point Indians DH Larry Broadway was fouling pitches off at will, including one that landed in our section.

Peter had the best shot at it, but it eventually started moving towards the stairs. As a result, Peter started sprinting down the stairs in an attempt to field it after it rolled down them, but instead he tripped at about the fifth step and ended up taking out a group of people at the bottom. He didn't get the ball.

Lowlights:

Can I list the entire game?

• Neil Walker almost made an awesome play. This is where my "he's still learning the position" view comes into play, as he ran up and did an excellent job barehanding a check-swing hit that was basically a bunt, but he had a fantastic chance to throw the runner out at home and prevent a run from scoring, and chose instead to throw it to first. It was scored as a hit, but it was really a fielder's choice, and Walker made the wrong choice.

• Brian Bixler is a terrible fielder. There's no two ways about this. Walker was covering much of Bixler's territory the entire game, which resulted in several balls being grounded through that hole due to miscommunication between the two.

Bixler is more or less a Derek Jeter type of defensive shortstop. Every time he made a play, he made me say "WOW!" To a casual observer, he looks like a great defender, but when you watch him closely you see that he simply doesn't have the range to get to balls that should be routine.

• Steve Pearce will swing at ANYTHING. He has absolutely no patience at the plate. I used to wonder why the Pirates refused to promote him and give him any decent playing time, but after seeing him in person, I think I know why: one Adam LaRoche is enough.

• The starting pitcher and bullpen were both horrible. This is of no real consequence to the Pirates, as none of the pitchers the Indians used are actual prospects, save for Meek who performed well. However, it doesn't bode well for fans of a AAA team that finished last the previous year when your opening day starter only lasts for two innings.

And finally...hilarity:

• There is a second baseman in the Detroit Tigers system named Will Rhymes. This is one of the most sublime names I have ever witnessed. We kept shouting at him to throw down a freestyle for us, but he steadfastly refused. He was the player of the game, making it even funnier.

Thomas' three observations:

• There was a woman outside the bathroom selling...something, and shouting things incredibly loudly the entire game. Unfortunately, nobody could understand a word she was saying, so she wasn't doing very well. She sort of sounded like the cat lady from the Simpsons, and eventually Thomas deduced that she must be speaking Klingon.

• There was, for no explainable reason, a puddle of urine square in the middle of the Victory Field men's restroom.

• There was a hefty man walking in the concourse with a Red Sox hat and what can only be described as a Charles Darwin beard. No word on whether or not it was actually Rocco Baldelli.

And last, but certainly not least, after about the third inning we gave up on any sort of rally and took to just shouting lines from the song "Captain Jack (Ey Yo)" by Captain Jack.

Thus began The Campaign. We need your help, Sixty Feet, Six Inches readers! Don't let us down! Spread the word!

This only served to alienate everyone in our section, who had no idea what was going on. Eventually they started filing out en masse. We're not sure if it was because of the 16-5 final score or because of us, but never the less, we have adopted a new motto: "Sixty Feet, Six Inches: nobody clear out a section like us!"

The highlight of the Captain Jack hilarity came when a drunken man wandered to our section and started telling us to sing "Ole ole ole," the soccer song. Instead, we petitioned that he sing Captain Jack. He refused, saying "I like that song, but no." The remainder of the section proceeded to crack up.

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Today’s Game Ball goes to me and you for having the necessary patience required to watch [Oliver] Perez pitch.

Matt Cerrone from Metsblog on the Mets' 8-6 loss to the Reds

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So tonight while the four of us were attending our beloved Indianapolis Indians' opening night, we decided that one thing was missing...Captain Jack. So we've decided that we needed to email the Indianapolis Indians and let them know that we really want to hear that song during Indians games.

This is where you come in. We need your support in this quest. We're only four guys, meanwhile, there are a lot of readers now. Please help us out by sending an email to indians@indyindians.com requesting to hear Captain Jack (Heyo) by Captain Jack at Victory Field.

Now you may wonder why this song? Why does this matter?
Two reasons:
1) We want to utilize the power of the internets to do something hilarious and fun.
2) We'll let Captain Jack speak for himself:

In the words of Rage Against the Machine:
"It has to start somewhere
It has to start sometime
What better place than here
What better time than now"

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http://www.dg4mip.com/

Sign it, or I'll kill you (Just kidding...maybe, but do you really want to risk it?).

Yes we can!

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These are just two links I found in recently having to do with the Rays that I enjoyed. Even if you're not a Rays fan, if you like Baseball, you'll at least find them worth reading.

The first is from MLB.com which has to do with the Rays tradition of making the bullpen pitcher with the least amount of MLB service time in charge of the bag of snacks for the rest of the pitchers. You'll have to read the full story to understand the full hilarity of it, but imagine having to carry a pink Hello Kitty bag out to the bullpen in Fenway Park...it happened. Link here.

The second one comes from fellow blog Rays Index. It's mainly a recap of a story on Baseball Prospectus about bullpen management. It hints that Joe Maddon may be the best at bullpen management for the entire MLB. It's worth a read, especially if you like the Rays, Joe Maddon or Baseball Prospectus. Link here!

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Bottom of 1st: 4 runs, 3 hits, 3 walks, 44 pitches thrown.

Ah, Big Pelf. After the first inning, I'd already written the game off and decided that the bullpen was probably going to be involved in the majority of the innings pitched. Fun times.

Bottom of 7th: 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk

I despise Pedro Feliciano. If he never pitched in another baseball game, I would be happy. Also Sean Green isn't invincible, evidently. More fun times.

Bottom of 8th: 1 run allowed, 1 hit

Thunderstruck (my nickname for J.J. Putz, since I hate saying his last name) has had better innings.

Bottom of 9th: Zero runs, 2 walks, one error, one near walk-off grand slam

If this is the way the majority of K-Rod's saves are going to go, then I'm going to need to invest in a stress ball or something.

I guess I'm used to last year, but this was not a fun game to listen to. I was convinced almost the whole game that the Mets would lose. And I'm still not 100% convinced they won. But ESPN claims they did, so I'll take it. But one or two blowout wins this year would be nice. Drama isn't a necessity.

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Fred Wilpon has made bad investments in the past. Lots of them. But, at least today, on April 6, 2009, it doesn't appear that the Mets' new bullpen will end up on that list.

I know that Opening Day is kind of a small sample size, and that I'm probably overreacting. But from my perspective, even this one day, and how much of a stark contrast it is to last year, is enough to give me optimism that my World Series pick won't end up making me want to step in front of a train.

The Mets did not collapse last year. They didn't collapse because they had no business being anywhere near the playoffs. Their starting left fielder most of the year was Fernando Tatis, and the closer in the most important games they played was Luis Ayala. It was a flawed team that was badly constructed, and honestly overperformed from the time Willie Randolph was fired to about the second week of September.

But the biggest reason they lost was their bullpen. It wasn't their Achilles heel, it was an Achilles leg or torso or face. It was the worst thing that I had ever seen on what was supposed to be a good team. And if Omar Minaya hadn't been able to fix it this offseason, he would have deserved the firing he would have received (I hope).

But at the winter meetings, Minaya signed Francisco Rodriguez, who'd just set the MLB record for saves, and he laid the groundwork for a huge trade for J.J. Putz and Sean Green (and Jeremy Reed, but he's a story for another day). On two strokes, the bullpen was mostly saved. But names don't win jack squat. You win games on the field. And so all winter, as I taped pictures of my new saviors on my door and dreamed of saves unblown, there was a seed of doubt. Would they do it on the field? Or is this all just a huge waste of time?

Today the Mets started their 2009 campaign. Johan Santana started, and as usual, he pitched quite well. But the strike zone today wasn't favorable to the pitchers, and he had to leave after 5.2 innings. Enter Sean Green, formerly of the Seattle Mariners. 1.1 innings, four batters faced, no hits, no walks, no runs allowed. Enter J.J. Putz for the 8th, formerly the closer for the same Seattle Mariners. One inning, four batters faced, no hits, one walk, no runs allowed. And to close it out in the 9th, enter Francisco Rodriguez, formerly of the Los Angeles Angels. One inning, three batters faced, no hits, no walks, no runs allowed.

Johan Santana gave his bullpen a lead, and rather than coughing it up, like the Heilmans and Schoeneweises of yore, they actually outpitched him. For a fan who sat through the torture of 2008 and 2007 - and even of the NLCS in 2006 - this was like some kind of a pleasant dream from which I expected to awaken at any moment. But it's been hours, and the Internet claims that the Mets won 2-1, because of (not in spite of) their bullpen.

It's just Opening Day, but so far, it's worth the money, and I'll take it.

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December 3rd, 2008. 98-63. That date and those numbers have stuck out in Michigan State's mind all season long. The Spartans received this butt kicking at the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels, their opponent in Monday night's National Championship game.

Not only does Sparty get a chance to gain revenge, they get a chance to do it in the exact same venue where the Heels gave them their original beating. The Spartans have a look of a team of destiny. They aren't the most talented, and they had the least big names of any of the Final Four teams. However, they are disciplined and they are playing with purpose. The fact that they are now getting to play in front of their hometown fans against the team that has been pre-ordained to win it all since the preseason is just an icing on the cake.

They are out manned. There is no question about that. If North Carolina plays to their potential, there isn't a team in America that can hang with them on paper. The Spartans though have the intangibles, and they have one of the most underrated coaches in college basketball history. How many NBA players has Tom Izzo had to work with? Not many. Yet he has the chance to add a second national championship to his resume. He is an incredible motivator, and one of the brightest tacticians of the past twenty years. It is unlikely the Tar Heels will find it easy going again when tip off comes in Detroit tomorrow night.

Izzo will have his Spartans ready. They are out gunned, and I doubt many people are giving them a chance. Only a fool would count them out though, this team will come out prepared to gain their revenge.

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Alright, now that you've all had the appetisers from my co-bloggers about who they think will do what this MLB season, it's time for the main course.

I should warn you: this preview will be much longer than those posted by my cohorts. I put a lot of thought into this, and I'm giving what I feel is some pretty in-depth analysis.

So, without further ado, here are my predictions for the 2009 MLB season.

AL East

Red Sox
Rays*
Yankees
Blue Jays
Orioles

This is the best division in baseball, hands down. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the top three of this division come out in a different order, because they're likely the three best teams in the majors.

I picked the Red Sox to win because they have a mixture of great veterans and great young stars as position players, as well as probably the deepest (though maybe not the best) rotation in the Majors. Let's go to the bullet points.

• Josh Beckett and John Lester are dual aces—Lester doubters, mark my words.

• Tim Wakefield has been a solid back-end starter for more than a decade now.

• Daisuke Matsuzaka may be the most over-rated starting pitcher in baseball, but he fits in nicely as a number three.

• The fifth starter in the rotation can be any of Brad Penny, John Smoltz or Clay Buccholz. Two are proven veterans who even in their decline are better than the fourth starter on most teams, let alone the fifth, and one is a young prospect with almost unlimited potential.

The Red Sox are in a can't-lose situation when it comes to the rotation.

Couple that with an improved bench and a lights-out bullpen, and I see the Red Sox as having the best chance at winning baseball's best division.

The Rays are my AL wildcard pick, as I think they'll continue their dominance from last year. Everyone on the team is a year older and a year more experienced, and if they were that good last year I can only imagine how good they'll continue to be as they get older.

Also, don't let the talk fool you: David Price won't be in the minors for long, and when he comes up he may be the best rookie pitcher since Tim Lincecum.

I hate to pick the Yankees to miss the playoffs (well, actually, I don't mind at all because I hate the Yankees and it would give me lulz), because they had probably the best offseason of any team.

I'm not going to cite a lack of chemistry, like most sportswriters do. Instead, I'm going to say this: I don't think the talent the Yankees added, incredible though it may be, will be enough to bridge the gap between them and the Red Sox or Rays.

Not to mention, the Yankees will be hurting without Alex Rodriguez for the first ten weeks of the season. Those early games count just as much as the late ones.

The rest of this division is good, too. If the Blue Jays played in a different division, I might pick them to finish first. The AL East is really the only division in baseball where I think a team as talented as the Blue Jays can finish fourth.

The Orioles are laying a foundation for long-term success, and in a few years I'll probably be picking them as my surprise team. But this year, even with the best hitting prospect in baseball—Matt Wieters—coming up, I don't see them with more than 75 wins.

Frankly, It wouldn't surprise me if the winner of the AL East this year only ended up with something like 92 wins. The top three teams all have the talent to win 100 games this year, but of course the fact that they play in the same division will put a damper on that.

I think this division will just beat itself up to the point where everyone has a somewhat mediocre record, but the team(s) that make it will dominate in the playoffs. They may even beat each other up so much that the wild card team could come from somewhere other than the AL East.

AL Central

Tigers
Indians
Twins
White Sox
Royals

The Indians are the trendy pick to win this division, but I like Detroit.

The Indians have a superstar in Grady Sizemore, and Shin-Soo Choo is my candidate for breakout oufielder this year.

However, the facts are this:

• The Indians have a worse rotation than Detroit

• Travis Hafner has gone from being a beast to being a below average hitter. That's a trend that's not likely to reverse itself without the help of some sort of injection.

If the Indians realize this soon enough and make Victor Martinez their every-day DH, they may have a shot—especially considering Kelly Shopach's breakout season last year—but Martinez wants to catch and the team has no immediate options for a competent backup, so Hafner will likely stay in the DH slot.

On the other hand, the Tigers are a team that is much better than last year's record indicated. Their lineup is dangerous, and even without Jeremy Bonderman at the start of the season, they have a rotation that's second only to the Twins in their division. Detroit has the most well-rounded team in this division, and I'm giving them the best shot to win.

The Twins are tough to put at number three, because they have a great rotation and a good young team, but I think the Indians will have enough in the tank in spite of Hafner to beat them out.

The White Sox and Royals are more or less interchangeable here. Both are rebuilding (or in KC's case, building) and both have young players coming up the pipe. I feel like Kansas City is better off for the long-term, but this year I think Chicago has the better team. Barely.

AL West

Athletics
Angels
Rangers
Mariners

I like the As over the Angels because I feel like the additions the As made this offseason outweigh the talent that the Angels lost.

Most people have the Angels going first in the division, and you've got to love the LA outfield—especially with the addition of Bobby Abreau—but I think the As have the right mix of youth and veterans to steal the division.

Bullet points? Why, yes please.

• Matt Holliday is a much better acquisition than Abreau at this point in their careers

• Jason Giambi still has home run power and good on-base numbers

• Nomar Garciaparra will provide both veteran leadership and a good bat as a backup corner infielder.

This is probably more of a "gut feeling" than any of the other winners I'm predicting, but something just tells me the As have the division this year. You can't outweigh the craftiness of Billy Beane buying at the deadline, either.

I had the Mariners finishing third, but then Brandon Morrow moved back to the bullpen. Couple that with an injury to Ichiro to open up the year, and the Rangers have enough talent to finish third.

NL East

Mets
Phillies*
Marlins
Braves
Nationals

This is a division loaded with talent, and like the AL East, I could see the Marlins or Braves winning in a weaker division.

I pick the Mets over the Phillies because of the enormous improvements they've made to their bullpen. That's been their achilles heel these past two years, and it's gone from liability to lights-out in a single offseason.

The Mets have a superior pitching staff, and although Philly has a better offense, the Mets have a better collection of players that can both field and hit. In a tightly contested division like this, being able to contribute defensively is key.

The Phillies are my NL wild card pick, because their offense is insanely good. I would have them repeating as NL East champs if only they improved their rotation beyond Hamels. Offensively, they've got an infield that's second only to their division rival Florida Marlins, and that same infield can turn a good double play.

The Marlins are a team with a great deal of up-and-coming talent. Cameron Maybin is a rookie that should make an immediate impact as a guy who will be on base frequently and will give pitchers fits on the basepaths. Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla all have 30+ home run power, and Jeremy Hermida is set for a breakout season.

As good as Florida's strengths are, however, they're missing a few of the pieces necessary to be competitive.

• Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco will be dual aces, but beyond that, Florida's rotation gets a bit shaky.

• Their bullpen situation is similar, with the front end looking good but the pen lacking the depth necessary to shut other teams down every game.

• Their worst position for sure is catcher, with an unknown (though potentially decent) commodity in John Baker, and a known and very crappy commodity in backup Ronny Paulino.

As early as next year, the Marlins may be the class of the NL East, but they haven't got all the pieces yet.

The Braves are rebuildng, and they've got some interesting players on the horizon, but they simply won't be able to compete with anyone but the Nationals in this division.

The Nationals...what more do you want me to say?

NL Central

Cubs
Brewers
Reds
Cardinals
Pirates
Astros

The Cubs are probably the fourth best team in baseball, and are by far the class of this division. I don't think I need to write anything else about them. Everyone knows these things.

A lot of people like to write the Brewers off this year because they lost Sabathia and Sheets, but they are deceiving themselves. If Yovani Gallardo can stay healthy, he has the potential to be one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors.

The rest of the rotation isn't great, but they're not terrible either, and will keep the Brewers in games long enough for their great offense to win around 88 games. Do not write the Brewers off.

The Reds are a tough team to project, because they're so young. If they can pull it together, they'll be one of the best up-and-coming teams in the majors. Similar to the Marlins, they have the potential to be the class of this division as early as next year, but I'm not sure they have all the pieces to take it this year.

The Cardinals are over-rated. Pujols will be just as good as ever, and Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel may be able to continue on their recent success. Colby Rasmus coming up could make their outfield one of the most dangerous in the majors. However, that's almost all they have going for them right now.

The Cardinal infield is weak outside of Pujols and Khalil Greene, and the pitching rotation is the definition of mediocrity. If Chris Carpenter returns to form and stays healthy, it will be a pleasant surprise for St. Louis, but not enough for them to do anything with themselves this year.

The Pirates will have one of the most dangerous offenses in the majors in a couple years. You may laugh now, but just wait a year or two and I'll be able to smile knowingly while the Pirates are shocking the rest of the world. For now, though, they're just the same ol' Pirates.

Mired in a record-tying streak of losing seasons, the Pirates don't have what it takes to break that 81-win barrier this year. The optimism in Pittsburgh is one for the future.

If:

• Andy LaRoche has a good year

• Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit continue their success from last season

• Andrew McCutchen comes up and has a decent rookie year

• Ian Snell develops consistency

• Ross Ohlendorf can finally establish control in the major leagues

• Any one of our bullpen of misfits and outcasts can turn things around for themselves

I'll consider those moral victories and signs of good things to come.

Even if all those things happen, however, the Pirates simply don't have the talent to contend this year, which is why the things I'm looking forward to the most this season are the draft and the trading deadline.

The Astros are in a phase where they need to rebuild, but GM Ed Wade has yet to realize this. Failure on his part to do so will do nothing but prolong the suffering of Astros fans. Trust me, as a Pirates fan, I know.

NL West

Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Giants
Rockies
Padres

The Dodgers are better than people give them credit for. The outfield is fantastic, and if Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones weren't taking playing time away from Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp last year, they probably would have won more games.

However, the infield is a weakness strong enough to make me think that the Diamondbacks have a chance as well. LA's pitching rotation has two interesting breakout candidates in Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, but for whatever reason they're preceded in the rotation by the mediocre Hiroki Kuroda and Randy Wolf, who shouldn't be anything but a fifth starter or long reliever.

The Diamondbacks have just as good of a chance at taking this division as LA does, but I'm giving it to LA based on the fact that Arizona needs more to happen. In order to take the division, Arizona needs:

• Breakthroughs from all three of their young outfielders

• Haren and Webb to play better than they did last year

• Max Scherzer (an interesting pitching prospect, by the way) to turn in a solid season

• LA's young pitchers to not break out.

The Giants are headed in the right direction and should consistently take this division in a few years, but they're not ready yet. They're good enough to hang in the thick of the weakest division in baseball, but that's about it.

The Rockies went from being a good team two years ago to having no interesting players outside of Chris Ianetta, Ian Stewart, Troy Tulowitzki and kind of/sort of Brad Hawpe this year. They went with a rebuilding strategy after their World Series lost, but I'm not entirely convinced they had to.

The Padres are going to be poop this year. There are absolutely no players of interest besides Chase Headley. What an unfortunate position for them to be in. This team needs to start churning out prospects fast.

Playoffs?!

What follows is an absolute crapshoot, and I refuse to justify my decisions because predicting the World Series before the season even begins is just silly.

ALDS

Red Sox over Athletics 3-1
Tigers over Rays 3-2 (my upset pick)

NLDS

Cubs over Phillies 3-2
Mets over Dodgers 3-0

ALCS

Red Sox over Tigers 4-1

NLCS

Cubs over Mets 4-3

World Series

Cubs over Red Sox 4-3

That's right, Cubs fans. I think it will happen this year. I really can't lose here...if I'm right, I look like a prophet, if I'm wrong, I've pissed off Cubs nation.

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