Drunken Bleachers Blog

Ole!

2009-09-30T16:05:00.007-04:00

Finally. 'Tis the season for rally wings, blue cheese, and some lucky New England brewed pumpkin ale. The Red Sox are in the playoffs...!

(Note: The rally pumpkin pictured above was skillfully carved by our friend Dan during Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. It no longer exists -- we don't think -- but it is often evoked for good luck.)

Super Grover vs. Gatorade

2009-09-28T14:52:00.010-04:00

Is it my imagination, or is the new Gatorade logo strikingly similar to Super Grover's emblem?

At the very least, Super Grover should be offered an opportunity to star in a Gatorade commercial. Just sayin'.

Dad Catches Foul Ball - Toddler Throws it Back

2009-09-16T15:47:00.008-04:00

Oh toddlers. This clip from Tuesday's Phillies - Nationals game is fantastic. Dad lunges over the railing and snags a foul ball. Dad is psyched. He gives a couple of high fives and hands the prize to his daughter. She promptly throws the ball back on the field. Oooops!

Prince Fielder HR Celebration

2009-09-08T13:01:00.007-04:00

I've never criticized the 2004 Red Sox for being "idiots," so it may be somewhat hypocritical to berate the Brew Crew for lack of "professionalism" for their premeditated celebration after Prince Fielder's walk-off homerun on Sunday, but...stuff like this just looks stupid when your team is 15 games under .500:

Unrelated BTW: Yikes. If the 2009 World Series is in the Bronx, tickets won't be cheap. According to the New York Post, tickets are already on sale in the secondary market for $23,000 each. The new Yankee Stadium seats 50,235 fans. After tickets were allocated for season ticket holders, league executives, players, and sponsors, there are only 735 face value tickets left per game for the "real fans." Not good.

Bill Simmons on Big Papi

2009-06-02T21:28:00.002-04:00

Sad, but true.

Earlier Start Times for ALCS and World Series

2009-05-18T13:14:00.002-04:00

Thank you Fox. (Never said that before.)

Oh Bruins...

2009-05-15T09:58:00.007-04:00

I hadn't experienced a gut wrenching, team hasn't won a championship since before I was born type of elimination since, well...October 2003. Until last night. Better luck next year Bruins.

Never trust a human with a pinstriped "How may I help you?" sign...

2009-05-05T21:16:00.008-04:00

...an important life rule that these Yankees fans wish they had followed. My heart aches for the woman who flew all the way from Oregon for the game, left the stadium after being told by a Yankee employee that the game was off, and then was unable to re-enter when the game began at 9:20. The Yankees really know how to treat their most loyal fans.

Ellsbury Steals Home - The Video

2009-04-27T14:53:00.006-04:00

How awesome was this? Before Jacoby Ellsbury stole home last night, I would have had a short list of nominees for the most exciting play in sports -- the inside the park homerun, the penalty shot, the alley-oop and the grand slam -- but wow, this steal of home just takes the cake:

Jack Edwards = Batty

2009-04-24T00:04:00.005-04:00

I alternated between cringes and giggles when I heard this sound byte Monday night -- Bruins play by play announcer, Jack Edwards, has officially lost his marbles. On Patriots Day, he compared the Bruins Game 3 victory to the American Revolution. Aside from the Bruins being the number one seed and the Canadiens the 8th seed, the game being game three in a best of seven series in the first round of the playoffs, it's just generally silly to compare sports to, you know, the Revolutionary War. Alas, the video (in all its YouTube glory):

"Sometimes you feel like dancing, so you do..."

2009-04-09T14:08:00.009-04:00

This guy is nuts:

Hat tip: Deadspin

Birdbathia

2009-04-07T13:21:00.003-04:00

Seven years, $161 million, huh...

Buckets of Rain

2009-04-06T14:36:00.005-04:00

Here is a mind bender:
Five Major League Baseball schedulers walk into a conference room. They eat hot dogs and sip Starbucks. After much deliberation, it is decided the Tampa Bay Rays will oppose the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day. It will be a stunning rematch of the 2008 ALCS. Great. The Rays home is located in a warm, southern climate with a weatherproof, indoor venue. The Red Sox play in a northern city where spring weather is unpredictable, rain or snow is likely, and the average temperature on April 6th is 45 degrees. Where should the game be played?

Answer on Page 67.

Opening Day -- Take 2 -- Tuesday, 4:05 pm!

BTW - For fans of Phish (including my hubby), the band will be playing Fenway Park on May 31st, 2009. There is even a fun little Fenway video on the Phish website.

(Title borrowed from Bob Dylan without his permission.)

Do Androids Dream of Balls and Strikes?

2009-04-01T20:42:00.010-04:00

How long before Major League Baseball just cuts to the chase and hires robots to call balls and strikes? The New York Times reports:

"An improved camera system to monitor umpires’ calls of balls and strikes will be used in all 30 major league stadiums starting opening day, ending the contentious QuesTec era but expanding the scope of baseball’s oversight program...The new system, called Zone Evaluation, relies on pitch-tracking data already collected by cameras in all 30 parks and distributed through applications on MLB.com and iTunes."

If Major League umpires are expected to mimic computer generated data when they call a ball or a strike, then why is a human necessary in the process at all? Why not just set up a laptop behind home plate and program it to flash a red light for a strike and a green light for a ball?

I pitched for my college team. Part of the strategy was to "know the umpire" -- each ump had his or her own strike zone aberrations. Was it occasionally frustrating? Yes, but the "human factor" is an essential part of baseball's charm. When an umpire blows a call, we are interested in it, we write about it, we talk about it, we lament it. Perfection is uninspiring.

Bring the humans back.

Escalator Girl

2009-04-01T14:12:00.011-04:00

This makes sense --
The game ends. Bruins fan rides down the escalator, realizes that she left her purse under her seat and has to go back to get it. The only rational option for return (after several $7 Garden beers) was of course to go back the way she came. Oh wait -- she's carrying her purse. I guess there is no rational explanation for this:

Hat tip to Universal Hub.

Own a Piece of Yankees Sod (or not)

2009-03-22T08:19:00.002-04:00

A Patch of Green: Yankees Grass Is Now a Brand

Howzat! Manny Ramirez Plays Cricket

2009-03-19T20:41:00.008-04:00

In the seven and a half seasons that Manny Ramirez played for the Boston Red Sox we witnessed a myriad of Manny Moments -- but none of them involved cricket. Manny took a few swings of the paddle today to promote Direct TV's "Cricket Ticket." Behold the video evidence:

Manny Being Manny: Cricket Edition from Big League Stew on Vimeo.

A-Rod is of Unsound Mind

2009-03-18T00:37:00.003-04:00

Eeeeeeew.

Outtakes from Photo Day

2009-03-10T12:46:00.006-04:00

Thank you Cursed to First for pointing out this video of fantastic outtakes from Red Sox photo day. Dustin Pedroia wants YOU to run onto the field (naked). The video is pure fun. Trust me.

3-D Baseball Cards

2009-03-09T18:38:00.007-04:00

As a rule, I am enthusiastic when traditional products use technology to evolve -- but 3-D baseball cards? Really?

Nomar Could Retire (Boo)

2009-02-27T17:44:00.011-05:00

It's too bad that Nomar Garciaparra is pondering retirement. Ken Rosenthal tells us that the Oakland A's are the only team interested in signing him. He would end his career on a better note if he could play one more injury-free season. Plus, if he signs with an American League team, he will (finally) get to play at Fenway Park one more time and get a well deserved ovation. The A's play at Fenway July 6th. Standing room tickets are still available for $25/$20.

On the subject of former Red Sox:

What is Manny thinking? He turned down a two-year $45 million offer from the Dodgers today. He is just waiting for spring training to end so he doesn't have to go.

Trot Nixon may play for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009 if he can make the roster.

Yooooooooouk!

2009-02-23T12:25:00.005-05:00

How could the thrill be gone when our first baseman looks like this?

(Photo from Boston.com)

Forty-two days 'til Opening Day!

Darvish Article

2009-02-20T13:46:00.004-05:00

Check out this article in today's New York Times about 22-year-old Japanese pitcher, Yu Darvish.

Former Mets pitcher, Masato Yoshii, -- who is familiar with both Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka -- says that Darvish is "more talented" than Matsuzaka and "he has exceptional control of every pitch known to man except a knuckleball." Wow.

Darvish isn't a free agent until 2014, so there would be a posting fee involved if he wants to pitch in the United States before that. Maybe the Red Sox should start saving up?

There are videos of Darvish over at Darvis Watch and we will get a chance to see him pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March.

The Last Piece of Shea Stadium is Demolished

2009-02-19T21:01:00.002-05:00

This video is a tear-jerker. Seriously.

Moneyball the Movie

2009-02-06T13:20:00.006-05:00

MSNBC reports that Brad Pitt will star as Billy Beane in the film adaptation of Michael Lewis' book "Moneyball." There is no word yet on whether Youk will be asked to play The Greek God of Walks.