Archive for February, 2011

Edwin “Duke” Snider, center fielder for the Brooklyn and later Los Angeles Dodgers died today, Sunday February 27, 2011 at age 84. The main power hitter on a talented series of Dodgers teams, the legendary “Duke Of Flatbush” held a special place in the hearts of Brooklyn Dodgers fans. He more than held his own in the eternal (some say infernal) debates over who was the best center fielder in New York, Duke, Mickey Mantle, or Willie Mays. In fact, his performance, including five straight years hitting 40+ homers, landed him in Cooperstown. Even though the move to the cavernous [...]

The Mets and Braves picked up today’s game where they left off yesterday; dead even. Braves jockeying for the fifth starter position all had a good day.  Rodrigo Lopez went two giving up a hit and striking out one. Mike Minor was just a bit better in his two innings allowing the Mets to see the ball  but do nothing with it. Brandon Beachy cruised through the fifth but gave up a pair in the 6th on a two run double by Murphy. The relief crew weren’t as successful. Peter Moylan got himself into a jam in the 7th but [...]

Hello again from Hawaii. This is probably my last article from here, as I fly home to Michigan tomorrow night. Since the Chipper news was so positive today, I thought I’d quickly bring you up to speed, then seek out your opinion.

Hello again everyone! I have my iPad pointed in exactly the right direction for the WiFi to connect here by the lagoon in Hawaii, so I’m striking while the iron’s hot writing this post. Kudos to Fred for all the fine work he’s doing while I’m away. His thoroughness does make it a challenge to find avenues to pursue to write about during the brief interludes of web access, though! Having said that, I did run across a couple of interesting things that haven’t been trampled on, such as:

Freddie Freeman introduced him self formally to the Mets by doubling to right, left and center before leaving the game in the 6th. He also took advantage of a missed cutoff man to go third in the first and scored on a passed ball in the second. Eric Hinske got the Braves first homer of spring in the fourth taking it well over the right field wall. McCann, Shafer and McLouth got their hacks then left without causing much of a stir; McLouth after taking a shot on the ankle in the fifth. Mather Young, Boscan and Costanza got some [...]

On this Saturday Morning before the Braves wander up to Port St. Lucie to play the Mets a headline in the Savannah Morning Herald caught my eye. It read Braves want McLouth to regain old form. Now let me be absolutely clear, I’d like nothing better than for Nate McLouth to hit 285, with 15 homers, 65RBI, 50 steals and have an OBP of 375. That – or anything close to that – would be a hell of a season and mean the Braves and Phillies are locked up in a battle for the division. But expecting that kind of [...]

Hello again everyone from the tropical paradise of Hawaii! I heard from my intrepid partner in crime Fred Owens that we had an earthquake here. Hmmm, no one here seemed to notice (and the wonderful Internet service we have here would make it challenging to verify)! Speaking of challenging to verify, all my work on these challenging to verify spring training claims led me to believe that you guys (editor’s note: Bob uses “guys” to mean both ladies and gentlemen; Also, Bob is the editor LOL!) might be interested in a “fish story” of my own. I trust you all [...]

The first week of clichés is finally past. I was thrilled to know that everyone lost weight, is in their best shape ever and looks like having a great year. I applauded players who had less than stellar years working hard to impress their coaches and manager, why didn’t they think of that sooner?  I was amazed that all the rookies are impressing everyone and wonder that such talent and amazing pitching can be hidden in A ball without notice.  Mostly I shook my head and longed for real reporting. Tomorrow at Port Saint Lucie we actually get a game [...]

Aloha everyone! I’m writing from poolside during the band’s break here at the Hilton resort on the Big Island of Hawaii! Aside from the fact that I can’t think of a reason to be inside when it’s 77 degrees and breezy, this seems to be one of the few places here with reliable Wifi coverage! I know that some of you are concerned that the Braves might have a few issues as we get set for the preseason to commence. Having spent the last hour or so browsing, I’m here to tell you that this just can’t be possible! In [...]

By definition, we’re all fans of the Braves here and most would say the the NL and particularly the NL EAST  is the best division/league. But, which division would field the best lineup in a divisional All-Star series? The folks here at Fansided knowing that their readers are the experts want you to tell us. There’s a poll to pick the NL winner this week so hurry over to Call to the Pen and make your choice known. An AL poll will follow and then an NL v AL playoff will determine which division kicks butt best. Hopefully the AL [...]