I just get slightly bitter when you benefit from their misfortune.

If you're Mr. Good Luck now, why don't you pick my boys?!
...and then you'd probably jinx them, right?

I'll just say this: Miggy's on my draft team. 'nuf said.

Nuh-uh...I won't fall for that. The cute one or the controversial one?

The one who's 11/18 w/ 3 HRs -- the one most fantasize about (being on their team)

Jeez, I didn't even realize he was doing so well! Guess I'm not doing as much fantasy scouting as you obviously are.

And now that we're clear it's not my Mig, how again does this help the Astros? You might as well accept your role as DS (designated scapegoat).

Well, if your Mig is Tejada... I drafted him, too... but unfortunately he's been on my lifeless bench.

Then you will share in my suffering and joy, at least in regard to his performance. That's enough for me. I won't dub you DS, then.

I shouldn't visit this site with a fever anymore. I can hardly concentrate and I swear I copuldn't figure out why geoff would say Mignon was on his team.


You try to read that with a high fever and not come to the conclusion "My brain just scranmbled itself.."

Veteran Phillies' broadcaster, Harry Kalas, died in the booth today while preparing for the broadcast of today's Phillie game in D.C. The news hit me like a punch in the stomach. I had just posted about him in this thread as the play-by-play guy for as long as I can remember. It's very much like losing a friend.

He was inducted in the baseball hall of fame and was probably among the best known voices of the game. He was also the voice of NFL Films, replacing another legend, John Facenda, who had died in the early 19990s.

Regular programming in Philadelphia is interrupted with the news and a string of interviews and remembrances. The Phillie game starts soon, and it will be somber. He was an irreplaceable part of the organization, and was famous for singing, "High Hopes" throughout the pennant drives.

I met him 25 years ago when he was part of the Phillies Caravan that travelled to surrounding towns in the off-season. He had a guy take our picture, and that guy, the VP of public relations just got off the air reminiscing about the many great moments with Kalas...and even mentioned all the caravans.

He was 73.

another legend gone...

The passing of Harry Kalas is very sad for me too. The Phillies are by far my favorite sports team and I grew up with him calling every game. What makes this especially hard is the suddeness of it. It's not like he's been retired; he just did the Phillies game yesterday. In that way, his death is similar to another Philadelphia icon, Richie Ashburn. I was only 11 then, but the feeling of shock today is the same.

I think that it's great that the Phils won the World Series in his last season. That will make the memories of the 2008 season even more special to me.

I'll never forget his signature homerun call: "Swing and a long drive, watch this baby, outta here, homerun (player's name). My favorite name pronunciation that he did was "Mick-ey Mor-an-di-ni".

Watching my Phillies will never be the same.

This is so sad. I saw Fidrych pitch in the late '70s. He was fantastic for about a 5 year period but injuries did him in at an early age.

Former MLB pitcher Mark Fidrych dead at 54

(AP) - Former All-Star pitcher Mark "the Bird" Fidrych was found dead Monday in an apparent accident at his farm. He was 54.

Worcester County district attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said a family friend found Fidrych about 2:30 p.m. Monday beneath a pickup truck at his Northborough, Mass., farm. He appeared to be working on the truck, Early said.

The colorful right-hander was the American League rookie of the year in 1976 when he went 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA. He spent all five of his major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers, compiling a 29-19 record and a 3.10 ERA.

His career was cut short by injuries.

Fidrych attempted a comeback in 1983 with the Boston Red Sox and went to their Triple A team in Pawtucket, R.I. But he never pitched in the majors after 1980 and retired in 1983.

The Worcester, Mass., native later owned a trucking business.

Fidrych acquired the nickname "the Bird" because of his resemblance to the Big Bird character on the Sesame Street television show. During games, he would bend down and groom the mound with his hands, appear to talk to the baseball and slap high fives with teammates in the middle of the diamond.


Tragic sports deaths Photos: Sadly, Mark Fidrych is only the most recent athlete to leave this world far too soon. We pause to reflect on other tragic and shocking sports deaths.
He started the 1976 All-Star game after opening the season with seven wins in eight decisions. He finished that season with 24 complete games.

But he tore knee cartilage during spring training the following year and was placed on the disabled list until May 24. He sustained a shoulder injury in July 1977 and ended up pitching in just 58 games during his major league career.

State police detectives are investigating the circumstances of his death, Early said.

Fidrych was one of the first true characters of the game that I remember. He burst into national prominence in his rookie year in '76. In addition to high-fiving teammates in the middle of innings , talking to the baseball and getting on his knees to hand groom the mound, I remember he had a fear of bees and gnats and would run from the mound if they hovered around him.

The Tigers of '76 were a bad baseball team, but when he pitched, there would be sell outs. Keep in mind that this was before ESPN and we'd only get to see a quick shot of him on the local sports report at 11pm. When he was pitching on the NBC Game of the Week, ratings hit the roof.

As the article states, after his rookie year, he never came close to a full season again in his career due to injuries. Those injuries cost baseball fans a lot. As far as his personality and showmanship go, he is without equal, and would probably be the biggest media sensation in baseball if he played today.

May the Bird rest in peace.

Yeah, Freddie, I know what you mean. I grew up when you can only catch most of the games on radio, and I'd sit or lie in bed with the radio listening to Kalas and Ashburn, two guys adored by Philadelphia as much, if not more than any player, who ever played in the city. When the new stadium was built, they named the bar overlooking left field after Kalas.

When the Phillies went to the World Series in 1980 there was such a huge outcry and protest against MLB's rule that local broadcasters can not do live telecasts of the World Series. Baseball changed that rule because of that.

My favorite call of his has to be the Scmidt 500th homer in Pittsburgh, which happened 22 years ago this week, I believe, but I'll remember Harry the K this way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qTMYMBMy3g&feature=related

The Phillies postponed their championship visit to the White House today due to the death of Harry Kalas.

I'm sorry to hear about Harry Kalas . I only recently became familiar with him during the playoffs last year when I finally put the name and voice together, although I've heard of him and heard his highlights forever.

Is this going to be one of those years where the Florida Marlins go all the way to win a World Series, again? They are 11-2!

Florida teams deserve better fans.

The Marlins are probably the best run franchise in baseball. They don't make many, if not any, mistakes on talent. They operate on nickels and dimes, but stick to a plan. They were a tough team last year and will be a tougher team this year. Hanley Ramirez is the best shortstop in a division that probably has the 4 best shortstops in the game.

Lou's comments in the Met's thread made me think of this and I wanted to hear your opinions because I can't make up my mind.

Is sacrifice bunting really worth it to move a runner into scoring position? I hear arguments for both. I've always believed it was a smart thing to do, but I've been hearing more and more arguments that it's actually less productive to give up an out to move a runner up one base. Supposedly there is data to prove this, but I've never seen it or heard where to find it. Is there any proof one way or the other?

I don't really believe in sacrificing early in a game. But when you're down by a run in the bottom of the 9th, with men on first and 2nd and no outs, IMO it's a no-brainer. With 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, you can tie the game on an out, and you win the game with a single.

Yes. Ststistically, there is more than a 3X to 1 chance that a base hit will be a single rather than an extra base hit. Therefore, if you are going to rely on hits to score the lead-off guy from first (as opposed to sacrifices) you will in all likelihood require two hits (even a double with a runner on first doesn't score him slightly more than half the time).

Now with a successful sacrifice, you have a runner in scoring position with one out where a single will score him more than half the time. The chances of getting one hit with two outs to spare are greater than the chances of getting two hits with three outs to spare, generally speaking. Moreover, the sacrifice removes the risk of the double play. The sacrifice increases your chance of scoring a run in the inning, but decreases your chances of possibly scoring 3 or 4 in the inning.

Of course, the circumstances can offset the averages. It would not make sense to sacrifice your #3 or #4 hitter, who may be more likely to get an extra base hit than a single. Also, the sacrifice leaves a base open, allowing an opposing team to pitch around the next batte. In short teams want to avoid sacrificing a very good hitter, only to put the burden on a low hitter. Therefore, it makes most sense to sacrifice with the #8, #9 or #1 batters.

There was an obvious decrease in sacrifices (and hit & runs and stolen bases) in the 90s as the outrageous surge in homeruns, whether it be from smaller parks, expansion or steroids, had most of the teams looking for the big inning. Runners were basically instructed to cling to their bases and wait for a long ball. As a result, many of the fundamentals, like bunting, hitting behind the runner and base running and sliding have deteriorated, especially in the AL.

Blibble, a very good manager in the 70s, who hated sacrificing, was Earl Weaver, a true believer of the three run homer. He always said, "You only get 27 outs in a game. Why do I want to give away any of them.

First off, great post Kly, I intend to revisit this topic! But what's on my mind at the moment...

For the first time in my life I'm hoping the Dodgers continue their amazing home winning streak because the Giants are going to Los Angeles this weekend and I want to them to be the team to end the streak. With the way they have been pitching they've been winning or splitting every series lately, and it would be so satisfying for my team to go in the enemy territory and be the spoilers.

The Dodgers are the story of this season so far. They are the most balanced team in the league. The streak can't last forever. Good luck ending the streak, Blibble. Maybe Lincecum can cool them down.

You guys really jinxed the Marlins.

I hope I jinxed them. They're only a half game out of first. That's too close for me.

I'll put another jinx on them and maybe the Mets will catch them.

BREAKING NEWS

Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for violating the league performance enhancing drug policy.

Looks like I jinxed the Dodgers too. And Jason Bay is looking better and better all the time.

Wow!

Well, good for MLB. It shows they're not afraid to suspend a big name ballplayer.

My reaction to the Manny Ramierez suspension is to quote Jerry Seinfeld:
"That's a shame."

Seriously, this might be the first thing in 15 years that Selig has done right.

Wade Boggs: What a fabric!

I only hope that Manny's tenure with Boston wasn't under the influence of these performance-enhancing drugs.