Gammons: My 20 years at ESPN

One of my favorite baseball pundits hangs up the mic.


Gammons: My 20 years at ESPN

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Flippin, Floppin, Flyin.

Click on title above.  Good website to check out.  Especially love the graphic this link connects to.  Many good, interesting graphics on the site.  The travels graphics are awesome!  I can't imagine traveling that far back in the 1800's and still playing ball.  No internet, no creature comforts.  I am too spoiled.

MLB West Division graphically

Pretty cool graphic.  Click on picture for a large view.  I found this at billssportsmaps.com which has a bunch of sports represented in these graphical type displays.

It was outright thievery!

Jeter with pick #124 in the 13th round. I ought to be put in jail I tell you.



Average .334

HR 18

RBI 66

Runs 107

SB 30


Six months after my original statement, I revisit this post with the above numbers. I retract my initial boast--I should be put under the jail with the dregs.
It was a crime of monumental fantasy proportions.

The United Countries of Baseball

Where does your allegiance lie? I was Braves fan growing up and became a Red Sox fan when they lost to the Mets in the World Series. I guess I felt bad for Billy Buckner, I don't know.

The Macaque Interview.

T-Bob spills his guts on all things fantasy baseball!

Hatherly Hitters Interview

An indepth look inside the mind of the Hatherly Hitter.

Draft Day Manifesto.

It was a very fun draft.   More than any other year, to me the talent level after the 6th round just all blended together.  I think the greatest gap of talent of the remaining players lied in the closer position.  That was one of the reasons I went back-to-back closers in the 7th and 8th round. We'll see if it pays off or not.

Stolen from me were Figgins, Peralta, and Carmona, but that happens to everyone. Having a perfect draft would be the equivalent of a perfect NCAA tournament bracket.  It just doesn't happen.

Besides the Jeter pick which I might have quietly told a few people about, my favorite value picks were Carlos Pena at #146 by Hatherly Hitters and Nelson Cruz at #162 by Craig Who.  Those picks should pay some dividends.

Hoping for a nail-bitter this year.  Good luck to everyone.

Team Trademark

How is this for a franchise. Representing in Pearl River County, MS. 2009 will be the Year of The Macaque!

Ken Burns' Baseball Documentary

Just thought I would recommend this excellent work on the history of baseball. A bit lengthy, but nonetheless, very enjoyable to watch. Below is a description from the website. The whole series is available on Netflix.

Synopsis:

Baseball is a nine-part series that examines nearly 200 years of American history through the prism of our national pastime. Americans have played baseball in one form or another since the early 19th century, while they conquered a continent, warred with one another and with enemies abroad, struggled over labor and civil rights and the meaning of freedom. At the game’s heart lie mythic contradictions: it is a pastoral game that was actually born in crowded cities, an exhilarating democratic sport that tolerates cheating – and has excluded as many as it has included, a profoundly conservative game that has sometimes managed to be years ahead of its time. The series celebrates the achievements of dozens of memorable Americans who, through baseball, became national icons – including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax, Satchel Paige, Joe DiMaggio, Christy Mathewson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Hank Greenberg, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Jackie Robinson – and follows the fortunes of two of the most beloved teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox. Still, the series is much more than an accounting of games won and lost, teams rising and falling, rookies arriving and veterans saying farewell. The series celebrates the extraordinary stars of the Negro Leagues, the pioneers who paved the way for integration of the national pastime, and ultimately, America at large. The story of baseball is therefore fundamentally the story of race in America. But it is also the story of the transformation of millions of immigrants from everywhere into new generations of Americans; of the rise and fall of great American cities; of fathers and sons and of mothers and daughters; and of our insatiable need for heroes. It is an integral and compelling manifestation of the American experience itself.
A Film ByKEN BURNS

Trade Bait

If anyone is looking for stolen bases, I have Jacoby Ellsbury available.

Batting Stances: Twins

Batting stance guy is uncanny. Props to Hatherly Hitters for the discovery. It's a must watch if you remember some of these former players.  More at www.battingstanceguy.com.  By the way,  I do a mean Jeff Bagwell.

Breaking News!! Four months later.

Clucker captures his first championship.  Here's the interview:

Da Commish: Congrats cluck!

Cluck: Thanks.  Thanks.

Da Commish:  How do you feel?

Cluck:  I feel cluckin' great!

Da Commish: Fantastic.  Could you tell us a little bit about the matrix?

Cluck:  What the cluck?  You can't put that in the interview-that's top secret.

Da Commish:  Well now, seems like I've hit a nerve.  I'll let you know now.  The commissioners office has opened an investigation on your championship run.  Basically, there are two parts to the investigation.  First,  the Chipper Jones homerun dance around my chair at work in the beginning of the season (btw, no tips were given to cluck by me for this).  Could it have unleashed a firestorm of bad gree-gree on BCBS and perhaps other teams in the league? Secondly, concerning the matrix. Does it provide an unfair advantage, is there some insider info you have that the matrix provides?  My goons doing the investigation will find out.

Cluck:  Bring it on.

Da Commish:  Any last words.

Cluck:  I love chickens!!

postscript:  Seriously, congrats Armando on a great year, many shrewd moves, and a little luck as any champion needs to win it all.