Category Archives: Boston Red Sox

If the Astros play a game and nobody watches, does anybody hear the applause?

Posted on by
Reply

The best fastball in baseball may belong to Royals rookie Yordano Ventura, who hit 102.9 MPH against the Rays.  He averaged 99.5 MPH on his fastballs over six innings of work.  The pitch that nearly hit 103 was his 93rd of the night…  [MLB]

SOMEBODY must have been watching…  Unfortunately, none of them have a Neilsen TV-Set Top meter reader.  The Houston Astros game got a 0.0 share, losing even to the pre-game show, on Monday night.  The team has had several losing records – bad records – and is in Chapter 11.  [SI]

Josh Hamilton dove into first base on a grounder and tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb.  He should be out nearly two months.  And that, kids, is why they don’t let you slide into first base in Little League, much less head first.  [ESPN]

Hamilton’s former teammate, Adrian Beltre, is getting a strained left quad looked at.  He left Tuesday night’s game unable to run.  As insurance, the Rangers called up Kevin Kouzmanoff from the minors. [ESPN]

After nearly 2000 games in the MINORS, Pete Rose, Jr. still is trying to get back to the majors – as a manager.  Who knew?  [SI]

And when is a mascot not a mascot?  When he only appears in the plazas and not necessarily on the field.  The Dodgers say that the un-mascots are “unique performance characters“.  Yikes…  [SI]

Hurry Back!

Tampa sends starter Mike Moore to the DL with a sore left elbow.

The Dodgers send A.J. Ellis to the DL for knee surgery.

Miami sends Jacob Turner to the DL for a right shoulder strain.

Seattle loses starter James Paxton to the DL wiht a strained latissimus dorsi muscle (it’s in his back).

Minnesota sends Oswaldo Arcia to the DL with a right wrist strain.

Welcome Back!

Josh Beckett rejoins the Dodgers.

Craig Breslow returns to Boston.

Off to Rehab:

Taijuan Waker, Mike Minor, Tyler Chatwood, Freddy Galvis, Dane De La Rosa, and Jeff Locke

Baseball 365:

Arrivals:

(1870) Ollie Pickering

Pickering came from the Texas League and hit a couple of bloop hits as a rookie.  Naturally, those bloop hits became known as Texas Leaguers – a term occasionally still used today.

(1879) Doc White

(1888) Hippo Vaughn – great Cubs pitcher from days gone by

(1909) Claude Passeau – sticking with the Cubs pitcher theme…

(1946) Nate Colbert – Padres power hitter of the early 1970s

(1961) Kirk McCaskill

(1965) Hal Morris

(1981) A.J. Ellis

(1985) David Robertson

Departures:

(1982) Francisco Barrios

Barrios was just 28; died of a heart attack.

(1995) Bob Allison – KU fullback, Twins hitter.

(2001) Willie Stargell

(2009) Nick Adenhart

Nick Adenhart was a passenger in a car when it was hit by a drunk driver and he died.  Adenhart had just made his first major league start of 2009 and had recently left the ballpark.  I remember when this happened and wrote about it briefly here.

Events:

(1913) Ebbets Field opens with a loss – the Phillies take Brooklyn, 1 – 0, before 10,000 fans.

(1947) Commissioner Happy Chandler suspends Leo Durocher an entire season for conduct detrimental to baseball.

(1962) Houston tops the Yankees, 2 – 1, in an exhibition game at the new Astrodome.  Mickey Mantle homers.  There was grass in there, you know.  The turf came later because grass couldn’t grow after they painted the windows in the roof to help fielders track fly balls….

Happy Anniversary, Hammerin’ Hank Aaron – and other stuff…

Posted on by
Reply

The Rockies are going to play it safe with Troy Tulowitzki.  Tulo homered among three hits, made two great plays at short – and then left the game to protect a frail groin and deal with tightness in his leg.  [MLB]

It was a rough day in Tampa.  Ray starter Matt Moore left the game with an injury to his left elbow.  Later, Rays reliever Heath Bell drilled Royals infielder Omar Infante in the jaw with a pitch.  Infante left the game with a possible concussion and will have his jaw tested for a possible fracture.  [MLB/SI]

Tigers pitcher Evan Reed is wanted for questioning and likely will face a sexual assault complaint when the Tigers return to Detroit.  [SI]

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee for a meniscus tear.  He injured himself running the bases on Saturday.  It’s the second such surgery on the same knee in two years.  [SI]

Yankees closer David Robertson likely heads to the DL after straining a groin, hopefully his own, in an outing against Toronto.  An MRI revealed a grade one strain.  [ESPN]

Hurry Back!

KC placed reliever Tim Collins on the DL with a left elbow strain, and pitcher Francisley Bueno on the DL with a sprained middle finger.  Joining the roster are lefty Donnie Joseph and Michael Mariot.

Minnesota placed infielder Jason Bartlett on the DL with a sprained ankle.  The Twins recalled C Chris Herrmann to take Bartlett’s spot on the roster.

Texas placed starter Joe Saunders on the DL with a bruised left ankle.  Texas brings back RHP Daniel McCutchen.

Welcome Back!

Rockies pitcher Boone Logan, Oakland pitcher Ryan Cook, and Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco returned from the DL.

That Didn’t Last Long…

Boston sent Brock Holt back to the minors after having signed Ryan Roberts to a contract.

Transactions:

The Yankees worked out a trade that sends Eduardo Nunez to Minnesota for pitcher Miguel Sulbaran.

Cleveland traded pitcher Preston Guilmet to Baltimore for infielder Torsten Boss.

Baseball 365:

Arrivals:

(1859) Lady Baldwin

Had a short career in the 1880s, but for a couple of years was a very good lefty pitcher.  His nickname, Lady, came about because of his overly gentlemanly ways and his frequently demonstrating nervousness and fear in public situations.

(1915) Kirby Higbe

(1943) John Hiller

(1946) Jim “Catfish” Hunter

Five World Series teams, and the ace of the great As teams of the early 1970s.  Didn’t mess around, threw strikes, and got the job done.

(1954) Gary Carter

Like Hunter, left us way too soon.  Great catcher, always looked like he was having fun.

(1979) Jeremy Guthrie

(1983) Chris Ianetta

(1986) King Felix Hernandez, Carlos Santana

(1987) Yonder Alonso

Departures:

(1978) Former Commissioner Ford Frick

(2005) Eddie Miksis

Transactions:

(1963) The Tigers sign Denny McClain, who had been placed on waivers by the White Sox.

Events:

(1922) According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Cardinals debuted their new uniform, which includes two birds on a bat with the word Cardinals across the front in a pre-season exhibition game against the Browns.

(1969) Opening Day for four expansion teams – all winners.  Kansas City, Montreal, Seattle, and San Diego all open their first seasons happily…

(1974) Hank Aaron hits his 715th homer, passing Babe Ruth, off of Al Dowling in Atlanta. [MLB]

(1994) Kent Mercker fires a no-hitter as Atlanta tops the Dodgers.  It was Mercker’s first complete game.

2013 Season Forecast – Boston Red Sox

Posted on by
Reply

Already out the gate with the best record in baseball for the month of April, let’s see if the start can hold water for an entire season.

Last Five Years:
2012:  69 – 93 (5th, AL East)
2011:  90 – 72 (3rd, Crashed AL East)
2010:  89 – 73 (3rd, AL East)
2009:  95 – 67 (2nd, AL East)
2008:  95 – 67 (2nd, AL East)

In general, the trend is working in the wrong direction, but if Bob McGrath were singing “Which One of These Things is Not Like the Other…”, we’d single out the Bobby Valentine era as the odd ball.  The Sox have averaged about 88 wins a season.  Without checking any of the rest of it, to guess that the Sox could bounce back to 75 – 80 wins wouldn’t have been an improbable prediction.

Runs Scored:  734 (5th in the AL)
Runs Allowed:  806 (13th in the AL – ouch)

Runs in Fenway Park: 842, tops in the AL
Runs on the road: 698, 9th in the AL

So, for 2012, Fenway – always a good hitter’s park, was even more so last season.

Season Recap:

Mixed previews….  Some people thought the Sox would remain competitive, having spent a lot of money to bring in veteran talent.  Many thought the hiring of Bobby Valentine might be an odd way to mix things up following the firing of Terry Francona.  I’ll say…

The team got off to a bland start, but a nice streak of six wins got the team back to .500 as the month of April ended.  Losing nine of ten, the Sox fell out of the race as Bobby Valentine was losing his clubhouse as fast as you can say “Kevin Youkilis wasn’t mentally ready to play.”  To the Sox credit, they battled back to 21 – 21 and a second hot streak got the Sox to 42 – 37 right as July began.

At that point, the Sox fell out of contention. They sputtered through August, first slowly, and then – starting on about 8/19 – they fell off the map.  The Sox would give up ten or more runs in a game every week or more – seven times in the last 38 games.  As August ended, the Sox traded away a bunch of people who were seen as under-producing (Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford) and turned it over to the next wave of Sox players.  The Astros played better in September.  The Sox won just 27 of their last 83 games; and went 10 – 31 in the last 41 games.

Transactions:

Some minor moves before the season – resigning Cody Ross and David Ortiz, and trading Marco Scutaro to Colorado for Clayton Mortensen.  I can’t prove it, but maybe the season went south when they signed pitcher Billy Buckner on 2/29.

Actually, the were proving an interest in Chicago.  The traded Michael Bowden to the Cubs for Marlon Byrd.  Ouch – he was released in June.  The signed Mark Prior to a minor league deal.  The picked up former ChiSox outfielder Scott Podsednik when outfielders were hard to find in May.  Kevin Youkilis was moved to the White Sox in June for Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart.  I don’t see that working out…  They even sold Justin Germano (to the Cubs) and released Bobby Jenks (former Sox closer) – and in a related moved, signed Andy LaRoche, whose dad was a pitcher for the Cubs…  Look – the Cubs stink, and while the White Sox were pretty good, cast offs aren’t going to help…

Here’s a move I don’t understand.  They traded away Podsednik to Arizona, then signed him when Arizona released Podsednik.

I mentioned the big sell off – the Sox traded Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto, and CASH to the Dodgers for James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, Allen Webster, and two guys who arrived in October – Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands.

Starting Pitching:

Jon Lester had an off season, falling from ace to league average pitcher.  Clay Buchholz fell from surprise ace to league average.  Josh Beckett fell from famous pitcher who sometimes looks dominating to a shade below league average (and with a 5 – 11 record, looks worse than he really was).  Daisuke Matsuzaka went 1 – 7 with an ERA north of 8.00, Daniel Bard proved he was a reliever in 10 starts, Aaron Cook was given 18 starts to prove he was done (5.65 ERA).  Felix Doubront looked tolerable in 29 starts – I think he can build on that.

Going forward, the Red Sox could make immediate gains if Lester and Buchholz just got back half of what they lost in 2012 – that’s 30 saved runs.  Getting a fourth starter that could be CLOSE to league average to replace Dice-K and Cook could save 30 runs.  Replacing Josh Beckett with Ryan Dempster looks to be a wash – Dempster was awesome in Chicago, but rocked in Texas.  Boston just feels more like his kind of place – I think he can be at least league average in 30 starts, which is still better than 21 Josh Beckett starts and 10 bad Daniel Bard starts…  If Doubront doesn’t fall back and if John Lackey ever gets healthy, who knows.  I like the rotation to be 50 – 60 runs better than last year.

Bullpen:

Losing Andrew Bailey, who was brutal, and having to use Alfredo Aceves as a closer was bad.  I know Aceves got 25 saves, but the two combined to cost the Sox six unnecessary runs.  The rest of the pen was a nice patch work of guys like Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Miller, Rich Hill, Clayton Mortensen, Vincente Padilla, and Matt Albers.  Sure, they had a few sore thumbs (I’m looking at you, Mark Melancon and Zach Stewart), but every bullpen has one or two.

This year, the Sox signed Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan, have Andrew Bailey back, and added Koji Uehara to Tunizawa, Miller, and Mortensen.  This could be a bullpen that is ten runs better than last year.

Catching:

I’m thinking that the Sox missed their captain, the retired Jason Varitek.  Boston gave the job to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, with Kelly Shoppach (now gone) and Ryan Lavarnway as backups.  People could run on both Salty and Lavarnway (108 stolen, 21 caught), and as a unit, the team was below average in winning percentage, team ERA, and tended to be error prone.  The only category in which Boston catchers were above average was mobility (assists not tied to caught stealing), and that’s not saying a whole lot.

Shoppach was their best defensive catcher, had the best batting rates (5 runs per 27 outs, the only above average offensive player) – so he’s gone.  I know – Saltalamacchia hit 25 homers, but he batted .222 with a sub .300 OBP.  He hit like Jason Varitek did at the end, but with no defensive positives.  Salty is back, but the Sox did bring in David Ross from Atlanta, who is a fine catcher and should get at least 500 innings of work.

Infield:

Adrian Gonzalez was underperforming, maybe, but he was still hitting .300 with 37 doubles and 86 RBI with a month to go.  And, he was saving them 35 runs with his glove in five months – gold glove play.  James Loney can’t hope to replace that – so the Sox let him leave and signed Mike Napoli to play there.  Napoli is an underrated catcher – I’d let him do that from time to time and try to find a better hitter (Daniel Nava?) to play first.  Dustin Pedroia was productive but his range is falling quickly.  Never GREAT before, he cost the team more than 15 runs because he makes nearly nine fewer plays per 870 balls in play than the average second sacker.  Mike Aviles was a below average hitter – first time in a full season he did that – but ordinary at short.   The Sox will try Stephen Drew there in 2013 – and I think he’s going to be a weak fielder and I fear he may not be that great a hitter anymore.  He has the tools to be, but it’s been a while.  If he hits his 150 game norms, he’s not going to be appreciably better than Mike Aviles overall.  A few more runs on the board for both teams…  The one place Boston may improve is at third, where Will Middlebrooks will get full time duty.  Youkilis struggled last season, so if Middlebrooks can match his half season stats across a full season, that will help.  He is NOT in Youkilis’s league as a fielder, but Youk was fading there last year.

As a whole, this group will likely be 50 runs worse defensively, but break even offensively.

Outfield:

A team that had so many injuries, nine guys played in left, eleven guys played in center, and eleven more played in right.  With Crawford gone, the Sox may try Jackie Bradley (he already got sent back) in left, or Daniel Nava.  They need a full (and productive) season from centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury – who is, at best, a league average fielder but CAN be a crazy good hitter.  Cody Ross is gone; Shane Victorino, who is as productive a hitter and a slightly better fielder will play right.  If Nava can step forward and get on base, or at least be a solid platoon with Jonny Gomes, and Ellsbury can get healthy, there is a chance for 40 – 50 extra runs on the board with little change in defensive value.

DH/Bench:

David Ortiz should be around for 25 more games than the 90 games he played last year, but at his age, he might decline some.  Nava can play all over, Victorino can spell Ellsbury if needed, and Pedro Ciriaco will be the utility infielder.  Not a bad bunch.

On the Farm!

At Pawtucket, the only prospect from 2012 may have been catcher Ryan Lavernway, who hit .295 and played with the big club.  He’s at least a good backup.  The best pitcher was probably Justin Germano, but he is 29 and now a Cub.  He’s no prospect.

2010 first round pick Bryce Brentz hit .296 at Portland (AA), showing power, and might make the big club this year.  Jackie Bradley didn’t look overmatched in his 61 games there – he was a 2011 first rounder.  Stolmy Pimentel didn’t look as strong as he had previously.  The reliever with promise may be Aaron Kurcz, who fanned 72 in 50 innings, but is wild.  2008 first round pick Joshua Fields is getting there – better control and 59 Ks in his 44 innings.  Unfortunately, he’s an Astro right now…

Look out for 3B Michael Almanzar, who hit .300 with power at A+ Salem.  He and SS Xander Bogaerts, who is just 20, will follow in the shoes of Jackie Bradley one day.  1B Travis Shaw had Adrian Gonzalez numbers there – but I don’t think that’s what he will be when he gets to the majors…  Keith Couch is looking close to being a prospect after going 11 – 9 with good control in 145.2 innings.  The better prospect might be Matt Barnes, the 2011 top pick, who strikes people out and is building a solid minor league resume very quickly.

Forecast:

Well, when I add up the offensive gains and the defensive gains (pitching) and losses (infield gloves), I see the Sox making strides toward .500.  I see them scoring about 65 more runs, and maybe saving five to ten runs over last year.  That puts them around 800 runs scored and allowed – or 81 wins.  I’m not convinced the hot start is going to stay for the year, but it will be a better season for Sox fans than 2012.

Sox Win ‘The Humber Game’, and Plenty of Pitchers Head to the DL

Posted on by
Reply

There have only been 21 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball, but the Chicago White Sox have three of them.  Yesterday afternoon, Philip Humber defied his humble resume and blanked the Seattle Mariners, 4 – 0, without allowing a single baserunner.

That last out was something – on a 3 – 2 pitch to Brendan Ryan, Humber threw a slider that Ryan half-swung at.  Ryan felt he checked his swing – but the home plate umpire, Brian Runge, called it a swing immediately.  However – the pitch got away from catcher A.J. Pierzinski, who had to run back toward the backstop to retrieve the ball and fire it to first for the last out.  Ryan, had he chosen to run hard to first, might have beaten the throw, but halfway down the first base line, he chose to argue with the umpire over the swinging strike call.  [ESPN]

When Dallas Braden threw his perfect game, I noted that his resume was rather short prior to pitching his gem.  For Humber, this was his 30th career start, winning his twelfth decision.  He had had five cups of coffee since first racing through the Mets chain in 2006, and only last year had he stayed with a team longer than a few weeks.  Already 29, Humber isn’t a bad pitcher – his career numbers are actually not too bad, he just hasn’t ever stuck.  One assumes he’ll hang around as long as he stays healthy now, though…

The last White Sox perfect game came in 2009 when Mark Buehrle was rescued by a Dewayne Wise miraculous catch in the ninth inning.  The first one, thrown in 1922 by Charles Robertson in his fifth major league outing, I wrote about here.

Well – I checked and there isn’t a “FireBobbyValentine.com” or “FireBobbyV.com” site yet.

It won’t be long, though.  The Sox got off to a 9 – 0 lead against the Yankees yesterday, but the bullpen gave up 15 runs in the last three innings, including back to back seven-spots in the seventh and eighth innings, to blow the game and lose, 15 – 9.

To help remedy the problem of having a lack of productive outfielders, the Red Sox acquired Cubs centerfielder Marlon Byrd, a mid-30s hustling outfielder with limited range and a failing bat, for former reliever prospect Michael Bowden.  The Red Sox REALLY need to remedy the pitching staff, considering the starters are carrying a 6+ ERA since September 1st, and they lost their closer in Spring Training.  [SI/CNN]

Hurry Back!!!

The Phillies placed Cliff Lee on the 15-Day DL with an oblique strain suffered in the 10th inning of his outing in San Francisco.  The Phillies are using caution, hoping the strain doesn’t become a tear.  Joe Savery, already up and down once this season, returns to take Lee’s spot on the roster.  Kyle Kendrick will likely take Lee’s spot in the rotation.  [ESPN]

Hurry up and acquire Francisco Cordero for your fantasy team!  The Toronto Blue Jays placed closer Sergio Santos on the 15-Day DL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.  Cordero will get the save opportunities, but lefty Evan Crawford will get the roster spot for the time being.  Crawford has had improving strikeout rates in the minors, but occasionally is a bit wild.  Until he gets that under control, he won’t be used in high leverage situations. [ESPN]

The Yankees, frequently snake bit when acquiring pitchers, are going to start to wonder if that Michael Pineda for Jesus Montero trade was a good idea.  After throwing 15 pitches in a rehab start, Pineda was shut down with soreness in his shoulder and will be given an MRI.  Joe Girardi’s comment? “Not good.”

Cubs starter Ryan Dempster will go on the 15-Day DL with a strained right quadriceps muscle.  Coming back to Chicago will be Randy Wells, who had struggled in his three AAA starts.  The Cubs are already on pace for about 100 losses, they don’t need to lose Dempster for any amount of time.

The Diamondbacks placed starter Daniel Hudson on the 15-Day DL with a right shoulder impingement.  Jonathan Albaledejo will get some time on the roster in his absence.

Also, Royals pitcher Greg Holland heads to the DL wiht a stress reaction in his left rib.  That doesn’t sound fun…  Returning from AAA Omaha is Jeremy Jeffress, a reliever with a reputation for throwing smoke and smoking pot.

Welcome Back!!!

A.J. Burnett returned from his eye injury to pitch the Pirates to a victory yesterday.

Transaction Wire:

The Orioles traded Josh Bell to Arizona for future considerations.

The Tigers recalled pitcher Thad Weber from AAA Toledo and sent down struggling pitcher Daniel Schlereth for a little extra work.

Oakland recalled lefty pitcher Pedro Figueroa from AAA Sacramento, and dispatched Graham Godfrey to AAA.

Happy Birthday!!!

Those celebrating with cake, cards, and remembrances include:

(1901) Taylor Douthit
(1918) Mickey Vernon – fine first baseman of the 1940s and 1950s.
(1923) Preston Gomez – decent player, managed the Padres and Cubs some time back.
(1955) David Clyde – high school to the majors, and then struggled with life – not just baseball.
(1956) Moose Haas
(1959) Terry (Tito) Francona
(1961) Jimmy Key
(1966) Mickey Morandini
(1988) Dee Gordon

Boston Celebrates 100th Fenway Birthday in Style. Then loses… And other news…

Posted on by
Reply

That was some birthday party!  Prior to the game, the Red Sox brought out more than 200 former players and coaches, finishing with Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr – both in their 90s – to celebrate the 100th birthday of Fenway Park. [FoxSports, SI, MLB]

I miss Carlton Fisk.

The 1975 Red Sox team is the first Red Sox team I followed and for a little while, I wanted to be the next Fred Lynn.  My interest in the Red Sox ended once we were no longer fans and suddenly there was a Red Sox Nation.  Being a fan is cool.  Being a “nation” is arrogant.

Anyway – I loved that 1975 team.  Fisk, Yaz, Rice, Lynn, Evans, Petrocelli, Burleson, Doyle, Tiant, Lee – all those guys.  I broke out the 1975 Topps Set just to get one more look at it.

I remember the first time I went to Fenway Park.  Oddly, I got to see old Cub pitchers Dennis Lamp and Lee Smith.  Smith took his usual eight warm up pitches, entered the game in the ninth with the score tied at seven, and then blew away the first two batters.  He walked the next guy – and before you could say “get someone else up!”, the big reliever allowed four runs and the Sox lost.

Keep the Party Going!

If you haven’t had enough anniversary celebrations, the A’s will be bringing back the 1972 World Champs – the first of three straight World Series winners – for today’s game against the Indians.  Rollie Fingers will throw out the first pitch.  I wonder if they will let Gene Tenace catch it?  [MLB]

Ouch!!!

Brewers starter Chris Narveson is out for the season with a torn rotator cuff.  He felt something go wrong in his last start and an MRI revealed the tear.  He will get a second opinion and then figure out a plan.  Getting today’s start will be Marco Estrada – decent fastball, slider, and a good strikeout pitcher.  His weakness?  He tends to give up a lot of homers.  [FoxSports]

From the Blotter…

Los Angeles Dodgers minor leaguer Angel Guzman was suspended 50 games for a violation of the M(i)LB drug policy.  Guzman is making his way back to the bigs following 2010 shoulder surgery, and manager Don Mattingly says that he knew about it in spring training and called it a “a unique situation.”

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro will not be charged in relation to a sexual assault allegation; his attorneys call it baseless and the Chicago police and State’s Attorney’s Office says that there isn’t enough evidence to press charges.

10,000 and counting…

The Cincinnati Reds, in beating the Cubs on Friday, earned their 10,000th win in franchise history.  If you can name the other five, send me a note!  Hint?  None of them are in the American League.

Hurry Back!

The Cardinals placed first baseman Lance Berkman on the 15-Day DL with a calf strain.  Skip Schumaker was activated yesterday, played centerfield, and promptly left the game when he crashed into the centerfield fence.  Is Jon Jay healthy again???

The Cubs put Kerry Wood on the 15-Day DL with what has been called shoulder fatigue.  Scott “Remember the…” Maine was recalled from AAA Iowa.  Maine hails from Jupiter, Florida, has had two other trips to Chicago and isn’t half bad.  The sidearm throwing lefty has a low to mid 90s fastball with some movement, a slider, and has yet to bean anybody.

Welcome Back!

The Rays activated outfielder B.J. Upton from the DL.

Transactions:

The Brewers placed pitcher Kameron Loe on the bereavement leave list.  He will return around the 24th.  To take his spot on the roster, the Brewers activated Wily Peralta.

Tampa Bay optioned Reid Brignac to AAA Durham and activated Brandon Allen.

Happy Birthday!!!

(1855) Hardy “Old True Blue” Richardson
(1887) Joe McCarthy, Yankees and Cubs World Series manager…
(1937) Gary Peters
(1941) Dick Green (See A’s Anniversary, above)
(1947) Al Bumbry
(1957) Jesse Orosco
(1962) Les Lancaster
(1963) Ken Caminiti
(1973) Kevin Brown
(1977) Kip Wells
(1980) Jeff Keppinger
(1981) Ronny Paulino
(1987) Brent Morel

Happy Birthday, Fenway Park! (And Goodbye, Pudge!)

Posted on by
Reply

Today, the Boston Red Sox are celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park with any number of pre-game festivities followed by what should be a four and a half hour game against the New York Yankees.  In honor of this festive moment, let’s go back into the archives of The Sporting News to get some insight into what some people thought of the old park back when it first opened in 1912.

Tim Murnane was writing occasional articles for The Sporting News back in the day and penned this article, which appeared on the front page on May 16, 1912.

Boston’s Odd Ways
—————————
Reasons for Poor Patronage at New Fenway Park
———————————————————-
It’s Too Big for Fans to Exchange Pleasantries About Weather and They’re Used to Going in Another Direction

Boston, Mass., May 12 — Special Correspondence

{General discussion of how weather has disrupted much of the American League schedule…}

…  For several reasons the attendance has been disappointing at the local American League grounds.  The continued unpleasant weather, several games having been played in light rain storms, or on days when it was too cold for a man to sit outdoors in comfort, is the chief item of course.  Then the fact that the park is not as handy to reach and get away from as the old park, has hurt some and will until people get accustomed to journeying in the new direction.

Some dissatisfaction among the kings of the bleachers, as they resent the idea of being pushed back to make room for the big grand stand, is also in evidence.

On account of the size of the park, and the entrances being on two widely separated ends of the grounds, I found much of the old sociability gone.  At the old grounds, you were continually running into old friends, as grandstand and bleacher patrons passed through one long runway, to be distributed like a lot of mail to the various sections.

Games Have Also Dragged

The games at the American grounds have been exceptionally long drawn out, and Boston base ball is patronized mostly by out of town people, who are anxious to catch trains, and therefore will not attend games too long drawn out.

I am sure, however, that with improved weather and everything else connected with the running of the establishment, the old crowds will come back, and the fans grow warmer to the new park.

{Other Boston player related news…}

T. H. Murnane

Is Pudge the Greatest Ever?

Ivan Rodriguez filed the paperwork for his retirement, and is planning a formal announcement for Monday in Texas.  The greatest defensive catcher of the last 25 years – at least going back to the days of Johnny Bench – Rodriguez single-handedly killed the running game, handled pitches with soft hands and a smaller than normal catching glove, and was quite proficient with the bat.  In 1999, he was the AL MVP after hitting .332 with 35 homers, too.  Down here in Florida, the one year we had Pudge, the Marlins won the World Series.  In his best seasons, he had to be as valuable as any player ever.  [SI]

Let the argument begin – let me know what you think!!!

For a cool 18 million – two million less than the original asking price – you, too, can own Derek Jeter’s 88th floor, NYC penthouse atop the Trump World Tower at the UN Plaza in New York’s east side.  [FoxSports]

Famous as the patch of felt between a baseball and Jose Canceco’s head, Heritage Auctions is selling the hat Canseco wore when he misplayed an out into a homer as the ball bounced off of Jose’s head and over the fence.  The hat is autographed by Canseco and is expected to fetch about $1000.  Stunning.  [FoxSports]

Hurry Back!

Arizona placed third baseman Geoff Blum on the 15-Day DL with a strained left oblique.

Pittsburgh placed pitcher Jeff Karstens on the 15-Day DL with a right shoulder contusion.  Brad Lincoln arrives from Indianapolis to help out…  Lincoln is an okay minor league pitcher and hasn’t set the world on fire in two previous stints with the Pirates.  He can help in long relief, maybe.

Arizona placed centerfielder Chris Young on the 15-Day DL with a right shoulder contusion suffered when crashing into the wall to make a catch.  Young had been the hottest hitter on the Snakes…

The Yankees placed left fielder Brett Gardner on the 15-Day DL with a sore right elbow.

Transaction News…

Tampa claimed first baseman Brandon Allen off waivers from the Oakland A’s.

Minnesota called up Jason Marquis from AAA New Britain.  The Twins need all the help they can get…

Boston sent down Mark Melancon to AAA – he of the ERA that is greater than Jamie Moyer‘s age – and recalled Japanese import Junichi Tazawa.  In the minors, Tazawa hasn’t been half bad, but his career ERA in the majors is 7.31…  Still, 7.31 is less than 49.50.

Happy Birthday!!!

A trip to NYC and a lack of writing time means I am behind in my birthday celebrations.  First – here’s a list of those celebrating with cards, cake, or remembrances today…

(1876) Charlie Hemphill
(1891) Dave Bancroft, Hall of Fame shortstop
(1929) Aristotle George “Harry” Agganis – The Golden Greek…  (See below)
(1946) Tom Hutton – see you on TV this weekend!
(1961) Don Mattingly
(1973) Todd Hollandsworth
(1988) Brandon Belt

Harry Agganis was an All-American back at Boston University who turned down a career in football and a $100,000 bonus to sign with the Cleveland Browns to sign with his hometown Boston Red Sox in 1952.  Sammy White said Agganis had the strength of Hercules…  Two years after signing, Agganis had earned his way into a regular position with the Sox and was batting over .300 in 1955 when he was admitted to a local hospital with pneumonia and what was called phlebitis in his leg.  Days later, Agganis died when a blood clot in his leg moved into his lung and burst.  [Baseball Players of the 1950s – Rich Marazzi and Len Fiorito]

Belated Birthday Greetings to…

(April 19)

(1894) Jiggs Donahue
(1908) Babe Phelps
(1909) Bucky Walters
(1915) Harry Craft
(1918) Whitey Kurowski
(1948) Rick Miller
(1960) Frank Viola
(1961) Spike Owen
(1974) Jose Cruz, Jr.
(1977) George Sherrill
(1983) Joe Mauer
(1983) Zach Duke

It’s really a good list and I left a few names off…

(April 18)

(1880) Wahoo Sam Crawford – a great outfielder on the Tigers for a long, long time.
(1939) Von McDaniel (Lindy’s brother…)
(1942) Steve Blass
(1951) Doug Flynn
(1959) Dennis Rasmussen
(1959) Rich Bordi
(1959) Jim Eisenreich
(1970) Rico Brogna
(1983) Miguel Cabrera
(1986) Billy Butler

A Tale of Two Mouths…

Posted on by
Reply

I am writing as the Cubs and Marlins prepare to open a three-game series here in Miami…  Ozzie Guillen, he of the multiple footspace mouth, aims to start earning the respect of Little Havana and the thousands of Cubans who are more than irked at Guillen’s callous and thoughtless statement about Fidel Castro.  I’ll be honest – I’d rather be at the park tonight…

By the way, Kerry Wood is not here, though.  He’s taking care of a sore right shoulder by getting a cortisone shot.  [ESPN]

A lot of press about Bobby Valentine lately – and with good reason.  In the middle of saying something positive about Kevin Youkilis, Valentine let side a note that Youk didn’t seem “…as physically or emotionally into the game as he had been in the past.”  That led Youk to wonder what, exactly, he had done to deserve it and for his teammate, Dustin Pedroia, to call out Valentine for making that comment in the first place.  You have to love when Pedroia pulled out a comment about how Valentine was successful in Japan – certainly a pointed comment.  It also didn’t help that Valentine left Daniel Bard in Monday night’s game too long, enough to walk in the lone run in a 1 – 0 loss to the Rays on Patriot Day.

I’ll be honest – I’m not a huge Valentine fan, or for that matter a fan of most of the more “too happy to tell you his opinion” managers, because it’s too easy to say something stupid.  The more you say about people, the more likely you will say something – even unintentionally – that doesn’t sit well with someone else.  (I run that risk as a writer.)  The Red Sox needed to focus on winning; now the press can start sharpening their pencils and wit on other things.

Other people with thoughts on the subject:

Peter Gammons

Richard Justice

Jason Turbow

Back to real baseball stuff…

Cleveland Indians shortstop Asdrubel Cabrera is on the bereavement list as he has headed home to Venezuela following a death in the family.  Pitcher Nick Hagadone joins the Indians in the meantime.  [ESPN]

Some good news…  The San Francisco Giants wrapped up starter Madison Bumgarner to a six-year deal worth at least $35 million, with opportunities to make a few more dollars based on two potential option years and bonuses if he makes a run at a Cy Young award.  I like the deal – I like any deal that keeps a homegrown talent around for a while.  Bumgarner has shown good command and surprisingly solid maturity in his first seasons with the Giants.  [FoxSports]

Reds utility infielder Miguel Cairo heads to the 15-Day DL with a strained left hamstring.  Joining Cincinnati will be infielder Todd Frazier.  Frazier isn’t a bad option – a little power, a good eye, a bit of speed, but a bit of a free swinger.  He can help out at three positions.  [MLB]

Transaction Wire:

The Brewers activated shortstop Alex Gonzalez.  He can still play – but his bat is starting to slow down.

Colorado swapped AAA pitcher Edgmer Escalona for Tyler Chatwood.  And I just got Chatwood’s 2011 Topps Update card…  Bummer!  Chatwood was a starter for the Angels last year, but doesn’t have much of a strike out pitch and his control had been suspect.  Moving to Colorado, Chatwood looked to have a shot at a rotation spot, but hasn’t made it and didn’t look great in relief.  Escalona has had a good run through the minors and has looked good in two short stints with the Rockies since 2010.

Tampa Bay recalled Brandon Gomes from AAA Durham, and dispatched Alex Cobb back to the minors.  Gomes is another of those great young arms in the Rays system, just killing it in the minors.  He has future closer stuff.

Baltimore designated infielder Josh Bell for assignment – he could be claimed by any other team, or could accept a AAA assignment.  The Orioles just claimed a player themselves, catcher Luis Exposito.

Happy Birthday!!!

(1820) Alexander Cartwright, a founding father!
(1852) Adrian “Cap” Anson
(1923) Solly Hemus
(1954) Denny Walling
(1967) Marquis Grissom
(1984) Jed Lowrie

Jackie Robinson’s First Week as a Dodger – and other news…

Posted on by
2

Today, April 15th, is Jackie Robinson day to Major League Baseball, the anniversary of Jackie’s first game and a celebration of his role in integrating baseball such that peoples of all color and backgrounds could play in the majors.  I took a few minutes to look at the coverage of his first game in The Sporting News below.  First – a look at what is going on in the game for you fantasy baseball team owners…

Giants closer Brian Wilson may miss the rest of the season after an MRI showed structural damage to his right elbow, meaning a second Tommy John surgery could be in the works.  He had a similar procedure done while at LSU.  [SI]

The Red Sox juggled their roster one more time this weekend, bring up utility infielder Nate Spears and outfielder Jason Repko, returning Che-Hsuan Lin back to Pawtucket, and designating catcher Luis Exposito and pitcher Michael Bowden for assignment.

Hurry Back!

The Padres placed outfielder Kyle Blanks on the 15-Day DL with a strained left shoulder.

Tampa placed catcher Jose Loboton on the 15-Day DL with a sore throwing shoulder, and he was replaced on the roster by Chris Jimenez.  Meanwhile, outfielder Sam Fuld was moved from the 15-Day to the 60-Day DL.

Welcome Back!

Pirates starter Charlie Morton returns to action after having hip surgery.

Toronto pitcher Sergio Santos returns after being on a personal leave – he’s a father!

Ryan Vogelsong returns to the Giants rotation after a short 15-Day DL stint.

The Angels activated pitcher Jerome Williams from the DL, optioning pitcher Brad Mills back to AAA Salt Lake City.

Transactions:

San Diego optioned Reidier Gonzalez to AAA Tuscon.

Kansas City recalled pitcher Louis Coleman and sent outfielder Jarrod Dyson back to AAA Omaha.

Colorado optioned Jordan Pacheco back to AAA Colorado Springs, and recalled lefty Drew Pomeranz to add another pitcher to the mix.

Tampa optioned Dane De La Rosa to AAA Durham and recalled Alex Cobb.

Happy Birthday!

(1877) Ed Abbaticchio, old Pirates infielder
(1886) Leonard “King” Cole
(1910) Eddie Mayo
(1931) Ed Bailey
(1940) Woodie Fryman – one of my favorite pitchers from the 1970s
(1940) Willie Davis, a wonderful centerfielder for the Dodgers
(1945) Ted Sizemore
(1969) Jeromy Burnitz
(1978) Milton Bradley
(1982) Michael Aubrey
(1985) Aaron Laffey

Jackie Robinson’s First Week as a Dodger

“All doubt of Jackie Robinson’s status was removed at 3:15 p.m., April 10, when Branch Rickey announced the Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson from the Montreal Royals.”

In general, the front page article suggests that Robinson didn’t play as well at first base during spring training, so the team’s decision was more based on his play in 1946 when he hit .346 with 40 stolen bases as Montreal’s second baseman.  The article noted that Jackie could play any infield position, but second and short were taken, so first base was his best option; that or being a frequent pinch runner.

All of this came in the wake of Commissioner Albert Chandler’s suspension of Dodgers manager Leo Durocher for association with known gamblers.  Durocher had to sit out the 1947 season, so the decision as to how to use Jackie Robinson was left to interim manager Burt Shotton.  Durocher, to his credit, was in favor of bringing Robinson to the Dodgers.

By the way, the Dodgers had to spend spring training in Havana, Cuba because segregation laws in Florida and other states pushed Brooklyn out of the country.  The Dodgers paid $25 per player per day, an expensive amount of money to spend on spring training, and got in three spring training games against the Yankees in Venezuela.

Regarding Rickey, he believed that Montreal needed to have spring training with the Dodgers so that Robinson would have to play against his future teammates as much as possible, earning the respect of those players, and hopefully getting less resentment from other Brooklyn players when he joined the team.  “No man had greater faith in his abilities as a ball player.  We believe that it was Branch’s honest opinion that the Brooklyn players would come rushing to him and shout: ‘Let’s have that fellow.  He can win the pennant for us.'”

Gaven, Michael. “Jackie Robinson Gets Change With Flatbush Troupe.” The Sporting News, April 16, 1947, Page 1.

The next week, The Sporting News gave a full page to his debut game.

Robinson said he prayed the night before, but really is worried about finding a nice apartment for his wife, Rachel, and toddler son, Jackie, Jr., who was but five months old.

Arthur Daley in his Sports of the Times column said that the debut was “uneventful, even though he had the quite unenviable distinction of snuffing out a rally by hitting into a remarkable double play.”  A veteran Dodger was quoted in that article as saying, “Having Jacking on the team is still a little strange, just like anything else that’s new.  We just don’t know how to act with him.  But he’ll be accepted in time.  You can be sure of that.  Other sports have had negroes.  Why not baseball?  I’m for him if he can win games.  That’s the only test I ask.”

Robinson himself said, “I was comfortable on that field in my first game.  The Brooklyn players have been swell and they were encouraging all the way.  The Brooklyn crowd was certainly on my side but I don’t know how it will be in other parks.  The size of the crowd didn’t faze me and it never will.”

Jackie realized, however, he’d have to start hitting.  “I hit .349 in Montreal last year and I was pretty fast, but I already realized a difference,” said Robinson.  “The big league pitchers are smarter.  I realize that, although I haven’t seen but a few of them.  Take that fellow Sain of the Boston Braves.  He works on you.  He has good control.  I’m aware that I have to hit to make it this year – this is my greatest chance.  Will I hit?  I hope I’ll hit.  I believe I’ll hit, I’m sure I’ll hit.”

Morehouse, Ward. “Debut ‘Just Another Game’ to Jackie.” The Sporting News, April 23, 1947, Page 3.

Ellsbury Out With Separated Shoulder, and Happy Birthday, Ben Tincup!

Posted on by
Reply

The Boston Red Sox placed centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury on the 15-day DL due to a separated shoulder suffered when he was removed in the front end of a double play against the Rays.  Ellsbury could miss at least six weeks, so if this is YOUR fantasy baseball team, you’ll want to know that Cody Ross will get the bulk of the starts, even though AAA outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin (more Lin-sanity???) was called up from Pawtucket.  Lin doesn’t have the minor league resume that screams out START ME! – but you never know.  He makes contact, he can run, and he covers ground in the outfield.  Bobby Valentine, in his “boy am I smart” way explained that Lin might not be here longer than the weekend. [MLB]

The Detroit Tigers activated infielder Brandon Inge, who will likely get a start at second base this weekend.  To make room, Detroit sent infielder Danny Worth to AAA Toledo.  Meanwhile, the Tigers gave an unconditional release to outfielder Clete Thomas, who was promptly picked up by Minnesota.  The signing of Thomas means that outfielder Ben Revere was optioned to AAA.  [MLB, ESPN]

It’s okay, I’ll still follow Revere on Twitter.  He seems like a nice kid.

Hurry Back!

Seattle placed reliever George Sherrill on the 15-Day DL with an elbow strain.  In his place, the Mariners have recalled lefty pitcher Charlie Furbush.

Welcome Back!

Washington outfielder Rick Ankiel came off the DL, which means that Brett Carroll was designated for assignment.

The Transaction Wire…

The Phillies signed free agent infielder Mike Fontenot.

The Angels called up David Carpenter from AAA Salt Lake City.  The Angels are looking for depth in the bullpen and Carpenter might be able to help immediately.  He has remarkable control, a great strikeout rate, and minor league hitters have batted just .207 against him.

Happy Birthday!!!

Those celebrating with cake, cards, and remembrances include:

(1893) Ben Tincup (See below)
(1927) Don Mueller (See below)
(1931) Kal Segrist (See below)
(1941) Pete Rose, the greatest singles hitter and baseball gambler ever.
(1947) Joe Lahoud – wow, he’s 65?
(1966) David Justice, Braves outfielder now portrayed in the movie Moneyball…
(1966) Greg Maddux, the best pitcher I ever saw…  I loved Clemens and Carlton, don’t get me wrong, but Maddux was an ARTIST.
(1969) Brad Ausmus, longtime catcher
(1970) Steve Avery – which means at least three Braves were celebrating birthdays on the same day each spring in the early 1990s.  At least for a couple of years, anyway…
(1976) Kyle Farnsworth

I’ve been writing this blog on and off for a long time, I guess…  This is an odd day in that I have actually written small biographies for two players on this list.  Go figure.

If you want to learn more about Giants outfielder Don Mueller, click here…

If you want to learn more about Yankee Infielder and Texas Tech baseball coach Kal Segrist, click here…

Ben Tincup

A baseball lifer, Austin Ben Tincup spent fifty years playing and teaching baseball to thousands of kids all over the country – but not before he became the first Native American from Oklahoma to make it to the big leagues.

In doing the research, I found four different birthdays listed for Ben.  A couple of places, including FindaGrave.com and the Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen biography of Tincup, show his birthday as December 14, 1890.  Baseball-Reference.com has a main player page and a minor league player page for Tincup, too.  Those show April 14, 1893.  His obituary and his grave stone in Rose Hill Cemetery in Tulsa, OK says his birth year is 1894.  (You’d think that the findagrave.com mini-bio would want their data to match the picture, right?)  SABR and Retrosheet.org, as well as the database I use for compiling this data, say 1893.  Let’s go with that one…

Tincup was born on April 14th, we’re pretty sure, to James and Lucinda (Vance) Tincup.  A TSN article listed Ben’s birthplace as Sherman, TX, but other sources say Adair, OK.  (I’m tempted to go with Adair, mostly because the TSN writer probably read that Tincup came from Sherman when he joined the Phillies, but that was his minor league city and not his birthplace.)  Not long out of school, Tincup was signed to pitch for Muskogee in the Oklahoma State League, the first professional team to operate in Muskogee.  By the end of the 1912 season, though, he had been shifted to Sherman in the Texas-Oklahoma League.  He stayed in Sherman for 1913, figured things out, and won his last fourteen starts.

The winning streak got him noticed, and the Philadelphia Phillies brought him out for spring training to see how he’d fare.  Before long, the young Cherokee Indian was making relief appearances in May and June.  In July, he was given his first major league start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Tincup pitched a masterful game, winning 1 – 0, and holding the Pirates to just five hits – three of them by Honus Wagner.

Tincup became a bit of a celebrity and the newspapers called him The Millionaire Indian, one of many landowners who got rich when oil was found on a number of large farms in Oklahoma.  Ben countered, however, that the writers missed their mark.  “The stories were only half right,” said Tincup.  “I’m 100 percent Cherokee Indian and I own 500 acres of Oklahoma land.  But I’m the Indian who owns land where they didn’t find oil.”

Among the first Native Americans not nicknamed “Chief”, Tincup won two other games by shutouts: a 1 – 0 blanking of St. Louis and a 2 – 0 win over the Pirates.  However, he mixed in a few rougher outings, including a 13 – 5 loss to Brooklyn and 12 – 3 loss to Boston.  When the year was out, he finished 8 – 10 as the third starter on the roster.

However, the fourth starter was lefty Eppa Rixey, a fine thrower out of the University of Virginia.  Rixey roomed with Tincup for a year while the rookies found their way through the league.  In 1915, Rixey made the step forward, joining Grover Cleveland Alexander and Erskine Meyer and New York Giant import Al Demaree.  The new rotation helped propel the Phillies to their first pennant in 1915.  Tincup was reduced to a marginal reliever, making just ten appearances, and hardly contributing to the 1915 National League championship.  In fact, Tincup was voted just a half-share of the team’s post-season take.

The Phillies chose to dispatch Tincup to the minors for a little more seasoning.  In 1916, Tincup went 16 – 11 for Providence in the International League.  Moved to Little Rock in 1917, Tincup threw a perfect game against Birmingham in the Southern Association.  He kept a ball and the press clippings for years – the ball finally being donated to the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, OK.

St. Louis claimed Tincup for the 1918 season, but the National Association ruled that Tincup still belonged to the Phillies, who called him up for a few outings.  Tincup decided to retire and went off to join other Americans in the US Army who were fighting in Europe during the first World War.

When he came back in 1919, he was declared a free agent.  Bill Neal, who had scouted and signed Tincup for Philadelphia, was now associated with the Louisville Colonels in the American Association.  Neal signed Tincup for more money than he might have made with the Phillies – and Tincup became a minor league lifer.  For the next twelve seasons, Tincup was a regular starter and later a reliever for the Colonels.  He won 20 twice; the first time he went 20 – 14 in 1922, and two years later he won 24 games.  And he could hit, too.  One year, he played left field when he wasn’t pitching and wound up hitting .331 with 16 doubles, 16 triples, and eight homers.  He missed the batting crown by four points.  However, the next season manager Joe McCarthy and Tincup decided pitching was the right thing to do – and Tincup only played the outfield in emergencies.

The 1921 team won the American Association and challenged Baltimore in the Little World Series, a battle between the top minor league teams.  Louisville won, in part, behind the pitching of Tincup.  Tincup outdueled Lefty Grove to put Louisville in charge of the series.

In 1922, Harry Davis, the old Athletics first baseman, was sent to scout the team.  He was looking at two players, Brewers outfielder Al Simmons and Colonels outfielder Earle Combs.  Davis asked Tincup to really bear down on Simmons to see what he could do.

“I brushed Al back with a high, inside pitch.  I had plenty on it, believe me,” said Tincup.  “I wanted to scare Simmons, but he didn’t scare at all.  Instead, he just just dug in and dared me to come back with the same pitch.  I did.  He didn’t move an inch.  The next ball was a dandy curve.  Simmons whacked it over the first baseman’s head for a triple.  I figured he just had beginner’s luck.  The next time he came up he lined a double to left…  Some time later I read that Simmons had been sold to the Athletics for $100,000.  I wasn’t surprised.  When I saw Davis later, I told him that I had helped ‘sell’ Simmons to the A’s the day I pitched to him.  Davis had a smart comeback.  ‘You’re right, Ben.  But I made a mistake.  The day we bought Simmons, we also should have bought Combs.'”

Combs signed with the Yankees – and years later, well after he was done playing, Tincup would join the Yankees, too.

In the winters, Tincup would play ball in Cuba.  The 1925 Marianaos Gray Monks may have been the best team of his generation, featuring players such as Freddy Fitzsimmons, Jess Petty, Otto Krueger, Mike Griffen, Charlie Dressen, Eddie Brown, Mark Koenig, Walter Christensen, Tiny Chaplin, Bill Burwell, and Jim Cooney.  Some of those names we still recognize today – others, we’d probably have to look up.

Toward the end of his Louisville career, Joe McCarthy was with the Cubs – he needed a temporary reliever.  He called for Ben Tincup, who got a couple more appearances in the majors.  Then, he was returned to Louisville.  As he got older, Tincup left the rotation and became a quality reliever.  According to a TSN article:

“Manager Allan Sothoron this spring decided that the veteran redskin could best serve his team in the role of relief chucker, and in this capacity Ben has proved invincible.”  He would finish the season 14 – 3 in relief, and another article claimed that he “…saved approximately 13 games, for which other pitchers received credit.”  Jerome Holtzman hadn’t yet coined the term “Saves.”

1930 was Tincup’s last hurrah.  He had a rough year (7 – 16) in 1929 and was given a pay cut.  After 1930, he wanted a raise and Louisville ownership didn’t agree.  Before long, Tincup was cut and scooped up by Minneapolis.  The next year, Tincup was pitching in Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League, but he was pretty much done as a pitcher.

Instead, he was signed as am umpire by the American Association – a job that barely lasted two months.  Per a blurb in TSN:

“Ben Tincup, veteran Indian pitcher formerly with Louisville, has been released as an umpire in the American Association by President Thomas J. Hickey.  Tincup made his debut as an arbiter this season, but there were so many complaints over his decisions on balls and strikes that his release resulted.”

He went back to his farm in Oklahoma for the next three years.

However, guys who knew Tincup needed scouts and coaches – and Tincup was hired by the Cincinnati Reds to manage their farm team in Paducah, a member of the Kitty League.  In his first season, Tincup led Paducah to a first-half crown and a trip to the playoffs.  However, Tincup argued that two pitchers that helped Union City to a second half crown should have been ineligible.  When that protest failed, he began to lose favor with his Paducah owner, B.B. Hook.  Tincup next complained that he had to play night games in Union City, when his team only played day games at home.  That, too, failed.

So, Tincup told his team to play but he was going to stay home to protest the league’s decisions.  After Paducah lost to Larry Irvin (one of two players Tincup felt should not have been eligible to pitch) and Union City in that first game, seven other players decided to side with Tincup.  The series was forfeited to Union City and National Association President W. B. Bramham chose to put Tincup and the seven players on the ineligible list.  That ban lasted about four months, and Tincup was signed to manage a different Reds farm team, this one in Peoria, Illinois.

While there, Tincup traded for a pitcher who had been successful for him in Paducah, Gene “Junior” Thompson.  Thompson was the ace of the Peoria staff and the Reds soon promoted him to the big league team where Junior (he hated that nickname) helped the Reds win the 1940 National League Pennant.  Thompson’s ascent and Tincup’s role in his development earned Tincup the reputation as someone who could mold young pitchers.

Tincup was a proponent of throwing strikes, saying that the biggest problem young pitchers have is not being willing to hit the catcher’s glove.  “They’re so scared somebody is going to get a base hit they throw all around the target but seldom at it,” said Tincup.  “What they don’t realize is that even when you put across a perfect strike with nothing on it, the batter won’t hit it safely more than three times out of ten.  That’s proved in batting practice.”

By 1938, he was taken by Larry McPhail from Cincinnati to Brooklyn to become a roving pitching instructor and coach.  In 1939, young kids would have seen an advertisement for a California baseball camp where young ballplayers could learn from coaches like Leo Durocher, Charlie Dressen, Bill Killefer, and Ben Tincup.  On the other hand, some things from his minor league days didn’t go away as quickly.  Tincup earned a fine in his last days managing Paducah in 1939.  When he tried to step on the field as a coach in 1940, the league told him he had a $10 fine due and Kennesaw Mountain Landis wouldn’t let him on the field unless he paid that fine.  A wire was sent, and Tincup was allowed to coach.

After two more seasons as a coach, Tincup took a short hiatus to join the war effort for World War II – this time helping build boats on the docks of the Ohio River at Jeffersonville.  During that time, he ran into an old friend – Ray Kennedy.  Kennedy was Tincup’s catcher when Tincup tossed that perfect game in 1917 for Little Rock.  Now, Kennedy was the General Manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Kennedy knew a few people – and by 1946, when the war was over, Tincup was a scout for the Boston Braves.

Tincup’s scouting and coaching career meant he went all over the place for a bunch of different teams.  He left Boston to join the Pirates.  Roy Hamey had brought him into the Pirates organization, and when he left for the Yankees, he took Tincup with him there, and then to the Phillies.  “We had him traveling around the farm clubs and working with the pitchers,” said Hamey.  “He helped fellows like Bob Friend and Vernon Law so much that when I moved over to the Yankees, I talked George Weiss into bringing him to New York.  He did such a good job with the Yanks that I had a tough time getting him for the Phils.  But I told Weiss I needed him worse than the Yankees did, so George turned him over to me.”

During his time with the Phillies, a prized prospect was a young Yaqui Indian out of Arizona named Phil Ortega.  Hamey assigned Tincup to handle the negotiations, figuring that one Native American might be better able to relate to another Native American than the other scouts.  The Dodgers, however, countered with a bigger bonus check.  Buzzie Bavasi wired Hamey when he won.  “How dumb can you get,” Bavasi asked. “Don’t you know Ortega’s and Tincup’s tribes have been at war for 300 years?”

The Yankees got Tincup back when Ralph Houk, who had used Tincup as a pitching coach in the middle 1950s, asked for him to coach his 1961 squad.  Joe Falls wrote about it in the Detroit Free Press:  “The Yankees have signed Ben Tincup, a 73-year-old Cherokee, as their minor league pitching coach…  And this is the team that fired Casey Stengel because he was, at 70, too old.”

If Tincup was 73 in 1961, that would put his birth date at 1888…  Another option…  I don’t think so.

Anyway… Eventually baseball’s tribal elder called it a career and returned to the Tulsa area.  He was inducted into various Halls of Fame in Oklahoma, including those celebrating Native Americans in sports.  In 1980, he was staying at the very hotel in Claremore, the Will Rogers Hotel, where his perfect game baseball would have been on display.  Sometime in the night on July 5, 1980 Tincup was called to pitch on the great ball field in the sky.

Sources:

The Sporting News
“Finishing Second No Small Honor in A.A.” The Sporting News, Oct. 7, 1920, Page 5.
“Colonels Carry On and Never Say Die.” The Sporting News, July 14, 1921, Page 3.
“Didn’t Start A One But Has Won Seven.” The Sporting News, June 19, 1930, Page 4.
Williams, A. W. “Louisville Releases Tincup.” The Sporting News, July 30, 1931, Page 3.
“Ben Tincup New A.A. Umpire.” The Sporting News, January 19, 1933, Page 2.
“Tincup to Pilot Paducah” The Sporting News, March 26, 1936, Page 7.
“Bramham Punishes Paducah ‘Strikers’.” The Sporting News, September 24, 1936. Page 7.
“Long Arm of the Law.” The Sporting News, May 23, 1940, Page 3.
“Tincup Donates No-Hit Ball.” The Sporting News, April 10, 1941, Page 11.
“8-Game Streak Has Almendares Out in Front.” The Sporting News, November 17, 1948, Page 20.
The Sporting News, March 8, 1950, Page 14.
“Old-Time Ben Tincup Back; Gives Advice to Phils’ Kids.” The Sporting News, March 7, 1956, Page 33.
Notes, The Sporting News, January 1, 1961, Page 12.
Obituaries, The Sporting News, August 9, 1980, Page 50.
“Phils Forgot Tribal Wars When They Bid for Ortega.” The Sporting News, June 27, 1964, Page 26.

Obituary:
Claremore (OK) Progress (July 8, 1980)

Baseball Digest:
Bryson, Bill.  “The Indian Glove Call.” Baseball Digest, Feb 1964, Pages 67 – 73.
Levy, Sam.  “Simmons First Steps to Hall.” Baseball Digest, April, 1953, Pages 25 to 27.

Websites:

FindaGrave.com
Baseball-Reference.com
Retrosheet.org

Marlins Open 2012 With Excitement, Ali, and a Loss

Posted on by
Reply

The Miami Marlins opened up the new stadium with fireworks, but couldn’t put together any hits off of Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse in a 4 – 1 loss on opening night.  Muhammad Ali delivered the game ball, which was pretty cool and very sad at the same time.  You could hear the cheers for Ali throughout the stadium, but the effects of Parkinson’s disease are painfully obvious – the tremors are very visible and Ali looked so much older (he’s 70) than the man I remember as a kid.

I met Ali when working for Sprint in Kansas City in 1992.  Even then, his voice was softened and he slurred, and there were small tremors in his hands.  I remember two or three things about that visit.  First, his hands were enormous.  When I shook his hand, his hand practically devoured mine.  Second, he still had a great sense of humor – he did this joke where he claimed he could move a briefcase with his mind.  When it didn’t move, he asked us, “Who do you think I am?  I’m a boxer, not a magician.”  Finally, what I really remember was thinking to myself that this was the closest thing to meeting God that I will likely ever experience.  I mean – it was HIM, Ali.  The Greatest.  Of all the people I have met, it was the only time I can remember being totally awed by someone’s presence.

Back to baseball…

If you are an Orioles fan, this can’t be good…  The Orioles lost a charity baseball game to the State College of Florida Manatees – a community college team – 2 – 1 in eight innings.  A couple of years ago, the Manatees beat Pittsburgh, a team that went on to lose nearly 100 games…  [Bradenton.com]

Andy Pettitte threw a scoreless inning against the Mets and hopes to get ready in time to join the Yankees in May.  If he makes it back, he’ll get a one-year, $2.5 million dollar contract.  [SI]

Torii Hunter accidentally set off the alarm in his house, leading to a visit from a couple of gun-wielding police officers.  The officers were merely following protocol and the guns were never pointed directly at Hunter.  However, Hunter’s identification was in an upstairs bedroom and he was tailed as he walked up to get his wallet.  [ESPN]

Vanderbilt pitching recruit and potential first round draft pick Stephen Gant was found dead near his Linden, TN home apparently having committed suicide by gunshot.  An investigation into Gant’s death continues.  [FoxSports]

Aches and Pains

Tampa closer Kyle Farnsworth will go on the DL with soreness in his elbow caused by a muscle strain.  He joins B.J. Upton (back) and Sam Fuld (surgery, right wrist) on the DL.  [ESPN]

Other players who found their way to the DL as the season started include:

Tim Hudson (back)
Ryan Madson (TJ Surgery)
Carl Crawford (wrist)
Grady Sizemore (back)
A.J. Burnett (eye socket)
Ted Lilly (neck)
Stephen Drew (ankle)
Charlie Morton (hip)
Andrew Bailey (thumb)
Jose Ceda (TJ Surgery)
Ryan Kalish (shoulder)
Joba Chamberlain (dislocated ankle)

and a number of players who will get 15 days after being nicked up in spring training.

Transaction Wire:

The details of the deal signed by the Reds and first baseman Joey Votto were released – 12 years and $251.5 million, the third largest contract in value and the longest in terms of years in baseball history.  The deal includes a club option in 2024 (!) when Votto would be 41 years old.  This more than doubles the contract given to Ken Griffey, Jr. – at one time the largest contract signing in Cincinnati history…  [ESPN]

The New York Mets signed Jonathan Niese to a five year extension worth more than $25 million.  Niese won 11 for the Mets in 2011.  [SI]

Washington pitcher John Lannan was optioned to AAA, and wasn’t happy about it.  Lannan was an opening day starter in 2009 and 2010, and has requested a trade.  [ESPN]

The Twins sent pitcher Scott Baker to the DL and optioned starting pitcher Jason Marquis to AA New Britain to get work since both missed time in Spring Training.  [SI]

In a late spring training trade, the New York Yankees sent pitcher George Kontos to San Francisco for catcher Chris Stewart.  Stewart was given the backup job, which meant that Francisco Cervelli was unhappily dispatched to AAA.  Kontos pitched well at AAA last season earning a cup of coffee in September.  The big right hander is a Northwestern Grad…  As for Chris Stewart, he’s a catch and throw guy – not much of a hitter even in the minors.  He must be pretty good – Cervelli has logged a lot of innings the last couple of years so it’s a bit of a surprise to see Cervelli moved to AAA.

This is the time when players are optioned to AAA or recalled to the majors having earned a spot on the roster – it’s a long list.  A couple of things caught my eye, though…

Nick Johnson made the Orioles roster
Felix Pie was released by Cleveland
Bill Hall was released by New York.

Happy Birthday!

Those celebrating with cards, cake, or remembrances include:

(1876) Bill Dinneen – pitcher, later an umpire
(1907) Merritt (Sugar) Cain…  Today, he’d get the song Cocaine played when he came to the plate.  Shouldn’t Lorenzo Cain have the nickname “Sugar”?
(1938) Ron Hansen
(1951) Rennie Stennett – one of my favorite Pirates of the 1970s…
(1976) Ross Gload
(1985) Lastings Milledge