“I’m trying to think of a polite way to say this. Literally, they’re terrible. They’re a terrible design. They’re cumbersome. It’s impossible to pitch with one on.” – Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson (on protective baseball cap for pitchers)
EL BARIO, BRONX – This was one hurly-burly week. It was so busy, that for the first time in ages, I didn’t even have one drink on St. Joseph’s or St. Patrick’s Day. It is another week, that left me with a hodge podge of topics to banter about. This means, yours truly, Deacon Blaber, and my Sports Blabberings from the Bully Pulpit… will be all over the shop. Today, we will discuss: Protective Baseball Caps for Pitchers. Exploding Jordan’s and March Madness.
Apparently as a result of the increasingly high rate of pitchers getting hit in the head and face by baseballs flying off of hitter’s bats, Major League Baseball, have supported and authorized protective baseball caps for pitchers. The caps gained MLB approval for use in January. However, here appears to have been a snag. The hats are horrible and cumbersome according to the pitchers, like the aforementioned CJ Wilson. The company, that makes them Isoblox was devastated after poor reviews from players over the winter, regarding fit, weight and such, they went back to the drawing board. Now pitchers are upset these new hats have not been made available. MLB told them to take to their clubs equipment managers but those managers have no clue how to get their hands on them. Stay tuned for this next twist in this story. However, when you consider that you are trying to protect you head and your livelihood, should these pitchers be able to deal with a cumbersome hat, to achieve that goal.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tony Wroten had the sole of his Air Jordan X “Varsity Red” sneakers ripped off on Friday as they exploded. After video footage of the sneakers exploding and the sole ripping off became a big trend in the media, Wroten got a surprised phone call. Michael Jordan himself got a hold of Wroten to apologize for the incident and the faulty pair of sneakers that are part of his brand. One can only overlook quality for savings and profit for so long when dealing with underpaid chinese labor and manufacturing. What is upsetting is Jordan doesn’t apologize for being a basketball icon with 200-300 dollar pair of sneakers. He should apologize because he himself knows the impoverished neighborhoods where his brand value is the highest and the theft and violence that come with it are a result of those neighborhoods but also a result of making your sneakers so expensive.
Finally March/April Madness has descended upon us. We all hate it as all these fly by night college fans have something to say. They yell at the TV like they know what is up. They don’t know the history of the tournament or have an understanding for the power of a 12 seed. I hate making the kids go to college for one year, but it appears a slight benefit is developed for sides with upper classmen as a result. Duke, Ohio State and Oklahoma are all out. They need to pay the kids and I want to boycott the games as part of this but the games are on everywhere and my word they are engrossing. Hopefully, this business model falls apart and the finally pay the kids. I don’t have a bracket this year as part of my protest, but I did fill one out. The madness is very contagious.
That is it for now, feel free to comment below and come back tomorrow for the one and only, Cheesy Bruin.
P.s… If you want to read more of my ramblings as a Rugby Guy, you can find them on RugbyWrapUp.com and our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @RugbyWrapUp and @JunoirBlaber, respectively
