HANGOVER CITY – Many apologies for the late post this Saturday. A long work week, too much Jim Beam, and a few litres (Canadian spelling) of beer at the Hofbrauhaus last night forced me to miss my deadline. The Germans strike again! Lets talk Baseball.
The Yanks came from behind to beat the Canadian Bluebirds last night on the strength of Ichiro’s first home run in 12 seasons. Fellow Japanese old timer Hiroki Kuroda overcame a rocky start and two Jose Bautista round trippers to get the win and bring his ace-like record to 7-6. The six runs the Bombers posted seems like the most runs they’ve had in months. Who would have thought that with 80% of the starting rotation on the disabled list, the main Yankee struggles would be offensively. They’ve gotten some good starts from a bunch of guys nobody has ever heard of recently. But if they’re going to make a push for the playoffs, the bats need to wake up. Sooner or later this rag-tag rotation is going to run out of steam. When that happens the Yanks will have to rely on their bats. The Yanks are now six games over and just three back of the Baltimore Orioles. We’ll see if Brian Cashman makes any more moves before the deadline to try to bolster the rotation for the stretch run.
Over in Queens, the Mets have taken the phrase “win some, lose some” to heart. They’ve definitely cooled off from their pre-All Star break surge. They’re now five games under .5o0 and 8.5 games behind the first place Montreal Expos of Washington. The All-Star break seems to have ruined any momentum the Amazin’s had. Now they’re sliding into the dog-day doldrums of August where teams who have no shot at the playoffs end up. Playing everyday on the long slow slide into winter and a break from baseball.
For those out there in Mattville with NetFlix accounts, I strongly recommend you watch the new documentary “The Battered Bastards of Baseball.” The doc tells the story of actor Bing Russell (Snake Plissken’s father), who founded the Portland Mavericks, an independent baseball team that played in the minor leagues in the mid-70’s. The team held open tryouts for roster spots and ended up playing some really good baseball. Much to the dismay of the major league teams whose farm hands were being embarrassed. Kurt Russell even played for his father’s team. Jim Bouton, former Yankee pitcher and author of Ball Four, also turned out for the Mavericks. The team, known for their gimmicks and on-field antics, played from 1973 through 1977 when Major League Baseball decided that they’d had enough. MLB brought a Triple-A team to Portland which forced the Mavericks to end their operations. The Battered Bastards of Baseball is an interesting documentary about a different era in baseball and a different level of play than we’re used to following. Check it out.
Thats it for me today. I hope everybody out there in Mattville enjoys their weekend.
