Picture of the Day: The Cutter

"Being able to throw like me is about as crazy as Tim McCarver being inducted into the Hall of Fame"

MLB's New Media Dress Code And Its Aim At Women

This past Tuesday on the second day of the General Manager Winter Meetings in Dallas, Major League Baseball announced a new dress code policy for members of the media. This new policy is the first of its kind in any of the four major sports (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA), and it's an attempt to keep a more professional atmosphere in and around the ballpark during games. MLB is clearly trying to prevent any incidences like what had occurred in the NFL between Mexican TV reporter Ines Sainz and the Jets locker room. Her attire and beauty drew much attention to a room full of men which led to claims of harrassment. We could get into the whole Erin Andrews deal but that occurred in a hotel and not a ballfield.

Can't imagine anything she wears on the field is inappropriate

According to the guidelines, members of the media should dress "in an appropriate and professional manner." Clothing should be proper for a "business-casual work environment" when in clubhouses, press boxes and on fields. Muscle shirts, ripped jeans, visible undergarments, sheer clothing, one-shouldered and strapless shirts or clothing exposing bare midriffs will be banned. Skirts, dresses or shorts cut more than three or four inches above the knee will be deemed to be in violation. Never in my lifetime have I seen any male media members wearing muscle shirts or tank tops during a broadcast so clearly this policy was designed for the female media contingent. The thought of Jon Miller or Michael Kay in a muscle shirt leaves a tinge of vomit in my mouth.

The only real problem that has been mentioned in baseball has been around the Florida Miami Marlins where female reporters have been known to wear much skimpier clothing. I can't imagine why they would be wearing less in Miami. Maybe 100 degrees with 100% humidity is an issue. The real problem in Miami is the new player uniforms and not what their reporters are wearing. "This is not in response to any single incident," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told The Associated Press. "It can be a fine line. What one person views as appropriate may not be seen the same way by someone else." They say that albeit the only incident in the big four of sports has been the Ines Sainz issue so clearly that had to be a major factor in creating this new policy.

In my opinion female baseball reporters have always been professional. Growing up in New England and watching NESN (The New England Sports Network) has provided us the opportunity see many classy female baseball reporters including Hazel Mae, Tina Cervasio, Kathryn Tappen, and Heidi Watney

All in all MLB has much more to worry about than some dress code so in honor of those female reporters that keep it classy and professional, lets take a look at them......

Heidi Watney

Kathryn Tappen

Tina Cervasio

Keep it classy ladies!!!....and thank you NESN!!

 

Rookies of the Year and the Rest of MLB's Award Predictions

Rookies of the Year. Craig Kimbrel (L), Jeremy Hellickson (R)

Yesterday Jeremy Hellickson and Craig Kimbrel won the 2011 Rookie of the Year award for the American and National Leagues respectively. Kimbrel won the award unanimously for a season which included setting a Major League record for saves by a rookie with 46 and was an easy choice for voters. Hellickson was also deserving of this award beating out Anaheim's Mark Trumbo for the honor. 

Today I believe the AL Cy Young Award winner will be announced. I'm going to list my predictions for the rest of the awards with a quick little explanation for each. Let's see how I do.

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

This one is obvious and nobody even comes close to matching the performance from the big righty from Detroit. The man went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA, pitched a no-hitter during the season, and led the Tigers to another AL Central crown. This should be a unanimous decision. 

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

Kershaw led the NL in Wins (21), ERA (2.28), K's (248). Leading the league in those categories means that Kershaw won the pitching triple crown in the senior circuit. Case Closed.

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

After losing Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Peña, and Joaquin Benoit, Joe Maddon still managed to lead his team to the playoffs. Maddon certainly had to work much harder to keep his team in games and had to deal with injuries to their best player, Evan Longoria. It took a collapse from the Boston Red Sox but Maddon kept his team playing hard through September and the season's last game to win the AL Wild Card. Job well done Joe!

NL Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Leading a team to 94 wins and a NL West title after coming off of back to back 90-loss seasons is just remarkable. This was a team nobody expected to do well at the beginning of the season and most would have been content with a 3rd place finish let alone finishing 1st. Gibson was the right choice as manager for this young ballclub and deserves this award.

AL Most Valuable Player: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

This one gets controversial with Verlander being a pitcher. I may be biased as a pitcher myself but this guy just had one special season which should not be overlooked. The baseball purists won't vote for a pitcher out of general principle so this award will more likely be dished out to a hitter. The problem with this is that there are too many choices and the votes are going to be spread out so widely that a true MVP won't be decided on, turning this more into a popularity contest with Verlander sitting in the corner. Cases can be made for Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez and Ellsbury are going to split votes between baseball writers in the Boston market. If you go purely by stats then Jose Bautista should be the clear cut choice. This one will be interesting to see.

NL Most Valuable Player: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

Two men prevented Matt Kemp from winning the NL Triple Crown. Jose Reyes and Ryan Braun had batting averages higher than Kemp's .324 and other than that Kemp led the NL in HR (39) and RBI (126). Kemp was pretty much the only offense the Dodgers had which can explain how the team could have both the MVP and CY Young award winners on one team and still be a terrible team. Baseball is funny that way and just goes to show how a collective team effort is more important than individual performances.

FOX's Terrible Broadcasting

 Since 1996, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have been broadcasting Fox's Saturday Baseball and World Series coverage. This year is no different as they have once again joined forces to commentate this year's World Series. Joe buck has been shot down by many as a terrible play-by-play man, who has lost his emotion for the game and as son of the late great announcer Jack Buck, is a disgrace to the family name. As for Tim McCarver, he has been doing World Series since the dawning of the age of Aquarius. But why? Listening to McCarver is like listening to Joe Morgan (who was finally let go by ESPN). Certainly McCarver is past his prime and just typing this post up is making me hate these two more and more. 

Let's take a look at these two broadcasting stooges and what they have brought to this year's World Series.....

Joe Buck led off the World Series with as much fanfare as having a zit popped. Buck began this year's telecast by apologizing to the world.....(Apologies myself for the audio quality)



In game 2, Buck decided to discuss where Journeyman Colby Lewis has played ball in his career. After putting up this graphic we all should have noticed one big mistake, especially those of you from St. Louis. Last time I checked Kansas City was in Missouri right there with St. Louis. Those at FOX feel that KC is in Kansas but who am I to judge?

FOX is not smarter than a fifth grader

Tim McCarver decided to woo us with his spelling abilities this year but must have disregarded math way back when.......


Oh and while I'm on the subject of Joe Buck, he also mentioned in one game that Hamburgers were invented in Athens, Texas. Being from Connecticut I am truly offended by this as most of us in New England know that hamburgers were invented in New Haven at Louie's Lunch. Hell even the Library of Congress recognizes Louie's Lunch as the creator of the great hamburger and if the government says it's true it must be.....right? 

Behold The Power of Water

And they said they would be able to get this game in...

From the incredible snowfall totals from this past winter to the floods in the midwest to the widespread affects of Hurricane Irene, the destructive power of water has been felt especially harder this year than most years that I can personally remember. This destructive force has even been felt in the world of Major League Baseball. Game 1 between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees had to be suspended and continued the next day. Both team's aces, Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia were deemed unavailable on this next day and would only be able to make full starts for game 3 (with possible appearances in game 5). With both teams having to forfeit a useful off day they would be forced to use a 4th starter and in the Yankees case that man was AJ Burnett. Burnett silenced his critics by leading his team to a 10-1 victory in Detroit forcing a game 5 tonight. Tonight's game in the Bronx will feature Doug Fister and Ivan Nova, both having never pitched in the postseason before this series. Instead of a dual of aces we are faced with an even more intriguing matchup of uncertainties, so let's take a look at both starters:

Doug Fister

If he only knew Cano was shooting for 4....

Fister resumed game 1 and in the beginning looked like he wasn't ready for the task after giving up a single to Jorge Posada and a double to Russell Martin. With two on and nobody out, Fister toughened up and get out of the inning unscathed. From my perspective Fister was getting ahead with fastballs down the middle and then finished hitters off by jamming them inside with his good sinker. The Yankees in typical fashion of trying to get a pitcher to throw a lot of pitches were letting that get me over fastball go by them and trying to work the count. This wasn't working for them until the fifth innings when they stopped letting that ball go and taking hacks early on in the count. I was getting increasingly furious every time they watched a fastball down the middle. Once they started swinging early they were able to knock Fister out of the game in the sixth, capped off by a grand slam by Robinson Cano off Fister's replacement Al Alburquerque. Fister and Alex Aviles will need to change things up a bit if they plan to shut down the Yanks potent offense.



Ivan Nova

(Reuters)

You can't say too many things bad about Ivan Nova. The kid hasn't lost a game since returning to the rotation after a brief send down to AAA and has shown the poise of a young Andy Pettitte. Nova had what seemed to be an easy time with the Tigers' lineup, getting strikeouts and groundouts when he needed only giving up 2 runs to the tune of a 9-3 victory. He began to tire in the ninth and Luis Ayala was called in to try to finish the game but had to be rescued by Mariano Rivera to end the game. As long as Nova can keep doing what he's been doing all season he should have no problem giving the Yankees a chance to advance to the ALCS.


Instead of a matchup of aces we get a matchup of unsung season heroes from both teams. I really don't have a prediction for this one seeing as I have witnessed 3 game 5 loses by the Yanks in my lifetime (I still have nightmares of Edgar Martinez). I do however feel very confident with Ivan Nova taking the bump tonight. The Yankees will have a tougher time with Doug Fister if he is able to make some adjustments to his game 1 plan but I don't see his as a shutdown kinda guy. 

Tonight's X-Factor guy.....Robinson Cano.

Your Moanday Video

I know. I know. It's fake but it's definitely entertaining to watch. Neat idea and video gone viral.

Memorable MLB Rookie Hazings

UPDATE: Just got an word of Mike Trout in drag. Here it is....

Angels' Mike Trout as Lady Gaga

September in the MLB brings about expanded rosters/September rookie call-ups, and that means one thing...Rookie hazings. Back in the day hazings were fairly physical in nature that came in the form of physical abuse and harassment. Nowadays teams are tamer, usually making rookies dress up in some form of costumes and parading around in public. This season brought about the usual costumes and pink backpacks, nothing extraordinary but the Washington Nationals did stand out by making their farm kids dress up like the smurfs with Stephen Strasburg as Papa Smurf. Wilson Ramos was the poor bastard that had to wear the skirt and dress as Smurfette.

The Washington Smurfs

Here's a sampling of some of my favorites from years past including Yankees cheerleaders (Chien-Ming Wang in a skirt is hilarious), Padres Hooter Girls, and an appearance by Saturday Night Live's Ambiguously Gay Duo. Enjoy!!!

Nothing like a 6'3" Asian in drag

Hooter Girl Dude Night in San Diego

I feel bad for the two that got stuck as Ace and Gary in public.

The Fight To End Alzheimer's Disease

Team Cusato

For the past couple of years I have been participating in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's event. I decided to take part after hearing a story from WTNH's Kristen Cusato about how her mother was diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called Lewy Body Disease. After learning of this I decided to join her walk team and try to help out by raising money for the cause. This year is no different and once again we will be taking part in the walk at New Haven's Lighthouse Point Park on October 2, 2011. This year will mean much more to me since my grandmother was recently diagnosed with dementia and I will be dedicating my walk this year to both her and Kristen's mother. As you can see to the right I do have link buttons to my donation page if anyone would like to help out. You can also reach that link by clicking here.... http://NewHavenWalk.kintera.org/jaypelletier 

Our team will also be hosting a fundraiser this Thursday, September 15. at BAR in New Haven. For a $20 donation you can enjoy beer, pizza, and live music provided by Kristen's brother Mike Cusato and friends. There will also be a raffle with some awesome prizes including a 4-pack of tickets to see a Phillies/Mets game, an autographed Carlos Beltran baseball, tickets to see Big Head Todd/John Hiatt at the Klein, officially licensed NFL merchandise, and many other great items. The event will go from 5:30pm-8:30pm and all proceeds will go to the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's, Team Cusato.

For those that don't know, as many as 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and millions more are faced with the financial and emotional challenges of caring for a loved one with the disease. If current trends continue, Alzheimer’s will bankrupt families, communities and our healthcare system.

The Alzheimer’s Association®, the leading voluntary organization in Alzheimer research, care and support, is dedicated to finding prevention methods, treatments and an eventual cure for the disease.

Sunday Fun-Day

The following illustration was posted on Baseball Prospectus not too long ago by Dustin Parkes of Getting Blanked. Several hilarious areas of the map to look at are "Burnett's Ocean of Tears," "The Narcissist's Corner," and "Posada's Path." This illustration was also posted on the great Yankees blog, River Ave Blues so I'm just trying to get it a little more "air time." Enjoy!

Starlin Castro, Just Move On

I wasn't going to weigh in on the whole Starlin Castro incident until I heard Kevin Millar's take on the MLB Network the other day.

Turn around Starlin!!!!!

For those that are unaware on the topic at hand, Castro was caught on camera not paying attention in the field as a pitch was thrown. Castro was clearly miffed at an at bat earlier and his emotions sidetracked his job on the field. A rookie error indeed but unfortunately for him this happened during ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball national telecast. Joe Morgan Bobby Valentine then went on a seven minute rant during that half inning lambasting the young star. At one point Bobby V even stated, "If those things are allowed to exist, then a cancer will form within the team." Really Bobby? This is the cancer that takes the Cubbies down? I guess things like winning games, huge multimillion dollar contracts, Jim Hendry, and Carlos Zambrano have nothing to do with the downfall of the Cubs.

Not a cancer

The next day Millar went on the offensive against Castro, however he waffled continuously over whose fault this was and could never definitively come up with a true opinion. Nobody wants to give this guy any slack only because he has had lack of concentration issues in his short past as a pro. Guess what guys, he's only 21 years old still. Nobody ever yelled at Paul O'Neill of the Yankees for taking imaginary swings out in right field especially after he had a bad at bat earlier. The only argument these guys use is that anyone at that level should know better and it's totally inexcusable. Young players, especially the ones from the Latin countries are pulled up so fast to play ball in the bigs that they have even less time to grow up and mature. It's obvious that we expect way too much from these guys in such a short amount of time. Castro is already being likened to guys like Derek Jeter which are huge expectations for a kid trying to make it. Jeter is a one of a kind superstar and putting pressure on a kid to be something that he may not be is not fair to him and in the end may make him a worse ballplayer.

The Cubs did the right thing for the game after by benching Castro and giving him a "Metal Day Off." I'm sure this is only because on the national attention that this got. I for one know that things like this happen more than not. Even though guys are facing the batter doesn't mean they are paying attention to the next pitch or are ready to field a ball. I've done this, you may have, let's get over it and start paying more attention to a guy who is a bright spot on a Cubs team that is mainly a disaster.

For those of you that can actually manage listening to Bobby Valentine here's the rant:

I Should Not Be Laughing At This.......But I Am

Where Did All The Day Games Go?

I finally get a weekend off from work and would like to sit back, enjoy a cold beer, and watch a ballgame. This to my dismay will not be happening on this fine Saturday afternoon as the earliest game happens to be the national Fox telecasts at 4pm. The rest of the day's slate of games start at 7pm eastern time or later. Not too long ago everybody seemed to play at 1pm. Business won't be booming for MLB in the primetime slot on a Saturday night. Nobody cares....bring back afternoon weekend games. I really don't feel like watching the Mets at 4pm as I would probably want to gouge my eyes out but I'll have to man up and deal with it. Feel like discussing anything else? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Respect the Game: Headhunting Edition

Over the past several weeks there have been several incidents of pitchers throwing at batters. I'm going to detail two recent episodes and show how at times it is appropriate to throw at hitters. Let's see if you recognize any of these scenarios.

Scenario 1:

Pitcher A is locked in a pitching dual with the opposing team's ace. Late in the game Pitcher A gives up a homer to Hitter A who stands in the box and admires his big fly. After a few tense moments Pitcher A gets into a verbal spar with Hitter A to get moving. The homeplate umpire warns both benches before any fisticuffs erupt. Hitter B steps up to hit in the next at bat and promptly watches a fastball coming at his head which he avoids. Pitcher A is then thrown out of the game, the benches empty but no fight ensues. Pitcher A later receives a 6 game suspension from the league for his actions.

Scenario 2:

Pitcher B is struggling in his outing. After giving up his fifth homerun in the game, he clearly becomes frustrated and can be seen fuming. Hitter C steps up to the plate after the latest homer and gets a ball thrown at his hip and manages to avoid it. Pitcher B, clearly not satisfied with the last pitch, throws another pitch at the batter's hip and is ejected from the game. Pitcher B walks off the field, empties his locker and tells clubhouse staff that he's going to retire. Pitcher B later receives a 30 day ban from his team.

Conclusion:

Do any of these situations sound familiar? If you guessed that Pitcher A was Jered Weaver and Pitcher B was Carlos Zambrano then give yourself a big pat on the shoulder. In my opinion Weaver was justified in what he did, unlike Zambrano who probably should not be playing baseball ever again. 

Pitcher A

Pitcher B

In Weaver's case it is becoming more and more popular for a hitter to stand there and watch homeruns fly out of the park without punishment. Back in the day if you did that pitchers like Don Drysdale or Bob Gibson would ensure that you never did it again. There's a certain respect for the game that needs to occur here so batters really need to put their heads down and round the bases and celebrate with your team in your dugout. I understand that homeruns are MLB's moneymaker but as a pitcher myself I understand the frustration in giving one up and having to watch a fool make a mockery of you. Maybe there should be fines for doing it like in the NFL where touchdown celebrations have been cut down.

Carlos Zambrano's situation should not have occurred period. Just because you're having a bad day doesn't mean you get to take it out on the other team. He deserved his team suspension and should just retire. Somebody with an ego that volatile needs help.

Let's end this with one of my own personal stories. My team was playing a game against one of the top teams in the league. After our team was down by like 8 runs the other team started making a mockery of us and started a game of whoever hit into an out had to do pushups in the dugout which became very annoying. I came in to pitch in an effort to stop the bleeding and I got the first batter I faced to pop out to the shortstop. As I turned to watch my fielder catch the ball, the batter dropped to the ground and did a set of pushups right on homeplate. Sure enough the next guy I faced had one thrown at his head which he ducked out of the way of. I made no attempt to throw at him again as I was only looking to send a message. After the inning ended, the offending batter came up to me to express no ill will with what happened. I told him flat out if I ever faced him again that he'd be eating a fastball. Never again did that team try anything stupid with us from that point on.

RIP Hideki Irabu....We Hardly Knew Thee

Sunday's Pic: 2011 Baseball HOF

Gillick, Alomar, Blyleven (Mike Groll, AP)

My Pitch Series: The Slider

The next entry in the "My Pitch Series" is the slider. I started throwing the slider out of the blue before one start a couple years ago when I felt my changeup (which will be featured at a later time) lacked movement and was pretty much stale. The typical slider is held like a conventional curveball but instead of coming directly over the top with the ball to get forward rotation you attempt to get a clockwise rotation on the ball. The best way to describe its release is to think about either throwing a football with a perfect spiral or turning a doorknob with your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

This pitch is perfect to use against those fastball happy teams. The pitch moves enough to miss the sweet spot of the bat and can also be used as a strikeout pitch throwing it away to a righty batter (as a righty pitcher) and getting them to chase it or by throwing it inside and catching the black of the plate. Personally I use it to induce weak grounders from the righty batters and as a strikeout pitch to lefties trying to backdoor the pitch on them. 

Some of the great all-time slider throwers include: Steve Carlton, Randy Johnson, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry, and Jeff Nelson. Guys like Johnson and Nelson used big sweeping sliders to strike guys out while guys like Lyle and Guidry had more drop to their pitch which made them dominant.

My Pitch Series: The Curveball

In my opinion there is no sweeter pitch than the curveball. The curveball is my bread & butter pitch, the reason why I can be a washed up righty and still succeed on the mound today. I throw several different types of curves depending on what I’m looking to achieve with the pitch, like getting a smaller tighter break or throwing a big slow looper to get a batter off-balanced. Once you can be comfortable with the pitch and can throw it for strikes consistently, it can be one of your greatest assets and a great addition to any repertoire. 

When I played in the youth leagues and in High School, I used the typical curve grip as shown above. I never had too much success with it as I had just began to use it and understanding how to get the tight over-the-top spin was just something I couldn’t grasp. It took until at least my junior year of high school that it started to come around. I had spent most of my time as a fastball/changeup pitcher that throwing something totally different from the others took some major adjusting. Like with any pitch, the curveball must be thrown with the same arm speed and angle as your other pitches to be affective. Obtaining tight forward rotation is also critical and determines how much break you’ll get on the pitch. Once you become confident with it you can begin experimenting with a little extra sidespin on the ball to get it to act more like a “slurve” thus adding another element to your game.

 

In my late high school and American Legion years I began using the Knuckle-Curve grip. I felt that the grip allowed me to get a tighter rotation on the ball and have a bigger break. Several famous big leaguers use this grip including Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett, and Mike Mussina. Using both the regular grip and the knuckle grip I was able to give batters several different looks and was able to go through opposing lineups more times, keeping me in games longer.

 

The grip that I now use is a modified version of one that newly elected Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven used to make him one of baseball’s all-time greatest strikeout artists. I was listening to a Twins broadcast one night in which Blyleven was explaining how he threw his curveball. He explained that he tried to emulate Sandy Koufax’s “drop ball,” and figured out how to achieve the same spin and break on the pitch. After sending several emails out to Bert I was able to figure out how he held the pitch. He explained that he pretty much held it like a two-seam fastball but came over the top with the pitch to make it curve. After many afternoons trying to achieve the same results I adjusted the grip slightly to my liking and got a pitch that I can throw both fast or slow and get lots of break with. When I throw it slow my teammates named it, “The Gravity Ball” as nothing that slow could actually break on its own without gravity doing most of the work.

 

I always have fun trying make batters look like fools with this pitch and if you’re not throwing one already I think it’s about time you try. Hit me up with some questions or comments and I would be glad to help any of you out.

USA!!! USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

I learned of Bin Laden's passing as a lot of us did. Watching the Mets take on the Phillies on Sunday night an uproar of "USA!!! USA!!!" chants broke out. Wondering what the hell was going on I cranked the volume up only to find out that we finally took out Osama. It seems like the NL East is always there to bring the country closer together.

Here's a gem from the Mets first game back after 9/11. Mike Piazza would later hit an epic homerun that will never be forgotten by Mets fans.

Local Pitcher Called Up To The Bigs

Courtesy of MadFriars.com

*UPDATE* Scribner managed to get into last night's game against the Braves. Evan pitched 2 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits and walking 1. An impressive debut to say the least. 

So I just got word that Evan Scribner has been called up to the San Diego Padres today. Scribner was a former pitcher at Shepaug High School and played for the Torrington P38s American Legion Baseball team. Scribner was called up to the Show from AAA Tucson while lefty Wade LeBlanc was sent back down.

I had the opportunity to face Evan back in the day (early 2000s) and he sure was one hell of a pitcher in his younger days. Luckily the books have been burned as I'm sure I have a lifetime 0-fer against him. 

I wish nothing but the best for Evan and hopefully he can stick around the pros for a long time. He should stand as an inspiration for every aspiring youth pitcher in our local area. 


YES you can make it kids....


Here are the links to stories from the Register Citizen and the San Diego Padres

Torrington Titans Announce Special Celebrity Host for the 2011 All-Star Game

So when I heard there was going to be a "Special Guest Celebrity" hosting our big 4th of July All-Star spectacular I pretty much assumed that we got a a former big leaguer or even a local well known celebrity. I rejected the celebrity idea after only coming up with this guy as being from the local area...

Good Ol' Rip Torn

It came as a total shock to me when I received the press release saying our host for the festivities would be this man....

Are we really this desperate?

Here's the press release by the Torrington Titans printed by the Register Citizen on April 17, 2011:

In an interesting twist to the American tradition of baseball on the Fourth of July, the Torrington Titans are bringing in a special guest.

Former American Idol star, William Hung, will host the 4^th of July Bonanza at Fuessenich Park on July 4^th, 2011. Mr. Hung will perform his signature song that propelled him to stardom, “She Bangs” originally sung by Ricky Martin, as well as two to three other hits throughout the night. Once Mr. Hung has completed his performances for the evening, he will sign autographs and take pictures with his fans.

Hung, who you might remember for his “unique” performance on Fox’s American Idol reality show, which gives contestants a chance to be America’s next star, will be celebrating the 4^th of July with Titan fans in Torrington. Hung made a gallant effort at the American Idol crown but was eventually eliminated in the first round.

“We got the guy we want. His talent is remarkable, the energy that he brings is phenomenal and the Titans couldn’t be more honored that Mr. Hung is going to celebrate America’s birthday with us,” Mike O’Malley, GM of the Titans quoted.

After Mr. Hung’s run on American Idol, he has toured the country performing in many different venues and states. Hung recently performed “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” for the Toronto Blue Jays. This will be the first time that Mr. Hung will be performing in Torrington.

The Titans will play against a team of Tri-State League all-stars in an exhibition contest beginning at 6pm. A Home Run Derby is scheduled before the game beginning at 4pm with the teams comprised of sluggers from the Titans and Tri-State. Tri-State will also be bringing in a former star of its own.

Tri-State commissioner Ed Gadomski has announced that former New York Yankee Jim Bouton will pitch for the Tri-State side. A member of the 1962 World Series Champion team as well as a member of the 1963 All-Star team, Bouton has mastered the art of the knuckleball and still regularly pitches competitively. Bouton also wrote the popular baseball memoir ‘Ball Four’ “I feel very fortunate to have Jim at the ballpark on the 4^th. He is a great competitor and I’m excited that he is going to be on our side,” Gadomski stated.

“Jim Bouton played in the Tri-State League” said long-time Tri-Stater Gregg Hunt, who manages the Titans. “That’s certainly going to be interesting.” Hunt said it will be different for the college kids on the Titans to see the knuckleball in action. “I think it’s going to be a good night for both the Titans and the Tri-State League,” Hunt said.

A block party during the day will feature a performance by the ‘All in Band’ and there are discussions of a “patriotic pyrotechnics/light show” in the works following the game. The concessions will be open throughout the afternoon and evening.

General Admission for the day will be $5 for adults and $3 for kids 12 and under with children 5 and under entering for free. Part of the proceeds will go to the United Way Campership Fund, which has partnered with the Titans and Tri-State for the day. Contact GM of the Titans Mike O’Malley at michaelkomalley@gmail.com for more information.

 I love how they hype up William Hung's "phenomenal energy" and that he will be signing autographs and taking pictures with his fans (all 2 of them). This should lead to an interesting day, one that I'm sure will not help with my alcohol addiction.


A special thanks does go out to the United Way for being part of this event where parts of our proceeds for the day's activities will go. Proceeds will help the United Way Campership Fund. This program gives out scholarships to 500 local youth so they can attend one session of summer camp this year.


I end you all on this note.....

CT Tri-State Roundup: Jim Bouton

Former New York Yankee Jim Bouton has committed to playing at the 4th of July All-Star game pitting the Tri-State All Stars vs. The Torrington Titans. Jim was a member of the World Series champion 1962 New York Yankees ball club and pitched in the 1963 major league baseball all-star game. Bouton started his career with the New York Yankees in 1962. Bouton appeared in 36 games during the 1962 season, including 16 starts, and had a win-loss record of 7-7. By 1965, arm injuries unfortunately started to slow him down. In 1968, Bouton left the Yankees and played for the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and then moved on to play for the Houston Astros from 1969-1970.

Bouton retired midway through the 1970 season after the Astros sent him to the minor leagues. He moved on to local sports anchor jobs, as well as acting in a few movies and television shows. Bouton returned to baseball in 1975 with the Portland Mavericks, skipped the 1976 season, and returned in 1977 when Bill Veeck signed him to a contract with the Chicago White Sox. Bouton then went on to play for the Atlanta Braves in 1978.

Bouton is the author of Ball Four,  a controversial baseball book that is a memoir of his 1969 season, along with his years with the Yankees, Pilots, and Astros. His national bestseller revealed habits and exploits of ballplayers and exposed a side of baseball that was previously unseen.

Jim still throws 3 times a week and has mastered the knuckleball. He will use that knuckler for one inning against the Titans.

CT Tri-State League Preseason Writeup

Here is the Preseason Writeup that our Commissioner Ed Gadomski has released for the upcoming season. Great things are ahead for the league. 

The Tri-State Baseball League will feature 18 teams in the 2011 season but says good-bye to one of its long-time members, the Thomaston Spoilers. Hall-Of-Fame head coach Dave Post will ‘retire’ after 26 seasons at the helm of the Spoilers with two league championships (1989 & 2003) on his resume. The Spoiler players will migrate to other teams in the league.

Tri-State will also open its arms and say hello to a former foundation member as Lakeville rejoins the league after a twelve year absence. The Lakeville Firemen were one of the original Tri-State league members from 1968 and played in the league until 1999 with six league championships during that timeframe. Chris Lambert, owner of the Winsted Dome, will sponsor the new team, who will play under the nickname ‘Outlaws’ to distinguish Lakeville’s next chapter in the league. The Outlaws will play their home games at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville.

Friday May 20^th is slated for opening day with a double-header scheduled at Muzzy field in Bristol. The rest of the league will open up on Sunday May 22^nd. Each team will play a 19 game regular season. The ‘top 12’ teams will play in a round-robin double-elimination tournament beginning in August to crown a league champion. Four different teams have won the league championship the past four seasons. The Bethlehem Plowboys are the defending champs after knocking off the Tri-Town Trojans in the best-of-three finals in 2010. Brass City Brew (2009 champs), Winsted Whalers (2008 champs), and Torrington Rebels (2007 champs) will all compete for another title. Rounding out the league will be the Watertown Blaze, Tribury Pavers, Terryville Black Sox, Waterbury Wild, Naugatuck Dogs, Prospect Hearts, Litchfield Cowboys, Burlington Hunters, Bristol Greeners, Amenia Monarchs, Wolcott Scrappers, and Mazda Dodge who will now play under the name of Thomaston Threshers.

A Monday 4^th of July extravaganza featuring the Tri-State ‘All-Stars’ in an exhibition game against the FCBL Torrington Titans will be played at Fuessenich Park (7pm) and will feature a pregame Home Run Derby (4pm) to raise money for the United Way. ‘Contacts’ have been made to draw some former big league ball players to the ballpark for the festivities. Contract negotiations are also underway with a ‘surprise’ mini-celebrity to join us that night. A block party in the parking lot will kick–off the days’ events starting at noon. The local band ‘Tirebiter’ will provide live band entertainment and a ‘pyrotechnic special-effects’ light show will be on display following the game to round out the days jamboree. The Fire Marshall and extra Police ‘manpower’ have been assigned as a crowd of 3000 people is expected for the game/light show. Any businesses or sponsors who would like to make a financial contribution/donation and have their ‘names’ advertised for the night please contact me for further info.

The league will also participate in several charity tournaments during the course of the year. May 14 & 15 will feature a ‘Goodwill’ tournament versus the other Stan Musial leagues in the state. A ‘Campership’ charity tournament will be held on Saturday June 18^th at Fuessenich Park with three games scheduled to be played where all proceeds’ will be donated in the memory of Glenn Winn (son of Torrington Park & Rec administrator Donna Winn) to the Campership Foundation. Tri-State will send a representative to the PAL tournament fundraiser in Manchester the third week of August and will play in an all-star game versus the Wallingford Twilight League to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness in September. In addition, five teams will also qualify to play in the Stan Musial state tournament the last week of July with a chance to advance to the AABC regional and national tournament. The 2011 Old Timers Day game and Hall-Of-Fame ceremony will be played at Doc Bartlett Field in Amenia, NY on Sunday June 5^th.

Tri-State has joined ‘I-Score Baseball Scorekeeper’ for the 2011 season and will keep digital real-time stats of every game automatically uploaded to the league website where teams, players, and season long statistics can be tracked separately at the touch of a button as well as the ability to view any scored game of the season. I-Score gives the capability to post pitch-by-pitch updates to the internet so that people who cannot attend the game in person can follow along on the league website.

The Jamie Moyer of the Tri-State League

Probably throwing a 50mph Curveball

I for one don't believe that I'm a great pitcher. If anything I could be labeled as a crafty lefty righty. The only time I thought that I could even pitch at a higher level say college was during my sophomore year in high school. Back then I could actually throw the ball with decent velocity and felt somewhat dominant over high school batters. My junior year on the varsity squad left me with limited innings due to having a bunch of seniors on the team that our coach felt deserved more playing time than I thought they needed. Whenever I was given the chance I tried to make the most of it and ended up pitching in some memorable moments that I will surely never forget. I hurt my back during my senior year and pitched the last inning of our last game of the season, hurling a 1-2-3, 9-pitch inning consisting of only fastballs because my body hurt to much to attempt anything else. I was never the same pitcher after that initial back injury and many more serious medical problems arose in my life including Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma which made me a shell of my former self. Because of these issues I had to learn how to adapt if I were to continue competing on a level with past, present, and future college players and pros.

I lost the ability to throw a "Fast"ball with any credible velocity and because of this I had to come up with a repertoire of pitches to complement this pitch. After several seasons of tinkering I finally came up with two main pitches that worked well with my fastball. The first one is my bread and butter pitch, the curveball. After listening to Bert Blyleven talk about Sandy Koufax's "drop ball," I began to do my research and discovered how both held theirs and tried it out for myself. It has now been labeled by my teammates as the "Gravity Ball" since it probably comes at you at 50mph but breaks from your head to your toes. Most guys either swing and miss at this or pop it out to the infield. The other pitch I use is a slider. I hold it just like a normal curveball but release it like I was turning a doorknob instead of coming straight over the top. The beauty of this pitch is that it looks just like a straight ball coming in and breaks at the last second usually missing the fat part of the bat and sending batters into a fit of expletives. 

For the past six seasons I have been using these pitches to frustrate batters in our league. One team in particular that I know hates me is the Winsted Whalers. I have beat them every time I have faced them and on many occasions beat them while facing off against their ace, Donny Crossman, who in my opinion is one of the top pitchers in our league and has plenty of accolades to show. Crossman has even said it himself that they just can't figure out how to hit me. It just goes to show sometimes that guts and determination can triumph over brute and strength. 

I find it funny at times when catchers ask me what pitches I am going to throw before a game. A chuckle and wry smile creeps up on my face and I say, "1, 2, 3...Changeup, Curveball, Slider." They get the joke and chuckle as well.

Later I'll post pictures of the pitches I throw along with a side story for each....check back later.

Tri-State Winter League Bonus Stop

Courtesy of Team Connecticut Baseball

This afternoon at 2:00pm my winter league team will be facing off against CCSU's Co-Rec baseball at Central's beautiful artificial turf field in New Britain. I have never played there myself but have been told by teams that played there last week that it is truly a great place to play. Can't Wait. I'll be sure to post updates if anything exciting pops up during the game. Stay tuned...

Aces In An Early Season Hole

(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

 "I felt good. But when you're going against another team's No. 1 and give up four runs, you're going to lose,"   -David Price on his outing against Baltimore.

Here's the list of pitchers from yesterday's slate that ended up struggling taking either the loss for their team or ending up with a no decision: David Price, Jon Lester, Ubaldo Jimenez,  CJ Wilson, Fausto Carmona, Carl Pavano, and Mike Pelfrey. That is one hell of an All-Star caliber list of guys right there. As David Price stated above, if you give up 4 runs facing off against the other teams ace, you will most likely lose.


The start that stood out most to me was Jon Lester's against the Rangers. Lester lacked command of most of pitches throughout the outing giving up 3 home runs. It was the first time in his career that he gave up 3 dingers in a start. At one point Lester hit 2 batters in an inning and left his pitches out over the plate and missed Jarrod Saltalamacchia's glove way too much resulting in giving up 5 earned runs. His stat line for the outing was as follows:

Jon Lester: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 HR, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 HBP

The Red Sox will need a quick turnaround from Lester with the uncertainty of Josh Beckett and in my opinion the ugliest pitcher to watch throw a game, Daisuke Matsuzaka. Lester does have a history of terrible April starts and since 2008 has an ERA of over 8. I expect nothing but improvement from Lester but as for opening day starts goes, this one was ugly.

*Do note that even as a Yankee fan I have nothing against Jon Lester. In fact we both share something big in common both having fought Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at around the same time.