Monthly Archives: August 2011

Update: 2011 MLB Payrolls & Individual Salaries.

Posted on August 27, 2011 | 2 comments

Courtesy TTF Baseball

Here’s the 2011 update to our 2010 Major League Baseball listing published November 22, 2010.  This comes to us compliments of USA Today.  If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries.  It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs;  in other words, did they get what they paid for?

 TEAM                          TOTAL P/R             AVG SALARY       MEDIAN

New York Yankees

$ 202,689,028

$ 6,756,300

$ 2,100,000
Philadelphia Phillies

$ 172,976,379

$ 5,765,879

$ 2,625,000
Boston Red Sox

$ 161,762,475

$ 5,991,202

$ 5,500,000
Los Angeles Angels

$ 138,543,166

$ 4,469,134

$ 2,000,000
Chicago White Sox

$ 127,789,000

$ 4,732,925

$ 2,750,000
Chicago Cubs

$ 125,047,329

$ 5,001,893

$ 1,600,000
New York Mets

$ 118,847,309

$ 4,401,752

$ 900,000
San Francisco Giants

$ 118,198,333

$ 4,377,716

$ 2,200,000
Minnesota Twins

$ 112,737,000

$ 4,509,480

$ 3,000,000
Detroit Tigers

$ 105,700,231

$ 3,914,823

$ 1,300,000
St. Louis Cardinals

$ 105,433,572

$ 3,904,947

$ 1,000,000
Los Angeles Dodgers

$ 104,188,999

$ 3,472,966

$ 2,142,838
Texas Rangers

$ 92,299,264

$ 3,182,733

$ 1,251,000
Colorado Rockies

$ 88,148,071

$ 3,390,310

$ 2,318,750
Atlanta Braves

$ 87,002,692

$ 3,346,257

$ 1,275,000
Seattle Mariners

$ 86,524,600

$ 2,884,153

$ 825,000
Milwaukee Brewers

$ 85,497,333

$ 2,849,911

$ 1,050,000
Baltimore Orioles

$ 85,304,038

$ 3,280,924

$ 1,425,000
Cincinnati Reds

$ 75,947,134

$ 2,531,571

$ 825,000
Houston Astros

$ 70,694,000

$ 2,437,724

$ 467,000
Oakland Athletics

$ 66,536,500

$ 2,376,303

$ 1,400,000
Washington Nationals

$ 63,856,928

$ 2,201,963

$ 1,050,000
Toronto Blue Jays

$ 62,567,800

$ 2,018,316

$ 1,200,000
Florida Marlins

$ 56,944,000

$ 2,190,153

$ 545,000
Arizona Diamondbacks

$ 53,639,833

$ 1,986,660

$ 1,000,000
Cleveland Indians

$ 49,190,566

$ 1,639,685

$ 484,200
San Diego Padres

$ 45,869,140

$ 1,479,649

$ 468,800
Pittsburgh Pirates

$ 45,047,000

$ 1,553,344

$ 450,000
Tampa Bay Rays

$ 41,053,571

$ 1,578,983

$ 907,750
Kansas City Royals

$ 36,126,000

$ 1,338,000

$ 850,000
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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A4 Uncategorized, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

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Astros A Thing of the Past? Ask the Giants!

Posted on August 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

I sat down to write about Billy Beane this morning, but when I perused my emails I couldn’t resist posting another Sully Video.   This one caught my fancy because it’s bemoaning the Houston Astros of the good old days in comparison to the Astros of today.    This one really made me chuckle because, to tell you the truth, after sitting through not one but two series with the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants these past few weeks  I think the Astros are looking pretty darn good.  Maybe even futuristic …. a team of the future!

Minute Maid Park

And my only criteria?   Total games played in two series so far in August ~ Five.   Astros Won 3, Giants Won 2.   Okay, granted the Giants aren’t exactly the frosting on the cake as far as winning games lately, but still, those Astros outscored them 21-14 in the series.  Just saying, the Astros may have the worst record in MLB today, but against the Giants they’re looking pretty darn good.

Take from that what you may, but leave it to Sully to come up with another thought-provoker early on a Saturday morning!

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Triple Play…….. Or Is it? Take A Look!

Posted on August 22, 2011 | 2 comments

I had to watch this several times and then again in slow motion to see what all the fuss was about.  Here’s the sequence of events as I see it.  Center fielder touched the ball 2) CF missed the ball 3) ball then bounced off CF’s head 4) he then fielded the ball 5) threw it to second 6) and the 2nd baseman then throws  it to first for the triple play.  Whew ….. you can read about it below and it makes a little more sense.  A great play especially for a minor league player but still a little comical huh?

“Omaha Storm Chasers vs. Nashville Sounds, yesterday. Triple-A-y baseball even by Triple-A baseball standards. We’ll set the scene for you: men on first and second, no one out, Clint Robinson up for Omaha. Logan Schafer is in center field.

The ball bounces off Schafer’s glove, then off his head, then it goes back into his glove. One out. He throws it back in awfully quickly—we can assume, then, he wasn’t concussed—and second baseman Eric Farris steps on his base. Two out. Farris then throws it over to first baseman Mat Gamel, and that’s three.

Said Schafer, per MILB.com:   “It was a little bit of disbelief and a lot of humor. When the ball hits you on your head, it’s pretty embarrassing, but I’m glad I could catch it. They were all laughing quite a bit, it’s a pretty funny play. Everyone was kind of in disbelief and they were all cracking up.”   Schafer said the Sounds submitted the play to ESPN with hopes of seeing it make it onto SportsCenter.  We hope Deadspin will suffice.

Not quite as tidy as the Red Sox’s triple play from Tuesday, but that’s why these are the minor leagues. They’ll get better.”

Video via WOWT-TV, h/t Minda.

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The Good Old Days you say? How About Here and Now?

Posted on August 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sully’s at it again.  He takes us from the beginning right up to today and lets us know what’s not so good about baseball back then and what’s so good about it  now, today.  And I have to agree with him although I have to admit my fondest memories are still of  Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Joe DiMaggio.   Take a look and see what you think.   Thanks again Sully.  I love this kind of stuff!

Paul Sullivan’s website:  http://sullybaseball.blogspot.com/

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Now …. Where is that Batter’s Box Again?

Posted on August 15, 2011 | 2 comments

I was so excited about Buster Posey’s twins this morning, almost missed this great little ditty of a video, compliments of  Frisco Fastball,   one of my favorite blogs.  It reminded me of that Abbott & Costello “Who’s on First” comedy routine, except this is for real ~ I think.

“Even though Casilla could not have reached a pitch over the plate, he said with a straight face, “I was looking for a fastball away,” drawing howls of protest and laughter from teammates nearby. ” Hank Shulman,  SF Chronicle.  

And yes, please welcome into the world two more Posey’s,  Addison Lynn & Lee Dempsey Posey, born yesterday, August 14, 2011.  Congratulations to Buster and Kristin!  It was rumored Brian Sabean was up really early trying to come up with an MLB contract for infants.  But it’s just a rumor, probably nothing to it.  

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A Team in Contention you Say?

Posted on August 12, 2011 | 2 comments

Carlos Beltran

It’s settled.  From now on any newcomer that signs with the Giants will automatically be put on the Disabled List as a precaution.  Do not stop, do not pass go ….. I have to tell you, when we got word that Carlos Beltran signed with the Giants the first thing I said ~ no really ~ the very first thing I said was ” I wonder how long it will take him to hit the DL!”  So how long has it been?   Sixteen days you say?  So okay, he isn’t officially on the DL, not yet, but take a look at of the Giants who have been;    Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Cody Ross, Zito again, Buster Posey, Freddie Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, Zito again, Brian Wilson, Mark DeRosa, Manny Burriss, Pat Burrell, DeRosa again, and now ….. Beltran?   Good grief!  How is it possible these guys have been able to be in a position to even remotely smell first place, let alone set foot in it for a few weeks. Here’s the latest post from D. L. Short, over at NBC Sports……

“Carlos Beltran  is out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game tonight with a strained right hand/wrist and it sounds like the Giants are close to making a decision about placing him on the disabled list.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Beltran has only made “marginal improvement” since receiving a cortisone shot Wednesday. While he was able to pick up a bat today for the first time since the injury, he is still feeling some pain in the back of his hand when he swings.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said they plan to wait until tomorrow to see if he makes further progress, but it sounds like a roster move isn’t far away.

“It’s so vital to swinging the bat to have your hand healthy enough to take a normal swing,” Bochy said. “Once he feels strong enough to handle the bat and take a normal swing, we’ll do it. We can’t risk losing him for a long period of time. We’ve got to be smart about it. This is a sensitive area.”

I might mention  Nate Schierholtz is out of the lineup for the second straight game tonight with a sore right hip.   And this is a team of youngsters compared to the rest of the league.   Personally, I’d rather they be cursed with no-hit-itis virus ….. oh, excuse me, they are …..than this malady of crazy intangibles that have befallen them as a team.

All I can say is it’s getting to be a really long season and there doesn’t appear to be anything on the horizon that’s going to make it go any faster.   Is it postseason yet?  I’m just asking,  you know,  just asking.

Update!  Take a look at this……It shouldn’t take Beltran on the DL to bring back  Brandon Belt, but we’ll try anything at this point!

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Garlic Fries and Baseball: The Book

Posted on August 12, 2011 | 6 comments

Update:  Now available at Amazon as Book and Kindle.

Finally it’s here!  My book’s been in the works since February and  it’s being published today.  It’s available for sale here first, and will be available on Amazon.com early next week and in Kindle form  soon thereafter.

The book’s a compilation of some of my favorite blogs, some in expanded form, with a few little ditties added in and formatted in such a way you’ll hardly recognize it!  I have to admit ~ writing a book is a great experience, but it’s much easier writing a blog!

Let me know what you think but please be kind.   This is my debut you know ♥   Ronni

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, A3 Ballpark Food, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

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Winner of World Series Ring Raffle Announced.

Posted on August 10, 2011 | 1 comment

THE RAFFLE IS NOW CLOSED.

Thank you for participating in the World Series Ring Raffle.
The Winner, subject to verification of eligibility, is AMY GAMBLE of SAN BRUNO, CALIFORNIA
and the WINNING NUMBER is 100-00416-905.*

The winner will be contacted via phone by a raffle staff person
to complete applicable forms. Congratulations!

* Winner must be in compliance with guidelines set forth in the Official Rules and Terms of Use.

It took me awhile to find out who the winner was.  I’m thinking maybe they haven’t been able to confirm the winner, so that’s why a formal announcement hasn’t been made yet.  In any event, the organization saved some money on this deal.  The raffle prize included an all expense paid trip to a SF Giants game, including air fare, hotel and meals.  The winner is from San Bruno which is about 12 miles from AT&T Park.  Go figure!   You know they made a ton of money on this raffle, going to a good cause I know, but still I’d sure like to see the end results of the raffle’s gross receipts.  I know they got my $10!

Anyhow, congratulations to the lucky winner.  I hope this sets a precedent and they’ll continue doing raffles with future World Series Rings.  Spread it around a little you know?

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Umpire Changes his Mind….. Who Knew?

Posted on August 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

Video:   Umpire Changes Call   Take a look at this MLB video.  I wasn’t able to post the video, so posted a link to the video instead.   

The Lonely Umpire

What’s interesting here is the umpire originally called the play as a “foul ball” but when the catcher showed the ball to the umpire, the call was changed immediately to “out”.  This was all split-second timing so that’s why it’s important to watch the video. 

The commentators were critical of the catch because he could have thrown the ball to first and had a double play, but catcher Eli Whiteside explained later his main concern was trying to convince the umpire, who’d already made the foul ball call, that it should have been an out. 

I like this little ditty because umpires have been having a pretty tough go of it lately and this helps reinforce the fact that even though they have the toughest job in baseball, they’re  still pretty darn awesome!

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A4 Uncategorized, A5 Baseball Videos, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants

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“Batting Stance Guy”

Posted on August 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

I rarely find a book that I like that’s been recommended by someone else.  Books and movies are personal in nature and everyone relates to whatever they relate to  regardless of what the other guy likes. 

So a few weeks ago when I read a book review by a fellow blogger about how hilarious the “Batting Stance Guy” was, I went to Amazon Reviews to check it out and sure enough, 15 reviews, 5 stars.    So I had very high expectations when I starting reading the book and immediately was disappointed.  I mean when someone says a book is hilarious, rolling on the floor laugh-out-loud funny, I planned to be entertained.  It took me awhile to warm up to the book, but in the end I have to admit, it was pretty darn funny.   Here’s a sampling;

  • “Can one player have too much style?  I think so.  (If there weren’t MLB rules in place) Ichiro would come to the plate in a smoking jacket and Ray-Bans.  He’d be like Hugh Hefner.  Either that or he’d be like Michael Jackson – weird Michael, not creepy Michael.  He’d wear a jewel-encrusted batting glove, swing a fluorescent bat, and moonwalk to first base.”
  • “July 7, 1991; the first time I ever sneaked onto a major league baseball field.  The A’s were out-of-town, the back gate was open, and there was no security in sight.  The terrorists really have won now that moments like this aren’t possible anymore.” 
  • “About Ivan Calderon.  Calderon is Puerto Rican.  How do you say Magnum P.I. in Spanish?”
  • An open letter to Bud Selig about Pete Rose:  “Dear Bud, What is Bud short for?  Budrich? Buddadiah?  Pete won the Rookie of the Year, was an MVP, a two-time Gold Glover, a 17-time All Star, and won three World Series rings…..  If you’re not going to reinstate him because he bet on baseball, at least reinstate his hair, because it was awesome. “
  • On Mickey Tettleton; …..”he’s not just about the game, he’s a lifestyle.  He’s tough, a catcher and a cowboy.  You just don’t mess with him…..He only eats meat, and only if it’s raw.  He only drinks motor oil…..  You don’t mess with Tettleton.  I’m actually afraid to imitate his stance.”

The Batting Stance Guy, © 2010, by George A. Ryness IV and Caleb Dewart, Published by Simon and Schuster, Inc.  

If  you like baseball, you’re gonna like this book!  No, really!  Trust me ♥

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