Bow Tie Cause

Issue: I thought this was a sports blog - are you giving fashion advice now?

Short Answer: If you've ever seen my wardrobe, you'd know that's not the case.

Reasoning: I've never worn a bow tie (other than clip-ons for tuxes I've worn in weddings), and I've certainly never owned a bow tie.  I think they can look fashionable, but I usually think the people wearing them are just trying hard to be different (i.e., they are nerds).  Ken Rosenthal may fit the definition of a nerd, but I'm not sure Dhani Jones does.  But, the two of them have teamed together for what is called "Bow Tie Cause".  Starting at the beginning of this year's MLB season, Rosenthal donned a different bow tie for each of Fox's Saturday Game of the Week.  Each of the bow ties raised awareness for various charities.  The website bowtiecause.org explains each bow tie and the charity which Rosenthal and Jones are helping to raise awareness for.  The 9/11 Memorial Fund, ALS, Cystic Fibrosis, and Ovarian Cancer are just a few of the causes that Rosenthal and Jones have represented.  You may be asking yourself, "what the heck does this have to do with this blog, other than the fact that Rosenthal wore these during baseball games and Jones was a former NFL player (he was a former Bengal - and an average one at that)?"

Well, ladies and gentlemen, one of the ties Ken Rosenthal wore, in Game 5 of the World Series no less, holds a place near and dear to my heart.  Let me show you the tie first:

Pretty sharp looking tie, no?  Well, this tie benefits the St. Xavier High School retention fund.  Yes, St. Xavier High School is my alma mater, I coach varsity baseball there, and, it is the best high school around.  Deal with it.  Allow me to let Fox Sports explain the significance of the charity:

St. Xavier High School assists young men to become leaders through rigorous college preparation in the Jesuit tradition. The school, whose motto is "Men for Others," created its retention program to assist non-traditional students to reach their full potential — academically, socially, spiritually and personally. The subtle X in the pattern of the bow tie reflects the school’s Long Blue Line tradition, while the geometric design represents the Jesuit approach to leading within complex, changing environments. Designed for the school's annual gala (Xtravaganza), the signature St. X BowTie helped raise over $30,000 to support the program. Dhani visited the school and taught students how to tie a bow tie.

Awesome.  St. Xavier High School made an appearance in the 2011 World Series.  I'm not sure many (if any) other high schools out there can make the same claim.  Makes me proud to be a Bomber.  Oh, who are we kidding?  Bombers are always proud to be Bombers, that's why people don't like us so much.  There is also some video of Rosenthal wearing the St. X bow tie, as he interviewed the Mets' Scott Hairston after a July 16 game in Shea Stadium.  The bow tie only makes a quick appearance at the beginning of the video, so, instead of posting a video with an interview of a player most people have never heard of, after winning a meaningless game in July, for a team that absolutely stunk (unless they were playing the Reds), I will just post a picture:

Again, awesome.  Here's to Ken Rosenthal and Dhani Jones raising money for numerous good causes, including a few that are near and dear to my heart, especially giving non-traditional students the chance to experience St. Xavier High School.  Go Bombers!

MLB Hodgepodge

Issue: The season is almost over, anything interesting left on your plate?

Short Answer: A handful of things...

Reasoning: I'm thinking this will be my last baseball post of 2011.  See, the St. Louis Cardinals are now officially playing in the World Series, which, quite literally, makes me nauseous. [Sidenote: has anyone else noticed the epidemic going on in our world today with the severe overuse of the word "literally"?  It has become the most superfluous word in our language.  Like this: "I am literally writing a blog post right now."  Is there any reason for "literally" to be in that sentence?  No.  I think people believe it literally adds emphasis to what they are saying.  It literally just makes them sound like an idiot.  I hope you now notice it as much as I do, and it bothers you as much as it does me.  Literally.]  Anyway, if the Cardinals win I will not write a post about their improbable run into, and then through the playoffs.  They have already made history, and I couldn't care less.  My two favorite teams in baseball are the Cincinnati Reds and whoever is playing the St. Louis Cardinals.  So, a Rangers fan I shall become.  Becoming a Rangers fan is not hard for me, as I played an entire summer with Nelson Cruz when we were both members of the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League.  He was a phenomenal player then, but I remember him as a better person.  See, there is always a bit of a rift in locker rooms between American born players and Latin born players.  Latin players speak a language American players can't understand, and it can cause some friction.  I always remember Nelson as one of the Latin players who could relate to everyone in the locker room.  He obviously had a lot in common with the Latin players, but he made it a point to relate to the American players as well.  Something tells me his fantastic attitude and love for the game led him to where he is today, i.e., ALCS MVP.

I digress.  The point to this post was to give you a few interesting tidbits, mostly about the Reds, that might make you think a bit.  Without further ado:

1. The Reds finished in 3rd place (shockingly enough, this was a disappointment in the Queen City) in 2011.  Did you realize it has now been 28 years since the Reds have finished in last place?  Yes, that says 28 years.  Doesn't seem right does it?  Where the Reds have finished in the last 28 years: 6th (zero - duh); 5th (9 - more than 25% of the time - no surprise); 4th (3); 3rd (5); 2nd (7 - probably the most shocking); 1st (4).  Yes, 1983 was the last year the Reds finished last in their division.  They were 74-88 that year, which doesn't seem like the record of a last place team.  Who has finished last in the Reds' division the last 28 years?  Pittsburgh Pirates (9 - it's nice to always have a team to make fun of); Chicago Cubs (5 - hopefully more to come); Atlanta Braves (4); Milwaukee Brewers (3); San Francisco Giants (3); San Diego Padres (2); Houston Astros (2); Los Angeles Dodgers (1 - who remembers the Braves, Giants, Padres, or Dodgers being in the Reds division??  I'm getting old.).  Here's to the Reds running this streak to 29 next year with a 2012 Central Division Championship.  With or without Votto.
2. Let's play the name association game.  What do all these names have in common: Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, Lance Cormier, Grant Balfour, and Rafeal Soriano?  They were all members of the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays.  And, not one of them was a member of the 2011 Tampa Bay Rays who made an improbable run to the playoffs (a la, the Cardinals).  The payroll of the 2010 Rays - $72.8 million.  The payroll of the 2011 Rays - $42.1 million.  This is why baseball rules.  In a division with the Yankees and Red Sox, the Rays, paying their entire team less than the Yankees paid Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez combined, won the AL Wild Card in the most dramatic way possible.  People will be talking about the 2011 Rays for centuries to come, and it is well deserved.  It would be nice if people in Tampa Bay would realize this, however.
3. It's very rare that a player is traded from the Reds and, in turn, lays an egg.  Usually, a player is traded from the Reds and, in turn, becomes an All-Star.  It just the way our luck goes.  It was nice to see a player get traded and lay the egg of all eggs this year.  Adam Dunn stinks.  That's all there is to it.  How badly?  He hit .159 this year for the Chicago White Sox.  No, he wasn't hurt.  Well, his ego may be hurting right about now.  If he had gotten 6 more at-bats, he would have qualified for the lowest batting average ever...by 20 points (Rob Deer hit .179 in 1991).  How about this gem - Adam Dunn vs. left-handed pitching this year: 6 for 94 (.064), 0 HR, 3 RBI.  I swear I'm not making this up.  One more: Adam Dunn hit below .200 every single month this year, save one - he hit a whopping .204 in May.  The only bright spot has to be the fact that he can't do any worse next year.  I think.

That's it and that's all.  Another baseball season has come and gone (sort of).  I can't wait until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in about four months.  Go Rangers.

Alone on the Wall

Issue: Have you seen any compelling videos lately?

Short Answer: I'm glad you asked...

Reasoning: Let me say this: I know virtually nothing about rock climbing.  I have never done it, and I pretty much guarantee that I never will.  It seems like an unnecessary risk, and I am not very good at taking those.  I will never skydive, I will never bungee jump, I will never base jump...you get the idea.  If I have a fairly good chance to die while doing it, chances are, I won't do it.  There are too many other easy ways to die.

Here is what I do know about rock climbing: someone that weighs over 200 pounds (i.e., me) cannot be good at it; it requires patience, strength, endurance, and balls of steel; it is a rather safe adrenaline rush, as there are always ropes and other safety measures in place if a climber should fall.  Well, that last part may not be all the way true.  "Free soloing" is a term used when rock climbers climb walls with no safety harnesses at all.  Just a man (or a woman) and a rock.  Now, some of you may be thinking, no big deal, it's only a rock.  Well, it's strange that people inside the sport use the term "rock" even when the rock they are talking about, happens to be a mountain.  So, there are people who climb mountains with no safety harness?  I wouldn't say "people" per se, but perhaps, "person".

Alex Hannold is the craziest person I have ever heard of.  What shocks me the most about him is how intelligent he seems to be.  When I heard the term "free soloing" I expected a guy with an unshaven face and tattoos, who had energy drinks for breakfast and beer (or whiskey) for dinner.  I expected a guy with a death wish; a guy who would say he would rather die doing what he loved, than live without it at all.  Alex Hannold has none of these qualities.  He looks like a kid.  He dropped out of college to follow his love, but my guess is that he is smarter than most people.  He doesn't have a death wish, but he also doesn't think he will ever die doing what he does, because he is so good at it.  He comes across as a guy who has it all figured out.  But, what he actually does, is miles beyond amazing.  I have no problem posting a 13 minute video (taken from "60 Minutes"), because I know once you press play, you won't be able to turn it off.  To watch Alex in action, is to watch someone walk a death defying tightrope, with no safety net below.  Times a million.  One false move, and that's it.  No second chances when you are free soloing.  I'm telling you, just watching the video made me nervous, but Alex Hannold never seems nervous.  Click on the video only when you have 13 minutes to spare.  And some dramamine handy.  This is by far some of the most compelling video I have EVER seen.  Cick with caution, if you are scared of heights...

A Baseball Lesson

Issue: You actually going to teach us something about baseball?

Short Answer: Maybe.  Pay attention.

Reasoning: For the record, I thought about entitling this post "Joe Maddon is a P#@$y," but I like Joe Maddon and I like the Rays, so I went with what I went with.  The MLB playoffs is one of my favorite sporting events.  The drama is more than compelling, the talent is simply the best, and the emotion is off the charts.  To have the first 162 games you played come down to a five-game series, makes the urgency palpable.  But, the game remains the same.  Players must play the same way and managers must manage the same way.  Joe Maddon not managing his team the same way may have cost his team a chance at surviving Game 4 against the Rangers (it also may have had absolutely nothing to do with it).  Let me set the scenario for you:

• It was Monday, October 3, and the Ray's and the Ranger's series was tied at one game a piece.  It was the bottom of the 9th and the Rays were trailing 4-3.  With one out, Sean Rodriguez (Tampa's shortstop, i.e., he has good speed) singled to center.  Up next for the Rays was Kelly Shoppach (Tampa's catcher, i.e., he has terrible speed, if any at all).  Shoppach battled the count back from 1-2, to 3-2.  On the very next pitch, I realized the Rays were in real danger of ending the game without sending another hitter to the plate.

And here begins the lesson.  In professional baseball, all the players are really, really, really good.  Yes, even on the Pirates.  Games are often decided on who plays the game the right way, the most often.  And, when teams do things wrong, it often bites them in the ass.  Enter: Joe Maddon.  In professional baseball (and on any team I coach), if there is a runner on first, or runners on first and second, and the count goes 3-1 or 3-2, the runner, or runners, are told to steal on the pitch.  There is no sign for this.  It is taught and understood (there is a sign to alert the runner NOT to steal, e.g., when a runner like myself (SLOW) is on first base).  On 3-1 or 3-2, you go.  Basically, the runners aren't even attempting to steal, they are merely getting a head start.  The coaching staff is banking on the hitter making contact with the pitch, or taking the pitch for ball four.  This is how 99.9% of "strike'em out, throw'em outs" happen.  In fact, in the same day, I saw Tony LaRussa send Albert Pujols, quite possibly the slowest human being on the planet (he is 65 years old, give him a break) on a 3-2 count.  The batter struck out and Pujols actually attempted to turn around and go back to first base.  He didn't make it.  The point is, Tony LaRussa stuck to his guns, he managed in the playoffs just like he would manage in the regular season.  Joe Maddon did not.

• The first 3-2 pitch was fouled off, and the runner was not going.  The second 3-2 pitch was fouled off, and the runner was not going.  Guess what happened on the third 3-2 pitch?  A ground ball to Adrian Beltre, who was playing extremely deep at third base (he was actually in a defense called "no doubles" but we will save this lesson for another blog post - just take it from me, he was nearly in the outfield).  Beltre threw to second base, barely, and I mean barely, beating Sean Rodriguez to second.  Then, Ian Kinsler flipped to first, beating Kelly Shoppach quite easily at first.  Game over.

The point of the lesson is this: if Joe Maddon sends Rodriguez on the 3-2 pitch, Beltre has only one play - first base.  Then, the Rays would have had Rodriguez on second base with two outs.  Does that mean they tie the game?  Hell no.  Does that mean they have a chance to tie the game?  Hell yes.  But, in my opinion, all Maddon could think about is not ending the game on a "strike'em out, throw'em out" for reasons unbeknownst to me.  Instead, he ended the game on a 5-4-3 double play.  I would rather end the game managing the way it should be done, not managing scared.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why the Rays are now playing golf, watching the rest of the playoffs on TV.  Alright, that's not the only reason, but it's a reason all the same.

On a side note, I hope the Brewers beat the Cardinals.  I couldn't stand it if I had to watch the Redbirds in the World Series.  It would physically make me ill.

Do the Bartman

Issue: Are we talking The Simpsons here?

Short Answer: Unfortunately for Steve Bartman, no.

Reasoning: For those of you who didn't catch last week's 30 for 30 episode on ESPN, do yourself a favor, and watch it.  The documentary was compelling, revealing, and more than riveting.  It dealt with the foul ball, hit in game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, that Steve Bartman, innocent fan, interfered with, causing Moises Alou, Chicago Cubs left fielder, to be unable to make the catch.  That, in itself, was not a big deal, as it happens all the time at Major League Baseball games.  The Cubs collapse later that inning (they were leading 3-0 at the time) became the big deal.  That collapse began to be blamed on Steve Bartman right then and there.  The Cubs fans started chanting "asshole, asshole" all while pointing at Bartman.  Never mind that Mark Prior started throwing batting practice, or that Alex Gonzalez booted a sure double play ball.  It was Bartman's fault, plain and simple.  They Cubs lost game 7 the following day, keeping in tact their World Series draught (the longest in history), and, who better to blame for losing that game too, than Steve Bartman.  Here are a few things I took away from the documentary:

• Chicago Cubs fans are the worst people on the planet.  For those of you who root for a team in the NL Central (i.e., the Reds) you already know this.  For those of you who don't, take it from me...and Steve Bartman.  When fans discovered Bartman was the one who interfered with the ball, they showered him with pizza, hot dogs, and beer.  One guy actually was interviewed for the documentary and admitted to screaming profanities at him and dousing him with beer.  He was thrown out of the stadium for "maybe the second or third time in my life."  You're a winner dude.  Way to make yourself look like a complete ass on TV, when you probably thought you looked cool.  Typical Cubs fan.
• Fox Sports should be ashamed.  There was always a question in my mind: how did people in Wrigley Field find out Bartman was the interfering party?  Wrigley Field has no jumbo tron replay board, so people inside NEVER saw a replay of the foul ball.  However, Cubs fans outside the stadium (on Waveland Avenue) had televisions with them so they could actually see what was going on inside the stadium.  Fox, who televised the game, showed the replay exactly 12,378,904 times (ok, maybe not that many, but it was close).  People outside started calling their friends inside telling them it was the guy in the green turtle neck (this is the reason I think Bartman took so much crap - I mean, even in 2003, what are you doing wearing a green turtle neck?).  And that is how and when Steve Bartman's life changed forever.  Remember, the Cubs are still winning 3-0 at this point!  But, Cubs fans, like Red Sox fans of the past, looked for omens, and, this, in their (stupid) opinions, was an omen, i.e., "now there is no way we are going to win!  Thanks asshole."  All because the producers at Fox wanted to show the fan interference so many times.  It wasn't a big play at the time, and it should have been treated as such.  But, it wasn't.
• Moises Alou carries the most blame.  This is true because of how he reacted.  He threw a temper tantrum.  And guess what that did to the fans inside Wrigley Field?  They started throwing temper tantrums too.  Even though they were up 3-0.  If Moises Alou reacts like any other fielder would have - by turning to the umpire in an attempt to have "fan interference" called (by the way, it should have been), the fans could have then taken their contempt out on the umpire (who should have been used to it by then), rather than Steve Bartman.  Instead, Alou threw a tantrum, spitting and cursing in Steve Bartman's direction.  In the documentary, Alou complains that the play is the only thing people ask him about to this day.  Well, Moises, that is mostly your own fault, and I don't feel sorry for you.
• The documentary was great, but the premise for it was not.  The documentary started with, and dealt with Bill Buckner, throughout.  And I'm still trying to figure out why.  The premise was basically this: people are remembered throughout history for one thing and one thing only, whether that is fair or foul.  Buckner was a fantastic player in his career, yet people only remember him (justifiably) for one thing.  Kind of like Bartman.  Oh, other than the fact that Bartman was not a professional baseball player.  The similarities between Buckner and Bartman end with the similarities of the teams (Cubs and Red Sox) and their plight through decades without a World Series title, the curses (of the Bambino and of the Billy Goat), and all the near misses that made fans sick.  The similarities are actually quite eerie.  The curses and the near misses explain, possibly, why Cubs fans reacted the way they did, but the director missed the biggest difference between Buckner and Bartman.  Buckner chose to live his life in the limelight by being a professional baseball player.  He knew very well that a ball going through his legs could be a very real possibility (he even gave an interview to that effect just before the World Series started), and that he might have to deal with the rest of his life.  It's called an occupational hazard.  Steve Bartman never chose to live his life in the limelight, he simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There is a huge difference.  I think Bill Buckner got one of the rawest deals in history.  The ground ball through his legs was the ending to an entire team crapping down their legs.  He didn't lose them that game, nor was he the reason they lost game 7, but he was an easy scapegoat.  Steve Bartman wasn't even close to a reason why the Cubs lost, not even close.  And he wasn't even present at game 7, yet he was blamed for it all.  An innocent fan had his life ruined because of Fox Sports, Cubs fans, and Moises Alou.  I don't see how that relates to Bill Buckner AT ALL.

And that's it.  Steve Bartman got screwed worse than any person in the history of the world.  I'm not even sure there is a close second.