marty

I was looking at the Brooklyn Dodgers-Boys of Summer site and a link said that the first baseball movie was “right off the Bat” in 1915. This was on a link and unfortunately did not show more details. As we have discussed our boyhodd heroes before, I thought you would like this piece of trivia.

Joe [Read more →]

Marty; When we talk of fundamental problems we are talking of management decisions which can significantly affect the team’s prospects in the future. The Giants have been successful, to a great extent, these past three or four years pursuing a plan whereby they stock their club with veteran players, either through trades or free agency. These are not impact players but are. for the most part, players of known ability who, when put together with a team which has Barry Bonds playing the predominant role he now plays, has managed to make the playoffs and, in one instance, came very close to winning the Series.

During these years their pitching has been adequate to meet the demands a winning team makes. Nen has been a fairly reliable closer and when he left the scene Worrell unexpectedly, stepped up and performed well, closing games. Schmidt, stolen from the Pirates in one of Sabean’s coups, became one of the games outstanding starters.

For many years , the farm system has emphasized drafting pitchers. Position players who are capable of performing at a high major league level have been a rare, well-nigh, non-existent commodity on their minor league clubs. The Will Clarks, the Jack Clarks, surfaced many years ago and haven’t been seen since. Despite the emphasis on drafting pitchers, there have been remarkably few pitchers coming through the farm system who have been successful at the major league level. Williams is one who comes immediately to mind. the other one, unfortunately, happens to be Nathan, inexplicably traded for a catcher who wasn’t needed.

Click below for Ed’s analysis of the current problems of the Giants!

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The last 24 hours have been rough ones for the A’s.
On Wednesday night, they blew a 2 run lead in the 9th
and lost on a walk-off home run by A-Rod. It is no disgrace to have Sheffield and A-Rod beat you, These 2 guys are marvelous players. The concern that I have is that the A’s closer has blown 3 saves out of 8 save
chances. Not a recipe for success. They A’s,however, are a better team with Dotel. He must not let this
game ruin his confidence. A closer must believe that
he is invincible on the mound and must believe that
what happened is in the past and not let the loss
affect him.

Today, Barry Zito continued his erratic ways. It must
be of great concern to the club that he is not
performing as he did in the past.Tim Hudson returns and that should be a big lift to the club. The A’s
now head to the Metrodome, the house of horrors,
for a big 4 game set with the Twins. These 2 teams
always play each other hard and let’s hope that the A’s earn at least a split.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

Today is August 4th, and I know it is still early for people to get anticipated about the playoff picture,
but the teams that are a lock for the divsions are:.
AL East
New York Yankees
Wild Card-Boston

AL Central-Twins
(The reason I say this is because the White Sox don’t have Frank Thomas or Paul Konerko because they’re out for the rest of the season, so they are going to slip out of the playoff picture).

AL West-Oakland A’s

NL East-Atlanta Braves

NL Central-Cardinals(For sure)

NL West- San Francisco Giants(L.A. is going to slip out like they do every time September rolls around, especially trading Mota ,and LaDuca away to the Marlins.

NL Wild Card- Chicago Cubs

Projected Playoffs:
ALDS- Yankees @ Twins- Yanks win series in 5
ALDS-Boston @ Oakland(just like last year) Boston in 4
ALCS- BOston @ Yankees- Boston still can’t win against them, Yankees in 7 again.

NLDS- Braves @ Cubs- Cubs in 5 again
NLDS- Giants @ Cardinals- Cardinals in 4
NLCS-Cubs @ Cardinals- Cardinals in 6

World Series- Cardinals @ New York Yankees-
Cardinals beat Yankees in 6 games- (Yankees still can’t win a world series they’re just like the braves,
all division titles and no world series title to show for it,and this would be a 4 year driught of now winning the World Series) [Read more →]

Marty; Right up to the last minute, the baseball map was being revamped by last minute trades and moves. This is the game’s latest development, now full blown. Teams in contention await the trading deadline and make their moves. Some will be successful, others disastrous, and some will turn out to have had small impact.

Click below for Ed’s much anticipated analysis of the season!

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A small blurb appeared in the paper a couple of days
ago that said the New York Yankees were seeking to build a new stadium near the present Yankee Stadium
for about 750 Million dollars.

Click below for more on this story! [Read more →]

The A’s and Giants are right on schedule as to where they should be in the 2004 pennant race.

Good pitching and tight defense are still the two most important attributes a winning ball club must have.

When the A’s turned the corner in 1999, the front office reluctantly realized that to win the division the team had to catch and pitch the ball effectively and not just rely on whacking the ball to win games.

Click below for more of the Column! [Read more →]

Ruben Gómez died this week at his
home in Puerto Rico -long illness-
he was 77 and the first pitcher
from Puerto Rico to
win a World Series game.
In 1958 Gómez pitched
the first game for the then
“new” San Francisco Giants
at Seals Stadium.
But many other Latino pioneers
couldn’t play in the Major
Leagues prior to 1947
because of the color of
their skin.
Here are a few of the best.

By Amaury Pi-González
San Francisco,CA.

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How much does good defense play ? It matters a lot.
Last night’s game between the A’s and the Mariners
emphasize the importance of good fielding. The A’s
made 3 double plays. The double play is the pitcher’s best friend. How many times have you seen an infielder
allow a runner to make it to 1st base by making a miscue and that play comes back to haunt the team.
Right now the A’s are leading the American League in best fielding percentage. That means pitchers know that they can count on the guys to make the plays to get the hitters out. Many times a game has turned
because the pitcher got the batter to make an out but has to go an extra batter due to a botched play.
As we are now entering the final 3rd of the season
every facet of the game is important.The A’s seem
to be putting it all together for the stretch. Good
hitting,good pitching especially the bullpen the last
few games, and good fielding. These are the ingredients for success.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

I went to the A’s game yesterday and was a guest of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. The had the right field
bbq pavilion available for their guests and after a great lunch we watched the game from the seats there in right field. For me, it was an interesting perspective and brought back many memories of
my childhood. When I was a young kid back in the 50’s, I would go to Fenway Park and sit in the bleachers in right field right in back of the bullpens. You could hang over the railing and talk to the players in the bullpen. You can’t do that at the coliseum but the feeling was the same.

The A’s played a terrific game. They had 4 homeruns and Rich Harden pitched well. He was
sharp in the 1st inning but by the 5th inning his pitch count was up to 119 pitches. He was saved by one of the best catches that a fan will ever see.
Mark Kotsay made a spectacular catch going for a ball off the bat of Mark Texeira that made Sportscenter last night. It looked like the ball was over the 400 ft marker and Kotsay leapt high and
caught the ball in the web of his glove as it was about to leave the park. It deflated the Rangers
and the A’s cruised to 9-2 win. Kotsay also homered. He is a terrific ballplayer and has brought
a lot the A’s Billy Beane took a chance on a player
that was injured last year and Beane’s faith in Kotsay has been rewarded. Good hitter and good
defense. The A’s are in good position to overtake the Rangers as Hudson will be back soon and
I don’t think the Rangers pitching will hold up.

Jerry Feitelberg
[Read more →]