From the archives: What is this Russia?

TCD's baseball beat writers typically cover the Yanks and Sox. Our Mets guy quit in 2008. It's not often we talk about the Cubs - and this video isn't really about the Cubs at all anyway - but in the spirit of introducing diversified baseball coverage we give you a typical Cubs fan.

Opening Day: The Cubs biggest fan from WBEZ on Vimeo.

The Great Flushing Heist

Former Los Mets equipment manager Charlie Samuels has been charged with stealing $2.4 million worth of Mets memorabilia during his 30+ year tenure as clubhouse manager. For a franchise that has exactly one highlight since Samuels began working for the club in 1976, this begs the question of exactly how big was his haul? Allegedly the 1986 World Series jersey he walked out with is only worth $7,500. Did he steal the entire locker room? Did he kidnap Bobby Bonilla? Is he hiding Shea Stadium somewhere? NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly put it aptly when he said, "this is a case of the equipment manager leading the National League in steals." Take that Jose Reyes.

For more on the story, check out the Daily News.



Thanks to Daily Tailgate for the pic

The Red Sox

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Tragedy Averted For Local Youth

We typically don't post stories with this serious of subject matter, but this one really hit home.

Brockton, MA (AP) - A seven year old boy was at the center of a Brockton
courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Boston Red Sox, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.


Thank you to KO for sending this along.

TCD staff conference calls

Exhibit similar tension, often about the same topic...

Follow-up post

C9's post was a good one. Baseball season is right around the corner and in just a few more weeks we will be able to talk about what happens on the field rather than what's happening in the front office. The off-season was full of activity and it will be intersting to see how that translates in the W-L columns. Personally, I've never been more excited for baseball to start; the game to me has definitely taken a back seat over the past few years but as a Red Sox fan, I'm obviously anxious for the season to start. The Sox have added millions to this years payroll with Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (jokes). This could (and should) be a great year for the Sox, and I think the recent acquisitions are going to reinvogorate the rivalry with the Yanks. We don't have long to wait for Opening Day and the first series with the Yanks is just a week after that. Should be a great year.

I leave you with a moment of zen (for me anyway):

Time value of shame...I mean money

Los Mets. Bernie Madoff and Fred Wilpon. The $25 million loan from MLB last season. Outstanding interest owed on Citi Field and declining attendance. Bobby Bonilla. Even if the prevalence of quality news sources like TCD covering the financial maladies of the Metropolitans and the Wilpons is on par with the prevalence of mind numbingly stupid free agent signings the organization has made over its history, the ongoing Bonilla saga - yes, I said ongoing, as in occurring presently - deserves as much attention as it can get. Especially from me.



In 2000, then Mets General Manager, and current sex addict, Steve Phillips (above, left to right, Phillips is white guy #1) decided that rather than pay Bonilla the $5.9 million left on his disastrous contact and be done with the fat, lazy and inept infielder forever, he would defer payments until the 2011 to 2035 period when Phillips would be in rehab and done with any sort of career forever. As a result, the Mets owe Bonilla 24 annual payments of more than $1.19 million per through 2035 for a total of $30 million. TCD's Phil will be 53 the last year the Mets pay Bonilla. Bonilla will be dead the last year the Mets pay Bonilla.

Clearly I do not much care for the Mets. And I don't like the Red Sox, who owe Manny about $2 million a year through 2026. I also have no problem admitting that the Yankees have made some disastrous personnel moves as well. Carl Pavano? Kevin Brown? Jaret Wright? And my favorite, "fat toad" Hideki Irabu. But the hits just keep on coming for the Mets. I don't think there is a team in professional sports haunted more by their past in the present than Los Mets. For the sake of the team and their fans, I hope Opening Day is kind to the Queens boys and that they somehow give the Phillies all they can handle this season.

Trending: Huey Lewis

I was just rocking a Twitter sesh and noticed that Huey Lewis was trending. Why the hell would Huey - master of the '80s - be trending on Twitter - master of the not '80s? A little research revealed that Huey sang the national anthem at tonight's NLCS game in SF. Disappointed I missed it, I checked to see if it was available on youtube. No dice. However, I did stumble upon this piece of solid gold. 1985 World Series: Huey Lewis And The News doing a humble rendition of The National Anthem. Hearing Huey's feel good rasp come in at :50 mark and the accompanying visual forced me crack a Budweiser. This is the culmination of many things good.

UPDATE: This is one of those gross, Embedding disabled by request, videos so there will be no video on TCD. Check out the video here for yourself.

Halladay Throws No-No in Playoff Debut

Glad that he's out of the AL East (not that that helped my team).

Playoff rambler

The Scutaro Watch brings you TCD's officially unofficial MLB Postseason preview. We'll call it "Light on the NL Side"

ALDS

Trampa – Tejas
Kicking us off tomorrow at 1:37 pm – because, let’s be honest, no one is working in Tampa, Fl at 1:37 pm on a Wednesday so the team should be able to draw a crowd - is a series spiced up by one Josh Hamilton. This dude is MVP good, has an insane back story and a flair for the dramatic, and can straight up crush the ball. Chics love the long ball. The Texas 'Gers also have a rookie closer fresh off setting the rookie season save record. The Rays are dirty and David Price is nasty and they generally terrify me as a Yankees fan. That's why I am liking the short series and going totally on heart and saying Rangers in five

'Sota - New York
New York is to Minnesota as the Allman Brothers are to the Whipping Post. That is, they own it. The Yanks seem to dominate the Twins each postseason, but the Bombers have stumbled down the stretch as the Twins have soared. Home field for the Twins helps immensely and the pitching staff is highlighted by game one starter Liriano. With the exception of Sabbathia, the Yanks' staff has been a bit of a mystery as of late. Burnett straight up sucks and luckily does not have spot in the rotation in the short series. But I don't think the playoff magic of Pettite is up yet, My Cousin Philly has the potential to light it up and the bullpen is strong. And then there's the offense. 'Nuff said. Yanks in four.

NLDS

Frisco - Hotlanta
Tim Lincecum versus Jason Heyward will be fun to watch. Tim Hudson sitting until Game 3 hurts the Braves. It would be cool to see a Giants - Yanks WS (1962 Subway Series all over again) so I'll try to keep that dream alive and say Giants in five.

Grossadelphia - Graters Ice Cream and Skyline Chili
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto doesn't let the fact that he's Canadian prevent him from being a nasty, nasty baseball player. Likely the NL MVP, the series pretty much rests on his shoulders against what is a scary three man rotation. Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels. Are you kidding me? Phils in three.

Kenny Powers Signs with Sox

The Mets were not the only team making noise with hirings and firings yesterday. The Red Sox picked up Kenny Powers off waivers from HBO. Not really, that's just Rod Beck.

But the dudes at BroBible put together an excellent look at 15 Kenny Power's moments in professional sports. Check it out here. In addition to Beck's mullet, highlights include cocaine with the Mets, blowing cash with Dykstra, teaching gym with "Sweet Lou", doing 'roids with a gross collection of MLB'ers that includes a lot of Yankees, and selling personal belongings with John Daly.

Fan Takes a Spill

I really hope this is a Mets fan. Regardless, pretty funny - especially how he seems unfazed by what appears to be pretty vicious face shot. Is that Mickey Rourke?

"Weird" injury

I heard on SportsCenter this morning that a lot of wild shit went to down in MLB last night: The Mattingly technicality, ejections in the Sox v. A's game, and a "weird" injury to Tampa Bay outfielder, Carl Crawford. Being that Crawford is a stud on my 20 games ahead of second place fantasy baseball team, I logged in to my league to see what the latest was on Carl. Here is what they said:

Tue, Jul 20

The Rays are calling Crawford "day-to-day with a testicular contusion," Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports.

Recommendation: Male readers may be "minute-to-minute with a bit of wooziness" when they hear about how Crawford took a pickoff throw to his groin area, sustaining said "testicular contusion." Jokes aside, the Rays will probably use Matt Joyce or Gabe Kapler in left while Crawford heals.

And another one:

Tue, Jul 20

Crawford left Tuesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles after being struck in the groin with a pickoff throw to first base. Crawford reached on a fielder's choice in the top of the first and was leaning off the base when Orioles rookie Jake Arrieta threw toward first. The ball eluded the grasp of first baseman Ty Wigginton and hit Crawford between the legs. He rolled off the base and was tagged out.

Advice: Crawford remained doubled over for several minutes before finally walking off the field with help from trainer Ron Porterfield. Crawford did not return for the bottom of the inning.

(STATS, Inc.)

Uno Mas:

Tue, Jul 20

Crawford left in the first inning of Tuesday's game after taking a pickoff throw to the groin, the Tampa Tribune reports.

Recommendation: An injury we wouldn't wish on our worst enemies. The Rays juggled their lineup in a way that allowed Jason Bartlett to enter the game at short. Consider Crawford day-to-day for now, and pick up a bag of frozen peas in his honor.

Any dude can tell you that these injuries are puke-inducingly awful. However, I couldn't help but laugh when I read about the part where Carl rolled off the bag (pun definitely intended) in serious pain and was tagged out. Worst.

Cell Phone Face Munsoning

Unfortunately, I know a thing or two about taking a shot to the face. The best part about this clip are the newscasters. No mercy. This incident was definitely the best part of the series against the M's for the Yanks.

Bernie Carbo Double Bombshell

Who?



This dude played baseball primarily during the 1970s for several teams, including the Boston Red Sox. Recently, he admitted two nefarious acts in two separate ESPN interviews.

Last weekend on Outside the Lines Carbo admitted trying to hire someone to attack ex-St. Louis Cardinals teammate Keith Hernandez after Hernandez testified in 1985 that Carbo introduced him to cocaine.

According to Carbo: "I knew some people, and I had $2,000, and I asked them to break his arms. … He said, 'We'll do it in two or three years if you want it done, but we're not going to do it today, Bernie. If we went and broke his legs today, or broke his arms, you don't think they would understand that you are the one that had it done?"

Hernandez could not be reached for comment as he was too busy hawking loogies at Kramer and cleaning blow off of his 'stache between SNY broadcasts of Mets losses.

Carbo also told ESPN's Mark Schwarz that he was on marijuana, booze and speed when he pinch-hit the home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series that set the table for Carlton Fisk's game-winning homer.

Order Restored?

Somewhat. The Mets are back where they belong - the basement of the NL East (yeah Nats). Meanwhile, the Red Sox are showing some resiliency: beginning the evening only two games behind the Yankees in the wild card standings after that god-awful start. Still a long way to go, but the Red Sox starters are beginning to get deeper in to games and show us that whole run prevention thing we've been hearing about. We could do without Scutaro's 6 errors, however.

Thats all I've got. Warm weather and Euro panic has brought on writer's block. Someone inspire me.

Where Have YOU Been?

I got this question a lot from my parents growing up. But it's about time someone asked this guy, too.



No, that is not a fatter and older Emmitt Smith. It's Chris Tucker. Rush Hour 3, (yes there was a 3), his last movie, came out in 2007. So really he hasn't been in a movie since 1998 when Rush Hour I came out. Seriously, where have you been, guy? Tucker himself even admitted that he needed something to happen in his life so that people would stop bugging him about his Rush Hour days.

Personally, I enjoyed his humor. More in Friday than in any of the Rush Hour's, but I won't complain if he makes a comeback.

Rojo Johnson

Amusing, but not as funny as it should be...

Tickets to the Gun Show

All is well with the forehead. Phil's video/post expertly sums up the events of the evening and I will not be returning to The Point again. Ever. I would suggest our faithful readers follow suit. On to more important items...

Baseball is a game of statistics, so here are some. Obviously the Yankees make a lot of money by ripping off their fans with ticket prices, but they are able to do so because they put a quality product on the field. And yes, they are able to put a quality product on the field because they have the revenues to pay ridiculous salaries to baseball's best, but it's not worth it to get into a "what came first, the chicken or the egg?"-type argument with a bunch of Yankee-haters.

What's most amazing to me about the table below is to think about where the other 83.45% of the Pirates gross revenues come from? Are they really selling that many Pirates hats? (Unlikely) Are the Yankees really paying that much in luxury tax? (Likely). That's a breakdown I would like to see.

But for all the crap that Yankees get about their luxury boxes, regional sports network, etc., the overwhelming majority of their revenue comes from fans who attend their games. Maybe the connection between on-field success and attendance is obvious, maybe it's not. But if you're not near the 35% mark on this chart, you are nowhere.

Team	Gross Revenues	Gate Receipts	% Gross Revs from Gate Receipts
NYY	$441.0	$319.0	72.34%
NYM	268.0	164.0	61.19%
BOS	266.0	171.0	64.29%
LAD	247.0	116.0	46.96%
CUBS	246.0	137.0	55.69%
PHILS	233.0	123.0	52.79%
HALOS	217.0	72.0	33.18%
GIANTS	201.0	82.0	40.80%
CARDS	195.0	94.0	48.21%
CHISOX	194.0	68.0	35.05%
M'S	191.0	57.0	29.84%
ASTROS	189.0	70.0	37.04%
TIGERS	188.0	65.0	34.57%
BRAVES	188.0	42.0	22.34%
NATS	184.0	59.0	32.07%
ROCKS	183.0	62.0	33.88%
TEX	180.0	44.0	24.44%
DBACKS	172.0	41.0	23.84%
BREW	171.0	62.0	36.26%
O'S	171.0	45.0	26.32%
TRIBE	170.0	37.0	21.76%
REDS	166.0	38.0	22.89%
JAYS	163.0	37.0	22.70%
TWINS	162.0	50.0	30.86%
PADRES	157.0	42.0	26.75%
RAYS	156.0	34.0	21.79%
KC	155.0	37.0	23.87%
A'S	155.0	32.0	20.65%
PITT	145.0	24.0	16.55%
FLA	144.0	26.0	18.06%

Jay-Z Suing Big Papi

13 K's in 26 at bats and now being sued by the Jigga Man? Sweet April, Papi. Jay-Z owns 40/40 Clubs in NYC, AC and LV and apparently David Ortiz owns a forty/forty (cheeky using the spelling instead of the number) club in the DR. The Jigga Man doesn't like that Papi is using the name and slapping him with a law suit.

I don't know why Jay-Z calls his club the 40/40 club, but I REALLY don't understand why Papi is trying to use the name. The original 40/40 is a benchmark used to measure an unbelievably productive offensive season in Major League Baseball: Forty home runs and forty stolen bases in one season. Papi, have you even stolen 40 bases in your entire career?

In case you're wondering, the only players with 40/40 seasons are: Jose Cansesco in 1988, A-Rod in 1998, Barry Bonds in 1996 and Alfonso Soriano in 2006. Are we sure that one of those 40's isn't for IQ?