Archives › Craig Calcaterra
-
Look, I think Carlos Quentin was in the wrong here. But dudes, someone needs to sit Zack Greinke down and tell him that you can’t go after a man’s junk like this: Both from the Associated Press. Additional, horrifying image here.
-
I was not at all pleased to see Carlos Quentin and Zack Greinke go at it last night. And I am on record as saying that throwing at guys is dumb. And that charging the mound is dumb. I am glad that fights are fewer and more far between now than they used to be…
-
Fun times: watch as Brian Kenny nearly blows a gasket responding to Hawk Harrelson’s ignorant comments on sabermetrics. I think Hawk shows his hand when he says that sabermetrics “got a lot of people fired.” Baseball is a business and a meritocracy. Ever consider that maybe those people deserved to be fired? Or does Harrelson…
-
What in the hell is Major League Baseball doing with Biogenesis?
Apr 12, 2013, 9:59 AM EDT
It was up late last night and was sort of overwhelmed by the Dodgers-Padres brawl, but in case you missed it, go read Matthew’s post about the latest in the Biogenesis business. The upshot: Major League Baseball is reportedly paying an ex-Biogenesis employee for documents relating to the case. Feature how this works: your employer goes to…
-
This from the official Dodgers Twitter account last night: See you on Monday in Los Angeles: twitter.com/Dodgers/status… — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 12, 2013 The Dodgers and Padres meet again, starting Monday. You have to figure that some guys are going to get hit.
-
The Braves a cruising, but I have to pour some cold water on my rooting interest. Plus: talk about the Red Sox, the Royals and the movie “42.”
-
Will Quentin get a greater suspension because Greinke was injured? Doubtful.
Apr 12, 2013, 8:40 AM EDT
After last night’s Dodgers-Padres brawl, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that Carlos Quentin “shouldn’t play a game until Greinke can pitch.” It’s a totally understandable sentiment. Quentin’s idiocy has caused the Dodgers to lose a key cog in their rotation for a couple months in all likelihood, and it would hardly seem fair if Quentin…
-
Had tickets to the Columbus Clippers-Indianapolis Indians game. Daisuke Matsuzaka was scheduled to start. Then it rained and they canceled the game. I have mixed feelings about it all because, on the one hand, baseball. On the other hand I dodged the Matsuzaka bullet. Oh well. Dodgers 3, Padres 2: FISTICUFFSMANSHIP! Zack Greinke hit Carlos…
-
I’d stay away from this one, people. You know what’s gonna happen: Van Slyke unloads it on you after years of appreciating values and then you’re stuck with 20 straight years of decline! Located in Ladue, a suburb found roughly 15 minutes west of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Van Slyke’s Tuscan-style…
-
We all know the story, I hope: baseball, due to an odious “gentleman’s agreement,” kept itself segregated and lily white for 50-60 years. Branch Rickey, as general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, set out in the mid 1940s to find just “the right man” — meaning a black man — to bring to the major…
-
Well, duh. So would a lot of teams. But Andy Martino spoke to some Mets officials — not necessarily the top decision makers, but people involved in those conversations — and the consensus is that, yep, the Mets would trade top prospects including Zack Wheeler for Giancarlo Stanton. They’ve been “monitoring his situation” since the…
-
Albert Belle was probably the crankiest and sometimes meanest S.O.B. in the game back in his day. He’s not mellowed with age, as his interview with CSNChicago’s Chuck Garfien reveals. Highlights: On his corked bat in 1994 – “I know Bobby Brown was [out to get me] because me and him had a few run-ins before as…
-
Emma Span of Sports on Earth looks at that business with the Twins’ aborted effort to sell tickets to batting practice and gets to, what I feel anyway, is the heart of the matter: the luxury-i-fication of Major League Baseball games: Target Field is a beautiful new stadium, but like most of the beautiful new…
-
Sometimes — but not all the time — you can find pronunciation guides for ballplayers’ names in press boxes. And I know that ESPN.com used to do that on player stat pages, though I don’t think they do it anymore. Those things are handy when you can find them. Especially if, like me, you end…
-
Mariano Rivera is better than me. Better than you. Better than all of us.
Apr 11, 2013, 11:40 AM EDT
The Wall Street Journal reports on the unique nature of Mariano Rivera‘s farewell tour. Rather than going to each park and letting people make him feel special and honored, he’s connecting with the unknown and unsung in each park to let them know how much he appreciates their contributions: When Rivera decided to retire, he…
-
Card dealer admits to doctoring the most expensive baseball card ever sold
Apr 11, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
Honus Wagner fraud! A judge has rejected a plea agreement from the former head of a sports memorabilia auction house who admitted to using shill bidders to drive up prices and to altering the most valuable baseball card ever sold. William Mastro of Mastro Auctions admitted to doctoring the 1909 Honus Wagner cigarette card that was once…
-
Study confirms: everyone overstates the decline in African Americans playing Major League Baseball
Apr 11, 2013, 10:00 AM EDT
We talked about this yesterday, but here’s a story from MLB.com focusing on our friend Mark Armour’s research into the decline of U.S.-born blacks playing Major League Baseball. The upshot: that “27% of ballplayers were African American in the 1970s” stuff you here is pure rebop. Armour: “What I determined, and I [analyzed data from…
-
The umps for the White Sox-Nats game got stuck in a traffic jam
Apr 11, 2013, 9:40 AM EDT
This item from last night gives me a great opportunity to break out my old vinyl copy of James Taylor’s 1977 album “JT” and play some deep cuts! #Nats just announced game won’t start until 7:20 p.m. because umpires were caught in traffic and didn’t get here in time. — Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) April 10,…
-
That’s just one of the handful of topics Kay and I take up in the latest HBT Extra
-
The Angels are currently behind the Houston Astros in the standings. THE ASTROS. But don’t worry, y’all. Peter Bourjos says the Angels GOT THIS: “We’re going to be in the playoffs,” the Angels outfielder said. “I guarantee you that because we have a great team.” Of course, Bourjos said that before they got their butts…
-
A fan at the Astros-Mariners game caught a foul ball in his beer. Then, like any right-thinking person, he chugged it. No word on whether the mud the ball was rubbed with, the rosin it was later soiled with or the pine tar which marked it from the bat has killed said fan, but at…
-
I spent the evening seeing a preview showing of the Jackie Robinson movie, “42,” — review coming later today — so I didn’t get to watch really any baseball. Kinda glad I didn’t too. After seeing and thinking about Robinson I would have probably just thrown something at my TV if I had to watch…
-
Must-Click Link: The dome the Royals almost got but thankfully didn’t
Apr 10, 2013, 5:33 PM EDT
Kauffman Stadium turns 40 years-old today. It’s a wonderful ballpark. Even more wonderful when one takes into account the time it was built. In the late 60s and early 70s places like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati — following the example of Washington and Atlanta — were going with multi-use stadiums. Places which could house both football…
-
Cubs-Brewers rained out, setting up a homecoming for Kyle Lohse
Apr 10, 2013, 4:30 PM EDT
The Cubs and Brewers game scheduled for today has been postponed. Either due to general lack of interest or because the weather in Chicago is horrifying. Could be either one, really. That’s not too important, though, as it will no doubt be made up in a sparsely-attended double header at some point. What is important,…
-
Don’t cheer for Mark Trumbo at Anaheim Stadium. You might get kicked out.
Apr 10, 2013, 3:31 PM EDT
Or: Great Moments in Insane Ushers. Comedian Sarah Colonna tells the story of how she and a friend got kicked out of the Angels game the other day for cheering for Mark Trumbo. Really. It’s a rambling read, but the upshot is that they stood when Trumbo came up during bases-loaded situations a couple of…
