Archives › Craig Calcaterra
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The more basebally ones will be saved for tomorrow’s HBT Daily. Here are the ones that don’t lend themselves as well to video: Q: Better BlueJays manager? John Gibbons #1 or John Gibbons #2? Which one was played by Dick York? I liked that one better. Q: Why do you hate kittens? This is inspired…
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Kay and I with our daily hit:
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From the Elias Sports Bureau, passed along by Buster Olney this morning: There were 5,992 strikeouts in April, the highest April strikeout total in any season in major-league history. And it’s not just the total of strikeouts that was noteworthy; the average of 15.29 strikeouts per major-league game during April was the second-highest average in…
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Cliff Lee didn’t have a great game yesterday, but his teammates were pretty putrid for two days. Lee talks about it: “It was never really close, either one of them. We have to have a little more pride than that and figure out a way to at least get back into games and make it…
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That weird deal from last weekend in which David Price said umpire Tom Hallion shouted expletives at him and Hallion accused Price of lying? And then the Rays players jumped on Twitter to defend their teammate and talk smack about Hallion? Well, it’s ending with fines all around: Umpire Tom Hallion, tweeting #Rays players (Price,…
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Murray Chass gives Pete Nice the gas face, doesn’t understand how the law works
May 2, 2013, 10:00 AM EDT
Remember Prime Minister Pete Nice? I do, because I’m old, but you should too because 3rd Bass was pretty awesome. Well, Nice’s real name is Pete Nash, and his gig these days is baseball memorabilia. I’ve read some stuff about him operating in this world and, like a lot of memorabilia dudes, he sounds pretty…
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Bryce Harper sounds OK, but Davey Johnson may still hold him out
May 2, 2013, 9:40 AM EDT
Bryce Harper was pulled from last night’s game due to a bruised side, But Mark Zuckerman spoke to him and he sounds like he’s good to go for today’s game against the Braves: “If I can play tomorrow, I’m gonna play,” Harper said. “If they put me in the lineup, I’m gonna play. I can…
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We noted in ATH — courtesy of IIATMS — that the Yankees’ disabled list currently has a $95 million payroll. Commenter ufy1950 notes this morning something which seems even more wacky: Just for information the 9 players who started the game for the Yankees plus Phelps the pitcher had a combined yearly payroll of under…
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Adrian Gonzalez hit a homer in the first inning of last night’s Dodgers-Rockies game. He had what should have been a homer in the third inning too, but Dexter Fowler decided one was enough: The game was long and blah and most of the crowd left before it was over, but that is one nice…
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Mike Napoli had two homers for the Sox last night. They booth were moon shots. Here they are: Don Orsillo didn’t seem too impressed with the first one off the bat — probably because it was dead center and thus harder to gauge the trajectory — but it was gone. He liked the second one…
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Mets 7, Marlins 6: Jordany Valdespin hit a pinch-hit three run homer in the sixth to put the Mets up to stay, breaking their six game losing streak. But Terry Collins is on the hot seat! No he isn’t! Yes he is! She’s my daughter! [slap] My sister! [slap!] My daughter … Nationals 2, Braves 0: The Nats finally…
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This morning I linked Bob Klapisch’s story about Terry Collins being on the hot seat. Andy Martino of the Daily News, without mentioning Klapisch by name, but pretty clearly aiming in that direction, says that such stuff is nonsense: It is not worth your time speculating on Collins’ job status. He might or might not…
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Sorry guys: you’re gonna have to wait a bit to see Delmon Young play the outfield
May 1, 2013, 5:02 PM EDT
Delmon Young made his 2013 debut last night at DH and the word was that he was going to play the outfield in tonight’s game against the Indians. Sadly, he is at DH again. Why? Delmon Young was going to play RF today but was plunked on his throwing arm last night. It’s sore. No…
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Anyone who has caught a Braves game this season has likely heard the announcers telling the tale of the strange path Gattis took to reach the majors. The odd jobs he had and how he found his way back to baseball and, golly, it’s a swell story. As Bob Nightengale reports in his profile of…
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And you know it’s Joe Morgan’s house because (a) none of the pictures show a computer anywhere in the joint; and (b) it’s stuck back in the 80s. Seriously: The Cincinnati Reds legend and integral cog in the Big Red Machine tabbed Frank Lloyd Wright associate Aaron Green to design the curvy, stone-hewn dwelling in 1980 –…
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Here’s a thought experiment: take every fact asserted and every quote offered in this article about HGH use and testing in the NFL and replace the proper nouns with baseball players and baseball teams. And then ask yourself how thick the walls would have to be on your backyard shelter to withstand the nuclear fallout…
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Justin Verlander’s four pitches get the Yu Darvish Gif treatment
May 1, 2013, 2:00 PM EDT
Last week’s Gif of Yu Darvish throwing five pitches at once — created by the incomparable Drew Sheppard — definitely turned some heads. It also inspired some folks at MLB Network, because they gave the same treatment to Justin Verlander, complete with Billy Ripken’s breakdown of his pitches: Love this stuff. Next obvious step, though:…
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Kay Adams talk about that, and whether — gasp! — Delmon Young will be a blessing or a curse for the Phillies.
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The Tigers early season bullpen overhaul continued as Phil Coke was moved to the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 26, with a left groin strain. In his place they bring in Jose Ortega from Toledo. Ortega pitched two whole innings for the Tigers last year. Struck out four dudes, though. In Triple-A so far…
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That’s the name Jorge Arangure proposes for the past couple of decades over at Sports on Earth. And he makes a lot of sense, noting that not unlike Forrest Gump, Tejada has been involved in nearly every notable controversy, movement, trend or occurrence over the course of his career. His poor Dominican roots mirror those…
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It’s lose-lose for the famous on Twitter. If you’re notable, people are gonna try to poke at you a lot. And if you complain or try to fight back, you end up looking petty. Jay Bruce is probably learning that today. His tweets from last night: I appreciate all the tweets, good and bad, actually.…
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Tom Ricketts says the Cubs will move if they don’t get their jumbotron and stuff
May 1, 2013, 11:03 AM EDT
This morning, speaking at a news conference regarding the recently-unveiled plans for Wrigley Field, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts made a threat: Ricketts says Cubs will have to consider moving if stadium plans are blocked. #nochancepapi — Patrick Mooney (@CSNMooney) May 1, 2013 It doesn’t seem like a credible threat. While Rosemont, IL has made…
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He knows it’s not gonna happen. But he makes a damn fine point: In England, soccer mirrors life. It’s the day-to-day excellence that marks greatness, not a three or four-week run to glory. Well, I think we should bring some of that spirit to America … especially to baseball. I mean football is geared for…
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Terry Collins is not under contract for 2014. That alone makes his job security a tenuous proposition at best. But Bob Klapisch notes that he’s on even shakier ground than that: Without a commitment from ownership, Collins looks like a short-timer on a bad team, a latter-day George Bamberger. The current six-game losing streak, including…
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Delmon Young does not care what I or anyone else who likes to poke fun of Delmon Young thinks. He got $250K for getting on a plane to Cleveland yesterday and may get millions for simply losing a moderate amount of weight — which, based on how he looked last night, he already has. His…
