While watching the Angels/Yankees game last night, I got to wondering about all the cases of champagne waiting in the visitors' clubhouse and what happened to them after the Yankees lost.  Shipping them all to New York would be expensive and a waste of the Steinbrenner family's money (not that I care), so I'm inclined to believe they just returned it where they bought it.  However, that seems like it would be a raw deal for the liquor distributor.  Since this has happened to a lot of teams, does anyone know what happens in those situations?  It's not all that important, but it's an interesting little aspect of the post-season I've never heard discussed anywhere. Thanks!

I'm surprised nobody's yet posted about Koyie Hill getting the Player of the Month for August award from some corporate sponsor (Edward Jones?) of the Cubs last night.  Since he first joined the Cubs I've liked the way he plays the game, and I really became a big fan after learning about his amazing comeback from that horrific table saw accident.  Although I'm always pulling for him, I never considered him a PotM candidate and was somewhat surprised to see him get it last night.  However, given the way he filled in for Geo during August, he richly deserves it.  Way to go, Koyie!

BTW, I know this probably should have been a Fanshot, but I couldn't find any articles to which to link it.

As a Cubs fan for close to half a century who’s running out of “next years,” naturally I was hoping for them to crush the Dodgers as a prelude to eventually winning the World Series.  However, if they're going to lose a series, I would much rather see them lose by being blown out right from the start, thereby removing any doubt about their chances early on, than have them suffer a heartbreaking collapse after seeming to have it all wrapped up the way the 1984 and 2003 teams did.  If you feel crushed and bitter after this series, just imagine how much worse you would have felt if they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at the last minute by coughing up a four run lead in the ninth inning of Game 5, or as the result of some sort of fluke, or a blown call, or a devastating error on a routine play.  From an emotional standpoint, I'll take the blowout any time.  Sure, their dreadful, lackluster play in this series was disappointing and even pitiful, but there is at least some small consolation in knowing it could have been a whole lot worse. 

Extreme forms of political correctness really bug me, and a prime example of this is what happened to Bernie the Brewer over the last few years.  Originally, when a Brewers player hit a home run, Bernie slid down a chute into a big mug of beer, or something that looked like beer.  I always thought that was a fun and clever departure from the usual mascot antics, and was certainly appropriate given Milwaukee's fame as the beer capital of the U.S.  So, I was disappointed when they replaced the beer in Bernie's mug with balloons several years ago.  It didn't have the same visual appeal, and struck me as an attempt to create a "kid friendly" atmosphere at the ballpark that went a little too far.  Apparently, though, that wasn't tame enough, so they ultimately did away with Bernie's mug altogether and now he just slides down onto a catwalk, which makes very little sense and just looks silly.

I don't know why the Brewers changed Bernie's routine, but I suspect they were pressured to do it by the hysterical busybody types who are determined to sanitize all aspects of society to protect the kiddies from unsavory influences.  What's ironic is that they took away Bernie's beer in a ballpark that's named for a beer company and where the majority of adults in the stands drink beer while watching a team named for the people who make it.  Something's very wrong with that picture, and I think they should give back Bernie's beer.  Where's the harm in that?

During one of the games in Philadelphia, Len and Bob were talking about how the Phillies had moved the outfield wall in a couple of places.  That made me wonder which team was the first to post the distance from the plate on the walls  and what its reason for doing so was.  It's one of those things you just take for granted and I'd never thought of it before.   can't recall ever reading about it or hearing it discussed.   Does anyone know the answer?  Thanks!

I was very impressed by the way Geovany Soto put his head down and ran as hard as he could after hitting his homer the other night against the Mets, even though he had to have had a pretty good idea that the ball was going out.  Quite a refreshing contrast to the guys who stand and admire balls that just make it to the wall or barely clear it.  Sure, there's no doubt about some homers and I can't fault a guy for admiring a 500 foot bomb, but if there's any doubt at all just start running.  Period.  If the ball does indeed go out, watch it on video in the clubhouse after the game.  I'm not naming names, but there are a couple of veterans, including one who's one of my favorite Cubs players of recent years, (hey, nobody's perfect, but it still bugs me) who obviously could learn from Geo's example. 

Has anyone else heard Diamond Gems?  It's a syndicated radio show that features vintage--mostly from the sixties--baseball broadcasts.  It's great stuff from a historical standpoint, and most of the shows feature bits from Cubs games with Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd, and Lou Boudreau.  In the past, it also aired little biographical segments on the broadcasters, which were very interesting.  In their day, Vince Lloyd and Jack Brickhouse were probably the hardest working guys in the business (and both deserve Wrigley Field statues more than Harry Carey, IMHO).

This year, Diamond Gems has also added a segment by Doug Glanville, but I haven't heard that yet.  If anyone's interested, the URL is listed below, although I couldn't get  some of the links, including the list of stations that carry it, to work (possibly a browser issue).  I don't know if it's aired at the same time by all the stations that carry it, but I hear it at ten o'clock Sunday mornings on an eastern Iowa station.

http://diamondgemsbaseball.com/

Very few Cubs fans remember him today, but Derwood "Woody" Noggin was part of the infamous College of Coaches for a brief time in 1961. A popular Vaudeville entertainer for many years, Noggin was famous for his wisecracking humor, but had virtually no baseball experience. He was purportedly hired for the sole purpose of improving clubhouse morale during what promised to be an utterly abysmal season.

However, like the College of Coaches, Noggin's tenure with the Cubs was a complete failure.  The players, who were interested only in keeping their jobs and what little professional dignity they had left, were in no mood for his jokes and madcap antics.  To make matters worse, he was widely suspected of being nothing more than a mouthpiece for the front office. Unwilling to trust him, the players shunned him and often locked him in his own suitcase during games.

Noggin mysteriously disappeared just a few weeks into the season and was never seen again.  According to sources who claim to be reliable, he was last seen in the company of Yosh Kawano, who supposedly was going to show him a new woodchipper that had been purchased for the grounds crew.  Yosh vehemently denies this, however, and since the story cannot be confirmed, Noggin's ultimate fate may never be known.