SB Nation User Blog: PatBordersHelmet

Omar wants to come back...

PatBordersHelmet — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:48:46 -0000

Omar wants to come back...

...and play somewhere next year.

I imagine he'd be cheaper than Jamey Carroll and might sell a couple extra tickets to the opener. But I guess if he signs back with Texas, that would happen regardless.

Uh oh, Ohka up. Zackson down.

PatBordersHelmet — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:33:44 -0000

Uh oh, Ohka up. Zackson down.

He's back in the bigs after a long hiatus and he's wearing a Tribe uni.

Zach Jackson optioned.

UPDATE: Perhaps the bigger news, Anthony Reyes moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Ohka, so he's gone through the All-Star break. By that point, Westbrook and/or SLewis might already be back. [Jay]

Ichiro will NOT pitch in the WBC

PatBordersHelmet — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:19:56 -0000

Ichiro will NOT pitch in the WBC

Because Mariner fans were too confident that their most valuable position player would be returned from the World Baseball Classic uninjured, Ichiro skipped Team Japan BP to throw a 56 pitch bullpen session topping out at 92 mph--you know--just in case they need him in relief during the WBC. Obviously the Mariners FO is not happy about the idea.

Scrap Heap Starter Added

PatBordersHelmet — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:19:50 -0000

Scrap Heap Starter Added

Anybody got high expectations for Indians newest spring training invitee Tomo Ohka?

2009 Tribe Schedule Released

PatBordersHelmet — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:06:35 -0000

2009 Tribe Schedule Released

Start making your summer plans now. I'm actually looking forward to a few of these away inter-league games for a change.

CC Come Home!

PatBordersHelmet — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:20:40 -0000

CC Come Home!

It's futile, I know, but CC is slotted to pitch Sunday at PNC park. I'll be there with a buddy in full Tribe gear and will locate ourselves squarely in the cheap seats.

Anybody else thinking of making the trip to Pittsburgh?

The Uncertain Future of Olympic Baseball

PatBordersHelmet — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:04:47 -0000

The Uncertain Future of Olympic Baseball

So it looks like MLB will have to interrupt their season or teams will have to live without their biggest stars for (at least) two weeks if they want to be a part of the Olympic games in the future. So far the WBC has been a bit if a pain during Spring Training, I can't imagine halting the entire game or sending away players (even on basement dwellers) during the start of the pennant races.

League Park Society

PatBordersHelmet — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:01:37 -0000

League Park Society

For The Indians history nuts out there like myself, you should check these guys out. They are all about restoring League Park--a portion of it still stands. I've exchanged a coupe e-mails with them, and so far they seem to have their stuff together. Bob Feller is even listed as an "Historical Consultant." Restoring this gem isn't going to be an easy task, but I think a worthwhile one.

The Jhonny myth

PatBordersHelmet — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:37:06 -0000

In honor of Jhonny's solo shot and hopes that his offense sticks around, I'd like to address something that's been eating at me for a couple of years now--the spelling of Jhonny Peralta's first name. As you may have noticed it's spelled Jhonny, which causes people pronounce it funny--and it's is exactly why it's spelled that way! You see, Jhonny is from the Dominican Republic. If he spelled it "Johnny," the locals would pronounce it "Yawn-Ee." Instead, Jhonny's parents decided to go with the more anglo version, hence the "J" followed by an "H" to keep it "Jaw-Knee." It's a common name. There are thousands of Jhonny's and they live in a continent near you if not the same one.

When the crack reporters from esteemed dailys such as the Plain Dealer noticed the funny spelling, their journalistic instincts took over and they questioned the young infielder as to how he received such an interesting misspelling of such a obvious name. Jhonny told the reporters (through an interpreter) that it was just the the way his dad spelled it on his birth certifcate. Hilarious and Quirky! Print It! That was 2005.

Unfortunately I keep hearing this story. The fact I met a guy in Ecuador named Jhonny prior to the "Jhonny origin" blurbs made me uncomfortable. Subsequently I've met a handful of Jhonny's--whose fathers have surprisingly never met. Currently there is a world class ranked bantamweight boxer from Mexico named Jhonny Gonzalez who was born a whole year prior to the alleged creative spelling incident at a Santiago, DR, hospital.

I'm all for baseball myth, but this one borders on ignorance. Are we pronouncing Johann Santana's first name "Joe-Han" because he didn't have the courtesy of using a "Y" and living in the U.S. t the same time? I'm sure someone pointed this out before, but I look forward to not having to hear the whole "misspelling" story regurgitated at the ballpark this season--although I'm sure you can set your watch to it showing up again in a Hoynes article.