Linky.

Sigh. You know, perhaps there's some shred of truth to this statement but come on man, get over yourself. The "everyone is out to get me" routine is growing veeeerrry tedious. Milton really is under the impression that umpires spend their free-time plotting ways to undermine him? Whatever gets you motivated I guess. I do recall a number of Milton "converts" making themelves heard on the board after that hustle bunt a few weeks ago. Looks like the praise may have been a bit premature.

Let us all accept that the "New" Milton Bradley--the Milton who'd matured and vanquished anger and childish tantrums from his heart after finally getting that reassuring contract--never existed. He was a myth. An illusion created with the spin of well-publicized quotes and press conferences. And you know what? I'm fine with that. Just give me the fiery, non-pc gameboard who rakes. That's all I ask. Then you can blame global warming for all I care.

So I've been meaning to post some info about this project for some time. A very good friend of mine and some of his film school companions have been living in the Dominican Republic for several months now shooting a baseball documentary entitled "Live to Play, Play to Live." The movie details the struggle of several young peloteros as they attempt to earn the ultimate goal for themselves and their families: a big league contract. They had a chance to spend a day at the Cubs camp in the DR and actually got to stand behind the backstop and watch Sori, Rami, and Felix square off in a home run derby. Here's a photo of the winner from their flickr page:

IMG_1625 (via GuaguaProductions)

I'm going to include a few links, including their website (Guagua Productions), as well as their blog. They post clips of the film semi-frequently on both and it really does look incredible. Think of it as Hoop Dreams, only supplant Chicago basketball with DR baseball. They are always looking for press and donations, so if you'd lile to know more, feel free to contact me and I can provide any information necessary. Links:

Home Page

Blog

So with all the HOF talk going on, one thing always confuses me. Why is Tommy John perpetually overlooked as a legitimate HOF candidate? With all the campaigning for Blyleven, I just don't understand. I suppose it has to do with Bert's power numbers, specifically his career K stats being significantly better than Tommy's. But consider this:

TJ won 20 games 3 times, BB once.

TJ was a CY runner up twice, BB never finished above 3rd

TJ won 288 games, BB 287

Yes BB accomplished this in 4 less seasons, but still.

Not to mention Tommy John was the first to gamble on a revolutionary surgery that has now become a staple of the game.

Thoughts?

Does anyone feel that perhaps the exorbitant cost of tickets may have weeded out the more animated fans and left us with spectators more concerned with attending an "event" than a Cubs game?

I may be pulling out the jump to conclusions mat here, considering the stands were plenty lively for game 3 last year, however these tickets must be drawing a far higher price tag than that series pulled.

Perhaps the more likely theory is that everyone is so terrified of horrible possibilities that they don't know how to conduct themselves in a usual fashion.

Thoughts?

Anyone have the technology to reverse the song and post it on here? Yes, how sad and silly I know. But it couldn't hurt...

Also on another note, does anyone ever get superstitious with their hat/apparel routines? Oftentimes if I wear a certain Cubs hat and we win, I won't stop wearing it until we lose (this excludes sleep of course). Now I've decided to switch to one of my reserve hats. Anyone have their own patterns? Of course you do. Feel free to share to boost my self-esteem.

I would like to know what the general opinion of Mr. Kaplan is around these parts. I currently am without my cable having just moved into a new place, and as a result, I've been listening to a good chunk of my games on 720 lately. It's been awhile since I've listened to Kaplan's post-game and I'm listening to it now (post Astros sweep). Some pretty heated stuff. Specific, general thoughts?