SB Nation User Blog: ballhawk

Something to do while waiting for the next chapter of the Milton Bradley saga...

ballhawk — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:51:25 -0000

As we sit around waiting for Milton Bradley to be dealt (or not), it's obvious some of us are anguishing, some of us are seething, some of us are laughing, some of us are drinking... well, you get the idea. And whenever a name is bandied about as a possible return in a trade, invariably somebody here throws up a little in their mouth.

So in honor of Bob Barker's upcoming birthday (he'll be 86 on December 12), I thought a little "The Price Is Right" game could help put things in perspective. Of course, this will be a little tough to do in a two-dimensional blog, so you'll have to use your imagination. But here goes...

Below is a list (in alphabetical order) of many of the names that have been mentioned as possible returns on a Bradley deal. Imagine these names are on cards attached to big velcro board:

Burrell (TB)
Byrnes (AZ)
Castillo (NYM)
Lowe (ATL)
Matthews (LAA)
Meche (KC)
Millwood (TEX)
Ordonez (DET)
Rowand (SFG)
Silva (SEA)
Wells (TOR)

Part 1 of this game is to rearrange the cards from Best to Worst (as in trade return), You have 60 seconds, starting... NOW!

Ok, time's up! Wow, that was fun, eh? But wait - there's more... Now imagine two of Bob Barker's lovely assistants...
...come up to you and give you two more cards:

KEEP (#%&!)
RELEASE (21M)

Part 2 of this game is to take these new cards, go back up to the board, and put them where you think they should go. You have 10 seconds, starting... NOW!

Well? How'd you do? Care to share with the rest of us? If so, post below. Who knows, you might just be picked for the...

Showcase Showdown!!!!

This ought to end any MB for Wells talk...

ballhawk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:02:13 -0000

This ought to end any MB for Wells talk...

...but I know it won't. ;-)

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick polled 20 ML GM types, asking them eight questions about current hot-topics in baseball. The whole article is a pretty good read, but Question #8 ought to get your attention.

8. Which player is more difficult to trade -- Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley, because of his reputation and other baggage, or Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells, because of his contract?

And the responses REALLY ought to get your attention...

OT: Big-Ten, Vista-Demolition, Bad-News-Bears, Anything-Goes-on-a-Weekend Game Thread

ballhawk — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:32:52 -0000

"Take this thread to Cuba!"

Greetings all! I figure rather than hijack the latest main thread (especially since it's already at 400+ comments) for some Big Ten smackdown on this fine Saturday, might as well just do a game thread of our own.

Iowa vs Northwestern, Wisconsin vs Indiana, Illinois vs Minnesota, Purdue vs Michigan kicks it off at 11a (Central). Oh, and Michigan St tries to do a little intrastate number on Western Michigan. Then Ohio St vs Penn State caps off the day at 2:30p.

And no need to limit it to the Big Ten. There's a big SEC showdown today (LSU vs 'Bama) plus Navy vs SCFTTSNBN (finally - it's okay to cheer for the goat!). And hopefully Dan will check in and tell us all about the Battle for Kansas (KU vs KSU).

And if college football's not your bag, baby, that's okay. Feel free to tell us what is. Are you a PC or a Mac? Is Sammy turning into Jacko? The World's Largest Meatball weighs in at how much?

And post pictures too. Because we can never get enough of the most awesomest pictures ever!

I've got a couple errands to run now, but I'll be back in time to track the end of the first round of games. And I'll definitely be here for the OSU/PSU game.

Enjoy!

Last Out to First Pitch – The 2009-10 Offseason IT'S HAPPENING!!!??? Contest

ballhawk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:32:18 -0000

Listed at the bottom of this fanpost are 15 events that may (or may not) occur this offseason. Your challenge is to arrange them in order of likelihood of happening, most to least. Similar to last year’s free-agency contest, your ranking will be weighted. In other words, your top choice (the one you think is most likely to happen) will be worth 15 points – your bottom choice (the one you think is least likely to happen) will be worth 1 point.

Here's where it gets fun. As you’ll see, there are quite a few events involving Milton Bradley. Obviously not all of them are going to happen, so you could hedge your bets by ranking them close together if you’re unsure on how the MB saga will end. On the other hand, if you’re so sure you know how it will end, put that one at/near the top and the others at the bottom of your rankings.

Other Ground Rules:

The contest begins after the last out of the 2009 World Series and ends with the first pitch of the 2010 major league season.
Points are accumulated only if the event happens.
If an event occurs before the last out, i.e. someone pulls a "Boras", then said event will be removed from the contest and no points awarded for that event.
If there is some dispute as to whether or not an event "happened" or the definition of said event, I will certainly consider any and all viewpoints, but in the end – my contest, my call.

Please submit your entry by posting a comment below. Right now, deadline for entries is the last out of the 2009 World Series. But if the Yankees manage to win this thing in 5 games, I may extend the deadline by a day or so, provided of course, none of these events occur. If they do, then - in the interests of fairness - any entries submitted after that point will not be accepted.

I will track all entries and provide occasional updates throughout the off-season, as well as announce the final results shortly after Opening Day 2010. The person with the highest point total will receive an official MLB baseball hit out of Wrigley Field from my collection. And just to keep things interesting, the person with the lowest point total will receive an official minor league baseball from my collection – sufficiently grass-stained and scuffed-up to appropriately reflect said achievement (or lack thereof).

Please post any questions in the comments and I'll be happy to respond.

THE FIFTEEN BIGGEST EVENTS THAT MAY (or may not) HAPPEN THIS OFF-SEASON:

__ - Milton Bradley is traded or released by start of Cubs Convention.
__ - Cubs sell naming rights for entire Wrigley Field, e.g. Walgreens Park at Wrigley Field.
__ - Randy Wells finishes higher than Colby Rasmus in the ROY voting.
__ - Cubs lower ticket prices on some seats.
__ - Milton Bradley is traded for player(s) only, i.e. Cubs will NOT eat any of his contract.
__ - Cubs make an official announcement on a new Spring Training location (Az or Fla).
__ - Ryan Theriot is starting shortstop for Cubs on Opening Day 2010.
__ - Cubs’ broadcasting team stays intact - Len & Bob on TV; Pat, Ron, & Judd on radio.
__ - Milton Bradley is traded and Cubs WILL eat some portion of his contract.
__ - Cubs install additional scoreboard facilities, e.g. ribbon board.
__ - Aaron Miles is on the Cubs 25-man roster on Opening Day.
__ - Cubs offer arbitration to Rich Harden.
__ - Milton Bradley is on the Cubs 40-man roster on Opening Day.
__ - Cubs hires top-level executive, e.g. a "baseball guy", to oversee Hendry.
__ - MLB expands instant replay capabilities.

Manny Acta named new Indians' skipper.

ballhawk — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:51:51 -0000

Manny Acta named new Indians' skipper.

Don't know much about the guy so I'm kinda in a wait-and-see mode. Given the current makeup of the Indians roster and its immediate future, Acta's probably a better choice than recycling the likes of Valentine or Hargrove.

But I was really hoping that Mattingly would get a chance. Never liked him as a player but certainly respected him. Everything I've heard and read about him as a coach makes me respect him more and I'm starting to like the guy. Be interesting to see where he ends up someday.

Arizona tribe pitches Cubs for spring training

ballhawk — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:44:13 -0000

Arizona tribe pitches Cubs for spring training

Nothing that we haven't already heard - Cubs want new facility, Mesa wants to keep Cubs, local Indian tribe is interested - except this time, I finally see a $ figure on what the Cubs mean to Arizona.

"A study commissioned by Mesa showed the state would lose $52 million a year if the Cubs left Mesa."

OT: Favre has now beaten everybody!

ballhawk — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:26:18 -0000

OT: Favre has now beaten everybody!

"With the Vikings’ win over the Packers, Brett Favre became the first player in N.F.L. history to beat all 32 teams in his career."

This little factoid reminds me of a similar bit of trivia in baseball which I'll get to in the comments.

Indians trade Betancourt to Rockies

ballhawk — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:18:41 -0000

Indians trade Betancourt to Rockies

The wigwam cleaning continues with the Tribe dealing RHP Rafael Betancourt to the Rockies for RHP Connor Graham (Class A-Modesto).

Thought there was some talk here about kicking the bullpen tires on Betancourt - guess Jimbo can cross him off the list.

Next!

OT: Wrigley Field Concert Thread: Post all your Elton, Billy & Rascal reviews, requests and ruminations here

ballhawk — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:53:01 -0000

Finally - we have baseball again. Might even be good baseball. But while the Cubs are on this road trip, there is a 3 concert homestand at Wrigley Field. Sir Elton John and Billy Joel kick it off tonight (July 16), Rascal Flatts slips in on Saturday (July 18) and EJ/BJ come back for an encore on Tuesday (July 21). After which, the Roger Baird Experience takes over with a little 'bluegrass' makeover, but that's a whole 'nother topic...

Anyway, I'm guessing there'll be a few BCBers in attendance at one or more of these shows - rather than a bunch of scattered posts and shots over the next week, I thought it'd be better if we try to keep everything in one place. Makes it easier for those interested in such stuff to share their thoughts, and keeps the pure-bloods happy that all this non-baseball concert crap isn't messing up the rest of BCB...

I don't have tickets to any of the shows, but I might wander by just to see what's happening outside of Wrigley. So if you see some guy with a glove standing on the corner of Waveland & Kenmore, waiting for a broken drumstick to come flying over the fence... ...well, just quickly move along and don't tell your date you know me. ;-)

I did walk by a couple days ago - here are some pictures of the pre-concert setup activities. I'll post more over the next few days if I snap any that are TMZ-worthy.

Obviously Billy Joel and Elton John have been around a long time, musically speaking, so it's anyone's guess as to what their set list will look like. I'm also guessing neither of them are Cub fans, but I'd like to think they'll pay some sort of homage to Wrigley Field and/or the Cubs. Now, I'm not so much of an Elton John fan so I'll leave that to whoever is. But here are some song dedications I'd like Billy Joel to make:

"Pressure" - Milton Bradley
"We Didn't Start the Fire" - Starting rotation
"You May Be Right (I May Be Crazy)" - Carlos Zambrano
"An Innocent Man" - Sammy Sosa
"Just the Way You Are" - Ron Santo
"Piano Man" - Wayne Messmer & Gary Pressey
"I Go To Extremes" - Alfonso Soriano
"Don't Ask Me Why" - Lou Piniella
"The Longest Time" - Cub fans everywhere

Ok, that's it for now. And remember, it doesn't matter if your name is Daniel, Levon or you're just an Angry Young Man - don't be a Stranger; come back later and tell us if they played Your Song. And after you drank one Big Shot after another, let us know if you're Still Standing or you decided that Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting. Or maybe you decided to chase after some Island Girl. In which case when you get home to your significant other, you might not want to Tell Her About It or she'll be Moving Out on you...

Virtual ballhawking at Wrigley Field via Twitter

ballhawk — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:11:27 -0000

Virtual ballhawking at Wrigley Field via Twitter

* * * shameless self-promotion disclaimer * * *

If you'd like to augment your virtual game day experience, feel free to "ballhawk" with me via Twitter as I provide a semi-running commentary of the game from the streets of Waveland and sometimes Sheffield. My twitter ID is "Ballhawk_Ken" and the above link should take you to my twitter page.

Southeast winds tomorrow and a lot warmer so maybe there'll actually be some street homer activity to report. If not, I'll try to keep you amused with the daily trials and tribulations from "As The Waveland Turns"...