SB Nation User Blog: philofthenorth

Get Out Of Denver, Baby!

philofthenorth — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:46:12 -0000

Get Out Of Denver, Baby!

Beloved former Royal Clint Hurdle, whose aunt and uncle I briefly knew, just received the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the Rox's owner. Combined with the fact that, aside from one miracle stretch of wins that led them to the slaughter in the Series, Hurdle has been below .500 as a manager. The writing is on the wall.

The Bird Is Gone. I Hadn't Heard.

philofthenorth — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:11:20 -0000

The Bird Is Gone. I Hadn't Heard.

"Joseph Amorello owns a company that does road construction and sometimes hired Fidrych to haul gravel or asphalt. He said he had stopped by the farm to chat with Fidrych when he found the body underneath the 10 Wheeler dump truck. "We were just, in general, getting started for the [road building] season this week and it seems as though his truck was going to be needed. It looked like he was doing some maintenance on it," Amorello said in a telephone interview. "I found him under the truck. There's not much more I can say. I dialed 911 and that's all I could do."

The Former Home Of Teabag And Dougie

philofthenorth — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:55:54 -0000

The Former Home Of Teabag And Dougie

A very hands-on approach,
http://www.oilersbaseball.com/
Summer's almost here!

Game Thread, Anyone?

philofthenorth — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:06:53 -0000

I'm stuck at work, but the volcano exploded again so we're not flying. This one is on mlbtv, but my slow-ass connection here at work won't do anything but annoying stop action. I'm listening to KCSP, which had a great local talk show on until 1000AM, and an awesome Preparation H commercial before they cut to the game. Tribute to Brett maybe?

Crisp, CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.378
Bloomquist, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.342
Gordon, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.319
Guillen, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.283
Jacobs, DH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.270
Butler, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.316
Callaspo, 2B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.271
Buck, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.390
Aviles, M, SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.326
Totals

Bloomers batting 2nd, Aviles 9th? OK, Trey, you da man.

Oh, What Could Have Been

philofthenorth — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:24:03 -0000

Oh, What Could Have Been

I'd still take Francouer for Hoagie, but this is not encouraging. Thanks to ShysterBall.

It's All A-Meal's Fault

philofthenorth — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:35:09 -0000

It's All A-Meal's Fault

"She was constantly on my mind," he said. "Now it’s so great. I go home at night, and Brynn doesn’t care if I win or lose. She just wants to play."

Brynn’s first experience with baseball was not a happy one. She was on her mom’s lap behind home plate when San Diego’s Emil Brown threw his bat into the stands.

"She freaked out," Bannister said. "She heard everybody around her scream, and she started screaming. She was behind the net, so the bat’s not going to hit her. Everybody around her calmed down, but she didn’t."

TTO's For 2008

philofthenorth — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:11:37 -0000

TTO's For 2008

As usual, no Royals on this list.
"I’ve written about the Three True Outcomes from a historical perspective, so I decided to turn my focus to the 2008 season for a contemporary snapshot.

"The idea of players failing to test the defense is fascinating. While it's a method that guarantees neither success nor failure, it’s proof there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

With that in mind, here are last year’s top five TTOs."

From Out Of The Hazy Past

philofthenorth — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:12:52 -0000

We all know how age affects memory, but occasionally something happens to drive the point home. I recently recalled listening to an A's broadcast when I was a child that ended with the most exciting play I can ever recall. This led me off on a search of the internet and then Baseball Reference to see if my mind was just playing tricks of me; I love Baseball Reference.

What is the most exciting one play in baseball? The walk-off home run must be high on the list, and almost all the candidates I can think of involve a game ending play; the bang-bang play at the plate, the last pitch of a no-hitter/perfect game, etc., but what is the rarest, most exciting way for a game to end? I believe we KC fans have been privileged to witness this twice.

My Google search (it had “Ed Charles” in it) led to this obscure article, http://www.allbusiness.com/sports-recreation/sports-games-outdoor-recreation-baseball/8926623-1.html

Yes, the walk-off steal is my choice for the most exciting play of all. As a single play in a game, I think it must be the rarest of all. According to this article, it has happened only 35 times in baseball's history. Many here will remember Brett's walk-off steal in '76, but it was the memory of another walk-off steal by another KC franchise's 3B that led me to this topic. Sure enough, there on page 12 of the article, I found proof that the broadcast I remembered had indeed occurred.

Ed Charles         Kansas City Athletics 4,          August 8, 1962                      Minnesota Twins 3

Then I was off to Baseball reference, and I was not disappointed. There I found the complete box score and play-by-play for the game in question. This is how Charles' walk-off steal came to happen.

Bottom of the 9th, Athletics Batting, Tied 3-3, Bill Pleis facing 3-4-5

                  Bill Pleis replaces George Banks pitching and batting 9th           ---      71%  E Charles       Single to LF           1--      82%  N Siebern       Fielder's Choice /Sacrifice Bunt; Charles to 2B    O      12-      85%  J Tartabull     Bunt Groundout: 3B-2B/Sacrifice; Charles to 3B; Siebern to 2B                   Ray Moore replaces Bill Pleis pitching and batting 9th; Wayne Causey pinch hits for Bobby Del Greco batting 6th           -23      83%  W Causey        Intentional Walk    O      123      66%  G Cimoli        Strikeout    R      123     100%  J Azcue         Charles Steals Hm

I believe the Twins tried to get Charles at 2B and failed, leading to Tartabull's sac bunt. When Cimoli was batting, the Twins had the infield and outfield pulled in and the tension was unbearable. Cimoli promptly K'd, leaving it up to Jose Azcue.........or so everyone thought. The Twins returned to a normal defensive alignment, and I have to believe they might have relaxed a bit.

Meanwhile, out on 3b, Charles was not satisfied to watch the light hitting catcher try to drive him home. I can't find the info on the count when Charles stole home, but I do remember going absolutely insane when it happened. Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one ever suspects the walk-off steal of home.

The most amazing discovery I made in this exploration of the past was that I was only 7 years old when this happened! I remember that game better than I remember people I met last week. At least I have my memories from my youth, even if I don't remember why I walked over to the refrigerator and other little things in my daily life.

I don't know if it's just a coincidence, but both Brett and Charles played 3B; maybe they had some particular insight into the situation that allowed them to pull off this extremely rare feat. Whatever the case, KC fans have been privileged to witness 2 of the 35 walk-off steals in history, a disproportionate percentage given the amount of time MLB has been in KC. Just one more reason it's special to be a fan of KC baseball. Now, where the hell did I put my keys?

Even Kaufman Gets It

philofthenorth — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:07:07 -0000

Even Kaufman Gets It

I have Salon on my Yahoo homepage, so I see King Kaufman's column from time to time. I thought the statheads here might enjoy this.

Jays Sigh Maroth To MiLB Deal

philofthenorth — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:17:24 -0000

Jays Sigh Maroth To MiLB Deal

Oh, to be a LHP and have a pulse; $1.3M/1 and he doesn't even have to go to Canada.