---

Bar Chat

08/01/2013

Baseball Waits on the Commissioner

[Posted Wednesday a.m., prior to any definitive word from MLB on suspensions.]

Baseball Quiz: As noted below, the late George Scott finished third in the A.L. rookie of the year vote in 1966. Who were the rookies of the year in both the A.L. and N.L. that year? Answers below.

Ball Bits

--As I write, it’s July 31, trade deadline in baseball, but nothing too dramatic has happened. Boston did acquire White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy, with Jose Iglesias going from Boston to Detroit; the Tigers needing a shortstop when Jhonny Peralta is suspended. The White Sox, in turn, acquired outfielder Avisail Garcia from Detroit, regarded as the top power prospect in the Tigers’ system, plus three prospects from the Red Sox.

But it’s been all about Biogenesis and the coming suspensions. Major League Baseball has told the union which players it intends to penalize.

Peralta, Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz and San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera, three 2013 All-Stars, face 50-game bans.

Bartolo Colon and Melky Cabrera, who were both suspended last year, aren’t expected to received additional suspensions.

“If Rodriguez indicates that he will appeal his looming suspension to stay on the field and protect his contract, commissioner Bud Selig is prepared to invoke his rarely used right to suspend a player to preserve the integrity of the game – a power embodied in Article XI, Section A1b of the game’s collective bargaining agreement. Doing so would effectively bypass the joint drug agreement between MLB and the union. Such a suspension would be effective immediately.

“While Rodriguez could theoretically appeal such a suspension within 30 days, Selig himself would be the one to review the appeal in a hearing and ‘render a written decision as soon as practicable afterward. All told, that process could potentially keep Rodriguez off the field deep into September.

“If the punishment Selig were to impose in such a scenario was excessive, Rodriguez could turn to another provision of the basic agreement that gives him the opportunity to ask arbitrator Frederic Horowitz to review it; Horowitz, however, does not have the right to stay A-Rod’s suspension. So invoking Article XI would effectively sideline A-Rod for much of the remaining season.”

--Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Pirates swept the Cardinals in Pittsburgh, 2-1 and 6-0, to move into first place in the N.L. Central.

Pittsburgh 64-42
St. Louis 62-43

The Pirates have the best record in baseball (Tampa Bay is at 64-43).

--The Washington Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg fell to 5-9, 3.04, as Detroit defeated Washington 5-1 on Tuesday. The Tigers’ Anibel Sanchez, who used to throw for the Marlins, improved his career record against the Nats to 9-1 with a 1.98 ERA.

--Baltimore’s Chris Davis finally hit home run No. 38 after failing to homer in his first 10 games after the All-Star Game, and the home run derby.

--Incredibly, David Ortiz will not be suspended for his bat episode in the Boston dugout following his being called out for a third strike on Saturday; even though he could have killed teammate Dustin Pedroia.

--We note the passing of George Scott, the slugging first baseman who spent most of his 14 seasons (1966-79) with Boston and the Milwaukee Brewers. He was 69.

Scott was a three-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner who was listed at 6’2”, 200 lbs., but was clearly much bigger than that. He was known as “Boomer” for his prodigious home runs, of which he hit 271 in his career. Scott called them “taters.”

As a rookie in 1966, he hit 27 home runs and finished third in the rookie of the year voting, and he helped lead the Red Sox to the A.L. pennant in 1967, hitting 19 home runs, driving in 82, and batting .303, fourth in the league.

His best season was 1975 with the Milwaukee Brewers, when he tied Reggie Jackson for the league lead in homers with 36 and was No. 1 in RBI with 109.

--And former pitcher Frank Castillo apparently drowned Sunday at a lake northeast of Phoenix. The 44-year-old had an 82-104 record in 13 major-league seasons.

--Johnny Manziel’s father is concerned about his son’s offseason activities. In an extensive interview with ESPN The Magazine, Paul Manziel said:

“It could come unraveled. And when it does, it’s gonna be bad. Real bad.”

Manziel has had photos of him flashing money, sitting courtside at a Heat game and updates on an arrest from last year stemming from a bar fight, along with tweets about Johnny Football’s looking forward to leaving Texas A&M after a parking ticket. He’s also known for having a bad temper.

“I don’t know where the anger comes from,” Paul Manziel told the magazine. “I don’t think he knows. If it comes from his drinking, or if he’s mad at himself for not being a better person when he fails, when he fails God and his mom and me. If it makes him angry that he’s got demons in him. You can only speculate because you can’t go in there.”

“It’s one night away from the phone ringing, and he’s in jail. And you know what he’s gonna say? ‘It’s better than all the pressure I’ve been under. This is better than that.’”

--Rory McIlroy has had his problems this year and now a major figure from the world of golf is urging him to ditch his girlfriend. Gary Player, 77, thinks McIlory should leave Caroline Wozniacki, with Player saying he told Rory via an interview.

“He’s got to be intelligent and find the right wife. If he finds the right wife, if he practices and if he’s dedicated, he could be the man,” said Player.

McIlroy has failed to contend in the first three majors this season. He has also not won since moving to new sponsor Nike.

Player implied McIlroy’s traveling around the world to see Wozniacki play tennis has taken its toll, and that he is not practicing enough. He also said Rory needs a partner who is dedicated only to aiding his career.

I really want to comment....but I am exercising my 24-hour rule.

--Tiger Woods re-upped with Nike again. Throughout the scandal and revelations of infidelity, Nike stood behind Woods and will continue to do so.

It was in 1996 that Woods introduced himself to the world at a press conference announcing a five-year, $40 million pact with Nike. In 2001 he signed a five-year extension estimated at $100 million, and then inked another extension in 2006. Terms of his latest extension haven’t been revealed, at least that I could see. 

All 14 clubs in Tiger’s bag these days are Nike, as well as his shoes and apparel. [Golf World]

--Mark Wiebe defeated Bernhard Langer on the fifth playoff hole, Monday, at the Senior British Open. Langer had a two-shot lead in regulation heading to 18 but double-bogeyed it, allowing Wiebe to tie him. The playoff was then suspended on Sunday because of darkness (due to earlier weather delays) after two holes.

--Wake Forest football. Oh yeah, we are pumped. Actually, I was reminded on the golf course Monday by Steve D., Boston College alum and foil for our lunch bets on football and b-ball games between the two ACC rivals, that Wake and B.C. meet on Sept. 6 in Chestnut Hill. No points in our matchups....but I love the veal cutlet where we settle up and I really don’t want to lose. [Steve waxed me in golf, per usual, but I did have my best round in years.]

--North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams indefinitely suspended P.J. Hairston late Sunday night, hours after the team’s leading scorer, who has gotten into a ton of trouble recently, was cited for driving 93 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 85 outside of Salisbury, N.C.

“There’s extensive evidence that pigs are as smart and sociable as dogs. Yet one species is afforded affection and respect; the other faces mass slaughter en route to becoming bacon, ham and pork chops.

“Seeking to capitalize on that discrepancy, animal-welfare advocates are launching a campaign called The Someone Project that aims to highlight research depicting pigs, chickens, cows and other farm animals as more intelligent and emotionally complex than commonly believed. The hope is that more people might view these animals with the same empathy that they view dogs, cats, elephants, great apes and dolphins.”

Uh oh...but fret not, bacon lovers. There’s a short-term compromise with vegan advocates, it would seem. Demand changes in the way pigs are housed at many large facilities.

Pig is No. 18 on the All-Species List. But I refuse to believe cows are smart, let alone chickens.

--American lawyer Matthew Dyer was mauled last week by a polar bear in the Torngat Mountains National Park, northern Labrador, while on a Sierra Club excursion. He was flown to Montreal and at last word was recovering in the intensive care unit.

A Sierra Club spokesman said that Dyer “was pulled from his tent at around 2:30 a.m. local time and mauled by a polar bear, suffering bite wounds and broken bones.”

Supposedly, the hikers were sleeping in an area with an electric bear fence at the time of the attack.

The 14-day excursion, called Spirits and Polar Bears: Trek to the Torngat Mountains National Park, Labrador, costs $5,995. There were two guides on the excursion, as well as room for eight hikers.

The Parks Canada website states that “Visitors are reminded of the added safety of engaging the services of an Inuit guide who is permitted to carry a firearm, where visitors are not.”

But this particular group did not have an Inuit guide and managed to drive the bear away with flare guns.

The Sierra Club’s website says that their trips to the Arctic “carry an element of risk.” However, it also states, “You’re in good hands, though, so don’t worry: Your trip leaders have vast experience in the Last Frontier, and they’ll provide all the guidance you need.” [Calgary Sun]

--A rare piece of good news, from Amy Hubbard of the Los Angeles Times:

“The number of tigers living in the wild in Nepal has leapt. A new survey shows Royal Bengal tigers now number 198 – that’s 63% more than four years ago.

“The country’s efforts are part of a global program to pull tigers back from the brink of extinction....

“In 2010, there were as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild...according to the World Wildlife Fund.”

India, which releases its figures separately, is believed to have more than 1,300 in protected areas.

--Col. Bud Day, an Air Force fighter pilot who was shot down in Vietnam and imprisoned with John McCain in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” died. He was 88.

For five years, Colonel Day defiantly endured torture without divulging sensitive information to his captors, earning him the Medal of Honor. He was among America’s most highly decorated servicemen, receiving nearly 70 medals and awards, more than 50 for combat exploits.

Senator McCain called Day “my friend, my leader, my inspiration.”

Also in the cell in those days was Admiral James B. Stockdale, who would become Ross Perot’s running mate in his 1992 presidential campaign.

“On Aug. 26, 1967, (Day) was on a mission to knock out a surface-to-air missile site 20 miles inside North Vietnam when his F-100 was hit by antiaircraft fire. He suffered eye and back injuries and a broken arm when he ejected, and he was quickly captured.

“Major Day was strung upside-down by his captors, but after his bonds were loosened, he escaped after five days in enemy hands. He made it across a river, using a bamboo-log float for support, and crossed into South Vietnam. He wandered barefoot and delirious for about two weeks in search of rescuers, surviving on a few berries and frogs. At one point, he neared a Marine outpost, but members of a Communist patrol spotted him first, shot him in the leg and hand, and captured him.

“This time, Major Day could not escape. He was shuttled among various camps, including the prison that became known as the Hanoi Hilton, and was beaten, starved and threatened with execution. His captors demanded information on escape plans and methods of communication among the prisoners of war, as well as on America’s air war....

“He was released on March 14, 1973, having supplied only false information to his interrogators. He was promoted to colonel during his captivity, and on March 4, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford presented him with the Medal of Honor at a ceremony in which Admiral Stockdale was also awarded the medal.”

“Colonel Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself. Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy.”

Bud Day was born in Sioux City, Iowa. He quit high school to join the Marines and served in the Pacific during World War II. He flew a fighter-bomber during the Korean War and then remained in the military.

--I forgot to mention that I did something last Saturday I haven’t done before...even though it is only 1 ½ hours away from where I live. Go to Washington Crossing National Park to see where George Washington took his 2400 soldiers across the Delaware on Christmas Night, 1776. A very cool spot. Thank you, Denise D., for playing tour guide. To toast George, I quaffed some Harp at the Washington Crossing Inn.

Top 3 songs for the week of 7/30/66: #1 “Wild Thing” (The Troggs) #2 “Hanky Panky” (Tommy James and The Shondells) #3 “Lil Red Riding Hood” (Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs)...and...#4 “The Pied Piper” (Crispian St. Peters) #5 “I Saw Her Again” (The Mamas & The Papas) #6 “Hungry” (Paul Revere & The Raiders... underrated group...) #7 “Summer In The City” (The Lovin’ Spoonful...on its way to three weeks at No. 1) #8 “Sweet Pea” (Tommy Roe) #9 “Mothers Little Helper” (The Rolling Stones) #10 “Somewhere, My Love” (Ray Coniff and The Singers... ‘Lara’s Theme’ from Dr. Zhivago...among my top five flicks all time...)

Baseball Quiz Answers: In 1966, Tommie Agee of the White Sox was the A.L. rookie of the year, hitting .273, with 22 home runs, 86 RBI and 44 steals. Second baseman Tommy Helms was the N.L. ROY, hitting .284 with 9 HR and 49 RBI.

---