Detroit Tigers Quiz (1901-present): 1) Home runs, season, left-
handed? 2) Wins, career? [Sorry, you’ll never get this one…so
I’ll give you a hint…1912-26…now get it.] 3) Strikeouts; both
season and career? [Same pitcher]
Kansas City Royals Quiz (1969-present): 1) Lone title year? 2)
Wins, career? 3) Home runs, season, left-handed?
Answers below.
Zidane…DIRTBALL!
Wow, what do you compare what France’s Zinedine Zidane did
in the final’s of the World Cup to? Jeff B., Pittsburgh Steelers
fan, immediately sent me a note saying “Big Ben
(Roethlisberger) is off the hook for ‘Idiot of the Year!’”
It then hit me; it’s all over, sports fans. Zidane, by headbutting
his Italian opponent, wins the freakin’ Triple Crown!
Idiot, Jerk AND Dirtball of the Year!
I mean, unless Barry Bonds kills a reporter (still a decent shot at
this, by the way), I might as well throw out my December file,
filled with accumulated notes on the first six months of the year
to remind myself (and the rest of our crack staff) just who takes
home the hardware come year end.
And since I’m posting this Sunday evening, you’ll have to
forgive me when I write of the world commentary over the
coming days, the next Bar Chat, because this is truly one of the
big moments in the history of sports. There is no bigger stage
than the World Cup, after all.
And not for nothing, but I’m not impressed Italy won while
having to deal with the betting scandal back home. Interesting
they put it behind them, but not exactly heroic in my book.
Pretty despicable, quite frankly.
Anyway, I still enjoyed all the action and I just may have to go to
South Africa for 2010’s version.
—
Federer Again!
A few months ago I noted that tennis needed Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal to face off at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and it
certainly appears that’s a virtual lock.
Federer got his revenge for losing the French to Nadal, in
winning his 8th career Grand Slam, as he kicked Nadal’s butt all
over the centre court grass. Federer also captured his 4th straight
at Wimbledon and is one shy of Bjorn Borg’s modern record of
five straight, 1976-80.
—
Spahn, Marichal and Roseboro
Johnny Mac is increasingly incensed.
“I know baseball has changed, but I get tired when some pitcher
goes seven innings, throws maybe 110 pitches, and the
announcers, managers, etc. treat it like he just finished a freakin’
triathlon. ‘What stamina, what courage, he gave us innings, blah
blah blah.’”
And so J. Mac harkened back to a July day back in 1963. It’s a
story I last told four years ago in this space and it bears
repeating.
July 2, 1963…42-year-old Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee
Braves hooks up with 25-year-old Juan Marichal in a true classic.
Scoreless after 8 innings, San Francisco manager Alvin Dark
wanted to take Marichal out but Juan said that if the 42-year-old
guy was still pitching, he wasn’t going to quit.
So on and on it went…12, 13, 14…still no score, both starting
pitchers still on the mound. [You’ll never, ever, see this again in
your lifetime.] Finally in the 16th inning, Willie Mays homered
off Spahn for the 1-0 victory.
Spahn’s official line was 15 1/3, one run on 9 hits, walked one
and struckout two.
Marichal hurled all 16, allowing 8 hits, while walking 4 and
fanning 10. He allowed only two hits the final 8.
[Both are estimated to have thrown 200-250 pitches apiece.
Accurate counts from the game are unavailable.]
For the ’63 season, 42-year-old Spahn was an amazing 23-7,
throwing 260 innings and completing 22 of his 33 starts.
Marichal went 25-8, going 321 innings. Ah, the good old days.
And speaking of Marichal, time to pull out another oldie but
goodie, his incident with Dodgers catcher John Roseboro,
August 22, 1965.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the San Francisco Giants
at Candlestick Park. On the mound were perhaps the two best
pitchers of that day, Marichal for the Giants and the Dodgers’
Sandy Koufax. John Roseboro was catching for L.A.
Early in the contest, Marichal threw at the Dodgers’ Maury Wills
and Ron Fairly, just part of the intimidation factor that was
integral to the game back then, as well as a carryover of some
bad blood between the fierce rivals and an earlier contest.
But Roseboro knew that Koufax “was constitutionally incapable
of throwing at anyone’s head. So I decided to take matters into
my own hands,” Johnny would say later.
Koufax did brush back Willie Mays, but when Marichal came to
bat, Roseboro whizzed a return throw to the mound close to
Marichal’s head. Marichal claimed it nicked his ear. Roseboro
denied it.
“Why did you do that?” screamed Juan. He then settled into the
batter’s box…only to suddenly turn and clobber Roseboro three
times over the head with his bat. [Catchers didn’t wear
protective helmets behind the plate in those days.]
A startled Roseboro got up to retaliate and swung several times
at Marichal as both benches emptied. Marichal ran towards the
Giants dugout, while the bloodied Roseboro took out after him.
Willie Mays was yelling to Roseboro, “Stop fighting! Your eye
is out!”
Marichal was taunting Roseboro, and then Dodgers coach Danny
Ozark attacked Marichal. Roseboro was a bloody mess.
“I thought the bat had knocked Roseboro’s left eye out,” said
Dodger manager Walter Alston. “There was nothing but blood
where his eye had been.”
Alas, Johnny’s eye was still intact, though he required many
stitches to close his head wound. Later he admitted, “Of course I
had provoked the incident. But I don’t think anything I did
justified Marichal hitting me on the head with his bat.”
For his part, Marichal was suspended 9 games (though he really
missed just one start) and received a fine of $1,750…the largest
in league history to that point.
Personally, I recall seeing the pictures of the donnybrook in LIFE
magazine; my first vivid baseball memory as I was just 7. I
imagine if something like this happened today, Marichal would
be suspended at least 50 games.
As for the two combatants, they didn’t speak for years and
Roseboro sued Marichal for $110,000 (settling for $7,500), but
later in his life Roseboro was afraid the incident had harmed
Marichal’s chances at getting in the Hall of Fame (it had) so he
appeared with Juan at events like Old Timers games to show that
they had made up. These acts of forgiveness did eventually help
Marichal find his way to Cooperstown.
And here I am with a retro Marichal jersey. I swear this is in no
way a reflection on my own character.
[Source: Baseball – The Biographical Encyclopedia]
Oh, what the heck. Since I mentioned Warren Spahn, here’s a bit
from Bar Chat, November 2003, in its entirety, as it were.
11/27/03
Monday morning, Johnny Mac and I were exchanging notes on
Dwight Gooden when he pointed out that Gooden was 119-46 at
age 25, adding, at that stage Warren Spahn finally won his first
game at the major league level. Spahn went on to win 363
lifetime, the winningest lefty of them all, while Gooden was 75-
66 the remainder of his drug-addled career. Then about six hours
after our discussion, we heard that Warren Spahn had passed
away. I then told Johnny not to dream or think of anyone else for
a spell.
By now any good baseball fan has heard all the superlatives and
career stats associated with Spahn, but for the Bar Chat archives
some still bear repeating.
13, 20-win seasons (tied for most with Christy Mathewson)
63 shutouts
5,243 innings, an NL record
35 home runs! An NL record for pitchers at the plate
14 times in the top 3 in the league in wins
14 times in the top 3 in innings pitched
A 23-7 record at age 42
A no-hitter at age 39, a game in which he struck out a career high
15, and of which he said “It was so easy, it was pathetic.”
A second no-hitter at age 40
And there is the Warren Spahn that didn’t start having an impact
in the majors at an earlier stage because he was off fighting for
his country for three years, rather heroically to say the least.
Spahn earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart in WW II for his
efforts during the Battle of the Bulge and his role in the taking of
the bridge at Remagen, where he narrowly escaped death when
the bridge collapsed.
Upon returning to baseball after the war, Spahn said “I felt like,
wow, what a great way to make a living. If I goof up, there’s
going to be a relief pitcher come in there. Nobody’s going to
shoot me.”
Having missed three seasons when he had been on the verge of
having an impact at the major league level (Casey Stengel
famously held him back a step because Spahn had refused to
throw at a batter in an exhibition game), the question is always
asked, “How many more would he have won?” Spahn’s reply:
“People say that my absence from the big leagues may have cost
me a chance to win 400 games. But I don’t know about that. I
matured a lot in 3 years, and I think I was better equipped to
handle major league hitters at 25 than I was at 22. Also, I
pitched until I was 44. Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to do
that otherwise.”
Yes, Spahn was ageless. Stan Musial once remarked, “I don’t
think Warren Spahn will ever get into the Hall of Fame. He’ll
never stop pitching.”
Actually, every prospect coming through the minors these days
should be handed the bios of both Spahn and Gooden. Then a
simple question could be asked. “Which way do you want to
go?”
[Postscript, 7/9/06: The debate in New York this past weekend is
what to do with Mets phenom Mike Pelfrey; who was brought up
to pitch in a doubleheader on Saturday, picked up the win, but
certainly looked like he wasn’t quite ready for consistent prime
time action. Mets management is definitely thinking of how
Dwight Gooden was handled as the consensus today is Doc was
simply too immature to handle the pressures of New York, even
though his first two seasons in particular were dynamite. Ergo,
while it isn’t exactly apples to apples, Pelfrey being a mature 22-
year-old with extensive college experience, he’ll be spending the
bulk of the summer back in the minors, I imagine.]
Stuff
–Talk of steroids continues to dominate the sporting world and
the recent revelations concerning a Spanish investigation that led
to the expulsion of a number of top cyclists from the Tour de
France has also implicated tennis player Rafael Nadal.
Selena Roberts of The New York Times reports:
“The Spanish police raided a suspected doping lab last month
and seized a cache of steroids and blood-doping equipment.
Over the span of four days this week, a French newspaper
reported that Nadal’s name was among the implicated; then the
Spanish ministry responded by clearing up any tennis suspicions;
then Eufemiano Fuentes, a doctor inside cycling’s drug scandal,
appeared to contradict that notion by telling Spanish radio that
tennis was among those sports involved.”
[The French paper also implicated five members of the Real
Madrid football team.]
And then there is the ongoing situation involving Lance
Armstrong. I’m sorry, but if you have any questions about his
guilt or innocence they long should have been cleared up by
now.
Sunday’s Los Angeles Times has a lengthy story on Armstrong,
taking evidence from sworn depositions in a civil suit earlier this
year in a case involving a contract dispute.
As reported by Alan Abrahamson:
“The Times reviewed the files – including thousands of pages of
transcripts, exhibits and other records. They are filled with
conflicting testimony, hearsay and circumstantial evidence
admissible in arbitration hearings but questionable in more
former legal proceedings.
“The record shows no eyewitnesses to Armstrong’s alleged drug
use. And in his own sworn testimony, Armstrong unequivocally
denies that he ever doped. Records also show he has never failed
a competitive drug test….
“Still, the Texas case provides some of the most serious doping
allegations to date and the first on-the-record outlines of a
possible case against one of the most popular athletes in the
United States.
“Among accusations contained in the hearing record were:
“Testimony with new details about tests in 2004 that apparently
detected drugs in Armstrong’s preserved urine samples from the
1999 race.
“An Australian anti-doping researcher told arbitrators that the
samples showed evidence ‘beyond any reasonable doubt’ of a
banned substance: synthetic EPO, or erythropoietin. However, a
Dutch report questioned the tests’ validity and Armstrong, in his
testimony, rejected the findings and denied using EPO.
“Testimony that Armstrong once acknowledged to doctors that
he’d used drugs, what one former teammate called ‘hot sauce.’
[Previously noted in this column.]
“Testimony of some teammates that they discussed with
Armstrong adopting a doping regimen to improve their Tour
competitiveness as early as 1995.
“Allegations of prohibited blood transfusions by members of
Armstrong’s team in 2005.
“Testimony of a secret Armstrong meeting in a parking lot
outside Milan with a controversial Italian doctor who has
publicly defended the safety of a banned drug.”
[Armstrong acknowledged monthly meetings with the doctor but
denied in his testimony that drugs were involved.]
Oh well…that’s the last I write of this. I have my own opinion,
and frankly I’ve been right on these matters. Guilty.
–Stay away from Jennifer Lopez. According to former husband
Ojani Noa, J. Lo casts “voodoo” spells on her lovers. As the
New York Daily News notes, “This isn’t the first time it’s been
alleged that Lopez may have been a devotee of Santeria, or Way
of the Saints.”
–Given the size of J. Lo’s, err, ahh…you know, I wonder how
she feels about the 60th anniversary of the invention of the
bikini? It’s commonly accepted that the modern version was
invented in Paris in 1946.
From Smithsonian magazine:
“Auto engineer Louis Reard, competing with designer Jacques
Heim and his swimsuit, the Atome, names his own skimpy
model after the atom splitting nuclear test at Bikini Atoll. His
slogan? ‘Smaller than the Atome.’”
And now you know…the rest of the tail, err, tale.
–You know who doesn’t look good in a bikini? Just about every
celebrity you can think of, that’s who. Ever skim through the
tabloids?
Now the Sports Illustrated swimsuit girls…there’s a different
breed.
–Satchel Paige’s birth date has always been in question, but the
most commonly accepted one is July 7, 1906, which means he
would have been 100 had he not died over 20 years ago, but he
was indeed 42 when he made his debut with the Cleveland
Indians on July 9, 1948.
Overall, Paige pitched in some 179 big league games, all but one
with Cleveland and the St. Louis Browns, compiling a 28-31
mark with a fine 3.29 ERA. But it was his last effort, in 1965 at
the age of 59, that is rather remarkable. The Kansas City
Athletics allowed him to throw three innings in a game and he
allowed just one hit and no runs.
But back in this space about four years ago, I noted one baseball
expert who said Paige was kind of overrated. Extensive research
of the Negro League records has him with a 155-92 mark; great,
but not nearly as good as those of Big Bill Foster, Ray Brown
and Bullet Joe Hogan. I’ll have to do some follow-up on this,
seeing as I’ve quadrupled my baseball library in the past four
years since first writing that.
–Yankees owner George Steinbrenner turned 76 on the Fourth of
July and it’s kind of sad, actually. There have been persistent
rumors about his health, including Alzheimer’s. One long-time
New York sportswriter, who has been a friend of George’s for
decades, says the Boss hasn’t called him by his name in years
and really doesn’t appear to recognize him. It’s clearly one
reason why Steinbrenner has been so quiet these days.
I’ve always kind of liked the guy. He certainly has made things
interesting around here and it’s amazing to think he bought the
club for just $10 million back in 1973 while today the Yankees
would fetch at least $1 billion.
–Johnny Mac passed along an article he just knew I’d be
interested in about the world’s first beer spa that can be found in
the Czech town of Chodova Plana.
According to ‘Scotland on Sunday’:
“More than 1,000 ‘patients’ have made the pilgrimage in the
three months since the Pivovar Chovar clinic opened.”
The centerpiece of the spa is the opportunity to bath in a tub of
the locally brewed specialty, a dark lager that has as an
ingredient the mineral-rich local spring waters.
“The treatment takes the form of soaking for 20 minutes in a
lukewarm solution of the beer, which is about 2% alcohol – any
stronger and the bather would become intoxicated by the fumes –
and contains crushed herbs.
“Just in case customers develop a thirst, they are treated to a pint
of the real thing while luxuriating in the bath.”
Well I should hope so!
–Eli Saslow had a story in the Washington Post the other day on
basketball prospects, like kids real young…like try 10-years-old.
Justin Jennifer, specifically, a 4’6” point guard. The kid, of
course, has his own private basketball instructor, Don Aaron,
who has done things like outfit him with a weighted vest during
workouts to build upper-body strength.
Scottie Bowden, an Adidas representative, has invested $20,000
in Justin and his teams, providing them with sneakers and travel
money. Goodness gracious. The kid just finished fourth grade,
for crying out loud.
His father, Howard, needless to say pushes Justin to extremes.
“Before they returned home for dinner, Howard told Justin to do
25 pushups…after jumping rope 100 times in a minute…after
making 14 consecutive free throws…after shooting 300 jumpers
…after running up and down 720 more rows of stairs in the
bleachers.”
Meanwhile, back to the Adidas consultant, Bowden, he is one of
“about 50 or 60” in the United States. Each receives around
“$100,000 worth of Adidas equipment and cash each year, he
said. With that he has built the Baltimore Select AAU program,
which has four teams in four age groups.”
Howard, at least confided to reporter Saslow that Bowden’s
money felt like a bribe.
–This item surprised me. After missing the cut at the U.S. Open,
Tiger Woods said he watched the last 36 holes while on his
yacht.
“I watched both days. That was my punishment.”
I only say I was surprised because you almost always hear that
when golfers miss a cut the last thing they do is go home and
watch the rest of the event. Same with athletes in a lot of sports
when they’ve lost a playoff game, for example.
So apologies to our own Dr. Bortrum who asked me on Open
Sunday, “You think Tiger is watching?” “Oh, no, you
kidding?!” I replied with certainty as I sipped a Coors Light.
–The Emmy nominations went out the other day. The biggest
surprise to yours truly was how “The Sopranos” was dissed.
Actually, more accurately, the Sopranos deserved to be because
most would agree it sucked this year. While it still was
nominated for “Best Drama,” only Michael Imperioli was
nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category and there’s
little questioning this one. He was far and away the best of the
cast. “24” should clean up, by the way.
Hey, when is “Curb Your Enthusiasm” coming back?
Incidentally, I’ve been watching every episode of “Deadwood”
and I think it’s better than Season Two. I hope to head back to
the real Deadwood, South Dakota, before year end. Nothing like
the Black Hills to clear the senses. [It’s also a great spot to spend
Halloween, as I learned a few years ago.]
–Just a reminder to my Anchorage friends…dispose of your fish
and wildlife carcasses appropriately in order to prevent bear from
entering residential areas. An e-mail by Billy Finley appears to
have stirred up some debate.
You see, Billy brought home 60 fish from his week in Chitina
and back in Anchorage, “we worked all night cleaning and
packing…ending with 60 fish carcasses…
“So I began to drive around Anchorage looking for a dumpster.”
Billy couldn’t find one and finally snuck into the Spenard
apartment complex and dumped them there, which could have
resulted in death had any neighbors seen him do this. Billy
knows this was wrong, but the better choice would have been to
toss the carcasses in the fast-flowing Copper River up at Chitina.
[You didn’t think I knew all this, did you? ……………OK, I’ll
reveal my source. Craig Medred of the Anchorage Daily News.]
–Tiger’s back, by the way. Great effort by Woods at the
Western Open, and a dramatic 18th hole putt by Trevor Immelman
to win his first PGA title. Woods finished second after a terrible
first round. He’s ready for the British Open. Phil Mickelson, on
the other hand, had three lousy rounds after a strong first.
–And congratulations to 56-year-old Allen Doyle for winning
his second straight U.S. Senior Open; which means he gets a
return berth in the real Open. Doyle missed the cut at Winged
Foot this year by just one shot.
–Great new commercials for Cobra Golf featuring Camilo
Villegas. Very funny…and these will help his Q Ratio
immensely.
–Boy, I can”t stand Jason “HGH” Giambi. What a fraud he is.
–LeBron James is staying in Cleveland for at least another five
years. I couldn’t care less about the guy but I respect him for his
loyalty. I mean to tell ya, ain’t nothing happening in that town!
[Come nightfall, that is.]
–Formula One superstar Juan Pablo Montoya is going to be
racing NASCAR next year! This is big stuff, sports fans. I, for
one, haven’t been following NASCAR closely at all in 2006 but
I’ll be curious to see how Montoya does. I won’t be alone.
–From Rolling Stone: Summer concert ticket sales are weak,
with the exception of Madonna, Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews.
“Tours by Ashlee Simpson and Bruce Springsteen are having
trouble. Simpson, says a concert-industry source, is ‘cold as ice,’
and Springsteen venues such as Chicago’s First Midwest Bank
Amphitheater may have accommodated E Street Band crowds
but were barely half-full for the Seeger Sessions tour.”
Hey, Springsteen’s a big-time jerk. Who gives a damn about
“Puff the Magic Dragon” type crap and listening to folk tunes in
a stadium?!
–Overall, music sales are mixed.
“Sales of music albums in the U.S. declined by 4.2% in the first
half of the year, to 270.6 million units, compared with the same
period a year earlier.” [L.A. Times]
But there has been a 77% increase in digital sales of music
tracks, which ends up being the equivalent of 28 million albums.
So, if you factor these in you actually have a 0.2% increase over
last year.
So far the top five selling albums in 2006 are:
1. “High School Musical” soundtrack
2. “Me and My Gang” (Rascal Flatts)
3. “Back to Bedlam” (James Blunt)
4. “Breakthrough” (Mary J. Blige)
5. “Some Hearts” (Carrie Underwood…she’s cute)
–Nice first weekend for Johnny Depp, eh?
–Steve Lawrence turned 71 the other day, which means it’s time
for my annual note that this is one of the more underrated
entertainers in history. [Aside from being a great singer, he is
also one of the funnier men of his generation, in the humble
opinion of your scribe.] But as I’ve noted in the past, growing up
and watching him on something like “Ed Sullivan” or “Merv
Griffin,” my mother would always say of his wife, Edie Gorme,
“She’s so homely!” [I think Mom had a crush on Steve. I had a
crush on Vikki Carr, of “It Must Be Him” fame.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/14/73: #1 “Will It Go Round In
Circles” (Billy Preston) #2 “Kodachrome” (Paul Simon…
incredibly overrated) #3 “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” (Jim
Croce…couldn’t stand this one) …and…#5 “Give Me Love
(Give Me Peace On Earth)” (George Harrison…still miss this
guy) #8 “Smoke On The Water” (Deep Purple…great air guitar
song for those with little talent…as opposed to “Ain’t Seen
Nuthin’ Yet” by Bachman Turner Overdrive which requires
some ability. Of course the ultimate test for air guitar artistes is
Thin Lizzy’s “Boys Are Back In Town”…which also happens to
be one of the most underrated tunes in the history of music,
including anything Beethoven or Chopin did) #10 “Right Place
Wrong Time” (Dr. John…got tired of him, post-Katrina, but this
particular tune was a quality effort)
Detroit Tigers Quiz Answers: 1) HR, season, left-handed: Norm
Cash, 41, 1961…the year he used a corked bat. 2) Wins, career:
Hooks Dauss, 222-182, 1912-26. If you got this one, pour
yourself an ice-cold frosty…it’s on me. 3) Strikeouts, both
season and career…Mickey Lolich fanned 308 in 1971 and a
club record 2,679 over his career.
Kansas City Royals Quiz Answers: 1) The Royals won their lone
title in 1985. 2) Wins, career: Paul Splittorff, 166-143, 1970-84.
3) HR, season, left-handed: John Mayberry, 34, 1975.
Back to the Tigers, the year they are having is really quite
remarkable (Jim Leyland), especially considering where they’ve
been.
2001…66-96
2002…55-106
2003…43-119
2004…72-90
2005…71-91
2006…59-29
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Merv Griffin! Really!
