Baseball Quiz: [Saw this list in USA TODAY] Name the 14 franchises of the Expansion Era. Who are the three with the best winning percentages in their history? [None are .500 or better.] Answer below.
The Masters…a tradition unlike any other
And ain’t that the truth. How do you begin to describe the final round of the 2011 edition? It was simply as fascinating, and drama-packed, as you can get with on the back nine a good ten golfers that could have jumped out and grabbed the green jacket. As it was it ended:
Charl Schwartzel -14
Adam Scott -12
Jason Day -12
Tiger Woods -10
Geoff Ogilvy -10
Luke Donald -10
Angel Cabrera -9
Brad Van Pelt -8
K.J. Choi -8
But the above is highly deceiving, and will be for the casual historian who looks at it 25 or 50 years from now. All of the above either held or were just one stroke behind the lead on the back nine. Schwartzel, a 26-year-old South African, grabbed the tournament by the balls and birdied the final four holes.
As for 54- and 63-hole leader Rory McIlroy, what a great kid and class act. The 21-year-old folded on the last nine holes, though, and after entering the final round with a 4-stroke lead, shot 80 and finished 10 back.
But here’s the big takeaway from what is consistently one of the top 2 or 3 sporting events of the year, including Super Bowls and World Series.
The sport of golf has never been in better shape in my lifetime. There is so much, likeable talent out there that us followers of the sport have a lot to look forward to.
Even though the European golfers in particular seem determined to support their own tour and thus limit their U.S. appearances, there should be at least three or four genuinely exciting young guns at virtually every PGA Tour event in the coming years. To have Tiger and Phil around only makes it that much better.
Speaking of Tiger, yes, he’s a real jerk but you saw this weekend how it’s still nice to have him near the top of the leaderboard. The better he plays the more excitement there is and whether you like it or not, it would be good for golf if he’d win a few in the next 12 months.
It would also be good if one of the young guns would win more than one or two events and really grab the headlines as well. As much as some of us disliked Tiger, since he burst on the scene for real in 1997, the sport has been ten times more fun to follow than the incredibly dreary period of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
So take charge, Rory…or Jason…or Charl…or Adam…or Dustin…
And just a note on sports in general. Think about the excitement on Saturday and Sunday at Augusta and compare it to the Big Four sports these days.
The NFL is in a lockout, the NHL hasn’t been exciting for the bulk of its fans (me included) since the 1960s-1980s, the NBA couldn’t suck more, and Major League Baseball has big time issues.
In fact in all seriousness, I know it’s been less than 10 days for the 2011 baseball season, but I get the sense it’s going to totally blow.
What baseball needs are some real record chasers. It needs someone like Ichiro to make a legitimate run at .400 (in his case he appears to be well past his prime at this point). In this post-steroids era (we assume), it needs a hitter or pitcher to just do something so entirely extraordinary it captures the attention of the casual fan. Believe me, I’m not just saying this because my Mets suck. It’s April 11 and I can’t find any reason to get super excited about the sport in general.
Oh, I’ll generate some excitement…I have to come up with material, after all…but ask me if I really care right now.
Manny Being Manny
After testing positive yet again for performance-enhancing drugs, Manny Ramirez retired from baseball. He evidently tested positive during spring training and was recently informed of the result. The commissioner’s office said it had notified Ramirez “of an issue under Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.”
Ramirez had signed as a free agent with Tampa Bay in January but was just 1 for 17 to start the season. Manny faced a 100-game suspension from MLB for his second PED offense. The first time was 2009 while with the Dodgers and Manny got 50 games then. A third failure results in a lifetime ban.
“Early in the week, the Rays noticed Ramirez had transformed from bubbly to withdrawn, and on Wednesday the slugger requested to leave the team to take care of child custody issues. The Rays didn’t learn why Ramirez truly left until Friday.”
So Manny ends a 19-year career that saw him put up some of the biggest offensive numbers in the history of the game. 555 homers, 1,831 RBI, and a .312 lifetime average. But the last few years we’ve now learned he was cheating big time There is absolutely no way he gets voted into the Hall of Fame.
“You don’t have to be a nice guy or even a moral one to be in Cooperstown.
“Yet, in an era where Hall of Fame voters are trying to decide whether to permit players who took steroids or violated the game’s drug policy, they are now presented with a new challenge: Voting for an idiot….
“It’s one thing to get caught using steroids or human growth hormone. But when you know you’ll be subjected to additional drug testing, and still try to beat the system, you’re, well, an idiot, and not the affectionate kind the 2004 Red Sox, including Ramirez, called themselves.
“Ramirez may have been one of the greatest right-handed hitters of our generation….He was one of the most feared hitters in the game.
“Yes, I voted for Rafael Palmeiro for the Hall of Fame. I don’t care what the court rules in the Barry Bonds trial, I’m voting for him. Roger Clemens also gets the nod. Same for Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa. They were caught using steroids or have overwhelming evidence of their drug use in an era when such violations were widespread in the game. It was almost an even playing field.
“Maybe he felt he had to cheat again to recreate the magic in Tampa? Maybe he wanted to prove to the baseball world that he was worth more than the $2 million the Rays signed him for during the winter?
“What we do know is that he quietly retired, letting MLB actually make the announcement….
“As Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker said, ‘That’s a shame really. The numbers he had he was headed to the Hall.’
“The guy was likeable and playful. The last time I saw him, he sprayed cologne on me last summer, perhaps wanting me to smell a little better while walking around the clubhouse.
“But that’s the definition of a con man, right? They fool you into believing they’re someone else. Now the act is over.
“Ramirez will never have to fool anyone again in baseball.”
“I don’t know what Manny Ramirez’s ‘drug-related issue’ was, but I’m guessing he did not test positive for excessive brain cells. Ramirez isn’t any worse than a lot of guys who juiced – but they are smarter than he is.
“Ramirez is running from Major League Baseball’s drug-testing cops, the first time anybody can remember him running anywhere. He is doing so in a fit of idiocy….
“If you really think about this, which Ramirez clearly did not, it is dumb on several levels. Ramirez was on his last chance – with the public, if not with baseball. The last time he tested positive, Ramirez had a good excuse: He was trying to give birth to a baby panda. I think that’s what he said. I could be wrong. Whatever he said, it was a ridiculous excuse. Generally, Americans will buy one ridiculous excuse. But two? Forget it.
“Also: How do you get caught twice by the testing system? I mean, baseball is pretty clear about what they test for. If you have a way around the system, morality aside, then at least there is some logic to what you’re doing. But if you get caught twice, maybe you should read the label on the bottles a little more closely….
“And that’s the amazing thing about Manny. He had less to gain and more to lose than almost anybody else in baseball. He has already made more than $200 million. He has played for two World Series champions. The first positive test was part of his legacy, but it didn’t have to define him. He could have sold people on the idea that he made a mistake late in his career, regretted it and learned from it.
“Not anymore. Now he looks like he couldn’t play without steroids. I suppose he could argue that the bulk of his accomplishments came before he tested positive, but who would buy it? He hit 347 home runs before Major League Baseball instituted mandatory drug-testing…and 208 after. Who would believe that he was clean when he wasn’t being tested, and dirty when he was? Not even Manny is that dumb.”
As for our final EXCLUSIVE look at the first week of the 2011 baseball season and revised projections of where teams and individuals will finish up, let’s start with some of the team action.
Bar Chat can officially project that the Boston Red Sox will not make the playoffs and finish 10-152. Carl Crawford, he of the mammoth $120 million contract for the BoSox, will hit .128 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI.
Tampa Bay will be another huge disappointment and win just 16 while losing 146.
But the Texas Rangers, currently 8-1, will go a rather astounding 155-7. However, slugger Nelson Cruz, who last week I had targeted for 88 home runs and 91 RBI, will indeed hit 88 out but still drive in just 97.
The huge surprise in the American League, however, is undoubtedly the 7-2 Cleveland Indians. We’ve been cranking our computers all weekend and, when you include our EXCLUSIVE exit polling of ticket takers and concessionaries at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we can now say with certainty that the Chief Wahoo-led Indians will finish 139-22 (one rainout not made up). Staggering, I think you’d agree.
In the National League, we can say with certainty that the now 7-2 Phillies will finish 153-9 as both the hitting and pitching get white hot, while my Mets, now 4-5, will still just win 15 all year, but now we project they will only play a 159-game schedule, not 162, out of total indifference the last few days of the season. So 15-144 it is. At one of the last Mets home games in September, the announced crowd of 8,200 will actually be six.
Just a few others. Bar Chat can project with certainty that Arizona’s Miguel Montero, currently 13-for-26, will hit .476. I didn’t believe it when the computer spit this out either. But I trust our crack staff and the technology that no one else has to come up with predictions you can bet your life, and home, on.
Jayson Werth, who signed a multi-year deal for $120 million-something with Washington, is hitting .200 with one homer and one RBI. Bar Chat can officially project that for the season Werth will hit .183 with 3 homers and 11 RBI. To say the least not what the Nats expected.
Lastly, Albert Pujols, who had a glowing piece on “60 Minutes” Sunday, but is nonetheless hitting .143 with one homer and 4 RBI after nine games, will finish the year at .159, 7 home runs and 21 RBI. It’s safe to say Albert won’t get the $30 million a year he is seeking in a long-term deal and instead will be lucky to stick on a big league roster in 2012 at the major league minimum.
Uh Oh
Some of the headlines on Sunday following the Bar Chat Triple Crown Pony, Uncle Mo’s, appearance in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
“Surprise Contender for Kentucky Derby Bursts Out of Pack to Win Wood Memorial”
“In a monumental upset, formerly undefeated Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo shortened stride through the stretch at Aqueduct and was overtaken by Arthur’s Tale and Toby’s Corner to finish third as the overwhelming 1-9 choice in yesterday’s Grade 1, $1 million Wood Memorial.”
As Fountaine added, “At least Mo saved the bridge-jumpers, who bet $885,877 to show on him from a total pool of $971,561.”
Seeing as I’ve already laid out $6.2 million on Mo winning the Triple Crown, this is more than a bit discouraging, and downright depressing.
Uncle Mo, in finishing third, was tired, not surging at the end. But Secretariat finished third in the Wood! It’s true. So despite the finish, Mo is still heading to the Derby.
— Carl Jackson caddied in his 50th Masters this week, on Ben Crenshaw’s bag. The two have teamed together since ’76. Jackson has some stories, to say the least. For instance, I forgot that in May 1970, Augusta had a race riot that saw six black men killed by the police. Following is a story Jackson gave Sports Illustrated.
“In May 1978 Jack Stephens told me to call the golf shop and tell the club pros that he and I wanted to play them in a match. Instead I went over to the shop and asked the co-head pros, Bob Kletcke and Dave Spencer, if they wanted to play. Spencer said, ‘Hell, no, I’m not going out there!’ So now people in the office were already on the phone trying to get in touch with Hord Hardin, the chairman of the club, to let him know that Mr. Stephens was about to let me play as his guest. I went back over to Mr. Stephen’s cottage and told him that Kletcke and Mike Shannon, the assistant pro, were going to play with us. I said to Mr. Stephens that the office was trying to call Hord Hardin, and Mr. Stephens said, ‘F— ‘em.’ We went to the 1st tee, and every employee of the club and caddie came over to watch us tee off. It was such a proud day for the caddies. I was the last to tee off. I hit my drive over the bunker on the right, and the caddies roared like crazy.”
Jack Nicklaus this week on Tiger Woods and his pursuit of Nicklaus’ record-18 majors:
“I assume that he’ll get his focus back on what he’s doing, and he will probably pass my record. But then the last part, I always say about it is he’s still got to do it.
“If you look at what he’s got to do, he’s still got to win five more, and that’s more than a career for anybody else playing.”
–Duke’s Kyrie Irving is indeed entering the NBA draft after playing less than half of one season. Coach K said:
“Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA. We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision.”
What a total crock! Sure, Krzyzewski knew originally he’d only have Irving one year, but with Kyrie’s injury you would have thought the kid would stick around one more. And ‘overjoyed’? Hardly. Duke choked and didn’t get to the Final Four even with Irving back in the fold in the NCAA tourney. So the kid joins seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith in bidding adieu to Durham.
—Charles Barkley, to SI’s Dan Patrick:
“After analyzing college basketball for Turner and CBS throughout the tournament, Charles Barkley feels there’s not one freshman good enough to go straight to the NBA. Barkley wants to abolish the current one-and-done rule and require players to stay in college longer. ‘It’s ruining the NBA,’ Barkley said. ‘The draft is designed for bad teams to get better, not to draft someone who’s going to be better in five years. It ruins the integrity of the game.’”
That’s a great point… “not to draft someone who’s going to be better in five years.” Can you say (again) Wake Forest’s Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeff Teague and James Johnson?
–But…while a recent CBSSports.com piece had John Henson of North Carolina going out two years early for the draft, both Henson and fellow sophomore big man Tyler Zeller said they are staying, not leaving, and while Harrison Barnes is going to wait a few more days before giving his decision, there are as many reports saying he is staying as those saying he is leaving. If Barnes stays, coupled with the return of Zeller and Henson, North Carolina goes undefeated next season and runs the table.
1. North Carolina
2. Ohio State
3. Duke…Austin Rivers is coming in
4. Syracuse
5. Kentucky
6. Kansas
7. Florida
8. Butler…if Shelvin Mack comes back
9. Pitt
10. Wisconsin
–Congratulations to Minnesota-Duluth, which won its first NCAA hockey championship in defeating Michigan, 3-2 in overtime. I didn’t realize the school also won the Division II football championship last fall. Might have to order me some Bulldogwear, know what I’m sayin’?
–I can’t believe the New York Rangers slid into the playoffs in the manner they did. First, on Saturday afternoon they had to beat the Devils, which they did, 5-2. But then they had to watch four hours later for Tampa Bay to beat Carolina, 6-2. If Carolina had won, they, not the Rangers, would have gotten in.
–The New York Times’ William C. Rhoden once again lashes out against the white man.
“The trial of Barry Bonds has always been more than a simple case of pursuing a bad guy and proving that he lied. The chase and the subsequent trial have been as much about a baseball era driven by vanity and greed, and fueled by performance-enhancing drugs.
“But the eight-year pursuit of Bonds also reflects America’s discomfort with prominent, powerful, wealthy black men.”
“The claim that (Bonds) lied to a federal grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative steroids scandal is not the sole reason the government so vigorously prosecuted him on perjury charges. As his lawyer Allen Ruby told the jury that is deciding Bonds’ fate in federal court in San Francisco, part of the reason is that ‘he was Barry.’
“Bonds was being himself: a self-centered, spoiled brat who embraced entitlement wrought by fame, wealth and being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was Bobby Bonds; his godfather is Willie Mays. As the most talented player of his generation, Bonds played by his own rules and forced the news media to abide by them as well.”
So Rhoden interviewed some African-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area last week and one of them, Namon Lewis, a consultant who advises a number of black athletes, said:
“Blacks don’t necessarily love Bonds, but they will fight to the death to protect him. The attitude is that the government is trying to cut him down to size. They don’t want Bonds to be the prominent figure in baseball history.”
We don’t want baseball’s record book destroyed by a cheater, that’s why some of us want to see Barry punished!
—April 11, 1961…50 years ago today…The Los Angeles Angels played their first game ever and defeated the Baltimore Orioles, in Baltimore, 7-2, as Ted Kluszewski and Bob Cerv homered in the first inning. The winning pitcher was Eli Grba, who was 28-33 in his career. The Angels lost their next game and the losing pitcher was Jerry Casale, who back in 1959 was 13-8 for Boston and hit 3 home runs. But Casale was only 17-24 for his career. Actually, it’s Gennaro Joseph Casale of Brooklyn. The Angels, after winning their opener, proceeded to lose eight in a row but finished a respectable 70-91 for their first season.
The above is from an article by Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times that I will be referring to a bit these next few weeks, including another look back at Bo Belinsky, who squired the likes of Ann-Margret and Mamie Van Doren (and one of my favorites, Connie Stevens…ooh baby).
–Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner threw out the first pitch for the team’s opening day on Friday. It’s just incredible to think he is now in his 50th year of broadcasting, a Met original. Ralph, who still works an occasional weekend game when the team is home, is 88 years young. On Friday Kiner described his first interview at the Polo Grounds in 1962 with Casey Stengel.
“We were talking on the field. We had Casey hooked up with a microphone, and he walked away without taking everything off. Well, he pulled the set down and everything collapsed while we were on camera. It wasn’t the best way to begin my career.”
–Estimated cost of operating Tiger Woods’ yacht, Privacy, that he recently put up for sale for $25 million…$2 million a year. Reportedly it has a permanent crew of 13. [Sports Illustrated]
–The great director Sidney Lumet died. He was 86. All of his obituaries mention the same great works in the opening line – “12 Angry Men,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Verdict,” and “Network,” but while I loved “Serpico” and “Dog Day…” in particular, I forgot Lumet also directed one of the great flicks of all time, “Fail Safe.”
Sidney Lumet, who loved New York and died in his Manhattan home, once wrote:
“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”
But for all his great work, Lumet never won an Oscar for directing. Finally, in 2005, the Academy gave him a fake one.
–[WARNING: Some of the following may be offensive to some of you…but all I’m doing is passing on a piece from David Hinckley of the Daily News concerning comedian Colin Quinn’s new one-man comedy show on Broadway.]
“(Quinn) proves you don’t need a barrage of sex riffs or four-letter words to make audiences laugh.
“It also proves you don’t need sex riffs or four-letter words to make audiences gasp in mild shock that ‘he really said that.’
“ ‘Long Story Short’ is not for the ethnically sensitive.
“Quinn jokes that in the eyes of 19th-century Europe, Africa was ‘like six Brooklyn high schools letting out at the same time.’
“He jokes that ‘Shalom’ means both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ because Jews always expect that right after they arrive somewhere, they will be kicked out.
“He jokes that Muslims do their public image no favor by prostrating themselves in their daily worship. ‘They pray like they’re expecting an explosion. Everybody get down!’”
But it seems he distributes the barbs evenly over his 90-minute show.
“The running theme of ‘Long Story Short’ is that people haven’t changed in the whole course of human history. We’ve changed leaders, shifted the power axis and invented Bluetooth, but essentially, Quinn argues, we’re the same selfish jerks we’ve always been.
“To illustrate his point, he goes back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Caesar, he suggests, was essentially running Rome as a protection racket, shaking down his subjects for ‘tribute.’ When the game finally ran its course, they burned the city to the ground ‘for the insurance money.’”
–My high school alma mater, Summit, won its state-record 49th straight lacrosse game. As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad…not bad at all.’
–You know what looks like it might have potential? HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” a new mini-series fantasy that is “Lord of the Rings”-like. It was filmed in Belfast, as well as Malta, I just read, and HBO seems committed to at least two seasons of about 10-episodes each (10 for the first season, at least, starting next Sunday, April 17). The series is based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” books (haven’t read them…in fact I just have no time to read books anymore…which really sucks).
“Marine researchers are reporting the discovery of a previously unknown breeding ground for great white sharks in the Gulf of California.”
“Sharks born in this ‘nursery,’ encompassing less than 60 square miles of seawater, join others cruising up and down the West Coast of the U.S., if they survive to adulthood.”
The above is the very reason why I made sure on my recent trip down the California coast from San Francisco to San Diego that I always stayed on the road.
–Then again, how can I be such a wimp when Director of Shark Attacks, Bob S., passed along a story of the 85-year-old British sailor who just completed a two-month journey across the Atlantic on a raft.
Anthony Smith of London said upon arriving in St. Maarten, “Some people say it was mad. But it wasn’t mad. What else do you do when you get on in years?”
Smith did have three friends with him on the journey. As noted in the AP:
“The raft was built with four water supply pipes nearly 40 feet long, and 14 cross pipes. Seven pipes held the crew’s fresh water supply. The raft also had a nearly 40-foot long mast and a 400-square-foot sail.”
One crew member said a whale played alongside the raft one day, “and a school of mahi-mahi followed the raft almost the entire journey.”
First off, I can’t believe the whale didn’t swallow them, but someone needs to tell the crew that there isn’t such a thing as mahi-mahi. It’s been a plot cooked up by the restaurant industry. It’s really crappie.
–I liked a bit in Sports Illustrated where it asked football fans what they’d do if there was no NFL season (or one with replacement players…which you would never catch me watching; 63% of those polled, however, said they would).
“If the (season is canceled), what will you do with the money you might have spent on game tickets, fantasy fees and/or pay-TV packages?”
Some of the comments: “I’m sure my wife will think of something,” “fix up my truck,” “take my kids to Disney World”….but my No. 1 is “enjoy better beers.”
–Bloomberg Businessweek has a bit on Ommegang Abbey Ale, brewed in Cooperstown, N.Y. I’ve never checked the brewery out in my trips to the Hall of Fame but will have to do so next time.
But speaking of craft beers, in 1980, 26,470 barrels of the stuff were sold. Last year, that figure was nearly 10 million.
Meanwhile, Gary, my Beer Man, was already out of Shiner Bock this weekend so he recommended I try Yuengling Bock (Yuengling being the No. 2 domestic in my mind to Shiner) and it’s darn tasty. [But Johnny Mac, I still prefer Yuengling Lager….Johnny being a generous friend who hails from Yuengling country.]
“Bedbugs have invaded the men’s locker room at the Reebok Sports Club,” a rather high-end place in Manhattan.
–Forgot to mention I saw a review of Ice-T’s book, “Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption – from South Central to Hollywood,” and the reviewer, Susannah Cahalan of the New York Post has this passage, in case some of you still doubt Ice and I went to elementary school together.
“Born in Newark in 1958, (Tracy) Marrow and his parents relocated to the upscale, mostly white suburb of Summit, N.J. Although Ice-T says he didn’t experience overt racism in the town, he says he did see the ugly side of suburbia, although he was ‘light-skinned’ enough to ‘pass’ like his mother, whom he believes was Creole.”
I did forget that he lost both parents (I distinctly remember his mother) to heart attacks within four years, which is how he ended up in South Central.
And at least at my elementary school, there was zero racism. Summit was a great place to grow up. Not sure I’d say the same as a kid today, though.
Top 3 songs for the week 4/12/69: #1 “Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension…ooo…Marilyn McCoo) #2 “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (Blood, Sweat & Tears) #3 “Dizzy” (Tommy Roe)…and…#4 “Galveston” (Glen Campbell…the older I get the more I like this one, though “Wichita Lineman” remains No. 1 among the Jimmy Webb tunes) #5 “Time Of The Season” (The Zombies…incredibly underrated group) #6 “Only The Strong Survive” (Jerry Butler…incredibly underrated artist) #7 “It’s Your Thing” (The Isley Brothers…I do a great “Harvest For The World” as long as I’ve had three beers) #8 “Hair” (The Cowsills…great opening drum riff) #9 “Run Away Child, Running Wild” (The Temptations) #10 “Twenty-Five Miles” (Edwin Starr)
Baseball Quiz Answer: The 14 expansion franchises, their first year, and overall winning percentage as of Thursday. You can see the three with the highest winning percentages.
Los Angeles Angels, 1961, .498
Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, 1961, .472
New York Mets, 1962, .478
Houston Astros, 1962, .497
Kansas City Royals, 1969, .482
Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers, 1969, .474
San Diego Padres, 1969, .464
Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, 1969, .474
Toronto Blue Jays, 1977, .497
Seattle Mariners, 1977, .468
Florida Marlins, 1993, .479
Colorado Rockies, 1993, .478
Arizona Diamondbacks, 1998, .491
Tampa Bay Rays, 1998, .437
Next Bar Chat, Thursday
