Mets v. Braves on YouTube

Last August, there was a brief YouTube sensation with the Mark Teixeira Tribute by TitoandtheGunShow, which is a couple of college students in Alabama who are diehard Atlanta Braves fans. 

The duo returned last week in response to a video reply by a pair of Mets fans entitled John Santana Song (Who the heck is Mark Teixeira?)  Here’s the Mets video first, which is essentially the Mark Teixeira tune with new Mets-centric lyrics:

Creative but not as good as the original Mark Teixeira Tribute.  Want something that’s closer to the original?  Check out the guys reply to the Mets fans entitled Remember when the Mets Choked?  They talk for a bit at the beginning, but you can skip through the opening and go straight to the song.

 If you are interested in more information about the duo, check out their website.

Paul Lukas: Zippers v. Buttons?

I have long been a fan of Paul Lukas work on Uni Watch, which is a site dedicated to “the obsessive study of athletics aesthetics.”  In other words, it focuses on what players are wearing in each sport.  He’s known for copious amounts of links to pictures describing what he is discussing. 

In his lastest national piece for ESPN, he examines the button for zipper uniform debate.  Never realized jerseys had zippers for many years?  Me neither.  Its hard to believe this occurred for so long, but once you read Lukas story and pictures on the subject, you may come to the same conclusion I did.  Zippers, although strange looking at first, may actually make for a better jersey. 

I do think it may have something to do with breath-ability with polyester jerseys as the button models do allow for more ventilation.  The instances with balls falling in jerseys is an exception not the rule.  Check out his piece Fasten Your Jerseys.

Clips to Click: Saturday, May 31st

Clips of the Day:

•  Rose’s edge would not have precluded steroids by Bob Ford, Philadelphia Inquirer

Clips to Click:

• The Diplomat Who Touches All the Bases By Thomas Boswell, Washington Post
• Twins focus on speed over power by Jim Souhan, Minneapolis Star Tribune
• Time’s up for Orioles’ spring home by Dave Hyde, Sun-Sentinel
• Waiting still part of game for D.C. fans by Dick Heller, Washington Times
• Vizquel? Well, don’t sell this shortstop short by Paul Gutierrez, Sacramento Bee

Baseball Beat: Friday, May 30th

Here is the rundown for the Friday, May 30th edition of Baseball Beat with Charley Steiner live from New York City.  All times Eastern.

1:05 p.m.
Guest: Tim Kurkjian, ESPN
1:25 p.m.
Guest: Jack Curry, New York Times
1:45 p.m.
Guest: Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News (Rangers Beat)
2:05 p.m.
Guest: Buck Martinez, Host, Baseball This Morning; Broadcaster, MLB on TBS
2:25 p.m.
Guest: Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe
2:45 p.m.
Baseball Beat Disc Jockey

Guest Summaries:
Kurkjian discussed national headlines including the SportsCentering of baseball with more young players celebrating on the field, Tampa Bay Rays proving they are for real in the second month of the season, and how parity’s impact on the game is helping small market teams succeed. Curry discussed the New York Mets including Joe Torre’s return to New York with the Los Angeles Dodgers last night at Shea Stadium, belief Willie Randolph should continue managing as the team will turn around, and how Randolph is finally relaxing a bit after a difficult time last week. Grant discussed the Texas Rangers including how the players meeting turned the team around, offense has surged behind patience at the plate, and Josh Hamilton’s talent finally making him one of the best players in baseball. Martinez discussed the national headlines including his broadcast of the Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies game on Sunday MLB on TBS, Hanley Ramirez as one of the best young players in the game, Charlie Manuel as an underrated manager, and Tampa Bay Rays for real. Cafardo discussed the Boston Red Sox including Daisuke Matsuzaka’s injury and the club’s road woes.

Baseball Beat Disc Jockey:
During the final segment, we had the first (and only) Baseball Beat Disc Jockey segment with Charley playing songs and telling stories about some of his favorite tunes.

Tunes Summary:
1:25 p.m.
New York Groove by Kiss
1:45 p.m.
Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic
2:25 p.m.
Tumblin’ Dice by Rolling Stones
2:45 p.m.
All the Time in the World by The Subdudes
Giving It Up for Your Love by Delbert McClinton
Up on Cripple Creek by The Band
Telephone Line by Electric Light Orchestra
Stay by Maurice Williams & the Zodiac

Book Plug:

• 100 Things Red Sox Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die by Nick Cafardo, Dave Roberts (Foreword)

Updated: 3:41 p.m.

Clips to Click: Friday, May 30th

Clips of the Day:

•  Instant replays wouldn’t be a drag on baseball, but TV ads are by Paul Hagen, Philadelphia Daily News

Clips to Click:

• Hitting .400 isn’t last crusade for Atlanta’s accomplished Jones by Paul White, USA Today
• Pitching coaches need knowledge, not talent by Bill Conlin, Philadelphia Daily News
• ‘K’s’ are OK in today’s game by Tim Sullivan, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Cox’s respect and desire have never left by Tracy Ringolsby, FOXSports.com
• Yankee Stadium: The Pull Of The Porch by Dom Amore, Hartford Courant
• Roped into watching another losing streak by Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star
• There’s method to La Russa’s lineup madness by Jeff Gordon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• For Indians, numbers are numbing by Patrick McManamon, Akron Beacon Journal
• Next month offers a chance to dream by Ray Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle
• U2: They’re unbelievable & unstoppable by Mike Berardino, Sun-Sentinel

Press Release: Curve puts off Procrastination Night

Minor League Baseball has long been known for it’s creative promotions.  Recently, the creativity associated with many club’s press releases have been fantastic. 

The Altoona Curve put out the following press release on Wednesday:

Curve puts off Procrastination Night

05/28/2008 6:46 PM ET

Altoona Curve

ALTOONA- The Altoona Curve, Minor League Baseball’s champions of fun, light-hearted ballpark theme nights announced this spring that it was planning a “Salute to Procrastination Night” at Blair County Ballpark, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A club.

Today, the team is announcing that the promotion is still planned for sometime before September 1st, but that meetings to discuss the details of the event have been repeatedly put off until a later date.

“We’ve admittedly hit the snooze button several times when it comes to planning the details of our Salute to Procrastination Night, but we’ll get to it soon enough.” said Curve General Manager Todd “Parney” Parnell. “When we finally sit down to sketch out this promotion you can bet it will be worth the wait.”

The Curve’s summer college interns, the club’s resident experts in putting off projects until a later date, will be very involved in the planning process for the promotion, but the group has asked for more time to work on the details, thus illustrating a popular form of procrastination known as “Student Syndrome”.

To read the rest of the release, go to the following link.

Baseball Beat: Thursday, May 29th

Here is today’s rundown for the Thursday, May 29th edition of Baseball Beat.  Charley Steiner is traveling with the Los Angeles Dodgers today, so Holden Kushner will be hosting live from Washington, D.C.  All times Eastern.

1:05 p.m.
Guest: Gerry Fraley, Sporting News
1:25 p.m.
Guest: Rob Bradford, Boston Herald (Red Sox Beat)
1:45 p.m.
Guest: Adam Rubin, New York Daily News (Mets Beat)
2:05 p.m.
Guest: Albert Chen, Sports Illustrated
2:25 p.m.
Guest: Kevin Modesti, Los Angeles Daily News
2:45 p.m.
Guest: Dick Kaegel, MLB.com (Royals Beat)

Guest Summaries:
Fraley discussed national headlines including his belief the Philadelphia Phillies should not sign Ryan Howard long-term, reasons for Tampa Bay Rays turnaround, how much blame should Joe Girardi take in the New York Yankees struggles, and competitive Toronto Blue Jays with the best rotation in baseball. Bradford discussed the Boston Red Sox including the club’s still battling jetlag from Japan, Daisuke Matsuzka’s injury, lack of success on the road, and how the club is looking for arms. Rubin discussed the New York Mets including last night’s comeback victory, Omar Minaya’s spotty track record, focus on Carlos Delgado future, Joe Torre’s return to New York this weekend, and Pedro Martinez’s latest rehab start. Hamilton discussed his Sports Illustrated cover story on John Hamilton including his dramatic story of redemption, willingness to discuss his torrid past, whether he received preferential treatment in Cincinnati, and how his defense gets overlooked. Modesti discussed his article entitled Youngsters removing asterisk from baseball including his belief that drugs will always be a part of the game. Kaegel discussed the Kansas City Royals including the current ten game losing streak, Jose Guillen’s post-game comments directed at the younger players, and the young rotation.

Updated: 2:58 p.m.

Clips to Click: Thursday, May 29th

Clip of the Day:

• Young pitchers benefit from drug crackdown by Ken Fidlin, Toronto Sun

Clips to Click:

• Buzz up! D’backs have shown how to build through draft by Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
• Rays lead in standings, trail in attendance by Gary Shelton, St. Petersburg Times
• Willie Should Follow Instincts, Like Torre by Kevin Kernan, New York Post
• Harsh reality hitting home for Rox by Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
• Morneau’s hitting helps show critics Twins can contend by Sid Hartman, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Videos of Note

• Here’s video of a great story from Buck Showalter on ESPN Baseball Tonight recently about an unassisted, untouched triple play that occurred during the spring of 1985 in a New York Yankees spring training game. 
• An interesting story came across the wire today.  The Associated Press reported Major League Baseball has ordered a Little League in Chicago using club team names to cease and desist.  The legal basis was the Chicago league was not paying license fees necessary to use the team names.  See the AP video here.

Baseball Beat: Wednesday, May 28th

Here is today’s rundown for the Wednesday, May 28th edition of Baseball Beat with Charley Steiner live from Chicago, Illinois. All times Eastern.

1:05 p.m.
Guest: Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
1:25 p.m.
Guest: Mark Feinsand, New York Daily News (Yankees Beat)
1:45 p.m.
Guest: Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Brewers Beat)
2:05 p.m.
Guest: Lynn Henning, Detroit News
2:25 p.m.
Guest: Bill Brown, Broadcaster, Houston Astros
2:45 p.m.
Guest: Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati Enquirer

Guest Summaries:
Passan discussed national headlines including his piece on Major League Baseball’s reasons for trying to shorten game length being related to money, championships can longer be bought in baseball, possibly the greatest influx of young talent in baseball, Clayton Kershaw’s debut and his recent piece on him. Feinsand discussed the New York Yankees including struggling rotation, Ian Kennedy’s injury last night, Joba Chamberlain possibly starting next week, Robinson Cano coming around, and Jorge Posada expected to return in June. Haudricourt discussed the Milwaukee Brewers including the club’s struggles, Ned Yost in trouble, and Bill Hall’s demotion in playing time. Henning discussed the Detroit Tigers including the continued malaise and struggles to win, surprising offensive outage, regretful trade with the Atlanta Braves in the off-season, Jim Leyland taking the heat from the fans for the team’s failures this season, and major contract issues for the club long-term. Brown discussed the Houston Astros including their surprising success with their pitching staff, Hunter Pence’s continued development, Lance Berkman having a career year, and if the club can continue to compete in the National League Central. Daugherty discussed the Cincinnati Reds including Jay Bruce’s debut last night, belief that Cincinnati could keep Corey Patterson even though he was demoted to AAA, whether Bruce coming up is officially the start of the Walt Jocketty era, and if the Reds can trade Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn.

Tunes Summary:
1:25 p.m.
Shaky Ground by The Temptations
1:45 p.m.
Dang Me by Roger Miller
2:25 p.m.
Getting Better by The Beatles
2:45 p.m.
Perfect Fit by Van Morrison

Updated: 2:58 p.m.