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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 4, 2011 12:25:20 GMT -5
Who knows is right. I'm rooting for the Yankees but with A.J. Burnett pitching, who knows which pitcher will show up? If A.J. is on, he is a top pitcher, but if he's not, head for the hills. Incidentally, usually the Yankees last 3 inning pitchers are lights out. Soriano didn't come through yesterday, but could very well do so today. And Robertson is an All-Star and Mariano - ah, there's the king of them all - 604 saves, the all-time leader and still going strong.
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 4, 2011 16:18:53 GMT -5
While I want the Tigers to win, I'm torn between wanting a see-saw game or a blowout. Probably, a hard fought back and forth struggle of wills, management and talent would be the best for everyone and the game itself. Epic struggles are thrilling and terrifying at the same time. But with a game in the bag, a Tiger's loss wouldn't be the end of ends but another opportunity for Fister to pitch in NY. Hopefully he has recovered from the exercise of his last outing. Mike Illich also owns the Detroit Red Wings and the Joe Louis arena is only a mile or so away from Comerica Park. Inside the Joe, is a hyparbaric chamber which with the help of more oxygen helps cure injuries to the hockey players. That might speed up a pitchers energy for pitching games without the usual amount of rest. I don't know if the Tigers use it but they could. I'm getting pumped for the game tonite. Rather than cooking dinner, I'll go down the road a few miles and pick up a Lil Ceasars Pizza, which is the Illich families source of wealth so he could buy both teams. Mike Illich is a remarkable man. He was raised in Detroit in a normal working class family. Had a tryout with the Tigers but wasn't good enough, then started a pizza shop and built it into an empire. He has done more to restore the city than anyone. He bought a run down decrepit Fox theater and spent millions bringing back to it's previous elegance. Now it is the heart of the entertainment area of the city. Everything Mike Illich does is first class, the Tigers, the Redwings, Comerica Park, the Fox Theater and his pizza. The people around here owe him a lot. Ironically he bought the Tigers from another pizza mogul, Tom Monahan of Dominos fame. He was the owner when the Tigers won their last World Series but had nothing to do with their success. That was done before he bought them. He never did anything to improve the team or the city. He has Domino Farms way out in a suburb. They put up impressive Christmas decorations each year and that's about it for all I know. I never had one of Domino's pizzas so I don't know if it is good, bad or ordinary. Illich also created the marketing idea of the Hot and Ready which is a 5 dollar pizza, available all the time they are open. They also sell a deep dish for 7 bucks. That just knocked the socks off every pizza joint in town who were charging up to 20 bucks for a pizza. All of them had to drop their prices to stay in business. It actually only costs about a dollar to make a pizza so they were all trying to become empires themselves. Now the odds of vast wealth is much greater and the Detroit Lions shot at being bought by a more competent owner is diminished. Pity.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 4, 2011 22:59:53 GMT -5
10-1 Yankee win. And now back to Yankee Stadium and Fister v. Nova again. Two great teams going head to head - there's nothing better. One thing that surprised me was not bringing in Robertson and Mariano tonight to get some work in and be sharp for tomorrow. And A.J. Burnett has proved himself so that he'll pitch in the next series if the Yankees win tomorrow. P.S. I've had Domino's Pizza and its pretty good. Their competition around here is Pizza Hut which is good too. I've never had Caeasar's.
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 5, 2011 1:13:12 GMT -5
Oh the Humanity! Tigers Lost. I should have eaten the last slice of pizza. I cursed the team. BUT-- Friday is another day. and Fister is pitching without rain. The rain sure helped the Yankees. Verlander would have pitched in 1 and 5 if needed. But Fister would have won too, had the weather been better. I will light a candle or maybe 50 of them as my wife has the same fetish as Carrie's mother. Granderson would have never made those catches on another field. He knows how soft the grass is in Michigan. It's like a feather bed and the grounds crew here is second to none. If the same matchup happens next year we won't water the grass. Josh Collmenter pitched well for the DBacks. He got the win in the playoffs in his Rookie year. I think that is 10 or 11 wins for the season--not bad. He was raised in a little town in south western Michigan where everyone knows everyone else. The kind of town where the 4th of July parade goes through the town then turns around and comes back for a second pass and everyone cheers like it's like the first time. It's the kind of town I grew up in and it was wonderful.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 5, 2011 13:44:13 GMT -5
We have those towns/villages here in New York too. Especially in the Adirondack Mountains and vicinity. They still have Firemen's Carnivals to raise funds for the local volunteers, a fireman's parade with some type of fire vehicles from all the surrounding localities, horse pulling (not that new--fangaled tractor) pulling contests and best of all - the clam stall. Oh the days I spent with my parents sitting at that stall with my parents, mother and I scarfing down the raw clams that father opened for us. And fresh corn on the cob dripping with butter. Who cared about cholesterol. I won a deep red luncheon set of glassware at the bingo tent. And the carnivals are still going strong all over rural New York. I took my sons to them and now they are taking their sons. I hope the traditon never dies out.
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 5, 2011 14:41:12 GMT -5
The village nearest to my home was about a mile and a half away. We had one bank, grocery store, hardware store, funeral home, shoestore, drygoods store, one lawyer, 1 doctor, 4 churches, one public park with a baseball field and dance pavilion, one river, one highschool, one elementary school, one insurance salesman, one blacksmith shop, one auto mechanic shop. one barber shop, and a little resturant that made the worlds greatest frycake donuts in the history of mankind, one water tower, one volunteer fire department with one truck, one grain mill/coalyard and one saloon. 3 more saloons were a mile away outside the village limits and a couple hundred farms. The main street was a divided road with a very wide median that was mowed lawn and very old tall trees. They had picnic benches set in the shade for people who worked in the stores and one shop which I never knew what the made ate their lunch. Where the curvy old indian trail crossed the main street there was a sort of bill board with all the names of the men and boys who were off fighting World War 2. Blue stars were next to the names of those who were never coming home. Our school bus passed that board every day. It always had nice flowers in front of it.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 5, 2011 18:21:06 GMT -5
Ah for the days of our childhoods when things were so much easier than they are now. Times might have been hard for our parents, but somehow we didn't know it. Now, even in small towns parents are afraid to let their children out of the sight and hearing for fear of someone molesting them. This is progress?
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 6, 2011 9:16:29 GMT -5
Diamondbacks go back to Milwaukee for the kill. Friday. Kirk Gibson has done a great job there. He's made an exciting team and filled the stands. His coaching staff has all the credentials to improve any player. Tomorrow at 5:00pm will decide who moves on. Rooting for the Snakes!
Tonite it's the Tigers vs the Yankees. Fister on the mound without the rain. So far the Tigers big bats haven't produced as much as their potential. Maybe they will wake up. The 6th inning is usually when they explode. Let's all hope for one of those Epic games that we never forget. In the Yankees fans case, hopefully it's one they wish they could. Avila should mention to Granderson that he looks funny in the Yankee uniform and ask, "Shouldn't the stripes be going the other way?"
Cardinals vs Philly, We don't hear much about Philly round deez der parts. Just a little more about the Cardinals. Don't really care which team wins other than which city has the best food. That's a difficult choice. Cheese Steak vs whatever signature meal there is in St. Louis. I have no idea what that may be but judging from their monument it would be half of a McDonald's Big Mac.
Texas took out the Rays. See the Texans have at least one redeeming quality. Nobody in this country wants anything from Texas to be successful particularly from Dallas. The whole state is about as interesting as a mud fence. I circumnavigated Dallas once. The city looked like someone dumped a bunch of cans in a sandbox. Assuming they will face the Tigers for the pennant in a 7 game series, they will have to get game winning runs twice each against Verlander, Fister with Scherzer and the bull pen as a bonus. That is a remote possibility. They might win Game 4 but that's about it.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 6, 2011 11:53:12 GMT -5
Don't be so dismissive about the Rangers. As much as I dislike saying so, they're a pretty good time. After all, if they make it to the World Series that will be two years in succession. Nolan Ryan has done great things with the pitching staff which was always their Achilles hill previously. And their hitters are pretty good, as always. Of course, they've lost 7 games out of 9 to the Yankees this year and 6 our of 3 to the Tigers. But still.....they're not to be completely dismissed. As for today - the Yankees did beat Fister and Nova did beat the Tigers. It's not inconveivable that it could happen again. And Nova only has to go five innings and then comes the Yankee bullpen which is every bit as good as any.
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 6, 2011 13:12:20 GMT -5
Rain is what beat Fister and he was just filling in for Verlander. Had each of them started on consecutive days, the Tigers wouldn't be in NY today. But that is history and it doesn't matter now. What matters is the Detroit Tigers glorious victory over the Yankees tonite even though it will make my mystery friend, Peg sad. We aren't that good of friends. Then it's on to Dallas for the wrapup of the AL pennant. Hope the World Series is against the Snakes. If Collmenter pitches against the Tigers again which he will, he might get lucky and not have Verlander against him. Last time Verlander had 16 K's and was throwing over 100mph in the 8th inning. I thought I heard it was 108 mph. There was a very pretty dark haired young lady sitting next to Josh's mother that went from joy to tears as the game went on. Someday, Josh can take his kids or grandkids to Cooperstown and point to Verlander's picture and say, "See that guy, in my rookie year-----------"" Not many people will ever be able to say that. It's a twisted honor but an honor just the same.
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 6, 2011 23:10:58 GMT -5
Wasn't that an exciting game? Just before it started I was going to post here with my hunch that runs in early innings would hold for the remainder of the game as both teams had most of their pitchers available and there was no tomorrow. But the game started and before I could type it I heard the noise of the TV and the Tigers had already hit two HR's. Had to leave then and now I lost my credibility. But the loaded bases were scary. It could have turned ugly quickly. Then the pitching held on. Close!!!! On to Texas. Not sure if that is a 5 or 7 game series. Seven is better. Now I have a watching problem. Wings first home game and the Dbacks play at almost the same time tomorrow. Wings play Ottawa. Shouldn't be a tough game for the Wings to win. I don't even know why Ottawa has a team other than it is the capital of the country and the MP's need a distraction from the normal seal pup hunt protests. For Arizona, it is critical. That will be another pitching duel. The best of each team against each other. GO SNAKES! Sure like Arizona and the Tigers in the World Series. The problem for the Tigers is the National League rules.No DH. That leaves Victor Martinez out of the lineup as he has some injury that keeps him from playing. It would be very hard to pull Verlander, Fister or Scherzer out for a pinch hitter at any time before the 6th inning. Sorry Peg, but I'm happy. Better you in despair than me.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 7, 2011 17:08:11 GMT -5
Luckily, for you, I'm not in despair. One nice thing about being a Yankee fan is - we'lll probably get another chance next year. So "wait until next year" is the mantra for today. So what will you do if Texas beats you and goes back to the World Series for the 2nd time in a row? Hmmmmm?
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 7, 2011 20:10:33 GMT -5
The will be Texas Toast when the Tigers get done with them. It's a 7 game series so they have to face Verlander and Fister twice. Then there is Scherzer. You saw the bullpen Papa Grande is 50 and 0 in saves. Besides the Tigers just beat the Yankees. Why should we worry about Texas? The real problem is the World Series with National League rules. The NL won the Allstar Game. Victor Martinez is a catcher who has been used as a DH all season. If Avila catches, Martinez can only pitch hit but nobody is going to pull Verlander or Fister before the 6th inning. Then if Martinez catches, the Tigers lose Avila's bat and his extraordinary pitch calling. Avila has to catch every game. Not sure if Martinez is healthy enough to do it anyway. So Cabrerra with walk every time he comes to the plate. That mean losing 2 good batters Leyland has a problem. Maybe he should start the bull pen and pitch hit with Cabrerra, and Martinez up thru the 6th inning and then put in his starters to finish. The guy who hit the HR in the Yankees game that played RF can play first base and they have plenty of outfielders to fill the spot. Leyland won't do something as crazy as that but its a nice fantasy if it works
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 7, 2011 20:37:22 GMT -5
The Brewers won. My World Series matchup is shot. They should have had that game on Friday. It would have helped the Dbacks because there would be no Brewers fans in the stadium. None! Everyone in the State of Wisconsin goes out for Fish Fry on Friday nights. It's a religion. No kidding. They are a little strange up there. I figured it was the isolation as the Big Lake blocks the thru traffic but Michigan is sort of in the same shape. No one passes thru this state unless they are going to Minnesota or Canada. But we are normal, Wisconsincheseians aren't. Very strange. Simple folks but nice.
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Post by a on Oct 8, 2011 8:39:04 GMT -5
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 8, 2011 10:53:52 GMT -5
There go the Phillies. It's down to the final four along the major flyway of migratory waterfowl. No east or west teams in the finals. Tigers-Rangers. Cards and Brewers. I'll bet the sponsors of the TV coverage are grinding their teeth without the intense interest of the major costal markets. The Tigers have a long history playing against St.Louis in the World Series. It seems like everytime the Tigers get there, so do the Cards. So this time, I hope Milwaukee wins the NL. It will be nice seeing all the Brewers fans cruising around town on their Harley Davidsons at ten miles less than the posted speed limit. They do that in Wisconsin. They are the most law abiding drivers on the planet. Frustrating for anyone from Michigan as we see those signs only as a rough guide during bad weather. Wisconsin fans are very brand loyal to Miller beer. When the University of Wisconsin played a bowl game in Las Vegas a few years ago, they drank every bottle of Millers in town and became enraged when they ran out. Millers had to fly a 747 full of beer to Nevada just to keep them happy. But here, we don't buckle so easily. We drink LaBatts or Molsons. LaBatts has the edge. Canadian beer from our neighbors to the south, which until it crosses the border is always kept cold from the brewery to the glass if possible. That's the secret to good tasting beer. Instead, we will re-educate those from Wisconsin and change Millers entire beer delivery structure and the balance of trade between Canada and us will suffer another blow. These baseball games are coming down to pitchers duels. Which ever team scores early usually hangs on to win the game. It will either stay that way or be no scoring early with the winner getting a home run late. So with the potential of 21 games left in the MLB season, the average total runs per game will probably be less than 3. That's my guess anyway. The Tigers having the best top 2 pitchers among the surviving teams with another one that is pretty good have a good shot at winning it all. But, they lose Martinez at the plate and that may make all the difference. It will be sickening to see all the people in Milwaukee, jumping around, happy and spilling their beer. They don't deserve that. They elected Joe McCarthy to the Senate.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 8, 2011 11:47:36 GMT -5
Hey, CW, wait until the series are over before the sour grapes.Personally, I think the Brewers are great and I hope they win the whole thing. I'd like to see and all upper Midwest series - Detroit vs Milwaukee (and who said drinking and driving don't mix?)
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Post by a on Oct 8, 2011 12:12:19 GMT -5
I wish the Brewers all the luck in the world, BAD luck! ;D
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Post by Coldwarrior on Oct 8, 2011 19:19:06 GMT -5
Nuts, Magglio hits into a dbbl play with one out and bases loaded in the first inning. I understand that Charley Pride is one of the owners of the Rangers. Maybe he will sing the anthem at a game. That would be nice, I always enjoyed his singing.
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Post by Flying Horse on Oct 8, 2011 19:49:54 GMT -5
Answer: Professional umpires currently begin their Minor League career at $1,800 per month. At the Major League level, salaries range from approximately $84,000 to $300,000 per year. From Ask the Umpire By Tom Leppard Director, Umpire Administration mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/umpires/feature.jsp?feature=qa4
I could hardly believe what I read. A major league umpire starts at only $84,000? Whereas the minimum wage of a ballplayer is $400,000? And the umpires have no real home life for 6 months out of the year. Slave labor. MLB should be ashamed. Maybe that's the reason why umpiring has deteriorated over the years. You're not getting a decently trained, educated, on-their-toes individuals. Wake up MLB and pay the umpires what they are worth. They should have the same base salary as the players. And then receive raises every few years up to $1,000,000. Which is peanuts compared to players.
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