MLB Hit Parade: October 2010

Oct. 31

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Oct. 30

JOSH HAMILTON: "I could smell weed in the outfield. It was crazy. I was looking at the cops a couple of times during the game." So far all the World Series' drama has been off the field...

MYWRIGLEYVILLE.COM:

I still haven't made it to the rooftops for a game. One of these days...

Oct. 29

FEAR THE BEARDED THONG:

Parents, don't let your kids dress up as a bearded thong for Halloween.

NO WAY, JOSE? Jose Guillen part of HGH probe. This might explain why he's not on the Giants' roster right now. And while I'm usually a staunch supporter of innocent until proven guilty, this is Jose Guillen we're talking about...

Oct. 28

NO SURPRISE: World Series ratings dip without Yankees.

KERRY WOOD: Could he be coming back to the Cubs?

MY NEW FAVORITE COMMERCIAL:

Funny and true, except at the end. I don't think this phone can do anything to stop people from keeping their noses in their smartphones. Unfortunately, I'm also guilty of this ridiculous behavior.

Oct. 26
CLIFF LEE'S wife was harassed by Yankees fans. Some people think that this will cost the Yankees a shot at Lee in free agency. I doubt it. Every fan base has idiots. The important things here are that the Yankees offer Lee the most money and that his wife likes the city of New York. 

THE BACKWARDS K to end your team's postseason. It already has happened twice this year (with both Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard being caught looking). But how many times has it happened in postseason history? Not many.

IN DEFENSE OF A THREE-MAN ROTATION? "I was soon persuaded that the three-man rotation was the way to go in the post-season after a conducting a study with Sean Forman on the impact of pitches thrown and rest days on performance. In our analysis of games from 1988 — 2009, estimates showed that days of rest had very little impact on performance. On average, every rest day lowered a pitcher’s ERA by about 0.015; however, the estimate was not statistically different from there being no effect. It seems that most of the recovery benefits that pitchers receive occur in the three days of rest between starts."

More on pitcher recovery times here.

Oct. 24

BENGIE MOLINA has it made. No matter what, this year he's going to win a World Series ring.

ESPN's 30 FOR 30 SERIES continues this Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST with Fernando Nation.

Nicknamed “El Toro” by his fans, Fernando Valenzuela ignited a fire that spread from LA to New York—and beyond. He vaulted himself onto the prime time stage and proved with his signature look to the heavens and killer screwball that the American dream was not reserved for those born on U.S. soil.

In this layered look at the myth and the man, Cruz Angeles recalls the euphoria around Fernando’s arrival and probes a phenomenon that transcended baseball for many Mexican-Americans. Fernando Valenzuela himself opens up to share his perspective on this very special time. Even 20 years later, “Fernandomania” lives.

Oct. 23

CONGRATS TO THE RANGERS! In all the best stories, somebody slays the giant. How fitting it was for Alex Rodriguez, who made disparaging remarks about the Rangers being "me and 24 kids" when he was traded, to be struck out for the final out by one of those kids, Neftali Feliz, throwing 97 miles an hour.

WHO IS THIS mystery woman?

JOSE BAUTISTA: Looking ahead to 2011, will Joey Bats turn out to be a one-hit wonder? This was a good article. Although, it didn't directly mention OBP. If you're curious, Bautista's OBP in 2010 was a very good .378. In 2009, Mark Reynolds' OBP was only .349. It's also interesting to note how Reynolds' 2010 numbers reverted back to basically what he did in 2008. I've put a big question mark on Bautista for 2011, but I would certainly rate him higher for 2011 than I rated Reynolds for 2010.

TODAY'S LUNCH: Who knew that my neighborhood hot dog place, Wiener and Still Champion, had a blog? Plus major props to the guy who ate the Triple Undisputed (a.k.a. 911) in 16 minutes. 

Oct. 19

BASEBALL IS HER BOYFRIEND: Now Micah Chapman is who I'd call a dedicated baseball (and Rangers) fan. 

RYNO IS DISAPPOINTED that he didn't get the Cubs job. I think the Cubs made the right move by giving Mike Quade two years. As for Ryne Sandberg, I wish him the best. My hope is that next season he's able to get some type of major league coaching job.

Oct. 18

THE NEXT CARLOS GONZALEZ: Tim Dierkes goes in search of the next CarGo. Of the people on his list, my bet would be Jason Heyward.

BASEBALL BLOGGERS ALLIANCE names Buster Posey and Neftali Perez as their rookies of the year. It's kinda fun to go through and check out all the different baseball blogs that were involved. I found many that I hadn't seen before.

Oct. 16

I'M STILL ROOTING AGAINST THE YANKEES, but I just had to post this picture of George W. Bush and Nolan Ryan watching the Rangers' 8th inning implosion last night during Game 1 of the ALCS:

My cable was out so I missed the show. Probably just as well. The above picture tells me exactly what happened.

Oct. 1-14

ERIC SHOW: Remembering the tortured life of Eric Show. "The 12-year-old boy sat in the rear of his father's car, getting an earful. This was 1968, the year of the pitcher in the big leagues, the year of Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain's 31 wins. But in the backseat of a white Mercury Comet, it was not the year of a Pony League pitcher named Eric Show. His father, Les, was in a rage. He had just watched young Eric walk a batter, hit a batter and generally have a mediocre day. It had triggered the scariest part of Les: his temper."


ANOTHER CUBS BLOG: "A lot of people, including the Cubs owner, spend time trying to think of ways to improve Wrigley Field. Me? I've already got the answer and it's been done before. Here, have a look for yourself.  It's pretty cool what you can do these days."


COLUMBUS DAY: There has never been an MLB player with the last or first name of "Columbus." But there have been a few minor leaguers with the name.