Early to Bed, Early to Pitch =_=

ICHIRO jersey available NOW at shop.mlb.com ^_^

With the Major League Baseball season kicking off across the pond (The Pacific one, not the Atlantic o_O), game time for the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics begins at 5:04am Eastern Time at the Tokyo Dome.

I remember when American television executives requested start times for sporting events in far and distant lands to be pushed back so they could showcase those events in prime-time. They did it for "The Rumble in the Jungle", but this isn't a boxing match between two heavyweights, and the Yankees and Red Sox are still in the sunny climbs of Florida suffering from near tropical weather, deadly orange juice cocktails, and the menace known only as "Lee Roy Selmon's Restaurant" and their exquisite cuisine. So terrifying indeed o_O

Known as the away match for the Season Opener the previous day, Seattle won that game 3-1 in extra innings thanks to Dustin Ackley's 2 "ribbies" (2 RBIs or runs batted in for those unfamiliar with ball talk): A solo home-run in the fourth inning, followed an RBI single in the eleventh frame.

Ichiro (at bat) with one of four Opening Day hits vs Athletics (Toronto Star)

It's good to see Seattle star Ichiro perform in front of his native land; his four hit performance is another Opening Day record in the fact book for the Mariners. I still question why Ichiro doesn't try his hand at batting for a competitive team in the American League East Division, where clutch hitting and national exposure can go a long way for a player's career and reputation. No offence to the Seattle Mariners, but a player with 200 hits could see their name on MVP ballots and postseason game reports playing for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, or maybe this year my Toronto Blue Jays ^_^

Dropping Ichiro in the batting order is one of the first signs the Mariners ball club is in need of a culture change. Since the days of Ken Griffey Jr, Seattle loved their all-star players, and as long as they hit the ball and bolstered fantasy league scores there was no problem. Assets depreciate over time, and the Mariners found that even the great superstar Ichiro Suzuki is showing signs of rust at thirty-seven years of age, according to Steven Goldman of the Bleacher Report. The Mariners finished dead last in the West Division of the American League in three of the previous four campaigns, and went through just as many managers during that span, if not more. The Pineda trade with the Yankees in the off-season is a step in a direction towards competing with the Rangers and Angels, but I hardly call it the right one. Albeit too late, I see the Mariners preparing for life after Ichiro :(

If Ichiro taught me anything about baseball, it is the higher the knee socks, the better the player ^_^ "High knee socks means he's good!" - Benson Chiu

You're Doing It Wrong: Spring Training Malaise

David Price, Tampa Bay Rays; sidenote, didn't he already pitch a no-hitter against my Jays?

My preseason training regime isn't going so well.

Yes, I am eating most of the right kind of food, and snacking on sweets was on the decline since the end of February, yet as far as getting in shape for baseball that might not be for at least another month o_O The decision over which league to play in, or at least how many, weighs on my mind like a baseball bag full of bowling balls.

The league I played in last year is self-officiated, and the teams we played shout the ground rules they want to play in each game, and sometimes change them during the game to suit their offensive situation. One team not only took one player in and out of the lineup, but also during a play hoping no one on my team would notice. I am not sure if I want to return to that league, or try my hand at another self-officiated league in the city. Then again, playing in those leagues prepared me for the summer, and last year was my best season; the question becomes how many leagues do I join in 2012?

There is also the problem of purchasing baseball gear for the new year o_O There isn't enough money right now to buy new gear like baseball gloves, bats, and cleats, so I must take a page from the book of Red Army athletes from the old Soviet Union, and wear old gear on the bus to games around the city (true true true true true). I did that a couple of times, and it turned the heads of some the ladies riding the bus ^_^ (lies lies lies lies lies).

Michael Wilbon, ESPN

To boost my baseball credibility, I'm following ESPN Sports broadcasters and journalists Dan Shulman, Kevin B. Blackistone, Michael Wilbon, and Stuart Scott on Twitter ^_^ No, following a handful of talented writers and ESPN personalities will not get you published T_T However, if you follow their tweets and cover the subjects they discuss and tweet about on a daily basis, perfect your writing skills, respect the opinions of others in your field, and generate an audience that respects what you say in return, eventually you will get to where you want to be ^_^ For example, I know nationally revered ESPN journalist and Pardon The Interruption co-host Michael Wilbon is a diehard Cubs fan; for 2012, but my original plan was to wear out DODGERS gear to baseball games this year. Would it be beneficial for my writing career to shelve my plans of dressing up in my Los Angeles DODGERS road jersey with the name "Hollywood" printed on the back of my personalized authentic MLB jersey, and buy all three CUBS jerseys sporting names like "Bluetooth", "Ironhide" and "Animal" just for the chance I may be mentioned in an ESPN article? Probably not, and I may end up in debt after buying another jersey online o_O However, there are a few readers I picked up over the course of 2011 who followed this blog and my humourous attempts at playing city ball, and pretending I look like I know what I'm doing.

That's what I should do, or rather what I should keep doing: Writing about the ups and downs of the city league season as well as my take on Major League Baseball in 2012 ^_^, while being as truthful as possible. This year should be an interesting one (I'm buying the jerseys though)!

Goofball Update

Sorry things on this site are sparse of late. As is the tradition behind Spring Training, I don't write during Spring Training o_O I do, however, have a plan for the upcoming 2012 season: To write at least one baseball story a week for the upcoming MLB season. Of course, this may not always be possible as I have a life outside of the internet (hard to believe, I know), so I will try to submit three writings a week for MAJOR LEAGUE GOOFBALL. If you follow me on Twitter, then you will get all the updates for this blog as well as all the updates for my personal blog, "Just Phil".

It's nice to receive a nice treat from the Spring Training circuit, and this A.J. Pierzynski round tripper is no exception. Click here and enjoy!

Marlins Mess means MISSION COMPLETE ^_^

Unlike the music songwriting mission I should finish this week o_O, I did complete one of my long-standing goals this week: Complete my collection of Major League Baseball Fitted On-Field baseball caps ^_^

Today, I walked into Lids and purchased the last hat missing from my collection: This hideous, ridiculous, bright Buccaneer Orange baseball cap the Miami Marlins will wear for road games this year -->

"There is no way I'm wearing it though!" I laughed as I purchased the hat, which also doubles as a pylon for street traffic. There are already bets made on how long players will put up with the monstrosity: I say one season, and then the players will dump the orange peels with the "M" stamp in favour for the black variation for both home and away games in 2013.

o_O The look of intensity and teal...!

I remember when Major League Baseball introduced us to the Florida Marlins in 1993, and to the less palatable colour teal, which fans of professional sports teams such as the Seattle Mariners and the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars know all too well. If you are old enough to remember when grown men wore these attention grabbers, then you know what I'm talking about!

Compared to the colours of the Miami Marlins, which management describe as indicative and reflective of Miami's culture and heritage, the days of black pinstripes and teal don't seem so bad. Given the fact the Marlins won two world championships in 1997 and 2003 with teal on their hats and sleeves redeemed the colour somewhat, but I can't imagine the 2012 installment of the Marlins winning with orange peels, traffic cones, or NASA Booster Engines stuck on their heads. The hat will be a collecter's item none the less ^_^ Albeit for the wrong reasons o_O

PROOF IN ORANGE PUDDING: Marlins players unanimous in their opinions about the orange pylon, er, hat!

RIP Gary Carter

GONE TOO SOON: Gary Carter 1954 - 2012

One of baseball's great characters and ambassadors is safe at home tonight. Hall-of-Fame catcher Gary Carter, who spent most of his colourful baseball career with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets, passed away after a courageous battle with brain cancer today. He was 57.

A mainstay for the National League in the annual MLB All-Star Game, Carter played in over two thousand professional baseball games over his illustrious eighteen year career, hit 324 homeruns, and won the World Series with the New York Mets in 1986. In 2003, the electorate of the Baseball Hall-of-Fame inducted Gary Carter into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown, the highest baseball honour an individual could achieve.

I'm going to be wearing my Montreal Expos hat tomorrow in honour of Gary. Click on the link below to watch an MLB video about the life of the late Gary Carter.

RIP Gary Carter 1954 - 2012

Fantasy Baseball: A Warning to Girlfriends

You turned the corner, entered the living room, and found your boyfriend quickly stuff one of those Lindy's Sports Fantasy Baseball magazines into the couch hoping you wouldn't notice, or maybe you are using his laptop computer and found he left Microsoft Excel on and names like Halladay, Fielder, and Tulowitzki listed on the screen with numbers listed beside them. How about at the dinner table: Do his eyes glance at his smartphone searching for words like "cheat sheets" and "KiBBle Ratings"?

Yes, it is that time of year again: About a week or two from now, you armchair athlete/manservant will disappear one Saturday, join his fellow cavemen at a random house or eatery, and engage in what men call the "biggest night of their lives", aside from the Super Bowl. Now that the biggest football game in civilization is over, baseball loving dudes the world over, however few after the '94 Strike,  can turn their attention to Major League Baseball, and the complexities of the fantasy draft ^_^

Fantasy Baseball magazines such as Lindy's popped up at various bookstores in my hometown, and for the first time I decided to try my hand at fielding an imaginary team of various baseball players from various baseball teams in the fan-based, multimillion dollar industry. I wrote about baseball since the day I handed in my term paper about the evolution of the home-run and its role in shaping the New York Yankees in university way back in 2006; how hard could this be? After reading through three different magazines on the subject, analyzing cheat sheets, checking out MLB.com for additional advice on player value, crunching the numbers on prospective sleepers and power players, and asking my pastor for advice (I didn't do that...yet), I realize I have no idea how this works o_O

Why do so many connect with fantasy baseball? Perhaps it is the opportunity to live out a dream for the unathletic, unskilled, or out of shape to excel at in their adult years as opposed to those youthful days, or maybe the idea of being a general manager of a team inspires those who believe they can be a better general manager than the general manager of the hometown team that can't win a game if their lives depended on it? For whatever the reason, I decided to look at fantasy baseball with virgin eyes, and see if I should stick to just writing about it from the point of view of a goofball too stubborn to let the dream of being in the big leagues die. With that said, what about those who know too well about the perils of fantasy baseball: The frayed relationships, cancelled date nights, and the too familiar refrain of the ill-timed ring of the smartphone at the movie theater when his star player suffered elbow pains and went on injured reserve.

LET HIM HAVE IT: Like Valentine's Day to a woman, your dude needs one day to feel like he is king, and in the baseball world draft day is the best day to show not only his manliness, but his baseball IQ. By day, he lives with his parents and works as a stock boy at GameStop, but by night he is the general manager of the "Big Bautista baseball team"! He may be working a dead end job as a junior warehouse executive at the local paint store, but tonight his All-Star Swatters sit in third place in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball competition. Before you know it, another baseball writer sitting at his desk outside of Toronto, Canada, will look at his three baseball magazines, glance towards the heavens, and say "Hey, I can do this!" Then he'll shout at the top of his lungs "Leeroy Jenkins", and start his foray in fantasy baseball by choosing Yunel Escobar in the first round, and then get laughed at by the four other dudes in his online bracket T_T

To take away fantasy baseball would be like cutting off his throwing arm! The excitement, passion, imagination, patience, resolve, character, and decisiveness found in the aspiring wannabe general manager are just some of the things you find cute and adorable about your manservant in the first place; don't penalize him just because this Saturday he's holding a mock draft at his house, and he can't come to the art gallery with you to check out the new Picasso and Monet artwork on display "for one weekend only".

By the summer, he will be so sick of his sixth-place team of injured players and one-hit wonders that he will have no choice but to go antiquing with you for the next three weekends. Unless, he is in first place in his league; in that case, you can find me on Twitter: @PhilHollywood. I love antiquing and drives in the country for random garage sales o_O

Not Even One Month! X(

Just when I get into submitting posts for my hockey blog for another NHL season, Bud Selig and MLB off and do this!

Houston Astros to move to American League in 2013



MLB is one step closer toward the elimination of the National League rules from professional baseball :( Imagine an AL team, in the midst of a pennant race, relying on their pitcher to bat in a road game at a National League ballpark? I can't either; MLB with be all-DH by that point, or will quickly shift to that following such an incident. AL and NL are just acronyms now anyway, which is unfortunate, because I enjoy watching NL managers strategize late in the game.

Online, a writer cited four things to help improve the game, instead of moving Houston to the American League, and take National League baseball out of the great state of Texas: Moving the Brewers back to the AL, implementing a salary cap, eliminating the designated hitter, and keeping interleague baseball.

1. I agree Selig moved the Brewers to the NL to get them away from the Yankees/Red Sox, but to bring them back eliminates the purpose of leaving in the first place.
2. Maybe it's my problem, but beyond the New York Yankees I can't see how the salary cap will impact baseball. A cap means a floor, and lots of teams can spend near a substantial amount.
3. I don't know if eliminating DH is a good idea. Minor league and colleges all use designated hitters, and in today's game the pitcher coming to the plate is (1) a target and (2) a sure out. It will take several years for pitchers to become consistent threats at the plate.
4. Interleague was fun, but it is a predecessor to what is to come: All DH :( The All-Star Game doesn't allow pitchers to hit anymore.

I can't leave baseball alone for one off-season o_O (-_- Shake My Head)