When we last convened in October of 2009, the BULLDOGS had just completed a coast-to-coast run of historic proportions.
When asked recently for any final comments on the 2009 season, the Dawgs went into Mark McGwire mode with their statement of……
“We’re not here to talk about the past.”
So with that, let’s take a look at some items that took place inside and outside the world of sports since the Dawgs sprayed the victory champagne all over their co-workers in the BMC lunch room….. and then we’ll have some standard NPL items at the end…
THE #1 STORY OF THE OFF-SEASON:
Naturally it was the Tiger Woods saga – what else? And that is why the statement about “Elin” goes on the Quote Billboard for this posting. And I’m sure we’re all tired of hearing about Eldrick Wood’s troubles by now. So let’s look at a positive side of things.
The winner to come out of this may be JACK NICKLAUS and his record 18 Majors.
With Team Tiger in shambles, do you think Jack is sitting in a recliner at the Nicklaus mansion with a smirk on his face? Maybe breaking out the champagne, a la Don Shula and the ’72 Dolphins? Perhaps. And when the Tiger news broke I could picture Jack high-fiving family members and reacting like he just sank the putt on 17 at Augusta in 1986. Deep down you know he wants to scream out …. “Yeah baby, my record of 18 majors is a little safer.”
You gotta love the Golden Bear.
FANTASY FOOTBALL:
I previously mentioned the success of the Harvster in this sport. Well in 2009 the young man went Back-to-Back championships in The Cotton League. Harv says he “owns” that league!! And for good measure he took 2nd place in a bigger money league in which he raked in a cool $800.
I think this entitles us to bestow Mr. Harvey with the mythical title of…..
And speaking of football……
A FOOTBALL OXYMORON:
I realize this is sort of old news at this point, but what the heck was IKE TAYLOR doing on the HANDS TEAM when he botched the on-sides kick recovery against Green Bay? I’m just sayin……
A STRANGE BASEBALL INJURY ALREADY:
Did you hear that Orioles starting pitcher Brad Bergesen strained his right shoulder during the filming of an Orioles promotional commercial back in early December? And so it begins.
WHEN IS A RETIRED UNIFORM NUMBER - NOT RETIRED?
I guess it’s when Omar Vizquel signs with the White Sox and sweet talks former Hall-of-Famer Luis Aparicio into letting Vizquel bring #11 out of retirement. Seems Omar’s usual #13 is worn by manager Ozzie Guillen and he ain’t givin’ 13 up for nobody. So #11 gets dusted off for Vizquel with the HOF’ers permission. I don’t like it myself. Could you picture a new infielder coming to the Pirates and they unretire #9? I think “retired” should mean “retired” when it comes to uniform numbers. But that’s just me.
BASEBALL GOES THE REALITY SHOW WAY:
Seems like the MLB Network is following the White Sox manager and front office for a show called…”The Club.” It will debut on MLB Network later this summer. Here is more on it…..
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/02/19/white-sox-front-office-to-star-in-mlb-network-reality-series/
SCOUT SPEAK:
What’s with Pirates GM Neal A. Huntington these days? When interviewed about new player acquisitions he has reverted into geeky scout lingo to describe a player’s ability….. The following quotes from the GM were taken directly from Dejan Kovacevic’s articles in the PG during the off-season……
On Jesus Brito, acquired from Atlanta in the Bixler trade….. "He really came on this year. He's got good bat-to-ball skills……”
Bat-to-ball skills????
On pitcher Steven Jackson who was taken off the 40-man…… “As we compare his probable role and stuff package to others in the organization……”
His Stuff Package????
THE BUCCO LOSING STREAK WILL COME TO AN END:
One man’s prediction….. In 2011 under the guidance of new manager Gary Varsho.
SHOULD THIS PIRATES PLAYER BE CONSIDERED A
“TRAGIC FIGURE?”
A 1st round draft pick.
Position changed from C to 3B.
Team acquires a young 3rd baseman in Andy LaRoche
Team drafts a can’t miss 3rd baseman in Pedro Alvarez.
Team asks Walker to give up his uniform #19 for Ryan Church, a journeyman outfielder who should be a back-up on this 2010 team.
Walker will desperately try to make team as a jack of all trades utility guy.
And Chuck Finder of the PG still continues to refer to him as “Pine-Richland’s Neal Walker.”
But on the bright side…… He still has good bat-to-ball skills.
NPL PRE-SEASON TIMELINE:
As we hopefully watch a transformation from this…
To this……….
Here is what we will look at as we move towards the April 2nd draft.
** CBS website is paid for the 2010 season.
** Annual review of league rules & procedures is currently out.
** Week of March 8th - the first look at MLB player position changes that are said to be taking place in 2010. Such as…. Troy Glaus is now at 1B (Atl.) and Gordan Beckham will be a 2nd baseman (Wsox).
** Week of March 8th – I order the draft board and labels.
** Late March – Final designation of player positions who are changing and where the DH’s are to be placed.
ALSO…….
I understand we may need a new Sticker Guy if we can find one. Something to keep in mind if you know someone who can handle the job (and we do pay them!)
NPL related comments can also be found on the Twitter account I created in the league name. Although with it being off-season, it’s mostly me rambling in 140 characters or less about anything that comes to mind, but as the season gets underway, you may see a comment about YOUR team mentioned there. The link is…
http://twitter.com/NorthParkLeague
Final note – on the side panel to the right, I have added a new link under “Audio”. It’s the 2 minute, 6 second - original radio call of Maz’s HR in game 7, 1960.
Questions? Comments?
Just give me a shout.
