Ryan Zimmerman Wears “Natinals” Jersey

No, that is not a typo in my title. Ryan Zimmerman was spotted wearing a jersey with a monsterous misprint. Nationals was actually spelled “Natinals”.

At first, and like most other baseball fans, I thought this was a case of the “O” hiding behind the jersey. Not this time.

Also spotted wearing the misprinted jersey was Nationals outfielder Adam Dunn. Apparently it took the entire team and 25,000 fans until the 3rd inning to realize it!

The jersey drama however did not stop there. Reports that someone else on the Nats was wearing a jersey that had the “N” upside down.

I guess in the times of recession you must cut corners to keep the production line moving, or in this case the letters.

What The Number 31 Means To Chicago

Take a look around the major leagues, team by team, and there are numbers that define the franchise.

In Boston, it is Ted Williams’ familiar Number 9.

Number 44 in Atlanta is synonymous with Hank Aaron.

And in New York, well…in New York, the Yankees have too many to mention.

On May 3, the Chicago Cubs will be adding a new number to their team’s historic legacy.  Joining Numbers 10 (Ron Santo), 14 (Ernie Banks), 23 (Ryne Sandberg), 26 (Billy Williams) and 42 (Jackie Robinson) will be Number 31.

However, the Cubs aren’t just retiring Number 31 for one player…they’re doing it one better and retiring it for two.

Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux.

And the case for both is pretty easy to make.

Jenkins made his way to the Cubs on April 21, 1966 (a week after Maddux was born coincidentally), along with John Herrnstein and Adolfo Phillips.  In return, the Phillies received Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson.

Now, I’m not entirely sure how Buhl and Jackson faired for the Phillies, but considering they were out of baseball shortly after Richard Nixon was elected suggests that the Cubs MIGHT have made out like bandits.

But what exactly did Jenkins accomplish while wearing Number 31 on his back for the Loveable Losers?

Well…

Jenkins was 167-132 with a 3.20 ERA in two stints (ten seasons) with the Cubs.  In 1971, he brought home the National League Cy Young Award, while three other times, he was either the runner up (1967) or finished third (1970 and 1972).

All in all, Jenkins threw six straight 20 win seasons between 1967 and 1972 (the longest streak in the Majors since Warren Spahn did the same between 1986 and 1961), during his first stint with the Cubs.

In 1982, after eight seasons away from Chicago and stops in Texas and Boston, Jenkins returned to the North Side to push his career wins total to 284, which, at the time, ranked him 19th all-time.  Twenty-five full seasons after his retirement, he is sitting at 29th all-time.

Prior to the 1984 season, Jenkins was released and left the Cubs as their all-time leader in games started and strikeouts.  His 167 victories as a member of the Cubs is the most for the team since 1941.

What’s interesting about Jenkins is that he didn’t want Number 31 when he first joined the Cubs.  Originally, he requested Number 30, but Cubs clubhouse man Yosh Kawano informed Jenkins that young lefty Kenny Holtzman already wore that number.“My birthday is December 13, so I reversed the numbers to make it 31,” Jenkins once told a reporter.

Given the crazy reasons that other people have had (Omar Olivares wore Number 00 to display his initials, Bill Lee wanted 337 so people could read his name while he stood on his head), reversing your birthdate makes perfect sense to me.

Maddux, on the other hand, had no such reasons.

When he made the big leagues late in the 1986 season, he stepped into the Cubs clubhouse and without asking…was given Number 31.

“I remember walking down the stairs into the clubhouse. (The Number 31 jersey) was there in my locker. Being 20-years-old at the time, the last thing I was going to do was complain about my number. I was just happy to be there,” Maddux told the Chicago Tribune last month.  “I thought that was pretty cool that they gave me (Jenkins’) number.”

And like Jenkins, Maddux made the most out of his career with the pinstriped Number 31 on his back.

In his ten seasons with the Cubs, he was 133-112 with a 3.61 ERA.  He also cemented himself as one of the top fielding pitchers of all-time by winning six of his eighteen Gold Gloves on the North Side.

In 1992, Maddux’s best season as a Cub, he won his first Cy Young Awards.  Of course, it was following that season when Chicago ceremoniously allowed him to flee to Atlanta and capture three more Cy Youngs.

All in a row.

In between his two stints with Chicago (the second coming from 2004 to 2006), Maddux finished just shy of 200 wins with the Braves and for his career, he ended with a staggering 355-227 record.  He is the only pitcher in Major League history to win at least 15 games in 17 consecutive seasons and only Spahn and his 363 wins has more career wins in the post-1920 live-ball era.

Jenkins was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991, his third try, with 75.4% of the vote.  Maddux looks to be virtually unanimous when Cooperstown comes a calling in 2014.

Separately they are sure-bet Hall of Famers.  But let me ask you this…did anyone else of worth ever don Number 31 for the Cubs?

The short answer is “no”, but most perplexing is how and why did ANYONE get to wear the number once Jenkins left the first time?  Why wasn’t Jenkins’ number, at the least, the second number retired by the Cubs (Banks’ being the first in 1982) instead of the sixth?

I mean, here was a guy who, from 1967 to 1972 led the Majors with 127 victories, averaged 248 Ks (compared to 63 walks) and a 3.00 ERA.  How did the Cubs dare relinquish his jersey to the likes of Tom Dettore (1975-76), Joe Coleman (1976), Jim Todd (1977) and Davey Johnson(1978).

The first three were, like Jenkins, pitchers, but their time with Chicago didn’t quite add up to Fergie’s.  Mostly used in relief, the three pitchers were a combined 15-21 with a 4.92 ERA over three seasons.

Between the time Jenkins came back to the Cubs to finish up his Hall of Fame career and Maddux started his, another reliever, Ray Fontenot donned Number 31.

Fontenot continued the legacy of the afore mentioned three-headed monster by going 9-15 in 80 games.

Ugh.

So, Maddux inherits the number and holds on to it while he secures his spot as one of the greatest righties of the live-ball era.  Surely, the Cubs learned their lesson and packed up Number 31 for good, right?

Nope.

Half a dozen players came and went through the clubhouse on the corner of Clark and Addison.  And again, much like Dettore, Coleman, Todd, Johnson and Fontenot…Kevin Foster (1994, 1997-98), Bobby Ayala (1999), Brad Woodall (1999), Mike Fyhrie (2001), Donovan Osborne (2002) and Mark Guthrie (2003) failed to re-capture the glory of Jenkins and Maddux.

And since I know you’re curious (and I did the math)…Foster, Ayala, Woodall, Fyhrie, Osborne and Guthrie were a less than stellar 36-41 with a 4.51 ERA.

With the Braves, Maddux was 194 and 88 with a 2.63 ERA.  Add to that those three Cy Young awards and four other seasons where he finished in the top five and, well, there is no need to continue with the comparisons.

Suffice it to say, it is nice to see the Cubs FINALLY wise up and put Number 31 to bed.  I know I’ll be watching on May 3 as they retire the number for good.

Will they send two flags up the foul pole or just one?

I guess we’ll find out.

Put On Your Tin Foil Hat, PR Only Matters If….

Permit me to put on my tin foil hat for a minute. Nothing says conspiracy theorist, like tin foil on your head.

Are the New York Yankees brass just like you and me, only richer? Do they make decisions based on the airwave mouth pieces that fill the New York A.M. dial?

I know what you’re thinking, that’s impossible. Is it really? From what I can tell Hank, Hal, Brian and the rest of the crew up in the Bronx are playing real life fantasy baseball and listening to way too much sports talk radio. (Ok, I think what they are doing is way smarter than that, but the fans aren’t looking hard enough.)

My first assertion isn’t completely out of the question. Brian Cashman is clearly getting his scouting report from our friends a CBSSports.com Eric Mack or Scott White.

Here we have a guy that dropped serious cheddar to sign Fantasy baseballs number four first basemen, and number three and twelve start pitchers. (According to cbssports.com) These are additions to a line up that already boasted fantasy baseballs number three closer, number three third basemen, number four ranked short stop and number seven ranked second basemen.

Unfortunately for Yankee fans in fantasyland there are very few points for relief pitchers that don’t close, so Cashman didn’t bother to worry about his bullpen again this off-season.

Also like most fantasy teams the Yankees are a little thin on the bench. After pressing their top utility man outfielder, first basemen and relief pitcher extraordinaire Nick Swisher into action the Yankees are left with a bench that features Berroa, Gardner and Molina.

Now Yankees fan can say what they want about Cashman’s attempt to recreate a fantasy team in pin stripes. So far it looks like his attempts to do all of his scouting at the All-star have failed to pay dividends and the Yankees are a mere one game over five hundred after twenty one games.

Who could’ve predicted that?

Now that alone wasn’t enough to convince me that the chaos that was the Yankees front office wasn’t just a collection of stiffs with a penchant for my life but with more bread to spread around.

Then this happened…Yankees announce new ticketing plan. (This is where the Yankees true brilliance shows through, this move goes against every free market principle in their collective Steinbrenner bodies. Follow along.)

What did my eyes and ears deceive me?

Had the loud mouth callers and sports talk radio hosts in New York City been loud enough and obnoxious enough to cause the 2009 New York Yankees to bend to their will?

The New York Yankees, as in the team owned by George, the team now guided by Hal “Needless to say my dad is a tough act to follow” and Hank “You tell him to hit the damned ball…and hit it when it counts” Steinbrenner. Are now bending to the will of the airwaves.

We are all more than familiar by now with the issue of empty seats in the Legends Suite, and Delta Sky 360 Suite.

In case your not, the Yankees were struggling to sell about 2000 seats per game at the new stadium. So what you might say, well those 2000 seats happen to be the $2500 seats located directly behind home plate and therefore directly in the middle of your TV screen as you watch the game.

Now the Yankees just this week have decided to slash those seats by between 35 and 50 percent depending on the seat. So the $2500 tickets are now going to retail for $1250, and the $1000 seats for $650.

I roast the Yankees for a lot of things; this is not one of them. Lowering tickets to adjust to the market demands makes sense to me. We do it every day in our lives. Baseball tickets being particularly time sensitive, I even give them credit for making this decision in a timely manner.

You know as well as I do, that no matter where you live a ticket price goes something like this. A seat with $50 at the box office, $85 on stub hub, $100 from a scalper 30 minutes before game time, $25 after the first innings and whatever they can get for it by the third. If that isn’t 100% accurate it’s pretty close.

So Hank and Hal good for you. Sitting down and realizing this, realizing you misread the market. Don’t take it personal, it’s not like you’re the only one. Warren Buffet looks confused and he knows more than the rest of us, or so it would seem.

My issue comes with the rebates described in a press release by Hal from the other night.

I know this going to sound weird, but I spent everyday for as long as I can remember hearing that sports is a business. Then for as much as we malign that phrase shouldn’t it teach us to be better consumers?

People will see this as a good PR move by the Yankees. You know why the Yankees need a good PR move? It is because after spending $425 Million dollars on free agents in the off-season they are 11-10 on the 29^th of April.

If the Yankees were 17-4 there wouldn’t be this need to buy a little time so to speak.

I can’t believe we live in world where the New York Yankees, an organization that says you should be allowed to spend your money however you see fit is going to reimburse people for paying the market rate on tickets. Maybe they are still waiting on their Carl Pavano check?

I would contend that if I went out and bought a new Lexus the day it hit the lot, there maybe 19 different cars there loaded with different options and in different colors. On that day the cost on that car is $90,000.00. A year later I return to the same car lot, there are two left, my options are between a green and a blue Lexus. My options are chosen for me. That being said for giving up the options, I’ll probably pay $70,000.00.

Why do I use this example? I do it because the free market says that 85% of Yankee stadium sold at the market price. The remaining 15% of people had to take the seats that were left. On the other hand the Yankees had discovered that they must take action to sell the remaining tickets.

So one of two things is going on here, and I am not buying the Yankees have become like a hooker with a heart of gold.

I think the truth lies in the fact that playing fantasy baseball has finally caught up with the Yankees brass and this ticket rebate is like a prematurely balding man buying a Cherry Red Porsche, it takes the attention off the real problem. All it does is serve to distract from the fact that Teixeira is batting .206 and Burnett and Sabathia in nine starts have surrender 32 runs and combined for a 3 – 2 record.

Suspended Phillie Sues Supplement Maker

Romero may be telling the truth, but what will MLB do? It still looks too late for the Phillies reliever, but he has begun to prove he will not go down without a fight.

Suspended Philadelphia Phillies reliever J.C. Romero has filed suit against a nutritional supplement manufacturer alleging an unlisted ingredient in one of its products caused him to test positive for a substance banned by Major League Baseball, according to ESPN.com.

Romero, was suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season, after he tested positive for androstenedione, a banned substance. The supplement called 6-OXO did not specify androstenedione on the label nor in the ingredients and Romero continues to plead his case about not knowing about the substance.

Not only that, clerks at the stores where he purchased the supplements told him that 6-OXO would not cause a positive test for a banned substance.

Lesson learned; never believe the idiots behind the counter. Androstenedione is a natural substance that is found in humans and plant pollens, but has been on MLB blacklist since 2006 because of saftley concerns.

The over-the-counter supplement, colloquially known as “andro,” gained public attention in 1998 when Mark McGwire, then with the St. Louis Cardinals, disclosed he used the substance during his pursuit of the single-season home run record that year. McGwire ultimately hit 70 homers, eclipsing the record of 61 set by the Yankees’ Roger Maris in 1961.

Romero’s suit was filed in Camden, NJ on Monday.  Romero wants compensation for the money and time he has missed because of the positive test.

Manny Gets Day Off, ‘I’m not a young kid anymore’

No matter how much you are paid in Major League baseball, you still deserve to have a few days off right? Manny Ramirez would agree for sure, if he actually needed to “chill” on Sunday while his team battled the Rockies-that’s a different story.

Joe Torre gave Manny the day off after he seemed to be a little “behind” during Saturday night’s game in which he went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts. Torre felt Manny may have been fatigued because his swings were starting too soon.

Ramirez felt he could use a day off and responded with, “It’s such a long season, it doesn’t matter,” Ramirez said. “Everybody needs a day off. What do you think I am, Cal Ripken?”

So where could you find Manny on during Sunday’s game? Who knows. Not sure if he was even in the dugout, but he sure got to stick another signature punchline on the sarcasm wall.

Torre also decided to rest infielders Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal in hopes to get a good jump on the upcoming series with the Giants which begins on Monday.

Oliver Perez Mets $36MM Disaster?

There is no doubt Oliver Perez can slump, and lose command of a baseball game, but should he already be deemed the “Mets $36MM disaster?” A few may be starting think “Yes”, including manager Jerry Manual.

The New York Post published and article today that slashes Perez at the knees, similar to when a weed-whacker hits a bumble bee.

Statements like “he has no pitching IQ”, “he generally has no clue where the ball is going once it leaves his hand”, and even calling Perez a “the Mets 36 million dollar disaster”.

Jerry Manual has said  he is “really, really concerned”, and in a “round-about” way mentioned that if Perez can not find his “stuff” he will be useless to the club.

Making a somewhat valid point right?

At the moment, Perez does have an atrocious ERA of 9.31, he has walked 15 batters, and has allowed a skyrocketing amount of hits (23). Yes these numbers could make a pitcher feel like an exploding bumble bee, but we need to remember these numbers are only after 19 total innings and the beginning of a very hectic season in New York.

If you compare him to someone like Johan Santana who currently sits at 0.70 in the ERA column, for a recent $36MM addition you should be concerned, but to be “really, really concerned” might be jumping the gate.

The whole entire season remains in front of  Perez to make improvements. If the Mets have any confidence in their pitching staff, the organzation should feel somewhat at ease with the situation.

Bad luck in previous seasons, may have the inventors of the rally cap on the edge, but I think it is far too soon to call Perez “the Mets $36MM disaster”.

Sox And Phils Have A “Sweep” Weekend

You could definitely say the Phillies and Red Sox had a very “Sweep” weekend.

According to MLB.com, the Yankees and Red Sox series this weekend “provided countless forms of excitement for their fans”.

There was a walk-off win on Friday night despite a two-run deficit with two outs in the ninth, a slugfest victory on Saturday to overcome a six-run deficit and finally a 4-1 triumph on Sunday that included an electrifying straight steal of home by Jacoby Ellsbury.

No only did the Red Sox sweep the Yanks this weekend, they extended their winning streak to 10 games.

Dustin Pedroia called it a fantastic weekend for the team, but acknowledged that he plans on seeing the Yanks in the end!

The World Series hangover just might have snapped this weekend, as Phillies swept “the Fish”  to boost the teams record over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Jamie Moyer capped out the series allowing only 1 run in 6 innings, as Phillies cruised to a 13-2 victory on Sunday.

MLB.com reports that the Phillies had little quality pitching before the weekend. They were 6-8 and carried a 6.31 ERA into the series, the worst mark in the NL. They had just four quality starts, the fewest in baseball.

Charlie Manual is optimistic that the Phils have busted out of the early season defensive slump.

Phillies fans can also expect Cole Hamels back on the mound this week.

Romero Comes Through Big Time

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