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May 7, 2012: 20-strikeout games
My latest chart for Getting Blanked looks at the 20-strikeout games thrown by Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood. Sometimes, I find it easier to understand the greatness of things if I strip out all of the unnecessary information; so the chart only features the things relevant to Roger and Kerry's performances: their strikeouts, other outs, and hits.
My latest chart for Getting Blanked looks at the 20-strikeout games thrown by Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood. Sometimes, I find it easier to understand the greatness of things if I strip out all of the unnecessary information; so the chart only features the things relevant to Roger and Kerry's performances: their strikeouts, other outs, and hits.May 7, 2012: Blowouts
Diablos Rojos del México 7 Rieleros de Aguascalientes 12
7:00pm Friday May 4, 2012
Time: 3:20
Attendance: 1,890
Diablos Rojos del México 13 Rieleros de Aguascalientes 2
4:00pm Saturday May 6, 2012
Time: 2:46
Attendance: 2,148
Just when you get to thinking that the pitching is showing signs of getting better...
Friday night, down 1-0, but getting hits, leaving runners in scoring position, kinda looking like it was only a matter of time before they got on the board: then the top of the fourth happened. The starting pitcher Francisco Rosario got into trouble, his reliever David Reyes was worse, and finally, facing the 13th batter of the inning, Orlando Lara finally coaxed a ground ball for a double play. If this was a .500 team, it'd be easy to shake off a blowout, but this is a team seven - now eight - games under .500.
David, the super happy taco guy who has recently become quite chatty came over in the 7th inning, he did a little dance on the stairs to the music that was playing over the PA, and told me, rather excitedly, that there was another English person a couple of sections over, and did I want to come over and meet them. Now, I've done some travelling around in my life, and I've lived outside of the UK for eleven years; I don't care about your home country, I only care if you are a good person. I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt until you prove yourself to be a dick, though, so, seeing David's enthusiasm, I followed him a couple of sections over to meet two Mexican men, a Mexican woman, and an English woman. The Mexicans couldn't have been lovelier. The English woman, though: urgh. Just exhausting. Totally couldn't be arsed to talk to someone else, clipped answers to questions, didn't seem to be enjoying the baseball. Still, had a good chat with the Mexicans, so all good.
The Diablos put up a bit of a fight later on. 12-2 down heading into the bottom of the ninth. Following a called strikeout, five consecutive singles, a double, and a sac fly made it interesting. 12-7. Runner on second, Carlos Valencia walked, and then Victor Bojorquez grounded out to the pitcher. Game over.
Saturday, the blowout was going in the other direction. Aguascalientes only had five hits, not getting a run until the seventh when they score two on a Omar Mendoza single to center field. The Diablos scored in the second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh; racking up eighteen hits.
Other things to note: the Diablos' gringo left fielder/designated hitter Cory Aldridge walked out to George Thorogood's Bad to the Bone. They should make a Diablos Rojos pizza based on the logo.
How dangerous is it being a baseball player during an electrical storm? (There was one brewing on Saturday; they played through the rain and for about half an inning, some fairly howling wind). It's amazing how often people only notice themselves on the stadium cam just as it cuts away from them. The guy sat in front of me picked up his toddler and held him aloft every time the Diablos scored. Note to that guy: your kid isn't a trophy.
The dancing girls that sometimes appear at Diablos games haven't been around much this season, but on Saturday, we were treated to a sponsored dancing girl treat: seven Hooters girls dancing to Cotton-Eyed Joe. They were dressed like regular Hooters girls, and they had some rather lovely flamingo-coloured pom poms.
The Diablos seem to have new uniforms. Not got a good photograph yet, but they are cream, not white. Mmmmm, cream unis... Instead of saying Diablos across the chest, they have the "M" logo that's on the cap on their chest (like the Yankees or Nationals). Sadly, though, the numbers on the back and belly look like they were designed by the same doofuses (doofi?) who designed the Puma uniforms that were so horrible during the last World Cup.
The Diablos lost again on Sunday. They are now 18-26, bottom of the eight-team Zona Norte. Just nine more games before the All-Star break, so it's time to either start playing well, or accept sub-1,000 crowds for the rest of 2012.
Diablos Rojos del México 7 Rieleros de Aguascalientes 12
7:00pm Friday May 4, 2012
Time: 3:20
Attendance: 1,890
Diablos Rojos del México 13 Rieleros de Aguascalientes 2
4:00pm Saturday May 6, 2012
Time: 2:46
Attendance: 2,148
Just when you get to thinking that the pitching is showing signs of getting better...
Friday night, down 1-0, but getting hits, leaving runners in scoring position, kinda looking like it was only a matter of time before they got on the board: then the top of the fourth happened. The starting pitcher Francisco Rosario got into trouble, his reliever David Reyes was worse, and finally, facing the 13th batter of the inning, Orlando Lara finally coaxed a ground ball for a double play. If this was a .500 team, it'd be easy to shake off a blowout, but this is a team seven - now eight - games under .500.
David, the super happy taco guy who has recently become quite chatty came over in the 7th inning, he did a little dance on the stairs to the music that was playing over the PA, and told me, rather excitedly, that there was another English person a couple of sections over, and did I want to come over and meet them. Now, I've done some travelling around in my life, and I've lived outside of the UK for eleven years; I don't care about your home country, I only care if you are a good person. I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt until you prove yourself to be a dick, though, so, seeing David's enthusiasm, I followed him a couple of sections over to meet two Mexican men, a Mexican woman, and an English woman. The Mexicans couldn't have been lovelier. The English woman, though: urgh. Just exhausting. Totally couldn't be arsed to talk to someone else, clipped answers to questions, didn't seem to be enjoying the baseball. Still, had a good chat with the Mexicans, so all good.
The Diablos put up a bit of a fight later on. 12-2 down heading into the bottom of the ninth. Following a called strikeout, five consecutive singles, a double, and a sac fly made it interesting. 12-7. Runner on second, Carlos Valencia walked, and then Victor Bojorquez grounded out to the pitcher. Game over.
Saturday, the blowout was going in the other direction. Aguascalientes only had five hits, not getting a run until the seventh when they score two on a Omar Mendoza single to center field. The Diablos scored in the second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh; racking up eighteen hits.
Other things to note: the Diablos' gringo left fielder/designated hitter Cory Aldridge walked out to George Thorogood's Bad to the Bone. They should make a Diablos Rojos pizza based on the logo.
How dangerous is it being a baseball player during an electrical storm? (There was one brewing on Saturday; they played through the rain and for about half an inning, some fairly howling wind). It's amazing how often people only notice themselves on the stadium cam just as it cuts away from them. The guy sat in front of me picked up his toddler and held him aloft every time the Diablos scored. Note to that guy: your kid isn't a trophy.
The dancing girls that sometimes appear at Diablos games haven't been around much this season, but on Saturday, we were treated to a sponsored dancing girl treat: seven Hooters girls dancing to Cotton-Eyed Joe. They were dressed like regular Hooters girls, and they had some rather lovely flamingo-coloured pom poms.
The Diablos seem to have new uniforms. Not got a good photograph yet, but they are cream, not white. Mmmmm, cream unis... Instead of saying Diablos across the chest, they have the "M" logo that's on the cap on their chest (like the Yankees or Nationals). Sadly, though, the numbers on the back and belly look like they were designed by the same doofuses (doofi?) who designed the Puma uniforms that were so horrible during the last World Cup.
The Diablos lost again on Sunday. They are now 18-26, bottom of the eight-team Zona Norte. Just nine more games before the All-Star break, so it's time to either start playing well, or accept sub-1,000 crowds for the rest of 2012.
May 4, 2012: Baseball references in Beastie Boys songs
The sun is beating down on my baseball hat - Paul Revere (Licensed to Ill)
I did it with a wiffleball bat - Paul Revere (Licensed to Ill)
I beat a biter down with an aluminum bat - Shake Your Rump (Paul's Boutique)
Shea Stadium the radium E M D squared - The Sounds of Science (Paul's Boutique)
On the mic I score just like the Yankees - 3-Minute Rule (Paul's Boutique)
And I've got more hits than Sadaharu Oh - Hey Ladies (Paul's Boutique)
Got more Louie than Philip Rizzuto - What Comes Around (Paul's Boutique)
And I've got mad hits like I was Rod Carew - Sure Shot (Ill Communication)
I said, Oops gotcha clutch like Piazza - 3 The Hard Way (To the 5 Boroughs)
Waiting like a batter who is on deck - It Takes Time to Build (To the 5 Boroughs)
(Thanks to the many folks on Twitter who pointed out my omissions.)
The sun is beating down on my baseball hat - Paul Revere (Licensed to Ill)
I did it with a wiffleball bat - Paul Revere (Licensed to Ill)
I beat a biter down with an aluminum bat - Shake Your Rump (Paul's Boutique)
Shea Stadium the radium E M D squared - The Sounds of Science (Paul's Boutique)
On the mic I score just like the Yankees - 3-Minute Rule (Paul's Boutique)
And I've got more hits than Sadaharu Oh - Hey Ladies (Paul's Boutique)
Got more Louie than Philip Rizzuto - What Comes Around (Paul's Boutique)
And I've got mad hits like I was Rod Carew - Sure Shot (Ill Communication)
I said, Oops gotcha clutch like Piazza - 3 The Hard Way (To the 5 Boroughs)
Waiting like a batter who is on deck - It Takes Time to Build (To the 5 Boroughs)
(Thanks to the many folks on Twitter who pointed out my omissions.)
May 4, 2012: Brawl
Diablos Rojos del México 6 Saraperos de Saltillo 2
7:00pm Thursday May 3, 2012
Time: 2:49
Attendance: 1,174
The Diablos have had pitching problems. It's been frustrating. They've not been doing what they need to do to make up the games that would get them into the playoffs. Not sweeping; if they win a series 2-1, they seem to lose the next series. In the last couple of weeks though, there seems to have been an improvement. In the context of the season, it's tough not to get down about games that the pitching loses, but on the whole, signs of improvement are there. I still think they won't make the playoffs, and if they do sneak in, they don't have what it takes; but I've been to eight games in the last fortnight, and the defeats I've seen have been close.
It was a game of chatting for me, though. Chatting with Luis, the Cuban beer guy, and one of the taco guys. I go to games on my own most of the time, and while I'm more than comfortable spending time alone, just sitting back, watching the game, thinking about bullshit, it's nice to have moments during the game where you shake hands with someone, have a chat for a few moments, and then get back to the game. The thinking about stuff, the drifting off during a game into my own head doesn't happen as much as it used to, though. I think that's because towards the end of last season, I started keeping score. And now, there's always a scorebook and a pencil in my hand. I think I need to stop doing that. Even though it's not the case, I don't want my baseball experience to solely become checking boxes, which is something I'm starting to worry about. It's time to leave my scorebook at home, even though I do kind of enjoy the beauty and logic of the abbreviations and recording a game so methodically.
I realise that virtually nobody reads these game reports, cos, y'know, who really cares about Mexican baseball? Having heard about how some beat writers do their thing, beginning their write-up before the game ends and then capping things off when the game finishes, I now realise what they must go through when big things happen in the last couple of innings. I'd written the above and a bunch of other stuff into my iPod during the breaks between pitching changes and half-innings in the seventh and eighth. When the Saraperos bateador designado, Refugio Cervantes was hit by a Juan Sandoval pitch in the top of the eighth, it was just one of those things: write HBP and do a line on the scorecard. In the bottom of the inning, Edgar Lizarraga seemed to retaliate, and plunked catcher Gabriel Gutierrez. Gutierrez trotted to first, and all of a sudden, everyone was on the field. Not sure if Cervantes was hit intentionally to begin with (I've seen all three games of this series, and there was nothing to indicate any bad feeling), but Gutierrez certainly was. Both teams came out, and it wasn't the normal pushing around, with people trying to break it up: it was proper full on punches being thrown. The mass of players moved like a scrum towards the Diablos dugout, calmed down for a minute, which players continued discussing things, and then erupted again. By this time, I'd bothered to get my camera out.
Fans threw paper beer cups and other trash onto the field. A Sarapero was hit by a beer cup. The stadium announcer requested we didn't throw stuff, and the PA system began playing classical music. It was quite a bizarre moment, seeing players still angry with each other, hearing the smooth sounds of light classical music drifting around the park. Sat near me were a boyfriend and girlfriend. She was a Saraperos fan, he a Diablos fan. While all this was going on, they were stood up, hugging each other. That was nice. All in all, the game was delayed for around ten minutes. The Saraperos had their manager, the pitcher, and some other dude ejected.
Diablos won the game, took the series 2-1. Onto the weekend series now, against the Reileros de Aguascalientes, one of the two new teams in the league this season, (although they are actually a resurrection of a team that have been in the league on and off since the mid-seventies). Fingers crossed the semi-decent pitching continues. There's two weeks (twelve games) until the All-Star break, and they're in 7th place in the eight-team division, three games back from a top four playoff spot.
Diablos Rojos del México 6 Saraperos de Saltillo 2
7:00pm Thursday May 3, 2012
Time: 2:49
Attendance: 1,174
The Diablos have had pitching problems. It's been frustrating. They've not been doing what they need to do to make up the games that would get them into the playoffs. Not sweeping; if they win a series 2-1, they seem to lose the next series. In the last couple of weeks though, there seems to have been an improvement. In the context of the season, it's tough not to get down about games that the pitching loses, but on the whole, signs of improvement are there. I still think they won't make the playoffs, and if they do sneak in, they don't have what it takes; but I've been to eight games in the last fortnight, and the defeats I've seen have been close.
It was a game of chatting for me, though. Chatting with Luis, the Cuban beer guy, and one of the taco guys. I go to games on my own most of the time, and while I'm more than comfortable spending time alone, just sitting back, watching the game, thinking about bullshit, it's nice to have moments during the game where you shake hands with someone, have a chat for a few moments, and then get back to the game. The thinking about stuff, the drifting off during a game into my own head doesn't happen as much as it used to, though. I think that's because towards the end of last season, I started keeping score. And now, there's always a scorebook and a pencil in my hand. I think I need to stop doing that. Even though it's not the case, I don't want my baseball experience to solely become checking boxes, which is something I'm starting to worry about. It's time to leave my scorebook at home, even though I do kind of enjoy the beauty and logic of the abbreviations and recording a game so methodically.
I realise that virtually nobody reads these game reports, cos, y'know, who really cares about Mexican baseball? Having heard about how some beat writers do their thing, beginning their write-up before the game ends and then capping things off when the game finishes, I now realise what they must go through when big things happen in the last couple of innings. I'd written the above and a bunch of other stuff into my iPod during the breaks between pitching changes and half-innings in the seventh and eighth. When the Saraperos bateador designado, Refugio Cervantes was hit by a Juan Sandoval pitch in the top of the eighth, it was just one of those things: write HBP and do a line on the scorecard. In the bottom of the inning, Edgar Lizarraga seemed to retaliate, and plunked catcher Gabriel Gutierrez. Gutierrez trotted to first, and all of a sudden, everyone was on the field. Not sure if Cervantes was hit intentionally to begin with (I've seen all three games of this series, and there was nothing to indicate any bad feeling), but Gutierrez certainly was. Both teams came out, and it wasn't the normal pushing around, with people trying to break it up: it was proper full on punches being thrown. The mass of players moved like a scrum towards the Diablos dugout, calmed down for a minute, which players continued discussing things, and then erupted again. By this time, I'd bothered to get my camera out.
Fans threw paper beer cups and other trash onto the field. A Sarapero was hit by a beer cup. The stadium announcer requested we didn't throw stuff, and the PA system began playing classical music. It was quite a bizarre moment, seeing players still angry with each other, hearing the smooth sounds of light classical music drifting around the park. Sat near me were a boyfriend and girlfriend. She was a Saraperos fan, he a Diablos fan. While all this was going on, they were stood up, hugging each other. That was nice. All in all, the game was delayed for around ten minutes. The Saraperos had their manager, the pitcher, and some other dude ejected.
Diablos won the game, took the series 2-1. Onto the weekend series now, against the Reileros de Aguascalientes, one of the two new teams in the league this season, (although they are actually a resurrection of a team that have been in the league on and off since the mid-seventies). Fingers crossed the semi-decent pitching continues. There's two weeks (twelve games) until the All-Star break, and they're in 7th place in the eight-team division, three games back from a top four playoff spot.
May 3, 2012: Catching up on a few games
Diablos Rojos del México 2 Pericos de Puebla 3
7:00pm Friday April 27, 2012
Time: 3:17
Attendance: 6,619
Diablos Rojos del México 4 Pericos de Puebla 0
4:00pm Saturday April 28, 2012
Time: 2:39
Attendance: 7,638
Diablos Rojos del México 10 Saraperos de Saltillo 3
4:00pm Tuesday May 1, 2012
Time: 3:31
Attendance: 5,475
Diablos Rojos del México 3 Saraperos de Saltillo 5
7:00pm Wednesday May 2, 2012
Time: 3:00
Attendance: 962 (not a typo)
I went down to Puebla at the weekend. It's a beautiful city, it's only a couple of hours away on the bus, and the Diablos were playing a series down there. No brainer. I went down there last season to see a couple of games when the Pericos played the Tigres, and enjoyed the kinda nice, kinda small park. I arrived early for Friday's game, intent on getting a good seat. From what I can tell, Mexican baseball seems to have a general admission policy everywhere, so arriving early was good for getting sat right behind home plate. Sat in the fourth row simply because the netting was kinda badly repaired at the bottom, with another layer of netting covering the gaps in the main layer, so the view was pretty crappy. Fourth row, though, I was right behind the dudes with the speed guns measuring the speed of every pitch.
Sitting that close, with that good a view of the pitcher and batter, was a revelation. Utterly amazing. I never played baseball , so I've never seen what it looks like having a curveball or slider coming at you, but being that close, I saw movement. So much movement. It was fantastic. Seeing sliders sliding, seeing how curvey curveballs can be. Even seeing movement on fastballs. The best moment for me during the game was seeing one of the Diablos pitchers, who'd used his curveball a bunch, leave one hanging and hearing the crack of good contact by Pericos center fielder, and former Marlin and Astro, Reggie Abercrombie, who smacked it into the left field corner for a ground rule double.
Sat in the first row, though, were a couple of dudes who were doing that bullshit thing people do: waving their arms around trying to distract the Diablos' pitcher. I've often heard it said that the Diablos Rojos are like the Yankees of Mexican baseball. They've been successful, there's a no facial hair policy, and it would seem, fans of other teams hate them. This is something I'd only really experienced in the vaguest sense at home games, but there were a fair few anti-Diablos chants at both the games on Friday and Saturday.
For Saturday's game, the sunshine dictated that I sat in a different section, in the shade above the first base line. Both games were pretty close, but as someone who has watched some terrible Diablos pitching all season, Saturday's game was a joy. Starting pitcher Francisco Rosario went five innings, striking out four, and only giving up one hit. In the sixth, Oswaldo Martinez gave up a hit, then four more relievers combined to allow no more Pericos hits. A two-hit shut out. Good stuff.
Back in Mexico City, it was the Día del Niños on Tuesday. Primero de Mayo is a public holiday, too, so the Diablos had an afternoon game. Aside from a few between-innings kids stuff with the mascot on the field, not really sure what was special about it for kids, cos the dude in front of me in the ticket queue asked if kids were free, and was told they weren't. It was one of the least enjoyable games I've been to. Diablos beat the Saraperos fairly convincingly, but it was like being at one of those camp day games. Kids everywhere. I have no children, I have no desire to ever have children, but I've got nothing against children, they seem like decent people on the whole, but stick a couple of thousand of them in the same place, and I find myself shrinking down into grumpiness.
It all got a bit much with crying, tetchy, bored kids around in the later innings; I wasn't really enjoying being there, so for only the fourth time, I left a game before it ended. (The other times: in 2008, I left Angel Stadium because the last train from Anaheim to downtown L.A. was due to leave at some point in the ninth inning. In 2010, on my first night in Toronto, I left the SkyDome early because, well, it was my first night in town and I wanted to experience some nightlife. And last season, I left a Diablos game cos I was feeling poorly.)
Last night, the attendance had shot its load with the kids day. A Wednesday 7pm game after a public holiday, I counted around 120 people in the infield between-the-bases upper area. Official attendance was 962, but that's bullshit. Mas o menos 500 total. But it was a decent game. I had a pleasant chat with a security guard, and had a chat with Luis, the friendly beer vendor. He looks like the sort of guy who I won never want to get into a fight with, but he's always nice to me, and he smiles a lot. I found out more about his history when I asked if he enjoyed baseball. He said of course, "I'm Cuban!" My Spanish isn't good enough to distinguish between a Mexican and Cuban accent. He's loved in the States, too. He reeled off a load of cities he'd lived in (Miami, New York, Seattle, Portland) before he came to live in Mexico. I asked about the food in Cuba. He gave a "it's okay" face, confirming what others have told me. We chatted about the differences between the price of beer at the park here (35 pesos, US$2.68) and the price of the same beer in Puebla (25 pesos, US$1.92). Luis is of the opinion that the change in beer supplier this season is one of the reasons for the poor attendance here; that more people preferred Corona and Victoria than they do Modelo Especial.
Anyway, it was a decent game: pretty good pitching kept it close. 2-for-14 with RISP tells you why the Diablos lost, though. But the ballpark DJ played "Quick and to the Pointless" by Queens of the Stone Age, so that was good. I like games like last night's, though. Not for what happened on the field, or the lack of people in the stands; just that point you get to when you've got past that initial euphoria of the first couple of games of the season, where IT! IS! BACK!, and you settle down to a win here, a loss there, where you attend a game, and it's a pleasant relaxing end to the working day. I still get excited by rallies, still shake my head when Gabriel Gutierrez bunts with two outs (and later in the game bunted with two strikes), but on the whole, there's this very attractive scene in front of my eyes. Which is why I will go again tonight.
Diablos Rojos del México 2 Pericos de Puebla 3
7:00pm Friday April 27, 2012
Time: 3:17
Attendance: 6,619
Diablos Rojos del México 4 Pericos de Puebla 0
4:00pm Saturday April 28, 2012
Time: 2:39
Attendance: 7,638
Diablos Rojos del México 10 Saraperos de Saltillo 3
4:00pm Tuesday May 1, 2012
Time: 3:31
Attendance: 5,475
Diablos Rojos del México 3 Saraperos de Saltillo 5
7:00pm Wednesday May 2, 2012
Time: 3:00
Attendance: 962 (not a typo)
I went down to Puebla at the weekend. It's a beautiful city, it's only a couple of hours away on the bus, and the Diablos were playing a series down there. No brainer. I went down there last season to see a couple of games when the Pericos played the Tigres, and enjoyed the kinda nice, kinda small park. I arrived early for Friday's game, intent on getting a good seat. From what I can tell, Mexican baseball seems to have a general admission policy everywhere, so arriving early was good for getting sat right behind home plate. Sat in the fourth row simply because the netting was kinda badly repaired at the bottom, with another layer of netting covering the gaps in the main layer, so the view was pretty crappy. Fourth row, though, I was right behind the dudes with the speed guns measuring the speed of every pitch.
Sitting that close, with that good a view of the pitcher and batter, was a revelation. Utterly amazing. I never played baseball , so I've never seen what it looks like having a curveball or slider coming at you, but being that close, I saw movement. So much movement. It was fantastic. Seeing sliders sliding, seeing how curvey curveballs can be. Even seeing movement on fastballs. The best moment for me during the game was seeing one of the Diablos pitchers, who'd used his curveball a bunch, leave one hanging and hearing the crack of good contact by Pericos center fielder, and former Marlin and Astro, Reggie Abercrombie, who smacked it into the left field corner for a ground rule double.
Sat in the first row, though, were a couple of dudes who were doing that bullshit thing people do: waving their arms around trying to distract the Diablos' pitcher. I've often heard it said that the Diablos Rojos are like the Yankees of Mexican baseball. They've been successful, there's a no facial hair policy, and it would seem, fans of other teams hate them. This is something I'd only really experienced in the vaguest sense at home games, but there were a fair few anti-Diablos chants at both the games on Friday and Saturday.
For Saturday's game, the sunshine dictated that I sat in a different section, in the shade above the first base line. Both games were pretty close, but as someone who has watched some terrible Diablos pitching all season, Saturday's game was a joy. Starting pitcher Francisco Rosario went five innings, striking out four, and only giving up one hit. In the sixth, Oswaldo Martinez gave up a hit, then four more relievers combined to allow no more Pericos hits. A two-hit shut out. Good stuff.
Back in Mexico City, it was the Día del Niños on Tuesday. Primero de Mayo is a public holiday, too, so the Diablos had an afternoon game. Aside from a few between-innings kids stuff with the mascot on the field, not really sure what was special about it for kids, cos the dude in front of me in the ticket queue asked if kids were free, and was told they weren't. It was one of the least enjoyable games I've been to. Diablos beat the Saraperos fairly convincingly, but it was like being at one of those camp day games. Kids everywhere. I have no children, I have no desire to ever have children, but I've got nothing against children, they seem like decent people on the whole, but stick a couple of thousand of them in the same place, and I find myself shrinking down into grumpiness.
It all got a bit much with crying, tetchy, bored kids around in the later innings; I wasn't really enjoying being there, so for only the fourth time, I left a game before it ended. (The other times: in 2008, I left Angel Stadium because the last train from Anaheim to downtown L.A. was due to leave at some point in the ninth inning. In 2010, on my first night in Toronto, I left the SkyDome early because, well, it was my first night in town and I wanted to experience some nightlife. And last season, I left a Diablos game cos I was feeling poorly.)
Last night, the attendance had shot its load with the kids day. A Wednesday 7pm game after a public holiday, I counted around 120 people in the infield between-the-bases upper area. Official attendance was 962, but that's bullshit. Mas o menos 500 total. But it was a decent game. I had a pleasant chat with a security guard, and had a chat with Luis, the friendly beer vendor. He looks like the sort of guy who I won never want to get into a fight with, but he's always nice to me, and he smiles a lot. I found out more about his history when I asked if he enjoyed baseball. He said of course, "I'm Cuban!" My Spanish isn't good enough to distinguish between a Mexican and Cuban accent. He's loved in the States, too. He reeled off a load of cities he'd lived in (Miami, New York, Seattle, Portland) before he came to live in Mexico. I asked about the food in Cuba. He gave a "it's okay" face, confirming what others have told me. We chatted about the differences between the price of beer at the park here (35 pesos, US$2.68) and the price of the same beer in Puebla (25 pesos, US$1.92). Luis is of the opinion that the change in beer supplier this season is one of the reasons for the poor attendance here; that more people preferred Corona and Victoria than they do Modelo Especial.
Anyway, it was a decent game: pretty good pitching kept it close. 2-for-14 with RISP tells you why the Diablos lost, though. But the ballpark DJ played "Quick and to the Pointless" by Queens of the Stone Age, so that was good. I like games like last night's, though. Not for what happened on the field, or the lack of people in the stands; just that point you get to when you've got past that initial euphoria of the first couple of games of the season, where IT! IS! BACK!, and you settle down to a win here, a loss there, where you attend a game, and it's a pleasant relaxing end to the working day. I still get excited by rallies, still shake my head when Gabriel Gutierrez bunts with two outs (and later in the game bunted with two strikes), but on the whole, there's this very attractive scene in front of my eyes. Which is why I will go again tonight.
April 23, 2012: A weekend of baseball
Diablos Rojos del México 2 Pericos de Puebla 5
7:00pm Saturday April 21, 2012
Time: 3:11
Attendance: 2,979
Diablos Rojos del México 8 Pericos de Puebla 2
12:00pm Sunday April 22, 2012
Time: 2:42
Attendance: 2,939
I watched the first five innings of the Yankees-Sox game on Saturday afternoon, flipped over to watch the last three innings of Humber's perfect game, flipped back to see the Yankees get back to within one run of the Sox, and then had to leave to go to Foro Sol for the Diablos-Pericos game. I was kind of hoping that the days fun baseball would continue with a Diablos victory. But, after Friday's win, one that they didn't particularly deserve, things evened themselves out on Saturday. Ten hits, two Pericos errors and three walks all combined to create just two runs, both of which came in the late innings. Puebla made the most of a shaky fourth inning by Roberto Ramirez: he gave up a double to third baseman Alberto Carreon, hit second baseman Fernando Alejos with a pitch, center fielder (and former Marlin and Astro) Reggie Abercrombie singled, and DH Luis Suarez homered. Ramirez gave up the fifth run in without giving up a hit. He hit Abercrombie, who stole second, got to third when Suarez grounded to second, and catch Cesar Tapia sac-flied to right.
But, it was one of those games. A truly horrible home plate umpire, calling all sorts of shit for strikes (I was sat pretty much directly over him and pitches that would've plunked Prince Fielder's belly were being called strikes). Pericos short stop Francisco Lizarraga was ejected for arguing one of the calls in the third. My favourite moment of the game, though, came in the top of the ninth: Pericos left fielder Eliezer Ortiz comes up with runners on first and second, no outs. He pops up a bunt to the fast approaching third baseman Oscar Robles who spots the runner way off first, and the first baseman not particularly near the bag, so he runs across to first himself. Unassisted double play.
I don't often have the time or desire to go to all three games of a series, but it was nice to do it for the first time this season. Sunday's game started at noon, which seems awfully early, but it was a nice sunny day, and a couple of friends and I had organised to go and sit in the concrete bleachers beyond left field. Tickets behind the infield, where I normally sit, are 70 pesos (US $5.30); tickets in the left field bleachers are just 10 pesos (76 cents). It's the first time I've sat in the bleachers at Foro Sol, and the first time I've been in the bleachers since watching a Yanks-Jays game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2007. It's a pretty nice experience. Not many people around, but nice sunshine, a couple of Modelo Especials, and it's fun to watch the outfielders more closely. And, refusing to sit down, nervously leaning against the metal railing above the outfield wall just along from me was a ballhawk kid. It made me happy to see the first home run of the day fly past him, and an older dude snag it off the stairs. I'm not a fan of ballhawks.
The Diablos got off to a good start, something of an oddity this season. Runner on base, boom! Carlos Valencia two-run home run in the first. Runner on base, boom! Leo Heras home run in the second. A couple of beers in the bleachers, four Diablos runs, and my pals arrived, but a mix-up over which section we'd be in was my good fortune. I'd forgotten to bring sunscreen, and my arms and neck were roasted. Spent the rest of the game back in the shaded infield seats. A well-pitched game by the Diablos. Arturo Lopez gave up two runs in the fifth, but apart from that, zeros all the way. The Diablos had a big eighth: four hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, and it was 8-2. Which is how it ended. Interestingly (..?), eight of the Diablos' 24 outs game from batters grounding out to the pitcher.
Total attendance for this Friday to Sunday three game series was an incredibly depressing 7,877.
Diablos Rojos del México 2 Pericos de Puebla 5
7:00pm Saturday April 21, 2012
Time: 3:11
Attendance: 2,979
Diablos Rojos del México 8 Pericos de Puebla 2
12:00pm Sunday April 22, 2012
Time: 2:42
Attendance: 2,939
I watched the first five innings of the Yankees-Sox game on Saturday afternoon, flipped over to watch the last three innings of Humber's perfect game, flipped back to see the Yankees get back to within one run of the Sox, and then had to leave to go to Foro Sol for the Diablos-Pericos game. I was kind of hoping that the days fun baseball would continue with a Diablos victory. But, after Friday's win, one that they didn't particularly deserve, things evened themselves out on Saturday. Ten hits, two Pericos errors and three walks all combined to create just two runs, both of which came in the late innings. Puebla made the most of a shaky fourth inning by Roberto Ramirez: he gave up a double to third baseman Alberto Carreon, hit second baseman Fernando Alejos with a pitch, center fielder (and former Marlin and Astro) Reggie Abercrombie singled, and DH Luis Suarez homered. Ramirez gave up the fifth run in without giving up a hit. He hit Abercrombie, who stole second, got to third when Suarez grounded to second, and catch Cesar Tapia sac-flied to right.
But, it was one of those games. A truly horrible home plate umpire, calling all sorts of shit for strikes (I was sat pretty much directly over him and pitches that would've plunked Prince Fielder's belly were being called strikes). Pericos short stop Francisco Lizarraga was ejected for arguing one of the calls in the third. My favourite moment of the game, though, came in the top of the ninth: Pericos left fielder Eliezer Ortiz comes up with runners on first and second, no outs. He pops up a bunt to the fast approaching third baseman Oscar Robles who spots the runner way off first, and the first baseman not particularly near the bag, so he runs across to first himself. Unassisted double play.
I don't often have the time or desire to go to all three games of a series, but it was nice to do it for the first time this season. Sunday's game started at noon, which seems awfully early, but it was a nice sunny day, and a couple of friends and I had organised to go and sit in the concrete bleachers beyond left field. Tickets behind the infield, where I normally sit, are 70 pesos (US $5.30); tickets in the left field bleachers are just 10 pesos (76 cents). It's the first time I've sat in the bleachers at Foro Sol, and the first time I've been in the bleachers since watching a Yanks-Jays game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2007. It's a pretty nice experience. Not many people around, but nice sunshine, a couple of Modelo Especials, and it's fun to watch the outfielders more closely. And, refusing to sit down, nervously leaning against the metal railing above the outfield wall just along from me was a ballhawk kid. It made me happy to see the first home run of the day fly past him, and an older dude snag it off the stairs. I'm not a fan of ballhawks.
The Diablos got off to a good start, something of an oddity this season. Runner on base, boom! Carlos Valencia two-run home run in the first. Runner on base, boom! Leo Heras home run in the second. A couple of beers in the bleachers, four Diablos runs, and my pals arrived, but a mix-up over which section we'd be in was my good fortune. I'd forgotten to bring sunscreen, and my arms and neck were roasted. Spent the rest of the game back in the shaded infield seats. A well-pitched game by the Diablos. Arturo Lopez gave up two runs in the fifth, but apart from that, zeros all the way. The Diablos had a big eighth: four hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, and it was 8-2. Which is how it ended. Interestingly (..?), eight of the Diablos' 24 outs game from batters grounding out to the pitcher.
Total attendance for this Friday to Sunday three game series was an incredibly depressing 7,877.
April 21, 2012: Sometimes games that should be lost are won
Diablos Rojos del México 7 Pericos de Puebla 6
7:00pm Friday April 20, 2012
Time: 3:17
Attendance: 1,959
Attendance this season has been very poor. Of the seven games that I've attended so far, there's not been more than two thousand at any of the games that haven't been against (former local) rivals, Tigres de Quintana Roo. It seems way down on last season. I'm just guessing from a cursory scan of the box scores of those games, but in 2011, there was usually between four and eight thousand at most games. But last season, the Diablos were pretty good. Last season, the pitching wasn't quite as bad, and the offense could fill in the gaps.
But this season, the pitching has been awful. Team ERA is 6.72, the worst in the league. Team WHIP is 1.720. They've struck out the most opposing batters (216 Ks in 30 games), and they've walked the most, too (117). They are currently 12-18, joint-bottom in the Zona Norte division, 7.5 games back from the 19-10 Sultanes de Monterrey. There are eight teams in each zona, the top four in each advance to the playoffs in July/August.
Listening to the River Avenue Blues podcast yesterday on the way to the game, Joe and Mike were talking about how the Yankees offense can't be expected to constantly get out of the hole the pitching digs, and watching the Diablos seems like that every single game. I've only been to one game this season where they had a lead at the start of the game (and even then they turned that 3-0 lead into a 6-3 deficit in the second inning).
Last night's game was more of the same. Pericos scored one in the second and third, added three more in the fourth, and their pitcher had faced the minimum through 3.1 innings. The Diablos drew a walk, a single, and three doubles in the bottom of the fourth to make close the gap to 5-4. Pericos tacked on another in the fifth. Both teams somehow seemed to pitch okay for a couple more innings, and then the Diablos got to Puebla's relieve Jose Cobos: a single, double, and home run made it 7-6 Diablos.
Juan Sandoval came in, put the tying run on third, who would've scored were it not for a great catch by right fielder Mario Valenzuela off a Valentin Gamez line drive. And again, to record the final out of the game, first baseman Ivan Terrazas dove to his right to grab a bullet and flip it to the pitcher. Regular first baseman Japhet Amador would never ever have got to that.
But it was one of those games which I still have problems quantifying. For example, when I watch a soccer game, it's easy to see that, say, Barcelona had way more possession than Chelsea, and the latter sneaked a goal and won the game. But last night, did Pericos deserve to win? I kinda think they did. They had runners in scoring position in seven of the nine innings, going 2-for-12. They left 12 on base. Diablos went 5-for-11 with RISP, leaving only five on base. I could say that Diablos were better when they needed to be, but overall, it felt like they stole this one a little bit. Still, when they are six games under .500, I'll take it.
Diablos Rojos del México 7 Pericos de Puebla 6
7:00pm Friday April 20, 2012
Time: 3:17
Attendance: 1,959
Attendance this season has been very poor. Of the seven games that I've attended so far, there's not been more than two thousand at any of the games that haven't been against (former local) rivals, Tigres de Quintana Roo. It seems way down on last season. I'm just guessing from a cursory scan of the box scores of those games, but in 2011, there was usually between four and eight thousand at most games. But last season, the Diablos were pretty good. Last season, the pitching wasn't quite as bad, and the offense could fill in the gaps.
But this season, the pitching has been awful. Team ERA is 6.72, the worst in the league. Team WHIP is 1.720. They've struck out the most opposing batters (216 Ks in 30 games), and they've walked the most, too (117). They are currently 12-18, joint-bottom in the Zona Norte division, 7.5 games back from the 19-10 Sultanes de Monterrey. There are eight teams in each zona, the top four in each advance to the playoffs in July/August.
Listening to the River Avenue Blues podcast yesterday on the way to the game, Joe and Mike were talking about how the Yankees offense can't be expected to constantly get out of the hole the pitching digs, and watching the Diablos seems like that every single game. I've only been to one game this season where they had a lead at the start of the game (and even then they turned that 3-0 lead into a 6-3 deficit in the second inning).
Last night's game was more of the same. Pericos scored one in the second and third, added three more in the fourth, and their pitcher had faced the minimum through 3.1 innings. The Diablos drew a walk, a single, and three doubles in the bottom of the fourth to make close the gap to 5-4. Pericos tacked on another in the fifth. Both teams somehow seemed to pitch okay for a couple more innings, and then the Diablos got to Puebla's relieve Jose Cobos: a single, double, and home run made it 7-6 Diablos.
Juan Sandoval came in, put the tying run on third, who would've scored were it not for a great catch by right fielder Mario Valenzuela off a Valentin Gamez line drive. And again, to record the final out of the game, first baseman Ivan Terrazas dove to his right to grab a bullet and flip it to the pitcher. Regular first baseman Japhet Amador would never ever have got to that.
But it was one of those games which I still have problems quantifying. For example, when I watch a soccer game, it's easy to see that, say, Barcelona had way more possession than Chelsea, and the latter sneaked a goal and won the game. But last night, did Pericos deserve to win? I kinda think they did. They had runners in scoring position in seven of the nine innings, going 2-for-12. They left 12 on base. Diablos went 5-for-11 with RISP, leaving only five on base. I could say that Diablos were better when they needed to be, but overall, it felt like they stole this one a little bit. Still, when they are six games under .500, I'll take it.
April 16, 2012: Mariano Rivera
I made an animated GIF from Getty Images photographs of Mariano Rivera.
I made an animated GIF from Getty Images photographs of Mariano Rivera.April 15, 2012: The American League team of southern California
Not an infographic, really, just a reference list.
Not an infographic, really, just a reference list.April 15, 2012: Jackie Robinson
My latest chart for Getting Blanked: a look at Jackie Robinson's career, and the first five years of integration in the majors.
My latest chart for Getting Blanked: a look at Jackie Robinson's career, and the first five years of integration in the majors.April 14, 2012: Keeping score
Diablos Rojos del México 8 Acereros de Monclova 4
7:00pm Friday April 13, 2012
Time: 3:01
Attendance: 1,815
Decent game last night. Rather than write about it (I have a hangover) here's the scorecard. Hi-res version here.
Diablos Rojos del México 8 Acereros de Monclova 4
7:00pm Friday April 13, 2012
Time: 3:01
Attendance: 1,815
Decent game last night. Rather than write about it (I have a hangover) here's the scorecard. Hi-res version here.
April 13, 2012: Jeff Karstens
Very quick drawing of Jeff Karstens on a Post-it note.
Very quick drawing of Jeff Karstens on a Post-it note.
April 13, 2012: Rube
It's been 54 years since someone called Rube played in the majors. Here's a chart that looks at all of the Rubes in major league history, when they played, and where they were born.
It's been 54 years since someone called Rube played in the majors. Here's a chart that looks at all of the Rubes in major league history, when they played, and where they were born.
April 9, 2012: Pray for rain?
A chart looking at Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain, and the other 1948 Boston Braves starting pitchers.
A chart looking at Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain, and the other 1948 Boston Braves starting pitchers.
April 6, 2012: Setting the tone
On MLB.com this morning, the preview of the Rays-Yankees game had the headline: "AL East powerhouses vie to set tone." Really?
On MLB.com this morning, the preview of the Rays-Yankees game had the headline: "AL East powerhouses vie to set tone." Really?
April 5, 2012: Total runs scored in MLB history
Here's a new chart I did for Smithsonian Magazine regarding the ups and downs of run scoring in Major League Baseball history.
Here's a new chart I did for Smithsonian Magazine regarding the ups and downs of run scoring in Major League Baseball history.April 5, 2012: An all-feline baseball team
C - Kitty Bransfield*
1B - Johnny "The Big Cat" Mize
2B - Don "Tiger" Leppert
SS - Félix "the Cat" Millan†
3B - Don "Tiger" Hoak
OF - Lance "Big Puma" Berkman
OF - Cliff "Tiger" Mapes
OF - Pussy Tebeau
DH - Andrés "Big Cat" Galarraga
LHP - Jim "Kitty" Kaat
LHP - Harry "the Cat" Brecheen
RHP - Jim Panther
RHP - Don "Tiger" Kaiser
RHP - Len "Meow" Gilmore
* Primarily a first baseman, but played four games as catcher.
† Primarily a second baseman, but did play one game at short, so that counts.
You are welcome, Internet.
C - Kitty Bransfield*
1B - Johnny "The Big Cat" Mize
2B - Don "Tiger" Leppert
SS - Félix "the Cat" Millan†
3B - Don "Tiger" Hoak
OF - Lance "Big Puma" Berkman
OF - Cliff "Tiger" Mapes
OF - Pussy Tebeau
DH - Andrés "Big Cat" Galarraga
LHP - Jim "Kitty" Kaat
LHP - Harry "the Cat" Brecheen
RHP - Jim Panther
RHP - Don "Tiger" Kaiser
RHP - Len "Meow" Gilmore
* Primarily a first baseman, but played four games as catcher.
† Primarily a second baseman, but did play one game at short, so that counts.
You are welcome, Internet.
April 5, 2012: Toronto Blue Jays Opening Days
Some Canadian Content at Getting Blanked today, a chart looking at the history of Toronto Blue Jays Opening Days.
Some Canadian Content at Getting Blanked today, a chart looking at the history of Toronto Blue Jays Opening Days.April 2, 2012: Finally...
Diablos Rojos del México 13 Tigres de Quintana Roo 10
4:00pm Sunday March 31, 2012
Time: 3:22
Attendance: 7,876
Diablos-Tigres is the Mexican equivalent of Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Giants, Cubs-Cardinals. It's a big rivalry. Saturday's game was the sixth Diablos-Tigres game I've attended, the previous five were all Tigres victories. And this game began with irritating familiarity. Tigres leadoff hitter Sergio Contreras doubled, and next up, Carlos Gastelum homered. After an Ivan Terrazas hom run and zeros in the second, the Tigres got going. Five singles, a home run, a walk, a hit by pitch, and it's 8-1 Tigres. Sigh. Diablos got four back in the bottom of the third; both teams got two more in the fourth, and then we had two more scoreless innings. a Mario Valdez home run closed the gap in the seventh, 10-8 Tigres. And then something that I wasn't really expecting happened: the Tigres bullpen wobbled. Number eight hitter Raul Padron singled, pinch hitter Emmanuel Avila singled, Leo Heras sac-bunts, Terrazas doubled bringing home the two runs that tie the game. Oscar Robles in intentionally walked. Runners on first and second, Japhet Amador singles, another run scores. Another intentional walk, a strikeout, a wild pitch and another run scores. Carlos Valencia singles, Amador scores. Raul Padron batting again, grounds out to end the inning. 13-10 Diablos. A one-two-three top of the ninth, and I had finally witness a Diablos victory over the Tigres. Either side of that game, though, the Tigres took the series with a 16-8 win on Friday, and a 14-5 win on Sunday. There were a combined 92 hits over those three games. Diablos hit 14 in each of the three games, so Tigres pitching isn't all that hot. But tomorrow (Tuesday), the Diablos will be playing an exhibition game at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas against the Texas Rangers. If the Diablos pitching is anything like as bad as it has been this weekend (averaging 16.6 hits allowed per game), it could be ugly. But, y'know, Vamos Diablos!
Diablos Rojos del México 13 Tigres de Quintana Roo 10
4:00pm Sunday March 31, 2012
Time: 3:22
Attendance: 7,876
Diablos-Tigres is the Mexican equivalent of Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Giants, Cubs-Cardinals. It's a big rivalry. Saturday's game was the sixth Diablos-Tigres game I've attended, the previous five were all Tigres victories. And this game began with irritating familiarity. Tigres leadoff hitter Sergio Contreras doubled, and next up, Carlos Gastelum homered. After an Ivan Terrazas hom run and zeros in the second, the Tigres got going. Five singles, a home run, a walk, a hit by pitch, and it's 8-1 Tigres. Sigh. Diablos got four back in the bottom of the third; both teams got two more in the fourth, and then we had two more scoreless innings. a Mario Valdez home run closed the gap in the seventh, 10-8 Tigres. And then something that I wasn't really expecting happened: the Tigres bullpen wobbled. Number eight hitter Raul Padron singled, pinch hitter Emmanuel Avila singled, Leo Heras sac-bunts, Terrazas doubled bringing home the two runs that tie the game. Oscar Robles in intentionally walked. Runners on first and second, Japhet Amador singles, another run scores. Another intentional walk, a strikeout, a wild pitch and another run scores. Carlos Valencia singles, Amador scores. Raul Padron batting again, grounds out to end the inning. 13-10 Diablos. A one-two-three top of the ninth, and I had finally witness a Diablos victory over the Tigres. Either side of that game, though, the Tigres took the series with a 16-8 win on Friday, and a 14-5 win on Sunday. There were a combined 92 hits over those three games. Diablos hit 14 in each of the three games, so Tigres pitching isn't all that hot. But tomorrow (Tuesday), the Diablos will be playing an exhibition game at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas against the Texas Rangers. If the Diablos pitching is anything like as bad as it has been this weekend (averaging 16.6 hits allowed per game), it could be ugly. But, y'know, Vamos Diablos!
March 29, 2012: Even more empty seats
Diablos Rojos del México 11 Leones de Yucatán 7
7:00pm Wednesday March 28, 2012
Time: 3:38
Attendance: 1,120
For the first game of the Leones series, 1,386 turned up. Last night, 266 less people went. I'm not really sure how accurate that number is, either. My guess while I was at the park was somewhere in the 700-800 range.
Right next door to the ballpark is a concert venue. Last night, the Arctic Monkeys were playing there. It's always a little sad when there's a concert at the same time as a baseball game; you kinda feel like the lonely weirdo going to watch baseball while all the young, skinny kids are happy and excited to see a band. A band who come from a city that's 40 miles from my hometown, some 5,500 miles away from Mexico City.
So, anyway. The Diablos won 11-7 in another early innings slugfest. Leones took a 3-0 lead in the first, Diablos got one back in the bottom of the inning and then went to town on the Leones starter Linder Castro in the second, scoring five more. In the third, Leones got two back, and Diablos added three more. 9-5 Diablos. Things quietened down then. Leones scored two more in the fifth, but the Diablos were hitless from the fourth through seventh inning. Any hope of a comeback the Leones had was squished when Leo Heras doubles, Mario Valenzuela walked, and Oscar Robles doubled. A 1-2-3 top of the ninth, and the Diablos Rojos won their second straight game.
Diablos are now 4-6, in sixth position in the Zona Norte. Top of the table are the 8-2 Sultanes de Monterrey. Bottom of the table, the Pericos de Puebla are 0-10. In the Zona Sur, the Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz are up top at 9-1. And the Leones are at the bottom, 2-8.
A guy sat near me last night seemed to hate Diablos second baseman Carlos Valencia. He struck out in his first two at-bats. The guy shouted "puto!" both times. He even mocked him in the fifth when Valencia took a walk. This is Valencia's seventh season with the Diablos. He's 31, and has been playing in the Mexican League since he was 20 years old. From looking at the current Diablos team, it's clear that players make the "big" league teams quite young down here. And, if you're reading these words, maybe you might be interested to hear a bit about those players, a bit of context. I'm not gonna go through the whole squad, but here's some history of last night's starting Diablos line-up (links go to their Baseball-Reference pages):
Leo Heras CF
22 years old, born in Tecate, playing in his sixth season in the Mexican League, his second for the Diablos. Speedy leadoff guy. My favourite player. Hit .342/.399/.536 last season.
Ivan Terrazas LF
28 years old, born here in Mexico City (and thus very popular with the fans), played in the Braves organization from 2004 to 2007, never getting higher than Double-A Mississippi Braves in 2006. H'es been with the Diablos since 2008, and last night was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle when he was hit-by-pitch in his last plate appearance.
Óscar Robles 3B
35 years old, from Tijuana. The only player on the team last night to play in the major leagues. At age 29 in 2005, he played 110 games for the Dodgers, hitting .272/.332/.368. He only played 29 games the next season, and in 2007 was released and signed with the Padres, where he played just 24 games. He spent 2008 with the Triple-A Portland Beavers and Lehigh Valley IronPigs, before coming down to Mexico City in 2009.
Japhet Amador 1B
25 years old, from Mulege. Big fat first baseman who's not particularly good at playing first base. Can hit some, though. This is his third season with the Diablos, his seventh in the Liga Mexicana. He does a cute thing where he drags the tip of his bat across the chalk line at the edge of the circle of dirt around the batter's box before every plate appearance. I like him.
Carlos Valencia 2B
He's from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora. We've discussed him above.
Emmanuel Avila DH
23 years old, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Third season with the Diablos after spending four seasons with the Orioles (briefly) and White Sox rookie affiliates.
Victor Bojorquez RF
38 years old, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Joined the Diablos in 2000, only played 12 games last season. Popular with the fans.
Raul Padron C
27 years old, from Los Teques, Venezuela. Spent six seasons in the Athletics system, played some independent ball in 2010-11 before hooking up with Cleveland's Double-A affiliate in Akron for 55 games. Now he's down here.
Jesus Lopez SS
24 years old, from Guasave, SInaloa. Spend five years in the Padres farm system, his last stop being Double-A San Antonio Missions in 2010. Came to the Diablos mid-season last year after starting the year with Guerreros de Oaxaca.
Rolando Valdez RHP
26 years old, from Hidalgo. Spent four years in the Padres organization. He only ever played 17 games at Double-A and two at Triple-A. This is his third season back in Mexico, his first with the Diablos.
The last section of words will not get me a job at Baseball Prospectus. Sometimes, all this writing about Mexican League baseball is a good reminder how difficult writing about baseball can be. So I'll stick to what I know: talking about drunk people in the stands. Last night, we had the winner. There were three dudes in the section up and over from me. All in medical student white trousers and coats with shirts and ties and incongruous, red, Diablos caps. The camera man had picked them out a couple of times between innings, dancing around, being silly. All good. Then there seemed to be a murmur as more and more people started watching them try to leave. One of them was okay. Stood on the concrete steps, watching another of his pals try to convince the third that it was time to leave. The third guy was shit-faced. So drunk. The muscles in his face looked like they'd gone to sleep, his eyes were barely open, and his legs didn't seem to want to bother holding up the rest of his body. His mate was trying to drag him to the aisle. He was having none of it. More and more people were watching this theatre instead of the game. After several minutes, the second guy gave up and left with the first guy. (Seriously! You can't leave your drunk friends behind, dude. Not cool.) Anyway, once the third guy was freed of his downer buddies, he stood on the concrete steps, turned from the field, and urinated. I didn't see the urine or penis itself, but by the looks on the faces in the seating above him, he was urinating. He turned around when he'd done, took a long time to find a way to make his fingers grab the zipper to do it up, and by this time, two security people were recreating the dance he had with his friend. He didn't want to leave. They wanted him to leave. They got their wish. And we got back to watching baseball.
Diablos Rojos del México 11 Leones de Yucatán 7
7:00pm Wednesday March 28, 2012
Time: 3:38
Attendance: 1,120
For the first game of the Leones series, 1,386 turned up. Last night, 266 less people went. I'm not really sure how accurate that number is, either. My guess while I was at the park was somewhere in the 700-800 range.
Right next door to the ballpark is a concert venue. Last night, the Arctic Monkeys were playing there. It's always a little sad when there's a concert at the same time as a baseball game; you kinda feel like the lonely weirdo going to watch baseball while all the young, skinny kids are happy and excited to see a band. A band who come from a city that's 40 miles from my hometown, some 5,500 miles away from Mexico City.
So, anyway. The Diablos won 11-7 in another early innings slugfest. Leones took a 3-0 lead in the first, Diablos got one back in the bottom of the inning and then went to town on the Leones starter Linder Castro in the second, scoring five more. In the third, Leones got two back, and Diablos added three more. 9-5 Diablos. Things quietened down then. Leones scored two more in the fifth, but the Diablos were hitless from the fourth through seventh inning. Any hope of a comeback the Leones had was squished when Leo Heras doubles, Mario Valenzuela walked, and Oscar Robles doubled. A 1-2-3 top of the ninth, and the Diablos Rojos won their second straight game.
Diablos are now 4-6, in sixth position in the Zona Norte. Top of the table are the 8-2 Sultanes de Monterrey. Bottom of the table, the Pericos de Puebla are 0-10. In the Zona Sur, the Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz are up top at 9-1. And the Leones are at the bottom, 2-8.
A guy sat near me last night seemed to hate Diablos second baseman Carlos Valencia. He struck out in his first two at-bats. The guy shouted "puto!" both times. He even mocked him in the fifth when Valencia took a walk. This is Valencia's seventh season with the Diablos. He's 31, and has been playing in the Mexican League since he was 20 years old. From looking at the current Diablos team, it's clear that players make the "big" league teams quite young down here. And, if you're reading these words, maybe you might be interested to hear a bit about those players, a bit of context. I'm not gonna go through the whole squad, but here's some history of last night's starting Diablos line-up (links go to their Baseball-Reference pages):
Leo Heras CF
22 years old, born in Tecate, playing in his sixth season in the Mexican League, his second for the Diablos. Speedy leadoff guy. My favourite player. Hit .342/.399/.536 last season.
Ivan Terrazas LF
28 years old, born here in Mexico City (and thus very popular with the fans), played in the Braves organization from 2004 to 2007, never getting higher than Double-A Mississippi Braves in 2006. H'es been with the Diablos since 2008, and last night was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle when he was hit-by-pitch in his last plate appearance.
Óscar Robles 3B
35 years old, from Tijuana. The only player on the team last night to play in the major leagues. At age 29 in 2005, he played 110 games for the Dodgers, hitting .272/.332/.368. He only played 29 games the next season, and in 2007 was released and signed with the Padres, where he played just 24 games. He spent 2008 with the Triple-A Portland Beavers and Lehigh Valley IronPigs, before coming down to Mexico City in 2009.
Japhet Amador 1B
25 years old, from Mulege. Big fat first baseman who's not particularly good at playing first base. Can hit some, though. This is his third season with the Diablos, his seventh in the Liga Mexicana. He does a cute thing where he drags the tip of his bat across the chalk line at the edge of the circle of dirt around the batter's box before every plate appearance. I like him.
Carlos Valencia 2B
He's from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora. We've discussed him above.
Emmanuel Avila DH
23 years old, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Third season with the Diablos after spending four seasons with the Orioles (briefly) and White Sox rookie affiliates.
Victor Bojorquez RF
38 years old, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Joined the Diablos in 2000, only played 12 games last season. Popular with the fans.
Raul Padron C
27 years old, from Los Teques, Venezuela. Spent six seasons in the Athletics system, played some independent ball in 2010-11 before hooking up with Cleveland's Double-A affiliate in Akron for 55 games. Now he's down here.
Jesus Lopez SS
24 years old, from Guasave, SInaloa. Spend five years in the Padres farm system, his last stop being Double-A San Antonio Missions in 2010. Came to the Diablos mid-season last year after starting the year with Guerreros de Oaxaca.
Rolando Valdez RHP
26 years old, from Hidalgo. Spent four years in the Padres organization. He only ever played 17 games at Double-A and two at Triple-A. This is his third season back in Mexico, his first with the Diablos.
The last section of words will not get me a job at Baseball Prospectus. Sometimes, all this writing about Mexican League baseball is a good reminder how difficult writing about baseball can be. So I'll stick to what I know: talking about drunk people in the stands. Last night, we had the winner. There were three dudes in the section up and over from me. All in medical student white trousers and coats with shirts and ties and incongruous, red, Diablos caps. The camera man had picked them out a couple of times between innings, dancing around, being silly. All good. Then there seemed to be a murmur as more and more people started watching them try to leave. One of them was okay. Stood on the concrete steps, watching another of his pals try to convince the third that it was time to leave. The third guy was shit-faced. So drunk. The muscles in his face looked like they'd gone to sleep, his eyes were barely open, and his legs didn't seem to want to bother holding up the rest of his body. His mate was trying to drag him to the aisle. He was having none of it. More and more people were watching this theatre instead of the game. After several minutes, the second guy gave up and left with the first guy. (Seriously! You can't leave your drunk friends behind, dude. Not cool.) Anyway, once the third guy was freed of his downer buddies, he stood on the concrete steps, turned from the field, and urinated. I didn't see the urine or penis itself, but by the looks on the faces in the seating above him, he was urinating. He turned around when he'd done, took a long time to find a way to make his fingers grab the zipper to do it up, and by this time, two security people were recreating the dance he had with his friend. He didn't want to leave. They wanted him to leave. They got their wish. And we got back to watching baseball.
March 28, 2012: Lots of empty seats
Diablos Rojos del México 8 Leones de Yucatán 7 (10 innings)
7:00pm Tuesday March 27, 2012
Time: 4:10
Attendance: 1,386
The attendance at last night's game was the lowest I've ever seen at any professional baseball game in Mexico. Attendance here tends to be up and down quite dramatically, even discounting home openers and play-off games. Weekend games tend to be pretty well attended; midweek evening games, not so much. But even so, for the second home game of the season, 1,386 is woeful.
Still, were it not for the handful of Leones "fans" bashing loud drums one section over, it would've been thoroughly pleasant to be in a quiet crowd, sleepily watching good and bad pitching, a seemingly-endless stream of passed balls, and some inept baserunning, interspersed with 26 hits. The quotation marks around the word fans in the previous sentence is because they weren't really Leones fans. There were some of those around, but these guys were at a lot of games last season, and have been at both games so far this year. They wear black short-sleeved shirts with the Diablos logo on the back, with a red circle around it and a red line through it, like a "no smoking" sign. They turn up with drums, face masks, and the same shirts and root for whichever team is visiting. They really seem to enjoy hating the Diablos. But, oddly, it seems to be just for the fun of it. They like getting into shouting matches with Diablos fans, and Diablos fans seem to like it, too. There is no ill will.
The ballpark DJ played Domino Dancing by the Pet Shop Boys and Suedehead by Morrissey. He also played that bloody Maroon Five song "Move Like Jagger" way more times than is allowable by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have, though, had a dislike for that band since the very first moment I heard "This Love." The song itself is blandness spread out over three tedious minutes. It's the video, though, that makes me really dislike them. The singer dude just behaving like a dick right from the off, mugging to the camera while he's faking love to a pretty lady. And there's one moment where he rests his elbow on the guitarist's shoulder, then just shoves him away. The camera follows singerboy, but I've always hated that feeling of, "get off the screen, I'm the singer!" Obviously, this is all in my head, and probably not something singerboy ever thought of. Anyway, I don't like "Move Like Jagger." The Kanye West song he did was good, though.
Last season, if you were a beer drinker, there was the overwhelming choice of two beers: Corona or Victoria. Fine by me, I like both. This season, the team's beer sponsor has changed. Now it's Modelo. Fine by me, again. I like Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo. But, but, but: the only Modelo beer they sell to patrons: Modelo Light. No other option. I guess it's good for the panza, though.
Diablos got off to a flying start, taking a 3-0 lead in the first, Japhet Amador hitting an RBI double, follwed immediately by a Mario Valdez home run. All going swimmingly for everyone but the Leones pitcher. Until the top of the second, when the Diablos pitcher Julio Meteo got in on the act, giving up back-to-back home runs, a hit-by-pitch, a double, a pitcher error off a bunt, and another home run. 6-3 Leones. He was yanked after 1.1 IP.
After that, for four more innings, the pitchers had the best of things. Diablos got a run back in the fifth, but it wasn't until the seventh that the bats livened up. Fernando Valenzuela Jr. hit an RBI double in the top of the seventh which, at the time, felt like the nail in the coffin. The tiny crowd was very quiet after that, but, in the bottom of the inning, the Diablos showed some life: two singles followed by a Japhet Amador triple made it 7-6. (And, by the way, fat men running out a triple: one of the best things in sport.) He got cocky, though. A passed ball that went to the backstop, and he was lumbering home. But he just couldn't lumber fast enough. Mario Valenzuela walked, Carlos Valencia ground-rule-doubled him home. Tie game. 7-7. And so it stayed into the eighth, and into the ninth, and into the tenth.
I changed seats at that point. It was 11pm. To get home takes two subway trains. The trains stop at midnight. I'd have to peg it to the station to have any chance of not being stuck trying to grab an expensive taxi to take me home. Bottom of the tenth, and after one quick out, Leo Heras walked, Ivan Terrazas walked, and Oscar Robles singles to left, and Heras came round to dive at the plate, and break a three game losing streak.
There are video highlights of the game here.
Diablos Rojos del México 8 Leones de Yucatán 7 (10 innings)
7:00pm Tuesday March 27, 2012
Time: 4:10
Attendance: 1,386
The attendance at last night's game was the lowest I've ever seen at any professional baseball game in Mexico. Attendance here tends to be up and down quite dramatically, even discounting home openers and play-off games. Weekend games tend to be pretty well attended; midweek evening games, not so much. But even so, for the second home game of the season, 1,386 is woeful.
Still, were it not for the handful of Leones "fans" bashing loud drums one section over, it would've been thoroughly pleasant to be in a quiet crowd, sleepily watching good and bad pitching, a seemingly-endless stream of passed balls, and some inept baserunning, interspersed with 26 hits. The quotation marks around the word fans in the previous sentence is because they weren't really Leones fans. There were some of those around, but these guys were at a lot of games last season, and have been at both games so far this year. They wear black short-sleeved shirts with the Diablos logo on the back, with a red circle around it and a red line through it, like a "no smoking" sign. They turn up with drums, face masks, and the same shirts and root for whichever team is visiting. They really seem to enjoy hating the Diablos. But, oddly, it seems to be just for the fun of it. They like getting into shouting matches with Diablos fans, and Diablos fans seem to like it, too. There is no ill will.
The ballpark DJ played Domino Dancing by the Pet Shop Boys and Suedehead by Morrissey. He also played that bloody Maroon Five song "Move Like Jagger" way more times than is allowable by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have, though, had a dislike for that band since the very first moment I heard "This Love." The song itself is blandness spread out over three tedious minutes. It's the video, though, that makes me really dislike them. The singer dude just behaving like a dick right from the off, mugging to the camera while he's faking love to a pretty lady. And there's one moment where he rests his elbow on the guitarist's shoulder, then just shoves him away. The camera follows singerboy, but I've always hated that feeling of, "get off the screen, I'm the singer!" Obviously, this is all in my head, and probably not something singerboy ever thought of. Anyway, I don't like "Move Like Jagger." The Kanye West song he did was good, though.
Last season, if you were a beer drinker, there was the overwhelming choice of two beers: Corona or Victoria. Fine by me, I like both. This season, the team's beer sponsor has changed. Now it's Modelo. Fine by me, again. I like Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo. But, but, but: the only Modelo beer they sell to patrons: Modelo Light. No other option. I guess it's good for the panza, though.
Diablos got off to a flying start, taking a 3-0 lead in the first, Japhet Amador hitting an RBI double, follwed immediately by a Mario Valdez home run. All going swimmingly for everyone but the Leones pitcher. Until the top of the second, when the Diablos pitcher Julio Meteo got in on the act, giving up back-to-back home runs, a hit-by-pitch, a double, a pitcher error off a bunt, and another home run. 6-3 Leones. He was yanked after 1.1 IP.
After that, for four more innings, the pitchers had the best of things. Diablos got a run back in the fifth, but it wasn't until the seventh that the bats livened up. Fernando Valenzuela Jr. hit an RBI double in the top of the seventh which, at the time, felt like the nail in the coffin. The tiny crowd was very quiet after that, but, in the bottom of the inning, the Diablos showed some life: two singles followed by a Japhet Amador triple made it 7-6. (And, by the way, fat men running out a triple: one of the best things in sport.) He got cocky, though. A passed ball that went to the backstop, and he was lumbering home. But he just couldn't lumber fast enough. Mario Valenzuela walked, Carlos Valencia ground-rule-doubled him home. Tie game. 7-7. And so it stayed into the eighth, and into the ninth, and into the tenth.
I changed seats at that point. It was 11pm. To get home takes two subway trains. The trains stop at midnight. I'd have to peg it to the station to have any chance of not being stuck trying to grab an expensive taxi to take me home. Bottom of the tenth, and after one quick out, Leo Heras walked, Ivan Terrazas walked, and Oscar Robles singles to left, and Heras came round to dive at the plate, and break a three game losing streak.
There are video highlights of the game here.
March 22, 2012: Heading North
Which players will be heading north from Spring Training. And which will be heading southwest by west.
Which players will be heading north from Spring Training. And which will be heading southwest by west.March 18, 2012: Home opener
Diablos Rojos del México 6 Tigres de Quintana Roo 8
4:00pm Sunday March 18, 2012
Time: 3:26
Attendance: 24,833
My second Liga Mexicana opening day. Last year, the Tigres were also the visitors. Last year, the Tigres also won 8-6. Last year, there were about 4,000 more people in attendance, though. Strangely, both last season's and this season's opening days had bigger attendances that the two Serie del Rey (Mexican version of the World Series) games that took place at Foro Sol between the same two teams last August. The 24,833 who attended Sunday's game is quite likely to be the biggest crowd of the season. Something that isn't uncommon in the United States or Toronto, either.
I was attending the game with someone who had never attended a baseball game before. She was slightly impressed (and probably slightly alarmed) that, as we walked up the steps to our seats, the beer vendor we passed by smiled, greeted me, and shook my hand. Either a) I drink too much at baseball games, or b) I am one of very few gringos who goes to see Diablos games regularly. Somewhere in the middle, I think.
We were sat near a girl in a little league uniform with lovely socks with a stirrup-y pattern:
Opening Day in Mexico City is a pretty lame affair compared to the things you see in the major leagues. No huge flags, no military flyovers, no big song and dance. All we got was a (seemingly remote-controlled) blimp, and a woefully under-amplified choir singing the himno nacional.
This was the fifth game I've attended between the Tigres and Diablo Rojos. And it was the fifth defeat I've attended. The game started with depressing familiarity: single, error, RBI single. Bottom of the first, leadoff hitter and centerfielder Leo Heras walks and steals second, followed by three quick outs. In the second Diablos lefty gives up another couple of runs before settling down. Bottom of the third, and things finally start to look good for the home team. Heras singles, Oscar Robles walks, Carlos Valencia singles, and clean-up fat man Japhet Amador belts a double to right center to clear the bases. 3-3. The Diablos tack on runs in the fourth and fifth. 5-3 Diablos. But, of course, the bullpen. Texas Rangers 2004 15th round draft pick John Lujan comes in in the seventh, faces four batters, allows two runs. 5-5. Things get worse in the eighth, Tigres plating three more runs off of Orlando Lara and Armando Gabino. 8-5 Tigres. Bottom of the ninth, two outs, and we're given hope. That man again, Leo Heras singles. Robles singles. Pinch hitter Emmanuel Avila singles and brings Leo home. 8-6. Tying run at first, Amador at bat, and on the second pitch, he grounds to Tigres shortstop Kevin Flores, who flips it to second baseman Carlos Gastelum. Tigres win.
Diablos Rojos lost again to the Tigres. But baseball is back. And that's what matters most. Oh, and my companion, the baseball virgin: she had a great time.
Diablos Rojos del México 6 Tigres de Quintana Roo 8
4:00pm Sunday March 18, 2012
Time: 3:26
Attendance: 24,833
My second Liga Mexicana opening day. Last year, the Tigres were also the visitors. Last year, the Tigres also won 8-6. Last year, there were about 4,000 more people in attendance, though. Strangely, both last season's and this season's opening days had bigger attendances that the two Serie del Rey (Mexican version of the World Series) games that took place at Foro Sol between the same two teams last August. The 24,833 who attended Sunday's game is quite likely to be the biggest crowd of the season. Something that isn't uncommon in the United States or Toronto, either.
I was attending the game with someone who had never attended a baseball game before. She was slightly impressed (and probably slightly alarmed) that, as we walked up the steps to our seats, the beer vendor we passed by smiled, greeted me, and shook my hand. Either a) I drink too much at baseball games, or b) I am one of very few gringos who goes to see Diablos games regularly. Somewhere in the middle, I think.
We were sat near a girl in a little league uniform with lovely socks with a stirrup-y pattern:
Opening Day in Mexico City is a pretty lame affair compared to the things you see in the major leagues. No huge flags, no military flyovers, no big song and dance. All we got was a (seemingly remote-controlled) blimp, and a woefully under-amplified choir singing the himno nacional.
This was the fifth game I've attended between the Tigres and Diablo Rojos. And it was the fifth defeat I've attended. The game started with depressing familiarity: single, error, RBI single. Bottom of the first, leadoff hitter and centerfielder Leo Heras walks and steals second, followed by three quick outs. In the second Diablos lefty gives up another couple of runs before settling down. Bottom of the third, and things finally start to look good for the home team. Heras singles, Oscar Robles walks, Carlos Valencia singles, and clean-up fat man Japhet Amador belts a double to right center to clear the bases. 3-3. The Diablos tack on runs in the fourth and fifth. 5-3 Diablos. But, of course, the bullpen. Texas Rangers 2004 15th round draft pick John Lujan comes in in the seventh, faces four batters, allows two runs. 5-5. Things get worse in the eighth, Tigres plating three more runs off of Orlando Lara and Armando Gabino. 8-5 Tigres. Bottom of the ninth, two outs, and we're given hope. That man again, Leo Heras singles. Robles singles. Pinch hitter Emmanuel Avila singles and brings Leo home. 8-6. Tying run at first, Amador at bat, and on the second pitch, he grounds to Tigres shortstop Kevin Flores, who flips it to second baseman Carlos Gastelum. Tigres win.
Diablos Rojos lost again to the Tigres. But baseball is back. And that's what matters most. Oh, and my companion, the baseball virgin: she had a great time.
March 17, 2012: Brian Cashman
A new Flopps drawing of the Yankees general manager. Click above to see the other Flopps drawings.
A new Flopps drawing of the Yankees general manager. Click above to see the other Flopps drawings.
FLIP FLOP FLY BALL
An Infographic Baseball Adventure
Yes! There's a book coming out. 160 pages of charts, drawings, essays, and a foreword by Rob Neyer.
More info here.
Published by Bloomsbury USA. In stores now.
You can order it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.
The usual stuff:
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Email me:
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All content © 2009-2012 Craig Robinson.
Unless otherwise noted.
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All Star hosting by Media Temple
An Infographic Baseball Adventure
Yes! There's a book coming out. 160 pages of charts, drawings, essays, and a foreword by Rob Neyer.
More info here.
Published by Bloomsbury USA. In stores now.
You can order it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.
The usual stuff:RSS / Twitter / Facebook / Tumblr
Email me:
craig AT flipflopflyin DOT com
All content © 2009-2012 Craig Robinson.Unless otherwise noted.
Links (general):Baseball Almanac
The Baseball Cube
Baseball Fever
Baseball GB
Baseball Graphs
Baseball In-Depth
Baseball Library
Baseball Mexico
Baseball Musings
Baseball Nation
Baseball Projection
Baseball Race
Baseball Reference
Batter Chatter
Beyond the Box Score
Big League Stew
Cot's Baseball Contracts
Deadball Era
Deadspin
Dirk Hayhurst
Eephus League
ESPN Sweet Spot
FanGraphs
Futility Infielder
Getting Blanked
Hardball Talk
The Hardball Times
High Heat Stats
It's a long season
Joe Posnanski
Major League Baseball
Minor League Baseball
MLB Trade Rumors
MLB Trade Trees
Old Time Family Baseball
Pitchers & Poets
Productive Outs
Retrosheet
Rob Neyer
Rogue's Baseball Index
Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
The Society for American Baseball Research
Spring Training Online
Today in Baseball
Walkoff Walk
Wezen-Ball
Links (ballparks):
Ballparks of Baseball
Clem's Baseball
Stadium Page
Links (uniforms):
Dressed to the Nines
LogoServer
The Society for Sports Uniforms Research
Sports Design Blog
Sports Logos
Uni Watch
Links (data visualization):
Alex Reisner
Ben Fry
Links (other stuff):
Forbes SportsMoney
Roger Patricks' baseball paintings
Vintage Base Ball Association
Links (team-specific sites):
Cubby Blue (CHC)
Bronx Banter (NYY)
Eephus Pitch (NYY)
It's About the Money, Stupid (NYY)
River Avenue Blues (NYY)
You Can't Predict Baseball (NYY)
The Yankee Analysts (NYY)
U.S.S. Mariner (SEA)
The Process Report (TB)
Blue Jays Daze (TOR)
Drunk Jays Fans (TOR)
Ghostrunner on First (TOR)
Infield Fly (TOR)
Mop Up Duty (TOR)
Tao of Stieb (TOR)
All Star hosting by Media Temple