Sporting Events I attended this year:

If you’d told me last January that I was going to see a regular season NFL game and sit cage side at a UFC event, I would have said “Really? That’s cool.”

Add in the fact that I ended up doing both for free and well… I’d say it was a pretty fucking good year.

This summer I was able to travel waaaaaaaay further West than I’d ever been. Previously, I had been as far to the left as Michigan. (”Boo!” – Spencer & Nick P) When I was asked to go out to Vegas and cover a UFC event I couldn’t belive it. Looking back, I can’t believe it really took place. I mean, I’m just a guy who writes stuff and puts it on the internet. Suddenly, I’m in Las Vegas sitting 10 feet away from the Octagon. The hotel room was pretty fucking sweet too.

In addition to seeing the UFC up close and in person, I attended my first ever professional football game. Sure I was exposed to a bunch of Guido Giants fans in the freezing cold, but it was worth it.

The fact that I saw two premiere sporting events (for free) in one calender year is pretty impressive. At least I think so.

Places I’ve been this year:

Vegas

Greatest. City. Evar.

Atlantic City: Yes, I took this picture.

New York City

Even though I live in upstate NY, I don’t really visit the city. Despite the fact that some of my good friends from college live down there. I’m going to remedy this in 2009. Truth be told, I hope to find a job in NYC and move there this summer. Upstate NY is no place for someone who has delusions of being a successful writer. (Nothing personal Mr. Kennedy.)

Atlantic City

My second straight year going to AC. It was during the summer Olympics Ol-chimp-ics and it was financially unsuccessful. It was a rough year for gambling.

Blogging:

I’ve been writing at TBL for a year now. In that time I slowly walked away from my original CRM blog. Then I started posting here. After months of negotiations, I finally reached a deal with Hef and Roman to bring me on as an official, full-time blogger who doesn’t actually have to post on a regular basis. To clarify, all I did was change the name I’m posting under from “Intern CRM” to “Cousins of Ron Mexico.” It only cost me a three thousand dollars. Probably not my best decision considering the unemployment thing, but sometimes you have to buy your freedom.

I am always interested in how a fan becomes a fan of a team and how he follows that team and interacts with the teams fan base. So I start with asking The Nug how he became a Dodger fan. (The Nugs words are in Bold)

I’m not really sure. It just sort of happened. Becoming a Dodger fan is much like an unplanned pregnancy. Plus, I hang out with a lot of Mexicans. Seriously, if you’re Mexican and live in or near Los Angeles, being a Dodger fan is in your DNA. Minutes after birth you are given a Dodger hat, a blue piñata stick and you’re versed on proper drive-by etiquette. For me it all began in the ’80s when I started collecting baseball cards. The Dodgers always had the coolest afros. And I was strangely fascinated by Steve Garvey’s forearms. Last night Fox Sports West showed Davey Lopes, Garvey, Cey and Bill Russell posing for a photo before the Phillies game and I got goose bumps.

Wow. Steve Garvey’s forearms? You could have lied man. Fucking Lozo barely answered it. You could have followed the same route. No. No. I appreciate you honesty, purely for mocking purposes. So how do you follow the team? Do you go to games?

I only go to a few games a year. I read a lot. I still read the LA Times sports page every morning, except T.J. Simer’s column (biggest hack in the industry). Tony Jackson of the LA Daily News has a great Dodger blog. Sports talk radio is useless, especially in L.A.

A few is better than none. I go to a lot of games. I enjoy lining the Wilpons pockets as my daughter starves because you heartless bastards won’t buy t-shirts. Ummm…yeah. So how do you interact with other Dodger fans? Are there any traditions Dodger fans adhere too?

I’m not sure if I understand this question, but my girlfriend is a huge Dodger fan, so is her dad. Her initials are even LAD. True story. I’m not exactly sure how he got that one by the wife.

Traditions? You mean like arriving during the third inning and leaving after the seventh inning stretch? Remember that “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode where Larry David picks up the hooker so he can drive to Dodger stadium in the carpool lane? That was funny because it’s probably happened before. Seriously, Dodger fans get a lot of flack for being fair weather fans. The truth is it’s almost impossible to make to a game on time at Chavez Ravine. I live about forty minutes from the stadium, but on a weekday night game I would have to leave work at 3 p.m. to make it to the game for a 7 p.m. start.

No, I don’t watch Curb Your Enthusiasm but your description of the episode was rip roaringly funny. I am still laughing. Hardee Har Har. And you don’t understand the question? You talk of Mexicans and your girlfriend. That is interacting. You see people at the office. Do they root for the Dodgers? That is interacting. Wow. Just Wow. OK. I am fine. I will go on. So, give me an overview on this year’s team.

This year has been a steady stream of mediocrity. But, it’s still a young team that’s getting better. They have been planted on or near the .500 mark for most of the season. Injuries have killed this team. You just can’t replace Rafael Furcal. With a healthy Furcal, this is a much different team. Garciaparra is always hurt; Penny just came back, which should solidify the pitching rotation. Losing Takashi Saito was huge. He has been one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball for the past few years. The inability to score runs consistently was clear until the accusation of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake. If the Dodgers don’t win this division it will be a nothing short of a catastrophic failure. Mannymania is a big deal out here. Manny is playing unbelievable right now. He’s hitting like Barry Bonds did 2002. I haven’t seen anything like it in a long time.

I agree the whole Manny thing is working out way better than anyone expected. When he is playing somewhere else next year you will always have these two months. Well, since Manny is dominating the headlines, are there any players that are not getting enough media attention either good or bad?

Andre Ethier for sure. He has a sweet swing a lot of talent, but they have too many outfielders and his playing time suffers. Also, Chad Billingsley. He just has awesome stuff. He is second in the league in strikeouts. You just don’t hear much about him. Joe Beimel is another guy. He could be the best short relief guy in baseball.

Chad Billingsley is really good. It surprises me he doesn’t get enough attention. I mean Tim Lincecum gets an amazing amount of attention which he should but he is on a last place team. This guy plays for the Dodgers and is barely mentioned. OK, off my soapbox. What do you think of the job performances of Joe Torre and Ned Colletti?

Colletti is a train wreck. If he didn’t have such a cool mustache he might have been killed by a lunatic fan with a quick trigger finger by now. All his moves until recently have been complete shit. We are talking about a team with a lot tradition and I don’t think Colletti understood that tradition until recently. Dodger brass screwed the pooch when they let Ross Porter go, the Dodger announcer who supplemented Vin Scully. Signing Andruw Jones was just an abomination. Conversely, I give Colletti a lot of credit for not dealing the bulk of the young talent on this team. But, shit, even a broken clock is right two times a day.

Joe Torre brings a calming presence to the dugout, but his job performance has been average at best. A manager’s success is judged by wins and .500 ball just won’t get it done, especially when you have a résumé like Torre has. I think he’s settling into an everyday line-up that will be successful with Ethier, Manny and Kemp in the outfield. And Nomar is due back today (Tuesday). I’ll take Garciaparra as the number eight hitter any day of the week.

I would take Garciaparra’s wife in the two hole any day. HI YOOOOOO! Wow, I am a hack. I spent 12 years dealing with the green tea peddling nose picker that is Joe Torre. He may not be a great game strategist but he is the perfect guy to manage a team with Manny Ramirez and Jeff Kent on it. Since Joe is so great at integrating young talent (sarcasm) tell me about any minor leaguers we should know about. How does the Dodger future look?

I’m not the type of guy who scrubs the minor league scouting report every day. Clayton Kershaw was brought up earlier in the year and he was the Dodgers’ best prospect. Blake Dewitt was got a taste of big league action due to injuries, but he was sent back to the minors after they picked up Casey Blake from the Indians. Dewitt could be the Dodger’s third baseman of the future. Pitchers Scott Elbert and James McDonald are two guys to look out for.

The Dodgers are a young team for the most part. Look at the roster. Russell Martin is 25, Loney, Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, Billingsley and Matt Kemp are all 24 years old. Kershaw is just 20.

OK, they have good young talent. I am glad they added a veteran like Andruw Jones to help them along. Do you think the Dodgers have any chance for long term success with Frank McCourt as the team’s owner?

Absolutely. Like I just said the Dodgers are loaded with young talent and you would really have to screw things up in order to not be successful. Believe me it could be much worse. I still haven’t forgotten the Fox years.

Well if that’s the case, why does Jeff Kent have so much clout in the organization? Do you think he is plowing McCourt’s wife?

I didn’t like Kent when they first acquired him because he was a Giant, but I gave him a free pass because we went to the same high school. He lives in Texas now. Texas leads the nation in assholes, so I’m not surprised.

Well, that was a very political non-specific answer. May you and Jeff have fun washing his truck. Maybe Tommy Lasorda can bring some pasta. Speaking of Tommy, how do Dodger fans feel about him? Fat funny old manager or obnoxious old asshole?

Love him or hate him, Tommy is a baseball icon. You can say all you want about Lasorda, but the loves the game of baseball and is one of the biggest ambassadors of the game ever. Plus, anyone who kicks the piss out of the Phillie Phanatic is OK in my book.

Hey, I am all for kicking the shit out of the Phillie Phanatic. That fucking thing scares me. OK, since Tommy is a baseball icon and is pimp, who do you think is a bigger LA icon, Hugh M. Hefner or Vin Scully?

Wow, that’s a tough one. When you stop to think about it the similarities are uncanny. Both are media personalities who make their living pleasing young and old males alike. Hugh has the Grotto. Vin has Chavez Ravine. Hugh has the bunnies and Vin had the Penguin (Ron Cey). I feel lucky to hear him call a baseball game on a daily basis. It doesn’t get any more American than that.

I plan to model my later life after Hef (not you you fool, the real Hef) but all I can say about Vin Scully is this. Slow roller down the line. Goes past the bag and it GET’S BY BUCKNER. KNIGHT SCORES AND THE METS WIN IT! Thank you ,The Nug, for your help.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t12qml7up-o]

]]> http://majorleaguejerk.com/2008/08/getting-to-know-the-los-angeles-dodgers/feed/ 12 http://majorleaguejerk.com/2008/08/getting-to-know-the-chicago-white-sox/ http://majorleaguejerk.com/2008/08/getting-to-know-the-chicago-white-sox/#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:00:06 +0000 RomanWarHelmet http://majorleaguejerk.wordpress.com/?p=2563 In an effort to diversify the coverage of the teams here at Major League Jerk, I am going to provide a regular series called “Getting to Know”. My intent is to interview a fan of a team and ask them what we need to know about that team. If you want to be the first one on your block to be interviewed by me, the Great RomanWarHelmet, please send an e-mail to majorleaguejerk@gmail.com and put Roman in the subject. Well, this edition should be a special treat, for Hef. When embarking on my journey to get to know every team in the Major Leagues, I put up the Jerk signal for help in my quest. So far I have interviewed a Long Island guy about the Braves, an Arkansas guy who grew up in Wisconsin about the Cardinals, a guy who grew up in Chicago but moved to Milwaukee about the Cubs and a few other guys that actually live in close proximity to their teams. Not that any of this should matter, it takes a real fan to not live anywhere near his team and still follow it religiously. Right? Right. So with that said we found a guy who grew up in New Jersey (America’s armpit, home of the no left hand turn) to talk about the White Sox. But it is not just anybody. It is internet celebrity Dave Lozo of davelozo.com. Well maybe internet celebrity is a bit strong. I will say internet gadfly and observer of all things sports and not sports. Whatever that hell that means. Anyway check his site, it is unique. Who else would prattle on endlessly about some chick’s vagina and how it needs more TV time? Me probably, but Hef won’t allow it so I let Dave carry the water for us all. OK. Enough with the shenanigans. Let’s get to know…The Chicago White Sox.

As always I like to find out what makes the fan tick. To do so I need to find out how they became a fan, how they follow the team and how they interact with the team’s fanbase. So I start off by asking Dave, how did he become a White Sox fan? (Dave Lozo’s words are in bold)

I was 10 when I first saw Field of Dreams. Absolutely loved that movie and Shoeless Joe Jackson. It grew from there.

Really though, Frank Thomas was my favorite player when I was little, so I started following the White Sox because of him.

No, seriously. Jack McDowell did a card show around here when I was little, and he signed my card, “You should play Blackjack.”

The truth is, I don’t know how. I just am. I don’t remember ever making a conscious decision to become a fan of the team. I hate that question, so I make up an answer to people because, “I don’t know, I just am,” never satisfies them. Why doesn’t anyone ask why you’re a fan of a team if that team is from your area? Because you’re a mindless zombie? No. You just are. I just am. I’m deep.

OK. Way to debunk my favorite fucking question. I have lovely stories about sitting on my grandfather’s knee and learning about baseball. But I live on Long Island and love the Mets so I am a mindless zombie? I guess you must be sensitive to that question. I understand. So how do you follow the White Sox?

I’ve got the package, so I watch them whenever I can. Ha. The package. Sorry. I used to work nights and weekends, so it never made sense to get the package until now. Back then, I’d mix in game casts, the occasional game on WGN or ESPN, or just hit a sports bar if it was a big enough game. I try to see a game when they come here for the Yankees. I’m going to a game in September this year. Did you know in the long and storied history of the interleague play, the White Sox have never played at Shea Stadium? True story. What I’d give to be able to not have to watch a White Sox game in the Bronx.

Well, it will never happen now that the Cathedral in Flushing is being torn down. But maybe the White Sox can play in Citi Field? Maybe we can go together and have a beer and be pals? Or maybe not. So with only seeing your beloved team in the Bronx and on TV how do you interact with the fan base and do you know of any traditions they adhere too?

I really don’t interact with the fan base. I used to post on a Sox message board. Two, actually. One of them actually kicked me off because in a game thread, I expressed displeasure with Mark Buehrle during a bad start against the A’s in Oakland. This was during the time when the White Sox and Buehrle just couldn’t beat the A’s. I posted something like, “Man, I’m so sick of how we play against these guys.” I got banned. For that. Then I started posting on another one, but this board had two idiots for every one intelligent poster. It was awful. People are the worst. I interact with myself. The only traditions we adhere to are assaulting first-base coaches and umpires. The wife-beater is strictly optional.

You got banned for being upset over losing to the A’s? Weak Sauce. I comment over on Metsblog and trust me that place exists to be negative. Unless you are a backup second baseman. The Met backup second baseman has replaced the backup QB of the Giants or Jets as the favorite person in town. I thought there was going to be a riot when Ruben Gotay was released and now Our Heinous Reyes is like the wunderkind. Oh, wait. Right. The White Sox. We are talking about the White Sox. OK, so we learned White Sox fans are sensitive and love to attack the first base coach. Good Stuff. So give me an overview of this year’s team.

It’s been a weird season. Almost nothing has gone as expected. Paul Konerko’s been awful, Jim Thome’s been below average, Nick Swisher’s been a disappointment. But guys like Carlos Quentin, John Danks and Gavin Floyd have been ridiculously good. Heck, even though Joe Crede’s back acted up again, when he was healthy, and not in the field, he was having a nice offensive season, something you couldn’t exactly count on after last year. Even Jose Contreras has been serviceable. I like to think the decline of the surprise guys will be offset by the usually steady guys getting better. The Twins really don’t scare me. The Tigers didn’t scare me in April, so they definitely don’t know. To paraphrase Morpheus, I’m beginning to believe.

Then we go out and get Ken Griffey Jr. and we manage to lose two games in the standings in three days. I really can’t begin to tell you how pointless and not helpful I think that deal is. Plus, while it doesn’t seem like we gave up a lot, Nick Masset is better than Ehren Wassermann. He’s not Mariano Rivera, but with Scott Linebrink for about another three weeks, I consider Masset more valuable and necessary than Griffey. How can you have your setup man go down, and not consider that priority No. 1? If Contreras gets hurt again, then what? More Clayton Richard? Which means more D.J. Carrasco? When you look to your bullpen and D.J. Carrasco and Ehren Wassermann are out there, it might be a more pressing need than center field. It’s like Kenny’s priorities at the deadline were:

1. Seeing Ken Griffey in a White Sox uniform
2. Being able to hang out with Ken Griffey
3. Getting to do a press conference with Ken Griffey
4. Touching Ken Griffey
5. Relief pitching

Who wouldn’t want to hang out with Ken Griffey Jr.? He is a first ballot Hall of Famer. I totally get this trade. If it was 1999. Anywho, are there any players who don’t get enough media attention either good or bad?

Carlos Quentin’s hair is getting overlooked. Ever see that dude cap-less? His hair looks like it snaps on. Like those creepy people in those old Duracell commercials. All the talk I ever heard about Floyd was that is horrible K/BB ratio would catch up to him. Well, it’s August, and he’s rolling along. No one ever mentions him anymore. It’s the White Sox, so I don’t expect media BJ pieces. You had to be paying really close attention in 2005 or you might’ve missed the fact they won the World Series.

Not that Raj wants to be considered the media, but his season long blowjob of Gavin Floyd has to count for something. Right? Well, you touched on this a bit but what do think of the jobs that Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen are doing?

Depends on the day of the week. I think Ozzie’s gotten better since 2005, actually. I remember in his first couple years, he left starters in to throw 100 pitches no matter how bad things were going. He seemed to have a hard time managing the pen. But this year, he’s actually been better. I hated how he handled things a couple years ago when Jon Garland didn’t retaliate with a beanball against the Rangers, openly ripping the guy who helped carried him to a World Series the year before. It’s probably part of the reason he got dealt to the Angels. Which brings me to Kenny. Personally, I think the guy is an idiot. Everyone is lauding him for getting Quentin, but come on. That’s pure luck. He’s had a few deals shake out. Getting Scott Podsednik for Carlos Lee looks great because the Sox won the Series in 2005, but Pods is long gone and Lee is mashing 30 homers a year still. Giving up the farm for Swisher is looking pretty bad so far. Roberto Alomar, Todd Ritchie, Billy Koch, David Wells. Yeah, he’s gotten guys like Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks for nothing, but he’s caused more harm than good in his time.

And like I said, Griffey as the only deadline move is terrible.

Yeah Roberto Alomar. You got him after his awful decline in a Met uniform. So that makes that deal even worse. Really, really worse. Just terrible. OK, but I digress, are there any guys in the minors that we should know about? How does the White Sox future look?

The farm became a little depleted after the Swisher deal. We gave up Gio Gonzalez and Fautino de los Santos. Could I recognize those guys if they passed me on the street? Absolutely not. But I heard good things. Chris Carter’s supposed to be decent, but I was never a big fan of the X Files. Jack Egbert’s a Jersey guy with a live arm. Lance Broadway could be a good pitcher. I mean, it’s the minors. I don’t get too concerned over it. I know the names. Does Josh Fields still count at this point?

No, Josh Fields doesn’t count. I drafted that asshammer in my fantasy draft only to find out about the return of Crede. Now, I know nothing about any of the other guys you mentioned but Gio Gonzalez will not be anything, neither with Jack Egbert. Faustino de los Santos and Lance Broadway will be stars. How do I know? Look at those names. Will anybody be remembered as the immortal Jack Egbert? But if you are in Game 7 of the World Series and your starter is named Faustino de los Santos, you are pumped. A head line like “The Lights are Bright on Broadway!” is a given. OK, enough with the silliness. How do you deal with the “second team” status? Is it total shit or just partial shit?

Man, I’m from Jersey. That status means nothing to me. I imagine if I grew up in Chicago and had to listen to how awesome the Cubs are and that sort of thing, it might bother me. But I’m detached from that stuff. It’s kinda nice, actually.

Is Hawk Harrelson the worst homer in sports? I have been subjected to him, don’t lie.

During my first season with MLB Extra Innings, I have come to learn that everyone is a homer. Everyone. I don’t know what worst means, but he’s definitely the most open about it. “Come on, Timo,” to this day remains one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard an announcer say during a game. I can see how it would piss off people and that’s OK. But Hawk’s my guy, so I love him. Besides, he’s the first to say negative things about the Sox when things are going badly. He’s a homer, but he’s not a guy like Michael Kay who will never say a bad thing about the Yankees during a game or pretend he’s objective.

So yes. “Come on Timo” makes you the worst homer. It’s science. Last question, what do you think of Frank Thomas? Is he a Hall of Famer and how do White Sox fans feel about him?

Love Frank. Still my favorite all-time Sock. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. There was no more feared hitter in the game during his prime. I’m pretty sure Sox fans still love him, even though he did appear to be kind a of prick behind the scenes. But hey, I don’t have to sit in the locker next to him, so what do I care? If Carl Everett can get me a World Series partly because he believes dinosaurs never existed, hey, fuck dinosaurs then.

Fuck Dinosaurs indeed. Thanks Dave. I still think you had the best take on the Brett Favre situation.

As always, I am intrigued by how someone becomes a fan of a team and how they follow their team and how a fan base interacts. So I start by asking how he became a Royals fan (nwilson26’s words are in bold).

Well, growing up in the middle of nowhere I was 2 hours from KC, and 4 hours from St. Louis, so if I wanted to be connected to a MLB team the logical choice was KC. My parents weren’t much on “the city life” so we went to about 1 game a summer and I got to tag along with friends when I was younger when there families went. But when I became old enough to drive me and friends would take “trips” to the park. My family didn’t care much about the Majors and basically didn’t watch any games, but I was completely different in that I wanted to play and watch as much as I could. The only problem was the Royals weren’t on TV back home. The only games that were on were those damn Cubs on WGN. So I watched a lot of there games when they played the Cardinals. To be perfectly honest, the day I really became a true blue fan was the day they terminated Allard Baird from the GM position. I thought and still do think that he was completely worthless. Once Dayton Moore got to town, I let myself take the dive. Allan Baird deserves no more mention from me.

So how do you follow the team now?

Last off-season the Royals signed a legit TV contract with FSN here locally. We finally have 140 regular season games and a pre-game and post game broadcast. Now this may seem tedious to some of you big market, or bigger city teams, but this is a big deal. In past years, if you didn’t live in KC then you had no idea when the games were going to be on. The Cardinals actually had that FSN contract in past years, so everybody had to watch them instead. The Cardinals are good and all, but the rest of Missouri, and Iowa were getting Cardinals baseball. Something didn’t seem right. How in the world is anybody in today’s world supposed to care about something that isn’t on TV when your at home? Getting that TV contract in my opinion is the biggest thing that the Royals have done this year. Finally, we have something to look at, something to see and digest. Before it was newspaper articles that didn’t tell the whole story.

Ryan Lefebvre and Paul Splittorff are also a new tandem in the booth this year. Lefebvre doesn’t usually put his foot in his mouth unless Josh Hamilton is involved, and lets Split to the analysis. Split is good. Hall of Fame pitcher that knows his stuff. Short and to the point. (I must have missed Spliteroff’s HOF ceremony but he did have a decent career) When Split isn’t working, Frank White is in the booth. I love Frank, and am under the impression that every Royals fan does. Frank coached the AA team in years past and was there when Butler, Gordon, Hochevar, Aviles were all there. So he has knowledge about most of the Royals starters as their past coach, which is great. I was actually upset when Frank White didn’t get consideration for the head coaching job. Not that Hillman hasn’t done the job, but Frank has put in a lot of years here and deserves a shot at some point.

No TV contract? Shit, the Mets have their own network. Following the Royals by newspaper? Wow, that is very old timey. You must have missed when they stopped calling managers the Head Coach. So how do you interact with other Royals fans? Are there any traditions that they adhere to?

Royals traditions? Does George Brett count as a tradition?

The Chiefs are known for their tailgating (which I might add is ridiculously fun) but Kauffman and Arrowhead are right next to each other and share the same parking lots. So, it’s not like that tradition is lost with the Royals. Sure it’s not as prominent, but every game I go to, we have a grill, coolers, and always play washers in the parking lot. (I had to look up washers, its like horseshoes)

A new tradition that the Royals have just recently started is the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat. Buck doesn’t need anymore introduction, or shouldn’t need one anyway. Buck is huge in KC, and every home game that seat is sat in by somebody in the community that has made an impact in the community. They introduce that person at every home game and I feel that it’s an honor for them to be sitting in that seat.

The B2 bombers on opening day are always a treat. Two of them fly over in accordance with the national anthem. If the hair on your arm doesn’t stand on end then something is wrong with you.

One new tradition that I hope we can have for a long time is when Soria comes in to close out the 9th. I was at a game a couple weeks back and the top of the 9th rolled around, and here comes Joakim Soria jogging in to the mound, all of the players stayed in the dugout until he got to the mound. Seeing that should show everybody the kind of respect that he’s being given in a year at this level. Once the crowd realized what was going on there was just a buzz in the stadium. It was truly one of the coolest things I’ve witnessed there. As simple as it may have been. I hope the players continue it.

You bring up George Brett, can you give me an understanding of what he means to the Royals organization and the fans?

Brett means everything. .390, crazy pine tar incident, and that wad of chew in his mouth. He was a man’s man. Gritty, dirty, and all out. 20 years of service all to one team. Fans won’t have the chance to see that anymore with the way player movement is becoming. Look at the stats, they tell you a lot, talk to any Royals fan, and see if any one of them FAILS to mention Brett. That’s how you know. George Brett is the epitome of our slogan right now. True Blue.

OK, George Brett rules. He was no Steve Balboni though. So, what can you tell me about this year’s team?

Young and inconsistent at the plate. When Mark Grudzielanek is your leading batter something is wrong. Love the guy, but please. Our pitching is strong, our bullpen is strong, but our offense is dismal. Scoring runs is a real problem for us. This is the sole reason Jose Guillen is here. Power bat. We need one more right handed power bat. Billy Butler is called a pure hitter by a lot of people, but was sent down because he couldn’t hit for gap power and wasn’t producing any home runs. Since coming back up a couple of weeks ago, he’s been hot at the plate and producing more power.

No power, and no speed. David Dejesus is our leadoff hitter, but he doesn’t have plus speed on the bases, Joey Gathright is on the DL, but when he’s playing he can’t get on base. If you can’t get on you can’t steal second. If you can’t get in scoring position, nobody can hit a f’in (We say fuck in this league son) double, so nobody scores and we end the inning with a runner on 1st and 3rd. Never fails. Our offense should come around with young players at the plate. In theory anyway.

We have 3 solid starters in Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, and Zack Greinke, but then finish out with Kyle Davies (who is inexperienced, but has potential), and Luke Hochevar (who is real young with loads of potential). The problem with the last two is you never know what your going to get. A little consistency from them would go a long way in getting to .500. Ron Mahay, and Soria pretty much have the bullpen locked down. We’ve got a good mix of old/young in our pitching staff.

I believe we are headed in the right direction though. We’ve stayed out of major injuries, certain players have gotten the playing time they need for our people to evaluate whether they will be a part of our future or not. That is an important step.

Are there any players you feel have been overlooked by the media? Well, I guess the answer could be the whole team but I guess I am going for locally or even nationally.

David Dejesus deserves every accolade he gets. He plays a very solid center field. Could use a little more arm strength, but it’s a better option than Gathright in center for arm strength. The guy is batting out of position at leadoff, but produces average, and runs scored. He’s more of a two hole guy. He lacks speed for steals, but produces solid gap power, and average. I’d like to see Gathright get the hang of hitting so he can cause havoc with his speed and athleticism, but he has trouble getting on base. If we could slot him leadoff followed by Dejesus, Alex Gordon, Guillen, Butler, Mark Teahen, Grudz, Aviles and then Buck, I would be happy. Dejesus would finalize a lot of playoff contending teams. Solid, solid, player.

Well, I am sold. David DeJesus for President. Since your team is filled with so many young players are there any players in the minors we should be looking out for? How does the Royals future look?

Carlos Rosa started in AA ball this year and has moved up to AAA already. Daniel Cortez is in Arkansas AA right now and they are high on him. Both are right handed pitchers. Mike Moustakas was our first rounder last draft, and has been up and down in his first start which is to be expected. Our future I would say is solely dependent on who we have called up now. There is a lot of high picks on the squad as of now, so they have to produce. The way I see it, with some help of a friend, our minor league system doesn’t have much to hang it’s hat on right now.

I am assuming by friend you mean Allard Baird? Since we ain’t going to talk about him no more tell me, what do you think of the jobs that Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman have done?

I’ve previously spoken of Moore, and there isn’t much more to say about him. He’s came in and pointed this organization in a different direction. People have taken notice. Hillman is guy who I personally like. He sticks up for his players, and he calls them out at the same time, but everything happens in house. No one guy is too important for this team. In spring training he called out the team for base running errors. Immediately following the game he called everybody out to home plate and lectured them about base running and how important it was. This was after a win. It showed attention to detail and how important he thought detail was going to be in turning this ship around. Did I mention that this was in front of the fans at the game? Embarrassing I’m sure. George Brett went on record as saying the players needed it. When Brett speaks people listen. The only problem that I have right now with Hillman is leaving the starters in too long. That 6th inning is a killer for them. Hillman needs continued motivation from his players to get to .500 at the end of the season. It’s not out of reach. You have to play for something when your 13 out with 2 months to play.

Well, you seem to think the franchise is headed in the right direction but let me ask you, do you think the Royals can ever be a winner with David Glass as it’s owner?

This is a tough question. 2 years ago I would have said no way. When Dayton Moore came here I didn’t know what to think of him. Either he was the biggest scam artist of a GM, or really knew his stuff. For somebody to come to town and take some coin out of Glass’ pockets was impressive. Our payroll has jumped by close to $30 million in 2 years, a power bat is here, a power pitcher in Meche was signed. All well and great for now, but the more impressive thing was that people would actually come here. Glass has made that possible. Now. With that being said. What happens when Gordon, Butler, Aviles, and Pena Jr., all need to be resigned? They all came up at the same time. He’s locked Soria in, has Meche here, but there are going to be some players that need to be with this team resigned and not shipped away like Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Beltran. We have to keep our core because our minor league system isn’t looking good. They are all here right now. This group of kids is what we are banking on. Glass needs to take one more step in my opinion and go ahead and lock down Gordon, Butler, Hochevar, and Greinke. Those 4 guys are our guys. We drafted them, we groomed them, now show them we want them and sign them long term. If he goes in that direction, then yes. We can contend with the playoffs. Get us in the playoffs, and then we’ll go from there.

Fair enough. Frankly, I think it is very possible. I tend to believe an owner like Glass has never used revenue sharing money properly. If teams like Minnesota and Oakland can keep some of their core and keep winning, I see no reason why the Royals can’t. OK, switching gears, tell me about Kauffmann Stadium. Every time I see it on TV, I think it is such a nice looking place. Is that so?

Kauffman Stadium is a great place. The waterfalls over the right center and left center fences are a staple of Kaufmann, along with the gigantic Crown that’s on top of the scoreboard. Kaufmann is in the middle of renovations right now. A new HD scoreboard and replay TV was installed. Largest in the majors as of now, with a new crown on top. LED board was installed in the left field walls to show the other scores around the league. The concourses will be widened, which was needed. They are adding a party area behind left field, a field restaurant in right field, more restrooms, and a newer look all around. The renovations are to be completed by opening day 2009. Opening day 2009 will be awesome.

On a sad note, you can go to a game at Kauffman anytime other than the before mentioned Red Sox, Yankees, and Cardinals series and pay $15 and sit lower level. I’m guessing average attendance is 13k or close to that. In one way it’s nice to go and be able to hang out and not be crowded, but on the other hand, when we get a hit or score a run the game takes a hit because 13k fans just don’t make that big of a splash. But I do think all fans get the feeling that the Royals are on the rise, and they the taxpayers are willing to help out. New GM, new head coach, finally getting to see the young players at the MLB level. Hopefully were on the right track. I’m going to say this only because I believe it myself. I think that Kauffman has a lot of history and should be on peoples list to come visit. It’s simple, it’s quaint, it’s personal. The statues outside, the crown when your driving in off of I-70, the people drunk in the parking lot grilling, and offering you a beer and dog… All reasons to give it a shot. Baseball is/was just an added feature for most of us here. Until now.

Well, that sounds lovely. I think KC is a good baseball town. It was in the past. Speaking of the past, how important are the teams of the 70’s and 80’s to the fans considering the team has not been successful in twenty years?

The mention of Willie Wilson, Frank White, George Brett, Mark Gubicza, Bret Saberhagen, Bo Jackson, and Kevin Seitzer. That’s a pretty good group of guys to hang your hat on. I can still see Bo running sideways on the left field wall. What a freak athlete. Technically that’s all we have, but I’d be wrong if I said that I remember too much about all of those guys. I was young and every one of those guys were on there way out when I started remembering going to the games. What I would give to see anybody bat .390 again. Brett was a natural. We had Beltran until we couldn’t afford him, and Sweeney until we had to give up on him. Sweeney and his injuries are a long standing joke here in KC, but his persona, and dedication to the community was and will always be first class. Hell of a guy. Haven’t heard one teammate say he wasn’t “the nicest guy I’ve ever met”.

Do you miss setting your watch to “Lima Time”?

Thanks for the bait, but haven’t we Royals fans endured enough?

I guess you have. I thank you for all the help. I think some of us may have learned something.

As always, I like to start by finding out how the person became a fan of the team, how they follow the team and how they interact with the fan base. In this case, I really don’t know Arkbadger so I am intrigued to see how someone in Arkansas becomes a Cardinals fan. So I start by asking him how he became one. (Arkbadger’s words are in bold)

To start off, I grew up in Wisconsin so at the beginning of my tenure on this earth I was a pretty big Twins fan. And what’s funny is that in the 1987 World Series I was rooting heavily for the Twins over the Cardinals. Kirby Puckett was and still is my favorite baseball player of all time, but with his retirement and the baseball strike back in ‘95 I was starting to lose interest in baseball. My older brother started working for the Cards out of college in 1996, and after one failed attempt at college I was living with my parents and needed something to do in a bad way that fall. The Cardinals made the playoffs and needed some extra help with all the playoff media so I got the opportunity to work the NLDS and NLCS that year and became hooked. I moved to Arkansas in the fall of ’97 and have been a fan ever since.

Wow, so you grew up in Wisconsin but became a Twins fan? Then your brother got a job in St. Louis so you went there to work and became a Cardinal fan and then moved to Arkansas? Shit, that is one of the more fucked up paths to fanhood I have ever heard. One that involves a lot of chesse and fried food. So how do you currently follow the team, by watching your heart monitor?

Mostly TV. Every Cardinal game is broadcast here so I have ample opportunity to follow the team. There is also a local radio affiliate that can pick them up so I can catch them on the road as well, although since the death of Jack Buck I don’t listen to as many games on the radio as I used to. That being said, Mike Shannon is pretty entertaining on the radio, especially when he has been drinking or during a rain delay when he can start telling stories. St. Louis is about a 5.5 hour drive so unfortunately I don’t get to as many games as I would like.

I am sure Josh Hancock can tell you how entertaining Mike Shannon is. What? Too soon? Anywho, tell me how you rednecks congregate when it comes to the Redbirds?

Arkansas has a lot of Cardinal fans and I have a lot of friends that are fellow backers of the redbirds, so we try to get together and catch at least a game a week on TV. As far as traditions go I am not all that familiar with too many of them. The old Busch stadium was kind of stuck in the middle of a dying downtown area with not a whole lot around it. With the new stadium they are planning a “baseball village” that is going to surround the ballpark with shops, bars, etc. that I think will really give fans an opportunity to spend more time around the stadium and get some good pre-game tailgating options within walking distance of the stadium.

That’s OK, I for one am interested in the interactions of a bunch of hillbillies drinking Busch beer and watching the Cardinals “Git ‘Er Done”. I have seen the Cardinal tradition. It involves a bunch of polite people tolerating cheating, steroid abuse, alcoholism and the occasional bad play. I remember the Mets were winning Game 4 of the NLCS and the Cards were down five or six runs and two ladies danced to some song over the PA. I equated that kind of attitude to an entire fan base. That’s right, I am all about generalizations and profiling. Well, tell me about this year’s team.

This year’s team is pretty puzzling. Going into the year, no one had real high expectations. So the thought that it was going to be a tough year was kind of ingrained in everyone’s head. Now that the season is more than halfway over, and the Cards are still in contention in the division, I think expectations have changed a bit. The offense has been pretty hit and miss, and the lack of protection around Pujols this year has definitely come to light. The starting pitching has been by far the biggest surprise with journeymen like Kyle Lohse and Todd Wellemeyer doing more than their part to fill in while our best pitchers try to come back from injuries. The bullpen has absolutely killed us continually through the season, and will continue to do so until the end of the season. With that being said, it is kind of hard to be real disappointed if we don’t make the playoffs, but still…

No, it is OK to be disappointed. It is called having a winning attitude. Your team has had success over the years, and they are in contention. You should expect them to win. Winners win! Unfortunately for you, you root for a bunch of losers. But I like your attitude. It is better than most. Are there any guys that are being over looked by the media in either a good or bad way?

Even though he was an all star this year, I think Ryan Ludwick has been pretty overlooked, which is pretty easy to do considering he plays on the same team as Sir Albert Pujols. With the Cards letting some big veteran bats that have been with them for the past 4 or 5 years (Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds) they needed someone to step up production and Ludwick has answered the bell. To a point I think Yadier Molina gets overlooked a lot as well. When he came into the league he was known as a strong defender but had a pretty weak bat. While his defense hasn’t slipped a bit, his bat has come around to where he is batting at a .300 clip and is now known as one of the toughest batters in the league to strike out. Not only that, but his handling of the pitching staff this year has been phenomenal.

First off, Fuck Yadier Molina. Trust me, he is not overlooked in the media capital of the world. Cocksucker. Secondly, I totally agree about Ryan Ludwick. He has been HUGE on my fantasy team. The other guys seem to like him and he carried the offense for a month. Now, I have Tatis (a former Cardinal) and he is doing the heavy lifting. Anywho, what do you think of Tony Larussa’s and John Mozeliak’s job performance?

With Tony La Russa, I think you usually know what you are going to get (insert drunk joke here). Although I don’t always agree with all of his in-game moves, it seems like he generally has a good reason for doing what he does, and he has to be leading the league in double switches. I think that he will be around for a couple more years, but I could see his tenure in St. Louis coming to an end sooner rather than later. As far as Mozeliak goes, he was put in a pretty tough situation. The Cards were pretty depleted in the bullpen coming into the year and had several holes throughout the lineup to shore up before the season and as it has progressed. With the trade deadline just a few days away, I don’t see the Cardinals making any big moves to take care of the problems of the bullpen which sucks pretty bad, but I think it will payoff in the longrun. The philosophy when Walt Jocketty was the GM was taking care of the present and not worrying much about the future which was great when we were making big name acquisitions and making the playoffs more often than not, but this took a pretty big toll on the farm system, and when not all those transactions worked out as planned (I’m looking at you Mark Mulder) it kind of left some obvious holes in the minors that are just now getting worked out.

Hey, Tony is a genius. Batting the pitcher 8th. Brilliant. I mean having the pitcher up in more non-sacrifice situations and getting him more at-bats than a position player is the type of crazy like a fox thing only a super genius like two time Champion Tony does. So, with Mozeliak not making moves, are there any guys in the minors we need to know about? How does the Cardinal future look?

Three guys that come to mind are Colby Rasmus, Chris Perez and Jess Todd. Rasmus was a pick for the US Olympic team but just hurt a knee and is being held out. Perez has been called up a couple of times this year and showed some promise but he needs to get a secondary pitch besides his fastball. Former Arkansas Razorback Jess Todd is currently in AA but has moved up pretty fast through the ranks. He will be a good young starting arm once he is called up.

Well, that’s nice. Speaking of nice, something I touched on earlier, do you think it is perception or reality that the Cardinal fans are too polite and don’t get angry with the team?

I think it gets overblown a bit, but all in all Cardinal fans are overall pretty knowledgeable and polite. I was at the game where Jr. (Ken Griffey not Dale Earnhardt) hit his 500^th homerun a couple years ago and they gave him a couple minute standing ovation. I’ve heard some more boos than normal this year, but it has been mostly aimed at the bullpen. You can only push the nice guy so far until he freaks out and kicks you in the back of the knee.

Look out! Booing the bullpen guys. It is getting UGLY in St. Louis. Speaking of ugly, is it Dave Duncan’s mission to get all of his poor fielding home run behemoth sons into the big leagues?

I’m guessing that La Russa puts Chris in the outfield just out of pure comic relief, possibly to make people forget how bad the bullpen really is. As far as Shelly goes, well, who names their son Shelly anyways?

Gay Homosexuals and former catchers turned pitching coaches, that’s who. Am I still allowed to rub the 2000 NLCS in your face or did 2006 totally negate that? Really don’t answer that…I know the answer.

You know, after the 2006 LCS I had kind of put 2000 in the back of my memory. But after a little internet research I saw some write-ups on that series, and damn, the Mets really put it to us that year. I’m thinking that they were just looking out for all the New Yorkers so they could get their precious subway series. Although the Cards did have a certain Tatis that year, who one would think could have single-handedly won the series for the Cardinals.

We don’t discuss the World Series just the NLCS. 2000 National League Champions. Quite an achievement. And let us all acknowledge Tatis and give up glory to him and his .322 batting average. and 28 RBIs in 55 games. Speaking of awesome baseball players, please tell me about Albert Pujols. I know he is awesome but what is it like watching him everyday and what does he mean to the Cardinal fan?

Let’s see, great ball player, under-rated fielder, obvious team leader, and a great accent when he pronounces home rrrrun (with rolling R). In previous season’s Albert had the luxury of batting around guys like Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds which probably helped them more than it did him, but it was still a nice option to have. This year with almost nothing to protect him, and a nagging injury he has still continued to produce like previous years. Not too mention he is one of the most feared and clutch bats in the majors (see Shea Stadium last Saturday, 2 run HR in the 14^th). What surprises me the most with him, especially this year is that pitchers continue to throw to him. It baffles me with the lineup around him how many pitches he gets in a normal game. I mean it’s not like the guy is sneaking up on anyone, he should be getting more walks than Bonds ever did, but for some reason he doesn’t, although this doesn’t bother me in the least. I think Pujols is one of the guys in baseball who any right thinking person would take on their team at any time.

Well Arkbadger, I thank you for your time and I thank you for reminding me of Saturday night. I would like to remind you of Friday and Sunday.

Sorry if this segment sucked, it was going pretty well and then I decided to hand it over to Jason Isringhausen and he lost it for me.

Don’t worry about it, everyone stopped reading after finding out you were from Wisconsin originally.

As always I like to start by finding out how the person being interviewed became a fan, how he interacts with the fan base and how he follows the team. Now since I live in New York, I have a pretty healthy understanding of how shitty the Yankee fan really is. The self-entitlement. The obnoxiousness. The pomposity of it all. So of course, when I read Sparty’s responses, I knew he fit right in with that generalization. So let us begin. Here is how Sparty became a Yankee fan. (Sparty’s words are in bold)

I did not have much choice. I think I was told when I was about 5 years old that I needed to make a commitment to a baseball team. Once I did, I could not back out or I would be disowned. Hence why one of my brothers lives 2000 miles away.
Anyway, once I told my dad that I would follow them, I was bought a Mattingly jersey. Then they slowly started to suck in the late 80s. Where my father was growing up in the prime of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford, I was seeing the greatness of Roberto Kelly, Don Slaught and Andy Hawkins. Thank God the Reds traded us Paul O’Neill. That was the deal that got us going to being the team we are today. I say us when I speak of the Yankees, this was my first love along with the World Champion New York Football Giants. They have made me laugh, cheer and cry.

I know how you feel. Don Slaught was a beast. But not as awesome as the World Champion New York Football Giants. (Gonzo just puked) So how do you go about following the gritty gutty Yankees?

The wife works in the evening, so I bond with the kid watching the Yankee games. Too hard to get to the stadium with a 2 year old. Though I gotta get him there before the end of the season so he can claim he was at the original Yankee stadium. Obviously, I use the internet to follow what is being written in the newspapers about them, and to find out about any possible transactions. It was tough following the Yanks from Detroit when I moved there as a youth. Not only that, they always lost at the old Tiger Stadium when they were in town. Even the 1998 114 win team lost the two games I went to at that stadium. The Tigers best player was Bobby Higgninson! Thank God for USA Today, that is how I would find out about a lot of what was going on back in the 80’s and 90’s. I cannot stand listening them on the radio, I hate John Sterling, haaaaaaaaate hiiiiiim!!!

So you are already ruining your kid. Well done Pops. As for “the Original Yankee Stadium” that went away after 1973. They remodeled the joint and it looks nothing like the classic Yankee Stadium. So much for all the false tears being welled up by these phony assholes that became fans in 1996. You obviously aren’t one of those assholes. Tell me about you interactions with the Yankee fanbase.

Let me tell you something about the Yankee fan base. They relied waaaaaay too much on the curse of the Bambino. Tradition died in 2004. They held so tight to the friggin idea of the curse and the mythical spirits of Destiny and Mystique. We are grasping to believe in something again. Hating the Sox is not tradition, especially since they have more championships this century than us.

Derek Jeter. His play has been not good for what his stature is. He is not the best SS in the AL. His fielding is getting worse. He looks lost at the position. People think he is a great fielder because they remember one play or two plays. He was way out of position and performed the option play (The sick play against Oakland flipping the ball to Posada) almost a decade ago, he is not doing well in the field. He is not creating enough runs. He needs to do this. I also believe that the bullpen and rotation has succeeded the way they have this year because of Jose Molina. He is not getting any attention because he cannot hit. He is excellent behind the plate, and he eliminates mistakes by throwing out runners at 2nd.

OK. I am in. Derek Jeter sucks. AHHHHHH…that felt good. Are there any guys in the minors we should look out for? How does the Yankee future look?

Besides Kei Igawa? Ugh, ok. Cash fucked that up. But Austin Jackson is the guy to keep on your mind. Great great athlete. He is playing in AA Trenton right now. That is the CF of the future. He has very good range in the OF, good speed, gets on base, power is improving. I like this kid.

Necessary? Not as a baseball fan. You think the narrow concourses really bothered the fans? Not a chance. I love Yankee Stadium. However, I am looking forward to the new stadium. I am also about the power for anyone to make more money for themselves. These are the times we live in. Tear down history man!

Hank Steinbrenner, bloated asshole or the second coming of George?

Neither. Hank loves the team like his dad does, and likes talking like him too. The only big difference is that Hank is trusting more in the people he pays. George would have fired Girardi back in May, and Robinson Cano would have been traded for some inadequate degenerate, or Cashman would be out of a job.

Define a term I find sickening. What is a “True Yankee”?

Coming up big, in October, it is as simple as that. It is not about a stoic attitude like a Jeter. Reggie Jackson was Mr. October, but he was still a douchebag. That’s what is so special about Scott Brosius and not Alex Rodriguez. Chad Curtis and not Melky Cabrera.

I am glad we cleared up the fact that Chad Curtis is a “True Yankee”. I am sure Thurman Munson’s corpse did not roll over in it’s grave. Last question, did you download this year’s version of Joey Baseballs and Carmanooch’s “Yankees How Ya Doin”?

Um, huh? no. what? Too busy reading all this frivolous garbage and wasting my time destroying Dan Shanoff.

Stop lying….Sparty…How Ya Doin?…How How…How Ya Doin? Thanks for the interview.

As always, I like to start by getting to know how one becomes a fan of a team and how they follow a team and interact with it’s fanbase. This is where The Jammer begins (The Jammer’s words are in bold).

I became a Cubs fan through a combination of factors. Just cause it sounds good, let’s say 3 factors played in to my choice of the Cubs as my team.

The first factor was geography. I guess it’s a family tradition. One Grandpa grew up in Ohio, and was an Indians fan. One Grandpa grew up in Iowa, and his local television affiliates broadcast the Cubs, so that’s who he followed. My dad grew up in South Chicago as a kid so he liked the White Sox. Finally, I was raised in Illinois, and landed with the Cubs. Now one might ask, why not pull for the Sox? They are in the same city, and they are your old man’s team…which brings me to…

The second factor: my dad’s office had season tickets to the Cubs. When I was 5 years old, and just starting to get into MLB, (via Topps baseball cards), my dad decided to snag some of the office tickets and take us into Wrigley for a Cubs/Cardinals tilt. For the record, Tom Herr hit a solo homer in the first inning, and the game ended 1-0 Cardinals. Obviously a real action packed game for a 5-year-old kid to watch. Regardless, the whole exposure to the Wrigley atmosphere must have made an impression, cause I’ve never wavered since. Which is the way it should be when a kid picks a team, regardless of sport, but ESPECIALLY in baseball.

The third factor was most definitely channel 9. If anybody is reading this that ever lived in Illinois, they know what I’m talking about. If you don’t know what I’m talking about in other parts of the country it’s now called Superstation WGN or some shit. Anyways, channel 9 was the shit. They had bozo every morning before school, and Harry Caray and Steve Stone after school (if it was April, May, August, September, and damn near NEVER October…except 1984 and 1989). They also had these sweet ass Unocal 76 commercials about this old fart named Murph who had a gas station. And Dennis Franz commercials where he would ask a guy in the stands, “What is a Met?” in a baseball trivia pissing contest. Oh, and of course the Cub Fan/Bud Man Harry Caray beer commercials. So I watched the Cubs all the time, because you didn’t need cable for channel 9.

Really Harry Caray doing a beer commercial? Shocking. So how do you currently follow the team?

Now days I catch them on TV when I can, (usually night games, after I get out of work). However since I am confined to a cubicle most days, I follow them on the Internet, or just flip on 720 AM, and listen to the excellent Cubs radio team of Pat Hughes and Ron Santo. Another stunt I’m prone to pull to follow the Cubs, which you didn’t touch on, was via a mobile phone. I text ‘cubs’ to MLBGO at least once a week to see what the score is of a game while I’m out and about, so that’s another way I stay on top of what’s going on.

Sorry not to bring my tech savvy to the table. I am happy your ability to use a phone enables you to follow the Cubbies. Stop making me feel bad. Anywho, how do you interact with the fan base and what type of traditions does the fan base adhere too?

How do I interact with other Cubs fans? Good question. Here’s a quick fact about my situation. I currently live probably 10 minutes from the home ballpark of a division rival, so my interactions with Cubs fans occur a) during Cub road games at this stadium, b) via cell phone to my vast network of Cubs fans who I am friends with, or c) during the yearly odyssey to Wrigley. Needless to say, I’m not really in Cub friendly territory at the moment, so my interactions are pretty limited. As far as Cub atmosphere and traditions, there’s quite a few if you really want to dig deep, but some of the more famous ones are tossing back opposing teams home runs, singing the 7^th inning stretch with the Celeb du jour who comes to town for a game, and Wayne Messmer, the dude that sings the national anthem before every Cubs game.

I just want to put my two cents in here. The 7th inning stretch thing a Wrigley bothers me. Only because 90% of the time it is some asshammer looking to promote something. When Harry Caray did it, he was drunk. I like to think he would have been belting out “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” about 3:45 PM every afternoon after his 5th scotch on the rocks in his living room, none the less Wrigley Field. But I digress, besides telling me that they are awesome, give me an overview of this year’s team.

Top to bottom, this year’s team looks like the most complete team from an offensive standpoint I can remember us having in my lifetime. When everybody is healthy, the team doesn’t really have an easy out one through eight, and if Big Z is dealing, then basically we’re pretty tough one through nine in the order. I can’t really spell it out to you in any fancy terms. The stats aren’t lying. We’ve got a great offense, and we score a lot more runs than our opponents, hence the gaping run differential this season between us and our opponents. That said, as a greedy fan, I’d love to see us add another stick or two before the trade deadline, but I’m thinking more along the lines of Randall Simon than Nomar Garciaparra here…

As far as pitching goes, this isn’t the best staff I’ve seen us with, but they are obviously getting things done. The bullpen is doing a good job this season, and really if you pay attention to baseball trends over the years, good bullpens are almost ALWAYS necessary to even get a sniff of post season play, so that’s promising. Regarding our starting pitchers, we’re not loaded like we were in ’02, with Wood, Prior, and Zambrano all having very, very good seasons. Instead, I’d actually liken this year’s staff to the 1989 starting rotation. In ’89 the Cubs won the NL East, and Mike Bielecki came out of nowhere to put together a really good season, which basically nobody would have predicted. I would argue you could say Ryan Dempster’s performance this year sort of echoes Bielecki’s ’89 season…you sort of wonder if it can last more than one year. Additionally, we’ve got a youngish ace in Zambrano, much like our youngish ace Greg Maddux in 1989, (and no I do not think Zambrano will have Maddux’s career, for the record). The addition of Dick Harden really legitimized our rotation, and at this point, I would assume Hendry is done tinkering with the pitching staff, and we’ve got the guys we’re going to war with should we make it to the postseason.

So in a nutshell, a dangerous offensive team with a solid, above average pitching staff, obviously a recipe for success, which is exactly what we’ve been lucky enough to have up to this point in the season.

Dick Harden? Oh, I see what you did there. Cute. Are there any guys on this team that are getting overlooked by the media, whether it be good or bad?

I think the obvious guy here is Ryan Theriot. (I think this may be the brother of Mike Theriot who Hef loves so much. No, you will never ever live it down Mr. Baseball. Ever.) At least to me. Sure he seems to get a lot of notoriety amongst Cub fans, and to an extent the Chicago media, as a guy who is a good ball player, but the fact that he didn’t make the all star team on a team where seemingly everybody else did kind of leaves him the odd man out, and gives him the appearance of an under rated player. I’m thinking your average Rangers fan, or Mariners fan, or Padres fan would probably not be able to tell you what Ryan Theriot brings to the table as a ball player, but as a Cubs fan, he’s a guy you really appreciate watching. He hustles all the time, and comes up big when it counts.

Another guy that gets overlooked is young Ronnie Cedeno. I’ll say this. I’ve seen the guy get up to bat with the bases loaded like 3 times this year. I’m fairly certain he’s got a grand slam once, a triple once, and a single once. That’s Lloyd McClendon goes to Williamsport, PA type numbers.

As far as an over rated Cub or a guy who gets too much credit, I think it’s fair to say Kosuke Fukudome probably didn’t deserve to start in the outfield for the NL in the All Star game. That said, I love the guy, am glad he’s a Cub, and I think he plays the game the right way.

Fair enough about those guys. I think every team has guys that do more than their numbers show. I also think the overrated aspect of Fukudome wasn’t helped by a certain Illustrated magazine about Sports. What do you think of the job performances of Lou Pinella and Jim Hendry?

Please keep in mind a few things here. I’m a Cubs fan. I’ve been a Cubs fan for roughly 25 years. We’ve never been this far over .500, or had the best record in MLB at the All Star Break during that time, (at least as best I can remember). So for me to sit here and say anything other than that I’m tickled pink by what’s happening and that Sweet Lou is meeting and exceeding expectations would be stupid. The success we’ve had so far this season is really unprecedented by my memory, and I’m pumped.

As far as Hendry goes, I think he does a pretty outstanding job keeping this team in the mix. He’s probably not viewed on the same level as a Beane/Epstien/Schuerholz/Hart guy, but he really does a fine job keeping us stocked with talent, and I hope he’s not done shopping just yet.

Are there any prospects on the horizon we should know about?

Felix Pie (OF) is a guy that has been on the cusp for a couple years now. When he’s come to the bigs, he’s struggled with the junk that big league pitchers can bring. One thing to keep in mind though is how young he still is though at only 23 years of age. I think he’ll make a fine outfielder in the next 2-4 years…it’s just a matter of time before everything clicks for him. Otherwise Jeff Samardzija (P) gets a ton of publicity because he used to catch footballs for Notre Dame, and Josh Vitters (3B) is the latest high draft pick we’ve signed. I could honestly rattle off like ten names here, but it’s all speculation, and to the non-Cubs fans, they would just be names.

I remember watching a game last year where Kerry Wood was on his way back and Eddie Vedder caught a bullpen session for him. When Kerry and Eddie was walking to the bullpen the crowd erupted. I thought it may have been for Eddie but the more I heard it the more I realized it was for Wood. Please give me your thoughts on Kerry Wood and his relationship with the Cubs fan.

Kerry has rallied back this year, and it was pretty excellent seeing him on the All Star team. I think he fits that classic baseball type of ‘what could have been’ to an extent, maybe not on the level of a Bo Jackson or a David Clyde or JR Richard, but still he’s in that conversation, which is regrettable. That said, he’s having a very good, consistent year, and it’s very satisfying to see him healthy and enjoying some success. One thing most Cubs fans will tell you though, is that he’s a Cubbie closer, and therefore there will always be a sliver of our hearts that doesn’t trust him…we’ve simply had our hearts broken so many times over the years.

As far as what he means to Cub fans, I can’t really say. I won’t speak for everybody. Personally though, Kerry is a guy I treasure. When I was a kid the Cubs weren’t wheeling and dealing like they have been in recent years. You had your guys, and you pulled for them. Guys like Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Rick Sutcliffe, Keith Moreland, Leon Durham, etc. These were guys that stuck around with the Cubs for a long time. Now days it’s more of a rarity. GM’s get itchy trigger fingers and liquidate guys for prospects, or of course Free Agency opens doors to avenues that probably weren’t available back when I was a kid, (although that’s how we got Dawson, and how we lost Maddux). So having Kerry stick around is nice. As oft injured as he has been, he’s sort of perversely become the old reliable of the club. He’s slowly become the guy that’s on the team every year. Whether we’re winning the wild card in ’98, or stinking out the joint, or going 5 outs from the Series in ’02, or stinking out the joint, or sitting atop the NL at the All Star break in ’08 – this guy is the one constant.

Well, this is getting a bit long but I have a few more questions since the Cubs are so fucking fascinating. What are your thoughts on the ownership situation? Who should Zell sell too?

My thoughts on the ownership situation are pretty brief and simple. I hope whoever buys it appreciates the team history, and doesn’t make any sweeping changes. As far as who he sells the team to, I think either Canning or Cuban would probably do fine. I believe they would both aggressively pursue a title, which is really what any MLB fan should want their team’s owner to do. Just don’t sell to the Pink hat guy.

I hope it’s Mark Cuban. I totally see him putting a Jumbotron in. That would rule. Speaking of that, Wrigley Field, majestic old ballpark or crusty pile of bricks?

Too easy. It’s really a national treasure, and one of the crown jewels of Major League Baseball. A very historically significant sporting venue, especially if you factor in the NFL goliaths that played there, (Butkus, Sayers, Halas, etc).

HA! You said Butkus. Tee Hee. But seriously, if Wrigley is such a majestic ballpark and it’s fans are so great, why would you as a fan base vote for so many Cubs for the All-Star team if you actually want a good shot at winning a World Series?

Because sometimes what our hearts tell us and what our brains tell us are two different things, and when it comes to the Cubs, we listen to our hearts. Why else would a logically functioning individual keep coming back to a team that hasn’t won a championship in a century?

Well, fine then. I would like to thank you for you time, The Jammer. I am certain Sportsgal will complain about the length and content of this post. If anyone is still reading this? Tatis. Thank you.

I am big on understanding where a team’s fans come from and how they interact. I decided that to know a fan I must know his roots so I first asked illformula how he became an Oriole fan and how he follows the team today. (All of ill’s words will be in bold.)

I was born in the safe city Baltimore and moved outside the city when I was 3 after burning my house down (true story). My dad’s side of the family enjoyed the good years of the Orioles, so they raised me a fan. Basically, they are indirectly responsible for my depression over the last 13 years.

And how does this pyromaniac enjoy his O’s today?

I live and work in DC now so I only make it to about 5 games a year. That’s still pretty good considering how hard it is to get tickets these days. Otherwise, I watch them and Amber Theoharis on local MASN.

Give me an idea of the fans, do they cling to a certain group of players or a certain team (i.e. the 1986 Mets)?

Wow. Talking to old people (almost always fun) at the games, I think that all of the history came before my time. They won the WS 3 years before I was born and one year after. Most people cling to the “Oriole way” belief. Sounds retarded, but guys like Markakis and Roberts play the game hard and don’t embarrass themselves on the field with their emotions. That reminds people of players like Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and most of the old cast. It’s hard for my generation to cling to anything like that.

I once went to a ballgame at Camden Yards. At the start of the National Anthem, the whole crow screamed “OHHH!”. I am assuming it was because they love the Orioles and weren’t having a collective orgasm. I also found this a tad unpatriotic.

The Ohh thing bothers everyone who’s not from B-more. It’s tradition, one of a low class city. There’s no harm intended.

At least you admit it was classless. Elaborate on the “Oriole Way? I picture it being a group of guys bent over getting needles stuck in their asses.

Cal Ripken can probably speak on the Oriole Way better than I can.

RIPKEN: Well, the Oriole way was — is basically a system that was developed over the years through the people that were involved at that particular time. It wasn’t anything fancy. They basically figured out what they liked and what they disliked. They discarded what they disliked and kept and built on the one — things they liked.

It was about people. My dad was part of the Oriole way. I think he was there 14 years in the minor leagues, I think seven of those years, they had the same people in place. So it was about continuity. It was about stability.

And as things evolve and as things grow, change occurred, and I think everyone’s still trying to get back to a way, an Oriole way, which really represented a good baseball model that developed their players, moved them through the system, made good choices at the top level.

And the end result was, you won at the top level, and your winning percentage at the bottom really wasn’t so critical. It was how many players you had in the big leagues that you developed.

The Ripkens are gods in Baltimore.

Wow. Billy Ripken is an immortal, that’s for sure. I have the baseball card where he is giving the finger. Anyway, tell us a bit about this year’s team? The O’s haven’t won in a while so this year’s team looks like it may be a bit more exciting than those in years past.

A view from 30,000 ft at the current Orioles team will show some future promise but plenty of holes. Our worst contracts are Melvin Mora and Ramon Hernandez. Neither of those two players will be around the next time this team starts contending. Furthermore, because of their contracts they are almost impossible to move. Huff has a big contract too, but he seems to always produce, as quietly as it is ugly. Millar came over from Boston a few years back to try and help us win. That obviously didn’t work, but he has played a huge clubhouse role in helping these young players grow and learn the MLB life. The rest of the guys (not including Roberts) are just fill-ins. Horrible fill-ins. The shortstop situation has to be the worst in MLB by far. We have no one that can field and hit at that position. And sadly enough, no one in the farm system that will help anytime soon.

The pitching has looked a lot better this year than previous years. Starting the year, Guthrie had the most wins of any starting pitcher in any season (7). That’s never good. He’s thrown well this year despite no run support. The experiment that is Daniel Cabrera continues on. I don’t know where I stand with that situation. He’s more up and down than anyone I’ve ever seen. As for the remaining starters (Olsen, Burres, Liz, Albers) who knows, their young but none of them will WOW you.

I would think that the only real talent on your team is Nick Markakis and Adam (not Pacman) Jones. Give me a little on those two.

Markakis is solid. You can look up his stats if you want, but he’s OPS+ over 1.000 every season he’s played. He hits for avg, power, steals, and is a plus outfielder. Plus he’s Greek-American so Angelos loves him. He will always be an Oriole.

When Jones first came over I thought he would be good but never great. Having said that, after watching his progress this year, he’s going to be great. He makes adjustments so quick that you wonder how soon he could be great. He’s starting to pick pitches to hit for power, go the other way more, and plays shallow in center because he can go back on balls very well (almost Andruw Jones-esque in his prime). I loved Bedard when he was here, but he needed to go and Jones alone was worth making the trade. He and Markakis will anchor this team for the next decade.

What are the players on the team that don’t get enough press, good or bad, for their impact on the season?

Jim Johnson is the first that comes to mind. He’s been extremely effective out of the bullpen and as the set-up guy. Matt Albers has performed better than expected but really doesn’t deserve much press as a long-reliever and spot starter. Markakis gets some press, but not enough. He will change that soon.

Very interesting, I can see why you wanted us to talk about other team zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz What? Wait? Who. OK yeah. I kid I kid. Anyway, you mentioned Peter Angelos, what do you think of him and how he has done with the franchise?

Jesus is the only person I trust less than Peter Angelos. The guy is good at business and has both a track record and money to prove it. But he knows nothing about running a baseball franchise. It’s really dangerous what he’s doing to, not only the Orioles, but the city of Baltimore. The western half of the city is already a hazardous shit hole, the eastern part (where the stadium is located) is almost nice now. However, if Angelos continues down this track, fans will revolt and turn Baltimore into Gotham City.

Sounds like a great guy. My understanding of the city of Baltimore comes exclusively from commercials of the Wire (I have never watched the show, I may someday, get off my back). It looks like Angelos fits right in with Omar, Fo Show!. Anyway, tell me a bit about Andy MacPhail and Dave Trombley?

It’s Trembley bitch (joking). It’s a little early to tell if Trembley is the guy. He makes a lot of poor bullpen decisions. McPhail has done well so far. Even though we had no back-up SS when we traded Miggy, he had to go when he did. And look at the Bedard trade.

How would I know how to spell the fucking guy’s name? You expect me to care about the Orioles? Why in God’s good name am I interviewing you then? Huh? Tell me? That’s what I thought. Well let’s look at the future. What do you think of the changes this team has already made?

Well, both trades in the off-season have worked out pretty well. So I can’t blame the mini fire-sale that McPhail began last year. They really do need to rebuild the farm system and sign free-agents a year or two down the road. I think most Oriole fans would agree that it’s better to watch youth lose daily than overpaid assclowns.

What do you think the O’s can do to improve this team? Trade George Sherrill possibly?

I’ve been saying for a month now that we should trade him. He’s performed well this year. Couldn’t ask for more. But, he’s approaching his most innings pitched in any season and he’s 31yrs old. Get what you can for him now while he’s an All-Star and continue to rebuild. Besides, his style of pitching won’t last long in the AL East. He relies on players chasing pitches outside of the zone and teams like the Yankees and Red Sox take pitches all day long. Goodbye Mr Sherrill.

Mark Texiera is a local boy and is rumored to want to come back and play for the O’s. If he’s available at the end of the season. I see the Birds signing him. It’s not likely, but highly probable.

Are there any prospects on the horizon?

Matt Weiters will be catching for this team as early as next season. He is the truth. Now that he’s in AA I see him play almost every weekend. Some others that have potential are Luis Montanez, Chris Tillman and David Hernandez. Everyone seems to think this years #4 overall pick, Brian Matusz will be up quickly. But other than Weiters, nothing is for sure.

Unsolicited illformula provided me a possible 2010 starting lineup. Obviously he has already written off 2009. Things look promising in Baltimore.

2010’s possible starting line-up:

1. Roberts-2b
2. Jones-cf
3. Markakis-rf
4. Texiera-1b
5. Matt Weiters-C
6. Luis Montanez-lf
7. Jeff Nettles-3b
8. Signed FA-ss
9. who knows at DH.

That’s a long shot but could compete with some pitching help. Maybe I will start going to church.

Fucking A you better go to church. I hear who knows is a hell of a DH though. Well, I thank you for your time any other interesting things I need to know about?

Harold Baines (played for Baltimore) went to my high school and played against my dad. He’s a legend back home. There are stories of scouts coming to the games in the 70’s to watch him only to see hom intentionally walked every at-bat. So they would have to throw him BP after the games. I’ve met him many times and coached his kids. All around nice guy.

Overall, the fans are happier this year than any of the previous 7 or 8 seasons. They know the Birds are playing above their level and don’t expect too much. That said, we suck and expect to see us in the bottom of the barrell come September.

Well, I am glad you are friendly with a former B+ ballplayer. And I hope the O’s get themselves on track soon.