Welcome to the newly redesigned Wezen-Ball.com!
I've followed my friend Jason from It's About the Money, Stupid! over to the Bloguin network, and I couldn't be more excited. Besides these fancy new digs (seriously, don't you just love that banner?), which even include a forum, I get to join a great network of sports and entertainment bloggers. You can find a link to the growing number of Bloguin blogs over there on the left. I seriously suggest you check them out when you have a chance.
As for me, well, it's going to be more of the same. For those of you who were with me at the old location, you know what the site is about, and it's not going to change at all. You can expect the same posts, the same topics, and the same general attitude. I was even able to import all of the posts from the other location (you can find them above in the Archives) and you shouldn't have to change your RSS feeds, either.
If you're new to the blog, though, I suppose a little introduction is in order. You can read more of the particulars over to the right in the "About Me" section (including the "reason" for the name of the blog), but for now here are a few things that you're going to find at Wezen-Ball.com:
no commentsWhat hasn't been mentioned as often, though, is the possibility of Albert Pujols winning the Triple Crown this year. Granted, he's currently close behind Prince Fielder in the RBI category (105 to 107) and (fairly) significantly behind Hanley Ramirez in batting average (.325 to .356). But, with seven weeks left in the season, there's still plenty of time for those leaderboards to change.
Bill, over at The Daily Something, and David, from Baseball Musings, both took a look at the math to see what the real odds are. It's no surprise to learn that it isn't all that likely to happen because, let's face it, it never is. It might surprise you, though, to learn just how likely it really is. These are much better odds than most people ever have in mid-August. Bill and David did great work, and you really should give them a read to see what they determined.
So, with neither Pujols' shot at the Triple Crown nor Mauer's shot at .400 being laughably absurd, the question becomes, how fantastic would it be if both feats were achieved in the same season? When that question was brought up in the comments over at The Daily Something, I just about got chills.
With neither feat having been accomplished in over 40 years (with it being nearly 70 years for the .400 club), this would be one of the greatest seasons ever. In fact, if that were to happen, it'd battle with the 1941 season as the two greatest offensive seasons in baseball history. DiMaggio & Williams could even realistically be replaced with Mauer & Pujols. It would be remarkable. And then, when you consider that it'd be two Midwest teams making that kind of history, it'd be taken to a whole other level.
Now, clearly this is a pipe dream and it's nothing that we should realistically be entertaining until September 30. But the fact that we can even conceive of the chance in mid-August without laughing it away immediately is something to get excited about. I know what I'm rooting for the rest of the season. no comments
Knowing me, I'll probably end up writing a nice long piece anyway, but don't count on it. Hopefully, as things get closer to being finished, I'll be comfortable sharing the big news. Until then, I'll keep plugging away.
You can certainly follow me on Twitter, if you're looking for some random comments from me throughout the day, or maybe take a look at the new Facebook fan page I created. I like it better than the older, Networked Blogs one. I hope to see you there, and I'll be sure to let you know what's going on as things get closer to being done.
no commentsEarlier this week, my terrific girlfriend introduced me to what has to be the best team name in professional baseball. Playing in the Stedler Division of the New York-Penn League and located in Burlington, Vermont, the Short-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals are known as the Vermont Lake Monsters. Originally the Vermont Expos, the team had to change its name after the big league club's move to DC. After a contest, they settled on the Lake Monsters, named after their longtime mascot Champ, the Lake Champlain lake monster, itself named after a local Loch Ness-style superstition. Whatever the etymology, it's a fantastic name. I love the idea of going to a Lake Monsters game three nights a week.
It's the type of thing that you can only get away with in the minors and independent leagues. With only thirty big league franchises that have to serve millions of fans, the names are far from daring. Plus, with generations of fans having grown up with the one ballclub, there isn't really any room for name changes. In the minors, though, that's just not the case. Teams are sold, affiliates are changed, and owners are constantly looking for ways to excite their fan base. It's the perfect storm for creative team names and mascots.
With that in mind, I thought it'd be fun to take a look at the various minor leagues (and only the minor leagues - there are just too many independent leagues to try to weed through) and see what the most creative club names were. Clubs like the Pawtucket Red Sox or Helena Brewers, then, won't be included here, and even names like the Columbus Clippers and Portland Beavers are a little too pedestrian to make the list. I'm looking for the really unique names because, after all, that's just one of the charms of the minor leagues.
Using the list of minor leagues over at Wikipedia, I went through each of the leagues and chose the ones that seemed most interesting. Here, then, are the most creative club names in each of the affiliated minor leagues:
Triple-A
International League: Toledo Mud Hens [old, but still classic] & Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Pacific Coast League: Round Rock Express [nice homage to owner Nolan Ryan] & Reno Aces [one of the better dual-meaning names I came across]; special "crappy name honor" to the Albuquerque Isotopes & Las Vegas 51'sDouble-A
Eastern League: Connecticut Defenders [not a lot to choose from here, but it's still a pretty good name]
Southern League: [quite a few good names here] Montgomery Biscuits, Tennessee Smokies, andChattanooga Lookouts; special note to the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx and their stadium,Pringles Park
Texas League: Northwest Arkansas Naturals [named after noth the "Natural State" and the Robert Redford film] & San Antonio MissionsHigh-A
California League: Lancaster JetHawks [the city is home to Edwards Air Force base] & the Visalia Rawhide; special "crappy name honor" to the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernadino [I guess it's a Southern California thing]
Florida State League: Jupiter Hammerheads & Brevard County Manatees
Carolina League: Myrtle Beach Pelicans & Frederick KeysLow-A
South Atlantic League ("Sally League"): Savannah Sand Gnats, Bowling Green Hot Rods, & Hickory Crawdads
Midwest League: Lansing Lugnuts & Fort Wayne TinCaps [apparently named after Johnny Appleseed, who's buried in town]Short-A
New York-Penn League: Vermont Lake Monsters, State College Spikes, & Auburn Doubledays
Northwest League: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes & Tri-City Dust DevilsAdvanced Rookie
Pioneer League: Casper Ghosts & Ogden Raptors [not too original, but I love that their mascot is a freakin' dinosaur]
There are three more minor leagues, but every team in them is named after their affiliate, like the Bristol White Sox or Bluefield Orioles: the Appalachian League (Advanced Rookie), the Gulf Coast League (Rookie), and the Arizona League (Rookie).
Besides the Lake Monsters, my favorite of these teams are probably the Lansing Lugnuts, Montgomery Biscuits, and the Jupiter Hammerheads, each fantastically unique team names (check out that cap!). The Volcanoes, Ghosts, and Sand Gnats are all pretty great names too. It's no surprise, really, that they are all in the lower-level leagues, as that's where the financial needs of a team are most apparent. They're like independent leagues in that respect.
Whatever the reasons, though, it's easy to agree that there are some fantastically creative and fun team names and mascots in the minor leagues. It makes me wish that I had more opportunities to travel around the minors and go see the different teams and their stadiums. A summer of that, seeing games from triple-A to low-A, would be a blast (imagine the collection of hats and t-shirts you could get!). Until then, though, it's nice to know that there are so many fun and unique teams around the leagues.
no commentsFor fans of the Brewers like me, yesterday was a pretty shocking day. In the span of about ten minutes, the front office announced the firing of rookie pitching coach Bill Castro, the demotion of All-Star shortstop and fan favorite J.J. Hardy, and the release of senior Brewer Bill Hall. David Pinto called it the "Massacre in Milwaukee". Needless to say, everyone was buzzing (you should've seen all the tweets flying over on Twitter).
Reading through the news stories, a few things popped out: Bill Hall's reluctant acceptance, J.J. Hardy's seeming excitement to get "three day's off", and the sad tale of Bill Castro. From Brewers Beat:
"The GM did address Castro's dismissal in a statement.
"We appreciate and admire the dedication and tireless work ethic put forth by Bill Castro over the last 18 seasons," Melvin said. "A move like this is never easy to make, especially given Bill's longevity with the organization and considering how hard he worked to reach this position."
Castro pitched in the Brewers organization from 1970-80, then returned to the club as a Minor League coach from 1988-91 before taking a job on the big league staff. He was the bullpen coach for six different managers from 1992-2008 before realizing a long-time goal and being named pitching coach on Nov. 7, 2008. "
It's just another reminder that these business transactions - and the game we watch seven days a week with joy - involve a lot more of the human element than we tend to remember. Castro worked as a coach/instructor for the club for over twenty years before finally getting a chance at his dream job and now that same organization has summarily dismissed him after less than a year on the job. To make it worse, there's a good case to be made that, with the injuries the staff received and the lack of depth it had in the first place, Castro wasn't really at fault here. He did take it well, though, saying all the right things:
No matter what he says, though, it's hard not to think about how he and his family must feel after yesterday's news. It's a shame it takes these kinds of stories to remind us of that. Craig, over at ShysterBall, was thinking about the same thing the other day, only his was sparked by the trade that sent David Weathers from Cincinnati to Milwaukee. I guess we all need reminding of it every now and then.With that in mind, then, here are a couple of quick positive stories that I think about everytime I see these guys play. I promise to stay away from the schmaltz. I hope I do them justice. (And, yes, they are about Brewers players... that's who I watch every night, though. What do you expect from me?) no comments"This is a business, and I was the face of the pitching staff so I was the one to go. That's how it works in baseball."
...
"I always wanted to be a big league pitching coach, and it was especially special that it happened for me in Milwaukee," he said. "This is the only organization that I've known, basically. Everything I have done in baseball is thanks to the Brewers. But they had a make a change, and I was the guy."
And now that John Smoltz has been even more unceremoniously dropped by the Red Sox, I'm doing it all again. It's not like I'm out of line here, though. When the best trio of pitchers of the last 30 years all end their careers in the same season (potentially, at least), it should definitely be celebrated. After all, in eight straight years (six of which were together on the same staff), these three earned seven Cy Young Awards. It was a remarkable run and, fifteen years later, we should remember them for it.
With that in mind, I thought it might be a good idea to bring back the "Through the Years" feature, but with a little tweak. In this case, because we're interested in the group as a whole, I thought it'd be best to focus on the state of Atlanta's rotation as Glavine and Smoltz and finally Maddux joined the club, and beyond. In 1989, for example, when Smoltz and Glavine were both officially part of the rotation, what was everyone saying about the Braves' pitching staff? Was there a lot of hope for these young studs? And what about in 1993, when Maddux finally joined? Were we able to immediately recognize just how historically great that staff would be? How long, then, did it take for the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz combination to become what it did?
The story begins on June 4, 1984, when the Chicago Cubs drafted Greg Maddux with the third pick of the 2nd round. Sixteen picks later, the Atlanta Braves drafted Tom Glavine. It was the first - and far from last - time these two would be linked together. One year later, on June 3, 1985, the Detroit Tigers drafted John Smoltz in the 22nd round.
In August of 1987, the Tigers traded Smoltz in a one-for-one, prospect-for-impending-free-agent deal for Doyle Alexander. That same night, the Braves called up young Tom Glavine from the AAA Richmond Braves. From the Richmond Times the next day:
"Atlanta General Manager Bobby Cox made it quite clear this was no token call-up.no comments...
Atlanta decided to call up Glavine before last night's trade in which the A-Braves dealt veteran right-hander Doyle Alexander to Detroit for minor league pitcher John Smoltz, a 20-year-old right-hander who had a 4-10 record with a 5.68 ERA with the Tigers' Class AA Glens Falls, N.Y., farm.
Smoltz had a 7-6 record with a 3.56 ERA at Lakeland, the Tigers' farm in the Class A Florida State League, last year. According to Baseball America, he was the fifth best major league prospect in the league."
