BASEBALL 2017---Bring it On!!!

[Slip18]

Awesome, yep, I would think so!  LOL!

[Slip18]

I posted "awe."   Yet, my post reads "awesome.". I have some studying to do.

[Slip18]

Have a great day all you baseball fans!  It is so nice to have a little place to come in the morning!

Thanks for putting up with me.  I will get better at this.

Please all of you stay safe!  See you tomorrow morning, the Good Lord willing and all that stuff.

Where is the danged Smiley Face???

[Cyber Liberty]

Have a great day all you baseball fans!  It is so nice to have a little place to come in the morning!

Thanks for putting up with me.  I will get better at this.

Please all of you stay safe!  See you tomorrow morning, the Good Lord willing and all that stuff.

Where is the danged Smiley Face???

Here's one.   888blushing8888

Here's one who looks like Fred.   

[DCPatriot]

Yankees need Aaron Judge to be better -- and luckier
Andrew Marchand

http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/97060/yankees-need-aaron-judge-to-get-better-and-a-little-luckier

NEW YORK -- It was 2007 and the New York Yankees were struggling, so they turned to a young minor leaguer for help. Joba Chamberlain was a setup man, but he saved the season. In 24 incredible relief innings, he struck out 34 batters and allowed just one earned run.

By the end of the Summer of Joba, the Yankees were in the playoffs, and one of their owners, Hank Steinbrenner, was predicting Chamberlain would be the next Roger Clemens.

So here stands 6-foot-7 Aaron Judge, in the midst of his very own summer. Is he still the next face of baseball?

When Judge was benched this week, Yankees manager Joe Girardi called it a "mental day," which is a nice modern euphemism. Judge has gone from the American League MVP in the first half to the guy the Yankees would rather substitute Jacoby Ellsbury for on some days.

If Judge is going to rebound, the club needs him to be not just better, but luckier.

continued at link.....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is yet another example of ESPN sportswriters getting erections over the possible return of the Bronx Bombers in October.

We all know baseball at the major league level is a process of continuous adjustments between hitters and the pitchers they face.

[GrouchoTex]

@DCPatriot

ESPN has annoyed me for a while, and it gets worse as they have gotten more political.
According to ESPN, if it didn't happen in Boston or New York, it didn't happen.
I guess that could be due to their location, but c'mon, man!

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot

ESPN has annoyed me for a while, and it gets worse as they have gotten more political.
According to ESPN, if it didn't happen in Boston or New York, it didn't happen.
I guess that could be due to their location, but c'mon, man!

    

Absolutely correct!     

[Bigun]

I was on the other site as a "teacher" for Word for the Day.  Hope that titillates you, in the archaic form of the word! LOL!

I am a shoemaker's kid who has no shoes.  I must learn to make my own shoes!

@Slip18

  

[EasyAce]

This is yet another example of ESPN sportswriters getting erections over the possible return of the Bronx Bombers in October.

We all know baseball at the major league level is a process of continuous adjustments between hitters and the pitchers they face.

@DCPatriot
I'm not so sure it's the possibility of the Yankees in October as it is Judge making such a big splash in the first
half, and appearing likeable to boot, and then dropping off as dramatically as he did since the All-Star Game.
I wonder if the writer isn't onto something when he mentioned Judge having a shoulder issue. It may be time
for an MRI at minimum to keep him from doing more damage to it. He looks to have a solid career ahead
of him but if his shoulder is causing him trouble, the time to have it addressed and repaired is now.

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot
I'm not so sure it's the possibility of the Yankees in October as it is Judge making such a big splash in the first
half, and appearing likeable to boot, and then dropping off as dramatically as he did since the All-Star Game.
I wonder if the writer isn't onto something when he mentioned Judge having a shoulder issue. It may be time
for an MRI at minimum to keep him from doing more damage to it. He looks to have a solid career ahead
of him but if his shoulder is causing him trouble, the time to have it addressed and repaired is now.

I watched very carefully at some of his recent strikeouts, and there's nary a wince of discomfort that's apparent to the eye.

One would think that if it was mechanical flaw, they would have discovered and corrected it by now.

IMO, it's simply no different than every other MLB star.  They find a hole in your swing and there you will remain until you make adjustment(s).

[Cyber Liberty]

I watched very carefully at some of his recent strikeouts, and there's nary a wince of discomfort that's apparent to the eye.

One would think that if it was mechanical flaw, they would have discovered and corrected it by now.

IMO, it's simply no different than every other MLB star.  They find a hole in your swing and there you will remain until you make adjustment(s).

It's what Mark Grace used to say a lot:  If they can find a pitch you can't hit, then you can count on a steady diet of that pitch until you can.  I imagine the same is true from the other side.

[EasyAce]

I watched very carefully at some of his recent strikeouts, and there's nary a wince of discomfort that's apparent to the eye.

From what I've read of Judge, he's better than he should be at hiding discomfort. He didn't have the perfect swing by any
means, but he's also known already for keeping a game face when he plays even is something isn't right in his body.
And lo! there comes a report from NJ.com (likely by way of the Bergen Record) that Judge's shoulder is, indeed,
ailing him, and the Yankees and Judge are pondering whether to go to the cortisone shot, despite Judge insisting
it's a mechanical and not a physical issue.

We know how well players judge their own health. Just ask Noah Syndergaard across town. He was such a good judge
of his health that he shenked a scheduled MRI, made his next start and got murdered when he couldn't
throw anything but meatballs, then went for the MRI (probably because someone on the Mets finally got religion
enough to tell him it was either that or he'd be taken to the woodshed) . . . and blew the rest of the season with a
torn lat he'd probably incurred several days earlier (he had to be scratched from a start over discomfort the day
before the original MRI he shenked was scheduled.

One would think that if it was mechanical flaw, they would have discovered and corrected it by now.

IMO, it's simply no different than every other MLB star.  They find a hole in your swing and there you will remain until you make adjustment(s).

Every rookie learns the hard way about making adjustments. But a lot of coaching staffs these days seem late to
the party when it comes to discovering flaws in a hitter's or a pitcher's mechanics. Come to think of it, it was
always thus---it took six years before anyone figured out the real reason Sandy Koufax wasn't pitching
all the way up to his talent before spring 1961: the deep pull-back in his windup that kept him, with his particular
release point, from seeing a sizeable chunk of the strike zone. And you and me both know how often we discover
pitchers tipping their pitches and how long it took either themselves or a coach to figure that out.

I saw a clip of Judge swinging in a recent game. It looked to me like he was dropping his front shoulder more
than normal, taking a little leverage off his swing. When you're doing that at the time time pitchers are
beginning to figure you out a bit, that's a mechanical adjustment. If he was dropping it because of discomfort,
that's double indemnity right there. The Yankees can't afford to be imprudent with his physical condition.

[Cyber Liberty]

I can finally announce:  Mrs. Liberty received her autographed baseball from Sandy Koufax. 

@Slip18

[catfish1957]

I can finally announce:  Mrs. Liberty received her autographed baseball from Sandy Koufax. 

@Slip18

Very tough piece of memoribilia to get.  Don't forget to secure the PSA/ COA paperwork.  And don't lose it!!!   

I understand Koufax avoids autographs like the plague. 

[Cyber Liberty]

Very tough piece of memoribilia to get.  Don't forget to secure the PSA/ COA paperwork.  And don't lose it!!!   

I understand Koufax avoids autographs like the plague.

We have it! 

[EasyAce]

I understand Koufax avoids autographs like the plague.

@catfish1957
It depends on the autograph.

Koufax does two memorabilia shows a year. Beyond that, he won't sign if he smells it's going to
someone who plans to flip it for a profit. To my knowledge, he doesn't mind signing for genuine
fans, but unless it's one of the two shows a year he does he refuses to sign for anyone he
suspects is a professional autograph trader. (For about a decade---during his rift with the Dodgers
during the News Corp ownership---Koufax's only income was the two memorabilia shows a year;
he gets paid a handsome chunk to appear at them. He also earns about half his living now as a
paid consultant to the Dodgers, returning in earnest to the organisation after the Kasten-Johnson
group bought the team from Frank McCourt.)

[Cyber Liberty]

@catfish1957
It depends on the autograph.

Koufax does two memorabilia shows a year. Beyond that, he won't sign if he smells it's going to
someone who plans to flip it for a profit. To my knowledge, he doesn't mind signing for genuine
fans, but unless it's one of the two shows a year he does he refuses to sign for anyone he
suspects is a professional autograph trader. (For about a decade---during his rift with the Dodgers
during the News Corp ownership---Koufax's only income was the two memorabilia shows a year;
he gets paid a handsome chunk to appear at them. He also earns about half his living now as a
paid consultant to the Dodgers, returning in earnest to the organisation after the Kasten-Johnson
group bought the team from Frank McCourt.)

OK, I have more information.  I have the cert here, and the ball.

There is a serial number on a sticker on the ball.  Z17939.  There is also a hologram sticker, number B105580

On the cert:

Submission number: 156516
Date: Monday, May 22, 2017
Subject: Sandy Koufax
Field:  Baseball
Description:  Signed Baseball

Manufacturer:  Rawlings (Haiti)
Type:  Official National League

Era:  1989-90
Model:  RO-N
Stitching:  Red

President:  William D. White
Number of Signatures:  1
Location:  SS

Writing Implement:  Ballpoint Pen
Color: Blue

What do you think?

[EasyAce]

OK, I have more information.  I have the cert here, and the ball.

There is a serial number on a sticker on the ball.  Z17939.  There is also a hologram sticker, number B105580

On the cert:

Submission number: 156516
Date: Monday, May 22, 2017
Subject: Sandy Koufax
Field:  Baseball
Description:  Signed Baseball

Manufacturer:  Rawlings (Haiti)
Type:  Official National League

Era:  1989-90
Model:  RO-N
Stitching:  Red

President:  William D. White
Number of Signatures:  1
Location:  SS

Writing Implement:  Ballpoint Pen
Color: Blue

What do you think?

@Cyber Liberty
A Koufax-signed ball from when Bill White was president of the National League? Cherish it!
You even think about selling it and I'll clobber you myself! ;)

I've read that Koufax has a small collection of vintage National League balls he signs
partly for memorabilia shows and mostly to give to friends or special acquaintances.
I know of two such classics:

1) When Jane Leavy was working on her biography of Koufax (it's the best one you'll
ever read), Koufax gave her access and struck a friendship with her even though he didn't
cooperate actively in the writing of the book. (He lovingly came to refer to her as "his
C.P.A.---certified pain in the ass.") During that time, Leavy made Koufax aware of
then-U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky's poem "Night Game," which was largely about
Whitey Ford, his youthful idol, but also punch-lined it with Koufax and his refusal
to pitch Game One of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. Koufax
was impressed with the poem, and Leavy told him Pinsky had once asked Ford for
an autograph after seeing Ford pitch at Fort Monmouth, when Ford was in the Army,
and Ford had refused without an explanation, which kind of disillusioned Pinsky
a bit.

"Do you think he'd like a ball?" Koufax asked Leavy. Told yes, Koufax sent Pinsky
an autographed ball and attached a note to the ball that said, "Whitey's really a
good guy."

As it happened, Leavy had become friendly with Ford, too (she was also researching
her remarkable bio of Mickey Mantle), and mentioned "Night Game" to him, as well,
including things Pinsky told Leavy personally about Koufax. Ford in turn was
impressed: "He said nice things about Sandy? That's wonderful." It prompted Ford
to send Pinsky an autograph and an explanation for the ancient snub---soldiers
weren't permitted to sign autographs, and Ford was in no position to explain himself
to the kid at the time.

2) Nearing the 50th anniversary of his 1965 perfect game against the Cubs, Koufax
received an envelope from the son of Bob Hendley, the Cub pitcher who almost had
a no-hitter of his own on the backside of the perfecto. (The only Dodger run of the
game scored on a walk, a sacrifice, a stolen base, and a throwing error; the game's
lone hit was Lou Johnson's double in another inning, and he was stranded.) The
envelope contained an old clipping of the game. Koufax returned the favour by
autographing the clip for Hendley fils and including a small handwritten note
saying, "Say hello to your father for me."

On THE anniversary, Bob Hendley was stunned to receive a package: a 1965
National League baseball, which Koufax inscribed, WHAT A GAME!, and
he included a small handwritten note: "We had a moment, a night, a career. I hope
life has been kind to you. Sandy." To this day, whenever anyone asks Hendley how
he feels about having come up on the wrong side of Koufax's perfect game, especially
since he was so close to his own no-hitter, Hendley invariably replies, "It's no disgrace
to be beaten by class."

[Cyber Liberty]

@Cyber Liberty
A Koufax-signed ball from when Bill White was president of the National League? Cherish it!
You even think about selling it and I'll clobber you myself! ;)

Not a chance in Hell.  Mrs. Liberty, posting on this thread (@Slip18) has been chasing a Sandy Koufax autograph for the better part of a half century.  No way that ball leaves our hands.

[Polly Ticks]

I'm so happy to see you here, @Slip18 !  We need more female baseball fans in the mix.
 

[EasyAce]

Not a chance in Hell.  Mrs. Liberty, posting on this thread (@Slip18) has been chasing a Sandy Koufax autograph for the better part of a half century.  No way that ball leaves our hands.

And welcome aboard Mrs. Cyber Liberty, a.k.a. @Slip18 !

[Cyber Liberty]

The ball is more scuffed up than all the other balls in our collection.  I wonder where it's been?  I don't know where to find the history.  The website that gives authentication just says it's authentic.  I guess I knew that.   

And @Slip18 thanks you so much for the toast, @EasyAce!  It means a lot to us.

[EasyAce]

The ball is more scuffed up than all the other balls in our collection.  I wonder where it's been?  I don't know where to find the history.  The website that gives authentication just says it's authentic.  I guess I knew that.   

It probably passed through a few hands before it landed in yours. It wouldn't be the first time and it
won't be the last. Which may tell you something about why Koufax only does the two memorabilia
shows a year and otherwise repels professional autograph hunters.

And @Slip18 thanks you so much for the toast, @EasyAce!  It means a lot to us.

@Cyber Liberty
No thanks necessary! You're a class act, Cyber, even when you and me disagree on a few things, you do
it with class, wit, and grace. I therefore conclude that if she married you and you married her, it could
only be a union of class, wit, and grace. Much needed around here.

[DCPatriot]

No thanks necessary! You're a class act, Cyber, even when you and me disagree on a few things, you do
it with class, wit, and grace. I therefore conclude that if she married you and you married her, it could
only be a union of class, wit, and grace. Much needed around here.

 

[Cyber Liberty]

@EasyAce @DCPatriot And here I thought I was just being a wise-guy and a bit of an A-hole...