April 14, 2005
Games of the Day
The Washington Nationals take center stage as baseball returns to the nation's capitol this evening. President Bush will throw out the first pitch, a tradition started by William Howard Taft exactly 95 years ago. Livan Hernandez gets the nod for the Nationals. He'll oppose Javier Vazquez. There was one positive aspects to Vazquez's last start against the Dodgers. He did strikeout seven in 5 1/3 innings; now he just needs to get the walks under control. Livan is coming off a very good game against the Marlins in which he allowed just 1 run in seven innings.
A good piching matchup this afternoon as Jamie Moyer faces Denny Bautista. Bautista had a marvelous outing vs. the Angels, allowing only 1 run through eight innings on just 102 pitches. He also struck out 8 and walked none.
Randy Johnson invades Fenway park tonight as the Yankees and Red Sox play the rubber game of their series. Bronson Arroyo takes the hill for Boston. The Red Sox appear to have returned to their old habit of leading the league in GDP's. The Red Sox ranked 19th in the majors last season, hitting into only 123 double plays. This year, they're number one with 10.
Enjoy!
Posted by David Pinto at
12:05 PM
|
Games
|
TrackBack (0)
Washington & the President throwing out first ball:
Taft indeed started this tradition.
It was unfortunate that baseball was missing from our nation's capitol for so long.
At least for now. we can say of Washington:
"First in War, First in Peace, and First in the NL East".
Congrats to President Bush for reviving a time-honored tradition that people of all parties and all political persuasions can all get behind and support. One thing about baseball is that it does transcend for the most part partisan politics, at least when we're between labor strife problems.
By the way, speaking of politics, Sen. Jim Bunning was very critical of hitters cheating by using steroids at the recent hearings this spring.
But here's Pitcher Jim Bunning quoted in the Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers under the Don Drysdale entry regarding spitball and greaseball use by Drysdale and himself; "If I [Bunning] had as good a greaseball as Drysdale at that time [1968], I'd have had fifty-eight straight scoreless innings, too. He had one of the best I've ever seen. Whoo-o-o".
"I started a game against Drysdale in that streak for Pittsburgh when he was shutting everybody out. You couldn't hit him. He had everything going, including control. He had great stuff, and he added this slippery pitch. The bottom fell out, and it was about 93-94 miles an hour. It was unhittable." (quoted from Jim Bunning, Baseball and Beyond, by Frank Dolson, 1998).
So Jim Bunning the Hall of Fame Pitcher not only cheated with the spitball and greaseball, but wishes he'd done it as well as Don Drysdale, the Hall of Fame Pitcher who Bunning says used a greaseball to get his 58 inning scoreless streak!!!
Perhaps I'm wrong about this, but isn't it hypocritical to criticize hitters for cheating if the pitchers have spent their careers cheating, and the PITCHERS USED THEIR CHEATING TO CHEAT THEIR WAY INTO THE HALL OF FAME?????
ISN'T THAT THE SAME ISSUE WE'RE CONFRONTING NOW???? DIDN'T BUNNING AND DRYSDALE AND ABOUT 30 OTHER PITCHERS USE THE SPITBALL, GREASEBALL OR OTHER ILLEGAL PITCHES TO GET INTO THE HALL OF FAME OR TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN THE MAJORS????
Here's a partial list of pitchers who used illegal pitches or who were accused of it:
Tommy John
Don Sutton (Hall of Fame)
Jim Bunning (Hall of Fame)
Don Drysdale (Hall of Fame)
Gaylord Perry (Hall of Fame)
Don Newcombe
Preacher Roe
Kevin Gross
That's just the tip of the iceberg. Richie Ashburn, when he broadcast Phillies games, always used to say that pitchers always cheated. Maybe this is what he meant.
Have we forgotten that since the ban of the spitball and foreign substances in 1920, pitchers have been repeatedly cheating? and cheating to get into the Hall of Fame?
I see at least 4 or 5 Hall of Fame pitchers who have to go based on spitballs if we are going to start removing hitters who were juiced from Hall Fame consideration.
AJK