A Dallas Honda dealer will refund the money on any car purchased between Monday, March 9, and Monday, March 16 if the Rangers win their first four games and the Yankees lose their first four games. The odds are long but not that bad. If you rate all the games as a toss up, the odds of getting a free car are 1 in 256. Given that the Yankees are starting against the Orioles, the odds are probably longer than that. Still, if you were going to buy a new car, why not take the chance?

Washington unveiled a new slogan today:

Anyway, today the Nationals unveiled the slogan at the center of their 2009 marketing/advertising campaign -- yes, NatsTown. The "NatsTown" idea will attempt to convey the spirit (and here I quote the press release) that "unites all fans in everything Nationals -- at the ballpark, in the community, and in their everyday lives."

The first thing NatsTown made me think of was Joba Chamberlain's nickname for Cleveland. :-)

Metsgrrl posts four alternative Citi Field logos submitted by one of her readers. They're better than the original, but they use traditional Mets logos in the middle circle. The feature that sets Citi Field apart is the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The logo the Mets designed tried to capture that, where the blue diamond represents the field and the orange rectangle the rotunda. A great logo would make the rotunda the centerpiece, the reason to visit the park. It's certainly the reason I'd like to drive to Queens this year.

Rays fans get free pizza on June 17, 2009, in they happen to be in Denver.

This might beat a free taco:

The Salvador Dali Museum is giving away free Dali baseball cards to patrons who show their ticket to the World Series.

Are these Dali drawings of baseball players, or Dali prints on baseball cards? There doesn't seem to be any information at the museum website.

I like Big League Stew's take on A-Rod signing with the William Morris agency:

Let me put it this way: When Torii Hunter, who has a smile straight off a Hollywood billboard and a personality to match it, is only pulling down $500K, you know there's a problem.

Yeah, yeah. I know that golf offers up more affluent products and goofy gadgets to slap one's name on. I know that basketball hands out mega-million shoe deals to anyone who has a second to stop and sign a contract. I know that baseball hasn't helped itself with the steroid mess.

But why should baseball, which holds a coveted nostalgic position as America's pastime and shows off its players 162 times per year without hiding them behind masks or under helmets, be at such a disadvantage?

The answer is, it shouldn't, which is why when A-Rod heads over to William Morris for his first consultation, Bud Selig and his pals need to make sure they're riding shotgun. A-Rod's problem is baseball's problem.

In the 1990s, Peter Gammons pointed out to me that labor problems in baseball led to MLB not promoting players. They'd promote the game, but not individuals. Basketball did just the opposite. Baseball doesn't really want big name stars, because they'll command more money. If A-Rod and his ilk want to earn more from endorsements, they need to get MLB to promote them as they promote the game.

Home Run Derby notes that the Barry Zito Fathead is on sale. They also suggest a new model to increase demand. :-)

Yesterday I received an email from Yep Roc Records on The Baseball Project. Their first offering is Vol. 1 Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails.

Scott McCaughey (the Minus 5 and R.E.M.'s touring band) and Steve Wynn (the Dream Syndicate) sent us a copy of then demos of songs all about baseball earlier this year. So we decided to put it out on July 8, in the heart of the season.

...

Rather than taking on the classics like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" or what have you, the album is full of new indie rock tunes whose subjects just happen to be about baseball. Linda Pitmon and Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) round out the squad.

You can download the first track, "Past Time." At the web store, you can here samples of all the songs. Note that not all lyrics are work safe.

They sent me a preview stream of the album, and I'm really enjoying the music. "Gratitude (for Curt Flood)" and "Broken Man" were too of my favorites. Gratitude reminds current players the debt they owe Curt Flood, while Broken Man examines how Mark McGwire was made a hero then torn down. There are songs about Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Harvey Haddix and closers. Give it a listen.

MLB FanHouse has a great idea for MLB promoting the upcoming Indiana Jones movie:

Personally, I would prefer to see real bullwhips and machetes handed out to all kids 15 and under, but it's more likely that you will see the rotational ads behind home plate prominently featuring Indiana Jones ads. But hey! Here's a novel freaking idea. Give everyone who attends the game a coupon for 50% admission to the movie. Although that would probably be a) too fan friendly and b) not profitable enough. Baseball -- where caring happens.

I'm guessing Dr. Jones won't be throwing out the first pitch at a Diamondbacks game.

Indiana: There's a big snake in the plane, Jock.

Jock: Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie.

Indiana: I hate snakes, Jock. I hate 'em.

Jock: C'mon, show a little backbone, will ya?

They found the t-shirt buried at Yankee Stadium.

FanIQ finds a baseball card set that predicted the steroid era. Topps must have ESP(n).

The Cape Cod League ran afoul of Major League Baseball:

The annual operating budget for the Cape Cod Baseball League is between $1.5 million and $2 million -- not much more than the yearly salary of a backup infielder in Major League Baseball.

Yet the volunteer-staffed Cape League and the multimillion dollar MLB are locked in a struggle over money in what could be labeled a David vs. Goliath battle, with the Cape League's $100,000 annual grant from MLB hanging in the balance.

According to Cape League sources, the six teams in the 10-team Cape League that share nicknames with major league franchises are facing a choice: Purchase all future uniforms and souvenir merchandise from more expensive MLB-licensed vendors or lose the annual grant.

MLB is also requesting an 11 percent royalty on sales next summer of existing inventory from the six affected Cape League teams. Non-clothing items such as coffee mugs and teddy bears that are not available through MLB vendors could no longer be sold.

I appreciate MLB wanting to protect their copyrights. Sometimes, however, they should start with the velvet glove rather than the iron fist. Otherwise, they piss off people with a national audience. For example, asking for a small royalty from sales and a slow change over to MLB approved merchandise probably would have worked with little resistance.

Along with the near Japan debacle today, it's amazing that the people running MLB grew this organization into a $6 billion business.

Yankees fans run the Mets store.

Maury Brown interviews Bob Bowman, the CEO of MLB Advanced Media. The business is now returning $3 million per season to each MLB club, essentially, the initial investment of each club. That's a very nice ROI.

Squawking Baseball makes a case for MLBAM to open their video archive free of charge.

I just got back from checking out the Taco Bell free taco promotion, thanks to Tacoby Bellsbury. First stop, the Enfield, CT Taco Bell.

The Taco Bell in Enfield was full of high school students, with a line of about twenty five in front of me. However, the place was prepared, and the line moved quickly. I did see one group scam some extra tacos by ordering inside, then going outside to the drive thru. All in all, everything was organized and people in general seemed to be happy getting a free taco.

Then I headed over to West Springfield, MA.

This branch was very busy. They have a small parking lot, and it was full. The line for the drive thru was out into the street. I didn't stop to get another taco. Seems the promotion is going well in this area.

Update: Steve Timberlake sends this update from Hawaii:

I got to the Taco Bell on Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City, Hawaii at 2:20 Tuesday afternoon, the day of the Steal a Base, Steal a Taco promotion. As you can see by the enclosed photo, there was no line outside. In fact, there were only two parties seated inside, and the drive-through lane was empty. I was able to get my free taco (and it was reasonably good) in minutes. The counter help knew what to do, but they hadn't been overwhelmed. 2:00pm is late for lunch out here; I wonder what will happen later today during rush hour.

The Taco Giveaway is underway.

In honor of a stolen base in game two of the World Series, Taco Bell is giving away a free taco to people who show up at a Taco Bell resturant between 2 PM and 5 PM local time, tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 30, 2007. From the web site:

To obtain the Free Taco, consumers must visit any participating Taco Bell® restaurant in one of the fifty (50) the United States or District of Columbia between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (local time) on the Redemption Date only and request a Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco. Free Taco's will not be offered on any other date or time, regardless of circumstance. Limit one (1) Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco per person. Participating Taco Bell restaurant manager reserves the right to deny Free Taco to any person he/she reasonably believes has already received a Free Taco or has engaged in any other fraudulent activity.

If you go, bring a digital camera and document the line (if any). I'm curious to see how many people show up. I'll be visiting my local resturant and doing the same.

On top of that, lots of Red Sox fans received free furniture.

Matt Watson notes the price of a Daisuke Matsuzaka autograph and comments:

Can you imagine paying $449 for a Ted Lilly autograph? Or one from Shawn Marcum, Noah Lowry or Tom Gorzelanny? All four of those starting pitchers have an ERA lower than Dice-K's mark of 3.59. I'm not saying that earned run average is the end all for comparing pitchers, but it definitely helps put the ridiculousness of the lingering hype surrounding Matsuzaka in context.

Yes, the guy has talent. But no, not enough to miss a car payment over.

Dice-K and the Red Sox did a good job of making the pitcher appear unique. And unlike the other pitchers listed above, there is international demand for a Matsuzaka autograph. Maybe Ted Lilly should start doing beer commercials in Japan!

The Cooperstown Cookie Company sent me their newest product, their excellent shortbread cookies in a box, the Ballpark Bunt Box. The shortbread is as tasty as ever, and small children will love taking the box to the park. There's a scoreboard they can fill in as the game goes along, picture searches and trivia. And did I mention cookies?

The Portland Beavers are going to give away a bobblehead doll of a real Bob L. Head.

The Beavers, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, sent letters to every Bob L. Head they could find, including Roberts and Robertos, and Mauoketa's own.

The team explained its promotion, then asked the Bobs to submit an essay explaining why they should be cast as a miniature, head-bobbing figurine.

On the line was a trip to Portland, and of course, a personal bobblehead.

The team narrowed the list down to three, and now fans can vote for their favorite Bob L. Head: The aforementioned Robert Leroy Head of Iowa, Bob Louis Head from Vallejo, Calif., and Bob Lee Head of Evansville, Ind.

Bob Louis Head's campaign slogan: "No matter what the score, I am always a Head."

You can vote here. Leroy appears to own the right head shape for the doll.

The Donut promotion returns to the Marlins. If they score six runs in a game, ticket holders get two circles of dough and a coffee free. Given the Marlins offense so far (.380 OBA, .559 slugging percentage), season ticket holders are going are going to put on a few pounds.

Michael Eisner and a group of investors are attempting a takeover of Topps:

The Topps Co., maker of baseball cards and Bazooka bubble gum, said Tuesday it accepted a $385.4 million takeover offer from a buyout group that includes former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, but the deal drew immediate opposition from one of its own board members.

Topps director Arnaud Ajdler, along with the investment firm Crescendo Partners II, launched a campaign to kill the deal. Crescendo owns about 6.6 percent of the company's shares, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ajdler is also a managing partner of Crescendo.

Ajdler said Tuesday he had not yet been in touch with other major shareholders but he thought the deal should be abandoned because negotiations did not go through a proper process and that the Eisner-led offer undervalues the company.

I know baseball cards are tough to buy, but there are easier ways to collect them. :-) Also, given the movie experience of Eisner, I expect a live action Bazooka Joe movie. I can't wait to see who they cast as Mort!

I like the dress, but why is she modeling baseball themed clothing at a bowling alley?

(By the way, my daughter was a big fan of Charmed, and that's why our dog is named Phoebe.)

I'd go to Mini Gyroscope Night.

You can now order the Cooperstown Cookie Company chocolate caps online (reviewed here).

The Krispy Kreme promotion in Kansas City is no more, and it may be a good thing:

First off, the bad, sad news from this afternoon's 15th Annual Baseball Forecast Luncheon: Krispy Kreme's 12-hits-gets-you-a-dozen-dough nuts promotion is no more, says Royals president Dan Glass.

He said the dough-nut maker's corporate philosophy had changed and the company no longer wanted to continue the promotion. But Glass quipped the good news is, "We will all lose a lot of weight." And he joked Krispy Kreme execs were so startled by the team's improvements in the second half of last season that they were worried about the frequency of this year's giveway if the hit total wasn't raised to 24 for a dozen.

(Catcher John Buck talked about the pressure put on a player coming up to bat when the Royals had 11 hits and the score of up 10 runs or down 10 runs didn't matter, it changed the feel of the whole at-bat.)

It must be tough having all that sugary goodness riding on your shoulders. :-)

If you want a Yankees jersey, the time to buy is now:

At Home Play Sports, a block from Yankee Stadium, Yankee jerseys that sold for $125 last week were $74.99 yesterday.

"It's not really a discount," said salesman Mohamed Saleh, 27. "It's a sellout."

What a deal. They're selling shirts for three times wholesale instead of five times wholesale.

I don't know who's the bigger jerk, the person who brought the lawsuit or the judge who didn't throw it out:

A judge refused Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit that claimed the Angels discriminated against men by giving tote bags to only women during a Mother's Day baseball game.

Instead, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Cannon set a procedural hearing for Aug. 30.

The lawsuit, filed by Los Angeles psychologist Michael Cohn, claims thousands of men and fans under age 18 are each entitled to $4,000 in damages because they were treated unfairly during last May's promotion. Women over 18 received the gifts.

Yes, I'm sure thousands of men are walking around the great Anaheim area, despondent over the fact that they can't show off their Mother's Day tote bag. I'm sure Monday morning after the game grown men were crying to their co-workers, "My 21 year old daughter gets a tote bag, and I'm not even a grand father yet! It's just not fair!"

As it turns out, the Angels already made it up to him:

To celebrate Mother's Day last year, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim gave away specially designed tote bags to all female fans over the age of 18. Cohn felt discriminated against, and wrote a letter of complaint.

In response, the Angels sent him an apology and 4 tote bags.

Judges really shouldn't be encouraging people like this.

Teepee Talk notes that tomorrow there's a very special giveaway at Jacobs Field.

WasWatching notes an unusual minor league giveaway. I'm about an hour from Norwich, so I'll have to see if I can get down to one of these games.

Redleg Nation has the details of a sleepover at Dodger Stadium.

The Chicagoist offers details of the Cubs garage sale.

Grady Sizemore is the new focus of the Cleveland Indians marketing department:

"Our female market demographic research showed there were 200 percent more women watching Indians games last season," said Indians vice president Bob DiBiasio. "Grady is the big reason. It's manifested in the 'Mrs. Sizemore' T-shirts."

When the Indians introduced the "Mrs. Sizemore" T-shirts last season, they sold 600 in six days.

His fan club is known as "Grady's Ladies."

For some reason, however, it's not in their official store, and I can't find a picture on the internet. If someone has this shirt, please send a picture.

Update: Grady's female fans are found at The Grady's Ladies Sisterhood. Ashlee is the only one wearing the Mrs. Sizemore shirt, however.

Baseball Musings is conducting a pledge drive in March. Click here for details.

Thinking about this post, I'm surprised Topps doesn't have a program that randomly generates the card numbers for players. It's not difficult to write. Click here to generate a list of card numbers for 2005 players. The random evil player is cited above the table.

Update: If anyone gets Tyrell Godwin or Jesus Colome as their Random Evil Player, let me know.

Update: I just got Ryan Church!

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a while (scroll down to the second section):

Book it now: Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez will be card No. 666 in the 2006 edition of Topps Total baseball cards.

Topps officials acknowledge that the employee who assembles the company's card checklists is a Yankees fan who assigns the undesirable number to the pitcher or player on the team that knocks the Yankees out of the playoffs.

That's why Red Sox reliever Keith Foulke, who got the last out of the 2004 ALCS, was number 666 in 2005 Total, and why the Florida Marlins' Josh Beckett of Spring, who beat the Yankees in the 2003 World Series finale, was 666 in the 2004 set.

I wonder who gets it if the Yankees win?

There's a new Boston Red Sox T-Shirt available. :-)

Baseball merchandise is flying off the shelves:

Gross retail sales of licensed products are up by almost 100 percent in the first part of the year compared to the same period last season, according to Tim Brosnan, executive vice president of business for Major League Baseball.

"It's in part due to the fact that we had fans with a lot of pent up desire, supporting a team that hadn't won the World Series in 86 years," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's president and chief operating officer, referring to the Boston Red Sox.

According to SportsScanINFO, a retail tracking firm, licensed headwear is up 79 percent, with the New York Yankees and Red Sox making up 53 percent of total licensed merchandise sales.

At this time last year, Red Sox gear made up 12 percent of all merchandise sold. This year, that number has jumped to 21 percent, said Neil Schwartz, SportsScanINFO's director of marketing.

This is another example that the steroid scandal isn't really resonating with fans. It's a good story to sell newspapers and garner votes, but your average baseball fan just wants to see his or her team win.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive during March. Click here for details.

Greg Storey put together a nice photoshop of Damon rounding the bases after his grand slam. And he's selling T-Shirts!

And while I'm on shameless plugs, Baseball Info Solutions is selling books and downloadable season stats.

Darren Viola sent me a link to this article on how the Yankees are replacing Cracker Jack with Crunch 'n Munch. (By the way, shouldn't the middle sound be spelled with two apostrophes, like the Cask 'n' Flagon? (Oops, there seems to be some confusion here. I remember the old wooden sign having two. But the one Soxaholix shows has one. Yet a google search for Cask Flagon bar shows most spell it with two.))

Where was I? Yes, this upsets Michele almost as much as a Ted Rall cartoon. Personally, I think they're both good products. They're both way overpriced at the park anyway. And no one is going to stop you from singing the song, even if the park doesn't sell the product.

Correction: Fixed spelling of Soxaholix.

As some of the commentors to this site indicated last night, MLB has taken the the Spiderman advertising off the bases. One thing that disappointed me about the first movie was that they didn't use the Spiderman theme from the old Saturday morning cartoon. The commissioner even gets mentioned!

Is he strong? Listen, Bud!
He's got radioactive blood.

Which brings me to this Bud Selig quote:

"It isn't worth, frankly, having a debate about," commissioner Bud Selig told The Associated Press in Oakland before the Yankees-Athletics game.

"I'm a traditionalist," he said. "The problem in sports marketing, particularly in baseball, is you're always walking a very sensitive line. Nobody loves tradition and history as much as I do."

Now that I'm no longer rolling on the floor laughing (expansion, wild card, realignment, interleague play, contraction), all I have to say is, "What a schmuck!" Bud, it's okay for baseball to want to make money through advertising. But don't try something like this, then try to say you're on the fan's side. It's very clear to all of us that the only thing you care about is the bottom line. According to Doug Pappas' counter, there's 968 days left in Selig's term. I going to have a big party when it goes to zero.

Jose from Spain writes in response to this post:

I just wanted to comment on the logo thing on the bases. Here in Spain, where soccer is the most important sport, they have had ads on their shirts for ages. Some teams have an ad on the shirt and another one on their pants, on the butt. And the game is the same and commands the same passions. After a while you don't really notice. I think it's inevitable that baseball will do the same. Some soccer teams (Real Madrid, Manchester United) take in 10-12 million a year on their sponsorship deals for the shirts.

By the way, a Spanish team (Atletico de Madrid) has a deal with a movie studios and it displays a movie in the shirt, which changes about every six weeks or so.

What they haven't done, though, is put logos on the pristine green field. Rugby has though. Last Six Nations tournament (the most important rugby tournament in Europe, played by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy) had a couple of prominent logos of the Royal Bank of Scotland on the playing field. Or pitch, as they say in the UK.

European basketball has also big logos on the court. Like some NBA teams (the Rockets come to mind with that rocket drawn on the court, at least a few years ago), European basketball teams have logos on the court, similar to the NBA Finals logos you get at Finals time. Also, the keys and the central circle may have also some ads.

So, what is the fuss about some small logos on the bases which can't even be seen on TV?

Some people just like to make a fuss, Jose.

An interesting sidelight in this story on Angels starting pitchers competing for jobs. Moreno is trying to create an Angels brand:

Owner Arte Moreno's goal to brand the Angels name was evident with the release of the club's media guide. Even though they added the best free agent pitcher and position player in baseball and feature an emerging star in Garret Anderson, no players grace the cover.

Instead, the cover simply features the "A' logo with a red backdrop that includes the word "Angels' inscribed 80 times.

Unlike last year's guide, the City name of Anaheim does not appear on the cover, which dovetails with Moreno's decision to remove Anaheim from road uniforms and almost any literature associated with the team. The Angels' lease with the city requires them to keep the city name on the home stadium, which is why it is Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

"It was determined that the brand is the most important thing right now,' said Tim Mead, the Angels vice president of communications. "That's a theme we'll see throughout the year.'

This makes me wonder if they'll go back to being the California Angels at some point. Maybe Moreno wants them to be the LA team, so he wants to distance them from Anaheim? If anyone has any ideas about this, please let me know.

Brian over at Rock'em Schnockem thinks that Steve Bartman isn't making enough of his foul ball fame.

Bartman -- When they blow up your ball today, you should be pushing that button. Imagine the feeling! We can't all make oodles of money AND exorcise our past at the same time. Sure, I could go back to West Point and flip off the Superintendant, but that's on my dime, and all it would get me is stranded in frikkin' New York. I could go back to a high school reunion and say to Erin Schreck, "Damn you were hot and I was a dunce", but all that would get me is stranded in frikkin' Iowa next to a gal laughing at my bald head. You see -- you (Bartman) were handed this steaming pile from on high, and have done nothing with it, other than hope it goes away.

Update: You can watch the ball be destroyed on MSNBC tonight at about 8:30 PM, EST. Keith Olbermann hosts, so at least they'll have someone who knows a lot about baseball history.

Here's the sort of added benefits winning can bring to a team. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post pens this article about how the Marlins have become a marketing dream:

Once a joke of the sports world, the Florida Marlins -- a franchise synonymous with the terms "fire sale" and "dismantling" -- have blossomed into sports marketing darlings.

"Now it's cool to like the Marlins. It's cool to like what they stand for,'' said John Boggs, a San Diego-based marketing agent whose clients include McKeon, the National League's Manager of the Year.

After upsetting the New York Yankees in the World Series, the underdog, low-revenue Marlins stand for hope. And that message is being conveyed by representatives of two distant and different demographic targets.

"In Miami, you have a lot of retired people who can relate to Jack McKeon and are excited to see someone of his age be able to achieve what he can. Then you have the South Beach set who relate to young guys like Beckett and (Dontrelle) Willis,'' said Robert Tuchman, president of TSE Sports and Entertainment, a sports marketing company in New York.

"Except for New York, the whole nation fell in love with the Marlins for showing they can win with these youngsters. To have a manager that age and basically kids on the same team definitely increases their appeal, especially these days with the way the Yankees are gobbling up all the talent.''

Even MLB seems to realize they are on to something here:

"For the month of October, Josh Beckett captivated America. It's our job to keep the spotlight on Josh,'' said Jacqueline Parkes, an MLB senior vice president for marketing.

"He very much appeals to demographics we're trying to bring into the game, (ages) 18 to 38. What better way to attract them than have someone who looks very much like them? Josh is a very down-to-earth guy who is exceedingly talented on the field, and he's very relevant to target.''

One of the big complaints I've heard about MLB over the last decade or so is that they don't market the most important part of their product, their players. A big reason for that was labor strife. Maybe with that somewhat settled, MLB will do more to entice fans to come out and see the stars of the game, rather than just the concept of baseball. It looks like that's starting to happen.

This looks like good news for the business of baseball:

Major League Baseball officials announced on Monday that the league and its 30 teams will be guaranteed at least $500 million from 2005-2009, thanks to signing new contracts with its licensing partners.

Commissioner Bud Selig called the agreement "a manifestation as to how strong this sport really is."

The guaranteed licensing money will be at least 70 percent more than MLB's current deal, said Tim Brosnan, baseball's executive vice president for business.

That's a little over $3 million per year per team. Enough to pay for a few good young players.