Until then, enjoy!

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3. Baseball Reflection’s MLB Keychain Raffle

There is a common baseball saying that says, “You steal on the pitcher, not the catcher,” and that is so true at the higher levels of baseball. In the lower levels of baseball – pre-high school – that is not always the case and fast runners can often “outrun the ball.” When the bases become 90 foot in length and advanced catchers are playing, being able to get a good jump and read the pitcher is vital to stealing bases.

Another thing to understand is that base runners do not have to be the fastest to steal bases, but must have good base running instincts. I have played with many players who had great speed but never gained the ability to steal bases that matched their speed.

With that in mind following are some tips I used to steal second base.

1. Getting a good leadoff is necessary. However, it is important to note that the lead should not be the maximum lead. Any base runner can take a maximum lead (also called a one way lead) and not get picked off but they have to apply most of their focus on getting back to first on an often-thrown pick-off attempt with this type lead. Having to worry about not being picked off, which is the case with a maximum leadoff, is detrimental to stealing second base. Because of that, getting a good lead, usually about a 3 and a ½ step leadoff is good and sufficient. Good base stealers focus on breaking towards second base at the most opportune time and not on heading back towards first.

2. After taking this leadoff, the potential base stealer should be in the ultimate balanced position. This position is pretty universal with all great base stealers. Their feet are the ideal distance apart with weight is on the balls of the feet, knees bent and hands relaxed and centered while hanging down in the middle of the body.

3. The key here is to have great focus on the pitcher while keeping the body relaxed and ready. The ability to relax the body in this ultimate ready position is the key to the first step explosion necessary to steal second base.

* I am not putting myself in the category of great base stealers but I believe they thought like I did and were only concerned with their first step break towards second base (see step 1) and relied on their athletic quickness and great instincts to get back to first on an attempted pick off. I also believe that until base stealers get the confidence to think only of their break towards second, and rely on their quickness to get back to first on pick off throws, they will not become consistent base stealers at the major league level.

4. With the pitcher’s first move towards home, the potential base stealer crosses over (left over right) with the a slight opening movement of the right foot. It is important that it is not a step with the right foot first, just a pivot.

5. After that, it is the ability to get to full running speed as quickly as possible as well as the ability to slide at the correct moment, which is as late as possible.

It sounds so easy but when you factor in catchers at the higher levels are extremely quick and have great arms, it becomes very challenging. Additionally, pitchers are trying to be as quick to home with their delivery as possible and they still have the option of throwing to first for the pick-off attempt.

To help steal second base, there are some tricks that good base stealers use to help them. I say tricks but, in reality, it is years of study, great technique and concentration needed to steal second base. Following are some of those tricks that helped me when stealing.

1. Most coaches teach base runners to watch the pitchers lower half for which foot moves first in order to get the jump. I watched the pitcher’s whole body for any clue to the pitchers intention. The instant a pitcher bent their front knee or turned the front shoulder away from me, I was off. With any turn of the front shoulder towards me, I dove back to first.

* I cannot emphasize enough the great concentration that is needed to break at the exact, correct moment. Just being a fraction late is the difference between failure and success.

* Pitchers that open their shoulder a little towards first to see the base runner better or those that have a higher leg kick on their delivery are the easiest to steal on.

2. Anticipating when pitchers will throw an off speed pitch can be very helpful for stealing second base, as well as watching the catcher set-up for the pitch. If catchers set up early and on the third base side of home plate or set their target very low, there is a good chance that if the pitcher misses their target, the ball will be further away form the catcher’s throwing side. These instances can give the runner that little edge for stealing.

3. Of course, stealing second base on a left-handed pitcher is more difficult and requires a little more patience on the part of the runner. Study of the lefthander to find any little tip as to where they are going to throw the ball is required. If the left-handed pitcher has a good move to first and doesn’t have any tell-tale signs giving away their intention, the base stealer has to wait longer than on a right hander, which of course makes stealing on the lefty more difficult.

Finally, with additional study, base stealers can often find little tendencies that pitchers’ provide, in rhythm or technique, that can give them the edge to steal second base.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball
Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete – his positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Perconte

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3. The History of Advertising in Major League Baseball

The first is Roger Clemens’ continued denial even in the face of overwhelming evidence that he did not use steroids. When reports surfaced that proved he did indeed use enhancements, he was indicted for perjury before a Congressional committee.

There are two ways to look at this.

The first is that Congress has way too many other critical issues to deal with than going after a professional ballplayer the least of which is cleaning up their own stygian conduct. If they were as intent as they seem to be with hanging Clemens with their own, half of all government officials would be in jail, including Bill Clinton.

Alas, Roger is not an attorney so cannot be disbarred leaving the only other grandstanding alternative – fines and imprisonment.

The second view is that Clemens should be treated no different than anyone who commits perjury. He clearly lied and needs to be held accountable. This is not a good message to send to impressionable kids who looked up to Clemens during his playing days, you can cheat, then lie about it and walk away.

I wrote about the whole sordid affair when the steroids scandal first surfaced. My stance has not changed: if you cheated you do not belong in the Hall of Fame.

Clemens is another former player in the Barry Bonds’ mode: too delusional to understand the consequences of his actions. It seems that Clemens has adopted the George Costanza axiom: “If you believe it to be true, then it must be.”

” If You Believe It to Be True, It Is” George Costanza

As for Stephen Strasburg, when agent Scott Boras coerced the Nationals into giving Strasburg a record guaranteed contract for a drafted player of  $15 million, I wrote that he will probably break down before his full contract expired. I didn’t realize that it would be in his rookie year. He is facing Tommy John surgery and will miss all of 2011. That means that the Nationals will be out at least $2.9 million — $2.5 million for his 2011 salary and the $400,000 rookie minimum he received last year despite not pitching in the majors.

Now there will be all kinds of speculation on why this happened and who is responsible. He logged 198 1/3 innings in two tears at San Diego State, 11 innings at the World Baseball Classic in 2008 and 55 1/3 innings in the minor leagues. This year his 68 innings over 12 starts for the Nationals projects to 198 innings in a full season. None of this seems to be excessive.

One can only conclude that his mechanics were prone to injury. Even if that were true, why would anyone want to change his delivery? Why mess with success?

It is bewildering why some pitchers can go for years relatively injury free and others face major reconstructive surgery after only a few years.  The latter applies to Strasburg.

This is surely a setback to the promising progress the team has made this year. Not only was Strasburg the new anchor of the rotation, his appearances drew sellout crowds and generated much needed revenue.

I hope next time Scott Boras tries to empty the bank to sign a prospect the corresponding General Manager grows a pair and tells him to stick it. Nothing good has come of this. Well, I guess if you don’t include Boras’ cut. How does this man sleep at might?

Stephen Strasburg Flames Out

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1. Nats Fans Beware: The Strasburg Effect
2. Joe Niekro Foundation and Arizona Fall League Partner To Strike Out Aneurysms
3. A Stephen Strasburg Warning for the Nats

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Baseball Reflections is looking for a few more writers. Even though we cannot pay for these articles it does not come without benefits.

First, as a writer for Baseball Reflections, we will add your blog (or profile of your “other” writing) to our blogroll.

Second, you will get your own “About the Author” section above every post where we could provide you with a backlink or two to your blog or profile of your “other” writing.

Third, if you agree to write for Baseball Reflections on a weekly basis (column) then we will provide a graphical link of about 300×100 (height can be negotiated) on our right sidebar above the “Please Help to Support this Blog!” Coffee cup for advertising your work/blog in addition to the previous two benefits.

We will now allow for multiple writers to cover the same team as long as they are not posting on the same topic or scheduled to post on the same day.

We are also open to new idea/angles for weekly columns or other regularly scheduled articles. And we still would like a Sabermetrics columnist.

We are also looking for book and movie reviews just so long as they are of the baseball variety.

All submitted articles will be submitted to the content director for editing and approval. Not every article will be posted, but then again we haven’t turned anyone away yet. We do not allow articles on gambling or betting and we do not believe in adding any racy imagery in attempt to gain traffic.

Any further details can be asked by e-mailing me at peter@baseballreflections.com

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1. Baseball Reflections Weekly Mailbag
2. Baseball Reflections Now on Japanese Baseball
3. Announcement: Baseball Reflections 1st. Annual Pledge Drive

Aside from the plethora of injuries and re-injuries (see Jacoby Ellsbury’s three DL stints) the 2010 Red Sox have seen their share of the good and the bad. Let’s look at each, one at a time…

Photo of Jacoby Ellsbury by Icon SMI

The Bad

Injuries to the following players (not in any order) have resulted in stints on the DL: Boof Bonser, Junichi Tazawa (AAA), Dice-K, Tim Wakefield, Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Cash, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Dustin Pedroia (2 times and might have surgery and would then be out for the year), Mike Lowell, Jeremy Hermida, Jed Lowrie, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Mike Cameron (2 times and is out for the year), Jacoby Ellsbury (3 times and is probably out for the year), Eric Patterson, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kevin Youkilis (who is also out for the year). Did I miss anyone? That’s 19 players for 22 DL stints and one (Tazawa) still hasn’t played this season. Of these players, four (maybe five if Pedroia joins them) are out for the year if you include Ellsbury and three of those four are opening day starters.

The Good

Even with all of these injuries the Red Sox are still within striking distance at 6½ games out of the Wild Card as of today with six more games against the Yankees (the last three closing out the 2010 regular season  at home in Fenway Park) and three more against the Rays (who just took 2 out of 3 from them this past weekend in mostly close games).

Photo of Red Sox 1B Mike Lowell by Icon SMI

The Stories

First you had the odd man out senario of Mike Lowell coming out of spring training still on the Red Sox roster despite the team trying to trade him. A trade to Texas fell apart after it was found out that Lowell needed surgery to repair an injury to his thumb (if I remember correctly). Then came the heroics of OF Darnell McDonald, a journeyman minor leaguer (for the most part) who was called up due to the initial injuries to both Cameron and Ellsbury. Then there was the Daniel Nava grand slam on the first major league pitch he ever saw! Throughout, we’ve witnessed a slight resurgence of the Bill Hall from 2005 who has played everywhere except pitcher, catcher and I think 1B. More recently we’ve seen the return of Jed Lowrie from mono & hit a game winning HR in Toronto and playing a lot of time at 2B. OF Ryan Kalish has also stepped up and shown us a glimse into the future. Heck, even top prospect OF Ryan Westmoreland, recovering from brain surgury (to remove a cavernous malformation), is starting to resume baseball activities and may be ready to play in winter ball.

Conclusion

Personally, I have finally thrown in the towel on this season even though mathematically they are not out of it. Realistically speaking though, if they did, it could get ugly! The simply have too many injuries to overcome in order to make a serious run. Their only hope would be for the pitching staff to put up a 2005 White Sox type of display that would carry the patchwork offense/deffense.

In The Off Season

They might try to unload Dice-K while they still can. This would allow them to make a pitch for Cliff Lee if he doesn’t resign with the Rangers (which might depend upon how they do in the playoffs). They will need either a first or third baseman if they cannot resign Adrian Beltre (which I don’t think Scott Boras will allow unless they overpay for him). They need to seriously retool the bullpen which might lead to the trading away of closer Johnathan Papelbon (paving the way for Bard) while his stock is still high. The following link to the article, “Give and Take: Jonathan Papelbon” by Marc Normandin and Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (dated 8/17/10) clearly shows his steady decline over the past few years (if you go there you can also check out my comment I made there which further bolsters my point here), but maybe someone like Duncan (in St. Louis) can fix his mechanics and revive his 2006/2007 status. Otherwise, it could get even uglier in 2011 for umpire Jerry West’s favorite closer (sarcasim)!

The kids will take over in the OF with Ellsbury in CF and a platoon between Camerson (due to his contract) and Kalish in LF or either of them in RF for the times when Drew cannot play. The fifth outfielder may just be Nava or McDonald, but I would bet on McDonald with Nava being sent to AAA to work on his defense.

Did I miss anything?

Related posts:

1. A Red Sox April to Forget: 2010
2. My 2010 Spinners Scribe Contest Entry
3. The Red Sox 5-9 Start is Nothing to Worry About

Do this simple experiment.  Copy a couple of paragraphs from this newsletter and paste into any online translation website (I use Yahoo! Babel Fish) and translate into Spanish.  Now take the Spanish translation and translate back into English.  Not quite what was originally written, is it? The experiment points out the intrinsic value of people who can accurately translate languages.

With that in mind, I definitely understand many of the comments made recently by White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen who stated Asian players are provided services that Latino players do not receive.  He said Japanese players are given translators when they come to the United States while Latinos do not get the same assistance.

White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen Photo by DRSEA Informer

Guillen, who is from Venezuela, said, “Why do we have Japanese interpreters and we don’t have a Spanish one? Why do they have that privilege and we don’t?”  He described going to see his son, Oney, who is playing minor league baseball and says the team has a translator for a Korean prospect who he claims makes more money than the players.

“Don’t take this wrong, but they take advantage of us,”Guillen said.  “We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid — Go to the minor leagues, good luck. Good luck. And it’s always going to be like that. It’s never going to change. But that’s the way it is.”

Given how things can get lost in translation, Guillen’s argument makes sense; why don’t teams routinely provide translators for Latino players whose primary language, like Asian players, is not English?

A few years ago, a number of Latino sports writers and broadcasters had a beef with the New York Yankees who refused to allow members of the Spanish language media to ask questions in Spanish to the newly acquired Alex Rodríguez.  The Yankees insisted that questions in Spanish be held to the end of the press conference, but anyone who has ever been in a press conference knows that by the end the quotes are old and stale, and players tend to give yes and no responses, which puts the Latino media at a disadvantage.

Julio Pabón, a good friend of mine, said he spoke out about the situation many years ago when he went to spring training and was often asked to act as translator for non Spanish speaking reporters who wanted to question Latino players, noting even then that Asian players had their own interpreters. That, and the situation with the Yankees, led to the creation of the Latino Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association (LSWBA).  The LSWBA met with both the Yankees and the Mets and, as a result, both teams now hold monthly press conferences in Spanish, but do not provide translators in the dugout or at post game interviews.

Julio Pabon Photo by DRSEA Informer

Pabón, who is president of the association, insists that the absence of Spanish language interpreters is because teams “do not understand Latino players, or the Latino community; they are taken for granted and the end result is a lack of respect for both.  Teams have a ready-made source of players in the Dominican Republic, in Venezuela, and Latin American, so they do not feel they have to do anything special because of the abundance of players.

“Japan, China, the Orient are new markets with billions of people.  It is not about the players, but the expansion of the market into the global economy so they will do anything for these players. It is all about the money, and Latinos are considered cheap and because it is economically cheap, that is the way they treat us.  There are no supportive services.”

He added that what is provided Asian players goes beyond translators, that they are assigned what amounts to personal assistants who “help them transition into a new culture, into a new society, helping to acclimate them.  They are babysitting them in their transition as players and you do not see that with Latino players. The Japanese player, he is totally foreign to the environment. They are assuming that the Latino player is not, that he will be okay, and that is not fair.”

Guillen also criticized Major League Baseball over what he says is the lack of steroid education provided Latino players, saying, “I’m the only one to teach the Latinos about [what] not to use.  I’m the only one and Major League Baseball doesn’t care.”

MLB released a statement refuting the charge. “We spend more time and effort educating our Latin players about PED (performance enhancing drug) use than we do our domestic players in the United States,” said spokesman Rich Levin.  Baseball has instituted a drug education program for all teams in the Dominican Republic.

Related posts:

1. DRSEA INFORMER: Dominican Gold Rush
2. DRSEA INFORMER: Volume III, Issue 8
3. DRSEA INFORMER: Volume III, Issue 4, Section 1

Photo taken from Google Images via The Sports Report Girl

By now, many of you have already put yourself in a good position to make a trip to the playoffs – if not officially clinched a spot altogether.  There are many more of you, though, that are on the bubble; and with a good or bad 1.5 weeks your ticket could be punched to the postseason or your time could be freed up to focus 100% of your attention on fantasy football.  Here are a few strategies to employ if you are scratching and clawing to find your way into those last two or three playoff spots that are up for grabs.  Yes, I realize that this particular article might be a week or three too late, but there’s nothing we can do about that now.  If it can’t get you to the promised land this year, file it away for 2011.

1. Streaming

Most of you are familiar with the practice of dropping/adding pitchers (and position players too for that matter) on a daily basis to rack up counting stats (wins, strikeouts, etc.).  This practice is most popular in leagues with categories similar to the traditional Roto stats (wins, saves, strikeouts, WHIP, ERA).  Streaming can still be effective in more complex leagues as well.  You will have to determine, based on your league’s settings, just how effective that practice would be, but perhaps it is something worth trying.  As far as offense goes, there is no reason for you to have unnecessary voids in your roster on Mondays and Thursdays.  Every category is way too important at this point.

2. Say Goodbye to Your “Studs”

All of us have drafted a big name who was supposed to have a nice season in 2010.  Curtis Granderson and Adam Lind are just two guys who were supposed to do big things this season.  It is hard to let these guys go as the chance at missing out on 2-3 weeks of All-Star production is too much for us to stomach.  Murphy’s Law paralyzes us and we do nothing.  I’ve been there, I know what its like.  Guess what though?  They’re not helping us win so changes need to be made.  Don’t be stubborn.  Not at this point in the season.  Right now, whether you’re fighting to make it to the playoffs or if you’re going to be fighting to remain in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter who gets you the hits, runs, RBI, HR, WHIP, ERA, K’s, saves, etc.  You just need the stats.  If your squad of John Jaso, Casey Kotchman, Nick Punto and Livan Hernandez puts up better stats in that small championship sample against Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols, David Wright and Jon Lester you’re going to be the champion regardless of how far it tips the bullsh*t meter.

3. Work the ‘Pen

This is kind of the anti-streaming strategy.  In leagues that play with a lot of ratio categories (K/9, K/BB, etc.) it could pay to ditch the middle of the pack starters and just load up on electric relief pitchers – whether they’re recording saves or not.  The degree of effectiveness will depend on the number of pitching slots on your roster and the innings pitched minimum for each week.  The idea behind this is that the better relief pitchers generally have good stuff and will provide nice numbers over their short stints.  If you have enough quality relievers, its almost like having one or two stud starters each week.  Over 14 innings you might find yourself with 14-20 K which is a nice chunk to add to the counting stats, but also a stellar K/9.  The best part about the end of the year is that you will always find relief pitchers that get on a roll late in the season.  A lot of guys will neglect middle relievers because they don’t provide saves, but they can be instrumental in the success of a pitching staff down the stretch.

4. Hold a Team Meeting

(If you have a life, you are free to skip to the final paragraph)

Now, despite implementing this strategy from time to time, I can’t honestly say that it helps. However, sometimes you just need to create some positive energy (some people believe in this type of stuff more than others).  If you’re desperate and willing to try anything to get your team into some meaningful games over the next few weeks you may be willing to shove aside any feelings of self-embarrassment and try something different and potentially fruitless.  If my team gets a bit stagnant or is facing off against a rival or playoff contender, I’ll give them a little pep talk and address them individually letting them know what I need from each of them.  Clearly, my obsession for achieving fantasy sports success is bordering on unhealthy territory.  Perhaps you’re the same way.  If that is the case go ahead and call the squad into your “office” and go to work.

Like I said, it is pretty late in the year and those of you who have a big hole to dig out of may ultimately need to focus on 2011.  Those of you that still have any shred of a chance should not be afraid to try something radical if it gets you the last few categories needed to make it to the postseason.  Good luck.

Related posts:

1. Fantasy Baseball Digging Deep: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
2. 2010 MLB Trade Deadline Fantasy Baseball Impact
3. Early 2011 Fantasy Baseball Value Plays

Back on Tuesday night in an extra inning game between the Philadelphia Philles and the Houston Astros something special happened. In a move that you don’t see that often anymore, due to Phillies All Star first baseman Ryan Howard’s ejection, former Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt was called upon to play LF moving left fielder Raul Ibanez to 1B where he’s played over 100 games in his career (just not recently).

The thought process goes something like this…when a lefty is up to bat, the pitcher plays in left field as a left handed hitter will usually pull the ball into RF. Then when a righty comes up to bat you would switch him with your right fielder as most right handed hitters will pull the ball into LF.

But as fate would have it, on the first pitch of the inning, the left handed batter took one the opposite way, but right at Oswalt who barely had to move! The pitcher made a textbook two-handed catch for the putout and the phans at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia went nuts! Here’s the video…

Later in the same inning another left handed batter tried to take advantage of his speed and of the out of position Ibanez by dragging a bunt down the 1B line and the video below will show you how that went…remember, this game is in extra innings…

Please share any memories you may have of moves made like this in the comments section below! Thank you…

Related posts:

1. PHILLIES MONTH IN REVIEW: JULY
2. Houston Astros Trade Pitcher Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia Phillies: Fantasy Impact
3. 2010 Projections: Why You Should Buy Low on Phillies’ Pitcher Cole Hamels

What in the name of Harry Carey is going on in Wrigleyville? The shocking descent of the Cubs this year has opened up questions about the club’s leadership and decision-making. Surely the Ricketts family did not expect this when they bought the club last winter. With a payroll north of $145 million and a respected manager, they thought this was a club capable of making another run at the Division title. After all, it was just two short seasons ago that the team won an NL-best 97 games.

Times are so bad at the old ballpark, Ernie Banks was heard saying “One game is enough today”. The spirit of Harry Carey cries “Holy Cow!” Ron Santo cannot take much more, he’s running out of “Aw Geez’”. The Cubby Bear went into hibernation. Bill Murray has stopped showing up. No one wants to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. Fans really mean it when they sing “Go Cubs Go!” The “Completely Useless By September” T-shirts are selling out.  As part of the deal to put up the unsightly sign high above the left field bleachers, Toyota agreed to counsel the team on how to conduct a recall.

Is there truth to the rumor that the team is again considering a rotating-manager system? In 1961 and 1962 under owner Philip Wrigley the club tried this using Vedie Himsi, Harry Craft, Elvin Tappe, Lou Klein, and Charlie Metro.

Did it work? The combined record for those two seasons was 123-191.

But desperation breeds unpredictability and the Cubs have plenty of both.

Most skeptics will say c’mon it’s the Cubs after all, what else do you expect? But setting aside for a moment the urge to pile on, the pathetic showing this year has to go down as one of the most disappointing in a seemingly endless series of lost seasons.

Everything wrong about this team starts with General Manager Jim Hendry. He has shelled out massive contracts to Kosuke Fukodome, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly. Injuries, disjointed personalities and sagging statistics are endemic in this group. No wonder the Tribune Co. went bankrupt!

By the time July rolled around, Hendry threw in the towel. He sent Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers for Blake DeWitt and minor leaguers. Next Mike Fontenot went to the Giants for minor league outfielder Evan Crawford. Finally, fan favorite Derrek Lee gets a chance to play for Bobby Cox in Atlanta in another deal for minor leaguers.

Lou Piniella had seen enough and announced his retirement at season’s end. As his mother suffered increasingly severe health problems, Piniella’s last day was Sunday thus escaping what should be a scathing off-season review of the situation.

If I were Tom Ricketts, I’d clean house beginning with club President Crane Kenney a hack leftover from the Tribune ownership. Next is Hendry who has squandered millions to try to make the team a consistent winner. I’d buy out Joe Girardi’s contract from the Yankees. Then, I’d try to trade Soriano by offering to defer part of his huge salary. I’d send Fukodome back on the first plane to Tokyo and tell Zambrano to stop taking personality lessons from Hugo Chavez so he can be more marketable. But I highly doubt anyone would be interested in a pitcher with receding skills and a mouth as big as his contract.

It’s been 65 years since the Cubs have been in the World Series. That was thirteen Presidents ago! Yet this team again will need to start over and long-suffering Cubs fans will have to go through yet another era of losing seasons.  And that will be too much for even Ron Santo to bear.

A SIGHT TO BEHOLD!

Ever want to get into a chat room and talk smack while your favorite team’s game was still in progress?

Introducing www.livebaseballchat.com. Just open the link, create a user name and password, find your team’s game and log in to chat. The site is very user friendly.

Once you have confirmed your email address you can log in and view the schedule page with all the chats listed and their start times.

LiveBaseballChat.com is a free site that allows you to chat in real time with other baseball fans live during the MLB 2010 season. A dedicated chat room for each MLB game is started 30 minutes before each game and closes 30 minutes after the game is finished.

The difference between livebaseballchat.com and a forum is telling.  If you use a forum for chatting during a game you have to keep refreshing your browser or keep jumping around the various posts. It loses that feeling of a having a live chat.

You can include friends in the chat room. From within the chat room just send an email that contains the CHurl (CHurl stands for Chat Room URL), you can post the CHurl to your Twitter account or you can post the CHurl to your Facebook feed.

The CHurl automatically links to the chat room that you are in.

You can also get a Buddy Alert email each time someone in your Buddy list joins a Live Chat, so if a friend of yours joins a chat you will get an email with the CHurl for the room they have logged into. Sorry,  no e-mail alerts from Red Sox nation if you are a Yankees fan, but that is a good thing since there will be plenty of people in the room anyway that you can diss during the game.

I went in last week just to take a look around and it was great. More people are needed to chat so sign up now and get the word out!

Related posts:

1. Closing Argument in Chicago for the Sox
2. Chicago Cubs off Season Report
3. Chicago White Sox off Season Report

Photo of Broadcaster Vin Scully by Icon SMI

When I heard Sunday morning that Vin Scully had called a press conference for prior to the Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Cincinnati Reds, my heart sank. Could this be the end for the last of the legendary broadcasters from the golden era of baseball?

Fortunately, instead of announcing his retirement, Scully announced that he loves the game too much to walk away and will continue to broadcast at least through 2011.

Sometimes the great ones hang on too long and don’t know when it is time to walk away, but that couldn’t be further from the case for Scully. All you have to do is listen to a Scully broadcast to know that this is a man who truly loves what he does and that nobody does it better.

Just two nights ago, I listened mesmerized for more than an hour as Scully didn’t as much “call” the game between the Dodgers and Reds as he did tell the story of the game.

Unlike most broadcast booths that now include two people and include announcers who spend more time utilizing graphics and talking to each other instead of the audience, Scully works alone and I imagine broadcasts on television today much in the same way he did when he first started announcing games on the radio for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950.

When listening to Scully you can almost close your eyes and let his voice guide you through the game in a manner atypical of most modern television announcers. As he probably did 60 years ago, during the first game of a series Scully typically spells out the names of those players with unusual last names on the opposing team. Though fans today can simply go to the internet to find the live game box score, Scully still has one foot in an era when young boys sat at the radio scoring along with the broadcast.

While pausing only occasionally to catch his breath, Scully fills the air with tales about each player that make you feel like you have known them for years. Whether it is sharing stories about a player’s high school exploits on the field or in the classroom or how another player went from growing up in a small town to playing in the majors, Scully reminds viewers that these are young men living a dream and not simply highly paid athletes.

For three hours each night, Scully is having a conversation with you, the viewer. He occasionally will even ask questions as if to remind the viewer that you are in this together.

Even at the age of 82, Scully flawlessly transitions from one play to another with grace and ease. He often describes the nuances of the game in a manner that clearly illustrate that he has been doing this for a while.

When he broke into the game working with the legendary Red Barber and veteran announcer Connie Desmond, who could have imagined that six decades later he would still be going strong?

Scully now only works home games and road games against the NL West, but just to have a chance to hear his eloquent delivery on those occasions is magic.

He truly is a bridge from a time when the use of technology in baseball was still developing to a time now when you can watch games on a computer and see any team no matter where you live.

When Scully started with the Dodgers, it was only three years after Jackie Robinson had broken baseball’s color barrier. He was there in 1951 when Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Hear ‘Round the World and watched the Dodgers finally defeat the Yankees to win the 1955 World Series. He was also calling the action a year later when Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the World Series.

After moving with the Dodgers to Los Angeles, he broadcast the exploits of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax as the Dodgers won the World Series in 1959, 1963 and 1965. He then called the action as the Dodgers reached three Fall Classics in the 1970s and then finally won one for Tommy Lasorda in 1981.

Though he made his national broadcast debut in 1953, to many, Scully is best known for his work as the play-by-play voice of NBC’s Game of the Week from 1983 through 1989. This national exposure brought Scully’s style to fans every week and though he had a partner in Joe Garagiola, Scully was clearly the master of the booth.

Baseball has not been Scully’s only national exposure over the years. He was part of the CBS television broadcasting team for a decade calling NFL broadcasts from 1972 until 1982. He was in the booth during the 1981 NFC Championship Game and had the call on Dwight Clark’s game-winning catch. Scully also broadcast golf and tennis during his tenure with CBS.

But it is baseball for which he will always be remembered.

Sadly, when Scully does finally call it a career it will mark the end of an era in sports. Not just because Scully has been at it for more than six decades, but also because he is one of the final ties to the roots of broadcasting in sports and for more than 60 years has been baseball’s greatest story teller.

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