Submitting My Vote... Again and Again

It's that time of the year again, when I feel obligated, as a bona fide baseball fan, to fill out my All-Star Game ballot.  I always feel conflicted, because it's not like it used to be, where you got an actual paper card and you had to punch out your selections and hand it in at your local ballpark.  Now you can go online and vote five times in a 24-hour period, and you can go back tomorrow and do it five more times.  It doesn't make it as exciting and decisive, but I do it anyway, because if I didn't, I would not have the right to complain if my chosen players did not make the All-Star team.

So here I am on mlb.com, where they're nice enough to give you each player's vital statistics to help make it easier for you to decide for whom to vote.  My personal conflict every year is - do I go strictly based on statistics, or do I go with my sentimental favorites?  This year I decided to do a little bit of both.  Here are the players I chose, with my very good reasons why.

First of all, let me preface this by saying that never in my entire blogging life have I picked an entire infield belonging to the same team.  I am not one to vote along "party lines," so I don't vote for guys just because they belong to a particular team.  I study the statistics and scrutinize every number carefully before I make my picks, but this year I'm afraid I went with an all-Nationals infield for the National League.  I can justify it though; just read on and see for yourself.

FIRST BASE:  NL - Ryan Zimmerman, AL - Chris Davis.  I voted for Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals because he's leading the Majors with a .365 batting average and is just one of those guys you just want to hug when you meet him.  He's quiet, nerdy, and started the Zim Foundation to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis (a disease that his mother has), so how can you not like this guy?  He was plagued with injuries last year, but this year he's kicking ass.  He also seems to have kicked his nail-biting habit, so there's that.  So Zim all the way!  As far as the American League, I voted for Chris Davis of the Orioles because my friend Tina from high school is married to a Chris Davis, and Tina and I were both new students in seventh grade, so I always liked her.  Plus Davis is doing pretty well this year after having a so-so 2016, so heck, Davis gets my vote.

SECOND BASE:  NL - Daniel Murphy, AL - José Altuve.  I voted for the Nationals' Murphy because he's having a good year and he's one of the most decent guys out there.  He is very well spoken, never swears, and looks like the type of guy who files his taxes himself and always drives the speed limit.  Love him so much that he won my vote over Puerto Rican Javier Baez.  Lo siento, Javi!  As far as Altuve, I chose him over Jonathan Schoop of the Orioles because the Astros are having a really good year and Altuve is having a better season.  Plus he has stolen 11 bases, and I like the speedy guys.

SHORTSTOP:  NL - Trea Turner, AL -  Francisco Lindor.  The Nationals' Trea Turner got my vote because he is super-cute, doesn't look old enough to drive or buy a six-pack of beer, and has 16 stolen bases so far.  Lindor of the Cleveland Indians got my vote because he's Puerto Rican, had a good time at the World Baseball Classic, and is having a decent year.  I won't automatically vote for you if you're from Puerto Rico, but if you're doing well and you're "Boricua," you get my vote.  Liindor won over Jean Segura, who just signed a nice extension contract with the Mariners.

THIRD BASE:  NL - Anthony Rendón, AL: José Ramirez.  This was the toughest position for me, because I really wanted to pick Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado.  But the Nationals' Rendón is having a better season, and Machado is just not as consistent as Ramirez has been this season for the Indians.  One Dominican trumps the other; sorry, Manny.

CATCHER:  NL - Buster Posey, AL - Salvador Perez.  This one was also a bit difficult, because I could either go for the nostalgic favorite (Yadier Molina) or the player who is actually having a better season.  Posey is just the cutest thing, and he prefers to not get involved in bench-clearing brawls.  And Perez is having the best season of all American League catchers, so why not pick him?  You all know how much I love catchers - this decision was not made lightly!

OUTFIELD:  NL - Charlie Blackmon, Bryce Harper, Ender Inciarte, AL - Adam Jones, Aaron Judge, Carlos Beltrán.  Luckily we're allowed to pick three outfielders, because this was a tough one.  I picked the Nationals' Harper because he has hustle, plays hard, has great hair, and is having a better season than last year (and I like his T-Mobile commercial).  Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies is a quirky guy with an ugly beard, but he's a darn good baseball player.  And Inciarte plays for the Braves, who are a far cry from the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz era, but he's still a good player and deserves to be in the All-Star team.  Amercan League-wise, I chose Adam Jones because he's super-cool and I want to be like him when I grow up; Aaron Judge because he's hitting more home runs than Babe Ruth and dealing with the pressures of being a Yankee quite nicely (despite having really bad teeth), and Carlos Beltrán, well, because he's Carlos Beltrán.  The "experts" thought he was washed out years ago, but he keeps on ticking.  So Carlos, who happens to be Puerto Rican, gets my vote.

Then we had to vote for a Designated Hitter, but for the American League only.  This year's All-Star Game is in Miami (a National League ballpark), so I'm not sure why a DH is necessary (you all know how much I disagree with the whole DH thing!).  Nevertheless, I chose the Mariners' Nelson Cruz because he's badass and is a former Oriole.  That was an easy one.

So once my ballot was complete, I was faced with one of those "captcha" verification thingies where you have to type in the warped-looking numbers on the screen to make sure you're not a robot.  Once I typed them in (it took me a couple of tries, because visually-impaired people don't handle those things very well), my vote was cast and another "captcha" showed up.  I typed that one in, and my second vote was cast.  I initially only wanted to vote once, but since they made it so easy to vote multiple times, I cast my five allotted ballots and called it a day.  I apparently can do this five more times tomorrow, but I won't, because I'm old-fashioned and I don't believe in stuffing ballot boxes.  But at least now I officially have the right to complain if some of my guys don't make the All-Star team.  Gone are the days of hanging chads and illegible ballots; casting your vote on mlb.com is pretty much a piece of cake.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Hello there, fellow baseball fans!  What's happenin'?  Well I'll tell you what's happening - Chris Heston, a 27-year-old rookie pitcher making just his 13th start for the San Francisco Giants, threw a no-hitter last night against the New York Mets at Citi Field.  I tuned in during the ninth innings with two outs, so I was able to enjoy the thrill of the no-hitter without the stress of sitting through a whole game wondering if the no-hitter was going to be broken.  Watching a no-hitter never gets old, and what made it interesting is that Heston actually hit three batters during the game!  Another interesting fact is that the Giants' catcher, Buster Posey, has now caught three no-hitters, which puts him in second place after the Red Sox's Jason Varitek, who caught four in his career.  You know me - I have to take a story and turn it so that the catcher looks good! (And if you read this blog regularly, you already knew that Iván Rodriguez caught 2 no-hitters in his career)

That was the "good."  The "bad" is that the Washington Nationals have lost 9 of their last 11 games.  They're still only half a game out of first place (because no one else in the NL East seems to want to win), but they're playing some terrible baseball.  Bryce Harper and Yunel Escobar seem to be the only ones hitting, 2 of their starting pitchers (Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister) are on the Disabled List, and their bullpen just plain old sucks (except for their closer, Drew Storen, who hasn't seen much action lately).  It's very disappointing, though the season isn't even half over yet, and us "glass-half-full" people are trying to stay positive.  Luckily the Nationals don't play against the Mets until July, so they have some time to get their stuff together.

And now for the "ugly."  Staying with the Nationals for a minute... Shortstop Ian Desmond has committed FOURTEEN errors this season.  Who DOES that?  Do you think I would still have my job if I made 14 errors in 9 weeks?  And Desmond makes WAY more money than I do!  The thing is, they keep putting him in the lineup every day, and I think he just needs to sit out a game or two - a "mental health day" of sorts.  They have several guys (Escobar, Espinosa, Rendón) who can play shortstop while Desmond clears his head - and they probably wouldn't commit any errors!  It is so frustrating, because he's missing some pretty basic little-league-type plays; maybe he needs to get his eyes checked?  Seriously - how often do baseball players get eye exams?  I hope that's part of a routine physical at the beginning of each season; in Desmond's case, I would send him to an eye doctor right away.

Now in order to not end this blog post on a negative note, let me also mention that the Angels' Albert Pujols tied Mickey Mantle for 16th on the all-time home runs list with number 536.  That's pretty cool - anyone who has the potential to cleanly pass Barry Bonds on the list is a cool dude in my book.  Also hitting a home run on the same day was the Houston Astros' Carlos Correa.  This was his first homer (a long way from Pujol's 536) - but any time a kid makes his Major League debut and hit his first homer in the same week, that's pretty special.  And Correa is Puerto Rican (not a catcher), so there's that coolness factor as well.

So there you have it - highlights (and lowlights) from this week's baseball action so far.  See how I write more often when there's actually stuff about which to write?  Let's hope the next few weeks bring more excitement - I need to have things to write about once school is out and I'm done with work for the summer!

Meet the A's New Righty, er, Lefty

May was a crazy month in our house.  3 of the 4 people who live here had birthdays within 9 days of each other, life revolved around track meets and baseball games (until my son broke his foot, putting an early end to his season), and a trip to Nationals Park on Mother's Day was thrown in there as well.  I've also been busy with a new writing project, but just like those ants that invade your kitchen every spring, I always keep coming back.  This blog is very dear to me, and I am never going away (sorry, folks, you just can't get rid of Mudville Mom!).

It's been an interesting baseball season so far - Bryce Harper is living up to his hype and leading the Majors with 18 home runs (along with Nelson Cruz and Giancarlo Stanton); the Orioles' Matt Wieters came back after a one-year recovery from Tommy John surgery (it's not just pitchers who get that done!); and Alex Rodriguez passed Barry Bonds in the all-time RBI list.  As much as I dislike A-Rod (and you should all know that by now!), I hope he realizes that he can be just as good a player without performance-enhancing drugs.  Same for Nelson Cruz - without the PEDs he's still hitting home runs, so let that be a lesson to you all:  You can be pretty good without PEDs.

OK, so what about this pitcher that the Oakland A's just called up from the minors?  Well, Pat Venditte is a switch-pitcher, something that Major League Baseball hasn't seen in 20 years.  In his first big-league game, he entered the game in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox.  He started throwing warm-up pitches with his right hand, then he switched to his left to face a lefty batter who grounded out.  Then Venditte pitched right-handed to the next two batters, one who got a single (Hanley Ramirez) and the other who hit into a double play (Mike Napoli).

Because switch-pitching is such an oddity, the "Venditte Rule" had to be implemented (hopefully the guy will be known for more than just a rule with his name on it - kind of like poor Tommy John, who had a decent pitching career but is mostly known for his surgery.  And don't even mention Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest Yankees ever who had to have ALS named after him after he died from it way before people started foolishly pouring buckets of ice water on themselves for charity).  Anyway, the "Venditte Rule" states that before each at-bat, the pitcher tells the umpire, batter, and baserunners what hand he will throw with for that batter.  If the player at the plate switch hits, he is free to hit from either side.  The pitcher cannot throw with the other arm in the same at-bat.

So we'll have to see how good Venditte ends up being and if he tends to favor one arm over the other.  One positive note is that if he injures one arm, he still has the other one that he can use (Remember Jim Abbott, the one-handed pitcher back in the 90s who went from college ball straight to the Majors after pitching in the 1988 olympics?  It can be done!).  Let's keep an eye on Pat Venditte and see how he does - I definitely find this guy interesting.

In other baseball news, the All-Star voting is well under way.  I plan to submit my ballot as soon as school is over, when I can sit down and analyze all the players without any work-related interruptions.  I usually vote earlier in the season, and then someone I voted for ends up in a slump or with an injury, so I'm going to wait a little this year.  I know that the Giants' Buster Posey and the Cardinals' Yadier Molina are in a dead heat for the starting catcher position, and I'm not sure if I'll go strictly Puerto Rican on that one or if I will give my sentimental vote to cutie-patootie Posey.  I also have to decide if I should vote for Bryce Harper because he's having a great season, or give my vote to Nick Markakis of the Braves, because he's not an ass like Harper is (and my step-daughter took care of Markakis's dog when she worked in an animal emergency room).  Luckily we get three votes for the outfield, so I may vote for both.

So until I cast my vote in a couple of weeks, enjoy the nice weather (it finally stopped raining here in the mid-Atlantic), catch some games on TV or in person, and feel free to go to www.mlb.com and cast your own vote for this year's All-Stars.   Maybe next year we'll see Pat Venditte on the All-Star team.

Orange With Envy

As you probably know by now, the Washington Nationals were eliminated in the first round of this year's baseball playoffs.  Yes, just like in 2012, the team that led the National League in wins was defeated by the Wild Card team, in this case the San Francisco Giants.  All the talk of a "Beltway World Series" between the Nationals and Orioles quickly faded away and is now a distant memory.


So what happened?  Well the games weren't really that exciting.  In game 1, which my husband and 10-year-old son attended, Bryce Harper and Asdrubal Cabrera hit home runs, but they were the only runs scored by the Nationals in the 3-2 loss.  Don't get me wrong - we had a great time at the game.  My main purpose in going was to create some unforgettable memories for my baseball-loving son, and I'm pretty sure we achieved that.  He got his curly "W" pretzel, we bought a post-season program, and we were given free rally towels, which we can bring to future games (those rally towels, I might add, are very hard to spin.  I mean, I can do the "Macarena," I can jump a mean double-dutch jump rope, but for the life of me I could not spin that thing without wrapping it around my hand or swatting my husband with it across his face).  My son enjoyed the pre-game military fly-over and was able to experience one of the hardest-hit home runs at Nationals Park.  For us, it was a good day.


The second game was a disappointing one.  The Nationals were leading 1-0 in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, and Jordan Zimmermann (who had pitched the entire game) was removed after walking his first batter.  That is the move - not the wild pitch in game 4 - that cost the Nationals the game, the series, and a lot of sleep (you see, that game ended up going 18 innings, ending in a 2-1 loss).


Game 3 was a little better, since the Nationals won it 4-1 in San Francisco.  But they lost the next game (and the series) again by a score of 3-2.  So in four games, the Nats were only able to muster 11 runs.  The pitching was fine - all four starters pitched respectably - but no one was hitting.  I shouldn't say no one - Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendón's bats were somewhat hot - but leadoff hitter Denard Span, who ended the regular season with a team-record 184 hits, failed to get on base much during the playoffs.  Adam LaRoche and Jayson Werth, the heart of the Nationals' batting order, went 2 for 35.  2 for 35!  I don't have an explanation for their lack of offense - they just plain did not hit.


So what does it feel like when your team is eliminated so early after showing so much promise during the regular season and after being picked by many to win the World Series?  Well it just sucks - plain and simple.  You spend six months following these guys - 162 games day in and day out.  You memorize their statistics and batting stances.  You start calling them by their first names or nicknames as if they're your buddies or neighbors (in my case, my younger brothers).  You get totally consumed in all things Nationals, wearing your red "W" lanyard at work and helping your son pick between his Werth jersey or his Harper one.  And then all of a sudden the last out of the last game is made, and it's all over.  Just like that.  Change out your lanyard, put the jerseys away, and forget about bidding for a Jayson Werth garden gnome on eBay.


What makes it more frustrating is that baseball is not over.  There are still plenty of games to be played this postseason, with 4 teams still vying to make it to the World Series.  The Orioles and Royals are playing in the ALCS, and the Giants and Cardinals (again!) are at it in the NLCS.  But the Nationals - their players, managers, massage therapists and athletic trainers - are all back home licking their wounds.  They were not the underdogs, like the Royals - they were the top contenders and they lost.  This fan, at least, is disappointed and feels let down. :-(  I did watch game 1 of the ALCS (and will continue to watch until the last out of the last game of the World Series), but it just wasn't the same.  I was watching as a casual fan, rooting for the hometown Orioles but not disappointed when the Royals (whose players are cuter) scored some runs of their own.  Oriole Park at Camden Yards, only an hour away, was packed with fans - some of whom I knew - in their orange sweatshirts waving their orange rally towels, smiling and cheering and rooting for their birds while I sat on my couch wanting to get excited but just not able to.


But hey, wait a minute!  This is actually way less stressful!  I have nothing invested in any of these teams; I don't own any jerseys or t-shirts for any of these clubs and I don't have to wait for a commercial to go use the bathroom!  I can go to bed at a decent time before a game is over if I want to!  I can root for Yadier Molina and Buster Posey at the same time!  I can make fun of the color commentators instead of getting upset at how little they actually know about the Nationals!  I can like both Markakis and Moustakas and any other player with a Greek last name who happens to come along!  I can side with the umpires during a play challenge and laugh at the fans who get upset when a call in their team's favor is overturned!  Hey, I can enjoy these last 2 weeks of baseball - and guess what?  I WILL!

What I do During the Off-Season

Hello, MM followers!  You figured I couldn't stay away for the entire off-season, and you were right!  This time of year is actually a pretty busy one for the General Managers and front office staff of all Major League baseball teams.  Players have to be traded, free agents have to be signed, and season tickets have to be sold.  Josh Hamilton still needs to pick a team, the Washington Nationals still need to work out a deal with Gold-Glove winner Adam LaRoche, and Kevin Youkilis still needs to decide if he wants to wear Yankee pinstripes for a year since third base will be open for at least the first half of next season while A-Rod recovers from hip surgery (I wonder if A-Rod received the flowers I sent him - NOT!).

Speaking of Gold Glove, all the post-season awards were handed out shortly after the World Series ended.  You can go to this link to see a complete list of who won which award:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/awards/y2012/index.jsp

I was happy to see several players from my Washington Nationals on the list - Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper (I was skeptical when they called him up from the minors back in May, but he really did have a great rookie season); Adam LaRoche (who won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and Defensive Player of the Year for first base); Ian Desmond and Stephen Strasburg (who earned Silver Slugger awards for their positions); and NL Manager of the Year, Davey Johnson.  Orioles players were a-plenty as well (except for Buck Showalter, who should have gotten the AL Manager of the Year award), and the Giants' Buster Posey walked away with about 50 different awards (and he deserved every one of them!).

So the awards were handed out, the General Managers have been meeting, and "Dancing With the Stars" is over.  So how have I kept myself busy during the past month without live baseball on TV?  Here is a sampling of what I've been up to:

• I watched "The History of the World Series" on the MLB Network (channel 738 for local Comcast viewers - I bet you didn't even know you had that channel!).
• I watched "A History of the Major League Ballpark" on the MLB Network.
• I organized my baseball card binders and sent some cards to Beckett for encasing and grading (and many of them came back with not-so-good grades - a "4" for the Clemente my brother gave me for Christmas back in 1989?  Really???).
• I watched "Baseball by the Numbers" on the MLB Network
• I raked the leaves in the front yard.
• I decorated the house for Christmas.
• I watched "MLB Tonight" on the MLB Network.
• I went on WalMart's website and checked out their extensive array of Washington Nationals merchandise (and decided that Curly "W" curtains would not look good in my living room).
• I convinced my husband to run the St. Louis marathon with me next October.
• I contemplated going back to school and pursuing a Doctorate in Sport Management and Sport Theory but realized I couldn't do it for free.
• I watched "Baseball's Seasons" on the MLB Network
• I convinced my father to take us to a winter-league baseball game while we are visiting him and my mother in Puerto Rico.

So as you can see, I've kept myself plenty busy since the last out of the World Series was made.  And since pitchers and catchers can start reporting to their Spring Training locations starting on February 12 and the World Baseball Classic is less than 85 days away, I think I'll be fine for the next couple of months.  Stay tuned though, because the 2013 inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced in early January, and I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that!

Felíz Navidad, everyone!

Ouch! That Had to Hurt!

As a former Athletic Trainer, I'm no stranger to sports injuries.  I've seen my share of sprained ankles, shin splints, tendinitis, and even had a gymnast once who showed up in the training room with an index finger that resembled the letter "L."  But there are some nauseating injuries that turn the stomachs of even the most seasoned sports medicine professionals.  While I don't remember Joe Theismann's broken leg in 1985, I do have three memorable sports injuries that have stayed in my mind despite having happened a long time ago.

In 1989, I remember watching Super Bowl XXIII and seeing this guy from the Cincinnati Bengals get his foot caught in the turf.  His ankle and lower leg did a full 180 degree rotation, and both bones in his lower leg were shattered (I had to Google the injury to know that the football player was Tim Krumrie).  It was the slow-motion replay that made the injury look so gruesome - everyone in my English class was talking about it the next day.

Also in 1989, San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky snapped his upper arm in half after throwing a pitch to the Expos' Tim Raines.  Dravecky had just made a heartwarming comeback after a battle with bone cancer, and apparently his bones were still brittle from all the treatments he received.  Dravecky eventually had his arm amputated and I think his cancer even came back after that.

Then I remember the horse Barbaro breaking his right hind leg during the 2006 Preakness - that was one of those injuries that had you seething between your teeth going "Ooooh nooooo!"  The poor horse ended up undergoing all kinds of surgeries but had to be euthanized in 2007 because even though his right hind leg had completely healed, his other 3 legs had issues.  That had to stink!

Despite all these obvious injuries having a lasting impact on me, sometimes it's the injuries that you don't see that make you feel really bad.  Last year during the post-season, the Phillies' Ryan Howard ruptured his Achilles tendon while trying to run towards first base.  As soon as he fell to the ground, I thought "It's his Achilles, and he's going to be out for a long, long time."  Despite being a Philly-hater, I felt bad for Howard; rupturing your Achilles is no walk in the park.  Just ask Dan Marino. 

And how about Buster Posey's injury early last season after the Marlins' Scott Cousins brutally collided with him at home plate?  You didn't see an obvious injury, but from the looks of Posey writhing in pain, you could tell something was majorly wrong.  Fortunately for Posey, he's all better and playing quite well this year.  And I still think Cousins was a moron for sliding the way he did.

But not all baseball players are lucky enough to make a comeback like Posey.  Before yesterday's game between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera was catching fly balls in the outfield during batting practice - something that relief pitchers commonly do while their teammates are taking BP.  Rivera lunged for a ball hit by Jayson Nix near the warning track in left-center field when his knee buckled and he lost his footing.  Mariano landed on the dirt and crumpled against the outfield fence, immediately grabbing at his right knee in agony.  Again, we didn't see any obvious body parts snapping or popping or turning every-which-way, but you couldn't help but feel bad when you saw the replay on TV.  He ended up with an ACL tear and a partial tear of his meniscus - the anterior crusciate ligament helps stabilize the knee and the meniscus helps to cushion the joint - and will likely undergo surgery very soon.

The 42-year-old rightie from Panamá is undoubtedly the greatest closer in baseball history.  "Mo" is currently the only player in Major League baseball wearing the number 42, which was Jackie Robinson's number.  Even though the number was retired all over the league, Mariano was allowed to keep his number since everyone knew he would be retiring in the next couple of years himself.  Unfortunately, that retirement may be coming sooner than expected.  Rivera is definitely out for the season, and it is just too soon to predict whether he will ever pitch in the Majors again. 

So here's something you won't see from me too often:  A tribute to a Yankee.  With help from baseball-reference.com, here are some of the highlights of Mariano Rivera's career:

• played in 12 All-Star Games
• was the 1999 World Series MVP and 2003 ALCS MVP
• has a career record of 76 wins and 58 losses with an ERA of 2.21
• has the most saves ever with 608!
• has a post-season ERA of .70 with 42 saves!
• has a career total of 1119 strikeouts (pretty good for a guy who only plays one or two innings a game!)
• has pitched in 1,051 games, which is #1 for active pitchers and #8 overall

So as you can see, whether he makes a comeback or not, Mariano Rivera is bound for the Hall of Fame.  If he retires this year, he will be eligible for enshrinement in 2017, along with a certain catcher who retired earlier this year.  Hmmm... since I'll be in Cooperstown in 2017 anyway, I guess I'll get to watch Mariano being inducted as well!  And since Iván Rodriguez did play for a little while with the Yankees, he probably caught for Rivera once or twice, so that will be nice to watch!  (I really do try not to mention "Pudge" in every single blog, but it's like "Six Degrees of Separation" - you can't mention a future Hall-of-Famer without Iván's name coming up!).  Mariano will be in my prayers though; a potentially career-ending injury is no fun - even for a Yankee!