Commissioner Bud Selig told a New York Times columnist. “I’m concerned about the pace of the game.

This Bud is empty. He has just announced his retirement. In 2012.

when ametuers try to do what i do…  cut 5 pieces and bring it to me, and tell me it’s no fun.

so it looks like i’m making a yankee calendar tonight…  =)

1974 Topps League Leaders Card Starring Jim Palmer & Tom Seaver

This card celebrates the incredible seasons that both Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver had during the 1973 major league baseball season.

Each player led their leagues in ERA.  Palmer led the American League with a low 2.39.  And not to be outdone, Tom Seaver led the National League and the majors with a mighty impressive 2.08.

Two of the best pitchers from the 1970’s on one baseball card.  And a perfect addition to my Jim Palmer player collection!!!  

Oh, and just to close the circle, each of these great pitchers won the Cy Young award in their respective leagues that year.  For Palmer, it was his first of three.  And for ‘Tom Terrific’, it was his second of three awards.

Want to know what i’m Thankful for?

THE YANKEES WINNING THEIR 27th WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!  I happen to be the only Yankee fan living in my household, my relatives and friends up here in…*cough* Red Sox  *cough* territory *cough* aka Massachusetts have all been congratulating me and hugging me.

I didn’t think of this yesterday but the thing that i’m NOT thankful for is the Devils’ loooooooooooong IR list…and add David Clarkson to that today.  You don’t want to block a 100+ mph shot coming from a Bruin defenseman who’s 6′9″, Zdeno Chara.

I went to the TD Banknorth Garden earlier today.  It was epic.  I was my first time going to the Garden (and remember that i’m near Boston, in Wellesley right now, not New Jersey, where the Madison Square Garden is referred to as the Garden there).  The Bruins’ goal horn/song was da**ed deafening loud, louder than the Flyers’ goal horn/song!

I’m sorry to say that I witnessed Clarkie’s injury, ouch.  That’s gotta hurt real bad.  You could tell that it was his ankle because he couldn’t skate, he crawled to the bench, and got pulled off and dragged down the runway by the trainers.  Get better soon Clarkie!  When I saw him get pulled off the ice at the gate next to Danis, I said out loud, “Jesus Christ,” my dad heard me and noticed.  He was…or I should say… we were thinking, “Oh geez, not again.  Not another injury.  Here we go again.”

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A HEALTHY DEVILS’ ROSTER!

I have a bunch of stuff on my list, but my main thing, only God can do that, a injury-free roster for the rest of the season.  I have a question to ask: i’m asking for a white Devils’ away jersey for Christmas, should I get a Bergfors jersey or a Zajac jersey?  I already have a red Parise jersey.

Thank goodness, tomorrow, i’m going home (back to where the real sports fan lives, referring to me).  Back to Jersey.  I might be shopping, my friends leave to go back to school (for another two weeks, until Christmas) on Sunday.  My Turkey Day decorations will be put away tomorrow night, and my Christmas decorations come out (yes, I decorate for Christmas early).  I might wait to do the Christmas decorations, because I might move out of the house before Christmas (I am making my return “back to school, back to school, to prove my dad that i’m not a fool” in January) and I can’t stand living at home any longer.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, everyone!

I’ve got my nose in my computer screen writing a book for someone else, so there’s precious little time to blog. I just wanted to mention a few small things:

• What I’m grateful for:

yesterday’s meal–the taste still lingers
grateful for my typing fingers
for my grandsons, for my children
no more rhymes–that’s the list.

• The US of A now has the hottest, most gorgeous First Lady to ever grace the White House. My God, did you see her in that dress at the State dinner for India’s premier? There’s a long slide show of Mrs. O. in all her glorious outfits here.

• I’m still high on the Yankees, but I’m starting to miss them, and baseball in general.  I put Ken Burns’ nine-part documentary on baseball on my Netflix list, and watched the first one a few days ago. It’s fabulous, and I can’t wait to watch all of it–this will carry my son and me through until next season.

• Last night I went to see Disturbing the Universe, a documentary on William Kunstler, the radical lawyer who I met back in the 80s. He was a great guy, and the film was done by his daughters, who do not hesitate to show his other side.

It could be awhile before I have a chance to post again. Happy Days.

1986 Fleer Superstar Special with Darryl Strawberry & Tim Raines

What can I say, this is a card featuring two of my favorite players from my favorite baseball era – the 1980’s!!

The card’s theme is ‘Instant Offense’ and I don’t know if a better title could have been established for these two All-star players.

Both Strawberry and Raines were multi-faceted players whose offensive skills were some of the best in the league.  With blazing speed, home run power, and great control at the plate, there was nothing that these guys couldn’t do to ignite offense!!!

Another great card in my Darryl Strawberry player collection has found a new home!!!

With the baseball world abuzz with Roy Halladay rumors the past couple of days I thought that’d be a good place to get started, so here goes.

The Red Sox know that their starting pitching is all question marks behind Jon Lester and Josh Beckett and are looking to shore that up this offseason.  Instead of going for a quality number three starter, however, they’re going for arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball.  After nearly landing Halladay at the trade deadline this past season the Sox look primed to make a run at him in the coming months, according to the NY Daily News. I don’t know about you, but a starting three of Halladay, Lester and Beckett is absolutely terrifying.  It undoubtedly gives them the best starting three in the American League and probably all of baseball.  The Sox do have holes elsewhere, but adding Halladay has to make them the favorites to win the AL East next season.

So what should the Yankees do?  If Cashman really believes that the Red Sox are likely to pry Halladay from the Jays then he needs to do something about it.  The Jays wanted Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson at the deadline, but that asking price has surely come down since then.  If the Jays asked for Joba Chamberlain and Jesus Montero plus a lower tier prospect then I’d sincerely consider it.  I know every Yankee fan is aware of how good Joba can be at times, but if you gave me the choice between Joba for the next decade plus or Halladay for the next seven or eight years then I’d choose Halladay every time.

Joba has yet to pitch a full season as a starter and is relatively unproven in that role.  He is only 24 which gives him plenty of time to still develop, but I just don’t know how many years he’d stay in that role.  In my opinion Joba is going to break down in a couple of years and be forced to resume his role in the bullpen where he is much less valuable.

As for Montero, I have no doubts whatsoever that he’s going to be a big time hitter in the majors, but I just don’t see a place for him in the Yankees future.  Everyone projects him to be a 1b/DH type in the Majors, but given the fact that the Yankees signed Mr. Mark Teixeira for the next seven years I don’t see room for him at first.  Arod is under team control for eight more seasons and is going to be occupying the DH role in a few years.  I would much rather have the young Montero playing for the Yanks in the near future instead of these guys in their late 30s, but that’s just how it’s going to happen due to those long term contracts.

Now for a look at Halladay: The guy has been unbelievable over the past four seasons.  He’s made 30+ starts each season while posting 16 wins or more and walking less than 2 per nine.  He’s thrown 29 complete games over that span while Yankees starters have thrown a combined 10.  He throws five plus pitches on both sides of the plate and keeps the ball on the ground (averaged 2/1 GB/FB ratio on batted balls).  He’s got all the makings of a starting pitcher who can go deep into his 30s with high quality stuff (he’ll be 33 in the 2010 season).

All of this is based on the fact that the Yankees don’t have an issue spending the money on Halladay after the 2010 season when he becomes a free agent.  If Hal and Cash want to trim the payroll a little bit in the coming years (which I’m very much in favor of), then by no means can you go after Halladay for only one season of team control; it’s just not worth it.  So who really knows what’ll happen, maybe someone in the NL will step up and trade for Doc Halladay (Dodgers or Phillies perhaps) and then this would just be a waste of time.  I wouldn’t mind though, as long as it’s not Boston.

Free Agent Matt Holliday is trying to support his family during his unemployment. He's currently filling out applications with the MLB for a permanent position in the spring and at Best Buy for seasonal help.

This Thanksgiving will be a somber one for the family of Cardinal free agent, Matt Holliday. Holliday recently reached free agency this November and is currently looking for a position within his skill set in Major League Baseball.

“It’s gonna be a tough year. With this economy, you just have to hope for the best. It was great to find a position with the Cardinals, even though I knew going in it was going to be temporary.” Holliday said while flipping through the weekly help wanted ads. “It’s great to add National League Central Champion to my resume. Hopefully that will get me some looks from some organizations.” While Holliday remains hopeful, sources say that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Yankees have already stated that they will be passing up Holliday for other applicants.

“He’s a great player and all, he just didn’t really have the qualities we were looking for in an applicant,” said Yankee’s GM Brian Cashman, “Plus we’re trying to find placed for Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. Those two have been with the organization for a while now and we’re big on employee loyalty. We just couldn’t really find it in our hearts to let one of those guys go after what they’ve done for us this past year. I’m not gonna look one of those two in the eye and tell them that we’re bringing in someone else to do their job. Come on man, it’s the holidays.”

Holliday says that he is thankful for his family who have been extremely supportive throughout the entire ordeal. “We’re gonna stand behind Matt through this tough time. He’s done a lot to support his family and we support his career choice,” said Holliday’s wife Leslee in a statement issued last week. The life of a baseball player can often be a difficult one, with travel being routinely required, contracts usually only lasting a few years, and a lot of teams issuing performance based incentives. “He’s worked hard to get to this position in his career, and while it’s tough for a family to have a member unemployed during these hard economic times, me and Matt will be a united front and I’m confident that our family will make it through this.”

The Hollidays are currently living off of their savings. Matt was fortunate enough to hold a position with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals this past year and made 11.5 million dollars between the 08 and 09 seasons. “That’s gonna help us get through this. I was fortunate enough to put some of that money back into savings so I’m confident that even though things may be tight. We’ll make it,” said Holliday.

Holliday said he has considered taking other positions since the tough economy makes finding a job hard these days. “I have thought of taking a position in maybe right field, or as a medical assistant or middle management somewhere. I know I just have to be flexible.” Holliday maintains the fact that he would like to stay in the MLB. “I know it’s hard to get back into the industry if you make a career change, so I’m hoping something opens up. So far the only team I’ve seen taking out help-wanted ads are the Baltimore Orioles and I’m just not sure that’s a place I want to work,” said Holliday.

Holliday said he hopes to get signed soon. “I just can’t bare to look my family in the eyes and tell them that we only have about $500,000 to spend on Christmas this year. That’s not something a father ever wants to do.”

If you would like to help this family during their time of need, donations can be sent to:

St. Louis Cardinals’ Free Agent Fund

100 S 4th St

Saint Louis, MO 63102

Check out the “GUCCI” colorway NY YANKEE fitted cap. New from Cranium Fitteds. Retail – $34.99

Check out this sweet looking signature from yankees hero Chris Chambliss! I sent these cards to Chris waay back on June 5th and got both back today, one of em personalized to me! Thanks Mr Chambliss!

‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #19

1970 Topps - Card #189 – AKA – ‘The Thurman Munson Rookie Card’

Thurman Munson - An 11-year veteran and 7-time All-star, Munson’s life and career were tragically cut short when he passed away at the age of just 32.  A Rookie of the Year and MVP Award winner, Munson was a fan favorite for the New York Yankees.  He was a solid all-around player that had a knack for making key defensive plays while also driving in runs and hitting home runs.  Munson was a member of the Yankees championship teams of 1977 and 1978.

Dave McDonald – McDonald played in just 33 games between 1969-1971.  McDonald has 6 career hits, 1 of which is a home run.  He also drove in 6 runs while scoring 3 himself.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that all Americans, regardless of culture, ethnicity, religion and politics seem to rally behind. I decided to put this notion to a test.

A couple of years ago, I decided to run a small social experiment during the Thanksgiving season. At the time I was CEO of UPOC. I invited members from several diverse groups into a special “What are you thankful for…?” – mobile chat group. The idea was to have everyone give a “shout out” of thanks. The experimental part of this mobile chat group was the source of the member groups that were invited.

These groups included: Christian Fundamentalists, Atheists, Communists, Hassidic Jews, Muslims, Anarchists, Right to Lifers, Republicans, Druids, Democrats, Red Sox Fans, Yankee Fans, Reform Jews, Blacks, Asians, Gays, Lesbians, Hispanics, Satanists, Israeli and Palestinian, Young and Old.

Yes! I even invited Red Sox fans!

I tried to get the most diverse group of individuals I could possibly imagine that had open chat profiles. In the end I invited about 5000 people and got about 500 to join.

In the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, I was careful to hide the sources of the groups of the members.

Different Cultures, Religions, Ethnicity, Sexual Preferences, and Sports Affiliations. None of the differences were obvious, just the similarity of giving thanks.

Leading up to the holiday, the expressions of thanks were heart warming. Many gave thanks for Family, Friends and God. Some expressions of thanks were deeply personal including being thankful for a second chance with a loved one, being paroled from jail, having recovered from an illness, having the opportunity to see a loved one for the holiday, etc. The expressions of introspective appreciations knew no boundaries of culture. If you hid the chat handles from the messages you would have had a very difficult time identifying the group that a specific message had originated. It seems that people are really just people.

Everyone has their share of joy and “meshugas”

The second unexpected part of this experiment happened after the long Thanksgiving weekend. The expressions of thankfulness stopped and biases and bigotry emerged.

By the end of the week the word had gotten out to the participants who some of the other members of this group really were. That’s another side of social networking, its tough to keep secrets.

Right and Left Wingers began to spar, Fundamentalists started to try to save the Satanists, Hassidic Jews were condescending of Reform Jews- And the Red Sox and Yankees fans – it was just too ugly to repeat…

Stripped of their diverse background identifiers, people of vastly different cultures have very similar things to be thankful about.

Once the identity veil was lifted I was thankful that everyone in the group was in cyberspace and not really in the same physical room. I removed the group a week after Thanksgiving to avoid potential bloodshed.

Maybe there is something we all can learn from this social experiment in this season of Thanksgiving.

All baseball cookie tins are now on sale, choose your favorite MLB team!

The Cooperstown Cookie Company just launched it’s biggest sale ever. So, if you’re shopping for baseball fans, or cookie fans, we have a full range of gifts on sale.  All baseball cookie tins and baseball cookie gift towers are now on sale, including our popular Major League Baseball gift line.

So, if you’re shopping for Red Sox gifts, Yankee gifts, Mets gifts, Phillies gifts,  Cubs gifts, we have a great selection, and  great prices. All MLB teams are available, you can easily search for a favorite MLB team.

Stocking stuffers for baseball fans. Pick a favorite MLB team, or the National Baseball Hall of Fame gift line

We have a great selection of baseball gifts under $10, perfect for stocking stuffers or “little extras.”  Are you giving a child a bat, a glove or a week at baseball camp? Top off that gift with a Baseball Cookie Bunt Pack or Ballpark Bunt Box emblazoned with the logo and name of his or her favorite baseball team.

In addition to our great line of Major League Baseball gifts, we have the National Baseball Hall of Fame gift line. Celebrate the best in baseball with a Baseball Hall of Fame gift.

Go online, or give us a call, 888/269-7315. We will help you choose just the right gift for your sports fan. We’re here to make your holiday shopping easier.

Best,

Pati

PS Become a fan of the Cooperstown Cookie Company on Facebook, and you may win a free tin of baseball cookies.

I know it’s a little late, but in honor of my team winning the World Series, I’ve crafted a skill challenge.  In the midst of crafting this challenge I finally got around to to reading the skill challenge of the DMG2. It’s really well written and I a must for any DM writing or customizing their own challenges. I’m a little annoyed at Wizards because this all should have been in the first DMG instead of their vague references to skill challenges. This chapter helped me significantly transform the skill challenge from just a little play on a theme to one I would actually want to play in, myself. I think having the characters participate in some sports would be an interesting way to get them involved in the world.

World series

The party is approached by Winterhaven Lieutenant Oren Thatchbeard. It seems the Fallcrest Gorgons are in town for a little friendly baseball competition against the Winterhaven Yetis in a best three game series. The Gorgons have a reputation for playing dirty. It’s suspected but unprovable that they are behind the sudden illness that has the Yetis down a number of players (equal to the number of party members). If only there was some way the party could help out and take their place and keep Winterhaven’s honor.

The Yetis will take any win they can get, but want to sweep the series. Every three successes means that the Yetis win a game, but any failure causes the Yetis to loose that particular game. The final game requires a 4th success: the succesess through the 11th in the challenge bring game to tied in the bottom of the 9th. The final check will get the one of the players a game-winning home run. Although broken up into three parts, this is not designed to be a “Progressive Challenge” because each part plays the same.

Level: Any.
Complexity: 4 (requires 10 successes before 3 failures).

Primary Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Bluff,  Endurance, Insight, Intimidate, Perception.
Acrobatics (moderate DC by level) The character makes a diving catch, grabbing a short-hop for a double play. Or the character makes a leaping catch keeping a Gorgon’s ball from leaving the park. This skill can be used once per game.
Athletics (group roll, moderate DC by level) This represents basic batting, catching, and running. The whole party must make the check and it is successful if at least half the characters make it. This skill can be used once per game.
Bluff (moderate DC by level) The character has managed to set up a good set of signals and you catch the Gorgon’s batter off guard for a strike out. This can be used successfully twice before they catch on.
Endurance (group roll, moderate DC by level) Sometimes the best thing to do is just wear down the other team. Your pitcher stays strong and the Yetis destroy the relief pitcher. This roll can be used once per game.
Insight (hard DC by level) You catch a base-runner stealing or figure out that the opposing pitcher is going to throw a curveball over the plate and you smash one out of the park. This skill can be used to gain 4 successes in this challenge.
Intimidate (hard DC by level) The Gorgon’s are here to win, but you manage to stare them and get the crowd to chant “Gorgons suck” enough times that they start to crack. This can be used successfully twice before they catch on.
Perception (moderate DC by level) You catch on their signals, or notice the pitcher’s hands before the ball is thrown and get a good run-scoring hit. Or the characters catch some words of planning in the opponent’s dug out. This skill can be used once per game.
Special: A character can make a basic ranged attack with an improvised weapon against a hard DC for a success once per game. This represents that character doing a good job as pitcher. Failing this means the opponent takes the ball out of the park.

Secondary Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Nature, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery
Arcana (hard DC by level) A character mage hands a ball just fair when it should have been foul. A moderate bluff or stealth check by the same character can be made first to make this check against a moderate DC instead. Failure means the umpires deliver a warning and all checks go up a difficulty class for the rest of that game, but a success counts as a success for the challenge. This can be done once per game until the character gets caught and warned.
Diplomacy (hard DC by level) You successfully convince an umpire to make a call in your way. Negate a failure or give another character +2 bonus to his next primary check.
Nature (easy DC by level) You notice how slippery the turf is and where it is uneven. Give a +2 bonus to Acrobatics or Perception check this game.
Stealth (moderate DC by level) The character is able to take a lead unnoticed by the opposing pitcher, get a +2 bonus to your next athletics check this game.
Streetwise (moderate DC by level) This has to be done before a game. You hear enough about the opposing players that you’re able to hand Lt Thatchbeard a scouting report. Grant a +2 to each player on any primary check, once per game.
Thievery (hard DC by level) Steal a base. Success means you get into scoring position and when you get batted in, it’s the winning run. Failure means you get caught and your out ends the game.

Success: For each successful game the part will win 1/3 of parcel’s worth of gp as a prize. Winning all three games means they are awarded a trophy (either an art item or a baseball-themed magic item) by Lt. Thatchbeard, and the party members gain fame and bonuses to social challenges while in Winterhaven.

Failure: Each failure ends the game, and the people in town have nothing nice to say about the characters for the rest of the day, or their stay if it they loose 2 or three games, and get a -2 to social checks.

It would be fun if failure means that a brawl erupts and the party has to fight the Gorgons. Turning a baseball team into a set of enemies with different abilities would be an interesting extension of this article. I’ll keep in mind for the future though. You have your brutes with bats, strikers with fast pitches, team manager leader, umpire controllers, etc.

I wasn’t surprised when Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer was announced as the 2009 AL MVP. I was surprised when he received only 27 of the 28 first place votes. When a catcher pairs gold glove defense with a bat that led the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, he’s the MVP. There isn’t even any question about it.

Yankee teammates Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter came in second and third while Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera and LA’s Kendry Morales rounded out the top 5. Six through ten were Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay, Ben Zobrist, Ichiro and Alex Rodriguez.

Other than Mauer winning the award, I don’t agree with anything in this year’s result. I realize that pitchers have their “own” award in the form of the Cy Young, but you can’t truthfully tell me that Placido Polanco is more valuable than Felix Hernandez. Or that Cy Young winner Zack Greinke was the 17th most valuable player in the American League.

Here’s my AL MVP ballot.

1. Joe Mauer, MIN
Even having missed the first month of the season, Joe Mauer’s season was the single most impressive offensive campaign this year. He led the league in all triple slash categories. Mauer’s season was not simply good or great. It was historically great and there’s no one that was close to him this year.

2. Derek Jeter, NYY
Teixeira finished ahead of Jeter in the actual balloting, but not a soul who knows the Yankees would say that Mark Teixeira was more valuable to the team than the captain was. Switching from the number two hole to the leadoff spot, Jeter was the sparkplug for the best offense in baseball and had an outstanding year defensively as well.

3. Ben Zobrist, TB
Zobrist not only saved my fantasy team, he kept the Rays afloat despite predicted regression after their World Series run. He ranked fourth in OPS and third in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP).

4. Zack Greinke, KC
Pitchers get a short straw in this voting, mainly because they only play every fifth game. But, Greinke faced 915 batters this year. By comparison, the AL leader in at bats was Aaron Hill with 734. The amount of runs he prevented probably stacks up well with the amount that any hitter created.

5. Mark Teixeira, NYY
Teixeira bats third and plays first base for the game’s best offense. He’s expected to put up great offensive numbers and does. But players like him are fairly common. He led the league in homers and RBIs, and that’s probably why he fared so well in the actual vote.

6. Felix Hernandez, SEA
Same argument as with Greinke. Hernandez’s value to his team is very high and very real. A pitcher is nearly guaranteed to shut down the opponent every time he throws is of immense value to any team.

7. Roy Halladay, TOR
Halladay’s value is increased because of the fact that nine times out of ten he rests the bullpen. Plus, he’s one of the greatest pitchers in the game and performed like it despite dealing with circling trade rumors.

8. Kevin Youkilis, BOS
And here begins the run of players much like Mark Teixeira. Youkilis continued his impressive offensive work, improving on last year’s outstanding campaign. But disappeared in the playoffs (1-for-12).

9. Kendry Morales, LAA
Morales flew under the radar much of the season, but ended up nearly equally the production of the man he replaced in Anaheim.

10. Miguel Cabrera, DET
There’s no doubt that Cabrera’s on-field production throughout most of the year was incredible. But when his team needed him the most, he was out late, drunk and fighting his wife.