Friday, May 03, 2002  
mike cameron hit four home runs yesterday tying a major league record with 16 other players.

what you might not know if you werent as lucky as me and got to see the second half of the game, was that Cameron had two chances to break the super-rare record since his Mariners were creaming the White Sox and they kept batting around.

the first chance he had was in the top of the 7th inning off of Sox reliever Mike Porzio. But Porzio hit Cameron for some inexplainable reason in one of the cheapest punk moves i've seen all season.

The Mariners needed to get one man on base in the 9th so that Cameron could hit, and when Jeff Cirillo homered to lead off the 9th and Porzio walked Desi and Boone, Cameron came up for a little payback.

The remaining fans stood and cheered for the visiting Mariner and commenced to boo when Porzio looked as if he was going to walk Cameron.

The count reached 3-0 and it looked like Porzio was going to single-handedly stop Cameron from breaking a record that no one ever thought would be broken.

On 3-0 Cameron took the pitch and it was a called strike.

On 3-1 the outfielder sent one flying about 370 feet, unfortunately it was in a 385 foot gap, but it was the most exciting fly out i've seen in a long long time.

Baseball Blog 2002 tips its cap to Mike Cameron and his accomplishment and sends out the worst vibes imaginable to the Sox southpaw who showed zero class by only giving the man one pitch to hit.

I know the teams were in a competitive game, but in the 9th the game was 15-4, who was he fooling, he should have been a real man and given the brotha a chance at a little glory. Lord knows the pitchers let McGwire have his cuts.

   posted by tony pierce at 1:32 PM


   Thursday, May 02, 2002  
i went to my first game of the season last night. i know, i know, you'd think the editor and publisher of Baseball Blog 2002 would have seen at least one or two games in person last month, especially since i live about 20 minutes away from Dodger Stadium, but no, im a slacker, i perfer the comfort of my own home and the satelite dish that conveniently delivers me 75% of all games that are played.

But who doesn't want a hot dog and some peanuts and a cold beer with friends at a game after work?

Good thing I'm filthy rich, cuz if i wasn't i'd have gotten mighty pissed off at Billionaire Rupert Murdoch who seems okay with the fact that a Dodger dog, nachos and a beer will set you back $14.75 in Dodger Stadium. So if you're planning on coming, bring your Visa and your American Express.

I took a bunch of pictures pretending that Adam Dunn was the narrator, which shows you that I had more than one beer - and more than one Dodger Dog.

Little known fact about Dodger Dogs ($3.50), they're pretty damn good. Nice long hot dogs that stick out of the bun. But a normal person needs more than just one of those puppies. The Super Dodger Dog ($4) is the same size, but it's all-beef.

Want sushi to honor Nomo - who was pitching last night - or Ishii - who pitches tomorrow when I return? It's available right next to the hot dog stand and they even have Kirin beer ($6) in cute little 12 ounce plastic cups.

I bitch because I love.

I also love the fact that only 24,000 people were at the game. Actually that was the paid attendence, only about 18,500 were probably there to see the decently-playing Dodgers get shut out by the Reds.

I was surprised to see that they didnt do the minute of silence for the victims of 9/11, i guess MLB only did that the first week or two of the season.

All in all it was an enjoyable night with good friends at a ball park, and I can't wait to do it again.

   posted by tony pierce at 1:27 PM


   Wednesday, May 01, 2002  
cleveland rocked. the scoreboard doesnt tell the whole story, it doesnt even tell half of the story. last night the cleveland indians got beaten like a rented mule as the Anaheim Angels pounded them 21-2.

this loss couldnt have come at a better time, however, for the Tribe who have lost the last 12 of 14 games, because it would defy logic that it could get any worse.

cleveland, if you remember, started the season 11-1 and had a 10-game winning streak before the slide began. now they have evened out to 13-13.

roberto alomar, who was traded to the mets by cleveland this winter, had a decent game last night going 3-4 with a triple, which raised his average to .267, but i dont think there are too many fans at Jacob's Field who wouldnt love his bat and glove back.

meanwhile in Colorado, Mike Hampton won his first game, pitching 7 shutout innings and earning his 100th career win.

Hampton, of course was much maligned in Baseball Blog 2002. but if you go back in the archives, most people whose bandwagons i jump on immediately fall apart (Bong, Pudge, the Twins, etc.), whereas the players I knock (Rocker, Mo, Bud Selig) tend to go on with business as usual and in some cases prosper.

So this one is for the Indians fans: OMG this team sucks. First they get that hateful, insensitive, politically incorrect name, and then they get rid of their superstar second baseman. They never should have treated Albert Belle so poorly. I say they lose another 12 outta 14 games.

now watch them explode.

   posted by tony pierce at 1:23 PM


   Tuesday, April 30, 2002  
the hottest hitter in baseball is not Vlad Guerrero who has batted .540 in the last 6 games scoring 6 runs off 3 HRs and driving in 7 and stealing 4 bases.

it's rookie catcher Geronimo Gil of the Baltimore Orioles who hit .500 in 6 games and clubbed 4 home runs and drove in 11, including two yesterday which was the difference as the O's knocked off the red hot Red Sox.

Gil has at least one hit in 8 of his last 9 games, so you'd think he'd be able to get out of the 8th slot in the lineup, but what do i know?

Baltimore has another rookie batting cleanup, left fielder Jay Gibbons, who has cooled off a tad from his scorching start. He hasnt hit a homer in a week, but that might be because pitchers have been walking him lately keeping his homer tally frozen at 7.

Lurking behind Gibbons is Tony Batista, who had hits in 16 of his last 19 games. Tony's week is nothing to scoff at. In 7 games he has 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 8 runs while batting a deceptive .407 over the week.

If the O's had some other arms other than Scott Erickson, they might be a team to watch.

Mike Mussina is definately missed in Maryland.

   posted by tony pierce at 1:38 PM


   Monday, April 29, 2002  
"the simpsons" was on and it was one of the old ones where the Springfield Isotopes had gotten a bunch of good MLB players and one of them was Darryl Strawberry.

In one of the most touching scenes, Bart ominously chants the famous "Dar-ryl" and Marge says, "dont do that, it's mean."

Bart says that it's not mean, that the players are all used to it.

Then we get a close-up of Darryl sobbing a little bit.

The Simpsons has always had its yellow finger on the pulse of the American experience, and Darrly Strawberry has had his fingers fingerprinted in many police stations around the country. Here are some of the lowlights of his fabled career:

April 14, 1999 -- Charged with possession of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute. According to police, Strawberry solicited an undercover officer for sex. Upon being searched, 0.3 grams of powder cocaine was found inside of his wallet. He was released on $6,000 bond.

April 24, 1999 -- Placed on administrative leave by major league baseball, pending a review of his arrest on drug charges. Strawberry could not play or work out with New York Yankees or their farm teams during this time.

May 26, 1999 -- Entered no-contest plea to charges of cocaine possession and soliciting a prostitute. Sentenced to 18 months of probation and 100 hours of community service.

March 1, 2000 -- Checked himself into a drug rehabilitation clinic for the third time in 10 years. Left after 3 months to support his wife and children.

March 29, 2000 -- Completed 28-day program and began extended care at rehabilitation clinic.

April 25, 2000 -- Left program voluntarily and admitted himself into Fort Lauderdale treatment center.

Sept. 11, 2000 -- Arrested in Tampa after car crash.

Oct. 6, 2000 -- Admitted to Tampa treatment program.

Oct. 21-22, 2000 -- Reportedly smoked crack cocaine and used drug Xanax in overnight drug binge.

Oct. 23, 2000 -- Tested positive for cocaine.

Nov. 4, 2000 -- Released from Hillsborough County jail. Resumed treatment at Tampa treatment center.

Nov. 9, 2000 -- Sentenced to 30 days in jail. After release, returned to the substance-abuse treatment center under house arrest.

Nov. 21, 2000 -- Sentenced to a year's probation and 50 hours of community service for causing a traffic accident while under the influence of pain killers in September. Ordered to serve the sentence concurrently with his house arrest at a Tampa drug-treatment center.

Feb 28, 2001 -- Commits a technical violation of probation when he attempts to obtain a driver's license without his probation officer's permission.

March 30, 2001 -- Arrest warrant issued for leaving the drug treatment center where he was serving two years' house arrest.

April 2, 2001 -- Arrested at St. Joseph's hospital and charged with violating a probation warrant after a four-day disappearance from a drug treatment center.

May 17, 2001 -- Sentenced to return to a drug treatment center for two years, to be followed by a year's probation and 100 hours of community service. Judge says Strawberry will serve 18 months in prison if he does not complete drug treatment.

March 12, 2002 -- Jailed for violating the rules at Phoenix House, the Ocala drug treatment center where he had been serving his probation. Counselors say Strawberry compiled a long list of non-drug infractions, including having sex with a female resident, smoking, signing autographs and being disrespectful.

April 19, 2002 -- Strawberry admits violations and tells a judge he's ready to face the 18-month prison sentence imposed, but suspended, in the 1999 arrest.

April 29, 2002 -- Strawberry sentenced to 18 months in state prison.

   posted by tony pierce at 1:19 PM