Now THIS is deja vu

Fell out of bed this morning and for some reason wanted to raid the closet for bell-bottoms and a leisure suit. Oh, yes — the Angels beat the Orioles on Saturday and Sunday after trailing 4-0 in both games.

The Halos had not won consecutive games they’d trailed by four runs in 30 years — since doing it against the Yankees in July 1979. That was the coming-of-age weekend for a downtrodden franchise, and how well I remember it.

On July 13-15, the California Angels tamed the traveling Bronx Zoo

The Friday game was a simple 6-1 victory — except for one thing: a Nolan Ryan no-hit bid turned into a fiasco which led to the end of a baseball tradition, of reporters doing double-duty as official scorers.

With Ryan five outs from the no-hitter, Jim Spencer hit a sinking liner to center field. Angels center fielder Rick Miller — who’d won a Gold Glove the year before — made a desperate bid for a diving catch that came up a few inches short.

Dick (no relation) Miller, the Angels beat writer for the old Los Angeles Herald Examiner acting as official scorer, ruled “Error.” Miller, see, was also working on a Ryan biography and thinking of the advance.

The entire Yankees dugout spilled out and gestured up to the press box in protest. Buzzie Bavasi, the late GM of the Angels, flew into the press box and down to Miller’s seat, screaming, “That’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Flash forward to the ninth, one out: Reggie Jackson drills a clean single up the middle and runs down the first-base line BACKWARDS, gesturing up to the press box and to Dick Miller. Ryan finishes off his one-hitter. Just another Friday the 13th.

Flash forward to Saturday: Down 6-0 after five, the Angels rally and eventually tie it on Don Baylor’s three-run homer off Goose Gossage with two outs in the ninth and win 8-7 in the 12th on Merv Rettenmund’s RBI single.

Sunday: Down 4-0 early, the Angels keep stirring up the already-frenzied fans with another surge culminated by Bobby Grich’s two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Ron Guidry for a 5-4 win.

Oh … that series took the Angels into the All-Star Game break with a two-game AL West lead over the Texas Rangers, and they would finish the job with the franchise’s first division title before losing the ALCS … to the Orioles.

Getting weird, isn’t it? As the old saying goes, “Well, I’ll be a Rally Monkey’s uncle!”

Rox of Ages

Off the top of my head …

Clint Hurdle: Perfect example of having worn out your welcome.
Hurdle is a terrific baseball man but, after 6 1/2 years, the Rockies had begun to simply tune him out. Jim Tracy’s impact on their takeoff goes beyond the new-face syndrome. His personnel changes (Ian Stewart for Garret Atkins at third being the most dramatic) have had a direct bearing on the Rox playing at breakneck speed. …
A.J. Hinch: Would Arizona GM Josh Byrnes like a Mulligan?
Hinch is another terrific baseball man, but the Colorado experience spotlights the folly of turning your team over to someone without any managerial experience.
The Rockies were 18-28 when Tracy took over on May 29, and have gone 19-5 since.
The D-backs, 12-17 when Hinch replaced Bob Melvin on May 8, went 11-13 in their first 24 games under their former vice president of player devdelopment, and overall are 17-24 since. …
Dodgers: Catch them if you can (hint: don’t bother).
Colorado’s 17-1 spurt makes them look even better that it does the Rockies. The Rox were 14 games behind when they took off. They’re still 9 games behind.
Do you realize that at that rate, Colorado would need to go 51-3 to overtake  Joe Torre’s crew? Ridiculous. … 
Tom Glavine: The only suit he’ll be getting into is one that goes with a necktie.
Good. The idea of him filing a grievance against the Braves for releasing him for “financial reasons” rubbed me the wrong way.
Let me get that straight: It’s okay for players to make moves for “financial reasons” — as dozens of them do every offseason as free agents — but not for teams? … 
Jason Marquis: Steve Carlton can rest easy.
The Rockies’ revival means Marquis won’t threaten Lefty’s legend for doing the most on the least  — as reflected by his 27-10 record in 1972 for the Phillies, who were 32-87 in their other games.
Marquis was on his way with a 7-3 record at a time the Rockies stood 19-28. Now that they’re 37-33, his 9-4 ledger, while obviously still excellent, just doesn’t stand out as much. … 
Sorry, I reached the bottom of my head … Later (or sooner next time) …

Walking the walk-off

Off the top of my head … 

OK – when did big-league ball turn into the NBA? All these walk-offs … nowadays, you can get there in the top of the ninth and not miss a thing. … 
Alex Rodriguez: Heaven knows people have already taken great liberties with his nickname, so how about another to reflect the lineup protection he has given awakening Mark Teixeira? The A-Rodfather. …
Pudge fudge: So Ivan Rodriguez clocked career homer No. 300 on Sunday, May 17? Maybe. Come July 9, the Astros will conclude the game with the Nationals that was suspended in the 11th inning on May 5.
And here’s the kicker, as reminded by the vigilant Bill Chuck — statistics from the completion of that game will still be dated May 5, meaning that as far as the historical record goes, Pudge could wind up hitting No. 300 months after No. 301, and so on. … 
Paul DePodesta: The former Oakland assistant GM will be portrayed by a comedian (Demetri Martin) in the upcoming film treatment of “Moneyball.” Those who recall DePodesta’s turn as Dodgers GM consider that perfect casting. … 
“Industry”: Hate that reference to baseball. Cringe every time it violates my ears. Webster defines it as “economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories.” Some players arrive raw, I can see that. But where are the factories? Knock it off. … 
Yankee Stadium: In explaining the policy of making the Legends Suite area off-limits to batting practice watchers, club COO Lonn Trost mounted an appropriate defense.

Said Trost, “If you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?”

No and no. Besides, they cost about the same. The median price of a single-family house in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2009 was $169,000 — which breaks down to $2,086 per of the 81-game home schedule, a good approximation of the discounted price of the $2,620 seats. … 

Barack Obama: Let’s hope he remains a White Sox fan and doesn’t switch his allegiance to the Nationals, else he might pass a federal law reducing the length of an official game to six innings.

If games ended after six, the 11-25 Nats would be 19-17 and in the thick of the NL East race. Someone bolt the doors to that bullpen. … 

Sorry, I’ve reached the bottom of my head … 

Curtis: You got company

They called Curtis Granderson’s game-saving bringing-it-back theft of Grady Sizemore’s ninth-inning “homer” on Friday night a “once in a lifetime catch.”

Oops. They must’ve meant “once every three days catch.” Torii Hunter’s robbery of Miguel Oliva today was carbon-copy. The only thing that made it seem less athletic was Torii getting to the wall earlier and being in position for his leap.

Otherwise, same deal: Ninth inning, one-run game, one broken heart.

Here’s a tip: Don’t have a cow

Off the top of my head … 

Unlike Alex Rodriguez, I’ve never been accused of pitch-tipping. However, there was that one summer in the country when we did a lot of cow-tipping. … 
Ironic, isn’t it? One minute, we learn that the staff of a well-known restaurant chain hated A-Rod because he didn’t tip, the next we’re told he tipped on the field. Maybe the guy just gets confused occasionally and doesn’t know where he is. … 
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Headline: “Nats see light at end of tunnel.” Well, I hope they can get off the tracks before the train gets too close. … 
I recently speculated on mlb.com that Randy Johnson, who regrets not being able to close his 300-win deal while pitching for his hometown Diamondbacks, may yet get the opportunity to post the milestone “W” in Phoenix. The Giants will return to Chase Field on June 9 and Johnson — currently sitting on 297 — could come home at 299.
Well, you can probably scratch that scenario. Following that June 9-11 series, the Giants will return to AT&T Park, to host the neighboring A’s in an Interleague series, no less. Bruce Bochy would be certain to manipulate his rotation so the Big Unit can go for magic number at home. …
Gotta admit, am a bit confused why Adam Dunn’s oops “Natinals” game jersey would fetch $8,000 at auction. If misspelled words have become so pricey, most email writers and blog authors would be filthy rich. Dan Quayle’s memoirs would bring more than a Picasso. …
Mariners fans sent one of those recordable get-well cards to the Seattle reliever disabled the other day with biceps tendinitis: “… Soon enough, the call will go out To … Morrow. …”
When Adrian Beltre was going through free agency a few years ago, agent Scott Boras’ legendary dossier compared him to Mike Schmidt, Rodriguez and other all-time third base greats. Now, he is already comparing high school pitcher — and top draft pick-in-waiting — Stephen Strasburg to the fictional Sidd Finch.
Any truth to the rumor Scott cut his representation teeth as a theatrical agent who pushed Gary Coleman as “the next Sidney Poitier”? … 
Sorry, I reached the bottom of my head. Later … 

K-Rod: A lap dog

Off the top of my head … 
Francisco Rodriguez may be on his way to lapping the historical closers’ field. By the time K-Rod is done, Trevor Hoffman, who right now has 69 more save than anyone else, might need a Hubble telescope to see the new career leader.
It’s all about consistency (not a staple in the closers’ community) and age. K-Rod was precocious when he ambushed the field in the 2002 postseason, and he has used that youth to pave his record track.
The basics:
Rodriguez, who turned 27 in January, entered this season with 208 saves. The current career Top Ten, from Hoffman (554 saves) to Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers (341), began their age-27 season with an average of 32.5 saves.
The breakdown of saves entering the season in which they were/turned 27:
  1. Hoffman (554): 25
  2. Mariano Rivera (485): 5
  3. Lee Smith (478): 80
  4. John Franco (424): 77
  5. Dennis Eckersley (390): 3
  6. Billy Wagner (385): 32
  7. Jeff Reardon (367): 16
  8. Troy Percival (354): 3
  9. Randy Myers (347): 32
  10. Fingers (341): 52. …

New Yankee Stadium: So what’s keeping the ladies? When are Destiny and Aura moving in, or are the Bombers on their own now? …

CC Sabathia / A.J. Burnett: Money is money, I know, but do you suppose these guys at least might’ve thought a little harder about signing with the Yankees had they known they’d now be playing home games in the moon’s atmosphere? … 
Sabathia: Hey, CC, pinstripes are supposed to make you look slimmer, not make your pitches look fatter. …
Carlos Quentin: Seven homers by April 19? Spin it all you want, he could have made the postseason difference for the White Sox, had he not snapped in early September and broken his wrist slapping his own bat. … 
Top 3, Carlos Edition: Santana, Delgado, Pena. … 
Jason Giambi: There is something symmetrical about his career. He began this season having split his career between the A’s and Yankees, seven seasons with each. And he is No. 10 on the homer lists of both teams (though his 187 places him closer to Mark McGwire’s 363 than does the 209 to Babe Ruth’s 659). … 
Randy Johnson: Guess the one-time fireballer wasn’t kidding about re-learning to pitch in an age-relevant style. The 45-year-old consistently topped out at 87-88 MPH while carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning Sunday against the D-backs. …
Sorry, I’ve reached the bottom of my head. Later … 

Yanks better with joysticks than bats

Off the top of my head … 

That video game trumpeted as “the most realistic baseball game” had a worse day than did the Yankees.

A commercial that aired right before first pitch at Yankee Stadium featured a simulation of the Indians-Bombers tilt. Result in the game: Yankees 1-0.
Result on the field: Tribe, 10-2. As Maxwell Smart would say, “Missed it by Thumbnail image for windowslivewriterbusinessideastohelpyourmagazine-b841maxwell-smart2.jpgthat much.” … 
The times, along with the House, have changed: A Yankees alignment of Damon-Gardner-Swisher could rank near the bottom of home runs by MLB outfields . …
But, really,until A-Rod returns and Mark Teixeira starts pretending he’s still in Arlington, there isn’t much power anywhere in that lineup. The Bronx Banjos? …
There might be a legitimate Cy Young Award jinx (struggling Cliff Lee and injured Brandon Webb and Chris Carpenter have been among the last eight winners), but I’d also think twice before accepting an All-Star starting assignment.
Last summer’s starters were Lee and Ben Sheets, who is out of sight while recovering from surgery. The 2006 AL starter– Kenny Rogers — won three games the following season. And the NL’s starter in 2005 was Carpenter. … 
Speaking of Carp, who snapped a rib-cage muscle while batting Tuesday night: Who gets hurt more often, pitchers batting or batters pitching (here, we’re thinking of Jose Canseco, who once threw out his arm throwing knucklers in a mop-up outing for Texas)? … 
Is Nick Swisher in the early running for both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards? …
Early breakout candidate: Ben Francisco, the Cleveland outfielder. …  
Sorry – I’ve reached the bottom of my head. … 

Something doesn’t smell right

Mothers, don’t let your sons grow up to be scent-sations!

Gustavo Chacin was a left-handed sensation for the Blue Jays by the middle of the 2006 season. He had a 20-12 career record, a splendid ERA and unlimited potential.
Then — a couple of Toronto radio guys thought it would be neat to market some cologne bearing Gustavo’s name. So Gustavo Chacin Cologne Night was held inside the SkyDome on June 27, 2006, with fans given bottles of “Shaseen,” as the stuff was branded.
Chacin – or Shaseen – has won a total of five games since and the 28-year-old was again released the other day, by the pitching-poor Nationals … 
Dan Johnson, meet Dick Nen: Johnson had a great cameo turn for the ’08 champ Rays, with that pinch-hit homer on his first TB at-bat that unraveled Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning on Sept 9 in Fenway Park.
Forty-five years earlier, on Sept. 18, 1963, in his first at-bat for the Dodger, Nen launched a pinch ninth-inning game-tying homer at St. Louis, when the Cardinals were two outs away from inching within two outs of NL-leading Los Angeles.
Nen, 24 at the time, wound up a checkered career with 21 homers. Johnson, 29, has gone to Japan to keep company with Dusty Rhodes. … 
Can’t believe Steve Blass is marking his 50th year with the Pirates, which the club will celebrate on April 13. I’ve got a lot of golden memories of Blass, and a sad one: He was so devastated by the death of Roberto Clemente, he lost control of himself and of his pitches.
That never was the official diagnosis of Blass’ mysterious inability to throw strikes, but consider the timeline: Through 1972, Clemente’s last season, Blass had averaged two walks per nine innings; then he walked 91 in 93 2/3 innings and was out of the game at 32. … 
The Angels didn’t go all-in for Mark Teixeira, instead anointing Kendry Morales as their new first baseman. So how’s that looking? As a wash.
In Spring Training, Tex hit .433, with five homers and 15 RBIs. But Morales was right there with .400-3-17. At this early stage of the regular season, Teixeira is batting .214, and Morales .364. … 

Rule 1: Know the Rules

Hey, maybe Major Leaguers can explain the NFL’s overtime rules to Donovan McNabb — and McNabb could explain the World Baseball Classic’s mercy rule to the Major Leaguers. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

In reality, just how self-absorbed do you have to be to not know stuff every fan planted in a couch knows? …
Not to imply that the Indians expect great things from new closer Kerry Wood — but the access road to their new Spring Training Complex in Goodyear is Wood Boulevard. … 
Brewers manager Ken Macha, the former A’s skipper, told me the Giants faced a tough decision after the 2006 season — re-sign Jason Schmidt, who had won 78 games for them in 5 1/2 seasons, or make a play for Barry Zito, six years younger and coming off a 16-win season.
The Giants invested in Zito, and have gotten a 21-30 record in the first two seasons of their $126 million commitment. But that’s still far better than the one win Schmidt has given the Dodgers in the first two seasons of his $47 million three-year deal. … 
While on the subject of contract ouches … how about the Dodgers paying Juan Pierre the same $10 million this season they are paying Manny Ramirez?
I love Pierre’s game and work ethic. Don’t get me wrong — but those contracts reflect the economic differences between 2006, when Juan signed his five-year deal, and 2009.
Above everything else, run production rules baseball (or should). Last season, Pierre produced (runs+RBIs-homers) 71 runs. Manny produced 72 just in his two months with the Dodgers, and 186 for the season. … 
Major League players are doing their best to help the ailing newspaper industry’s chief albatross, advertising revenue. Pat Burrell was the latest to take out a full page ad to thank Phillies fans for their support during his nine seasons in Philly.
Burrell was following the examples of Trevor Hoffman’s love letter to San Diego fans, and John Smoltz’s farewell to Atlanta. Now if GMs could deal a few more entrenched and sentimental veterans … nah, nothing can save the myopic newspaper inustry. …
My favorite Classic quote: DR-killing Netherlands manager Rod Delmonico claiming that “I don’t have big names, but I’ve got some long names.” Stuifbergen, Engelhardt and Van’t Klooster could all give Saltalamacchia a run for his spelling-bee money. … 

Given this extended Spring Training schedule, this season’s World Series teams will have played a minimum of 218 games and a maximum of 226 (if each rung of the playoffs goes the distance) between Feb. 25 and Nov. 5.


But wait, that’s not all! …

The only thing Ivan Rodriguez’s marketing is missing is a barker like Billy Mays.
All spring, the unemployed catcher has been saying that whichever team signs him would be getting a great deal because he was in such great shape. Pudge even compared it to winning the lottery.
He stepped up the salesmanship in Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Classic opener, going 4-for-4 with two homers with a “Best Buy” come-on on his jersey.

billy-mays-for-zabada.jpg

I am told that Best Buy is a corporate sponsor of Team Puerto Rico, but I don’t buy it. That was just another pitch from Pudge. … 

Jacoby Ellsbury may be happy in Ft Myers to have the Red Sox’s centerfield job all to himself, but he isn’t the only one relieved that the firm of Ellsbury and Crisp has been broken up. Coco Crisp looks like a different player in Surprise. Not just the .471 average for the Royals. He’s swinging more aggressively and playing looser.

If K.C. becomes as big a surprise (no pun intended) as I think it will, Crisp will regain the high profile that got squashed in Boston. … 
One game into the Indians’ return to Arizona, Cleveland skipper Eric Wedge conceded that Cactus League games tend to be more high-scoring than exhibitions in Florida (due to the dry air) but expressed confidence that his pitchers’ psyches would survive.
Yeah, well they may be on the critical list after allowing 80 runs in the first 10 games. Combined, the Tribe and its opponents have put up 139 runs in those games. …
With this extended spring training, do you realize that a team that has to play a maxed-out postseason will have played 217 games February through November? … 
Dang, wasn’t No. 1 available? Jet Blue Airways observed Manny Ramirez’s return to th Dodgers by offering Southern California fans discounted one-way tickets at $99 — an homage to Manny’s uniform number. …Â