Hats

Here's how long Mets owner Fred Wilpon conversation should have been with Bud Selig regarding September 11th first responder hats on the 10th anniversary.

WILPON: Mr. Commissioner. We want to wear hats honoring the NYPD, fire department and Port Authority on September 11th.

SELIG: During the game?

WILPON: Yes.

SELIG: Well all the teams are wearing special September 11th hats that day already. We don't like having teams wearing unofficial uniforms during a game.

WILPON: I understand, but we are a New York team and there will no doubt be fire fighters, police officers, rescue workers who were at the Towers that day at CitiField. And also relatives and friends of those who didn't make it. And we'd like to show a sign of solidarity on this 10th anniversary.

SELIG: What if we had every team change their hats on a whim?

WILPON: What other city had a September 11th? If the Nationals wanted to do something, they should. That's up to them. But September 11th was unique and this is the 10th anniversary and we are the only team playing in New York. I think an exception can be made.

SELIG: You aren't going to sell the hats or try any September 11th merchandise, are you?

WILPON: No. Certainly not.

SELIG: And it is JUST for September 11th, not the whole weekend?

WILPON: Just the Sunday night game.

SELIG: Well, I can't see how that's a problem. It's a nice gesture. Go ahead.

WILPON: Thank you Mr. Commissioner.


Boom!

All the bases covered.
That conversation would last, what? A minute? 90 seconds?

The fact that it WASN'T that simple and it has turned into a "He Said... She Said" spat involving rules that may or may not have been enforced, fines the Mets were worried they had to pay and Bud Selig was mad that it became public shows how incompetent the two parties.

Those parties of course being the Mets organization, who took every baseball advantage in the world and ran the team into the ground... and Bud Selig who every day finds new reasons to want to throw him out of office. How could Selig not see this was the right thing to do?

And of course Joe Torre was thrown into the middle of this, trying to destroy whatever good will is left for him in New York.

A simple thoughtful act of wearing a hat to honor the memories of brave men and women instead became a nice barometer of people who have lost perspective.

And frankly it is kind of fascinating.

Sox look good... their hats don't

OK, there were a lot of things that were odd and could have cost the Red Sox the game. Lester was great but only lasted 6 innings. Saltalamacchia couldn't find a baseball in a little league play that cost the Red Sox a run. Hey Jarrod, it's BEHIND YOU!

The Sox won, and no matter how low Carl Crawford's average plummets, that's all that matters. Inching closer to .500... and oh yeah Dan Haren lost at the Red Sox hand.

That is awesome. The hats with the Sox on it are lame.
My wife thinks they look like booties... and that's all you need to know.

Let's update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 5

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 6

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picke doff, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)

-1.

Think about that. After the rotten start, they are nearing .500 and have only one more teeth grinder loss than dodged bullet wins.

But those hats still suck.

The Hagerstown Suns are incompetent

Nearly a month ago, I wrote about the Hagerstown Suns.
It was the only time I ever wrote about the Hagerstown Suns.
Why did I write about the Hagerstown Suns?
Why would anyone write about the Hagerstown Suns unless they lived in Hagerstown or had a friend or relative on the Suns?

It was about Bryce Harper... the single biggest star to ever arrive in Hagerstown. As I said earlier, there have clearly been big stars who have played for the Suns, including Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, but who has entered the season with this much hype and anticipation.

And the website had no place to buy merchandise.
Just an e mail address and a phone number to stop on by. Um, you have a potential superstar playing for you and you might want to think about moving some merchandise.

So now he is actually playing for the Suns. For just the second time in recent memory, the Suns are mentioned in national media coverage.

They must have a place to get a hat and jersey for their much heralded star NOW, right?




Of course not.
Just the same lazy "Write us an e mail or give us a call" page.

There's only one more time that the Suns will be in the National Media this year... when Harper LEAVES!

Maybe then they'll try to make a few bucks.

For the second year in a row, I am writing about the Indians hats

Last year I asked the Indians to just PICK A HAT! They had so many varying caps last year that I wondered if they were going to change hats in mid game.

So what was the Indians' solution?
THEY CAME UP WITH ANOTHER HAT!

Now I still think that they should go back to the "Tomahawk C" cap that they wore in the 1970s.

It is distinct, it brings out the Native American theme and yet doesn't have a crazy racist image on it.

And yeah... sorry... I'm not the most politically correct person you will ever meet... but Chief Wahoo is kinda sorta racist.

I personally don't find the NAME Indians to be racist nor do I think the Indians should change the name.

But the logo is dated and should go. And I must say, these new red caps are kind of cool.

I still think the C is a little boring, but hey! They've tried everything else. Why not a boring C, a red cap and an off white uniform?

Maybe THAT will help the Indians win.
OK, after seeing their pitching the last few days, they maybe need more than a new cap. But if they are going to be get their butts kicked, they might as well sport an inoffensive cap.

Their pitching is offensive enough.

A suggestion for MASN and the Hagerstown Suns

The Washington Nationals announced that they will be sending potential star Bryce Harper to the Class A Hagerstown Suns. And with this turn of events, let me make two big suggestions, first to MASN, the sports cable network that covers the Nats and to Harper's new team in Hagerstown MD.

MASN... forget the Nats and only broadcast Suns games this year.

Seriously, the Nationals aren't going to win much this year. They have an outside shot at .500, but even if the Phillies disappoint, the Braves and the Marlins are also looking good.

So if you are a die hard Nationals fan, you are more interested in the progress of two players: Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Now watching Strasburg rehab isn't good TV... but watching Harper with the Suns would be.

The Suns are only an hour and a half outside of Washington DC. They can send Bob Carpenter, F. P. Santangelo et al to cover the Suns.

Let's face it, during a Nationals game, it will be much more interesting to see Harper hit a homer than see the Nationals play out the string.

So reverse it! During a Suns game, occasionally break in and say "Let's get an update from the parent club."

Hagerstown Suns... get your souvenir store on line! NOW!

When I saw Harper was heading to Hagerstown, I went to the Suns website to see what souvenirs they had at their on line store.

I wasn't going to buy anything, but I am guessing that Harper's arrival will be the best thing to ever happen to Suns merchandise. Harper will no doubt be the biggest player to ever play as a member of the Suns.

Now of course I know some big time major leaguers played for the Suns at one point or another (including Hall of Famer Jim Palmer) but nobody with the hype and the preseason anticipation as Harper.

So I clicked on it wondering if they already had their Harper replica uniforms ready to sell.
After all, the Nationals weren't going to send the 18 year old Harper to AA Harrisburg. And the GCL team and the Auburn Doubledays don't start until June.

So the only two places where Harper would wind up would be either Hagerstown or Potomac. So they would be prepared for the big day, right?

Here's what was on the Hagerstown Suns official website under "Store" as of this writing.

An e mail address and a phone number.
That's it.

A player getting national attention (pun intended) will be making his grand entrance to pro baseball (Arizonal Fall League doesn't count) with the Suns and the team doesn't have an on line store?

No place for people to click on to buy a hat, a jersey, a t shirt?

This is 2011! And Hagerstown isn't an obscure village off the coast of El Salvador. It is a city that is an and hour and a half from Washington DC and Baltimore and less than 3 hours from Penn State University.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say they may be one person in any of those places who could set up a web page to sell merchandise.

How long will Harper even be a Sun? If he tears up the Sally League then he will be off to Potomac before you can say "Bobble Head Night."

And how many times will the Hagerstown Suns be in the NATIONAL news?
Today and when he makes his debut.

So the Suns have blown 50% of the best chances to sell the most merchandise in the history of the team.

Good job.

Here's a tip for any member of the Hagerstown Suns reading this.
Stop reading blogs and go find someone to fix your damn website!

I am not an MBA, but I think you just blew a shot to make some serious cash.

Get to work.

Can't Evan Longoria afford a new cap?

Seriously... if he lost his hat, buy a new one! He signed a $17 million contract. Go on line and get a new one.

Why chase down that poor schmuck to a helicopter?

And why is some yahoo going to Rays games (and taking public transportation) getting on a private helicopter?

Sorry, but these things bother me.

The Red Sox salute the military by dressing like Good Humor Men

Seriously, is there something wrong with having an American Flag patch on the uniform or the side of the hat?

It's bad enough the Sox are wearing the red tops... but they should look like a team trying to get back into a pennant race, not asking "Do you want a chocolate dip cone?"