EVIL~! alkeiper

No manager has survived the Cubs since Durocher. Baker, Baylor, Riggleman, Trebelhorn, Zimmer, Frey, Elia, I missed a bunch, they've never gotten a managing job since. Elia actually managed the Phillies in 1987-88. Here's the list since Durocher. CASUALTIES (Never Managed Since) Whitey Lockman Herman Franks Joey Amalfitano Jim Frey Gene Michael Frank Lucchesi Don Zimmer Joe Altobelli Jim Essian Tom Trebelhorn Jim Riggleman Rene Lachemann (0-1) Bruce Kimm Dusty Baker Don Baylor Charlie Fox Preston Gomez SURVIVORS (Managed Since) Jim Lefebvre Lee Elia John Vukovich Jim Lefebvre got to finish the '99 season for Phil Garner in Milwaukee. Lee Elia got the Phillies' job in 1987 and had a .439 win percentage that year. John Vukovich finished out the '88 season for Elia and went 5-4. Real track records there.

Mets have Lastings Milledge, Rangers have Kenny Lofton and the Mariners have Jason Ellison. The Braves don't have a black player, but we can rectify that by trading them Chris Roberson.

Yeah. That song will NOT be played at my wedding. Not anymore.

No Jackie Robinson Day game can be complete without a Josh Groban song over the PA. My girl broke up with me in November, so I'm now free to say this. FUCK Josh Groban.

I do have a more serious entry in my blog, not about Jackie but his contemporaries. It's short but worth a read, IMHO.

There Were Others On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson showed class and courage in dealing with the conditions of his time. He was not the only player, however. Four other african-americans played Major League Baseball in '47. They faced the same obstacles, but not all experienced similar success. Larry Doby: The Cleveland Indians became the second MLB team to desegregate, and the first American League team. Doby debuted on July 5th and spent most of the season as a pinch hitter. Doby hit just .156 (5 for 32) with one walk and one double. Despite his poor performance, Doby stayed with the club for eight more seasons. Owner Bill Veeck claimed he desired to buy the Phillies in 1943 and staff them with negro league players, but this claim has never been substantiated. Veeck did integrate the Indians however, and reaped the rewards the next season. Larry Doby blossomed, the team added Satchel Paige to its bullpen and the club won the World Series. Hank Thompson and Willard Brown: The St. Louis Browns next tried their hand at integration. Observers might remember Jackie's problems with St. Louis. It proved a less than ideal environment. Thompson played second base and hit .256 with plate discipline but no power. Willard Brown hit just .179. Brown hit the first home run by a black player in the American League. As Bill James' Historical Abstract reports, Brown had trouble hitting with lighter bats. Trying to find a heavier bat to suit his tastes, he found a bat with the knob broken off. He hit the home run with the bat. Afterwards the prior owner, Jeff Heath, reclaimed the bat and shattered it against the clubhouse wall. Clearly player relations were not fully resolved before the experiment. Hank Thompson returned to the Majors in 1949 and integrated the New York Giants, spending eight years with the club. Willard Brown never again played in the Majors, but gained election to the Hall of Fame in the special election of 2006. Dan Bankhead: One of five baseball playing brothers, Bankhead joined Jackie Robinson on the Dodgers in late August. Bankhead made four pitching appearances in relief, pitching ten innings and allowing eight runs (good for a 7.20 ERA). Bankhead returned to the Dodgers in 1950 as a long reliever/spot starter, this time posting a 5.50 ERA with a 9-4 record. Except for Doby, none are truly memorable figures in baseball. But all experienced the same trials and tribulations as Jackie, and deserve recognition in their own right.

23

Sixty years ago on this date, Clint Hartung made his Major League debut. Sadly many current fans are unaware of Hartung. He was perhaps the David Clyde or Todd Van Poppel of his time. A highly touted prospect, Hartung missed time due to World War II, and proved utterly ineffective in four seasons. The New York Giants converted him to the outfield, and while he did not make a mark, he was used as a pinch-runner when Bobby Thomson hit his pennant-winning home run in 1951. Also debuting on April 15, 1947: Earl Torgeson, Ferris Fain, Vic Wertz, Frank Baumholtz, Wally Westlake and Sam Mele. Honestly, has so much quality talent ever debuted on the same day?

I think it was good to hear that even if she disagrees, she is aware of the major criticisms of the company.

Voting on this one will run until Tuesday afternoon. There were three ties, so I'm leaving all those guys in. Hulk Hogan vs. Bret Hart Bobby Heenan vs. Harley Race Nick Bockwinkel vs. Gorilla Monsoon vs. Pedro Morales vs. Pat Patterson (Pick One) Fred Blassie vs. Verne Gagne vs. Vince J. McMahon (Pick One)

Griffey and Freel aren't exactly black holes. The problem with Hamilton is that nobody knows his strengths and weaknesses at the plate. There is going to come a time when pitchers "solve" Hamilton, and that's when we'll see his true measure as a hitter. I know playing the hot hand and all, but this is a guy without experience above A-ball before this year. I can't see inking him into the lineup based on 17 plate appearances. Edit: Also remember, Hamilton is a lefty hitter, with a lefty pitcher (Ted Lilly) on the mound. Hamilton is 0-4 (3 Ks) against lefties this season. Last year at Hudson Valley, he was 2-10 (4 Ks).

Here's a question. If WWE were to induct another female, who should it be? Obviously Medusa is not going anywhere close. Richter left via screwjob but was listed when WWE did their Top 50 magazine. Miss Elizabeth was popular but would stir up bad feelings. Luna Vachon wasn't hugely significant in the big picture. Trish Stratus is obvious but that needs to wait several years.

Clearly the Boston Marathon needs to be run in a warmer climate so this never happens again.

Baseball has been canceled in the northeast today.

THey said the same on their managers dvd, that she managed three consecutive tag champions.

Acta's fine. I would dare suggest Sam Perlozzo or Ned Yost.

But wasn't the story line that she was FOLLOWING the tag belts around? I can't recall for certain. Yes. Even WWE's Title History page states as much.

Pulling the manager is usually a PR move more than anything else. I don't think many fans understand managers. How is it that only the good teams have good managers? And why is there never a good manager running a bad team? As for the sample yes, I do not believe it is representative of the team's true quality. The problem is, would you pick the Phillies to win the division if you were going to spot the Braves and Mets five games in the standings? I picked the Mets as it was.

Last year maybe, this year Burrell's doing better. But it's ten games anyway so that's meaningless. The big picture is that Burrell had a .388 OBP last year, .363 career. He's not an easy out by any means.

Small aside before I begin, that "throw it back" stuff is irksome. It's not clever or original and it doesn't prove anything. What's frustrating about this start is that you can't assign blame. Clearly it's more to do with the pitching than the hitting. Whose fault is it that Brett Myers is carrying a 9.39 ERA? Is it Charlie Manuel's fault that the bullpen is subpar? At times like this you'd like to see the manager sacked, but there's not much Manuel could do to improve this bunch. And sacking Gillick is the kind of panic move truly bad organizations make. But there has to be something. If this team doesn't come back they'll sit below the Washington Nationals in the standings.

The Astros got the out. I have to wonder however. There were runners on second and third, two out. Is the difference between Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard really that big? You can get Howard out, he struck out 181 times last year.

Astros walking Ryan Howard to pitch to Pat Burrell. This could be a bad decision.

What a jag. Someone please buy the Bulls. I think he also said the one White Sox championship means more to him than all six in the Bulls dynasty. Good luck finding kindred spirits there. The Jordan Bulls will be remembered as a larger-than-life phenomenon and a cornerstone of what it meant to live during the 1990s. The White Sox had some guy named "Jon Garland." EDIT: Oh, and the way they kicked Frank Thomas to the curb was unacceptable. I can't think of a trashier organization in baseball than the White Sox. All I know is that for the '94 strike, Jerry Reinsdorf can eternally fuck himself.

Probably being within 45 minutes of the Reading Phillies and an hour from the Philadelphia Phillies is overkill. Besides, I already hate dealing with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

But this is AAA. The idea is to leach off of the region's history, specifically "pig iron." Hence the name.