Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Ichiro's Pre-game Routine

There's a great article by Scott Miller at CBS News.

It talks about the routine Ichiro uses before games and how that makes his first appearance at the plate a high percentage hit plate appearance. According to the article Ichiro feels many people are trying to feel out the pitcher during their first at bat and aren't really trying to get a hit.

In effect, this results in Ichiro having an extra at bat in each game over many other starters. This helps explain why he is well on his way to his sixth consecutive 200+ hit season.

It's well worth a read

Peter Gammons Illness

Peter Gammons, one of if not the most knowledgeable baseball analyst, suffered a brain aneurysm today at his home in Cape Cod. He has been flown to NYC and is undergoing surgery.

Read the story on CBS MLB


Let's hope we see him back at Fenway soon

Best wishes to Peter and his family.

Mickey Mantle's Home Part II

Sadly to say, the house where Mickey Mantle was born is no longer there. It is currently a Church of Christ.

I don't know when the change took place. I was last in the area in 1965. I wish I had a picture of it I could share with you.

During the early 30s, the Mantles were neighbors of my parents. In fact, at one time my parents owned the house and one of my sisters was born there in the same room where Mickey was born. That's not too surprising because it was a small house in the dirt poor town of Spavinaw, Oklahoma. One of my older sisters was good friends with Mickey's older sister and my mother used to babysit Mickey and had changed it's diaper. If she'd kept it instead of washing it out, it might be worth a fortune today .

Today's Major League Baseball Picks:

Houston Astros over Detroit Tigers
St. Louis Cardinals over the Cleveland Indians
Texas Rangers over the San Francisco Giants
Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox over the Pittsburgh Pirates


Year to day prediction percentage 60% 3 out of 5.

Have a very good, nice day, and let's play ball.