WHAT KIND OF WOOD ARE THEY USING IN THOSE BATS?

DO YOU WATCH MLB BASEBALL?  HAVE YOU WATCHED ANY MAJOR LEAGUE GAMES LATELY?  IF SO, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED A "STRANGE PHENOMENON - "FLYING BATS", and I don't mean the animal kind.

I've been watching the Pittsburgh Pirates a lot this season, especially as they've gotten to "the stretch" run that has qualified them for a one-game "wildcard" playoff - this one next Tuesday, at home against the Reds.
GO BUCS!  (As in "buccaneers".)

I AM ALARMED at the number of broken bats as a result of the baseballs being hit!!  It's an unusually high number, compared to earlier in the season!

SO I'M ASKING "WHY?".  HOW OFTEN HAS THIS HAPPENED THROUGHOUT THE LEAGUE?  

Here are some possibilities:

l.  Are the batmakers using "inferior woods"?  Louisville Slugger, and Hillerich and Bradley, I'm talking to you!  (Or has the league changed or experimented with other batmakers?)

2.  Is the cooler weather affecting the composition of the wooden bats?
Do they have a tendency to "snap" when the wood is colder?

3.  Is it maybe that the bats are becoming "stressed" from overuse?  Get my point here?  If a player's favorite bat or bats are seeing a number of visits to the plate, and hitting a high number of balls, both "fair" and "foul", is this taking it's toll on each bat?  Think about it.  Could be.

MY FEAR IS THAT SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET HURT WITH THE TOP END OF A BAT FLYING INTO THE FIELD OF PLAY - AND EVEN SOMETIMES "INTO THE STANDS"!!

Granted, most of them don't go too far, and often they fly off harmlessly into "foul territory", but in the past few days I've seen them go as far as out near an infielder, and ONE EVEN MADE IT TO SHALLOW OUTFIELD!

I do remember one game a few months back when a spectator, who wasn't "spectating", received a blow from a broken bat flying at her!  I hope she is okay.

HOW LONG BEFORE A PLAYER, WHOSE LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON HIS STAYING IN THE GAME, IS SERIOUSLY INJURED BY ONE OF THESE INCIDENTS?  I pray that it never happens, but ......................?

HERE ARE MY SUGGESTIONS:

1.  Test the bats more thoroughly at the factory before they are shipped.

2.  Do an "extreme test" on random bats from each production.

3.  Assign serial numbers to each bat, and have their "times-at-bat" recorded, including foul balls hit, and "retire" each bat after a maximum number of batted balls is reached!

4.  Use the "retired" bats for batting practice, or donate to an appropriate civic program, where the youth are unlikely to exert enough force on them to create any problems.  OR AUCTION THEM OFF FOR CHARITY!

5.  CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF THE BATS!  Is there a stronger wood or "wood composite" that would perform suitably and with more longevity - with a minimum danger of "exploding" or breaking?

6.  Your idea(s) here:

That's my take.  I TRUST THAT THE LEAGUE OFFICE HAS TAKEN NOTICE OF THE SITUATION, AND IS TAKING STEPS TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM - BEFORE IT'S "COSTLY" TO A PLAYER OR FAN!!

P.S.  I remember growing up, that we were always told to "put the printing on the back, away from the hitting surface".  Still true?  Are these players not heeding to this axiom?  Is it because they don't have to pay for them?
 

REMOVING THE PIZZAZZ FROM COLLEGE BASEBALL!

The missus and I are HUGE college sports fans.  With season tickets to the Pitt women's basketball games, catching the Panthers' mens games now and then, and spending hundreds of hours watching football, volleyball, basketball, and baseball, etc. on television, I guess you'd say we are "patrons of the arts of college sports"?

We each have our favorites for which football teams we root for.  Often it depends on what "the other half" is cheering for.  Having been a player, coach, and official for most of my live, basketball "plays" a big part of our friendly competition, even to the point of competing with our "March Madness" tournament brackets against each other.  (I lost this year.)

Being "Keystone State" residents, we enjoy following the success of the Penn State ladies' volleyball squad.  They're awesome.  With their recent win streak, numerous national titles, and competitive spirit, they are fun to watch.

Pitt's baseball team had a very successful season, too, finishing second in the Big East, with an admirable won-lost record.  We were wishing to see them picked, at least "at-large" for the college tournament, but sadly and "alas", they were not invited.  Drats!

SPEAKING OF THE COLLEGE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT, and college baseball in general - "Why do the people who govern the sport feel that they need to 'tone down' the excitement of the game?"

"The College World Series", which has been televised for over a week now, and is about to culminate in a best-of-three between UCLA and Mississippi State beginning Monday, June 24th, HAS BEEN A DISAPPOINTMENT!

Granted, the coaches and players have been "giving their all" in an effort to compete in the finals, and there have been some spectacular defensive plays performed, and the pitchers have done admirably, BUT WHERE'S THE OFFENSE?  The final scores indicate an absence of "offense".  DUH. 

Beginning with the "brains of the game's" dumbing-down of the bats to "make the game more interesting and competitive", I THINK THEY "OUT-THOUGHT THEMSELVES"!

So you place these awesome specimens of human athletic ability on the field, you "deaden" the "sweet-spot" of their offensive weapons, and you expect to LIVEN UP THE GAME?  NOT.

Couple that with the new stadium in Omaha, the "T D AmeriTrade Stadium", I believe it's called, WHICH IS "OVERSIZED" for the game as it should be played - and you have A DEBACLE, offensively speaking!!

Many of the games have been noticeably absent of HOME RUNS.  Few of the balls have been "down the lines, and into the corners".  Rarely does an outfielder have to make "a spectacular catch", or an "over the shoulder" play to excite those in attendance or those watching on ESPN.

Why the outfielders are, generally speaking, playing "right behind the infielders", more or less.  The centerfielder, in particular, is halfway between the second base and the outfield wall.  WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?

TIME TO RESTORE "THE PIZZAZZ"!!  Either restore the bats to some semblance of their original potency, or "liven" the balls, or "shrink" the fields, especially the one in Nebraska.  BORING!

FEW THINGS IN BASEBALL ARE AS EXHILARATING AS SEEING A BALL "LOFTED INTO THE BLEACHERS OR OVER THE FENCE"!!

Come on guys (and gals) who sit "in your ivory palace and dictate the rules and equipment of the college game - HAVE MERCY!  Give some sensible and sane consideration to "putting the game back into the game" - FOR THE GAME'S SAKE, FOR THE PLAYERS' SAKE, FOR THE FANS' SAKE, AND "FOR GOODNESS SAKE"!!

P.S.  I must give a "thumbs-up" to the pitchers of each team, as for the most part they have been awesome in their performances.  Just kinda wish that the homeplate umpires had a little more consistency.  OOPS!  Dreaming. 

A TRIBUTE TO JOE PATERNO!

A significant age in college sports, in particular
college football has ended.  An ICON of a coach,
Joe Paterno, head of Penn State's football program,
has passed away at the age of 85.  Sad.

To say that he'll be missed is an understatement.
For decades "JoePa", as he was affectionately
referred to by many, was the "face" of not only
the "Nittany Lions", but of the entire NCAA
football season and program.

With hundreds of wins to his credit, and many
graduates going on into the National Football League,
and to other significant successes in their lives,
Paterno was an inspiration both on and off of the
field of endeavor.  He was a good citizen, an
ambassador for the institution that employed him,
and a great "father" figure to hundreds of his former
pigskinners.  He was also an excellent example of a
father-figure with his own progeny, and a loving
husband.

With many of us who were (and still are) FANS of
Joe Paterno, we felt that he needed to retire, while
still basking in the sunlight of his "glory days", and
before he lacked the abilities to continue coaching
with his usual aplomb and successes.  JoePa felt
differently, obviously, loving the sport, loving the
young men he was privileged to coach, and being
loved by them in return - plenty of incentive to
want to stay close to the game, and to be as involved
as life and good health would allow him.

SADLY, his commitment to his career choice seems
to have "run its course" as he was "found guilty" by
a jury of administrators who made a WRONG decision
without having gathered all of the facts.  Being more
worried or concerned about "saving the face of the
institution" known as Penn State, Mr. Paterno was
"fired" from their employ, seemingly without regard
to "the face or reputation" of one of the finest
ambassadors or representatives their school or any
school could have hoped for!

They and we will probably never know all the facts
about "what Joe knew", and maybe that would have
been the case had he not passed away a couple of
days ago.  Could this "American Icon" have been
involved in a coverup because of a long-standing
friendship?  Would Joe have disregarded all of his
lifelong principles in order to protect a man that
he and we all agree HAD DONE WRONG?!

My take on the situation is that there were others
whose responsibility it was to "see the matter through
to the end", and JoePa trusted them to do so.  Were
these others fearful for their jobs?  Were they "too
busy" to bother with what some might term "trivial
matters"?  Was their liberal bent or philosophy so
twisted that they felt "to each his own", without
due regard of the emotional, spiritual, and physcological
injuries that the young boys would likely suffer?

Some of the "truth" will no doubt come out in the
hearings and trial proceedings, and the perpetrator of
these heinous acts will be duly punished.  BUT WHAT
OF THE BOYS WHO WERE UNJUSTLY ABUSED?
They need our love and prayers, for certain, but we
also need to assure them that God does not hold them
accountable for being victims.  God forgives and
heals, even the guilty if they repent.

HOW MUCH "GUILT" should we assign to "Coach"?
HOW MUCH GUILT should those who punished him,
unduly, accept?

Many of us who were JoePa fans believe that the
rigors of these last few weeks took a heavy toll on the
already-waning health of "the face of Penn State",
Coach Joe Paterno.  Emotionally and physically, Joe
no doubt suffered from the hasty, false accusations and the
damage that had been levied on his reputation, not
to mention that which his family and friends endured,
and will continue to endure.

WE LOVE YOU, COACH PATERNO, and in our
eyes and minds, you will always be one of our "heroes"!
If there was anything that you may have been guilty of,
it was that of being deeply immersed in the lives of
those young men that were like "family" to you, and to
those assistant coaches and staff who "believed in you",
not only as an extremely successful coach, but as a
MAN WHO WE ALL ADMIRED AND STILL DO,
both on and off the gridiron!

"Rest in Peace", Joe Paterno.  You've probably got
more "friends" in Heaven than you had/have down
here, and I'm sure they're glad to "welcome you home"!
Your memories and example will live on.
   

The "Plight" of the Pirates!

Seems a bit awkward to be talking/writing about a
baseball team that has hovered around the ".500"
mark all season, and at this moment is only 1 1/2
games out of first place in their division, but some
things need to be considered.  Sorry.

With the ownership of the franchise the same as
it's been for the last few years, and with the mindset
of the "businessmen" who control many of the
destinies of teams and players, it would seem to
be just "a matter of time" before the Pirates are
decimated to another losing team, continuing
their professional sports losing season record to
19 seasons.

Excitement has reigned at PNC Park this year, with
bursts of offense, some strong starting pitching
performances, and a bullpen that has impressed the
rest of baseball.  Fans are excited!  In a recent 3-day
visit by the team many consider to be the best in
professional baseball, the Boston Red Sox, both
individual game attendance records and 3-game
series attendance records were set!  Standing room
only!  Overflow crowds!  And the Buccos responded
by taking the first 2 games!

The "All-Star Game" break is upon us, and many of
us fear the worst.  Going down the stretch of the
second half of the season, other teams and owners
will be expressing interest in the young men that
have shown prowess and ability so far this year.
Offers of money and trades will be on the table soon,
if they aren't there already, and Bob Nutting and
company will be taking a serious look at how much
they can profit by pulling players from the current
squad and sending them on to "contenders".

WAIT?  WHO SAYS WE DON'T HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO BE "CONTENDERS"?
We're winning!  We're holding our own with the
"big boys" of both American and National Leagues!
Many of our young players are coming into their
own.  There's PRIDE in being a Pirate and a
Pirate fan once again!!  We've waited too long for
this to happen!

Is there such a thing as "corporate conscience"?
Do any of the owners care about the city, the region,
the fans, the players, the team, the management
enough to keep the Pirates intact to see how far
and how successful they can become?  I fear.

I'll always be a Pirates fan.  I may not go to many
games, but I'll watch them on TV, read the news-
paper reports, watch the standings, and pray that
the Buccos will one day return to the "glory days"
of old, when Stargell, Clemente, Face, and Co.
"got it done"!

GO BUCCOS!!  

HOW ABOUT THEM HUSKIES?

I'm not an expert on anything, especially sports, but
I do try to pay attention from time to time, and I have
been known to "have an opinion or two on occasion.

POR EJEMPLO:  The recent NCAA "dance".
How did your brackets do?  Pick the winner?  No?
Sorry.  Yes?  Congrats! 

I filled out about 20 brackets on the tourney, including
the one that Cindy and I competed with at home.
While this was one of the craziest tournaments of all
time, there were some invisible and indelible factors
that caused me to lean to UConn.

Yes, I did pick the Buckeyes, the Jayhawks, the
Blue Devils, and even the Panthers on one or two of
my "takes', but the Huskies dominated my chocies.
Hence, 3 of my 10 forms on ESPN finished in the top
5%, and my best layout put me at 99.6%, in the top
.5% of the 5.9million entries.

WOW!  Best I've ever done.  We had watched a
lot of college basketball over the previous months,
and may considerations were playing a part on how
we chose our picks. 

Here's mine:  (keep in mind for next year, though it
probably won't make a difference anyway)
     UConn "peaked" at the right time.
     UConn "swept" through the Big East tourney,
          winning 5 games in 5 days!
     UConn is coached by "a legend", Jim Calhoun.
     UConn had Kemba Walker & Jeremy Lamb.

Playing well in the conference tournament of what
many consider to be the "strongest, toughest"
conference in the nation, was the key factor in my
going with the Calhoun Kids.

HOW EXCITING it was to watch as teams rose
and fell, many unexpectedly by "the experts", and
the drama built to a crescendo that was first, the
"Final Four", and then the championship game.

No, I didn't win any money - not even close.
But I gained a warm, fuzzy feeling, knowing that
for once my "insights", "instincts", and "intuition"
brought me a measure of success and self-assuredness.

Don't come to me next March for tips.  Chances are
I'll be a total flop in my predictions and advice.  But
for now......"I'm riding the wave"!    

Why Do We Need A "Pro Bowl"?

Alright, settle down you "super jocks" and "football purists",
how many of you will be watching "most of the best" next
Sunday when the fans' picks take vacation in Hawaii?

Seriously now, since the chances are that your team is NOT
in the Super Bowl, are you so "committed" (or should be)
that you intend to watch the 2 or 3 players from your "fav"
team that will be "going thru the motions" in what is
affectionately called "The Pro Bowl"?

WHY, I ask, do we need a "Pro Bowl"? Just because the
NBA, NHL, and MLBA all have superstar games, does that
mean that we should play along with the sponsors and
advertisers and go through a meaningless contest at the
end of the meaningful schedule (with 1 notable exception,
of course)? Why not just name the players who have
distinguished themselves by their superior skills, talents,
efforts, and intelligence, and let them be honored thusly?
If you want to give them a trophy or some monetary
award, go for it, or even a free vacation to a location of
their choice, just please DUMP THE GAME!

WHY, I ask, do we need a "Pro Bowl"? Is it to reward those
special few with additional dollars? Don't they make
enough already? How does your income compare to theirs?
Yeh, yeh, yeh, you're not out there 16 out of 17 weeks
"putting your life and livelihood" on the line, but you are
"giving it your all", right? What is your payoff for that?
DO YOU GET AN ALL-EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO SOME
WARM, EXOTIC PLACE? Doubtful.

I'd rather watch "Heidi", or "The Sound of Music", or
"Red", or "Unstoppable" or "The Dirty Dozen" than bore
myself to sleep with The Pro Bowl.

With both men's and women's college basketball on the
air, along with pro basketball, tennis, golf, etc., haven't
we had enough football for this year? YES. Please,
Mr. Commissioner and NFL Board of "Whatevers", do
us and yourselves a favor, and change the end-of-the-
year debacle that very few care about or watch. I
certainly won't spend my Sunday afternoon in a
"mindless" fashion by watching a game that has no
significance or consequence. I'd rather watch the
neighborhood guys and girls play a game of "tag"
football - it's a lot more entertaining! Humph.
Besides, aren't these guys banged and bruised and
bothered enough from the season's battles? Yes.

SOUND OFF! Okay, you jocks and jockessess, let me
and "The Commish" know what you think. I'm curious.

AS FOR MY PICK FOR FEB. 6th - My heart is with the
men from "The Steel City", since they've been my home
team and favorite "forever", but my gut (brain) says that
the Pack and Mssr. Rodgers are canny enough and
tough enough to pull it off. Pack 26, Stillers 20.

P.S. - the NFL.com website has almost 68,ooo votes on
who may win, and 60% of them, as of today, take the
boys from "the frozen tundra" of Lambeau Field!

DID YOU PREDICT THE NFL CONFERENCE FINALS?

If you'd followed my predictions in the recent college
bowls, you'd be filing bankruptcy right now, as I went
from picking the winners to being quite adept at opting
for the losers. The wife even outdid me. OUCH!

But we're talking pros, now, and this is different, I think.

At the beginning of the season, who did you pick to wind
up in the conference finals? Saints? Pats? Falcons? Chiefs?
Colts? Surely, unless you're a "homer", you did not choose
the teams that we'll be watching this next Sunday.
Oh, there's nothing wrong with supporting your local
team, but based on the 6-game which became a 4-game
suspension of "our" quarterback, I advertised my guess
as to the final outcome of the Steelers' season - 5 wins
TOTAL! How wrong (thankfully) I was.

I DID, HOWEVER, PICK ALL FOUR OF THIS PAST
WEEKEND'S "SURVIVORS"!! Something that the wife
and Skip Bayless fell one pick short of doing. Humph!

So what are we to think? Thank God for the defense of
the "City of Champions" squad. Ben is not the Ben of old.
A times he shows glimpses of brilliance, but even the
casual observer can see that he's just not the 2-time
Super Bowl Champion signal caller that he has been.
That doesn't mean that the Steelers are weak or incapable
of "going all the way", but it makes a fan of the team a
bit queasy. Thankfully, Troy "the game-maker" is back.

As for the meat-company-named team from the frozen
North - as Gomer Pyle said, "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"
Who'oda guessed they wouldn't be basking in the warmth
of Hawaii or Florida this week? You? Doubt it. Give Mike
and his coaches a lot of credit, they've pulled off what
some would call a "modern-day miracle". Huh? I'm so
pleasantly surprised at the coming-of-age of Aaron Rodgers.
Having lived in the area, and going back to the days of my
yout' when Starr, Hornung, Zeller, Nagurski, Taylor & Co.
would ply their trades on the cold hard ground of Lambeau,
I've been a Packer fan for decades. But this latest surge of
success has resurrected the feelings of "Packer Fever".

Just a couple of hours southward, I've also been a resident
of a Windy City 'burb, having resided in Zion, the "Holy City",
on the North shore, just south of Kenosha and north of
Waukegan, Jack Benny's hometown. For the time I was
there I cheered for "Sweetness", Sayers & Co., who
always managed to make games interesting. As for the
current edition of "da Bears", they are surprising upstarts,
at least to we who are outsiders. Who'da believed that
Jake would lead his team to the semifinals? Not even
Skip predicted that, I believe. Anyway, when Jake's hot,
he's hot, and "da Bears" "could go all the way"!? Huh?

Finally, "make like a plane and fly". In the immortal words
of "Boomer", "Are you kidding me?". The Jets? Rex Ryan?
Mark Sanchez? Are you kidding me? The job they did
yesterday on an obviously stunned Tom Brady and Pats
was better than a carnival sideshow. I've not respected
coach "Belacheat" ever since the scandal, and was glad to
see who almost everybody thought was a shoo-in "get
the boot". Are the Jets that good? They were yesterday.
Can they be that good again? Given the incentive and
the motive (such as Welker's comments), they may once
again rise to the occasion.....Huh? Against the "Burg Boys"?

CAUTION - sidenote - watch out for those "touchy" officials,
who have taken their position and power to ridiculous
actions. Come on, guys, let the boys be boys. After all,
the good Lord made us in His image, after His likeness,
with EMOTIONS! Let the players celebrate their successes!
NFL - GROW UP!! I've addressed this issue previously, but
apparently it needs to be readdressed. Fans in the stadiums
and at home deserve to be entertained by the guys who
have delivered for their teams and followers.

NOW TO MY PICKS. Careful, my recent performance may
not be a certain indication of my continued success at
prognosticating. In other words, "don't bet the farm on it".

Sunday at 3 PM - This midwest version of a "backyard rivalry"
will bring out the best and worst in the participants. After
all, all the chips are on the table. If, as I suspect, Rodgers
continues his precise passing and deft handoffs, "the Pack"
should repeat their regular-season-ending performance
with another win over the Bears. Packers 21, Bears 17.

Sunday at 6:30 PM - WOW! Emotions surge as I try to
be objective for this battle. The Jets "have it going on",
as they say, but the Steelers are always tough "down the
stretch", and when the going gets rough. I like the Jets,
especially after what they just did yesterday, and I'd
probably pick them against most other teams, BUT THESE
ARE THE STEELERS, grizzled veterans of gridiron wars,
and while these "veterans" are one of the oldest squads
in the league, they are also reminiscent of how to get
the job done. Steelers 17, Jets 13.

Please don't ask for my Superbowl prediction - I don't
like what I'm thinking and feeling.