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Rumors continue to swirl in the New York City papers all week that there was indeed a "switch hitting" catcher in Queens (hey, Queens, there's another clue!) In fact, things got so bad that at one point last week, Mike Piazza had to call a press conference to discuss his sexuality, prompting the New York Post to print this headline: Mike Piazza: "I'm Not Gay!". Gotta love The Post… And The Post wasn't the only paper printing vague hints. In fact, I'm eating lunch early last week reading the team-by-team notes in USA Today and it says that Mike Piazza "missed last night's game due to 'general soreness'". As a Mets fan, I'm concerned. But do I really want to know the truth about this one? And all this time (remember when these rumors started last season?) we thought it was Brady Anderson who was the gay ball player? Oops, I don't think that "ballplayer" should've been spelled as two separate words! Then again… OK, my point here is that the same week that these rumors start heating up, Brady Anderson gets released by the Indians? Coincidence? Perhaps. Of course, further speculation led some of our league members to ask whether or not perhaps "Mo" Vaughn was the player in question? Or maybe it was "Lance" Berkman? Personally, I don't really care who it is, just so long as these rumors don't get out of control and I have to write a paragraph a week on this topic, not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you… So if I may paraphrase Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, I've got this to say to whomever it is out there who's thinking about letting us all know about his ability to "hit to the opposite field"…
OK, enough on that topic. Happy Memorial Day to everyone! Hope we're all rested from a three day weekend. Plenty of time to sit back and reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day. I'm sure you all know that Memorial Day is a time to remember all of our fallen heroes. You know, especially those who played in old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. So hopefully while you were chomping on that barbecued burger and washing it down with a Coors Light, your mind wandered back to the days of Brooks Robinson, Mike Cuellar, Earl Weaver, Hey You're Boog Powell, and Jim Palmer, he of the men's underwear ads. Uh-oh! Maybe Jimmy should've been in that last paragraph? And speaking of Orioles, didn't Brady Anderson also play in Memorial Stadium? Hmmm… Moving ahead to modern day Orioles, I see that Baltimore outfielder Marty Cordova missed some time this past week due to burns on his face suffered when he fell asleep in a tanning booth! I'm not even sure I've got anything to say about this one. Got to be up there amongst the greatest "freak accidents" of all time. Sure beats the hell out of "I broke my wrist while washing my truck"… So did anyone else besides Shawn Green play baseball this past week? Seven homers in three games, including a 6 for 6, 4 HR, 7 RBI performance against the Brewers on Thursday night. In fact in that game, Green had 19 total bases, breaking the major league record of 18, set by a man named Joe Adcock in the late 1950's. And boy, am I glad that Mr. Adcock doesn't play today, and in New York for that matter. I have a funny feeling that The Post would be all over this guy as well… And from the independent Western League we have this report:
Former NL MVP Kevin Mitchell had his suspension in the Western Baseball League increased to seven games Monday for throwing a punch at an opposing team's third-base coach. Mitchell, the manager of the Sonoma County Crushers, took a swing at Larry Olenberger of the Solano Steelheads on Saturday night. He was automatically banned three games and fined $250 for the infraction. After more investigation, league president Sam Pepper increased the punishment to seven games Monday. Mitchell accused Olenberger throughout the game of stealing signs from the Crushers' catcher and relaying them to Steelheads hitters. It was the second time Mitchell has been ejected from a game against the Steelheads. In 2000, he was suspended for nine games after punching the Solano team owner.
See! What was I saying about stealing signs a few weeks ago? Doesn't do anybody any good at all. Mamas, don't let your babys grow up to be sign stealers. All that aside however, I think we've found a candidate for the next episode of Celebrity Boxing on Fox! I'm thinking Kevin Mitchell versus Jose Canseco in a battle of ex-MVP's. And by the way, did anyone have Manute Bol over The Fridge? I had him wheeled in the Trifecta with Joey Buttafucco and Screech. Absolutely amazing stuff they've got on TV these days… Well that's about all I've got time for this week. That's the news, and I am outta here… 'til next week…
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