Of Perry, McGraw and Apollo 11

I just read a funny story about Gaylord Perry in the latest Sports Illustrated that also includes a favorite topic of mine - Apollo 11.

While watching Perry take batting practice as a rookie in 1962, a reporter told San Francisco Giants manager Alvin Dark that the pitcher would hit a lot of home runs.

As the story goes, Dark replied: "There'll be a man on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run."

People must have said that a lot back then. "They'll be a man on the moon before ... (fill in the rest)." Now its, "If they can put a man on the moon, they can ... ."

Anyway, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. An hour later, Perry hit his first major league home run.

Perry swears it's a true story, and who wouldn't believe a man who carved out a hall of fame career by throwing a spitball.

We are in the midst of celebrating that historic trip to the moon, which began July 16 with liftoff, the touchdown on the moon four days later and Armstrong's amazing first steps.

I can't get enough of Apollo 11. I must have read my Dad's National Geographic issue on the space trip a hundred times.

That leads me to another of my favorite topics: the 1969 Mets, who, given the sorry past of the franchise, may have taken a bigger step for man that same summer.

As the story goes, the Mets were stuck in the Montreal airport waiting for their flight to leave. They passed the time at the airport bar watching Armstrong's historic walk. Reliever Tug McGraw yelled out, "If they can put a man on the moon, we can win the World Series."

I met McGraw and Ron Swoboda in 1999 when the Mets played the Rays at the Trop, and the Rays held a turn back the clock night to honor the Mets. Yeah, I know. Weird.

Anyway, McGraw said the incident definitely happened. Swoboda thought it did, but wasn't sure if it was McGraw who made the prediction.

Swoboda gave it some thought and decided that, yeah, if anyone on the team was crazy enough to yell that across the bar, it was McGraw.

The summer of 1969: Man first walks on the moon, the Mets win the World Series and Gaylord Perry finally went deep.

Comments from CC, Maddon after the big win

Here is the transcript from the post-All-Star Game interviews with Rays manager Joe Maddon and MVP Carl Crawford ...

Q. Talk about Curtis (Granderson) and his triple. How did it change the game?
JOE MADDON: I congratulate him on the fact that he went for three bases. A lot of times, a ball will be hit like that and a hitter automatically assumes a double. Did he not assume a double, he assumed three right there which puts an entirely different attitude on the other side in regard to what they can do.That was huge for me that he even thought of it. He thought of it and he did it and that was a big play. And the fact that he did not settle for a double. From a baseball perspective, we try to teach that to our guys all the time and I thought that was fabulous.

Q. What does it do? Obviously, these guys are all stars but when you have (Jonathon) Papelbon, (Joe) Nathan, (Mariano) Rivera the last three innings, what does that do for your confidence?
JOE MADDON: When you write it up before it begins, you know that's nice when you look at those three names and know what they are capable of doing. I was just hoping we could grab the lead after six, and it sets it up for these three guys after the last three innings. So any manager would want the opportunity to write those three names in a row like that, and they are all outstanding. Big pitch by Joe to break the ball in the dirt and great block by Victor, also. There are a whole bunch of little things that occur in the tightly-contested game. The pitching was outstanding, and early on we made some mistakes and they had made some mistakes and overall a well-played game and well-pitched game and those last three relievers did a great job.

Q. Talk about C.C. and what he did tonight.
JOE MADDON: Well, you know, I was talking on the way over here, I don't know that I've ever seen Carl go over the wall. I heard it was over the wall. That's what I'm getting. I've never seen him do that. The way he got to the position on the ball was great, and the catch, obviously, was fantastic. I've been talking to everybody all year about this. Carl, he has become a better baseball player since I first met him in 2006. He's a better defender, a better thrower, a better baserunner, a better base stealer, and it's all because of his work. I'm not saying it's our fault he's better; it's because of him. His work ethic is that good. And when I first met him in 2006 he came into my office and said something to me about the fact that he wanted to become a better baseball player, and he knew he had some shortcomings; and to his credit, he's really developed in a lot of different areas.

Q. Obviously, the AL had such a long streak. Is there any relief that you were not the manager when that streak would have come to an end possibly?
JOE MADDON: I didn't even know that in the beginning that it was that long. But I mean, of course, I would prefer being a start of the streak, as opposed to the other way around. You know, it is so important to get home-field advantage in the World Series. We were just there last year, we did not take advantage of it. But first and the seventh game possibly is really important, and for us, the Rays playing in Tropicana Field, it's very important. So there was a lot on the line there today. It is a very condensed two days. You look at the playoff situation and going to the World Series, you have days to spread all of this angst out. But you have all of this stuff working over the course of two days and it's really condensed and concentrated and it's good for the baseball soul. So it's really an interesting experience and something that I'll never forget, and yes, I prefer being on the winning side.

Q. Can you just talk about the experience, because of your affection for this town and managing?JOE MADDON: Yes, I was a Cardinal fan growing up from 1963 at nine years old and I followed it closely and I got to meet Mr. Gibson and Lou Brock, and Red Schoendienst. I've had conversations with him and Ozzie Smith, and of course I got to meet Stan last year and all of the Cardinal greats, Mr. Ricky. I'm a big fan of Mr. Ricky and what he did for the game of baseball. For me to get back here as a manager under these circumstances, I've been here as a manager last year with the Rays, and in an All-Star situation, really it's a bastion of baseball and this town embraces the game in a way that's different from a lot of other areas, because they are just good baseball games. The Cardinal fans appreciate a good game.So to come back in those circumstances in where I come from and how I felt vehemently as a Cardinal fan as a kid, it's special to come back in an All-Star Game and do it and win it.

Q. To go back to the bullpen, you mentioned (Ryan) Howard against Nathan, were you close, was it a consideration to go to a lefty against Howard there? Was matching up not an option? JOE MADDON: During the season I would match up. But these stallions in the bullpen, it's not necessary to match up. It was their inning. My concern there with -- (turning to Carl Crawford, entering the room). Congratulations, Buddy.

CARL CRAWFORD: Thanks.

JOE MADDON: There's no concern about matching up with those three guys in the bullpen. It's just their inning. My only concern would be that they would throw too many pitches in an inning and that's why I had Ryan up in the bullpen. Mr. Nathan has done a nice job of getting out both right ties and lefties in a long time.

Q. Can you describe the catch for us there?
CARL CRAWFORD: (Brad Hawpe) hit it pretty good off the bat. He hit it pretty good off the bat, and I didn't think it was going to carry that far. But it carried and just tried to find the wall and was able to jump up and make a play on it.

Q. You were over the wall?
CARL CRAWFORD: Yeah, I was over the wall. It would have been a home run.

Q. Feels pretty good?
CARL CRAWFORD: Feels good. Feels great to help the team win.

Q. Joe said that he had never seen you bring back a home run like you did tonight. Where does that stack in your plays that you've ever had in your career?
CARL CRAWFORD: It's got to be the top play. I don't think I've ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight. It's definitely probably my best catch I've ever made.

Q. How familiar are with you that fence? Have you played much out there at all? Did you have a good feel for where you were and what the fence was going to give and you possibly take away from you?
CARL CRAWFORD: I played there last year but the ball was so high in the air, it gave me time to get back to the wall. It was just one of those things where when the ball is so high in the air, you just try to get to the fence and do what you can from there.

Q. Can you just talk about the MVP honor, as a third-time All-Star?
CARL CRAWFORD: It feels great. They totally got me off-guard today. I didn't think I was going to win it. This being my third time coming here, it definitely feels good to win the MVP Award. You know, I'm just so happy, I don't really know what to say. I just hope I can come back many times and try to win it again.

Q. Could you sense that your catch was kind of a momentum changer?
CARL CRAWFORD: Well, I knew the game was close, so you know, everything -- we needed every out and every run we needed. So I didn't know how things was going to play out at the end. But I knew it was probably going to be important at some point that run didn't score.

CC provides All-Star Game's top moment

Wouldn't it be nice if the outfield walls at Tropicana Field were just a tad lower? That way we can watch Carl Crawford steal more than just bases. We can watch him steal a home run or two or three or four.

The Rays left fielder robbed Brad Hawpe of a leadoff home run in the seventh during Tuesday's All-Star Game in St. Louis, which the American League won 4-3.

It was a play that kept the score tied at 3-3 and earned Crawford the MVP award, which might have been an indication of how much the 80th All-Star Game lacked in action as much as it was a reward for Crawford's game-turning play.

The AL took the lead in the eighth and old reliable, Mariano Rivera, closed it out with a perfect ninth.

We've come to expect All-Star plays like that from Crawford. What can I say? We're spoiled.

But with the walls at the Trop being 12 feet tall, we'll never see CC make that catch unless we hit the road.

Crawford had the best day of any of the five Rays players in the game. (Obviously, because they gave him the MVP award. Such keen insight on this blog.)

He delivered a pinch-hit single in the fifth inning only to be erased at second when Ichiro Suzuki grounded to second. That was Crawford's lone hit in three at-bats, but it did give him an All-Star Game hitting streak. CC homered at San Francisco in 2007, his last All-Star appearance.

Jason Bartlett bounced out in his lone at-bat.

Ben Zobrist struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. But Zorilla did catch Miguel Tejada's fly ball in short right field for the final out of the night.

Carlos Pena would have pinch-hit for Zach Greinke in the top of the fourth had the inning been extended and Greinke got to bat. But Rays manager Joe Maddon, who skippered the AL squad, send CC up for Greinke to start the fifth.

Pena, a late addition to the squad, didn't get in the game.

Evan Longoria was scratched from the lineup because of an infected right ring finger that is not supposed to keep him out of action when the Rays return to the field Friday night in Kansas City.

Longoria's batting helmet did make it to the plate, though. AL starter Roy Halladay wore it during his second inning at-bat. The Rays logo was removed, but that was Longo's familiar No. 3 on the back. Didn't help Halladay. He looked at a called third strike.

Maddon wins his debut as an All-Star Game manager.

CC comes home with the MVP trophy.

A pretty good showing from the defending AL champs.

And now that the AL won, we can prepare for a possible Game 6 and Game 7 of the World Series at the Trop, right?

Yeah, we'll see.

It's an All-Star 'exhibition' Game

I think we can agree that baseball's All-Star Game is the best of the four major sports.

With the exceptions of the starting pitchers working deep and the mass substitutions, baseball's All-Star Game looks like a regular season baseball game. Can't say that about the NFL's Pro Bowl and the NBA and NHL all-star games.

No one plays defense in those other three.

In baseball, the hitters don't want to strike out and the pitchers don't want to get shelled.

It's an exhibition game, yes, but the players want to prove they belong ... to a point.

With Pete Rose knocking over Ray Fosse at the plate in the 1970 game as one of the few exceptions, the players play at just a notch or two under 100 percent.

But, tonight's game in St. Louis, tonight's exhibition game, will decide which league gets home field in Game 7 of the World Series.

That's right, the biggest game of any baseball season, Game 7 of the World Series, is directly tied to a mid-summer exhibition game.

Way to go, Bud Selig.

It was the commissioner, embarrassed by the fiasco in his own park in 2002 when both sides ran out of pitches and the game ended in - gasp! - a tie, who decided that the All-Star Game will count.

Yeah, that fixed the problem.

So last year the two sides played forever in the Bronx. Scott Kazmir was the last pitcher used by the American League, and he Rays didn't want Kazmir to pitch. Neither did Kazmir.

And Kaz is determining which league gets home field in Game 7 of the World Series?

If you want this game to count, then you have to change the rules.

You have to make it less of an exhibition game. That means the starting pitcher has to pitch deep. Heck, if Roy Halladay can give you nine innings, great.

You need relief pitchers used to pitching in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, and one or two lefties to come in and get a tough lefty.

So, no longer do you need to send a bus load of starters, just two so you can use one in long relief.

Also, say good-bye to all the closers. You only need one since he''ll be pitching the ninth and only if you have the lead.

Say good-bye to all the starters at the other positions who serve as backups. Now you need guys like the Rays Willy Aybar, a switch-hitter who can pinch-hit and play several positions. You need guys accustomed to coming off the bench in the late innings.

In other words, you'd want to put together a roster that resembles a real major league roster.

Problem is, it's no longer an All-star Game.

So, back to having it an All-Star Game, a night of stars.

Set it up so you have enough players to 11 innings. That's two extra innings to break a tie. If not, it goes down as tie. Everyone wins. The players all played, the fans got to see all the stars and they were able to get home before 3 a.m.

As for home field in game 7? The old way worked just fine with the leagues alternating every year. You went to spring training knowing what the deal would be should you reach the playoffs. No one seemed to complain before.

Awarding home field to the team with the best record isn't always fair, because a team from a tough division may not have the best record even though it is the best team.

Award home field to the team with the best Interleague record is one idea, but what if one team played a weak Interleague record while it's opponent faced the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays? Doesn't seem fair.

But neither does leaving the biggest game of the year in the hands of a mid-season exhibition game.

There are plenty of things in baseball that need fixing: Testing for performance-enhancing drugs, big market vs. small market, ticket prices, the late start of World Series games.

The All-Star Game wasn't on that list.

So, wouldn't you know it, that's one Selig decided to fix.

Nice.

Pena named to All-Star team

Turns out, Carlos Pena is an All-Star.

The Rays first baseman was added to the American League roster Sunday morning by Rays and American League manager Joe Maddon to fill the spot created when Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia removed himself from the team.

Pedroia took himself out of the game to be with his wife, who is expecting a baby.

Pena, who leads the American League with 24 home runs, was in danger of becoming the first AL home run leader not to make the All-Star team since Mickey Tettleton of Detroit in 1993.

Pena was not among the top vote getters for AL first baseman. He was one of five players on the "Final Vote" ballot, an MLB.com sponsored on-line campaign, but finished fourth.

Maddon placed Pena on the squad ahead of Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler, despite the fact Kinsler finished ahead of Pena in the "Final Vote" campaign.

A past worth forgetting

Remember that logo? Nightmares, right?





Well, some Einstein with the Tampa Bay (No Devil) Rays decided to trot out that logo and the uniform that went with it Saturday night during the Rays salute to the '90s promotion.


Ah, old times.





Not good old times,just old times.





Take away the 30,000-plus crowd and you had old times.





Matt Garza, the Rays starter, gave up a 2-0 run lead in the seventh, and the last place A's poured it on against the top bullpen in baseball, winning 7-2 to become the first team to beat the Rays on Saturday concert night at the Trop.the Rays had been 11-0 on such nights.





The loss snapped a nine-game home winning streak, including four straight on this homestand.





Hey, the Rays might have been due for a loss, and the bullpen can't be shutdown every night.

But why did the Rays have to salute the '98 and '99 Rays? It's an era - error? - the organization is trying hard to forget, and one that seemed to be forgotten during the march to the 2008 World Series.





Those aren't the old orange uniforms of the Tampa Bay Bucs, which became cool shortly after the Bucs won the Super Bowl. But the Bucs actually reached the NFC title game in the old orange and white.





No such luck for the Rays, who finished last each season they dressed in their original rainbow colored uniforms, which were compared to a bruise or a 1972 Chevy van.

Rays relief pitcher J.P Howell joked Friday night the uniforms, which saw a lot of losses, had a lot of wins in them.

Wrong.

Turns out, they had one more loss.

Rays owner Stu Sternberg speaks

Rays owner Stuart Sternberg held a conference call Friday to talk about the a recent ESPN poll that ranked the Rays first in game affordibility out of the 122 teams in Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA and NHL. He also tackled a few other issues.

Here is a transcript:

Sternberg's opening statement
“This is something, as the owner of this team, that I’m really proud of. It’s something that we’ve strived for. There were a couple of things—to get to the World Series, to win the World Series, the steps we took last year were enormous. And the work that went into that. To get recognized by ESPN was the most affordable team in major professional sports is something that we inside the Rays organization have celebrated dramatically. We couldn’t ask for anymore. It really does talk about all the hard work that all of the employees and all of the partners that work with us strive for is to put out a great product on the field and a great entertainment venue, but to be recognized nationally when, quite frankly, the history of this franchise, even recently, has been somewhat of a laughing stock. To be recognized by ESPN as No. 1 for all the teams is an incredible accomplishment and a statement on the organization for what we’ve done.”

On if he’s frustrated by attendance:
“We had a mark in the ground a couple weeks ago when the Phillies came in. There was a confluence of events there, and I think that was something that that particular series was frustrating. And I sensed it from people within the organization, too.”
“The numbers that we saw for the Phillies and other games this year are not what they can be. But by the same token, we’re doing everything we possibly can. I don’t know if frustrations the term. We’re quite proud of what’s going on.”

On other promotional events coming up:
“We think about everything all the time. When ESPN does this, all of that is taken into account. A cheaper ticket price, the dollar dogs, it really is about value. And value comes in a lot of different ways. When you go to a movie theatre, you can buy three levels of popcorn. We don’t just look at it as what just happens to be the cheapest, we want to provide the quality surrounding it. We don’t just look at it now, we’ve been looking at it since I’ve come in. We’ve really touched every corner of it. I’m certain we’re going to have other concepts and ideas. I think in recognition or celebration of being the most affordable, we just want to be even more affordable.”

On the importance of a new stadium to improve franchise:
“Certainly we’re going to need a new facility. There’s no question about that. I’ve said that since the day I came in. The question is when. Right now, we play in St. Petersburg, we’re proud to be in St. Petersburg. It’s an enormous project to build another ballpark in St. Petersburg. Clearly we’re sold on the area, we love the area, and we think there’s tremendous potential. I doesn’t take a person to build a new park, it’s going to take the whole region.”

On challenges of getting people to the ballpark:
“Clearly the economy has had some impact. We look at it locally in Tampa Bay. One of the things I focused on before the season was on a relative basis, we’re not shooting for the moon as far as people coming in and packing the place. We were hoping to be average this year, that was sort of the expectation and desire. Each individual has their own reasons why or why not (they come). I think what I’m focused on is why they are coming, and of those that come out to the park, whether it’s once a year or 81 times a year, clearly having an incredible experience and seeing the value in it. We really focus on the people that do come out. In addition to that, our TV ratings continue to climb this year. I would expect that’s going to transfer to people coming to the ballpark as well.”

On TV ratings:
“It’s difficult for me to sense TV. It’s something that’s brand new to me. I think when you look at attendance, people in baseball or in business, there’s easy markers that you can look at. Payroll is one thing people focus on. Wins and losses is another. And attendance. The numbers are easy to digest. Ratings get a little trickier, because of where they’re being carried, how many games are being carried, things like that. I think as far as the ratings are going, it’s been a constant climb since we came in the door. We had a nice jump last year, we’ve had a nice jump this year. As long as they keep going up, it’s hard to understand where they should be or what the potential is. We’re drawing to a substantial number of households in the region. Hundreds of thousands. That’s a lot. So I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

On possible payroll adjustments this season:
“We made a commitment to do certain things this year to try to put the absolute best product we can on the field, and then some. Last year was so special, you wanted to give each of the guys in the clubhouse and the fans and the organization the chance to succeed again. I don’t think I would’ve changed anything what we did in the offseason in prepping things. We clearly had a need, we felt at the time, to shore up different parts of the team. We did that. We still feel great about the team. And as long as we’re in the hunt, I don’t see us, because of financial reasons, pulling back from that. Clearly, though, it’s a multi-year process. The money doesn’t come out of thin air. And budgetary shortfalls from out end, from a revenue standpoint, lead toward future years being a little bit leaner. I won’t say a lot leaner, but a little bit.”

On the importance of this recognition nationally:
“Affordable is a relative term. We talk about the average attendance, there was an expectation throughout all of MLB that attendance was going to come down a good deal this year. Nobody really knew, six months ago or eight months ago, when we made these projections, we didn’t know if attendance would be down 10, 20 percent. And I think we didn’t expect it to get to last year’s average attendance numbers, that would have been outstanding. Don’t get me wrong, it was in the realm of possibility. But to be a realist, we thought there would be a little bit of a shortfall in Major League Baseball’s numbers, and there has been. When we talk about affordability, that’s a relative term as well. Every dollar that people spend, wherever they spend it, comes out of their pocket, and it’s all relative. We just want to make sure we are at least in the game as far as what might be affordable. On an absolute basis, a family of four can come in for what I think is a very, very competitive, reasonable price for what we provide.”

On expanding fan base:
“That’s been a real focus. We didn’t know exactly what (moving Spring Training to Port Charlotte) was going to amount to. It’s obviously only been half a season, and we look at zip codes and where people are coming from, but we clearly have put a number of seeds int the ground by going to Port Charlotte.”

On thoughts of what’s happened on the field this year:
“I’m really satisfied. If you look at the team, from man one to man 28, the people that have contributed, I couldn’t be more pleased. I think we have a lot of good things ahead of us here. Clearly the schedule has dragged us down a little bit. We got off to a slow start. As I look back at it now, clearly there was a hangover effect from what we did last year. While I don’t think I would have changed a thing, because it was a real reason to celebrate, I think it might’ve had a bit of an impact especially because we have players that haven’t gone through it before. Next year it’ll be a little bit easier, when we get to the World Series again (laughs). I think once again if we can get our numbers at Tropicana Field as what I’d term a homefield advantage, if we can get that up to the upper 50 (wins), I think we’ll have a good opportunity to be there well into September.”

On improving midweek game attendance:
“I’m accepting all suggestions. I expected this year that Fridays woud’ve been a go-to night. Fridays compared to the rest of the week are very strong times for attendance. The biggest gap that we seem to have is what’s going on the rest of country on Friday nights and what we have in Tropicana Field. I try to tackle one thing at a time. We’ve tackled Saturdays. We’ve tackled Sundays, made them sort of go-to events. Now the next focus has been and will continue to be on Fridays. And as I expect Fridays to work, we’ll get to the midweek stuff and figure that out.”