Saturday Sliders

Hey everyone!

Yesterday was a busy day for me and my wife as we attended the Wolfson High School graduation of one of our dear friends oldest child.

Congrats once again to Miss Christina Hope Weber, on her graduation and for being a terrific young lady.

The arena that held the graduation hosts both the ABA basketball Jacksonville Giants, and the Arena League Football Jacksonville Sharks.

It's a beautiful arena that sits across from The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, home of the two time defending Southern League baseball Jacksonville Suns.

Any way, it was a very busy day, so the weekly Friday Fastball post is a day late, and so Saturday Sliders is born.

Saturday is one of my favorite days.

I come to my local Chick Fil-A  restaurant, have lunch, listen to sports talk radio, and scour the web for baseball stuff, and watch some one o'clock big league games on the computer.

I don't follow College Baseball closely, but I do know enough to have a conversation, mostly with my two uncle's, who love college baseball.

I would follow closer if Michigan were playing, but the Wolverines weren't very good this year, and so I follow just enough to know what's going on...well, some times.

Vanderbilt University is a very good baseball school, and the Commodores are in the Super Regional, one step from the College World Series.

In yesterday's 11-1 win over Oregon State, Vandy got a big day from Mike Yastrzemski, a 2-4 day, with a home run, and 4 RBI.

Yes, that Vandy Yaz is a legacy Yaz, the grandson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame left fielder Carl Yastrzemski.

I'm not a Vandy fan, but I hope they make the CWS, then I'll have a player to root for.

Roy Halladay of the Phillies became the first big league pitcher to win 9 games in 2011, with a 7 inning, 6 hit, 9 K, zero runs allowed, performance over the Cubs last night.

The Cubs are miserable, and starter Carlos Zambrano was terrible, allowing 7 runs.

There's still time to vote in our poll on weather or not the Cubs should get rid of the volatile Zambrano, who's mouth continues to get him in trouble as he calls out teammates about poor play.

I have always liked Roy Halladay, going back to his days with the Blue Jays.

The only time I wasn't a fan of "Doc" is when he almost no-hit the Detroit Tigers in 1998, in just his 2nd ever career start.

Bobby Higginson, the Tigers center fielder, and one of my All-Time favorite Tigers, broke up Halladay's no hitter with 2 outs in the 9th inning.

Remember Whiffle Ball?

I used to play Whiffle Ball when I was a kid, and it was always fun to try and hit that darn ball with the holes in it.

I found this on the web, a whiffle ball game in the Kalamazoo Whiffle Ball League,  that had a possible game winning HR call made by a big league umpire who was 2,000 miles away.

The player in left made a great catch, falling over the fence, but still holding possession of the ball, therefore, an out.

 

I couldn't get the video to load on this post, so you'll find it on a separate post I made today.

The big league umpire that made the call was Tim Welke, who lives in nearby Portage, Michigan, my hometown.

Big League baseball attendance is doing pretty well, considering the country's economy.

Last night was a great night across baseball, with stadiums at 72% capacity, according to The Biz of Baseball.

The winner was the City of Philadelphia, where fans sold out Citizens Bank Park.

My FOX  Sports Baseball Hot Streak is now at 5, thanks to the Astros Hunter Pence, who singled last night.

UPDATE....as I'm typing this post, my pick for today, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, has hit a HR against the Indians, so, Hey! Hey! my streak is now 6.


My picks for the streak contest can be found here.


Last night Tony LaRussa managed his 5,000th game for the St. Louis Cardinals.


Through last night's 3-2 win over the Reds, 18 of the San Francisco Giants 29 home games have been decided by on run or less.


The Mets have had a tough time on and off the field this year, but there is always a bright spot in  baseball, and with the Mets it's rookie pitcher Dillon Gee.


Gee won again last night, making his record 7-0 this year.


The Mets have won all nine of Gee's starts this year, and the rookie is the first Mets rookie to start 7-0.

 The Yankees Derek Jeter needs just 9 hits to become the only player to collect 3,000 hits as a member of the Bronx Bombers.


Jeter, and I have no idea why, has many detractors who believe he is over rated.


To those people I say simply this, Derek Jeter is going to have 3,000 hits.


3,000 hits.


To all those fans who don't like the Yankee captain, remember to stay away from your TV and the Internet five years after Jeter retires.


I'm sure you won't like it when he becomes a first ballot member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.


Have a great weekend everyone, Play Ball!