The Giant Alternative - A Sully Baseball Video

In my latest video, I question what MLB has done to appeal to younger fans and ask why they aren't marketing the World Champions more.

Filmed on location at AT&T Park... camera work by my lovely wife.

My last post for 2010

I guess it is appropriate that I am in San Francisco for the last day of 2010.
For all time, 2010 will be associated in baseball with the Giants and their unlikely title.

It was a good year to be a Giants fan... just ask my dad.
It was a good year to be a Rangers fan.
It was a good year to have Roy Halladay on your fantasy team.
It was a good year to be Joe Mauer or Adrian Gonzalez's accountant.

And it was a super fun year to write this blog.

There might be some changes in 2011 as I try to make Sully Baseball a little more ambitious.

But as 2010 goes, the readership grew in a much faster pace than I could have imagined and I thank you all for that.

So this post makes it 1,086 updates for the year... just about 3 a day.
Look for more in 2011.

Happy New Year everyone.
Let's hope 2011 is another great year for baseball.

Wondering where some of my anonymous critics are now

I was reading through some old posts of mine and I checked out the Mets Home Grown vs. Acquired entry I did back in December of 2008.

For whatever reason it is my most read post ever. And had the most spirited debate in the comments section.

And I noticed something interesting. I pointed out that I felt that Billy Wagner's injury caused the Mets to overpay for Frankie Rodriguez and J. J. Putz.

And I was consistent in that analysis because I felt buyers should beware of K-Rod and I felt Putz was nothing special. Evidently not everyone agreed with me.

Well let's just say I got some nasty e mails and some anonymous posts from angry Met fans.

My favorite ones:


Anonymous said...

overpay for rodriguez and putz>....wow, you really are red sox fan cause you have no clue what you're talking about.


Anonymous said...

you have to be a putz to say they over payed for putz, and k-rod for that matter.

Anonymous said...

Now, my basic Mets' prayer has been answered: we picked up KRod and JJ,



I can't help but wonder where those critics are now.

How do you like K-Rod beating up the elderly?
Or Putz pitching so badly that the Mets gave up on him after a year.

I wonder if I still don't know what I am talking about... being a Red Sox fan and all.

Ah well... enough gloating.

Batting a thousand

This is my 1,000th post of 2010...more than I posted in 2007 and 2008 combined.

Not all the posts have been great.
This one won't be my most memorable either. BUT I felt it was worth noting.

OK, back to writing about baseball in this off season.

HEY BASEBALL!!! Embrace new technology!

New technologies had swept through virtually every home in America… connecting people in ways that had never been seen before. Information traveled at unprecedented speeds. The news cycles were no longer contained by the daily newspaper but became 24 – 7. People were glued to their new devices, constantly being updated, constantly being entertained.

The entertainment industry at first feared it, then they embraced it. Politicians figured out how to use and manipulate it. And the effect of the new technology created new wealth, new celebrities and countless people wringing their hands that the age of personal interaction was dead.

And baseball’s first reaction to this technology was to hold its arm out and say “Stay away!”

Am I talking about the internet?

No! I’m talking about RADIO!

At first radio was considered to be something to avoid for baseball. Maybe a World Series game could be broadcast, but the common wisdom was “why would we broadcast our games and give it away for free when we want people to pay admission to see the game?”

Decent enough logic… except it didn’t foresee that radio would introduce the game to new fans. Before radio, the crowds were predominantly men and boys and the stadiums were rough and not family friendly.

A few teams experimented with broadcasting regular season games. With games being played during the daytime at a time when most women were at home, the excitement of baseball caught on with the housewives of America.

Suddenly, instead of dad going to the ball game alone, he brought mom and the kids to the ball game. Radio kept the interest going on days when people couldn’t attend and brought in 4 admissions instead of 1.

It started a Golden Age of baseball’s popularity and romance.

Why am I bringing this up?

Because baseball’s reaction to the NEW information technology, the internet, has been so slow that I wonder if they were advised by Ted Stevens.

I’ve looked to post baseball clips on this very blog.
And MLB doesn’t have a YouTube page.

And if you look up great moments in baseball history on YouTube, you’ll find every once in a while a stray clip that someone put on illegally… and a lot of camera phone footage.

I’ve wanted to embed a clip or two of a great moment from the previous night’s game… and if I CAN post one or two, they are usually taken down by MLB before you can say “Roberts steals the base.”

Why?
Why can’t MLB have a YouTube channel?

MLB should have a place where they have the clips from the previous night’s game ready for embedding. They should have a place where you can SEE clips of the great players and the great moments of the past.

When it is the anniversary of a great moment, why can’t there be a place to pass clips around to commemorate it?

If a ballplayer passes away, shouldn’t their highlights make the rounds on line?

I know MLB.com has video highlights, but sometimes I can’t figure out where everyone is and guess what? I’M ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR THE CLIPS!

And good luck finding clips from just the previous year!

Baseball has such a rich history on film and such great highlights that I am guessing are sitting in a vault in New Jersey, like the Ark at the end of Raiders.

And all the while baseball wonders why they aren’t attracting new fans.
Well are you using all the tools necessary to FIND new fans?

Young fans are on line and a great clip on YouTube can spread to more fans faster than you can say Chocolate Rain.

Imagine an amazing catch or a terrific story being passed around a la Susan Boyle.

My friend Rob Paravonian has been doing a brilliant music stand up bit about Pachelbel’s Canon. It was hilarious but not exactly something he could perform on a short TV performance, so he continued doing it on college stages and in the back of bars.

He posted it on YouTube and it currently has more than 10 million viewers.

Did the Roy Halladay no hitter have 10 million viewers?

MLB needs to take control of its YouTube destiny and follow Monty Python’s lead. Clips from the Flying Circus show and other films were making the rounds on line. The living members of Python got together, put the clips on themselves with original intros and links to buy their DVDs.

I bet they’ve made new fans and sold a few discs along the way.

MLB can put a 20 second ad in front of the clip (hey! Revenue!) and have control of the clip and maybe, just maybe, have some great moments seen by people younger than Julio Franco!

If over 17 million people are willing to watch this dude age 6 years, don’t you think that there might be some potential ball fans out there!

Baseball didn’t expect to have house wives show up way back then.

Poll Results from the Live Blog

During Game 1 of the World Series, I did a Live Blog. And along the way, I would give quick polls to the participating readers.

Let's see the results of the polls:

When Tim Lincecum looked shaky in the first few innings, I posted this poll.


When Linecum forgot to throw to third on a run down, I asked this question.



I posed this one after the Giants just looked over matched in the first few innings.



A Pizza Hut commercial prompted this poll



The Giants offensive explosion off of Cliff Lee brought this poll.



A shot of Brian Wilson made me send out this poll.



Keeping in mind how unlikely the Giants 11 run output was, I asked the readers this question.



And the game itself was summed up by this poll.

LIVE BLOGGING OF WORLD SERIES GAME 1 - Tonight

I am going to try something new today. I am going to write a live blog on Sully Baseball for tonight's World Series Game.

I'll be able to include some of your comments as well for this evening.

Stop on by during the game. I'll try to give a different insight than what Tim McCarver can offer.

SPAM IS FUN!!!

Most of my readers who post stuff on the comment sections are either my faithful followers or anonymous posters wondering if I am a homosexual because I want instant replay in baseball.

(Still can't figure out the connection there.)

But every once in a while, I'll get a piece of spam.
And today was no different.

Personally, I love Spam when it is honest.
I'll check the mailbox and say "Hey! Someone commented on my old Bud Selig statue post. I wonder who it was?"

And lo and behold if it from one of my loyal readers "viagra online."

But sometime they like to write the Spam as if it is from an actual baseball fan.
Today I got a beauty.
"San Francisco Giants Tickets" wrote to a piece I did on Red Sox fans picking a playoff team.

"That were great series!!!"

(Whoever wrote this spam went to the Tonto school of diction.)

"Ii am the biggest baseball nut of the Giants so I really loved reading your article"

(An article about being a Red Sox fan.)

"I was glad I got my San Francisco Giants Tickets for the up coming baseball gae for Giants Stadium"

You would think the biggest baseball nut of the Giants would know the Giants don't play in Giants Stadium, which is in East Rutherford New Jersey, but AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Ah well...
Let's celebrate Spam.

And no, San Francisco Giants Tickets... you don't get a link!

A SULLY BASEBALL VIDEO "Needing a Bad Guy" October 21, 2010

SULLY vs. A FISH

Earlier this month made my picks for the post season series... as did my wife.

When I made MY picks, I compared them to the picks of my kids (who just liked the sounds of certain teams) my sister in law (who was more interested in which players were vegans) a coin flip (always reliable) and my fish, Red.

When Red made his choices, I held up a picture of the logo of each team playing in the series and I saw which direction he swam in.

Well so far each of MY picks have been right.
And so have Red's picks.

We both picked the Yankees... we both picked the Phillies... we both picked the Giants.

But here's the rub.

I picked Tampa Bay over the Rangers.
Red picked the Rangers over Tampa Bay.

So tonight is the rubber game.

Oh yeah, it means a lot to the Rays and Rangers... either a chance to have home field advantage in the ALCS or go home.

But think about it from MY point of view.
This is my chance to pick all four series correctly. Something I haven't done in literally YEARS!

And if I fail, I will have lost to a fish.

It's one thing to lose to the chance of a coin flip, or the silliness of my kids, or the randomness of my wife or sister in law's picks.

But to lose to a fish... it is something I can not bear.

So like Santiago or Quint, I am obsessed defeating a fish.
Is it a healthy?
No.

Is it luck?


"No. I am not ... lucky. I am not lucky anymore."

"The hell with luck," the boy said. "I’ll bring the luck with me."


(That's right, Mo Fo's... I'm quoting Hemmingway.)

Nobody focuses on the Giants like my dad

My dad (aka Poppy) can tell you anything you want to know about the Giants.
He can casually rattle off the 1954 Giants' roster...
He can give you a scouting report on the current team...
When new players come up from Fresno, he is anticipating their arrival...
When prospects are tearing up San Jose, he has his eye on them.

He is NOT a casual baseball fan. Far from it.

But he is unique.
He has Giants tunnel vision.
I used to think he only knew about the National League.

But he really only knows the Giants and whomever they are playing THAT DAY.

A case in point.
Today the Yankees clinched the Division Series as the Twins did a brilliant impersonation of the Polish Army circa 1939.

The Yankees of course are chocked full of Superstars and many played today.

A-Rod, Jeter, Teixeira, Cano and Rivera all played.

So did All Stars Swisher and Hughes.

And former All Stars Posada and Hughes.

They had a GALAXY of stars... and stormed into the ALCS with the biggest marquee names in the show.

I got an e mail from my dad tonight.

"The Yankees
I hardly know who most of the players are!!
Should I?"

No you shouldn't Poppy... not until they play the Giants in the World Series.
(And if that happens, nobody will be able to tell you more about the Yankees than my dad.)

A SULLY BASEBALL VIDEO - What does Fox want?

A SULLY BASEBALL VIDEO - "A Question for Rangers fans" September 28, 2010

A SULLY BASEBALL VIDEO - Red Sox fans... do the math

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY... September 18, 2010

Things are brewing and it could even crazier in the NL. While the AL top spot keeps flip flopping between the Rays and the Yankees, the 4 teams are all but set... especially with the Red Sox lost last night.

But with 2 games in the loss column separating the Braves, Giants, Padres and Rockies for 2 playoff spots, this October is promising some true insanity.

So here are the match ups going into today.

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

NEW YORK YANKEES (AL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)

MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion)
has home field advantage over
TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL Wild Card)



NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion)
has home field advantage over
CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)
has home field advantage over
ATLANTA BRAVES (NL Wild Card)

And oddly the team that could be the scariest is the Rockies, and they wouldn't even make the playoffs if they started today.

But they don't.
That doesn't stop me from doing this thread.

Don't make today worse

I usually stick to baseball and whatever silly obsession has my attention... but I can't let today just come and go.

Last year I wrote about how I hated this day on the calendar. I feel this day should be one for reflection and to not take things in life for granted.

And more importantly it is a day to remember that the worst events can bring out the best in people. As someone who lived in New York on that day, I saw how people reacted to an unspeakable tragedy with resolve, dignity and a compassion that made me realize that there is more good than bad in humanity.

However, I am seeing people using this date to bring out the worst in people... bigotry, ugly politics, paranoia, outlandish conspiracy theories, using the event to justify ignorance and xenophobia.

Knock it off!
Wasn't there enough REAL anger, REAL fear, REAL conspiracy and REAL hatred caused on that day to last a lifetime, let alone less than a decade?

Shouldn't the lesson of that day be that New York and by extension America is a place where, even under the worst adverse catastrophes, can overcome and work together no matter what your ancestry and no matter what God you pray to or whether or not you pray to one at all.

You want to send a middle finger to the thugs to forever altered the skyline I loved so much as a kid? Then show them that not only are we still strong, but we won't crumble to fear and paranoia.

Baseball played a huge part of healing after September 11th. And baseball is going to be the topic for the rest of my posts this month. But there has been enough pain for September 11.

Let's make it about healing and our resolve.

Give to The Children of September 11... or the Officer Down Memorial... or to your local police or fire departments.

Now back to baseball.

I figured out who my anonymous Javier Vazquez fan is

My readership has been growing steadily over the last few years. I have some regular readers and commenters and I have a few people who don't always like what I type.

Pirate fans seemed to get ticked at me because I wouldn't praise the great work of Neal Huntington who in three short years transformed the Pirates from a bad team to the Worst Team in Baseball.

Some Twins fans wrote some nasty things to me when I wrote my tongue in cheek defense of the Metrodome. So much for Minnesota nice.

And there have been other instances... and frankly I find them to be funny.

But I've had a few posts from an anonymous reader that has attracted my attention. He brings up the classic lame argument when I criticize a pitcher which is "He's a better pitcher than YOU." Well yes... that's setting a very low bar.

Major League Baseball players are asked to perform at a high level and are paid as such... and when they do so on the highest stage, they are not immune to criticism.

But this poster only seems to come out of the woodwork when I pick on Javier Vazquez.

Now to be sure, I have written some bad stuff about Vazquez.

But I've also written bad stuff about other pitchers too.

Javier Lopez...

Trevor Hoffman...

Armando Benitez...

I've criticized Daisuke Matsuzaka...

Brad Lidge...

John Smoltz...

Joba Chamberlain...

No problem with any of those. But when I pick on a guy who is on every Yankee fan sh*t list and is in the doghouse on his own team and by any reasonable judging standard is having a lousy year in the Bronx, he shows up with the predictability of the sun rising.

And his defense of Vazquez is odd...

".And as for Vazquez, don't insult the guy. He has more wins the that Dice-K guy that you worship even though Dice-K is a starter and Javy is in the bullpen."

He's in the bullpen because he has been awful as a starter... and since when do I worship Dice-K?

"You clearly have a lot of time on your hands if you're complaining about someone who can pitch way better than you."

Again bringing up how Javy can pitch better than me... interesting.

"Sully is a fool who doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't know why I'm still reading his blog. Javy is a waaaaaaaaaaaayyyy better pitcher than Sully!!!!"

I figured it out with this post.

I don't know why it took me so long to figure out the mystery. It is as simple as a Scooby Doo mystery when you take 2 steps back and think about it.

The 12 "a's" on waaaaaaaaaaaay better gave it away.

The anonymous poster.... is none other... THAN JAVIER VAZQUEZ HIMSELF!

Who else could get THAT worked up over blog posts pointing out that he isn't an elite pitcher and that his complaining about being taken out of a game too early was bush league... and that he isn't a bust?

Javy was Googling his own name and stumbled across what I wrote and anonymously wants to set the record straight.

Well, let me just say Javy, I for one am glad you are reading my blog and you might be interested in knowing that you were included in my Home Grown vs. Acquired Roster for the Montreal Expos.

Keep reading the blog, Javy and I hope the Yankees trade you away this off season and you can have a stress free year putting up stats and getting another big contract.

Lord knows I can't pitch as well as you or make your dough.

Then again, you should aim higher than out pitching me!