Matsui Gets Hitched

Matsui apparently pulled a fast one on the Japanese paparazzi. But who is the mystery bride? A statement Matsui released through the Yankees, said: "The bride is a 25-year-old civilian and had been formerly working in a reputable position at a highly respected company."

With the knowledge of Matsui's penchant for adult-oriented products, I'm betting that his bride is Kristen and the "highly respected company" was the Emporer's Club.

Vincent On Opening Day

I'M GIVING MY OPENING DAY "YANKEE" TICKET TO NANNETTE.
NEIL, HOOK HER UP!
At first, I was boycotting the Yankees for several reasons.
I'm still boycotting, but now, I just can't attend, because of work.

NOTE:
I'm still not happy about "A-Rod" being a "Yankee" with his new contract.
I'm still pissed because the "Yankees" failed in last year's post season.
I'm still pissed because the "Red Sox" won the World Series!
And I don't care what y'all, Jason, and "the Let's Go Guy" thinks.
"Manny" and "Ortiz" are helluva f'n ball players,
and I'd rather have them, than that punk assed "A-Rod!"
I'm not that thrilled with rat-faced "Andy Pettitte" either!

I HOPE FOR HAPPIER DAYS!
Y'ALL ENJOY THE SEASON!
THE "METS" STILL SUCK!
THE "RED SOX" NO LONGER SUCK, THOUGH THEY USE TO!

NANNETTE, DON'T FORGET:
I LIKE THE LONG, "WELL DONE ALL BEEF HOT DOG!"

VINCENT.

Oh, A-Rod

I really want to get behind A-Rod and accept the fact that he's a Yankee for the next decade. He's not making it easy. First he tells the NY Daily News that he made a mistake going for the money and rejecting the Mets. Absolutely. But then he says he didn't want to make the same mistake and leave the Yankees. Huh? First, it's ridiculous for him to suggest that AFTER constant statements from the Yankees that if A-Rod opted out they would walk away that he opted out and THEN decided the Yankees might just not make a deal after all. Plus, going for the money is exactly what he did. No one else made even a rumored offer anywhere near the Yankees dollar figure so A-Rod came back, squeezing even more out of them in the process, even though everyone believed he could be happier elsewhere making less money without the agita. Then Jose Canseco claims he introduced A-Rod to steroid dealers and that A-Rod tried to get busy with his wife. To the second charge, A-Rod said "I don't know how to answer that," which is hilarious if you think A-Rod is gay and all his woes stem from not dealing with that. Uh, you answer that by saying, "It's not true," A-Rod. That's how you answer it. He's mine and I love him. Please don't be a cheat, A-Rod. My heart can't take it.

Pre-Season Predictions

So we can all look back in October (or sooner) to see how foolish we were:

AL East:
1. Yanks
2. BoSox
3. Blue Jays
4. Devil Rays
5. Orioles

AL Central:
1. Tigers
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. White Sox
5. Royals

AL West:
1. Mariners
2. Angels
3. Rangers
4. A's

NL East:
1. Mets
2. Phillies
3. Braves
4. Marlins
5. Nationals

NL Central:
1. Cubs
2. Astros
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Cardinals
6. Pirates

NL West:
1. Dodgers
2. Rockies
3. D'backs
4. Padres
5. Giants

Playoffs

Wild Card Round:
Yanks over Mariners
Tigers over Red Sox (WC)
Mets over Dodgers
Phillies (WC) over Cubs

LCS:
Tigers over Yanks
Mets over Phillies

World Series:
Tigers over Mets

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL MVP: David Wright
NL Cy Young: Roy Oswalt

Hope for the Bleachers?

This article details some of the plans for ticket pricing at the new Stadium:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3305979

At first it all seems a bit outrageous, but then you get to the end and realize that perhaps there is a method to their madness. They are obviously pricing the average fan out of any the premium seating range, but they are doing it in a way that allows for rich folks to subsidize the rest of the stadium so that hopefully the non-premium seats stay in reach for the average fan. Here is a quote from the Yanks' COO (emphasis mine):

"Of the non-premium seats, 88 percent will be less than $100," he said. "It's easy to say that that's not cheap, but on the other 55 percent of the ballpark is going to be $45 or less. That's over 24,000 seats. We recognize everybody can't afford the suites. At the same time, we're trying to allow those suite prices to subsidize the other seating in the stadium. Look, the bleachers are $12, will be $12. The grandstand is $20 and $25, will be $20 and $25."

File It Under "Wishful Thinking"

My brother David thinks Curt Schilling is done for good. he's not scheduled to come back until the All-Star break and he is really old and since -- unlike Clemens and Pettitte -- we have no reason to think he's cheating, then it is about time for a pitcher in his 40s to fade into the sunset. Still, he has no basis for this.

On the other hand, he is right when he points out that the Boston Red Sox have a brutal schedule to kick off the season. They fly to Japan and play two exhibition matches and two season openers against Oakland. Then they fly to LA and play three games against the Dodgers. Technically, they have a day off for travel but given how far they have to go, I'd say they don't have any rest. Then they get a day off and play Oakland again. Another day off and three against Toronto. Another day off and then it really gets ugly. They have their home opener against a very tough looking Detroit, which kicks off 20 straight games at home and away, including two matchups against the Yankees. After flying to Japan, that's brutal. And with Schilling unavailable, here's hoping for an awful start from an exhausted Boston Red Sox team.

Why Hasn't Anyone Signed Barry Bonds?

In the final sign that the Players Association (which is NOT a union, says my bro, but just a trade association or every fifth year second baseman would make the same salary) has lost all touch with reality, they are actually investigating why no baseball team is jumping to sign the aging, injury prone, scandal plagued Barry Bonds who probably won't go to jail during the current season simply because his trial will take a long time to get going. Gee, let me think. They should be ashamed Bonds and cheats like him and Clemens are associated with the game. Instead, they think there's something nefarious in people NOT signing him? If he didn't have so much baggage and promised to be such a distraction, believe me, people WOULD sign him anyway. I wish it were because he abused steroids and HGH illegally and made a mockery of his genuine talent and the game, but it's really just because he ain't worth the bother any more for a team making a real run at a pennant. The Players Association is officially nuts.

Girardi, Pitchers, That Slide -- Where Do U Stand?

OK, let's catch up.

1. How is Girardi doing? (I think he's doing fine; but everybody's happy during spring training and everyone expects to win 20 games and bat .300.)
2. Was the run-in at home plate an ugly, uncalled for play? (No, not at all. A rookie aggressively blocking the plate and another rookie aggressively bowling him over. It's a darn shame our catcher got injured, but that can happen at any point in the season.)
3. Did Girardi stoke the flames? (Yes, he sure did. One simple response: all I know is my guy is going to the hospital tonight. That would make anyone feel sheepish. But Girardi did the typical Yankee astonishment that anyone would dare to play hard against a Yankee and made a bad situation much worse.)
4. Was Shelly Duncan wrong to make his pregame comments? (Heck, yes. His comments were idiotic -- he made it sound like he was entering the Thunderdome. I agree he should never have played that game after making them. Girardi probably loved it.)
5. Was Duncan's slide uncalled for? (Absolutely. It was bush league and pathetic and vindictive. he was waaaaay out and he was not going for the ball, he was going for the balls. (The baseball was nowhere near his foot which was aimed for the groin basically. If someone did that to us I would boo them for the rest of the season and be furious if they weren't suspended. Embarrassing. Does Duncan think he's Ty Cobb or something?)
6. Is Girardi a hypocrite? (Absolutely. If Duncan's play was clean then there's no way you can criticize the play at home. So what were they pissed about? If the play at home was dirty, then Duncan's pre-meditated play was TWICE as dirty. Either way, the Yankees look like punks.)
7. Are you excited by the pitchers? (Yep. They're up; they're down. They're young. Whadda ya expect?)

I Heart Jim Bouton

Just finished reading the baseball classic Ball Four by Jim Bouton, which left me helpless with laughter while reading it on the subway, in bed, etc. -- prompting some people to ask what was so funny. They actually made a sitcom of this in 1976. Guess who played the Jim Bouton character -- Jim Bouton! I love his attitude in the book and his take on timeless baseball issues like pitchers intentionally hitting batters (he's against it because you can't control pitches that precisely and might end a guy's career or kill him). It wasn't until the final pages written years later that I finaly disagreed with a single thing he said. (Bouton thinks what Pete Rose did should be forgiven because gambling is an addiction.) Whats your favorite anecdote? I love the one about popcorn, an uncircumsized penis and a "terrible" sexually transmitted disease. And Bouton, if you're out there, I've got a ticke for you to attend Old Timer's Day. If you wait for a Yankees invitation, it'll never come and you belong in the bleachers anyway.

Peter's Ticket Pre-Sale

I thought I'd extend the offer to sit next to Michael throughout the summer to the faithful readers of FOL. For $25 I'll mail you my two available tickets or for $30 I'll e-mail them to you. If there is a date that you want, just make a post in the comments.

Sunday, April 6th vs. TB
Monday, April 7th vs. TB
Sunday, May 25th vs. Sea
Thursday, June 5th vs. Tor
Thursday, June 19th vs. SD
Sunday, June 22nd vs. Cin
Monday, June 30th vs. Tex
Sunday, July 20th vs. Oak
Wednesday, July 23rd vs. Min
Sunday, August 3rd vs. LAA
Sunday, August 31st vs. Tor
Tuesday, September 16th vs. CWS