The Boston Red Sox have been on one heck of a roll recently winning 11 in a row. As we all know All good things must come to an end. Last night the streak ended at 11 as the Sox lost to the Indians. Another story with an 11 in it concerns the Yankees beating on the Tigers, 11-0. Besides the 11, I see no signs..

I was barely in the door at work today and I quote..” Here we come baby..here we come”.(Like he was an owner or had stock)  A buddy at work believes whole hearted that the 11 in both games was a sign that the Yanks season is going to do a turn around at they will leap…jump…spring board over the rest of the AL East.  Well…it may be, BUT lets look at everything else.  Wang is now on DL, Arod “MAY” be back in 10 days, and CC not looking to good yet. I touched on 2 of the 3 with him.  Yes Arod may be back in 10 days…but he is not going to be slamming game winning homers the day he comes back. Arod can be a slow starter from time to time…he will help, BUT they need a little more pitching help, their bullpen has logged alot of innings already.  As for CC…last year when he went to the Brewers, it was a half a season and his first time in the NL and many players never faced him before. If we all remember he got smacked around last year in Cleveland many games before he went to the Brew Crew…Now he is back for more.  The Red Sox are having a few injuries now as well, but an 11 game winning streak coming to an end and winning 1 game by 11 does not mean they are coming back within 2 weeks…Sorry for the news Don!!

Carlos Zambrono had a great game last night as well. Not only did he have a great outing on the mound..he was a triple away from the cycle. I am not one to go back into the histroy books…but if anyone can tell me the last time a pitcher in the modern era has hit for the cycle I would like to know. A Pitcher…wow. I want Zams bat on my fantasy team for his bat.

If I could give a vote for Cy Young (right now), I would pick Zack Greinke. He is 4-0 with 29 scoreless innings so far this year. Plus a little footnote, his last 13 innings last year were scoreless too…I am telling you..the Royals will be a team to watch for in a few years.

 

Now for some of greatest stuff I have seen on tv for the longest time. This morning, as I do every morning before work, I watch a little Mike and Mike on ESPN 2. Today Golic had to pay up on his bet he made with Greeny on the NCAA brackets. If you get a chance find it online it was the funniest thing…Golic had to get his arms and legs waxed. Now I have never done it, or dont plan on it anytime soon, but he looked like he was in some pain. I didnt get to watch it till later after work, thanks to DVR, but oh my gosh I laughed so much. Golic was the all-mighty football player and he had some weird looks as they ripped the wax and hair from his body.I love those guys.  I stood in line to watch one of their shows for 3 hours when they were in Pittsburgh during football season. Yes, I was in line at 3am and the show starts at 6…I was right up front and on the local news for being there that early….I Love my sports…I am JustAFan of anything with sports.  

Heres the website at bottom…sorry I didnt put it on the first time

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnYicodCxbI

Mitchell High’s Patrick Schuster came 1 hit away from another No-Hitter. He has already thrown 4.  The record for most thrown in a in row is 6, so he still would have been 1 short. But think about this…He has thrown 4 No-Hitters in a row, that is amazing itself. How many other people can say they have done that.  Roger? Randy? Nolan?

 

 

Patrick let up a double in the 3rd inning, of the first round playoffs to Gaither High’s Drew Dotty. Patrick has commited to playing for the Florida Gators. He will be playing with Ridgway’s own Jericho Weitzel ( infielder..who has crazy speed).  Hey with Schuster pitching like this, he may make his way  to the majors faster that people know. As for now..I am gonna be a fan and support Florida for a while.  This is just amazing!!

 

Speaking of Amazing…Boston is on a major wining streak of 11 games. They destroyed the Yanks over the weekend, and it looks like they will not be looking back anytime soon. My fav play of the weekend was stealing home plate. Not only dont you see that much..many people can not do it has easy as Jacoby did. Andy had no chance of getting him.

Ok so I am a HUGE Manny fan…I think he is a great player and I love he loves playing baseball for baseball( and watching cartoons in off time)…yes he did cry about money..but he plays to play. My favorite play of any play I have EVER seen is when he caught the play ran up the wall “Hi Fived” the fan and doubled off the runner returning to first. Ok back to why I started…everyone has heard of Mannywood…Boston is throwing the idea of calling leftfield ” Bay Watch” just to mock Manny once again..it is kinda cool. But a copy cat idea in the long run.

Texas Rangers superstar Josh Hamilton could be going on the DL. He has missed the last 3 games due to bruised ribs. This past weekend in Toronto he ran into the wall, jamming his left elbow into his ribs. He says he is in extreme pain, and I think I saw a quote saying it hurts just standing here. Josh touched America last year during the Homerun Derby with his great turn around in life…hell I went online and had to have a Rangers had instantly. I hope he comes back around cause with everything that has gone in his life…you gotta cheer him on. Get well soon Josh.

Recently I have had the chance to broadcast some local baseball games, and I love watching these kids with raw talent. This coming weekend is the county tourney and I will be covering it Friday Night..I hope to get some pics and post them..hey baseball is a great sport no matter if you are watching kids just learning ( like my son) or if you watch greats like Ken Griffey Jr…I have told you all along..I am JustAFan of the sport. I cant wait to be a t-ball coach for “T”!!!!!!

Now as you all know I also went to Pittsburgh to watch the Pirates on Saturday, April 18. It was a great day for baseball. It was about 70 degrees in Pittsburgh and it was a family event. I brought my mother and my girlfriend with me and WOW it was nothing like Thursday. I still say PNC Park is the best stadium in baseball…the view of the Clemente Bridge and the city in the background is sweet. I would love to call Pittsburgh home and someday…hopefully someday we can.

 

Nothing has changed in PNC within the last few years, since I played there.

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Oh wait..the Pieorogi race actually takes place in the stadium instead of a cartoon on jumbo-tron. Too bad Randall Simon isnt with the Pirates anymore.

The game was a great game for the hometown crowd. Atlanta came in on a little winning streak and the Bucs put an end to that whipping on them 10- 0 only allowing 4 hits. Ian Snell pitched a great game and the bullpen did its job by closing the door on any comeback.

 

 

And there was NOOOO DOUBT ABOUT IT..as Lanny would say 

It was Ryan Doumit bobblehead day and he had a great game. He smashed balls all over the park. Good thing his bobblehead was given away then, cause now he is on the shelf for a while with a wrist problem. ( That could end up hurting the Bucs, cause he is one of their leaders along with Nate McClouth [ his bobblehead is May 17]) but the MVP of the game was Craig Monroe, in back to back innings he had a pair of 3 run homers. We sat in rightfield on this day and he was treated to a standing “O” after his second shot.

 

 

All in all a great day for baseball….cant wait to go back.   I would also like to say congrats to the Bucs for sweeping the “Hottest” team in baseball, Florida Marlins. They have proved to me they are playing baseball so far in Pittsburgh this year…ok so I did a fliip flop..I am JustAFan

Ok so this was not all it was cracked up to be..boy do I have a story for you.

It all started at Noon, April 16, last Thursday.  We left early so we could go to Hooters and have a few drinks and eat before we get to the ballpark. As we are sitting in Hooters a truck load, and when I say truck load I mean 15 or so clowns come walking in. Clowns? Are you thinking drunks, rowdy people…NO real CLOWNS…well I dont know if there are fake clowns but you get my drift. So as a normal everyday baseball fan,we were like what the heck is going on.

So I figured lets get a picture to prove it. I guess the circus was in town and they were drumming up some business. ( I guess all the kids go to Hooters now a days)

Ok to the game or at least what we saw. Long story short..I only saw 2 plus innings cause a friend got a little out of hand and we left…no trouble, just between us. I did get a pic tho and Blair County Ballpark is really a sweet park. I will be attending again on May 5th…with someone that doesnt hate me. Some people have a rough time and others just chill out and live life.  Altoona lost the game…3 to 0 and reading about it…it could have been worse. By the way we didnt get any autographs either cause Altoona really droppped the ball on that so if Lamar Woodley would read this…help me out cause That was the reason I went. We made it home in about an hour, by the way. Hey I am JustAFan…and just wanted to watch baseball without drama!!

This blog will take all of an hour to write tonight and it may not be long. Why? Well I will only be blogging while American Idol is not on Tv. Yes…Yes, I am a fan..I have been there since Kelly Clarkson. So make fun, but it is the best thing on tv…besides baseball. I am rooting on Danny, but completely understand that Adam may win as well.

Ok to the business at hand, congrats to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 2 things I never thought would happen this year, well never thought it was them that did it. First on Sunday the Pirates pulled of the first Triple-play of the year, possibly the only. It was there first triple-play since 1993, and a few of the players had never been part of one or even seen one.if i was there it would have been the first one I saw too. (Unless you count the 1 in tee ball, but sometimes in tee ball that is the only way you get outs in a bunch)  Bradon Moss said he was thrilled about be a part of  it. I would be as well, those plays dont come along to often. Second, Monday was Opening Day at PNC Park and I could not attend this year for issues I couldnt control, but Zack Duke threw a 3 hit shutout. Wow, I know I have bashed them a couple (hundred) times already, but they are looking alright so far. Trust me they will hit a wall…they always do.

So far Allison and Anoop sang on Idol…not to happy with any of them…O by the way yes I  also am a judge on Idol…they just dont know.

Quick trivia question for ya…What do Chien-Ming Wang and Nick Swisher have in common? Yes both Yankees…both pitched the other day. That is not were I am going. They both have ONE strike out on the year. Ok not a big deal right..well it is when one is a platoon player and one is a starting pitcher. I was happy to see a move like this made…it makes a game that is out of hand fun to watch. Hey make joe will think about starting Swisher later on when Wang does prove himself.

Wow Adam just ROCKED the house with Born to Be Wild…he screamed it a few times but still a great ROCKER!!!!

Tom Glavine is poundering!! With his shoulder issues still bothering him, he needs rest. I didnt read the story in depth, but I saw he needs 2 weeks rest. Hopefully Glavine will pitch a few times this year, he has been one pitcher that I could watch all the time. He has always had great control and he is a master of the mound. I believe if he does make it through the year, it will be his last not matter what. He wanted to end his career where he started, Atlanta.

Matt is an interesting singer..some weeks he is good..others he is ok. This week….blah.

Lastings Milledge has been sent down to the minors to work on his batting.  He is batting somewhere around . 160 give or take a few points. Why did I bring this up..well I never thought he was a everyday player.  BUT, I guess if you are the Nats you have to work with what ya got.

Danny is a GREAT singer..he is a great job on ” Endless Love”…everytime I hear that song I think of “Happy Gilmore” as they are skating in the hockey rink.

Well Well Well…the commish hands out the punishment to everyone involved in the brawl on Sunday.  Josh Beckett is getting a 6 game vacation to sit and think about his dumb actions, Mickey Hatcher is also going to be out 1 game. As for the others involved ( Hunter, Scioscia, and Speier) they are getting a fine of some sort. This was the right thing to do. (period end of story)

 Kris was ok..but I think his time is coming to an end soon…he is getting the teenie-bopper vote.

Everything comes in threes…My grandmother has always told me that growing up. Now baseball has had 3 deaths this year. Everyone knows everything about them so I am not getting into detail about them, but I just wanted to say my thoughts and prayers are with all families, friends, clubs that are affected by these 3 baseball greats. They were all too young to leave us. Baseball will me you all!!

Finally the end…Lil sang one of my favorite songs, ” The Rose”…quick story about this song…my mother would play this song so I would fall asleep with I was a baby. So whenever I hear it, I think of my mother. ( I hated the way Lil did it)…ok I promise I wont blog during Idol anymore, but I have to multi-task once in awhile…I am JustAFan (of baseball and Idol)

Happy Easter everyone…This is just to show you how my 2 favorite sideline reporters looked to day…Hey they give me some great issues or I mean stories to right about..ha ha Happy Easter Ethan and Mom…Love ya

(not the best pic…taken with mom camera phone)

First, I want to start off this blog by saying my thoughts and prayers go out to the Adenhart Family. As a baseball fan, you drop all your team rivals when this happens to anyone in the league. This is a sad story and we all know it, so I just pray that the family, teammates, and friends of Nick are doing well and moving along as good as expected to. God Bless the Adenharts!!!

With one week down, All I can say is ” I LOVE BASEBALL”…it doesnt matter who is playing. I purchased MLB EXTRA INNINGS again this year from DirecTv and it is amazing again. I just veg out and watch baseball, when I get the time. I can watch 8 games at once, and I do. I also want to say the coverage on MLB Network is great. If you dont have MLB  Network and you are a baseball fan…call your provider…you are missing out on alot. Ok now that my commericial is over,  I will touch base on a few things.

Thursday..April 16 is the opening day of Altoona Curve baseball at Blair County Ballpark. I will be there and Friday I will post pics and some highlights. Pittsburgh Steelers fans…listen up..Lamar Woodley will be there throwing out the first pitch and signing autographs. Yes, this is the main reason me and my friends will be attending, but hey baseball is baseball as well. I could not tell anything about the Curve, but I will report as much as I can..Friday. 

Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury played his 179th straight regular-season game without an error, breaking Mike Greenwell’s franchise record for outfielders. Why is this any importance to me…well it is a family story. My uncle sold Mike Greenwell a piece of land in Florida years ago, my uncle has since passed away, but I was in middle school and loved watching Greenwell. So my uncle Larry, not a huge Sox fan, knew I would love some signed cards…Greenwell sent me 10 cards and 3 baseballs…so he has been family favorite since then and anytime his name comes up I need to comment. Congrats to Ellsbury though too.

With the pitching problems the Angels are having, and the passing of Nick Adenhart, there are rumors that Pedro Martinez would be a good fit to eat up some innings until the others come off the DL. I said this last week once and I will say it again. The Pirates didnt want him and they have no pitching, so any team looking at him make sure you know what is going on. Plus I heard he still has high demands…yea how is that working Pedro?

Ok..I dont care who is going out with who and where they are eating …blah blah blah. (Remember that is my point, once I get off track) Sources are saying Arod is going out with Bethenny Frankel, who?,  from ” Real Housewives of NYC”….really I dont care. I only want to know when is coming off the DL. Great so he went and had a happy meal with her at the local golden arches. This story is only big cause it is Arod…why dont I find out were Fukudome is eating his lunches. I dont care about this stuff…baseball players are still people and oh my god they can have personal lives too.  Just let some stuff alone…please!!

Last and least…I have been thinking all week about this subject and didnt know how to touch base on it….Jose Canseco. Now he is saying Manny is on roids. Ok so I dont know what to say to that. Jose has annouced so many names before and some have and some have not…He has 2 books out, that are to dump players under the bus, ( I have not read them so whatever) but this is what I think….He is a miserable person cause he is close to a huge milestone and no body wanted to sign him..He had great numbers, while in roids himself,  so besides that reason…cause he causes to much stress for teammates with his crazy life style. He is was the orginal ” T.O”…Hey believe him if you want…I still dont know…but Jose as “MIKE AND MIKE” would say ” Just SHOUT UP”….be back later with more rants about nothing or something..I am JustAFan

Ok so these were to be done yesterday, but some people decided to do other things and not post the family picks for this year. It was my fault, I washed and waxed my Jeep then just got out of whack and lost track of time. So anyways here are the picks and my thoughts why:

 

 

These picks are from my mother and son….as you see he was a little mad about her picks, but they were the team this year.

AL West

1 Rangers

2 Angels

3 Oakland

4 Seattle

 

AL Central

1 Twins

2 White Sox

3 Tigers

4 Cleveland

5 Royals

 

AL East

1 N.Y

2 Boston (wild card)

3 Rays

4 Blue Jays

5 Baltimore

 

NL West

1 Dodgers

2 Padres

3 Giants

4 Rockies

5 D. Backs

 

NL Central

1 Cubs

2 Cardinals

3 Astros

4 Pirates

5 Brewers

6 Reds

 

NL East

1 N.Y

2 Philly (wildcard)

3 Nats

4 Marlins

5 Atlanta

 

World Series is going to be Dodgers losing to Yanks

We have been doing this for a couple years now, she tries and hey you never know. The Pirates may be good…ha ha. She just picks her favorite teams to do good every year. It is like the way she picks her March Maddness Bracket, by colors.

 

Ok after countless hours of talking with these wise guys, of course at a local watering hole, I figured out…we really never talked about baseball. So these are my picks and why:

 

AL West

1 Oakland- Giambi and Nomar will help in clubhouse…young arms a plus

2 Angels- the whole pitching staff is out right now…wont be in shape until June

3 Seattle- Jr is back…but no where near where he left..Ichiro cant carry team

4 Texas- needs help for Hamilton…needs pitching as well

 

AL Central

1 Cleveland- 2 words  Sizemore and Hafner…this division going to beat each other up

2 Twins- until Mauer comes back healthy I cant pick them..Justin going to carry to much

3 White Sox- keep your manager calm this year

4 Detroit- they have alot of potentional…but seems to fade later in year

5 Royals- they are making good moves and next year will make impact…too young yet

 

AL East

1 Boston- needs to stay healthy..too much pitching for rest of division

2 Yanks (WC)- Arod is not going to be a major factor all year..need pitching to step it up

3 Rays- last year the injury bug didnt bite to hard..watch out this year

4 Baltimore- a couple years away from  making a run at it…need better pitching

5 Blue Jays- gonna have a  fire sale on players by the end of the year…rebuilding again

 

NL West

1 Dodgers- Let Manny be Manny…you will win games

2 D-Backs- always around with young players until Sept

3 Giants- a team looking for a face…it is not 40 something Randy Johnson

4 Rockies- trading Holiday..you are rebuilding for a bit

5 Padres- expect the same as last year…Adrian will be gone right after Peavy

 

NL Central

1 Cubs- even with Harden having a rough year the Cubs will score alot of runs

2 Brewers- I think this team is going to surprise alot of people

3 Cardinals- Albert and the gang will score runs..will let up alot too

4 Astros- not sure if they know what is  really going on in Houston

5 Red- young talent waiting to blossom…maybe suprise people…think it gonna be 3 years

6 Pirates- the main reason why I purchased Major League Extra Innings from Direct Tv…I am not going to waste my money going to see a minor league team with major league prices, as much as I used too

 

NL East

1 Mets- finally has a bullpen…watch Sheff of the bench…Santana is ready

2 Philly(WC)- same team as last year…the Mets just made better deals and they handed it to Phils last year

3 Atlanta- they still have good players, but hated putting them ahead of

4 Florida- young…2 years from another World Series and fire sale

5 Washington- sorry Joe hopefully you have a good year and get traded in July..Dunn 200 ks

 

Now the weird part..we have the same World Series..Yanks over Dodgers

 

Hey I thought I would share my thoughts and picks with everyone…I could only hope I know what I am talking about..I am JustAFan…so good luck to all teams..lets have a great year

Over the past few days there is alot of buzz in New York. From new stadiums, free agents, and voice muted (for a while?)

 

Bob Sheppard has been the only annoucer at Yankee Stadium that I remember. Mr Sheppard has been there since 1951. He has annouced soon may greats during his time there. I was blessed to hear his voice in 1995 when I attend Yankee Stadium for my 1 and only time. Just walking into that stadium you felt the history of the ballpark. Then Mr. Sheppard annouces the starting lineups and the whole day was complete.  The Yanks won that day, but the game was the footnote being there was amazing. ( I planned a trip to Boston 2 years ago, well it really was planned in 2 days, I found out the Sox werent home…so I thought hey I can still do the tour…No Luck cause Sting and the Police were there. I now hate Sting and the Police…I will make it back to see the Monster…Wrigley was amazing last year)

More New York news…the Yanks and the Mets both opened their new ballparks Friday night. Now I didnt get to look at the stadiums completely, but I am sure only the next year we will see the inside of the bathroom stalls, so when I see it I will see it.

Gary Sheffield wasted no time signing on the dotted line for 400k. It is a 1 year contract with the Mets. The Mets are going to give him some time to get into outfielder shape, since he has played the field since 2006 everyday. Then his coach says he will get playing time in right. He will also help the lineup with a righthanded power bat off the bench. He is another option, and options are good as we know injuries may strike at anytime. See Pittsburgh this could have been you!! Please realize…I am not a Pirates fan…I am not attached to any team…I love baseball..Just living closer to Pitts than any other ballpark..it would be nice to see put a good team on the field once a decade at least…we are going on the 2nd decade.

As one super-star gets into shape, another may be getting  a starting role. With Ichiro on the shelf with a bleeding ulcer, Ken Griffey Jr. will get some playing time in rightfield. Now we all know as soon as Ichiro comes back, he got his job back. My thoughts are.. will this lead to Jr possibly taking over center or left. Another thought Griffey taking over right and Ichiro to center. Hey anything can happen, thats why we play the game.

Now Sunday evening I am going to released my picks for the season. I will break down all the divisions, all teams, and the playoffs…hey if everyone else can why notme…I am JustAFan…I could get it wrong too

With less that 6 days away from the greatest spring holiday, Opening Day, a few things make me go WOW!!!

Detriot Tigers release Gary Sheffield!!! Sheff is 1 homer away from 500, and a sure HOF vote, but he is 40 and has have some injuries over the last few seasons making him a crapshoot. Rumor has it the Phillies are looking into him already. I would say ok, but I could think of some other teams too. Sheff does not need the money cause once he clears waivers in 3 days, the Detroit Tigers will be paying him close to 14 million. So he should sign a low contract just to play this year, and he could be the main guy on alot of teams. Pittsburgh!!! Wake up and do something….you need fans, everyone on the East Coast has seen PNC and it is beautiful, but get players now!!

Just as Detriot cuts Sheff…Atlanta is signing their stud for 3 more years and 42 million. Larry Jones will remain a Brave until he is 41. He has been with the team since 1993 and is 1 of the organizations all time leading players for the team. I respect Chipper, but I am not a fan so I could really care about this, and he has dropped off and picked up…blah blah..blah…where I am going with this…I love that he is staying with 1 team his whole career.  RESPECT!!!

N.Y Mets name their 5th starter…Livian Hernandez.  Earlier in the year I said this was a good move signing him. He could eat up innnigs. I never thought 5th starter, but it just proves he does a great job out there yet. As Liv is named 5th starter…Where is Pedro?   Well the Mets say they dont want him.  Or they dont want him yet? I say no one wants him….He was getting a look from a couple teams earlier this year and 1 team was Pittsburgh.  With the pitching staff the Pirates have and they dont want you, I say you better pray for injuries Pedro.

Texas was really taking a risk signing Andruw Jones, and he still really doesnt have a spot on the team yet.  Sources are saying the final outfield position is between Jones and Frank Catalanotto.  Jones is still young enough to be devoloped back into a different player from recent years. He has around 10 gold gloves, and is currently hitting close to .300…Why not take a shot, the Dodgers are paying him this season.  My thoughts are to cut the both and bring Adam Fox to the SHOW!!!!! ( Yes another hometown boy) Hey I am JustAFan

 Ok now here are a few names to watch for in years to come…these kids are in College and High School….but pay attention they will be house hold names:

Nathan Geist….Brett Quiggle…Jerrico Weitzel….Joe Renaud…Tobias Streich…Calvin Grumley