The Smiley Smile Message Board

Any baseball fans on here?

The regular season started with three games yesterday, but most teams will have their Opening Days today and tomorrow.

My Baltimore Orioles are scheduled to opening today, although the forecast is iffy. 

Opening Day is a sure sign that Spring is here, and Summer's not too far behind. 

Big baseball fan here and with my team being the Blue Jays, I have been even more invested the last couple of years. We played (and won!) yesterday. Looks like I have a division rival fan above!  ;D

Yes, you do. 

I've never forgiven Cito Gaston for not letting Mike Mussina pitch in the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore. 

As much as I love my Orioles, unfortunately, I think our starting pitching will be a major weakness, so you guys are likely to repeat as AL East Champs. 

Mussina was a great pitcher. I remember Gaston played a very Jays-heavy lineup in the All-Star game one of those years, probably that one. By the way, Camden is my favourite park that I've been to. It was the first back-to-basics fields that I had seen after a barrage of tech-heavy domed stadiums (of which I was overly familiar in Toronto).

I hope you're right about Toronto finishing first. It seems to be what a lot of people are saying. That being said, we lost a lot with Price going. He brought the team from being a .500 level team to a championship team in only a few months. He could do something similar with the Red Sox. To me, pitching really does make the difference.

Went out yesterday for lunch and the Pirates/Cardinals game was on the TV. Thought, baseball, already? How time flies.

Interesting - there was big band, jazzy music playing in the background at the restaurant/bar.. One of the songs was a version of Bobby Darin's 'Beyond the Sea.' There was an extended instrumental middle section, and it was fascinating how the music synced with the baseball action. Got so much into this that I forgot about the person I was eating lunch with for a bit LOL.

Can imagine that cool jazz can go well with baseball, say, Joe Morello's drum solo during the DBQs 'Take Five,'

Anyway, guess will hope for the best from the 2 teams I've mainly cheered for over the years - the Orioles and the Pirates.

Play Ball!  :-)

Yes, there were seven Blue Jays in that ASG in 1993.  

If the Orioles get any starting pitching at all, we should be able to win at least 90 games, but that's a big question mark.  I was hoping the Orioles were going to make a play for Price, but we spent most of our money on hitting (Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez, Matt Wieters).  We'll have to win a lot of 9-7 type games.  

NOLA BB Fan,

Another Orioles fan!!!

Let's go Cubs and Orioles!

You're welcome for Jake Arrieta by the way. 

Woohoo! ;D

Yankees home opener vs. Astros got postponed.  Will try again tomorrow @1:05pm.  Fat chance.  In Ulster (about 90 miles north of New York City) it started snowing again just after midnight.  It's still snowing, and about to become our biggest snow storm of the year, about 4 inches so far.  It's bad down in the City as well, a rain/snow mix.  It's going to be in 30's all week.  They hope it gets to 39 degrees by game-time on the 5th.  That's still pretty cold for baseball.

Baseball in the snow and rain is not fun like football in the snow and rain.

The Orioles were supposed to start at 3:05 Eastern Time.  The first pitch is being delayed.  It's supposed to rain in Baltimore for the next 4-5 hours. 

Tomorrow will be clear, but cold.  Ah, April baseball. 

KDS' party time is on rain delay....

I guess this is when having a dome comes in handy. It may not be attractive but there's never a cancelled game in Toronto.

I'll take the chance of a rain delay or postponement over playing in a dome any day. 

I'm not even a fan of the modern day retractable domes (ie. Houston, Milwaukee, Arizona). 

CSM, you ever go to Toronto's first outdoor stadium?

Or Montreal's stadium?

I keep hearing that if the local government doesn't spring for a new stadium, the Rays could be going to Montreal. 

I think it's unlikely, but you never know. 

I went to the Exhibition Stadium for a ballgame in Toronto when I was very, very young. I don't have much of a memory of it. I did see The Beach Boys there as a kid too.

I have seen Olympic Stadium in Montreal from the outside but unfortunately I never saw a game there. I think that if a team ever did return to Montreal, they would have a new park.

Yeah Montreal was ruined by the current stadium being a boondoggle. The Rays should have gotten a new stadium instead of the Marlins and that shyster Jeffery Loria.

The Expos were also the biggest casualty of the 1994 strike. 

They sure were. '94 was shaping up to be a good year for baseball in Canada. Who knows what might have ended up happening but a Jays vs. Expos World Series would have been amazing up here. Though I'm sure all the ad men in the States would have lost their minds.

Reds fan here.  We're expecting the team to be awful, but opening day is a huge event here.  Still looking forward to baseball season.

I'm not a baseball fan at all, but KDS, I hope the Orioles get their asses kicked today. (If the rain stops.) I've read expectations are climbing for the Twins. While I can't confirm or deny that (not knowing more than a couple of players on the whole team, much less anyone on any other teams), I hope they get a nice win to kick things off.

That was probably unlikely.  The Blue Jays team from 1994 was suffering from a bit of a World Series hangover, as both the Yankees and the Orioles were above them in the standings. 

Joe Torre may have benefited more than anyone from the strike.  If the Yankees did make the WS in 1994, Buck Showalter might have lasted longer there.

Captain,

Are you from the Twin Cities? 

Let's Go Tigers!!!

Yep -- a Minneapolis resident since fall of '96 (excluding one year in a suburb right at the northern point where the two major cities touch that's so tiny most Twin Citians have never heard of it), and a lifelong Minnesotan (minus a couple years at the U of Northern Iowa, so I'm also a Panther).

You are Mr. Minnesota!

None of us want to see me walking across a stage--well oiled--in a speedo. None of us. Leave that to our former governors or whatever.

Yeesh on that one! Jesse "the body" Ventura aka governor of Minnesota! :lol

OK, in that case, I'll allow your bashing of my beloved Baltimore Orioles. 

Kirby Puckett was one of my favorite non-Orioles players growing up. 

Mr. Verlander, as in Justin Verlander??

How's your wifey? 

 :o

the ice field.  Yankees lose 5th consecutive opening day game...  the temp was a chilly 36 degrees.  But.  48,000 fans showed up!

 :woot :woot :woot :woot :woot

Reading the ongoing thread dealing with people with alleged "secret knowledge" of things reminded me of a controversial event from 1997.

In August 1997 I traveled to Baltimore to see 3 Orioles games - one with the A's, and 2 with the Mariners. The A's game was strange - arriving in town I heard on local radio that the Public Address Announcer for the Orioles had passed away. I'm blocking on his name, but in going to previous games the year before he'd always end an announcement with "THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUU!"  That night there were no announcements at all, in tribute to him.

The next night was where the "controversy' took place. The place was packed, fans around me had traveled from Boston, New Jersey and other places to see this important matchup. Randy Johnson was to be the starting pitcher for the Mariners. The problem that came up was with the lighting.  Half the lights were out for some reason and couldn't be fixed. We all waited impatiently, then finally got the word that the game would be postponed, with a split doubleheader the next day.

Oh, the rumor mill started, and kept on for years. Cal Ripken was still piling up games with the consecutive games streak. something must have happened where he couldn't be at the game, and that's why the Orioles manipulated the lighting.  One story had Cal getting hurt after beating his wife, Kelly.  The other story was that Kelly beat Cal up.

Well, I knew that was so much hogwash.  How? I was at the game, and Cal was there. He was on the field before the scheduled start time, taking pictures with representatives of the milk industry (he was a paid spokesperson for them). Cal looked healthy to me. But for years afterward I would have to post on boards debunking that crazy rumor that would not go away.

You mean, Miss Upton? She's hot. I don't know if you've noticed.  >:D

I was at the silent game in 1997.  Rex Barney was the PA announcer's name.  He was the voice of Memorial Stadium / Camden Yards for over 20 years when he passed.  He also briefly pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers and threw a no-hitter. 

He's written two books - an autobiography called Thank Youuu, and one of Orioles Memories called.......Orioles Memories.  Really nice guy. 

That story about that Cal Ripken game still pops up now and again.  There's different variations of the urban legend, one involving an affair Kelly had with Kevin Costner.  All BS obviously. 

I've noticed.  Nice work. 

Sorry Capt,

I think my Orioles got some revenge for when your Twins came to Camden Yards last August and ruined our season with a four game sweep. 

It's all come down to this, KDS. Are you watching???

Go Cubs Go! 8)

see you in Cleveland

Yeah  >:D

I hope for a great 7 game series cuz whoever wins a drought will be over for either team....the cavs pushed back their ring/banner ceremony time a half hour so people wont miss a moment of the world series and the opener

Looking forward to this....going for the Cubs all the way!

Check this ticket prices are setting new highs
http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/23/news/companies/cubs-indians-world-series-ticket-prices/index.html (http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/23/news/companies/cubs-indians-world-series-ticket-prices/index.html)

game 3
(http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i262/664465/Eazy-E55.jpg)

Tribe 3-1, i know the cubs arent gonna give up are they?

Nah, WS champions! 8)

Yeah, go Cubbies!

I'm happier than sh*t...go cubs! !!

Tribe blew that, shoulda never went to 10 innings to begin with ::)

Go Cubs Go!

Whats up with the little old lady who was 100/101 yr old cub fan from the commercial?  waiting to see her reaction
all the news keeps showing is 60/70yr old fans

My 87 year old grandpa's voice is hoarse from last night's game!

Thats great it was well deserved for the cubs and the fans.. Remember to watch the dec 2 Bulls & Cavs game, lebron will be wearing a full cbs uniform before the game :lol

A great World Series, Indians will be dangerous next year with a healthy team! 8)

My city has had a AAA franchise for about 30 years. It's been called the Zephyrs, the name it had in Colorado before moving here.
The name worked well here, as the team played its first few years at a baseball park close to an old amusement park which featured the Zephyr roller coaster.
Flash forward to now, and they are playing at Zephyr Field, in a complex that also has the Saints training facility.
The powers that be decided that the name of the team needed to be changed, as those under 45 years of age probably wouldn't know about the Zephyr roller coaster.
The name was selected today.

I know my fair city, New Orleans, has a reputation for oddball things, but this, er, takes the cake.

Imagine some big, broad shouldered slugger being introduced as a member of:

THE NEW ORLEANS BABY CAKES!!!

 :thud

Maybe if we need a rallying song, it could be "Don't Worry Baby"!