Poor Toby's Almanac…Willie Mays Birthday
Toby descends from a pack of wild dogs that have roamed the mystical lands of the Transvaal since the beginning of time. Each Sunday morning, he helps us look ahead.
The week that is: The Rangers open up a three-game series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, then return home to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a four-game series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The implications are obvious. The Rangers haven’t beaten either one of these teams this year, getting swept by the Angels in Anaheim to start the season and the Yankees last week in Arlington. The Rangers are done with the Yankees after this.
Pitching decisions: The Rangers made some interesting choices in setting up their rotation this week.
Most notably, they decided to have Mike Wood pitch on Tuesday and Robinson Tejeda on Wednesday against the Yankees. Both pitched in Thursday’s doubleheader so both could have come back on normal rest to pitch Tuesday. But the Rangers decided to give Tejeda the extra day of rest.
It also seems to give Wood an extra start because Kevin Millwood isn’t eligible to come off the disabled list until next Monday. If the Rangers pitch Wood on Wednesday, then Millwood could replace him when that spot in the rotation comes up on Monday. Instead, Wood is in line to pitch on Sunday against the Angels. Tejeda would pitch on Monday against the Angels, leaving Millwood to return some time during the Tampa Bay Devil Rays series in Orlando.
The Oracle of the Elysian Fields: "You teach me about baseball and I’ll teach you relativity. No we must not. You will learn about relativity faster than I learned about baseball." Albert Einstein.
The Relievers: The Rangers are in danger of going up against Mariano Rivera, the Yankees closer who saved both ends of the doubleheader on Thursday. That gives him 29 career saves against the Rangers, the most by anybody. The leaders through the years:
Mariano Rivera 29
Troy Percival 25
Dennis Eckersley 24
Rick Aguilera 23
Rollie Fingers 23
Jeff Montgomery 23
Tom Henke 20
Dan Quisenberry 20
Footnote: Jeff Montgomery had eight blown saves against the Rangers, most by any reliever. Mike Henneman had nine wins in relief, most by an opponent. Also, if you really want to get obscure, Jeff Nelson has 22 holds against the Rangers, followed by Jim Mecir with 19.
Birthdays: He turns 76 today, born in the town of Westfield, Ala. just outside of Birmingham. His parents were divorced and his father worked in a steel mill.
He was 16 when he first played with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos and then was paid one dollar per game to play center field for the Birmingham Black Barons. The New York Giants signed him in 1950.
He has been mentioned in songs by Terry Cashman, John Fogerty, Widespread Panic, Wu-Tang Clan and Bob Dylan.
He was on-deck when Bobby Thomson hit the pennant-winning home run against the Dodgers in 1951. Mays, a rookie, was praying in the on-deck circle that he wouldn’t have to bat.
Try this for trivia: He is the only Major League player to hit a home run in every inning from the first through the 16th innings. He has a Major League record 22 extra-innings home runs.
Don’t debate it: The Catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series is the single most significant defensive play in Major League Baseball. Don’t let cable television fool you into thinking otherwise.
Willie Mays is 76 today.
But don’t forget: Bobby Witt is 43 on Friday and Yogi Berra is 82 on Saturday.
Last call: "It hasn’t gotten to the point where I have to drink. I don’t think anything will come of that anyway. What makes me feel better is results." Manager Ron Washington.
T.R. Sullivan
Toby
“There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and William Shakespeare.”
– Tallulah Bankhead
Buffalo Tom mentioned him, too:
“Where’ve my heroes gone today?
Mick and Keith and Willie Mays
Broken windows trails outside
I can take you for a ride
Summer’s gone a summer song
You’ve wasted every day, every day
Summer’s gone, can’t wipe it off my hands
Write it in the sand, in the sand
In the sand
We are the company we keep. Mays is probably the best overall player ever. I don’t understand why he continually allows Barry Freakin Bonds, to continue to throw his name out every time Bonds feels the heat. “As long as Willie is there when i break the record, Willie is my godfather, Willie is on my payroll.” Is Mays hurting that much for money, if so, why aren’t the Giants taking care of him?
I just read where Clemens signs with the Yankees for 28 Million dollars, pretty good money if you can get it for 5 months. Roger is and always has been about the getus. What happened to him being around his children and being closer to his family? I don’t believe his children are children anymore. I wish this guy would just keep playing or retire. I am so tired of reading about what this “nut” is doing. My personal experience with the guy is that he is a pompous A#S. I am a Yankee fan, but no one else was going to give him $28 million, not even the Red Sox, so why Steinbrenner???
Because Steinbrenner has more money than brains. What’s that going to make the Yankees payroll now, about $230 million? Must be nice to own your own cable television station and not have to worry about how wisely you spend your money.
Let’s face it. The Yankees need pitching BADLY!!! Good ol’ Georgey can afford to overpay for it. My only hope is that they miss the playoffs, which I think is a real possibility with that starting pitching of theirs. Even if they do make the postseason, they won’t last any longer than they have the past few seasons. Pitching rules in the postseason and they don’t have it anymore.
Clemens has been waiting since spring training for this day: he hinted that he would sign with one of these clubs, he simply waited to see which one would give him the best deal, just like a prospect might refuse to be signed, and thereby improve his draft standing. Well, sort of, anyway. The bottom line for ‘ol Rocket was the Red Sox didn’t need him, the Astro’s apparently weren’t willing to pay what he wanted, and, as Hondo said above, the Yanks are pretty desperate. And so Clemens returns to pinstripes. Just another episode of one of baseball’s favorite soaps: “As The Rocket Earns”.
P.S. Happy B-Day to Willie. He was and is one of the greatest greats in baseball history. But a note to Barry Bonds: I don’t care how many times you invoke his name, or how many home runs you hit, you will never be in the same class as Willie Mays.