Fastball Fans

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

Well, it finally came today. =)

No autographed memorabilia, *cough* cleat *cough*, but who can complain about free goodies. And it came on Halloween! It doesn’t get better than that! Those Padres sure have some good timing.

Here is the email I got word for word telling me what was in the package:

“4 Post Cards (2 of their stadium Petco Park, 1 of pitcher Jake Peavy, and 1 of pitcher Randy Jones

A San Diego Padres “Play Downtown” Sticker (round)

A 2006 Schedule for the San Diego Padres “National League West Champions 05″

A 2006 Schedule for Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball (Stormbaseball.com)

A “Limited Stadium Edition” of their Official Souvenir Program “Inaugural Tournament March 2006″ ‘06 World Baseball Classics (96 pages, selling price of $10)

An Official Program “World Series 1988″ Major League Baseball “The Fall Classic (104 Pages, selling price of $10)

A San Diego Padres 2006-2007 Calendar & Schedule (full size calendar)

3 Bobble Heads (small 3″ high): #44 (Jake Peavy), #3 (Greene), #15 Bochy and a one-side thin card (hole punched in bottom) for each which lists their Residence, Birth Date and Place, and Height and Weight”

Sounds good to me.

My room is going to be overflowing with baseball stuff when I get home.

I can’t wait!

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, Fan Pack, Sand Diego Padres, Padres, Trick or Cleat

The postseason is over. The World Series Trophy has a new home in St. Louis.

The question is there… right in front of your face. What do I do until February 15th? (Because of course, we all know that is when pitchers and their catchers arrive at spring training.)

The answer is that there is plenty. Personally I am waiting to see how my boy Andruw does in the Japan All-Star Series which starts in just four more days.

There are plenty of big name free agents out there, and most likely soon to be even more. Player activity is always fun to watch in the off-season. Seeing how your team will perform with their new acquisition and or lose of a player. The Winter Meetings should provide for some juicy trades this year.

There are plenty of teams out there that can’t afford big loses, and others that need to recover from the same type of loses from a year ago if they want to pull themselves off the ground and make a run at their respective divisions next season.

2007 isn’t far off, and neither is the 07′ season (If you have the incessant need to see how many days/hours are left until the season sees its first pitch you can give Al’s countdown clock a visit at his Cubs/Baseball blog). And in the off time, sit back, get some of that work done that has been piling up as you were glued to the TV and the playoff games it contained and keep an ear out for interesting trade rumors.
=)

Baseball, MLB, Major League Baseball, Japan All-Star, off-season, offseason, Winter Meetings

They won tonight to claim a 4-1 World Series victory over the Detroit Tigers. They didn’t earn it; the Tigers gave it to them with their pathetically poor play.

I was rooting for the Tigers simply because I felt they deserved to win and would because they were the better team for the postseason. But no, they didn’t even come close to winning the series.

The postseason used to be the two best teams in baseball playing each other to claim supremacy as the World Series champion. What is it now? Teams with inferior records in relation to other teams in their league scooting by on errors and luck to claim victory and the World Series trophy.

The current postseason structure allows more teams a shot at a World Series trophy, but do they deserve that shot?

I suppose it is all in your definition of the “best” team. Whether best constitutes having the best record over 162 games, or the best record in three post season series. I define best as the best record over the 162 game season. The team that can claim to have done that has proved themselves as a strong team that can overcome the many difficulties associated with such a long and rigorous schedule/season.

But my definition apparently doesn’t count, and so the Cardinals are the World Series champions.

Congratulation to all you Cardinal fans out there. Take pride in the fact that the Tigers gave you a trophy that you shouldn’t even have been eligible to win.

Baseball, Major League Baseball, MLB, St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Tigers, Game 5, Postseason, World Series, World Series Champions

This is getting ridiculous. I mentioned the Detroit pitching errors in a previous entry, but guess what… they got another one!

There were so many bad/weird plays going against Detroit that it seems as though the Cardinal have to win this Series for some divine reason. I mean… wild pitches, balls thrown behind the third baseman, balls thrown over the first basemen, outfielders falling down, balls bouncing off the tip of a glove on a diving outfielder; madness!

Now the Cardinals are up to a 3-1 Series lead, which means if Detroit actually decides they want to play like a team… a good one, they need to win the next three in a row. They certainly are capable of doing it, but not if they don’t step up their play and cut down on their errors.

How can a team that won three straight against the Yankees in the playoffs be playing so poorly against the Cardinals? Now, the Cardinals are a good team and all, but they are no Yankees, and they aren’t a team that Detroit should be down 3-1 against.

Baseball, MLB, Major League Baseball, Playoffs, World Series, Game 4, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Cardinals, Tigers

I can understand the Cardinals not wanting to get swept in the World Series, but they are taking this a little too far. They lead 2-1 now!

I want to complain about all the Detroit pitching problems that lead to most of the Cardinal runs (a wild pitch = 1 run, errant throw to third = 2 runs), but even without those three runs they still would have been shut out.

I thought the long rest would help Detroit, but apparently I was wrong seeing as how all of their starters that had long rests are giving up runs. Then again, the offense hasn’t been there either.

Kenny pitched a great Game 2 after he was found with some brown “junk” on his hand in the first inning. Maybe the other Detroit pitchers should follow his lead and pray they can pitch shutouts as well. With the way the Detroit offense was last night, they will need them.

Detroit better get to work if they want to make me a happy person!

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Tigers, World Series, Playoffs, Game 3

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

*Want to refresh your mind on what I am “Updating”? Then check out their initial response.*

I got all giddy reading this:

“Dear David,

In light of your curious quest, I would be happy to supply something
that would certainly qualify as “something above and beyond” a Fan Pack.

Please respond with your shipping address and your package will be in
the mail shortly.

Chris Tran
Corporate Communications”

Now tell me that ain’t something. They brought in another whole department to deal with me. =) Can’t wait till it arrives… Go Padres! =)

However, I have the eerie suspicion that I will be getting a big box from the Padres that will contain something like a single, individual M&M. A treat that will act as quite the trick…

Anyhow, I shot Chris back an email, here it is:

“Dear Chris,

Thank you for your timely and enjoyable reply.

My shipping address is:

*My Name*
*My Address*

I will eagerly await the package.

Thanks again,

~David Macomber”

This makes me rethink the whole not defining the fact I am doing this as a continous blog update in my emails to ALL the teams. I don’t think that would have really changed anything though, but who knows?

Well, my fingers are crossed; feel free to cross yours for me as well. =)

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, San Diego Padres, Padres, Trick or Cleat

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

Ah, the last delivery of the day, the “big” envelope! This was yet another Fan Pack, but it was certainly a rather nice one. It contained the following: two pencils, a pin, some stickers, some magnates, five oversized player cards, a large magnate of their schedule, and a 2006 team poster.

The Yankees’ Fan Pack sounds like it will be rather hard to beat unless one of the teams comes through with a big item.

I certainly can’t complain at getting these nice Fan Packs, but I await the big catch. =)

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, Fan Pack, Milwaukee Brewers, Brewers, Trick or Cleat

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

“Normal” Envelope #2 on the day.

The White Sox’ version of the Fan Pack consists of a “thank you” letter, a sticker, their schedule, and a poster. A rather small Fan Pack, but they did send something, and they sent it rather quickly. I assumed the best I would get were Fan Packs, but my small dreams of something better shrink a bit more with each one that arrives in the mail.

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, Fan Pack, Chicago White Sox, White Sox, Trick or Cleat

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

Well I got an email today telling me that I had received three envelopes back home from various MLB teams today. They were described to me as two “normal” envelopes, and one “big” one.

The Mariners sent one of the “normal” ones, which was, get this… a Fan Pack! =)

It contained a “thank you” letter for my interest, a poster of the field, some puzzle type things, a sticker made for glass, some other normal stickers, and three baseball cards of Mariner players.

It sounded like a nice little Fan Pack, but still just a Fan Pack.

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, Fan Pack, Seattle Mariners, Mariners, Trick or Cleat

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

Here is the email:

“Dear Mr. Macomber:

Thanks for your earlier email; please excuse the delay in responding. We are unsure what it is you are seeking from the Padres. Is it simply a fan pack or some promotional items?

The San Diego Padres”

I must say, that was a rather pleasant and courteous email. Certainly not the abrupt denial I have faced previously, although that very well may be coming in their reply (if they send one).

Now, I didn’t mention this blog or, naturally, the fact that I was posting the results in it in any of my initial emails. So, I decided I would let the Padres in on the secret and see where that takes me.

Here is my response to them:

“Dear Padres,

There is no need to fret the delay. What I was inquiring about was something beyond the generic “Fan Pack”. To give you the rundown, I run a baseball blog at www.fastballfans.com and was running a little “experiment”. I sent the email you received to all 30 MLB clubs and am recording the results (both email and “snail mail”) on the blog to see what team/s if any send something above and beyond a “Fan Pack”.

Do with that what you will.

I appreciate and would like to thank you for your time in both reading my initial email and responding to it.

*My Name*
*My Address*
*My Email*”

I will keep you posted as to what happens next.

MLB, Major League Baseball, Baseball, Fan Pack, San Diego Padres, Padres, Trick or Cleat

Kenny Rogers was showing so much emotion on and off the mound during last night’s game that I’m sure all the camera men who would have to track him down for an interview after the game were praying that he won. No camera man wants to deal with an angry Kenny Rogers; we have already seen what that leads to last season. =)

So, the series is tied thanks to Kenny who added quite a few more scoreless innings to his postseason list for this year. He left the game at 3-0 and then watched as the bullpen gave up a single run before securing the Tigers’ win.

The series is now tied at 1-1. Both teams have a day to rest up today while they travel to St. Louis for three before going back to Detroit for the last two games of the series (if necessary).

Tigers in 6!

MLB, Baseball, Major League Baseball, Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers, Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals, Postseason, World Series Game 2, Game 2, World Series

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

*Want to refresh your mind on what I am “Updating”? Then check out their initial response.*

Alright, I just got their latest message. Here it is for your reading pleasure:

“Thank you for your comments. We have no items to give.

Best Regards,
Giants Guest Services”

Well then, it appears that cleverness is worthless to the San Francisco Giants. What a pity. I thought I just might have had a change with them. I probably shouldn’t have. Barry Bonds never signs autographs and the Giants don’t give them out either.

Hopefully something juicy comes in the next few days. Whether via email or snail mail.

Baseball, MLB, Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants, Giants, Fan Pack, Trick or Cleat

Well they did it again! The St. Louis Cardinals managed to pull out another win.

They are no off to a 1-0 start in the World Series over the Detroit Tigers.

I did not foresee them winning this, and am now pushing back my prediction (yes, I am allowed to change it now because my first prediction is already shot) to Detroit winning in 6 instead of 5.

I am counting on Kenny to pull out two strong starts, both in game 2 and 6 as well as the rest of the Tiger team contributing to help my new prediction come through.

It is bad enough that I picked the Mets to make the Series, and if the team I picked to WIN the Series doesn’t come through… then I am just awful at this prediction business and should really stop. =(

Let’s hope that isn’t the case; unless of course you are a Cardinals fan. In which case, I hope you watch your team lose in 6 games. =)

World Series, Playoffs, MLB, Major League Baseball, Game 1, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Tigers, Cardinals

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

The second delivery! Now, like I mentioned in the Indians Delivery (directly below this entry), all of the things the teams are sending are going home, which is a nine hour drive from my college, so I have not seen anything they have sent, nor will I until I go home. My mother doesn’t have a digital camera so that is out as a means to see the stuff and to be able to describe it better.

Alright, so when she described this, she used the word “big” which got my mind wandering about what it may be. She then said she felt it and thought it might be clothes or something, which only got my mind wandering further and faster.

It cost almost $5 in postage to send, which is over five times the cost of the Indians delivery (sounds about right… they have a team salary that is about five times that of the Indians as well). I didn’t right down the things as she was going, so I may have missed something, but this is what she told me was in the package: a pin, a few magnates, a bunch of bumper stickers, a full-size calendar that highlights all of the Yankee game days, a couple pens, a small “collectible” baseball of Jeter, a mouse pad, and a cap. I didn’t get a good description of the cap, so don’t ask.

They sent a ton of stuff, and some of it sounded pretty good. I can’t wait till I go home for Thanksgiving and see all of the stuff all the teams have sent me. I can plaster it all up and cover the walls in an MLB collage or something. =)

The thing that really gets me about the Yankee package is that I got a delivery error when I sent them their email through their site. I then went back and found an email address for the team, I think it was the customer service one, and sent them an email through my own outlook instead of their form (which I used for the other 29 MLB teams). I didn’t get a failed delivery message the second time, but neither did I get a response from them.

I guess it went through though, eh? =)

MLB, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Yankees, Trick or Cleat, Fan Pack

*Don’t know what “Trick or Cleat” is? Want to read more about it? Then head on over to the Oddball section of this blog.*

Yes folks, it says Delivery and not Response. The first Delivery out of the “Trick or Cleat?” campaign!

Don’t waste your time going through all the entries here trying to find what their response (email) was, because unlike the other teams whose responses I have posted, the Indians opted out of replying to my message.

Now, I was up until 3am last night… or this morning… whatever…. just messing around on the computer and such. I was just waking up at noon when my phone starts ringing. I start looking around my room like an idiot because I am out of it from having just woken up. My roommate tells me it is my phone that is ringing, so I clamber over my bed and pick it up.

It was my mother who called to tell me I received two packages in the mail today. One from the Indians, and one from the Yankees. (I used my home address as opposed to my college address because I don’t want to have a ton of this stuff lying around my already overcrowded little room.)

I ask her if she could open them up and tell me what is inside. So she does. The Indians one was sent in a big envelope that cost 85 cents to ship and contained two 4X6 player cards with their stats on the back, a pocket schedule for their games, and a catalogue to buy their merchandise. It also contained a letter stating how to buy tickets and that they are glad I am a fan and they hope I can make it to their stadium.

The Indians obviously opted to send their “Fan Pack” out to me, and did so without telling me via email. I have no complaints about that, as it is far better then the team who asked if I meant a Fan Pack, and then asked me to fill out a form or some such to get it. I’ll admit to this right here and now, I am far too lazy to link off to some URL where I need to fill out a form just so I can get a sticker in the mail in a week. =)

Good work Indians on being the first to send me some goodies! May they continue and only get better!

MLB, Major League Baseball, Cleveland Indians, Indians, Trick or Cleat, Fan Pack