Fastball Fans

Prince Fielder hit his NL-leading 50th home run and the Brewers moved three games from the Cubs’ NL Central lead, beating the Cardinals.

However, that was not the big news from last night — the continuing rift with his father, Cecil Fielder may have just grown wider.

Here are bits and pieces from an article from last night from ESPN.com:

Prince Fielder, who passed Willie Mays as the youngest to reach 50 in a season, said he wants to hit 52 home runs this season. That would be one more than his father hit in 1990 for the Detroit Tigers.

“My dad had 51,” Fielder said. “Then, he can’t say anything.”

After the Milwaukee crowd chanted “MVP” following a two-homer game Tuesday, Fielder was asked what a Most Valuable Player award would mean to him.

“It would be a cool award to get but that’s not something I think about,” he said, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “besides the fact my dad never did it. If I do get it, that shuts him up again.”

and…

After Tuesday’s game, Prince said: “That’s what drives me. People said I was too big and all this, and the only reason I got drafted was because of the name.

“That’s why I’m so passionate about playing. I don’t mind people comparing me to him but I’m a completely different player. One day I want people to mention my name and not have to mention his.”

In June, Cecil Fielder was quoted as saying: “I don’t think he’s grown up yet. Until he can move on and talk to me like he’s my son, we don’t need to talk.”

Asked about his father’s recent comments Tuesday, Prince Fielder said: “You’ve got to look at who’s saying it. Let’s be honest. He’s not really the brightest guy.”

Wow. I don’t know what to say — it’s sad to see, and almost makes me want to say, “perhaps you both should kiss and make up — life is too short, and let bygones be bygones”…

photo from the AP

According to the AP, the ball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th home run will be branded with an asterisk and sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the ball in an online auction, set up a Web site for fans to vote on the ball’s fate, and Wednesday announced the decision to brand it won out over the other options — sending it to Cooperstown unblemished or launching it into space.

Now, if you were Barry Bonds would you be happy? Me, no…

Milton Bradley is done for the season, Mike Cameron might not be in much better shape and the livid San Diego Padres tried to regroup Monday from a bizarre chain of events that left their outfield depleted with a week to go in the season.

The event was crazy — according to the AP, Bradley tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when Black spun him to the ground while trying to keep him from going after umpire Mike Winters during an eighth-inning confrontation in Sunday’s loss to Colorado.

The New York Mets could not widen their lead in the NL East as Austin Kearns hit a three-run homer and Ronnie Belliard drove in three more in the Washington Nationals’ 13-4 victory Monday night.

I still expect the Mets to take the division; however, something will happen dramatically with Philadelphia this weekend…

For 45 years, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium was home to baseball in Washington D.C., as the Senators played there 1962 to 1971, and then the Nationals from 2005 to 2007.

A relic of a time gone by, the old ballyard hosted its last major league baseball game on Sunday, and it is fitting that the Nationals emerged victorious by beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3.

Even though Washington baseball has been associated with the hard-luck Senators, the 40,519 fans who flocked to the stadium to see the Nationals, but honor the team that has stolen the hearts of many baseball fans in the region, as well as honor the old Senators who played baseball a generation ago.

On a high note, the Washington Nationals did leave RFK with a winning record at 122-121, and as well drew a little less than two million for the season.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

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Gallery Before the Game/Game Action:

Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals

Gallery of After the Game:

The Last Game at RFK - The Ninth Inning and Post Game

To see more, check out my personal blog, The Oriole Post…

Is Boston’s season imploding? Not really, but they are going to the playoffs anyway; however, they have seen their lead shrink from 14 1/2 games in the beginning of the summer to 1/2 with 10 to play now.

What happened?

Simple, Boston has been injured and their ‘pen along with Gagne has sucked, while the Yankees have been hot and the kids have come through big.

Barry Bonds is told by the San Francisco Giants that they will not be bringing him back in 2008, he says on his Web site Friday.

The Mets are in trouble — their lead is now down to 1 1/2 over the Phillies.

Five straight losses going head to head with Philly and the Nationals since Friday have many scared.

They need to wake up!

Could this be the man who helps the Yankees over take the Red Sox? Boston fans hope not, but his implosion last night has helped the New Yorkers inch to a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL East.

Congrats Jim; Walk-off, nevertheless! Awesome…

According to the AP, Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 756th home run ball was auctioned Saturday for $752,467, well more than the estimates by memorabilia experts.

Home run No. 755, the ball that tied the record, went for $186,750, according to Sotheby’s/SCP Auctions. Both final prices included the winning bid plus a 20 percent buyer’s fee, according to the auction houses handling the sale.

These days across the “Bottom Line�? of ESPN, the thoughts of those in the media, online and amongst everyday fans, there’s one thing that is certain.

Sports are definitely not what it used to be.

Throughout the annals of American history, sports has not only served as entertainment for the masses, but also has helped to bridge gaps, races, and serves at time as a parable for life.

In 2007, fans are getting to see another side of sports that they didn’t want to see – the proliferation of athletes using performance enhancing drugs and steroids.

Today, I’m going to use baseball as an example as to what is going today.

While America was busy ripping Barry Bonds, pretty much an assumed cheater and jerk, the country found a new hero to root for.

Rick Ankiel.

This is the same man whose career started ever so brilliantly as a left handed hurler for the Cardinals; however, the dream went totally wrong as it flat-lined several years ago due to his inability to throw a strike across the plate.

Seemingly done as a pitcher, he rescued his career as hitter, but toiled in the minors for several seasons and battled injuries. Alas, with his God-given skills and ability to hit a baseball a long way, he made the long, sometimes perilous road back to the majors.

The failed pitcher is now a heroic slugger, worthy of praise and admiration.

He’s the made-for-Hollywood story we all long for and desire out of our athletes. His homers and exploits have helped a St. Louis Cardinals team that was reeling due to unspeakable tragedy and injuries back into the National League pennant chase.

There’s only one problem with the dream, and it’s a big bump in the road.

Ankiel ordered HGH (Human Growth Hormone) from Signature Pharmacy, the same drug outlet that has ensnared so many athletes and wrestlers today.

Barry Bonds and Rick Ankiel – two names connected together in sports infamy.

How we have responded to these two men says a lot about us as sports fans, our morality and as a culture.

Why do we hate Barry Bonds, but some people seemingly have let Rick Ankiel off the hook?

Well, the answer is simple.

Barry Bonds is a man that was blessed with great athletic ability and destined for Cooperstown, with or without drugs. Supremely talented, while at times, surly and difficult with fans and disliked by the media, Bonds did not endear himself to anyone perhaps outside of San Francisco due to the BALCO investigation.

Meanwhile, Rick Ankiel came from a turbulent, impoverished background, for the most part, kept his noise clean and worked at the seemingly impossible task of going from a pitcher to a slugger in the highest levels of professional baseball.

He purports that he was using HGH with a prescription to heal from injuries, which he may very well be telling the truth.

We want our heroes to be pure, humble, and relatable to the human condition, as well as a mirror image of what most would want to be as individuals.

Why do we jump on Bonds, while giving Ankiel as pass?

Read More — the Oriole Post…

I have been trying to find this video all night, and my mission is accomplished.

Here’s video of Dave Trembley being ejected from Wednesday night’s ball game.

The best part of Wednesday night was seeing Dave Trembley ejected. He was not happy over a completely botched call by umpire Paul Emml where Scott Moore was called out at second base off a Jay Payton ground out.

However, Howie Kendrick was not on the bag - he was in a completely different time zone.

Alas, Trembley put on a great performance for those in attendance. He must have telepathically tapped into the head of Earl Weaver, Billy Martin or Lou Piniella because in his tantrum he not only drew a line where Kendrick stood and then HE THREW the umpire out due to this utter incompetence.

Awesome!

Thanks to jenner8675309 for the video!

Here are some pictures below!

The photo of him actually throwing the umpire out was blurry & out of focus, so I had to chuck it…

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Baltimore Orioles

Here are photos from the game on Wednesday night! Hope you enjoy…

Check out more baseball photos and more at my personal site, the Oriole Post…

We all know her from her days from “Who’s the Boss” and “Charmed”, but Alyssa Milano is part of the “dark side” (jokingly, the world of blogging) and now her love of baseball has gone from the information super highway to the small screen.

She’s gotten to know a few players and date them; however, she’s a fan - a huge fan.

And she knows her sh*t..

For those who want to see more of her, there’s some awesome news…

“It was announced Thursday that Milano is joining new Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn as a member of the crew at the brand-new “TBS Hot Corner” on MLB.com as an online personality starting Monday. It is the latest demonstration of Milano’s unquestioned love for baseball — already evident in the successful sales of her TOUCH by Alyssa Milano line of women’s ballpark apparel and the nearly 400,000 unique visits this season to what Entertainment Weekly called one of the best “celebrity blogs” on the Internet.”

Alyssa, congrats on the new job and hope you do well…

Chat it up with her and see what she has to say about the sport we all love, via her blog, Touch ‘Em All…