Davies is a real throwback

Kyle Davies, pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, is a throwback to a different era when major league baseball players had offseason jobs. Davies, get this, is working construction as a laborer! He is digging ditches, pouring concrete, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. That's a hard-core Blue Collar Baseball player!

Here is the first few paragraphs of Sam Mellinger's article from the KC Star:

You might think professional athletes have become spoiled. Might think the money and the fans and the hype have all conspired to strip them of their humility or sever any connection between them and regular fans.

Please meet Royals pitcher Kyle Davies, in a way that has to surprise you.

“I’m a laborer, man,” he says into his cell phone.

This was not a reference to needing to get his pitch count down. Actually, that was not a reference to pitching at all.

When Davies said that, he was driving home after a long day’s work, away from a construction site where he’s been spending his days this offseason near his Georgia home.

Some guys are called “throwbacks” because they slide headfirst or wear a buzzcut or don’t celebrate in the end zone. Davies might be more of a throwback than any of them.

Read the rest here.

Tom at MLB Fanhouse also writes about this.

Getting Duped

Dupe, noun: A person who functions as a tool of another person or power; verb: To deceive or cheat.

Today, it's safe to assume that both Jack Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Braves' president, John Schuerholz, feel like they have been duped.

Jack Wilson is upset about the effort of Pirates ownership to "compete." Rightly so. I definitely think that Jack was told by Pirates ownership that they would try to build a team that could compete at some point over his tenure in Pittsburgh - that certainly hasn't happened. I'll direct you to a conversation with Bucs' President Frank Coonelly from March 2008. The word 'compete' appears at least seven times. A fan asks the question, "Do you really think you can compete for a championship against the big-market clubs?" Coonelly's answer:

"Absolutely. The Pirates will not use economics, our financial resources or the economic system of baseball as a crutch. I absolutely believe that we can build an organization that will compete for championships in Pittsburgh. Last year, three of the four clubs that were in the League Championship Series were clubs in the bottom tier of payroll. There is no reason why the Pirates can't enjoy success with our resources."

I'm certainly a fan of building from within and developing your own players, however, that's still no excuse for being cheap or disrespecting to a top-notch guy like Jack Wilson. WHYGAVS and Bucs Dugout discuss Jack's remarks.


John Schuerholz is pissed. He calls the actions of Arn Tellem, Rafael Furcal's agent, "despicable," "disgusting," and "unprofessional." Schuerholz also vowed to never deal with any of Tellem's clients again.

Unfortuately, classless agents like Tellem and "the devil" (a.k.a. Scott Boras) are driving baseball. They have absolutely no respect for teams, organizations, and the future of the game and its fans.

Neverett named Pirates new play-by-play man

Tim Neverett has been named the Pittsburgh Pirates' new play-by-play man. Neverett will take over Lanny Frattare's duties of performing play-by-play on both the radio and television.

If you are a baseball listener like I am, you know how important the play-by-play man is. The radio broadcast forms a geographic bond between the listener and the events on the field. The play-by-play man acts as the eyes of the fan and paints a picture of the game in the listener's mind. Without the description, the game does not happen.

Good luck to Neverett. I look forward to hearing his voice flow out over the Pirates radio network and XM radio.

PBC's post features an audio clip of Neverett discussing his style.

BCB Link: A Bud Selig Christmas Carol

Pat, of WHYGAVS?, is producing a holiday masterpiece for BCB fans. He has just posted Stave I of A Bud Selig Christmas Carol featuring an appearence by Marge Schott's Ghost.

Here is an excerpt:

"What are you doing here? Why have you come, of all people, to me?" Selig asked the ghost.

"Like all miserable spirits, I have been condemned to walk the earth and see the misery that I caused. I'm forced to see former Reds fans with the hope and love of baseball crushed out of them. Really, it's a miserable existence for an evil old hag like me."

Update (12/20/08 @ 7:19PM): Link to Stave II

A year since the Mitchell Report: The arrival of the "six tool" player

I was just over a year ago today on December 13, 2007 that the Mitchell Report was released. It seems longer than that don't you think? Why is that?

My theory is that we have put that era behind us. We've quickly moved on to valuing total and complete players (i.e. Jay Bruce, Grady Sizemore, Curtis Granderson, Nate McLouth, Josh Hamilton) rather than the sluggers of the 1990s and early 2000s (i.e. Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa). We baseball fans also seem to be placing more importance on character as a trait of our favorite players. Isn't that one of the reasons why Mark Teixeira is so highly sought after? People like Josh Hamilton have captured interest and certainly fit this bill as a "six tool" player. A "six tool" player possesses all of the five baseball tools (1. hitting for average, 2. hitting for power, 3. fielding, 4. throwing arm, and 5. speed) + 6. character. Valuing the complete "six-tool" player with upstanding character is certainly good for the game of baseball and Blue Collar Baseball fans.

Griffey's grass stain Photoshopped?

This post is inspired by a hilariously clever comment left over at Diamond Hoggers. Is Griffey's grass stain real or has it been Photoshopped?

I'm a big Junior fan, but we all know that he didn't get his uniform dirty very often during his last few years in Cincinnati.

Welcome back, Jack... it's like you never left

With the latest news indicating that Rafael Furcal will not be leaving L.A. and will most likely re-sign with the Dodgers (instead of Atlanta), it looks like Jack Wilson's prospects of being traded have dwindled. The Dodgers seem to have been the only team seriously interested in the Pirates shortstop. So I guess my latest goodbye to Jack was premature, as have been the other posts in this "series." Although you never left... Welcome back, Jack!



Furcal not going to the Braves also puts an end to any trickle-down deals associated with his arrival in Atlanta, including the [overly optimistic] hope of Yunel Escobar coming to the Reds.

Just in case you haven't noticed, I've added a new blog to the links in the sidebar - Where have you gone, Johnny Grubb? Greg writes a nice post entitled, "Baseball on the Radio: A Dying Pastime." Greg also writes a blog called Out of Bounds, where in June of 2006 he predicted the ascendancy of BCB favorite, Curtis Granderson.