The Devils dropped back to back games in Boston and Philadelphia,but have been inactive since and the rest of the sports world has been kinda slow.
I know I still need to get back into Pirate coverage,but frankly there isn't much happening there either unless you consider Jose Tabata's wife (allegedly) kidnapping a baby happening news!
The biggest issue to me from the Pirates is this rumor that the Pirates could be considering moving their High A team from Lynchburg (Carolina League) to Bradenton (Florida State League) for the 2011 season.
Not only would this piss me off tremendously,this would also be a bad move for the Pirates.
Why?
Well,as we have written in the past,the Carolina League is the Cadillac of High A baseball,due to its ballparks not having a bias towards either hitters or pitchers (California League) or that the league actually has people that attend games (Florida State League).
Teams look at the FSL and think how great it would be to have their High A team on the training site etc and that sounds great until you begin to consider that the weather is oppressive after April,low attendance gives the FSL an atmosphere of sterility and the longer distance between West Virginia and Altoona for players going up and down will be a huge hindrance.
Could the Bucs go to Bradenton?
Yes,perhaps.
But in the end,just last years rumors of Baltimore leaving Frederick for the FSL,Pittsburgh (I hope) will realize just how good being in the Carolina League is and will stay.
Getting back into the CL is harder than getting out-ask the Reds....
Paying our respects
To former Yankee Johnny Blanchard.
Blanchard (who was just another jocko) was the ace pinch hitter for the powerhouse Yankees of the early 60's as well as Yogi Berra's caddy at catcher.
Blanchard was known for occasionally knocking a guy off a bar stool as one of the favorite running buddies of the Mantle and Ford pinstripers.
Blanchard was 76.
To former Giant Whitey Lockman,who passed away at the age of 82.
Lockman was a steady first sacker for the Giants,who is perhaps most famous for his double that preceded the "Shot heard round the world" that was smacked by Bobby Thomson in 1951.
Lockman also managed the Cubs for three years in the mid-seventies.
To former Devil Walt Poddubny,who died suddenly at his home at just 49 years of age.
Walt played for five teams over 11 seasons,but had his most success with the Rangers and scored 116 goals over the course of three seasons.
Back problems quickly sent Poddubny's career on the skids and his three year stint with the Devils saw him score just 9 goals in 55 games over the three seasons.
Poddubny was reported to have suffered from both addiction issues and financially after leaving the league...
To 1992 Kentucky Derby winner Lil E.Tee,who was euthanized due to intestinal problems.
The 20 year old stallion's Derby win was his only Grade I win,but he did have two Grade II wins in the then Jim Beam Stakes and the Razorback Handicap at age 4.
We did add a correct pick with Vitali Klitschko's 9th round knockout of challenger Juan Carlos Gomez and that moves our record to 5-2-1 with 3 bonus tokens.
We gave Gomez the first two rounds and none thereafter....
Until later or tomorrow
Photo Credits
Lockman:Topps Cards
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