On the signing front-Mail only version!

With the In Person signing season upon us tomorrow, I thought I would catch up on the mail version before the IP starts.
I have been writing more this winter and have continued to of late,so these are more sizable than in the past...

Baseball
Former Rangers outfielder Billy Sample-included a note
Former Indians and Red Sox utilityman Jack Brohamer
Former Oriole closer Gregg Olson
Former Astros and Padres pitcher Dan "How's it goin' Spec,baby?" Coombs-new record for longest response-353 days,which is cool in its own right.
Former Oriole and White Sox outfielder Royle Stillman
Former Indian,Ranger and White Sox pitcher Jim Kern
Former Oriole,Indian and Royals pitcher Don Hood
Former Giant and White Sox catcher Marc Hill
Former White Sox pitcher Rich Wortham
Former Indians shortstop Frank Duffy
Former Oriole,Blue Jay and Mets infielder Bob Bailor-Included a signed postcard of himself with the Dodgers.
Former Indians,Angels and White Sox outfielder Rusty Torres
Former Angel pitcher Ed Halicki-sent 3 cards and 2 more to keep-2 Giants,1 Angels,signed one,which of course was the Angels :(
Former Indians pitcher Bryan Oelkers
Former Orioles (and Hagerstown Suns) catcher Carl Nichols
Former Indians outfielder Gary Gray-sent four,kept all but his Cleveland card,but that was the main one I wanted!!
Former Red Sox,Brewer and Yankee first baseman George "Boomer" Scott-Another one I had hoped to get.
Former Rangers and Braves pitcher Tommy Boggs-started the first game I ever saw as a kid rooting for the Rangers!
Former White Sox,Cubs and Phillies pitcher Mike Proly
Former Royals pitcher Craig Chamberlain
Former Senators outfielder Fred Valentine
Former Indians and Mariners second baseman Jack Perconte
Former Cubs and Indians pitcher Paul Reuschel

Football
Former Browns defensive tackle Jerry Sherk-Very happy with this one!
Former Bears corner Virgil Livers
Former Patriot QB Brian Dowling-Dowling is more noted for two things-quarterbacking Yale in their famous 1968 tie with Harvard and being the person that the character "BD" is based on in the cartoon "Doonesbury".
Former Patriot and Browns corner Raymond Clayborn
Former Viking linebacker Matt Blair-included a very nice note,thanking me!
Former Rams,Jets and Cardinal punter Duane Carroll-Carroll included a note that talked about him punting for the old semi-pro team here-the Hagerstown Bears.Interesting
Former Eagle,Bengal and USFL quarterback John Reaves
Former CFL and Eagle safety John Sciarra
Former Cardinal linebacker Eric Hill
Former 49er and Lion QB Joe Reed
Former Bronco safety Mike Harden
Former Bears linebacker Waymond Bryant
Former Vikings linebacker Roy Winston
Former Chief and Texas Tech running back James Hadnot
Former Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox
Former Ram,Eagle and Chief QB Ron Jaworski
Former Saints and Redskin QB Billy Kilmer-Great pickup for one of the most imitated passers of my childhood!
Former Cardinals head coach Gene Stallings
Former Bears and USFL tight end Robin Earl-Enclosed a note and link to his radio show
Former Bears and USFL quarterback Vince Evans
Former Colts,Lions and USFL linebacker Stan White
Former Cowboys running back and Broncos head coach Dan Reeves
Former Eagles and Redskin corner Joe Lavender
Former Redskin wideout Danny Buggs-kept his USFL card,but signed all others,so I'll live
Former Cowboy fullback Scott Laidlaw
Former Rams QB Pat Haden
Former Tennessee and CFL Hall of Fame QB Condredge Holloway
Former Falcons and Cowboys defensive tackle Tony Casillas

Basketball
Former North Carolina All-American and Net Mike O'Koren
Former Kentucky Colonel and Utah Star Rick Mount-One of the Big Ten networks "icons"

Golf
Bobby Clampett

Announcers
Dick Enberg-"OH,MY"!

Wrestling
Cowboy Bob Orton
Mickie James-I had just one card to send to Ms.James,who signed another and added it as well..

Lots more cool stuff out there,let's hope some of it comes in for a future Mail only On The Signing Front!!

Things even out in Pirates win

One day after the Pirates choked a game away in the late innings,the Cubs did the same as the Pirates evened the score a bit in a 5-4 win at Wrigley Field.
The two run rally in the ninth off Cubs closer Carlos Marmol allowed the Pirates to win the series 2-1.
Jeff Karstens pitched a scoreless eighth for the win (1-0) and Joel Hanrahan tossed a scoreless ninth for his second save.
The Pirates are in St.Louis tonight,but I have been called to work,so no promises on coverage...
Charlie Morton takes the ball for Pittsburgh with Kyle Lohse on the hill for the Cardinals.

Pirate Hooks

1) Play of the game goes to the hustle shown by Neil Walker for scoring the winning run from second after Pedro Alvarez's lightly hit grounder to short and resulting throw pulled Carlos Pena off the bag.
The off balance first baseman lost a second in getting the throw off and Walker beat the peg to the plate.
Nice hustle by Walker..

2) And credit third base coach Nick Leyva for taking the chance on the play as well.
Those gambles with an undermanned team and the game on the line are exactly the type the Pirates need to try.
They aren't always going to work out,such as in the eighth when Tyler Colvin threw out a tagging Jason Jaramillo at the plate,but no risk,no reward....

3) Ronny Cedeno caught a huge break when he finished the Cubs off on a twin killing,just after Cedeno threw what should have been a game ending double play ball into right field.
In the end,the play meant little,but an example of what makes Cedeno so maddening to watch....

4) Andrew McCutchen was scratched with a stiff neck resulting from a dive on a Carlos Zambrano double on Saturday.
No word on his status for tonight.

5) Mike Crotta pitched a three batter seventh in his big league debut and looked good doing it.
Congratulations to Mike,who deserves his time in the sun...

6) The Pirates struck out 12 times against Matt Garza and slapped 12 singles off the debuting Cub.
Definitely an interesting line.

Photo Credits:AP Photo

When the Music's over,turn out the lights....

The New Jersey Devils were officially eliminated from the playoffs last night after a non-descript 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at the Rock.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored the only Devil goal (29) in the third period.
The Devils have four games remaining with Pittsburgh next in Steeltown followed by Toronto at home,the Rangers at MSG and Boston at the Rock....

Hell Raisers

1) Cannot blame Martin Brodeur.
Two of the three goals off deflections and made spectacular saves all during the game.

2) The Devils will sit home for the first time since 1996.
Simply too much ground to make up and I bet if off the record Lou Lamioriello would admit to waiting too long to axe John MacLean.That was the difference.

3) Mattias Tedenby had a penalty shot chance and was denied by Carey Price,who had just 20 saves,but several were excellent ones...

4) Zach Parise's return saw him play 21 minutes and put two shots on Price,although neither was overly difficult saves.

5) Looks like the main issues now are these-the big game is next Saturday against the Rangers in an attempt to keep the Blueshirts out of the playoffs.
The Rangers lead Carolina by one point for the final spot.
The other is how many ping pong balls are in the lottery for the Red and Black.
Right now,the Devils look to be locked into the sixth spot or the seventh,one point behind Atlanta.
The Devils have five more points than the fifth team in the Islanders.


Photo Credit-AP Photo

Meek melts Bucco lead in Wrigley

Evan Meek's eighth inning erased all the good that Paul Maholm and the Pirates had done for seven and a half.
After the inning was over,a 3-0 lead had turned into a 5-3 deficit and three outs against Carlos Marmol ended a disappointing day.
Meek was the loser (0-1),although the game winning hit by Blake DeWitt was given up by Chris Resop.
Garrett Jones homered (1) for Pittsburgh.
The series concludes today with Ross Ohlendorf facing Matt Garza in his Cubs debut..

Pirate Hooks

1) Evan Meek definately was struggling with his control and the leadoff walk was a forbearer of things to come,but the biggest worry to me was the balls hit off of him.
All seemed to jump off the bats of Chicago hitters...

2) Only two of the five runs that Meek allowed were earned though as an error by Lyle Overbay was the difference between a 5-3 margin and a 3-2 lead.
Wasn't Overbay supposed to add so much to the Pirates with his defense?

3) Paul Maholm was excellent with six and two thirds scoreless innings and deserved better than a no decision.
The lefty had his curve working and the Cubs had real issues handling it.

4) The Pirates have to be disappointed with the outcome,but even more disappointed when considering Maholm's effort.
They cannot truly think that they are going to have many games like that from their rotation and they cannot afford to waste them with bad bullpen days.
Chris Resop needed to slam the door on a guy like Blake DeWitt and he didn't...

5) Garrett Jones' homer was a real shot considering the wind yesterday.
The ball was not carrying well at all and to get it out at all showed some pop.

6) Already tired of Greg Brown (well,that's a given) and his shilling for the new name of "Root Sports".
The name is not the best and listening to Greg Brown read the "Root Sports" rap every inning or so makes it worse...

7) The weather in Chi-Town cannot be the best for the "field reporter",but newcomer Lacee Collins is struggling with stumbles and getting her reports finished in between innings.
She is new,so it will take time,but the first impression is not very strong...

8) Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie will be both staying in Florida and not starting with Low A West Virginia.
Probably smart to keep their arm out of the initial cold and keep the innings lower.Both will appear there sometime in 2011.

Photo Credit:AP Photo

Walker wallop wins opener!

Neil Walker's grand slam homer in the fifth inning (1) was all the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to erase a 2-0 deficit and move toward an eventual 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at rainy Wrigley Field.
Andrew McCutchen added a two run shot (1) in the seventh to finish the scoring.
Kevin Correia allowed three runs (two earned) over six plus innings to grab the win (1-0) in his first start as a Buc and Joel Hanrahan finished the Cubs off in the ninth for the save (1).
The series continues today at one with Paul Maholm for Pittsburgh against Carlos Zambrano for the Cubbies...

Pirate Hooks

1) Great day for Neil Walker with the grand slam and double (Walker was on base for the McCutchen homer).Walker is still a large work in progress defensively,but the bat will more than play at the position.

2) Kevin Correia looked solid enough in his opening bow.
I was surprised to see Correia keep the ball in the strike zone,considering the inconsistent zone called for the Cubs pitchers,who walked quite a few.

3) The Pittsburgh bullpen more than did its job on the day with three scoreless innings scattered among four pitchers.The four also allowed just four hits over that span...

4) Pedro Alvarez still looks like a first baseman in the making to me defensively.
His throwing error looked pretty bad,although a small pass can be given to the weather,but he was lucky to not be called for an error earlier that inning and despite a pop up that fell in that should have been Ronny Cedeno's ball to catch,Alvarez still had a chance to haul it in....

5) Ryan Doumit is much maligned for his defense,especially his arm and deservedly so,but he was great blocking the pitches in the dirt yesterday and he even threw out a runner,which was rare last season.

6) The win was the fifth opening win in a row for the Pirates.
Wish they could add a few more to the total.

Photo Credit:Gregory Shamus-Getty Images

3 for PE as Devils win.........

Patrik Elias scored three goals (17,18,19) to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-2 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
Nick Palmieri (8) added the other Devil goal.
The Devils are still playoff alive-for now and host Montreal tonight at seven.

Hell Raisers

1) I missed the first period due to a timer snafu on the Directv box.
Luckily for me,the lovely Cherie noticed that it hadn't switched and manually moved it,despite DTV's warning of moving off a game that it didn't switch to....

2) The Patrik Elias hat trick was his first in a few days short of five years (4/5/06) and the eighth of his career.Elias was fortunate on the third tally as the Brian Boucher save of a Brian Rolston shot rebounded off the skate of Elias and in the net.

3) Brian Rolston picked up assists on the three Elias goals.
Rolston's play has been strong in the second half and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing if he can continue the fine play next season,despite his large salary...

4) The Devils were strong in the second period and dominated play in one of their best periods of play all season.
Almost every one of their ten shots on Brian Boucher was a quality chance..

5) A nod to the pairing of Henrik Tallinder and Mark Fayne,who has been the Devils best defensive pair in recent days.
Fayne's play ranks as the top surprise of the year to me...

6) Johan Hedberg was sharp in earning the win after a lengthy absence.
Hedberg made some nice saves in the third period especially.

7) Zach Parise returns to action tonight against Le' Habs.
Hopefully Parise has not rushed his return...

Photo Credit:Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

Opening Day!

Opening Day is here,although it was yesterday for some.
The Pirates are in Chicago and the Indians are hosting the other Chicago entry in the White Sox.

Despite the calendar saying spring has already begun,to me spring doesn't truly start until opening day.
The outlook doesn't look bright for either team this season,but one can always hope!

Baseball is more than just the bigs to me as Hagerstown and Frederick are just around the corner as Frederick's home opener is April 12th and Hagerstown's 2011 debut and beginning of the Bryce Harper circus is April 15th.
Here is hoping for a super fast start for Mr.Harper,so he can progress right up the ladder as (in my opinion) the Muni is simply not suited for the craziness that is going to follow Harper through no fault of his own.

I do believe that the Hagerstown Suns have made an early misstep in handling things with their Meet the Suns day on Monday.
The last two were well organized and I was hoping to see more of the same this season.
However,I cannot make it on Monday,so their decision will not affect me any,but they are having the first hour be a season ticket holder only event.
I have no problem with that at all,Season ticket holders deserve some perks for laying out their money in advance and I wrote so last December.
The event opens up to the general public at seven and NO autographs available for the general public.
Again,this affects me in no form or fashion as I cannot attend,but zero?
This (somewhat understandably) is an attempt to protect Bryce Harper from the hordes of people,but why not this-Bryce Harper is available only to the season ticket holders,Bryce Harper is leaving the building at seven (Hit the Elvis music here!),the rest of the team will be available for autographs and anything else for the remainder of the event.

I understand that the Suns worry about the young man is only while he is here and once he moves on,the circus becomes someone else's problem,but my question is this to the Nationals-If you are protecting the player in Hagerstown,where does it stop?
Woodbridge (Potomac)? Harrisburg? Syracuse?
You certainly cannot expect it to stop in Washington,can you?

In any event,baseball is here and the good times are ahead at a ballpark or television near you-Enjoy the season!