Pitching is such a vital part of the game, as far as winning is concerned.

On most teams the set up man has become more valuable, on others not so valuable.

Something to keep in mind — it’s raining lightly. The infield could be very wet on ground balls.

What is a drop and drive pitcher? He is a guy who drops and drives. Very simple.

So by guessing right you might have guessed wrong.

Giambi walks too much. He’s always clogging up the bases with all that walking.

As a new day begins in New York, the sun sets in Hawaii.

If football is a game of inches then baseball is a game of inch.

If that ball had more elevation, it would have been a home run.

If the double play is a pitcher’s best friend, what is a fielder’s choice? An acquaintance?

It’s better to have a fast runner on base than a slow one.

One thing about ground balls. They don’t go out of the ball park.

The reason we call that pitch up and in is because the arms are attached to the shoulder.

He wears his hat like a left hander!

Any ball that goes down is much heavier than any ball that stays on the same plane.

The blood on his sock looks exactly like Oklahoma!

You don't want to use too many statistics. The ones that apply to a July or August game won't be relevant on Saturday.

American McCarver

GO, JETS, GO!

By Michele Catalano, June 29, 2011

The big news at the NHL draft last week (besides your favorite team making a terrible pick) was the announcement that the new (again) NHL franchise in Winnipeg will be using the name of the city's former NHL team, the Jets. As it should be.

The Jets were Winnipeg's NHL team from 1979-1996, when they moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. This current Winnipeg team is not the Coyotes but the former Atlanta Thrashers (stick with me here) who were sold in May and moved to Winnipeg, which was like taking a square peg out of a round hole and putting it back in its proper place. 

True North, the corporation which bought the Thrashers, did not buy the name rights so they had to come up with a new name for the team. There was much controversy and gnashing of teeth prior to the official announcement. The people wanted their beloved Jets back. Which at first I thought was weird. I mean, imagine you're dating this girl named Darleen and you really love her and she leaves you. Then years later you meet a girl that's similar to Darleen and you fall in love with her and she says she'll move in with you. You say "OK, but change your name to Darleen." 

That was my first reaction, at least. But the more I thought about it the more I realized why it was the right thing to do. Remember when you used to scream out Darleen's name during sex? How good would it feel to do that again? Even if the sex wasn't that great sometimes? Even if this isn't Darleen but someone who sort of looks like her?

When they finally announced the team would be taking the name of the Winnipeg Jets, I surprised myself by becoming all emotional about it. The Jets were back in Winnipeg. The part of me that longs for the NHL of the 80s might have cried a little bit. The Jets. That hapless, adorable team that won all of nine of 80 games in the 1980-81 season. Everyone loved them then. We rooted for them. We cheered each of those nine wins like they were mini Stanley Cups. "Go, Jets, Go!" we shouted at them, the way you shout at that one kid who is last to run around the bases at the end of a t-ball game. 

So I'm happy to see the name Winnipeg Jets back in action. I'm happy for the city, for the hockey fans and for people like me who are stuck in the past and wish everything old was new again. Now if we could just get the Devils to move back to Colorado, Dallas to head back to Minnesota as the North Stars, give Hartford back their Whalers...there are so many cities that would love to call Darleen's name out again. 

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