Thirtyballparks.com

http://thirtyballparks.com/

So here is a real cool tour that you might want to put on your calendar; thirty ballparks in the space of thirty or so days for a summer vacation

My Dream Game

http://www.goldpanners.com/MidnightSunGame/index.html

More than anything else, this is a place I want to go.

Here is a place I want to be.

I wanted to do it last year. I could not arrange it for this year. But for next year, somehow, someway, I would like to schedule things to be in Fairbanks, Alaska. I just did not think having just recovered from a bout of pneumonia that this was the appropriate course of action for me to take in June of 2009. But maybe next year. That's what the Cubs fans always say, right? Maybe next year. And now that I am healthier, maybe a lot more blogging. But at least a trip to the California coast. To the beaches of Laguna, La Jolla, San Diego, and of course, Black's Beach.

Lou Gehrig's 'Bad Break'

The Iron Man of Baseball passed away on June 2, 1941; almost 70 years ago today. This was a ceremony in his honor on July 4, 1939 I believe. In the face of a career ending injury which would lead to his passing, he gave all of us a perspective on life, noting that his baseball career and life's experience made him 'the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.' I think about those words often when I get taken ill, or have a bad break. He stood up in the face of adversity as so must we all.

Doubt that he was ever suspended under a drug policy for 50 games. One of my heroes, with a legacy of grace and guts and he was so young. I saw that Casey Kotchman this week was out three or four days with a 'contusion.' How many times in his streak of 2,130 games in an era when the fields were not well tended, when the gloves were not as strong, when the medicines not as healing, did Lou Gehrig play with a contusion on his knee?

I think Conor Jackson and Casey Kotchman have a ways to go. Here are some astounding facts of that streak, which ironically also began on June 2, 1925, 84 years ago today.

Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Gehrig in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Pipp was in a slump, as were the Yankees as a team, so Huggins made several lineup changes to boost their performance. Fourteen years later, Gehrig had played 2,130 consecutive games. In a few instances, Gehrig managed to keep the streak intact through pinch hitting appearances and fortuitous timing; in others, the streak continued despite injuries. Locked into the American athletes' professional vernacular today is the phrase, don't get 'Pipped,' aka don't call in sick, you may never get your job back.

AS for Lou, look what he endured:

On April 23, 1933, an errant pitch by Washington Senators hurler struck Gehrig in the head. Although almost knocked unconscious, Gehrig recovered and remained in the game.

On June 14, 1933, Gehrig was ejected from a game, along with manager Joe McCarthy, but he had already been at bat, so he got credit for playing the game. On July 13, 1934, Gehrig suffered a "lumbago attack" and had to be assisted off the field. In th

e next day's away game, he was listed in the lineup as "shortstop", batting lead-off. In his first and only plate appearance, he singled and was promptly replaced by a pinch runner to rest his throbbing back, never taking the field. A&E's Biography speculated that this illness, which he also described as "a cold in his back", might have been the first symptom of his debilitating disease.

In addition, X-rays taken late in his life disclosed that Gehrig had sustained several fractures during his playing career, although he remained in the lineup despite those previously undisclosed injuries.

Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played stood until September 6, 1995, when Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke it.

I would like to think somewhere in a small ballfield somewhere else in America today, maybe even in Latin America or Japan, some young kid is saying 'I can do that'; and long after this blog and myself are gone, some other blogger will be writing about the guy who surpassed Cal Ripken. It is the way of sport. Records are made today only to be broken tomorrow.

S Rod and Brandon May Be Bashing Wood in LA Soon

It could be Sean Rodriguez, not Brandon Wood.

Second baseman might get the nod over teammate at triple-A Salt Lake if the Angels promote someone to take over for a slumping Howie Kendrick.

Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes today that "Imagine the uproar among Angels fans and bloggers if second baseman Howie Kendrick continues to struggle at the plate, the team makes a move to replace him, and it isn't to call up slugging prospect Brandon Wood.It could happen.

Wood, who is batting .289 with 10 home runs and 21 runs batted in for triple-A Salt Lake, is the player most prominently mentioned when talk turns to in-house options to bolster the offense.Because Wood plays third base and shortstop, his promotion would prompt a move of Chone Figgins from third base to second.But if Kendrick, who is batting .229 with four homers and 20 RBIs, is demoted, Wood isn't the most worthy replacement candidate.Sean Rodriguez is.Fans remember Rodriguez as the slick-fielding but light-hitting second baseman who provided superb defense in place of the injured Kendrick and Maicer Izturis in five stints, and 59 games, with the Angels last season."

But Rodriguez, who also plays shortstop, third and the outfield, has become a legitimate two-way threat. He is batting .280 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs in 46 games for Salt Lake, and don't be surprised if he gets the call before Wood if a move is made."He's really picked it up," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's someone we're paying a lot of attention to. The way he's driving the ball, playing all-around, has been very impressive.

As for Kendrick, Scioscia said, "We're not contemplating a move at this point, but it's something we're watching very closely."Kendrick seemed to find his stroke during a six-game stretch from May 18 to 23, when he was eight for 23 with three RBIs, raising his average from .230 to .247.But Kendrick went hitless in his next 11 at-bats and did not start Saturday night against Seattle."At times, he looks like he's getting comfortable in the box, at times he looks a little frustrated, like he's trying to do too much," Scioscia said. "If a couple hits fall in, I think this guy will start to relax and be productive."

The bottom line is that Brandon Wood has been Fantasy's Babe Ruth for four years now, ever since an astounding minor league season, which has never materialized in the majors. Some take years to develop and get a chance. Some just get passed over. Some like Adrian Gonzales, go through Texas and Florida as the number one draft choice in 2000, only to shine in San Diego nearly 8 or 9 years later. But we live in an age and era of hype, and the Angels have fed into that machine, with Dallas McPherson, Kendry Morales, Casey Kotchman, Brandon Wood, and Sean Rodriguez. If only minor league stats counted, these guys would have been a fantasy delight.

So a shrewd fantasy owner may rush to the waiver wire and find Sean Rodriguez on it. He may replace Kendrick. He may or may not do well. Or he may just find time passed him by. The truth is that none of us know for sure whether this is the year the Wood gets to the plate, or S Rod becomes a dominant force. One thing is for certain, if you are in a fantasy pennant race, the time to deal Wood or S Rod is right now. Their value will never be higher. All because fantasy owners are starting to, like Mike Scosia, look at Howie Kendrick's actual numbers and not the hype.