Red Sox Fan Mocked Joba At Strip Club On Night Of
DUI

post from The Bronx Stop: A Yankees Blog on 20 October 2008 11:44:00 PM. © The Bronx Stop: A Yankees Blog

In case you were wondering what Joba was doing the night he got popped for DUI, here are the details.

Apparently, Joba was being mocked that night by a guy at the "Night Before Lounge" in Lincoln, Nebraska (pictured right) because he played for the Yankees.
Of course the guy was a fan of, you guessed it-- the Red Sux(I honestly cannot stand people who root for that whack ass team).
I don't know if this altercation at the strip club had anything to do with him getting a DUI, but if it did, Joba needs to learn to get a little bit of a cooler head. You can't let Red Sux fans get you riled up.

Katie Strang/Newsday.com:

Before he was stopped and detained on suspicion of DUI Saturday morning, Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain was provoked and goaded by a fellow patron at the Night Before Lounge, a strip club in downtown Lincoln, according to two witnesses.

Chamberlain, 23, who was accompanied by a group of friends, was approached by a man who mocked him about playing for the Yankees.

"Somebody said to him, 'If you played for the Red Sox, you wouldn't be sitting here right now,"' said Gary "Bo" Bohaty, who owns the Beacon Lounge, which is next door to the Night Before Lounge.

"It got a rise out of him," Bohaty said. "Joba turned his head and said, 'What did you say?' and the guy yelled it again."

A member of Chamberlain's party engaged in some minor pushing with the man who confronted Chamberlain, but Chamberlain himself didn't get physical, according to a manager at the Night Before Lounge who wished to remain anonymous.

The manager, who said Chamberlain comes in quite a bit, described him as "a very nice guy." Chamberlain paid for a $145 tab incurred by six people and left a $100 tip before leaving about midnight.

Chamberlain was then pulled over by state troopers on suspicion of drunk driving and speeding.

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Joba Had Argument With A Sox Fan Before Arrest

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 20 October 2008 10:14:00 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

This story gets better and better.

From the Daily News:

Yankees star Joba Chamberlain downed vodka-and-sodas and caroused at a Nebraska strip club (photo) in the hours before he was busted for drunken driving, the Daily News has learned.

The 23-year-old pitcher went drinking at a bar in downtown Lincoln and then capped off his Friday night at a local jiggle joint, where he got into a tiff with another customer over the rival Red Sox, witnesses said.
Chamberlain was heckled as he and friends watched the dancers at the Night Before Lounge, witnesses said.

"Some guy yelled out, 'If you played for the Red Sox, you wouldn't be sitting here,'" clubgoer Gary (Bo) Bohaty said.
"That got a rise out of him," said Bohaty, owner of the Beacon Lounge, a bar next to the strip club. "[Joba] turned his head and said, 'What did you say?' and the guy yelled it out again."

As Chamberlain kept shouting back, one of the pitcher's friends got into a shoving match with the heckler, said the club's manager, who asked not to be identified.

Once order was restored, Chamberlain and his five friends stared at the gyrating dancers for nearly 90 minutes before leaving just after midnight. Chamberlain paid the $145 tab and left a $100 tip at the club, where the cover charge is $3, the manager said.

Kat, a regular dancer at the joint, said she didn't even know there was a Yankee in her midst and took no notice of the beef.

"I don't pay attention to altercations - unless I start them," said the blond, who took the stage last night in striped prison garb that she seductively shed.

Earlier in the evening, Chamberlain had two drinks with Grey Goose vodka at Dillinger's bar in downtown Lincoln, the pub's owner said.

Great quote from the stripper.

Anyway, this should be a good lesson to Joba. When you become a big star, you can't put yourself in bad spots because everything will become public.

I also think it's funny how the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry found its way into this story. You think Joba might have been driving a little too aggressively because he was angry about the altercation?

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Defining Starter Roles

post from Beyond the Box Score: Front Page Posts on 20 October 2008 10:00:54 PM. © Beyond the Box Score: Front Page Posts

Defining Starter Roles

Excellent, excellent resource.

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http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2008/10/20/639268/defining-starter-roles

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That Guy Turns Out To Be A Pretty Good Guy Too

post from 30-year old Cardboard on 20 October 2008 08:25:32 PM. © 30-year old Cardboard

With the help of the wonderful Internet, I was able to track down my ‘That Guy’. Keith ‘Kiki’ Jones currently lives in Tampa and is still very much in love with baseball.After exchanging emails back and forth over the last week or so, I asked ‘Kiki’ if I could send him a card for his autograph.He [...]

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/that-guy-turns-out-to-be-a-pretty-good
-guy-too/

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Why the Amish Don't Have Mustaches

post from 2 think good on 20 October 2008 08:02:00 PM. © 2 think good

Clearly, I am referring to the men.

Anyways, I was flipping through the Miami Herald yesterday and spot a full-page ad for an Amish 'Miracle' Heater. Their uniformity of appearance triggered my curiosity and within 3 seconds unproductive neurons planted the the mustache question in my brain. The web and my lack of discipline being what they are, within 43 seconds I had my answer. Then the fun began, they have a web site, a toll-free number and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. This was weird on so many levels;

Yes, they can justify the web site because they don't maintain it. I'm sure this distinction was inspired during the Clinton years.
I'm hoping the Herald ad was part of a national ad buy, otherwise some black hats will have to roll over pushing the heater idea for the South Florida market.
Post Title question - A long beard is the mark of an adult Amishman. Mustaches, on the other hand, have a long history of being associated with the military, and therefore are forbidden among the Amish people.
It's hard to see, but in the ad picture, an Amish worker in the background had the following crocheted on the back of her bonnet, 'McCain reminds me of W.' It's been that kind of week for the McCain campaign....

Read The Full Article:
http://www.2thinkgood.com/2008/10/why-amish-dont-have-mustaches.html

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Why Amish Don't Have Mustaches

post from 2 think good on 20 October 2008 08:02:00 PM. © 2 think good

Clearly, I was referring to the men.

Anyways, I was flipping through the Miami Herald yesterday and spot a full-page ad for an Amish 'Miracle' Heater. Their uniformity of appearance triggered my curiosity and within 3 seconds unproductive neurons planted the the mustache question in my brain. The web and my lack of discipline being what they are, within 43 seconds I had my answer. Then the fun began, they have a web site, a toll-free number and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. This was weird on so many levels;

Yes, they can justify the web site because they don't maintain it. I'm sure this distinction was inspired during the Clinton years.
I'm hoping the Herald ad was part of a national ad buy, otherwise some black hats will have to roll over pushing the heater idea for the South Florida market.
Post Title question - A long beard is the mark of an adult Amishman. Mustaches, on the other hand, have a long history of being associated with the military, and therefore are forbidden among the Amish people.
It's hard to see, but in the ad picture, an Amish worker in the background had the following crocheted on the back of her bonnet, 'McCain reminds me of W.' It's been that kind of week for the McCain campaign....

Read The Full Article:
http://www.2thinkgood.com/2008/10/why-amish-dont-have-mustaches.html

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Real Money

post from Statimagician on 20 October 2008 07:27:00 PM. © Statimagician

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal on some very wealthy bankers, 10 in total, who compete each year in the same fantasy football league.

Each person pays $100,000 to enter! Winner gets $600,000. Second place gets $300,000 and third place walks away with their original $100,000.

Try imagining where $100,000 isn’t real money to you anymore.

Despite its high stakes, the Wall Street League isn’t markedly different from any other. The annual draft is usually held at one of the owners’ offices on a weeknight, usually right before the NFL season’s opening weekend. It begins right after the stock market closes, and there’s a strict one-minute time limit for each pick. (One participant says this season’s first pick was either San Diego Chargers’ running back LaDanian Tomlinson or Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook). Owners who are out of town at the time participate by teleconference. Those who attend in person bring extensive notes and enter their draft picks on laptops while eating catered sandwiches.

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http://statimagician.com/?p=491

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Tear down this wall!

post from Statimagician on 20 October 2008 07:15:00 PM. © Statimagician

With one of the lowest payrolls in the big leagues, and with one of the worst records in 2007, the plucky, athletic Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox in 7 games.

And there was much rejoicing!

It was a great story for Boston to finally break the jinx, and to do it by overcoming the evil empire that is the New York Yankees. But there is no real Red Sox nation. There may be a Cubs nation, but no one outside New England cares (or should care) about the Sox. It was only appropriate to be allied with them in defeat of a common, greater enemy, New York, but once they became the Red menace, we had no choice but to stand up against this aggressor and push them over the wall, into the dustbin of history.

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http://statimagician.com/?p=489

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More connections between the Astros and Rays

Do any of you read the blog of Joe Posnanski, the excellent baseball writer in Kansas City? I don't read it all the time, but when I do read it, I find what he has to say fascinating.

His recent blog about the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays made me think about more connections to the Astros...this time, I'm not talking about Wheeler and Miller, but some more historic notes.

I was attracted to his blog today because it was entitled "Big Game Garza and Other Thoughts." Before Game 7 of the ALCS, I wrote that either Garza or Lester would earn the reputation as "big game pitcher" as a result of the game. Posnanski can turn a nice phrase, and I was particularly taken with his description of one of the typically silly comments by one of the TBS broadcasters:

Now, I don’t really want to delve into the logic of this statement, in large part because I fear that it will be like some inescapable language maze and I’ll end up wandering the dark forever.

I'm not going to get off track and talk about the broadcaster's statement; you can read about it in his blog for yourself, if you are interested.

The fascinating part of his blog was the discussion of the Rays' pitching, which has to make you feel great, if you are a Tampa Bay fan, and leaves the rest of us in awe.

Think about this for a minute:
Matt Garza will turn 25 in November.
Scott Kazmir won’t be 25 until January.
James Shields will be 27 in December.
David Price will be 23 on Opening Day.
Andy Sonnastine, Edwin Jackson, J.P. Howell are all 25 or 26 next year.....
It’s an obvious point but: This team is pretty much built to beat the Yankees and the Red Sox for the next five years. The Rays are just the 10th team since Pearl Harbor Day to have three young starting pitchers with ERA’s of 118 or better.
1. Tampa 2008 (James Shields, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir)
2. Cubs 2003 (Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior)
3. Oakland 2002 (Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder)
4. Oakland 2001 (Zito, Hudson, Mulder)
5. Mets 1985 (Ron Darling*****, Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez)
6. Houston 1971 (Don Wilson, Ken Forsch, Larry Dierker)
7. Minnesota 1970 (Tom Hall, Bill Zepp, Bert Blyleven)
8. Cleveland 1966 (Luis Tiant, Steve Hargan, Sudden Sam)
9. Milwaukee 1953 (Lew Burdette, Johnny Antonelli, Bob Buhl)
10. Detroit 1942 (Hal Newhouser, Hal White, Virgil Trucks)...
But here’s the thing, as far as I can tell none of those teams had a fourth guy who might end up being the best of the bunch — that’s David Price. You realize he became the youngest man EVER to finish off a Game 7? And he struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded — overwhelmed J.D. Drew, really.
The Rays really could have FOUR NUMBER ONE STARTERS next year. I gotta be honest with you, I don’t care if the Yankees****** spend a billion jillion shmillion dollars, I don’t care if my friends Bill and Allard create some new scouting-statistical nirvana in Boston. I’m not sure anyone is going to beat a team with four No. 1 starters.

As I said, that is a pretty awesome pitching set up for the Rays over the next few years. Of course, pitching injuries can ruin the best laid plans, and you never know when they will occur (sometimes in bunches).

But did you notice the connection to Astros' history in his listing of teams with similar young starters? Yes, the 1971 Astros, with Don Wilson, Larry Dierker, and Ken Forsch. And in 1972, the Astros acquired another young (22 years old) starting pitcher, Jerry Reuss, a lefthander who would put together a lengthy and good career. So the Astros might have been in a position to have 4 No. 1 starters.

However, as I alluded...the best laid plans oft go astray. Dierker and Wilson would encounter arm injuries, but would later make comebacks from surgery. Wilson, however, died tragically before he could accomplish a lot more. Reuss was traded by the Astros after two years, and at age 26 with the Pirates posted a 138 ERA+ and was an All Star. The trade of Reuss was another chapter in the Astros' 45 year (unsuccessful) effort to acquire a top catcher. Reuss was traded for a young catcher, Milt May, which the organization trumpeted as the next Johnny Bench. (May would be traded two years later for Mark Lemongello.)

Posnanski also discusses the comparison which is sometimes made between the Rays' B.J. Upton and Eric Davis. He concludes that Upton could be better because of his ability to take walks. However, that brought to mind another player from that 70's era Astros' team: Cesar Cedeno. When Davis was a young player, people would say, "he could become the next Cesar Cedeno." So I wondered how does an early Cedeno compare to Upton?

I should emphasize: Cedeno was an incredible talent. At age 19 he posted an OPS+ of 114 and an OBP of .340 in the major leagues. At ages 22 and 23, Upton has posted an OPS+ of 136 and 111. Between the ages of 21 and 26, Cedeno posted an OPS+ as high as 162 and no lower than 127. Cedeno, like Davis, has shown more power than Upton. And Cedeno nearly matches his OBP ability: at ages 21 and 22, Cedeno's OBP was .385 and .376, compared to Upton's .386 and .383 at ages 22 and 23.

My point? Well, I suppose just an opportunity to talk about a former Astros' CFer. Upton may be good. But don't count on him becoming as good as Cedeno. Cedeno was an incredible baseball talent.

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http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2008/10/20/639116/more-connections-between-t

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Outstanding Peer

Tim Lincecum's peers honored him with an award: The Players Association announced this morning that Tim Lincecum was voted by his peers as the National League's Outstanding Pitcher, beating out fellow finalists CC Sabathia of the Brewers and Brandon Webb...

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http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/029831.php