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Sunday Open Thread

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civilrights.jpg

(Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

Those Civil Rights Game uniforms were really, uh, stirring (additional views here, here, and here, and for those who missed it, our original discussion of this topic is here).

 
  
 
Comments (113)

    I was barely paying attention to the game, but am I wrong that I saw someone on Florida wearing pink shoes?

    If so… is there a reason? Tribute? Just being silly?

    Seriously, those civil rights game uniforms look like someone’s mom made them

    If they really wanted to honor the simplicity of the uniforms, they should’ve at least put on some stirrups like Sowers, or not worn all nike accessories. Honestly, those unis don’t honor simplicity, they’re just boring and ugly. And in addition to being in the city so important to the civil rights movement, Memphis, they’re at the legendary ballpark in Memphis, AutoZone Park! I think they need to work on this event a bit more.

    My uncle who works for the Yankees merchandising department and tells me that the Yanks will be launching a home alternate jersey featuring a lack of pinstripes and the team’s retired numbers down the pant leg. Apparently they’ll be launching the unis after the All-Star break. No pics yet, I’ll try to get him to get one on his cameraphone.

    [quote comment=”65146″]My uncle who works for the Yankees merchandising department and tells me that the Yanks will be launching a home alternate jersey featuring a lack of pinstripes and the team’s retired numbers down the pant leg. Apparently they’ll be launching the unis after the All-Star break. No pics yet, I’ll try to get him to get one on his cameraphone.[/quote]

    You’re joking, right?

    [quote comment=”65148″][quote comment=”65146″]My uncle who works for the Yankees merchandising department and tells me that the Yanks will be launching a home alternate jersey featuring a lack of pinstripes and the team’s retired numbers down the pant leg. Apparently they’ll be launching the unis after the All-Star break. No pics yet, I’ll try to get him to get one on his cameraphone.[/quote]

    You’re joking, right?[/quote]

    Duh — I just feel for the first April Fool joke of the day….

    Wow! That was a good one!
    The retired numbers down the pants leg! Goodness gracious! It sounds so atrocious, it’s quite nearly feasible!
    I wonder if it’s possible to make an anagram of “Olaf Lirpos” – nah, probably not.

    Since MLB went so far as to have the players wear special batting helmets for the Civil Rights Game, and those generic uniforms were meant to “honor” the unis of the Negro Leagues, whyohwhy didn’t MLB insist that the players wear stirrups instead of link???

    I don’t have a link, but last season, when the Cards wore replicas of the St. Louis Stars unis, everybody wore stirrups!

    For what it’s worth, the Civil Rights Game was played in Memphis (in part) because the Civil Rights Museum is in Memphis. The Memphis Redbirds (as far as I know, the only honest-to-gosh not-for-profit clun in Organized Baseball) hope the game becomes an annual affair. They pretty much sold out the ballpark, but heavy rains kept a bunch of fans away.

    I guess it would have been poor form to have the words “Indians” displayed across the front of a uniform at a “civil rights” game.

    So amazing that the indains played in the civil rights game. Could have been worse…Braves vs Indians? Ole Miss at Kent State? Amazing.

    Also, dont know if he has been added to the doctored gameday hat club, but link link followed the lead of Jeff Kent, Randy Wolf, and Nomar by painting up his hat in his final tune up game against the Angels last night.

    I noticed that Ohio State continues to wear the Nike link unis, while Florida appears to have abandoned them. Does anyone know why Florida gave up on the new unis?

    link

    The link above has a picture of some interesting high school baseball uniforms from Indiana (click picture in story to get a better view). Piping along the shoulder line and a new version of “pit stains” on the underside of the sleeve. Haven’t seen that before. Can’t tell the manufacturer, but it looks like something UnderArmour would do. Any thoughts?

    I realize that MLB kind of fucked up the whole Civil Rights game. But, I guess I’ll be the one to applaud even a lackluster effort by the league to bring attention to an often forgotten part of baseball history, not to mention social history. We all know about the Negroe Leagues and everything, but any kid that sees those pictures is going to wonder why they’re dressed that way and someone will have to tell them. Some kids I know are aware of the name Jackie Robinson, but not the significance of his playing alongside white people. I know: MLB shat the bed on this one. But, something good may have come out of it.

    I know there’s been some debate over whether the NHL is going to white jerseys at home next year. I believe the last report was that this was not true. However, I’ve been watching the pre-show for the Detroit-Columbus game today on NBC and the Blue Jackets are wearing white at home. As fan of CBJ, I’ve watched most of their games this year and twice over the last couple months they’ve worn their dark jerseys on the road; once playing at Nashville and once at Detroit (they weren’t wearing their vintage jerseys). I thought this was odd at the time. Maybe the NHL is toying with the idea of switching and testing it on a limited basis this year? Anyone heard anything lately?

    [quote comment=”65162″]I noticed that Ohio State continues to wear the Nike link unis, while Florida appears to have abandoned them. Does anyone know why Florida gave up on the new unis?[/quote]

    Florida lost badly to Tennessee in the one game they wore the blue unis. They have been deemed unlucky by the players and scrapped. I actually really liked the gator print. O well.

    [quote comment=”65162″]I noticed that Ohio State continues to wear the Nike link unis, while Florida appears to have abandoned them. Does anyone know why Florida gave up on the new unis?[/quote]

    Florida wore them once, and lost to Tennessee, so they gave the SoD jerseys the axe.

    Interesting side note from yesterday’s Florida game: In the first half, they cut to Al Horford’s father in the stands and he was wearing the blue SoD jersey. When they showed Papa Horford in the second half, he had changed to the standard white jersey the team was wearing.

    I mentioned Florida’s unis last night, but since they got mothballed, the SoD unis haven’t really sold at all. And the old white jerseys are sold-out everywhere. I’m not sure, but I think they might become next year’s unis. Which would preclude UF from having Nike-world unis.

    As far as the shoes, I didn’t see any pink shoes. But some of the Gators wear orange and white. The others wear blue and white. Check the color balance on your tv.

    [quote comment=”65157″]Since MLB went so far as to have the players wear special batting helmets for the Civil Rights Game, and those generic uniforms were meant to “honor” the unis of the Negro Leagues, whyohwhy didn’t MLB insist that the players wear stirrups instead of link???

    I don’t have a link, but last season, when the Cards wore replicas of the St. Louis Stars unis, everybody wore stirrups!

    For what it’s worth, the Civil Rights Game was played in Memphis (in part) because the Civil Rights Museum is in Memphis. The Memphis Redbirds (as far as I know, the only honest-to-gosh not-for-profit clun in Organized Baseball) hope the game becomes an annual affair. They pretty much sold out the ballpark, but heavy rains kept a bunch of fans away.[/quote]

    absolutely right about the socks.

    Although having a nickname like “Indians” kinda mucks up the civil rights angle, Mark Shapiro said that the Indians volunteered to play in the game as a nod to their historical contributions (first black player in AL, first black manager).

    I actually kinda liked the generic-ness of the unis. The only exception being the STL cap logo. I thought it looked cheesy…

    [quote comment=”65151″][quote comment=”65148″][quote comment=”65146″]My uncle who works for the Yankees merchandising department and tells me that the Yanks will be launching a home alternate jersey featuring a lack of pinstripes and the team’s retired numbers down the pant leg. Apparently they’ll be launching the unis after the All-Star break. No pics yet, I’ll try to get him to get one on his cameraphone.[/quote]

    You’re joking, right?[/quote]

    Duh — I just feel for the first April Fool joke of the day….[/quote]

    Mhmm, and Boston and Chicago are contributing to breast cancer awareness by merging and becoming the Pink Sox.

    I’m suprised that no one is applauding MLB for their aproach to honoring civil rights. Most people would choose to make some really cool throwback jersey as a way of honoring baseball’s pioneers… and make a few bucks selling the jerseys on MLB.com.

    …But do you see MLB exploiting the memory of those heroes? No-sir! Instead, they created generic-looking jerseys with a generic Impact font. That way, no one will want to ever buy one of these jerseys! And no one can accuse MLB of using its civil rights pioneers as a means for selling more merchandise.

    (By the way, heavy dose of April Fools TIC on this one)

    [quote comment=”65166″]I know there’s been some debate over whether the NHL is going to white jerseys at home next year. I believe the last report was that this was not true. However, I’ve been watching the pre-show for the Detroit-Columbus game today on NBC and the Blue Jackets are wearing white at home.[/quote]

    I came back to the boards to ask this very question. I have no idea other than the fact that the customary “white-at-home” thing may be more familiar to the casual (or non-casual) fans the NHL is trying to attract.

    FYI, Oklahoma State’s baseball team is wearing their awesome throwback uniforms again this week, maybe someone can get a screengrab of them. (Fox Sports, starting right now.)

    [quote comment=”65157″]
    s!

    For what it’s worth, the Civil Rights Game was played in Memphis (in part) because the Civil Rights Museum is in Memphis. The Memphis Redbirds (as far as I know, the only honest-to-gosh not-for-profit club in Organized Baseball) hope the game becomes an annual affair. They pretty much sold out the ballpark, but heavy rains kept a bunch of fans away.[/quote]

    There is at LEAST one other non-profit organization in AAA : the Rochester Red Wings, who have been owned by the community since the Cardinals discarded them back in the 50’s…The official corporate name is Rochester Community Baseball.

    there’s a commercial just aired during the A’s-Giants for some stupid looking movie ‘Are We Done Yet?”- showing much Oregon Ducks Nike creepage in this one…

    ok I’m watching the suns game, and Nash went off for his usual rest at the end of the third. He wears a white warm up jacket, while every other person on the team has orange.

    [quote comment=”65177″]Although having a nickname like “Indians” kinda mucks up the civil rights angle, Mark Shapiro said that the Indians volunteered to play in the game as a nod to their historical contributions (first black player in AL, first black manager).
    [/quote]

    Speaking of which, when did it become politically incorrect to refer to someone as being “black”? Jon Miller was very cautious yesterday not to call anyone black but to use the much-more-cumbersome “African-American”. And the Indians have no more claim to the name “Native Americans” than anyone else, but they should get rid of the idiotic Chief Wahoo logo, there’s really nothing wrong with the name.

    Before everyone calls me racist and insensitive, and says that if I were an Indian that I would hate the “Cleveland Indians” franchise name, I am Irish, and hate Notre Dame, but have no problem with the nickname “Fighting Irish”. So there.

    [quote comment=”65190″]One more: here’s what the ASG patch will look like:

    link

    I kinda liked the link that had blue and the ball shooting into the Cove a bit more.

    According to Wikipedia the terms “Black” and “Afro-American” became common usage in the late 1960s.

    In the late 1980s, “African American” started to be used more commonly, with Jesse Jackson being an influential proponent of the term.

    Hi

    Wouldnt it be great if the Mets wore blue caps and undershirts with there road grays for the opener tonoght .But it will probably be black

    Les

    “Take a look at Rodriguez in Monday’s opener and you will notice something different. He’s a leaner machine and is wearing his socks throw-back style, the only Yankee on the field other than first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz who is showing blue socks.
    — New York Post”

    A couple of Cleveland related things here…a lot of blogs/online news outlets noted the hipocrisy of having the Indians play in the Civil Rights game yesterday. I’m personally a fan of Chief Wahoo. I was until I had a roommate who is Native American. I became self-conscious about if me being an Indians fan would offend him. I asked him about it and his take is that there are much more serious problems (education, poverty) that Natives should be worrying about instead of mascot issues. This is only one person’s opinion, but it did make me feel better about it.

    2nd sorta-uni related thing. I’m watching the Women’s Final Four and looking at the floor at the Gund…err Q and it looks funny. It took me awhile to see it, but there is a faint guitar stretching across the floor. I guess you could say it is embossed on the floor.

    Here’s a link to those sweet Oklahoma State throwbacks. I thought those were going to be a one time deal (and the Cowboys didn’t wear them for any of the other games in the series). Glad they pulled them out for the TV game today.

    On another note, Baylor’s uniforms – not so good. I’m not saying they’re Oregon-bad, but they’re close. They were even more brutal in person.

    link

    All right uni-watch nation. Is it me or is there a double standard? People go up in arms over all the “new uniforms” that are too complicated and too modern. Now MLB goes as simple as possible and people still whine. Make up your mind.

    i know i’m late on this…but i noticed in the Saturday thread pic that Manny was wearing football cleats instead of baseball ones. I know baseball cleats can be big and clunky and the Nike’s he had on are a model made for receivers and d-backs so they’re light and small. I wonder how many other guys go that route or possible wear soccer cleats to achieve the same effect?

    Since the Mets put black into their color scheme, have they ever wore blue hats with their away jerseys?

    i watched the Okie State-Baylor game on TV today, and i agree that Baylor needs some new unis

    Los Mets está usando los sombreros negros y las mangas de la camisa que esta tarde con su gris lejos uniforma. Malo.


    Before everyone calls me racist and insensitive, and says that if I were an Indian that I would hate the “Cleveland Indians” franchise name, I am Irish, and hate Notre Dame, but have no problem with the nickname “Fighting Irish”. So there.[/quote]

    I wish Notre Dame would change their mascot…It can a get a little dicey in NYC bars when you yell F$%k the Irish while ND games are on TV…Some people take offense for the wrong reason.

    Glad opening day is here. Sad the Mets are wearing black hats, but at least the jerseys are gray. Joe Morgan is announcing…ugh!

    do the cards have a gold stiching on the outside of their numbers and names on their backs?

    if so…have they always had that?

    [quote comment=”65225″]do the cards have a gold stiching on the outside of their numbers and names on their backs?

    if so…have they always had that?[/quote]

    Just noticed that too, I dont remember it being like that last year

    [quote comment=”65216″]All right uni-watch nation. Is it me or is there a double standard? People go up in arms over all the “new uniforms” that are too complicated and too modern. Now MLB goes as simple as possible and people still whine. Make up your mind.[/quote]

    Nah. There’s no double-standard in hating bad design.

    [quote comment=”65216″]All right uni-watch nation. Is it me or is there a double standard? People go up in arms over all the “new uniforms” that are too complicated and too modern. Now MLB goes as simple as possible and people still whine. Make up your mind.[/quote]
    There’s a difference between classy and dull.

    [quote comment=”65227″][quote comment=”65225″]do the cards have a gold stiching on the outside of their numbers and names on their backs?

    if so…have they always had that?[/quote]

    Just noticed that too, I dont remember it being like that last year[/quote]

    That gold trim is new. The Cards are wearing it along with a World Series patch to commemorate their title last year. The Red Sox did similar trim on Opening Day 2005 and I think the White Sox wore a patch on Opening Day 2006.

    Did the Mets have name decals on the front and back of their batting helmets last year? I saw Paul Lo Duca with small, clear name decals on the brim and on the back of the helmet in the top of the 1st.

    Reyes is wearing Last years cap…and didn’t he wear a black bill last year? because that is interesting…

    [quote comment=”65221″]Since the Mets put black into their color scheme, have they ever wore blue hats with their away jerseys?[/quote]

    Not really, no. The black appeared in 1998 and by the second half of that season at the latest, the road greys were worn exclusively with the black/blue cap. They may have worn the blue cap with the greys a few times early in the ’98 season, but if they did I don’t recall.

    It’s a shame because the blue cap/grey jersey is the best-looking combo the Mets have, or at least it would be if they ever wore it.

    Ok. Please stop the use of the term “system of dress”. That is all.

    No, it isn’t. Yes, there are bigger things that Chief Wahoo for indigenous people to worry about, but it doesn’t help to see that mainstream American sports thinks so little of you that it will continue to have offensive mascots. I hate those fake sumo wrestler outfits at the Saints game for much the same reason.

    The comparison to The Fighting Irish isn’t the same, and it’s been covered before on this board. Bottom line: It’s pretty easy when you’re in the majority to sit around and debate whether a minority group should or shouldn’t be offended without it affecting you in the least except perhaps to lose the beloved mascot to your team.

    As for the Civil Rights Game, as someone pointed out when this subject came up earlier, it’s pretty ironic that the MLB is touting the Negro League in its Civil Rights Game when the Negro is the epitome of racism as its finest.

    Ok. That really is all except I will reiterate my request for someone to tell me how I can stretch my new shoes sideways without ruining them. bj, I saw your suggestion of just walking in them. Looks like that’s what I’m going to have to do.

    [quote comment=”65207″]”Take a look at Rodriguez in Monday’s opener and you will notice something different. He’s a leaner machine and is wearing his socks throw-back style, the only Yankee on the field other than first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz who is showing blue socks.
    — New York Post”[/quote]
    If I’m correct, I believe that’s in honor of his high school coach. Not sure if he’ll continue into the regular season, but I hope so.

    [quote comment=”65233″]Did the Mets have name decals on the front and back of their batting helmets last year? I saw Paul Lo Duca with small, clear name decals on the brim and on the back of the helmet in the top of the 1st.[/quote]

    I think they’ve always had the name decals. It helps they identify their helmet when all of the helmets are in the helmet racks. Here’s a shot from possibly last year…..

    link

    Yadier Molina is wearing his game cap under his catchers mask. Maybe it is old news but I don’t remember this one.

    On another note, I went to buy my first jersey the other day. I wanted a Sandberg jersey, either the blue with pinstripes or the royal blue. Unfortunately it seems only larger people buy jerseys cause the Cubs store did not have any jersey that came close to fitting me. The sales clerk tried to get me to buy a kids jersey instead but the numbers and lettering was so small. Plus they only stock the new home jerseys with names on the back. I ended up buying a womans cut jersey with no number on the back. I’m pretty pissed about it. I mean I am not that small of a lady, I thought I would have no problem getting a jersey.

    [quote comment=”65216″]All right uni-watch nation. Is it me or is there a double standard? People go up in arms over all the “new uniforms” that are too complicated and too modern. Now MLB goes as simple as possible and people still whine. Make up your mind.[/quote]

    Nope, not a double standard. I don’t think anybody has said that all new designs are bad or that all old designs are good. I take it on a case-to-case basis, and the CRG unis are just dull.

    Here’s an example: I love the monochromatic look in football; I hate the Seattle Seahawks’ unis. Double-standard? No, Seattle is the exception to the rule and a plain atrocity.

    Here’s a game used David Wright helmet, with the name decal, probably done with a Brother P-Touch.

    link

    [quote comment=”65240″][quote comment=”65207″]”Take a look at Rodriguez in Monday’s opener and you will notice something different. He’s a leaner machine and is wearing his socks throw-back style, the only Yankee on the field other than first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz who is showing blue socks.
    — New York Post”[/quote]
    If I’m correct, I believe that’s in honor of his high school coach. Not sure if he’ll continue into the regular season, but I hope so.[/quote]

    An interesting side not to that is Mientkiewicz and A-Rod both played at the same high school (Westminster Christian High School, Miami FL) and were teammates…

    completely not uni related-

    but when did mlb go away from having cincy open the season? i miss the traditions in baseball that have dissappeared. I also hate the DH and im not the biggest fan of interleague, so i may not be the best judge.

    I tried posting this a few minutes ago but it must’ve gotten lost somewhere….sorry if its a repeat.

    The Cardinals are wearing the uniforms outlined in gold for Opening Day, but are supposed to be wearing the patch all year. I also noticed Pujols wearing a black undershirt in his AB, normally he wears a link one.

    And regarding the high pants look–I was talking to a NCAA umpire today who said that he gives batters with pants at their knees a smaller strike zone when batting, because it link where the knees are at. Unlike with Manny where his knees could be link in those pants.

    [quote comment=”65246″]completely not uni related-

    but when did mlb go away from having cincy open the season? i miss the traditions in baseball that have dissappeared. I also hate the DH and im not the biggest fan of interleague, so i may not be the best judge.[/quote]

    The second ESPN said, “Hey let’s change openning day to openning Sunday night one game only, oh, and it has to be a large market team so get rid of the Reds Traditional start,” or something of the like.

    but when did mlb go away from having cincy open the season?

    This is just a guess, but I’m thinking ESPN was given a say in who plays in the first game, considering how much clout and influence sports leagues have ceded to TV.

    I thought I read something in Sports Illustrated or ESPN Mag a while back that said the WS Champion got the nod for Opening Day/Night.

    [quote comment=”65249″]I tried posting this a few minutes ago but it must’ve gotten lost somewhere….sorry if its a repeat.

    The Cardinals are wearing the uniforms outlined in gold for Opening Day, but are supposed to be wearing the patch all year. I also noticed Pujols wearing a black undershirt in his AB, normally he wears a link one.

    And regarding the high pants look–I was talking to a NCAA umpire today who said that he gives batters with pants at their knees a smaller strike zone when batting, because it link where the knees are at. Unlike with Manny where his knees could be link in those pants.[/quote]

    Wow. Allison, let’s try to keep this one under our (bp) hats or more players will ooze over to the dark side.

    Few things I’ve noticed in the early goings:

    1)Reyes isn’t wearing the new mlb cap with teh black underbill

    [i]and,[/i]

    2)Wright’s cleats are terrible, with that white tounge/stripe down through the laces; they look more like soccer cleats than baseball spikes…

    [quote comment=”65251″][quote comment=”65246″]completely not uni related-

    but when did mlb go away from having cincy open the season? i miss the traditions in baseball that have dissappeared. I also hate the DH and im not the biggest fan of interleague, so i may not be the best judge.[/quote]

    The second ESPN said, “Hey let’s change openning day to openning Sunday night one game only, oh, and it has to be a large market team so get rid of the Reds Traditional start,” or something of the like.[/quote]

    That is precisely right. I grew up in Cincinnati, & believe me, OD is a serious deal. Kids skip school, adults get a free pass to ditch work early. used to be, you showed the principal your stub, they didn’t dock you. True. But when the ESPN deal kicked in and the Sunday night game showed up, that was the end of the first game being the 105p ET pitch @ Riverfront. Iworked in CIncinnati radio and I was in the OD parade from 1981 thru 1998—and in early April, it was either really nice & sunny…or BRUTAL.

    [quote comment=”65198″][quote comment=”65177″]Although having a nickname like “Indians” kinda mucks up the civil rights angle, Mark Shapiro said that the Indians volunteered to play in the game as a nod to their historical contributions (first black player in AL, first black manager).
    [/quote]

    Speaking of which, when did it become politically incorrect to refer to someone as being “black”? Jon Miller was very cautious yesterday not to call anyone black but to use the much-more-cumbersome “African-American”. And the Indians have no more claim to the name “Native Americans” than anyone else, but they should get rid of the idiotic Chief Wahoo logo, there’s really nothing wrong with the name.

    Before everyone calls me racist and insensitive, and says that if I were an Indian that I would hate the “Cleveland Indians” franchise name, I am Irish, and hate Notre Dame, but have no problem with the nickname “Fighting Irish”. So there.[/quote]

    Here’s the thing, the Irish for all of their faults are completely immune to things like “Fighting Irish.” They don’t dwell They just buck up work their ass off and drink away their issues. Remember how terribly the Irish were treated as immigrants to the US and now they’re the largest ethnic descent group in the US. They don’t care what people call them they’ll keep rolling and ticking. Call a team the Drunk Irish Bastards and they’ll laugh and support them.

    Yes, I’m of Irish descent.

    The Cleveland Indians used to be called the Spiders some 100+ years ago. One Lew Sockalexis, native Penobscot from Maine, starred in college at Holy Cross, then in the AL in Cleveland, and after he took off, they renamed the team Indians in his honor.

    His career was cut short owing to injuries, he suffered from alcoholism, and I think he died fairly young.

    For all the questionable nicknames out there, this one at least has an answer. And there’s cosmic buffoonery afoot when this franchise, with this story, can be celebrating (if that’s the word) however many decades of Chief Wahoo they have now.

    took off [i.e. became a star and beloved by fans and touted in the press accounts]

    [quote comment=”65268″]Who else would love to see more of link
    And I think we will, too.[/quote]

    *raises hand*

    Was Chris Carpenter wearing one of the new 5950s? I thought the new ones were supposed to “wick away moisture” or some such. His sure didn’t–that baby was drenched through the bill by the fourth inning.

    [quote comment=”65266″]The Cleveland Indians used to be called the Spiders some 100+ years ago. One Lew Sockalexis, native Penobscot from Maine, starred in college at Holy Cross, then in the AL in Cleveland, and after he took off, they renamed the team Indians in his honor.

    His career was cut short owing to injuries, he suffered from alcoholism, and I think he died fairly young.

    For all the questionable nicknames out there, this one at least has an answer. And there’s cosmic buffoonery afoot when this franchise, with this story, can be celebrating (if that’s the word) however many decades of Chief Wahoo they have now.[/quote]

    This is a rumor unsubstantiated. According to link which, I admit, is not the be-all end-all, Cleveland took its name to sound like the Boston Braves.

    [quote comment=”65268″]Who else would love to see more of link
    And I think we will, too.[/quote]

    Ooooh, ooooh, me, me!

    [quote comment=”65259″][quote comment=”65251″][quote comment=”65246″]completely not uni related-

    but when did mlb go away from having cincy open the season? i miss the traditions in baseball that have dissappeared. I also hate the DH and im not the biggest fan of interleague, so i may not be the best judge.[/quote]
    The second ESPN said, “Hey let’s change openning day to openning Sunday night one game only, oh, and it has to be a large market team so get rid of the Reds Traditional start,” or something of the like.[/quote]

    That is precisely right. I grew up in Cincinnati, & believe me, OD is a serious deal. Kids skip school, adults get a free pass to ditch work early. used to be, you showed the principal your stub, they didn’t dock you. True. But when the ESPN deal kicked in and the Sunday night game showed up, that was the end of the first game being the 105p ET pitch @ Riverfront. Iworked in CIncinnati radio and I was in the OD parade from 1981 thru 1998—and in early April, it was either really nice & sunny…or BRUTAL.[/quote]
    BG, didn’t Cincy get the first Sunday night game on ESPN but Marge didn’t like it and actually called the following day opening day? i remember that she was such a stickler for keeping opening day opening day and the tradition behind the reds being the first day game that she basically spat in the face of ESPN? i remember reading that somewhere, but i could be wrong (which wouldn’t be the first time, just ask the wife)

    [quote comment=”65269″][quote comment=”65268″]Who else would love to see more of link
    And I think we will, too.[/quote]

    *raises hand*[/quote]

    I don’t thinklink.

    Speaking of uniforms and April Fools – last year, the late-morning show on the ESPN station here in Dallas had everyone riled up by announcing that the Cowboys would be adding a red stripe to the uniforms and asking for the fans’ thoughts. They even had a link on the station webpage. They played it off well and it took until the end of the show until somebody finally caught on.

    [quote comment=”65266″]The Cleveland Indians used to be called the Spiders some 100+ years ago.[/quote]

    The Indians franchise is completely unrelated to the Spiders (or Blues) franchise. The Spiders were a National League franchise “contracted” in 1899 along with 3 other NL teams (Baltimore, Louisville and Washington). The 1899 Cleveland Spiders posted the worst record in baseball history 20-134.

    The Indians franchise began in Grand Rapids MI, before the Western League became the American League.

    It looks like Jose Reyes, Pedro Feliciano, and Billy Wagner were all wearing last year’s cap. Anyone notice any other players that were doing it as well?

    [quote comment=”65278″][quote comment=”65269″][quote comment=”65268″]Who else would love to see more of link
    And I think we will, too.[/quote]

    *raises hand*[/quote]

    I don’t thinklink.[/quote]

    I don’t remember when, but at some point there was talk of the Twins coaches wearing the red caps like the A’s coaches wore white caps in the early Finley era. It would be a nice compliment to the catcher helmets.

    RIP Herb – I lived in MN after Squeaky Gordo had taken over, so I never got to hear the man in his prime.

    I’m inexplicably watching the NCAA Womens Final Four, and I must say the ginormous guitar patterned into the floor is the coolest thing ever.

    What I’m surprised nobody noticed was that the plain Cleveland caps for the Civil Rights Game had the stretch gussets like in the regular spring training hats.

    [quote comment=”65224″]I wish Notre Dame would change their mascot…It can a get a little dicey in NYC bars when you yell F$%k the Irish while ND games are on TV…Some people take offense for the wrong reason.[/quote]

    So let me get this straight. You’re in a bar in Manhattan. This makes it about a 50% chance of it being an Irish bar, and if it’s not, there’s still around a 95% chance there’s an Irish dude standing next to you. You’re yelling out “Fuck the Irish.” People get upset. And Notre Dame’s choice of mascot is the problem?

    And I’m disappointed in Joe Smith of the Mets. He had the awesome number 70 all Spring and he shows up tonight wearing 35. I enjoy the strange numbers on major league players. I’d rather remember him as number 70 for the rest of my life than have to go to metsbythenumbers.com every time.

    [quote comment=”65249″]I was talking to a NCAA umpire today who said that he gives batters with pants at their knees a smaller strike zone when batting[/quote]

    That statement explains so much about officiating. How about just have a strike zone that is the same for everyone. Would that be so freaking hard?

    [quote comment=”65198″][quote comment=”65177″]
    Speaking of which, when did it become politically incorrect to refer to someone as being “black”? Jon Miller was very cautious yesterday not to call anyone black but to use the much-more-cumbersome “African-American”. And the Indians have no more claim to the name “Native Americans” than anyone else, but they should get rid of the idiotic Chief Wahoo logo, there’s really nothing wrong with the name.[/quote]

    Someone’s probably going to kill me for this, so let me apologize in advance if anyone gets offended, but one thing I’ve never really understood, and which I think could bear re-examination, is why the word “black” is less offensive than the word “colored.” I’m sure it has something to do with the term’s broad use during the pre-civil rights Jim Crow era, when separate public facilities were thus labeled, and like everyone else I do not use the term in discourse for that reason. However, notwithstanding history, from a purely linguistic standpoint “colored” seems fairly benign next to “black.”

    For one thing, “black” is an inapt description in the first instance, as people of African descent have brown skin, not black; no more is the skin of Europeans truly “white.” In fact, when you really think about it, all human beings are merely different shades of brown. The problem with “black” and “white,” though, is not so much that they are inaccurate descriptors, it’s that they are irreconcilable opposite extremes in a purely physical sense, as any artist or astrophysicist will tell you. Black and white could not be more different; i.e., no two colors are more opposed to one another than black and white. Perhaps our inability to completely reconcile the races stems in part from our continuing to identify them using such diametrically-opposed terms.

    For most people, “black” is easier to say than “colored,” because of the aforementioned socio-historical connotations, and the overly-cumbersome “African-American.” Those, however, are the only ones with which history has left us. It is an historical irony that only the most extreme descriptive, “black,” is available to modern society because more moderate terms like “colored,” “dark” and “negro” have taken on such negative connotations. Further evidence that mankind will never learn.

    Not to be un-patriotic, but maybe a useful and reasonable linguistic compromise would be to use “African” and “European” (dropping the hyphenate “-American,” since we’re referring only to descent and not citizenship) instead of black and white.

    Briefly, on the “Native Americans,” the appropriate term as I understand it, and the one which I have found they generally prefer, is “American Indians.” The word “indians” does not refer to Christopher Columbus’ alleged misbelief that he had arrived in India, which was called Hindustan in 1492. It is far more likely that the term is derived from either the word “indigenous,” or from the Italian Columbus’ awkward description of the people to the Spanish Queen, “in dios,” by which he meant “God’s people.”

    Again, I apologize if anyone finds any of this offensive.

    Sage, he didn’t go into details (we were standing in line at a store), but I assume it’s because of the fact that its easy to tell where the knees are. Not that they purposely get a smaller zone, but that it’s sort of a side effect.

    Regarding comment #80, I wore my brand new (picked it up on Friday) Cardinals 5950 playing baseball this afternoon, and I pretty much soaked it through….but it didn’t shrink a bit when I put it on several hours later.

    [quote comment=”65274″][quote comment=”65259″][quote comment=”65251″][quote comment=”65246″]completely not uni related-

    but when did mlb go away from having cincy open the season? i miss the traditions in baseball that have dissappeared. I also hate the DH and im not the biggest fan of interleague, so i may not be the best judge.[/quote]
    The second ESPN said, “Hey let’s change openning day to openning Sunday night one game only, oh, and it has to be a large market team so get rid of the Reds Traditional start,” or something of the like.[/quote]

    That is precisely right. I grew up in Cincinnati, & believe me, OD is a serious deal. Kids skip school, adults get a free pass to ditch work early. used to be, you showed the principal your stub, they didn’t dock you. True. But when the ESPN deal kicked in and the Sunday night game showed up, that was the end of the first game being the 105p ET pitch @ Riverfront. Iworked in CIncinnati radio and I was in the OD parade from 1981 thru 1998—and in early April, it was either really nice & sunny…or BRUTAL.[/quote]
    BG, didn’t Cincy get the first Sunday night game on ESPN but Marge didn’t like it and actually called the following day opening day? i remember that she was such a stickler for keeping opening day opening day and the tradition behind the reds being the first day game that she basically spat in the face of ESPN? i remember reading that somewhere, but i could be wrong (which wouldn’t be the first time, just ask the wife)[/quote]

    Y’know, I believe that is correct. Something like that. Believe it or not, I hung out, if thats the term, with Marge on more than one occaison. I did a movie premiere of “Beethoven” and picked her and Schottzie up in a limo at her house- we stopped at a Shell on 71 @ Edwards to get some Lorna Doones for Schottzie to eat. I picked her up once for an interview in my Miata (“this is an awful small car, honey”) and wouldn’t let her smoke in it, either. Whenever I went down to their offices she always had a plastic bag full of giveaway stuff. I also remember that I was on the phone with her discussing some commercial copy..and at that exact moment was when they announced Pete’s suspension..something like that. I said, “I think you’d better turn on the TV, Mrs. Schott.”

    just a little tidbit: i know you thought it was a bad idea, paul, but i really think the mets batting helmets look nice with the metallic finish. i thought it looked really crisp as opposed to last years which they wore throughout spring training.

    oh, and paul loduca had black catcher’s gear on. booo. an i second the sentiment from earlier: common charlie, get the blue caps, socks, undershirts back with the grey!

    all in all, though, i love the 6-1 win :)

    For anyone that cares, Paul LoDuca had “LoDuca16” stitched onto the top of his chest protector, and Yadier Molina had “Yadi4” on the top of his chest protector.

    [quote comment=”65245″][quote comment=”65240″][quote comment=”65207″]”Take a look at Rodriguez in Monday’s opener and you will notice something different. He’s a leaner machine and is wearing his socks throw-back style, the only Yankee on the field other than first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz who is showing blue socks.
    — New York Post”[/quote]
    If I’m correct, I believe that’s in honor of his high school coach. Not sure if he’ll continue into the regular season, but I hope so.[/quote]

    An interesting side not to that is Mientkiewicz and A-Rod both played at the same high school (Westminster Christian High School, Miami FL) and were teammates…[/quote]

    Luis Gonzalez and Garry Sheffield played on the same little league team

    [quote comment=”65288″][quote comment=”65224″]I wish Notre Dame would change their mascot…It can a get a little dicey in NYC bars when you yell F$%k the Irish while ND games are on TV…Some people take offense for the wrong reason.[/quote]

    So let me get this straight. You’re in a bar in Manhattan. This makes it about a 50% chance of it being an Irish bar, and if it’s not, there’s still around a 95% chance there’s an Irish dude standing next to you. You’re yelling out “Fuck the Irish.” People get upset. And Notre Dame’s choice of mascot is the problem?
    [/quote]

    Actually my comment was somewhat tongue in cheek. “F the Irish” is a response to the “Let’s Go Irish” chants. (Much like people say “F the Yankees” in response to the chants, “Let’s Go Yankees”).

    I usually only say it in response to “Let’s go Irish” chants when at or watching a ND game.

    [quote comment=”65250″]those Uni’s look like steve and Berry’s got the MLB contract[/quote]
    LMAO.

    #62 Jill — Just get the number 23 sewn on the back of the jersey you’ve got. The Cubs had only a single layer of blue when Sandberg was playing, so it should be cheap. Just make sure you take it to a store that will use the correct Cubs font and not some ugly block numbering.

    [quote comment=”65256″][quote comment=”65249″]I tried posting this a few minutes ago but it must’ve gotten lost somewhere….sorry if its a repeat.

    The Cardinals are wearing the uniforms outlined in gold for Opening Day, but are supposed to be wearing the patch all year. I also noticed Pujols wearing a black undershirt in his AB, normally he wears a link one.

    And regarding the high pants look–I was talking to a NCAA umpire today who said that he gives batters with pants at their knees a smaller strike zone when batting, because it link where the knees are at. Unlike with Manny where his knees could be link in those pants.[/quote]

    Wow. Allison, let’s try to keep this one under our (bp) hats or more players will ooze over to the dark side.[/quote]

    Hitters want smaller strike zones…so Minna does that mean you don’t like the high sock look? I for one love it. Looks mighty sharp!

    P.S. I love the great state of Minnesota getting props on here. I always have thought that the Twins have a pretty classy look (underrated if you ask me, but I’m a homer).

    Minna, Joe

    My source about Sockalexis is a book from either David Fleitz, (Louis Sockalexis : the first Cleveland Indian) or Brian McDonald, (Indian summer : the forgotten story of Louis Sockalexis). I really can’t remember which of those I read.

    They’re both recent (last 5 years) and whichever it was seemed pretty “warts and all” work of real biography. Now I’m wondering what’s genuine.

    Thresher, have you read “The ’99 Spiders” (forget the author) and “On A Clear Day, They Could See Seventh Place”? Both great books if you’re a Cleveland Spiders buff.

    Clevelan’s official site mentions Sockalexis also, and Wikipedia is infamous for its PC/leftist slant. I’d trust the serious researchers over the amateurs on Wiki.

    (Except, of course, for the Wiki articles written by yours truly; those are 100% unbiased truth!)

    [quote comment=”65242″]Yadier Molina is wearing his game cap under his catchers mask. Maybe it is old news but I don’t remember this one.

    On another note, I went to buy my first jersey the other day. I wanted a Sandberg jersey, either the blue with pinstripes or the royal blue. Unfortunately it seems only larger people buy jerseys cause the Cubs store did not have any jersey that came close to fitting me. The sales clerk tried to get me to buy a kids jersey instead but the numbers and lettering was so small. Plus they only stock the new home jerseys with names on the back. I ended up buying a womans cut jersey with no number on the back. I’m pretty pissed about it. I mean I am not that small of a lady, I thought I would have no problem getting a jersey.[/quote]
    They make ‘women’s cut’ jerseys? Who knew?

    [quote comment=”65268″]Who else would love to see more of link
    And I think we will, too.[/quote]
    Only if they go back to powder blues.

    I really like the unis worn in the civil rights game. I’m Irish and I don’t get upset at the Fighting Irish nickname but my Uncle Bill has always been pissed about Buffalo’s NFL team nickname.

    [quote comment=”65186″][quote comment=”65157″]
    as far as I know, the only honest-to-gosh not-for-profit club in Organized Baseball)[/quote]

    There is at LEAST one other non-profit organization in AAA : the Rochester Red Wings, who have been owned by the community since the Cardinals discarded them back in the 50’s…The official corporate name is Rochester Community Baseball.[/quote]

    The Burlington Bees, the Single-A Midwest League affiliate of the Royals, are also community owned.

    [quote comment=”65369″]Minna, Joe

    My source about Sockalexis is a book from either David Fleitz, (Louis Sockalexis : the first Cleveland Indian) or Brian McDonald, (Indian summer : the forgotten story of Louis Sockalexis). I really can’t remember which of those I read.

    They’re both recent (last 5 years) and whichever it was seemed pretty “warts and all” work of real biography. Now I’m wondering what’s genuine.[/quote]

    I have heard the story about Sockalexis and the Indians before. I wasn’t questioning that. My point was more to the fact that the Indians and Spiders are not the same franchise. It’s akin to the Orignal Washington Senators/Minn Twins & Expansion Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. Two completely different franchises even if they played in the same city in consecutive years. (1899 & 1900 Cleveland – 1960 & 1961 Washington)

    [quote comment=”65158″]I guess it would have been poor form to have the words “Indians” displayed across the front of a uniform at a “civil rights” game.[/quote]
    ‘course the tribe road unis read ‘Cleveland’

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