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MLB: Where Any Day Can Be Flag Day

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So that’s the cap that the Mets wore last night. And you’ve gotta hand it to them: This is definitely the thing to wear if you want to look like you just got off the plane from Kansas and went cap-shopping in Times Square.

Sigh. It’s tempting to just consign this to the Ticker and move on, but protocol does seem to demand an option-8 list, so here goes:

• Unlike the Nats’ stars/stripes jerseys from Monday, which they had already planned to wear, the Mets specifically chose to wear these caps as a response to, you know, current events. Not how I would have handled it, but at least the fans didn’t start chanting, “U! S! A!” when Beltran homered in the top of the 1st. (They did chant it, however, at the conclusion of “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch, which was sort of horrifying. Jeez, people, look it up.)

• The caps were fitted and had the MLB logo. You can’t get those made on one day’s notice, so they must have been produced well in advance. That means they are obviously this year’s stars/stripes caps. And that means we’ll be seeing them again in a few weeks (or whenever we take 10 years to dispose of a mass-murderer who’s been hiding in plain sight under our supposed ally’s nose). I’m assuming there will also be a red version for the teams whose colors lean more in that direction, and that the A’s will left with no good options, as usual.

• You know how military analysts sometimes talk about mission creep? That’s what’s happening with MLB’s stars/stripes caps. First they were only going to be worn on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Sept. 11. Then, as you may recall from the past season or two, some teams couldn’t wait for the actual holidays and started wearing the caps for the full three-day holiday weekends. And now it turns out they can also be worn, oh, whenever a team decides it’s feeling patriotic. I’d be willing to bet right now that at least one additional team this season will find a non-holiday occasion to break out the caps.

• As for the other team on the field last night, they wore their usual caps. What, they’re not patriotic? Or nobody thought to have a set of the tourist caps on hand for them? Or the players were all too busy watching the “Roger McDowell Explains San Francisco Living for You” DVD?

Incidentally, the most interesting headwear of the night was worn by Giants infielder Emmanuel Burriss. You know how the Giants normally put those NOBs on their helmets? Burriss was called up a few days ago in the midst of a road trip, and apparently the team’s equipment manager hasn’t had access to his usual lettering kit, because Burriss’s helmet has — get this — a handwritten nameplate affixed with Scotch tape. Big league all the way, baby!

(Special thanks to the excellent Mets Police blog, from which I swiped the Terry Collins screen shot at the top of the page. I owe you one, Shannon!)

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St. Louis party reminder: I’ll be meeting, greeting, and cocked-hat bowling with St. Louis-area Uni Watchers tomorrow evening at the Corner Bar in St. Charles, from 7:45pm until at least 10pm. See you there.

Raffle reminder: I’m currently raffling off a free ticket to that Pop-Up Magazine thing I’m participating in. Details here.

Stirrups Club reminder: Robert Marshall has a new slate of stirrups up for sale. Details here.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: Weather forecast for L.A. today is sunny with temps near 90. “Doesn’t look good for the Cubs’ striped undershirts,” says Bob Halfacre. ”¦ One of the many problems with Cool Base jerseys: They don’t leave much to the imagination (great screen shot by Tim Burke). ”¦ “I was at the Penn Relays this past weekend and saw these great socks worn by Chad Wright of the University of Nebraska,” says Graham Block. ”¦ Hope for the Future, Part I: “My son turned 12 over the weekend,” writes Tod Bryant. “And what was first on his birthday present wish list? Stirrups.” ”¦ Hope for the Future, Part II: “Here’s a picture of my son Owen in his first baseball game ever,” says Richard LaPorta. “It’s a coach pitch division in a youth baseball league in Chicago. When I saw his uniform came with just black stockings, I asked the rep from the uniform supplier, ‘Why no stirrups?’ He said ‘Hey, I’m with you, stirrups are great, but it’s never gonna happen.’ So i took matters into my own hands through an online purchase.” ”¦ SI.com ran a slideshow of MLB throwbacks yesterday. It’s poorly captioned, and one of the uniforms isn’t actually a throwback (the Phils’ retro alts), but it’s still a nice roundup of photos (with thanks to Ron Rowland). ”¦ Jeff Mayer found a bunch of cycling infographics at this site. “My favorite one depicts all of the winners of the Giro d’Italia (Italy’s Tour de France), ” says Jeff. ”¦ Here’s a great item about the custom typeface that Pentagram (that’s a fancy-shmancy design firm) and Hoefler & Frere-Jones (that’s a fancy shmancy digital type foundry) created for the Jets (big thanks to my ESPN colleague David Wilson). ”¦ Padres third baseman Jorge Cantu broke his belt while chasing a foul ball on Monday night. The broadcasters said he broke it when he hit the dugout railing, but it was actually flopping around before he hit the rail. They brought him a new belt, but it snapped while he was putting it on, so it must have been too small (or else “Cantu” means “belt repellant” in Swahili). He went beltless for the rest of the inning (with thanks to John Mahaffey). ”¦ Funny to see a group of Pats cheerleaders wearing “B” sweaters (good find, Ricko). ”¦ According to yesterday’s Denver Post, Broncos coach John Fox says fans can “take it to the bank” that the team wore a blue horsey decal early in the ’62 season will be wearing orange jerseys at home in 2012 (with thanks to Jason Greening). ”¦ Remember those odd undershirts that the Rockies were wearing a few weeks ago? Todd Helton was wearing it again last night, only this time the little sneaker icon and the sleeve number wear black (as spotted by Jeff Hall). ”¦ Is this a great photo or what? It’s from Dave Eskenazi’s latest piece on Seattle sports history. This one’s about Sick’s Stadium. For the full article, and lots more great photos, look here. ”¦ Rob Holecko has started a site devoted to the worthy task of documenting MLB and NFL throwback games. He says he still has a long way to go, and he invites you to use the “Submit” link to help him make the site as complete as possible.

Pretty please: I’ll be heading to St. Louis later today and will be pretty busy until I get back home on Sunday afternoon. So please go easy on the Ticker submissions, and save any non-pressing questions until next week, OK? OK.

 
  
 
Comments (174)

    See ya tomorrow Paul! You’re only about 5 minutes away from my house in St. Charles.

    P.S.—those new stars/stripes hats are hideous.

    I don’t understand whatsoever why MLB can’t allow the Mets to wear the FDNY/NYPD/Port Authority caps. That was a classy way to memorialize those who died.

    For one, it was essentially a “Military Appreciation” night.

    As for the caps. They are hideous, but, if they’re going to wear them on Memorial Day, I’m not going to get upset with teams wearing them on “Military Appreciation” days.

    I for one, would much rather see teams wear caps honoring their local first responders every Sep. 11th

    No matter the quality and/or design, having a white panel looks like a “gimme” cap. AND MLB uni pullovers look like softball shirts – bad.

    The mesh-back version is probabaly on sale in every tourist-trap-souvenir shop in the city.

    “Funny to see a group of Pats cheerleaders wearing “B” sweaters (good find, Ricko).”

    Not really…they were the Boston Patriots then.

    As someone who lives in Kansas City Missouri, but very close to Kansas, miles basically, that’s not the hat that most people would buy. It’s not black or teal!

    As a resident of Kansas and devoted Uni Watch reader, I am insulted by the opening of today’s entry… But it still made me laugh.

    This is definitely the thing to wear if you want to look like you just got off the plane from Kansas and went cap-shopping in Times Square.

    Yeah, lovely snark you have there Paul.

    paul’s one way ratchet theory at work here…each year the S&S caps will have to return, worse than the year before

    question: if we kill gaddafi before memorial day, will they make another appearance?

    Just wait until Bud Lite gets his extra round of playoffs. Then we’ll be seeing this garbage during Game 7 of the World Series — it’ll be Veteran’s Day!

    Here’s a great item about the custom typeface that Pentagram (that’s a fancy-shmancy design firm) and Hoefler & Frere-Jones (that’s a fancy shmancy digital type foundry) created for the Jets
    ____

    What the hell did they create? I guarantee that in 2001 there was already a font available, probably for free, that replicated the Jets lettering. The JETS text dates back to 1963 for God’s sake. Even if it was handmade back then someone had to have already extrapolated an entire alphabet out of it long before 2001. (Not to mention, why are there 2 different styles of R? Look at “horror” vs “pro” on that page.) I hope the Jets didn’t pay too much.

    Heofler & Frere-Jones makes link. If money were no object, I’d buy them and make use of them in academic papers; they’re amazing.

    I think all teams will be wearing the blue caps with the white middle bc you will recall that, in 2008, all teams wore blue caps for the American holidays. Same way the teams did for red in 2009 and white in 2010.

    That’d be my bet too. Though my previous bet on this one – blue caps with red brims – was completely wrong. Anyway, the everyone-in-blue option lets MLB do the same caps, but in red, next year. And if there’s one thing we know about MLB’s approach to these flag caps, it’s that if MLB can half-ass it one year to preempt the need to get creative the next year, MLB will do so.

    The design is so bad that it almost constitutes an insult to the national honor. For one thing, why the stars-and-stripes design in the logo at all? You’ve got broad swaths of blue and white; shouldn’t the team’s insignia simply be red?

    And if they’re going to go with a stars-and-stripes embroidery pattern within the logo. they need to do a better, more thoughtful job of it. The willy-nilly way the stars-and-stripes patterns are thrown onto the logos are thoughtless and make it impossible to read the result as either a flag or a team’s logo. Just a little bit of care would fix that. For example, with intertwined letters like the Mets, make the N stars and the Y stripes, and make the stripes a bit wider.

    Bottom line: If you’re going to make a “patriotic” gesture, don’t half-ass it. Better to do nothing than to be lazy about it.

    “SI.com ran a slideshow of MLB throwbacks yesterday”

    Anyone notice that it looks like the hat bills are all flipped up in the Orioles picture? Did the Orioles actually do that in the ’70’s?

    No — they actually did it around the time when that throwback game was played. Had something to do with reliever George Sherrill, I believe.

    Yep. Sherrill has a flat brim, so the brim flip-up, i.e.: “flattening,” was a tradition after a Sherrill save. The extra black stripe on the right arm was the memorial band for NBC broadcaster and one-time minority owner Jim McKay.

    Two things I noticed in both the throwback slideshow from SI.com and the throwback website…

    1) The A’s always seem to have top-notch throwbacks.

    2) As a Giants fan, I somehow missed the game when they wore those Brooklyn Royal Giants uniforms. Lincecum had short hair in the picture, which means it was in one of first 2 seasons. Damn, those were awesome.

    And the “Rangers” throwbacks just gives this DC baseball fan another reason to get angry (as if there’s not enough everyday).

    New Era just posted on their twitter feed special caps for the Pirates for Armed Forces Day.

    link

    Given the location of most of our high-profile present day military engagements, shouldn’t they have gone with one of those digital desert camos? These days, this woodland pattern reminds me more of… turkey hunting, or something.

    “Arm” Forces. Sheesh.

    Maybe the person responsible for the posting used to work for the Natinals?

    Is Mew Era becoming the new “Nike”?
    “The Pittsburgh Pirates will be switching up their look on May 15th for Arm Forces Day when they play against the Milwaukee Brewers. The cap will be done in a limited amount release and will see a black shell with the army green “P” and gold accent and the brim is completed with a woodland camouflage pattern. This Special release will be available at select authorized New Era dealers.”
    link

    Actually, New Era is totally following the Nike model (on a much smaller scale, natch). They’re a sportswear outfitter that has completely transformed themselves into a lifestyle brand.

    a black shell with the army green “P” and gold accent and the brim is completed with a woodland camouflage pattern

    Nice. This would have been perfect in 1981. The Army rarely wears green anymore, and hasn’t worn woodland camo in nearly a decade. The Army wears a distinctive camo pattern now with no green in it, and as an organization the Army has rebranded itself with a black-and-gold color scheme. Gosh, black and gold would be good colors for a sports team, you know?

    It’s like the Pirates are combining “Arm Forces Day” with a throwback event. This is what the Bucs would have worn on “Arm Forces Day” back when they were an actual big-league team.

    Actually, the Army began it’s transition away from Woodland camouflage in 2005, so, it’s not “nearly a decade”. Navy expeditionary elements began replacing their woodland uniforms in the last few months.
    Armed Forces Day isn’t Army Day, so black and gold really isn’t appropriate.
    Not saying the Pirates choice is well thought out though.

    When I turned the game on last night I thought the Mets were paying tribute to the Montreal Expos for a second.

    Awful caps. On my fuzzy TV signal I couldn’t even tell if the peak and rear portions of the cap were navy blue or black. It looked more black than blue — oops, I forgot, black is now a Mets color — gack!

    Awful caps. On my fuzzy TV signal I couldn’t even tell if the peak and rear portions of the cap were navy blue or black. It looked more black than blue — oops, I forgot, black is now a Mets color — gack!

    Not on this site.

    I can see everyone doing their thing on this upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11. But now that it’s been 10 years, and now that OBL is out of the picture, can we call it a decade and get on with our lives at sporting events? Please?

    FNOB for Mark Bavis who life was lost in 9/11.

    Checkout the 3:30 mark and 4:00 mark for a better look.

    Oooh — sarcasm from Scottie, instead of the usual devastatingly logical and analytical deconstruction of the point at hand.

    That’s how you know he’s pissed.

    Hope for the Future, Part I: “My son turned 12 over the weekend,” writes Tod Bryant. “And what was first on his birthday present wish list? Stirrups.” … Hope for the Future, Part II: “Here’s a picture of my son Owen in his first baseball game ever,” says Richard LaPorta.

    Seeing the pics of those youngins in stirrups put a smile on my face. Damn those kids look sharp. It blows my mind how this isn’t the standard look, it just looks more business-like, more baseball playerie (i know the theory of they do it all through minor ball and when they are pros it is a statement of being in the bigs).

    I am 28 with our first on the way. In my house you can pick your religion, but you will not be able to pick going baggy or long cuffed in baseball/softball.

    Not only do the flag hats look terrible, but they’re illegal. Title 4 of the United States Code states: ” (j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations.” See link

    While this is technically federal law, the Supreme Court has ruled conclusively that there can be no punitive actions for violating it as it falls under free speech. But if these teams are going out of their way to display their patriotism, maybe they ought to respect flag etiquette as its encoded by federal statute.

    I’ve never understood why cops and firemen do the US flag thing. Shouldn’t they wear the flags of their municipalities?

    I don’t think POTUS can even federalize a police department (as he might a national guard). So this makes no sense to me.

    You’re correct on the wording of the code, but it is not a criminal law. It’s more like an etiquette guide. It basically tells the reader what is considered appropriate behavior associated with the presentation and handling of the flag.

    WTF is wrong with people….. Some guy busting his ass for a few extra bucks and this is how he is repaid.

    “…the Mets specifically chose to wear these caps as a response to, you know, current events. Not how I would have handled it…”

    Paul, just curious how you would have handled it. Not saying this was the right way to handle it, but curious as to what else could be done.

    How about nothing?

    We celebrated V-E Day and V-J Day.
    Not “Hilter Offed Himself in His Bunker” Day.

    A mass murderer is dead.
    The message is, “Bad guys get caught.”

    Doesn’t mean there needs to be a party. Or an unoffical holiday declared. Because the notion of one of them being run to ground shouldn’t be so unusual. It should be expected.

    In Old West terms, put your gun back in your holster and walk away. Don’t keep firing it into the air and whooping.

    Moment of silence, the free ticket dump for military personnel (which they did, good for them), or maybe just getting on with life. Anything other than dressing up in a clown hat.

    By carrying on and celebrating as we are, we are demeaning ourselves.

    Try explaining to fifth graders as well as my own 7 and 9 year old daughters why people are happy about someone being killed.

    It is wrong. That’s it.

    The world is a safer place, and justice has been served to the face of evil. Those are two good reasons to raise a glass and dance in the street in my opinion. I won’t presume to speak like the supreme moral authority on the matter however. Take the news however you’d like, but don’t begrudge me my reaction.

    Agreed on all counts gentlemen. Hoo-yah to the men doing their jobs, enough said.

    How many free four-packs of tickets did the Mets hand out to NYC first responders, Port Authority employees, or folks with military IDs? If you’re a baseball team, that’s how you show your respect to those who serve.

    I mean, seriously, take this out of the context of a ballgame and think of any normal workplace. If the company wants to honor the troops or whatever, what does it do? It provides whatever product or service the company makes or does to soldiers or vets or cops or firefighters free of charge. Or it goes out of its way to hire disabled veterans. Or it coordinates volunteer opportunities for employees to do service projects or send care packages.

    If your boss said that, instead of doing any of those things, your company was going to “honor the troops” or celebrate V-OBL Day by encouraging everyone to come to work dressed up as a soldier, or wearing an American flag as a cape all day, nobody — nobody — would regard that as a patriotic gesture. Rather, we’d recognize that as something Michael Scott would do on The Office.

    “I mean, seriously, take this out of the context of a ballgame and think of any normal workplace…”

    but, i (the normal workplace jobber) don’t have 10,000-30,000 people watching over my shoulder with every move. and, no TV contract in my cube. and sportscenter isn’t going to highlight my slam dunk floor plan i updated yesterday… so there is already a huge difference

    i’m OK with the occasional tribute, but the key is MODERATION <—want to be clear on that… and a good/great design plan for the teams. not some generic, half assed template. want to honor people that give/gave their own time and effort? put in some time and effort…

    Paul, not sure what all the hostility is towards the fans chanting USA after god bless america. If they started chanting it DURING god bless america I can understand your point, but after? Does it really matter? Ive been to many different sporting events in the last 10 years and after the national anthem was played, fans would chant USA USA. Theres nothing wrong with people here being patriotic despite anyones views on the “current news.” Does the news of him being killed deserve all this attention? No, but If it means bringing this nation together as one, then so be it.

    On a side note should the Mets dressing up in bad uniforms/hats surprise you by now?

    If the sight of people behaving like clueless frat boys following some moronic “This is the part where we make fools of ourselves” script during the closing bars of Kate Smith’s signature song doesn’t make you queasy, then I guess nothing I can say will convince you.

    It’s like the football coaches all say: “When you get to the end zone, try to act like you’ve been there before.”

    Clueless frat boys… good thing I’m not clueless.

    Having been a member of a social Greek organization in college, frat boy just sounds so bad. Yes, I was surrounded by many that fit Paul’s description, but I always liked to consider myself something different… a fraternity member.

    I agree with you. In my college fraternity pledge book, one of the steadfast rules was to strongly discourage the use of the word “frat” and use the word “fraternity” instead.

    I guess it was in hopes of differentiating between the knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers from those with at least some distinction.

    Every time I hear the term frat boy I can feel myself tense up. Are there some out there that fit that stereotype? Sure, but there are plenty of non-affiliated college students that fit that same description. Most fraternity members I have dealt with have held themselves to a higher standard than that.

    “It’s like the football coaches all say: “When you get to the end zone, try to act like you’ve been there before.”

    I am not wanting to start a war of words with you, but if all coaches said this, don’t you think more players would subscribe to it than the never-ending parade of “look at me!” celebrations?

    College football is the worst for this.

    I’m just glad to see people being proud of their country again. It’s been a while. Even though the “USA” chant is the vocal equivalent of putting a cherry bomb down a toilet, it’s still better than a golf clap. I’m guessing the SEAL team that did the job didn’t celebrate by going back to base, putting on stars and stripes hats, and chanting “USA, Fuck Yeah”. (I will admit when I heard the news, that phrase went through my head like a bullet through Bin Laden’s…to soon?) I celebrated by toasting a shot of bourbon to the SEAL team’s honor. Job well done boys.

    I’m just glad to see people being proud of their country again. It’s been a while.

    Nonsense.

    Many of us may not have been proud of the actions our country took, or some of the people representing the country, but we never stopped loving it or being proud of it.

    You can’t make a statement and use the term “us” and that represents the majority. “us” might mean you and the five other guys you bowl with. Fact is the past few years, people have been loosing jobs and bickering over what is wrong with the country. That doesn’t mean they hated the country, they just didn’t have anything to cheer or be proud about. This represents a swing in the other direction.

    Funny how left-wingers preach tolerance (and paint right-wingers as intolerant goons) until the subject at hand is something for which they have no tolerance.

    Whoa! I didn’t hear anybody on this site, right or left, say that some expression or other shouldn’t be “tolerated.” Be my guest: Wave a flag and chant U-S-A all you want. You chant U-S-A and deem it patriotic and I’ll listen to you and then bury my head in my hands and wonder if this republic has lost all sense of civic decorum.

    And, yes, the SEALS are great, and the mission well done. But don’t tell me disapproval of loud chest-thumping constitutes intolerance.

    It’s pretty standard fare for Paul, actually. You just have to deal with it if you are going to frequent Uni Watch, Joe. He’s often rude to his readers. The uni content is solid though. It’s worth absorbing.

    Chaka Khan let me rock ya, let me rock ya Chaka Khan!

    In the words of Archie Bunker… “Shut up all you’s.”
    Stifle your bullshit patriotism… please!

    Not a one a ya’s supports the the troops. If ya did… you would enlist.

    Or it goes out of its way to hire disabled veterans.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I would love to find one of those companies down here in Nola. Being unemployed sucks.

    Sorry, back to the topic everyone!

    I’m tired of uniforms being scribbled on and tinkered with. Why not shut down the whole sport until every dead person and everyone with an ounce of bravery has been identified, tagged and paraded before us. It sure feels like they’re apologising for doing something as meaningless as entertaining us by playing a game.

    What struck me was, generally, the youth of those in the spontaneous demonstrations…to a great extent the same age bracket as many pro athletes and their fan base.

    And I realized that for probably any Americans 25 or under, certainly 20 or under, OBL was the real-life boogeyman of their lives. They have trouble rememebering a moment when he wasn’t the hovering ogre of their world, or at least represented such things. And now he’s dead. The monster under the bed or in the closet is gone.

    So it made sense that the relief from fears born in childhood would at first manifest itself in child-like euphoria.

    But, there should be a point where they say to themselves, “Wait, I know how I feel, but is this really the adult to way to handle it?”

    That, sadly, is not something they have shown much ability to do. And MLB sort of falls into the same trap. “Do nothing, whaddya mean, do nothing? We gotta do SOMETHING!”

    Really? Why? Sometimes life just…goes on.

    What struck me was, generally, the youth of those in the spontaneous demonstrations…

    Because, seriously, how many 50-yr-olds would pump their fists in the air and chant “U! S! A!”?

    It’s like asking how many 50-yr-olds would attend a frat party. Or spend $200 on a polyester shirt….

    it’s people that need to be a part of something.

    i swear 50-60% of yinzers tailgating on gameday are only Steelers fans because a) their dad and his dad were fans, and they feel entitled to root for the same team (as if your family wins an award for rooting for 1 team the longest and hardest), and b) gives them a chance to come together and be loud, super-obnoxious, and hammered… who needs the football side of the equation (maybe the half of people that go to actually watch and take in the game)???

    Slate just had a piece on this. Apparently, there’s footage of fans cheering “USA USA oi oi oi!” at the 1936 Olympics. Good thing Leni was there to get it on film!

    lol.

    I was trying to cut ’em a little slack.

    The other side of it is, “C’mon, people, grow up. Think about it. Not everything in life equates to your team winning a championshp.”

    Not sure if this was noted here in the past coupla days, but link following the Mets’ 14-inning win Sunday night (during which OBL’s death was announced:

    “It was a good win for us, but a great win for the US.”

    Yes life does go on, and there are many more terrorists we will need to eliminate in the future, because the war is not over. That said, I have no problem with the younger generation or older generation celebrating the demise of OBL. It was a great day for the world, and I enjoyed the chants on the TV during the Phillies game. It was fantastic seeing the gathering at the White House as well, euphoria is part of life, and I saw it as a release of sorts. Justice was truly served for this mass murderer, and we didn’t need to get anyone’s permission to waste him.

    The massive celebrations didn’t continue into this week, so life did return to normalcy. And if the rest of the world doesn’t like it, too bad.

    I would agree with the general feeling uniforms shouldn’t go overboard on the military/patriotic theme.

    Didn’t make that clear, I guess. Was saying the spontaneous reactions of Sunday night seemed fine.

    It’s the teams’ and fans’ need to carry it over (meaning those events not already planned), and carry it on, that is a bit much.

    No need to plan, figuratively speaking, a ticker tape parade.

    “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”–Plato

    Incidentally I’m 52 and on Sunday night, though I felt relief at OBL’s passing, I was not for one second inclined to chant anything.

    Most of the celebrants at the White House were DC area college students. I went to school at GWU, most of whose dorms are within 4 blocks of the White House. (Roughly the same distance between OBL’s house and the Pakistani military academy in Abbottabad!) It doesn’t take much for a bunch of kids from Gee-Dub, Georgetown, and American U to show up in Lafayette Square and party. Happens every election night, every inaugural, whenever the president announces a military action, heck sometimes just on State of the Union night.

    When I was in college, I was one of those kids cheering outside the White House gates a couple of times. You’re young, you’re in Washington, the White House is right down the street, why not?

    Now that I’m pushing 40, with a mortgage in the suburbs, I don’t head down to the White House to party with the undergrads. I turn on the tube and pour a glass of special-occasion whisk(e)y and skype some friends. But however one reacts, Ricko’s right that there’s a world of difference between being carried away by emotion in the moment, and wearing special look-at-me hats two days later to demonstrate how patriotic you are. Stay classy, Mets!

    On the other hand, I’m the guy who regularly wears a link baseball link on the Fourth of July, so who am I to talk. (Used to wear the jersey with a tricorne hat, until the Tea Party came along and turned tricorne hats into a political statement. Speaking of, how about a link for the Patriots?)

    silly bernard:

    Title IV of the United States Code, Chapter 1, §8:

    (j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations.

    No, the flag on the jersey is correct. According to more than a hundred years of tradition, and the Flag Code, the flag should always be displayed with the union on the viewer’s left.

    The whole thing with putting a backwards flag on one’s shoulder as if a person were a vehicle is a special rule made by the Army for itself when the Army switched the flag from the left to the right shoulder of uniforms. Officially, this designates that the American soldier always advances toward the enemy. At the time this rule was promulgated, the soldiers I know were about evenly divided. By and large the officers thought it was brilliant. Of the noncoms, every single one I knew at the time thought it was asinine.

    I want the MLB to stop thinking of uniforms as billboards for popular causes. Let’s get back to the idea of sports as a blissful respite from the rest of the world. Yeah, I wanna think about f*cking bin Laden while I’m watching a game. Someone needs smacking in the head.

    The thinking seems to be, “We’ve got a flag in our stadium, we salute it and sing to it every night, but this is really a great country and we need to hit these clowns in the face with it. It kinda tells me my heart has not bled sufficiently, and I’m insulted by it.

    “It kinda tells me my heart has not bled sufficiently, and I’m insulted by it.”

    Unfortunately, this will probably be their response to what you just wrote: link

    Re: SI throwback montage;

    Like every one of them. Esp the Braves- hadn’t seen a good look. Cubs too. I’d rec each team go back to those.

    Well, the Giants one I liked- but Zito’s wearing it, so mixed emotions there.

    Very disappointing Stars & Stripes caps this year. They look rather cheap, like something that would be part of a giveaway promotion.

    My question is this: Since these hats usually receive a large amount of negative criticism, (which there are obvious reasons for), what would be considered a good look for this series of caps?

    I know a lot of people will say just do away with them all together, but they seem to be something that is just not going to be stopped. So, if you were in charge of designing the Stars & Stripes cap, what would it have to look like for it to good and receive positive comments?

    this has been discussed before at length. i don’t think it could get positive comments, it just looks tacky no matter the style. so i don’t know that there is anything you could do to make it look any better, but i do know they wouldn’t sell as many link as they do stupid hats. shoot, screw the patch too. just have a moment of silence, and have a military band do the anthem. why does everything have to be over the top in your face?

    These hats will always look bad for the same reason Pro Bowl uniforms w/team helmets look bad. The colors don’t work for 90% of the teams. The Mets have blue, but not THAT color blue. And they don’t have red. Maybe 90% was low. The Rangers? Maybe.

    I agree with the Comrade. Military band performing the anthem, bring out a few local veterans to be recognized, a moment of silence. Any or all of those would be appropriate and show that someone cares about our armED forces. When you see a vet at a parade or a military personnel at the airport, offer to shake their hand and say thank you…don’t run up to them, chest bump them and fire off confetti bombs. Low key can be a good thing.

    A lot of cool uniforms, a great story and, many years before Ken Burns stole the techniques.

    1 our HQ Documentary

    link

    I forgot:

    This feature documentary follows one of the greatest Canadian baseball player of all time, Ferguson Jenkins, through the 1972-1973 seasons. From the hope and innocence of spring training to the dog days of an August slump, the camera gets up close and personal at the home plate and records the intimate chatter on the mound, in the dugout and in the locker room. It provides a glimpse into the rewards and pressures of sports stardom and the easy camaraderie of the quintessential summer sport.

    Honest to God…

    Allergies knocked me down last night. Was asleep quite early.

    So this morning as I roll over, still half asleep, and turn on the TV, I hear them saying Liriano pitched a no-hitter last night and my first thought was, “Did they win?”

    That joke doesn’t work anymore, though. By MLB’s current rulebook standards, a no-hitter must be a 9-inning (or longer) shutout. So if someone tossed a no-hitter, he won by definition.

    So if someone allows an unearned run and wins 2-1, allowing no hits in 9 innings, that’s not a no-hitter?

    Also, how pathetic is it that Liriano’s a 10-year veteran and that was his first complete game ?!

    i could be wrong, but i don’t believe the no-hitter must be a shutout, only that it must be nine innings

    A no-hitter is defined by Major League Baseball as follows: “An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings.” This definition was specified by MLB’s Committee for Statistical Accuracy in 1991, causing previously recognized no-hitters of fewer than nine innings or where the first hit had been allowed in extra innings to be stricken from the official record books. Games lost by the visiting team in 8½ innings but without allowing any hits do not qualify as no-hitters, as the visiting team has only pitched eight innings.

    so, the home team could pitch 9 innings, lose 1-0, and it would still be considered a no hitter…it’s the fact that it must go nine innings, not be a shutout (at least as far as i understand it) that counts

    am i correct in this thinking?

    Believe you’re right, Phil.

    Devern Hansack threw a no-no for the Red Sox a few years back in a game against Baltimore that was called after the 5th (last day of the season). Doesn’t show up in any of the record books as a legit no hitter.

    (via Wikipedia: “In his next appearance on October 1, 2006, in the last game of the season, Hansack pitched a no-hitter for five innings before the remainder of the game was rained out. Because of a change in the rules in 1991 when Major League Baseball changed the definition of a no-hitter to require that a pitcher throw at least nine full innings and a complete game, Hansack does not get the credit for an official no-hitter; however, he does get credit for both a complete game and a shutout”)

    Oh, I know that. Wasn’t my intent to make it sound original. More that I was lying there thinking, “Wow, a perfect moment for that old joke” with the Twins playing so crappy. Seriously, with this club you almost do want to ask.

    Cool quiz on Sporcle today: original logos of each MLB franchise. A lot of tricky ones. I got all 30, but with less than a second to spare…

    link

    well happy happy joy joy mr powers. may your world be scented with new sneaker smell all day today.

    screw gas powered mowers and weed wackers, i just got all old school stirrup , and took out the 2+’ prairie on the back forty with a link. i think i should be ready for bowling tomorrow.

    Hate the Cubs, but love their look today. So much better than their current road jerseys. My only gripe is how out of place the Santo sleeve patch is, not because I’m against tributes or think the time period is wacky, it’s more of how there are no other logos on the hat or pants or sleeves. It stands out way too much, for me.

    The Cubs pitcher (#45) is wearing the striped shirt… the PITCHER! As cool as it looks, isn’t that a violation of rules because it can be distracting? Like the mid-2000s Nike-Pox shirts?

    Oh my God, people were engaging in public displays of American pride and appreciation for our armed forces! In New York, nonetheless! How undignified and buffoonish! This offends my left-wing sensibilities to no end…..poor Osama. I feel so upset about it that I’m going to write about my political views in a blog that’s supposed to be about sports uniforms.

    Always cracks me up when people tell me what this site is “supposed” to be about. If it makes you feel any better, I checked first with the guy who runs the site, and he said it was OK.

    Sorry, I guess I got the wrong impression when you decided to call your blog “Uni Watch”.

    Just shutup assclown, even ESPN.com had an Osama headline – AND IT HAD NOTHING OT DO WITH SPORTS!

    Personally, I think there’s nothing more American than joining into a USA chant at any point that is even remotely appropriate, which this was. But I’m in America, where people can think differently. It was one sentence on a website that spans years, so I repeat… shutup assclown.

    “Just shutup assclown”. Clever retort.

    “But I’m in America, where people can think differently.”

    In America you have the right to think as differently as you like and speak any opinion you want without fear of retaliation from the government. I’m not begrudging Paul the right to his opinion. But freedom of speech does not entail freedom from criticism. On the contrary, that’s the definition of public discourse. I think your perception of the First Amendment is a little warped, and you may want to re-take 6th grade civics before you type anything else relating to politics.

    assclown,

    I never said you couldn’t criticize, but if you think for one second that your inane, stupid criticism doesn’t prevent you from being called out on your bullshit, then you – assclown – are sorely mistaken.

    Thanks for advancing “public discourse”, asslown, you’re a true American hero.

    “I never said you couldn’t criticize, but if you think for one second that your inane, stupid criticism doesn’t prevent you from being called out on your bullshit, then you — assclown — are sorely mistaken.”

    Ah ha, now you’re starting to get the initial point I was making to you about my criticism of Paul. A bit repetitive, like a parrot poorly imitating a human, but it is the sincerest form of flattery and all so I’m honored. Now if you can figure out some synonyms for “assclown” you might pass for halfway literate.

    Your the Donald Trump/Michele Bachmann of this website.

    Oh, and assclown doesn’t need synonyms since it is the name I give you since you hide behind the anonymous upgrayedd.

    I’m done with you

    You might look a little less trollish if you would explain how talking about the Mets hats doesn’t relate to uniforms.

    I wasn’t referring to the hats. I agree with Paul 100% on the hats; they look silly. My point was in reference to him mocking people for having the temerity to chant “U-S-A” after “God Bless America”. Some people are just too cool for public displays of patriotism, and those who are really cool don’t just abstain from participating, they go out of their way to mock those who do. I don’t know how America could get along without those sort of enlightened individuals.

    You know who loves patriotic displays more than me? No one. I love me some patriotism. Flags, parades, military bands, the whole nine yards. I stand and put my hand (and my hat if I’m wearing one) over my heart when they play the national anthem on TV. Heck, I’m such a big fan of patriotism that I usually make a point of not being in the stands when they play the national anthem, because it pisses me off the way they usually have some dippy Mariah Carey-wannabee ruin the thing with American Idol-audition warbling so that nobody can sing along. I’m barely even middle aged, and yet I’m old enough to remember a time when everyone in the ballpark would sing the national anthem together. They didn’t even have to have singers, because you could just play the music and everyone would sing along.

    Back then, we didn’t chant “U-S-A” all the time. Not because Americans were less patriotic. When we wanted to express our patriotism, we could sing patriotic songs. One after the other. link, say, or link, all four verses, or link or link or even link, which we actually knew the words to on account of singing it together at the ballpark.

    Swear to God, every time I hear the “U-S-A” chant for anything other than the Olympics or the World Cup, I just assume it’s a bunch of 20-year-old dipshits who wouldn’t know patriotism if it kicked them in their abbottabads. True story: I was at a wedding overseas a few years back. Apparently, it was a local tradition that at the reception, everyone from a country sings a native folk song. At my table of young Americans, some folks didn’t even know the national anthem, so we had to sing Happy Birthday instead. I guarantee you that every one of the Americans in that room who didn’t even know their own country’s anthem would just start shouting “U-S-A” over and over again if the need arose to express patriotic feeling. Which makes the “U-S-A” chant a sign of cultural impoverishment, not national pride.

    It’s embarrassing; within my lifetime, we were a country were just about any random group of strangers could be counted on to know the words to half a dozen national songs. Now, “U-S-A-U-S-A” is the best we can do. And the funny thing is, we’ve lost our ability to express heartfelt patriotism over exactly the same period that the major sports leagues have adopted ever bigger gestures to playact at patriotism. In WWII, teams showed their patriotism with a low-key sleeve patch. And, oh, encouraging their supremely fit players to enlist. Now, it’s all FDNY caps and stars-and-stripes uniforms and camo shirts and God Bless America in the Seventh-Inning Stretch, and yet the fans can’t even sing half a verse of an actual patriotic song or recognize the difference between desecration and respect for the flag.

    That is what the “U-S-A” chant means to me. I’m not too cool for public displays of patriotism. I’m too patriotic for stupid displays of patriotism.

    I often wonder how many of the young men so boldly bellowing “U-S-A” have served, or are planning on serving, in the military. Or are they really just saying, “You go fight, I’ll stay home…but, hey, I’ll be chanting for you like crazy”?

    I submit that if they ARE so committed to their country, so very very patriotic, why do we have to keep recycling the same National Guard, Reserve and regular troops into combat zones over and over?

    you don’t get what paul is saying at all do you? nobody is saying “poor bin laden”, and if you read what he wrote, and you would see that, i question if you glanced the same piece. we brought a horrible human to pay for his actions, brought closure to some people that needed it, and for that as a nation we should be proud. but if anything it is a somber occasion as we remember who was lost and appreciate that justice was done, it isn’t a time for the jingoism you seem to feel. should there have been moments of silence, should we have respectfully remembered those lost and those who fight? please please please. but that also does not mean this isn’t a time to have a little dignity, and a little pride in what what we stand for. when i heard bin laden was dead i cried as i remembered, the thought of chanting “usa” never crossed my mind, that was implicit in my tears.

    It seems to me that one of the truly great hallmarks of American history is that, most of the time anyway…
    we
    don’t
    gloat.

    And that’s the tipping point we have to watch for.
    When does our excitement and relief (yes, relief) cross that line and become self-saftisfying self-congratultory, rub-it-in-their faces chest bumping? If we let ourselves cross that line too often and too enthusiatically, then we are no better than those we oppose.

    Sean Marshall just cam in in the 9th and is the only Cub to wear the era appropriate sleeves. Looks great but must be hot in the mid 90s.

    I heard a while back that pitchers will wear sleeves to hide their pitches, regardless of the temperature. The game could’ve been played in Blythe, CA (my hometown) in mid-July/early-August, when it gets into the high 110s, EASILY, and still would’ve probably gone with the shirt.

    I’m a “look good AND feel good” kind of guy, but in this case, I’ll go with the former over the latter.

    too bad they didn’t play this game in chicago, mid 50s low 60s with a nice breeze off the lake? I think errybody woulda worn those perdy sleeves

    Sean Marshall goes all out. Enters the bottom of the ninth in LA wearing the three striped undershirt. Throwbacks look great.

    Only photo of Sean Marshall and the era appropriate sleeves I could find. Chicago Tribune hasn’t updated their Cubs photos with today’s game yet…

    link

    I am surprised that Zambrano didn’t get his start pushed back a day so he could wear the blue, walking-bear, softball top.

    That didn’t post quite right.

    Always cracks me up when people tell me what this site is “supposed” to be about. If it makes you feel any better, I checked first with the guy who runs the site, and he said it was OK.

    THAT is the post of the day.

    Shackleford will win the Kentucky Derby. Bet your welfare check on it so you can take a fat chick who may actually sleep with you somewhere ostentatious like Applebee’s, you unemployed loser. Shackleford.

    Believe it or not, I actually thought that the general concept of look was good (jingoism aside). That is, Snow white uniforms with a blue hat with a white front. It had an interesting look to it. I would be interested in seeing the Mets wear a Dodger blue cap with a white front and an orange “NY.” Of course its odd for the Mets to wear anything other than traditional blue but what the heck they hardly wear that anyway.

    In my experience, jingoism almost always leads to trouble. Over aggressive, nationalist, chest-thumping often leads people to go looking for a fight. Usually they find one they shouldn’t have started.

    sycophant:
    i swear it wasn’t more then two weeks ago i was thinking about how great it was that we didn’t have the one word sycophant phony for a good long time. but i guess you’re back, woo-hoo? enjoy yourself ya big tool, and be gone again. maybe if you didn’t put words in the author’s mouth we would listen to you, but you always do the same thing, strike strike strike, and say nothing but sycophant and commie. it is soooooo tired. FTHO

    I probably appreciate Ricko’s comments more than I do any other commenters in these threads, but I swear he’s argued about the people who haven’t served a time or two, just as he has today. What about those of us who CANNOT SERVE!? As a kid I always wanted to go to the Air Force Academy, but because of my health, I’m not ALLOWED in the military. Their choice, NOT mine. Does that mean I’m not good enough to have a f***ing opinion about my nation? Obviously, I take this issue personally. You’re a great poster who makes some terrific, educated, and logical points, but please try and consider the same argument many are making here about not lumping everyone in with a stupid group (frat boys for example).

    Note 1: I’m aware that sounded hateful, and I apologize, and mainly to Mr. Pearson. I’m pissed about the lumping of ANYONE who hasn’t served his country. Not mad at the person, mad at the execution/argument.

    2: I’m well aware the entire “frat boy” society is not made up of stupidity. I was using that as an example of places where there are exceptions to the accepted stereotype.

    For someone who doesn’t like the content of this site, you sure spend a lot of time here.

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