Posnanski: Jeff Francoeur and ANT

Also known as THE WILL TO WIN.

The other day, I was watching the visiting announcing crew call a Kansas City Royals game, when Jeff Francoeur came to the plate. Before it even began, I knew what was coming. The announcers started to praise Francoeur. You know, it was all the usual stuff—great leader, plays terrific defense, bat coming around, wonderful guy. And, suddenly, a question came to mind.

What player in baseball do you think has the most ANT—Announcer Nonsense Talk—spoken about them?

By ANT, I’m not just referring to stuff announcers say. I’m referring to a sort of universal praise that does not tie to logic or anything tangible but instead to a sort of whimsical hope and powerful narratives. I remember in a playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, John Elway once dropped back, almost fell down, ran into his own offensive lineman, almost fell down again, flipped a short little pass to Mark Jackson who broke and avoided like 49 tackles on his way to a long and ridiculous touchdown catch. As soon as it ended, the announcer shouted: “John Elway did it again!”

That’s ANT.

You know ANT when you hear or read it—it is when people start speaking in broad generalities about a player (“This guy just wants it more”) or when they start over-crediting a player for dubious achievements (pitcher wins and RBIs tend to be the sweet nectar of Announcer Nonsense Talk) or when they start to turn sports achievement into life achievement (“That was just a courageous pitch!”). And like I say, it’s not only announcers who do this—far from it. You see it everywhere. I’ve spent plenty of time writing ANT.

Derek Jeter has been the recipient of a lot of ANT through the years—I coined the word Jeterate based entirely on this—but Jeter is a legitimately great player, one of the best shortstops ever, and he is a consummate professional worthy of respect and admiration. So you can understand why people would want to tack on some nonsense talk to make the record even more sterling. For a while, David Eckstein seemed to be the worldwide leader of ANT, but, heck, the guy is 5-foot-6, can’t really run, can barely throw the ball across the infield, and yet he was a shockingly good baseball player for a handful of years. In 2002, he finished 11th in the MVP voting and deserved it, maybe deserved even a little more. So, yeah, you could see why he got so much ANT. When a player defies logic or sparks intense emotion, nonsense talk often seems the only way to capture the awesomeness of it.

Tim Tebow has probably had more ANT spoken about him than anyone, ever.

But back to baseball … and Jeff Francoeur. At this moment, Jeff Francoeur is hitting .209 with five walks and one home run. We are about a quarter of the way through the season, so you can multiply those numbers by four to get a sense of where he would finish the year at this pace. He has an OPS+ of 48. The Pitch FX numbers show he can’t catch up to the fastball, can’t recognize the slider and cannot stay back on the change-up. He’s O-swing percentage—that is, his percentage of pitches he swings at outside the strike zone—is at a staggering 44.6%, a career high in a career of hacking. It is the third-highest percentage in baseball, behind only legendary free swingers Pablo Sandoval and Alfonso Soriano.

Those guys, however, tend to be bad-ball HITTERS. Francoeur, no, not so much on the hitting part.

Buzzfeed: The Killer Feature of MLB.tv.

Turns out you can watch video with the radio announcer overlaid. I just tried it. Seems to work.

Tim McCarver leaving Fox Sports after 2013 season

Leave the memories alone…

Maury Brown
@BizballMaury

“I’ve informed FOX Sports that I will not seek to extend my contract to broadcast baseball past the 2013 season,” said McCarver.

Joe Buck might do a few Cards games on FSM

(Throws 10-pound bag of Nilosorb on massivo jub-jub puddle on floor)

A Buck had been in the Cardinals’ broadcast booth for 47 consecutive seasons until Joe, son of legendary broadcaster Jack Buck, decided to pull out five years ago. But he might be back on an extremely limited basis this season, in a ground-breaking role, if the planets align correctly.

There have been preliminary discussions about him doing play-by-play for a handful of Cards games on Fox Sports Midwest, in a looser fashion than ever has been done for any big-league regular season telecast.

Nothing has been cemented, but possibilities include chatting with players while the game is in progress — perhaps someone on the bench or in the on-deck circle — talking to a relief pitcher who wouldn’t play until later in the game, having a microphone on a fielder or other such innovations beyond even what might take place for an All-Star Game.

“The idea would be to try some fun stuff within a Cardinals game that hasn’t been tried before,’’ Buck said. “I don’t even know what that entails, but we’d be looking for different access to the on-air product. I think it could be cool. It would kind of loosen the reins a little, make the broadcasts a little more compelling. It would be in the category of ‘something different’ (but) how that takes shape I don’t know.’’

...FSM general manager Jack Donovan likes the idea of getting Buck — the national Fox network’s lead baseball and football announcer — back on the local airwaves.

“Nothing has been finalized but the way I look at it, Joe is widely regarded as the best announcer in the business and if we’re fortunate enough to have Joe do some games we’ll absolutely take advantage of that,’’ Donovan said. “He’s the best in the business, fans would be delighted if he was doing some games. He’s in the Fox family, he makes his home in St. Louis. It’s an option that’s out there and we’d be delighted to have Joe on our telecasts.’’

Buck firmly emphasizes that he doesn’t want to intrude on existing Dan McLaughlin and Rick Horton, who do play-by-play for FSM, as well as analyst Al Hrabosky. And if the idea comes to fruition it would be for only a few games.

“It’s insulting to Dan, it’s insulting to Ricky,’’ Buck said of any idea of him trying to get back in a regular rotation in the booth. “I’m not just looking to do games, this is not my broadcast. This broadcast belongs on the air to Dan, Ricky and Al. I’m well aware of that and would never infringe on that.’’

Mitch Williams: Lohse still looking for a club

Mitch Williams offers up his John Deere Letter.

Why is Kyle Lohse still not signed by a club?

When free agents declared this year, Zack Greinke got all the attention. From a stuff perspective, I believe Greinke had the best stuff of all the free agent pitchers on the market, and he was given a huge contract by the Dodgers. I will never say a player isn’t worth what he is paid, because I learned a long time ago that worth is subjective.

When I bought my ranch, the man I bought it from said that he had $40,000 worth of equipment on the premises. I told him that he should then haul it up on the highway and sell it, because it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and I wasn’t paying $40,000 for it. In the end, I got it all for free. So Greinke got what he was worth because someone was willing to pay him that.

I still feel the same way today that I felt when free agency started: Lohse doesn’t have the best stuff, but he is the best pitcher available. The problem here is that he is 34 years old and is represented by Scott Boras. I’m sure Boras feels that his client is worth three or four years at probably around $16 million a year. (I’m guessing on the years and money.)

Harrelson, Stone work out their issues

If you noticed a major disconnect in the Chicago White Sox television broadcasts last season you are not the only one. Sox executives, led by chairman of the board Jerry Reinsdorf, met with announcers Ken (Hawk) Harrelson and Steve Stone at SoxFest on Jan. 25 to discuss the communication breakdown between the two broadcasters over the past two baseball seasons.

Harrelson, appearing on ESPN Chicago’s “Talkin’ Baseball” on Saturday, said he was happy with the end result of the confab.

“There was a problem last year,” the veteran announcer said. “The first two years we worked together (in 2009-10) were terrific. It reminded me of working with (Don) Drysdale (in the 1980’s.)” ... “In 2011 something was wrong,” Harrelson said. “In 2012 something was wrong. We talked about it through the course of the year and finally had the big meeting at Sox Fest. Jerry was there and so was Bob Grimm and Brooks Boyer. We got it all out on the table and worked it all out. When we walked out of the meeting I felt great and so did Steve.”

Both Harrelson and Stone have won numerous awards for baseball broadcasting and according to industry sources, both are among the highest paid announces in the major leagues.

h/t Hardball Talk

Klein: Steve Stone: The Smartest Man In Baseball

“Man, that is some B.S. right there”

Stone’s smarts are on display in the White Sox television booth in season, from where he’s perhaps the best ever at calling what the next batter will or won’t do. His information-based approach to his trade sets him apart from the legion of other ex- jocks who handle microphone duties in many sports, and bespeaks the hours of homework he devotes to it.

...Perceived acrimony between the two led to speculation about a Stone exit after the last campaign. Uh-uh again, Stone avers. “Five days after the season ended I called [White Sox chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf,” he says. “I told him that regardless of what he might hear or read I’d be back for next year. I have a long-term contract with the Sox and I expect to fulfill it. Never intended otherwise. Hawk and I have a professional relationship, and that’s fine. We both want the same thing, which is to make our broadcasts better. I can’t ask for more than that.”

He goes on: “From day one I’ve known what my role is with the Sox. It’s basically Hawk’s booth; I’m second banana. He’s the team’s face and voice. He’s a fan and takes losses hard, and I respect that. His passion is why people love him, or don’t.

“My style is different; I see my role as educational. If I don’t tell people things they don’t know about every game, I’m not doing my job. Baseball has no script so every game is different. You’ve got to deal with what comes—it’s all ad lib. Hawk and I have been together for four years now, but really we’re still getting to know one another. We’ll improve.

“It’s like a marriage,” concludes the ex-pitcher, who, incidentally, is separated from his second wife. “Sometimes it might not go so good but we’re still a team.”

MLB Colour Commentator Announcer - Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590 (Toronto)-

If you are a veteran broadcaster and former MLB player who loves the game, talking about it on air, on television and in social media, Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590, home of Toronto Blue Jays baseball in in Toronto has a rare employment opportunity. The perfect candidate will be compelling, entertaining, engaging, witty, thought-provoking, insightful, opinionated, and must know and love everything about baseball. And that’s just for starters. We want a person or team that want to win. We want leaders. We want people with passion.

Responsibilities:

  Colour commentary for spring training and all regular season and play-off Toronto Blue Jays games. Commitment - Feb - October. 
  Participate in Blue Jays radio/television conversations/interviews as requested.
  Participate in Baseball Central @ Noon program. 
  Write articles for digital twice per week.
  Aggressively use and react with social media. You must have a twitter account and use it.
  Web based fan chats once per month.
  Additional duties relating to the Baseball brand as requested.
  Must be able to travel.

Qualifications

  Must have a minimum 4 years in pro or semi-pro baseball experience.
  Must have a minimum of 4 years broadcast experience in radio/television or combination.
  History with the Toronto Blue Jays an asset. 
  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  Must have proven ability to work both independently and as a team player with minimal supervision.
  Must be able to follow direction of management.
  Must be able to sufficiently prepare for each game and deliver a fresh product to the listeners each day.
  Ability to work in a fast paced environment as a team player.
  Able to communicate to 25-54 male demographic.
  Excellent sports knowledge - particularly baseball.
  Able to execute the sports entertainment format.

Bobby Valentine is moving back to the media… but not with ESPN

Hello, caller, you’re on Candid Slam-era.

But he’s not returning to ESPN.  Instead, Bobby V will take on a much lower profile role as a contributor to the NBC Sports Radio network.  Via NBC release:

“Dial Global and the NBC Sports Group announced today that Bobby Valentine will join the NBC Sports Radio lineup as a Major League Baseball contributor, starting this month.

“Valentine, a former Major League Baseball player and manager, most recently of the Boston Red Sox, as well as former analyst for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, will call in weekly to affiliated stations and NBC Sports Radio talk hosts with his candid thoughts and observations on baseball. In addition, Valentine will become a part-time co-host of a soon-to-be-announced daily Monday-Friday talk show that will debut in April, 2013, as the network expands its programming lineup.”

Jim Kaat: Will we finally get The Real Deal?

Kaat Said: Orientalism.

A couple of short stories about Asian pitchers and Irabu: I was announcing Yankee games in the mid-90s when I said over the air, “I wonder if we’ll ever see an Oriental position player in the Major Leagues?” Dion James was playing for the Yankees at the time, and told me about an exciting 19-year old named Ichiro Suzuki who had a chance to be the first. We all know that story. Big fan of Bernie Williams from watching Yankee games in Japan. Wears number 51 because of that.

So, I get a letter about a week later from an Asian baseball fan. Not a malicious letter but scolding me gently for referring to Asian players as “Oriental.” He said, “Noodles and rugs are Oriental, not people. We are Asians.” Fortunately for me, he put his phone number in the letter, so I called him.

We had a pleasant conversation and I told him I certainly didn’t intentionally say “Oriental’ as a slur or condescending remark. It was said innocently out of ignorance. He understood. I asked him if he would be watching the next game we televised. He said he would. He was a huge baseball fan and was complimentary of our telecasts on the MSG Network. I asked if he would please watch and listen in the top of the 4th inning. He said he would.  I took the opportunity to clear up the Oriental/Asian situation.

...So, I’lll be keeping a close eye on Yu Darvish and see if he is finally the one to be able to challenge and dominate our bigger, more powerful big league hitters. For his and the Rangers’ sake, I hope he does. It will be good for the game and the Rangers profit and loss statement!

Thom Brennaman says he’ll broadcast ‘multiple’ games with his HOF dad on the radio this season

RETURN OF THE BRENNAMANSTER! (flee good people…flee!)

All the Reds trades to bolster the roster sure are nice, but here’s another reason for Reds fans to smile about the upcoming season:

Thom Brennaman promises that he’ll do some games on radio this year with his father, Marty Brennaman. They didn’t do any last year.

“Yes! Write it down in your notebook! We will do multiple games,” said Thom during a “Reds Hot Stove League” commercial break with his father Tuesday at the Holy Grail downtown.

The more he talked, the more he promised.

“I’m hoping we’ll get a chance to do three or four series together on radio,” Thom said.

Josh Lewin leading candidate to replace Wayne Hagin

I would take a mutant like Josh Clay over Wayne Hagin…but I will settle for Josh Lewin.

According to Newsday’s Neil Best, “Josh Lewin has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Wayne Hagin alongside Howie Rose in the Mets’ radio booth.”

Last month, Mike Puma of the New York Post said WFAN recently auditioned Jim Duquette for a spot in the Mets radio booth, since “Wayne Hagin is not expected to return.” According to the report, Billy Sample, WFAN reporter Ed Coleman and SNY host Chris Carlin were also being considered.

Michael Kay Bets NYBD on Mets Win Total

Winner gets a vintage Kay/Silvatone Guitar!

Earlier today I called out Michael Kay for his statement regarding the Mets winning between 55-60 games this coming season.

Kay has taken to Twitter this week and done a great job interacting with fans.

Kay responded to my post about his statement asking me how many wins I see for the Mets.

Okay, mike, you’re so objective, how many will try win? Honestly. If I’m the shill, tell me how many they will win in your unbiased opinion.Thu Jan 12 18:05:29 via Twitter for iPhoneMichael Kay
RealMichaelKay

I responded that 77-81 is not out of the question. Regardless, they won’t be near the 55 to 60 games he predicted.

So here is our bet :

@NYBD you’re right, mike, they’re never devastated by injuries. What was I thinking? Betcha my 55 to 60 is closer than your 77 to 81.Thu Jan 12 19:34:04 via Twitter for iPhoneMichael Kay
RealMichaelKay

...Looks like the Mets are going to need to win more than 68 games for me to prevail.

Bob Carpenter to return to MASN as voice of Nats

and Face Palm Santangelo to return as the facepalm of Nats.

Late last year, it appeared Carpenter would not return to the booth after the Nats didn’t pick up his option last August, but both sides managed to come to terms recently. Calls to Carpenter were not returned.

It will mark Carpenter’s seventh season in the broadcast booth for MASN. He is known for the catch phrase, “See you later,” whenever a Nationals player hits a home run.

F.P. Santangelo will continue to be Carpenter’s broadcast partner. Santangelo is the fifth TV partner for Carpenter, who has worked with Tom Paciorek, Don Sutton, Rob Dibble and Ray Knight.

Neyer: What’s To Be Done With Bill Conlin?

One old sparky chair comes to mind! Picks up torch and pitchfork (sees Bon Iver won year-ender…throws away in disgust)...

But what if we discover that one of the players in the actual Hall of Fame did something far more abhorrent than using steroids or testosterone? Say, murder. Would the Hall of Fame seriously consider removing that player? I honestly don’t know.

Of course, time plays a role here. Conlin just won the Spink Award. In the display in the Museum, he’s featured. If Conlin were dead, or if he’d won the award 10 years ago, this whole sordid affair might be a three-day story. But now? With Conlin still around? With an extra-big photo of him in the Museum? With Jerry Sandusky still running free?

Right now, everything is so raw. If given a chance, I suppose I would split the difference. I would not rescind Conlin’s Spink Award, but I would hasten to make him less visible in Cooperstown. We’ve got a new winner: Bob Elliott. Maybe it’s as easy as making him the center piece of the exhibit a few months earlier than scheduled.

Or maybe Conlin should simply be defrocked. I don’t have the answer yet. I do anticipate a spirited discussion. Which will be more than welcome.

MLB Network unveils brand new social media layer to studio

Krajewski’s Pig Farm goes high tech!

Even though it’s the off-season for the MLB, the MLB Network is hard at work leveraging social media by curating off-season chatter through their programming — and now they’ve rolled out a brand new social media area inside of their state-of-the-art Studio 3 in New Jersey.

The social area of the studio serves up 108-inch touchscreens for MLB Network talent to interact with fans through Facebook polls, Twitter and email. MLB Network has over 98,000 followers on Twitter and over 350,000 likes on Facebook.

...LR: How will social media be incorporated into the studio? On air?

MB: Fans can be part of the discussion and chime in on all the latest Major League Baseball news and rumors leading up to the 2012 regular season. As it has done throughout 2011, MLB Network will continue to interact with viewers and post questions and display select responses on-air in each studio show – including “Hot Stove,” “Clubhouse Confidential” and “Intentional Talk” this offseason – either on the in-studio touchscreen monitor or on-screen in our social media “ticker.”

We also want to bring fans the best and newest info shared by players and media via social media, so MLB Network on-air personalities will discuss tweets on-air, whether it’s a breaking news story or a photo that a player posted from a recent vacation. During the various Jewel Events on the MLB calendar, like Spring Training, Opening Day, the All-Star Game, Trade Deadline, Postseason and Winter Meetings, we monitor hashtags to stay on top of the most talked about storylines and display tweets and stories reported on Twitter from baseball beat writers.

Lou Piniella set to return to Bombers as YES Network television analyst

Tip: Buy a comb.

Lou Piniella, a fan favorite as both player and manager, is deep in negotiations and close to signing a deal to return to the Bombers as an analyst for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network. He also will likely serve as a spring training instructor.

According to industry sources, Piniella will do a limited number of appearances for YES in the broadcast booth and studio.

Piniella would join YES’ cast of analysts that includes Ken Singleton, John Flaherty, Paul O’Neill, David Cone, Al Leiter and play-by-play man Michael Kay.

...Now, sources said, Piniella wants to stay to baseball. It looks like the Yankees are providing that opportunity. This likely means Yankees fans will see Piniella in the YES booth when the Bombers play the Rays in 2012. The Yankees open the season April 6 in Tampa. Piniella should have a role in that telecast.

After leaving Tampa in 2006, Piniella spent a season working for Fox Sports on its major league baseball package.

Hannibal Courier Post: Tim McCarver is not a Hall of Famer

Lifting from Mountaintop Motel Massacre’s sweet Evelyn here…“Please do not piss off Cardinal fans. They already are.”

Tim McCarver, that biased broadcaster, has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

From here on out, he’ll be referred to as a Hall of Famer.

But I’ll just call him Tim McCarver.

Because in my eyes, he is NOT a Hall of Famer. He is a dumbfounded broadcaster who, for whatever reason, has been on the air way too long.

...He is constantly negative toward the Cardinals and does not have any credibility. I can remember when he referred to former pitcher Donovan Osborne as Donovan “Os-burn.” Even during this past postseason, McCarver said the word strike was made up of five letters. Add all that to his sentence structure — that I’m sure makes English teachers squirm — that’s not excellence.

McCarver was a great ballplayer, I respect him for that. In that genre, he’s still not a Hall of Famer (didn’t have the numbers nor did he stand out), but he was certainly an impacting player for the teams he played on.

Losing out on the award this year is Texas Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel, who is the best descriptive broadcaster there is; McCarver’s former teammate Mike Shannon, who is the most unique broadcaster in the game; and a large number of others who were so much more deserving.

Bob Uecker to be inducted into broadcasters’ hall of fame

Hey, sports fans! You LOVE me!

[National Association of Broadcasters] officials announced today that the play-by-play announcer known as “Mr. Baseball” will be inducted during a luncheon April 17 during NAB’s annual convention in Las Vegas.

The Brewers are scheduled for a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the same day.

Finn: Q&A with MLB Network’s Brian Kenny

I haven’t been this riveted to a TV show since Roy Thinnes got a severe pinky cramp and had to hide it during a whole The Invaders episode!

The resistance from—I guess you could call it the long-established media, since mainstream applies to the internet these days—seems to be fading. Writers such as Keith Law or Dave Cameron at Fangraphs have BBWAA membership, which is a wonderful, progressive development. But there’s still that challenge of making sabermetrics accessible to the those who are skeptical or intimidated. How do you approach that challenge on the show?

Kenny: “That’s always the challenge in knowing where the line is. I want any baseball fan to be able to tune into the show and have a passing knowledge of statistics to be able to watch the show and enjoy it. So I really take my time and take particular care to explain the methodology and to explain what some of these new analytical tools are and how they are used and why they work.

At the same time, I stress this is not math class, a lot of times I try to say, hey, this is wins above replacement. Try not to get caught up in what goes into the number, just look at what the numbers are telling us. We can look at OPS, we can look at weighted on-base average, let’s see what all the evidence is telling us. I don’t get caught up in one number because there is no magic number. A fan is already looking at the numbers. How do you know someone is a good hitter? He hits .300. He drives in 100 runs. Those are metrics. They’re just not the best possible metrics to analyze production and project future performance. There are other numbers for that and we’re going to teach people what they are and how to use them.”

...Before I let you go, I have to ask since he’s one of my favorite players and his Hall of Fame candidacy is cause of sabermetricians: Does Tim Raines belong in the Hall of Fame?

Kenny: “Tim Raines is two Hall of Famers.”

Verducci: Winners and losers from a wild week at the Winter Meetings

What are you wearing, Tom from MLB Network?

uhh…khakis.

Winners

Regional sports networks. Twelve months ago Moreno was complaining about Carl Crawford money (seven years, $142 million.) What changed? He lined up a new local TV deal that could pay him almost twice the current annual rate of $50 million—even with the second-worst ratings in baseball. Sports programming is hot. It provides loads of content and, most importantly, content that is DVR-proof. Most sports programming is consumed live, not time-shifted, and that’s increasingly valuable to advertisers who prefer their ads actually be seen and not zapped. There is a reason the Rangers, who were in bankruptcy a year ago, and the Angels, who kept coming up short on free agents, are now superpowers—they lined up state-of-the-art massive TV deals. Once it was new ballparks that created the hierarchy of spending power in baseball. Now RSNs are the new oil wells. Next up at the TV windfall game: the Dodgers.

Sandy Alderson. The Mets GM had the two best lines of the meetings, first, in response to Reyes whining about not being wooed by the Mets, said, “Maybe I should have sent him a box of chocolates,” and then later, noting two of the three biggest contracts in baseball history (Alex Rodriguez and Pujols) were handed out at the same Dallas hotel, said, “There must be a strain of Legionnaire’s disease here.”

Losers

St. Louis fans. They don’t get to watch Pujols chase records and burnish his legacy as a Cardinals icon. But don’t blame the ballclub or even Pujols. Pujols essentially became too good and too expensive for the size of the market—particularly one that hasn’t cashed in yet on the new RSN boom like the Angels and Rangers. St. Louis still has six years left on its local TV deal. They could also start their own RSN, paralleling what the Yankees and Red Sox have done, but St. Louis ranks 24th out of the 30 media markets measured by Neilsen. The Cardinals might not have enough eyeballs for the TV calculus to work.

Hanley Ramirez. He was a problem when he was playing the position he wanted, shortstop. Do the Marlins really believe he will go peacefully to third base? Don’t rule out the possibility of a trade.

BHOF - Tim McCarver Named 2012 Ford C. Frick Award Winner for Broadcasting Excellence

Tim McCarver, who has served as a national analyst on networks for three decades and simultaneously shined as part of broadcast teams with four big league clubs, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

McCarver becomes the second primary television analyst to win the Frick Award, joining Tony Kubek, who received the honor in 2009. McCarver will be honored as part of Hall of Fame Weekend 2012, July 20-23, in Cooperstown, New York.

I thought it was just that he looked better next to Ralph Kiner…

MLB: Enter to be a Part of MLB Fan Cave 2012

As the lone comment sez…“Baseball Wives isn’t embarrassing enough?

Major League Baseball announced today that the MLB Fan Cave in 2012 will start the season with a group of fan contestants, some of whom will be eliminated throughout the season until one winner is crowned before the end of the World Series. Multiple contestants will begin the season in the MLB Fan Cave and watch every single MLB game each day while chronicling their experiences online through videos, blogs and social media. Along the way, they will compete against one another over the course of the baseball season in a series of challenges, with fans online helping decide who gets to stay in the Fan Cave and play host to the baseball stars and celebrities who will visit throughout the season. Entries – which include a series of essay questions and a video submission – are now being accepted at MLBFanCave.com, with a deadline of Friday, January 13.

The MLB Fan Cave will return to the 15,000 square foot location at 4th Street and Broadway in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village that was formerly the home of Tower Records. After hosting a number of holiday-themed events this month, the MLB Fan Cave will shut its doors in January to be redesigned to feature new technology and interactive elements. The MLB Fan Cave is a unique event space and content factory mixing baseball with music, popular culture, media, interactive technology, and art. It also serves as a digital hub for all baseball fans, with a constant flow of online video and conversation via social media.

Thanks to T. Hissey.

MLB issues media dress guidelines

Well…at least they don’t have to worry about banning flannel. Huh, ohh.

Muscle shirts, ripped jeans and flip-flops—fine for the beach, not so fine for big league press boxes starting next season.

Baseball has become the first major pro league in North America to issue dress guidelines for media members, putting them in writing at the winter meetings.

The no-wear list also includes visible undergarments, excessively short skirts or anything with a team logo.

“This is not in response to any single incident,” MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said Tuesday.

...The media should dress “in an appropriate and professional manner” with clothing proper for a “business casual work environment” when in locker rooms, dugouts, press boxes and on the field, the new MLB rules say.

Banned are sheer and see-through clothing, tank tops, one-shouldered or strapless shirts or clothing exposing bare midriffs. Also listed in the guidelines are skirts, dresses or shorts cut more than 3-4 inches above the knee.

...At 81, former Marlins manager Jack McKeon has seen dress codes change a lot during more than a half-century in the game. Especially at warm-weather ballparks during the hottest summer months.

“I remember the old days, when even the people in Triple-A would wear a coat and tie,” he said. “Now, it’s casual. Less than casual, really,” he said.

“Today, it can look pretty sloppy,” he said. “But that’s not just baseball. It’s generational.”

Thanks to C. Treadway.

Hoops icon Dick Vitale voices some support for Mariano Rivera

LESS LES CASON, LESS YELLING!

When Dick Vitale heard prior to Thanksgiving that Mariano Rivera was headed for vocal cord surgery, he attempted to reach out to baseball’s all-time closer.

Having undergone surgery on his vocal cord in 2007, the college basketball television announcer and Yankees fan wanted to recommend the doctor that operated on him.

“I had Dr. Steven Zeitels in Boston,’’ Vitale told The Post. “He did mine, Steven Tyler, Adele and James Taylor. He is the Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter of his profession.’’

...“Not being a singer, we don’t use our diaphragms when we talk,’’ Vitale said. “They taught me to do exercises and try to learn that you don’t have to scream and yell on the phone. I have learned that the day of the game I have to be low key.

“Of course, I make my living with talking. Mariano makes his living with his arm.”