The world is not a prison house but a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks. ~Edwin Arlington Robinson
Ho-hum. Another Justin Verlander complete game. Verlander(9-3) has won 7 straight. He allowed 4 hits, 1 run and added 5 Ks. In the 9th inning Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back JACKS! The Tigers beat the Rockies 9-1. How'd you make-out, Colorado guy? Sweep?? Never heard of Justin Verlander???
Tim Wakefield pitched 8 innings, allowed 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk and notched 6 Ks to help the Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 12-3. Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Marco Scutaro all went YARD. Prince Fielder hit his 20th dinger of the season. The Bruins brought the Stanley Cup to Fenway to start the game. The Red Sox placed Clay Buchholz on the 15-day DL with a strained lower back and recalled former Tigers' pitcher Andrew Miller from Triple-A Pawtucket.
The Duck Boats brought the Bruins & the Cup into Fenway...
The Prince of Wales Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Stanley Cup - sit on the mound at Fenway Park...
In Portland they had over 10,000 people paticipate in the World Naked Bike Ride. The Hottest of these bike riders was HBWHOF fave, and PlayboyPlaymate of the Year for 2007, Sara Jean Underwood. She sent these pics via TWITTER...
The HBWHOF prefers Ms. Underwood in her baseball attire...
Interleague play started on Friday. Rick Porcello got shelled at high altitude and the Colorado Rockies smoked the Detroit Tigers 13-6. Jhonny Peralta cranked a grand slam in the 6th to make it look respectable.
The 82nd All-Star Game is right around the corner - July 12th - and Tigers' catcher Alex Avila is 2nd in voting just behind Yankees backstop Russell Martin. Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has surpassed the Yankees' Mark Teixeira as the leading vote-getter at first base. Yessss! Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista is the top vote-getter in the Major Leagues with 3,042,091 total votes. Remember, last season, when I predicted that Grandy would hit 40 homers in the homer-friendly new Yankee Stadium? Grandy got hurt in 2010 and only hit 24 dingers. This season Curtis Granderson is tied for first in MLB home runs with Jose Bautista at 21 dingers! Granderson became the first Yankees outfielder to hit at least 20 home runs in the team's first 62 games since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. Grandy's in 2nd place in voting for an outfield spot - behind Bautista.
The Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-4. Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez went DEEP. John Lackey pitched 8 innings, allowing 4 runs and striking out 5 batters.
My new favourite chick is Kate Upton. ESQUIRE magazine has named her The Woman of Summer 2011 and included these pics...
I just spent a nice afternoon at The Copa. The Tigers beat the Tribe 6-2. Max Scherzer pitched 5 good innings, then the Detroit bullpen finished the job. Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn hit back-to-back homers to the same spot in left field in the 4th inning. The Tigers have won 13 of their last 18 games. The Indians are headed in the opposite direction, losing 16 of their last 22 games.
Hugh Hefner was supposed to get married this coming Saturday. But it ain't gonna happen! Hefner is 85. His fiancee, Crystal Harris, is 25. Do the math. Here's the lowdown courtesy of the New York Post:
Hugh Hefner's wedding to Crystal Harris was called off after she secretly planned to ditch the Playboy mogul at the altar in return for a $500,000 media deal, Page Six has exclusively learned. Harris, 25, was shopping for a big-bucks deal to tell all after she ditched hapless Hef, 85, in front of 300 guests at their wedding at the Playboy Mansion on Saturday, to be filmed for a Lifetime TV special. Yesterday it emerged that the pair had called off the wedding following an argument on Sunday, and the blond bride-no-longer-to-be immediately moved out of the mansion. Harris had reportedly been secretly seeing Dr. Phil McGraw's son, Jordan, for months behind Hef's back. Jordan is her songwriting partner, and they were seen cozying up at the Chateau Marmont in March. A source told us, "Crystal wanted to ditch Hef at the altar. Her plan was to walk up the aisle and say she couldn't go through with it. The wedding was to be filmed for a reality special, and her refusal to marry him would be a sensation. She was looking for a tie-in deal of around $500,000 for the exclusive 'I ditched Hef at the altar' interview. While there was interest, Crystal didn't get an offer anywhere near half a million." The former Playmate started dating Hefner in January 2009, and they got engaged last December. It is not known if the Sunday argument was sparked by Hef finding out about her plan to humiliate him. But Harris' manager, Michael Blakey, told us reports about her cheating with Jordan were "absolutely incorrect" and "total fiction." Of her plan to ditch Hef in return for a lucrative media deal, Blakey said that was "not true, to my knowledge." He said of their split: "I have no idea what happened. All I know is that it was an amicable breakup." The cancellation is unfortunate timing for Playboy: Its July issue hits newsstands Friday, with Crystal on the cover. The coverline, according to sources, is "America's Princess: Introducing Mrs. Crystal Hefner." Playboy reps didn't get back to us. But Hef tweeted, "The wedding is off. Crystal has had a change of heart."
This was supposed to be Playboy's July 2011 cover...
Which brings us to this week's RACK-OFF! Hef's ex-wife, and 1989 Playmate of the Year, KIMBERLEY CONRAD vs December 2009 Playmate of the Month and the chick-that-was-supposed-to-be-Mrs.Hefner-but-had-other-plans, CRYSTAL HARRIS. Make your choice in the box in the upper, right-hand corner.
Folks, we are witnessing a future Baseball Hall of Famer in his freakin' prime! On Tuesday night, Justin Verlander came within a few outs of hurling his 3rd No-hitter. With one out in the 8th inning, Orlando Cabrera hit a 99 MPH fastball into centerfield for a single - and Cleveland's first hit of the game. Verlander threw a complete game, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk and racking-up 12 strikeouts! In the long history of baseball - only 5 guys have thrown 3 No-hitters: Nolan Ryan (7), Sandy Koufax (4), Bob Feller (3), Cy Young (3 - Pitched in 1897,1904,1908) and Larry Corcoran (3 - Pitched in 1880,1882,1884).
"After the second one, a lot of guys told me once you get to three no-hitters, you're talking about guys like Sandy Koufax , Nolan Ryan...Pretty elite territory." - Justin Verlander
On Monday night, the Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in 10 innings...but they shouldn't have won. Detroit had a 1-0 lead going into the 7th inning, then Tampa Bay loaded the bases with 1 out. Casey Kotchman hit a pop-up to right field caught by Magglio Ordoñez. Justin Ruggiano tagged up from third to score the tying run, and Ordoñez made an awesome throw to homeplate. Ruggiano slid past the plate, avoided Alex Avila's tag, but managed to stick his foot back on the plate. It didn't matter - because umpire John Tumpane called him out. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon came out to argue and was ejected.
Rick Porcello was in control until the 5th inning. On Sunday, Porcello was forcing the Mariners to hit groundballs and the Tigers had a 2-0 lead - things looked good until Miguel Olivo went YARD. Then Seattle continued to chip away at Detroit pitching. The end result was a 7-3 Mariners win. But we did get this sweet Max Scherzer Bobblehead...
The Boston Red Sox lineup is finally doing what everyone expected them to do - win. Boston has won nine straight. They completed a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 14-1 win. Jon Lester pitched 8 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and notched 8 Ks. Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez and Big Papi all hit homers. These guys are firing on all cylinders...
The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are both in 1st place. Looks like it's going to be a nice Sunday. I'm heading over to the Tigers-Mariners' game at Comerica Park. On Saturday night, Detroit beat Seattle 8-1. Max Scherzer pitched a nice game: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and 4 Ks. Today, at the ballpark, they're giving away the Max Scherzer Bobblehead - complete with two different coloured eyes!
Should be a sweet pitching duel: Rick Porcello vs Last year's AL Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez.
Friday night the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 5-1. A respectable score. A nice job of pitching by Clay Buchholz. No homers on either side. Boston was running on pure adrenalin. Their flight didn't get into Toronto until the early morning due to the fact that Thursday night's game against the Yankees was delayed by rain and didn't end until 1:43 AM on Friday. They won their 7th straight game and retired to their hotel rooms for some much-needed sleep.
Saturday they awoke, refreshed, and promptly CRUSHED the Blue Jays 16-4. Dustin Pedroia had 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. Jason Varitek hit a homer and 4 RBIs. Big Papi went DEEP for his 16th dinger and added 3 RBIs. John Lackey pitched 6 strong innings and had a season-high 8 strikeouts.
One's HOT. One's NOT. The Large Father has been on a tear...
All eyes are on Jose Bautista. The cat who cranked 54 home runs last season failed to homer for his 13th straight game. He's also gone 11 games without an extra-base hit...
The Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1. Justin Verlander pitched 8 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 run and notched 10 Ks. Verlander(7-3) is 5-0 in his last 7 starts with a 2.14 ERA and a No-Hitter. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 22,090 on his way to the dugout after the 8th inning. That's all I have to say about that...
The New York Yankees and CC Sabathia had a 2-0 lead going into the 7th inning...then things fell apart. But wait...things began to unravel in Game 1 of this Yankees-Red Sox series. In the 1st inning on Tuesday night, Jon Lester hit Mark Teixeira on the knee with a pitch. Teixeira had to leave the game. Yanks rookie pitcher, Hector Noesi, threw a brush-back pitch that backed David Ortiz off the plate. Then, Big Papi pissed-off Yankees' manager Joe Girardi with his showy bat flip after hitting a two-run homer off Noesi. Boston wins 6-4.
Game 2: Ortiz goes YARD again. Two nights in a row. So do Carl Crawford and J.D. Drew. The last time the Red Sox won their first five road games against the Yankees in a season was 1912, on the way to a World Series title. Whimp-doggie A.J. Burnett didn't want to throw at anybody in retaliation and, promptly got lit-up for 8 runs. Boston wins 11-6.
Game 3: A lightning storm in the Bronx forced a game delay of 3 hours and 27 minutes. The game got underway at 10:32 PM. The lightning was a prelude of things to come... Josh Beckett hit Derek Jeter with his 2nd pitch of the game. Then hit A-Rod in the 4th inning, just for fun. This proved to be too much for the Yankees...CC Sabathia hit Big Papi in the right thigh with a 97 MPH heater. Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt immediately warned both benches. In 161 games against the Yankees, Big Papi had been nailed by a pitch ONCE - in the 2003 AL playoffs. After Sabathia hit him, Ortiz responded by hitting a single to start a seven-run comeback in the 7th inning. The Large Father finished with 2 hits and 2 RBIs. Boston wins 8-3.
Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain has a torn ligament in his right elbow. The injury may require Tommy John surgery which would end his season.
Are you having a good Spring, Mr. Yankees Douchebag?
The Tigers couldn't finish the sweep of the Texas Rangers. On Wednesday night, the Rangers beat Detroit 7-3. Phil Coke had been on the disabled list since May 24th with a bone bruise in his right foot. He was recalled from the Toledo Mud Hens and pitched 5 innings, giving up 10 hits and 6 runs - four of them earned.
The Boston Red Sox took over 1st place in the AL East after beating the Yankees 11-6 on Wednesday night. Tim Wakefield got the win(3-1) and Big Papi, Carl Crawford and J.D. Drew all hit dingers. Boston goes for the sweep tonight at 7:05 PM. Josh Beckett vs CC Sabathia.
The first major league baseball game I ever saw - up close and personal - was at Tiger Stadium in the summer of 1968. So, I have a soft spot for those amazing '68 Tigers who, later that fall, became the World Series Champions. I love me some Al Kaline. Some Bill Freehan. Some Willie Horton. Some Stormin' Norman Cash. Some Mickey Lolich. Some Gates Brown. In fact, my love for the 1968 Detroit Tigers is close to par with my love for the 2004 Boston Red Sox! Which is why this is a sombre day at the HBWHOF - former Tigers' outfielder Jim Northrup died on Wednesday. Northrup passed away after having a seizure at an assisted living facility in Grand Blanc, Michigan. He had been at the facility for about a month suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He was 71. In Game 7 of the 1968 World Series the game was deadlocked in a scoreless tie until the 7th inning when Jim Northrup hit a triple off St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Bob Gibson and scored Norm Cash and Willie Horton. Detroit went on to win 4-1. In that magic season of '68, Northrup hit 21 homers. Four of them were Grand Slams. He also hit a Slam in Game 6 of the World Series to help the Tigers beat the Cards 13-1. Jim Northrup's nickname was the 'Gray Fox' because of his premature gray hair. Born in Breckenridge, Michigan, Northrup signed with Detroit in 1960 and played for the Tigers from 1964-74, finishing his career with the Montreal Expos (1974) and Baltimore Orioles (1974-75).
This week's RACK-OFF! is a going old school. Not real old school - but a couple years back anyway... Two chicks that have kinda fallen off the Hotness Charts. Keep in mind that this Battle takes place between these two chicks when they're IN THEIR PRIME... JESSICA SIMPSON VS CHRISTINA AGUILERA Make your choice in the box in the upper, right-hand corner.
