Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am thankful for my family, my friends, Sooze and the rest of the Babes, and all of you.

I can't pretend that I am not thankful the face muff is gone from Youkilis' face. I also won't pretend I think it is an improvement. Since it was for charity, however, I tip my glass of Cold Duck to you this Thanksgiving, Kevin.

Soto is as Soto Does

Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto has been named the NL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Soto hit .285 this year, with a sexy 23 home runs and 86 RBIs. He is the first catcher to capture the award since Mike Piazza in 1993. The last Cubbie to sport the title was Kerry Wood in 1998.

Soto's RBI record beat out all rookies in MLB. The pitching staff had the third lowest ERA in the league. And, by the way, we're going to try to forget about the playoffs for the moments.

Soto was also behind the plate for Zambrano's no-hitter on September 14. He was also the first rookie catcher to start in an All-Star game.

Muchas Gracias, Puerto Rico. Muy caliente.

If The World Were Perfect, It Wouldn't Be

Yogi Berra was one of baseball's greatest players. He played in 14 World Series, was a fifteen-time All Star, and won the AL MVP three times, in 1951, 1954 and 1955. Yogi also hit the first pinch hit home run in World Series history in 1947. When he managed, he holds the distinction of being one of the only managers to win both NL and AL pennants.

When he played catcher, he liked to talk behind the plate. A lot. He had a knack for saying crazy sayings like, "When you get to the fork in the road, take it," or, "It gets late early out here."

In 1942, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Branch Rickey, offered Berra $250 to play for the team, but Yogi turned him down. Rickey reportedly said, "He'll never make anything more than a Triple A ballplayer at best."

Happy Halloween

Ok, in the sprit of Halloween, here is a strange baseball story that might even involve Roger Clemen's gold thong, if you believe in that sort of thing.

The world is full of mysteries. Like, do some of these guys like Kevin Youkilis, Jason Giambi, Todd Jones, do they really think their facial hair looks good? Like, handsome even? Can't figure that out.

Enjoy.

XOXO Maggliana

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Tigers Take Knapp, Rehire Jones

After handing bullpen coach Jeff Jones his walking papers after the last botched White Sox series, the Detroit Tigers club along with new pitching coach Rick Knapp (formerly of the Minnesota Twins) decided to throw out the old, and replace it with....the same.

Jones was apparently the only interviewee for the position when team officials met for the second time. I can only imagine what the conversation was like...

121 days

Although I do like watching the offseason trading, the start of spring training is where it's at.

121 days, 22 hours, 3 minutes, 4 seconds.

But who's counting?

Tigers Fail to Hire Apostle for Pitching Coach

The Detroit Tigers have hired Minnesota Twins Minor League pitching coordinator Rick Knapp as their new pitching coach (or scapegoat, depending on how next season progresses).

Knapp was selected from four candidates who endured a grueling interview including a single, flickering swinging light bulb hanging from a cord held by owner Mike Ilitch, skipper Jim Leyland blowing smoke rings across the room, and manager Dave Dombrowski eating Tums like M&Ms. In the end, each interviewee had to spend an hour talking politics with Gary Sheffield.

"I know I wasn’t the belle of the ball,” mentioned Knapp after the interview. “I know there were a lot of people out there with big-league experience. But I will work my tail off to try to make these guys (the pitchers) better.”

Rays In, Red Sox Out

In one of the more entertaining ALCS playoff series this year, the Tampa Bay Rays finally drove the last nail into the Boston Red Sox coffin tonight as they won 3-1, overpowering the intimidating offense with amazing pitching by starter Matt Garza, and relief pitching including September newcomer David Price, who earned the save.

Jon Lester also offered up a pretty sweet pitching effort but the Rays' bats hit enough to bring in the three runs to win the game. Wille Aybar pulled out the long ball against Lester in the seventh inning and represented the 26th home run in this ALCS, breaking the record by one run for home runs hit in a single LCS. Cool.

Please Phix Me A Drink

Since the Phillies succeeded in clinching the NL pennant, we are now victims to the cutesy phonetical spelling of everything you can phucking think of.

Phantastic. Please root with me for a merci-phul end to this pain-phil phenomenon.

And, since my boyfriend's name is Phil, trust me. I've used them all already.

The Slow Demise of Tiger Stadium

Tiger Stadium has sat decaying at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Boulevard since relief pitcher Todd Jones threw the last pitch on September 27, 1999. Going on nearly a decade of vacancy since the Tigers moved to Comerica Park in 2000, it leaves me to wonder: which will go first, Yankee Stadium, or Tiger Stadium?

The stadium opened in 1912 on the exact same date as Fenway Park. The city of Detroit sank nearly $4 million in the upkeep of the park from 1999-2006. After that, the stadium was left deserted. Somehow, I feel like the park where Babe Ruth hit his 700th career home run deserves a little more respect. In the summer of 2007, a WDIV-TV undercover report showed people paying $20 to the security guard on duty to have complete access to the field. People were shown drinking and playing softball. As a Tigers fan, all I have to say about that is this: where the hell was I?
Some demolition was started this year in June, which tore open the field to reveal what is seen in the above picture.

Ozzie Strokes Cubbies, Fans with Kindness

The thoughtful Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox skipper, had nothing but a string of pleasantries to help soothe the utterly deflated egos of the Cubs organization and the fans.

"I think they went out and played their heart out. They just got beat," said the Ozzie tenderly, while pleasuring himself under the table during the interview. "The expectations were so high. It's not easy as a player to come every day with 'This is the year. This is the year.' Well, what if this isn't the year? What if 'the year' is next year?"

Apparently Ozzie even sent a text message to Carlos Zambrano after the Dodgers won 3-1 on Saturday. He told him to keep his head up, don't let upcoming criticism get him down. This from the same man who told White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in 2006, "When you're fat and you're good, you're a strong guy...When you're fat and you're horse-shit, you're fat."

There Is No Joy In Wrigleyville

There is no sorrow in the world of sports like being a Cubs fan. Chicago is one of the greatest cities not just in the Midwest, or United States, but in the world. But the invisible fence around Wrigley Field seems to prevent joy from ever entering the friendly confines.

Maybe it gets lost in the ivy. Or blown into the tiny whitecaps of Lake Michigan on its way to the North Side of the Windy City. Maybe the goat ate it. At any rate, fans are kept on pins and needles from that first pitch on opening day to that moment when the Cubs have lost their last game. The real reason Cub fans are blue? It's from holding their breath all the time.

Carlos Zambrano, who not long ago pitched a no-hitter after concerns he had a tired arm, couldn't get the win needed last night against Torre's Dodgers. Cubs defense was sloppy, the offense quiet, and the fans sat pale-faced, patiently waiting for a moment to cheer about something. The strange part is that the Chicago Cubs have a rockin' team this year. I mean, they're really good. It should at least be good baseball, not the slaughters we witnessed Wednesday and Thursday. Manny doesn't need another World Series ring.

Ten Reasons to Root for Tampa Bay

Today, the Tampa Bay Rays will take on the Chicago White Sox in game one of the ALDS at Tropicana Field. I thought it might be fun to find some new reasons to love the TB Rays, other than my intense dislike for the CWS team, their terrible network announcers, and their annoying fans.

So, in the spirit of creativity, here is a list of 10 new fun reasons why we should all jump on the crowded Tampa Bay bandwagon.

10.) This marks the first time in more than a decade that a team other than the Yankees or the Red Sox have won this division.

Job Posting: Detroit Pitching Coach

It was announced Monday after the 8-2 debacle against the White Sox that the Detroit Tigers' pitching coach Chuck Hernandez, and bullpen coach Jeff Jones, have been canned like last year's harvest.

When asked to comment what new voice could reach the pitchers, the ever direct Leyland replied dryly, "I would have to say, at least one of the apostles."

Good one, skipper.

The pitching rotation experienced difficulties from the beginning. After spending $29 million on a 3-year contract with Dontrelle Willis, he walked 21 batters in 11 1/3 innings in his second start after coming off the DL with a hyper-extended left knee. Ouch.

Just Another Baseball Chick

Sooze has been very busy recruiting. I am yet another proud addition to the Babes Love Baseball website. I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and I am a cradle Tigers baseball (sad) fan. I am using the name Maggliana 1) because it's more interesting then Sara and 2) I am truly impressed by Magglio Ordonez's creativity in naming his daughter. Really, he could've just pulled a George Foreman.

I think well-played baseball is totally sexy. I think Giambi should be thrown in jail for that thing on his face. And coming from someone who the term "throwing like a girl" would be a vast improvement, I just love to watch the game. Really. I'm one of those freaks who still think it's the best sport.

And I'm pulling for the Twins cuz I want to see the White Sox go down. Hard.

Thanks to Sooze for the invite, and hello to the rest of you. Let your freak flags fly.