Monday, August 20, 2007

Next Stop ... Hollywood!



Posted by: Miss October


Rookie phenom Joba Chamberlain has quickly won the hearts of Yankee fans in the five games in which he has appeared – and with good reason. In the seven innings he has pitched in relief, he’s only allowed two hits, two walks, has 11 strike outs – and has yet to give up a run. His pitching repertoire consists of 100-mile fastballs and a series of sliders and curveballs that have kept batters guessing.

As the Yankees take their first trip out West to play a big, three-game series against their nemesis of recent years – the Angels – it’s fitting that Los Angeles – the home of the stars – serves as the next stop in Chamberlain’s young career. After having impressive outings against the likes of Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore, Chamberlain’s manhandling of some of the Detroit Tigers’ heaviest hitters over the weekend turned even more heads.

The inspirational story of Joba’s upbringing sounds like a tale you would find in a Hollywood screenplay. Joba’s parents divorced when he was young and he and his sister were raised by his father, who was stricken by polio as a baby, leaving the left side of his body almost immobile. The 21-year old still remains close to his father to this day, who says he is Joba's number one fan.

With less than two weeks of major league service under his belt, Joba’s future sure looks bright. Yankee fans are hoping his star continues to rise, high enough to earn the baseball equivalent of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame one day…

Monday, August 06, 2007

It's Your Ball, but...

by: Mr. November


...give me a break.

Walter Kowalczyk is a 29-year-old Rutgers student who caught A-Rod's 500th homerun ball on Saturday. According to a report on ESPN.com, Walter is "hiding out" with his family while he decides exactly what he should do with the ball.

Hey, Walter, here's what you should do - get the ball back to A-Rod. I'm not advocating that every fan who catches an important ball should automatically give the ball back to the player who hit it, but this is a bit different. Walter and his family complain that he "drained his bank account" in order to buy season tickets, so he "deserves a break." I'm not sure what this means, but Walter apparently believes that it means he should sell the ball to a faceless memorabilia collector for an obscene amount of money.

Newsflash, Walter - if you need to drain your bank account in order to buy Yankee tickets, DON'T BUY YANKEE TICKETS.

So, please, get the ball back to A-Rod. Ask for an autograph, a jersey, maybe even some tickets for next season. But please, whatever you do, don't insult the Yankees and fans everywhere by showcasing your ridiculous greed.