VEECK...AS IN WRECK

That's the title of a bio for Bill Veeck, former GM of the Chicago White Sox. He may be one of only two baseball front office personnel who thought of baseball as a GAME, not a business. He wanted not only the players, but also the fans to have fun with the game. He was the first to shoot off fireworks after a home team homer, he sent a midget up to pinch hit in a regular season game and he designed some of the craziest uniforms baseball has ever seen. There were failures. He sponsored a "Disco Night," where fans got a discount ticket if they brought a disco record to be destroyed. They collected them onto the field where they were lit on fire. Unfortunately, the fans thought of other things to light on fire. Ten cent beer night was a riot - literally.
He sent players out to play in shorts. He also designed a uniform top with a collar. It didn't really matter to him whether the players liked them or not, he wanted people in the stands, and If he couldn't do it with a winning team, he was going to find other ways.
When the Sox had a throwback game in which the collared uniforms were to be worn, Chris Sale, current ace of the White Sox staff, decided he didn't like them, I mean REALLY didn't like them. He took some scissors and cut them up. At first, I read that he just cut up his but later reports had him cutting up several of them.The Sox responded by saying, "You've made your point, now go home." So he was scratched from his scheduled start that night. The Sox say they are "...investigating further," which is a nice way of saying they are trying to decide what to do. For $9.1 million a year, I'd play naked. That would teach them. 

 The Giants win the pennant, the Giants....
Actually, they just won a one game, their first since the All-Star break. And the Yankees lost. So things are back to normal, right? I hope not.

This is a big game for us.
Girardi starts off every interview with that statement since before the All-Star game. Sometimes he says it's a big series or a big homestand, but the message is the same: Win Every Game. Maybe he's putting too much pressure on his players. George Steinbrenner eventually found out that that philosophy didn't work. 

Tell your statistics to shut up. 
The ESPN experts have picked their top 100 players of all time. Check out these lifetime numbers: 
.325 batting average, 361 homers, 2200 hits, 1537 RBIs in a 13 year career.  Pretty good numbers, but Hall of Fame category? I don't think so and I don't think he should have been #15 on the all time list. Who was it? Joe DiMaggio.  (My Dad would kill me)

Strong rumor. 
According to Fox Sports, the Yankees are close to trading Aroldis Chapman. He's a game changer if not a post season giant. Teams interested (that we know of) are Washington, San Fran, Cleveland and the Cubs, all teams in first place. It makes sense that they'd be interested. The Yanks will get a lot but not as much as they'd get for Miller, who's locked in for two more years at reasonable money. Chapman is a 2-month rental.

Oh Yeah?
For any of you who don't believe that cheerleaders are athletes, check out this picture from  RJ Currie's blog.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFpQxTACdI7zlcVpo0b6mkiqatBJp7o-dqPqVsnUH7hMNm92KyMK7VT9qWc_0n_w2LYSZJh_WBhlIjITVN2yrK0v8erDp3lgwBO-9afGDeZNowBv4gdl-S1ptIdztWROq7dgHGg/s1600/wisconsin0.jpg

***THEY SAID IT***
"While competing for the Indiana Pacers, Jeff Teague will live at home with his parents. “Teague missed tonight’s game against the Celtics after being grounded by his mom."  -- Brad Dickson
"Pitcher Chris Sale was scratched and sent home from his start today following what the White Sox said was “a “non-physical clubhouse incident.” Hmm, if they trade Sales to the Nationals who have Papelbon will Washington become the first clubhouse with thermo-nuclear capability?"  -- Janice Hough

"Gisele forcing Tom Brady to get part-time job during his suspension.”  -- SportsPickel.com
"The NFL announced it will put computer chips in their game balls. So will they be GPS enabled so tracking can go from locker rooms to restrooms and beyond?"  -- Tony Chong

"There’s speculation that a T206 Honus Wagner baseball card — minted sometime between 1909 and 1911 — could fetch more than $3 million when Goldin Auctions puts it up for bid in September. And, at the opposite end of the memorabilia stock-market spectrum, Johnny Manziel Browns jerseys were reported selling in Cleveland for $1.99 — and Kevin Durant Thunder jerseys in Oklahoma City were going for 48 cents."  -- Dwight Perry

"Julia Webb set a world record for running a half-marathon while pushing her 9-month-old daughter in a baby stroller. She later thanked the person who made it all possible: her babysitter who didn’t show up."  -- Brad Dickson
" SF Giants not only got their first win in a week, they had their first lead in a game in a week.  They have now held a lead for exactly one inning since the All-Star break."  -- Janice Hough

 [Ms. Hough lives in San Franciso and is a big Giant fan. It's been a tough week for her. - CP]
"Did you see Rob Gronkowski whaling on an air guitar onstage with Paul McCartney? The receiver did such a good job at pretending to play, he was mistaken for Randy Moss."  -- RJ Currie

Finally, this quote from a very brave individual:
"Craig Sager of TNT and TBS, who has been diagnosed with terminal leukemia, blew folks away with his words in accepting the Jim Valvano Award: “I have run with the bulls in Pamplona. I have raced with Mario Andretti in Indianapolis. I have climbed the Great Wall of China. I have jumped out of airplanes over Kansas. I have wrestled gators in Florida. I have sailed the ocean with Ted Turner. I have swam the oceans in the Caribbean. And I have interviewed Gregg Popovich. Mid-game. Spurs down seven. If I’ve learned anything through all of this, it is that each and every day is a canvas waiting to be painted — an opportunity for love, for fun, for living, for learning . . . I will never give up, and I will never give in. I will continue to keep fighting, sucking the marrow out of life as life sucks the marrow out of me."

CP -