Deja Vu all over again...

Ya really gotta wonder how these Managers keep committing the same Tommy LaSorda mistake. You know, the one guy that can beat you is coming to the plate..ala Jack Clark in a playoff tilt with the then LaSorda managed Dodgers. . First base is open.. walk the dude! No. ? Bang! Home Run.. you lose!

The Cardinals just did that a couple of days ago, didn't they? Was anybody paying attention? Now, it was the Braves turn. Don't get me wrong.. the player (whoever that may be)still has to get the hit. But, why would you let him? That's my point. Why would you let "that guy" have the chance?

Well, they did. And... "that guy" (Matt Kemp) did. And... the Dodgers won it in 12 innings of greatly entertaining baseball. But, I gotta give the YH to another fella in the throwback Brooklyn Bums uni - Mr. Casey Blake.

Now, Casey had himself a game. Blake had 3 hits and 2 of those were incredibly special and very impactful. First, he blasted a Solo Home Run in the 7th that snapped a 1-1 pitcher's duel. Then, with LA surprisingly down by a run in the bottom of the 9th.. Casey at the Bat smoked a game tying, two out single into left field to set the stage for the incredible heroics in the 12th inning.

Yea, it's a crazy game.. watch it Here!

Squeezin The Splendid Splinter

I wonder how many people realize it's been neary 3/4 of a century since Ted Williams broke into the Big Leagues. Yup. Believe it or not today marks the Anniversary in which one of the most heralded hitters in baseball played in his very first MLB game. Cool huh?

Oh, how did he do... you ask? He smacked the dog snot out of the ball! Ted cracked a 400 foot.... double.. in the cavernous Yankee Stadium. But, the Red Sox went on to lose to the New York Yankees, 2-0. Ted would go on to figure in a heckuva lot more of those Yankee/Red Sox tilts over the next 20+ years.

He'd also go on to belt another 500+ doubles in that time. Funny that a guy with this kind of POP was nick named after a Splinter. Yea, he was lanky.. but he could coil and uncoil with the best of them. Here's something I think is incredible about Ted - He led the AL in Slugging Percentage in '41 and '42 .. went off to war for 3 years, came right back and led the AL again for the next 4 years running. From MLB to the US Marines to MLB and never missed a beat. Crazy.

Ok, enough history... let's look at Yesterday's Hitter.

No, he's not a lanky dude that can belt the ball a hundred miles. Nope, not a war veteran either. He is a scrappy second baseman that never fails to surprise me. John McDonald isn't even the starting 2B for the Blue Jays, but that doesn't keep him from contributing when they need him.

They needed him on Tuesday when the Jays were in a dog fight against those pesky Yanks. McDonald came into the game as a runner for Aaron Hill only to be thrust into the spotlight in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Jays were rallying against the greatest closer of all-time and had runners on the corners and down by a run. What's a scrappy little dude do against Mo Rivera when the game is on the line? Squeeze 'em!

Check it out Here!

Deep Blue

The Dodgers were sinking like bricks in the NL West behind a 5 game losing skid. Worse yet, they were facing one of the hottest teams in baseball and a team that was outscoring them by more than 2 runs a game! Not a good combination at all.

With all of that working against them, LA was far from being a lame duck. They boasted two of the hottest hitters on the planet, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. Andre the giant entered the game with a 13 game hitting streak and left it with a Major League leading 14 game streak and a sizzling .374 average.

Matt, well... I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I? We'll get to him soon enough. The fact is that the Dodgers' losing streak was more the cause of untimely hitting and pitching than anything else. One missed opportunity at the dish here, a bad pitch there and the next thing you know you're looking up from the bottom of the NL West wondering.. what the heck just happened? So, the easiest fix...? Hold the opposition down.

Enter Chad Billingsley who did just that. In fact, both starting pitchers did just that - no runs through 8 innings in a Chavez Ravine scrapper. When Billinglsey left in the 9th, Broxton was tabbed with a tough task of taking out the heart of St. Louis' lineup. He failed when Matt Holliday scorched a two out double to right center and then scored on a bloop off the bat of blazing hot David Freese. And the air went out of Dodger stadium. Cards 1.. LA nada. Here we go again was written on every face. .

Except Andre's... and Matt's. With their backs against the wall again, LA bucked up and took charge in the bottom half of the 9th. Ethier smashed a double into the right field corner to extend his League best hitting streak and breathe a touch of life into the listless crowd.

The buzz around the stadium began as Kemp walked to the plate. Most people were probably wondering why a HOF manager like LaRussa would even pitch to Matt in this situation. First base was open. Kemp is the hottest hitter in the Majors AND he had taken closer Ryan Franklin deep a few days before. But.. who are we to 2nd guess ; )

A few pitches later Chavez Ravine erupted when Kemp blasted a moon shot out to center field and snuffed out that 5 game losing streak. Our YH is hitting an unworldly .474 and grinning from ear to ear as he rounded third base with the winning run. Way to go Matty!

And for baseball.. it simply capped off a week of Wild and Whacky Walk Offs! Check 'em out Here!

Chipper, The Mick and... Freddy ?

Not long ago there was a heckuva lot of speculation on whether Chipper Jones would even play this season. With his longtime Manager and mentor, Bobby Cox, retiring... Chipper on the heal from a host of nagging injuries and all.. most fans were wondering. Well, he's playing and off to a fabulous beginning for the 2011 campaign.

Chipper has already reached a couple of very cool milestones in his career and has provided a steady thump to the middle of the Braves batting order, batting a solid .327 and ranking among the NL Leaders in RBIs with 12. He led Atlanta to a Double Header sweep over NL East rivals NY Mets yesterday. The Brave Nation couldn't be prouder of the future Hall of Famer.

Bet ya didn't know that Today marks the Anniversary of Mickey Mantle's very first game in the Major Leagues. Yep, 'Ol No. 7 notched a hit way back in 1951 and helped the Yankees beat their Boston Red Sox rivals 5-0.

Of course, the Mick went on to do some pretty great things! Funny, Chipper and Mickey, 2 of the Greatest Switch Hitters in History with a couple of cartoon like names : ) There was nothing funny about Mickey's legendary Home Run that also occurred on this date in 1953. He blasted a cartoon like moon shot that cleared the bleachers in old Griffith Stadium that measured... 565 feet!

Ok, back to the present. The YH for today is none other than former NL Batting Champ Freddy Sanchez. Freddy is Mr. Steady for the SF Giants and is slowly pulling his team back toward the top in the NL West. This guy is a real throwback player that knows how to get the ball in play when you need it.

Freddy tied the game in the sixth inning with a double and then sent the Diamondbacks back to their locker room with an "L" when he iced the game in the seventh with a 2 run single. The Giants won 5-3. Nice Job Freddy!