Posted on: October 3, 2009 by admin
This would not be a proper baseball blog if we did not have at least one post on steroids. I mean the headlines are constantly pouring into the newsroom. Blah Blah Blah- right! Well, maybe not if you’re a huge fan. Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking steroids while with the Rangers. Shocker! Okay, that might have been a bit sarcastic; maybe I’m not that shocked.
So why no penalties for him? I guess number one he confessed. Second, it was a long time ago, and if I’m not mistaken I think he blamed someone else for it.
I have a habit I need to break also; it’s eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in one sitting. Now would you believe me if I told you it was not my fault? I mean come one, my wife bought it at the store for me. I didn’t! Next, she made some nasty lemon cake for dessert. Yuck. I need my dessert. Turns out the only thing left in the house was Ben and Jerry’s. So I polished off the whole thing which I blame on the company. They made the container too small and the ice cream way too good.
Don’t buy it? You see, stupid story! Fess up, if you did it be a man and say you did it. Stop blaming others. Some of us would like to move on and watch some real baseball.
So to all the players out there that try and make the game as pure as possible, we fans salute you for not giving in to the weakness that engulfs so many.
Posted on: October 2, 2009 by admin
Now for those of you out there that hate the designated hitter, try and relax a little bit, breathe, breathe – there you go.
I do not get why the American League chooses to stick with the designated hitter. I figured once inter league play started- just maybe they would do without it. Well that didn’t happen.
What may be even crazier though are people out there that will actually stop watching baseball just because of this one detail. Really, a sport you love, yet you will protest watching it just because of a rule you don’t agree with. There are a lot of things people may not like about baseball- like the games are too long or the fact that more and more players seemed to be doped up.
Get past those dislikes and sit back and enjoy. Once the designated hitter comes to the plate, change the channel for a bit. Enjoy the game for all the other great qualities it has. There should be a ton more likes than dislikes anyway. So write the MLB commissioner a letter telling him why you hate what you do, and move on. Do it kindly also. Remember baseball can be a great sport to follow, even if you are a Yankee fan!
Posted on: September 30, 2009 by admin
If your kids are having that passion to play baseball but don’t know to play it the right way, then its your duty to teach them how to play it the best way. Baseball is not just about swinging the bat rapid fast. There are a lot of things to learn about swinging the bat. Even then, its not over as we have said earlier – it’s not just about swinging the bat. If your kid is serious about playing baseball, then you should start training him as soon as possible. For that you may either keep a coach or you may teach him yourself (if you know the basics of baseball and a little bit more).
If you are a baseball fan, then you would have surely heard about Mickey Mantle, who is a famous baseball player. It is said that he swings bat almost hundred times a day. He does that left handed as well as right handed. Well, that’s how experts do. They are experts and they will be experts in all manners. For that they should put in a lot of efforts which won’t be even seeing or realizing. We see their performance during matches, but we don’t go and find how much they practice for it. So, it’s all about practicing. Unless and until you don’t practice swinging your bat and doing other such things related to baseball, you won’t become a good baseball player.
If you are planning to teach your kid the basics of baseball yourself, then you may follow the tips that we are gonna mention here.
First of all your kid should learn how to place the feet. It should be kept shoulder width apart. After that, its time for positioning the bat. It should be kept back and should lie about 5-6 inches far from your ears. Don’t forget to keep the elbows upright. Position yourself this way and show it to your kid. Ask him to position the same way. And if can’t, then you should make him do it. After 2-3 rehearsals, he will be fine. From then on, he will be doing it without anyone’s help.
Posted on: September 24, 2009 by admin
Have you seen pitchers throwing curveballs? Don’t you also want to learn the technique behind throwing curveballs? The key is to make the hitters confused with your throws. So, you should mix curveballs often. A good pitcher’s throws won’t be of curveballs more than 20 % of the times. It will be around 15 % for most of the pitchers. So, your intention should not be to throw curveballs all times. You won’t be successful in that case. You should be unpredictable to the hitter. And that is why pitchers throw curveballs in the middle. Again, throwing curveballs all times, would make you predictable and smart hitters won’t miss such opportunities. So, once you learn to throw curveballs, you should use it only when needed, and not too often.
If you don’t know the basics of throwing the ball fast, then you should learn it first. Then only you should attempt at throwing curveballs. Otherwise you’ll end up risking your arms – you may hurt your arms badly in that case.
Throwing curveballs is all about placing fingers on the ball the right way. Things will be easy once you learn how to place the fingers. Also, you should learn using which all fingers you should put pressure on the ball. Thus grasping the ball with your fingers has a lot to do with curveballs. Let’s look closely, what it is all about.
Your index finger should be placed on the opposite seam of the ball as your thumb. After placing your index finger and thumb this way, the ball will look as if it is split in half by the two fingers. Next, pressure should be applied on the ball. Don’t put any pressure on the ball using your index finger. It should be kept without any pressure on the ball – as if it has been kept to rest on the ball. Apply medium pressure on the ball using your thumb and middle finger. That’s it, only three fingers are needed in this process and its all about positioning them and applying pressure with them on the ball.