Cleveland Sports Forum

J.R. wrote:

Matt LaPorta's reaction to the Tribe's play of late

I think he is praying

Some sayings from the venerable one...........Bob Prince

Sayings:
"AN ALABASTER BLAST"
A Baltimore chop base hit that would go higher than normal due to the extraordinarily hard infield at Forbes Field

"ARRIBA"
Prince's cry to Roberto Clemente to hit one up and over the wall.

"ASPIRIN TABLETS"
A pitcher would be throwing a ball so hard it looked as tiny and as hard to hit as an aspirin tablet. As in, "Veale's firin' aspirin tablets out there tonight."

"ATEM BALLS"
Hard line drives right to an infielder - it was at 'em. "Law has his At'em ball workin' tonight."

"BABUSHKA POWER"
Prince developed babushkas that the women in the stands could wear to bring the Pirates luck. It was, in a sense, a later version of the Green Weenie.

"THE BASES ARE F.O.B." (full of Bucs)
What was needed now, was a bingle, a dying quail, perhaps a bug on the rug...

"A LITTLE BINGLE"
A little hit; a small single; perhaps a bunt single. Just something that would get a Bucco on base.

"THE BLACK MAX"

"A BLOOP AND A BLAST"
A quick way to get two runs through a single (the bloop) and a home run (the blast), as in, "The Buccos are down by one run going to the bottom of the ninth. What we need here is a bloop and a blast."

"A BUG ON THE RUG"
A basehit that skittered through the gap, particularly on artificial turf.

"BY A GNAT'S EYELASH"
A very small margin indeed, as in, "That ball just missed. It was foul by a gnat's eyelash."

"CHICKEN ON THE HILL"
A home run for Willie Stargell, begun by the fact that Stargell owned a chicken restaurant in Pittsburgh's Hill District and that whenever he homered, the person at the counter would get free chicken. Thus, Prince would say, "We need a homer here. Come on, Willie, spread some Chicken on the Hill." In one particular game, Prince said that if Stargell hit a home run, everybody in the restaurant would get free chicken. Stargell did hit the home run, everyone got free chicken, and Stargell sent the bill to Prince.

"CLOSE AS FUZZ ON A TICK'S EAR"
a little closer than a gnat's eyelash.

"DON'T BOO STU, HE'S OVER-DUE"
A cheer to get firstbaseman Dick Stuart out of a slump.

"DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK"
Rocky Nelson, 1b-man alternating with Stuart.

"A DYING QUAIL"
A little bloop, a tweener, or a bingle; a hit that falls in like a shot quail would.

"THE GREEN WEENIE"
A device invented by the Gunner to jinx and perhaps spook opposing players, the green weenie was the size and shape of a hot dog. When pointed at the opponents and shaken, it rattled and supposedly put a jinx on them.

"HE COULDN'T HIT THAT WITH A BED SLAT"
This is what the Gunner would say when a batter chased a pitch way outside. Take one of the slats out from under a full sized bed and notice how much longer it is than a bat, and you get an idea that the batter was definitely chasing.

HE LIT UP THE LIGHTS ON BROADWAY"
in response to a called 3rd strike.

"HIDDEN VIGORISH"
Similar to the law of averages, it was the force which dictated that a player who was in a slump was due for a big hit, as in, "Stargell is Oh for his last eight, so with hidden vigorish he should get a big hit here."

"HOOVER"
A double play by which the Bucs would clean up the basepaths. When someone complained that Prince was giving free advertising to a particular brand of vacuum cleaner, he tried to invent a story about President Herbert Hoover's cleaning up corruption in Washington.

"HOW SWEET IT IS"
After suffering through some terrible Bucco teams in the early- 1950's, Prince got to enjoy the taste of victory in 1960 and throughout the early-1970's with the Battlin' Bucs. The taste of a championship, a mid-season victory, or a home run that would put the Bucs ahead would draw out "How sweet it is".

"KISS IT GOOD-BYE"
The most famous of Prince's sayings; this was his well-known home run call.

"MARY EDGERLEY"
No one knew exactly who she was (or whether she was related to Jimmy Durante's Mrs. Calabash), but Prince would end each broadcast by saying, "Good night, Mary Edgerley, wherever you are."

"A #8 CAN OF GOLDEN BANTAM"
A can of corn; refers to an easy fly ball. Immortalized in 1970 when Matty Alou dropped a "can of corn" against the Cubs, and the Bucs had to wait another day to clinch their first pennent in 10 years.

"RADIO BALL"
"Koufax just threw Stuart his radio ball. He could hear it, but he couldn't see it." "Low hummin' riser." (Similar to a radio ball)

"RUG CUTTIN' TIME"
"It's rug cuttin' time." More commonly known as "crunch time." "For all the money, marbles, and chalk." Deciding moment. Crunch time.

"RUNNIN' THROUGH THE RAIN DROPS"
When a pitcher gives up a lot of hits but doesn't give up serious runs. Escapes without serious damage being done.

"SNAKE BIT"
Can't get a break. The Bucs are snake bit tonight.

"SOUP COOLERS"
a high pitch was up around a sluggers mouth, or lips, or "soup coolers". Prince often said Stargell was looking for a pitch up around his "soup coolers".

"TWEENER"
A ball that got "between" the outfielders; similar to a "bug on a rug", but it could occur on grass or as a "bloop" hit that fell in between fielders; hopefully, followed by a Bucco "blast".

"WE HAD ‘EM ALL THE WAY"
Spoken after a close win by the Pirates, it indicated that we should have known all along that the Pirates would win. It was perhaps the father of Lanny Frattare's "No doubt about it."

Here we go for a little laugh:

There's a favorite story the LaPortas like to tell about Matt whenever anyone asks about his dream to become a baseball player. They share it occasionally, but mostly they've been saving this one for the right moment, like when he's a step or two away from the big leagues and tantalizingly close to achieving everything he's ever wanted.
Joshua Gunter/The Plain DealerMatt LaPorta's power to all fields has been on display throughout his baseball career. This season, he's hit 21 homers between Huntsville and Akron.
They've been recounting it often lately. LaPorta was a freshman at Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda, Fla., when a teacher told him to write an essay describing the career path he wanted to follow.

Naturally, he wrote about becoming a major-league baseball player.

The next day, the assignment was returned with instructions to rewrite it. It was "unrealistic."

"Matt was so upset about it," said Vince LaPorta, Matt's father. "I was mad, too. You can't take a kid's dream away from him. Even if he wanted to be a rocket scientist, you have to encourage it."

According to legend, Matt LaPorta refused to rewrite the paper. Instead, he used the teacher as inspiration.

"OK, you watch," LaPorta remembered thinking. "It was one of those little motivators."
Joshua Gunter/The Plain DealerWhile keeping an eye on the field, Matt LaPorta accommodates a fan's request for an autograph before a recent Aeros game in Akron.
That was the last time anything has been described as "little" in LaPorta's life. In truth, that tale became one of the major motivational tools for LaPorta, one that helped inspire him to a dream career that last week led him to a whirlwind of developments when he was the key reimbursement in the Indians' trade for left-hander CC Sabathia.

Everything with LaPorta, it seems, comes on a grand scale. He doesn't just hit, he belts home runs. He isn't just the top player in Florida, he's the SEC Player of the Year. He's doesn't hit just a home run in his first minor-league game this year, he smacks a grand slam.

He's not just traded, he's swapped for a Cy Young Award winner.

Still, even being accustomed to an oversize life, the past week has brought a dizzying amount of attention.

Suddenly Peter Gammons was analyzing LaPorta's swing on ESPN, and stories about him appeared on the front page of his hometown Port Charlotte, Fla., newspaper five times last week. About 30 reporters and cameramen crushed around him in a narrow hallway at Akron's Canal Park on the day he reported to the Class AA team. He couldn't take a sip of water at Sunday's Futures Game in New York without being swarmed by more media.

If he's named to the U.S. Olympic baseball team Wednesday -- a real possibility -- the hounding attention is likely to continue.

"I've never been in this situation before," LaPorta said. "The only thing close to this was out in Omaha [at the College World Series]. But this seems like a little bigger scale. You just take it with a grain of salt and you enjoy the moment."
Karen Schiely/Akron Beacon-Journal via APNL scout on LaPorta at bat: "He's not real crazy at the plate. He's controlled and patient, but when he does get a pitch to hit, he comes unglued. That's what you want to see from a power guy."
Somehow it suits his personality, which fills up a dugout with a hearty laugh and wide grin. At 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds, he has bulky muscles built for launching the ball out of the stadium. He belted 20 home runs in the first half of the season with Milwaukee's Class AA Huntsville -- which happened to come in his first full season moving from the aluminum bats of college to the wooden bats of professional baseball.

"That's not unheard of, but that's very rare," said Ross Atkins, the Indians' director of scouting.

There are questions about where he'll play in the field -- if he's athletic enough to be a corner outfielder or will he be moved to first base. But the power factor is what makes scouts take notice -- and helps them see past other parts of his game.

"He's not real crazy at the plate," said one National League scout, who didn't want his name used. "He's controlled and patient, but when he does get a pitch to hit, he comes unglued. That's what you want to see from a power guy."

The 23-year-old LaPorta developed that power and consistency over years of hard work, his father said. Young Matt LaPorta would hit endless rounds of T-ball into a net in his backyard, and he'd beat teachers to his high school for early batting practice, arriving at 6:30 a.m.

"The teachers still talk about that," Vince LaPorta chuckled.

As a kid he'd belt tiny rocks in the air, sometimes smashing street lights. As he got older, he graduated to hitting bottle caps with broomsticks, certain that working with the smaller tools was improving his hand-eye coordination.

He earned enough accolades to be drafted in the 14th round of the 2003 draft by his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs. He turned that down, though, for Florida, and when he was selected by Boston in the 14th round of the 2006 draft after his junior season, he opted to decline that, too.

LaPorta's dreams had always been bigger, and he knew that a junior year marred by an oblique injury wasn't an accurate indication of his talent. He came back for his senior season and not only was named the SEC Player of the Year for the second time (the first in 2005), but he was the seventh overall selection in the MLB draft by Milwaukee.
Joshua Gunter/The Plain DealerLaPorta has flashed some leather in his short time in left field with the Aeros, but the Indians organization remains uncertain what his best defensive position will be.
"It's really a father's dream come true," Vince LaPorta said. "It makes you pretty proud of what he's accomplished."

It's only gotten bigger and better since then.

LaPorta embraces even something as private as religion on the public stage. LaPorta often credits God with his success, and is quick to proclaim how important Christianity is in his life. He talks about how his fiancee, Dara, whom he'll marry in December, has kept him focused on his faith. Before each at-bat, he draws a cross in the dirt outside the batter's box. After each home run, he points up toward the heavens.

"The Lord just gave me courage," LaPorta said. "He's put me in this arena hopefully to be able to use me to reach more people, and bring more people to his kingdom."

Which is not to say that LaPorta is supremely good at all times. When a reporter mentioned last week that LaPorta's Florida Gators ties might not be appreciated in Ohio, his devilish side appeared.

"After we beat Ohio State all those times?" he laughed. "Is that what you mean?"

No question, LaPorta has some big wins on his Gators' side.

He also has mounds of potential and garishly large amounts of expectations. He likes it that way, though. Don't try to crush his dream -- he'd rather have a lot of expectations to live up to.

"Nah, I'm not afraid," LaPorta said. "I like to be in the spotlight."

As long as it's big enough to shine on him.

Now A's have their own bases-loaded, 1-out situation.

Not any more. 2 on, 2 out, 11-6 now...

middle of the 7th now. What is amazing is that the tribe has another month of this frivolity.

Another month?? But I thought AAA teams were finishing up around now.

Yes, but AAAA teams go through September.

What does that have to do with the Tribe?

It's a final. 12-7

If I lived in Cleveland I would definately go to a game with a bag over the head.

The death spiral continues.

Zombi baseball.

Dolan says he'll assess things in the off season

........Err, Paul....you are in the off season.

While the Athletics are flying high, the Indians continue to fade. Cleveland has lost five straight, 14 of 15 and is 5-27 since July 27.


According to STATS LLC, the Houston Astros were 5-27 from July 20-Aug. 23 this season. Manager Brad Mills was fired on Aug. 18. ...



http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=320830105

J.R. wrote:You would have a hard time sitting by the bullpen at the Jake!
I do like the smaller crowds in the past few years. b/c I am able to sit almost anywhere, and move around freely, w/o being challenged by the ushers.

Oh, that's right. I forgot I was by the pen in Game 3 of the 1997 Division Series.

That's the night that David Wells was taunted with chants of "Orson....Orson....Orson" as he warmed up in the Yankee pen.

We are going to the Lake County game tonight. At least they have a better record. And I get to see Truffle Guy (Lindor). Tom won free box seats in a Chinese auction.