An opportunity has come up for me to join a great group of baseball bloggers at a site called Baseball Toaster. As they succinctly state: "Baseball Toaster is a collection of blogs by a group of friends who love baseball and enjoy writing about it."

Their roster of bloggers includes authors/columnists like Alex Belth, Cliff Corcoran, Jon Weisman, Bob Timmermann, Mark T.R. Donohue, Josh Wilker, Philip Michaels, Ken Arneson, Scott Long and Phil Bencomo.

I'm specifically joining a blog called Humbug Journal, which is run by Ken Arneson and features quirky, atypical analysis and evaluation of the game.  There might be poetry, there might be a Jeopardy-inspired quiz, there might be "useless information-type" posts ... you never know what Ken, or I, or "Emma Nickel" will be posting.

I invite to you take a peek at the entire Toaster line-up, and drop in at the Humbug!

Now, I won't be totally giving up my blog here ... but I'll probably post here when the subject matter may not be quite right for Humbug.  (And of course, I'll want to drop in an say "hi" to Cyn, Kellia, Zack and my other blogger buddies from time to time).

I want to publicly thanks Mark Newman for his support of DAFH, and his yeoman work with the blogs in general.  Bravo sir!

See you all in cyberspace!

The two teams combined for 58 runs.

The home team scored 57 of those runs.

Anthony DiClemente 0.0 IP (7 batters faced), 7  ER, ERA: Infinity
William Maddock 1.0 IP, 5 ER, ERA: 45.00
Jamison Torres 2.0 IP, 19 ER, ERA: 85.50
Homas Mathew 2.0 IP, 11  ER, ERA: 49.50
Brian Fish 1.0  IP, 2  ER, ERA: 18.00

Attendance was listed at 50 ... they each received the gift of a run named after them. :-)

(My thanks to buddy Richard Senzel for the heads-up on this one)

"Joe Mauer is getting a little old for a growth spurt.

But the Twins catcher, who was 6-4 last season, has pushed past 6-5 and is approaching 6-6.

The team lists him at 6-5 in the media guide, but Mauer acknowledged that he is actually 6-6 "wearing shoes."I've been growing ever since last year," he said Wednesday. "I don't want to get too big, or I might have to move [positions]."

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$5 says its a spiked Gatorade growth hormone plot by Ozzie Guillen, so that the Twins have to move Mauer from behind the plate, where he has the most offensive value.

That got me thinking ... is this the BEST 3-game season-opening start (in terms of allowing zero or one run) for a pitching staff in history?

Well,  these Mets are close, but you wouldn't believe who bested them most recently ...

I present the .... 1969 San Diego Padres

Yes .... the same Padres team that finished 52-110 actually started out the season by pitching their way past the Astros (a team that would finish 81-81) by scores of 2-0, 2-0 and 2-1.

Those Pods then immediately lost their next six, hung around .500 for a few weeks (15-18 on May 12), then proceeded to lose 92 of their remaining 129 games.

Somehow I doubt the Mets will resemble those Pods at the end of this season.

"Cable subscribers will once again be able to watch out-of-market Major League Baseball games, ending their fears that the Extra Innings package would become the exclusive domain of DirecTV for the next seven years.

M.L.B. and InDemand — a consortium that is owned by the cable operators Comcast, Time Warner and Cox — agreed last night to restore Extra Innings swiftly to their systems as a free preview through sometime next week, after which it will cost a discounted $159 for a short period.

The crucial part of the negotiations for baseball was InDemand’s agreement to carry the MLB Channel, which is to make its debut in 2009.

Between the deals made with DirecTV and InDemand, baseball said the channel will have 40 million subscribers when it starts. “We believe we have a compelling product that our fans are passionate about,” Brosnan said.

Robert D. Jacobson, InDemand’s president, said: “We’re very comfortable with the deal. We feel we were treated very fairly related to DirecTV.”

The InDemand partnership received an equity stake of a little below 20 percent in the MLB Channel, which is about equal to DirecTV’s.

M.L.B. will receive an average of $100 million a year through 2013 for the Extra Innings rights from DirecTV and cable operators. The size of their yearly payments will be reduced if Dish negotiates its own deal.

Baseball will benefit further from its majority share of the estimated $120 million in annual gross subscriber fees that the channel will generate."

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So .... is everyone happy?
1) MLB got a boatload of added revenue
2) MLB got its Baseball Channel on cable starting in '09
3) Cable-based fans got EI back

I'm still not happy with MLB's heavy-handedness of this whole event, but I'm thrilled to be able to watch out-of-market games when I want to on cable.

This season, their between innings commercial break screen features a baseball floating around the screen.  When it reaches the edge of the screen, you hear a little Pong-like "blip" and then it floats to another corner, or towards the middle, where there is a MLB.TV "bumper".  If it heads towards the bottom of the screen, a "commercial break in progress" "paddle" slides over to keep the ball floating around the screen.

Its MLB.TV "Breakout" .... its cute and clever.

(amended .... it IS cute and clever ... but it DOES get a bit tiresome after a few innings)

Selig made $14.5 million last year

"Baseball commissioner Bud Selig earned as much last year as some of the league's top players.

Selig received $14.5 million in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, according to Major League Baseball's tax return, which was obtained by the Sports Business Journal.

The publication, citing unidentified sources, said Selig received a $6 million base salary, an equal amount in a bonus and the remainder in expenses and personal fees."

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Well .... I guess he DID have a better than Carl Pavano ...

Is the "Speedwagon" being led by Budweiser Clydesdales?

"The Budweiser Clydesdales will open the pre-game ceremonies promptly at 6 p.m., taking the field in a tradition that makes Opening Day in St. Louis unlike any other in Major League Baseball...."

The national anthem will be sung by classic rockers REO Speedwagon..."

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REO Speedwagon is actually a very appropriate choice, given their baseball-tinged lyrics ...

They had a song lyric for the Pirates pitchers:
"I just can't fight this fielding anymore ..."

They had a song lyric for the hitters who could only handle dead red fastballs:
"Roll with the change-ups ..."

And then there was the one for a particular Devils Rays (and former Cub) pitcher:
"I'm gonna keep on lovin' Ryu ..."

" ... Jennifer, filed for divorce from her husband, Steve Swindal, in the family law division of Hillsborough County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Swindal was arrested last month on suspicion of driving under the influence, and the divorce would end any chance he had of succeeding Steinbrenner in running the Yankees, as Steinbrenner had said he would do in June 2005."

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So who should be next in line for the job? 

My vote?   Waylon Smithers

Predictatron rules

So here is my entry ....
*** means "mortal lock" .... a team you guarantee to win less than 72 or more than 90 (worth double the "points" of all your other choices)
<-- means "division winner" selection

<~ means "wild card" selection

YOUR PLAYOFFS:

American League Division Series:
Anaheim Angels over Cleveland Indians in 5 games
Detroit Tigers over Boston Red Sox in 4 games

National League Division Series:
Milwaukee Brewers over Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games
Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Mets in 4 games

American League Championship Series:
Detroit Tigers over Anaheim Angels in 6 games

National League Championship Series:
Milwaukee Brewers over Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games

World Series:
Detroit Tigers over Milwaukee Brewers in 5 games

My reasoning for these picks will come in a future post (or not).

"Craig Biggio was angry at the commissioner's officeThursday night after he was told to stop wearing a pin on his cap that bears the logo of a foundation that helps children with cancer.

The Houston Astros star said he has worn the bright yellow, sun-shaped pin, featuring the logo for the Sunshine Kids foundation, on his hat during spring training games for the past 20 years without a problem. He is the national spokesman for the foundation and is very active in its work. "I'm not a disrespectful person and I don't disrespect the game," Biggio said. "But I've been wearing this pin for 20 years because it puts smiles on 20,000-something cancer patients' faces."

Biggio said someone in the commissioner's office contacted the Astros about instructing him to remove the pin, but he wasn't sure who it was. He said Houston general manager Tim Purpura was sent a fax with a picture of Biggio from Wednesday night's game.

"Major League Baseball does a lot of good things, but this is one of the stupid things," Biggio said.

The 41-year-old second baseman, who is 70 hits shy of 3,000, said he wears the pin in spring training because many of the pictures for baseball cards are taken during those games and the children like seeing the pin on those cards.

"That's what it's about," he said. "If somebody wants to sit in an office and feel good about themselves, they should feel real bad about this one. They didn't think about all the cancer kids that get enjoyment out of it."

Biggio said he was told before the game that he couldn't wear the pin, and the umpires approached him on the field to make sure it was gone.

Astros manager Phil Garner was also unsure who contacted the team about the pin.

"The league has a code where they watch what's on the uniforms and I don't know the full extent of it, but evidently the Sunshine Kids pin is not part of it," he said."

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Now .... I can sort of see a need for SOME standards as to what you can and can't wear on the field.  If Biggio was wearing a "Ku Klux Klan" pin on his cap, there would certainly be some uproar.  Legally speaking, Biggio is at his "job", and there is a "dress code" for the job.  But this smacks of pettiness and over-regulation.

Let's also remember that a few years ago, MLB was willing to deface the bases during regular season games with Spiderman logos in a promotion for the movie, till they got enough negative publicity about it.  So there seems to be a bit of a double-standard.

Anyhow .... if you'd like to contribute to Biggio's cause, visit The Sunshine Kids website.

Add to those considerations the unforgiving artificial turf in the Metrodome (which certainly hasn't helped players like Torii Hunter and ex-Twins Shannon Stewart and Cristian Guzman), and the injury risk is heightened further.  Given that the Twins will be moving into their new stadium in a couple of years, its doubtful that the present turf will be replaced.

So, can the Twins afford to leave Mauer behind the plate?  History seems to say "no".  Below is the list of most games appeared in for players 6'4" or greater.

Not the most auspicious list ... is it?

Mauer has been behind the plate for 268 games to this point.  The clock is ticking.

(my thanks to fellow Scrabble freak and Fantasy Guru writer Scott Pianowski for the chuckle)

It was a bit of an olive branch thrown out by MLB, perhaps to appease the irate rabid fan base of EI cable subscribers, perhaps to get the FCC and Sen. Kerry and Specter off their backs.  It also allowed MLB to say to their fans ... "hey, we gave cable and DISH the chance to match the DirecTV offer, and they wouldn't, so don't scream at us."

So ... now ... with less than 2 weeks till Opening Day, InDemand announces that it will carry the "Baseball Channel" in '09, and that it will be match the DirecTV EI offer.  But MLB doesn't believe InDemand met all the criteria set forth.

InDemand and MLB have differing opinions on the word "match"

"IN Demand said Wednesday it will offer to match the terms of DirecTV's $700 million, seven-year deal with Major League Baseball on behalf its owners, who are affiliates of the companies that own Time Warner, Comcast and Cox cable systems.

As part of the offer, iN Demand also said it would carry The Baseball Channel when it launches in 2009 to at least the same number of subscribers who will get the channel on DirecTV.

"As the current home for 'Extra Innings' for more than 200,000 cable subscribers, we have extended ourselves to do our best to be able to continue to provide this package to baseball fans and our customers," iN Demand president Robert Jacobson said. "This offer meets all the conditions set forth by MLB last week."

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, issued a statement responding to the offer Wednesday.

"The offer to match the terms of the agreement reached by MLB and DirecTV remains open to iN Demand and Dish until the deadline of March 31, 2007," DuPuy said in the statement. "The communication sent to our office today by iN Demand is not responsive to that offer. In spite of their public comments, the response falls short of nearly all of the material conditions (among them requirements for carriage of The Baseball Channel and their share of the rights fees for Extra Innings) set forth in the Major League Baseball offer made to them on March 9."

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"Major League Baseball ... I haggle for this ..."