Recent Posts Tagged With 'playing the game the right way'

• Casilla demoted for lack of hustle

  Posted on Thursday May 7th, 2009 at 12:25 in minnesota twins, hustle, alexi casilla, ron gardenhire, playing the game the right way, small-market

  No hustle, no play. That's the philosophy of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Lack of hustle is one of the reasons why Alexi Casilla was sent down to Triple-A Rochester. "Pop fly and ran with the bat all the way to first base, not really running. And th...

• Rosales Digs In

  Posted on Thursday April 30th, 2009 at 10:24 in gamer, cincinnati reds, hustle, toledo mud hens, playing the game the right way, hal mccoy, louisville bats, adam rosales

  I loved watching Adam Rosales play in his first major league start last night. The guy is a gamer: socks high, full of energy and passion for the game. He digs into the batter's box like he's trying to tap an oil well or digging for nightcrawlers. I ...

• I Cheer for Chris Dickerson

  Posted on Monday April 27th, 2009 at 15:50 in charity, fans, humanitarian, character, cincinnati reds, miguel tejada, hustle, playing the game the right way, chris dickerson

  Strikeouts, botched catches, greenie politics, and weird metro-sexual scarves (see picture below)... none of that matters because I'm going to cheer for Chris Dickerson. I love the way the guy handles himself on and off the field. Well... the scarf c...

• BCB Link: 21 Reasons Why MLB Should Retire Roberto Clemente's Number

  Posted on Wednesday April 15th, 2009 at 20:45 in humanitarian, pittsburgh pirates, roberto clemente, playing the game the right way

  Hat tip to a BCB reader who passed this link along.Check out LemonaaadeHere's post, "21 Reasons Why MLB Should Retire Roberto Clemente's Number."...

• Happy Birthday Pete Rose!

  Posted on Tuesday April 14th, 2009 at 17:38 in Pete Rose, cincinnati reds, hustle, playing the game the right way

  Happy Birthday to Pete Rose -- the Hit King -- one of my boyhood heroes. The man who illustrated, day in and day out, how to play the game right. One of my first baseball memories was watching Pete Rose, late in his career, at Riverfront Stadium and ...

• BCB Link - Dale Murphy

  Posted on Wednesday March 4th, 2009 at 08:12 in religion, links, charity, fans, Atlanta Braves, class, character, dale murphy, playing the game the right way

  More Hardball has a great new piece on one of baseball's true gentlemen, Dale Murphy. I highly recommend checking it out. Here is an excerpt: What most distinguished Murphy from the other stars at the time (and especially today) was his genuine care ...

• There is no better role model than Curtis Granderson

  Posted on Sunday February 22nd, 2009 at 21:39 in charity, Detroit Tigers, character, curtis granderson, role models, bud selig, playing the game the right way

  Curtis Granderson is an exemplary ambassador for the game of baseball. Grandy busts out of the box as if he's going for a triple every time. He plays the game the right way, does oodles of charity work, and is a well-spoken advocate for education. In...

• Ty Cobb fires me up

  Posted on Friday February 20th, 2009 at 19:23 in video, history, Detroit Tigers, hustle, ty cobb, playing the game the right way, baseball in american culture

  Whether it's his personality or his gritty and relentless style of play, Ty Cobb has got to fire you up. If he doesn't then you aren't American and you certainly aren't a baseball fan. A couple of weeks ago Church of Baseball had a nice post about wh...

• Sizemore is Baseball's Version of Troy Polamalu

  Posted on Friday January 30th, 2009 at 21:42 in Cleveland Indians, class, spring training, pittsburgh steelers, grady sizemore, hustle, troy polamalu, playing the game the right way

  The Superbowl is this weekend and I'm really getting anxious for Spring Training to start. These combined circumstances led me to ask myself this question: Who is baseball's version of Troy Polamalu?Polamalu is one of my favorite football players be...

• Even more reason to root for Chris Dickerson

  Posted on Monday January 26th, 2009 at 13:24 in class, character, dusty baker, cincinnati reds, hustle, playing the game the right way, hal mccoy, chris dickerson, winter caravan

  I'm a big Chris Dickerson fan. He plays hard, has a lot of tools, and seems like a genuinely nice and down-to-earth guy. During the kids Q&A session at RedsFest, a kid asked the players on stage, "What's the best thing that you have ever bought?"...

• Gomes loves Charlie Hustle

  Posted on Thursday January 22nd, 2009 at 20:12 in Pete Rose, cincinnati reds, hustle, jonny gomes, playing the game the right way

  This is great to hear. New Cincinnati Red Jonny Gomes evokes Pete Rose in an interview with C. Trent Rosecrans. "I'm a big fan of the history of the game and to wear the same uniform as the Hit King, Charlie Hustle, Peter Edward Rose, that alone exci...

• Hillman's Farm Team

  Posted on Thursday January 15th, 2009 at 20:51 in jose guillen, kansas city royals, hustle, japanese baseball, trey hillman, playing the game the right way

  Trey Hillman, skipper of the Kansas City Royals, is inviting his infield down to his Texas farm for a mini-camp. Hillman has cleared a goat pasture at his home and turned it into a professionally installed AstroTurf infield. "That used to be the goat...

• Two BCB favorites on Team USA roster

  Posted on Friday January 9th, 2009 at 19:04 in curtis granderson, grady sizemore, world baseball classic, playing the game the right way

  Two Blue Collar Baseball favorites will play outfield for Team USA during the 2009 World Baseball Classic: Curtis Granderson and Grady Sizemore. Both Grandy and Grady play the game the right way and will do a great job representing our country and th...

• Tribe acquires DeRosa; Cubs get scrappy Miles

  Posted on Wednesday December 31st, 2008 at 13:54 in chicago cubs, Cleveland Indians, st. louis cardinals, hustle, mark derosa, scrappy, david eckstein, aaron miles, jhonny peralta, asdrubal cabrera, playing the game the right way, utility player

  The Indians have acquired Mark DeRosa from the Chicago Cubs for four minor leaguers. I like DeRosa a lot. He's a versatile hard-working player, and an all-around great athlete - you've probably heard the stories about him playing QB at Penn. Alan Sch...

• Phillies vs. Rays World Series is great for Blue Collar Baseball fans

  Posted on Monday October 20th, 2008 at 07:01 in philadelphia phillies, draft, boston red sox, west virginia, charlie manuel, hustle, jake peavy, joe maddon, tampa bay rays, playing the game the right way

  If you are a fan of small-market teams or the underdog, then the 2008 World Series featuring the Rays and Phillies will be a great one for you. Media people, however, are probably grinding their teeth into flour.What a great story on both accounts. N...

• Victorino Impresses BCB

  Posted on Thursday October 16th, 2008 at 10:31 in philadelphia phillies, boston red sox, clutch, shane victorino, tampa bay rays, playing the game the right way

  I just have to say that watching Shane Victorino play this post season has been a pleasure. This guy does so much for his team, the Philadelphia Phillies, that can ever be communicated through a box score or a stat sheet. He's fiery and seems to alwa...

• Royal Blue Grit

  Posted on Sunday September 28th, 2008 at 09:23 in fans, new york yankees, west virginia, kansas city royals, george brett, hustle, mark teahen, david dejesus, trey hillman, playing the game the right way

  The Kansas City Royals will end their 2008 season today after an absolutely stunning bout of September baseball. The Royals are on a five game winning streak and have come away as the victors in 13 of their last 15 games. Kansas City also has an eigh...

• BCB Links: "Your job is to play hard"

  Posted on Monday September 15th, 2008 at 12:15 in new york yankees, joe girardi, robinson cano, hustle, playing the game the right way

  "Cano doesn't get meaning of hustle" - New York PostCano is disciplined - The LoHud Yankess Blog. Girardi says, “Your job is to play hard.”...

• Mientkiewicz and Bucs raise intensity to play spoilers

  Posted on Sunday September 14th, 2008 at 22:40 in st. louis cardinals, pittsburgh pirates, doug mientkiewicz, hustle, nate mclouth, playing the game the right way

  It's safe to say that I was pretty down on the Pirates on Friday. They looked dead... lifeless. Over the weekend, however, the Fighting Buccaneers of the Allegheny raised their level of intensity to stage a series sweep of the playoff hopeful St. Lou...

• Lee wins 20th the right way

  Posted on Tuesday September 2nd, 2008 at 06:38 in new york yankees, pitching, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, xm radio, joba chamberlain, cliff lee, a.j. pierzynski, bob feller, playing the game the right way, tom hamilton

  Cliff Lee added win number 20 to his 2008 season tally last night with a dominant complete game victory over the Chicago White Sox. Lee's victory was a pleasure to listen to (over XM radio). The tribe southpaw had precise control, allowing only 5 hit...

• Sizemore joins 30-30 club

  Posted on Tuesday August 26th, 2008 at 06:28 in Cleveland Indians, grady sizemore, hustle, playing the game the right way

  Grady Sizemore of the Indians hit two homers last night (30,31) to become only the second person in Indians' franchise history to earn membership into the 30-30 club. Sizemore currently has 34 stolen bases. With the way his 2008 is going, 40-40 is no...

• A polemic on pre-madonna draft picks

  Posted on Thursday August 14th, 2008 at 15:23 in minor league baseball, draft, pittsburgh pirates, playing the game the right way, baseball in american culture

  The current state of spending in major league baseball is outrageous. First-round draft picks signing getting bonuses of over $7 million! Teams like the Pirates can't even sign their top draft picks!Pre-madonna draft picks and their agents are ruinin...

• Pirates will win before Reds

  Posted on Sunday August 10th, 2008 at 19:00 in fundamentals, pittsburgh pirates, defense, cincinnati reds, playing the game the right way

  John Erardi of the Cincinnati Enquirer says that the Pirates are outpacing the Reds in the process of rebuilding a winning team. The Pirates' deals at the trading deadline netted a bounty of talent, the Reds' deals did not. It seems that the Reds are...

• Manny being Babe?

  Posted on Wednesday August 6th, 2008 at 16:32 in history, manny ramirez, babe ruth, ty cobb, playing the game the right way, baseball in american culture, traditions of baseball

  Let me just put this up front, I greatly dislike Manny Ramirez. I know, when it comes to hitting, Manny is a professional and he will go down in history as one of the great hitters and RBI-men in the history of the game. I think his antics, however, ...

• Pin a 'C' in Phillips' chest

  Posted on Sunday August 3rd, 2008 at 17:24 in leadership, cincinnati reds, brandon phillips, barry larkin, playing the game the right way

  In the post-Griffey era the Cincinnati Reds need on-field leadership and a new face of the franchise. Brandon Phillips has stepped up to the challenge. He said that he would like to wear the captain's 'C', just like his idol Barry Larkin, and say let...

• The All-Grit Team

  Posted on Saturday August 2nd, 2008 at 17:59 in links, history, Pete Rose, st. louis cardinals, ryan freel, doug mientkiewicz, hustle, ty cobb, david eckstein, mark grudzielanek, jason kendall, honus wagner

  A great post from Brew Crew Ball and re-posted on Royals Review.According to Jeff at Brew Crew Ball, the All-Grit team is:C Jason Kendall1B Platoon: Doug Mientkiwicz / Kevin Millar2B Mark Grudzielanek3B Ryan FreelSS David EcksteinLF Scott PodsednikCF...

• Cincinnati is not a superstar town

  Posted on Thursday July 31st, 2008 at 17:15 in Pete Rose, cincinnati reds, ken griffey jr., sean casey, hustle, playing the game the right way

  One reason that Cincinnati did not fully embrace Ken Griffey Jr. during his 9-year tenure with the Reds is the fact that Junior is a superstar. Cincinnati and Reds fans don't generally like superstars. They'd rather have a guy that played all out, 10...

• Musial's class is unmatched

  Posted on Sunday July 20th, 2008 at 11:38 in links, humility, stan musial, player stories, playing the game the right way

  Stan Musial is not only one of the great players in baseball history, he is also one of the great people of baseball. Musial is revered as much for his citizenship as for his baseball skills. Joe Posnanski blogs on Stan the Man and reveals the fact t...

• Griffey joins 600 club

  Posted on Monday June 9th, 2008 at 20:36 in cincinnati reds, ken griffey jr., performance-enhancing drugs, playing the game the right way

  Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 600th homerun of his major league career tonight against Mark Hendrickson and the Florida Marlins. His family, including his father, was in attendance in Miami for the historic feat. I can't say anything bad about Junior. Desp...

• Mientkiewicz leads by example

  Posted on Friday May 16th, 2008 at 10:05 in pittsburgh pirates, doug mientkiewicz, hustle, playing the game the right way

  Although "Dirty" Doug Mientkiewicz is batting .237 and only makes the occasional start, he is a valuable member of the 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates. Yesterday was a perfect example of how Mientkiewicz continues to battle and do the little things that keep...