Eddie Pepitone on THE SULLY BASEBALL SHOW

The Sully Baseball Show airs tonight as the second half of the Monday night Seamheads Podcasting Network block.

Steve Lenox, Mike Lynch and Ron Kaplan host the first hour on What's on Second.

Then I host an all new and all live Sully Baseball Show with guest Eddie Pepitone.

Eddie is one of the funniest people alive on the planet Earth and is a rabid New York Yankees fan. It's a live show, no recorded interviews this week.

9PM EST/6 PM PST

So call in.
Call-in Number: (347) 945-7172

Listen to internet radio with Seamheads on Blog Talk Radio

Magic Johnson Throwback Lakers Jersey and NBA Biography

Magic Johnson Throwback Jersey and NBA Biography

Long before the 1979 season even began, everybody knew who Ervin "Magic" Johnson was. As a joyous, bubbly, and talented sophomore guard at Michigan State, he had just led his team to the NCAA title in from of a National audience. Despite the fact that everybody knew that Magic would make waves in the pros, nobody anticipated the overwhelming effect he would have on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA.

Magic Johnson immediately took control of the Lakers offense as if he had a "Magic" wand. The Lakers improved their record by 13 games and led the team to their first appearance in the NBA finals in 7 year. In the finals the Lakers faced the red hot Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by the legendary Julius Erving. After 5 games the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-2 lead, but their luck had apparently run out. Kareem Abdul Jabbar sprained his ankle and couldn't play. Nobody gave Los Angeles a chance without Kareem in game 6 and 7. The had nobody to guard Philadelphia's low post centers, nobody to rebound, and nobody to score underneath the basket on offense.

In a surprising move, Magic Johnson, who was a career point guard, volunteered to play center in Game 6. For the entire game (47 minutes played), Magic used his quickness and tenacity to outmaneuver the 76ers on both ends of the floor. He dominated under the basket with scoop shots and hooks, using spins and stutter ste=ps to gain position under the boards and found the open man when the 76ers tried to double team him. By the fourth quarter the 76ers were shocked when they looked up at the scoreboard and they were the ones who got blown out of the basketball game.

All in all, Magic Johnson pumped in 42 points, pulled down 15 boards, and handed out 7 assists. He stole three passes and was perfect from the free throwline (14-14=). At the young age of 20, Magic delivered one of the best performances in NBA history. He made a loud statement that shouted "There will be many more championship NBA basketball games to come in the future".

Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson Throwback Jersey

This is Magic Johnson's Home Yellow Jersey that he wore during their games.

Mitchell & Ness Ervin ''Magic'' Johnson Los Angeles Lakers Authentic Throwback Jersey - Gold

When Duke Snider helped the Giants beat the Dodgers

On May 2, 1964, the Giants played the defending World Champion Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. In the 9th inning, Dodgers pitcher Joe Moeller had a 4-2 lead and looked to get the complete game victory.

Willie McCovey led off the inning with a walk. Up next was the new Giants left fielder... Duke Snider.

Yup... The Duke of Flatbush actually finished his career as a Giant. The whole "Willie, Mickey and the Duke" trio once had two of them as teammates.

Snider was not a member of the Dodgers when they won in 1963. The Mets, hoping that his presence on the team would boost the box office. After a year of calling the Polo Grounds his home and wearing the N-Y logo on his hat, he was sold off to the Giants in 1964.

So up he stepped in 1964 and hit a line drive home run into the Dodger Stadium seats and tied the game up.

The Giants would win the game in extra innings.

In the last game of his career, the second to last day of the 1964 season, Snider came to the plate as a pinch hitter in the 9th.

The Giants were losing 10-5 and fading in the pennant race. Snider singled off of Cubs pitcher Lindy McDaniel.

With 2 outs, Willie Mays homered. The last moment of Duke Snider's career he greeted his one time counterpart at home plate.

Farewell Duke.

A glorious era of baseball is getting a little more faint.

Geoffrey Rush, Kirk Gibson and Terry Pendleton

One foregone conclusion about tonight's Oscars is that Christian Bale is going to win the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in The Fighter.

He's terrific in the film and he does everything you'd expect in an Oscar performance.

He is electric when he is on screen, stealing the spotlight from the star (the underrated performance by Mark Wahlberg.)

He does an accent. (A flawless Mass-Hole voice!)
He plays an addict. (Always Oscar bait.)
He does a physical transformantion. (He looks like he should play The Riddler, not Batman.)

All of the stats are there for him.

While I would not be upset if Bale wins (as I said before, he IS marvelous in the film) I would argue that the award should go to Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech. Seeing that this is Sully Baseball and not Sully Oscars, I will make my case with a baseball analogy.

Rush, who already has an Oscar on his mantle for Shine, brought the quality of The King's Speech up merely by his presence. Without his performance as Lionel Logue, that movie is just a made for TV movie with compressed history and a lot of people saying expositional dialogue.

But Rush turns what could have been a big pile of nothing (a spoiled man stutters... I hope he doesn't!) into a funny, engaging drama.

It's kind of like the season that Kirk Gibson had with the 1988 Dodgers. Or Terry Pendleton's season for Atlanta in 1991. Both players joined a team that looked rudderless and a mess the year before. They both brought a sense of professionalism to the clubhouse.

The entire team raised the level of their game. Improbably the Dodgers won it all with Gibson getting big hit after big hit (including the greatest home run in World Series history.)

Pendleton's Braves went from last to first and took Game 7 of the World Series to extra innings. (If Lonne Smith hadn't falled for a decoy play, Pendleton would have driven in the go ahead run.

Both players won the MVP even though they didn't have the flashiest stats. Darryl Strawberry or Kevin McReynolds put up gaudier numbers than Gibson in 1988. And Barry Bonds on paper looked like the winner over Pendleton in 1991.

And both players had lots of help from their teammates. Orel Hershiser had one of the great pitching seasons of all time in '88. And Tom Glevine was the 1991 Cy Young winner.

But the Award looked justified because of the clear influence those two players had on their entire team.

Kind of like Geoffrey Rush. Of course he had help. There were great performances by Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce and Michael Gambon among others. And the techincal qualities of the film were fine, if not spectacular.

But the film has become an unlikely box office hit and will probably win the big prize. And I think that Rush, like Gibson and Pendleton, raised the quality in ways that is greater than the stats.

Cristian Bale is like Strawberry, McReynolds and Bonds. He has the stats and I understand why he'll probably get the award. But Rush? He's got the intangibles.

He gets his uniform dirty.
And if he wins the Oscar, lots of people will say "I can't believe what I just saw."

Sully’s Oscar Predictions

I could very easily write a second blog called “Sully Oscars” but I’m spending a wee too much time writing THIS blog to do a second one.

But I do want my predictions in writing and out there for all my readers to see.

I like the 10 picture nomination change. It gives the Oscars a better cross section of the movies of the year.

This is an interesting Oscar year. A lot of years you have heard people whining that there aren’t enough mainstream hits being nominated (blame the studios for not making enough Oscar worthy films.) But this year with films like Black Swan, The Fighter, True Grit and The King’s Speech, you see a lot of Oscar bait have become big money makers even before the Awards are handed out.

Mix them up with some mainstream hits like Inception and Toy Story 3 and indie fare like The Kids are Alright and Winter’s Bone and you have a pretty interesting line up.

(And of course there is the obligatory “Man who cuts his damn arm off” movie in 127 Hours.)

All that being said, Toy Story 3 is still the best movie of the year… but who is counting?

Here are my predictions.
These are not the films I think SHOULD win but what I predict WILL win.

Let’s see how I do:

BEST PICTURE - The King's Speech
BEST DIRECTOR - Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
BEST ACTOR - Colin Firth - The King's Speech
BEST ACTRESS - Natalie Portman - Black Swan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Christian Bale - The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - David Seidler - The King's Speech
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE - Toy Story 3
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Biutiful

BEST ART DIRECTION - The King's Speech
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - True Grit
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - The King's Speech
BEST EDITING - The Social Network
BEST MAKE UP - The Wolfman
BEST MUSIC SCORE - The Social Network
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - "We Belong Together" - Toy Story 3
BEST SOUND - Inception
BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING - Inception
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - Inception


And yup, I make the Documentary and the Short Film predictions as well.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Inside Job
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Killing in the Name
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM - The Gruffalo
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM - Wish 143


I know a lot of people think the awards will be split between The Social Network and The King's Speech, but I think the praise for The Social Network peaked. And I think The King's Speech will rampage for 7 Oscars and even have the upsets in the Director and Supporting Actress category. (Helena Bonham Carter has been an incredibly respected actress for a long time without a golden boy on her mantle. I think she'll get one over Melissa Leo, who was awesome in The Fighter.)

And I think the brilliant Roger Deakins will win Best Cinematography.
You may not notice that award or know his name... but he was responsible for the photography in The Shawshank Redemption, Kundun, A Beautiful Mind and Revolutionary Road... all amazingly well shot movies.

And oh yeah, he has shot every Coen Brothers film since Barton Fink.

That would include Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Man Who Wasn't There, No Country for Old Men and this year's True Grit.

You are hard pressed to find a better body of work than that!

Either way, I am going to enjoy the Oscars. I always do.
And as I do every year, enjoy my AMC Oscar segments.

It looks cool, doesn't it Giants fans?

It's real.
The Giants really did win the World Series.

I remember in 2005, I had to stop and pause every time I heard someone call the Red Sox "The Defending World Champions."

It made the whole year pretty cool.

Enjoy it.
Giant fans have earned it.

Hey! In the San Francisco Bay Area, I have the cover story!

So I got a copy of the USA Today 2011 MLB Preview in the mail. It's the magazine that I have an article in.

The Los Angeles cover has the Angels and Dodgers on the front. But evidently the San Francisco cover asks the questions if the Giants will repeat.

Well seeing that I wrote one of the Giants repeating articles, I guess that means I wrote the cover story!

And least that's what I am telling people from now on!

Buy the USA Today 2011 Baseball Complete MLB Preview.

The USA Today 2011 Baseball Complete MLB Preview is available at fine bookstores and probably some not so fine ones as well.

If you turn to page 30, there is an article called "NO GIANT STREAK."

Guess who wrote it?

No guess!




Yup, yours truly has an article in the magazine.

Essentially I wrote about why I don't think the Giants are going to repeat as champs. (Sorry dad.)

I like to think that baseball fans across the country are reading an article that I wrote while sitting on the john.

I can think of no bigger honor for my writing as this blog is hard to bring into the bathroom.



So pick up a copy and help me out with another little potential obsession.



That's me holding up my copy with the cover for Southern California.

The cover highlights the Dodgers and Angels, 2 teams that went 80-82. And oh yeah, there are pictures of the 97 loss Arizona Diamondbacks and the rebuilding Padres.

Clearly this is the Southern California cover.

So do me a favor, dear friends of Sully Baseball:

Buy a copy of the magazine. I don't get a penny of residuals, so I am not doing this to send my kids to Cal Tech.

I want to see what the different regional covers are.

Send me a picture of you with the regional cover and I'll post it on the blog.

And if you have a blog, I'll link the blog.

So let's see how many different covers I can post before opening day!

Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks Jerseys - White, Blue, Black - S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL

Carmelo Anthony Alternate Black New York Knicks Black Jersey

Carmelo Anthony has rejuvenated New York and all of their fans after the trade was made to bring Carmelo to the Big Apple. New York loves their basketball and the NBA loves when the Knicks are challenging for NBA Championships! The Knicks haven't been to the playoffs in many years, but the drought is about to end as Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Chauncey Billups form a trio that can challenge anybody in the NBA including the Miami Heat.

This is Carmelo Anthony's alternate black jersey. If you are wanting a different look from the traditioinal blue and white NBA jerseys, then this one is for you. Sizes come in

Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks Black Alternate NBA Basketball Jersey - Black-On-Black

New York Knicks White NBA Basketball Jerseys

adidas Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks Revolution 30 Performance Jersey - White

New York Knicks White NBA Basketball Jerseys

Carmelo Anthony has taken New York by storm and these jerseys are hot! Features include :

• Mesh Jersey
• Officially Licensed by the National Basketball Association
• Screen Printed Graphics, Name, and Number
• Comes in Sizes S, M, L, Xl, and 2XL

Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks Royal Blue Jersey

Here is the royal blue jerseys that come in sizes S, M, L, XL, 2XL, and 3XL. Then energy in the air hasn't been felt in years for Knicks basketball. NBA needs the Knicks to be a contender and that should be the case for years to come.

Rickey Henderson A's MLB Throwback Jerseys, Baseball Biography

Rickey Henderson Throwback Oakland A's Jerseys and Biography

Buy a Rickey Henderson MLB Oakland A's Throwback Baseball Jersey

Buy a Rickey Henderson MLB Oakland A's Throwback Baseball Jersey

Rickey Henderson was one of those throwback players that you don't see in today's baseball. This old style retro Rickey Henderson throwback jersey is made by Majestic Athletic Sports Apparel, and officially licensed by MLB.

Rickey Henderson Biography

Rickey Henderson didn't just tip toe into Major League Baseball, he broke into the MLB running at full speed. In Rickey Henderson's rookie season with the Oakland A's in 1980 he had 100 stolen bases, breaking a long standing record held by Ty Cobb (96 stolen bases). Rickey didn't slow down in the following years either. Two years later he stole 130 bases shattering Lou Brocks MLB record.

When he first came in to the league the "so called" experts thought that his head first slides when he was stealing a base would slow him down. His reckless style of stealing bases did take it's toll. Henderson suffered many injuries that occurred while raising havoc on the bases. Henderson had jammed fingers, bruised wrists, scraped arms, and separated shoulders.

The experts thought that Rickey Henderson's would slow down after suffering so many injuries on the base paths, but Henderson's love of stealing bases never diminished. He kept stealing bases fearlessly and launching himself into harms way. For the next 12 baseball seasons he led the league in stolen bases 11 times! With each stolen base he crept closer to Lou Brock's record.

Rickey Henderson had his chance to dive into the record books in a game against the New York Yankees on May 1, 1991. As Henderson tool his lead off of second base he faked a steal of third base. As he slowly walked back to second he fooled the pitcher into thinking that he wouldn't steal. Henderson then bolted towards third base and launched himself into one of his infamous head first dives and slid in safely. The all time stolen base record was his! He lifted the bag out of the ground and hoisted it over his head in a triumphant manner. After the baseball game Henderson announced to the world that he was the greatest stolen base artist ever. Who could argue with him?

Rickey Henderson Timeline Biography

Born : December 25th, 1958
Age 13 : His Godmother used to give him a quarter for every time he would steal a base in his little league baseball games.
Age 17 : Played football, basketball, and baseball in college. Received two dozen scholarship offers to play football, but signs to play baseball with the Oakland A's.
Age 20 : Called up to the Oakland Athletics halfway through the season.
1980 : Breaks Ty Cobb's single season record for stolen bases.
1989 : Steals 8 bases to set an AL Championship series record.
1991 : Broke Lou Brok's career stolen bases record.
1993 : Wins the World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Shop MLB Baseball Throwback Jerseys

The Juice problem clearly started in the early 1990s

Look at this card from the short lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. Former Pirates second baseman Dave Cash was trying to prolong his career.

How could we not know he was on juice.

It was practically written across his chest!

Tommy John could derail the Cardinals for a long long time

Tommy John has such a pleasant sounding name. And he had a long durable career. But wow, hearing his name is you are a pitcher must be liking hearing the reaper knock on your door.

I had already equated him with the creepy preacher in The Right Stuff.

Now Tommy John's specter looms over Adam Wainwright and also the entire fate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Wainwright's season might be done with.
And with the Reds and Brewers looking strong for 2011, the Cardinals hopes to win the Division might be sliced along with Wainwright's elbow.

That would mean the Cardinals' best hope (the 1-2 punch of Wainwright and Carpenter in the rotation) would scrapped.

And with Carpenter at the end of his contract (he has an option and a buyout for 2012), he might be the best available pitcher at the trade deadline. No doubt the Yankees will be willing to pay with top prospects after losing out on Cliff Lee last year. The Red Sox would get into the mix if Beckett, Dice-K or Lackey flop. Maybe the Phillies want FIVE aces.

Either way they will get a key piece for 2012 and beyond.

But what about that beyond?
In case you haven't heard, Albert Pujols' contract is up at the end of the year, and all indications are showing he is going to be a free agent.

If the Cardinals have a flop season and wind up dealing Carpenter, would Pujols want to stick around for the rebuilding? Or would he want to reinvent himself and create a new challenge elsewhere. There will be some crazy owner who will shell out $25-$30 million a year for Pujols. He knows it. You know it.

And would you turn that down to rebuild?

Wainwright needs his elbow reconstructed.
When he won his 20th game last September 24th, little did any of us know that it could have been his last with Albert Pujols as a teammate.

Oooh that Tommy John.

Deron Williams New Jersey Nets Jerseys - Youth, Men's, Women's

Deron Williams New Jersey Nets Jerseys, T-Shirts, and Apparel

Just as it seemed that the New Jersey Nets couldn't land that star free agent, and were missing out on trades of the elite NBA super stars, the Nets have a new star point guard in Deron Williams.  Looking for a team leader, and a star basketball player that has the potential to help recruit free agent stars in the offseason Deron Williams fits the bill.

Many consider Deron Williams to be one of the best point guards in the NBA, and watching him in a Nets uniform will surely get the fans excited about what the future may bring!

During a time when the Knicks have landed Carmelo Anthony, and the Miami Heat signed three NBA super stars, the Nets needed to find a basketball star of their own. Deron Williams is the type of point guard that you can build a contending basketball team around. Will the Nets be able to surround Williams with the talent needed to challenge for an NBA title in the future? Time will tell, and until then, the NJ Nets fans will welcome Deron Williams with open arms!

Fans are already asking when and where his new jerseys will be available and they are in currently in production and soon will be ready for purchase.

Youth, Men's, and Women's Sizes - Small, Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, 3XL

Shop Deron Williams NBA Basketball New Jersey Nets Jerseys, T-Shirts, and Apparel

Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks T-Shirts, Jerseys, and Apparel

 Carmelo Anthony

New York Knicks T-Shirts, Jerseys, and Apparel

 

Carmelo Anthony has renewed the excitement about Knicks basketball that hasn't been seen in the past decade. Teaming up with Amare Stoudemire, the Knicks future looks bright. Two super stars playing in the Big Apple is sure to bring excitement for the fans that have been hungry for another NBA Championship contending team.

Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks jerseys, t-shirts, and apparel items have been waiting to find out exactly what Carmelo's number is going to be in New York. He will wear number 7 and his t-shirts, and jerseys are in production as we speak. Stay ahead of the game and be one of the first Knick fans to own a Carmelo Anthony t-shirt or jersey. Amare Stoudemire apparel is also available.

The Knicks are back and so is the excitement for their fans. The buzz is back in the Big Apple, and Madison Square Garden is going to be electric!

Carmelo Anthony Home White New York Knicks Jerseys

Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks Blue Road NBA Jerseys

Shop Carmelo Anthony Knicks Jerseys, T-Shirts, and Apparel

Managing to Cooperstown - My latest for The Hardball Times

A big league manager will win a World Series this year. But how will that title affect their Hall of Fame resume?

For a few it would put them in the conversation. For others it would simply silence some critics. And still others would have a great first credit on their resume.

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I look at each big league manager and consider what the 2011 World Championship would mean for their legacy.

You can read the article HERE.

LISTEN TO... Whats on Second The Seamheads.com Radio Hour/The Sully Baseball Show 2/21/2011 - Seamheads.com | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio

Listen to internet radio with Seamheads.com on Blog Talk Radio

Whats on Second The Seamheads.com Radio Hour/The Sully Baseball Show 2/21/2011 - Seamheads.com | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio