Jason Turbow Author of "The Baseball Codes" Exposed How Cheating is Acceptable.

In a chapter Turnbow titles If You're Not Cheating, You're Not Trying, he gets quotes from former ballplayers, coaches and managers that basically confirm how everyone in baseball cheats.  In fact, the author uses a quote from Rogers Hornsby's article he wrote for "True" magazine titled, "You've Got to Cheat to Win in Baseball."

States Hornsby, "I've been in pro baseball since 1914 and I've cheated, or watched someone on my team cheat, in practically every game.  You've got to cheat.  I know if I had played strictly by the rules I'd have been home feeding my dogs a long time ago instead of earning a good living in baseball for 47 years."  Turnbow surmises that cheating was all that stood between a Hall of Famer (Rogers Hornsby) and a life of doing something else besides playing, coaching or managing baseball.

Turnbow uses Frank Robinson quotes, the major league baseball's discipline czar from 2000-2001. "Some of that stuff might be against some code, but none of it is against the law."

This is where Al Worthington's beliefs hold up. Breaking a rule of a game you are playing is against that particular game's law.  In baseball, the rulebook is law. It was written to prevent competitors from getting an unfair advantage by cheating. Then the Turnbow book has this quote,"Deceiving an umpire is cheating, but deceiving an opponent (say, by stealing their signs) is simply hard-nosed competition." Really?  The umpires were added to the game to see that the rulebook was adhered to by the letter. In no way, shape, or form is cheating acceptable. 

Back to Frank Robinson. A Hall of Fame player with a questionable belief system. "There's nothing wrong with trying to find an edge. That's smart- that's not cheating." As long is it is someone on your team not getting caught, right Frank?

Then we have the unique case of Al Worthington.  A right-handed pitcher who began his career as a New York Giant.  He came west with the Giants when they became the San Francisco Giants.  He was an effective pitcher out of the bullpen who always thought baseball was a way to make an honest living.  That was until he was exposed to tactics that he didn't see as honorable. How could cheating be the thing to do, he thought.

And for the remainder of his career he fought with the notion of having to cheat to survive.

Author Turnbow says "phooey" to the old axiom, Cheaters never prosper. "Cheaters do win.  They win a lot. It's why they cheat," says Turnbow.

Breaking it down further Turnbow lists the following:

Pitchers apply foreign substances to the ball
Hitters doctor their bats
Outfielders act as if they caught a ball they actually trapped
Hitters fake being hit by errant tosses from the pitcher.

I added my own:
Both hitters and pitchers administer supplements into their bodies to make them stronger and heal quickly from injuries.
Balls go further/farther off the bat of the supplementally aided batter.
Balls are thrown harder from a pitcher who uses supplements to defy the odds of aging. A good hitter has even better Eye-hand coordination as the average player improves to someone who will not be kept in the minor leagues but instead someone a major league team will take a chance on. 

Says Ozzie Guillen, "... If you're doing whatever you're not supposed to do and you don't get caught, keep doing it."

A major league complainer about the steroid era is Hall of Famer Bob "Rapid Robert" Feller.  Feller was a war hero and when he returned to the Cleveland Indians he brought with him a military grade gun sight (as Feller was a an anti-aircraft gunner). This site was 60 times stronger than the naked eye.  Cleveland had fallen into a late-August swoon, in 1948, that saw them fall from first place to third place. With 26 games to play, the team was growing desperate, so a spy station was placed in the scoreboard of Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. Among the people manning the scope were Feller himself, fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon, and groundskeeper Emil Bossard's two sons, Marshall and Harold.  Theirs was the system that would one day drive Frank Lane, the White Sox GM, to implement his own practice at Comiskey Park and subsequently drive Al Worthington from the game.

Bragging like a schoolboy who got over by pulling some sort of fast one,"I myself called a grand-slam homer for Joe Gordon on a 3-and-0 count against the Red Sox," said Feller. "As soon as it landed (Boston manager) Joe McCarthy came out on the top step of the dugout and looked at the scoreboard. He knew he had been had."

Aided by Feller's scope, the Indians won 19 of their final 24 games- all but four of which were at home- to force a one-game playoff with the Red Sox. Cleveland would go on to beat Boston, in Boston. From there they would meet the Boston Braves for the World Series title. Indians outfielder Larry Doby had to insisted his pivotal home run in Game 4 was legitimate, unaided by stolen signs. Cleveland ended up winning in 6 games.

Unfortunately for Larry Doby (the next Afro-American to play major league baseball after Jackie Robinson) he didn't get to enjoy his prodigious blast the way he may have liked to because of the cheating that enabled the Indians to force a one-game playoff. You see, Author Jason Turnbow was right. Cheaters do and have prospered. And with it we can see how hypocritical players, like Bob Feller, moan and groan about the steroid era even though what they did certainly was or is not admirable.

(thanks to Jason Turnbow's book for exposing a hypocrite)

Kevin J. Marquez

Who Are These Voters and Why Do They Determine Who Enters Cooperstown?

In the world of health care there is a term referred to as Scope of Practice, also known as the universal rules of conduct. It states that you can only practice what you are licensed or credentialed to produce. Which brings me to the question of how writers qualify to vote for players who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

When I looked at the most recent voting, that elected Barry Larkin into Cooperstown, I noticed a few players whose careers are deserving of much more than these writers are giving them credit for. Players such as Lee Smith, Dale Murphy and Rafael Palmeiro.

The writers have to first and foremost understand that it is what the player did on the field. If the player was such a criminal he would have been incarcerated. But these players were allowed to perform between the lines. Why are the writers so hellbent on the clean-as-a-whistle mentality? I'm convinced the more I hear Curt Schilling whine about how certain players cheated that he doesn't think he was doing anything he thinks was illegal.  But ethically or morally it probably was something he may get all red-faced about if this act were exposed for public viewing.

Nobody believes a word Roger Clemens speaks just like most people roll their eyes over anything that spews from the lips of Jose Canseco. But the fact is, Jose's offerings have proven to be true where Clemens pleads his un-freaking, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING case.


The writers should be judged on who they think is capable of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame and then questioned as to how squeaky clean their lives have been. Put them through the same scrutiny for their own standard of living that they put the players through.  Then let us see how empty or cluttered their closets have been in order for the powers that be to accommodate them with their rightful place to vote.


Kevin Marquez

Baseball is Just Around the Corner

With baseball being six to eight weeks away from Spring training launching another season I thought I'd begin the 2012 season with a poem and some quotes about those attitudes-in-need of adjustment, the umpires.

The Umpire

The umpire is a lonely man
whose calls are known to every fan
Yet no one will call him Dick or Dan
In all the season's games.

They'll never call him Al or Ed
or Bill or Phil or Frank or Fred
or Jim or Tim or Tom or Ted
They'll simply call him names.
              by Milton Bracker (published in the New York Times in 1962)


"I've never questioned the integrity of an umpire.  Their eyesight, yes."  - Leo Durocher

"Baseball fits America well because it expresses our longing for the rule of law while licensing our resentment of law givers."  - A. Bartlett Giamatti

"Why is it they boo me when I call a foul ball correctly and they applaud the starting pitcher when he gets taken out of the ballgame?"      - American League ump, Jerry Neudecker



The Giants' first game:  March 3, 2012 is a split-squad exhibition game versus last year's Western Division champion Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale, AZ.

Kevin Marquez

Something to Get Hung About

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. 
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn't matter much to me.
Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields,
Where nothing is real and nothing to get hung about."      the Beatles

With the deadline to offer contracts ending on December 12, 2011, the San Francisco Giants chose who they felt would better serve them. Keeping Mike Fontenot for his ability to play a respectable shortstop over a clutch-hitting somewhat suspect fielder in Jeff Keppinger.


Remember always that the Giants are a team built around pitching. Catching the ball and making accurate throws is essential to maintaining a pitcher's confidence. Therefore, allowing them the choice to make any pitch necessary to get the batter out.

Around the league, there were a few names of players, not offered contracts, that raised my eyebrows solely because of what they did versus the Giants or the occasional ESPN cred afforded them. But only one name made me gasp for air because the thought of adding him to the Giants' pitching staff  would be like getting a Christmas gift I never could have imagined getting from someone not on my shopping list!!


The player is former Los Angeles Dodger, Hong-Chih Kuo.

Add this guy to a staff that already includes southpaws:  Madison Bumgarner, Dan Runzler, Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez and Barry William Zito and you have an assortment of arms all coming from the port side that have the capability of creating the illusion that the Giants' offense are one of the more productive in the league.

Kevin J. Marquez

Melky Cabrera

Trading Jonathan Sanchez to Kansas City for Melky "Leche" Cabrera probably for one season was not a bad move.

If you look at Melky's career with the Yankees, then Braves and Royals you almost have to ignore the numbers.  In New York everything is exaggerated into full-blown overrated.  But, his 2009 season, during the ALCS, he batted .391.  That's something all Giant fans need to file away as the 2012 season approaches.

Then you look at last year.  A year in which he had to rebound from his difficulties in Atlanta.  He hit 4-HR, 42-RBI and batted .255.  But I notice he had AB-454 and only 64 strikeouts along with 42 bases-on-balls.  It sort of reminds me of the year Pablo had when the Giants went all the way.  Everybody expects more out of certain players but they are only human.

Last year, 2011, Melky had 200 more at-bats than in 2010.  He hit 18-HR  had 87-RBI and 20-SB, with 201 hits while batting .305.  I think I'd rather have him battling for a spot in the outfield and or playing the outfield than wondering which Jonathan Sanchez shows up when it's his turn to pitch.

The Giants could still use some more help on defense and offense.  I hope this isn't all the moves they make.  For one thing, aside from assigning Barry Zito as the fifth man in the rotation, who will they pick up as insurance in case ole Barry struggles?

Kevin J. Marquez

I Need My Giant Fix

When you are alone most of the time there has to be a way to utilize your time that activates your peace of mind.  Music is essential but to a penniless person it takes batteries to make your radio work. Using your mind to replay songs is a neat feature to have but it doesn't funcion well when you are seemingly surrounded by downtrodden, faceless people in the crowd.  It's as if something is touching a nerve and this causes the needle to lift off of the hot wax (33 1/3 or 45rpm record).

The AM or FM dial doesn't drain as much battery jice but the incessant overflow of commercials gets a little tired. So I keep the radio off and every now and then turn it on to gauge how long it'll be until Giants' baseball.

The Kruk and Kuip show, then the Bruce Bochy show are very informative and they get you in the mood for baseball. Updated information (Bochy) and ideas about where the team is at mentally (Kruk & Kuip).

Because the San Francisco Giants have such an accomplished group of announcers it's a pleasure to gleen as much knowledge as is possible for a game that has so many parts and places in which to put them. Do this you may get that, do that you may get this. Just don't try too hard!

Carlos Beltran. He first arrives to the Giants and knows all-too-well that if he can do what he did with the Houston Astros (2004). In his career, Beltran has hit 11 homers in 22 games. That's pretty clutch. Worth re-signing? I think so.

Upon arrival he hits the ball but seems a little out of whack. Something about his swing just wasn't getting the results he hoped to get when he chose to swing at the pitch.  Perhaps he was pressing a bit and in doing so he injured his wrist. Zim bam boom, he too hits the disabled list. 

He goes on the disabled list and begins to figure out what adjustments need to be made to correct his swing in a manner that eases the pain. 

Off the disabled list he joins the Giants in time to prepare for the upcoming 3-game series with the NLWest leader, Arizona Diamondbacks. In 11-at-bats he had 8 hits. The first two games he was not put out. (A stark contrast to Pablo Sandoval who had not reached first base all series.)

This was a good indicator that Beltran has something left in the tank. When it's crunch time this guy is glutch. Clutch Carlos (not to be confused with the cartoon that used the real lips, Clutch Cargo).

Listening to Carlos during an interview you can hear a well-spoken man who has a good idea of how to succeed.  He's a student of the game who has an approach to the game that is innovative and  thoughtfully planned. I just got the good feeling that this guy has learned well from his failures and knows ways to avoid going through the same slump over and over again.  If he thinks he can play 3 years, which is about the maximum years I'd consider, I'd re-sign him.

Kevin J. Marquez  

Game #2 in Atlanta on August 16, 2011

Going into the game, unbeknowst to many people in the know, Jeff Keppinger, Nate Schierholtz, and Aaron Rowand all had to get x-rays for various "ow-wees" they received in Monday's game.

This limited manager Bruce Bochy's ability to use baseball strategy.  He would only have Mark DeRosa (who up until then was 0-26) and Eli Whiteside. (Word from the pressbox was that Aaron Rowand informed Bochy he'd be able to play later in the game.) This was taking place and I forget to mention that Sergio Romo and Carlos Beltran were put on the 15-day disabled list. Dan Runzler (left-handed pitcher) and Miguel Tejada would be the replacements. 

Entering the ballgame this is a lot of roster movement but you can't forget that yesterday Pablo Sandoval also fouled one off his foot and Andres Torres went on the 15-day DL about a week ago.  There was a game to be played.  Wouldn't you know it, in an attempt to field a bunt, Jonathan Sanchez did the splits. He was able to throw the bunter out at first but after throwing one pitch to the next batter he was unable to pitch any longer. A twisted ankle would put Sanchy on the disabled list. 

The inning Sanchez was injured was when the Braves scored a run to take a 1-0 lead.  The batter-runner who bunted safely due to Pablo over-committing a grounder between the first-baseman and pitcher and there was nobody to cover first base is named Costanzo. The Braves call him Georgie and the Giants are muttering "Can't Stand ya!"

Entering the 7th inning the Braves pitcher, a rookie named Delgado, was throwing a no-hitter. That is until Cody Ross led off with a booming home run.  Giants-1  Braves-1

But the Braves bullpen is healthy and they are every bit as good as the Giants' bullpen which is not healthy. In the 11th inning a hitter for the Braves by the name of Brooks Conrad doubled with one out. On third base with 2 outs, Conrad would score the winning run when Martin Prado singled. Game over, Braves-2 Giants-1.

Two gut wrenching losses and there's another game today, Matt Cain vs. Jair Jurgens. This is must see baseball. Because the Giants are putting forth the kind of effort that any baseball fan can truly appreciate. They may have never been able to put Humpty Dumpty together again but I'll bet he was one helluva tasty omelet.

Good things will become of this because, as we Giant fans witnessed last season, our San Francisco Giants are a team. They know how to pull it all together. After what I saw and heard (on my radio) last season I have no reason to think they cannot put the pieces together again.

Go Giants!

Kevin J. Marquez