Orioles vs. Yankees: Who else?

If the Orioles are on the verge of something wild and wonderful, you can bet the New York Yankees are lurking around somewhere.
The long-standing rivalry between the Orioles and the Yankees – and between Baltimore and New York – will be front and center again when the best-of-five Division Series opens at Oriole Park on Sunday night.
Who else, indeed? The Orioles battled the Yankees right down to the wire this year for the American League East title. The last time these teams met in a postseason series, of course, was the 1996 American League Championship Series that featured the infamous “Jeffrey Maier” phantom home run and a Yankees team that had been manager Buck Showalter’s first major league turnaround project.
Showalter was no longer the Yankees manager that year, but his fingerprints were all over that team.
The Orioles were the dominant team for a large chunk of the 1960s and ‘70s, but the Yankees owned the civic rivalry because of the huge upsets pulled by the New York Jets over the Colts in Super Bowl III and the “Amazin” New York Mets over the 109-win Orioles in the World Series in 1969.
No wonder Baltimoreans savor the opportunity to take a bite out of the Big Apple. Maybe this will be the year.

The Elephant Hotel

The words ELEPHANT HOTEL were painted across the building to commemorate
the elephant that was known as Old Bet.  In 1827 a wooden likeness of an elephant
atop a granite shaft was erected to honor Old Bet and his subsequent two
elephants, Little Bet and Columbus in front of the hotel.  The monument remains
today, although the original statue had to be replaced because of its decaying
condition. The trunk of the original statue is on exhibit in the Musuem of the Early
American Circus.

Somers claim to fame as the "Cradle of the American Circus" goes back to around
1805, when it is assumed that Hachaliah Bailey acquired an Asian elephant, named
her Old Bet, and took her on tour along the eastern seaboard of the new nation. It
is speculated that Hachaliah had planned to use the elephant for labor.  He soon
added other exotic animals to this menagerie. His neighbors and relatives joined
him in this enterprise, sometimes as partners, sometimes as competitors. The
fever spread to North Salem, Carmel, Brewster, and other adjoining towns. In
1835 the Zoological Institute was incorporated at the Elephant Hotel.

Situated at the intersection of the Croton Turnpike and the Peekskill Turnpike,
and in a very viable community, the hotel became the economic and social center
of Somers and the surrounding area. Not only was it the meeting place for the
menageries/circus owners, it was also a stage coach stop for travelers between
New York City and points to the north and east. It was the stopping place for
drovers as they drove their cattle, sheep and hogs to the New York City markets.

In 1839 the Farmers and Drovers Bank of Somers was chartered and housed in
what is now the Town Clerk's office and an adjacent buiilding. With the coming of
the railroad to the east of Somers in the 1840's, the hotel and the hamlet of
Somers lost their status as the economic center of the area. The bank went into
voluntary liquidation in1885 and ceased its operations in 1905.

The Hotel continued, however, to be a social center. Numerous balls, soirees,
dancing schools and other social functions took advantage of its spaciousness and
the "swinging" ballroom on the seond floor of the wing to the east.

In 1923 D.W. Griffith filmed a portion of his epic motion picture "America" in
Somers. Mr. Griffith, Lionel Barrymore and other members of the cast were guests
of the Hotel.

The Hotel was purchased by the Town of Somers from the Bailey family in 1927.
While now filled with filing cabinets, desks and computers, the beauty of the
building can still be seen in stately portico and entrance hall, the woodwork
surrounding windows and doors, the fireplaces in each room. The huge fireplace,
measuring 8 feet by 6 feet 3 inches, once used for cooking, is now one wall of the
town employees' lounge.

The Somers Historical Society and the Museum of the Early American Circus
occupy the third floor of the historic building. The Society which has a full time
curator, also houses a collection of materials relating to local and circus history,
and a research library, available to the public by appointment.

The Elephant Hotel in Somers, New York has been designated a National Historic
Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton.  The building was
one of 24 sites designated on April 5, 2005.

Social Bookmarking

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Miguel Cabrera Triple Crown: Why We Won't See Another Winner for 50 Years

So what were you doing 45 years ago?
Miguel Cabrera accomplished a feat that hadn't been seen in MLB for two generations—he won the Triple Crown, leading the American League in batting average, home runs and RBI.
Cabrera actually came very close to leading the major leagues in all three categories. His 44 home runs were more than anyone else in the AL or NL, as were his 139 RBI. However, Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants finished with a .337 batting average, six points ahead of Cabrera's .331 mark.
But that isn't intended to diminish Cabrera's achievement in any way whatsoever. It can't be diminished when it's something that hasn't been done in 45 years. Forty-five years.
That's the last time MLB had a Triple Crown winner, when Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski led the AL with a .326 average, 44 home runs and 121 RBI.
Various newspapers, websites and TV shows will probably show us in the next day or two what was going on in the world in 1967. We'll do a little of that too. Lyndon Johnson was the president of the United States. "To Sir With Love" by Lulu was the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts. The Graduate was the top grossing film at the box office.
Maybe Yastrzemski's Triple Crown didn't seem quite as special in 1967 since Frank Robinson pulled off the same achievement one year earlier. But it had been 10 years before in '57 before Robinson won his Triple Crown, so maybe there was some appreciation for how rare his accomplishment was.
However, do you think fans back then could even imagine that it would take decades for another hitter to lead his league in the three major hitting categories again? When witnessing a historic event, is it natural to realize you may never see it repeated? After all, you just saw it occur.
But here's why we won't see another Triple Crown in MLB for another 50 years, why it's practically the baseball version of Halley's Comet. The combination of a player who can bat over .330, hit 40 or more home runs and notch at least 120 RBI is just far too rare.
Some can obviously come close. Ryan Braun finished third in NL batting average, first in home runs and second in RBI. But his .320 average was 17 points behind Buster Posey's .337. So he wasn't actually that close to a Triple Crown.
Batting average is usually the statistic that presents the biggest obstacle for a Triple Crown contender. In 2007, Alex Rodriguez led MLB with 54 home runs and 156 RBI, but his .314 average wasn't even in the AL's top 10. Barry Bonds hit 46 homers with 123 RBI in 1993, but his .336 average was fourth in the NL.
Typically, batters won't hit for an extremely high batting average and hit for a exceptionally large amount of home runs in the same season. The two categories aren't mutually exclusive, of course, but they don't often mesh within the same player. And if they do, that batter also has to play for a good offensive team, one which gets enough runners on base to present plentiful RBI opportunities.
But what about the pitchers these batters have to face? More specifically, the number of pitchers these batters have to face through the course of a particular ballgame.
Relievers weren't as prevalent in the era of Yastrzemski and Robinson. Those guys may have faced the same pitcher three or four—maybe even five—times in a game.
In the modern game, starting pitchers don't pitch more than six or seven innings. Batters may only get two plate appearances against that game's starter before he's taken out. Then one or two middle relievers will pitch. Finally, the closer comes in for the ninth inning. A hitter might face three or four different pitchers in a typical game now.
That doesn't give a batter much of an opportunity to adjust and get a feel for what he might see from a certain pitcher. He also likely won't be able to take advantage of the starting pitcher tiring out during his third or fourth time through a lineup.
This isn't even considering that relievers are better than they've ever been. Middle relievers are just as good, if not better than closers on many teams. Virtually all of them throw hard or have a specialty pitch with nasty movement. And then there's the closer, who probably throws 95-100 mph while also featuring a slider with sharp action or a heavy sinker.
Yet another innovation that's developed in MLB over recent seasons is the increased amount of data devoted to hitter tendencies. Managers and coaches don't just have scouting reports that tell pitchers a hitter can't handle a pitch low and away or high and inside anymore.
Teams now know where a batter is going to hit the ball. Spray charts and other such data tell managers where their defenders should be positioned on the field against a certain hitter. Tactics such as infield shifts that load more defenders on one side of the diamond are employed more frequently against pull hitters like David Ortiz and Mark Teixeira.
It takes a supremely talented hitter to overcome specialization for pitching staffs and defensive positioning. It may take a once-in-a-generation talent to combine all the batting skills necessary to hit for a high average while also slugging for power. And all of that has to come together in one season.
Baseball fans had every reason to think they'd never see a Triple Crown winner again. That wasn't an unreasonable assumption, given that so many of us had never seen one in our lifetimes of watching the sport. We're talking about something that's only happened 15 times in the history of baseball.
Miguel Cabrera is the one rare talent that was able to defeat all of the obstacles that the game placed before him. Those of us who saw him break in as a 20-year-old with the 2003 Florida Marlins knew we were seeing an exceptional talent, someone who could dominate at such a young age.
Cabrera has fulfilled those expectations in the nine seasons he's played since then. But the culmination of his great physical gifts resulted in a historic achievement.
Hopefully, you took the opportunity to watch Cabrera play this season and enjoy his accomplishments on the field. Take the time to appreciate his Triple Crown. You may never see it happen with another hitter again.

Book Review

Reading a Robert B. Parker novel is like returning home after a long absence. He has proven time and again that straightforward stories with familiar characters never lose their appeal. Fans are grateful that Michael Brandman has been blessed with the ability to carry on the legacy.
Once again, trouble comes to Paradise. Paradise, MA, that is, a small coastal town that often manages to attract more action than might be expected by those who call it home. Police Chief Jesse Stone is never unduly surprised, however, since he worked several years for the Los Angeles Police Department. LA's loss was Paradise's gain when Jesse relocated after being fired for inappropriate behavior while intoxicated on duty. But he has proven himself to be an excellent officer once he stopped drinking, much to the chagrin of the town officials who felt it would be easy to manipulate a drinker. Not to say that Jesse is abstinent, but he seldom ever lets alcohol take control anymore and limits his imbibing to one scotch or two beers a day. Usually.
In FOOL ME TWICE, trouble comes in several different forms. One is a bratty teenager who almost kills a man with her Mercedes while texting. She is completely unrepentant and threatens Jesse with her daddy's money and power if he arrests her. Another is a bratty film star. Marisol Hinton is in town to film a movie; she's completely self-focused, demanding and manipulative. Jesse's small town police department is stretched to the limit when it is discovered that Marisol's ex-husband is stalking her. Then there is William Goodwin, Commissioner of the Paradise Water and Power Company, whose passion for natural resources leads him to extremes and possible criminal charges.
Jesse Stone is an unlikely hero, yet he is one of the genre's most engaging characters. Creating a personality who people can identify with on many levels is no easy task; someone who cracks wise may not be too hard, but a wise someone who cracks wise is special. Brandman has picked up where Parker left off. Perhaps not seamlessly, as evidenced by some hesitation in KILLING THE BLUES, his first attempt, but here he does not miss a stitch. The dialogue says it all. When a beautiful Hollywood producer, in town for the filming, agrees to have dinner with him, our stalwart Police Chief says, “Goody.” Later, after dinner, when Jesse and Frankie are saying goodnight and she asks him if he thinks they could “do this again,” he says, “I do.” She says, “Goody.”
Our hero proves once again that no good deed goes unpunished. When he determines that the bratty teenager is actually crying out for help, her parents tell him in no uncertain terms to butt out. His attempt to protect the movie diva goes sideways when her vengeful ex comes looking for her, stoked up on Shabu, a powerful new designer form of meth. And when he engages Rita Fiore, a top defense attorney to defend Commissioner Goodwin, the man refuses to return her calls. But Jesse does not discourage easily and follows the cases until they are concluded --- usually with good results for everyone. No spoilers here.
But, lest anyone think this is a warm, fuzzy Mayberry-USA story, it is definitely full of enough action, plotting and surprises to keep everyone engaged. Guaranteed not to cause yawns or impatience, its only downside is having the book end and waiting for the next episode.

the third man

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