Chicago Legend Harry Caray With A Little Black Book
I know that this story has now been shared and posted all over the blogosphere. Given my Chicago roots, it’s a story that resonates with me and turns back time to “afternoons with Harry” on WGN-TV. I grew up on the South Side, a White Sox fan, but day baseball and stories from Harry Caray […]
MLB Responds To Complaints On Sox-Cubs Scheduling
Regardless of the teams’ records, the “Crosstown Cup” battle between the White Sox and Cubs has always been a hot ticket. Of course, those series have normally been played during the summer months and on weekends. This year, the scheduling algorithm and human decision-makers decided to make the four-game series an early-week production. The first […]
Harry Caray As The Operating System In “Har”
I saw this bit earlier this morning and it made me chuckle. I love the idea of the personalized operating system from the movie “Her.” Here’s the premise of the movie from IMDB.com: “A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need.” And, of […]
The Legend Of Masahiro Tanaka In 22 Minutes
We’re rapidly approaching the deadline for highly-coveted Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. According to YES Network, Tanaka has sorted through the proposals and whittled the number of candidates to two. The Yankees are reportedly one of the remaining teams in the mix after removing Alex Rodriguez’s cash from the books. The other team on the short […]
Harmon’s Blog 7.24 MLB, Braun, Taxes & More
I asked a friend of mine in Baltimore media when the Orioles were going to dive into the trading pool early on Tuesday. He responded by predicting the acquisition of a relief pitcher. The Orioles acquired Francisco Rodriguez from the Brewers on Tuesday in exchange for infielder Nick Delmonico. Rodriguez successfully closed out all 10 […]
Harmon’s Blog 7.15: Baseball, Sharks & Hitchhiking Musicians
Freddie Freeman won the “Last Man Standing” or whatever the final roster voting process is called for the National League. He’ll miss the game because of a thumb injury. Teammate Brian McCann replaced Freeman on the All-Star roster. Meanwhile, Yasiel Puig rolled out to a nightclub to celebrate the break. I hope Puig doesn’t reinjure […]
PTC: Harmon’s Blog 531 W/ Fantasy Baseball, Dark Knight & The Expendables
We are in that portion of the season where pitching rotations have been ravaged by injuries. No team has been hit as hard by injuries as the St. Louis Cardinals, who promoted 21-year-old Michael Wacha to pitch Thursday’s game against the Royals. He allowed one earned run on two hits in seven innings while striking […]
PTC: Harmon’s Blog 530 W/ Fantasy Baseball, Football & A Human Centipede
We’re hitting up the blogosphere with multiple posts and dominating the earholes of America with a podcast DAILY. Here’s the “Painting The Corner” blog for 530. Matt Kemp’s struggles at the plate in 2013 have been well-chronicled. The Dodgers are awaiting word on Kemp’s hamstring after the center fielder left Wednesday’s game. LeBron James was […]
PTC: Harmon’s Blog With Fantasy Baseball, Bryce Harper, Pop Culture & More
Washington outfielder Bryce Harper crashed into the right field wall while chasing down a flyball off the bat of A.J. Ellis. Harper lay on the field for several minutes receiving attention from the trainers before exiting the game. David Vassegh (@thereal_dv) of FOX Sports Radio advised on Twitter that he’d spoken to agent Scott Boras. […]
PTC: Harmon’s Baseball Blog 5.3 With Fantasy Notes, Pop Culture & More
The Cubs have a minor league prospect named Rock Shoulders. That’s right. He’s now a member of the All-Name Team without rising to the major league roster. Shoulders enters Friday’s play with a dominant .365 batting average (31-for-85) with 13 extra-base hits (five home runs) and 17 RBI. He’s struck out 23 times in 85 […]
Harmon’s “ITSD” Podcast 5.2: Funeral, Sanchez, Money & Tattoos
Harmon returns to the microphone, free and clear to roam the worlds of sports, entertainment and pop culture. In this episode, Harmon slams the Knicks’ funeral plans and talks about the big topics affecting the NBA Playoffs. Mark Jackson, anyone? The Thunder employed the intentional foul strategy against the Rockets … and failed miserably. Harmon […]
Painting The Corner: Harmon’s Baseball Blog With Fantasy Notes & More 5.2
Let’s kick things off with a great accessory for grilling season. That’s right. It’s May, so even those still thawing out from mutant snowstorms will be firing up their grills in no time flat. What else needs to be said? You can
Painting The Corner: Harmon’s Hardball Notes 4.18
Brett Lawrie made his season debut for the Blue Jays on Tuesday against the White Sox. Lawrie’s gone hitless in seven at-bats with four strikeouts and one RBI. I only felt compelled to put a line on him here because he’s returned to third base. Those salivating about a potential move to second base will […]
Painting The Corner: Harmon’s Hardball Notes 4.11
Evan Gattis is making the most of his opportunity in Brian McCann’s absence. Gattis hit his third home run of the season in Atlanta’s 8-0 win over the Marlins. He enters Thursday’s action with three home runs, six RBI and a robust .391 batting average (9-for-23). Not to be outdone, John Buck of the Mets […]
Painting The Corner: Harmon’s Hardball Notes 4.8
I shan’t belabor the point. I wrote about this subject on the Dome early Sunday morning as it was announced and as Chicago reliever Carlos Marmol’s Wikipedia page was corrupted . Marmol was officially removed from the closer role in Chicago. He allowed earned runs in each of his first three appearances, including a two-home […]
Marmol Loses Closer Job: Wikipedia Vandals Take It To The Extreme
According to The Chicago Tribune , Carlos Marmol has lost his closer role to Kyuji Fujikawa following another terrible performance on Saturday. We’ve been watching this situation and sounded the alarm before the season started, so go check your waiver wire now. On Sunday morning, CBSSports.com noted that vandals had taken to Marmol’s Wikipedia page […]
Painting The Corner: Harmon’s Hardball Notes 4.3
Don’t you just love day baseball? As you ponder TPS Reports and reasons (some legit) to blow off a meeting, you can monitor the diamond and bemoan the early-season exploits of your lineup. Or, you can celebrate “Senior Prom” like the Rays. Let’s get into the notes from Wednesday’s action. I prefer the term “quick […]
FMC: Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs Starter
On Monday, baseball fans celebrated the rebirth of their beloved sport. Our own Jay Mohr painted a perfect picture of our relationship with the game on “Jay Mohr Sports” live from Dodger Stadium. If James Earl Jones narrates it, Mohr’s passionate ode to baseball could be added to Jones’ soliloquy from “Field of Dreams.” And, […]
Do You Believe The Hype? Rizzo Arrived in Chicago
Since the beginning of the MLB season, fans of the Chicago Cubs and fantasy owners have been anxiously awaiting the press release that Rizzo was headed to Wrigley Field. There had been false starts over the course of the season where minor injuries prompted Rizzo to leave games. Each of those departures prompted wild speculation […]
Convenience Fees Help to Lighten Your Wallet
I always get into heated arguments about the pricing of tickets to sports events. Generally, I find it hard to get too fired up about the annual surveys that tell you whether it costs an arm, leg or kidney to get into a sporting event. That doesn’t sit well with many of my colleagues and […]
Ryan Madson Still Out with Sore Elbow
The Reds signed longtime Philadelphia reliever Ryan Madson to be their closer at a price tag of $8.5 million. He was slated to make his first appearance of the spring on Thursday, but experienced a setback following Tuesday’s simulated game. According to John Fay of Cincinnati.com, the Reds are being tight-lipped about Madson’s status. Fay […]
Carlos Zambrano Place on DQ’d List: Final Straw?
By now, you’ve heard the tale … or you saw the stat line and threw up a little. Zambrano surrendered five home runs in a dismal start and then tossed inside twice on Chipper Jones, hit him and got run. He cleared out his locker and talked retirement, prompting the Cubs to place the mercurial […]
Jim Riggleman: Walking the Earth Like Caine in Kung Fu
Respect. You know the song. The image of Aretha Franklin belting out her classic hit likely filled your brain. Everybody wants respect … to feel that their contribution will be appreciated, supported and, as appropriate, rewarded. Everyone wants respect. Not everyone has the ability to make a brief statement and walk away from their job. […]
Inside The Swollen Dome, Episode 2
Harmon returns with another batch of musings from Inside The Swollen Dome. Included in this episode: – NBA Finals, Game 4 – Watching the Gates — Where are the MLB fans? – USC Stripped of their title. Is Ohio State next? – Von Miller’s tattoos – “The Informant” DVD review – Fantasy Man-Crush of the […]
Inside The Swollen Dome: The Return
Harmon relaunches “Inside The Swollen Dome.” In his first extended ranting session, he rambles on about the NBA Finals (and the LeBron sub-plot), NHL Final, myriad baseball topics (Carlos Zambrano) and the glorious entertainment world. Inside The Swollen Dome, Episode 1