Comments on: Mike Timlin

By: canadiansagainsthockey

canadiansagainsthockey — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:21:21 +0000

10. Ran into this today, Dennis Eckersley’s favorite Ricky H. story: Rickey! Oh, man. One time we were playing in Baltimore, at the old stadium there, way before Camden Yards. Rickey used to call everyone by one letter. Half the time I was “Hey D!” but sometimes I’m “Hey E!” and a couple of times in there, I was “Hey B!” Some guys on the team were saying, “Does he even know everyone’s name?” In Baltimore, the one thing about Memorial Stadium was: they always seemed to play better music than all the other stadiums. So Rickey’s out there with the bat on his shoulder, and Aretha Franklin comes on: “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” Rickey’s trying to sing along to it, but he keeps messing up the letters. I’m pretty sure he was saying “R-E-D-B-P-S-T-C” or something. Everyone’s laughing, guys are saying “Can he even spell it?” Rickey used letters for everything. Now, I want to be careful to say, I’m not saying he’s stupid. Rickey’s a smart guy. But the Aretha Franklin story was classic.

By: Ian Capilouto

Ian Capilouto — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:18:22 +0000

9. 1 2 6 I loved that when no one in the big leagues would sign Rickey Henderson, he went ahead and played in the Golden State Independent League. This wasn't some has been trying to claw back into having one more shot in the bigs, this was a first ballot hall of famer playing with a bunch of guys similar to me. Henderson was already one of my favorite players of all time, but that put him over the top for me. In some odd way, I miss Jose Canseco too. I was in wonderment of his theatrics, which were always backed up by mammoth sized home runs. It was sad for me when he went form being a WWF wrestling style heal, to an actual real life loser. I think that is when I crossed the Jesse Orosco line.

By: Joe Romano

Joe Romano — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:32:31 +0000

8. In the NHL I like that there is at least 1 guy still playing who is older than me. Chris Chelios.

By: sansho1

sansho1 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:18:28 +0000

7. ”This is another of many reasons why I love Tim Wakefield. He, like Moyer and maybe a couple others, are the only guys left who are older than me.”

I was thinking the same thing. Reminds me of when I was a kid and a Phil Niekro fan, in part because he was older than my dad, which meant it wasn’t too late for my dad to learn the knuckler and get into a game.

There were only three AL players older than me in 2008 — it’s possible tonight was the swan song for two of them, Wakefield and Timlin. Kenny Rogers is the other, and he looks done, too.

By: canadiansagainsthockey

canadiansagainsthockey — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:38:04 +0000

6. I've got my fingers crossed for the return of the Ricky as well. My dad and I spent ALOT of time at A's games during that era and we happen to be there for the big day when he broke the record. The enormity of records like that are often lost on younger kids but getting picked up by my dad so I could see over the heads of the screaming fans as Ricky pulled the bag out of the ground and saluted the crowd - that wasn't lost on me. Lots of people took issue with his "I'm the greatest of all time" line but to my ten-year old self, nothing could have been closer to the truth. I wore "Ricky" glasses (the old reflective Vs) for weeks after that game, much to my mother's chagrin.

By: Ennui Willie Keeler

Ennui Willie Keeler — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:58:13 +0000

5. Yeah, I think some folks think that contract isn't really copascietic because it, in effect, subjects him to the reserve clause.

By: Monkey Head

Monkey Head — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:44:26 +0000

4. 1 I never knew that about Wakefield's recurring option. According to Cot's, the Red Sox can keep him for $4 million a year as long as they want him.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:34:55 +0000

3. FYI: A cool reminiscence has been posted recently in the comments for the 1976 Skip Jutze card (Astros).

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:33:24 +0000

2. 1 : " I also have to admit that I love the Wakefields and Moyers of the world because they are among the forever-shrinking group of active players who were in the big leagues . . . the year I began collecting cards and following baseball..." You're crossing the "Jesse Orosco" gap. It's a tough one watching all the guys you grew up with gradually disappear. That's why, like you, I love the guys who somehow keep hanging on. (Orosco being the last from my childhood to still be out there toiling, though there's always the slight hope that Rickey Henderson will make his way back to the bigs.) The next gap for you will be the one I'm going through now, when you slowly become older than almost everyone in the game. This is another of many reasons why I love Tim Wakefield. He, like Moyer and maybe a couple others, are the only guys left who are older than me. Once that gap is crossed I guess the next one would have to do with obituaries.

By: Brotz13

Brotz13 — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:41:53 +0000

1. Since my last comment was tinged with Sawx-hating, I feel the need to be magnanimous and admit that I'm a Tim Wakefield fan. I love the old guys that try to play forever (with certain Clemensian exceptions). It's like they're defying time itself. Baseball is so often obsessed with its own history, and guys like Wake and Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux are living history. I believe Wakefield signed a one-year contract several years ago with a perpetual option, so that he theoretically always has a shot at coming back for one more year. I also have to admit that I love the Wakefields and Moyers of the world because they are among the forever-shrinking group of active players who were in the big leagues in 1993, the year I began collecting cards and following baseball as a middle-schooler. Every time a Mike Piazza or Frank Thomas hangs up his spikes, I am forced to confront my own mortality. I hope that Tim Wakefield is throwing that knuckler until he's sixty.