lovely article on vinny's legacy

"vin scully has already left a legacy as he begins farewell season with dodgers," by tim brown

getting tossed, aussie style

'welcome to parenting in 2015' (and baseball)

hat tip: howard

collect all the phones? -- what will they do -- what will WE do

'a tale of two boys,' by vin scully

'one of these days,...pow! -- to the moon!'

i'm listening to my favorite broadcast team -- bob brenly and steve berthiaume, of the arizona diamondbacks

brenly does this thing, each game -- 'on this date'

today, he had a little...connect-the-dots

on this day, in 1969, neil armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon -- 'one small step for man,' chimed in berthiaume

five years before, continued brenly, alvin dark was the manager of the san francisco giants

dark said they'll put a man on the moon before gaylord perry will hit a home run

guess what happened, moments after armstrong stepped on the moon

can't go without noting the cleveland...and...ohio...connection -- the three principals -- and the storyteller

addendums: from marc: the story is called 'dark side of the moon'; from nancy: the mets won the world series in '69

indeed, a year of miracles

'in a year that has been sooo improbable,...the impossible has happened'

nobody like vinnie -- in a class by himself

i was directed to this video, in an e-mail list, in which the quiz question was...how many seconds does vinnie stay quiet, after gibbie's homer

and look at all those old-timers -- and former indians, too -- davey,...in his usual spot -- hassey, behind the plate -- i didn't know that -- and joe garagiola keeps putting his name, first -- scioscia,...in the dugout, next to orel -- another manager-to-be,...in the oakland dugout -- don baylor -- i think that's steve henderson, in the home-plate celebration -- and, for sure, that's bill buckner, there, too

and, oh my god -- i forgot eck

vin, at the reagan foundation

vinny, on the history of 'home plate': 'kind of interesting'

vinnie, on a brawl

vinnie's...classy blow-by-blow, of the zack greinke-carlos quentin brawl

everybody loves vinny

feel the love

and one year before -- lovely touch, his first pitch

friday the 13th, by vin scully

vinnie's indians stories

from tonight's broadcast -- actually,...just from the first three innings

vin scully went over the various names the cleveland baseball team has been called -- spiders, blues, forest cities, then, finally, in 1901, they were a charter member of the new american league, and they were called the indians, and they've been called that, ever since

hey, wait a minute, i said -- what about the naps

then he added, there was another name -- it was a sarcastic name -- there was a great second baseman, named napoleon lajoie -- he was player-manager for the team -- well, people started calling 'em the naps, because they 'folded' -- like a napkin

the next inning, he continued -- speaking of that sarcastic name, one of my favorite lines is from frank robinson, who said that a pennant-fever in cleveland usually turns out to be a forty-eight-hour virus

the season after the indians won their last championship, they were eliminated -- bill veeck wasn't going to take that, lying down -- so he organized a funeral ceremony -- they played the funeral dirge -- he called out all the players, coaches, fans -- they went out to the flag-pole and brought down the championship flag -- they folded it, put it into a casket -- pine, i think -- they brought out a hearse -- put the casket in the hearse -- veeck rode atop the hearse, like he was leading a funeral procession,...with everybody following the hearse -- they went out to center-field -- it was a big center-field -- maybe this was beyond the fence -- and they buried the flag

then there's one of my favorite indians stories -- the best baseball player i've ever seen...played with the indians -- his name was jackie price -- he only played in seven games

i saw him in 1946 -- in yankee stadium -- i think it was bob feller against...i forgot the name of the yankees pitcher -- a pretty famous one

jackie price would stand on his head and play catch

then they brought out this rig -- and jackie price was hung, upside down, from the rig -- his head was three feet above home plate -- they gave him a bat -- and then they threw pitches to him -- he hit ropes, all over the place

he went out to the mound -- he had two balls, and he threw them both -- one pitch was a fastball; the other, a curve

then they brought out a jeep -- jackie price drove the jeep in the outfield -- a guy working with him...hit balls from home plate -- jackie patrolled the outfield, in the jeep -- he would drive around, and catch the ball -- with one hand on the steering wheel, driving the jeep, and, with the other hand, he caught the ball

i'm not making this up -- i swear to you

he continued, the next inning -- one more thing about jackie price, and then i'll shut up

jackie price never wore a belt -- instead, he wore a snake

one time on the train with the indians, he let the snake loose -- they asked who did it -- price said, boudreau

too bad i couldn't hear vinnie, when the indians pulled off a...7-2-4 triple-play in the fourth -- with two replay challenges -- maybe, after the cleveland broadcast

windups, vinnie, gibbie & gaylord

on today's broadcast, vin scully was talking about pitchers' windups -- how, when you compare the pitchers today, with pitchers from, say, the 1950s, you see how the windup...has almost disappeared -- you look at the way greinke pitches, the way joe kelly pitches -- almost no windup -- while...in the days of...i think he said...don drysdale, don newcombe, they almost looked like they were gonna fly away, they wound up so much

then he talked about bob gibson's numbers...in that amazing 1968 season, when the mound was...almost pointed -- 1.12 e.r.a., 13 shutouts, 304 innings, 28 complete games

well, you might say, that was when the mound was higher two years later, though -- even after the mound was lowered again, and his team finished under .500,...he finished that year, 23 and 7

well, vinnie was broadcasting a game, and gibson was in the booth with him -- it was a league-championship game -- gaylord perry was pitching, and chris speier came to the mound -- scully asked gibson, what would a rookie shortstop have to say to a veteran like gaylord perry -- gibson answered, absolutely nothing

then vinnie asked gibson,...and what if, when you were pitching, a rookie shortstop came to you -- what would you say to him

gibson: i wouldn't allow it

here's the story i always remember...about bob gibson -- gibson said, i own the outside part of the plate -- that's mine -- i'd knock down my own grandmother,...if she's leaning over the plate too much

vin scully's reflections on his life & career

another nice interview, with vin scully, from last summer -- the transcript on hugh hewitt's web-site...is truncated

radio blogger has the transcript for the whole interview

the great vin scully

mlb.com's barry bloom sits down with vin scully -- look at the tributes...from fans -- such a love affair -- such a legend -- such a classy man -- such a beautiful voice...and gentle spirit

what a coincidence -- one of the three videos...accompanying the article, is the one i transcribed, one month ago -- of scully, recounting...d-day

vin scully's latest: d-day and...

another gem -- well, i've got two -- from..."the man i love"

during last night's game, vin scully gave us a little history lesson -- actually, a big history lesson -- and a wonderful baseball story

as the top of the second began, scully...narrated

the braves hit a lot of home runs -- they're leading the national league with 81 [on the screen, a list of the top three home-run-hitting teams in the league -- below that, the dodgers, with 44 (ranking 13th)]

they also strike out a lot -- they have struck out, five-hundred and thirty-six times -- and that counts the two, tonight

they're one ahead of the rockies, and...18 ahead of the cubs -- dodgers are not really gonna get a call, if they were offering

so for freddy gonzalez [on screen], he has to exercise some patience -- they strike out a lot, they hit a lot of home runs -- and they're seven-and-a-half games in front

second inning -- brian mccann, who just picked up his one-thousandth career hit, recently

the catcher...takes a strike -- and the count, 0-and-1

all-star, six of the last seven years -- hitting 269

of course it was a matter of course to write his name in -- until buster posey arrived on the scene

so now it's posey and mccann 

brian -- solid ballplayer

hitting 314...against right-hand pitching 

takes, inside -- under the hands -- 1-and-1

are there youngsters near the television set, or the radio -- youngsters who might not know what this day is all about

the 1-1 slow curve is low -- ball two -- 2-and-1 

today is june the 6th -- but for those of us who lived through it, today is june the 6th, 1944 -- d-day

the 2-1 pitch, on the way -- swung on and missed -- 2-and-2

first of all, you have to understand about d-day [on the screen, the flag, beyond the center-field fence] -- the 'd' doesn't stand for anything -- the 'd' is derived from the word 'day,' and it really just means the day in which a military operation begins -- it's been used a lot, but, nowadays, it's only for the invasion

[crack of the bat...on ball] a drive into right -- quig comes over -- reaches up and backhands it, for the out

so mccann hits it hard, and lines out to yasiel puig -- that puts a big grin on the face of both ethier and puig -- [replay] mccann hit it hard, and yasiel just moved in, and picked it off

one away -- and the batter...is dan uggla

dan uggla is struggling -- hitting just 179

and he rolls one, up along third -- no balls and one strike

let's get back to d-day, a little bit -- the invasion of normandy -- operation overlord

but,...more importantly, really, you have to realize what happened, in the two months before...june sixth -- i mean, after all, the germans were well embedded, in the normandy coast [close-up of flag, on pole] -- embedded they were -- so they had to be softened up

the strike-one pitch is high -- 1-and-1

so, in april and may of 1944, the allied air forces lost... -- are you ready -- twelve-thousand men -- in the two months before the invasion

the pitch is swung on and missed -- and the count, 1-and-2

they also lost over two-thousand aircraft -- so they paid a tremendous price, just to get ready...for june sixth

one ball and two strikes -- greinke deals -- that's a little low -- two-and-two, the count

and then, finally, the night before -- june fifth -- a lot of parachutists -- paratroopers -- were dropped behind the enemy lines -- again, all a part...of setting up the invasion

2-2 pitch -- strike-three call

so, uggla...strikes out -- third strikeout for greinke -- two outs, second inning -- no score -- and the batter will be...ramiro pena, who's done very well, at third base

ramiro pena,...hitting 333, in the last two weeks -- at short -- he's also played second and third

hitting 375, with three home runs,...against right-hand pitching -- and, overall, batting 321 

greinke, into the windup, and delivers -- and the first pitch, in, for a strike 

there were five beaches...in normandy -- five -- the united states had two beaches to cover -- utah...and omaha -- the allies -- the british, canadians,... -- had gold, juno and sword

here's one, hit over the head of gonzalez, down the right-field line -- so, pena, on his horse, heading for second -- and he is in there, with a slicing double

so the switch-hitter hits a flare into right -- down the line -- and, with a two-out double, the batter will be b.j. upton

puig, making a strong throw, but had no chance

so pena continues...his solid hitting -- and here is...the other brother -- b.j. -- hitting only 153 -- i mean, here's a fellow who hit 300 for the rays -- but that was six years ago -- he had 28 home runs, last year, and he hit 246

right-hand batter -- and takes, low -- ball one -- 1-and-0

now b.j.'s given name is melvin emmanuel -- but do you know what 'b.j.' stands for -- 'bossman junior' -- the boss man [laughs], that's his father, manny's, longtime nickname -- bossman junior -- the 1-0 pitch, on the way -- off the plate -- ball two

b.j. -- a couple years older than justin

the father, manny, was a football and a baseball star at norfolk state 

two balls and no strikes, the count

greinke, out of the stretch -- looks at second -- back -- and misses low

so, fallen behind, 3-0, to upton 

tim hudson, on deck [on screen, hudson, swinging, in the on-deck circle]

hudson, so far this year, has six hits -- one home run -- and three runs batted in

tim federowicz goin' out to talk to greinke 

so it was d-day -- and early that morning, the u.s. troops arrived -- on utah and omaha -- turned out, that...omaha was a bloodbath -- compared to utah -- and the invasion was underway

3-0 pitch, in for a strike -- and the count, 3-and-1 

on that day, d-day, they have verified twenty-five-hundred...american fatalities -- a total of...four-thousand, four-hundred and fourteen dead...on the beaches -- about a thousand canadians and british, on gold -- and the same number at sword

3-1 pitch, on the way -- and that's taken for a strike -- 3-and-2 

the total german casualties on d-day, somewhere, as high as, maybe, nine thousand 

so, when you see the flag, when you see the calendar, when you hear the day...june the sixth -- especially for the youngsters...listening and watching -- don't ever forget it 

3-2 pitch...is high -- ball four

so b.j. draws the walk -- the braves have runners at first and second, with two out -- and tim hudson, comin' up

hudson, hitting a very solid 273

strikes out,...less than a third of the time 

any pitcher, who strikes out, less than half,...certainly is considered a problem 

so, two on, two outs -- second inning -- no score 

greinke, ready, and delivers -- for a strike -- and the count, 0-and-1 

when it is all said and done -- and june the sixth was the beginning...of the battle of normandy -- over four-hundred and twenty-five thousand...allied and german troops were killed -- four-hundred and twenty-five thousand

strike-one pitch...is down and away -- one ball and one strike

so it's not as if i know all these things -- i looked them up -- only because i want...the kids, especially, to never forget this day -- i think it's an obligation 

1-and-1, the count to hudson -- pena and upton...out on the lines

the next pitch -- in the dirt -- and a swing and a miss, by hudson -- 1-and-2, the count to tim 

the atlanta braves -- they've won five straight -- 15 outta 19 -- and the other note -- and freddy gonzalez knows about it, by heart [gonzalez, on the screen] -- if the braves...score first,...they are...25-and-3 -- 25-an'-3 [with a chuckle in his voice] 

hudson waiting -- greinke trying to get out of the trouble

the 1-2 pitch -- off-speed -- nubbed, in front of the plate -- federowicz throws to gonzalez, and that's it 

no runs, a hit, a walk, and two left -- and, at the end of an inning and a half,...no score

the baseball story (not a direct quote):

today is don sutton bobblehead day

[sutton threw out the ceremonial first pitch (before the game), to old battery-mate steve yeager]

doug harvey was a marvelous umpire -- he always told this story about don sutton -- i can't vouch for its...what's the word -- veracity -- but...he always told this story...about don

don was a great pitcher -- all-time leader for the dodgers in innings pitched, wins, shutouts -- he's in the hall of fame -- but he was always...suspected of doctoring the baseball

nothing was ever proven, but...there was always this suspicion -- that maybe he was using sandpaper

well, don was pitching, one day, and, that game, doug harvey was behind the plate

doug calls time out, and he goes out to the mound

"let me see your glove, don"

sutton hands him the glove

doug searches the glove, and he finds a piece of paper there

on the paper it says: you're warm, but it's not here