Jaybird's Jottings

Wordplay

The first known published crossword puzzle was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne from Liverpool, and he is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game. December 21, 1913 was the date and it appeared in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World. - National Crossword Tournament.

Can’t say I’m big on crossword puzzles (I like Word Scramble) but my wife enjoys them and I like the rewards of helping her when I can. So we jumped at the chance to see Wordplay on Saturday. It’s an excellent docu-flick that centers on Will Shortz, The New York Times crossword puzzle editor and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (Spoiler alert: Their link contains the winner of the tournament).

We enjoy going to the lower budget movies but lately some of them have not been quite tasty enough. This one seemed like it would be the same but we really liked it. The movie includes looks at some of the expert players and cameos by puzzle lovers such as Jon Stewart, Mike Mussina and Daniel Okrent.

The tournament is held every winter in Stamford, Connecticut. When I saw the name-tagged participants filing into the hotel ballroom and felt their sense of community and joy of knowledge, I couldn’t help but think of the SABR convention. I thought to myself how great it would be if someone could do a really good expose on some of the people who go and the events that are held.

Speaking of the SABR convention, it starts this week in Seattle. Like the puzzle tournament in Wordplay, one very smart and fast player will emerge as the winner of its trivia contest and things learned, fellowship and love of the game will be shared.

Congrats to the Canes

Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes. Their Stanley Cup win over the Edmonton Oilers last night gives my native state its first major league sports trophy. Watching some of the action brought back my hockey memories.

As kids, we loved playing sports. Our first foray into the game of sticks and slap shots was broom hockey. The next door Miller boys and I used their back yard for the field. We took their picnic table, turned it on its side and used the underside as the goal. Unlike basketball, football and baseball, however, this game never caught on with the neighborhood boys. It was mostly just the three of us. A lot of fun scoring goals and blocking them.

Around the same time, the mid to late 60s, they built a roller rink about a mile from our house in suburban Greensboro. I signed up for speed skating and competed for a year or so. (Shameless brag - In 1971, I won a trophy for third place, Junior Boys, at the 7 Hills Autumn Invitational in Lynchburg, VA). After one of our practice sessions, some of the more adventurous types played roller hockey. I was too young to play but watched some of the games.

The NHL came to North Carolina in 1997 when the Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh and became the Hurricanes. The team played at the Greensboro Coliseum the first two seasons while the new arena was being built. It was a tough role to fill but Greensboro provided the proximity, the Coliseum and a set of fans who got to see such greats as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr.

Greensboro also has a history of pro hockey that dates back to 1959 when the city joined the expanding Eastern Hockey League (AA). The Generals, playing in the Southern Division, had a fierce in-state rivalry with the Charlotte Checkers. Other opponents rode buses from places like Roanoke, VA, Knoxville, TN and Jacksonville FL.

My friends and I were lucky. Our teenage years when we went to the games coincided with the latter half of the Generals’ heyday in the late 60s and early 70s. Back in Greensboro’s first year, however, I’m sure league officials had their concerns about fan support. Icing? That was something we put on cake.

I loved going to the games. The Coliseum was a short drive away from our house. The game was fast paced and fun to watch. We usually sat in Sections 108/109/110, which were on the side behind the benches. One time we sat on one of the corners, about halfway up. There’s a danger in doing so. One of the players hit a slap shot. The ricocheted puck ended its flight on my knee. (Yea, ouch!) Someone tried to beat me to it but I grabbed the black disc for the souvenir.

Like any minor league outfit, fans in Greensboro saw a parade of players come through. Standouts include Don Carter who was inducted into the Generals Hall of Fame. One time I spoke briefly with Howie Heggedal. He was one of the league’s best players.

In 1973, the Eastern Hockey League split into the North American Hockey League and the Southern Hockey League. Greensboro played in the Southern League until the circuit’s early demise. Since then, fans in the Gate City (I joined the Air Force and moved away in 1978) have seen some great seasons, such as ‘89-‘90 when the brand new Monarchs hoisted the Jack Riley Cup as playoff champions.

Other times, no team at all.

With the Hurricanes great victory, they’re celebrating in Raleigh and The Triangle area. Fans in the heart of the Piedmont are raising their beer cups too.

Sources:

Hockey League History

Hockey Research

Society for International Hockey Research

Greensboro Hockey Museum

The Internet Hockey Database

WebCam for the Nationals’ New Park

In the summer of 1998, SABR held its annual convention in San Francisco. One of the highlights for this attendee was the bus trip to Pac Bell. I remember seeing mostly mounds of dirt and a sign marking where home plate would be.

Here in Washington, the Nationals’ new park is at that same early stage. I took a drive downtown last weekend to check it out. Lady luck smiled on me as I ran into Jacqui Dupree. At one of the best blogs I have even seen, she is documenting the development of the park and the redevelopment of “Near Southeast,” the area to the north and east.

Her latest news and link is a new webcam at the ballpark site. The view last night (click on the calendar and adjust for the time) was a magnificent preview of The Mallscape as it might be seen from certain parts of the park.

Some ballclubs euphemistically name different sections of their ballparks. For example, at RFK Stadium, the upper most seating is called Upper Level MVP. At the new park, that might be about right.

Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey

Do you remember the Red Sox/Expos pitcher Bill Lee? Or maybe I should say, do you remember "The Spaceman?"

Dude was a trip who took "character of the game" to a whole new level. Lee was a pretty good pitcher but his spotlight moment came when Tony Perez took him deep over the Green Monster in Game Seven of the 1975 World Series (I “hated” the Reds back then and really wanted the Sox to win).

There are a lot of layers to this onion with 119 wins. I learned about some of them last night in the premiere of Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey, a documentary about Lee’s baseball life.

My buddy Don and I saw it at the American Film Institute, located in D.C.’s wonderfully revitalized suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland. We thoroughly enjoyed this flick, loving the grainy old clips from the 70s, the love of the game themes and listening to Lee talk about his fun-filled life after he left the big leagues. Afterward, the sixty-years-old-but-not-looking-it rebel spoke to the audience and answered questions, all in his zany style.

There’s been an interesting theme I’ve been noticing the past several months. It’s the way certain figures are portrayed once time passes. We're made to look at their sins less critically. That's a theme for Lee too. The film talks frankly about his cocaine snorting days. Seen through the longer lens, the audience seemed to accept it as all a part of Lee as lover of life.

Walking off the stage at the evening's end, Lee said something about a brief try out with the Giants in 1983. He talks about it in his 2005 book, Have Glove Will Travel, Adventures of a Baseball Vagabond. The big leagues did him a favor, he said, by closing their doors to him.

This film does us a favor by telling us a story we sometimes don't want to see. Lee is not exactly role model material but he has some great qualities too. I left last night thinking that I would love to have a beer with him.

Just one though. I'd rather read his books than end up in them.

Best Giants Starting Pitcher?

Yes, let's forget about this "era" thing someone is really hung up on. The question was "who was the greatest GIANTS pitcher of all time". Any real GIANTS fan knows it is Christy Mathewson, our greatest pitcher of all time and probably the NL's greatest of all time! – Giants Message Board fan.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time ranting about this one. Polls are polls and fans tend to vote for those they've seen.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Jason Schmidt and Juan Marichal. But I just had to scratch my head when I saw the current results of a poll at the Giants official site. The question asks:

Who is the all-time best Giants starting pitcher?

Voting is still active. Last night 5,929 had voted. Just now, 6,265.

In first place, with a whopping lead is Marichal with 2899 and 46% of the votes. Followed by:

Schmidt 1751 (28%)

Mathewson 1020 (16%)

Perry 466 (7%)

Hubbell 129 (2%)

At the linked discussion, some good points are made. Matty does get some praise and the more I think about it, the more I realize it is almost futile to compare eras.

Anyway, you can guess where I'm going. It’s very disappointing for me to see Mathewson and Hubbell so low. Mathewson has 426 Win Shares, ranking 7th best with James at his Historical Abstract.

Here are the others.

Hubbell 13th
Perry 18th
Marichal 21st

Ok, I’m stepping off the pulpit. For the record, I voted for Mathewson. Not even close.

Schmidt Strikes Out 16

Mathewson Struck Out Sixteen

That was the headline in the New York Times on the morning of October 4, 1904. The great one established a record that no Giants hurler matched until last night. Our main man Jason Schmidt struck out 16 in the 2-1 win over the Marlins.

Two previous pursuits of the mark were by Gaylord Perry who struck out 15 in 1966 and Juan Marichal with 14 whiffs in 1965. Perry also had 14 in 1969 and in 1970.

Dodgers Headed to the Cactus League?

Back in March, there were reports that Glendale, Goodyear and Casa Grande were trying to lure two teams. From what I had read, the targeted ball clubs were the Indians, Reds and Orioles.

The Dodgers are now in the mix (This was in the news in early May but I missed it). The indications are that Los Angeles would pair up with the ChiSox in a new facility in Glendale (western suburb of Phoenix) that would be ready by March 2008.

The Giants and Dodgers have not trained in proximity to each other since 1951. That March the Giants shared Al Lang Field in St Petersburg with the Cardinals while the Dodgers played some games at Miami Stadium. They met for one series, a three-game set in Miami in mid-March that the Giants swept.

If the move from Dodgertown takes place, it will mark the end of one of the longest and most historical spring training camps in baseball history. It would be a tough and teary goodbye in Vero Beach but the Orange and Black playing Blue in the Valley of the Sun would add a new chapter to the storied rivalry.