David Wright's Matching Helmet & Bat

ALL SIGNS POINT TO A SERIOUS POWER FAILURE OVERHAUL when the team's best player opts for an extra-padded, extra-large batting helmet and the outfield wall is chopped down in half. It's hard to say whether New York Mets' third baseman David Wright's power numbers were hurt due to shattered confidence after getting beaned or the 16 foot high wall in center field at Citi Field. So rather than guess, Wright and the Mets took measures to overcome both possible hindrances. Personally, I think his power drop had more to do with the team finishing 23 games behind the Phillies than anything else.

Tim Lincecum's Bullet-Proof Arbitration Vest

IT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED EVENTS this offseason, Tim Lincecum's arbitration case, that is. $8 million or $13 million? It probably would be more exciting if the Lincecum party asked for, say oh, $18 million. I mean, not since Roger Clemens have we had a 2-time, back-to-back Cy Young Award winner go to arbitration. It's silly to even think about reasons why Lincecum should not deserve to win, and that's exactly what the Giants have to do. The back-to-back Cy Young Awards are like a bullet-proof vest that ought to deflect any criticism. The Giants are in a tough spot. They don't necessarily want to give Lincecum a deal yet like the one Justin Verlander got if they can go cheaper by going the arbitration route. But I can't imagine either party wanting to go to arbitration for the next two years as well. Lincecum will get his $13 million, but the Giants should really begin considering a long-term package for their franchise of a player.

McGwire's Steroid Admission & the Heavier Load

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK and anger towards Mark McGwire since his admission to using steroids during the bulk of his career, and much of that anger is justified. There's nothing like rooting so hard for a guy only to find out that he was a fraud. Baseball fans have been left with feelings of anger, sadness, disappointment, betrayal and other negative feelings juxtaposed against these incredible memories of greatness from 1998. It's impossible to reconcile the two types of feelings. One thing is sure, McGwire's admission only puts additional pressure on guys like Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens to come forward and admit their wrongdoing.

2010 BP Caps

MLB recently announced their new authentic batting practice caps for 2010. These are slightly different from the previous years cap that featured the small side panel arch. I thought I'd post some of the interesting ones here for discussion:

The Rangers cap is probably the cap that takes full advantage of the new style, the white piping and the red side panels on the bill.

 

The Rays cap made me hesitate. MLB teams have routinely shied away from pastel colors as being less-aggressive, so this one definitely stands out. I'm not as fond of it, but it's a bold move, and at least it'll keep heads a tad cooler in that Florida summer sun.

The Tigers road cap is my personal favorite. The orange against navy has always worked so well for Detroit, and this is just another example of that. An orange bill with navy side panels would have been primo.

The Braves cap is also a nice cap, but doesn't fully commit to fully extending the white piping down the bill. Still, it's a nice classic look.

As classic as this Indians cap looks, it doesn't at all utilize the style of the cap, so the piping appears awkward. A missed opportunity.

 

The A's cap is not all that different from the Tigers road cap, but my pet-peeve with it is the logo. The double outline on the logo is a no-no in my opinion. All it does is make the logo look fuzzy. Terrible.

Andre Dawson, Hall of Famer '10

Farewell #51

Vintage LIFE Baseball Photos: Donn Clendenon

RECENTLY I CAME ACROSS some vintage LIFE baseball photos on Google Images, including this outstanding image of former New York Mets Donn Clendenon. Having been born after the '69 Mets made history, looking at a photo like this is the closest I'll ever get to experiencing baseball before my day--the wool, the felt letters, the high sleeves, the tiny wristband, the thin cap. But it's quite obvious that the photo needed a bit of optimizing in order to make viewers feel as if they're standing right there next to Mr. Clendenon. So I decided to optimize the photo using three adjustment steps in Photoshop that I typically use with vintage photos in order to get more accurate colors. These steps aren't necessarily all that I would use to optimize a photo professionally, but they help give me a quick look at a photo's restoration potential. This is not a tutorial, but rather a quick step thru of the process leading to the final result.

STEP 1: Adjusting light levels

STEP 2: Adjusting Color Balance

STEP 3: Adjusting Saturation

After

Before

(NOTE: It is not my intent to use these photos without permission, but rather through what I consider to be "fair use", I'm posting these photos for those who share an appreciation of vintage baseball photography. For this reason, I have posted smaller, low-resolution photos than the originals.)