Passed Ball Show

7-20-2019 Passed Ball Show- John starts out the program by calling out umpire Brennan Miller. Not in the way he usually does, but giving him respect for the way he conducted himself during the Yankees/ Rays game the other day. Miller did not antagonize the Yankees and gave manager Aaron Boone way more time to vent before he ejected him. Miller was a true professional and other umpires both young and experienced, should take notice. The series of reporters that cover the New York Mets have become a clown show. They seem like they would rather be doing something else. John sites some examples. Maybe local media outlets should open up opportunities for those that want to cover the team in a non- passive aggressive way. John then talks about the famous October 2, 1980 Heavyweight Championship bout between two of the greatest champions of all time- Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali. Should the fight have even taken place? Finally, a couple words of this week's British Open and a little on the fact that so many past champions missed the cut.

7-13-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens up this show by teasing the significance of what is a better accomplishment, a lot of individual championships or a lot of team championships? It was a surreal night in Los Angeles as the Angels honored their fallen teammate Tyler Skaggs in the teams' first home game since his tragic passing. The Angels scored seven runs in the first inning, Mike Trout hit a home run in his first at bat, and Taylor Cole and Felix Pena combined to throw a no hitter as the Angels defeated the Seattle Mariners 13-0. The divine intervention was eerily similar to that of the 2016 Miami Marlins during their honor of Jose Fernandez. John talks about God's presence that would even convince some of the nay-sayers. As Serena Williams attempts to win her 24th Grand Slam title and Roger Federer goes for his 21st, John talks about its significance when it comes to the world of sports. Are these more impressive than World Series, NFL Championships/ Super Bowls, NBA Championships, Stanley Cups? The NFL has a new proposal for an 18 game season. Those it will likely never happen, John talks about some things that might make sense about it. Finally, John sends his thoughts and prayers to Dwight Gooden as he battles his serious addiction.

7-6-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens up the program by suggesting a trade the New York Mets make for a relief pitcher immediately to send the right message to the players on the team. Super Teams in the NBA are expected and not a surprise when they are formed by the choice of the players teaming up. When is the expectation of winning going to come with it? Are the teaming players going to be held accountable when they do not deliver the expected championship? John then grieves over the passing of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs and wonders aloud whether there is a curse over the franchise that has had more in season active player deaths than any other in professional sports. Legendary Grambling State College coach Eddie Robinson gets nowhere near the amount of respect he deserves for all he did. For those that do not put him at the level of Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno, he did not have the same opportunities to coach a Division I school because he was a black coach in the south. He did more than anybody else could do with all the opportunities he had. Best of luck to the USA women in the World Cup Finals. It is silly though (in all of world soccer) that championship tournament games are decided by shoot outs, an embarrassment to decide a game with a gimmick! John hypes up the documentary about Ron Artest and summarizes the HBO special. Finally, a cheating 70 year old who won a marathon is dead, could it have been a mob hit?

6-26-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens up this edition of the PBS by talking about winning baseball teams in 2019. He then brings up the media's part in what makes communication difficult in today's MLB. It starts with the over abundance of press conferences and questions a manager has to take. Throw in the fact they are blamed for all the incorrect decisions the front offices and analytics staff make for them and it is understandable why some may crack. How long can a manager take the blame and criticism for things they did not do? And of course, they cannot say that either as that would put them at risk for losing their job. John then talks about the NJ Devils trade for PK Subban and how it ranks within the most exciting trades his favorite teams have made. He also asks the audience if they ever rooted for a player on a team other than their favorite and got to celebrate their favorite team acquiring them. John then spends some time talking about Joe Theismann and his comments regarding the time Dwayne Haskins will make his NFL debut. John also talks about how difficult it is for a rookie QB to get the support from the incumbent. And he finishes off by talking about a bizarre play at the end of the Lakewood Blue Claws game on Friday.

6-12-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens up this edition by recapping his reasons of why MLB managers have limited to no power and therefore, should have limited to not as much accountability. John then talks about MLB pitching matchups and how they are overrated in this generation as opposed to past ones. John then talks about the Kawai Leonard/ DeMar DeRozan trade and whether it was better that the Toronto Raptors got Leonard than they got rid of DeRozan and sites examples of Tiki Barber, George Foster and Nomar Garciaparra as why sometimes getting rid of a star player can lead a team to prominence. John also sites Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Verlander as examples of stars that were the reason a team made it to a championship setting. John then talks about Chris Blewitt and other examples of players who had ironic names such as Andy Friese and Grant Balfour. Other names have sexual innuendos and yet others are people exercising their rites to legally change their names.

6-5-2019 Passed Ball Show- John unexpectedly loses it when it comes to the blame MLB managers are given in the year 2019. John is fed up of the lack of baseball intellect that leads fans to think the manager makes any decisions in a baseball game. If fans are so smart that they can use different stats to make themselves sound superior, how come they do not understand MLB managers do not make any decisions on their own anymore? John then talks about the media's role in comments made by DeMar DeRozan and comments made/ not made by Clint Frazier. As much of a distraction as the media's battle with Frazier may be, it will not have the impact of Gregg Jefferies on the late 1980's Mets teams. John finishes off talking about why NHL players are stronger both mentally and physically than any other in sports and why it is okay to bunt the ball against a shift- even if a no hitter is on the line.

4-20-2019 Passed Ball Show- John keeps this show brief, but lets out some frustration on the fact that MLB umpires, mainly Joe West, are not held accountable for their reckless actions. In baseball, players, coaches, and even fans are held accountable for their actions, but baseball has enabled Joe West and those like him to pretty much do what they want. John then goes off on the fact that the Miami Marlins think they are better off now that they have fired their hitting coach. Trading away a lineup that included the likes of Stanton, Yelich, Ozuna, Gordon, and Realmuto has nothing to do with the fact that the team cannot hit? A couple 4-20 shout outs and a brief mention of the fact that marijuana possession in the United States of America is not handled the same universally. Finally, forget about Jacob deGrom's contract, if he is done, so are the 2019 Mets.

4-18-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens up the show talking about bat flips and pitchers retaliating. Too much stock is put into a pitcher or team being insulted by a bat flip. That being said, the pitcher has the control over how he handles said insult. If he throws below the belt and behind the batter, there should be no issue. John was bothered by the dust up between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals- two teams going NOWHERE this season! What was it? Amateur hour? The die hard NFL fans have make too big of a deal of the NFL releasing its schedule- the opponents were already announced. The 100th anniversary opener between the Packers and Bears was a nice tough, hopefully the NFL will embrace its history a little better than it has. Jackie Robinson's impact on Major League Baseball will never be forgotten. Branch Rickey deserves credit, but it needs to be mentioned how there were competitive advantage and monetary motivations for Rickey signing a (or many) black players. Finally, after the legendary Howard Cosell, Al Michaels, and Bob Costas, who should fill out the Mount Rushmore of Sports Broadcasting? John talks about some fits.

4-11-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens the show by suggesting a documentary for the Virginia college basketball team that just won the National Championship. In addition to the improbable wins in their last three games, there is the backdrop of being the first number one seed to lose to a 16th seed in the history of the NCAA tournament as well as the Ralph Sampson team of 1982-83. John talks about some long shots as it comes to this week's Masters including Tiger Woods, Ian Woosnam, and Larry Mize. John then talks about the NHL lottery and a little about the NHL playoffs. Magic Johnson needs to admit his time as an executive with the Los Angeles Lakers was a complete failure even if he does not care about the way he embarrassed himself by the way he quit. Can anybody compete with the Golden State Warriors for this year's NBA Championship? John then talks about the top five (or ten) MLB position players right now. Finally, a birthday shout out to his daughter Alexis Pielli and a couple things that happened in baseball history on April 11, 2006.

4-3-2019 Passed Ball Show- John opens up the show by talking about the over-reaction that takes place at the beginning of every baseball season. In baseball, a little over ten games equates to a single NFL game or ten games is about the same equivalent to one sixteenth of a MLB season. It takes a while before teams (and fans) should start either panicking or gaining some unforeseen faith in a team that was not expected to be a contender. John takes a phone call (Kevin from Millstone) where the topic of Ron Darling's book and his comments regarding Lenny Dykstra and game three of the 1986 World Series are brought up. John states it is simply Ron's word against Lenny's , but it is something Darling had brought up previously in his first book. There is a chance that Darling may end up alienating more people than Dykstra, mainly because of the matter of "what happens among the players, stays among the players" code of conduct. John then reminds fans and the media that a MLB manager has absolutely no power and very little influence in a given game. This applies mainly to pitching changes, players getting rest, and relievers being available for said game. These decisions are not made by the manager, but many make it as though it is. Finally, there are eleven MLB teams that have never had a black manager and it is 2019, maybe it is time to bring this topic up again- it certainly does not have the same urgency that every team having a black player did in the 1950's.