Vinny Rottino hits 1st HR in Majors, NY Mets win, 9-0
The old saying is, “You never forget your first” anything. And in this case, after all the time, energy, and “sweat equity” Vinny Rottino’s put into making the major leagues — his persistence — I’m certain that Rottino will never forget May 26, 2012.
Why? Because this was the day that Rottino hit his first-ever major league home run as a member of the New York Mets. Rottino’s homer was part of a four-run first inning that helped stoke Mets starter Johann Santana to a lead he would never relinquish. Ultimately, the Mets won, 9-0, over the Padres; Rottino went 2 for 3 with a HR, two runs scored, a walk, and a strikeout.
Despite Santana’s nine-inning four-hit shutout, the day belonged to Rottino. This is because he’s a 32-year-old rookie who’s played parts of six major league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, and, of course, the Mets. Trying so hard for so long — playing ten seasons of professional baseball in the minor leagues — is noteworthy, as I’ve said many times.
Finally, others are noticing Rottino’s persistence and talent, too. As Ethan Asofsky of MLB.com put it:
Vinny Rottino got a lesson in supply and demand after the Mets’ 9-0 win over the Padres on Saturday.
After hitting his first Major League home run, having spent 10 seasons in the Minor Leagues, the Mets outfielder had to bargain with the fan that caught the ball to get it back. The fan received a signed bat and ball from Rottino in exchange for the most valuable commodity a 32-year-old rookie can have — his first home run ball.
You might be wondering what Rottino had to give the Mets’ fan in return; from Asofsky’s above-mentioned story, here’s what happened next:
“I was running out of bats, so I actually gave him a bat that I haven’t used in a while,” Rottino said. “It turns out it was a Florida Marlins bat. That’s what it said on it. I realized that after the fact.”
Rottino’s home run came on a 2-1 fastball, capping a four-run first inning that allowed Mets starter Johan Santana — who tossed a four-hit shutout — to pitch with the lead for the rest of the game. Rottino said he didn’t feel the contact when the ball met his bat on the home run. He was numb.
“I was just happy to help the team and contribute to the win,” Rottino said. “But I was floating around the bases a little bit. I had a little bit of goose bumps running around the bases. It was a cool feeling.”
Asofsky then points out this is the first time Rottino’s had a chance to play meaningful baseball — in May, no less. And then, of course, Asofsky points out how long Rottino’s been trying to make it in the big leagues (as I have done, blog after blog), and then ended his article this way:
Rottino said he never stopped believing he’d have the opportunity to round the bases after his first home run in the Major Leagues. Mets manager Terry Collins said Rottino’s work ethic is a result of how much he loves the game.
“I talk about it all the time with my teammates down in Triple-A, you just have to keep grinding and believing,” Rottino said. “You just never know what can happen. I’ll continue to do so.”
And lest you think Ethan Asofsky was the only one to figure out this was a really big deal, Justin Tasch and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News also wrote an article that discussed Rottino’s HR. Here’s what they had to say:
Vinny Rottino, the Mets’ 32-year-old utility man, smashed his first major league homer to cap a four-run first inning Saturday, helping the Mets topple to Padres, 9-0.Rottino, who made his debut in the minors in 2003, has played in 32 games in the majors his (sic) spanning six years. His daydreams of trotting around the bases finally became a reality when he connected on a 2-1 pitch from lefty Clayton Richard.
(Quoted verbatim from May 26, 2012, NY Daily News article; sic was added by Barb Caffrey due to the unnecessary word that somehow escaped the Daily News‘ copyeditors.)
Notice the pitch count, which was described in both articles. Rottino’s batting eye must have been sharp, as he’d taken two balls and a strike from Padres pitcher Clayton Richard. This meant he was on a “hitter’s count.” He then got a favorable pitch to hit (a fast ball), and drove it out of the ballpark in deep left-center field according to the box score.
What a great day for Vinny Rottino!
Just Reviewed Lars Walker’s “Troll Valley” at SBR
Folks, if you enjoy something that’s different — out of the ordinary — interesting, often moving, and literally something I’ve not seen anyone do before, you should go read Lars Walker’s TROLL VALLEY. A mixture of Norwegian folklore, 1900s Minnesota, and Christian apologetica, Walker’s hero (literally named “Christian,” though he often goes by Chris) is a young man with a deformed left arm and hand who believes no one will ever love him due to his differences.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, which is Norwegian “fairy Godmother” Margit (one of the huldre folk) keeps telling him. But his unusual family, full of a crusading mother who hates alcohol, tobacco, and meat, his weak-willed father (a good man, but without enough backbone to stand up to his wife), his unrepentant sinner of a twin brother, Fred (born with two good arms), and his “sister” Sophie (raised with him, but not formally adopted by the family), just hasn’t been able to show Chris that he’s a good person who deserves the best life has to offer. Or as Walker would no doubt put it, Chris is a Christian like any other and he deserves to believe in God’s love rather than dwelling so much on how all men are sinners.
TROLL VALLEY is strongest as Christian apologetica, but it’s still a good Christian-inspired fantasy (please forgive the pun). Its historicity is excellent, its sense of place is very strong, and the detailing of this novel is superb.
But if you’ve already read my review (link is right here), you know I “only” gave it a B-plus. The main reason for this is because I felt the balance was off in a few places and that Chris needed more internal monologue, especially when he started to spiral downward. Reviews like this one are tough to write, not because the book isn’t good — it’s extremely good or I’d not give it a B-plus — but because I saw that with just a bit different of a focus, it would’ve been an easy A-plus.
Nevertheless, TROLL VALLEY succeeds at showing a window into the early 20th century and is based on Norwegian folklore, something that I have to admit I’d like to see a whole lot more of as very few novelists have delved into the Norwegian culture (nor have many dealt with any of the Scandinavian countries/folklore). This focus makes TROLL VALLEY intriguing, different, interesting, and quite humane, which is why I enjoyed it so very much.
Now, go read my review already!
2012 District 21 Recall Race Will Be Tight
A few days ago (May 20, 2012, to be exact), Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel political columnist Craig Gilbert wrote an excellent blog about District 21 — my district, which currently encompasses the city and county of Racine — and about how divided Racine County has been over the past twenty-five to thirty years. It’s called, “Recall politics is old hat in Racine, where no incumbent is safe.”
Here’s a few words from Gilbert about how unusual District 21 is, even when it comes to the nature of currently fractured Wisconsin politics:
If there’s a battleground within the battleground in Wisconsin’s recall wars, this is it – a political no man’s land where the two parties have spent a quarter-century trading control of the same tenuous turf.
This is the only state Senate district in America whose voters have forced two recall elections.
It’s a district unique in Wisconsin for its volatility and thirst for change. It has changed partisan hands five times in 22 years. It has re-elected its state senators only twice since 1990, and booted them four times, a tally that could rise to five on June 5.
And here’s a few words from former state Senator John Lehman (D-Racine), who’s running against current Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) in the recall race, as quoted by Gilbert:
“It’s a wonderful thing for democracy. It’s very difficult for politicians. You get swept in and out, because it’s such a tight district,” says Democrat John Lehman, who got knocked off by Republican Van Wanggaard in 2010 and is trying to return the favor next month.
And as Gilbert points out in this article, this particular recall comes sixteen years (and one day) after George Petak (R-Racine) was removed via recall over his vote for the Milwaukee Brewers stadium after saying he’d vote “no.” Voters didn’t like it that Petak went back on his word and recalled him; Petak was the first state Senator removed via recall. (I wrote about the Petak-Plache recall here last August; Kim Plache, D-Racine, defeated Petak in the June 1996 recall election.)
See, in Racine, we don’t like it when politicians lie. In fact, we get rather incensed over it. And we will remove a legislator if we feel he hasn’t done what he said he’d do, which is why Wanggaard has legitimate reasons to worry about his own pending recall race.
Gilbert points out that in Racine, we haven’t been too kindly toward any incumbent of any party for the past twenty years or so. This may be because incumbents, in general, become less responsive to voters over time, or it may be that Racine residents pay more attention to their state Senators than they do to their Assemblymen (and women) as none of the Racine contingent in the Assembly has ever been recalled. Whatever the case, Racine voters have recalled a Republican Senator before, which is why this particular state Senate recall race is adjudged the “hottest” race by Gilbert and most political watchers statewide. (The fact that the polls have been extremely close for months between Wanggaard and Lehman may also have something to do with it, though no current polls have been released in the past three weeks.)
Current Assemblyman Cory Mason (D-Racine) is quoted by Gilbert as saying this about recalls in the Racine area:
State Rep. Cory Mason, a Racine Democrat, says the current recall and the previous one share “a similar sort of visceral anger” among voters.
I definitely agree with Mason.
Gilbert pointed out a voter who really dislikes it that Wanggaard and Governor Scott Walker (R) are being recalled, and a voter who highly dislikes it that Walker and Wanggaard are in there, which shows the amount of division in this area. (Read the blog to see these two viewpoints.) Then he quoted this gentleman:
“Everybody is up in arms. Everybody is fighting against each other. Why? Because of one idiot?” said John Amaya. “It’s hot. It could get hotter on the 5th. It’s going to get real hot. I promise to God once (Walker) is out, I’ll go to church for the rest of my life.” (Emphasis added by Barb Caffrey)
The reason I have reproduced (and emphasized) this particular quote is that I’ve heard variants of it for the past several months. Many people — and I do mean many, of all political parties and persuasions — have said that if Walker is voted out, they will go to church on a regular basis. I’ve never before seen this particular response, even though I have lived in other states and have gone through at least one other recall race (the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, D-California, in the early 2000s), but it’s an incredibly popular one these days in Southeastern Wisconsin.
One more important thought from Rep. Mason (as quoted by Gilbert):
Democratic Rep. Mason thinks the Petak race neutralizes the Republican argument that recalls should be reserved for official misconduct, not policy disputes.
“I don’t think that (notion) plays as well in this county. We have people around here who are familiar with and willing to invoke their right to recall if they feel misled,” he said.
Mason is exactly right. I feel misled by the Republicans in general and Wanggaard in particular, which is why I signed the various recall petitions. But signing the petitions is not enough; it’s now time to vote the incumbents (Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Wanggaard) back out. This is why I’m looking forward to voting against Wanggaard, et. al., on June 5, 2012.
Donald Driver Wins DWTS
Earlier this year, I blogged about Donald Driver being a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” I’ve watched Driver, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, play for the last twelve years; he is as fierce and tough a competitor as they come, yet he’s never been big on showboating or making a name for himself. Driver is the type of guy who exalts his teammates, coaching staff, and family, which is why I’ve always enjoyed rooting for him.
Earlier tonight, Driver won this season of DWTS with his professional dance partner, Peta Murgatroyd. Driver was the odds-on favorite in Las Vegas and was also one of the fan favorites throughout this past season, but it was never clear that he would indeed be the final person standing. This had nothing to do with Driver’s dancing, which was excellent, but was instead about how well everyone else danced this season, too.
Over and over again during the past ten-week season, the judges exalted the level of competition, seemingly the highest it’s ever been, which is why it wasn’t easy to pick Driver (even as good as he was all season) as the winner. And because the level of competition was so very high, it was nearly impossible to determine what the crowd would do from week to week. The contestants who went out in fourth, fifth, and sixth places were all very good to excellent dancers who would’ve been Top Three material any other season — perhaps even winning material.
But all any competitor can do is this: control what you can control, and don’t worry about anything else. Driver did that: he controlled what he could control by making sure to improve as a dancer every single week. He listened to his pro, Murgatroyd, and he also listened carefully to the judges. Then he went out the next week and danced even better, because he took their criticism to heart.
Driver had another thing in his favor: he improved every single week. It may seem strange, but as a long-time watcher of DWTS, I’m aware that DWTS is often decided by who improves the most as much as who is the best dancer/who does the crowd enjoy watching dance the most. Fortunately for Driver, all of these factors — all of them — were in his favor.
Driver is a classy guy, and his behavior tonight on the final DWTS results show proved it. Unlike some past winners, he immediately congratulated the runners-up and their partners (singer Katherine Jenkins and her partner, Mark Ballas, finished second; actor William Levy and his partner, Cheryl Burke, finished third). Driver also made it clear that he couldn’t have done any of this without Murgatroyd, his partner, and thanked ABC for the opportunity of being on the show.
All of this — class, professionalism, strong work-ethic, and graciousness — is why I’ve enjoyed watching Driver on the football field, and now off it on DWTS. And it’s also why I’m glad to say, “Congratulations, Donald, on your well-deserved DWTS win!”
Vinny Rottino Promoted to Mets (Again)
For the second time this year, Vinny Rottino has been promoted to the New York Mets from the AAA Buffalo Bisons after the Mets sent down pitcher Chris Schwinden. Here’s a link to the most recent story from a NY affiliate:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/05/21/mets-promote-vinny-rottino-send-down-chris-schwinden/
Rottino has had a twenty-game hitting streak at Buffalo this year, and has done everything the Mets have asked of him. Let’s hope this time Rottino will stay awhile.
Just Reviewed “The Countess” at SBR
Folks, if you enjoy romance mixed with screwball comedy, you will enjoy Lynsay Sands’ THE COUNTESS. While not high art, the story of Christiana, Countess of Fairgrove, and her love story with Earl Richard will amuse you. Richard, you see, had been “disposed of” by his brother George, who took Richard’s place and called himself “Dicky.” George then married Christiana, who knew nothing about the real Richard; the world knows one of the Fairgrove twins died, but for whatever reason, George assumed Richard’s identity rather than rule in his own right. (Yes, I know the reason, but if I told you that, some of the comedic effect would be spoiled. Just go with it.)
Anyway, George dies suddenly, but Christiana covers this up because her sisters need to be “brought out” into society quickly before word gets around about her father’s gambling debts. (Besides, she never liked him anyway.) But to her complete surprise, “Dicky” shows up at a ball she and her sisters are at — he’s not dead, and in fact, he’s not Dicky, either. He’s the real Richard, and he’s wondering the same thing any of us would in a similar situation — what the Hell is going on here?
This is a screwball comedy that often descends into farce, and it’s not the art-house type of screwball comedy, either; instead, it’s the “pie in the face, don’t look now, the train’s coming!” sort. But it’s quite good for what it is, and I enjoyed it very much despite the plot’s oddities. (Maybe because of them, as I can’t resist a novel that makes me laugh over and over again. I really can’t.)
Anyway, go take a look at my review over at SBR, will you? Then, if you’re in the mood to laugh (hard and often), go pick up THE COUNTESS.
Enjoy!
May 2012 Milwaukee Brewers: Not Hitting on All Cylinders
As I write this, the Milwaukee Brewers are losing, 5-4, in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Minnesota Twins; so far, they’ve lost three in a row and are at the bottom of the National League Central Division standings. But even if they win this game, the Brewers obviously aren’t firing on all thrusters just yet (or hitting on all cylinders, either; take your pick of clichés). They aren’t hitting well, fielding well, pitching all that well, and their baserunning is suspect.
Now, as former Brewers first base coach Davey Nelson said last night on Brewers Extra Innings on WTMJ-AM 620 radio last evening (he was host Dan O’Donnell’s guest), it’s difficult to win games when you can’t hit, pitch, or field. (Nelson put it a bit more diplomatically, but this is the substance of what he said.) A caller added that the Brewers couldn’t run the bases overly well, either, as even big stars like Ryan Braun and Corey Hart have made odd baserunning errors in recent days; Nelson then added poor baserunning to his assessment.
All I could do when I heard this was laugh.
As for today’s game, it’s now over. With two outs in the bottom of the 11th, the Brewers had the light-hitting Cesar Izturis up, and all he could do was send a line-out to the shortstop. Brewers lose, 5-4, due to a home run hit by the light-hitting Twins SS Trevor Plouffe (he had been hitting .143 before he hit the game-winning HR in the top of the 11th).
At any rate, today’s game featured some clutch hitting by Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez, and some good table setting by Nyjer Morgan and Corey Hart. But it also featured two errors (one odd one by RF Hart where he may have lost the ball in the sun; he should’ve caught the ball in foul territory, but it instead bounced off his glove), some questionable baserunning, and a dearth of clutch hitting as six Brewers were left on base.
The Brewers have now lost four in a row, twice to the lowly Twins, twice to the lowly Astros. Their current record is 16-24; they are one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs due to the fact that the Cubs haven’t yet played their game against the White Sox so the Cubs’ record is currently 15-24. Most likely, the Brewers will be in last place again tomorrow. (The Twins’ record has improved to 14-26 due to their two wins over the Brewers.)
I don’t know what the Brewers can do at this point to improve as a team, except work on fundamentals such as bunting, baserunning, and fielding. Rickie Weeks is hitting well below .200, while Aramis Ramirez is stuck in the low .200s; these two hitters were expected to do far better than they’ve done thus far. (Even with Ramirez’s well-known penchant for slow season starts, he was still expected to have more than 21 RBI at this point.) Even the guys who are hitting, like Braun, catcher Jonathan Lucroy (a surprising .333), Nori Aoki, and Corey Hart (hitting only .252, but with 8 HR and 18 RBI, which is fourth-best on the team), can’t make up for the guys who aren’t doing much of anything.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke says that the Brewers need to show more personality on the field, basically blaming the whole clubhouse for being quiet and reserved. I’m not certain how showing more personality would win games, considering the 1962 Mets had loads of personality, yet won only 40 games. But that’s Roenicke’s story and he’s sticking to it.
The usual way to fire up a team is to fire the manager, but the Brewers gave Roenicke a two-year contract extension earlier this season so that’s highly unlikely to happen. The second way would be to fire a coach — perhaps pitching coach Rick Kranitz, as the Brewers’ team ERA is 5.20 — horrible — and the Brewers are dead last in the majors in this particular statistic (which probably is the main reason they’re not winning too many games). Individual pitchers, such as Zack Greinke or Shaun Marcum among the starters, or Kameron Loe and to an extent Manny Parra among the relievers, have been OK; it’s the fact that others who were expected to do well like Yovani Gallardo have done very poorly that has caused the team ERA to balloon up.
The Brewers need to get something going in some area. Whether it’s clutch hitting, fielding, pitching (definitely pitching) or baserunning, the Brewers need to improve. Until or unless it does, the Brewers will remain mired in the bottom of the NL Central.
Just Reviewed “Dead Reckoning” at SBR
Folks, if you love steampunk, zombies, Westerns, fantasy, action-adventure, or just plain good writing, you will love Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill’s novel, DEAD RECKONING, which will be released on June 5, 2012. This is an excellent young adult adventure that I called a “zombie steampunk thrill-ride” for good reason — this book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.
Here’s the link to my review:
Enjoy!
Barb Caffrey's Blog 