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Stars & Stripes Forever

Memorial Day Hed

By Phil Hecken

Last year, I took a decidedly cynical view of the “alternate cap” gimmick employed by MLB. My feelings on the matter haven’t changed over the past year, but rather than harp on the real meaning of Memorial Day, how it came to be, and what today really stands for, I’ve decided to simply take a look at the 13 games on the MLB docket, and to judge the teams on their uniforms alone. I thought the Memorial Day Holiday would give us our first look at the Stars & Stripes Caps, Mark III, but four teams decided to introduce their caps to the fans yesterday. I’ll have more on those games below.

So, rather than “suck the fun” out of the alternate cap day, I’ll simply look at the uniforms and all the myriad possibilities teams will have, whether they wear the standard home whites and road grays, or should they choose to wear a softball top an alternate jersey, from a purely aesthetic viewpoint. Let’s look at today’s matchups, and how the teams might look, on the field. In the games below, the home team is listed first.

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New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians: Aesthetically, this one might not be too bad, with both teams sporting the “blue” brim version, and Cleveland, mercifully, using their “alternate ‘C'” rather than Chief Wahoo. Cleveland has two options here, their full gray or their blue alternate. I’m not sure the “blue” cap will necessarily match the blue jersey, but, hey, it’s a holiday, why not wear the alt? Possible Matchups: Grade A

~~~
Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland A’s: Now we see why the “red” or “blue” brim isn’t always a good idea. Neither one compliments the A’s green and gold colorscheme, so they’ll likely look lousy. The A’s could go with their green alternate, for an even more horrendous look, or they could attempt to more closely “match” the blue brim by going black (obviously they’d have their black belt and socks then). Yeah, that’s the ticket. Detroit won’t look too bad, even though the blues probably won’t quite match, and the A’s might actually be harking back in a way. OK, not really. This one won’t be pretty, no matter what the A’s wear. Possible Matchups: Grade C

~~~

Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Another matchup with aestheticly pleasing potential. Of course, the Phillies are limited in their options, having only a home alternate, but the Braves could whip out their Red Alt or their (road) Blue Alt, an unlikey scenario, but because of the blue bill, a slim possibility (the Braves will likely pair their blue top with the S&S cap for a future road game, assuming they have one on their schedule). Nevertheless, this game has potential to look OK, especially the game is white versus gray. Possible Matchups: Grade B+

~~~

Florida Marlins vs. Milwaukee Brewers: One cannot help but think, sartorially speaking, this one won’t look good. Florida’s colors are black and teal, so, despite the blue brimmed cap, there will be a color mis-match. The Marlins, could, of course, break out the Black Alternate, but why would they do that? More likely is the Brewers going with their own Blue Alternate, which may be a fairly close color match. Either way, one team is not going to look good. Possible Matchups: Grade C

~~~

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs: Someone needs to explain to me why the Cubs are sporting a red brim. Is it because they once sported a blue cap with a red brim? Because, giving them a red brim doesn’t make sense. They don’t wear a red alternate, and there’s at least as much blue on their uniform as there is red. Whatever. This game is rife with possibilities, however, as the Bucs could opt to go with their Black Alternate (which, since their colors are black and gold, won’t look any worse with a red brim). In a way, it’s too bad they don’t sport the red vest anymore. That could actually work with the red brimmed cap. The Cubs, on the other hand, could opt to go with their Blue Alternate, which might actually make more sense with the S&S cap AND give a real “red, white gray, and blue” feel to their outfit. Sorry, MLB…this one’s a dud. Possible Matchups: Grade C+ — bonus points to the Pittsburghers if they go with the old red vest

~~~

Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals: Oh so many delicious possiblities in this one. Houston has two home uniforms, a pinstriped version and a solid white number. In addition, they have a brick red alternate. The Nationals, on the other hand, sport a red alt and a very patriotic blue alt, which seems destined to be paired with the S&S cap. Those of you who enjoy a bit of variety in your uniform choices, this is YOUR game. And depending on what gets worn and your affinity for alternates, this could be one of the “best” or worst looking games of the day. Possible Matchups: Grade B or, in the ultimate “red white & blue” pairing, Grade A+ (drop that to an “F” if softball tops aren’t your thing)

~~~

Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles of Anaheim: OK, another one with some potential. The Royals do sport a Dark Royal Alt and a Powder Blue Alt. They already wore their S&S cap with the dark top up in Boston yesterday, so that now becomes a likely candidate. The Angels, like Boston, sport a Red Alt, although the colors may not quite jive. Even if the two teams stick with white and gray, this might look OK; if the red brim on the Angels S&S cap comes close enough to their solid jersey, that could look good as well. Possible Matchups: Grade B+ … subtract points of the Royals go powder, but bet on them in the royal blue again

~~~

San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies: Two teams with neither red nor blue in their colorscheme spell potential color clashing disaster. While the Giants have an Orange Alt, and of course, the Rockies have a gorgeous Black Vest (with black sleeves, no less), they may as well have a red billed cap. Not one of the four possible combinations for either team will look good when paired on the field of play. Possible Matchups: Grade D-

~~~

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds: This one will probably look pretty good. The Cardinals have no alt, and the red bill should match their predominately red scheme quite well, and the Reds have a (shockingly) Red Alt, which may or may not be worn. Either way you slice it, a very red, white and gray matchup will ensue. Possible Matchups: Grade A-

~~~

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Rays vs. Jays presents all sorts of possibilities, some of them good, some not. If they stick with the standard white versus gray, it won’t be too bad, but the Jays could break out their Black Alt, (but since it’s not a holiday in Canada and they wore their white top yesterday, it’s doubtful), or really mix things up by tossing in their Powder Blue throwback (since that has more red in it than either the white or black top) … or … they could really mix things up by wearing their Canada Day Alt, to maximize the redness of the moment. The Rays, no strangers to alternates themselves, also have a Powder Blue Alt as well as a Dark Blue Alt, which might emphasize the blue brim. Hmmmm. So many possiblities. Possible Matchups: Grade B/B+; serious bonus points if the Jays whip out the Canada Day alt, which they chose not to wear yesterday

~~~

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: The Dodgers will probably look good in this one, especially since we know what they’ll be wearing, but what about their opponents? The standard gray will pick up the red brim nicely, or…they may go with their Red Alt…or…the rarely worn Black Alt. Although the brick red won’t quite mesh with the S&S red, it might not look bad with the gray outfit. Possible Matchups: Grade B/B+

~~~

San Diego Padres vs. New York Mets: This certainly won’t be the best matchup of the day (evening), but it won’t be the worst either. The Pods might be wise to wear their solid white uni, if only because the Blue Alt contains too much “sand”. Won’t be too bad, but better with the white. Of course, the Mets possess their own beautiful Black Alt which would be a very unfortunate choice. Probably going to be a white versus gray game, but you never know. Possible Matchups: Grade B-

~~~

Seattle Mariners vs. Minnesota Twins: Closing out the day with these two won’t be horrible. The M’s will probably look pretty decent in their blue bills, although I’m not so sure how will it will look if worn with the Blue Alt. Probably a lot closer than that graphic depicts. The Twins also possess a Blue Alt, so it’s more than a slight possibility one of the two will be sporting it. We’ll see. White versus gray might be the best of all, but I’d be curious to see how well the blue bill matches either team’s alt. Possible matchups: Grade B

~~~

As mentioned in the opening, four teams (the Toronto Blue Jays versus the Baltimore Orioles, and the Boston Red Sox versus the Kansas City Royals) already broke out the S&S caps. How’d they dress and how did the uniforms look with the caps?

O’s vs. Jays: Not surprisingly, a team whose colors are orange and black didn’t look too great wearing gray tops with a white cap & blue brim. Why blue? Because red would have been worse? Their opponents, the hometown Blue Jays celebrated America’s Day of Remembrance with their own red-billed cap and white jersey. Unfortunately, with a beautiful day in TO and the roof open, it was so bright the “Canadian Flag motif” on the Jays caps was almost impossible to see. It didn’t help when players covered it with sunglasses either. White jersey vs. gray jersey. Grade: C

BoSox vs. Royals: This had the potential to be a decent matchup, and it didn’t diappoint. The hometown Red Sox went with their red alternate, and it looked very good with the white pants and white cap with red brim. The Royals, who possess a dark royal alternate, wore it with their gray road pants. While not a perfect color match, it still looked pretty sharp, all things considered. With a bright sun over Fenway, the navy brim didn’t look too out of place with the royal top. Now, I’m not going to go advocating color vs. color (tops) anytime soon, but this one wasn’t bad once a year. The only problem is, it’ll probably happen more than once. Still, good stuff. Grade: A-

~~~

How will the rest of the teams playing today look? That remains to be seen, of course, as we got a teaser yesterday as to what a good and a bad matchup could look like. What do you guys think? Who will have the best looking game today? The worst?

The baseball is all fun and games, of course, but still — don’t forget why we in the States have a three day holiday on the last weekend in May.

~~~~~~~~~~

SQL's final fantasy

When in Rome France… I got an interesting E-mail from Don Cristobal del Pastillo, who posts as the pseudonymous “SQL” occasionally, after reading yesterday’s wonderful piece on his whiffleball field of dreams by Jim Vilk. You may recall, SQL displayed his graphic talents last summer with two columns suggesting certain MLB teams might want to try colored sanitaries under stirrups. I really enjoyed those efforts, and I’d still like to see a team or two (besides the A’s) try that look. As you may also remember, Don is French, which makes his interest in American sports more of a challenge than the average Uni Watcher here in the States.

Anyway, I hadn’t heard from SQL in a while, but yesterday he reemerged with the following message:

I thought you might be interested (and other Uni Watch readers too, hopefully) in this little piece I wrote. It’s a (very) short column about the logo design attempts that I’ve made through my many years as a fantasy leaguer. I guess it could fall under the DIY category, except that I wasn’t trying to copy any existing stuff…

Anyway, I hope you’ll find that of any interest…

My interest piqued, I took a peek. It turns out Don is not just a very talented graphic designer, his sketches are pretty good too. What follows, then, is a pretty neat look at the life of a French Fantasy Basketball league Commissioner. Great stuff. Enjoy:

~~~

Final Fantasy:
By Don Cristobal del Pastillo

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster manager.

That’s why when a friend of mine came back from a school trip to the US with Fantasy Baseball in his luggage I delved into the thing with reckless abandon. From an organisational standpoint, it was quite a challenge to gather stats and roster updates on a regular basis in early 90’s France but it didn’t stop us, quite the opposite. Each USA today issue we could get our hands upon was dissected and analyzed like an area 51 resident and soon enough we were hooked on the stuff like it was heroin dipped in spaghetti sauce.

One of the thing that seduced me the most about American sports, compared to the Old World ones, were the infinitely more inventive names and logos of the different clubs and franchises. That’s why I decided right away that our made-up teams needed a visual identity on par with the ones of their real life counterparts. That’s how I made my first steps in the time consuming art of designing logos for fake sports franchises, a hobby that to this day, remains one of the few that survived the waning of my teenage years.

Right from the start, my drawing style proved to be a total misfit for the job, too busy, too cartoony, and apart from a few notable exceptions, the final results often ended up breaking each and every rule of what a true sport logo should be.

That didn’t stop me from trying though.

Years passed and my high school friends and I eventually drifted apart, which led to the untimely demise of our fantasy league experiment, but deep inside the beast was still alive and waiting for an opportunity to rise up and devour my free time again.

Long story short, the Rotisserie League spent the best part of the next decade stored away in frozen carbonite only to make a triumphant return in 2004, only this time, it was centered around basketball, an athletic activity much easier to market to my fellow countrymen (whose grasp of the infield fly rule remains borderline at this point of history). Fantasy life in the new century proved to be much easier with, thanks to generalised computer use, unlimited access to stats, news and tools.

But as much as computers revolutionized the league’s everyday life through spreadsheets and message boards, they had an even deeper impact on my designing style which made the leap from pen and paper to fulltime digital and never looked back.

Sure, even with the help of advanced tools such as illustrator and paint shop pro my creative juices proved to be too chunky to fit into the mold of academic logo design, and my first tries ranged from pretty basic to pretty lame, but with each new attempt I began to refine my style to the point where I’m quite pleased with most of my latest creations.

You’ll find below a few examples of what I’ve come up with to illustrate the team concepts that my fellow leaguers have entrusted me with over the years (as the Commissionner of the league and the only member with what could pass for photoshop skills, it’s one of my duties to design the logo for every team at the start of the season). As a whole our team names and visual identities rely mostly on weak puns, incomprehensible private jokes and dubious acronyms, with a few actual basketball related names thrown into the mix here and there.

I’m fully aware that from an artistic and aesthetic standpoint these feeble tries are tantamount to a toilet wall graffiti, but to me they were and still are the perfect opportunity to combine two of my all time passions: sports and graphic design. The two same passions, mind you, that drawn me to Uni Watch in the first place, which is why I wanted to share this little piece of my personal history with you.

~~~

Thanks for sharing that SQL. And while your self-deprecating humor about your talents makes me chuckle, your abilities and talents are far from “feeble.” Great job with those — and I thought your bulldog sketch was pretty outstanding.

~~~~~~~~~~

Benchies Header

What’s better than hitting the links as part of your Memorial Day? Nothing, right? Here’s Rick:

Ah, Memorial Day, A day to get out and about. And, holiday or not, there just are SOME activities with which one simply does let the weather interfere, does one. As my dad always said, “It never rains on a…”

Enjoy your special, Memorial Day Benchies.

~~~~~~~~~~

ticker 2

Uni Watch News Ticker: Lots to get to today. Kicking off is Rick “Ricko” Pearson, who sends along this gorgeous photo of Portland manager Oscar Vitt wearing a uni with great stirrups and a really nice beaver patch. … Paul Stave sent in this article with the caption, “When mascots are outlawed, only outlaws will have mascots.” Brilliant. … With the first of several ticker submissions, Jeremy Brahm notes There is a new women’s pro bowling association called the Ladies Bowling Organization of Japan (LBO) and here is their logo. … Previously noted in the comments but also spotted by Chad Pieken: It’s the Jordan statue at the UC dressed up in ‘Hawks gear for the finals. Take a look at his makeshift skates — Says Chad, “I’m sure Reebok did this as a little ‘F.U.’ to Nike just for laughs.” … Brinke’s Corner on Friday tapped the memory banks of Steve Heller, who saw the NHL puffy sticker link got me thinking so he searched. “Remember these?” asks Steve. “I had a set when I was a kid…and wish I still did.” … Grant Goldman and James Poisso found this interesting head injury and protection column on Yahoo Sports. … More from Jeremy, on volleyball: Take a look at the French women, with a singular French flag pit stain. Also, Israel is back to wearing a blue flag. … Alex Higley, who also has multiple submissions, grabbed this great shot of Henley Ramierez’ incredibly mucked up helmet (bonus: “Los” Marlins jersey). … Stirrup-liciousness: Dan Richardson of the New Westminster Salmonbellies, checks in with this: “As promised here’s pictures of our Western Lacrosse Association home opener with our new 2010 Retro Jerseys/Shorts along with our Home Stirrups. The New Westminster Salmonbellies have been in existence since 1889 and have won Canadian Lacrosse’s version of the Stanley Cup , called the Mann Cup a record 24 times. See salmonbellies.com. We’re currently 4-0 in our 2010 season that is just under way.” Vive la revolution! … More from Alex — two pictures of a Padres jersey that he’s never seen before. If you look at the second pic, there appears to be a signature that’s not Gwynn’s — anyone know more? … UW favorite Rob Ullman is back with more genius illo’s for the Stanley Cup finals matchup. … A’s fan and tracker Brandon Davis keeps us up to date with more eagle-eyed uni watching: “More and more A’s seem to be wearing gray underbrims. Ben Sheets has worn one for his last few road starts and Coco Crisp (back on the DL) has been wearing one. This is kind of odd but I also noticed that Andrew Bailey put his belt on backwards. I happened to be looking at his bobblehead and compared the sculpt to the box. I noticed that the belt was facing differently on the bobblehead (I later realized it was a recycled Justin Duchscherer sculpt). So I looked at other photos of Bailey and noticed that he always has his belt going the other direction. Looking at photos, it turns out he’s been doing this for several years. I don’t know if it’s a comfort thing or just preference.” … Terry Duroncelet was watching the Va Tech v. Clemson game and got this great screen grab. … Back with more is Alex, who noticed that Todd Helton must get cold during games. He came up to bat in the fifth inning wearing short sleeves and in the seventh inning, he had on long sleeves. Alex notes that “Todd is kind of famous for changing his uniform during the game and did just that Saturday night.” … Frank Parish echoes the thoughts of many on UW with this observation: “Matt Cain continues to not wear the Giants’ striped socks. This wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that sometimes Juan Uribe wears his pants up, which results in two players on the field with drastically different hosiery stylings.” … Nice post by Mike Rucki of “On Frozen Blog,” who, with the announcement of the Capitals being in the 2011 Winter Classic, vs. Pens at Heinz Field, he finally published an article about the return of the otherwise-lost throwbacks, the Caps ‘stars-down-the-arms’ sweaters. … Check out the second half of this blog post (thanks to Jerry Gardner, Jr.): Is a full YMCA rebranding coming? … Scott Milner and Timothy Graham both were on top of the Va Tech “Tequila Sunrise” throwbacks being sported against Clemson during the ACC tourney this past weekend … Might be a little hard to see in this cell phone screen grab, but Joe Mauer has a “7M” logo on his chest protector (great catch by Dustin Kalis). … Nice Memorial Day theme in other lands. JK Chaney writes, “with it being Memorial Day here, every year Celtic FC wears special Jersey’s to honor National Famine Memorial Day in Ireland which honors those who died in the Great Hunger IE Potato Famine. Photo of the jerseys from this year (it was printed on the away kits this year so not quite as sharp as when placed on the Home Green & White Hoops) These are availabe for sale by auction here. … More from Jeremy: The Seibu Lions are doing throwbacks from the 1970s for this year’s Lions Classic. They are going back to the Taiheiyo Club LionsHugh McBride thought this article (on the effort to create teams, nicknames, logos & unis for non-Madden football video games) would be of interest to the UW crew. … More from Brandon — Kurt Suzuki had a green road catcher’s helmet Saturday night. He’s been wearing a gold brim all season up to this point. … New NHL patches? Steve May writes, “A friend of mine just posted the following pic on twitter–showing patches for the Blue Jackets 10th season, the Sharks 20th and the Canucks 40th. As a Canuck fan, I like the Canuck one, understated and clear, and keeps the original logo in mind. The others–too busy.” … Alex, who may have set a record for Ticker submissions, simply asks, “What the hell is up with this helmet?” … Scott Schoonover writes, “did anyone else notcie that Shannon Brown didn’t have any white lining on the inside of the R in LAKERS on his jersey?” He didn’t have a screen grab, but anyone else notice this? … Good catch from Brian Smith, who directs our attention to this article on the Chicago Blackhawks crest. … Chris Hilf sent an E-mail with the title, “They don’t like the balls.” Curious, I opened it to find “Soccer balls, that is.” … Matthew Moschella saw this Giants logo script on infants’ clothing and states, “The script is similar to the team’s traditional script, though slightly modified. But the G is completely different and the underline is new. Have you seen anything with this before?” … One can never have enough pictures of Jamie Moyer’s logo’ed stirrups, can one? (thanks to Alex, again). … And still more from Alex: “Love the jersey the guy on Girardi’s right is wearing.” (That looks like a plaid cotton button down to me, but I think he means the pullover on the right of the photo). … J. Daniel Howland was watching the tigers-A’s game Sunday, and catcher Gerald Laird looked like he was wearing number 12 as he went for a pop up in the 8th inning, but “his number has always been 8 with Detroit.” Can anyone verify? … Jack Crabbe spotted Fred Couples’ caddy, at the Senior PGA Championship, rocking NBA logo socks and a NY Giants wind jacket. Interesting that there are no sponsor logos on him, notes Jack. … Possible big news on the Penguins unis for next year’s Winter Classic comes from Joe Gerard, who notes that “the Pittsburgh Penguins have retired their 1968-1972 throwbacks worn in recent seasons. With the team hosting the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, the team plans to wear a new third jersey that won’t be worn until the Winter Classic. People on the official Facebook page for the Penguins are posting ideas for the new third jersey (which the Pens have NOT yet finalized yet), including the 1980-1992 black jersey that the team won their first two Stanley Cup championships with. The team does have light blue practice jerseys, and considering that the powder blue throwbacks were popular from a marketing standpoint (though they did seem to lose almost every time they wore them), a light blue version of the current design could work out as well. About the only thing assured is that there won’t be anything with the 1992-2001 “flying penguin” logo. As long as Mario Lemieux is the team’s owner, it won’t be coming back.” … Still more volleyball news/photos from Jeremy, from the European Volleyball Qualification this weekend: Azerbaijan women using European 7s on the far right; In play; When the Israeli women wore blue, they had blue flags as well; Check out the libero versus the rest of the team; One Spanish woman with an almost e-mail name abbreviation, Maria Isabel Fernandez Conde; Slovenia with a 12 or 19? Actually 12; One of the Portuguese women wears glasses on the court; Bosnia & Herzegovina men’s team going name below the number; Italian men with Rollerball like fonts; The Swedish men have more pronounced flags on their uniforms.

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That’s going to do it for this day. Thanks to every reader for allowing me to bring you Uni Watch this past week, while Paul was across the pond. Twas both a pleasure and a privilege. Hope you enjoyed it. I know I did.

~~~

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lt. Col. John McCrae

 
  
 
Comments (130)

    The Reds only wear the red-alternate jersey for daytime home games. They do not have an alternate jersey for the road, and have not worn an alternate road jersey for about 25 years.

    Does anyone know how popular the stars and stripes caps are? The Yankees have been incessantly promoting the availability of this year’s version in their team stores…

    The hats look ridiculous. I could not even look at all of the images. The white hat paired with the Yankee pins reminded me of the Pirates black on gray pins with the gray cap. The road teams really look silly. There is no “sucking the fun” out of something that isn’t remotely fun. If you could suck the stupid out of all of this, the world would be a better place.

    I’ve never understood why they don’t just create game caps in which the flag-infused team logos are paired with the individual organizations actual caps. It’d create a far more aesthetically appealing on-field and would likely be far more palatable from a merchandising perspective. For example: I’m an A’s fan and actually don’t hate the whole flag themed emblem. I would never buy the current cap, however, because the homogenous color scheme doesn’t reflect the Oakland team identity. I think I’d probably snap up a green/yellow patriotic cap in an instant, though.

    The thing about today’s hats is, they’re a promotion. It isn’t about matching anything but the colors of the idea/product being communicated. If they disappear into the normal visual, you’ve failed. They’re SUPPOSED to be off-bubble, supposed to get noticed.

    If I’m promoting Cheerios, you bet your ass the hats are gonna be yellow, and I don’t give a damn what color the team(s) will be wearing with them.

    Wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve asked a client over the last 45 years, “Is the idea for your ads to blend in, or to stand out?”

    Put another way, “The surest wasy to draw attention in a field of parallel lines is to draw a diagonal.”

    Does that mean I think the promotion is a good idea, or that the hats are in any way tasteful or well-designed? Hell, no.

    Plus, there is no way for MLB to ever stop this promotion; exactly how do they quit doing it without being roundly criticized? Really, really, really an ill-advised promotion if it has no possible positive exit strategy, leaving you stuck with it forever.

    But I understand why no one thinks (and why they shouldn’t think), “Gee, it won’t match the Orioles.”

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”392277″]

    Wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve asked a client over the last 45 years, “Is the idea for your ads to blend in, or to stand out?”

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Wait, does that mean you work for free ?

    [quote comment=”392278″][quote comment=”392277″]

    Wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve asked a client over the last 45 years, “Is the idea for your ads to blend in, or to stand out?”

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Wait, does that mean you work for free ?[/quote]

    Okay, an “extra dollar”.

    Don’t know what this is, but I know what it ISN’T.
    It isn’t a jersey the Padres have ever worn.
    link

    Almost looks homemade, or a least home-lettered. The typography is seriously, um, lacking.

    —Ricko

    Those Mets’ “NY Cubans” throwbacks were referred to as “faux flannels.” Does that mean they were the same crappy polyester that every sports uni has been made of for the past 35 years, only it was cleverly disguised to appear as old-timey flannel?? Or was it actually something other than polyester??

    -Jet

    [quote comment=”392282″]what about the padres doing their camo uniforms?[/quote]

    When did Memorial Day become Armed Forces Day?
    Absolutely our troops deserve our support, but today is supposed to be about remembering those who gave their lives while serving. “Memorial” being the operative word here.

    But, because only 10 perent of those who served in World War II are still alive, that likely also means only about 10 percent of their spouses, lovers, brothers and sisters are still alive…so, sadly, our collective memory of that war is fading.

    And as it fades, so does, it seems, our real appreciation of the sacrifice of all those who fought and died in WWI, WWII. Korea, even Vietnam. We have, relatively speaking, so few homes with a permanent empty place at the breakfast table these days that we kinda don’t get it. Lacking a widespread personal sense of the “memorial” aspect, we seem to have shifted to “honor the troops” because far more can identify with that notion. While that certainly isn’t a bad thing, it isn’t what today is all about. Not really.

    Independence Day isn’t about it, either. That’s a celebation of a moment in history, of our beginning.

    That’s why Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day are separately noted.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”392282″]what about the padres doing their camo uniforms?[/quote]
    Padres wore their camos yesterday vs. the Nats.

    Fred Couples’s caddie is a huge sports fan, particularly the NY Giants. Lives in Conneticutt. Recently profiled after the Masters in Sports Illustrated.

    Speaking of Couples, it appeared he was not wearing those goofy shoes this week, that he wore in the Masters. He was wearing regular golf shoes, soft spikes. Guess the back is feeling better. Those goofy shoes were indeed a certain kind of golf shoe.

    Saturday I saw some of last year’s red S&S MLB caps on a sale table at the mall. Still $26.00. Still on the sale table.

    Its the only situation that you will ever see the Yankees wearing something different.

    The Cardinals do not wear an alternate? I could have sworn that I had seen them wearing a red alternate…..

    Any news on the New York Giants “new” throwback alternate?

    (laughing)
    Just had a thought.

    Given the limited knowlege of, or real concern with, history—coupled with the “Oh, yeah, I’m patriotic” mentality–in the general populace these days, I wonder how much money we’d take in if we set up a card table outside every MLB stadium today with a sign reading…
    SUPPORT WIDOWS OF THE UNKNOWN SOLIDERS

    —Ricko

    YMCA Houston hasn’t been using the old logo for at least a couple of years. The logo they’re using is nothing particularly remarkable — link.

    A couple things from yesterday’s highlights packages…

    1. Yeah, I’m one who says that trousers probably are here to stay in MLB, but, damn, Texas A&M looked good. Everyone with their pinstriped pants bloused no lower than high calf and 4″ or 5″ maroon stirrups (hard to tell which they were, for sure; probably 4″).

    2. Juan Pierre wears his uni in a manner that would look good on any MLBer, even Fielder and Manny. Pants short but baggy, with low stirrups. Tight short pants on a really big guy just a no-no. See, for example, Cards’ Brad Penny. Not a “rule” or anything, just looks, I dunno, oafish.

    Although, if you wear high tops that don’t match your socks almost exactly (meaning if shoes have all kinds of white on them)…go with pajamas.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”392273″]The Reds only wear the red-alternate jersey for daytime home games. They do not have an alternate jersey for the road, and have not worn an alternate road jersey for about 25 years.[/quote]

    And yesterday they forced the Astros to wear gray. That ought to make opponents of “softball” tops stop grumbling for a day or so.

    Watching the A’s highlights recently reminded me why the green and gold looks so good on them: The bright sunshine and radiant green grass in Oakland makes the uniforms stand out, really. Green and gold just look good together, but especially on a bright sunny day.

    [quote comment=”392292″][quote comment=”392273″]The Reds only wear the red-alternate jersey for daytime home games. They do not have an alternate jersey for the road, and have not worn an alternate road jersey for about 25 years.[/quote]

    And yesterday they forced the Astros to wear gray. That ought to make opponents of “softball” tops stop grumbling for a day or so.[/quote]

    so, by wearing a softball top themselves, the reds forced the astros not to wear theirs

    not sure i follow the logic in your “stop grumbling” argument

    Ricko: I know they weren’t wearing them yesterday, but Juan Pierre even makes the black jerseys look good. Jim Thome was the same way when he played for the Sox.

    Phil: What leads you to believe that isn’t link?

    Geeman: Why would seeing the Redlegs in softball blouses rather than the Stros quell the hatred for a day?

    David Murphy: Conneticutt: Cincinatti’s the capital, right?

    The way I understand it, KC wears traditional white and grays for night games, then powder blue for day games at home and the royal tops for away day games.

    Given that today’s game starts just after 2 in KC, powder blue tops would be the oder of the day, but I’m hoping they opt for white tops, or lacking that the Royal tops.

    That said, I was watching the Ray highlights last night in their powder blue tops and was thinking if this were 20 years ago, it’d look like the equipment manager lost the luggage between flights. I guess the more I think about it, the less and less I like alt tops. And I was predisposed to not like them anyway.

    I suppose I should applaud the fact you chose the Royals’ Memorial Day cap for your lead photo. (Yes, I understand they wore ’em yesterday, but so did at least three other teams,) So, I should view that as a back-handed compliment?

    Interesting way to approach the cap approach today. Beats a full-out rant. Go with the flow, they say…..

    I would love to know what percentage of the sales of the caps actually goes to the cause they are in support of.

    [quote comment=”392295″]Phil: What leads you to believe that isn’t link?[/quote]

    i may have to rethink that…

    i thought this his autograph, but in researching it, apparently i confused it with his kid

    seems to match up with what is supposed to be the real thing

    good catch

    [quote comment=”392294″][quote comment=”392292″][quote comment=”392273″]The Reds only wear the red-alternate jersey for daytime home games. They do not have an alternate jersey for the road, and have not worn an alternate road jersey for about 25 years.[/quote]

    And yesterday they forced the Astros to wear gray. That ought to make opponents of “softball” tops stop grumbling for a day or so.[/quote]

    so, by link, the reds forced the astros not to wear theirs

    not sure i follow the logic in your “stop grumbling” argument[/quote]

    Figured you would at least stop grumbling about the Astros, who rarely wear the gray. Oh, well. Reds’ jerseys look sharp!

    The dignified, reverential thing to do would be for teams to wear a simple USA flag as a sleeve patch today.

    If MLB must have some product to market (and, apparently, they must), then put a simple USA flag patch on the team cap in place of the regular logo for today only.

    They always over think these things and end up with tacky looking crap.

    [quote comment=”392297″]I suppose I should applaud the fact you chose the Royals’ Memorial Day cap for your lead photo. (Yes, I understand they wore ’em yesterday, but so did at least three other teams,) So, I should view that as a back-handed compliment?[/quote]

    i created that from this game photo

    was the best shot of the cap of all the pics i could find

    and it wasn’t a shot at the royals or a compliment either … just working with the materials at hand ;)

    [quote comment=”392295″]Ricko: I know they weren’t wearing them yesterday, but Juan Pierre even makes the black jerseys look good. Jim Thome was the same way when he played for the Sox.

    Phil: What leads you to believe that isn’t link?

    Geeman: Why would seeing the Redlegs in softball blouses rather than the Stros quell the hatred for a day?

    David Murphy: Conneticutt: Cincinatti’s the capital, right?[/quote]

    Like this?
    link
    Pierre had it right in L.A, too…
    link
    and elsewhere…
    link
    link
    link
    (I may have schmutzed up those links)

    —Ricko

    Phil, on the heels of your nice summary of monochrome unis in baseball, why not take a look at the history of colored jerseys? I remember them coming of age in the 1970s (Orioles, Indians, Pirates, Giants, A’s, Padres), then gaining ground in the 1980s (Mets, Cubs), and finally taking off in 1994 or so.

    Who was the Expos’ second baseman who wore his uni much like Juan Pierre as his tribute to the Negro Leagues’ players?

    —Ricko

    Anyone know the deal with MLB players changing uni number mid season? seems like that wouldnt be allowable, but maybe theyre different.
    All I know is NBA and NFL get their collective panties in a bunch about it. seems like Bud would too

    [quote comment=”392296″]The way I understand it, KC wears traditional white and grays for night games, then powder blue for day games at home and the royal tops for away day games.

    Given that today’s game starts just after 2 in KC, powder blue tops would be the oder of the day, but I’m hoping they opt for white tops, or lacking that the Royal tops.

    That said, I was watching the Ray highlights last night in their powder blue tops and was thinking if this were 20 years ago, it’d look like the equipment manager lost the luggage between flights. I guess the more I think about it, the less and less I like alt tops. And I was predisposed to not like them anyway.[/quote]

    Alternate jerseys are fine when not used in light colors and white pants. The Rays and Royals just look bad in that look, not enough contrast. The Giants can pull off the orange jersey/white pant look, since the contrast is better.

    [quote comment=”392306″]Who was the Expos’ second baseman who wore his uni much like Juan Pierre as his tribute to the Negro Leagues’ players?

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Figurd it out.
    Delino DeShields…
    link

    Didn’t wear them like that his entire career. Just for a season or two, as I recall, including when he first moved on to the Dodgers.

    —Ricko

    I’m really digging that link in the link. Miroslav Satan needs one of those!

    As for the Memorial Day hats, I agree that they didn’t choose the colors as well as the could have. The Cubs, for example, should have a blue brim. I’d buy one and wear it if they did that. And if they wore plain white pants (do they still have them left over from those 1948 throwbacks?), it would look perfect with the blue jersey. No complaints at all.

    Ricko, that’s Delino DeShields that you’re thinking of. He wanted to go for an old-school Negro League look.

    [quote comment=”392307″]Anyone know the deal with MLB players changing uni number mid season? seems like that wouldnt be allowable, but maybe theyre different.
    All I know is NBA and NFL get their collective panties in a bunch about it. seems like Bud would too[/quote]

    A good bet it’s only truly relevant for guys whose jerseys are widely retailed. And they’re established enough that they aren’t likely to be switching numbers.

    That’s why Lebron and Micheal changing numbers (and Ocho Cinco getting a new name) were a big deal.

    So as not to offend any current player or fans of that player, I’ll use a historical reference. Nobody gives a shit if Pee Wee Oliver changes his number.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”392308″]The Giants can pull off the orange jersey/white pant look, since the contrast is better.[/quote]

    the modern look with cream pants doesn’t quite have the same appeal as original tho

    i actually did like that look (probably because of the orange sani)

    What are the chances it’s his physique and not the color of the jersey that makes us think of the stereotypical softball player?
    link

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”392314″]What are the chances it’s his physique and not the color of the jersey that makes us think of the stereotypical softball player?
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    kung fu panda’s in shape…

    round

    /i’ll be here all week

    [quote comment=”392313″][quote comment=”392308″]The Giants can pull off the orange jersey/white pant look, since the contrast is better.[/quote]

    the link doesn’t quite have the same appeal as link tho

    i actually did like that look (probably because of the orange sani)[/quote]

    Agreed.

    [quote comment=”392298″]I would love to know what percentage of the sales of the caps actually goes to the cause they are in support of.[/quote]

    link has a write up today about the money raised by the Stars and Stripes Cap promotions:

    -All proceeds from cap sales get donated to Welcome Back Veterans
    -MLB donates an extra $1 if purchased at mlb.com

    Not just from caps, but: “With the support of Major League Baseball and its Clubs, Welcome Back Veterans since 2008 has awarded $8.3 million in grants to 30 non-profit agencies across the country targeting veterans’ greatest needs, including mental health and job training/placement.”

    Remember when Dieon went the short baggy pants route with the Reds (didn’t do stirrups, though)?
    link
    link
    (The second era of white pinstriped home hats).

    —Ricko

    Biz of Baseball also has a post about link being unveiled on Wednesday. Apparently players from the Yanks, Phils and Twins designed stuff with majestic this year.

    Mets did it link which is where theSheff jersey in link I’d submitted in Spring Training is from. You can buy these hideous things for sale at the link

    [quote comment=”392318″]Remember when Dieon went the short baggy pants route with the Reds (didn’t do stirrups, though)?
    link
    link
    (The second era of white pinstriped home hats).

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Loved those pinstriped hats.

    Totally forgot about Delino DeShields until you asked, he was definitely the first “contemporary” player I ever noticed with the high socks. I’d just really gotten into unis, and held on to Ebbets Field catalogs like they were gold, I remember thinking how cool it was that he was doing it.

    In regards to the hig pants-stirrup old-skool look…

    I still prefer the look that link brings to the table. Pants are link to evoke the old-skool memories, and the stirrups <a href="link just enough sani.

    To me, that’s perfect.

    [quote comment=”392321″]In regards to the high pants-stirrup old-skool look…

    I still prefer the look that link brings to the table. Pants are link to evoke the old-skool memories, and the stirrups link.

    To me, that’s perfect.[/quote]

    Fixed the link. Sorry, kids!

    [quote comment=”392322″][quote comment=”392321″]In regards to the high pants-stirrup old-skool look…

    I still prefer the look that link brings to the table. Pants are link to evoke the old-skool memories, and the stirrups link.

    To me, that’s perfect.[/quote]

    Fixed the link. Sorry, kids![/quote]

    Pretty much the same look I’m talking about.
    Was using “baggy” to mean “not tight”, ala Alfonso Soriano, for one…
    link
    Or Brad Penny…
    link

    —Ricko

    SQL, if the font was tweaked on this logo, link that could be a good D-League or IBL logo. Very inventive, and my favorite of the bunch.

    Ricko, your Benchies was a harbinger of things to come in this part of the country. Just left the cemetery, headed to the store, then the sky opened. Even if I was staying home, no wiffleball today.

    The pic of Jamie Moyer’s in correctly worn pants (not TOO high) and stirrups, contrasted with the guy on second’s oversized, full length, wrinkled pants should make it plain to anyone how desperate we need uniform regulations from MLB. Selig told a manager he couldn’t wear a hooded team jacket but allows players to look like crap. Grow a pair, Bud. The litness test for the next commish should be uni regulations and no DH.

    [quote comment=”392324″][quote comment=”392322″][quote comment=”392321″]In regards to the high pants-stirrup old-skool look…

    I still prefer the look that link brings to the table. Pants are link to evoke the old-skool memories, and the stirrups link.

    To me, that’s perfect.[/quote]

    Fixed the link. Sorry, kids![/quote]

    Pretty much the same look I’m talking about.
    Was using “baggy” to mean “not tight”, ala Alfonso Soriano, for one…
    link
    Or Brad Penny…
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Left, Brad Penny as he wears his pants.
    Right, baggier.
    Still looks huge, just not so stuffed into his uni.
    link

    –Ricko

    [quote comment=”392317″][quote comment=”392298″]I would love to know what percentage of the sales of the caps actually goes to the cause they are in support of.[/quote]

    link has a write up today about the money raised by the Stars and Stripes Cap promotions:

    -All proceeds from cap sales get donated to Welcome Back Veterans
    -MLB donates an extra $1 if purchased at mlb.com

    Not just from caps, but: “With the support of Major League Baseball and its Clubs, Welcome Back Veterans since 2008 has awarded $8.3 million in grants to 30 non-profit agencies across the country targeting veterans’ greatest needs, including mental health and job training/placement.”[/quote]
    Thanks for the info, most appreciated.

    [quote comment=”392330″]brad penny definitely looks better with link[/quote]
    Awesome Affliction t-shirt!

    The Schaumburg (IL) Flyers of the Northern Leage have temporarily <a href="link; title="changed their name to the Schaumburg Pilots" while they support the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

    I can’t find any evidence that they have a special Pilots uniform, though.

    The Schaumburg (IL) Flyers have link while supporting the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, I can’t find any evidence of a uni change to go along with this name change.

    Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on Twitter, while watching Monday’s Brewers-Marlins game:

    “I’m all for displays of patriotism but the hats the MLB players are wearing today makes them look like American Legion players.”

    [quote comment=”392335″]Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on Twitter, while watching Monday’s Brewers-Marlins game:

    “I’m all for displays of patriotism but the hats the MLB players are wearing today makes them look like American Legion players.”[/quote]

    I’m watching Marlins-Brewers too. The Fish are in the normal white pinstripes, with the white hat. And the Brewers are in navy alts with the similar white hat.

    They aren’t terrible, but could be improved. The Marlins hat needs stripes to make it more like the pinstriped uniform. And Milwaukee’s wouldn’t be too bad if it was grey instead of white, to match the pants.

    Yesterday, about those caps Francona said “It looks like we’re selling ice cream.”

    [quote comment=”392310″][quote comment=”392306″]Who was the Expos’ second baseman who wore his uni much like Juan Pierre as his tribute to the Negro Leagues’ players?

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Figurd it out.
    Delino DeShields…
    link

    Didn’t wear them like that his entire career. Just for a season or two, as I recall, including when he first moved on to the Dodgers.

    —Ricko[/quote]
    [quote comment=\”392305\”]Missed one on Juan Pierre.
    Cubs, too.
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]
    Pierre even managed to pull off link.

    Oh, and didn’t fellow former Expo Marquis Grissom also go with a style that was similar to DeShields’ for a while?

    [quote comment=”392338″]Oh, and didn’t fellow former Expo Marquis Grissom also go with a style that was similar to DeShields’ for a while?[/quote]

    link, but I am just fascinated at how Grissom put so much tape around the knob of the bat.

    Blah. Typoed the anti-spam word on the first try and then I screwed up the quote tags.

    [quote comment=”392339″][quote comment=”392338″]Oh, and didn’t fellow former Expo Marquis Grissom also go with a style that was similar to DeShields’ for a while?[/quote]

    link, but I am just fascinated at how Grissom put so much tape around the knob of the bat.[/quote]
    Yeah, to an extent, but I thought toward the end of his stint with the Expos he would wear low-cut stirrups.

    Maybe not. All I can come up with for now are small pics of him as a link and an link.

    [quote comment=”392342″]great image on STLtoday.com showing WWII-era baseball jersey construction.

    link

    sandknit cool-base?

    Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ’em away or something?

    Didn’t espn used to air triple headers (or at least doubleheaders) on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day? Or am I just remembering the good old days when the Braves were on TBS? Y’know, when there were more games on cable just about every day.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”392339″][quote comment=”392338″]Oh, and didn’t fellow former Expo Marquis Grissom also go with a style that was similar to DeShields’ for a while?[/quote]

    link, but I am just fascinated at how Grissom put so much tape around the knob of the bat.[/quote]

    Looks like it might be a bat ring.

    Several of the Pirates going high cuffed today seem to be having a problem with the elastic in their pantlegs.

    Watching Angels-Royals. The Halos look alright in those caps. It’s actually nice to break up the red a bit. As someone correctly guessed earlier, the Royals went with the powder.

    And Napoli just went yard. Nice!

    (9-1, 0.88)
    That’s the stats of the P we have going against us.

    Good grief. ZERO POINT EIGHT EIGHT.
    I’ve never seen one that low…………ever.

    [quote comment=”392344″]Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ’em away or something?

    Didn’t espn used to air triple headers (or at least doubleheaders) on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day? Or am I just remembering the good old days when the Braves were on TBS? Y’know, when there were more games on cable just about every day.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Good win today for the Bucs, and yes, I believe those red hats may be a stadium giveaway. It seems the Braves lost some of their popularity after they disappeared from TBS. I remember they were on channel 17 back in the late 70s, and TBS aired reruns of the original Mission:Impossible after those games.

    [quote comment=”392350″][quote comment=”392344″]Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ’em away or something?

    Didn’t espn used to air triple headers (or at least doubleheaders) on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day? Or am I just remembering the good old days when the Braves were on TBS? Y’know, when there were more games on cable just about every day.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Good win today for the Bucs, and yes, I believe those red hats may be a stadium giveaway. It seems the Braves lost some of their popularity after they disappeared from TBS. I remember they were on channel 17 back in the late 70s, and TBS aired reruns of the original Mission:Impossible after those games.[/quote]

    Next time you see one of those “Mission: Impossible” shows, notice something. Remember at the beginning of every episode how Mr. Phelps would assemble the group in some kind of living room/study? Everything on that set was black, white, gray or silver. And the wardrobe was the same. The only color in those scenes comes from the humanity: skin, hair, eyes…

    —Ricko

    Ricko, back in the TBS days the Braves were referred to as “America’s Team”…luckily they finally started winning. Announcer Skip Carey would let everyone know what was coming on after the game. Once said the show was coming on “right after this 6-4-3 double play.” The next pitch…a 6-4-3 double play.

    Now the Braves are aired on one of three networks, depending on the day. This year they enter June in first place for the first time since 2005.

    [quote comment=”392345″][quote comment=”392339″][quote comment=”392338″]Oh, and didn’t fellow former Expo Marquis Grissom also go with a style that was similar to DeShields’ for a while?[/quote]

    link, but I am just fascinated at how Grissom put so much tape around the knob of the bat.[/quote]

    Looks like it might be a bat ring.[/quote]

    In that picture, maybe. I seem to recall him putting a seemingly baseball-sized wad of athletic tape at the knob of his bat though.

    [quote comment=”392277″]The thing about today’s hats is, they’re a promotion. It isn’t about matching anything but the colors of the idea/product being communicated. If they disappear into the normal visual, you’ve failed. They’re SUPPOSED to be off-bubble, supposed to get noticed.

    If I’m promoting Cheerios, you bet your ass the hats are gonna be yellow, and I don’t give a damn what color the team(s) will be wearing with them.

    Wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve asked a client over the last 45 years, “Is the idea for your ads to blend in, or to stand out?”

    Put another way, “The surest wasy to draw attention in a field of parallel lines is to draw a diagonal.”

    Does that mean I think the promotion is a good idea, or that the hats are in any way tasteful or well-designed? Hell, no.

    Plus, there is no way for MLB to ever stop this promotion; exactly how do they quit doing it without being roundly criticized? Really, really, really an ill-advised promotion if it has no possible positive exit strategy, leaving you stuck with it forever.

    But I understand why no one thinks (and why they shouldn’t think), “Gee, it won’t match the Orioles.”

    —Ricko[/quote]

    black arm bands, that’s how they end it. or how about something like link health patch, but put the word remember in it. same thing could be done for the 4th or anything else. instead of a black band you could have a red white and blue band, or a simple tasteful link.

    sql~loved your original drawings, they were fantastic.

    Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ‘em away or something?

    Yup. link from the Pirates promotions schedule.

    With the white caps and everybody showing socks, the Pirates looked throwbacky.

    [quote comment=”392321″]In regards to the hig pants-stirrup old-skool look…

    I still prefer the look that link brings to the table. Pants are link to evoke the old-skool memories, and the stirrups <a href="link just enough sani.

    To me, that’s perfect.[/quote]

    agreed.

    [quote comment=”392355″]Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ‘em away or something?

    Yup. link from the Pirates promotions schedule.

    With the white caps and everybody showing socks, the Pirates looked throwbacky.[/quote]

    In the late 1990s, at Three Rivers Stadium, the Bucs had a Turn Back The Clock game, when they wore the distinctive 1940-41 uniforms with the
    Buccaneer head on the left chest. The hats were red , white and blue, because the team didn’t adopt the current color scheme until 1947 or 1948.

    [quote comment=”392344″]Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ’em away or something?

    Didn’t espn used to air triple headers (or at least doubleheaders) on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day? Or am I just remembering the good old days when the Braves were on TBS? Y’know, when there were more games on cable just about every day.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Part of ESPN’s MLB contract that started in 2005 was the elimination of games on Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. It’s part of this Wikipedia article, scroll down to the “2005” section.

    link

    [quote comment=”392349″](9-1, 0.88)
    That’s the stats of the P we have going against us.

    Good grief. ZERO POINT EIGHT EIGHT.
    I’ve never seen one that low…………ever.[/quote]
    Make that zero point seven eight. This just in: he’s having a pretty good season.

    But holy moly, what a disaster link. D-, Phil? You’re an easy grader.

    Something just occurred to me about Jiminez. What would his ERA be if Coors Field wasn’t his home park?

    Tweak the colors of today’s cap to match the Buccos’ color scheme, and I can get behind that as an alt cap when paired with white home unis and high cuffs all around.

    Now, black bill with gold P, or gold bill with black P?

    In the late 1990s, at Three Rivers Stadium, the Bucs had a Turn Back The Clock game, when they wore the distinctive 1940-41 uniforms with the
    Buccaneer head on the left chest. The hats were red , white and blue, because the team didn’t adopt the current color scheme until 1947 or 1948.

    I remember the 1939 unis (vs. the Giants) in 1992 and 1925 (vs. Cincinnati) in ’93, but not the 1940-41 throwbacks you mention. Are you sure? (There were also the centennials of the 1903 and 1909 World Series.)

    [quote comment=”392362″]In the late 1990s, at Three Rivers Stadium, the Bucs had a Turn Back The Clock game, when they wore the distinctive 1940-41 uniforms with the
    Buccaneer head on the left chest. The hats were red , white and blue, because the team didn’t adopt the current color scheme until 1947 or 1948.

    I remember the 1939 unis (vs. the Giants) in 1992 and 1925 (vs. Cincinnati) in ’93, but not the 1940-41 throwbacks you mention. Are you sure? (There were also the centennials of the 1903 and 1909 World Series.)[/quote]

    You have a better memory than I do regarding those earlier throwback dates, I may have been wrong about the late 90s statement. You mentioned the Giants, and I thought they might have been the opponent, but the 1939 jerseys were different from 1940-41. Let’s just say I wouldn’t bet my life on it, but thought I saw it on TV back then. I guess there’s no real way to find out for sure.

    Do we know why the Giants were allowed to wear a hat with a orange bill? I thought the only options were red or drak blue. The Mets tried to get royal blue but were denied so how did Giants get orange?

    [quote comment=”392361″]Tweak the colors of today’s cap to match the Buccos’ color scheme, and I can get behind that as an alt cap when paired with white home unis and high cuffs all around.

    Now, black bill with gold P, or gold bill with black P?[/quote]

    so … which one then?

    link

    link

    link

    or

    link

    [quote comment=”392355″]Watching Cubs at Pirates on WGN. Looks like 80 percent of the crowd is wearing last year’s red hats. They give ‘em away or something?

    Yup. link from the Pirates promotions schedule.

    With the white caps and everybody showing socks, the Pirates looked throwbacky.[/quote]

    it had to be a give away. the pirate parrot had the ice cream cone hat on too. anyone notice that? or am i just BUWE?

    [quote comment=”392365″][quote comment=”392361″]Tweak the colors of today’s cap to match the Buccos’ color scheme, and I can get behind that as an alt cap when paired with white home unis and high cuffs all around.

    Now, black bill with gold P, or gold bill with black P?[/quote]

    so … which one then?

    link

    link

    link

    or

    link[/quote]

    I vote for B.

    Check out the 1984 Mets Yearbook video on SNY right now. Nice look at the blue road alts from back then. Wouldn’t mind seeing the black give way to this next year (as well as the final once-and-for-all banishment of all black from all uniforms) for the team’s 50th season….

    This may have been mentioned before. (I just started reading the comments in detail.) Also, I may be wrong, but…

    is Rod Barajas wearing the new padded batting gloves? I saw him in the Brewers game Friday just after he came back from the wrist injury and the gloves looked like the new ones.

    [quote comment=”392365″][quote comment=”392361″]Tweak the colors of today’s cap to match the Buccos’ color scheme, and I can get behind that as an alt cap when paired with white home unis and high cuffs all around.

    Now, black bill with gold P, or gold bill with black P?[/quote]

    so … which one then?

    link

    link

    link

    or

    link[/quote]

    None of the above, I dislike white crowns on baseball hats. It would be interesting some day to research the history of white crown MLB hats.

    [quote comment=”392368″]Check out the 1984 Mets Yearbook video on SNY right now. Nice look at the blue road alts from back then. Wouldn’t mind seeing the black give way to this next year (as well as the final once-and-for-all banishment of all black from all uniforms) for the team’s 50th season….[/quote]

    Couldn’t agree more with that statement, hopefully the A’s will follow suit. At least the Royals ended their experiment.

    [quote comment=”392363″] I guess there’s no real way to find out for sure.[/quote]

    ye of no faith…

    bill henderson has the answer…

    1992=1939

    1993(a)=1925

    1993(b)=1933

    1999=bumblebee yellow

    2000=Negro League Grays

    2003=77-84 bumblebee yellows

    2004(a)=bumblebee yellow over black

    2004(b)=1903

    2004(c)=bumblebee pins (i think over black pants)

    2005=Negro League Crawfords

    ~~~

    that’s all my style guide goes up to, but i know they’ve done the 1909’s (and i think another) as well

    Anyone else think Mr. Jordan would be none too happy to see his statue decked out in Reebok gear while dressed as a Blackhawk?

    [quote comment=”392372″][quote comment=”392363″] I guess there’s no real way to find out for sure.[/quote]

    ye of no faith…

    bill henderson has the answer…

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link (i think over black pants)

    link

    ~~~

    that’s all my style guide goes up to, but i know they’ve done the 1909’s (and i think another) as well[/quote]

    The ’33 jersey looks way too much like the Red Sox.

    The “2000” Grays are 2001. The Bucs were still at Three Rivers in 2000, not PNC.

    Those ’05 Crawfords are very cool. Almost as good as the bumblebee yellows.

    [quote comment=”392364″]Do we know why the Giants were allowed to wear a hat with a orange bill? I thought the only options were red or drak blue. The Mets tried to get royal blue but were denied so how did Giants get orange?[/quote]

    im pretty sure the bill was red

    Looking at the ’88 Yearbook video now … I never liked the block “NEW YORK” on the road greys, mostly because it was just lame and unimaginative, but I think having the white trim around the letters, numerals and racing stripes on that jersey didn’t help either. The ’93-94 script “New York” had that too. It took until 1995 to get it right. (Of course, it only took until 1998 to screw it up again…)

    [quote comment=”392328″]The pic of Jamie Moyer’s in correctly worn pants (not TOO high) and stirrups, contrasted with the guy on second’s oversized, full length, wrinkled pants should make it plain to anyone how desperate we need uniform regulations from MLB. Selig told a manager he couldn’t wear a hooded team jacket but allows players to look like crap. Grow a pair, Bud. The litness test for the next commish should be uni regulations and no DH.[/quote]

    ‘Litmus test’ is what you’re looking for, chief.

    @phil

    the giants hats looked red in that picture, but watching the game on tv it was clear to see the bills were orange. Check highlights on mlb.com

    Uh…a bit belated, but time for a song in honor of yesterday’s DIY whiffle ball field. (With an original verse added by me.) Hit it, Marshall!

    He’s the man on the street,
    With the D-Two beat,
    When a jersey is born,
    He’ll consider it worn.

    He’ll wear magenta shoes
    With a lime green tee,
    And what’s in his closet,
    You can’t un-see.

    (Here comes the chorus.)
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!

    [quote comment=”392379″]Uh…a bit belated, but time for a song in honor of yesterday’s DIY whiffle ball field. (With an original verse added by me.) Hit it, Marshall!

    He’s the man on the street,
    With the D-Two beat,
    When a jersey is born,
    He’ll consider it worn.

    He’ll wear magenta shoes
    With a lime green tee,
    And what’s in his closet,
    You can’t un-see.

    (Here comes the chorus.)
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker![/quote]

    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.

    by the way i thought pineapple’s head was going to explode when hossa scored that first goal.

    [quote comment=”392378″]@phil

    the giants hats looked red in that picture, but watching the game on tv it was clear to see the bills were orange. Check highlights on mlb.com[/quote]
    Looked link to me.

    [quote comment=”392380″][quote comment=”392379″]Uh…a bit belated, but time for a song in honor of yesterday’s DIY whiffle ball field. (With an original verse added by me.) Hit it, Marshall!

    He’s the man on the street,
    With the D-Two beat,
    When a jersey is born,
    He’ll consider it worn.

    He’ll wear magenta shoes
    With a lime green tee,
    And what’s in his closet,
    You can’t un-see.

    (Here comes the chorus.)
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker![/quote]

    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]
    Nope. Never heard of Gaunt, in fact. I just wrote my lyrics to make sure it was in a natural 4/4 time to jive with “Jim Vilk Motherf*cker.”

    [quote comment=”392374″][quote comment=”392372″][quote comment=”392363″] I guess there’s no real way to find out for sure.[/quote]

    ye of no faith…

    bill henderson has the answer…

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link (i think over black pants)

    link

    ~~~

    that’s all my style guide goes up to, but i know they’ve done the 1909’s (and i think another) as well[/quote]

    The ’33 jersey looks way too much like the Red Sox.

    The “2000” Grays are 2001. The Bucs were still at Three Rivers in 2000, not PNC.

    Those ’05 Crawfords are very cool. Almost as good as the bumblebee yellows.[/quote]

    I stand corrected then, Henderson’s information seems reliable. That means the 1940-41 and 1970-76 uniforms will available in the future for a throwback day. The 1940-41 uniform and hat must have been considered colorful for that era, and not very popular, since it was abandoned after only two seasons. The hat had a white stripe across the bottom of the crown, something which seems unusual.

    I was watching the SF game on TV too, and I saw red bills. Billy I think you’re the only one seeing them as orange. They were the same color as what the Rockies were wearing and Colorado has no reason at all to ask for orange.

    I know that these caps are so unpopular, but I’m certainly going to buy the Padres version. I saw some at Sports Authority today, but every single one had some yellow staining on the side. That was disappointing.

    [quote comment=”392380″]
    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    im so glad you posted that

    it’s actually less annoying than nails on a chalkboard

    [quote comment=”392385″]I know that these caps are so unpopular, but I’m certainly going to buy the Padres version. I saw some at Sports Authority today, but every single one had some yellow staining on the side. That was disappointing.[/quote]

    sorry

    /too easy

    [quote comment=”392386″][quote comment=”392380″]
    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    im so glad you posted that

    it’s actually less annoying than link[/quote]
    i can’t believe you suckered me into clicking on that!!!! and that gaunt song rocks.

    [quote comment=”392388″][quote comment=”392386″][quote comment=”392380″]
    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    im so glad you posted that

    it’s actually less annoying than link[/quote]
    i can’t believe you suckered me into clicking on that!!!! and that gaunt song rocks.[/quote]
    I had to wait until the game was over to ask, but was Kate link after the Hossa goal (and Eager’s for that matter)?

    [quote comment=”392389″][quote comment=”392388″][quote comment=”392386″][quote comment=”392380″]
    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    im so glad you posted that

    it’s actually less annoying than link[/quote]
    i can’t believe you suckered me into clicking on that!!!! and that gaunt song rocks.[/quote]
    I had to wait until the game was over to ask, but was Kate link after the Hossa goal (and Eager’s for that matter)?[/quote]

    no she hates the song too, and wishes they would stop being c**k sores, and put it away. but she did like that they came out to stranglehold and went on a 5 minute tirade about how that was more appropriate to chicago then that goal song yada yada. it thought she was going to beat me up she was so jacked about about the subject.

    [quote comment=”392390″][quote comment=”392389″][quote comment=”392388″][quote comment=”392386″][quote comment=”392380″]
    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    im so glad you posted that

    it’s actually less annoying than link[/quote]
    i can’t believe you suckered me into clicking on that!!!! and that gaunt song rocks.[/quote]
    I had to wait until the game was over to ask, but was Kate link after the Hossa goal (and Eager’s for that matter)?[/quote]

    no she hates the song too, and wishes they would stop being c**k sores, and put it away. but she did like that they came out to stranglehold and went on a 5 minute tirade about how that was more appropriate to chicago then that goal song yada yada. it thought she was going to beat me up she was so jacked about about the subject.[/quote]
    They came out to Stranglehold and not link tonight?

    And Phil, what the hell is wrong with you? That Gaunt song kicked ass. I suppose you don’t like link, either.

    [quote comment=”392391″]
    And Phil, what the hell is wrong with you? That Gaunt song kicked ass. I suppose you don’t like link, either.[/quote]

    no…that version kicked ass

    You have a better memory than I do regarding those earlier throwback dates, I may have been wrong about the late 90s statement. You mentioned the Giants, and I thought they might have been the opponent, but the 1939 jerseys were different from 1940-41. Let’s just say I wouldn’t bet my life on it, but thought I saw it on TV back then.

    I was at all the home games on Phil’s list except for the Grays, and so I’d have been very surprised if I’d missed seeing the 1941 unis. In both 2004 and 2009, they played three-game series against the Reds to commemorate ’79 where I only went to one game. (Now that I think of it, they wore the vests for one game in 2000 to commemorate 1960 – I didn’t go.)

    That Gaunt song is nice. I had never heard of them. And they were on Thrill Jockey!

    [quote comment=”392387″][quote comment=”392385″]I know that these caps are so unpopular, but I’m certainly going to buy the Padres version. I saw some at Sports Authority today, but every single one had some yellow staining on the side. That was disappointing.[/quote]

    link

    /too easy[/quote]
    Classic. I knew someone was going to do that. Good going Phil.

    [quote comment=”392391″][quote comment=”392390″][quote comment=”392389″][quote comment=”392388″][quote comment=”392386″][quote comment=”392380″]
    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    im so glad you posted that

    it’s actually less annoying than link[/quote]
    i can’t believe you suckered me into clicking on that!!!! and that gaunt song rocks.[/quote]
    I had to wait until the game was over to ask, but was Kate link after the Hossa goal (and Eager’s for that matter)?[/quote]

    no she hates the song too, and wishes they would stop being c**k sores, and put it away. but she did like that they came out to stranglehold and went on a 5 minute tirade about how that was more appropriate to chicago then that goal song yada yada. it thought she was going to beat me up she was so jacked about about the subject.[/quote]
    They came out to Stranglehold and not link tonight?

    And Phil, what the hell is wrong with you? That Gaunt song kicked ass. I suppose you don’t like link, either.[/quote]

    i knew what was coming, but i have to admit i watched, and then papple watched that one all the way through, it is well done. still hate the song!

    [quote comment=”392394″]That Gaunt song is nice. I had never heard of them. And they were on Thrill Jockey![/quote]

    they are many things, but “nice”?

    [quote comment=”392380″][quote comment=”392379″]Uh…a bit belated, but time for a song in honor of yesterday’s DIY whiffle ball field. (With an original verse added by me.) Hit it, Marshall!

    He’s the man on the street,
    With the D-Two beat,
    When a jersey is born,
    He’ll consider it worn.

    He’ll wear magenta shoes
    With a lime green tee,
    And what’s in his closet,
    You can’t un-see.

    (Here comes the chorus.)
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker!
    Jim Vilk! Motherf*cker![/quote]

    mike~ do you know gaunt? it sure looks like you do. for everyone else, the original mothervilker song comes from link.[/quote]

    Always wondered what inspired the original song…

    And Mike, that’s some dope lyrics you’re busting, homeboy. There’ll be a vibe solo as well, right?

    Although you may want to substitute “dark turquoise” for “magenta.” Gotta find that picture of my old Reebok high tops.

    Sorry motherVilker, but as a 19 year-old, I will inform you that dope, unless used in reference to weed, is no longer cool.

    Lost in all the Memorial Day hat madness were the umpires’ hats. Relatively tame this year, either navy or black (couldn’t tell on my TV), with a giant star-spangled Jerry Dior logo on the front. Contrast to last year, when the umps AND the players wore red hats. Relative upgrade.

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