Everything at Chase Field is Half Off

Um...you guys want to get a technician out there? I took this photo about a half hour before game time and half of the roof here at Chase Field is not working. Are we going to have to play with the roof closed even though its a nice night here in Phoenix?


Update - They did fix the roof about 10 minutes before 1st pitch.

Mud not Mudd

You might be wondering, why is there a picture of ladies shoes on this blog? Well, Mark Grant asked me to tackle a very important subject to him. His name.

Mud has read some of the comments and wanted me to address the way his name has been spelled. Many of you have offered comments and suggestions to or about "Mudd." Our own analyst wanted me to pass along that his name is "Mud" while "Mudd" are jeans.








So, Mud wants to remind everyone, "when you think Mudd, think great fittin' jeans...."















"...and when you think Mud, think one great guy."

Yes that's a direct quote. As always, sorry.

The Magic of the Pointer

Before we get into tonight's post, a quick response to a recent comment. As always, thanks for the comments and keep them coming.

Love the stirrups on Cruz Jr. Whats up with the nickname you guys call him? What does it mean and stand for? Love you guys. Cheri

By Cheri, At April 23

Cheri, the name that Matt and Mud call Jose is Cheo (pronounced Chay-o). Mud asked Jose about it and he said that it is a nickname for anyone named Jose. Just like the nickname for Eduardo is "Lalo," for Jose its "Cheo."


The theme of the post tonight is the pointer. If you've been watching the telecast, you saw Matt use one of these beauties to point at Mud's sketch for entry in the t-shirt contest. This all started when I bought one of these when I was a spotter for Matt during an NFL game. I never made it to the game thanks to some winter storms and it stayed in my bag for the entire winter. During spring training I pulled it out a few times and its the kind of stupid funny thing that we love. I know some of you are reading this thinking "you guys? Stupid funny? No way...you're yankin' my chain"

Mark Grant has fully embraced the pointer and bought one of his own. It really has taken on a life of its own here in the booth. I asked Mud about the pointer and he said "I love the pointer! It's awesome!"

When I asked Matt about it, he shook his head and muttered something about hating us all.

Hopefully all of you at home have seen one of the pointers up in the booth as it is one of the silly things that keeps us sane up here over the course of the long season.

The Humidor Effect

Tonight Matt and Mud arrive in Colorado for their first look at Coors Field in 2007. If you watched any of the broadcasts from Denver last season, you probably heard about how scoring was down dramatically at "Coors Canaveral" in 2006. While this might be a welcome change for the guys in the booth, the sudden drop in scoring seemed rather suspicious. Conventional wisdom shifted blame to the humidor which is run by Rockies engineer Anthony Cowell. Even a quick glance at last year's numbers tell an interesting story about the Rockies pitching staff.

• There were 12 shutouts at Coors Field in 2006 between the Rockies and their opponents. The previous high was 6 shutouts in 1997
• The Rockies posted their best team ERA in franchise history in 2006 with a 4.66 ERA.
• Three of the six best seasons by Rockies pitchers (measured by ERA) came in 2006.

People took notice around the league and the first to speak out was Jeff Cirillo of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cirillo, who played two seasons in Colorado pre-humidor, agreed the Rockies have better pitching now, "but at the same time, does that mean the rest of the league has better pitching, also?" Cirillo suggested shenanigans with the humidor could account for the dip in scoring and the decline in home runs at the ballpark that used to be known as "Coors Canaveral" for all the baseballs that were launched into the seats. "The other thing, too, is what if the Rockies get behind by a lot of runs in a game? Say they break out the non-humidor balls, you know
what I'm saying?" Cirillo said.
- AP - Aug 2, 2006


After these comments, scoring returned to normal levels at Coors Field

• In the 54 games before Cirillo's comments, teams playing at Coors averaged a combined 8.96 runs per game
• In the 27 games after Cirillo's comments, teams averaged 14.25 combined runs per game

Seems a little suspicious doesn't it? And it brings up a greater question about the humidor. Is it necesary to alter the baseballs in Colorado to reduce the effect of the altitude on the game? Be sure to leave your opinion in the comments section as we'll be tackling this issue all series long.

The Friendly Confines

The Padres are at Wrigley Field tonight and that means Matt and Mark are at their favorite ballpark in the big leagues.

I asked them for their 3 favorite parks in the game and this is how their lists go.

Matt
1) Wrigley Field
2) Safeco Field
3) Dodger Stadium

Mud
1) Wrigley Field
2) Fenway Park
3) PNC Park

This is always a fun topic to debate so let us know in the comments. What are your favorite parks? How do you feel about Matt and Mud's lists?

YOGURT WATCH 2007

Here is what I'm going to be looking at all night. Mud always crushes the free frozen yogurt in the Dodger Stadium press box. Tonight, through 4 innings, Mud is working on his 3rd frozen yogurt. Check back throughout the night as I keep you loyal readers updated on "YOGURT WATCH 2007"


UPDATE - Mud has moved on to Hot Dogs here in the 7th. He is stuck on 3 yougurt's


UPDATE 4/14 - Mud is through 2 yogurts at the end of the 2nd inning. He is ahead of last night's pace. Make sure to check back later as you've seen Mud finishing up yougurt #2 on TV. I'll make sure to track this stat along with many others as the Friars are up 6-0.

Has Hockey Suit Been Retired?

For those of you who are faithful Channel 4 viewers, first of all, thank you. Second, what has happened to one of the biggest catch phrases from the broadcast? I forgot to put and over/under number on the number of times Mud says "hockey suit" on The Official Matt and Mud Prediction post.

Is anyone else wondering where "Hockey Suit!" has gone? Has it gone the way of an in-shape Mark Grant? I know I know, that wasn't very nice. I know Mud has a legion of fans out there.

Stirrup Mania

If you're watching the game tonight you'll probably notice that Jose Cruz Jr. is wearing his pants high and the 70's style stirrups. In fact he's wearing them the way his Dad wore them for the Astros.

You don't see too many players wearing that style of stirrups anymore as they opt for the lower arch or the solid sock














Still, up in the booth, we love the players that wear the classic stirrups. The picture of Kevin Millar is pretty good but its nice to see a player with Jose Cruz Jr., the son of a Major Leaguer, showing some respect to the style of the past. Even if it is with the way he wears his stirrups.

Former Friars Return

If you're watching the game today, you've seen Steve Finley leading off in center field for the Rockies. He's the first player in Major League history to play for every team in a five team division. In this age of player movement, we see familiar faces in strange uniforms all the time. For example, Luis Gonzalez doesn't look right in Dodger blue. And even though Steve Finley has been continuing his tour of the NL West, it's been strange to see him in the various uniforms from around the division. With all the ex-Padres scattered around Major League Baseball, who is your favorite former Friar to see back at PETCO Park?

And if you heard Mud doing his best Karen Carpenter impersonation in the top of the 3rd, I apologize. For all of us.

Secret Pop

If you were listening to the broadcast tonight, you heard Mud hang the nickname "Secret Pop" on Sledge. What do you, the fans, think of the new moniker?

2007 Predictions

Before we get to the predictions, a little bit of housekeeping. I will do my best to keep up with the comments and answer questions where I can. So, before I get to the 2007 Matt and Mud predictions, I wanted to address a comment from Sandy and Jim.

We still cannot figure out why the San Diego Padres let Dave Roberts go? He is such a fire cracker. He can get the game going, usually gets on base, loves to still bags and gives the opposing pitcher grief, makes great catches, and has some wheels. And if this is not enough, he has a great attitude. Wouldn't every team want a player like that, especially San Diego?

I think all Padre fans agree that Dave Roberts gave the Friars two very productive seasons. While I see the points that you make, here is what the Padres would tell you about that decision.
- Dave Roberts turns 35 years old in May and signed a contract with the Giants that will end when he is 37. This contract is for an average of 6 million dollars a year. The Padres deemed this too much to spend on a player that is getting older.
- The Doctor has a history of injuries. He has never played 130 games in a season. Also, as players get older, they tend to get hurt more often. The Padres didn't believe he would stay healthy enough over a contract of that length.

Sandy, while these arguments aren't the most pleasant to hear, that was the Padres reasoning was for letting Roberts go. On a personal level, it was tough to see him leave because he is such a great guy and clubhouse presence. Only time will tell if it was the right decision.

And now, on to the 2007 Matt and Mud Predictions
These predictions aren't going to be the typical prognostications. We aren't tackling who will lead the team in hits or home runs. We're going to address some of the things that you know Matt and Mark for and just how often they will happen. Feel free to give us your over/under predictions in the comments in addition to your own categories. Now on to the completely unscientific forecast.

Number of times...
- Mud says "if he hits it, it's a double" after a replay of a check swing - 148 times
- Matt sings as his home run call - 2
- Mud references a double/double inning - 46
- Matt screams "SANTA MARIA!" - 31
- Mud references the "Magical Shillelagh!" - 78
- Matt gets on Mud for begging on ball and strike calls - 101
- Director Tom Ceterski uses one of his flag shots - 83
- Matt or Mark bring up a look-alike - 241
- Matt brings up Mud's nutritional habits (this includes calling him "Leon") - 52
- Mud brings up Matt's penchant for gardening - 29
- Matt calls Mud "Coco the Clown" - 54

And now, let the predictions begin.

The Giants Mechanical Man

For those of you who don't remember what Matt was talking about in the bottom of the 7th inning, here is a picture of Rusty, the Mechanical Man. For those of you who do remember him, you'll remember that he had his share of problems.

Opening Day Is Here!

There is no way you can call yourself a baseball fan and not have a little bit of a hop in your step when opening day rolls around. It’s just not possible. Even people who have been around the game for a long time, like Matt and Mark, feel a very real excitement on opening day.

Matt and Mud are up in San Francisco trying to get ready for the first game of the year as I write this. It is a day where preparation is very difficult because this is a day to also renew relationships. There are so many people that you bump into on every opening day that you haven’t seen since last season, it’s easy to lose two hours just catching up and telling stories. While that is usually in the press box, before the game Matt and Mud got a chance to head down to the Giants clubhouse and check in with “Padres north.” From new manager Bruce Bochy, to new center fielder Dave Roberts, the Giants have several faces that are familiar to Padres fans. Think a little about how many former Padres are in a Giants uniform this year, you might be asked a question about it later.

More importantly though is that opening day really does feel as magical as broadcasters make it out to be. Even though they are doing their job, the fan inside of Matt and Mark can’t help but come out on opening day. Especially when the Padres are two-time defending NL West Champions.

Have a great season everyone.