• Billy Goat Tavern – Ah, the history. My colleague kept calling this place “The Stinky Goat”, which was pretty accurate. We went to the original location, which is hidden in the depths of Chicago below Michigan Ave. It was pretty cool trying to track it down, but it wasn’t too hard because of all the signs. According to history, a goat fell off a truck and wandered in the tavern. The owner, Billy Sianis, adopted the goat and then brought it to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field. Because of the goat’s odor, Sianis was kicked out of the park and supposedly placed a curse on the Cubs.I didn’t make it to Wrigley Field (which is nowhere near the Billy Goat Tavern by foot) on this trip, but I hope to someday.

• Ed Debevic’s – When I was on vacation in the Florida Keys, I watched a little bit of the Food Network and saw a special on Chicago. They mentioned Ed Debevic’s and showed how the waiters and waitresses would be rude to you. I thought it was hilarious and wrote down the name of the restaurant.My colleague and I didn’t get picked on that much… I got called a “nerd” when I called a waitresses buttons “flare” (as made famous by Office Space). The group of guys behind us weren’t so lucky. One got called four eyes and the other was called “an old Tom Seller” due to his mustache and curly hair. When they brought out a pitcher of water, the cups were face down in the pitcher! Pretty clever.

  It’s a 50s style restaurant and the waitstaff will take turns singing songs… sometimes they will dedicate songs to their table. On our night, one of the waiters dedicated a song to his table and then sang “The Lady is a Tramp”.

• Cloud Gate aka “The Bean” – Just finished in 2006, “The Bean” has quickly become one of the top symbols of Chicago. It is the centerpiece of Millennium Park, which has many impressive features including an ice rink and the very intriguing Crown Fountain. The Crown Fountain is a video sculpture of two different faces. There is a hole near the mouth of both faces that will spot water out in the summer.

  I find it hard to believe that “The Bean” is made of stainless steel welded together and highly polished on the outside. I now understand that it took a couple years to build. It’s very cool to walk around and underneath.

  Across the road, we wandered in the Chicago Cultural Center, which is home to two impressive domes. One is the largest TIffany Dome in the world and the other is a yellow-toned stained-glass dome.

We did try to go to the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), but it was cloudy so we decided against going up. Check out my full set of Chicago photos on Flickr.

Oh, and what town do MLB fans probably want to avoid living in? Turner, Montana.

[Flip Flop Fly Ball]

[flipflopflyball via information aesthetics]

Who are the top sleeper picks this year? I’m not really sure, but here are some of my top guesses:

1. Kelly Shoppach (Indians) – Catcher
   With teammate Víctor Martínez playing more games at first, it’s likely that Shop will get the opportunity to continue the starting catching role this season.  He was long predicted as the successor to Jason Varitek on the Sox, but due to Tek’s consistency from 2003-2005, Shop was traded away. Just like Hanley, this will probably end up as a move the Sox will regret. Take Shoppach in late rounds as a backup catcher.
2. Ryan Doumit (Pirates ) – Catcher
   Doumit has potential to be a top 5 catcher this season if he stays healthy.  At 28, there’s a good chance he could end up as one of your keepers for next season, and you can probably get him in the middle rounds of a draft. After returning from an injury in the middle of last season, Doumit kept his average above .330.
3. Clint Barmes (Rockies) – 2B/3B/SS
   Most people remember Barmes (Bar-Miss) as the guy who was injured bringing in groceries in the 2005 season. He hasn’t really been the same since, but he hit .290 in ’08 and should be poised to play a full season for the Rockies either as the starting second baseman or as one of the best utility men in the league. You should be able to get Barmes in the last round of a draft, or off waivers if the draft already happened.
4. Chris Carpenter (Cardinals) – Starting Pitcher
   Carpenter returned from Tommy John surgery late last season. Fantasy owners who kept Carpenter on their roster all season were kind of disappointed to only get four starts out of him. With little run support, Carpenter went 0-1 with a 1.76 ERA. He will probably be overlooked by most teams in a fantasy league, but I would take him in the mid-late rounds after drafting at least two other solid starting pitchers.
5. Jonathan Sánchez (Giants) – Starting Pitcher
   Even though he has a career ERA well above 5.00, Sánchez had 157 strikeouts last season. At 26, he has plenty of time to work on his control and attain an acceptable ERA. Consider him in late rounds after you have at least three or four other starting pitchers.
6. James Loney (Dodgers) – First Base
   He’s 25, and in the absolute worst case you will get everything out of him except home runs. But, Loney’s working on his power and is worthy of being any team’s starting first basemen. He’s looking good in spring training, so if you don’t already have a keeper at 1st, consider Loney.
7. Edwin Jackson (Tigers) – Starting Pitcher
   Would you believe me if I told you that Jackson is second in the Tiger’s rotation? Ok, the Tigers don’t exactly have the best rotation in the league. In fact, it’s probably the worst because the team is full of old or washed up pitchers (e.g. Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers, Dontrelle Willis, Freddy Garcia). Over the past two season with Tampa Bay, Edwin has gained significant experience. In 2008, he dropped his ERA more than 1 point to 4.42. The 25-year old is ready to step into a leadership role and I would look for that ERA to drop even further this season.
8. Gordon Beckham (White Sox) – Second Base
   Beckham was one of my favorite players to watch in the Cape Cod Baseball League 2007 season. He’s going to start the season in AA, but I would expect him to move up quickly by mid-season. The White Sox have a lot of question marks in the infield, so there aren’t really any players blocking Beckham from moving in. Beckham probably won’t appear draftable in any league, but make sure to keep an eye open for him.
9. Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks) – Starting Pitcher
   If healthy, The Big Unit can be a great option to fill a starting rotation. He’ll give you plenty of strikeouts and will probably land an ERA under 4.00. He will be a sleeper in mid-late rounds. If anything, the name “Randy Johnson” will probably strike a little fear into the hearts of your opponents.
10. Chris Ray (Orioles) – Relief Pitcher
    Ray is another guy coming off Tommy John surgery in 2007. He didn’t get to pitch last season, but he should work his way back to the closer role to replace George Sherrill in mid 2009. Take him in later rounds after there are a couple of safer closers in your pen.

Update (4/23/09): Doumit and Carpenter are now on the DL, so ignore my advice on them. However, Carpenter’s appearances before his injury were very promising. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick him up when he’s ready again. Barmes is underperforming, but he is still a good utility man that can fill-in when necessary.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Silver was also interviewed by Keith Olbermann and interviewed by Stephen Colbert.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Evil Empire closed the doors to Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008. The Yanks failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995. New Yankee Stadium will open on my birthday next year (April 16, 2009). Don’t bother to get me tickets unless the Red Sox are playing.

Tim’s older brother is Red Sox All-Star outfielder J.D. Drew. Tim’s younger brother is Diamondbacks starting shortstop and future All-Star Stephen Drew. Both J.D. and Stephen attended Florida State University and played in the Alaska Baseball League summer league (otherwise I would have posted this on CodBall).

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

The human arm really is not built to throw a baseball. Like John, like a lot of pitchers, Tim Drew’s arm busted. He had an operation: Three tacks were inserted in his shoulder. He came back this year, but it didn’t take him long to realize that whatever he had wasn’t there anymore.

After the game in York, he only asked John for one more favor: Sunday, back in Bridgeport, to start the game against Camden, he put Eric DuBose, his best friend on the team, behind the plate, and Drew threw one more pitch.

Then Drew walked off the mound forever. He’s going to go to community college. We hear about J.D. and Steve Drew. But most ballplayers are the brother in-between. They’re Tim Drew, and they hate to leave the game, but one day they realize they must.

Just give me one last pitch and I’ll be gone.

It was a strike, right on the corner.

[Listen to the 4 minute story on NPR's website]

Here’s a video from NESN (hopefully MLB will not take it down from YouTube):

Click here to view the embedded video.

What else does Manny do that amazes us? He hits home runs to every corner of the park. Check out this awesome visualization of his 500 HRs from The Boston Globe:

(thanks Katelyn!)