centerfield maz

Over the past few years I have gotten away from Christmas music during the Holiday Season. It's over saturation of the market way in advance has kind of turned me off, as well as the fact that everyone puts out a Christmas album these days, even those who don't believe in what Christmas is all about. That said, I've always enjoyed the rock & roll Christmas songs most notably Ronnie Spector & Brian Setzer. Last night the Brian Setzer Orchestra's 9th Christmas Extravaganza rocked the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. The local Long Island boy, from Massapequa, comes home almost every year to put on his special concert. It was an exciting night since it also was the opening night of a U.S tour that takes BSO right to Christmas over the next month. Setzer first received fame as leader of the Stray Cats in the early eighties capturing a revival of rockabilly music. The Stray Cats were popular on Long Island & in Manhattan at places like CBGS & Max&

What an incredible night at Madison Square Garden for the Aerosmith / Cheap Trick Concert. It began at 5:30 PM with a meet & greet with Cheap Trick. This was very kool & something I would do again in the future with other bands (if affordable). We got to walk backstage & under the stage out on the same path the band takes during the concert. There were a small group of us which included people from Australia, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Boston & Connecticut as well as us local New Yorkers. We were met by a Cheap Trick representative & taken on our journey. We received a signed lithograph, a backstage lanyard pass & lots of guitar pics. Rick Nielson's thing is throwing out & giving out pics. There was a photo op. with actual guitars the band used on stage that night & then the big moment. A meeting with the band & photo op taken by the representative. This was so kool, first off the guys were great; Nice, polite approachable & very thankful

George Lewis McCarty was born on November 17th, 1888 in Milton Pennsylvania. The five foot eleven rugged catcher played three years in Newark, New Jersey playing AA ball from 1913-1915. Lew McCarty began his career in Brooklyn playing for the Brooklyn Superbas who changed their name to the Robins. They would become the Dodgers in the early thirties. In his first full season he was one of the league's best catchers, coming in the top twenty for the MVP voting. He batted .254 with one HR 30 RBIs. Behind the plate he threw out 42% of would be base stealers, although he allowed 103 stolen bases (third most in the NNL) posting a .970 fielding %. In Brooklyn he was a team mate to Casey Stengel. Late in th 1916 season he was traded to the New York Giants in exchange for the infamous Fred Merkle. At the time of the trade the Robins were in first place & went on to win a pennant that year as well. With the Giants he settled in as the backup catcher to Bill Rariden, playing 25 gam

Orlando Rodriquez Mercado was born on November 7th 1961 in Arecibo Puerto Rico. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners in 1978 as an amateur free agent. The six foot right handed catcher would make it to the big leagues by 1982. He would be the Mariners back up catcher to Rick Sweet in 1983 & Mike Kearney in 1984. He spent time between the minor leagues in those seasons as well ,batting .358 at AAA Salt Lake City in 1984. The journeyman would go to the Texas Rangers (1986) for 46 games, then the Detroit Tigers (10 games) & Los Angles Dodgers (7 games) in 1987. In 1988 he went to the Oakland A's seeing some time from April through June for the AL Champions. He then signed with the Minnesota Twins for one season in 1989& was granted free agency. In 1990 he signed with the New York Mets. He got his first Mets start behind the plate on April 15th catching Ron Darlings in a 3-1 loss to the Expos at Montreal. He went hitless in his first five games, then on June 9th he

John Reaves Watson was born on October 16th 1896 in Arizona, Louisiana. The six foot one right handed pitcher attended Baylor University at Waco Texas. He is one of forty MLB players to play for the Baylor Bears. Watson earned the nickname "Mule" by the time he got to the big leagues where he debuted with Connie Macks Philadelphia Athletics in 1918. That year he twice pitched complete games in both ends of a double header. On the year he was 7-10 as both starter & reliever in 21 games. He moved on to the Boston Braves playing there from 1920-1923, having his best year in 1921. On August 13th 1921 Watson pitched both ends of a double header, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in both games. In the second game he pitched a two hit shut out. That year he won a career high 14 games (14-13) pitching 259 innings (8th most in the NL) with a 3.77 ERA in 31 starts (9th most in the NL). In June of 1923 he was traded to the New York Giants along with Hank Gowdy for Jesse Barnes

The NBC Telethon Concert for donations for relief efforts of Hurricane Sandy put on a good show tonight. Some veteran rockers who all have ties with the area put on a hell of a quick concert to raise money. Staten Island's Christina  Aguilera opened the show with a version of her song "Beautiful". John Bon Jovi showed footage of him visiting his New Jersey hometown this week surveying the damage. He then sang acoustic versions of " Who Says You Cant Go Home" & "Living On A Prayer". Long Island's Billy Joel backd by Brooklyn's Mark Rivera on sax, did a great version of "Miami 2017" with haunting revamped lyrics to fit the storm damaged situation. One of the highlights of the night was a redidtion of "Under the Boardwalk" sung by Steven Tyler, Jimmy Fallon, Billy Joel on Piano, Mark Rivera on backing vocals & Bruce Springsteen on guitar as well as vocals. Aerosmith's- St even Tyler (born in Yonkers) Joe P

Richard Allan Sisler was born into a talented baseball family November 2, 1920 at St. Louis Missouri. He was the son of St. Louis Browns (1915-1927) Hall of Famer George Sisler who hit over .400 twice, won two batting titles (1920 & 1922) & was the 1922 AL MVP. He won three stolen base titles, was the league leader in triples & hits twice each. He finished his career with a .340 batting average (16th all time), 2812 hits (47th all time), 102 HRs, 425 doubles (134th all time) & 164 triples (30th all time). George posted 375 stolen bases (88th all time), 1175 RBIs (159th all time), & a .379 on base % (177th all time). He also played for the Washington Senators (1928) & Boston Braves (1928-1930). His younger brother Dave Sisler was a relief pitcher in the sixties with the Boston Red Sox (1956-1959) Detroit Tigers (1959-1960) Washington Senators (1961) & Cincinnati Reds (19610). He posted a 38-44 record with 29 saves a 4.33 ERA in 247 games. His older b