Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 28, 2010, 8:58 am
I am officially hanging up my spikes. Where does that phrase come from, by the way? My baseball career has come to an end and I feel no need to 'hang my spikes' anywhere. I mean, I may get them dipped in gold for my display case and add some dramatic backlighting, but they won't be hanging.This m... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 19, 2010, 11:19 am
This weekend I spoke with a friend of mine about Bryce Harper's future. Despite his impressive body of work there is just so much that we don't know about him yet. Probably the hardest thing about scouting a player is projecting how well he will deal with the inevitable failures associated with th... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 18, 2010, 5:21 pm
Initially I thought that people were making too much of Hanley Ramirez jogging after the ball in Monday's game. (video here) While you hate to see it, it certainly didn't influence the outcome of the game. If he had come in the clubhouse, apologized, and admitted to a mental lapse - it would have ... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 17, 2010, 10:33 am
The original Karate Kid is near and dear to my heart. So near and so dear, in fact, that I once named my fade-away jumper "the crane kick" - because "if do right, no can defense." It's one of those movies that I end up watching every time I come across it on cable (others include A Few Good Men, ... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 13, 2010, 1:23 pm
This is actually really similar to my own performance at my middle school talent show. The only difference is I played Hot Cross Buns on the recorder instead. And it wasn't in the auditorium and there wasn't an audience per se, just some stuffed animals that I arranged on my bed in my room. So I ... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 10, 2010, 12:33 pm
Kershaw punched out Todd Helton 3 times yesterday in as many at bats. If you have a second, take a look at the video embedded in this article. Notice anything different between Helton's first two at bats and his third at bat? After striking out in his first two attempts, he ditched his pink bat a... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 10, 2010, 11:06 am
After sifting through 6 or 7 stories about Braden's perfect game, I've concluded that I'm not going to be able to add anything of value to what is already a remarkable story. I will say this, there is just something fundamentally wrong about being redirected from your local broadcast to a no hitter ... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 6, 2010, 3:52 pm
You may have noticed that I have added a donation button to my blog. It all started a few weeks back, when I wrote a post that yielded some interesting comments:Anonymous said... if you are going to quit anything, quit mowing the lawn. April 13, 2010 12:55 PM I loved this comment and wanted an... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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May 4, 2010, 1:34 pm
Searching for a new job has to be the most inefficient process known to man. I've felt more productive while waiting in lines at the DMV.You've probably figured it out by now, but I haven't heard any good news on the baseball front. In the meantime, I've spent my days perusing job search sites and... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Apr 20, 2010, 9:35 am
Eckstein's 10th inning homerun got me thinking.Did you know that in 2002, David Eckstein led all of Major League Baseball in grand slams with 3? Thats right, this guy:I'm at least 80% sure he spends his off-seasons as our neighborhood lawn boy. I just know that it's David I see pushing his lawnmow... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Apr 16, 2010, 4:11 pm
In case you missed it, Kurt Suzuki made a pretty incredible play last night against the Mariners.The real highlight however, was Bob Geren's post game analysis of the play:If we win the game, that was the game-winning play. But we didn't score any runs...What do you think, Carlos? Does that make th... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Apr 14, 2010, 8:48 pm
I cannot get through this video without giggling, and I'm not sure what that says about me. I'm blaming the infectious background laughter - not my own immaturity.
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Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Apr 12, 2010, 3:25 pm
For about three weeks now, the blogosphere has been under extreme duress. Alas, in an attempt to restore order, I am making my return to D(T)JL. I was going to post this on Thursday, but I didn't want to compete with Tiger's much anticipated return to the Master's. We all know that he's had a rou... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 23, 2010, 3:56 pm
I am officially out of the running for the 5th spot in the rotation. I was released on Saturday.Coming in to camp, I knew it was going to be a really tough year to make the AAA team. The Dodgers have several spots to fill at the major league level, and they have signed an army of free agents to co... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 19, 2010, 9:33 am
1) I apologize for the inconsistent posts, but the hotel internet is painfully slow. I'm talking Jamie Moyer Change-up slow.2) We get 7 or 8 HBO channels here, but I can't seem to get the timing right to actually watch a movie in its entirety. They do run the same movies over and over, so I have b... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 14, 2010, 10:49 pm
On Sunday we were graced with our annual Tommy Lasorda speech. He was entertaining as always, and even added a few new gems to his repertoire. A few of the highlights that I had never heard before (note: these are not direct quotes, as they are from memory):When I was managing in Ogden, we didn't ... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 13, 2010, 9:41 pm
Now that the position players have arrived, it feels like Spring Training is officially underway.Today we made the transition from throwing bullpens to throwing live b.p. sessions. This just means that pitchers are throwing to actual hitters (who are free to swing), but there is no defense behind t... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 11, 2010, 8:48 am
Some interesting news from Rob Neyer regarding the production of the Moneyball movie:I managed to buttonhole Michael Lewis, and got this bit of news: the rebooted Moneyball movie, scripted by Aaron Sorkin, is scheduled to start shooting in June. According to Lewis, Brad Pitt's still going to play Bi... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 7, 2010, 8:05 pm
First off, nice work Dalten. Michael Scott would be proud (and would probably giggle uncontrollably). But I have to say, I think that the real winner in this scenario is the other student. He or she served up the perfect pitch for Dalten to knock out of the ball park, and not only walked away uns... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 4, 2010, 7:58 am
Friends often ask me which hitter that I've faced has been the most impressive. Justin Upton is always my answer. It's sort of funny because, with the exception of one game, he never really did much against us. Looking back, it seems like Evan Longoria hit a homerun every time he faced us and Bill... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Mar 2, 2010, 10:32 am
I can't wait. I leave for Arizona on Thursday as an uninjured pitcher.Every year, the anticipation of this day begins to take hold of me after New Year's. From that point on, I typically don't travel or plan anything that could alter my preparation in any way. I wake up every morning thinking abo... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Feb 26, 2010, 8:47 am
I thought that this image from Zach's Medium Sized Blog needed to go up. For those of you keeping track, that is not one, not two, but three posts dedicated to heroes in a half-shell. I swear that they aren't sponsors of this blog. (That's probably pretty easy to believe given that they pretty muc... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Feb 25, 2010, 12:18 am
For those of you who missed it, Memories of Kevin Malone posted an interview with me yesterday. It was a fun process and Chad asked some very good, thought provoking questions. Hope you enjoy it.
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Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Feb 24, 2010, 4:00 am
When I wrote about my inability to grow facial hair on Monday, and related it to a scout's analysis of a player, I was joking.... sort of.I want to explore this a bit further but I don't want it to sound like a desperate defense for a certain aging minor leaguer. So, I've decided to cleverly disgui... Comment - Like
Brian Akin posted an article on
Dear (Tommy) John Letters
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Feb 22, 2010, 4:00 am
1) If Marty McFly didn't mind being called a chicken, the Back to the Future movies would be unbelievably boring.2) Blake Dewitt's new look makes me feel like less of a man. The first time I tried to grow a beard, I lasted about 4 weeks - then one of my friends (who I saw regularly) looked at me an... Comment - Like
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