“The Baker’s Dozen” features 13 recent quotes in sports, accompanied by my feedback and opinions on each headline.  Here’s an example:

“Saying Tiger Woods loves the media is like saying that I can’t stand beer.” – KP

You can quote me on that…

And you can also quote the following people regarding the latest talk in the world of sports, in the latest edition of The Baker’s Dozen:

Baker’s Dozen: 13 Quotes in Sports for August 7, 2010

(1)

“He hasn’t even played in Pawtucket yet,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona (to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com), when discussing Boston’s signing of Carlos Delgado to a minor league deal this weekend.

Francona stressed that Mike Lowell is the team’s first basemen.  Listen, Tito has to say that now, but once Delgado is ready, that could change.  Overall, it’s a solid addition for the Red Sox – who could use the depth after losing Kevin Youkilis for the rest of the season due to a thumb injury.  That, plus Lowell is an injury risk himself.

(2)

“I’ve never seen anything like it for a team that I’ve played for or against,” said Blue Jaysmlbchef power hitter Jose Bautista, who had one of eight Toronto home runs during Saturday’s win against Tampa Bay.

8 HR’s in one game – are you kidding me?  There are a handful of teams that can’t go yard that many times over a two-week span.  Just imagine if this Jays team was in any other division in baseball…they could be playoff bound.

(3)

“It’s tough for us as a team,” Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times, when asked about Torii Hunter, who was suspended for four games after being ejected from Friday night’s game against the Tigers.

It’s been a brutal week for Hunter – and for the Angels, who are falling further and further away from the playoff chase.  Even though this was a bad moment for Hunter, his baserunning blunder against Baltimore the other night was worse.  Getting caught stealing third during a late 9th inning rally with only one out and the tying run at the plate?  100% uncalled for!

(4)

“That was the worst call I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of professional baseball,” Florida Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said of a blown call by umpire Bob Davidson – which cost the Marlins a walk-off win against the Phillies.

Yes, it WAS a blown call – and if you haven’t seen it, check the video below.  However, this wasn’t the worst call in 30 years.  Still, the call in the Yankees-Twins playoff series last year was much worse.  That was also a postseason game!

Video no longer exists on YouTube – Baker’s Dozen

(5)

“It’s part of playing, not only in the big leagues, but in the American League.  Big, strong, hairy guys here.  They hit it where the grass doesn’t grow,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said (in regards to Torii Hunter) during the Baltimore post-game press conference on Thursday night.

Hunter hit a three-run homer that tied the game that night – which is what sparked Buck’s quote.  The Orioles eventually won the game on a walk-off hit by Cesar Izturis.  As for Showalter, this has been one of many great quotes so far – and one of many great games the Orioles have played since he came on board.

(6)

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(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

“He probably doesn’t like me very much right now,” Redskins head coach MikeShanahan said of Albert Haynesworth – who finally passed his conditioning test.

It’s amazing that it took this long for Haynesworth to finally pass the Redskins’ conditioning test. This was a chess game that Albert was playing with his head coach.  The overall story is a complete embarrassment.  At this point, the Redskins would’ve been better off taking that 21 million dollars (of guaranteed money) and burning it down to a pile of nothing.

(7)

“Loki the Octopus predicts that Brett Favre will retire,” is a line straight from this myfoxtwincities.com article, where an octopus at the Mall of America predicted the Minnesota QB’s future plans.

Sorry, Loki… but I wouldn’t quit your day job, because Brett’s coming back.  I truly believe that.  Let’s leave the predictions to Paul the Octopus – our tentacled friend from Germany, who correctly predicted a number of games from this year’s World Cup.

(8)

“Soon to be Champs” – it’s the line that New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan signed onnflchef the ESPN Tour Bus.
Ahh, Rex Ryan – he’s outspoken and not afraid to be quoted by anyone or anything.  But boy-oh- boy did he ever leave some fuel on display for the rest of the league to see.  And in my opinion – I don’t think the Jets will be champs this year.  Still, I can appreciate Ryan’s confidence.

(9)

“We are excited to work Indiana Sports Corp. and Lucas Oil Stadium to finalize an agreement to hold the inaugural Big Ten football championship game in the city of Indianapolis,” said Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany a few days ago.

I like it for a few reasons.  First, the title game will happen.  Second, Indy is a central location for the conference title game – and in a new stadium, too.  But I must admit, I LOVED the story where the folks in Green Bay were mentioned as being interested in hosting this game.  I do hope that some day, Lambeau Field will be a place where the Big Ten Championship is played.

(10)

“hello green town. Ok what u got 4 nicknames? Make um good,” Shaquille O’Neal said onnbachef his Twitter account after signing a deal with the Boston Celtics earlier this week.

The post mentions some of the nickname suggestions so far.  The only extras that come to mind include “ShaC” and “The Big Wicked”.  Hey, I never said they were good!

(11)

“I got the right call and this is a team I really want to be a part of,” former Kansas star and undrafted rookie Sherron Collins said in regards to his signing with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Personally, I think this is a great move by the Bobcats.  Collins played on all cylinders all the time for the Jayhawks.  I think he’ll wind up as one of the pleasant surprises in the NBA over the nexttiger-woods-nike-swoosh-smilecouple of years – and will stick with the Bobcats during that time.

(12)

“Well, I drove it terrible, hit my irons terrible, didn’t putt well and it added up to a lot,” Tiger Woods said after shooting a 5-over 75 during the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament.

The bigger stat to point out is that Tiger’s +11 score after 54 holes is his worst since going pro.  It leaves me to again ask why we are still covering this guy so much.  He’s no longer a story off the course – and recently, he isn’t a story on the course, either.  In fact, there’s a chance Phil Mickelson could take over the top spot in the world rankings by the end of the weekend.  So let’s drop the Tiger obsession, shall we?

(13)

“I think it would be great for golf to see Mickelson take over Tiger’s No. 1,” Graeme McDowell said to the Akron Beacon Journal.

I have to agree with McDowell on this one.  Tiger has manhandled golf for years.  But while Woods has been good to bring in new fans, the feeling of equality and competition has been that much better.

* The Baker’s Dozen is a series of posts I started a while ago at KP’s Blog over at FoxSports.com.  I felt it was time to bring it back.  Here’s hoping it sparks discussion.

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