Call me petty, but if you boo when the pitcher throws over to first, I don’t like you.

If you only boo when it’s the opposing pitcher, I like you even less.

Just because you don’t understand why they’re making the throw, ot they’re trying to pick off your favorite player, doesn’t give you license to boo.

Pickoff moves, both lazy tosses and deceptive, effective moves are part of baseball.

Deal with it. And stop coaching from the stands while you’re at it.

Quite simply, I love this. Nice to see Johan Santana keeping the Mets’ dugout loose.

I like the tip of the cap one about 15 seconds in.

I just realized I hadn’t posted anything in a while…and for that I throw myself upon the court of public opinion and beg for mercy. I know both of you have been clinging to the edges of your seats waiting for something new to come from me.

Part of me is worn out from the build-up to the 2009 season. I’m really worn out by all the hype over Citi Field and New Yankee Stadium…it doesn’t help that I subscribe to the New York Times and see it probably more than the average person, but there has been so many needless words written about it that it’s really got to stop. I know that it’s a big deal, especially in the Big Apple, but come on…let’s play baseball already.

The weather in Seattle still sucks and hardly makes me think of baseball, although it was tolerable today and supposed to be a bit nicer for Sunday, when the team I’m on has our first official practice with all new members hopefully attending.

And to be honest, I’ve been a bit flat lately. Not sure why - I’m still pounding dozens a few cups of coffee every day, so it’s not for a lack of caffeine. Maybe I just need to get out and do more, which given the economy isn’t really the most appealing thing, especially when it has a price tag attached to it.

Nevertheless, the Braves and the Phillies open up the 2009 regular season Sunday night - I’ve got the DVR set for Baseball Tonight and the actual game as I’ll likely be away from a TV at that time - and we can finally let this roller coaster go after using the chain pull to drag it up to the top of the hill.

From some folks on LinkedIn:

From Larry:

“Well as they say in many circles Fidel is Fidel…there is no doubt that Cuban players are unbelievable students of the game, that the passion they exude is a thing of who they are as a people, and that they play the game hard each and every day. However, at the end of the day the WBC is not your typical international competition with its solid amateur players. The WBC brings to the diamond competitors who as the Cubans, live baseball, their passion borders national obsession AND they have been tried and proven in the arenas of the world’s pre-eminent league…Major League Baseball. In Latin America, we say that baseball is a game played with a round ball in a square box and that anything can happen. In short tournaments like the WBC we saw the round ball and square box reference on more than a few occasions. The Netherlands defeat of the Dominican twice; Puerto Rico’s humiliation of team USA followed up by their brutal loss to the same USA team they had manhandled a couple of days later. This is why baseball is such an amazing sport…it’s not how you predict what’s on paper…its how the game is played on any particular day. Cuba fielded a very strong team, but it was bested by strong Japanese pitching…that’s baseball…a game played with a round ball in a square box!”

From Ben:

“Castro is a brilliant thinker of stilted and politically obsessed thoughts.”

From Dean:

“Just read the article and I am curious if he (meaning Cuba and Castro) will change training styles to compete with Japan and Korean. After watching the US beaten with the problem being poor execution on the field, you wonder if MLB teams will learn it may be time to teach their players a more fundamental game.”

I was just cruising around the World Baseball Classic website, and wanted to see if any tickets were available for the final game Monday night between Korea and Japan.

You bet there are.

So my question to you - how much would you pay for tickets to see the final game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic? Tickets range from $55 to $550 — you tell me. Would you pay $55 to sit in the top deck, left field pavillion, reserve or lower reserve, which I think are both on the top level of the stadium.

(I swear - I think either my ability to distinguish colors is fading, or Ticketmaster can’t match colors from price grid to seating chart.)

Or would you pay $130 to sit in “loge box MVP,” which is the set of seats between the bases on the main level, but farthest back?

I’m curious - because something I’ve wanted to know is how Major League Baseball wants us to view the WBC, in comparison to, say, the World Series. Surely the World Series is more important — it’s MLB’s championship. But they sure want to hype up the WBC…yet can’t get the best American players to commit to it.

I’ve only been to one World Series, the 2007 edition between the Red Sox and Rockies. I went to the games in Coors Field, sat in the third level above third base, and my tickets fell within the range of WBC finals tickets, although the World Series was more than a comparable seat for the WBC…I think about three times as much, although I’m not 100% sure on that. But definitely between two to three times as much.

Personally, I don’t know if I’d pay to go see the final game. Given the economy, I’d rather put that money in the bank or pay off a credit card. I couldn’t in good conscience say that I think I’d get my money’s worth out of that game, even if I just spent $50, plus all the fees and whatnot. As much as I love baseball - and this is pretty decent baseball, I’m having a hard time establishing a value for that game.

How much would you pay?

Some responses from folks on LinkedIn:

From David:

“Well I paid $25. So I guess that’s the number for me. I was prepared to go $40 but all those tickets were sold for the game I decided to go to.”

From Nick:

“Personally I wouldn’t pay if it were a non-US final. If the US had won, I might’ve paid $10 or $15 if I happened to be in LA or wherever the final is. I don’t see this as much different than the Olympics and it seems much more important to people in the other countries. I am looking forward to the season and would rather watch an M’s spring game on TV rather than a WBC game at this point. The most interesting aspect is seeing how hard teams from the other countries play and how fired up their fans are. Not trying to be negative but I am ready for April.”

From Pamela:

“I have a completely different perspective. I loved this year’s final–one of the most exciting games I’ve seen. I don’t care about the US Team, or at least not this year. The great thing about WBC is that since, with the exception of Cuba, the best teams include at least one and usually many more major leaguers, you know who the players are. I’d pay $45-50 a seat for the final In this year’s final there were 3 M’s or ex-M’s–Ichiro, Johjima and Choo. And we know who Daisuke is. Plus it was great to see such great pitching from people I’ve never heard of. I loved it. Can’t wait until 2013.”

Read his thoughts here, courtesy of Granma, the Cuban national newspaper.

A few days ago I asked how we learned to behave how we do as fans. What is a direct lesson from parents, friends or family, or was it a more indirect lesson, watching how other fans around you behaved and either mimicking them or doing the opposite if you found their behavior annoying?

I posted the question to a couple of the groups I belong to on LinkedIn, and here are some of those responses:

From Alex:

“I learned to behave as a fan by going to games with my father. Early on he taught me about sportsmanship. What is acceptable and what isn’t but more importantly the why behind it. We would always talk about the game afterward. What we liked, what we didn’t like. This would often encompass other fans and how they were cheering, booing or otherwise expressing their opinions. I’ve been lucky enough to do quite a bit of traveling often times for sports and sporting events. The Seattle Mariners fan experience is quite unique. For me it is very much a love/hate relationship. While I genuinely enjoy going to games at the Safe, generally speaking there is a lack of passion and understanding of the game and the team.”

From Robert:

“I attended many games in New York and witnessed fights in the blue seats at the Garden by Rangers fans, bias from Giants and Yankees fans, Drunkenness by Jets fans and stupidity from the Mets fans. I learned not to act like these people when attending sporting events, basically the opposite of how they act. I love New York but the fans are not the best by any stretch of the imagination. When the USA hosted World Cup Soccer in 1996 I lived in Orlando and worked for Disney as annoying as the soccer fans were I have to say they were passionate and lived and breathed their teams. It was a month long party and it was an escape from everyday life for them. Although they have a reputation for being overzealous and sometimes dangerous it was fun to watch. As I said I grew up in New York and have seen baseball played all over the US but some of the best games I have attended were the World Baseball Classic exhibition games. The fans just come to party. They may be rooting for their country and not know the players and may not know our players but they come to party, it’s the only time I am tolerant of ignorant fans. Puerto Rico and Venezuela and Dominican Republic fans are actually entertaining to watch.”

From Tom:

Great question!

For me, it’s an evolving process. I went with my dad to ballparks AAA and semi-pro before finally seeing Joe Torre hit one out at Busch Stadium again the Expos.

I learned to enjoy The Game on TV. Vin Scully and others taught me (NBC before moving near to Dodger Stadium). Now with the net, I am learning still. I am learning from other fans in the ballpark.

There is nothing I have encountered that cannot be explained by Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren or Baseball.

From Ken:

From my experience in playing the game and understanding from a players perspective…it’s what prevents you from shouting explectives even when it might be justified because you remember the fan who yelled them at you when you were playing, what it sounded like and how you felt inside. International competitions are about three things, pride, passion and heart and as evidencedby the sparse crowd at the Team USA games we are lacking in these at times…

From Larry:

“As a child living in New York City, our father took my brother and I to pretty much every Sunday Mets game at Shea whenever they were in town, or to an occasional game at Yankee Stadium. I have watched thousands of hours of MLB baseball, but there is nothing, NOTHING, like watching a game in the Latin Winter Leagues especially when it’s between rivals. The atmosphere pretty much compares to a college football game. Baseball in Puerto Rico, the Dominican, Venezuela and in the Pacific League in Mexico, takes on a life that goes well beyond the chalk lines…it’s a point of identity assumed at birth; it’s a rivalry of one city, one country, one culture over another. Fans in this part of the world are boisterous but not stupid (I was once accosted by a drunk punk at Turner Field at the men’s bathroom because I had a Mets jersey) as you find in a few MLB parks. Teams represent more than their respective clubs, they take the hopes and dreams of the fans in the stands into the field…that’s why the losses’ of the Latin teams were front page fodder and painful reminders of what could have been that will live on for four more years. Finally, it’s a festive environment…music, laughing, cheering, jeering, and dancing…its tension you can cut with a knife, its joy and its painful disappointment. Yankees vs. Red Sox is mild compared to Licey vs. Aguilas in the Dominican League or Puerto Rico vs. the Dominican…it’s simply something you cannot describe…it’s something that must be lived.”

Great responses! Thanks - and keep them coming!

Nice read here courtesy of the wonderful Mr. Jim Bouton. Stay tuned for a review of the new book chronicling a season with umpires on BaseballBookReview.

Check out MLB.com’s Moniker Madness contest. You get to pick the best name in the minor leagues.

Wow.

You can see them here.

Now I’m not here to rip these things apart — if nothing less, they are generally much better than the spots I see for other teams. I’m glad to see the club putting some effort into these, although I would gladly trade good TV spots for a World Series ring any day of the week.

So instead of just telling you which one is my favorite — that comes later, I thought I’d share my reaction to each one, and where I think it hits and where it misses. Agree, disagree - it’s all good.

24/7: There’s always somewhat of an obligation to introduce to new manager to the fans, especially when it’s a manager that probably 98% of the Mariners fanbase hadn’t heard of prior to his hiring, and likely still don’t know much about him. I’ve had this on-going theory that until the Mariners win the World Series, every manager who rolls through here will just be someone else not named Lou Piniella. Sadly, this commercial does nothing to change my mind that this mindset will still prevail. He’s a manager, he reads about baseball, he goes to the Hall of Fame, etc. Great - that’s what I expect my manager to do. Is that implying the others didn’t? Does that somehow correlate to winning ballgames? I don’t know - and really, nor do I care.

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Don Wakamatsu yet, so I don’t know how much of this spot captures his true personality. All I know is that it doesn’t leave me with any more of a positive or negative feeling towards him than I had before I saw the commercial. It just gets him a little more face time. The spot is kind of a wash in my book.

Midnight Line Drives: The obligatory Ichiro commercial…some pundits have said that every commercial this year should feature Ichiro and Ken Griffey, Jr., and given the team’s performance last year and outlook for this season, I can see the merit in their point.

Ichiro takes batting practice at all hours of the night…OK, I get it. Where’s the shot of the clock? Where’s the obligatory cup of coffee? Where’s the crickets?

Nice idea, but nothing to either create tension, even like there was in the Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki vs. the Pepsi Machine commercials from 2003. The machine doesn’t fight back, it doesn’t ramp up the speed, or mix in a curve ball, or anything. Nor do we see what’s so great about the new machine coming in from the bullpen.

This commercial lacked the real zinger line that I think people have come to expect out of Ichiro. Everyone seems willing to accept that he doesn’t like to do a lot in English, which is fine, although it generally relegates him to lines such as “nice contest, bro” or “just a bit outside.” All we get is “ahhh, the closer.”

If nothing less, I was glad to see groundskeeper Bob Christofferson get into a commercial. He’s a real pro at what he does, and as much as I refuse to admit it, the dancing groundskeepers do get the crowd’s attention when they peform.

While NSFW and probably appalling to the family-friendly image the Mariners like to project, I’d rather just see this followed by the Mariners’ tagline.

Ryan’s Big Night: Hmmm….let’s make a commercial about the guy with the accent who’s from another land. And then let’s mess up where he’s from, because it’s only two letters different from another country. Funny.

This one was probably the biggest flop in my mind - it was too easy of a target, too easy of a joke. Ryan’s from Australia, but let’s make the corny marketing guys screw up and think he’s from Austria, especially after they’ve already ordered the band, the mayor and the giveaway hats.

Here’s the real rub - Ryan Rowland-Smith is one of the coolest dudes in the Mariners’ clubhouse, and has the potential to be a great ambassador for this team. He’s well-spoken, writes a blog, and generally is always reliable for a good interview. He could have had such a better spot written for him that really got into who he is and what he’s into, yet I kind of feel like the easy road was taken when it came to him.

If nothing less, I’m glad to see him get his own commercial - that’s a pretty good sign that he’ll be around for a while, or at least that the team has plans for him to be around for a while.

Sorry: It’s tough to always express a great idea in just 30 seconds - more like 26 seconds when you factor in the tag line - but this one manges to do it pretty well. Felix strikes out a lot of hitters, and even though that’s a big part of his job, he still feels bad for the guys he strikes out, to the point where he sends flowers as a condolence.

OK, not great - but still pretty good. And nice to hear Felix get a good amount of lines, as I know that ever since coming up from the minors, he’s worked really hard on getting his English as close to perfect as he can. He’s gone from needing an interpreter in his first year to being able to knock out a pretty good commercial.

My only gripe about this one - I don’t like the idea that it suggests we’re soft on our opponents. If that’s part of the “new day, new way” mantra, I’m not down for that aspect.

The Secret: Probably the most anticipated of all the commercials, seeing as how it was billed as the “100th Commercial” and got pretty significant coverage in the Seattle Times.

Maybe the expectations weighed the spot down, but this one just didn’t pop for me. Here’s two of the greatest players in Mariners’ history, and you use them to setup a chimp in a shirt and tie named Sprinkles? Come on, guys! A chimp? That’s the best that you could think of? Not even the Moose?

The burden of success can be a tough one to bear, as evidenced by this spot. Needless to say, this doesn’t leave me wanting to throw a party to celebrate the 100th spot. If anything, it makes me think that we might need a change. Seattle’s a pretty creative city - surely someone is thinking of a better commercial than that.

So now that you’ve read my thoughts, I guess I should tell you my favorite…it’s “Sorry” starring Felix Hernandez.

What’s your thoughts on these new commercials?