Baseball Cards to Go Corporate? Say it Ain't So!

Wow, this comes as a shocker. As a former long-time baseball card collector, Topps has always been a company that’s very dear to me. Now Michael Eisner, the cutthroat former CEO of Disney, is trying to take over the card manufacturer. Everything in Major League Baseball is going corporate, so this is no surprise. Michael Eisner was the guy who tried to replace Walt Disney, schmoozing with Mickey and Goofy during the intros to the Wonderful World of Disney TV show. Walt Disney was one of the most creative visionaries of our era. Will Eisner is a hack who ripped off the Disney empire and doesn’t have one creative bone in his entire body. If the group he represents takes over Topps, it will be a disaster and a travesty.

The baseball card pictured above is a 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle. When I was 10 years old, it was the one card I would have given up anything for , including my bicycle, my slingshot, my walkie-talkies and my little brother.

This article appeared on aol.com yesterday:

NEW YORK -- The Topps Co., maker of baseball cards and Bazooka bubble gum, agreed to accept a $385.4 million takeover offer from a buyout group that includes former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner.
Topps, founded in 1938, makes trading cards featuring athletes of Major League Baseball, the NFL and NBA.
Eisner was CEO of The Walt Disney Co. for two decades until he stepped down in 2005. Disney owns theme parks, movie studios and the ABC, ESPN and Disney TV networks.
The deal drew immediate opposition from Topps director Arnaud Ajdler, who said Tuesday he had not yet been in touch with other major shareholders. He thought the deal should be abandoned because negotiations did not go through a proper process and that the Eisner-led offer undervalues the company.
The board approved the deal in a 7-3 vote, with Ajdler and two others opposed. The company said it will solicit better offers over the next 40 days. The deal requires regulatory approval and a vote by Topps shareholders.
AP NEWS

This Week's Restaurant Review: Little Thai in SF

San Francisco has more Thai restaurants than anywhere this side of Thailand. This town is well-known for its Thai, which is a good thing, because last time I looked flights to Thailand aren’t cheap. There are even a large number of specialty Thai places in SF, including a very pricey formal Thai spot called “Suit and Thai”; the famous fusion Australian/Thai restaurant called “Thai Me Kangaroo Down,” and then, of course, there’s the Thai joint where the meals come with all-you-can-drink beer and wine, “Thai One On.” All kidding aside, we have a Chinatown, a Japan town and a Little Italy, all very popular, and the one reason there’s no Thai-town is because all of the Thai restaurants here are pretty spread out. One of the best Thai eateries anywhere is on Broadway and Polk in SF and it’s called Little Thai. Little Thai features great service, huge portions that are reasonably priced, and an extensive menu of wonderful soups, appetizers and entrees. It’s a fairly small place with a balcony and it’s hopping all the time. One thing about San Franciscans, they know good food and will flock consistently to places like Little Thai. The other night we were there and we had three entrees, an appetizer and some soup and the total bill was $35. Where else can you get a great meal like that in this city? We started off the meal with a Po Tak Soup ($8.95), a seafood soup with lemon grass and lemon juice. It was chock full of scallops, shrimp, squid and fish. One great thing about Little Thai is that they don’t skimp on the goodies. I hate it at some places when you order a soup like this and it’s 80% broth. Every soup at Little Thai is thick with meat, seafood and/or poultry. You’ll never feel like you’ve been cheated on portions or quality. For an appetizer, we love the Shrimp and Ground Pork Toast ($7.95). They deep-fry the toast topped with this amazing paste, yet it’s not greasy or overly rich. For entrees, Thai into some Little Thai Curry, which includes things like Kaeng Pad ($8.50), a boneless roast duck in red curry paste with tomatoes, pineapple and basil; the Panting Near ($7.95), which is sliced beef with hot curry paste, lemon leaves and basil, or the Green Curry ($7.95 with chicken/$8.50 with shrimp), an amazing concoction with eggplant and snow peas. Other items on the Little Thai menu of note are the Roast Duck ($7.95), the Near Pad Prig ($7.50), which is sautéed beef with chili, ginger and onions; the Plan Much Pad ($7.50), sautéed squid with hot chili pepper and bamboo shoots; and the Remit Moor Din ($10.95), an absolutely incredible seafood combination stew served in a clay pot. Wow! Little Thai has a ton of regulars and after you’ve been there one time, you’ll know why. Located at 2065 Polk Street, Little Thai’s phone number is: (415) 771-5544. You can also order food for delivery if you live close enough to the place. Try Little Thai and you’ll never go to another Thai place again if you can help it. It’s just like going to Thailand without having to pay for the flight or going through customs.

Dog Walkers Need to Walk the Legal Line

The City of San Francisco is seriously considering imposing stricter regulations on dog walkers. Reports of lost mutts, verbal abuse, dogs being left in poorly ventilated vehicles for long periods of time, and letting pooches roam without leashes through city parks without supervision are some of the complaints that are causing local politicians to bark for tighter laws.

The city is thinking of making dog walkers get a special business license and setting limits on the number of dogs pet care providers can walk at once. It’s about time. We had trouble with a dog walking service a while back when they got into the habit of short-walking our dogs. The service claimed that they would walk our dogs every day for a minimum of 20-30 minutes, but our neighbors told us that they saw them walking our two dogs to the corner and back on some days. We got upset because we were paying these people $25 a day to walk the dogs. A ten-minute walk only makes a dog hyper. It’s like teasing the animal and just creates anxiety.

The dog walking industry in San Francisco has operated for too long with little oversight. There are an estimated 150 to 300 dog walkers in SF and getting into the business is as easy as saying you’re a dog walker. I could put an ad on Craig’s list tomorrow and get customers without any problem.

There are tons of people in this town who have dogs but work 40-60 hours a week, so they’re in desperate need of someone to walk their dog during the day. People think it’s an easy gig to walk dogs, but it’s not. You have to develop a rapport with the animals and you have to know how to walk them safely. You also have to pick up their poo, which is something many dog walkers don’t do. A responsible dog walking service has insurance, trains their walkers and requires its employees to carry first-aid kits at all times.

Dog walkers can make good money – I know one guy who makes around $50,000 a year walking mostly rich people’s dogs – but he is really good at what he does. He gives the dogs he walks long, fun walks, runs with them and really builds relationships with them. He’s not just a dog walker; he’s a canine concierge. In many cases, the dogs start liking him more than their masters!

Regulating dog walkers is a smart move. If people are out there doing a lousy, unprofessional job, they need to be put out of business. Maybe putting them to sleep is going a bit too far, but making sure they’re running a safe, dog-sensitive operation is something any pet owner living in this city surely needs and deserves.

My Eight Rules

1.) Perform Random Acts of Kindness Every Week.

2.) Don't Hate..It Only Leads to Stress.

3.) Don't Worry About Things You Can't Control.

4.) Don't Try to Control People, Events or Things.

5.) Be Nice When You Feel like Being Rude.

6.) Don't Whine or Feel Sorry for Yourself..It Could Always be Worse.

7.) Don't Fart or Belch in Public, If it Can Be Avoided.

8.) Love Somebody. You'll Live Longer!

Lost & Crazed Youth

What is it with kids today? I know I was no saint when I was in my teens, but it just seems like its gotten a lot worse out there. I blame the media, our permissiveness, and the fact that many parents just don’t give a s---! This whole thing with Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton is just an indicator of what our children are out there doing. It’s unbelievable. I’m just happy that I don’t have any children of my own, really. I have enough problems without worrying about my child having unprotected sex, doing drugs and generally acting like a fool. I reserve that type of behavior for myself!

Say Hello to Momma

SAY HELLO TO MOMMA
Lyrics by Ed Attanasio
Music by Mickey Joseph

Say hello to Momma.
But please keep it brief.
The woman’s got a penchant for sharing all her grief.

Say hello to Momma.
Then get out of that room.
It’s been all gloom and doom with Mom since the day I left her womb.

CHORUS

She’ll mess up your brain.
All she is does is complain.
About her incessant pain.
But the pain she’s deliverin’
Is to all her children.
Because the woman’s driving us insane.

Her tales of pain and woe.
Will make you want to croak.
You’ll wish you were dead, that’s right.

So, say hello to Momma.
Greet her when you meet her.
And then get the hell out of her sight.

So, say hello and then get out.
Unless you want to hear about her gout.

Say hey and get out of the way.
Before she starts talking tooth decay.

She’s got bursitis in both shoulders, big blisters on her feet.
Diseases and maladies too numerous to repeat.

She sends me real sad e-mails about her ingrown toenails.
Tells all the neighbors I was the most difficult of labors.

Her varicose veins throb when it rains.
And her bunions smell like onions late at night.

Phentermine is Effective!

Many of my friends are recommending this appetite suppressant called Phentermine. Phentermine is a drug primarily used as an appetite suppressant. Chemically, it is an amphetamine (and a phenethylamine). It is typically prescribed for individuals who are at increased medical risk because of their weight, as opposed to cosmetic weight loss. It is a viable alternative to other diets pills, from what I have heard and read. Check it out and make your own educated decision.

Billionaire Baseball Player Richest Man in Sports!

This guy is the richest baseball player in the world and he hasn’t even made the team yet. I love it. All of these overpriced prima donnas must be jealous as hell. Now every MLB player in the league is going to be hiring a geologist.
This article was on AOL today:

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Matt White a journeyman pitcher trying to make the Los Angeles Dodgers, could become baseball's first billionaire player.
It has nothing to do with his arm. He owns a rock quarry in western Massachusetts.
White, who has appeared in seven big league games in nine professional seasons, paid $50,000 three years ago to buy 50 acres of land from an elderly aunt who needed the money to pay for a nursing home.
While clearing out a couple acres to build a home, he discovered stone ledges in the ground, prompting him to have the property surveyed.
A geologist estimated there were 24 million tons of the stone on his land. The stone is being sold for upward of $100 per ton, meaning there's well over $2 billion worth of material used for sidewalks, patios and the like.
Of course, that doesn't factor in the expenses involved in processing the stone and transporting it for sale.
"It sounds bogus even saying those numbers," White said. "I'm just a small town guy trying to get to the big leagues. It's beyond comprehension."
The news has prompted some of White's teammates to refer to him as "The Billionaire," but the 29-year-old left-hander isn't counting his money just yet.
"There are a lot of questions," he said. "It takes time, it takes money, it takes machines. There are professionals who handle that stuff."
White's father has been involved in selling the stone, but it's presently a small-time operation.
"I guess you could say the property is for sale," White said with a chuckle. "We'll have to see how things turn out. I don't even know where to start. I'm in the process now of getting in touch with business-savvy guys, finding out how much to ask."
White said he doesn't feel like he's wealthy, which he isn't quite yet.
"Not at all. I don't live like a rich man," he said. "I'm a minor league guy who's played winter ball to make ends meet."
Dr. Peter Pannish, an adjunct professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, surveyed the property.
"It's basically a slabby rock that can be used for sidewalks, building faces and stone walls," Pannish said from his Amherst, Mass., office. "You can use it for a lot of other things, like flagstone on a patio. There are some sidewalks right here on campus that are made of that same rock."
Pannish said he believes White could sell his property for several million dollars, or more.
"As far as hundreds of millions, I doubt if that's possible because of all the expenses that would have to be considered," Pannish said. "But it could be quite a bit of money. He probably needs a mining engineer or an economic geologist to come up with a good evaluation."
White has received inquiries about making national television appearances, and has even been contacted about a possible movie. He is represented by Herbie Zucker of Zucker Sports Management in Chicago.
But for now, White is concentrating on his day job. And that's no surprise, considering pitching in the big leagues has been a lifelong dream.
"They say lefties bloom later than righties. I keep telling myself that," he said. "I'm here to make the big-league team. I feel confident about that, absolutely. I've had some pretty good years in Triple-A.
"I plan to play baseball until I can't play anymore. My goal is to play in the big leagues, regardless of what happens with the rock quarry."
White signed a minor league contract last December with the Dodgers -- his eighth organization. He has appeared in 254 minor league games, 136 of them starts.
White pitched in three games each for Boston and Seattle in 2003, and one for Washington in 2005, going 0-2 and allowing 18 earned runs in 9 2-3 innings.
The Boston manager in 2003 was current Dodgers skipper Grady Little.
"The kid has a genuine love for the game," Little said. "He's quite a competitor, he's always striving to get better. It's not about money for him. He's prepared himself well coming into camp and he'll be going after somebody's job. He'll be given an opportunity.
"It's a tough hill to climb. We have 28 pitchers in camp, we'll leave spring training with 11 or 12. Before it's over, we might need 20. He's in there trying to get a job."
With that, Little smiled and said: "Along the way, if anybody needs landscaping stone, we know where to find it."

Everyone's Barking About Bay Woof!

There is a wonderful new dog publication in the Bay Area and it’s called Bay Woof. For people who own or love dogs like we do, it’s a breath of fresh air. Our little mutt Ratdog is being considered for a column in this new monthly magazine, and he’s obviously very excited. Keep your paws crossed! And be sure to look out for Bay Woof.

I swiped this from Bay Woof’s web site: www.baywoof.com:

"Bay Woof is an informative and entertaining monthly newspaper for dogs and their people. Our mission is to be the voice of the local dog community and an essential resource forpeople who love their pets – the wonderfully dense and diverse population of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bay Woof will launch with the March 2007 edition, due to hit the stands on February 15th. Our website will launch the same day, offering content from the paper, lost and found, and lists of resources in the area.
The paper will be available at dog-specific locations– like vet clinics, animal shelters, and pet stores – as well as general community gathering places, such as bookstores and cafes.
M. Rocket, publisher/art director, is thrilled to begin this new venture with colleagues from a former local dog paper. We’ll be sharing our love of dogs as we bring you the best of the Bay’s canine news and views, each and every month.
Readers will find engaging articles by local dog people, including the best and brightest of Bay Area pet professionals. Great graphic design will make the paper a visual feast, and you’ll find wonderful photos, drawings, and cartoons in every issue. Articles will cover a wide range of topics, including dog training and health, dog-friendly travel, dog sports, and all things canine."

My Interview with Hobie Landrith

Hobie Landrith is perhaps best known as the New York Mets' first pick in the 1961 expansion draft. Manager Casey Stengel explained the choice by saying, "You gotta have a catcher or you're gonna have a lot of passed balls." Landrith had been a backup for the Reds (1950-55) but was traded after the 1955 season, when he had missed time with a broken collarbone. He was a regular for a weak Cubs team in 1956 and hit .221 while leading the all NL catchers in errors. As a regular on the 1959 Giants, Landrith had his best season, hitting .251 with 29 RBI and 30 runs in 283 AB’s.

The Early Days: I was lucky because I had an early childhood experience in baseball that probably a lot of other kids would want to copy. When I was 15 years old, playing baseball on the sandlots of Detroit, a Detroit Tigers scout approached me and asked if I would want to come down to Tiger Stadium and catch batting practice while they were trying to get Hank Greenberg into shape. He had been in the military, had been released, and the Tigers were on the road, and it was a 10-to-15-day span that he was going to be working out, hitting balls and catching balls, whatever. I jumped at the chance and this brought me into contact with members of the Detroit Tigers baseball team, and when the team returned home, they asked me if I would be catch batting practice. I was just overwhelmed by the opportunity to be rubbing shoulders with these players. It was great because it gave me an insight into what it would be like to be a major league baseball player. It was at that time that I felt like, yes, if I worked hard and really honed my skills, that I might have a chance to play in the major leagues. Five years later I was there.

His Catching Skills: I was in the major leagues more because I was a good defensive catcher, and the fact that I was good at handling pitchers. I always thought I was a fairly decent hitter, but I realized that I wasn’t in the big leagues for my bat. I had what they called “warning track power.” You know, I’d hit the ball pretty good, the fans would get up on their feet, and then they’d groan, because the ball would die at the warning track.

I became good at handling pitchers from things I had learned from Birdie Tebbetts when I was with the Reds. He taught me when to get on ‘em, when to not get on ‘em. I was able to recognize when a pitcher was losing his stuff or losing his composure and tried to get him back on track. And sometimes I had to play the bad guy and say things to the pitcher to get him riled up. I called all my own pitches.

On Umpires: You have to know your umpires, number one. And you’ve got to be careful of what you say and how frequently you say it. I remember Al Barlick, first time I said something to him, and he told me, “You do the catching and I’ll do the umpiring, okay?” He said it in a very stern way. And he was the best umpire in the National League at that time. And I said, “Okay.” So, I knew right then to catch the ball and let him umpire. As long as you didn’t use profanity, you could talk to most umpires and not get thrown out.

Stealing signs: It was 1954, the year the Giants won the pennant, and I was with the Reds that year, and we never beat the Giants at the Polo Grounds. The Giants always seemed to rally late in games and beat us. Well, many years later I found out that they were stealing our signs from center field. In some instances, you’d see a batter swing at a pitch like he knew what was coming, and in those instances we’d knock him flat on his butt, because we didn’t know where they were getting the signs. One time in Milwaukee we found out Braves’ players were getting our signs from the bullpen. They had binoculars out there and they were signaling them in to the batter. After the game, Alvin Dark came into the clubhouse and asked us, “Does anyone have a pair of binoculars?” So, we took them out to the bullpen and gave them some of their own medicine. We killed ‘em that game. That’s why we would change our signs when a guy got a real good cut at a ball. We figured they had our signs and at that point and we’d change them.

Playing in Candlestick: It was a blustery, windy, cold place -- it did everything but snow there. I’ve played in early season games in small towns back East when it was cold, but I have never been as cold as I was at Candlestick Park. And it didn’t matter how many layers of clothing you put on, either. That damp air at night would just chill you to the bone. I remember one night Harvey Kuenn put on a bunch of clothes – he had gloves, sweaters, several pairs of socks, long johns – and he was still freezing.

Playing with Willie Mays: Mays used to always call me “Honest John,” although I don’t know why. He gave some of us strange nicknames. Folks would criticize Willie for being hard to talk to, but it wasn’t always that way. Willie got burned by the press one time too many, and he got a little harder every time it happened. He was never that way with his teammates, though. I loved Willie and I had a great relationship with the man. I still do.

Barry Bonds: Dusty Baker asked me to come to spring training a few years ago to coach the Giant’s catchers, which I did. And I got a chance to see Barry Bonds in the clubhouse. For the most part, he was unapproachable. When he walked around in the clubhouse, you always had an uncertain feeling about him. One time I asked Barry for an autograph and he turned around and walked away from me. Orel Hershiser was there and told him to come back and sign, so he did. Barry is a nice person, but for the most part, in the clubhouse, he was not very approachable.

Playing with Willie McCovey: People ask me all the time, what kind of a guy is Willie McCovey? And I tell them, if Willie walks into a room and smiles, everyone in that room smiles too. I was in the lineup for his first major league game when he went 4-for-4 against Robin Roberts. I just feel fortunate that I was able to play with the man during my career. He’s just a wonderful person.

Being Drafted in 1961 by the Mets: The GM with the Mets was George Weiss, what a piece of work he was. I mean, if you’re the first pick, you figure you should make at least the same as you did the year before, right? No. They offered me three or four thousand dollars less than what I was making with San Francisco. So, I sent the contract back. I told Weiss that I found his offer to be totally unacceptable. He sent me the same contract three times and I sent it back three times. I told him that I’d stay home before I signed I accepted these contracts. He wouldn’t budge, so I finally had to sign. The man was cold, cold, cold, and I didn’t enjoy that at all.