Smack Zone

[caption id="attachment_1074" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Jason Day can bring it on the course and in the interview room. (Illustration: Steve Hill)[/caption] Aussie golfer Jason Day can bring it on the course -- and in the interview room. At Wednesday's news conference heading into this weekend's TOUR Championship in Atlanta, Day -- who has emerged as a late Player of the Year contender, along with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy -- dropped some classic golf smack. All in good fun, naturally. This is golf, after all, not soccer. How good does Day think he is right now? Pretty damn good. "It's like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy had a baby, and I was it," Day said. OK, biological impossibility aside, Day might be on to something here. Hard to argue that he doesn't belong on the stage with the two top players in the world, and if he wins this weekend, he'll cement his place and set up what could be an absolutely incredible 2016 three-way battle for supremacy in the world of golf.

Jason Day with the early contender for Quote of the Day. ? http://t.co/7jbJTThzvi

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 23, 2015

[caption id="attachment_1060" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Superstitious much? The Cubs remain convinced that the black cat that haunted Ron Santo on Sep. 9, 1969 was a harbinger of doom.[/caption] By Bob D'Angelo, Smack Zone Contributor You probably already know about Bucky Dent’s three-run homer in 1978 and the implosion that cost the Phillies the National League pennant in 1964. But the beautiful thing about major-league baseball history is that there are plenty of exciting, tantalizing, funny, odd and just plain weird events to choose from. As another regular season winds down, here are 10 strange or interesting things that gave an irregular shape to the remnants of the regular season during September or October. The items on this list hardly scratch the surface, but we think they’re pretty interesting:

1. Black cat — Baseball players and managers can be superstitious, so having a black cat stroll toward your dugout can be unnerving.

Ask the 1969 Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were teetering atop the National League East, but still clung to a 1½-game lead over the upstart New York Mets when the teams clashed at Shea Stadium on September 9. [caption id="attachment_1061" align="alignleft" width="240"] The Cubs' curse is now manager Joe Maddon's problem.[/caption] As Ron Santo waited in the on-deck circle late in the game, a black cat ran onto the field, circled the Cubs’ third baseman several times, and then quickly scampered under the stands. The Cubs, who would go 8-17 in September, lost that game 7-1, and lost 6-2 the next day at Philadelphia, yielding first place to a Mets team that never let go of its lead en route to a stunning playoff run and World Series title.

2. Dick McAuliffe — The Tigers’ infielder with the unorthodox, front-foot pointing at the pitcher’s batting stance only hit into two double plays in 1967 — but the second one was a killer. On October 1, Detroit needed a victory to tie the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant but trailed the Angels 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth. Detroit had runners on first and second with one out, but McAuliffe grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to eliminate the Tigers. McAuliffe would not ground into a double play in 1968, and the Tigers won the AL pennant.
3. Charley O’Leary — On September 30, 1934, at Detroit, the St. Louis Browns sent 58-year-old O’Leary up to pinch hit against the Tigers. He singled and later scored a run, becoming the oldest major-leaguer to get a hit and score a run. He was used as a pinch hitter and singled, then scored a run in the Browns’ 6-2 loss to the Tigers. It was O’Leary’s first appearance in a major-league lineup since October 5, 1913, when he played shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals,
4. Alou, Alou, Alou — On September 10, 1963, at the Polo Grounds, the San Francisco Giants set up a trio of Alou brothers in order against the New York Mets. In the top of the eighth inning, Jesus Alou made his major-league debut, pinch hitting for Jose Pagan. He grounded out against Mets starter Carl Willey. Giants manager Al Dark then sent up Matty Alou to hit for pitcher Bob Garibaldi. Matty, who only struck out 13 times in 1963, whiffed against Garibaldi.

[caption id="attachment_1062" align="alignright" width="257"] The Royals are on a mission that would make George Brett proud.[/caption] That brought up eldest brother Felipe Alou, the Giants’ leadoff hitter who was playing right field. Felipe hit back to the mound and was retired by Willey to end the inning. The Mets won, 4-2.

5. Gary Sheffield — The Tampa, Florida, native hit the 250,000th homer in major-league history, connecting for a grand slam off Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez during the second inning on September 8, 2008. It also was the 496th of Sheffield’s career.

Sheffield had hit the 249,999th homer an inning earlier, a solo shot off Gonzalez. Sheffield’s Detroit Tigers would win, 14-8.

6. Crazy Eights — Twenty-nine major-leaguers have collected 3,000 or more hits in their career. Eight of them hit the milestone in September: Nap Lajoie (1914), Roberto Clemente (1972), Al Kaline (1974), Carl Yastrzemski (1979), Robin Yount (1992), George Brett (1992), Dave Winfield (1993) and Paul Molitor (1996).

[caption id="attachment_1063" align="alignleft" width="300"] Can the Pirates recapture their 1979 We Are Family glory days?[/caption] Winfield and Molitor got No. 3,000 on September 16, while Clemente and Brett achieved it on September 30. Kaline did it 41 years ago today (September 24). While Clemente and Lajoie doubled for their milestone hit, Molitor is the only player — September or otherwise — to smack a triple for hit No. 3,000. If you’re wondering, only one player has reached the milestone in October—Rickey Henderson, who doubled on October 7, 2001.

7. Addie Joss — With the 1908 American League race hanging in the balance, Joss pitched the second perfect game in league history on October 2 in Cleveland, outdueling Chicago’s Ed Walsh 1-0. The victory foiled Walsh’s bid for his 40th victory of the season. The Naps (later renamed Indians), scored the game’s lone run in the third inning to stay a half-game behind Detroit in the white-hot pennant race. The game at League Park took 92 minutes to play. Detroit would win the pennant by a half game, even though the Tigers played three fewer games than the Naps.
8. Double dose — The 1968 season was truly the year of the pitcher. On September 17, Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry tossed a no-hitter against the Cardinals at Candlestick Park, outdueling Bob Gibson 1-0. Gibson allowed only four hits, but a first-inning homer by Ron Hunt was the difference in the game.

The Cardinals returned the favor the next afternoon, as Ray Washburn no-hit the Giants 2-0. This marked the first time in major-league history that a no-hitter had been achieved in successive games involving common opponents. It was the Cardinals’ first no-hitter since Lon Warneke threw one in 1941.

9. Shattered — Cubs rookie outfielder Tyler Colvin’s chest was punctured when he is hit by a sliver of Welington Castillo’s maple bat on September 19, 2010, during Chicago’s 13-3 victory against the Marlins. Colvin was leading off third when Castillo smacked a drive down the left-field line for a double. In the process, his bat shattered and hit Colvin in his right upper chest. Colvin was taken to the hospital but was later released. [caption id="attachment_1064" align="alignright" width="232"] Of course, wishing for the curse to end doesn't make it happen. And that black cat, man. Don't forget the black cat![/caption]
10. Ball on the wall — In the top of the 13th inning at Shea Stadium on September 20, 1973, Dave Augustine’s long drive to left bounces off the top of the fence — and directly into the hands of Cleon Jones. The Mets’ left fielder fires to relay man Wayne Garrett, who throws a strike to catcher Ron Hodges to nail the Pirates’ Richie Zisk with what would have been the go-ahead run. Instead, the game remains tied until Hodges ends it with an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th, giving New York a 4-3 win.

It was the second — and last — hit of the season for Augustine, who had just seven at-bats in 1973.

By Erez Ladetzky, Smack Zone Contributor Football season is in full swing. With it, naturally, comes a lot of gambling. Most of the time, that’s good news for Las Vegas. Except, as happened in the opening week, all of the heavy favorites cover the spread. Whoops: Worst ever loss for Vegas on an opening weekend. On the other hand, when the house loses, the people win. Easy, right? Break out the bankroll and go get rich! Not so fast, my friends. Remember the old gambler’s saying: Live by the spread, die by the survival pool. (What? It’s a saying. All right, I made it up. But it's a saying now. Shut up.) One way to have an entertaining football season is to, as I mentioned in that old saying I totally just made up, join a survivor pool. Here’s how it works: Each week you pick a team to win. If that team wins, you survive to the pick again the following week. If they lose, you are eliminated, and you must walk the Fan Duel Walk of Shame. This whole survivor pool thing sounds a lot easier than it actually is. I have been participating in one for the past six years. The rules of my survivor pool of choice say that every week there are restricted teams that you are not allowed to select. For the first three weeks, the two most favored teams that week are banned. In weeks four-six, the top three most favored teams are restricted. And so on.  There were more 14,000 entries this season, and after week two, that number dwindled to just more than 3,000. You read that right: After two weeks, ELEVEN THOUSAND entries had gone up in smoke. Picking any team to win sounds easy enough, until we get to game time. Then? Anything can happen. Just ask the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, and Baltimore Ravens. These three teams were the heavy picks this week, and all of them lost. BOOM. One so-so week for Nick Foles, one fluke game for the Jaguars, and one frankly strange day for the Oakland Raiders, and your survivor pool is shot. And it could have been worse: In our pool, the Saints were heavily favored against the Bucs and were therefore restricted. Imagine if they had been available to select – NO ONE WOULD HAVE SURVIVED. Here’s the point: No matter how much of a lock you think you have, you just never know. That is why the game is played on the field and not on paper. I’ll leave you all with this fun fact, especially for all you stat nerds out there. Sunday was the first time that Cleveland, Jacksonville, Tampa and Oakland all won on the same day since November of 2007! Let that sink in, and proceed with caution in what’s left of your survivor pools. Speaking of winning stuff ... The Smack Apparel weekly PICKS CONTEST IS LIVE!!!!!! Go to the PICKS CONTEST website at this link: Smack Apparel Contest.  Log in or register on the site, then make your picks. Share it on Twitter and Facebook, and dare your friends to try to beat you. First place winner each week receives three Smack Apparel t-shirts. Runner-up receives one Smack Apparel t-shirt. Check back each week for your chance to win! Good luck!

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Smack Apparel offers heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Yogi Berra and Yankees fans everywhere. Everybody loved Yogi, and we always will.[/caption] Yogi Berra is gone. Baseball's most lovable quote master died overnight at age 90. We at Smack Apparel have always had a special place in our hearts for the Yankees Hall of Famer. We created our tribute shirt to Yogi out of love for his creativity and originality. You'll hear and read a lot of stories today about Yogi. That's what baseball is about, ultimately -- story telling. It's why the game remains such an important and vital part of our national culture. Because who doesn't love a good story? And who was a better subject than Yogi? Here's one told almost a quarter-century ago by then-Reds Manager Lou Piniella during a warm spring training morning in Plant City. Yogi and Lou and others were out for dinner in the city. They went to a great pizza joint they all knew and enjoyed. When the waiter came to take their order, Yogi turned to him and asked, "How many slices are in a large pie?" "We can slice it any way you like," the waiter said. "Four, six, eight. It's up to you." Yogi nodded and thought about it for a second. "You better make it four," he said. "I'm not that hungry." RIP, No. 8. You were one of the greats, and you will never be forgotten.

[caption id="attachment_853" align="alignright" width="300"] You actually can't win an argument against a Patriots fan, because they no longer have a firm grasp on reality.[/caption] (Note: This is part of a recurring series that launched with the Yankees last week. This week, it's New England's turn in the Smack Zone. We still love you, Pats fans!) First, let's be clear: There is no way to win an argument with a New England Patriots fan. The arrogance runs too deep. True minions of Brady and Belichick no longer are capable of humility or rational thought -- of any kind. They are as intractable as a field of volcanic rock, as aloof and unapproachable as an Apple store employee five minutes away from a smoke break. Patriots fans simply can't be wrong. For evidence of their innate superiority, they unveil four compelling exhibits: Super Bowl XXXVI. Super Bowl XXXVIII. Super Bowl XXXIX. Super Bowl XLIX. OK. Championship caliber franchise. Got it. No one is saying New England hasn't gotten extremely proficient over the years at acquiring hardware. [caption id="attachment_1038" align="alignleft" width="300"] Played memes are played, but sometimes the only way to get through to myopic Patriots fans is to say it as slowly and simply as possible. Small words, y'all.[/caption] Yet, their very success reveals their weakness. How? Two main things to remember when attempting to take a Patriots fan down a notch. One: They cheated. Two: Their fans respond to success with all the grace of a pack of hyenas, bellowing with frustration that the world is against them. By the way: They're right about that. The world IS against them. There's a history here, of course. Patriots fans are what Red Sox fans become during the long, cold New England winters. Take all those years of Fenway bitterness, add an unhealthy dose of sub-freezing and ice-encased fury, toss in years of obviously tainted victory and voila: Patriots fan. All right. We've established that they are insufferable and deluded. They don't care what you think. Still, even the most rabid Patriots fan has no comeback for these two bits of unassailable history: One: The Patriots are Eli Manning's Super Bowl squeak toy. Two: Aaron Hernandez murdered a dude while he was an active, productive and well-loved member of the New England Patriots family. To expound a bit on Eli: If the younger Manning brother ever joins brother Peyton in the hallowed halls of Canton one day, it will be as a direct result of his and the Giants' mastery of the Patriots in not one, but two Super Bowls. Without the Patriots, Eli Manning would be in the career neighborhood of Dave Krieg and (hey!) Drew Bledsoe. Good QBs in their day, but hardly Canton fodder. Thanks to the Patriots, Eli is a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. (Yes, we're aware that you have to get to the Super Bowl to lose in the Super Bowl, but Patriots fans are the first to define themselves in terms of championships. Runner-up is FIRST LOSER.) As for Hernandez ... well, to their credit, even though they knew Hernandez had issues, at least the Patriots didn't wait until he had been convicted before cutting ties. And owner Robert Kraft testified for the prosecution in Hernandez's trial. That said, YOUR TIGHT END MURDERED A DUDE IN COLD BLOOD. A guy Patriots fans cheered with all their collective heart on Sundays turned out to be a stone, cold killer. How's that taste, Pats fan? (Editors note: They still don't care.) Then there are the Twin Gates: Spy- and Deflate-. Look, we're not going to rehash those infamous instances of cheating here. Besides, Patriots fans are so deep in denial that many of them won't even acknowledge the wrongdoing by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Those who do acknowledge it are sitting in their easy chairs with their fingers in their ears saying, "LA LA LA LA LA LA! I can't hear you! LA LA LA LA LA LA! Brady is God! LA LA LA LA! Not listening! Not listening!" Sigh. OK. At this point, there is no shame in admitting defeat. Those four Super Bowl rings are tough to argue against -- legit or not. Winning an argument against a New England Patriots fan must be accomplished in small increments. As they bellow about Brady and Goodell and the God-awful Wells report; as they name their children after Tom Brady and their Great Danes after Gronk; as they wallow in their us-against-the-world self pity, go exercise a form of civil disobedience by sharing something funny from the Twitter account for Tom Brady's Ego. It's a parody account, but humor often reveals truth. And the truth is, perhaps the best way to win an argument with a New England Patriots fan is to ignore him. Case closed. Next week: How to win an argument with a Green Bay Packers fan.