Wild Coyotes Spotted Outside Wrigley Field

If vultures circling above you is a sign that you're doomed...what does it mean for the Chicago Cubs when coyotes actually hang out outside Wrigley Field?

Late Saturday night, photographer Will Byington was in Wrigleyville and noticed the two wild dogs roaming outside "The Friendly Confines".

"The scary thing is that they didn't seem afraid. You'd think they'd be cowering, but they didn't seem vicious," Byington told Chicago's NBC 5.  "You hear stories about them venturing out and spotted around parks and whatnot, but they were right in the street with cars zooming by and honking. It didn't seem to phase (sic) them."

I'll let you come up with the "Party Animal" jokes yourself.

(h/t @willbyington via @kevinkaduk) 

Free Agent Has Cyber Monday Deal For MLB Suitors

Other may call it Cyber Monday, but I'd like to refer to it as the day I got an email from every online merchant I've ever bought anything from.

That said, to entice potential big league franchises to take a chance on him, free agent pitcher Michael Schlact has his own Cyber Monday deal.

For the record, that's a far better deal than those chumps from Lands' End.

The 6'7" righty last appeared in affiliated ball two seasons ago as a member of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A team of the Texas Rangers.

This past season, Schlact was with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.

David Freese Unhurt After Car Crash

Thanksgiving night, word hit the Twittersphere that St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese slammed into a tree while attempting to avoid a deer.

According to police, Freese was on his way to his parents for the holiday and walked away unscathed.

Freese, 29, was south on Wildhorse Creek Road near Rieger Road in Wildwood when he crashed his 2011 black Range Rover into a tree to avoid a deer, said St. Louis County Police Officer Randy Vaughn. The crash occurred at 2:30 p.m.

Freese did not hit the deer, Vaughn said. Freese was already out of his SUV when police arrived. Freese refused medical treatment, and his SUV was towed from the crash scene.

Investigators say alcohol was not a factor in the crash and "no other investigations are underway."

But back to the Twitters. 

Even though it was ruled that alcohol was not a factor...people were super skeptical that the 2011 World Series hero had been drinking.

You see, Freese has quite the history...this from his Wikipedia page.

In December 2009, Freese was arrested for driving under the influence in Maryland Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.  Freese blew a .232, which is nearly three times the state's legal limit of .08. It was the second such arrest for Freese, who was also arrested in November 2002 in Maryland Heights for driving while intoxicated.  The 2009 arrest was a violation of Freese's probation, due to a September 2007 arrest for resisting arrest (amongst other charges) in Lake Elsinore, California

.
So, naturally, you can see how/why people were skeptical when they heard Freese wrecked his rig, but if the cops aren't investigating dude...we shouldn't either.

Oh, no word on the condition of the deer.  My sense is that he made it to his Thanksgiving dinner with time to spare.

(h/t @Mattylight777)

Hunter Pence's Teammates Must Love Him

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Charles Caleb Colton

If Charles Colton's famous idiom is true...the San Francisco Giants must absolutely LOVE their teammate (and inspirational leader) Hunter Pence.

Just check out the end credits to the team's official 2012 World Series film.

 

***Tip o' the hat to Jimmy Traina.***

BJ Upton Responds to False Twitter Claims

Tuesday afternoon, the Twitter hot stove ignited with news that free agent outfielder B.J. Upton had signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Except...it wasn't true.  Thankfully, "Bossman Junior" was on the case!

And that fake Twitter account would've gotten away with it too...if it wasn't for those meddling kid!  Of course we should all believe Upton until, well, he signs with the Phils.

Chan Ho Park and Larry King...Gangnam Style!

I've tried my damnest not to post anything Gangnam-style related, but when something like this happens...self imposed rules are meant to be broken.

Alright.  So.  Many.  Questions.

First off, the obvious.  What is Psy doing with Chan Ho Park?  That's an easy one...they're both Korean rap sensations.

Next, what are Larry King and his wife doing with the pair?  And what are the four of them celebrating.

Lastly, and most importantly, where are King's trademark suspenders?

The Josh Hamilton Movie is a Reality

With the potentially former Texas Rangers superstar currently looking for a monster deal this off season, it's nice to know that one facet of the Josh Hamilton story has been finalized...The Josh Hamilton Story.

Allow me to explain.

This past summer, word came out that producers were shopping a movie of the "fall from grace" and rise from the ashes of the 2010 American League MVP.

And now, well, now the biopic will be turned into a feature film by Relativity Media.

"I truly think this guy’s story is one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read," producer Basil Iwanyk said. "It’s also tailor-made for a movie: it has the mythic quality of The Natural, the faith-based angle of The Blind Side and the romance of Walk the Line."

Sooo...baseball fantasy, football movie, music movie.  Got it.  In line to direct...Casey Affleck, who had already helped chip in to pitch the film.

"Casey has totally captured those elements in his take for the movie," Iwanyk added.  "It is an extraordinary odyssey that took him from the depths of drug addiction, estrangement from his family, and suspension from baseball to a spectacular rebirth of his life, faith, marriage and Major League career."

Alright, count me in.

But here's the bigger question...who to play the five-time All-Star?  Do you go with a bankable commodity or someone unknown?

My pick?  Friend of The Hall Casey Bond.

You might remember Bond from his role as Oakland A's reliever Chad Bradford from Moneyball. 

But that's not why I'm going with the guy.

First, you're going to want someone who has experience on the field and Bond was actually drafted by the San Francisco Giants back in 2007 and knows his baseball movies.  Also, well, dude kinda looks like Hamilton.

So, if you're casting The Josh Hamilton Story (my name, not theirs)...who ya got?

Jamie Moyer Is So Old...

If you hadn't already heard, Jamie Moyer turned 50 on Sunday and, naturally, the internets were a buzz with some fun facts about the lefty. 

For example, should Moyer make an appearance in 2013, he'd join Satchel Paige and Jack Quinn as the only pitchers to ever appear in the bigs after their 50th birthday. And since Quinn's last appearance was just six days after he turned 50...Moyer trails only Paige in terms of the oldest pitchers ever.

Pretty cool.

So to celebrate the pitcher's 50th birthday, Lou Olsen (the cat behind the always awesome John Axford Mustache Facts over at Reviewing the Brew) uncovered some unknown facts about baseball's favorite octogenarian.

 

Jamie Moyer is so old that if he doesn't drink enough water, his muscles turn to jerky.

Jamie Moyer is so old that he didn't play The Oregon Trail, he was the inspiration.

Jamie Moyer is so old that his cemetery plot has been on layaway since the Great Depression.

Jamie Moyer is so old that he told Hamlet as a campfire story.

Jamie Moyer is so old that he still winds his clocks.

Jamie Moyer is so old that the plastic covering his furniture...has plastic on it. 

Jamie Moyer is so old that Honus Wagner called him "Pops"

Jamie Moyer is so old that he remembers when burning witches was America's pasttime.

Jamie Moyer is so old that he haunts ghosts, not the other way around.

Jamie Moyer is so old that when he signed his first contract, he sealed the envelope with candle wax and his family crest stamp.

Jamie Moyer is so old that the first film George Burns wanted to make was his biopic.

Jamie Moyer is so old that his first smart phone had a rotary dial. 

Jamie Moyer is so old that even the Yankees don't want him.

All kidding aside, the world is probably a better place for having a guy like Jamie Moyer around for as long as he has been.  His Moyer Foundation has been a pretty good friend of The Hall of Very Good for a few years so it's probably time to remind you that you can follow them on Twitter at @moyerfoundation.

Also, to learn more about the foundation or make a donation to support one of their programs, please visit them online at The Moyer Foundation.