The Standard Bearer -- Scott Radinsky

I'd be remiss to leave this guy out. Lead singer of So-Cal punk acts Ten Foot Pole and, currently, Pulley, Scott Radinsky was/is the quintessential punk rock baseball player. A south paw pitcher, Radinsky made his debut with the Chicago White Sox on April 9, 1990. He was an effective "LOOGY" throughout his career, which spanned to 2001, making stops with the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Indians. He didn't pitch in 1994 due to being diagnosed with and undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. But no worries, he kicked cancer's ass.

Radinsky's musical career began in 1983, with Ten Foot Pole, then known as Scared Straight. Under this name and line-up, the band released two albums: Swill and Rev. Radinsky and the rest of TFP parted ways in the mid 90s, apparently because the band wanted didn't want to compete with Radinsky's baseball career. (Ten Foot Pole replaced him with a 13 year old boy. At least, that's what it sounds like. Sorry Dennis Jagard, your vocals are annoying.)

Enter Pulley. The band released their first album, Esteem Driven Engine in 1996. Overall, the band has released five full-lengths, most recently Matters in 2004. Also in 2004, they did a split with The Slackers and did a bunch of Minor Threat covers for some reason.

Today, Radinsky is the pitching coach of the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile, there is a new Pulley EP out there somewhere and one of these days, it will be released. I suspect we won't see it until the Buffalo no longer roam.

Take a listen to some of his tunes.

Photos courtesy of Roctober Magazine and the Pulley MySpace.

Pro Ball Punk -- C.J. Wilson

One of the new crop of punk ball players, C.J. Wilson lives his ideals. The current Texas Rangers closer connects with his fans via his MySpace and holds regular Guitar Hero tournaments to raise money for charity. While his musical taste seems a little too screamy metal/whiny for my liking (Killswitch Engage, etc.), the dude's charisma is undeniable. He drives speedy rocket cars through the streets of European cities and will, undoubtedly, steal your girlfriend.

As of June 6, he has a 4.32 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP and 11 saves. To be fair, however, his ERA is that high mostly from one bad outing versus Seattle (a 54.00 ERA in .2 IP, yuck).

He used to keep an MLBlog, which I linked to on the left. The last entry was earlier this year, so he may get back to that.

Oh yeah. He's straight-edge, too.

"Cubs v. White Sox" through the Larry Arms Lens

Chicago's finest, The Lawrence Arms, posted some segments they taped for ManiaTV (because they're crazy, wakka wakka) on ye old YouTube. One segment at about 1:25 has them breaking down the conflicted loyalties of the Chicago baseball fan. Check it out because these guys are always good for a laugh.



I'm pretty sure the Chicago sentiment is unique to the area. New York fans don't vacillate between teams. I know Cards and Royals fans don't change loyalties like underwear. It's quite the Second City phenomenon.

Tradition of Success

Why is this guy punk?


Despite what you may believe, it isn't because of the mohawk. It's because he appears to be wearing a replica 2006 World Series ring on his right index finger. Winning your tenth world championship will give you that swagger.

Thanks to Bob Crowe at Saint Louis Daily Photo Blog for the pic.

Let's get rockin

In high school, where roles are rigidly defined like the caste system in India or the Hamptons, it is difficult, if not impossible to be both a jock and a punk. If you like you music loud and fast, you can't be on any sports teams. If you play football or baseball, you are being fake. Fortunately, common sense slowly sets in about the age of 20 and these two aspects no longer become mutually exclusive. That's all this blog is about. Let's see how long this one lasts.

One story that I want to feature tonight is about the Double A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Springfield, Cardinals. This story by Kary Boohar had shed some light on a minor league punk, Adam Ottavino:

His season had soured enough, with a bloated ERA and worrisome record chipping away at his confidence, and so Springfield Cardinals right-hander Adam Ottavino figured it was time to get right on Sunday.

And he wasn't kidding.

Earlier this season, his warm-up music was "Jukebox Hero" by Foreigner. On Sunday, he turned to "Mother," the edgy, signature song of 1990s death metal band Danzig.

I am going to give Boohar a pass on calling Danzig "death metal" because that's not the story. The dude went from Foreigner to Danzig. Did he dig the album up from his brothers lp collection/pot stash between games of D&D? It's not too often that you see such a musical transformation, but when it happens, how can you not be proud?

Yeah, I didn't link to "Jukebox Hero." You know what it sounds like.