Yankees - Santana

Introduction
The hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a round ball with a round bat. Throw in the fact that the pitcher has all sorts of pitches up his sleeve to get you out and it may feel impossible. Here are a few tips to help you hit a change-up when playing baseball or softball.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Steps
1
Step One
Understand your pitcher. A great hitter does his homework about the pitcher he is facing. Every pitcher has a fastball. Another common pitch is the change-up. However, some pitchers rarely rely on it because it is slower to the plate and can stay on a flat plane. Pitchers may be reluctant to throw because if the batter is not fooled, he can hit it hard and long. Learn the pitches that the pitcher you are facing likes to throw. If he relies on his change-up, you will be one step ahead of the game.
2
Step Two
Check the count while in the batter's box. Pitchers will try to psych out the batter. Half the trick to hitting the change-up is mental. Understand when the pitcher will throw the change-up. If they are ahead in the count they may try to get you out with a change-upe, so be ready for it. However, if the count is three balls and one strike with men on base, chances are they will throw a fastball. By understanding what pitch they will throw in different counts, you will be far ahead of the game.
3
Step Three
Move up in the batter's box. A change-up is slower than a fastball. Therefore, if you move up in the batter's box or toward the pitcher when you expect a change-up, the pitch will arrive to you in a shorter amount of time. This split-second difference will take you away from being early on your swing and move you toward driving the ball into fair play. If the pitcher's change-up dips down and away at the last moment - as many change-ups do - you can reach it before it breaks.
4
Step Four
Stay back with your hands. This is a piece of advice that many coaches give. It refers to the impulse the hitter has to swing quickly when expecting the fastball. If your hands stay back, your swing has not yet begun. Therefore as the pitch comes in and you keep your hands back, it will give you more time to recognize the change-up. Then, at the appropriate time, swing.
5
Step Five
Look at the spin on the ball. Not every hitter has good enough eyesight to do this. A change-up has a slow spin as it comes out of the pitcher's hand. It looks very different from a curve ball or the tight spin of the fastball. If the pitch seems to be "tumbling" toward the plate, chances are it's a change-up.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-espn18dec18,0,6560309.story?track=mostviewed-storylevel

Cable sports giant's five-story building next to Staples Center will complement the hub in Bristol, Conn.
By Greg Johnson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 18, 2007


West Coast fans who have long suspected an East Coast bias from Bristol, Conn.-based ESPN can begin to rest easier, because the cable sports giant is on track to open by spring 2009 a full-fledged broadcast production facility across from Staples Center.

The five-story ESPN building that is taking shape will house an ESPN Zone restaurant on the first two floors and two television production studios with digital control rooms on upper floors. One studio will become home for the late-night edition of its signature "SportsCenter" that now is produced on the busy Bristol campus. ESPN also will house its 710 radio station studios next door in an office building now under construction.

"The scope of this project makes sense on a lot of different levels," said ESPN President George W. Bodenheimer, who was in town last week. "And, frankly, having toured it today, I feel very good about our decision to come out here."

Bodenheimer declined to state the cost of the new building. But, during a groundbreaking two years ago for the entertainment district that will surround Staples Center, television industry insiders speculated that the building would cost ESPN about $100 million.

One broadcast industry engineer recently estimated the cost of digital technology for the West Coast television studio at between $35 million and $45 million, with related construction costs of about $20 million -- not including the restaurant, which will open late next year.

ESPN executives are still wrestling with how to introduce fans to a bicoastal "SportsCenter," with early shows originating in Bristol and the late edition coming from L.A. The network regularly incorporates feeds from studios in New York City, Washington and Charlotte, N.C., but the show's hosts always have been in Bristol.

ESPN hopes to make the switch in a manner that won't confuse viewers. For example, there's a good chance that the two studios will be identical in appearance, and ESPN must decide if broadcasts will be regularly labeled as "live from Los Angeles."

The network that reaches about 94 million U.S. homes has yet to announce what other programming will originate in the new facility. But one studio is large enough to accommodate a studio audience, and Bodenheimer said that the L.A. facility "can only mean good things for ESPN Deportes," the network's Spanish-language channel.

ESPN's television, radio and Internet operations will have about 100 employees here when the facility opens, according to Bob Eaton, ESPN's former managing editor who is overseeing the project as a consultant.

Perhaps the most unusual need? Extra insulation.

"For street noise," Eaton said, "which we don't have in Bristol."

He also said the technology that is being added "seems to change overnight" as digital advances occur. Beyond the studios, which are now little more than big (7,500 and 5,000 square feet, respectively) empty rooms, the upper floors will have more than half a dozen editing bays where crews will piece together video and audio clips.

There also will be a newsroom that will house reporters, editors and others who feed the never-ending demand for instant updates and analysis.

As for the larger studio with room for an audience, Eaton said ESPN isn't sure it would produce such a show, but "it's better to be forward-thinking at this stage."

On the day of the tour, crews were working on the massive air-conditioning ducts, which will counter the heat generated by the studio lighting and wealth of electronic equipment. The walls have yet to be installed, though conduits are in place for the miles of wiring that are needed.

While ESPN's headquarters will remain firmly rooted in Bristol, Bodenheimer said, "We'll be moving some of our highest-potential folks out here."

The network also expects to leverage its proximity to Hollywood to create its own entertainment offerings.

The new studio and restaurant mark the latest in a series of collaborations involving ESPN, a subsidiary of Burbank-based Walt Disney Group, and AEG, which owns and operates Staples Center and theaters and arenas in the U.S. and overseas.

Next summer, ESPN will move its ESPY Awards show into the neighboring Nokia Theatre, which AEG recently opened. ESPN also holds its Summer X Games in Staples Center and at the Home Depot Center.

The new broadcast facility is expected to shorten the workday for some in Bristol, where crews now staff the overnight shifts that are necessary to keep ESPN's sports programming fresh. The West Coast facility will be linked to the Bristol studios by digital pipelines that promise to give L.A.-based staffers almost immediate access to content now stored at the headquarters, Eaton said.

ESPN's L.A. facility will incorporate perches in the upper floors where cameras will be able to get a bird's-eye view of downtown, including the pedestrian plaza off Chick Hearn Court that fills up with people whenever there are events at Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre.

The outside views are designed to feed into AEG Chief Executive Tim Leiweke's vision of a gathering place in L.A. that will serve as a backdrop for telecasts. To that end, AEG is equipping a state-of-the-art digital television production studio in the building being constructed next door. That studio, which will boast a huge window to allow cameras a clear view of the plaza, will be made available to visiting broadcasters.

Though the ESPN building is designed to serve in a digital age, there is one decidedly analog element worth noting -- an open staircase that connects the three upper floors.

"We noticed in Bristol that people don't wait for the elevators," Eaton said. "They just take to the stairs if it's one or two flights because it's faster."

greg.johnson@latimes.com

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7611338

Former major leaguer Jim Leyritz, who played the hero in the Yankees' 1996 World Series run, is in Broward County's Main Jail, charged with DUI homicide after a Friday morning crash in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported on its Web site.

Leyritz was involved in a car accident early Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale. According to WPLG-Channel 10, Leyritz struck a car in the heart of Fort Lauderdale's Himmarshee Street bar district, and a passenger in the car Leyritz allegedly hit was ejected from the car and died at the scene.

Leyritz refused a sobriety test, WPLG-Channel 10 reported, citing police.

Leyritz was charged with two counts of drunken driving, including DUI that causes death to a human, the Herald reported, citing the jail's Web site.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7606260

The Teams:

5. Dallas Mavericks

It's so much more fun to watch a team lose when you know the owner lives and dies with every defeat. There's just something comforting about knowing a billionaire is having a worse day than you are.

Heading into the 2007 playoffs, the Mavs had compiled the best record in the NBA (67-15), had the league MVP (Dirk Nowitzki) and looked destined to atone for their curious loss in the 2006 Finals after being up 2-0 on the Heat.

But a funny thing happened on the way back to the championship series.

With Nowitzki fading into oblivion for long stretches of games, the Mavericks got bounced by the 8-seeded Warriors in perhaps the most entertaining first-round series in league history.

Playing a reckless, conscience-free, run-and-gun style, Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson and Co. bounced Dallas in six games, giving coach Don Nelson the last laugh (for the moment) in his bitter feud with former boss Mark Cuban.

4. Baltimore Ravens

Lots of people have good reasons for hating the Baltimore Ravens. Cleveland fans will loathe the Ravens evermore for (temporarily) ripping their hearts out in 1996. Buffalo fans had their city disparaged by Willis McGahee on his way out the door. Then there's Ray Lewis' obstruction of justice plea deal in the double-murder of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker. And, of course, there's the ongoing smarmy offensive that is Brian Billick.

So it's been with unbridled joy that many NFL fans have watched the Ravens put together the longest current losing streak in the NFL at nine games. During the slide McGahee lost fumbles in Weeks 9, 10 and 14 before being sidelined with broken ribs, Lewis broke his hand and Billick practically surrendered to the then-winless Dolphins, refusing to go for it when Baltimore needed only a foot to win the game in regulation.

Even the Ravens' four wins are dubious, coming against teams with a combined 18-42 record. Hard to imagine a team coming off a 13-win season going the entire year without a single quality win. Billick fired his friend Jim Fassell last year on account of a scuffling offense. Under what criteria does Billick possibly deserve to coach this team next year?

3. New York Mets

They may not be the widely-loathed Evil Empire up in the Bronx, but the Metropolitans are not without their haters. By spending wildly on Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado, Tom Glavine and Billy Wagner — total price tag $306.5M — the Mets obliterated the payrolls of their National League rivals.

So it was with glee bordering on euphoria that the rest of the NL watched as the Mets pulled off an historic collapse in the final days of the 2007 season. New York lost 12 of 17 to blow a seven-game lead with 17 games to play. Making the choke all the more unbelievable, the Mets' went 1-6 on a season-ending seven-game homestand against the also-ran Nationals, Cardinals and Marlins. New York also lost its last eight meetings against the Phillies, who passed them on the final weekend.

On the last day of the season Tom Glavine turned in what has to be the worst must-win pitching performance in Major League history, recording a grand total of one out as he allowed seven first-inning runs in a season-ending 8-1 loss to the Marlins.

2. Notre Dame

Does any sport bring out the hate like college football?

But whereas Ohio State is loathed in Michigan and Alabama despised by Auburn fans, Notre Dame is hated from sea to shining sea. Arrogant, self-righteous and holier than thou, it is the only school to have successfully commandeered a television network.

So don't count the suits at NBC among those who enjoyed Notre Dame's 3-9 apocalypse in 2007, but lots of the rest of us basked in one disastrous loss after another.

The low point for ND — its first loss to Navy since 1963 — was the high point for the haters. After starting the season 0-5, Charlie Weis must have been tempted to invoke George Gipp's "win just one for the Gipper" in an entirely different context. Among the other low points in a season of valleys and deeper valleys, a pair of 38-0 blowout losses to Michigan and USC.

1. New York Knicks

While the (sexual harassment) trial and tribulations of Isiah Thomas (see below) have created a spectacle unprecedented even in New York, the off-court humiliations only serve to add to the joyful embarrassment the Knicks have become on the court.

After completing a 33-49 season in '06-'07, the Knicks have opened the '07-'08 season 8-19 and are in last place in the Atlantic Division, a mere 15 games behind the Celtics. They have lost 12 games by double figures, including a 45-point blowout at Boston and a home-and-home sweep by the sub-.500 Sixers who outscored them by 39 points in the two games.

By adding another me-first player in Zach Randolph, he of the 0.61 assist-to-turnover ratio, to play alongside Eddy Curry (0.29 assist-to-turnover ratio) up front, Thomas has created one of the most incredibly selfish teams in league history. When Jamal Crawford (1.57), Quentin Richardson (1.46) and Nate Robinson (1.25) join Randolph and Curry on the floor, the Knicks have a five that averages 5.18 assists for every five turnovers. Remarkable.

The Individuals:

5. David Beckham

For some reason, wary Americans regard soccer in one of two ways: complete indifference or outright hostility. But America's soccer haters would be put to the test by the arrival of the dashing David Beckham who would not only make soccer a cover story in the States but drag American sport fans into the international football arena where the rest of the world lives and dies with the beautiful game.

So what happened?

Uh, pretty much nothing. Beckham's forgettable '07 season saw him sidelined by injury for much of his time in L.A. as the Galaxy failed to qualify for the (lowly) MLS playoffs. Beckham capped his season of misery when the English national team lost to Croatia and failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship in November, the first time since 1994 that England had failed to qualify for an international tournament.

Beckham bashers got an extra sliver of joy when Posh's reality show was dead on arrival.

4. Bryant Gumbel

The next time you're hanging out with your sports pals ask if any of them like Bryant Gumbel. As widely admired as Greg Gumbel is, it's hard to find a single fan of the smug younger brother. But Bryant may be building a new fan base of sorts with his work in the booth during football telecasts. The supercilious one becomes merely super-silly as a play-by-play man on the NFL Network, which must be regretting standing by him after his comments about Gene Upshaw.

Some highlights: As a Dallas player limped to the sideline during the Cowboys-Packers game it took Gumbel three guesses to identify the player despite the fact that his number was clearly visible. Toward the end of the Niners-Bengals game as Carson Palmer threw to the end zone for a potential game-tying TD, Gumbel got caught up in the moment yelling "touchdown!" even as the ball could be clearly seen bouncing around on the ground after deflecting off Chad Johnson's fingertips. In the Pittsburgh-St. Louis game, after Steve Mariucci gave a cogent sideline analysis of how hard the Rams were playing for Scott Linehan, Gumbel responded by saying they should be playing hard because if they lost they'd be in second place behind the Browns. Really, Bryant? Think about it. Why would Mooch be pointing out that the Steelers were playing hard?

If you're missing this, call your local cable operator and insist on the NFL Network.

3. Barry Bonds

The one upside of Barry's tortured, reviled pursuit and passing of Hank Aaron is that it gave us an opportunity to hold Bonds up in comparison to The Hammer, which took Barry-hating to a whole new level. Class v. Crass. Grace v. Grimace. Indomitable v. Indicted.

The thing that made it most fun to watch Bonds break the record was that it didn't look like he was having any fun. Bonds insisted he would boycott the Hall of Fame if they put an asterisk on No. 756, so my only question for Cooperstown officials is how's that stencil coming?

After being indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, Bonds insists he is looking for justice. In Barry's world, justice is an anagram for Juice St.

2. Isiah Thomas

The gift that just keeps on giving. Despite being the longest running comedy this side of Broadway, the Miracle on 32nd St. continues unabated, warming the cockles of our hearts through the holiday season.

Since joining the Knicks two months into the '03-'04 season, Isiah has distinguished himself as a disastrous general manager (Stephon Marbury, Jerome James, Steve Francis, etc.), an awful coach (41-68) and an odious co-worker ("what, no love today?").

Some of the fun highlights of '07 include: a 45-point loss to the Celtics; an $11.6 million loss to Anucha Browne Sanders and losing track of starting point guard Stephon Marbury for a couple of days in November.

The most special part of watching a Knicks telecast is counting the seconds between the start of the "Fire, Isiah" chant and the P.A. operator flipping on the loud music to drown it out.

1. Roger Clemens

Let's see, before he left Boston he said he wanted to be closer to his family but ended up in Toronto, proving he was either fibbing or failed geography. Then he abandoned Toronto so he could join a team that won 114 games in 1998 and collect a couple of World Series rings with a team that hardly needed him. While in New York, he managed to become Public Enemy No. 1 for Mets fans by drilling Mike Piazza in the coconut and then throwing a shattered bat at him in the Series. Then, after accepting all the fare-thee-well honors and accessories from the Yankees he "retired" to Houston, where he would perfect the process of playing the franchises he supposedly loved off against one another.

So there was no shortage of baseball fans who must have reveled in the Rocket's season of discontent in 2007. After signing a prorated $28M deal with the Yankees in May — that would earn him $17,442,637 and cost the team an additional $6.98M in luxury tax penalties — Roger went 6-6. In other words the Yankees shelled out more than $4M per win. Clemens lasted less than three innings in his only ALDS start, hobbling off the mound with a leg injury.

Things only got better for Rocket haters after the season when the Mitchell Report landed with a thud on the pitcher's toe. In light of Brian McNamee's testimony, Andy Pettitte's corroborating confession and C.J. Nitkowski's endorsement of McNamee's character, Clemens — whose career took an obvious steroid arc — has become increasingly isolated with his denials. The world is waiting for that defamation lawsuit, Roger. Wouldn't it be fun to watch George Mitchell, prosecutor of more than 1,000 cases, cross-examine Clemens under oath? C'mon, Roger, go for it. Roger? Roger?