The first ever OSQ redesign

After eight months (exactly) and over 300 posts, it’s time for a change.

I’ve chosen a new blog layout, made a custom header and finally updated the About page. Everything else about the blog should remain the same.

Passion Bucket keeps growing (and some other links)

Major thanks to Gutty Little Bruins for pointing me to this video. It’s not sports-related at all, she’s promoting some travel company (and I tuned out after a while), but says passion bucket a few times, referencing UCLA football coach Rick Neueheisel for coining the term (which he did!).

Your links of the day:

Larry Brown says the 18-1 Patriots are still the best team he’s ever seen. I have to agree, even if they lost the Super Bowl, it’s hard to go 18-1. And I’m no Pats fan, I was rooting for them to lose. (Larry Brown Sports)

Comparing the Super Bowl champion New York Giants to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals in that the best team didn’t win the championship. (Bugs & Cranks)

Babes Love Baseball has some amazing season previews in haiku form. Their latest is on Baltimore. (Babes Love Baseball)

The Dodgers and Red Sox exhibition game at the L.A. Coliseum is already sold out and the dimensions are going to be very odd. (Center Field)

Looking at the decline in the number of black players in baseball. (Baseball Mastermind)

I finished fourth in the HHR Fantasy Football Playoff Cup. Congrats to the Chief for winning. (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

55 days ’til Opening Day

There are 55 days left until that best day of the year, MLB Opening Day.

55 is also the number of games Julio Franco played in last season.

Franco, is of course, famous for being really, really old and still playing. He was 49 at the end of last season, easily the oldest player in the majors — a title he has held for the last four seasons, which is amazing (Jesse Orosco was the last player to be older than Franco).

Franco trivia from Wikipedia:

• Julio Franco was the only active player to face a pitcher who pitched against Hall of Famer Ted Williams.
• When Franco and Roger Clemens faced each other in 2007, it was the oldest pitcher-hitter matchup since 1933.

Franco was horrible in 2007 (.222/.321./.289), but did put up a passable 2006 (.273/.330/.370) and a good 2005, when he was 47 (.275/.348/.451). So it wasn’t until recently he started playing like his age.

No one has signed Franco for this season, so he’s probably done. If he does end up somewhere though, he can be a 50-year old major leaguer. That would be pretty cool.