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Archived News of Frank's Field of Dreams

"The Old Reflector"
"Early and Often."
Ichiro's 3 run blast on top of the 2nd inning punctuated a
5 run inning and the Mariners muscle over the Yankees, 8 - 3.
(8/30)

"Winning and Losing."
Byung-Hyun Kim loves the weather in San Fran, and he
proves it by his performance again at SBC Park where
Rockies beat Giants, 2 - 1. Ichiro began his day hitting
his 14th homer, while New York's starter Mike Mussina was
knock out of the game by the 4th inning, but the Bronx Bombers
come back and hit 4 homers of their own, and in the end Mariners
could not keep up the powerage with the Yankees, and lost, 7 - 4.
(8/29)

"Autograph Finale."
This weekend wraps up my autograph season, new player
I got this weekend to sign a card for and expand my collection
are: Carlos Hines, Chuck James, Anthony Lerew, Brayan Pena,
and HoF shorstop Ozzie Smith, who was in town to help Devil Rays'
B.J. Upton with his defense, Upton leads professional baseball
with about 50 errors so far this season, but Ozzie said is not like
his hand is a magic wand and he can just put it on BJ's head and
make him a better defensive player. For the season, I obtained
97 new players' autographs, not bad. Some notable names of who
I met and got autographs from are HoFer Phil Niekro, and
Ozzie Smith. White Sox's Jose Contreras and Scott Podsednik
who I saw during my trip to Baltimore in late July. Former
Major Leaguers Terry Adams, Wil Cordero who came through
Durham with their team trying to make it back to the Majors,
and prospects such as Joey Gathright and Ryan Howard, who
are now in the Majors. For a list of the players, check
Autograph Land and the new players are in Green.
(8/27)

"Extra Inning's Excitement."
Tadahito Iguchi unleashed his power on top of the
12th inning by hitting a home run way beyond
the left field. White Sox beat Mariners 5 - 3.
(8/26)

"Grand Ichiro."
Ichiro, a career .523 hitter with bases loaded, punctuate
the game on top of the 9th by hitting a Grand-Slam
to help the Mariners cruise by the Rangers, 8 - 2.
(8/25)

"Winning Ways."
Tomo Ohka settled down after allowing a 3 run homer to
Carlos Delgado in the 3rd during Brewers' 6 - 4 win over
the Marlins. Chan Ho Park won his 11th game of the season
as the Padres top the Astros, 7 - 4. In the desert, rookie
Mike Jacobs showed why he is the future 1B/C of the
organization by unleashing his 3rd and 4th homer of the
season in just his 3rd start, Jae Seo again gave the team a
nice outing and the Mets pulverized the Diamondbacks, 18 - 4.
(8/24)

"Power It Up."
Ichiro led off the game by hitting the 2nd pitch he saw into the
right field, however the solo homer was not enough in the
Mariners' 6 - 4 loss to the Rangers. In the house that Ruth built,
Hideki Matsui hit one deep into the seats to tie the game up to
begin the 9th inning, and Yankees eventually beat Blue Jays, 5 - 4.
(8/23)

"Eighth Inning Errors."
Akinori Otsuka was the tough luck losing pitcher during
the Padres' 6 - 2 defeat in the hands of the Braves
at Turner Field. Padres committed 3 costly errors.
(8/21)

"Spark of the Sox."
Tadaito Iguchi's solo homer in the 4th inning spark up
the offense where 5 more runs were scored with 3
more homers. White Sox beat the Yankees, 6 - 2.
(8/21)

"Korean Night."
Tonight, 3 South Korean pitchers started in the 15 Major League
games that were going on. Byung-Hyun Kim suffered his 10th
loss of the season during Rockies' 5 - 3 defeat in the hands
of the Cubs. In Hotlanta, Chan Ho Park did not pitched all that
great but was benefited by the 20 hits and 13 runs from his
teammates, as the Padres beat the Braves in a football score
of like, 12 - 7. Jae Seo continued his dominance since coming up
from the minors as he once again mixed the 5 different pitches
that he owns as he gave up only 5 hits in 8 innings of work,
3 of the hits went to Preston Wilson. Mets beat Nationals, 1 - 0,
and I had an opportunity of catching this gem outing in front
of my PC thanks to MLB.TV. Ate a nice dinner afterwards and
I drove myself down to the Durham/Charlotte game that was
still going on. Got a couple of autographs but the only new
additions are Felix Martinez and southpaw Bobby M. Jones.
(8/19)

"The Art of Being Ichiro."
2 weeks ago, ESPN.com's Senior Writer Jim Caple had a very
informative story on Ichiro. While I already knew most of the
information being shared in the article. I want fans who have
not had a chance of reading it to do so here. And like basketball
legend Michael Jordan, there will only be 1 Ichiro, ever.
(8/19)
The Art of Being Ichiro

"Rock the Rocket."
Tomo Ohka kept his team in the game by pitching effectively and he was
benefited by the 4 runs during the 7th inning. The 5 earned run given up
by Roger Clemens were his season high. Brewers beat the Astros, 5 - 2.
(8/18)

"Ichirolled."
Ichiro had a 2 run homer as the offense did its job. Mariners roll all
over the Royals, 11 - 3. Rookie Felix Hernandez pitched a gem in the win.
(8/15)

"Cheers and Jeers."
Rafael Palmeiro played his first game today after being tested positive
for steroid use and he received a mixed emotions from the Orioles fans.
I want "your" insight on the new poll on how you feel about Raffy.
(8/15)

"Weekend Autographs Pt. 2."
Got another chance to see Louisville again this season as
they came back into town, this time without Austin Kearns.
I did ok and obtained new autographs from Rick Asadoorian,
Chris Denorfia, Ben Kozlowski, Jeriome Robertson,
Jimmy Serrano, and Allan Simpson. Once again, Blue Jays,
Indians, and Devil Rays reject Josh Phelps refuse to sign just
one card for me, and the only time I have ever seem him pick up
a pen out of the 8 games or so that I attended since he got
optioned down was when some kid yelled at him to sign a
baseball and said it was the ball he hit a homer earlier in the
game. I just could not quite understand why if I can get an
autograph from Hall of Famers and All-Star players to sign for
me but not a bum like Josh Phelps, who ignores fan before and
after the game, while say not right now outside the stadium,
as least he is not deaf outside the park. I end up give away his
cards. Josh also become the latest addition to the stooges."
(8/14)

"So-So Sunday."
Hideki Matsui belted a 3 runs homer, his 19th of the season during the
Yankees' 10 - 3 win over the Rangers. While former Ranger Chan Ho Park
couldn't make it out of the 5th inning in Padres' 8 - 3 loss to the Phillies.
(8/14)

"Sprightly Saturday."
What a busy day...congratulations to Jae Seo earning his
2nd straight victory since being recalled from the Minor as he
pitched brilliantly again during Mets' 5 - 1 win over the Dodgers
at Chavez Ravine. Ichiro had a solo homer as it was the only
bright spot in Mariners' 9 - 1 loss to the Angels. Tomo Ohka
didn't get much support from his offense where Brewers lost to
the Reds 4 - 1. Byung-Hyun Kim continued his inconsistency during
the Rockies' 8 - 0 shutout defeat in the hands of the Nationals.
(8/14)

"Weekend Autographs Pt. 1."
Went to the game between Indianapolis Indians and
Durham Bulls. New autographs are: Alfredo Amezaga,
Bryan Bullington, Mike Gonzalez, Bobby "king of the" Hill,
Graham Koonce, Paul Maholm, Ray Sadler, and Cory Stewart.
Louisville Bats will be in town the next 2 days.
(8/12)

"Sox Serie."
Tadahito Iguchi had his 11th homer in the 9th inning against Boston's
new closer Curt Schilling, however the comeback felt just a little bit of
short as the White Sox bow to the Red Sox by the score of 9 - 8.
(8/12)

"Park does his Part."
Acquired from Texas for Phil Nevin. Chan Ho Park made a triumphant
debut at PETCO Park, drawing a rousing ovation from the 41,977
sellout crowd as he left in the 6th inning of Padre's 8 - 3 victory
over Pedro Martinez and the Mets. Winning their 5th games
in a row, the Friars pushed their NL West lead to 4 games.
(8/9)

"One Night in New York."
Tadahito Iguchi hit his 10th homer of the season in
White Sox' 2 - 1 win over the Yankees where the game
was delayed because an idiot jump over the railing.
(8/9)

"2 Kims, 2 Wins."
Sunny Kim started game 1 of the doubleheader but
didn't factor in the decision during the Colorado's
thrill 4 - 3 win over the Marlins. Byung-Hyun Kim
pitched game 2 and gave 7 solid innings to earn
the W in Rockies' 5 - 3 victory of the Marlins.
(8/8)

Will Barry Bonds come back before the end of the season?		Votes
Yes	18%	5
No	82%	23
28 votes total

"Changing Colors."
Players come and go frequently as transactions happens daily.
With last week's trading deadline and other decisions various
teams made for a better last 2 months of season for their
respective organizations, couple Asian players were in the news.
Hideo Nomo were released after several rough starts and has
signed with the Yankees. Shingo Takatsu, who finished 2nd in
AL ROY voting last year was released from the White Sox as he
pitched poorly this season. Chan Ho Park was traded for Phil Nevin
as he joined his new club in San Diego. Lastly, Sunny Kim were
claim through the waiver by the Rockies from the Nationals.
(8/7)

"Victory Brew."
Tomo Ohka retired 12 straight batters at one point and
fanned a season high 9 batters to lift Milwaukee to their
2nd consecutive series win. Brewers shutout Phillies, 2 - 0.
(8/7)

"Spectacular Seo."
Jae Seo, a new father with his daughter born just a week ago,
made a triumph return to Shea after spending the last 3 months
in AAA-Norfolk with a stellar performance of 7+ innings of
4 hits shutout outing. Seo hasn't allow a run in his last 14 1/3
innings in a Major League uniform. Mets blank the Cubs, 2 - 0.
(8/6)

"MVP Iguchi."
Last week manager Ozzie Guillen said his Japanese 2nd basemen
Tadahito Iguchi is the MVP of the team and the White Sox
wouldn't be having the best record in baseball without his rookie
2nd basemen. Iguchi indeed save the day by hitting a solo blast in the
bottom of the 8th to power the White Sox over the Blue Jays, 5 - 4.
(8/4)

"Got Seo?"
Found a couple cards of Jae Seo since the last time I saw
him 2 months ago and this time I got lucky as he was sitting
behind the home plate charting during the game. He signed
all the 7 new cards I had on him and was again very polite
about signing. Unlike before, tonight there were a few
South Korean fans who came by and Jae was very happy to
pose and take pictures with them. I wish Jae the best, he told me
that he got called up to the Majors and will pitch this weekend
for the Mets. Other new autographs I got are Trenidad Hubbard
and Wil Cordero. Both players were signed by Durham and
Norfolk, respectly, as both try to get another cup of coffee.
(8/3)

"NL Recap."
Chan Ho Park got roughed up in his Padres' debut as he
couldn't finish the 5th, eventually Akinori Otsuka took the L
when he gave up the winning run in Padres' 9 - 8 loss
to the Pirates. In St. Louis,  trailing by 2 in the 7th inning,
Tony La Russa put in So Taguchi to face lefty Ron Villone.
Taguchi responded by belting a 3 run homer, where
he called it as the most exciting moment of his career.
Taguchi played the hero in Cardinals' 9 - 6 win over the Marlins.
(8/3)

"Choi It."
Hee Seop Choi provided some insurance in the 8th inning
with a solo blast, his 14th of the season. The run became
the winning run as the Dodgers get by the Nationals, 5 - 4.
(8/2)

"Road Trip Stories."
I've came back from my trip tonight. So many news to say
but I'll keep it short and informative. Only two new autographs
and they were Jose Contreras and Scott Podsednik. Like I
expected most of others "Major Leaguers." simply didn't want
to come over and sign for few people because they'll draw a crowd
of more than hundreds of people in less than a minute. I also got a
chance to go to Gettysburg, PA on Saturday. Where President
Abe Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address. I also went to
West Virginia at a place called Charles Town later that night,
where they have casinos and horse racing going on daily.
The last thing I did before coming home were visiting the
Nation's Capital and rode the metro to go see MCI Center where
Washington Wizards play and hang around in Chinatown for a while
on Sunday I spend most of today in the train, and I've to say Amtrak
blows big time. I don't think I'll ever take Amtrak again in my life.
1 1/2 hr of delay sucks. Went by the Durham Bulls tonight
and got a couple of autographs, but the only new addition is
Roosevelt Brown. When I was in Maryland, Ichiro had a
2 home-run game, Hideki Matsui had a game ending hit,
and Chan Ho Park got traded to the Padres. I'll try to
scan some pictures of the trip sometime later next week.
(8/1)

"See You Next Week."
I'm going up north to spend my weekend in the Maryland/DC area
as I'll be attending the game between the Orioles and White Sox
on Friday night at Camden. My main goal is get autographs
from Tadahito Iguchi, and guys who I watched growing up
such as Jermaine Dye, Paul Kornerko, and Frank Thomas etc.
Check back Monday and story and pictures will be posted.
(7/28)

"Enourmous Errors."
A pitch got away from Tomo Ohka, a throw got away from Lyle Overbay, and a pickoff
got away from Julio Santana sums up the night for Milwaukee. "It stinks" catcher
Chad Moeller said. "They didn't drive in any runs. That's too bad. It hurts to lose like that.
Tomo Ohka took the Brewers' embarrassing 3 - 0 defeat in the hands of Diamondbacks.
(7/27)

"Tough Luckish."
Kaz Ishii gave up only 1 earned run during Mets' 4 - 3
tough luck loss to the Rockies in the thin air of Colorado.
(7/26)

"Nothing but A's."
Keiichi Yabu earned his 1st career MLB save by pitching 3 innings
of solid relief. The Athletics thrashing the Indians, 13 - 4.
(7/25)

"Sunday Summary."
Chan Ho Park couldn't help Texas snap its losing streak as the
Rangers got swept by the Athletics. Park suffered his 5th loss
during the 8 - 3 defeat. In Chicago, where the temperature reached
100 degrees. Tadahito Iguchi singled twice, homered, drove
in 3 and scored twice to help the White Sox beat the Red Sox, 6 - 4.
Over in the west coast, Hideki Matsui belted a 2 run homer in the
7th inning to help New York get on the board and Yankees end
their 11 games road trip with a 4 - 1 victory over the Angels.
(7/24)

"PNC Panic."
Byung-Hyun Kim gave Colorado 7 innings of work, but
the offense couldn't find the groove and managing
only 3 hits. Rockies lose 5 - 3 to the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
(7/23)

"Taiwan Encounter."
Dodger's Taiwanese southpaw pitching prospect
Hong-Chih Kuo's AA team came through the NC area,
so I made a trip down to Zebulon to root for my fellow
countryman. Kuo signed every card I had of him pre-game
and joked that seems like I got just about every card
he's got out. But thanks to the crazy North Carolina
summer weather. I was a bit soaked, and the game was
ended after 5 innings thanks to the heavy rain.
(7/22)

"Red Alert."
Tomo Ohka struggled against Cincy on the road. Brewers got
romped by the Reds, 11 - 6, at the Great American Ballpark.
(7/22)

"Chief Ichiro."
Ichiro's 2 run blast in the 8th put his team from behind
to the lead. Seattle only managed 4 hits but all of them
counts. Mariners escape the Indians in Cleveland, 4 - 3.
(7/22)

"Ya Gotta 'Believe It'."
Kaz Ishii pitched 6 shutout innings but the performance were
a bit overshadowed because of the run support he's got in this
game. Dae Sung Koo also contributed by pitched a scoreless inning.
Mets crush the Padres, 12 - 0, and sweep the 4 games serie.
(7/21)

"No Fame to Claim."
Back to reality on the autograph note tonight as I received
autographs for the first time from John Barnes, James Jurries,
Tony Pena Jr, Scott Pratt, Kerry Robinson, and Jeremy Ward
of the Richmond Braves. I don't think any of those players
will be in the hall of fame later on like Phil Niekro, who
I met last week, but I'll still treasure their signatures.
(7/20)

"Bad Guys Lose."
Tadahito Iguchi got the White Sox's offense started with his 7th homer
of the season, but it was not enough. White Sox lose to the Tigers, 8 - 6.
(7/20)

"Gone-Zilla."
Hideki Matsui slug out his 15th homer of the season during the slug fest
between New York and Texas. Yankees prevail the Rangers, 11 - 10.
(7/18)

"Biting The Hand That Feeded You."
Tomo Ohka started against his former team for the
first time since being traded last month, and Ohka got
the last laugh. Brewers edge out the Nationals, 5 - 3.
(7/17)

"Winning Tradition."
Tadahito Iguchi helped Jon Garland win his 14th game
of the season by hitting his 6 homer of the season.
White Sox won 4 straight games, beating the Indians, 4 - 0.
(7/17)

"My 5 Minutes With The Fame."
Tonight I got to meet Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil Niekro.
Mr. Niekro made a special appearance at the Durham Bulls
games to promote DVT awareness. I got him sign me a couple cards
and an 8 x 10 which I asked to personalize it to me. It took me
3 tries because there were a lot of fans and he was only allow to
sign one item at a time, but Mr. Niekro was kind enough to sign
multiples for me. I didn't get too many new players on either
Durham/Rochester because my focus was on getting Mr. Niekro.
I did get Jimmy Anderson, Jeff Deardorff, Boof Bonser, and
Michael Cuddyer, who's on a 3 days rehab assignment for the Twins.
(7/16)

"Road Kills."
Hideo Nomo continued his road woes this season where
his ERA is 3 times higher away from Tropicana Field.
Devil Rays get spanked by Blue Jays, 11 - 6.
(7/15)

"2 hits Wonder."
Chan Ho Park and the rest of his teammates were held perfect for
7+ innings by opposition Rich Harden. Harden finished with a 2 hitter and
Park was charged for Rangers' 6 - 0 shutout loss to the Athletics.
(7/14)

"Be There or Be Square."
2nd half of the baseball season is getting underway, and one of the biggest
question is...Will Barry Bonds come back and play before end of the season?
(7/13)

"Ichi-Roar."
Ichiro ripped a broken bat 2 runs single and help out
the American League win another All-Star game over
the Nationals League, this one by the score 7 - 5.
(7/12)
 

Who will win the 2005 All-Star Game?		Votes
AL	35%	9
NL	19%	5
Bud Selig announce another tie after both team run out of pitchers	46%	12
26 votes total

"Homerun Derby."
Hee Seop Choi finished 6th out of 8 during the homerun derby as he
was not favored to win it anyways. Congratulations to Bobby Abreu
of Venezuela, who smashed 41 dingers into the far reaches of
Comerica Park and shattering the records for a single round,
the championship round and the total for all 3 rounds of the derby.
(7/11)

"Classic in the Making."
The field is set, 16 different countries will try its best next March and
prove that they are the World's best baseball team. Go Taiwan!!!
(7/11)
World Baseball Classic Bracket

"Future is Now."
 The World Team got on the board in the 3rd inning when
Futures Game veteran Shin-Soo Choo rocketed a
Zach Jackson's pitch into the right-field bleachers.
The South Korea native, who was playing in his third
Futures Game, has 7 homers for AAA Tacoma, Seattle's top
affiliate, and has even been up with the parent club for a
brief stint this season. World Futures shutout US Futures, 4 - 0.
(7/10)

"No Love for Kim."
Sunny Kim took the loss in relief in extra innings as the Nationals
let one slip by the Phillies 5 - 4, in the city of brotherly love.
(7/10)

"Arrgh..."
Kaz Ishii fell to 2 - 8 with the collapse of the bullpen.
Mets squander to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, 11 - 4.
(7/9)

"Back and Forth."
Hideki Matsui had a 3 runs homer, but it wasn't enough as New York's
pitching continue its woe. Yankees couldn't overcome the Indians, 8 - 7.
(7/9)

"W for Wang."
Chien-Ming Wang earned his 6th win of the season,
allowing 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings. He got help from
several of his teammates, as 5 different Yankees
each drove in a run. Yankees edged out the Indians
5 - 4, and overtakes the 2nd place in the AL East.
(7/8)

"Arlington Ambush."
Chan Ho Park pitched a shutout through 5 innings but he
couldn't make it out of the 6th. Rangers let Red Sox
score late and often, drop the rubber game 7 - 4.
(7/6)

"Pena Pimpin."
Former Rangers, Athletics prospect Carlos Pena who recently
send down to AAA by Detroit is one of the newest autographs
I got. I also obtained Kenny Baugh, Andrew Good, and
Wil Ledezma's autographs for the first time. The reason I used
the title "Pena Pimpin" because Carlos has a strict limit of 1
autograph per person habit and I had 2 different cards on him
so of course he signed 1. And he also signed 1 each to 3 other
autograph collectors. But somehow he signed 6 cards for this
attractive women who attend games with his young son regularly
and he was talking to her for about 15 minutes. I'm sure he was
talking to her about the game of baseball the whole time...NOT!
(7/5)

"In So We Trust."
So Taguchi is definitely taking advantage of the extra
playing time Tony La Russa is giving him. Taguchi hit his
5th homer of the season and finish the game 2 for 4 with
2 RBIs and a run scored. Cardinals captured the Diamondbacks,
7 - 1. In the last 10 games, date back from June 24th,
Taguchi is hitting .344 with 3 homers and 9 RBIs.
(7/5)

"Bronx Bombers."
Hideki Matsui connected his 13th homer and 3 of his teammates also gone
yards against Baltimore at home. Yankees triumph the Orioles, 12 - 3.
(7/5)

"Monday Musings."
Hideki Matsui's 12th homer in the 1st inning give the
Bombers an early lead and Yankees beat Orioles, 13 - 8
on George Steinbrenner's birthday. Hideo Nomo suffered
his 7th loss of the season and he gave up a Grand Slam to
Jermaine Dye in the 1st inning and Devil Rays lose to the
White Sox 10 - 8. In the Nation's Capital on the 4th of July,
Kaz Ishii pitched well and earn the no-decision but
Sunny Kim from the opposition took the loss when he
gave up 3 runs in 2 innings of relief. Nationals a.k.a.
"America's Team" fall short to the Mets, 5 - 2. And congrats
to Taiwanese outfielder Chin-Feng Chen, who often being
overlooked by Jim Tracy and spend most of his time in the
minor league, delivered his first career hit and drove in 2 runs
pinch hitting in the 7th innings of Dodgers' 4 - 3 win over Rockies.
(7/4)

"D-Town Duel."
Both Chien-Ming Wang and Nate Robertson pitched excellent
to give their team a chance to win, but 2 hits allowed by Robertson
in the 4th made the difference as Wang shutout Detroit for 7 innings.
Yankees used three pitchers to shutout the Tigers, 1 - 0 at Comerica Park.
(7/3)

"Free Tickets."
I won 2 free tickets by answering a radio trivia right couple
weeks ago and that got me in the game yesterday to see
Syracuse (Toronto AAA). New autographs I got between
them and Durham Bulls are Kevin Barker, Adrian Burnside,
Fernando Cortez, John-Ford Griffin, Brandon League,
Justin "a lot of tattoo" Miller, and Jason Phillips. And today
I took a trip down highway to see Salem at Winson-Salem,
mother nature pour down heavy rains and I was able to get
Matt Albers and Michael Floyd before I decide to leave.
More autographs the next few days, stay tuned.
(7/1)

"Park Power."
Chan Ho Park continued his dominance at Seattle, leading the Rangers
to a 6 - 2 victory over the Mariners in front of 37,270 at Safeco Field.
Park gave up only 5 hits in 7 innings, and Ichiro had 2 out of the 5.
(7/1)

"Solo Act."
Hideki Matsui's 11th homer of the season was one of New York's
highlight of the night. Yankees abolished by the Tigers, 10 - 2.
(7/1)