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Football’s lockout drags on.  After an immensely successful season, the NBA might be in a coma until January.  Yet Major League Baseball is experiencing rare labor peace and a surge in attendance.  While the #1 with a bullet NFL and the well dressed NBA sit on the shelf, now’s as good a time as ever for Baseball to try and regain some of its lost style & charisma.   Y’know, that stuff that was on display during innings 1-8 in Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns.

Above Photo Credit – Andrew Malone

1. Encourage Managers to lose the uniforms

The Marlins recently brought 80-year-old Jack McKeon back as their skip.  The man is not going to pinch hit.  Let him wear a suit.  Baseball managers have been stuck wearing the same getup as their athletes ever since coat and tie favoring Connie Mack (who started managing in the 19th century) finally hung up his oxfords.  Let the managers wear business attire like their NHL and NBA counterparts.  Besides, who wouldn’t want to see what linen blend two-piece Joe Maddon wears with his specs?  (Suggestion:  Swap out the heavy black frames for horn rimmed.)

2. Make the stadiums look more nostalgic and less like amusement parks.

For all the bright plastic, bounce houses, and ever present souvenir stands, kids just aren’t taking to baseball like they used to.  One of the few things baseball has is its ties to a time when things were classic and rarely trend driven or disposable.  Ball parks should look like brick and mortar shrines.  Not like a Chuck-E-Cheese.

3. Embrace the Throwbacks.  Eliminate the solid color alternate jersey

Baseball went through a period in the 90s – early 2000s where half the teams looked like their uniforms were designed by No Fear.  Less is more.  Mute the colors (unless they’re awesomely bright throwbacks), look to the early 20th century for inspiration.  Ditch those blocky contrast solid color jerseys as a team’s alternate.

4. Turn Back the Clock Night = Dress the part

Fans who shows up on turn-back-the-clock-night dressed at the same level of how fans used to dress when going to the park should get to enjoy similar period pricing on food and beer.  Flying used to be glamorous.  So did going to the ballpark.  Don’t wear a costume, but it’s not a bad excuse to get your date in a set of pearls and you in a jacket.

5. Get Bud a Stylist

It’s no shocker that Commissioner Selig was at one time a used car salesman whose team played in a corrugated aluminum stadium.  It’s never too late Bud.  Lose the pleats, go down (at least) one size in the jackets, and drop the waist on those trousers below your navel.  Maybe stop sharing a barber with Bill Gates.  If Bud wants to embrace the aged look?  Get that man a couple of bow ties.

Any other suggestions for how America’s Pastime can step up their style game?  Leave those below…

Everybody has one.  A movie you own on DVD, maybe even had on VHS once upon a time, and it’s your standby entertainment for those days when you want to watch something that’s:

1. Familiar
2. Awesome

It’s a movie that makes you feel good.  Something that’s probably a little predictable, has plenty of chemistry between the actors, and is easily quotable.  Maybe you identify with it, maybe you don’t.  Maybe it speaks to something deeper within your, or it’s shallow as all hell.  But it’s that movie you reach for time and time again when you want to let all your obligations go, zone out a bit, and completely relax.  You might even have favorite and least favorite scenes picked out.  And there’s no shame in skipping ahead to the best ones.

If you’ve spent more than a few weeks on this website, it’s not tough to figure out my own personal go to movie.  I reference it enough.  Ocean’s 11.  12 and 13 too, but the first re-make with Clooney and the rest is tops.  Yeah, it’s candy.  But so what…

………………………….

A close second is Casino Royale.  Not nearly as lighthearted as the suited up caper flicks of the Ocean’s trilogy (i.e. Benedict never tortures Danny Ocean by mangling his testicles) but it’s hard to argue with this scene on the train between Bond and Vesper.  Third place goes to the first six innings or so of the made for PBS documentary Baseball by Ken Burns.  That thing got me through some very poor and not the smoothest of times.

We all have one.  And it’s probably something that cinema snobs would turn their nose up at.

So what’s yours?

If you‘d like, leave your pick in the comments section below.  No slights or questioning someone else’s favorite here either (unless it’s like, The Music Man or something).  We all have different cinematic forms of comfort food.
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Baseball has problem.  Forget the fact that mid-season NFL games are whomping World Series games in the ratings, the most interesting thing to talk about after the Giants won their first series in half a century was…

…the bow tie that guy wore.

That guy was the stiff as a triple starched shirt Ken Rosenthal.  He’s the senior baseball writer for FoxSports.com, and the guys at the TV division decided to do what is almost always a bad decision when it comes to print fellows.  They stuck him on TV.  Now most of America knows Ken as the baseball version of a sideline reporter for Fox.  Only baseball doesn’t really have sidelines, so poor Ken was stuck doing most of his “reporting” from awkward locations like row E.

Ken actually wore a bow tie a few times during the world series.  And unlike Giant’s reliever Brian Wilson’s beard, Ken’s bow tie wasn’t odd in a good way.  Next time Ken, follow the flow chart* you see below.  Follow it and you’ll avoid the pitfalls that come with wearing a bow tie when and where you have no business doing so.

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*patent pending**
**not really
Your comments, as always, are welcome below.

Originally Published 3/6/2010

Pitchers and Catchers have reported to their spring training homes, and before you can say: “Bud Selig” it’ll be time for Baseball once again.  Nine men appear on a lineup card.  Nine men in the field of play.  Here’s the nine shoes you’ll want to collect and have in your own personal style dugout for maximum versatility, set just as if this were a batting order.

1. Classic American Sneakers – PF Flyers Grounder Lo – $49.95

Just like a lead off batter, you want something light, dependable, and gets the job done without being overpowering.  Look hard at Converse Jack Purcells, PF Flyer Lo, or the Italian Superga.

2. Motorcycle Boots | Kenneth Cole Play 2 Win – $99.99

You don’t need to actually ride a motorcycle to enjoy these things.  Tall enough to keep the street crap off you, casual enough to be worn to whatever dive bar you frequent, and good looking enough to impress whatever women are there once you arrive.  Most of them are obscenely comfortable too, and only get better with age.

3. Black Dress Boots | Florsheim Men’s Colfax – $89.95

These see a lot of action.  And you need them to be able to work well in any number of situations.  Casual, dress, somewhere in between.  Get a pair that look just as good with a pair of lighter colored chinos, blazer, and tie, as they do with a pair of jeans and an un-tucked well fitting casual button up.

4. Black Laceups | Aldo Hepworth – $100.00

Your go-to.  The clean-up.  When you need to knock it out of the park.  Avoid Square toes.  Stick with the classics or maybe a touch modern, like these black laceups from Aldo.  And take care of them like they’re the foundation of your lineup.  Because they are.

5. Brown Dress Boots | Kenneth Cole Long Time-A-Bow – $117.00

You won’t lean on them nearly as much as your black dress boots, but when you gotta have them deliver, you want to have a good set at the ready.  Good with dark jeans and chino blazers or khaki pants.  They can stand up to a days worth of work and are especially nice when you gotta look nice and the weather is awful.  Don’t like the elastic sides of these Kenneth Cole’s?  Try another less tall version from the Kenneth Cole brand, the Foot Note Dress Boot for about $10 less.

6. Brown Laceups | ASOS Clean Point – $51.73

You want to depend on your black lace ups.  Your black laceups will go with your dark suits, and sometimes your brown shoes won’t perform as well with those.  But you NEED brown lace ups.  Great to pair with Navy suits for a very British look.  And that Lighter colored pair of pants or Chino Suit you have for the summer?  That’s what these were made for.  Shoes that are just like your cleanup heavy hitters, only… not as irreplaceable.

7. Waterproof Hiking Boots | ASOLO FSN 95 Gore Tex – $124.95

Getting down to the specialty guys.  It’s a big world out there.  Get out and see some of it.  GoreTex will breathe in the warmer weather and keep the water out when there’s snow on the ground.  A pair (or two) of wool socks will keep you warm enough in the winter that they can be an all season bad weather shoe.  Try wearing a pair of Sorels in July and you’ll see why splurging on solid Gore-Tex lined hiking boots is a smart decision.

8. Monk Strap | Aston Grey Reed Monk Strap – $99.99

Your Dad wore penny loafers or those loafers with the goofy tassels on them.  Monk straps are much more dressed up.  Not for beginners.  Takes some serious style chutzpah to pull them off.  Tough to find under $150 let alone $100 making this pair from Aston Grey Reed a real steal.  Want a double strap?  Try These from Gant.  Not cheap at $150.00, but very cool.

9. Running Shoes | Brooks Adrenaline | $74.95

Like most pitchers, great at one thing, not so great at others.  Your runners should be kept to the gym and the trail.  They shouldn’t function as casual shoes.  And also like pitchers, don’t use your running shoes every day.  The cushioning of your running shoes need time to rebound from the pounding.  If you’re a running freak and have to get your jog in every day, buy two pair and rotate.  The Brooks Adrenaline Running Shoe usually retails over $100, and even then it’s a bargain.  Bar none the BEST running shoe on the market for those of us who pound the pavement two to three times a week.  Durable as all hell, well cushioned, and fast.

So we’d miss any?  What shoes would you drop from the lineup, and which pair would you send in to pinch hit?  Leave those comments below.

If you watched the All-Star game the other night, you saw another example of how the President might not dress casually in a very progressive fashion.  C’mon though, are you gonna bag on a guy who’s tie dimples are a thing to be envious of?

The fact that President Obama seems a little behind the times in the casual-wear department shouldn’t surprise anyone.  He’s donned the same style of jeans before and he seems to always play basketball with his t-shirt tucked into a pair of nylon windpants. He’s even acknowledged the jeans in the past.  But look, the guy has potential.  He’s even looked good tossing out the first pitch at a ball game before.

Here’s my take:  The bright white running shoes didn’t help.  And yes the jeans were tapered.  His legs also looked ultra skinny due to the big White Sox Jacket he was wearing.  Which I’m guessing was a cover for the 4 pounds of Kevlar the Secret Service had him in.  Give the guy credit for proudly displaying his South Side loyalty while in front of baseball fans across the globe.

So, if that’s what he’s comfortable in, then so be it.  But just for the record… if he would have come to me and said: “Hey, I don’t have any time to pick out my clothes for the first pitch tonight… you got a sec to do that for me?”  Here’s what I would have tossed on his Air Force One Clothes Valet.
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The Jacket:  Chicago White Sox Authentic Premier Jacket – $119.99

Keep the Jacket, and the Bullet Proof Vest Underneath it.
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The Jeans:  Levis 527 Low Rise Boot Cut – $48.80

A little more room than a 501 so he can get a good leg kick to throw a strike.  Not too low rise and not too boot cut.  For the President we won’t go too dark blue, just… medium-dark blue.  We don’t want to stray too far from the POTUS’s casual fashion center
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The Shoes:  PF Flyers Center Hi Re-Issue

Want to lock up the Young Adult Men Demo?  Wear the same shoes Benny from The Sandlot wore to out run The Beast.  They’re cheap and New Balance owns them… which seems to be what President Obama likes to wear anyway.

There’s what I would have put out for the President to put on.  And it ain’t much different than what he wore.

(Pic from the Chicago Sun Times… and wait… is that a crease in his jeans?)