SheaItAintSo ←

Bob Meyer, a former major league pitcher in the 1960s who at 21 signed the first of four-consecutive major league contracts with the New York Yankees, is now the most visible spokesman for the worldwide commercial barter industry.

Meyer is the publisher of BarterNews, which he founded 25 years ago. The magazine reports on the many ways barter can be used to build one’s business by acquiring new customers, increasing cashflow, and gaining that all-important competitive edge in the marketplace.

“Barter is an underutilized and under appreciated business tool that virtually every business owner should be using, whether on a direct or indirect basis,” Meyer emphasized. “Globally, it is a $600 billion-a-year way of doing business that enables companies of every size to secure needed products and services. Barter is a proven business tool used by firms for marketing, financing, and purchasing efforts.

“Given today’s competitive marketplace, under capitalization by most startups, and the typical use of high-interest credit cards, anytime one’s product or service can be exchanged for a needed business expense it should be embraced,” he enthused. “And, it is easier than ever with some 800 trade companies, worldwide.”

BarterNews magazine reports on three areas of barter—the commercial trade exchange industry (business barter clubs), corporate barter (large multimillion dollar transactions), and countertrade (transactions between countries). Its readership is international in scope, encompassing six continents.

The magazine’s extensive web site, www.barternews.com, has over 1000 pages of comprehensive barter information, articles, a free weekly e-newsletter, “The Tuesday Report,” and 800 barter company listings. For more information: www.barternews.com.

The pitcher is well known for his fastball. Your ace hitters are either knocking it foul or whiffing it altogether. There is a secret to beating a hard fastball Pitcher.

Fastball Pitchers are accustomed to having their way at the plate. Very little unravels their poise. They know their job and they know it well. Throw hard and throw strikes.

Occasionally their zest sends an unwitting batter to first on a free trip. Pitchers console themselves with the knowledge that all wounds will heal. It is merely a bruise, it will heal, well in time anyway.

They are the heroes of their team. Strike after strike, batter after batter, the offense is retired quickly. Amidst the slaps on the back and the cheers from the crowd. Yes, commanding Pitchers are revered.

Your number is called up to the on deck. A dynamite batting average you do not posses. From the on deck circle you check your swing to match his speed. Whoosh, the ball passes over the plate and you hear the pop of the catchers mitt with the bat in your hand only part way through the swing.

How can you beat this monster? What can you do to get that Pitcher to back off on his speed an accuracy. Is there anything that can be done to shake this guy up?

These Pitchers are determined to set the pace and play the game their way. A self centered approach to winning the game at the plate. If you let them own the plate they will take you as well.

On your side you have a great skill. An innate ability that will take the pride out of any fastball Pitcher. You have the cunning to rock this pitcher on the mound mid throw. A four letter word that has won hundreds of games. The most singular act of unnerving a pitcher available. You have the bunt!

Bunting a baseball does far more work against a Pitcher than what is obvious. First, you want to time your switch in stance to be a little earlier, you want the Pitcher to see what you are doing as he takes the ball from his glove.

When the Pitcher is aware the ball will be put in play, their first reaction is to prepare to get off the mound to run it down. More often then not, instead of keeping his toe dug into the mound for the entirety of their throw, the Pitcher will bring their plant foot forward in anticipation of making the dash.

By taking their foot off the mound, they loose a substantial amount of power which results in a slower ball and change in accuracy as they have changed their mechanics. Could be a strike, could hit the batter, could puff the dirt in front of home plate. The reality is you have forced the pitcher to play your game.

Now that you have made the monster move to your tune it is time to dig it in a little deeper. No matter who is pitching, when a Batter bunts, the likely hood he will make contact with the ball is very high. It may roll foul, it may bounce off home plate. But the fact of the matter is you hit a pitch from the monster.

When a Pitcher becomes used to striking out Batters, they develop the need for more strikes and less hits. Hitting the ball in any fashion wears on them. Best of all, there is nothing they can do to stop it. You are going to show bunt and aside from throwing a wild pitch, you are going to put the bat on the ball.

Every time you force the Pitcher to change his pattern you are breaking them down to play your game. Every time you put the bat on the ball you force the defense to wake up and earn the out.

Bunting is much more useful that just as a sacrifice to move a man on bases. If you get several other players on your team to play the same tune with this fire throwing monster, his rhythm will end and so will the onslaught of hard pitches. Beat the monster with a bunt.

The star athlete, steps up to the plate with one man on and two outs, it’s bottom of the ninth, a single hit would win the game and the Yankees would go to the World Series. But the star athlete is suffering with arthritis and a herniated disk in his lower back and he knows that every time he swings the bat it causes gut wrenching pain as if someone had plunged a knife into his lower back.

He had been taking muscle relaxant drugs, but found that the drug was having a negative effect: his ability to concentrate at the plate as well as his reflexes had diminished, his speech was occasionally slurred during interviews, and he was worried that he might become addicted to the drug. That was the last thing he wanted the media to know.

The alternative was back surgery, but knew that the rehab would take months which could end his career early. Besides his father died during surgery, and a friend had a stroke from the incorrect administration of an anesthesia.

His team physician had told him about a safe non invasive and often effective alternative to back surgery that was used specifically on athletes by doctors as early as the 1940’s. In fact it was used on famous Yankee pitcher, Tug McGraw back in 1978 during the World Series. It was called the “Mystery Manipulation” which helped him go on to win the World Series.

The procedure was for frozen shoulder and back pain and has since been pioneered by Dr. Jason Tirado ( www.1888MUATODAY.COM ). It is called Manipulation Under Sedation (MUS), during which a patient is given intravenous sedation, put into a twilight state of sleep, and has muscles and bones manipulated to a greater extent than would be possible during a non-sedated session with a chiropractor or physical therapist.

As a result of three MUS sessions with Dr. Tirado, his back pain vanished, and now had the strength to power out of the park a Home Run scoring two runs and winning the game in a “Field of Dreams” style.

MUS is a medically approved technique that permits a doctor to perform deep stretches and spinal manipulations that would be painful without sedation. A typical MUS procedure takes between five and ten minutes. It is a non-invasive procedure that effectively treats chronic and acute neck pain, back pain, joint pain, muscle spasm, shortened muscles, fibrous adhesions, and scar tissue around the spine shoulders and hips.

Another patient, Ryan Mendez, had been a passenger when the car he was riding in was involved in a serious collision. A subsequent MRI revealed that Mr. Mendez suffered from three swollen, bulged spinal discs. He found it difficult to bend his back and turn over while sleeping. Unable to find relief from pain and suffering from a lack of mobility, Mr. Mendez sought help from Dr. Tirado. After an initial session of manipulation under sedation and two follow-up visits, Mr. Mendez experienced complete relief from pain, and he now enjoys a life of pain-free full mobility.

Dr. Tirado is not only held in high regard by his former patients, but also by the medical community, which regularly recommends patients to his MUS treatment center. Dr. Tirado, while based in New Jersey, treats patients throughout the country and trains doctors at surgical clinics and hospitals in the techniques of MUS.

“It’s truly amazing,” said Dr. Tirado, “how many people are frightened of surgery and so prefer our non-invasive and effective method for eliminating chronic and acute pain.”

Dr. Tirado iis president of the MUA Institute. He can be reached at 1-888-MUA-TODAY or at http://www.muamastery.com

Different sports have jargons. It is hard to understand the annotators of the game if you have no clue what they are talking about. They specifically use terms that describe the actions of the players. For example, in American football, when the player in possession of the ball looses the ball, it is termed as fumble. In volleyball, when a player saves the ball from the powerful spike of the opponent, it is termed as a dig. In basketball, when the defensive player gets hold of the ball from the opposing player while dribbling the ball or transitioning to a play, they call it a steal. There are many terms used when you want to talk about a particular sport. They term it rather than describing it because it speeds up communication among players and coaches during time-outs.

Baseball is also a game with its own terms. No-hitter is one of them. This is describes a particular player who prevents the other team from making a hit and is commonly expected of a pitcher. Not all of them have this ability but the St. Louis Cardinals pitchers did. They had nine of them who were able to make 10 no-hitters. If you want to know them, check them out below:

1. Bob Forsch- He was made two no-hitter pitches back in 1978 and 1983. He is one of the greatest pitchers in the MLB because of his ability to shutout teams and his 67 complete games. No wonder this person deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

2. Bob Gibson- This person played for the team from 1959-1975. He pitched for the team and played for two World Series, at the same time became MVP in those wins.

3. Bud Smith- He achieved this when he was still a rookie. It was in 2001 that he did not allow a single batter from San Diego Padres to hit one of his pitches.

4. Jesse Haines- This person threw a no-hitter in 1924. That was the game against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched for two World Series Titles and he is now a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

5. Jose Jimenez- He only spent a year with the team and had his no-hitter pitch against the Arizona team back in 1999. Unfortunately, this person was tested for prohibited substances and was found to be using them. Because of this, he was kicked out from the league.

6. Paul Dean- He made the Detroit Tigers very disappointed when he made sure that none of them would hit the ball in the 1934 World Series. He only stayed with the St. Louie Cardinals for 5 years, wherein he had the best moments of his career.

7. Lorn Warneke- His no-hitter pitch occurred in 1941 with the game against Cincinnati Reds. He had another no-hitter pitch but it occurred during his playing years with The Cubs.

8. Ray Washburn-His no-hitter pitch occurred in 1968 during their match with the San Fransisco Giants. He pitched for one World Series and three National League Championships.

9. Ted Breitenstein- He threw a no-hitter in 1891 during their match against the Louisville Colonel and 1898 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched for one New League Era Championships and was named 2-time winner of a National League Leader for pitching a complete game.

Born in the early 20th century Edward Stewart Plank also known as “Gettysburg Eddie” played in the Major Leagues (MLB).Although history states that Eddie Plank attended and graduated from Gettysburg College, records show that Eddie just played for the Gettysburg College baseball team.  Eddie made his fist major league debut at age 25 on May 13, 1901, for the Philadelphia Athletics where he would play for thirteen years as a pitcher. His major league career consisted of winning over 20 games seven times and contributing to two World Series championships, one in 1911, the other in 1913. Plank was known as one of the most consistent pitchers of his time.

In 1915 Plank joined the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League, he won 21 games, the eighth and final time he would reach the twentieth win plateau. His final team before retiring was the St. Louis Browns where he played in 1916 and 1917. Eddie was inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1946. 

In today’s memorabilia market the T206 Eddie Plank is the third most valuable baseball card in the hobby. It ranks behind only the 1933 Goudey Lajoie and the T206 Wagner. It seems that most of the rarities in the hobby have a story to explain the card’s scarcity. The T206 Plank is no exception. Eddie Plank’s pitching capabilities are often times overlooked in our hobby because of the legend of his T206 card. Plank was one of the most dominant pitchers of his time and is a first rate Hall of Famer. Hall of Fame collectors would love to add this specific Plank card to their collection. It is also at the top of any collector’s list that is seeking our hobby’s ultra rarities. The Plank is a super card. Not only is the card a rarity from the popular T206 set, but it pictures one of the greatest left-handed pitchers ever to play the game.