I Have Found the World's Greatest Website

by Tom Dakers on Jan 12, 2009 7:50 PM EST in Toronto Blue Jays News

Did you know Gregg Zaun has his own web site! Turn up your speakers before you hit the link. I want to join his fan club, Zaunbie Nation.

The man is amazing, if you don't believe me, read his site. Now don't hit the 'skip intro' button when you log on. And don't skip the 'photo and video galleries' where at the bottom you can buy 'game used' Zaun equipment memorabilia. I am not kidding. Game used bats, shoes, shin pads, catcher gloves, batting gloves and jock straps (ok, ok, I am kidding about that last one).

I love this quote:

Is one of two players (The second being Babe Ruth) to "call his shot" and hit a home-run in this location.

Yes folks the man compared himself to Babe Ruth!

I'll note his last 'fan club' post is June 2008. Awww his music is called Z-tunes...how cute.

So check it out and bring your Z-Game. Yeah that's from the site too.

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Wow!!

How much does he love himself???

by Carm on Jan 12, 2009 8:19 PM EST reply actions

Zaunbie nation - Is this for real???!!!!

If this guy makes it on the 50 greatest list I will hurl. Seriously, it won’t be pretty.

How many gloves and shin pads does one guy need? Were they at least washed before he signed them…icky…

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." — Albert Einstein

by No Bunting on Jan 12, 2009 9:23 PM EST reply actions

No he was short of the top 50

Though he wasn’t far off….if it was Top 60 he would have made it. We only have a couple of catchers on the list. If Zaun had had a good season last year he’d have made the list.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 5:13 PM EST up reply actions

good thing he OPSed .699

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" -- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on Jan 13, 2009 7:19 PM EST up reply actions

about as good as Big Rod, sadly

the difference being that it was 30 points below Zaun’s career OPS, while Rod actually had a good year for him

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 13, 2009 7:32 PM EST up reply actions

Zaun and Darrin Fletcher pretty close together

Both just short of making the list…..we really haven’t had many good catchers.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 8:33 PM EST up reply actions

My favorite part

“Greg Zahn is a huge HEAVY METAL fan”

song playing on his website while i read this: “Mr. Brownstone – GNR”
song playing next: “Limelight – Rush”

Could this guy be any more of a poser? Like could i get a little Drangonforce?…at least a little Black Sabbath?

Here’s hoping Zauhnie will be a little too busy with his website to do sub-par colour commentary for the Sportsnet this year

by rabbit on Jan 12, 2009 9:44 PM EST reply actions

wow

great find, I think. I mean, this is a guy that has “Z-man” tattooed on himself

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 12, 2009 9:50 PM EST reply actions

also

I’m pretty sure that whoever owns “Zorro” has a hell of trademark infringement suit against our former catcher

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 13, 2009 6:56 AM EST reply actions

I did wonder about that...

But Zorro is likely public domain by now, right?

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 9:33 AM EST up reply actions

whoever made those movies

would have a claim anyway, though

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 13, 2009 10:24 AM EST up reply actions

That's true...didn't think of that...

It wouldn’t fall under fair use or something? Is only a few seconds were used.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 2:33 PM EST up reply actions

maybe, probably not

there is a fair use defense for trademark, but it really is applicable to a situation where, for example, a character in a book you write owns a Toyota Prius or collects Beanie Babies. Use of the trademark in this way makes your work more realistic, but you are not using it for identification purposes. In other words, fair use of a trademark is using it as something other than a trademark – usually as a descriptive.

In the website, to me it is obvious Zaun is using the Zorro mark to sell himself. He is trying to associate his own persona with that of the trademark. The fact that both their names start with “Z” only heightens the possibility for confusion of the trademarked image as somehow applying to Zaun.

You might be thinking of fair use in copyright, which is what protects all our song title posts, haha. Where you can use just a snippet of something, but not a significant amount.

Of course, I’m not an intellectual property lawyer, so your mileage may vary.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 13, 2009 2:53 PM EST up reply actions

yeah I was wondering if it would be considered just a snippet....

but obviously not since he’s using it as the intro to his site. I guess is just as likely that who ever owns the trademark either wouldn’t find Zaun’s use or wouldn’t care.

There is a plumber shop around here that has Marvel superheroes painted on their trucks with like a wrench in their hand. I wonder how they get away with it, but of course, we are a long ways away from the people that own the likenesses.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 3:22 PM EST up reply actions

you are probably relatively safe

with something like that on the trucks. Even if someone eventually finds out and cares, unless you are getting rich off the trademarks you will get a cease-and-desist letter and then you can repaint your trucks. With the internet, it is more likely someone will find out, but it is even easier just to take down a website. From their perspective, you’re taking money from other plumbers (if anyone) not the folks who own the characters, so the chance they’ll get involved beyond making you stop infringing are slim to none.

And you have to protect your trademark or you run the risk of losing it, which is why trademark lawyers do pretty well for themselves writing cease-and-desist letters.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 13, 2009 3:30 PM EST up reply actions

Something not talked about on his site....

Zaun was mentioned in the Mitchell report. A check from Zaun to a steroid dealer was among the evidence and a bullpen catcher said that he supplied Zaun with steroids as well.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 8:40 PM EST reply actions

He claimed that he lost a bet and paid with a cheque with no pay-to-the-order-of

and the guy he lost the bet to wrote the steroid dealer’s name and used it to buy steroids.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Jan 13, 2009 8:57 PM EST up reply actions

What did he claim about the bullpen catch that said he suppied Zaun too?

Yeah I remember him saying that, I thought at the time it was a kind of weak excuse.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 13, 2009 9:20 PM EST up reply actions

do steroids dealers

feel uncomfortable accepting cash? Why do all these players pay by personal cheque? and why not at least use a friend’s chequebook instead of their own? doesn’t make sense to me.

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" -- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on Jan 14, 2009 8:17 AM EST up reply actions

I'm guessing

it’s because they pay through the mail? Though there was that one player who fedexed the box of money to pay for his roids.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 14, 2009 8:35 AM EST up reply actions

not convinced

it’s not that hard to buy a money-order.

in my opinion, the reason it seems like all these steroids buyers use personal checks is that they are the only ones we’ve found because they’re the easiest to trace. sort of like how the only part of an iceberg you see is the tip, but if you could see underwater then there’s a lot more there . . .

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" -- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on Jan 14, 2009 8:54 AM EST up reply actions

that's possible

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 14, 2009 10:45 AM EST up reply actions

I don't know

I find it enough of a pain to put a check in the mail that I hardly ever do that unless I absolutely have to. If I had to get a money order on top of that, I probably would never buy anything.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 14, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions