Thursday, May 13, 2021

ANGEL MY ANGEL

 **MLB umpire Angel Hernandez said that he was forced to guess if a fly ball was caught Tuesday night because of the outfield scoreboard on the wall at Kauffman Stadium. And he guessed wrong. Two things: 1) Angel always guesses  2) He always guesses wrong.

**Sad to see the probable end to Albert Pujols' career. One of the greatest hitters ever. We were lucky enough to see him play when we attended a Pirates game some years ago and double lucky to see him hit a home run. Pujols, I understand, is insistent that he's not done playing, but I can't see anyone picking him up. With all the emphasis on pitching these days, I don't believe a team would give up roster spot to add someone whose skills have diminished so greatly.

**I like numbers and baseball stats, but I think the way Sabermetrics is ruling the game right now has taken a lot of the enjoyment away from me. If that isn't enough, now broadcasters and sports writers are making up stats to make everything that happens a major event. A player can't do anything - and I mean anything - without some talking head making it into a record of some kind. The length they go to emphasize an accomplishment, no matter how small or insignificant, is getting ridiculous. Case in point, this item in Phil Mushnick's column of May 6th:

From a telecast of a recent Mariners/Orioles game

"It read that the Mariners’ J.P. Crawford is now the seventh major leaguer with “17-Plus Hits And 13-Plus RBIs In His First 11 Career Games Vs. Baltimore, Since 1954” (when the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore). If you find significance in that info, you’re an idiot — no offense, of course."

**Sorry the blog is a little late this week, but I got side tracked by the rat in my hallway, and...wait...what? Oh Annie says it's just a racoon, so, never mind. I thought I was in Citifield in New York there for a moment.

**There is generally a lack of hitting by most teams in baseball this season. The Yankees won two out of three from the Washington Nationals this past weekend and they did it by scoring only 11 runs on 16 hits. Of course, a lot of that was thanks to the Nats closer, Brad Hand, who blew the save twice in the second game and allowed the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday. I'm guessing that won't appear in his highlight reel.

**Trevor Bauer is unhappy that his team, the LA Dodgers are not winning the way he wants. "
I freaking hate losing. That’s why I came here." You'd think that $34 million a year that he makes would ease some of the pain.

**I just watched a video of Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker batting against Matt Harvey of the Orioles last night. If ever there was an argument for pitchers NEVER getting into the batters box, this is it! Walker never moved a muscle while Harvey poured three straight pitches across the plate. Every time this discussion starts, there will be some people who drag out 5 or 6 pitchers who can hit as an argument against the designated hitter rule. a very weak argument if you consider that teams carry 10 to 12 pitchers on the active roster which translates into about 330 pitchers in the majors. That means that approximately 2% of the pitchers can hit. That's 2%. What happened between Harvey and Walker is a total disgrace. Wake up MLB.

***THEY SAID IT***

"BuzzFeed recently published the top 10 words in tabloid headlines — baby; secret; wedding; pregnant; marriage; sex; shocking; cheating; divorce; diet. Until that last word, anyone thinking NBA?"  -- RJ Currie

"Ugh, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit fails drug test. Will he blame it on tainted hay from a stablemate?"  -- Janice Hough

"After every Super Bowl, the losing coach stands with his back to a cinder block wallwearing a solemn expression. When he's asked, "Coach, would you do anything different?" He invariably answers. "No!"  Me? Having just lost the Super Bowl I'd confess that given a second chance I'd do everything differently."  -- Phil Mushnick

"Why did Nebraska schedule a football game against Fordham. Very simple: (AD Bill) Moos and (coach Scott) Frost desperately need wins to keep their jobs, and their first choice — a driving school in Denison, Iowa — doesn’t field a team.”  -- Brad Dickson

"When I was 20, I faced Bob Gibson for the first time in an exhibition (game) in Florida. He knocked me down four times and walked me. As I walked to first base, he said, ‘Don’t even try to steal.’ I didn’t.”  -- Rod Carew

 "There's a proposal to allow even more instant-replay reviews in college basketball. We need this as much as Olympic swimming events need lifeguards."  -- Jack Finarelli

 "Ian Nepomniachtchchi can’t play under the Russian flag in his upcoming world-championship match because of his country’s ban from international sporting competitions by the World Anti-Doping Agency.For the record, Nepomniachtchchi plays chess."  -- Dwight Perry

"A recent survey said the U.S. city having the most sex per capita is Los Angeles, averaging 135 times a year. That drops to 12 times a year if you exclude the Lakers and Clippers."  -- RJ Currie  

"The winner of the Kentucky Derby tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. If the horse is done in racing he plans to continue his athletic career playing offensive line at Ohio State."  -- Brad Dickson

**Medina Spirit will be allowed to race in Preakness. Whatever happens, at least the horse is one athlete who can claim he didn’t have any idea he might be using a banned substance."  -- Janice Hough

Chad Picasner 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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