Thank you to all my readers for supporting this blog, shouting things from the highway about how wrong I am about so-and-so, and coming after me with your controlling ideas and supporting arguments for why umpire Denkinger is not to blame for the Game 6 mishap in the 1985 World Series. I couldn't reach fifty posts without you!
To celebrate, why not re-examine the worst moment for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year! That 19-inning fiasco against the Atlanta Braves with the ridiculous blown call at home plate by Jerry Meals! Now, many would think this is a rant, but it is not a rant. The final statistics of the game in question will prove Jerry Meals was the unfortunate cherry on top of the mountainous sundae of another Pittsburgh defeat in their bid to claim the 2011 National League Central Division crown.
Every event in baseball is independent from the previous and the preceding events in the game. The call by umpire Jerry Meals determined the outcome of the game, but one would question for long the game would last if the decisions were reversed.
Pirates blow 3-0 lead
Blown leads are not uncommon in the game of baseball, yet when the Pirates took the early three run lead thanks to hits like the RBI triple by Neil Walker in the 1st inning, and the solo homerun by Michael McKenry in the 2nd inning the Bucs were feeling good about their situation. According to MLB.com stats page, however, Neil Walker and Michael McKenry are listed 1-2 in offense after this year's All-Star Game; Pirates fans EXPECTED Walker and McKenry to produce in some fashion given their recent run. When the rest of the team does not produce or hold the lead defensively, then there is little for Walker and McKenry to do. For example, my favourite Pirate Andrew McCutchen averages at .200 with only ten hits and four of the extra-base variety (2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR), and Lyle Overbay, one of two first basemen on the team right now, was 0-for-8 in the contest.
Braves in position
When the home team loads the bases in at least three of the next seventeen innings of gameplay, one can expect points on the board. While their total offense is lower than the Pirates (AVG .240 compared to PIT's .242), the Atlanta Braves do boast better numbers in slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging, runs scored, hits, homeruns, and so on. Those are the numbers, which rank both Pittsburgh and then the Braves twelveth and thirteenth respectively in the National League hitting chart, but since the All-Star Break Atlanta ranks fifth in the NL in this category. Pittsburgh is fourteenth, ouch!
Failed Squeeze Play in 9th
No doubt "What are you doing?" echoed throughout the western Pennsylvania and West Virginia region when this comedy of errors unfolded. When Braves closer Kimbrel tossed wide to catcher Brian McCann, the Braves star read the gutsy play call of the Pirates to regain the lead with trickery in the ninth inning to get McKenry out at third base. Kimbrel then struck out Xavier Paul to end the inning, and start the marathon (the video at the end of this essay has the play at the 1:08 mark). When the team is propping up the rest in terms of offense, desperation becomes a last resort. I don't mind manager Clint Hurdle making the call, but it illustrates how desperate the Pirates are in their race for the division crown. In football terms, this would be equivalent to coach Belicheck's 4th-and-2 failed pass play against the Colts in 2009; the Pirates couldn't beat the Braves straight up, so they went with gimmicks to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, Brian McCann and the Braves were playing attention.
Braves' Ejections
This one is confusing: Umpire Jerry Meals becomes Pittsburgh's best friend and ejects Nate McLouth for arguing balls and strikes. Then he ejects Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez when he approaches from the dugout! Consider Nate McLouth is a former Pittsburgh Pirate, and 2008 All-Star and Gold Glove recipient. McLouth is one of many former Pirates who excelled with other teams throughout Major League Baseball; of note, in today's game 3B/RF Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays is the prime example of Pittsburgh's need to shed payroll and build through the draft.
After reviewing the statistics and the highlights of the game, perhaps Jerry Meals' bad call in the nineteenth inning was a god-send. The Pittsburgh Pirates did not look like they were in a position to win the game with numerous Braves' batters on base, inconsistent offense, and a critical tagging error.
McKenry's tag
Remember in the 1992 NLCS when Pirates catcher Slaught caught Barry Bonds' cannon throw from left field, and reached across his body in an effort to tag Sid Bream in Game 7? If the ball arrived a second earlier, the huffing and puffing Sid Bream would be out at the plate. Well, fast forward to 2011, and when catcher Michael McKenry fielded the throw from third baseman Pedro Alvarez he swiped at Julio Lugo and touched him just above the knee. If McKenry was in the basepath blocking the plate, and going after Lugo's shinbone with the tag the Pirates and Braves would STILL be playing. The angle did not give umpire Jerry Meals much to work with either, but if I was in that position I would give McKenry the benefit of the doubt. Nice sell job, by the way, Julio Lugo -_-
No doubt this was a classic finish to a wacky game. If the Pittsburgh Pirates want to be winners of the National League Central Division they need more consistency out of their offense, and a better performance against the NL's top guns.
Special thanks to MLB.COM, SportsSouth, ROOT Sports, WCNN, WPGS (?), and the good folks at brobible.com for the statistics and pictures. This blog post was a blast to write; I hope to make more just like this soon :) Go Jays :D
It's Tuesday...
As a rule of thumb this summer, I don't post anything new to my blogs. When I came home from practice I was really tired, but I wanted to check on the latest baseball scores on MLB.com. My Blue Jays lost to the *ahem* Baltimore Orioles 12-4 tonight :( Apparently, one of my friends went to the game and left right in the middle because she was so upset. However, I was stunned when I saw this:
Atlanta (H) 3, Pittsburgh (A) 3 in the top of the 15th inning
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! They started before practice began, and two hours after I come home they are still playing? When it comes to extra innings extravaganzas such as these, one can say both teams lose in the end: Why?
No one is awake when you win.
You feel like you lost no matter who you played for.
If you stay for a relative, who is playing the game, that is worth one trip to/from the airport...wait, that's a WIN!
I was playing outfield in the baseball game last weekend, and when I ran a ball down I went from the grass onto some pavement. I took a step into the pavement, which I believed to be grass, slid and collapsed on my knee. Yeah, the "Doug Williams" fall.
As it happens, I blew out my knee. Well, both knees have the same softness and tingling sensation just below the knee bone, so I doubt I will ever reach the same speed I once did. This really stinks because it never should happen, and it was a freak play.
I cringe when I see injuries in baseball games. I stood mere feet away from pitchers taking comebackers under the eye, and watched strong baserunners suddenly pull up because of hamstrings.
I suppose I reached the age where your body and mind stop getting along. Eventually, my body is going to concede, and I will need to take up a new passion...SCRABBLE!
After each working day this week, I watched some baseball highlights uploaded by the good people of MLB.com. Among the package of exceptional defensive plays and walk-off wonders are those basic plays that generate a more than exuberant response from the play-by-play announcers broadcasting the game to their home audience. My favourite call comes from the South Side of Chicago as White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson demonstrates with this four-bagger hit at Comiskey Park, no less ^_^
The use of pyrotechnics during the daylight hours is what really makes me laugh :D Ken's genuine enthusiasm is what makes the call so much fun to replay over and over, and when he "wills" the ball over the fence the call is that much funnier to listen to and enjoy XD
If the World Series this year features the Chicago White Sox and the San Diego Padres, I'm going to see if I can watch both feeds at once because it would be hilarious XD LOL
Decided to do some live blogging while I watch the Houston Astros play against the visiting Washington Nationals in Houston, Texas.
The Houston announcers like to banter between pitches. They called Nationals reliever Todd Coffey a look-alike of the late Merlin Olsen, the football Hall-of-Fame defensive lineman from the old Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome".
The Washington Nationals road jerseys look good when worn with red socks and Nike shirts, however they can also stripe it with navy socks and shirts. When the Expos relocated to Washington to become the Nationals, their road greys had 'Washington' in giant block letters and gold embroidery. Since then, Washington dropped the gold embroidery and the DC secondary logo I liked so much. I just hope they remain consistent with their gameplay, and their fashion sense.
Top of the Ninth: Nats down by one, and the Astros lead 7-6 with one retired.
Zimmer! ZIMMER!
Oh no! It's hooking...hooking...foul o_O
Houston announcers concerned over jersey sales in lieu of the trade deadline?
I remember when Jayson Werth led off for the Nationals. Then, Jim Riggleman resigned as manager o_O
Oh, wacky strike zone! I thought you were still in Toronto (2nd pitch to PHI Werth from HOU Melancon)?
Jayson Werth is HUGE!
Two outs, one batter hit by a pitch, and one walk to Werth later...Crisis averted, and not a moment too soon.
Houston defeats Washington 7-6 with the Astros shutting the door when they needed to ^_^
Purchase three dollars worth of candy Rockets from Bulk Barn (That should amount to seventy or so)
Log onto shop.mlb.com
In the Search bar, enter the words "Turn Back the Clock Jersey"
Click GO or Enter or whatever...
Whoa o_O
Similar to the Creamsicle jerseys of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of NFL football, these retro jerseys hail from a bygone era when players wore metal cleats with full-on nails on the soles of their feet, wool shirts, shrunken baseball caps, and cigarette advertisements on the walls of the outfield playing field were as commonplace as player's gloves left amongst the grass in the field of play. Jerseys, which were boring and/or disgusting back in the day, found special place in the hearts of today's supporters.
This is the HOME jersey of the Oakland Athletics from 1985. Yes, it says OAKLAND in giant capital letters on the front, nevertheless it is the HOME jersey (white jersey). There are no buttons on the front of the jersey either; back in the 1980s, stretch pants and pullover shirts were the rage in baseball as much as short shorts in basketball o_O Awkward comparison...
The Athletics wore this shirt when the Angels came to town, and the A's won the Turn Back The Clock Game against their rivals from Southern California. If I start collecting ATHLETICS gear, I'll definitely want to pick up this special number and get it customized ^_^
Now as for this...
No, you are not missing anything. This is the Red Sox vintage jersey from 1918, when the Fenway Park faithful LITERALLY went back in time to 1918. No public address system, nothing on the front of the jersey (I also believe the numbers were not on the back by this time as well, but I could be wrong?) The Chicago Cubs also donned special jerseys for the event; the game also reawakened the infamous Curse as the highlights will indicate. Aesthetically, the cream or ivory colour hails to an earlier, innocent, and peaceful time when baseball was the number one sport. I am a fan, although I can't wear ivory shirts like those of the Giants and Indians if I can't find the matching baseball pants -_-
Nice touch, though ^_^
In case you are worried, I believe Marlon Byrd is alright now.
I like these Turn Back The Clock events because they teach you a little bit about the history of the game, and where we came from ^_^ Now, if only they could do something about the old rainbow jerseys of the Houston Astros o_O
The Pittsburgh Pirates are only one half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for top spot in the National League Central Division. What is more astounding is the Pirates were never as close to the division crown since 1992, and while the Pirates finished second place in the "Carpet" division in 1997 with a losing record, they were never this competitive at any time during the post-Internet age of professional baseball. Also, not since 1992 had a Pirates team held an above-500 record going into the All-Star break.
Yes, there are sixty-nine games remaining in the 2011 Major League regular season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the memory of the 1992 team and their last postseason run is not far from the memory banks. The new buttoned-up uniforms, the cursive Pittsburgh on the road greys, and of course left-fielder Barry Bonds before he became BIG are images long forgotten thanks to the Strike of '94. The Pirates finished 1992 with a 96-66 record for top spot in the then-National League East Division, but the season came down to a seventh game against the West Division champions, the Atlanta Braves.
Some questions about the last inning include:
Why was Doug Drabek still in the game in the ninth inning with left-handed batters coming up to the plate? He already lost two games in the series, and hit 0-for-6 with one walk in the postseason?
Why did Doug Drabek pitch to Dave Justice?
Why didn't Barry Bonds move in on the right-handed, pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera? Cabrera was the Braves' last available non-pitcher to send to the plate, and fielding a short outfield prevents Sid Bream from taking extra bases (Blogger Dustin Parkes does a better job explaining this angle than I could: Check out his blog post in The Score.
Doug Drabek won 15 games for the Pirates that year, but by the start of the 1993 season was pitching in a Houston Astros uniform; he would never come close to having the same season as he had in 1992. Sid Bream was a Pirate until 1990, and he represented the game winning run on the final play. Barry Bonds, who made the desperate, one-hop throw from left field, would become a Giant and the focal point in one of the biggest and darkest chapters in baseball history. The overhaul and the Strike stunted the development of the team, whereas baseball clubs such as the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees rebuilt with good management, great farm systems, and capital from forward-thinking and multimedia-based ownership. The Pittsburgh Pirates would never reclaim the magic of that 1992, and would remain a sub-500 team for eighteen years.
The 2011 Pirates have big shoes to fill, but are they the real deal or just the next team around in the National League Carpet?
Just some tidbits about my past weekend interacting in the world of baseball:
In the weekend league, we defeated the preseason favourites by the score of 14-4. I played in left field for five of the seven innings; I never ran so much in my life o_O Thankfully, everything hit to me fell in my glove, and didn't pop out like something out of a Charlie Brown, "gravity is going to get you", cartoon. Hooray for not being a goat for the third weekend in a row ^_^
An old lady with fogged up glasses, a rickety shopping cart, and no sense of direction tried to end my burgeoning baseball softball career by ramming her cart into my left leg. Apparently, she believed it was the duty of everyone else to stop her cart, and that includes a stack of red plastic baskets and my anterior cruciate ligament (I hope I got the spelling right).
I ordered a pair of Kansas City Royals personalized authentic jerseys a month ago. According to their email and Purolator's online service, they delivered the jerseys to my office o_O Do you think my Dad is holding the jerseys as collateral, or secretly losing weight at the office so he can surprise the family with a new look and my new Royals jerseys. I saw old pictures of Dad when he was a college dude back in the 1970s...he can rock the slim ties ^_^
I don't watch/pay attention to the MLB All-Star Game. It really doesn't mean anything: Teams holding back players due to injury or fear of injury, fan voting for one-hit wonders over midseason accomplishments that are made irrelevant by season's end, and the disembodied voice of This Week In Baseball over-sensationalizing every little thing not including the Toronto Blue Jays don't do it for me anymore. There was a time when the All-Star game mattered, but that was before the "fixed" inter-league matchups guaranteeing playoff spots for the Yankees and Red Sox, and the Strike of '94 took place. The last time I remembered an All-Star game with such fondness? 1991; Toronto hosted it. Good times, I think...!
I am now going to spend the next five minutes looking for the Pete Rose play from the 1970 All-Star Game; I'll be right back. (Four minutes later) That took more time to search for on YouTube than I thought o_O Here it is...
Take the time out to pause and remember the tragedy which unfolded in Arlington, Texas, this past week. 39-year old Shannon Stone, a Texas firefighter, succumbed to his injuries after falling twenty feet from the stands at The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, where the Texas Rangers play their home games during the season. The incident occurred as he attempted to catch a baseball tossed into the crowd by star Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. Shannon attended the baseball game with his son, Cooper, and he bought a new baseball glove for his son before driving to the game.
I''m watching the Toronto Blue Jays on television. They are leading 3-0 in the top of the ninth inning, when Jose Bautista walks to the plate for his at-bat, and he hits 3-2 fastball high into left-center field. Bautista has 29 homeruns, 61 runs batted in, and life is good; really good.
Later, the bottom of the ninth starts with Frank Francisco on the mound: Not so good. The last half-inning begins with a basehit to center field, a double to right field, and a walk to Cleveland switch hitting Asdrubal Cabrera before John Farrell replaces Francisco with the left handed pitcher Luis Perez. Things are not good, I thought, but they become a lot worse.
While Perez strikes out the first batter he faced on a full count, an RBI single follows. Then, with the bases still loaded Cleveland's favourite slugger, albeit with seven home runs thus far in the 2011 campaign, Travis Hafner stands in and promptly puts the first pitch into the right field stands.
As the ball takes flight and enters Saturn's orbit, I realize something: When I get angry I shout short, low sounding words like "NO!", walk out of the room, go outside, and then mutter sentences using words like "rotten", "rotten stinking", and "lousy rotten stinking". The favourite refrain I repeat, whenever I'm upset, is "baseball is a rotten sport made by rotten people in the rotten time because they were rotten..."
Note to self: Don't mutter ridiculous words and sentences when your next door neighbour comes out of his house and gets in his car.
I'm still a little upset, so that's why I'm writing...
There was baseball practice last night, and then we had our team dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. It felt really good to stop being Phil Wood for a few hours; I wish I could bottle that feeling.
With the Tuesday League wrapped up, my focus is on performing well in the Weekend League. I feel really good about my status for this year, for unlike previous campaigns I conditioned and trained to get into game shape. So far I didn't make any stupid errors, yet I try to be as professional as I can be: Ask like you made the diving catch before, and you plan on doing it again. In this league, when the younger guys catch, they turn flips and run around like someone crowned them king for a day. Once the next batter hits the ball into their corner of the outfield, it falls for a basehit or they mess up and drop the ball. I'm not saying I'm perfect like Oscar Charleston or Willie Mays, however I remember the fundamentals and try to play well so not to be the goat...unlike that LAST time o_O
Wow, it's really late. In case some of you follow my personal blog, things aren't going so well. I hope I can return to the regular format of weekly blog postings in time; when I sort the mess that was once my life out, I'll write better blogs in the future.
