Aroldis Chapman Injury: What Do You Do?

Aroldis Chapman, 2010 (From Wikipedia)

Imagine you have a son, and he has a hobby. It's a good hobby; you know this because he enjoys doing it, and loads of people tell you he is really good at it. Soon enough, some people who represent that hobby approach you and your son about taking part in an annual contest centred around that hobby. You would feel really proud, not because people want your son to participate in this contest, but because your son excelled and did something wonderful with his hobby. ^_^

Such was the case when the father of Cincinnati Reds star closer Aroldis Chapman went to Arizona to watch his son participate in a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals. Baseball is a big deal in their native land of Cuba, so for Chapman to play in the majors is a big deal. However, a seemingly proud moment for father and son was almost taken away by a freak accident.



In the video, the man in the white striped shirt arriving at the scene was Aroldis' father. The comebacker ricocheted off the star reliever's face just above his right eye.


I don't have kids, but my Dad witnessed some of my early sports moments as I grew up in Southern Ontario. I don't know what it's like to be on the outside watching someone you love go through something like that. The baseball world family and its fans is certainly with Aroldis Chapman tonight, and so is his father, too.

Something About Game 3

Pablo Sandoval of the Giants (left) and the Reds' Brandon Phillips
on a close play at third with the umpire and fans looking on.

I'll be short with this today, but I wouldn't put too much faith and words into the performance of postseason teams in Game 3.

After playing the first two games of the Division Series, teams like the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds, and the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers travel cross-country to play at their opponent's ball park. The flights were long, bumpy, suitcases got lost, someone forgot their lucky monkey, and then comes the jet lag! =_=



There are two ways a series could go after such an experience: In the case of the Cincinnati Reds, the need for sleep, to close out a series, and entertain the home crowd provided the Giants a stay of execution as San Francisco rallied through ten innings to defeat the Reds by a slim 2-1 scoreline. This could be a minor chip in the armour of the Red Machine as they look to close out the series tonight in Game 4. Then again, if you are following the Detroit Tigers, then the experience will completely throw you for a loop as the vindicated Coco Crisp and Oakland Athletics look to rebound and draw level with the staggered Tigers. Maybe there was more to Oakland's resurgence than "Alburquerque's Kiss"? ^_^

All images, videos, and associated material are property of Major League Baseball.

ANNIVERSARY of 100 POSTS!

Happy Anniversary!

Ninety-Nine posts previous to this, I began a baseball blog to share my love and passion for all things baseball at home, aboard, and on the major league level. Who could imagine HITS AND ERRORS, as I named it then, and MAJOR LEAGUE GOOFBALL, which is its current name, would survive this long? Thank you to all my faithful readers who supported this blog since its inception; if you are new to this blog, thanks go to you as well for stopping by. Hopefully, I will hearing from you very soon.

Reds Appreciation Day!

On a more serious note, one of my friends is feeling down in the dumps. There isn't a lot I can do in this situation, however I do know this friend loves the Cincinnati Reds ^_^ By love, I mean she REALLY loves the Cincinnati Reds (Headgear + Jackets + T-shirts + season tickets (?) = IN LOVE). Johnny Cueto doing things in style against the Minnesota Twins as the Reds shut them down, and shut them out 6-0.

To my friend, I hope you feel better soon ^_^ As long as they don't get in the way of my Toronto Blue Jays, go REDS!

Before I go...

Thome (25) wins another for the Phils, about to receive
an MLB modern-era record thirteenth celebratory beatdown at home plate

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies' star batter, and all-around good guy Jim Thome, whose walk-off homerun at home against the Tampa Bay Rays also ties him with Sammy Sosa for seventh place in the all-time career home runs list (609), but he is also number one all-time among batters in the modern era (1900-present) with career walk-off home runs (13). Not only is baseball the most recorded, categorized, and statistical team sport, but it also records stuff hardly anyone thinks of o_O LOL ^_^ 

Chicago Cubs: Frustration

Dear Cubs fan,

"Hey, weren't the Cubs winning?" o_O

You are right; this is frustrating >_< No lead is safe with the Cubs on the diamond. Thanks to a blown three run lead in the ninth inning under bizarre circumstances, the Chicago Cubs lost 4-3 in ten innings to the Cincinnati Reds, and gave us a history lesson in the process.

Soto (18) rounds the bases as the Cubs take an "insurmountable" 3-0 lead LOL

Today's game was a microcosm of what you guys witness year in and year out since 1908. Somehow and some way, the Cubs take the lead: Starling Castro, Bryan LaHair, and Geovanny Soto each hit homeruns to put the Cubbies into the lead at 3-0. Cubs fans, who visit the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati to watch their Cubs take on the Reds, go bananas and the hooting and hollering commences. Then in the ninth inning, as victory looks secure, a critical error on a routine play opens the door to another lost lead: Third baseman and newcomer Ian Stewart misplays a grounder with two Reds on base, which allows one run to score. Not one to point fingers, but in beer league thinking ahead to the rally killing double play happens A LOT!

Birthday boy Ryan Dempster pitched 8 innings, had the win booked, alas...

I remember my buddy Craig in his Cubs T-shirt, and imagine him watching the game, thinking "Oh no, here we go again!" Like a foul ball knocked away from an outfielder's glove by a headphone wearing fan, or a disgruntled fan shouting curses outside the park because he can't enter the grounds with his goat, when something peculiar happens in a Chicago Cubs game disaster is right around the corner (Hi Craig).

Here comes the rain again!

Somehow, in some wacky way, the Cubs lose their lead on a bases-loaded walk by much maligned closer Carlos Marmol, and then an "I Surrender" double play that allows the tying run to score for the Reds. The extra inning, which came as a result of the ridiculous ninth, would seem academic. Would it matter if the Cubs came back and won the game in extra innings? Perhaps on the surface, yes, but since 1908 the Chicago Cubs blew leads both in games, regular season pennant races, and in championship series. Given the Cubs had great ball players like Hall-of-Famers Ferguson Jenkins, Ernie Banks, and the late Ron Santo, there is no history of championship success Cubs players and fan can draw from like the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, or the Dodgers; we only know of the well-documented, and somewhat accursed wheel of karma fixed like the red "C" on a Cubs baseball cap. Yes, the Cubs have a long and wonderful history in Chicago and a great following throughout the world, however the defeat today gave me a frustrating look at what success looks like to the fan of a snake-bitten yet lovable team: Snatched away.

As a fan of hockey's Toronto Maple Leafs, I identify with the Cubs. I think I could like them...or not...Go Blue Jays (fist pump). For more on this game, click here!