Ramblings
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:27 am
Help me out. A friend and I are trying to think of all the situations in baseball where a putout isn't made and an out without a putout isn't the fault of the offense like getting hit with a batted ball or a runner passing another runner.
So far, we've come up with an intentionally dropped ball, fan interference, a dropped third strike by a catcher with a runner on first, and an infield fly rule pop up that is allowed to drop.
Can you think of any others?
The Yankees protested their game yesterday. They won the game so the protest was nullified.
I understand Girardi's explosion as human nature. He had a foul ball and it was taken away. Umpires are not supposed to be indian givers.
It all didn't matter.
MLB hates a protest. If upheld, the game has to be rescheduled and picked up with the same lineup. By the time this is done, some players have been traded or let go, maybe even to the other team.
The logistics is a nightmare.
So it won't surprise you to learn that the last upheld protest was in 1986.
Broadcasters seem to bark about the pace of games a lot. Fans don't seem to care. They paid to see a baseball game, not something timed.
A baseball game is like life, we don't know when it'll end.
The other day I was checking scores and was surprised that a game that started at 7:05 was already over a little over two hours later.
Anytime this happens, I think of Red Barrett.
In 1944, Red Barrett threw an extraordinary game. A broadcasters dream game.
He gave up two hits and faced the minimum 27 batters. He struck out nobody. He walked nobody.
It was one of the first of night games and still holds the record for shortest night game ever played.
The game lasted one hour and fifteen minutes.
Oh, and one more thing. Barrett set a record for pitch count for a complete game.
58 pitches.
A little over two pitches per batter.
An obscure baseball record that will never be broken.
When I hear broadcasters marvel that Bryce Harper is only 19 years old and playing MLB, I sorta roll my eyes.
Not because Harper is young and that they make all the hullabaloo about it. Or that they compare him to ARod, or Griffey, or Mantle at those ages.
They never mention Bob Feller.
I know Feller is a pitcher and comparisons are tough, but let me tell you about a couple of things. (I guess you don't havea choice, do you?
)
He signed at age 16 for $1.
He skipped the minor leagues all together and struck out 15 hitters in his first game.
A week later, now at the age of 17, he struck out 17 batters, matching his age.
He ended up stiking out 76 MLB hitters in 62 innings that year. Then, went back to high school.
He was such a phenom that year that he was on the cover of Time Magazine and his high school graduation was even broadcast nationally.
Ted Williams said, "Feller was the best pitcher I ever faced. I hit him pretty good sometimes, but he was the best.
This is why I roll my eyes a little at Harper.
Sure, it's a great story that he made it at such a young age. At the same time, and at that young age, he is not blowing people away like Feller back then or like Mike Trout is doing now.
Obama came to our town yesterday. A big deal for some locals. My personal opinion is that America could be in trouble over the next four years, no matter who runs it.
And that's as political as I'll get.
I bring this up because I don't fault candidates, or their parties, or their backers for putting in time for their cause. I do question protesters. I know it's an American right. But, to take time out of your day to protest something that is out of one's control is stupid.
And I bring this back to baseball by questioning the Mets fans booing of Jose Reyes.
Why?
Baseball fans have short memories. The last two things Reyes did while with the Mets, was get taken out of a game to garner a batting title and then sign with another team.
Before those two things, Reyes and Wright WERE the Mets. The only two players who were worth watching on a daily basis.
Forgotten are all the years of joy that Reyes gave Mets fans all those years.
The ones who boo'ed are no better than the protesters of a political candidate.
It's their right, sure, but they're just wasting time and vocal chords.
Speaking of the Mets, Terry Collins says that he'll try and get RA Dickey extra starts so that he can get 20 wins.
Is he stupid?
Why bring this up now?
And why publicly?
Do what you can for Dickey later. He may make it with his own starts. Telling the press that he'll give him extra starts insinuates that Dickey will not make it on his own and makes me think that Collins is already trying to cover his ass after the criticism from pulling Reyes with his one hit last year.
I don't care if Dickey gets 20 wins or not. And at this time, Collins shouldn't either.
This time of year, he should be worried about winning games, not personal records.
I chuckle when I think this is the same Mets management who threatened Dickey after Dickey announced that he was climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro.
Maybe this off season, all the Mets and their Management should make the climb.
So far, we've come up with an intentionally dropped ball, fan interference, a dropped third strike by a catcher with a runner on first, and an infield fly rule pop up that is allowed to drop.
Can you think of any others?
The Yankees protested their game yesterday. They won the game so the protest was nullified.
I understand Girardi's explosion as human nature. He had a foul ball and it was taken away. Umpires are not supposed to be indian givers.
It all didn't matter.
MLB hates a protest. If upheld, the game has to be rescheduled and picked up with the same lineup. By the time this is done, some players have been traded or let go, maybe even to the other team.
The logistics is a nightmare.
So it won't surprise you to learn that the last upheld protest was in 1986.
Broadcasters seem to bark about the pace of games a lot. Fans don't seem to care. They paid to see a baseball game, not something timed.
A baseball game is like life, we don't know when it'll end.
The other day I was checking scores and was surprised that a game that started at 7:05 was already over a little over two hours later.
Anytime this happens, I think of Red Barrett.
In 1944, Red Barrett threw an extraordinary game. A broadcasters dream game.
He gave up two hits and faced the minimum 27 batters. He struck out nobody. He walked nobody.
It was one of the first of night games and still holds the record for shortest night game ever played.
The game lasted one hour and fifteen minutes.
Oh, and one more thing. Barrett set a record for pitch count for a complete game.
58 pitches.
A little over two pitches per batter.
An obscure baseball record that will never be broken.
When I hear broadcasters marvel that Bryce Harper is only 19 years old and playing MLB, I sorta roll my eyes.
Not because Harper is young and that they make all the hullabaloo about it. Or that they compare him to ARod, or Griffey, or Mantle at those ages.
They never mention Bob Feller.
I know Feller is a pitcher and comparisons are tough, but let me tell you about a couple of things. (I guess you don't havea choice, do you?
)He signed at age 16 for $1.
He skipped the minor leagues all together and struck out 15 hitters in his first game.
A week later, now at the age of 17, he struck out 17 batters, matching his age.
He ended up stiking out 76 MLB hitters in 62 innings that year. Then, went back to high school.
He was such a phenom that year that he was on the cover of Time Magazine and his high school graduation was even broadcast nationally.
Ted Williams said, "Feller was the best pitcher I ever faced. I hit him pretty good sometimes, but he was the best.
This is why I roll my eyes a little at Harper.
Sure, it's a great story that he made it at such a young age. At the same time, and at that young age, he is not blowing people away like Feller back then or like Mike Trout is doing now.
Obama came to our town yesterday. A big deal for some locals. My personal opinion is that America could be in trouble over the next four years, no matter who runs it.
And that's as political as I'll get.
I bring this up because I don't fault candidates, or their parties, or their backers for putting in time for their cause. I do question protesters. I know it's an American right. But, to take time out of your day to protest something that is out of one's control is stupid.
And I bring this back to baseball by questioning the Mets fans booing of Jose Reyes.
Why?
Baseball fans have short memories. The last two things Reyes did while with the Mets, was get taken out of a game to garner a batting title and then sign with another team.
Before those two things, Reyes and Wright WERE the Mets. The only two players who were worth watching on a daily basis.
Forgotten are all the years of joy that Reyes gave Mets fans all those years.
The ones who boo'ed are no better than the protesters of a political candidate.
It's their right, sure, but they're just wasting time and vocal chords.
Speaking of the Mets, Terry Collins says that he'll try and get RA Dickey extra starts so that he can get 20 wins.
Is he stupid?
Why bring this up now?
And why publicly?
Do what you can for Dickey later. He may make it with his own starts. Telling the press that he'll give him extra starts insinuates that Dickey will not make it on his own and makes me think that Collins is already trying to cover his ass after the criticism from pulling Reyes with his one hit last year.
I don't care if Dickey gets 20 wins or not. And at this time, Collins shouldn't either.
This time of year, he should be worried about winning games, not personal records.
I chuckle when I think this is the same Mets management who threatened Dickey after Dickey announced that he was climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro.
Maybe this off season, all the Mets and their Management should make the climb.