A surprising development has occured. Are they going back to change the record books to credit AG with a perfect game because of a blown call by umpire JJ? No..
In the meantime, probably few Tiger fans have noticed, or even cared, that Galarraga is with the Arizona Diamondbacks these days. Won 3, lost 4, and pitched a grand total of 42 innings with an ERA of 5.91. In his 5 year career, he's a sub-.500 pitcher. Not exactly the stuff legends are made of.
But every once in a while, an ordinary type athlete accomplishes something totally unforeseen, and even bordering on the incredible. Sure, they have to be fairly good to start with, but everything else has to fall in place perfectly, In other words, there's usually a lot of luck involved as well. It almost happened to Armando, but for that one blown call at first base.
Umpire Jim Joyce was vilified nationally, and I think it's a safe bet to say he didn't want to hang out in Detroit sports bars for a while. He acknowledged his mistake, and even tearfully apologized. That's all the guy could do, but some people will never let it rest.
Yet when it comes to umpires, who really knows them best? Would you concede it's probably the players?
According to a just-released poll by Sports Illustrated amongst major league players -- guess who they voted the best umpire by a wide margin?
Yep. Jim Joyce. The 2nd place guy got about half as many votes and nobody else was even close.
So maybe he blew a call in a freak game for a journeyman pitcher, and will live in infamy amongst Tiger fans forevermore.
But he must be getting a whole lot of other stuff right for (all) the players to rank him #1.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Detroit Tigers, the panic button, and space invaders
How can those 3 things possibly be related? Let a twisted mind explain.
Let's face it. The Tigers are a mediocre club playing in a sub-par division. At the time of this writing, the teams in the AL Central division were a collective 26 games under .500. That should tell you something about how they stack up against everybody else. If the Tigers were in the AL East, they'd be about 10 games behind. Further, if that were the case, they'd have to play teams like the Bosox and Yaniks, clearly superior clubs, a lot more. They could easily be 20 games behind and all this hoopla about a pennant chase wouldn't be happening. But it is.
And what's up with this whole "panic button" thing anyway? It seems like every time a team hiccups somebody's talking about pushing a panic button. Well, let's see. If I buy into that philosophy and the Tigers lose 3-4 games in a row, should I stock up on canned goods, bottled water, and build a bomb shelter? If Justin Verlander gets hurt, should I wrap my house in plastic sheeting? If the Tigers fail to make the playoffs, should I run naked through the streets, raping, looting and pillaging?
I think not. Can't remember which company it was, but somebody advertised an "easy button". That's the one for me.
It's not like the hostile Berserkazoids from the star system Limbeck have come to impregnate our women and enslave our men in di-lithium crystal mines on the planet Zombie.
No, it's just baseball. So relax. Every little thing's gonna be alright.
That easy button comes in handy sometimes. I highly recommend it.
(On a personal note -- now when Lynn, aka the dreaded Peavulture, goes on the warpath, it's time to panic. I'd rather take my chances with the Berserkazoids)
Let's face it. The Tigers are a mediocre club playing in a sub-par division. At the time of this writing, the teams in the AL Central division were a collective 26 games under .500. That should tell you something about how they stack up against everybody else. If the Tigers were in the AL East, they'd be about 10 games behind. Further, if that were the case, they'd have to play teams like the Bosox and Yaniks, clearly superior clubs, a lot more. They could easily be 20 games behind and all this hoopla about a pennant chase wouldn't be happening. But it is.
And what's up with this whole "panic button" thing anyway? It seems like every time a team hiccups somebody's talking about pushing a panic button. Well, let's see. If I buy into that philosophy and the Tigers lose 3-4 games in a row, should I stock up on canned goods, bottled water, and build a bomb shelter? If Justin Verlander gets hurt, should I wrap my house in plastic sheeting? If the Tigers fail to make the playoffs, should I run naked through the streets, raping, looting and pillaging?
I think not. Can't remember which company it was, but somebody advertised an "easy button". That's the one for me.
It's not like the hostile Berserkazoids from the star system Limbeck have come to impregnate our women and enslave our men in di-lithium crystal mines on the planet Zombie.
No, it's just baseball. So relax. Every little thing's gonna be alright.
That easy button comes in handy sometimes. I highly recommend it.
(On a personal note -- now when Lynn, aka the dreaded Peavulture, goes on the warpath, it's time to panic. I'd rather take my chances with the Berserkazoids)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
A salute to Jim Thome
Thome, currently of the Minnesota Twins, hit his 599th and 600th home runs last night. Out of all the umpteen thousand guys that have played major league baseball -- he's only the 8th man to reach that plateau. That in itself is very impressive. That fact that he did it against the Detroit Tigers is irrelevant. However, for a little local perspective, consider that Al Kaline, who many Tiger fans think was the best player ever to wear the Olde English D throughout his long and brilliant career -- hit 399 home runs. That's no small feat, but it's a far cry from 600.
Further consider that Thome has always been amongst the most popular players with both teammates and opponents alike. He plays hard, but he's a gentleman, a good sport, and has a sense of humor.
Throw in he's a devoted family man; no sordid affairs, no DUIs, no drugs or 'roids, no gambling, no dead dogs, no gun incidents, no talking smack, and no acts of stupidity at after hours clubs. He doesn't wreck cars. He wrecks fastballs.
I'm happy to see a class act like Thome reach such a milestone.
Cooperstown awaits him in a few years and it couldn't happen to a nicer and more deserving guy.
Bravo.
Further consider that Thome has always been amongst the most popular players with both teammates and opponents alike. He plays hard, but he's a gentleman, a good sport, and has a sense of humor.
Throw in he's a devoted family man; no sordid affairs, no DUIs, no drugs or 'roids, no gambling, no dead dogs, no gun incidents, no talking smack, and no acts of stupidity at after hours clubs. He doesn't wreck cars. He wrecks fastballs.
I'm happy to see a class act like Thome reach such a milestone.
Cooperstown awaits him in a few years and it couldn't happen to a nicer and more deserving guy.
Bravo.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Ndamukong Suh. Aggressive or dirty?
While briefly watching the Detroit Loins' game last night, I saw Suh, a defensive lineman, pick up the opposing quarterback and slam him to the turf. This was after the QB had already thrown the ball. Suh knew that.
It was dirty and an obvious attempt to seriously injure another player.
Granted, there's a fine line involved here. Running backs and receivers are going to get hit hard when they have the ball. Linemen engage on every play and beat the snot out of each other. Kickoff and punt returners have to deal with the kamikaze squad coming down field at them. Vicious hits, blocks, and tackles abound. It's the nature of the game.
Yet there comes a time when the inmates of the asylum need to abide by a few rules, to guarantee their OWN survival. That's why the refs throw flags for "personal fouls". It normally involves something a player did to an opponent that was unnecessary in the flow of the game and, more importantly, a deliberate attempt to injure.
This is not Suh's first infraction. In his short career, he's pulled a few other nasty stunts along the way. Yes, the local Detroit sports media and most Lion fans will chalk it up to aggressiveness, but it's not. It's dirty.
What usually happens to dirty players? In baseball, if a pitcher plunks a hitter, and it's deemed intentional -- you can pretty well count on somebody on that pitcher's team getting a fastball in the ribs by the opposing pitcher. Hockey? Send a goon after our star player and we'll send a goon after yours. NASCAR? If you wrecked me, I'm going to find a way to wreck you in a future race. Such is the way it goes.
People with their own biases can rationalize just about anything, but at the end of the day, the "players" know what's going on.
Other players and coaches around the NFL are well aware of Suh and his occasional shady tactics. Even if they weren't directly involved -- they have film on everything. Don't think for a minute they don't know what he's done.
If he keeps it up, don't be surprised if a payback comes around. All it takes is two offensive linemen with an attitude. One guy holds him up and the other throws 300 lbs. into one of his knees.
Yep, that would be a personal foul. Chop block. The ref would throw his flag and a 15 yard penalty would be assessed.
But Suh would still be heading to the OR so they could put him back together again.
Here's hoping he sees the error of his ways sometime soon.
If not, he might have to learn the hard way that those other guys are trying to make a living too, are just as tough as he is, and they have a way of evening things out in the long run.
Ndamukong needs to quit with the dirty stuff or else, as Johnny Cash once sang, he'll find out life can be rough in the NFL for a boy named Suh.
Or something like that. Close enough.
It was dirty and an obvious attempt to seriously injure another player.
Granted, there's a fine line involved here. Running backs and receivers are going to get hit hard when they have the ball. Linemen engage on every play and beat the snot out of each other. Kickoff and punt returners have to deal with the kamikaze squad coming down field at them. Vicious hits, blocks, and tackles abound. It's the nature of the game.
Yet there comes a time when the inmates of the asylum need to abide by a few rules, to guarantee their OWN survival. That's why the refs throw flags for "personal fouls". It normally involves something a player did to an opponent that was unnecessary in the flow of the game and, more importantly, a deliberate attempt to injure.
This is not Suh's first infraction. In his short career, he's pulled a few other nasty stunts along the way. Yes, the local Detroit sports media and most Lion fans will chalk it up to aggressiveness, but it's not. It's dirty.
What usually happens to dirty players? In baseball, if a pitcher plunks a hitter, and it's deemed intentional -- you can pretty well count on somebody on that pitcher's team getting a fastball in the ribs by the opposing pitcher. Hockey? Send a goon after our star player and we'll send a goon after yours. NASCAR? If you wrecked me, I'm going to find a way to wreck you in a future race. Such is the way it goes.
People with their own biases can rationalize just about anything, but at the end of the day, the "players" know what's going on.
Other players and coaches around the NFL are well aware of Suh and his occasional shady tactics. Even if they weren't directly involved -- they have film on everything. Don't think for a minute they don't know what he's done.
If he keeps it up, don't be surprised if a payback comes around. All it takes is two offensive linemen with an attitude. One guy holds him up and the other throws 300 lbs. into one of his knees.
Yep, that would be a personal foul. Chop block. The ref would throw his flag and a 15 yard penalty would be assessed.
But Suh would still be heading to the OR so they could put him back together again.
Here's hoping he sees the error of his ways sometime soon.
If not, he might have to learn the hard way that those other guys are trying to make a living too, are just as tough as he is, and they have a way of evening things out in the long run.
Ndamukong needs to quit with the dirty stuff or else, as Johnny Cash once sang, he'll find out life can be rough in the NFL for a boy named Suh.
Or something like that. Close enough.
Friday, August 12, 2011
I'll bet you a beer
It is now 1:15 AM Saturday morning. A while ago, I peeked at the Dettroit Lions game vs the Cincinatti Bengals. The Lions were ahead 31-3. The game's over by now and I have no idea what the final score was, but chances are, the Lions won handily.
In the morning, I'll go get the newspaper and turn on ESPN in the background, while sipping a V-8, my waking-up beverage of choice.
Here's where the bet comes in. Between a print reporter or a talking head, after all the hype that's been fed to Lions fans about players finally grasping the system, the offensive and defensive coordinators remaining the same, QB Matthew Stafford being healthy, a terrific draft, key players being picked up through free agency to upgrade certain positions, talk of winning the NFC Central Division, playoffs, and even Super Bowl aspirations -- after blitzing Cinci, at least one of those same people will tell you.....
Let's not get carried away. It's only one pre-season game, a long way to go, anything can happen, blah, blah.
To which I say -- they were trying to whip the masses into a frenzy for the last few months with optimism, and now, after a rousing start, they caution them not to get carried away. It would be nice if they made up their minds -- ya know? Some of those diehard folks actually believe that stuff.
Of course, this is only a guess. I could be wrong.
We'll all know in the morning.
BTW -- I prefer Miller Lite.
In the morning, I'll go get the newspaper and turn on ESPN in the background, while sipping a V-8, my waking-up beverage of choice.
Here's where the bet comes in. Between a print reporter or a talking head, after all the hype that's been fed to Lions fans about players finally grasping the system, the offensive and defensive coordinators remaining the same, QB Matthew Stafford being healthy, a terrific draft, key players being picked up through free agency to upgrade certain positions, talk of winning the NFC Central Division, playoffs, and even Super Bowl aspirations -- after blitzing Cinci, at least one of those same people will tell you.....
Let's not get carried away. It's only one pre-season game, a long way to go, anything can happen, blah, blah.
To which I say -- they were trying to whip the masses into a frenzy for the last few months with optimism, and now, after a rousing start, they caution them not to get carried away. It would be nice if they made up their minds -- ya know? Some of those diehard folks actually believe that stuff.
Of course, this is only a guess. I could be wrong.
We'll all know in the morning.
BTW -- I prefer Miller Lite.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
A quickie. Mariano Rivera
The elite :"closer" for the Yanks blew a couple saves and gave up a couple home runs. Some of the talking heads think Armageddon must be upon us -- or at least New York.
Hey, I don't care HOW good he is. Those guys he's pitching to? They're major league hitters. The last guy on the bench for the worst big league club is REALLY good, or he wouldn't be there. It's not like the fat kid with freckles on a little league team. Believe it or not, once in a while they're going to hit the ball. Hard.
It happens.
So what's the big freakin deal?
Hey, I don't care HOW good he is. Those guys he's pitching to? They're major league hitters. The last guy on the bench for the worst big league club is REALLY good, or he wouldn't be there. It's not like the fat kid with freckles on a little league team. Believe it or not, once in a while they're going to hit the ball. Hard.
It happens.
So what's the big freakin deal?
A quickie. Steve Williams
While Tiger's got the media hooked like a bunch of heroin addicts, even having been in his proximity seems to be intoxicating to some.
How else to explain that Steve Williams, merely his FORMER caddy, is getting more air time than all the rest of the pro golfers combined?
Amazing.
How else to explain that Steve Williams, merely his FORMER caddy, is getting more air time than all the rest of the pro golfers combined?
Amazing.
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