Wednesday, April 24, 2013

SURPRISE - SURPRISE

##  The Yankees somehow beat one of the five best pitchers in the game last night. If you watch David Price pitch, you wonder how it's possible that he's 0-3. Ichiro Suzuki came up with a big hit in the ninth, which is great, because it was beginning to look like he was playing one year too long. He got caught stealing mostly because he came up with one of the most awkward slides I've ever seen.

## The umpires continue to show ineptitude in this series. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher had a strike zone that couldn't be explained on Monday, and last night 1st base umpire Sam Holbrook missed a pick-off on a terrific throw by catcher Chris Stewart.

## Speaking of ineptitude, I mentioned the odd base running tactic of Jean Segura, who managed to steal second base, steal first base and get caught stealing second in that order, all in the same inning. It turns out the umpires allowed Segura to return to first based on rule 7;08(i), which allows a runner to return to a previously occupied base if he's been faked out by infielders. However, that rule would apply only to the LAST base occupied. The proper rule that covers this situation is rule 7;01, which basically prohibits a runner from returning to a base he occupied previous to his current position, i.e., he can't run the bases backward. Once he occupied 2nd and then tried for third , he could return to 2nd, but NOT all the way to first. I did not know this rule, but then I'm not paid to know it, the umpires are.
(Thanks to Jason Stark for finding this out and putting it in his blog)

## Someone has stolen the plaque in AT & T Park in San Francisco commemorating Barry Bonds 756th home run. There are so many straight lines in this story, I don't know which joke to use. Plus, we haven't been told how long it was missing before someone noticed it. It was glued to a brick wall in right-center field, so someone had to be pretty 'juiced up' in order to tear it off the wall.

## Jose Valverde is back with the Detroit Tigers after being released over the winter. Valverde was so bad at the end of last year, that the Tigers never let him pitch in the World Series. He just pitched three scoreless innings in Class A, so he says he's ready. Must be  tough Class A.

## Former Yankee Alfredo Aceves had a terrible night last night, giving up 8 runs in 3+ innings. so bad, in fact, the Red Sox ended up offering free tickets to anyone who paid money to sit through the misery. Okay, they really offered the free tickets because the weather was horrible, but Aceves' outing certainly didn't make it any better. I have been unable to confirm if the fans made the Red Sox promise that Aceves wouldn't be pitching before they accepted the offer, but it's possible.

## I read that there is a good chance that Syracuse University quarterback, Ryan Nassib may go to the Buffalo Bills in the draft. I wonder if the Bills new coach, Doug Marrone, former head coach of the Orange, had anything to do with this?

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Yankees announced that Derek Jeter, 38, will be in a walking boot at a news conference Thursday. Either that or he will be in a walker. Not sure."  -- Janice Hough
"Teen phenom,Guan Tianlang, was penalized for slow play at the Masters. What, was he texting while driving?"  -- Dwight Perry
"This year, the Fattest City in America is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas. A parade was held. Everyone walked a half block, got winded and so they called the whole thing off."  -- Brad Dickson
"Apparently the new name of the four-team playoff that starts after the NCAA 2014 football season will be the “College Football Playoff.” Translation. No one’s bid enough for naming rights yet."  -- Janice Hough
"The Red's Shin-Soo Choo was hit by pitches a whopping nine times in his first 19 games. We see a Hamburger Helper endorsement in his future."  -- Dwight Perry
"A Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $2.1 million. "The buyer says the card is in excellent shape, although the gum was very hard to chew."  -- Jim Barach
"NBC football broadcaster Al Michaels was recently arrested on suspicion of DUI. By getting in trouble with the law, at this point, we are unsure if this was a temporary lapse in judgement or he was auditioning for a job at ESPN."  --  Brad Dickson

CP-
 



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