Sunday, June 28, 2015

WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHY? WHEN?

No, I'm not channeling Vinnie Barbarino and Mr Kotter doesn't have the answers. In fact neither do I. Maybe you all can help.

Who's at fault here?
Thursday night, Jon Lester of the Cubs was pitching against the Dodgers and he was having trouble with his location. In fact, he walked four guys in four innings, helped by a home plate umpire (Andy Fletcher) who had a narrow strike zone that night. As could be expected, Lester indicated his frustration and some words were exchanged, but Lester turned away. Not good enough for Fletcher who actually started out to the mound to continue the argument. The cubs catcher and manager quickly got between Fletcher and Lester and prevented what would have ended up as a Lester ejection. This is a clear case of an umpire instigating a big argument for no reason other than Fletcher's egotistical manner. He should be suspended for a week. 

What's with all the injuries?
It's been a bad week for players. There was an amazing number of injuries for a number of different reasons.
Giancarlo Stanton - Hit by a pitch, broken wrist
Robinson Cano - Hit by a warm-up ball thrown by the Dodgers between innings (I assume it was an accident since the Mariners are certainly no threat to Los Angeles.
Andrew McCutcheon - hit in the elbow by a pitch
Tim Lincecum - Hit in the pitching elbow by a line drive (See how things even out?)
Williams Perez - Hit in the foot by a line drive (Hitters - 2, Pitchers -1)

Where's Jeter?
It's not unusual for a recently retired player to pass on the first Old Timer's Game after his retirement from the Yankees, so it was no surprise that Derek wasn't around for this years event. But where has he been? I have read that he's been in the Dominican Republic, Europe, and India, basically everywhere but my hometown of Oswego, NY. Well enjoy yourself Derek. I hope you're at least sending postcards to Hannah Davis. Luckily for you, she currently appears to be dating a white horse.

Why do they talk so much?
We're talking about baseball announcers here. I started with the ESPN Sunday night guys, explaining everything from the reasons behind certain plays to the theory of relativity - and getting them both wrong. Now everybody is doing it. Apparently there have been a few seconds of quiet in the booth because the powers-that-be have added a third man in the booth. And they all drone on and on and on, to the point when even Annie-O is yelling, "WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?" at the TV. Paul O'Neil used to be a little shy and didn't say too much, now he's turned into the second coming of Phil Rizzuto, talking about everything BUT the game. Michael Kay is supposed to run the broadcast, but instead of controlling them, he goads them into more and more. I never thought I'd say this, but can we get Joe Morgan back? He was always so wrong it was comical but at least he didn't talk that much.

When is this going to stop?
Pete Rose has applied for reinstatement into the good graces of Major League Baseball. But new information has surfaced that claims Pete also bet on games when he was playing. He's denied this as lately as two weeks ago. No matter what comes to light, Pete and all the other cheaters of one kind or another in sports, refuse to admit any wrong-doing. They deny, deny, deny, until it's proven and then they say, "Well, maybe I did."  There's a famous line from the movie, "Three Days of the Condor,"  where the main character says to an FBI agent, "You guys think if you don't get caught in a lie, it's the same as telling the truth."

Put out an American flag and root for the Women's soccer team Tuesday night in the World Cup semi-finals.

***THEY SAID IT***
"A New York undercover investigation has resulted in finding pricing inaccuracies at all 8 Whole Foods stores in the NYC area. All errors were in favor of the retailer which is known to be well over priced as is. Yankees and Mets fans said they would never shop there again as they lined up for their $27 hot dog and beer."  -- TC Chong
"The Seattle Mariners re-assigned hitting coach Howard Johnson to the minor leagues. To ease the transition, that first night the minor league manager told Johnson the team hotel was named after him."  -- Brad Dickson
"But really? One of the “top stories” headlines on USAToday.com today is “Stanton injury a crushing blow for fantasy owners.” As opposed to a blow to the Marlins, Marlins fans, or baseball fans in general who just like to watch a great player?"  -- Janice Hough
" Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera” — based on the Harding-Kerrigan figure-skating knee whack in 1994 — makes its Big Apple debut at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in July. No need to say “Break a leg!” to these thespians."  --  Dwight Perry
"It’s a bad sign if you can’t distinguish between a sport and a group of people rushing to the bathroom. Doping for racewalking is like robbing a bank that you know has only $2 in it."  -- CBS's James Corden
"Ballot stuffing has resulted in 8 Kansas City starters voted onto the AL All Star team. As the winner of the event gets World Series home games advantage, wouldn’t it be wiser for KC fans to vote in the entire Phillies team instead?"  -- TC Chong
"According to a new report, Pete Rose bet on baseball while he was a player. Everyone in the world surprised by this report will be meeting Monday on top of the first base bag at the Cincinnati Reds’ stadium."  -- Brad Dickson
"A fan at Wrigley Field caught a foul ball while feeding his baby: “People were shocked — not that he was holding a baby, but because someone wearing a Cubs hat caught a ball."  -- Conan O'Brien
"At the Women’s World Cup, U.S. striker Abby Wambach is blaming artificial turf for her lack of scoring. “See?” said the Winnipeg Blue Bombers."  -- RJ Currie
" Too much of a good thing: Paul O’Neill has become a good, willing and folksy all-things raconteur. Great. Still, someone at YES should tell him the primary reason we tuned in is to watch a ball game."  -- Phil Mushnick
"A Chicago Cubs fan interfered with Dodgers’ first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and made a one-handed catch while feeding his 7-month-old son. Not surprising: Because it’s Chicago, the 7-month-old was devouring an 89-inch deep dish pizza."  -- Brad Dickson
"The Patriots Super Bowl rings are the largest ever, with each featuring 205 diamonds and 4.85 karats. The ring is so big, it won’t fit in Vladimir Putin’s pocket."  -- RJ Currie.

CP-

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