RANDOM THOUGHTS

I lost my main computer this week and my lap top is more difficult for me to use, so bear with me.

The Yankees win! The Yankees win!
Luckily they scored big time because Pineada's mistakes were big time as evidenced by the 6 runs he gave up. The only one who looked lost at the plate was A-Rod. Is it too early to think he needs a day off? Of course, this is all moot since we're all just playing out the string while the Boston Red Sox run away with the pennant - or so the sports writers tell us.

Speaking of the Red Sox...
It appears that Pablo Sandoval has eaten his way out of the lineup. This was NOT one of the Sox better signings. Reminds me of the Carl Crawford signing - good on paper, not so good on the field. At least Pablo is making about $4 million less.

The slippery slope
Baseball has really gotten themselves in a hole. They are learning that it's impossible to legislate yourself out of problems. Case in point:
A) Instant replay allowed everyone to notice that infielders were not always remaining on the bag at second long enough when trying to turn a double play. Now they have to.
B) Runners were having a field day mowing down the fielders because they now had to stay "in range," so to speak.
C) So they institute a new rule that basically forbids runners from knocking down the infielders. (I know that's not exactly what it says, but that seems to be the effect)
D) The problem is, the rule is black and white, the actual situations aren't. Up in Toronto, Bautista and the Blue Jays lost a chance to win a game because Joey Bats hit an infielder's foot when he was trying to complete a game-ending double play. The only danger here was to Bautista's hand, not the fielder. This was not the intent of the rule, but all the changes forced that to be the result. "If it ain't broke...well, fix it anyway."

Could be better
The Yanks have a commercial out showing their new double play combo - Castro and Gregorius having a spirited conversation. Might be funny but they were very hard to understand. The Seattle Mariners know how to do it right. (Courtesy of Dwight Perry)
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/mariners-debut-four-commercials-for- 2016-featuring-kyle-seager-robinson-cano-edgar-martinez-nelson-cruz-and-felix-he rnandez/

What would you pick?
On "Mike and Mike" this morning, they asked a question, "What major sporting event would you pick if you could only watch one from now on?" Mike picked the Masters Golf Tournament. Annie-O chose the World Series. I would pick the NCAA Basketball Tournament, even though Annie-O's bracket selections are so much better than mine. (No, I don't want to talk about it!)

Gregg Popovich quote of the day
Q:  "Coach, how will you get your guys into the next game?"
GP: "I get them all on the bus and don't let them out till we reach the arena."

***THEY SAID IT***
"In the finals of the NIT somebody beat someone by a score of ... I’ll have to get back to you."  -- Brad Dickson
"In the first game of the season, Chase Utley has started another controversy with a slide that some thought was dirty at home plate. Well, if he makes a pattern of it, MLB won’t need a Chase Utley rule, as some pitcher will apply the Drysdale rule and put Utley on the DL."  -- Janice Hough
"In women’s Sweet 16 action, it was UConn 98, Mississippi State 38. The last time Mississippi got torched this badly, General Grant was visiting Vicksburg."  -- RJ Currie
"Nebraska’s tallest player, Jake Hammond, is transferring. This puts the Huskers at a disadvantage because he’s the only one who could see over the scorer’s table."  -- Brad Dickson
"A whale-watching boat named the Adventure Hornblower, unable to reverse engines, rammed into a seawall in San Diego. “No comment until we’ve seen the films,” said Hornblower cruise director Rob Gronkowski."  -- Dwight Perry

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