Category: MLB (Page 109 of 448)

      Morning After Reaction: Galarraga loses perfect game on blow call

      June 3, 2010 /

      Here’s what local and national media are saying following the debacle in Detroit last night, in which umpire Jim Joyce ruined Armando Galarraga’s perfect game by blowing a call at first base.

      – Mike Lupica writes that Galarraga’s perfect game can be saved if Bud Selig overturns Jim Joyce’s call. (New York Daily News)

      – Jeff Passan writes that this is the perfect time to expand instant replay in baseball. (Yahoo! Sports)

      – Bob Klapisch took the opportunity to write about Don Denkinger, who will always be remembered for his blown call that cost the Cardinals the 1985 World Series against the Royals. (FOX Sports.com)

      – A website called “Fire Jim Joyce” has already been established.

      – Writing for ESPN.com, Curt Schilling says that his heart broke because not only was Galarraga’s perfect game ruined by a bad call, but Joyce also doesn’t deserve all the hurtful things that will and have been said about him.

      – Even though it won’t go down in the books as such, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has “declared” it a perfect game. I’m sure Galarraga will now sleep better at night. (Detroit Free Press)

      – John Lowe compiles a list of things to consider on Galarraga’s near-perfect night, including how if centerfielder Austin Jackson had not made a spectacular catch two plays before the incident at first base, Joyce would still be a nobody today. (Detroit Free Press)

      – Bob Wojnowski writes that Joyce made history by halting perfection. (Detroit News)

      – The Detroit News reports that the Tigers may actually contact the league in efforts to get the call reversed.


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      External Sports, MLB

      In a game filled with cheaters, Ken Griffey Jr. did it the right way

      June 3, 2010 /

      I’m not sure Ken Griffey Jr. knows how to inject HGH or even know how to get it. I don’t think he knows what “the clear” actually is or what it does, and the same goes for “the cream.”

      I don’t think taking steroids and cheating the game of baseball has ever crossed Griffey’s mind. And that’s why he’ll always be viewed as a true hero during the darkest days that baseball has ever seen.

      Griffey announced his retirement on Wednesday night. He’ll leave the game with 630 home runs (which rank him fifth all-time), 13 All-Star appearances, 10 Gold Gloves, seven Silver Slugger Awards and one MVP honor (1997). He’s a sure-fire Hall of Fame inductee and as I’ve alluded to above, one of the few sluggers whose name has never been mentioned for steroids.

      I’ll always remember the days when people would compare Griffey and Barry Bonds in terms of what young outfielder was better. People always said Griffey until injuries started hampering his career and Bonds started crushing 500-foot home runs (while his head grew to the size of a grapefruit). But looking back, Griffey will always be remembered as the better player because he didn’t have to cheat to have his success. Bonds has better numbers, but we all know how he got them later in his career. We also know how Griffey got his: pure, God-given talent.

      Griffey’s retirement doesn’t come as a surprise. He wasn’t getting regular at bats in Seattle and wasn’t a part of the Mariners’ present or future. He’s also 40 year’s old and it’s harder for players to balance baseball and their family life when they get to be that age. It was time and I found it appropriate that he made the announcement rather quietly. He’s never been flashy.

      Thanks for all the memories, Junior. You never let us down.

      External Sports, MLB

      First base umpire Jim Joyce absolutely hoses Armando Galarraga in perfect game attempt

      June 2, 2010 /

      I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a bigger hosing in sports than the one first base umpire Jim Joyce pulled on Tigers’ starter Armando Galarraga on Wednesday night.

      Galarraga took a perfect game into the top of the ninth inning against the Indians at Comercia Park and quickly retired the first two batters he faced. Cleveland’s Jason Donald then hit a ball to the right side of the infield as Miguel Cabrera fielded it cleanly and threw a strike to Galarraga, who raced off the mound to cover first base.

      As Donald ran hard through the base, Joyce started to cock his fist to signal the final out but then abruptly called Donald safe, killing Galarraga’s perfect game. The play was close live, but replays showed that Donald was out by almost two full steps, meaning Joyce blew the call.

      Umpires have it tough – especially on bang-bang calls like that one. It was a judgment call and umpires don’t have the luxury of instant replay, so they have to make a quick decision in the heat of the moment.

      That said, Donald was out by nearly two feet. More importantly, Galarraga had a perfect game and it was the last freaking out of the game. If the call could go either way (which it could have), call the runner out and let Galarraga have his moment. There was simply no excuse for Joyce to call Donald safe in that situation and what made it worse was the fact that he started to call him out before throwing up the safe sign. (Not to mention that two plays before that, Austin Jackson made the play of the year in centerfield, taking away a sure-fire base hit with a Willie Mays-like catch at the warning track.)

      The only positive thing I’ll say about Joyce is that he stood there like a man at the end of the game and took a vicious verbal beating from Tiger players and manager Jim Leyland. He didn’t run into the umpire’s room and hide – he faced the music. He also manned-up after the game and admitted his mistake.

      From ESPN.com:

      “I just cost that kid a perfect game,” Joyce said. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.”

      “I don’t blame them a bit or anything that was said,” Joyce said. “I would’ve said it myself if I had been Galarraga. I would’ve been the first person in my face, and he never said a word to me.”

      Galarraga deserves a lot of credit for keeping his composure. He didn’t hop up and down after the call or scream at Joyce. He just gave the umpire a, “Are you sh*tting me?” grin and went on to record the final out. If Galarraga does eventually rip into Joyce, nobody will blame him. Joyce blew it and he knows it, but the call can’t be reversed and therefore there’s nothing Galarraga or the Tigers can do. Joyce will forever be remembered for this play.

      Maybe it’s time for baseball to institute instant replay for more than just home run calls.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      What has happened to the Phillies’ offense?

      June 2, 2010 /

      There’s simply no excuse for a lineup that consists of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino to score only 13 runs in 10 games. Yet somehow, it has.

      In their last 14 games, the Phillies have scored three or fewer runs 12 times. Howard went deep on Tuesday night in a 7-3 loss to the Braves, but that was the first home run that Philadelphia has hit in 68 innings.

      So what’s the problem?

      Hitting coach Milt Thompson’s resume speaks for itself. In his first five seasons with the Phillies, the club led the National League in home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases, and extra-base hits. He suddenly hasn’t forgotten how to coach, yet the Phillies have suddenly forgotten how to hit.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

      Oswalt won’t face fine after ejection

      June 2, 2010 /

      Roy Oswalt can sleep a little easier this week knowing that his wallet won’t be lighter following his ejection during a game against the Nationals on Monday night. According to the Houston Chronicle, the Astros’ ace won’t face further disciplinary action.

      “I felt that Roy Oswalt had been punished enough by his ejection (and) the Astros had been punished enough by his ejection,” said Major League Baseball vice president Bob Watson, who is in charge of discipline for the league. “That’s the bottom line.”

      Home plate umpire Bill Hohn ejected Oswalt in the third inning Monday after a brief exchange with the pitcher.

      Oswalt said he was expressing frustration after a throwing a ball, but Hohn, who has not commented on the situation, clearly believed otherwise. The two then exchanged words, with Oswalt saying he told Hohn “I’m not talking to you,” before getting tossed.

      “I was hoping I wasn’t going to get fined for saying what I said,” Oswalt said. “I thought it was kind of quick on his part. Nothing I did towards him (warranted being) tossed out of the game.

      “To be talking to myself on the mound and to get thrown out, I didn’t see the point of that.”

      Assuming Oswalt wasn’t jawing with Hohn the entire night leading up to his ejection, Hohn comes off looking like just another power-hungry umpire. Some guys feel a sense of empowerment each night when they umpire a game and overreact when they feel a player has shown them up.

      That said, umpires don’t have it easy. They get it from players, managers and fans on a nightly basis and I don’t blame them if they want to flex some of their power in order to get a situation under control. Still, it sounds as though Hohn overacted to what Oswalt said and it’s good to see that the pitcher won’t face any further punishment.


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      External Sports, MLB

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