Rule 7.09 (h) on full display

http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=85380883&topic_id=6479266

Anytime you can walk-off win against the Dodgers is a god win. I agree with Don Mattingly though, my first impression was "Dang, Roberto Kelly just cost us an out, big-time", but he got away with one. The umpires should know he's new and just learning the ropes on the 3B coaching side. The 3B umpire had his head on a swivel looking into LF (Why, IDK).


from ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=350422126

 7.09 (h): It is interference by a batter or a runner when: (h) In the judgment of the umpire, the base coach at third base, or first base, by touching or holding the runner, physically assists him in returning to or leaving third base or first base. (i) With a runner on third base, the base coach leaves his box and acts in any manner to draw a throw by a fielder.

Mattingly on umpires' explanation: "He didn't see it. He was watching the play. I don't know why the third-base ump is watching the play. There's nothing for him to watch. It's a ground ball to left. I don't know who's watching to see if he touched the base. I really don't know what the umpires' responsibilities are there. But I do know there's no way in baseball they allow the third-base coach to come up and basically block the runner from going forward, and that's what happened tonight. That's obviously a missed call. It's not reviewable from their explanation."

Third-base umpire Fieldin Culbreth: "Don came out and asked me did I see him grab him. I told him no, I did not see him grab him. . . . The rule is pretty specific in the fact that he had to touch and physically grab him and assist him in returning to the base. That did not happen. If he doesn't physically assist him in returning to the base then there's no interference."

It is a win against the Dodgers and I am not sorry to say I don't much care how it was acquired. I do look the new-look Yasiel Puig, who seems to finally "get" how the game is supposed to be played and is taking the Dodger veterans advice about behavior modification to heart. He is going to be a flat out beast.

Oh, and F-you Chris Rock. It seems as if the lines of baseballs ascent and the descent of AA-participation, sad though it may be, have been running in a pretty neat little correlation. Kind of throws your little monologue, cute though it may be, right into the dumpster where it belongs. 

from FoxSports.com

http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/chris-rock-major-league-baseball-diversity-042215

I'll take the culture of baseball and hockey over that of the NBA and the NFL any day. Let's just compare police blotters. Another day, another  ex-NFL star convicted of murder. Ho-hum. When exactly was the last murder attributed to an MLB or NHL player?  

Maybe the community should bend to the mores of baseball and hockey instead of the other way around. We'd all be better off. 

Giants lose Game 3: Bochy waves white flag for rest of Series

Dear Future HOF Bruce Bochy and Staff:

I'm not sure what you guys are thinking after watching the Giants perform in Game 3 in SF. I hear you guys have, rather hastily I might add,  put the kibosh on starting Madison Bumgarner in Game 4. Here are my thoughts after a good night's sleep. Please consider them in the spirit in which they are presented, they are meant to be constructive in nature and in no way meant to harm anyone or hurt anyone's feelings and/or Hall of Fame chances.

Obviously, our only chance to win this thing is to go to Plan B, which consists of the following.

• pitch Madison Bumgarner in Game 4 on short rest
• bat Madison Bumgarner in the clean-up slot since Pence and Posey are obviously weak sticks
• bring Madison Bumgarner back on even shorter rest for Game 5 and
• if necessary be prepared to bring Madison Bumgarner back on even shorter rest for Game 6 in KC, and let him continue to hit clean-up, DH for Posey.
• although it shouldn't be necessary, have Madison Bumgarner ready to pitch a Game 7, consider allowing a well-rested Posey to hit for himself, DH for Pence. Zig when the Royals expect you to zag. Know what I mean, jelly bean?

BTW: I employed a similar strategy to win a Little League tournament years back, so it's a proven strategy. I'm not particularly proud of it, but hey when you're backed into a corner, you have to fight back, do some unconventional things (like Yost, who is getting lauded for same in case you didn't have time to read the papers or various blogs). Plus, you guys are getting paid, so you don't have to deal with "ruining a youngsters future" charges. Plus, the kid wants to pitch.....

Ignore those who want to push the Vogeslong is a gamer meme. It's a a trap planted by those who want the Royals to win for some misguided reason, maybe to get Ned Yost in the Hall of Fame before you, did you ever think of that? Anyway, don't fall it, Bummer is your man. FREE MADISON BUMGARNER!!!  ;)

from Yahoo.com
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vargas-vogelsong-game-4-series-080312024--mlb.html

Vogelsong is the only pitcher to yield no more than one run in his first five postseason starts. That run ended in the NL Championship Series when Vogelsong allowed four runs in three innings of a no-decision against St. Louis.

This meme is total BS as we have seen with Peavy and more recently Hudson. I know you guys are into that "Southern Rock" meme at the moment, but need I remind you, The South lost and last time I checked, they haven't "done it again" (whatever "it" is) despite various threats to do same over the years. These guys are all talk, no action. These guys were all also sub .500 pitchers all year and you can't just push a "It's the playoffs, look at me, I'm a gamer" button and expect it to work. Other guys have been busting their asses all year while you guys were on cruise control, it's an insult to therm and the baseball gods to expect that strategy to work, so cut the shit and get real. FREE MADISON BUMGARNER!!!  ;)

This stat would be irrelevant if you didn't continue to give away AB's to guys who can't hit for shit right now, while leaving guys like Morse and Bumgarner wasting good swings in the batting cage behind the clubhouse.

Uh Boch, has anyone on the staff noticed this stat or brought it to your attention?

In the two Giants losses, San Francisco is 1-for-24 with nine strikeouts against Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, Greg Holland and late entry Brandon Finnegan.

Release Morse, Bumgarner, Susac and Duffy and bench Juan Perez, Gregor Blanco, Travis Ishikawa (when starting, he's OK, off the bench not so much) and maybe even Posey and Pence for now. FREE MADISON BUMGARNER!!!  ;)

I get the part about Blanco and Perez being in there for defense, but you're not scoring very many runs. In fact, you're not even coming close to scoring runs lately. Having guys in for defense merely exacerbates the problem. I'd much rather get beat 10-2 than this 3-2 shit anyway. If you guys are going to suck, take your ass-whipping like a man and get beat 10-2, guys get over those kind of losses a lot easier than these 3-2 games. It's like a death by a thousand cuts or torture and that is sooooooo..... 2010-2012 Giants. You have a new identity now, embrace it.

Again, I don't want this critique in any way to harm your Hall of Fame chances, I still support the movement provided of course you sit out the mandatory five year waiting period. And of course, after the many more deserving candidates like Jim Leyland, Pete Rose, Don Mattingly (the player, not the manager NO, NO NO), Ned Yost (after he beats you), Joe Maddon (who is technically probably a better manager after adjusting for payroll), Billy Beane (the God of Baseball, saved baseball after the steroids debacle IMO), Brad Pitt (marvelous rendition of Billy Beane, I cried) and Barry Bonds get in before you. Oh, and don't forget Shoeless Joe Jackson and Heinie Manush (never mind, inducted by Veterans Committee).

Thanks for listening Boch, I feel much better about our chances now..

FREE MADISON BUMGARNER!!!  ;)

P.S. - You're going to have to go to Bummer and hand him the ball. He's kind of goofy shy like that. He won't ask for / demand the ball like he should. Some macho, locker room mentality BS about not crapping all over a teammate. We don't have time for that shit right now, you dig? We're down 2-1, with the next two games being "must" win games for you guys. And this isn't like when people refer to a late-August game as a "must" win. This is a really, really, really "must" win scenario. See how the script flips on you in the post-season? You guys might have been distracted with designing Hall of Fame busts and junk, so I thought I would step in.

OK, now I really feel better.  Still your best-est fan. Don't listen to anything Mrs. TheSlav says. That "Mr. Negative" moniker has been a nickname she gave me that stuck many, many years ago, like when we first met. It has absolutely no relevance to today's memo.

Respectfully Submitted,

~;::::::;( )">  ¯\_( )_/¯

TheSlav and Associates

Joe Maddon Leaving Tampa Bay Rays | Bleacher Report

It will be different to watch the Rays and not see Maddon in the dugout, almost an iconic figure in the franchise's history. I hope he does not end up a Dodger since I like him too much, but it makes the most sense. This can't be good news for Mattingly.

from Bleacher Report:
Joe Maddon Leaving Tampa Bay Rays: Latest Details, Reaction and Analysis | Bleacher Report:

Although it remains to be seen if Maddon intends to go elsewhere, there is bound to be talk regarding the Los Angeles Dodgers due to the fact that former Rays vice president Andrew Friedman was recently hired by L.A. 

'via Blog this'

P.S. - The grapevine ( and Ken Rosenthal ) says that the Cubs are a leading contender for Maddon. They have a Moneyball guy here as the GM, check and a big  budget that Maddon wouldn't mind underwirting his contract and that of his players, check. Put me down as preferring Wrigley as Maddon's destination. Right in time for bushel basket full of Cubs premium prospects to come to fruition. Plus, the Cubs need some good PR for next season. Maddon has them looking like contenders in no time, he's very good with young players.

Developing an effective two-strike approach turns good hitters into great hitters

This blast from the past article from Kevin Graber includes great information regarding a hitters two-strike approach. In my mind, effective hitting with two-strikes is one way to separate the men from the boys when evaluating good hitters versus great hitters. Good hitters hit early in the count and hit pitchers mistakes. Great hitters extend counts, and do damage with pitchers pitches, sometime in counts that are leveraged in favor of the pitcher.

We saw that with the amazing statistics compiles by Tony Gwynn during his illustrious career and most pitchers can tell you quickly who the guys are that are tough to put away even with two strikes.

Tip of the Week: An Effective Two-Strike Approach Can Make You a Deadly Hitter

from amherst.edu

http://www3.amherst.edu/sports/current/mantle/0617_tipoftheweek.html

By Amherst Mickey Mantle Coach Kevin Graber 

June 17, 2005 

AMHERST, MA - I see it time and time again at every level of baseball, from our Mickey Mantle league all the way through the major leagues: Guys with absolutely no clue of how to hit with two strikes. Trust me on this one. With practice and a concrete gameplan, learning a two-strike approach can immediately transform you into a better and more dangerous hitter, no matter what type of hitter you are. Your batting average will increase, your strikeouts will decrease and you’ll drive in more runs and reach base more often than you ever thought possible. 

Why change your approach with two strikes? Let’s first examine the reason why so many hitters fail in two-strike situations. It’s the only time a hitter must guard against every pitch, every speed and every location in the pitcher’s arsenal, and there are no second chances. As opposed to fastball counts, like 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 2-0, 2-1, where you can really zone up a pitch and let the bat fly, in two-strike situations, concessions must be made. No matter what type of hitter you consider yourself to be (a power hitter, a gap hitter or a singles/slap hitter), you must do certain things mechanically to increase your chances of putting the ball in play with two strikes. Contact, not power, becomes your No. 1 priority. 

The first key to becoming a good two-strike hitter is to become as quick with the bat as possible, allowing the maximum amount of time to identify the type of pitch and where it’s headed. You become quicker by choking up on the bat, which increases bat control; moving slightly closer to the plate to take away the outside strike; spreading your feet in your stance to improve balance; and crouching slightly, to help identify and lay off the high pitch. 

Next, you employ an inside-out swing. This may be a new term for some of you. It’s commonly known as “staying inside the ball”, and it’s integral to hitting success. Simply put, the inside-out stroke enables the hitter to wait longer. In an inside-out swing, coupled with proper lower-body rotation, the barrel trails the hands through the hitting zone, enabling the batter to make contact deeper in his hitting zones, preferably smacking the ball back through the box or to the opposite field. In Ted Williams’ book, The Science of Hitting, Ted says he went from being a good hitter to a great hitter when he learned how to inside-out the fastball on the inside corner with two strikes. Is that a good enough endorsement? 

Next, you must learn to WAIT, WAIT and WAIT! When you employ a proper inside-out two-strike swing, you pick up more time. And with two strikes, you don’t have to be as conscious of the inside fastball. You can wait longer, which makes hitting the off-speed and breaking pitches much easier. Don’t lunge forward at the ball. Stay back, be rock solid in your stance, and let the ball come to you! Don’t go out and get it. Tony Gwynn always says, “Weight and wait,” which means keep your weight back and wait for the pitch to travel deeper in the hitting zone. 

 

Barry Bonds uses the proper technique to "inside-out" a two-strike pitch.

Again it’s worth noting that all styles should become contact/singles hitters with two strikes. The hitter has to “give in” to the pitcher by shortening his stroke and gaining valuable time. With two strikes, you can’t anticipate pitches or guess with the pitcher. You can’t afford to make a mistake. You have to concede to the pitcher and just put the ball in play. 

Now that you’ve choked up on the bat, spread your feet, moved closer to the plate, gotten into a slight crouch, are conscious of defending the outer half of the plate and have learned a proper two-strike inside-out swing, it’s time to tighten up your mental approach. First and foremost, you must be bound and determined that YOU WILL NOT GO DOWN LOOKING! If it’s even remotely close, you must wait on the pitch, let it travel in the zone and put the bat on the ball, preferably back through the box or to the opposite field. With two strikes, you must be more focused than at any other time in your life. Not striking out must become like life and death (well, maybe not like life and death, but you know what I mean). Striking out looking is one of the worst things you can do in baseball. 

Next, you must strategize against a pitcher who is adept at changing speeds. If he throws an 80 MPH fastball and a 70 MPH curveball and a 65 MPH changeup, think in terms of gearing up for the middle or slower velocity pitch. That way, you give yourself a chance to catch up to the fastball, yet you’re still able to stay back and wait on the off-speed stuff. 

To me, a hitter is only a good hitter if he can hit with two strikes. Becoming a good two-strike hitter, and then knowing a pitcher can’t strike you out, is a huge confidence boost. You’ll be more comfortable at the plate, and comfort leads to confidence. When we’re on defense, I call almost every pitch and location, and I know that the fastball sets up every other pitch. Knowing that you don’t have to worry about the fastball, because you can now catch up to it even if you’re not looking for it, means you’ll rarely be fooled by off-speed stuff with two strikes. Just sit back, let the ball travel deep in the zone, and inside-out the ball right back at the pitcher or to the opposite field. 

Lastly, please take this one last bit of advice. As a professional hitter, I eventually became so adept at two-strike hitting that I began to use the technique ALL THE TIME, even in fastball counts such as 3-1 and 2-0. Don’t fall into this trap like I did. There’s a time to rip a 3-1 fastball into the seats (or the weeds, in our case), and there’s a time, with two strikes, to concede to the pitcher. Be sure you know the difference. 

As an aside, let me say that not a season went by that a teammate didn’t ask me why I was so good at hitting with two strikes and why I seldom struck out, and it was always a source of pride. I hope that you’re able to achieve this same level of satisfaction soon. 

To follow is just a short snippet of what the great Ted Williams has to say about two-strike hitting in his incredible book, The Science of Hitting. 

“You have to think in terms of making everything quicker. How do you do that? You choke up a little bit. You quit trying to pull. You think more about that push swing, that 90-degree impact from the direction of the pitch. You think about hitting the ball back through the box. Joe DiMaggio, Joe Cronin, George Kell, Lou Boudreau, Harvey Kuenn - they could do it. Rod Carew, George Brett, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly and Pete Rose are probably the most flexible hitters around today. When you’ve shortened up and quickened up, you can wait longer, you get fooled less, you become more consistent getting wood on the ball. Psychologically, becoming a good two-strike hitter inspires confidence. A batter knows he can still hit with authority.”

 

Again, Bonds' two-strike inside-out swing, this time from an aerial view

---

from SBNation.com:

The Essence of Velocity: The pitching theory that could revolutionize baseball, if only the sport would embrace it

				The Essence of Velocity: The pitching theory that could ... The pitching theory that could revolutionize baseball, if only the sport would embrace it.
				View on www.sbnation.com	Preview by Yahoo

Years later, he proved his point by studying the closest thing to Superman that the sport has ever seen: Barry Bonds at his peak. When Husband dug into Inside Edge's numbers, he was astounded by what he saw.

"In 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2 counts, Bonds hit .125 against pitches on the inner half of the plate," he said, "just like every other human."

Working from his Zero Line — the invisible stripe from the batter's shoe tops to shoulder level in the opposite batter's box — Husband was able to identify precisely how Bonds struggled when pitches were located in areas in which they picked up effective (and unexpected) speed, and instead of timing them he was forced to react.

This does not mean that Bonds' reactionary skills were anything less than sublime. In fact, his ability to handle an 8-mph spread — to make good contact on balls that came in either 8-mph faster or slower than anticipated — may have been the best in baseball.

But he was still no match for the 20-mph swings of even adequate pitchers who had some idea about what it was they were doing out there on the mound. Somehow, the best minds in baseball had never figured this out.

'via Blog this'

Puig once again the clown

Maybe Mattingly ought to look at the tape of Brandon Crawford's HR. No bat flip and I'll bet it took Puig (which must be Cuban for Pig) twice as long to trot his fat ass around the bases. That's what the issue was. Maholm is right, this idiot flips the bat on outs. What he fails to account for is the time around the bases.

from Giants Extra:
POSTGAME NOTES: “I was just congratulating him. It was a really good hit.” – Giants Extra:

“I was just congratulating him,” he said with a straight face. “That was a really good swing. I don’t know why everybody got so mad. That was pretty impressive. I don’t know what happened.” There was a hint of a smile, but Bumgarner held back. 

A couple hundred yards away, the Dodgers, on the losing end of a close game for the second straight night, seemed not to be in a joking mood. Don Mattingly said he thought home plate umpire Will Little should have done something. 

 “It always surprises me when guys react to things when their team does the same type of stuff,” Mattingly told local reporters. “It’s always amazing to me.” Paul Maholm, tonight’s other starter, seemed to shrug it all off. “He bat flips when he gets out,” Maholm said of Puig. “I don’t think he was technically pimping it.”

'via Blog this'

Mattingly and some of the Dodger veterans tried to get this ass-wipe to play the game right, now they've clearly given up the fight and joined the chorus of "Oh, what's the harm? He's just having fun playing a kids game" meme.  See the NBA and the NFL -- both inherently kids games, also played by men -- where any measure of sportsmanship or respect for your opponent is a horse that long since left the barn.

Fortunately, MLB and the NFL remain self-policing and Mattingly knows this. So when his guys starts wearing fastballs, he can start blaming the umpires, as he is now shamelessly beginning to do, to step in and clean up the mess of his own failure to police his own ballplayer.

Beltran was right, and now Bumgarner is right. What is that these guys know, that Mattingly can't admit, cause he chooses to take the cowards way out in dealing with his player? It's a growing list of players and organizations that don't seem to understand poor little Miss Puig?

You're own guy doesn't respect you Donnie Baseball. WEAR THAT!!! And this is coming from someone who USED to respect you and what you stood for -- you USED to BE somebody who played the game right. Now, because you have one guy who can't fit in -- but maybe can win a game or two for you -- your values as a player are flushed down the toilet? Talk about being a pimp? Oh no, wait a minute, that's the definition of being a whore. My bad.

What happened to the example these guys are setting for the kids? Is it now OK for kids to disrespect and show up an opponent willy-nilly? I guess the ultimate PED argument goes down the toilet as well for these panty-waists in the media who never played the game.  Let the kids learn it's OK to be a clown-ass as a teammate, disrespect your opponents, as long as your having fun and making people laugh. Like a clown would. A hundred years of playing the game right flushed down the drain because one guy, who barley speaks the language, never mind understand the culture can't / or won't get acclimated. Yeah, where do I sign up for that logic?

Giants mistakenly bat out of order against Dodgers - Yahoo! Sports

Does any team in baseball need the All-Star break more than the Giants? Now we're making Little League mistakes? Although Posey batting twice and somebody else missing a turn AB is a strategy the Giants may not want to dismiss so lightly. Perhaps cloning is an option.

from Yahoo Sports:
Giants mistakenly bat out of order against Dodgers - Yahoo! Sports:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The San Francisco Giants were caught batting out of order against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, wiping away Buster Posey's RBI double in the first inning.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy submitted a lineup card that had Posey batting fourth. So after Posey hit third in Pablo Sandoval's spot to give the Giants a 1-0 lead, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly called out the mistake to umpires.

'via Blog this'


UPDATE:

Apparently it has happened nine times previously in the bigs since 2000. So we are not alone. Here's a trip down memory lane.

from retrosheet.org:
http://retrosheet.org/outturn.htm

8/14/2002 - The Tigers were batting in the top of the second inning in their first time through the order of their game in Anaheim. They started with the fifth player in the lineup, Carlos Pena, who doubled. After that both Wendell Magee and Shane Halter made outs. The next scheduled hitter (eighth in the lineup) was Brandon Inge but Chris Truby (ninth) came to the plate. Truby struck out to end the inning so The Angels said nothing. The Tigers then started the next inning in the proper place with the top of the order and Inge hit in the proper place for the rest of the game. The Tigers lost the game, 5-4.

8/16/2003 - The Yankees were playing at Camden Yards in Baltimore. In the bottom of the first inning, the Orioles had runners on second and third with one out. It was Jay Gibbons turn to bat but Tony Batista came to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly. Gibbons then grounded out to end the inning. Since the Yankees said nothing about the batting out of turn, the second inning should have started with Batista hitting again. However, Brook Fordyce popped out to start the inning. The Orioles batted correctly for the rest of the game. With that run in the first, the teams ended the ninth inning tied and the Yankees won in 12 innings, 5-4.

9/5/2003 - The Brewers' Bill Hall started to bat out of order in the bottom of the second inning against the Cubs but did not complete the plate appearance.  Hall was listed eighth in the batting order but came to the plate in the seventh spot the first time through the order. He took the first pitch for a ball before the mistake was rectified. Keith Osik took his proper place at the plate, and despite being spotted ball one, struck out on five more pitches.  Hall then popped out to end the inning. The Cubs won, 4-2.

4/16/2004 - In the top of the seventh inning, Cubs manager Dusty Baker intended to place two new players in the lineup with a double switch but failed to tell Umpire C.B. Bucknor. When the Cubs batted in the bottom of the inning, shortstop Ramon Martinez came to the plate in the ninth spot in the order and doubled. The Reds protested that the Cubs were batting out of order. Pitcher Kent Mercker, the proper batter, was called out. Baker argued with the umpires but was told that the call stood. Yelling & screaming, he tossed his lineup card on the ground and was ejected by Bucknor. Baker threw his hat, walked away and returned; he tossed his hat again, stomped to the dugout and kicked some items in the on deck circle before finally leaving the field. The Cubs won in the bottom of the ninth, 11-10, when Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou hit back-to-back homers to end the game. When Baker arrived home that day, his son called him "Mad Dog."

7/1/2005 - Kansas City manager Buddy Bell delivered a different lineup to the umpires than was posted in the dugout. In the bottom of the first inning, David DeJesus led off with a single. Angels manager Mike Scioscia then spoke with plate arbiter Jerry Crawford about the batting order. Since Angel Berroa was listed as hitting first on the official lineup card, he was called out and DeJesus was told to bat again. This time he hit a fly ball to centerfield for the second out.

9/1/2007 - Toronto had two different lineups, one posted in the clubhouse and one handed to the umpires. The latter, which is the one that counts, showed Aaron Hill batting sixth, Lyle Overbay batting seventh, Gregg Zaun eighth and John McDonald ninth. Overbay batted in Hill's spot in the second inning and made an out. Then Hill doubled but the Mariners pointed out the mistake. Here is where is got interesting. The umpires huddled and then called Hill out for batting out of order. Then Zaun was allowed to bat. The correct call would be that the proper batter (Zaun) should have been declared out and then the hitter after him (McDonald) would be the next batter. Thus, in this case, Hill should have been skipped entirely. The concept of skipping someone in the lineup is difficult for people to grasp but is the correct sequence here.

5/11/2008 - In the top of the ninth, after a double switch, the Reds batted out of order when David Ross hit in Corey Patterson's spot. Ross flew out to right and then Mets Manager Willie Randolph told the umpires about the issue. Patterson was called out instead of Ross and Ross batted again and singled. Randolph should have taken the out and kept quiet.

5/20/2009 - The Brewers were playing in Houston. In the bottom of the first inning, Michael Bourn batted first and singled to right. Brewers manager Ken Macha came out to talk with HP umpire Eric Cooper and pointed out that Kazuo Matsui was listed first on the lineup card. Matsui was called out and it was Bourn's turn to hit. This time, Bourn walked and scored when Lance Berkman doubled. The Astros won despite the flub, 6-4.

6/19/2010 – The Rays were playing the Marlins in an Inter-League contest in South Florida. To start the top of the ninth, the Marlins made three defensive changes. In the bottom of the frame, Brian Barden came to the plate to start the inning and walked on a 3-2 count. Rays manager Joe Madden talked with HP umpire Lance Barksdale about the Marlins hitting out of order. Because Barden batted out of turn Barksdale made him leave first base and the proper batter, Wes Helms, was called out with an automatic putout to the catcher. Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez came out and argued for a long time with Barksdale, who ejected Gonzalez. There was a long discussion between Gonzalez, Barksdale and crew chief Tom Hallion. After the game, Gonzalez insisted that Barksdale did not correctly write down what Gonzalez said were the batting positions for the substitutes.

7/6/2013 – There was confusion concerning the Giants batting order in a game against the Dodgers. In the bottom of the first inning, the Giants had a runner on 3B and one out when Buster Posey hit an RBI-double to the RF corner. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly spoke to HP umpire Tony Randazzo, saying that Posey was listed fourth and Pedro Sandoval should have been the batter. Sandoval was ruled out and Posey came back to HP to bat in his proper spot, making the third out of the inning and wiping a run off the board for the Giants.

Giants now back to even from the Cuzzi call

Giants manager Bruce Bochy gains back the game "lost" to the bad call by Phil Cuzzi in the Mets series and does it at the expense of the hated Dodgers. That's why it doesn't pay to get too geeked up over a bad call here and there, they tend to even out. This one evened out quicker than I expected though. Good spot by Bochy.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-giants-20100721,0,1312974.story

The Dodgers had a 5-4 lead in the ninth when they brought in Broxton, but the Giants loaded the bases. Then hitting coach Don Mattingly, managing on behalf of the ejected Torre, went to the mound for a strategy talk.

As he was stepping off the mound, first baseman James Loney apparently asked him a question, and Mattingly stepped back on the mound. Inadvertently, Mattingly had technically made two visits to the mound in the same inning and that meant Broxton had to leave the game.

Reliever George Sherrill, who has struggled all season, then came in and promptly gave up a double to Andres Torres, giving the Giants a 6-5 lead, and another hit by Buster Posey off Travis Schlichting drove in another San Francisco run.

Torre said Mattingly "just thought he was still on the mound" when he inadvertently stepped off and then back on the mound, forcing Broxton's removal from the game.

UPDATE: THE HITS JUST KEEP COMING FOR MLB UMPIRES THIS SEASON

Sources: Umpires erred in Dodgers' loss

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=5399491

OBR RULE 8.06

A professional league shall adopt the following rule pertaining to the visit of the manager or coach to the pitcher:

(a) This rule limits the number of trips a manager or coach may make to any one pitcher in any one inning;

(b) A second trip to the same pitcher in the same inning will cause this pitcher's automatic removal;

(c) The manager or coach is prohibited from making a second visit to the mound while the same batter is at bat, but

(d) if a pinch-hitter is substituted for this batter, the manager or coach may make a second visit to the mound, but must remove the pitcher.

A manager or coach is considered to have concluded his visit to the mound when he leaves the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher's rubber.

Rule 8.06 Comment: If the manager or coach goes to the catcher or infielder and that player then goes to the mound or the pitcher comes to him at his position before there is an intervening play (a pitch or other play) that will be the same as the manager or coach going to the mound.

Any attempt to evade or circumvent this rule by the manager or coach going to the catcher or an infielder and then that player going to the mound to confer with the pitcher shall constitute a trip to the mound.

If the coach goes to the mound and removes a pitcher and then the manager goes to the mound to talk with the new pitcher, that will constitute one trip to that new pitcher that inning.

In a case where a manager has made his first trip to the mound and then returns the second time to the mound in the same inning with the same pitcher in the game and the same batter at bat, after being warned by the umpire that he cannot return to the mound, the manager shall be removed from the game and the pitcher required to pitch to the batter until he is retired or gets on base. After the batter is retired, or becomes a base runner, then this pitcher must be removed from the game. The manager should be notified that his pitcher will be removed from the game after he pitches to one hitter, so he can have a substitute pitcher warmed up.

The substitute pitcher will be allowed eight preparatory pitches or more if in the umpire's judgment circumstances justify.

Why didn't Barack Obama get voted into the Hall of Fame?

WHY DID THIS GUY NOT GET VOTED IN TO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME???

Because clearly Barack Obama has done enough in his short time in office, after inheriting the mess he inherited, to merit election to the Hall of Fame.

Obviously the people who vote for the Nobel Peace Prize are smarter than the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) voting members. That may not be a tough hurdle to overcome since the BBWAA are clearly not smarter than a fifth-grader.

OK, the results are in. Congratulations to "The Hawk", Andre Dawson. Now let's get to the fun part, bashing the BBWAA for who DID NOT get in, rather than have a celebration over who DID get in.

And isn't this what's wrong with the Baseball Hall of Saints....er, Hall of Fame?

The Football Hall of Fame seems to be able to induct 8-10-12 guys each year and their induction ceremony turn into an annual celebration of the game and it's participants.

Baseball's voting and induction ceremony turns into a Red State-Blue State, political bitch-fest over who did not get in and why they got shafted. It detracts from the poor guys who will get in this year--Dawson, Whitey Herzog, Doug Harvey. We will spend as much or more time bitching about how Blyleven got shafted again, or how come they didn't first ballot Barry Larkin or Tim Raines, or why a designated hitter like Edgard Martinez didn't get in, or the morality play inherent in Mark McGwire's numbers. And don't even get me started on Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson or Don Mattingly and Thurman Munson for that matter. Do you see what I mean?

The closest football gets to that is the Art Monk debate.

And basketball is even better. They induct from the pros, college ball, women's basketball, referees, owners, everybody gets in. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the Basketball HOF constructs a new wing for the greatest mascots and cheerleaders to gain induction. Hold on, I might be on to something.....a cheerleader's HOF? Hmmmmm.



Oh, darn it. I see there is a Cheerleader's Hall of Fame, but I understand they do not have a permanent home. Now there is a cause I could see a lot of folks lining up to get behind, finding a permanent home for homeless cheerleaders.

Who's going to the Hall of Fame?

The Hall of Fame comes calling today. I do not have a vote, but if I did here is what it would look like.

2010 candidates
• Roberto Alomar - Yes
• Harold Baines - Yes
• Bert Blyleven - Yes, should have been in long ago.
• Andre Dawson - Yes
• Andres Galarraga - No
• Barry Larkin - Yes
• Edgar Martinez - Yes
• Don Mattingly - Yes
• Fred McGriff - Not yet, but he will be.
• Mark McGwire - Yes
• Jack Morris - No, might get in eventually
• Dale Murphy - No, borderline
• Dave Parker - No
• Tim Raines - Not yet, he will be eventually.
• Lee Smith - No
• Alan Trammell - No

Write in - Pete Rose, Joe Jackson.

Then I would lose my BBWAA card.