Category: MLB General

wtf, ump?

(Oh, I know the Bill Leavy jokes will get tired soon enough but I’m using it for all bad reffing until the start of the NFL season.)

Well, folks, remember when we called the WBC a joke? Now, I’m sure the Japanese think so too. A tag up play turned from a run scored for the Japanese team to a controversial inning ending double play when the home plate umpire ruled the man at third left early. Replays show he didn’t leave early. So instead of being up one run, the game was still tied and then in the bottom of the ninth, A-Rod comes through in the clutch and gets the game winning RBI single.

The Japanese team was less than pleased. Why would the home plate umpire overrule the third base ump who was right there? Makes no sense to me.

Let’s see, 22 of the 32 umpires working the WBC are American. Most of em are second rate minor league umps. Are they biased or just incompetent?

[Fox Sports]: WBC could face major ump controversy

Woo hooo!

Well baseball junkies, today is the day you’ve been waiting for. It might still be snowing in your neck of the woods but down in Florida, pitchers and catchers report today. I think it’s God’s little joke that the people most excited about spring training are fans of teams destined for another year of disappointment.

A Cub Fan Rants

THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS IN CUBS CAMP

[Cubs] Spring Training Questions

[Phillies] Camp starts now

[Phillies] Did you see it?

[Tigers] Four warming words

Figure it out!

Remember when athletes used to retire with dignity? They’d realize their skills had deteriorated and hold a tearful press conference to announce they were done. I could do without the waterworks but damn do I miss those days. Now, athletes threaten to retire. They don’t come out and do it of course, they find one of their cronies to “leak” the story to some idiot sportswriter and the next thing you know, the fans who are living 10 years in the past get all panicky. Please.

Yesterday, it was Sammy Sosa, begging for a spot on a team by saying he wouldn’t beg for a spot on a team. Today comes news from his agent that Roger Clemens is leaning towards retirement. Is he just trying to hold up the Red Sox and the Rangers for more cash? (By the way, how desperate are the Red Sox. They made a DVD that included Boston fans pleading for the Rocket to go back there. Have some pride, man.) Or maybe he just needs the spotlight for a couple more months.

Of course, no day can go by without retirement talk about John Madden’s personal Jesus Brett Favre. According to his agent, a couple of days ago, Brett said, “If you ask me today, I’d say I’m leaning toward retirement.” I don’t care if Favre leans towards being a a gay cowboy, just make up your damn mind or shut up. Actually, anyone who isn’t firmly planted on Favre’s ass knows that he should have retired 2 years ago after throwing a duck to Brian Dawkins in the playoffs.

[Railbird Central]: Brett Favre’s agent James “Bus” Cook confirms retirement thoughts
[MSNBC]: Agent says Clemens most likely will retire

It seems like Sosa is taking a page out of the Brett Favre retirement book.  It’s like they’re both at the end of the line but want us (or perhaps just sycophant sportswriters) to say “Oh no, please don’t!”  

A source “close to Sammy Sosa” (whatever that means, maybe he was just standing in the same elevator as Sammy) told ESPNdeportes that “Sammy doesn’t think of himself as someone who has to beg for a spot on a big league roster.”  I don’t see a lot of teams a calling, Sammy.  In a league where they’ll pay millions of dollars just to bat five times a game, getting offered a $500,000 non-guaranteed contract is a slap in the face.  

We agree with this guy.  Sosa only is going to hurt his credentials and actually stands to make more money retiring now.

[ESPN]:
Sosa would rather retire than ‘beg for a spot’

I understand Selig is trying to take a page out of David Stern’s international revenue book but this thing is turning into a disaster. The WBC today announced rules for the tournament that only served to make it more laughable in the minds of American baseball fans. The pitch count rule is designed for one reason only and that is to make sure that the cash cow of MLB will not be compromised by WBC play.

As set forth by World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI), pitchers will be limited to 65 pitches in Round One games, and be ineligible to pitch for four days following any outing of 50-plus pitches. Pitchers will have to lay off one day after throwing 30-plus pitches, obviously meant as a safeguard for long relievers. And, to prevent closers from being over-used, pitchers won’t be allowed to work more than two consecutive days.

The WBC also acknowledged the huge disparity in talent between teams with their mercy rule, which stops the game if a team is up by 15 runs after 5 innings or 10 runs after 7 innings. I guess when you have to round out the tournament participants with teams from Italy and the Netherlands, you don’t want anyone to be embarassed. Like the mercy rule isn’t embarassing enough. By the way, check out the shameless propaganda on the last link below.

[Talking Baseball]: WBC now resembles Little League

[MLB.com]: WBC announces rules for event
[MLB.com]: Reasons aplenty to buy WBC tickets

Castro today confirmed that Cuba will be at the WBC in Puerto Rico pending the necessary travel visas.

Cuba will play well, even though they have stolen many of our good players. I won’t say we are the best. We have proven it, we have beaten them,” Castro said. (Cuba won gold medals at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004.) “They have taken away a lot of the best pitchers offering them millions of dollars

The millions of dollars are helpful but maybe the players defected to get out of your crazy communist country with human rights violations and poverty. Sorry, didn’t mean to get all Bono on you guys.

[MLB.com]: Castro: Cuba will play in WBC

The daughter of Jackie Robinson thinks Major League Baseball should not retire Roberto Clemente’s No. 21, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. The Hispanics Across America advocacy group wants Clemente’s number set aside the way the late Robinson’s No. 42 was nine years ago for being the first black player in the major leagues. But Sharon Robinson said that honor should remain for her father only.

“To my understanding, the purpose of retiring my father’s number is that what he did changed all of baseball, not only for African-Americans but also for Latinos, so I think that purpose has been met,” she said.

What exactly has she ever done for baseball? What does it matter if MLB retires Clemente’s number? What has Roberto Clemente ever done to her? Retiring Clemente’s number has absolutely no bearing on the legacy of Jackie Robinson. You won’t see any ESPN Classic specials on how Clemente changed race relations in the United States. I’m not saying either way whether Clemente’s number should be retired but Sharon Robinson should shut her trap.

[Star Telegram]: Jackie Robinson’s daughter says Clemente’s 21 shouldn’t be retired

Mickey worth $250k

In Boston, a reclusive old guy died and left a collection of baseball, football, and hockey (?) cards estimated to be worth up to $1 Million. Included in the collection are such legends as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. If only the old guy had the Honus Wagner card. The last Wagner card sold at auction fetched $1.1M on eBay.

[SI]: Classic baseball cards found in dead man’s home

Yeah, that’s a Back to the Future quote that you wouldn’t get cause you don’t get shit in Cuba, you bitch! (America FUCK YEAH!)

OK…calm now.

The U.S. Treasury department keeps denying MLB’s application for Cuba to play on U.S. soil because of politics. Well, Castro came out and accused us of being scared: “Not even in baseball do they want to compete with Cuba.” If I wasn’t so busy enjoying my freedom, I’d petition the Treasury to let Cuba play so we can prove we’re the best. Actually, this might just be a big scam by the US to get anyone to care about the World Baseball Classic. This, and A-Rod being bi. Country eligibility that is.

[Sportsfilter MSN]: US = Scaredy Pants?
[FoxSports]: Castro hints U.S. doesn’t want to play Cuba

Flax seed oil works!

I’m not sure if it’s because we’re in the middle of the NFL playoffs but there is absolutely no buzz around the World Baseball Classic.  Today, the United States unveiled a lineup that included Bonds, Damon, Jeter, Clemens, blah blah blah, and it registered exactly 0 on my things I’ll have to remember to watch meter.  It’s not just me.  A check of Technorati search shows that “World Baseball Classic” registered about 50 mentions yesterday, whereas “steroids” got about 200.  And no, I’m not just using steroids as an example because Barry Bonds is on the team.

[Reuters]: US unveils all-star roster for World Classic
[Hippopotamus]: Wow, someone is actually interested in the WBC