Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo can’t catch fastballs, and as a result, umpire John Hirschbeck got drilled in the hand. Hand. I repeat– in his hand.
via (@corkgaines)
Mr. Ocho is not happy with you, Blue. You are, ostensibly, not his boy.
After being just one victim of D.J. Reyburn’s penis tip-sized strike zone last night, Jonathan Papelbon had a few suggestions for what Major League Baseball should do with the triple-A call-up umpire. He thinks Reyburn should be fired or demoted.
"I said you know you messed that call up. And then I guess he was motioning for Charlie. [I said] I just want to ask you a question. I just want to ask you a question. And then the other umpire came over, he said what are you doing or whatever. I said I want to ask him a question. He wouldn’t let me even ask him a question. I wanted to know if he could throw me out for what I was thinking. I thought he was terrible. All day. It was not just that pitch, all day. I wanted to know if he could throw me out for what I was thinking. And if he could… I thought he sucked. I mean, it’s that simple.
He’s a triple-A guy.
Doesn’t surprise me. Doesn’t surprise me. Probably needs to go back to triple-A. That’s not a knock on him, that’s not a knock on the umpires. You’re up in the Big Leagues for a reason– to do a good job. And when you don’t do a good job, you should be demoted or fired. It’s just like anybody’s job. It’s just like like ya’lls job, it’s just like my job. If I don’t do my job, I go down to triple-A. You know? There’s just no room for that up here. Like I said, it’s not a knock on the umpires. It’s the intergrity of the game. You know? You want to be able to go out there and play the game the way it should be played. That’s it."
Ocho Cinco, or Papelbon (whichever one was talking there), should expect a fine from an enraged Bud Selig shortly.
Papelbon isn’t wrong, however. Reyburn’s strike zone was minuscule all night, something you could even tell from where I was seated in section 306.
The part that stands out to me, though, isn’t the fired and demoted portion of Papelbon’s comments– it’s the mind-fuck he was supposedly working when he approached Reyburn. I wanted to know if he could throw me out for what I was thinking. That’s some progressive shit right there. It’s like a guy talking to a girl in a bar, pretending to listen, but really wondering if she knows that he’s playing a game of mental Pictionary trying to figure out the color of her panties. We’ve never seen that tactic employed with an umpire, and we applaud Papelbon for it.
Somewhere, Yoda nods in approval. Right, you are, Cinco.
UPDATE: As one person pointed out in the comments, the late Jim Valvano used a similar tactic to get T'd up when he was a coach. Quote #5.
Video of Papelbon's comments after the jump.
Sports Betting Updates
I'm telling you… you're going to hate this kid. Bryce Harper was kicked out of a game last night for his reaction this called strike three.
Here's a reminder that he's only 18 and already has inflated balls. Just wait until he makes the Majors…
via Deadspin
H/T to Dylan, Mike, and Jack for sending
You be the judge.
So many things wrong here, that all stem from this moment. First, Bourn appears to be outside the baseline. MLB rule 7.08 says: [The700Level.com]
Any runner is out when –
(a) (1) He runs more than three feet away from his baseline to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner’s baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely
Therefore, Bourn had three feet to work with, at the point of the tag, from his original established path to the base. In this case, that was just outside the foul line (left). Was he within three feet? Too close to call. Charlie Manuel was ejected for arguing this very point, when umpire Greg Gibson wouldn't grant an appeal. More on that in a second.
That argument may have all been for naught. Look at the picture- Howard tug Bourn. He appears to get his pant leg in the picture. He said as much:
Gibson may have blown BOTH parts of this call. Amazing. I guess they can't all go your way.
As if that wasn't enough, ejecting Manuel caused acting manager Pete Mackanin to make an odd choice in the bottom of the 9th. With Ruiz on first and no outs, he brought in Ben Francisco to pinch run. Then had Valdez attempt a bunt and brought Polanco in to pinch hit for Lidge. Why not bring Polanco in to hit for Valdez? I don't care what you say about him (any player getting that many at-bats will have some moments), Valdez has come up small all season long. Polanco has maybe the best bat control in all of baseball. He could have come in and played third in Valdez's spot, and then Sweeney could have hit for Lidge. Much better odds.
Perhaps the only positive takeaway from the game was Charlie's quote on why he was kicked out:
"I told him, that I didn't come out there to threaten his life. That's what they accused me of before one time."
That was his objection to being ejected. Awesome.
