KILL THE UMP!
Baseball continually gives life lessons.
On Wednesday with two outs in the bottom of the 9th Delmon Young of the Twins hit a sinking liner into right that was caught by Greg Golson for the last out. Except it was called a trap. The Yankees were in disbelief and Joe Girardi came out to have it explained. The umps got together to discuss and they still missed the call. Mariano took a deep breath and executed the next pitch, getting Thome to pop up and end the game.
I saw my 10-year old son, Sam, who hasn't missed a pitch when I got in the door on Thursday.
"Did you see that horrible call the ump made?" Sam asked.
"Mariano got 'em," I said.
Cut to Thursday afternoon, Michael Young took a check swing at a two strike pitch. The ump ruled that he didn't swing, giving him another pitch, which Young hit out of the park. Tampa fans went crazy, wanting to kill the ump.
The difference in the two situations? The pitcher for Tampa did not respond well to the adverse situation. He allowed his focus to be distracted by what he felt was an injustice. Things didn't go his way and he responded poorly.
Lucky thing I was able to continue the lesson, with Sam at my side in the night game.
Lance Berkman of the Yanks came to bat with runners on in a tie game. The first pitch was a foot outside: "Strike one," the ump cried.
"That is not a strike!" Sam yelled beside me.
"He's been calling it all game," I said. "He's giving them the outside corner."
With two strikes on Berkman the sloth of the pitcher from the Twins (bad blood from his idle time with Yanks) just missed on the inside corner. Okay, it could have easily been called strike three.
"He can't have the outside and the inside corners!" Sam yelled to the fans who were booing the ump.
Exactly right - my boy knows baseball!
Now a couple of things could have happened here. Sloth Pavano could have put a pitch on the outside corner for strike three. He could have bounced one in the dirt that fooled Berkman. No, instead, he made a pitch that Berkman lined into center for a double.
The place went crazy. The announcers began explaining that the Twins were screwed. ESPN and other outlets will no doubt join in the bashing of the umps and scream for the call for replay.
I don't want replay. I don't want the game of baseball ruined by guys going under a hood to kill the rhythm of the game that I love.
Make the next pitch!
Scream 'Kill the Ump!'
Do what you have to do, but remember, we will all make mistakes somewhere along the way and most of the time, in life, the call will seem to go against us.
Our response to it is what really matters.
Earlier in the year Galarraga from the Tigers threw a perfect game. A bad call ripped it from him.
"I did throw a perfect game," he said. "I know it and I know life isn't perfect, and that's the way it'll be."
Perfect response.
On Wednesday with two outs in the bottom of the 9th Delmon Young of the Twins hit a sinking liner into right that was caught by Greg Golson for the last out. Except it was called a trap. The Yankees were in disbelief and Joe Girardi came out to have it explained. The umps got together to discuss and they still missed the call. Mariano took a deep breath and executed the next pitch, getting Thome to pop up and end the game.
I saw my 10-year old son, Sam, who hasn't missed a pitch when I got in the door on Thursday.
"Did you see that horrible call the ump made?" Sam asked.
"Mariano got 'em," I said.
Cut to Thursday afternoon, Michael Young took a check swing at a two strike pitch. The ump ruled that he didn't swing, giving him another pitch, which Young hit out of the park. Tampa fans went crazy, wanting to kill the ump.
The difference in the two situations? The pitcher for Tampa did not respond well to the adverse situation. He allowed his focus to be distracted by what he felt was an injustice. Things didn't go his way and he responded poorly.
Lucky thing I was able to continue the lesson, with Sam at my side in the night game.
Lance Berkman of the Yanks came to bat with runners on in a tie game. The first pitch was a foot outside: "Strike one," the ump cried.
"That is not a strike!" Sam yelled beside me.
"He's been calling it all game," I said. "He's giving them the outside corner."
With two strikes on Berkman the sloth of the pitcher from the Twins (bad blood from his idle time with Yanks) just missed on the inside corner. Okay, it could have easily been called strike three.
"He can't have the outside and the inside corners!" Sam yelled to the fans who were booing the ump.
Exactly right - my boy knows baseball!
Now a couple of things could have happened here. Sloth Pavano could have put a pitch on the outside corner for strike three. He could have bounced one in the dirt that fooled Berkman. No, instead, he made a pitch that Berkman lined into center for a double.
The place went crazy. The announcers began explaining that the Twins were screwed. ESPN and other outlets will no doubt join in the bashing of the umps and scream for the call for replay.
I don't want replay. I don't want the game of baseball ruined by guys going under a hood to kill the rhythm of the game that I love.
Make the next pitch!
Scream 'Kill the Ump!'
Do what you have to do, but remember, we will all make mistakes somewhere along the way and most of the time, in life, the call will seem to go against us.
Our response to it is what really matters.
Earlier in the year Galarraga from the Tigers threw a perfect game. A bad call ripped it from him.
"I did throw a perfect game," he said. "I know it and I know life isn't perfect, and that's the way it'll be."
Perfect response.
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