Baseball Journal MLB Rewind 11-5-12

5-18-12

Much like an opera: loud, pained, silly, dramatic, and everybody dies in the third act. A typical Wrigley Field game, especially when it's between the White Sox and the Cubs.

The real story was Kerry Wood taking his last trip to the mound. He'd announced his retirement before the game. Wood finished his career the way he started it, with a strikeout. After facing one batter, he was removed from the game to a standing ovation. His little son rant out of the dugout to a hug. The WGN coverage actually blew off a commercial to show Wood tipping his cap to the crowd and then returning for a curtain call. Brenly momentarily excused himself from the broadcast as he got as choked up as anyone else. There was some real mutual love between Kerry Wood and Cubs fans. Wonderful to see. His 20-strikeout game lives not just in the record books, but in the fans' hearts.

There was no love lost between Pierzynski of White Sox and Cubs fans as the camera caught him jawing with the fans behind home plate. Hatred was also in the air politically. Pre-game commentators could only shake their heads at the Rickett's family, owners of the Cubs. They apparently declined to support Obama. Rahm Emmanuel, hizzhonor of Chicago and formerly part of the Obama administration, decided the city will be of no help in refurbishing the stadium (the number one tourist attraction in town, I might add). "You people just don't know how things get done here."

5-19-12

Rangers vs. Astros. David Murphy legging out an inside-the-park homerun? David Murphy! He even pulled up a bit after rounding first. One expects some weirdness in Minute Maid Park with that ridiculous hill and flagpole in the outfield, but ball never even got up the hill. The two outfielders did collide, but the ball never got away from them and got thrown back into the infield fairly quickly. Maybe it was an optical illusion, like that train on the outfield wall. That can't really be there?

5-20-12

Great showing by the Cubs today versus the White Sox. At this rate, they'd be better off playing nine guys from the stands in Sandberg jerseys.

5-22-12

What a treat! I got to listen to a full baseball game here in the morning. I wasn't even sure if the El Paso Diablos (Independent League team) were even still on the radio. I liked the play-by-play guy. He kept mentioning the temperature in relation to the time. It was something like in the 80's, but with high enough humidity that the misery a palatable. It was also Kid's Day, explaining the early start. This is an awesome tradition, where school kids get the morning off to see a ballgame. They are a loud raucous crowd, as it should be.

I was watching the Reds versus the Braves game last evening. I saw the back-to-back homeruns by the Reds and did notice that they dropped in about the same place. What I and the ESPN announcers at time didn't notice was that it was the same guy catching both of them!

The upsetting thing is that I might not have even known about this story (that I actually witnessed happening), if tonight, I hadn't caught the MLB Network broadcasting a Reds game too. Thom Brenamen and Reds broadcast crew noticed who'd caught the balls and sent their roving park reporter to interview young Mr. Caleb Lloyd. Thom was so impressed with him, that they brought him up to the booth to talk to him.

Caleb ended up giving away both balls. The second one he handed to the friend who'd given him the ticket to the game. The first one was the first major league homerun by pitcher, Mike Leake, and gave it back to him after the game.

Presumably, the team had sent an usher to find the ball and found Caleb there with a couple of home run balls. The kid did the rounds on the morning talk shows today and was invited back to the ballpark to hand in the lineup card with Dusty Baker. While there at homeplate, even the ump chatted with him in obvious approval.