June 12 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD
MASN
Like every major league game I've seen either in person or on television, there were several people in the stands with gloves.
Hang on, let me just revise that a bit: there were several GROWN ADULTS in the stands with gloves.
This topic has been discussed thousands of times, but I feel like there haven't been enough solutions, until now.
I'd like to propose a glove bonfire be placed at the gates of every major league stadium. Call it the only phase of my Too Old For A Glove At The Park plan. If you bring a glove to the game, you simply have to provide identification with your ticket. And let's go ahead and set the age limit at 12-years old.
[Ticket taker] "Welcome to (stadium name). I see you have a glove there, OK, let's see some ID, son......looks like you're....nine. OK, come on through."
(Next person with a glove)
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on there buddy. Let's see some identification..........no, 47-years old. Give me the glove....enjoy the game." [glove tossed on nearby bonfire].
The bonfire being nearby is an important part of this. The fans need to see the bonfire; it's the only way they're going to learn.
I wonder if a glove detector is going too far? If people begin attempting to sneak gloves into the stadium if might be necessary. If no detectors, then ushers are going to have to start getting involved.
"You wanna hand me that glove, sir?"
"What glove?"
"The glove you used to try and catch that foul ball and then shoved underneath your jacket. Let's have it."
(starts to take off jacket) "The jacket?"
(hands jacket over)
(not accepting jacket/pointing) "The glove, sir."
Ubaldo
The announcers - Gary Thorne and Mike Bordick - referred to Baltimore's starting pitcher, Ubaldo Jiminez as "Ubaldo" nearly the entire time he was in the game, an 11-3 Orioles win.
I really do enjoy counting Ubaldos. It's a lot more enjoyable/popular than Let's Tally Up The Weak Groundouts By Yankee Middle Infielders.
* Thorne: said 'Ubaldo' six times
* Bordick: 15 times
By inning:
1st - 7
2nd - 2
3rd - 4
4th - 4
5th - 1
6th (after he had left the game) - 3
Notable Ubaldos:
Bordick
"Ubaldo double plays"
"Ubaldo's fast ball"
(What other Orioles' players are thinking when Jiminez falls behind in the count) "Come on, Ubaldo"
"Nice start for Ubaldo"
Thorne
"Ubaldo watching"
My 'Ubaldo(s)' count in this post: 14
* Also, Bordick said "extendoglove", and he wasn't going to get away with that.
Game 153 - Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs
June 11 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL
Comcast Sportsnet
I pick on a lot of broadcasters. In fact, this site is about 74% pickonbroadcaster (up from 68% in May), but the Cubs announcers produced a solid bit of work in the first & second innings. Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies were talking about how good of a hitter Michael Lorenzen was in college and that he wasn't necessarily a normal, weak-hitting pitcher. Lorenzen came to bat in the second inning and ripped a two-run triple that got the Reds to within 3-2.
Lorenzen wasn't as good on the mound, though (4 1/3 IP, 5 ER) as the Cubs used Miguel Montero's three-run home run in the first to take the lead and tacked on runs in the third and fifth to win 6-3.
Deshaies
We still heard plenty of nonsense from Deshaies. Here's his top 5:
"Weathered the storm"
"Lively heater"
"He's a youngin', as we like to say...out on the prairie"
"Self-fulfilling prophecy"
"Tightrope framing"
Webb Bobo All Stars
Chicago right fielder Junior Lake, welcome to the squad.
Comcast Sportsnet
I pick on a lot of broadcasters. In fact, this site is about 74% pickonbroadcaster (up from 68% in May), but the Cubs announcers produced a solid bit of work in the first & second innings. Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies were talking about how good of a hitter Michael Lorenzen was in college and that he wasn't necessarily a normal, weak-hitting pitcher. Lorenzen came to bat in the second inning and ripped a two-run triple that got the Reds to within 3-2.
Lorenzen wasn't as good on the mound, though (4 1/3 IP, 5 ER) as the Cubs used Miguel Montero's three-run home run in the first to take the lead and tacked on runs in the third and fifth to win 6-3.
Deshaies
We still heard plenty of nonsense from Deshaies. Here's his top 5:
"Weathered the storm"
"Lively heater"
"He's a youngin', as we like to say...out on the prairie"
"Self-fulfilling prophecy"
"Tightrope framing"
Webb Bobo All Stars
Chicago right fielder Junior Lake, welcome to the squad.
Game 152 - Rockdale Post 77 (GA) at Loganville Post 233 (GA)
June 11 at Bobby Boss Stadium in Loganville, GA
A trio of left-handers out of the Rockdale bullpen were the main story in this early-season contest in American Legion play, but unfortunately for Post 77 it was for all the wrong reasons.
Those three - Matthew Hammers, Christian Young and Yorel James - combined to walk 10 batters in just 1 2/3 innings of combined work, turning a scoreless game into a 7-0 Loganville victory. Sometimes you just lose the strike zone, and for Conyers, GA-based Post 77, three people lost the strike zone and it meant a shut out loss.
Post 233 didn't pick up a single hit while those three were in the game during the sixth and seventh innings, but they scored six times, and it took right-hander Nathan Greene coming into the game before Loganville got a line drive, RBI-single from Bailey Dutton to make it 7-0.
To be truthful, the actual main story was Brantley Frost, but the Loganville right-hander was somehow over-shadowed by the wildness of the Post 77 hurlers. I'm sure Frost has no problem with that because he tossed a complete game, five-hit shut out and struck out nine. All five of those hits were singles in Frost's 120-pitch gem.
* Before the meltdown on the mound, the first two Post 77 pitchers were quite good. Starter Chris Simonds, who is headed to LaGrange College in middle Georgia in the fall, didn't allow a hit in three excellent innings. He was followed by his former Salem High School teammate and Maryville College (Maryville, TN) signee Rocky Mauriello, who gave up four hits, but kept Loganville off the scoreboard.
A trio of left-handers out of the Rockdale bullpen were the main story in this early-season contest in American Legion play, but unfortunately for Post 77 it was for all the wrong reasons.
Those three - Matthew Hammers, Christian Young and Yorel James - combined to walk 10 batters in just 1 2/3 innings of combined work, turning a scoreless game into a 7-0 Loganville victory. Sometimes you just lose the strike zone, and for Conyers, GA-based Post 77, three people lost the strike zone and it meant a shut out loss.
Post 233 didn't pick up a single hit while those three were in the game during the sixth and seventh innings, but they scored six times, and it took right-hander Nathan Greene coming into the game before Loganville got a line drive, RBI-single from Bailey Dutton to make it 7-0.
To be truthful, the actual main story was Brantley Frost, but the Loganville right-hander was somehow over-shadowed by the wildness of the Post 77 hurlers. I'm sure Frost has no problem with that because he tossed a complete game, five-hit shut out and struck out nine. All five of those hits were singles in Frost's 120-pitch gem.
* Before the meltdown on the mound, the first two Post 77 pitchers were quite good. Starter Chris Simonds, who is headed to LaGrange College in middle Georgia in the fall, didn't allow a hit in three excellent innings. He was followed by his former Salem High School teammate and Maryville College (Maryville, TN) signee Rocky Mauriello, who gave up four hits, but kept Loganville off the scoreboard.
Game 151 - Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics
June 10 at O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, CA
Comcast Sportsnet
Oakland came into the night on a four-game losing streak, but rallied from three runs down to win 5-4 on a walk-off fielder's choice.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Athletics got a run on an error, then Billy Butler's chopper found a hole between third and shortstop and the game was tied at 4-4. The ninth-inning rally against rookie Keone Kela included three balls in play, only one of which left the infield, starting with a one-out Sam Fuld single. Fuld then stole second and Billy Burns reached on a single to put runners at first and third. Josh Reddick hit a sharp ground ball that Adam Rosales dove for and caught at second base, but his throw wasn't close to get a sliding Fuld at the plate and Oakland evened the three-game series at one game apiece.
Ray Fosse, Part 1
In the top of the second, Fosse was talking about base stealers and the topic of Rickey Henderson came up. Here's Fosse: "Rickey probably could still steal a base."
No, Ray. No he probably couldn't.
First of all, Rickey Henderson is 56 years old. And secondly, stop it. Because if Rickey was watching the broadcast and heard what you said he might try and make a comeback.
Ray Fosse, Part 2
Fuld was up with two on in the bottom of the fourth. Fosse: "...and everybody else respecting the possible power from Fuld."
Ray: Sam Fuld hasn't yet hit a home run in 155 plate appearances after Wednesday's game and has 10 home runs in over 1,300 career plate appearances. His slugging percentage this season is .281.
"Everybody else" seems like an awful lot of people respecting Sam Fuld's power.
Webb Bobo All Stars
Please help me in welcoming Texas pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez to the team.
Comcast Sportsnet
Oakland came into the night on a four-game losing streak, but rallied from three runs down to win 5-4 on a walk-off fielder's choice.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Athletics got a run on an error, then Billy Butler's chopper found a hole between third and shortstop and the game was tied at 4-4. The ninth-inning rally against rookie Keone Kela included three balls in play, only one of which left the infield, starting with a one-out Sam Fuld single. Fuld then stole second and Billy Burns reached on a single to put runners at first and third. Josh Reddick hit a sharp ground ball that Adam Rosales dove for and caught at second base, but his throw wasn't close to get a sliding Fuld at the plate and Oakland evened the three-game series at one game apiece.
Ray Fosse, Part 1
In the top of the second, Fosse was talking about base stealers and the topic of Rickey Henderson came up. Here's Fosse: "Rickey probably could still steal a base."
No, Ray. No he probably couldn't.
First of all, Rickey Henderson is 56 years old. And secondly, stop it. Because if Rickey was watching the broadcast and heard what you said he might try and make a comeback.
Ray Fosse, Part 2
Fuld was up with two on in the bottom of the fourth. Fosse: "...and everybody else respecting the possible power from Fuld."
Ray: Sam Fuld hasn't yet hit a home run in 155 plate appearances after Wednesday's game and has 10 home runs in over 1,300 career plate appearances. His slugging percentage this season is .281.
"Everybody else" seems like an awful lot of people respecting Sam Fuld's power.
Webb Bobo All Stars
Please help me in welcoming Texas pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez to the team.
Game 150 - Midway point
Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates
June 10 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA
ROOT Sports
We celebrated the halfway point of our 300-game journey with a gem from Charlie Morton.
Morton had surgery performed on his right hip last September and he didn't make his first appearance of 2015 until late-May, but after four starts, the hip seems just fine.
THE HIP SEEMS JUST FINE
The Charlie Morton Story
Morton tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings, scattering four singles as the Pirates won 2-0 to salvage the third game of the series. Morton (4-0), who struck out six and didn't allow a hit until Aramis Ramirez led off the fifth with a single, lowered his ERA to 2.05.
Pittsburgh got the only run it would need in the first - Gregory Polanco led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Starling Marte's infield single - and Pedro Alvarez launched a solo home run in the second that just landed a few seconds ago.
Tough-luck loss for Kyle Loshe, who allowed 10 hits, but just two earned runs, which lowered his ERA to 6.27.
* Nice night of Baseball Phrases/complete nonsense for commentator Steve Blass:
"He's been a breath of fresh air"
"Business as usual"
"Tape measure job"
"Managers wear it, don't they? they wear it on their face"/"pitching coaches wear that six-month season on their face too"
"The buffet is set"
"Be fair by a nat's eyelash"
"Mucho Morton"
"This is what's called 'riding the dragon'"
June 10 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA
ROOT Sports
We celebrated the halfway point of our 300-game journey with a gem from Charlie Morton.
Morton had surgery performed on his right hip last September and he didn't make his first appearance of 2015 until late-May, but after four starts, the hip seems just fine.
THE HIP SEEMS JUST FINE
The Charlie Morton Story
Morton tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings, scattering four singles as the Pirates won 2-0 to salvage the third game of the series. Morton (4-0), who struck out six and didn't allow a hit until Aramis Ramirez led off the fifth with a single, lowered his ERA to 2.05.
Pittsburgh got the only run it would need in the first - Gregory Polanco led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Starling Marte's infield single - and Pedro Alvarez launched a solo home run in the second that just landed a few seconds ago.
Tough-luck loss for Kyle Loshe, who allowed 10 hits, but just two earned runs, which lowered his ERA to 6.27.
* Nice night of Baseball Phrases/complete nonsense for commentator Steve Blass:
"He's been a breath of fresh air"
"Business as usual"
"Tape measure job"
"Managers wear it, don't they? they wear it on their face"/"pitching coaches wear that six-month season on their face too"
"The buffet is set"
"Be fair by a nat's eyelash"
"Mucho Morton"
"This is what's called 'riding the dragon'"
Game 149 - Washington Nationals at New York Yankees
June 10 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network
I think my least favorite type of Yankee game is the home day game during the week. It just always seems like first pitch was supposed to be at 7 p.m., but they decided at the last minute to start in the early afternoon.
And when those weekday games go into extra innings? That's the worst possible scenario for me as a Yankees fan. Things never seem to end well (though there have been plenty of day games that have ended well, I just seem to remember the excruciating day losses much more). Just like many games in the past, Wednesday's get-this-horrible-stuff-away-from-my-computer-screen-day contest ended with the Nationals scoring a run on an infield single in the top of the 11th and winning 5-4.
The best part about day games: they end. I can now go through the rest of the late-afternoon, evening and night in peace.
* New York got a pretty good start from Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 3 ER, 4 K, 1 BB), yet instead of going to set up man Dellin Betances in the eighth inning, manager Joe Girardi turned to rookie Jacob Lindgren and the southpaw served up Michael Taylor's game-tying, two-run home run with two outs. Chris Capuano, not closer Andrew Miller, pitched the 10th and 11th and Denard Span's slow roller up the middle was enough to score the eventual winning run.
Not sure why neither Betances and Miller didn't get into a two-run game with an off day coming on Thursday, but the Yankees certainly paid for it.
* New York erased a 2-0 deficit with a big 7th inning, highlighted by Brendan Ryan's RBI-triple, a run-scoring double by Brett Gardner and a go-ahead double to dead center field by Alex Rodriguez. After Gardner's hit tied the game, commentator Al Leiter said: "huge hit in this game."
Thanks, Al!
More from Al Leiter
Al wasn't just in the broadcast booth to tell you a hit that brought home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning was a "huge hit". He had other things to say:
"A true 12 to 6"
"A lot of things in the hopper"
"Hot button"
"He has some clunkers in there"
"Barreled it up"
"Heavy fast ball"
And I know what he meant, but this was still funny to hear:
"He's seeing more plates per plate appearance"
Non-baseball related spelling issues
During the game I was talking to someone about a salad I had and it took six tries to get it right:
cesar
casear
ceesar
caeesar
cesare
CAESAR.
It was a caesar salad.
YES Network
I think my least favorite type of Yankee game is the home day game during the week. It just always seems like first pitch was supposed to be at 7 p.m., but they decided at the last minute to start in the early afternoon.
And when those weekday games go into extra innings? That's the worst possible scenario for me as a Yankees fan. Things never seem to end well (though there have been plenty of day games that have ended well, I just seem to remember the excruciating day losses much more). Just like many games in the past, Wednesday's get-this-horrible-stuff-away-from-my-computer-screen-day contest ended with the Nationals scoring a run on an infield single in the top of the 11th and winning 5-4.
The best part about day games: they end. I can now go through the rest of the late-afternoon, evening and night in peace.
* New York got a pretty good start from Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 3 ER, 4 K, 1 BB), yet instead of going to set up man Dellin Betances in the eighth inning, manager Joe Girardi turned to rookie Jacob Lindgren and the southpaw served up Michael Taylor's game-tying, two-run home run with two outs. Chris Capuano, not closer Andrew Miller, pitched the 10th and 11th and Denard Span's slow roller up the middle was enough to score the eventual winning run.
Not sure why neither Betances and Miller didn't get into a two-run game with an off day coming on Thursday, but the Yankees certainly paid for it.
* New York erased a 2-0 deficit with a big 7th inning, highlighted by Brendan Ryan's RBI-triple, a run-scoring double by Brett Gardner and a go-ahead double to dead center field by Alex Rodriguez. After Gardner's hit tied the game, commentator Al Leiter said: "huge hit in this game."
Thanks, Al!
More from Al Leiter
Al wasn't just in the broadcast booth to tell you a hit that brought home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning was a "huge hit". He had other things to say:
"A true 12 to 6"
"A lot of things in the hopper"
"Hot button"
"He has some clunkers in there"
"Barreled it up"
"Heavy fast ball"
And I know what he meant, but this was still funny to hear:
"He's seeing more plates per plate appearance"
Non-baseball related spelling issues
During the game I was talking to someone about a salad I had and it took six tries to get it right:
cesar
casear
ceesar
caeesar
cesare
CAESAR.
It was a caesar salad.
Game 148 - Texas A&M vs. TCU
June 8 at Luptin Stadium in Fort Worth, TX
ESPN
What a way to close out the Super Regionals.
The two in-state rivals played for six hours, four minutes and finally, in the bottom of the 16th inning, TCU walked off on a throwing error and won 5-4, becoming the 8th and final team to advance to the College World Series.
The Horned Frogs, who return to the World Series for the second consecutive season, had a number of chances to win, but left two runners on in the 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th. In the 14th, Ryan Hendrix, who didn't allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Aggies, was hit in the forearm by a scorching line drive off the bat of Evan Skoug. The ball ricocheted right to first baseman G.R. Hinsley, who completed the 1-3-2 out at the plate.
It was that kind of night.
12th inning rally cap(s) in the TCU dugout
Hendrix and the visitors from College Station ran out of luck in the 16th. Garrett Crain and Connor Wanhanen drew walks and later, Skoug hit a ground ball to third base and Ronnie Gideon's throw home was in the dirt, scoring Crain with the winning run.
* There were plenty of outstanding pitching performances, though none stood out more than Mitchell Traver. The TCU right-hander came on in relief in the 13th and didn't allow a base-runner until issuing two walks (one intentional) in the top of the 16th. Traver struck out six in four hitless innings to pick up the win.
TCU starter Alex Young struck out a career-high 10 in 6 2/3 innings, helping the host Horned Frogs build a 4-1 lead going into the eighth, but A&M rallied. To open that eighth, Nick Banks ripped a solo home run to make it a two-run game, and down to their final three outs in the ninth the Aggies didn't hit a ball out of the infield, but still scored twice to pull even at 4-4.
Mark Ecker kept it a 4-4 game with four shut out innings out of the A&M bullpen. The Aggies best chance to score in extra innings came in the 11th when a Brian Howard wild pitch chased runners to second and third. Howard struck out Hunter Melton to end A&M's final threat of the season.
* TCU scored its first four runs on RBI hits by Derek Odell and Keaton Jones in the fifth and a two-run home run from Wanhanen in the sixth.
* A&M batters struck out 25 times, which is an unbelievable number even for a 16-inning game.
16 full innings of nonsense
Now that we have the actual details of this thriller out of the way, let's get to all the silliness from the broadcast booth.
* What Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson call fellow broadcaster Chris Burke: "Burkey" (said 14 times)
* What Neal and Burke call Peterson: "K-P" (15)
* Burke said "dude points" three times, which is 11 times too many.
* Peterson said this about TCU center fielder Cody Jones: "this kid's just a baseball player".
And here's the Baseball Phrase top 8:
8. "Wipe-out pitch" (KP)
7. "So often the bat will out-race the body" (CB)
6. "A thick lineup" (KP)
5. "He just rolls out of bed and hits" (KP)
4. "It's a bulldog on the mound" (KP)
3. "Put the program on the map" (DN)
2. "Aggieland" (DN)
1. "Good old country fast ball" (KP)
ESPN
What a way to close out the Super Regionals.
The two in-state rivals played for six hours, four minutes and finally, in the bottom of the 16th inning, TCU walked off on a throwing error and won 5-4, becoming the 8th and final team to advance to the College World Series.
The Horned Frogs, who return to the World Series for the second consecutive season, had a number of chances to win, but left two runners on in the 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th. In the 14th, Ryan Hendrix, who didn't allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Aggies, was hit in the forearm by a scorching line drive off the bat of Evan Skoug. The ball ricocheted right to first baseman G.R. Hinsley, who completed the 1-3-2 out at the plate.
It was that kind of night.
12th inning rally cap(s) in the TCU dugout
Hendrix and the visitors from College Station ran out of luck in the 16th. Garrett Crain and Connor Wanhanen drew walks and later, Skoug hit a ground ball to third base and Ronnie Gideon's throw home was in the dirt, scoring Crain with the winning run.
* There were plenty of outstanding pitching performances, though none stood out more than Mitchell Traver. The TCU right-hander came on in relief in the 13th and didn't allow a base-runner until issuing two walks (one intentional) in the top of the 16th. Traver struck out six in four hitless innings to pick up the win.
TCU starter Alex Young struck out a career-high 10 in 6 2/3 innings, helping the host Horned Frogs build a 4-1 lead going into the eighth, but A&M rallied. To open that eighth, Nick Banks ripped a solo home run to make it a two-run game, and down to their final three outs in the ninth the Aggies didn't hit a ball out of the infield, but still scored twice to pull even at 4-4.
Mark Ecker kept it a 4-4 game with four shut out innings out of the A&M bullpen. The Aggies best chance to score in extra innings came in the 11th when a Brian Howard wild pitch chased runners to second and third. Howard struck out Hunter Melton to end A&M's final threat of the season.
* TCU scored its first four runs on RBI hits by Derek Odell and Keaton Jones in the fifth and a two-run home run from Wanhanen in the sixth.
* A&M batters struck out 25 times, which is an unbelievable number even for a 16-inning game.
16 full innings of nonsense
Now that we have the actual details of this thriller out of the way, let's get to all the silliness from the broadcast booth.
* What Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson call fellow broadcaster Chris Burke: "Burkey" (said 14 times)
* What Neal and Burke call Peterson: "K-P" (15)
* Burke said "dude points" three times, which is 11 times too many.
* Peterson said this about TCU center fielder Cody Jones: "this kid's just a baseball player".
And here's the Baseball Phrase top 8:
8. "Wipe-out pitch" (KP)
7. "So often the bat will out-race the body" (CB)
6. "A thick lineup" (KP)
5. "He just rolls out of bed and hits" (KP)
4. "It's a bulldog on the mound" (KP)
3. "Put the program on the map" (DN)
2. "Aggieland" (DN)
1. "Good old country fast ball" (KP)
Game 147 - Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees
June 7 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network
CC Sabathia allowed back-to-back home runs in the top of the first to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols - the Trout home run was just the case of a really good hitter hitting a pretty good pitch out of the park; on Pujols' hit, Sabathia threw an actual meat ball (turkey) - and the Angels had a quick, 2-0 lead.
We've got a dropped hat
The southpaw then allowed a double to David Freese, but avoided any further damage, going six innings as the Yankees won 6-2 to sweep the weekend series.
Sabathia probably would've been able to start the seventh (he was only at 87 pitches), but after getting his third double play of the day off the bat of Kole Calhoun to close the sixth, he was ejected by home plate umpire Dan Bellino for arguing balls and strikes. Sabathia was upset about a 1-1 pitch to Calhoun that was called a ball. He yelled at Bellino all the way back to the dugout, never actually reached the dugout, and after manager Joe Girardi was also ejected, Sabtahia came back to home plate and got real close to Bellino while screaming what I assume was a recipe for a delightful spinach dip.
Home runs are good
It's really quite simple with the Yankees (and I guess with most teams): when they hit home runs, they are usually pretty successful. Sunday was no different as Chris Young pulled New York even with a lead off home run in the third, then a few batters later, Brett Gardner took an inside pitch that was probably going to be a ball and yanked a three-run home run down the right field line to put the Yankees up for good at 5-2.
Jose Pirela completed an excellent day with his first career home run, a solo blast in the sixth, and the third long ball off C.J. Wilson, to make it a 6-2 game. Pirela also doubled and started two of the double plays.
Carlos Beltran: valuable fielder
The other double play turned out to be a pretty underrated/key moment. Los Angeles had runners at first and third with one out in the third and Freese's fly ball was caught by Carlos Beltran in fairly deep right. Rather then try and get Erick Aybar at the plate, which would've been almost impossible, he threw to second and with the help of a nice tag by Didi Gregorius, Mike Trout was out by a half-step. Aybar didn't score in time and the Angels went scoreless.
* Couple quick Baseball Phrases from commentators Ken Singleton and David Cone.
Singleton - "that's his happy zone"
Cone - "thread the needle"
YES Network
CC Sabathia allowed back-to-back home runs in the top of the first to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols - the Trout home run was just the case of a really good hitter hitting a pretty good pitch out of the park; on Pujols' hit, Sabathia threw an actual meat ball (turkey) - and the Angels had a quick, 2-0 lead.
We've got a dropped hat
The southpaw then allowed a double to David Freese, but avoided any further damage, going six innings as the Yankees won 6-2 to sweep the weekend series.
Sabathia probably would've been able to start the seventh (he was only at 87 pitches), but after getting his third double play of the day off the bat of Kole Calhoun to close the sixth, he was ejected by home plate umpire Dan Bellino for arguing balls and strikes. Sabathia was upset about a 1-1 pitch to Calhoun that was called a ball. He yelled at Bellino all the way back to the dugout, never actually reached the dugout, and after manager Joe Girardi was also ejected, Sabtahia came back to home plate and got real close to Bellino while screaming what I assume was a recipe for a delightful spinach dip.
Home runs are good
It's really quite simple with the Yankees (and I guess with most teams): when they hit home runs, they are usually pretty successful. Sunday was no different as Chris Young pulled New York even with a lead off home run in the third, then a few batters later, Brett Gardner took an inside pitch that was probably going to be a ball and yanked a three-run home run down the right field line to put the Yankees up for good at 5-2.
Jose Pirela completed an excellent day with his first career home run, a solo blast in the sixth, and the third long ball off C.J. Wilson, to make it a 6-2 game. Pirela also doubled and started two of the double plays.
Carlos Beltran: valuable fielder
The other double play turned out to be a pretty underrated/key moment. Los Angeles had runners at first and third with one out in the third and Freese's fly ball was caught by Carlos Beltran in fairly deep right. Rather then try and get Erick Aybar at the plate, which would've been almost impossible, he threw to second and with the help of a nice tag by Didi Gregorius, Mike Trout was out by a half-step. Aybar didn't score in time and the Angels went scoreless.
* Couple quick Baseball Phrases from commentators Ken Singleton and David Cone.
Singleton - "that's his happy zone"
Cone - "thread the needle"
Games 145 & 146 - Plenty of offense
Morgan County at Rockdale Post 77
June 7 at Henson-Carr Legion Field in Conyers, GA
Thirty-two hits is a lot for an offense to accumulate in 18 innings of a doubleheader. Rockdale Post 77 had that many hits in EIGHT offensive innings on Sunday as they opened their American Legion season with 20-2 and 6-2 victories over the Morgan County High School summer travel team.
Each game ended after visiting Morgan County had batted in the top of the fifth inning - game one by-run rule and the teams played just five innings in the nightcap.
Quite a day for Rockdale:
* They batted around in three of their four offensive innings in game one, sending 10 to the plate in the first, 13 in the second and 12 more in the fourth. In 41 plate appearances, Post 77 batters reached base 30 times.
* In that opener, Morehouse College's Cole Gibson, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs, No. 7 hitter Barrett Burdett had three hits and five RBIs & clean up hitter Jason Howell (Clark Atlanta signee) went 4-for-4 with a walk. Every starter had at least one RBI, except for lead off man Yorel James, who was 3-for-4 and drew a walk.
* Matthew Hammers hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first for the big hit of game two. Post 77 reached base in 12-of-23 plate appearances and its on-base percentage for the day was .650, or 41 points higher than 2004 Barry Bonds.
June 7 at Henson-Carr Legion Field in Conyers, GA
Thirty-two hits is a lot for an offense to accumulate in 18 innings of a doubleheader. Rockdale Post 77 had that many hits in EIGHT offensive innings on Sunday as they opened their American Legion season with 20-2 and 6-2 victories over the Morgan County High School summer travel team.
Each game ended after visiting Morgan County had batted in the top of the fifth inning - game one by-run rule and the teams played just five innings in the nightcap.
Quite a day for Rockdale:
* They batted around in three of their four offensive innings in game one, sending 10 to the plate in the first, 13 in the second and 12 more in the fourth. In 41 plate appearances, Post 77 batters reached base 30 times.
* In that opener, Morehouse College's Cole Gibson, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs, No. 7 hitter Barrett Burdett had three hits and five RBIs & clean up hitter Jason Howell (Clark Atlanta signee) went 4-for-4 with a walk. Every starter had at least one RBI, except for lead off man Yorel James, who was 3-for-4 and drew a walk.
* Matthew Hammers hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first for the big hit of game two. Post 77 reached base in 12-of-23 plate appearances and its on-base percentage for the day was .650, or 41 points higher than 2004 Barry Bonds.
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