Category: General

Man Critically Injured In Fall At Turner Field

Source: Flickr – Jas&Suz

Atlanta Police report that a 25 year old man has critical head injuries after falling 150 feet at Turner Field during the eighth inning of last nights Atlanta Braves-New York Mets game. Police believe that he may have been sliding down the railing of the stairs.

A man already died at Shea Stadium this season after falling when he was reported to have been sliding down the handrails of the stairs. I think it’s time to stop sliding down the railings at stadiums.

Read the report from Fox Sports.

Mike Piazza Retires

Source: Flickr- Llima

The official announcement about Mike Piazza’s retirement hit the media today. He hasn’t played all season so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

Since leaving the Mets after the 2005 season he bounced around to the Padres and A’s. He didn’t sign with anyone this season. I’m not sure if that was his choice, but I doubt it. Otherwise, he would’ve announced his retirement after the end of last season.

Piazza is a first ballot Hall of Famer due to his monstrous offensive numbers for a catcher. He wasn’t much of a defensive catcher… he only threw out 23% of runners stealing on him. I was surprised that the SNY crew during the game today mentioned that he played well defensively. I seem to remember the Marlins (Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo) running at will against Piazza.

By the way, he’s not gay.

Another Incorrect Home Run Call In Houston

Flickr: bradleypjohnson

Geovany Soto was the victim tonight of bad umpiring in Houston. He scored on an inside the park home run but replays showed that it was over the line on the wall. Coming off the bad call in the Bronx that robbed Carlos Delgado maybe instant replay isn’t such a bad idea.

I consider myself to be more of a baseball purist than a progressive. I dislike the designated hitter, dual admission double headers, and three plus hour games. But I do like the wild card and inter league games. I guess I need to open my mind to the possibility that instant replay could improve the game. It has in the National Football League.

It may be a case of umpiring going downhill. Certainly Balkin’ Bob Davidson has never been considered one of the league’s best umpires. He’s the one that messed up the call on Delgado’s home run by overruling Mike Reilly who had the call correct the first time.

Instant replay would eliminate the ambiguity on the field for such calls and make sure that it doesn’t cost a team a game, a playoff spot, or a World Series. It’s time to move forward for Major League Baseball once again.

Jose Reyes Rocks The Bronx

Sometimes I wonder if it’s a curse that the Mets rely so heavily on Jose Reyes to generate offense for this team. He’s a tremendous offensive player. If you look at Baseball Reference, Reyes is most similar to Hall of Famer Joe Morgan at his age. Although you may dislike Morgan as a broadcaster, he was a dynamic player that had a long, successful career.

Mets vs. Marlins March 31, 2008

Reyes battered the Yankees pitching this weekend. For the series he was 4 for 10, scored two runs, with a double and two home runs and four RBI’s. In the prior series against the Nationals Reyes was 4 for 16 with no extra base hits and one RBI.

You hear it all of the time and it’s true. When Reyes gets going offensively so do the Mets.

I have to admit that I’m concerned about two things with Reyes:

  1. He was popping up pitches against the Yankees almost exclusively. He did hit two out of the park, but hitting ground balls and line drives is his game. He tends to get into these funks when he pops everything up.
  2. He only has twelve stolen bases. That’s currently tied for ninth in baseball. Ichiro has 20 steals already and he’s 34 years old. Reyes should have over twenty steals at this point. And he’s being caught at a higher rate than last season (25% vs. 21%).

Despite my concerns, it’s great to see Jose looking like he’s having fun again. This weekend we saw a lot of smiles and top-step dances. That’s what we need to see more of if the Mets are going to get out of the malaise that the first two months of the season has turned into.

Why Inter-League Play Is Great

The modern MLB logo was first used in 1969.Image via Wikipedia

I’ve read a lot of blog posts and heard pronouncements from broadcasters that the Subway Series has become a lame, contrived rivalry. I do agree that the Mets and Yankees series itself isn’t the heated rivalry that we looked forward to in 1997.

But every year I look forward to seeing some of the stars of Major League Baseball that I don’t normally get to see. It’s a 162 game season, so there’s plenty of games to deal with the National League East “traditional” rivalries.

For example, last season I couldn’t wait for the Twins to come to town to get a look at Johan Santana and Torii Hunter. Little did I know that Santana would soon become a Met, but the interest was there on my part. I wasn’t thrilled that Santana threw a four-hit shutout against the Mets but it was fun getting to see one of the best pitchers in the game. Continue reading “Why Inter-League Play Is Great”