June 07, 2007

Gratuitous Baseball Observation

Watching Mike Myers of the Yanks pitching against the White Sox this evening, I'm reminded again of my belief that MLB ought to go ahead and simply ban the submarine pitch. Somehow, it just ain't right.

(And I'm not being biased here. I was a big Pirates fan in my yoot, and even then I thought Kent Tekulve was a weirdo.)

UPDATE: I've had a flood of emails asking, "Tom, why were you even watching the Yanks and ChiSox anyway?" Well, the answer is that MASN, in an apparent exercise in sadism, chose to show a delayed broadcast of the Nats dropping a heart-breaking one run game to the Bucs this afternoon, thus making their current horrific home stand even more, er, horrificer. I'd already read the recap and wasn't in the mood for self-flagellation.

Posted by Robert at June 7, 2007 09:11 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Kent Tekulve was amazingly hard to hit and fun to watch.

Remember the - I think this is right - '80 WS? One of my favorite plays of all time was when Dave Parker threw a ball from the intersection of the right field foul line and the warning track to third base... without a relay man... needing only one bounce... and got the lollygagging runner who assumed he'd be safe out.

It was hilarious: The ref called the runner out, and the camera was on the astonished runners face. Anyone in America who could lip-read saw, "I'm f#@*|^& OUT?!" I was watching the game with my roomies - I was a twenty-something at the time - and we totally lost it. After which it was more beers and bongs.

That was a great series.

Posted by: Hucbald at June 8, 2007 02:07 AM

It was the '79 World Series. The Pirates won in 7 games against the Baltimore Orioles. Willie Stargell was the MVP. It was the last time the Pirates were relevant. I'm still a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, albeit a very bitter one. They're pretty much a joke anymore. Pity.

Posted by: Stillers at June 8, 2007 03:50 AM

What needs to be banned is Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" at every Saturday baseball game.

Come to think of it, just ban Chicago (the band), totally crappy music.

And congratulations to Joe Torre on 2000 wins as a manager (along with 2000+ hits as a player)

Posted by: rbj at June 8, 2007 08:17 AM

I DO remember that throw and that series. Parker had an arm on him like one of the 16 inch guns of the battleship Missouri. And Stargell was one of my boyhood heroes.

Ah, thems was the days.....

Posted by: Robbo the LB at June 8, 2007 08:20 AM

Dan Quisenberry of the great George-Brett-led KC teams induced a similar degree of vertigo/nausea in me.

Posted by: The Colossus at June 8, 2007 09:41 AM

I remember also when Brett came down with that bad case of piles and all the sportscasters started joking about how his problems were all behind him.

At the time, I thought that was very funny. Now, not so much.

Posted by: Robbo the LB at June 8, 2007 11:22 AM

Hits a little to close to home, eh?

Posted by: rbj at June 8, 2007 01:01 PM