"Oops."
Don't pretend like you haven't said it. Don't pretend like you haven't felt it, even if nobody was around to notice your most recent of mistakes.
It defines humanity as much as opposable thumbs.
The ability to make a choice - and often incorrectly - felled Jim Joyce, an umpire with more than two decades of experience.
Yet, it will be seconds that define his career, seconds spent denying Armando Galaragga of baseball immortality.
With only one out needed to ensure a perfect game, the 28-year-old Venezuelan, with nothing more than inconsistency defining his career to that point, secured the weak ground ball that should have redefined his name in baseball almanacs.
He sprinted to cover first base as Miguel Cabrera ranged to his right and made a clean throw to the pitcher - newly vaunted to elite status.
It was 27 up, 27 down for perfect game No. 21 in baseball history, No. 1 in Tigers' history - until it wasn't.
A fraction of a moment yielded celebration, before Joyce threw a massive wet blanket over the crowd and crowd-by-extension following live via technology of choice.
The first instinct is to question your own eyes. An experienced professional standing just feet away called Jason Donald safe.
Then the sickness set in. As if any one region of our country needed more sickness and shock, here the fates handed Detroit and its Tigers fans just a bit more.
How could it be? The Tigers even had that signature moment, a rangy catch by rookie center fielder Austin Jackson, which immediately drew comparisons to the owner of baseball's all-time greatest catch, Willie Mays.
His Detroit teammates were downright giddy. Laughing and jumping in the rare kind of way that reminds you behind all the pomp, circumstance and dollars, baseball is a game played by children masked by big boy bodies in big boy clothes.
After that out - the first of the ninth inning - there was no way it could be broken up.
And, really, it wasn't. Except it was.
Neither Donald nor the Cleveland Indians dugout could believe what transpired. The team was given a golden ticket it didn't deserve, and possibly didn't even want.
That all changed pretty quickly.
With instant replay the swift judge and jury of all things sports - and convenience store robberies - and the clubhouse just steps from the dugout, Galaragga's teammates quickly had confirmation of what they already suspected. Soon, a distraught Jim Joyce would too.
“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the shit out of it,” Joyce said, his own worst expletive-filled critic after the game. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”
But most remarkable was Galaragga's reaction. From reaction to shock to an accepting smile.
He knew what others would know seconds later and he didn't have a word to say about it. Joyce was the one with all the words after the game, more disparaging of himself than Galarraga could ever be.
A composed Galarraga after the game said simply, "Nobody's perfect."
Perfectly put.
Joyce apologized to Galaragga and the two embraced, though it was the burly, mustached umpire that likely needed it more.
Alexander Pope, one of the greatest poets who ever lived, once offered "To err is human; to forgive is divine."
Though many of us will never know perfection in a baseball sense or otherwise, divinity isn't a bad consolation prize.
And nobody can take that away from him.
____________________
So, those are my thoughts. Let me know what you think.
Here are a few more snippets from other (much more talented and rightfully higher-paid and more esteemed) sports writers. Click on the writer's name to read the full article.
"Galarraga pitched a perfect game on Wednesday night in Detroit. I’ll always believe that. I think most baseball fans will always believe that. But, more than anything it seems that Galarraga will always believe it. The way he handled himself after the game, well, that was something better than perfection. Dallas Braden’s perfect game was thrilling. Roy Halladay’s perfect game was art. But Armando’s Galarraga’s perfect game was a lesson in grace.
And when my young daughters ask, “Why didn’t he get mad and scream about how he was robbed,” I think I will tell them this: I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s because Armando Galarraga understands something that is very hard to understand, something we all struggle with, something I hope you learn as you grow older: In the end, nobody’s perfect. We just do the best we can." -- Joe Posnanski
"And history is forever altered. One step changed the headlines from `Perfect game!' to `Imperfect ump!,' just like that the pendulum swinging from joyous to angry, one symbolic step the difference between the perfection humans aren't meant to achieve and the imperfection we've perfected." -- Dan Le Batard
"It's too bad for a lot of people, in a lot of ways. It was the most-imperfect ending to the most-perfect game ever thrown by a Tiger, and on a memorable night indeed, there was no other way to explain it." -- Bob Wojnowski
"Expanded instant replay in baseball always was a matter of when and not if. It was going to take a generation of people who grew up comfortable with technology moving into decision-making positions in major league baseball. Jim Joyce just put that timetable on fast forward." -- Tom Verducci
Four pitches zipped into the catchers' mitt of Dusty Brown.
97 miles per hour. Then, 96. 95. 96 again. All went for balls.
Right-hander Daniel Bard just walked the lead runner with a one-run lead against the Toledo Mud Hens yesterday. Now skinny-as-a-rail Jason Tyner, veteran of eight major league seasons, was heading to the plate to lay down a bunt.
Instead of losing control, Bard bore down. He allowed one more ball, then over powered Tyner, striking him out with fastballs no less than 95 miles per hour. After those first five misses, Bard threw only strikes, topping his fastball at 98 miles per hour and slamming the door on the Mud Hens to save his fifth game, a 2-1 win.
"Danny was real good," Paw Sox skipper Ron Johnson said. "I really the last pitch he threw in the game. That was very good."
The last pitch he threw, a slider, was his only off speed pitch of the outing left pinch-hitter Don Kelly meekly failing to check his swing at the inside pitch.
"It took me a couple pitches," Bard said. "I needed to get loose but they weren't bad misses. They were all around the plate, which is a good thing."
So the 2006 first round pick regained his focus, kept firing heaters, and promptly disposed of the Mud Hens.
"In the past couple years, it might've taken me a batter or two, but tonight it took me those four pitches to get my fastball locked in," Bard said. "If you can turn those adjustments from a whole at bat to just pitch-to-pitch adjustments, you're going to be a lot more effective."
Bard's signature fastball was clocked as high as 100 miles per hour in Spring Training as the University of North Carolina alum struck out 14 hitters in 10.1 innings and allowed zero runs, peaking the interest of Red Sox management in Spring Training. But, instead of dwelling on what the front office thought, Bard was busy learning from the professionals at Fort Myers, Florida.
"I had a conversation with [Jon] Lester," Bard recalls. "I remember just asking what his biggest adjustments from facing triple-A hitters to facing big league hitters. He just said it's kind of like any other level. [Hitters] get a little bit more selective, they recognize pitches a little bit earlier. They'll also learn from their mistakes. You can't get them out on the same pitch over and over like some guys in the minors. Just trying to get bits and pieces from the guys who have been there."
The 23 year old Bard is poised to become the next big impact youngster on the Sox roster and he's using his time in Pawtucket to work on all of his pitches, including that high 80's slider and a changeup.
"I'm pitching to get guys out," he said. "If that means get them out with four or five fastballs in a row, that's what I'm going to do. If the catcher calls for an off speed pitch, a breaking ball, a changeup, then I'll throw it."
Earlier this season, Bard threw nine consecutive strikes to the Rochester Red Wings. None of them were hit - a feat that's only been accomplished 42 times in Major League Baseball history. Not a bad feat for the kid still adjusting to life as a reliever after struggling as a starter two seasons ago.
"I love it," he said simply. "I like the pressure that comes with it. It's kind of a no holds barred attitude, just go right after them."
That attitude immediately conjures images of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who Bard called "different" with a smile. "The person that he goes from in the clubhouse to the person he is on the mound is like night and day. He's joking around as much as anybody. He's loud, telling jokes. And then he's just locked in. It just shows the preparation and the amount of focus it takes to be successful on a consistent basis like that."
If anything, his manager is trying to temper his enthusiasm for Bard.
"It's a month into the season. So, I think you try of refrain from just going crazy. Obviously he has good stuff," Johnson said. "I have been impressed so far with his composure."
Labels: baseball, Daniel Bard, feature, Paw Sox, prospects 0 comments
If only March baseball counted.
Detroit Tigers lead-off man Ramon Santiago walked to open the game and corner infielder Jeff Larish reached in following inning via plunking. Other than that, the Marlins’ pitching staff was flawless, no hitting the Tigers at Joker Merchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida on Sunday and winning the contest 2-0.
"I've never seen it in spring training," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "There wasn't anything fluky about it.”
Sinkerballer Ricky Nolasco impressed the Marlins’ organization last season, logging 212.1 innings with a 3.52 earned run average and continued to impress Sunday, going 7 no-hit innings while inducing two double plays and striking out eight.
"Hopefully I can save some of those zeros for the season," Nolasco said, according to MLB.com.
Dan Meyer and Leo Nunez closed out the 8th and 9th inning, respectively, giving way to a fairly subdued celebration, considering the no-hitter.
Though tough to track, the South Florida Sun Sentinel traced the most recent Spring Training no-no back to March 14, 2000, when six Red Sox pitchers combined to no hit the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sanchez Consistent
The day before, the most recent Marlin to throw a no-hitter - back in 2006 - and former Red Sox farmhand Anibal Sanchez faced his former club and was effective in the rain-delayed game.
Mike Berardino reported “he cruised through the first 14 batters” in “his best spring outing”.
''I had great command,'' Sanchez said after the outing. ``Last year, I was thinking too much about getting hurt again. But it's been enough time now, and I'm not thinking like that anymore.''
Sanchez struggled with a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder, sidelining him for the better part of a calendar year. He started only 16 major league games since his promising rookie campaign and was hit hard in 51.2 inning pitched last season, registering a 5.51 ERA.
If there was one plus to last season, it was his strikeout ability. He managed to strikeout 50 batters - almost 1 per inning pitched. Saturday, that velocity was evident, constantly hitting 91 miles per hour or higher against the Red Sox, though only striking out two through 5.2 innings in his no decision.
Maybin Impresses Kaline
Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline has registered over 3,000 hits at the major league level and came one home run shy of 400 before retiring. The first ballot Hall of Famer knows talent when he sees it - and he sees it in Marlins’ prospect Cameron Maybin, according to the Miami Herald.
“He's got great power, great speed, and he's a great outfielder,” Kaline said. “The only thing he doesn't do well is recognize breaking balls. He'll swing and miss the ball a few times, more than he should. That's something most young players will have a problem with.
“But with that great speed of his, if he puts the ball in play, he's going to be able to get on base a lot.”
The 21 year-old Maybin was drafted by the Tigers 10th overall in the 2005 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Last season, he was traded to the Marlins as the centerpiece of a deal that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit.
Entering Monday, Maybin was hitting .289 in 45 at-bats during Spring Training with one home run and two stolen bases in three chances. Maybin is expected to break camp as the starting center fielder opposite Jeremy Hermida and Cody Ross.
Hot/Not
HOT: Hermida, who hasn’t lived up to the hype in previous injury-plagued seasons, is hitting .368 this spring with a .684 slugging percentage, 3 home runs, and 10 RBIs in 38 at-bats…Josh Johnson, who has 14 strikeouts and a 1.13 ERA through 16 innings this spring.
NOT: Hanley Ramirez, limited to just 15 at-bats with the Marlins due to a shoulder injury and playing in the World Baseball Classic, has just two hits with the Marlins this spring - though both were extra base hits - and four errors in five games…Taylor Tankersley, expected to compete for a bullpen spot this spring has been dismal. The inconsistent pitcher has allowed 14 hits and 3 walks in 6.1 innings, logging a 15.63 ERA and a WHIP of well over 2.
Labels: baseball, Marlins 0 comments
When the Florida Marlins came into existence in 1993, they were draped in teal and tossed a 45 year-old Charlie Hough on the mound en route to a 98 loss season. Better days were bound to happen, but two World Series titles in 15 seasons for a micro-market team exceeded all expectations.
Still, Thursday may have signified the Marlins’ biggest victory in franchise history.
By a 3-2 vote, Miami city commissioners approved financing for a new 37,000 seat retractable-roof stadium for the low, low price of $515 million, plus $94 millions for parking lots on the site where the Orange Bowl once stood, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The deciding vote ended a 2-2 deadlock and, hopefully, will end years of sporadic fan interest. Watching a late-September Marlins home game is sometimes a laughable affair. Last season, a meaningless September series against the Washington Nationals drew a recorded 40,452 fans between the three games, though the real number can surely be cut in half, as there seemed a 2:1 foul ball to fan ratio amidst Dolphin Stadium’s hideous empty orange seats.
Last season, according to Baseball Reference, Florida finished dead last in the National League in attendance with 1,335,076. The Tampa Bay Rays finished 12th of the 14 teams in the American League, despite winning the A.L. East which raises the obvious question of whether or not Florida can simply play sufficient host to a major league team.
Granted, both Dolphin Stadium and Tropicana Field are horribly dated and hideous sites, but with flailing attendance for decent products, it’s tough to commit over half a billion dollars to a lackluster fan base.
The plan still needs approval from the Miami-Dade County Commission, which will be heard next week. The Marlins chief argument has been the creation of new jobs combined with keeping baseball in South Florida while the opposition argues paying tax money to a private organization in these financial times simply is not a practical application.
The new deal would a name-change for the soon-could-be Miami Marlins, but one thing’s for sure, the Florida Marlins and all those empty seats can’t remain as it currently stands.
Lindstrom Recovering
Reliever Matt Lindstrom is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered during warm-ups at the World Baseball Classic.
According to The Sports Xchange, Lindstrom hoped to play catch tomorrow for the first time since suffering the injury a week earlier. The fireballer has been clocked at over 100 miles per hour - he hit 102 at PNC Park last season against the Pittsburgh Pirates - and was in line for the closer’s job before the injury. Leo Nunez is expected to inherit the closer position if Lindstrom can’t recover in time for the season opener.
Last year, Lindstrom converted five saves in six chances - all five saves coming in the month of September - and recorded a 3.14 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 57.1 inning pitched.
WBC, A-Ok for Cantu
Jorge Cantu returned to Marlins’ camp healthy - unlike his less-fortunate teammates Lindstrom and Alfredo Amezaga, who left the event with a sprained knee - and raved about his experience at the event, which was music to his ears. More specifically, mariachi music to his ears.
"You're talking about mariachis playing, music playing, every game," Cantu told Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. "There's always something going on different. The other team was like, 'What's going on, why is music playing while we're hitting?' It's just different down [in Mexico].
"We played our hearts out," Cantu said of the club‘s first round elimination. "We did all we could. It was a great time, great experience, great pride, a lot of honor to do that. And just to play in front of the Mexican crowd, it was something unbelievable."
Labels: baseball, Marlins 4 comments
Sox over Angels in 5.
- It will be more of a struggle and a nailbiter than Sox fans originally thought. These are the two most complete teams in baseball top to bottom. Don't expect any late inning comebacks against this Angels bullpen. Will J.D. Drew continue the relatively kinda, semi-warm streak he's on? They'll need it, offense is still lacking on this team. Does anyone else think its weird that the Sox kept three catchers on the roster when Tim Wakefield is too hurt to play in the first round? Yeah...I found that a curious decision by the boy wonder. Last time in the postseason against the Halos, the Sox pulled of the sweep en route to a World Series win. This road will prove much tougher.
Yanks over Indians in 3.
- What have the Indians done in the postseason lately? Exactly. What have the Yanks done in the postseason...forever? Exactly. If the Yanks played in the same division as the Mets, they probably would have won the division by 27 games, all of which would have been gained in August and September. What about the Yanks pitching staff? It will do...there's enough firepower to cover up the fact that Roger Clemens and Mariano Rivera are collecting from the AARP. BUT the year 2000 looms large and A-Rod will have to hit over .650 with 22 home runs in 19 at bats to even have a SHOT at pleasing Yanks fans in this postseason series...can he pull it off? I dont know...but the Indians are toast.
Arizona over Chicago in 5.
- In case you slept through the postseason or looked too long at the Padres, Arizona won the west...and the NL's best record. A very underrated pitching staff and a good mix of players. Arizona looks like a winner...alternatively the Cubs look like...well, the Cubs. Is it just me or do the names Soriano, Ramirez, Zambrano, and Lilly SCREAM "Choke!". If that's not bad enough, I got a Ryan Dempster to show you. The losing tradition continues...and this time, a fan won't be to blame.
Philly over Colorado in 4.
- A very fun series, indeed. Neither of these teams have much experience to speak of here. But, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins are two of the game's best pure hitters. This Phillies team has suffered through more injuries than ANY other team in the postseason right now. They are STILL withour Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, and Tom Gordon. They're scrappy and they DESERVE to be there. Colorado will be burned out after the maraton Monday night and won't be able to rebound. Rox fans, Larry Walker is not walking through that door. BTW, turning point of the season? Trading Byung-Hyun Kim to the Marlins on May 13th...they were 16-22 at the time of the trade...hmmm...
Labels: Angels, baseball, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, Rockies, Yankees 0 comments
Welcome to the Buehrlesque show
By: David Carty
Gas = success. The equation for success amongst many baseball scouts over the past century. Blow it by your opponent, rattle him a bit with a slight break, and then back for some more hot tamales. Anything less doesn't cut the mustard. It's not easy to deny their logic. All in one instant, a 90-MPH fastball is laughed at by hitters, measured up, and sent on a complimentary ride to the bleachers, where alcohol-fueled fisticuffs determine the rightfull owner of the doomed baseball. To succeed at this level among the world's best, you've gotta be able to put a little zip on the ball.
Luckily, Mark Buehrle doesn't buy into what scouts have to say.
A lowly 38th round selection out of lowly Jefferson College (located in Hillsboro, Missouri, in case you forgot), Buehrle's plane ticket would be much harder to earn than many of his cohorts. 38 rounds deep, for many players, is too far to see that light at the end of the tunnel.
But Buehrle and his 6'2", 200 pound frame were built for one thing. Speed.
Mark made 36 total minor league appearances, less than half of which were made above Class A, before making his Major League debut in relief in 2000. He was the league's third youngest player that year. Buehrle allowed one run in one inning in his first Major League appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers. Three days later, he made his first career start against the Minnesota Twins. He hasn't looked back.
Stop-watch enthusiasts would find a Buehrle pitched game to their liking. To the naked eye, it may seem as though Buerhle rushes from pitch-to-pitch. To the trained eye, however, it is easy to see that he works deliberately. Deliberately fast.
Ironic, isn't it? A pitcher who bears down for a low 90's heater is among baseball's quickest working hurlers. Just ask the 2005 Seattle Mariners, who wrapped up an afternoon at the ballpark in 1 hour and 39 minutes, just 63 minutes discounting the time filled by a lovely word from sponsors.
Of course, that was hardly the highlight of an action-packed 2005 White Sox season. Backed by Buehrle's career-best 3.12 earned run average, Chicago finished atop the baseball world, defeating the Houston Astros in a sweep for the World Series Championship. It would be their first Championship since 1917; 88 years of waiting, but who's in a rush?
The celebration stopped early in 2006 for Mark Buehrle as White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams ordered Buehrle to stop performing on the field. No, Buehrle was not restricted from pitching. He was forbidden from sliding on the tarp covering the field during rain delays. The lack of rain may have dried Buehrle's mojo. He finished with his first career losing season, 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA.
The team supported Buehrle in his other favorite past time. Pitching. Despite his losing effort the previous season, the White Sox exercised a $9.5 million option on him for 2007.
The southpaw would earn his paycheck.
Last night, Buehrle goose-egged the Texas Rangers in the White Sox' 16th career no-hitter. One walk to a soon-to-be hall of famer broke up Buehrle's bid for perfection, but Buehrle, all the wiser, didn't let it affect his game. In the next at-bat, Buehrle wound and delivered a strike...to first base, picking off Sammy Sosa, fresh off his not-so-retirement vacation.
But are the scouts correct? How can Mark Buehrle, who has been marred by inconsistency, blank a team that perennially rank amongst the league's best in offense?
In May 2006, Buehrle allowed seven runs in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins. Winning pitcher in that game, Mark Buehrle. He became the first pitcher to accomplish such a feat since 1900, the year the American League was founded.
Is the answer simply good support from his teammates?
Forget for a second that Buehrle got the win in Major League's Baseball's Futures game in the year 2000, started and won the 2005 All-Star game, and ranked first in innings pitched in 2004 and 2005. How does a pitcher who better fits in a wiffleball tournament stymie nine batters three times?
The answer, deception. Buehrle has been throwing those plus-plus changeups to baseball scouts for years.
After you get your fill of watching the Bobby Jenks' of the world, take a minute to watch the shear wizardry of Mark Buehrle.
He'll make sure you leave the stadium happily and quickly.
Labels: baseball, Mark Buehrle, no-hitter, White Sox 0 comments