SinceYaz

I like my job. I even like my normal shift. It runs slam into the night games five times a week, if there are games those nights, that is. SO what? I really have a great groove when I get to peak in on the Sox and, like tonight, they are already up 5-0 by the time six Sox outs are recorded! The guy in one room was moaning in pain. Later, another was spending is post-op hours puking ... or dry heaving. I felt sympathy for them and added a quick prayer for their situation. The sick were all about me. And I was doing my best to do no one any harm. And loving the way Eddy pitched, Mookie powered the ball out of three times .... and now that I am home, Sports Center is calling certain kinds of HRs "Mookie Bett's home runs" - line drives that zip over the fence.... I know what is really important and sport is entertainment, but there is something about when the Sox are playing well that lends a bright lining to the purpose of the day. Folks wonder why I smile any way and ask what's wrong when I don't ... but the lilt given when the Sox are playing well only makes things better. ) What can ya say that doesn't make you smile? Say JBJ and ya smile like a drunk donkey. Say Mookie and you smile like a kid about to get a Klondike bar. Say Pedey and you smile with the sureness of the old man who taught you how to tie knots and weights so you can join him fishing by the sea. Say Big Papi and you smile like the guy who just popped the balloon while eating a banana split and your cost was one cent! So many cool reasons to smile! Say Buck Showalter and the smile busts out into guffahs that wake your neighbors as you unlock the front door at ten minutes after midnight!!! This is cool stuff, friends! Cool stuff ... so many more reasons to smile....

There is a quasi-option. You can get Gehrig & Ruth's 1927 Strat-o-matic cards, which are awesome BTW, and play it against' Pedro's best season(s).... Pedro, RJ and Maddox are all available. Not sure which of the others are... But my best friend had the Old Timer's ... mmm, were they seweeet. That was back in the 60s but the options have only grown since then.

So sweet

You're not being confused. There was one right down the pike, maybe one baseball higher than true center. In both games there were several that were obviously incorrect as well ... the hard part was that more than a few would have been 3rd strikes. Instead the pitch was a ball and the batter got another chance. Donaldson, et. al., don't need more chances, they are too good on their own.

Your guidance is appreciated. I often monitor my own language. A habit of necessity.

Point that may have been missed. I don't get to watch all the games. I do follow the Gameday live update (link:http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos )and so the strike zone is often all I get. When a pitch well inside the strike zone is called a ball, it clearly shows up. When I DO get to watch, I still have my tablet on the update. The two games I referenced were connected to a NESN stream and the conversation in the booth was very comfortable with the complaints I espoused. Sometimes the streaming comes with the Jays commentators, who I find quite favorable. I don't know if they would have had the same perspective as O'Brien and RemDog. The NESN coverage clearly showed Willis upset as was Kelly in the first game. The calls the next day were just more gas on the flame.

THAT is all I was talking about in reality. We had an honor system, for the lack of a better phrase, as kids when we played sandlot. It was about the PLAYING, not the calling. Only real d***heads called bad pitches good and vice versa. If those guys wouldn't be fair, we had a way to deal with it .... they wouldn't get to play. The umpire SHOULD NOT be calling "his own" strike zone. Many umps are known for their preference, how about just calling the zone we know is in the rule book? Anyway, you put your finger on it. Let the game proceed as the way it is supposed to.

LOL! I usually would go with SWT (smiling while typing) but you really made me, encouraged me to laugh out loud.

JB .... is there ever an appropriate - uh - designation for a locale then GSW in Oakland? Heheh.

Happy for them ALL!!! )

He got hit in the head and missed the last 6 weeks. But you are right that he started putting together a sub-3.00 ERA run'

Apologies to Thunder, but I am glad. I don't want KD to leave, but of three ideas in my head right now, it is the least. I want Cleveland to finally win. NEXT season. I want the Warriors to finish off the historic season with a title. Watching KD after the game, he seemed quite unusual in his emotions. He was being a good sport but he didn't seem devastated over the loss.

Ahhh, we could have had fun, my friend. I would not have been bored but we have traveled a long way from the OP, eh? I purposefully referenced only "western" civ. It is a weakness in our overall educational scope. It is as if nothing happened in Pacific Rim Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. Heh... I'll shut up and go back to BB's and K's. But we could have had fun.

Dusty, Welcome! I couldn't agree more. When we stub our toe like on Saturday it almost seems totally out of character. Even still, it was a never say die affair. Friday too. Both we struggles and we - I - am getting used to them having their way. I like the chain ... when the offense gets rolling it gets really interesting.

Or how about if he makes 5 missed calls in a three inning period, a lucky fan, of the opposing team (which means there would have to be two available, one for each team) gets to take an EMP at the ump from deep centerfield!!!! ???

Actually, I prefer Rogers. Freud is so passe. Unless you have mother issues.

AND then toss in an 87 mph fastball! 59 mph knuckle to 87 mph fb .... wooooowweeee

Remember when you would have been pleased with the Sox coming home at 3-2? You mentioned it would be a .600 percentage and you could live with that? Well, after 50 games, we were 30-20 .... not bad, eh? And now, 31-20 ...

Never stop feeling your perspective isn't as valid as anyone else, Thunder! Your words are valid on all the points you made. And your following post was excellent.

Pitchers will love you.

I like that out of the box thinking.

If I recall my history, DD, and I'm a fairly interested student of world civilizations, if it weren't for the horde you mention, the Roman Empire might still have a solid footing as a super power. For all the good that came out of Rome, it was tempered by barbarism. Odd, eh? But then there are those who imply the barbarians were the source of the Dark Ages. I guess we can't have it all. However, the umps in Red Sox games 48 and 49 were horrible. I again reference them, but has anyone noticed that I was highlighting two games out of 50? That is LESS THAN FOUR TENTHS OF A PERCENT of all games played? An average of 1 game out of 25? In other words, for those who are whining about my whining, (not meaning you David) it is a minuscule amount.

jete!!! Hey there!!!!! Good to see ya!

You are spot on about Koji. I like your description of his guile. I liked Pap a lot and my wife wondered who the dancing fool was, which she said with humorous admiration instead of snippiness. From a distance, since he is no longer a Red Sox, I have been bemused by his behavior. I still like him, Pap, but wish he'd not make such a mess of things for himself and his mates. Koji was a breath of fresh air. I still love his approach. He's a tick off his fantastic season, but that's ok.

Weather is the important issue .... rain, I mean. The former tropical storm (Bonnie) that came in from the Atlantic may have passed by 1 PM. Weather.com says partly cloudy, about 80 degrees with small chance of rain (15 %). Wright's worst game came in the rain. Effected his grip and flight of his pitch.