Something to balk about

Thanks to the birth of my 1st child (James Thomas) on Friday, I was home today and able to (somewhat) watch the Sox game, and I couldn't believe what I saw. In the 2nd inning umpire "Cowboy" Joe West called a balk on Mark Buerhle on a pickoff move to first base. When Ozzie Guillen came out to ask West why he called it, West waved for Ozzie to return to the dugout. Now, anyone that's been around baseball for the past 6 years knows that Guillen has a bit of a temper. What the non-White Sox fan might not know is that Guillen and West have not always been the best of friends. So it was really no surprise to me that Guillen got the boot after ignoring West's request to not come onto the field.
That's not the surprise. What I couldn't believe was the 2nd balk West called against Buerhle leading to his ejection for what West perceived as being shown up when Buerhle threw his glove to the ground. Here's the kicker... on neither pick-off attempt did Mark Buerhle balk.
Today's game was yet another example of umpires egos being too big and them playing too large of a role in a game. Their job is to make the calls and, if need be, keep the peace. The fact that West was aggressively talking to Buerhle after the first balk call and his demeanor after both ejections made it seem like he was enjoying the spotlight being on him for those few minutes. He made his presence known in the game and could have potentially played a huge role in the outcome. The Sox were forced to go to their bullpen in the 3rd inning and burned through 4 relievers to finish up the game (which Bobby Jenks almost gave away). If Tony Pena hadn't had his best outing since coming over to the Sox last in a trade last season who knows what would have happened.
How many relievers the Sox had to use is not the issue. What went wrong is that another umpire found a way to become a larger part of the game than is required. If West felt Buerhle balked then fine, call the balk and let that be the end of it. Don't yell at Buerhle from the foul line and make a scene by jogging over to pick up the lineup cards Guillen threw in disgust. Do your job the right way by staying in the shadows and making the right calls.
In every profession egos need to be checked at the door... Apparently Joe West will keep balking at that notion.

What 'wood' you do?

Roughly 2 1/2 months after being hit in the head by a line drive a high school baseball player is on the road to recovery. Gunnar Sandberg was hit in the head by a line drive off an aluminum bat that almost ended his life. He was put into a medically induced coma for three weeks and will have surgery this week to replace a bone flap that was initially removed to relieve pressure on his brain. The 16 year old has to wear a helmet to protect the fragile area at all times.
The injury to Sandberg has once again resurrected the ongoing debate of aluminum bats vs. wood bats. California currently has a pending legislation that will put a two-year moratorium on using metal bats in high school. Some counties have already banned metal bats and have switched to wood bats.
I think this switch needs to be made nationwide, in all counties and cities of every state in the U.S. Look, I play in softball beer leagues and even they ban certain metal bats from use because of the risk factors for pitchers. If park districts and rec leagues can see the hazards metal bats pose to pitchers, then why doesn't the governing bodies of high school baseball?
There is one commodity in sports that transcends winning and competition and money... That commodity is player safety. With the increasing technology and advancements in metal bats the day has come to ban them from use from the high school level and up to ensure the safety of the young men and women on the playing field. A baseball travels in excess of 100mph off the bat of a high school player (and obviously increases depending on how fast the pitcher throws). The distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate is 60' 6" and each pitcher is left in an extremely vulnerable position after following through on the pitch. As a result they are not always in the best fielding position to defend themselves from a batted ball. This is a perfect storm for a serious injury to a young ballplayer.
I know Gunnar Sandberg agrees that they rules on aluminum bats needs to be changed, and until something is done he won't be the last high school player to get caught by the storm.

Time to unwrite this unwritten rule

The unwritten rules of sports are as old as sports themselves. They're the unwritten codes of conduct, of respect that one team shows another. You learn them as soon as you start playing at a competitive level. They're almost an equivalent to life lessons; 'Don't run up the score' is like saying, 'don't kick a man when he's down.'
While I'm generally not opposed to most of the unwritten rules in baseball, there's one that seems to be brought up almost every time a no-hitter is in progress. It's a rule that just doesn't make any sense to me, whatsoever.
Apparently it's considered bush league to try to bunt your way on base if your team is getting no-hit, especially if you're losing by 4 or 5 runs late in the game.
This scenario came to fruition on Mother's Day when Evan Longoria tried to bunt for a hit against the A's Dallas Braden while he was in the middle of a perfect game. The ball rolled just foul (it would have been a hit if it stayed fair) and Longoria eventually struck out and Braden tossed the 19th perfect game in MLB history.
Now some people were upset with Longoria for trying to break up Braden's bid for perfection by dropping down a bunt instead of swinging away. They say it's cheap and that it violates the unwritten rule about breaking up no-hitters with a bunt hit.
To the people that believe this, I encourage you to wander off blind folded in the middle of rush hour traffic... or maybe you could be useful to society by posing as a traffic cone in a construction zone... you could even volunteer to be a tackling dummy for your local high school football team. If you believe this, if you're one of the baseball stupid that believes this, then I have no use for you and your opinion and thought making privileges need to be revoked.
Baseball is a game of rhythm. If the opposing pitcher gets in a good rhythm then you, as the batter, need to do anything and everything to try to break up his rhythm. You can take a little longer getting in the batter's box; you can try calling for time before he starts his wind-up. And yes, that means it you want to drop a bunt down the third base line in the 7th inning, even if you're losing by 1, 8 or 18, then you do it. Your job is to get on base and disrupt the timing of the pitcher. You need to get in his head as much as possible hoping that he'll lose focus long enough to serve up a gopher ball to your teammate that's on deck.
You never know what will happen from one batter to the next. Your bunt hit could be the first domino that needs to fall to get the line moving for your team. It could be the spark that ignites a rally. By getting on base you could get in the pitcher's head and make him lose his focus; you could steal a base or get into scoring position on a passed ball or wild pitch. There is so much that could happen from something as simple as bunting for a hit when the defense isn't expecting it that it's almost ludicris if it isn't attempted.
Here's one last nugget to consider... What's the difference between the first batter of the game reaching on a bunt hit and someone doing it in the 5th or 8th inning to break up a no-no?
Absolutely none.

Like Bill Clinton, only less believable

"For me, crazy as it seems, there is a real relationship between wild, reckless abandon off the field and being that way on the field."
-Lawrence Taylor, 1987

Lawrence Taylor... when will you learn? Maybe LT thought he jumped in his own hot tub time machine and was back in 1987 when he was still the king of the NFL and one of the most feared and game planned against players in the game.
In case you missed it, Taylor was arrested and charged with third degree rape and patronizing a prostitute... and in other news water is wet.
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Taylor is in trouble once again with the law. He has been arrested numerous times for drugs, went to rehab more times than he ended a football career, (see Joe Theisman) along with other arrests ranging from tax evasion to stacks of parking tickets.
I suppose I should be outraged and calling for his head because of this latest terrible thing he's done. Rape is one of the most atrocious acts of any person and anyone convicted should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
In truth, I'm not shocked, angry or bothered by the report. Maybe I've been desensitized to athletes committing heinous acts; maybe if it was someone without a checkered past I'd feel differently. Don't get me wrong, I feel terrible for the girl involved and for everything she's been through. No person should have to suffer what she is going through because of Rasheed Davis (the man that pimped her to Taylor)and Lawrence Taylor.
LT's defense is that he had 'some contact' with the girl but did not rape or have sexual intercourse with her. Apparently the girl was told to tell LT that she was 19, not 16. That still doesn't let Taylor off the hook. He has still admitted to paying for sex, which is a crime and he should have known better by now.
I don't place the full blame on Taylor for this, but history should have taught him that saying you didn't have sex with someone and then admitting you gave that person money for sex isn't going to garner any sympathy or support from the masses. Davis is just as guilty in this ordeal. Now, even though I don't fully blame him, he needs to pay for his actions and hopefully, though not likely, he will finally learn how to be a continued positive member of society.

Madhouse on Madison? More like Muted on Madison.

If you're a hockey fan then you were tuned in Saturday night to watch the Blackhawks and Canucks do battle. Living in Chicago this is all you heard about since John Madden's empty netter sealed the first round series victory against Nashville. For Vancouver, this is the game they have been waiting for since the Blackhawks eliminated them from the playoffs last year. The Canucks had a game plan; they were charged and ready to exact revenge on Kaner, Toews and Co. They weren't going to let Big Buff bother them like he did last year. Luongo was poised to show he can win the big playoff game and Alain Vigneault was gonig to out coach Joel Quenneville.
But this is the Blackhawks, at home, playing against a team that fits their style of play better than the Predators. This is where they were supposed to assert their dominance and lay to rest any doubts about how they were going to close out the playoffs.
I guess the Blackhawks didn't get that memo. The Canucks beat them in every aspect of the game. They out-skated, out-hustled and out-played the Blackhawks up and down the ice. They beat them to open pucks, forced turnovers and capitalized on their scoring chances. Vancouver was the more prepared team, mentally and physically.
The Blackhawks looked flat and unprepared. Niemi couldn't control his rebounds, the defense looked confused and were consistently out of position. Offensively, scoring chances were missed with regularity and Coach Q's decision to move Byfuglien back to forward didn't product the results he wanted.
Now, I guess if you're going to lay an absolute egg in the playoffs, it's better to do it in Game 1 (see Nashville series) and learn from what you did wrong. Coach Quenneville is going to have to drill it into his young team's head that there will not be any easy games, that they're going to have to play hard every second of every shift and that making to the conference finals last season doesn't entitle them to anything this year. If the Blackhawks are going to compete for the Stanley Cup and live up to their tremendous potential then they need to play each game like the fate of their season is hanging in the balance. If they don't they'll be Canuck-ed right out of the playoffs.