Wednesday, June 18, 2008

A new definition for getting "homered"

In the second inning of tonight's game against the Grizzlies, after a Richie Robnett double, Cliff Pennington came into home. The Grizzlies' left fielder threw the long ball to the shortstop who pegged it to the catcher. Since there was a possible play at third the home plate umpire moved to third and the first base umpire moved to home to cover the action. The first base umpire moved beyond home plate, somewhat behind the play. As the play came down Pennington ran around the catcher and then deftly moved his hand on to the plate. He was clearly safe. The catcher who was busy trying to corral the ball coming from the infield missed the tag until well after Pennington had touched the base. Since we watch it from the first base line we were in the perfect position to see the play. Getting homered in this case was more like Bart's father (do'oh) than a call in our favor.

We got it back in the fifth with a homer from Brooks Conrad and then two innings later added a run. We won it 4-0 but the call in the second was among the worst calls I have ever seen in baseball. The Cats are now 13 over .500 but our last 10 have been 4-6. You expect these kinds of ups and downs during the season. So it was gratifying to see them come back.

Last night, although I missed the game because of a dinner in the Bay Area, I read that they blew a 6 run lead. They still look pretty good so far this season.

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