A Little Behind The Back For A Double Play

((HT: MLB.com))

Sometimes, momentum carries you in a direction counter to where you need to go to get your job done...

That didn't stop the Nationals' Asdrubal Cabrera from completing his half of a double play against Pittsburgh


Steve Nash would have been proud, but that would have meant Cabrera would have had to know who Nash actually was...

Mascot War: Teddy Roosevelt With Flying Clothesline on Pittsburgh Pierogi

((ht:washington nationals))

Somethings you just can't make up. This really happened.

During the famed "Mascot" race at Friday nights Washington Nationals/Pittsburgh Pirates we got to see something you just don't see very often.

A pro wrestling move.

One of the Nationals most popular racers "Teddy Roosevelt" won the race and at about the time he finished, some "Pittsburgh Pierogi's" ran onto the field.

Teddy got some helpers to put down a chair, ran, hopped on the chair and took down a Pierogi with a flying clothesline that would make anyone in the WWE proud.

Oh the hilarity.

Your turn Pittsburgh...

Video from the Nationals their own selves:

Marlins' Jennings Hit In Head With Line Drive

((HT: MLB.com))

The larger story out of the Marlins-Pirates game this evening is the condition of Marlins pitcher Dan Jennings after he took a line drive to the head from an at-bat with Jordy Mercer

Here's the play


The Pirates won the game 7-2 and Marlins Manager Mike Redmond said Jennings had his eyes open, was conscious, and was responding to questions as he was taken to a local hospital.

When The Code Goes Kerflooey In Baseball

((HT: MLB/FS Arizona/ROOT Sports))

Diamondbacks stud first baseman Paul Goldschmidt's season is, probably, over with the hit by pitch that Ernesto Frieri gave him in his only at bat on Friday night in their game against the Pirates. There's a bone in his hand that's broken and will eight weeks minimum in getting better.

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson being Kirk Gibson responded Saturday where Bucos star Andrew McCutchen got hit in the back by Randall Delgado in the 9th inning of a 5-1 game


Goldschmidt was more realistic about it Friday night before the diagnosis was final


But it speaks to the larger question as to when managers cross lines...

What Frieri did looks like pitching inside
What Gibson did looks like revenge done poorly

The HQ sees nothing wrong with The Code, but codes take proper judgment in being implemented.
Doesn't look like that was the case here...

Lose A Bet, Take A Swim

((HT: MLB.com))

The HQ wouldn't necessarily call this losing a bet...

Neil Walker didn't hit a home run into the pool at Diamondbacks Park two night's ago, so he had to do what teammate Jordy Mercer told him to do yesterday...

The folks at ROOT Sports explain


Still don't see how that's losing a bet...

How A Walk Turns Into A Double Play

((HT: MLB.com))

Pirates and Giants today...

Jean Machi issues a walk...
But Machi sees Travis Snider too far off the bag
And then the fun begins...


Wild, but very afternoon-basebally...

When Being Out Of The Baseline Doesn't Mean You're Out

((HT: MLB.com))

The Pittsburgh Pirates Josh Harrison had a full evening last night...

But the biggest part was this activity on the base paths that angered Mets manager Terry Collins before it was over with...


Now, we know that when you run, you can take a little creative license in the base paths...

A Walk-Off Review...???

((HT: MLB/ROOT))

The HQ doesn't know what to think of this...

Is it what you are looking for in a review- even if it ends a game- or does it take away too much from the game itself when you call for a review...???

Happened last night in the Pirates-Giants game...
Here's the end...
What say you...???

ICYMI: Starling Marte with the Sterling Walk-Off HR

Boom goes the dynamite...and the fireworks lighting up the Pittsburgh sky Friday night.

The Pittsburgh Pirates get a walk-off solo home run from Starling Marte to take down the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in a crazy finish.

The Jays led 5-3 going into the bottom of the 9th. But closer Sergio Santos gave up a 2-run homer to Pedro Alvarez to tie the game.

That's when Marte finished it...(Highlight from MLB.com)

Pirates and Brewers Brawl Over Carlos Gomez

Say what you will, but Milwaukee Brewers star Carlos Gomez is a talented guy. A fantastic baseball player, who hits for power, has speed to spare and can go get them in centerfield.

But Gomez also seems to be a lightning rod for trouble because he shows off.

In 2013, he set off a bench clearing situation with the Atlanta Braves on a home run when Braves catcher Brian McCann wouldn't let him cross the plate.

Sunday afternoon, his casual bat flip after hitting a ball off the wall in dead centerfield during a game with the Pittsburgh Pirates set off a wild scene that saw punches fly, Gomez get tossed around and Pirates outfielder Travis Snider get his hat knocked off by an attempted punch.

After the bat flip, Gomez eventually ran full speed before beating the throw to third with a headfirst slide. Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole who went to back-up the throw began shouting at Gomez, who shouted back and the chaos ensued.

Gomez and Snider were ejected along with Milwaukee bench coach Jerry Narron. Nobody appears to have been injured and you can expect the fines to begin rolling in on Monday.

Effective Use Of The Tools In Front Of You At The Ballpark

((HT: John Buccigross' Vine))

Sometimes, you forget to bring your glove to the ballpark...

And, usually, on those nights it's when the baseball is hit your way...

Happened tonight in Pittsburgh and you just have to make do...


And he made do...

Cubs' Lake Wears Wrong Jersey

((HT: MLB))

Okay...

There are two jerseys that are away greys in your locker...

And you grab the wrong one...

Junior Lake pulled the wrong one out of his locker for their afternoon game against Pittsburgh...

Here's the look as it should have been and Lake's before he got it right...


Reliever Justin Grimm broke the news:

"Bullpen guy told me I had the wrong jersey. I looked and said [f---]," Lake said postgame to ESPNChicago's Jesse Rogers.

Ralph Kiner Passes At 91

((HT: WWOR-TV))

Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner passed today at the age of 91...

The HQ remembers him in this role as we grew up a child of cable television...


But our in-laws know him with his amazing career with the Pirates as a slugger and true hitter...

The Korner will never be the same... and it will be missed...

Hopefully, the Metropolitans will have the appropriate type of homage as we head toward Spring Training and the 2014 season...

Raise The Jolly Roger: But We Missed A Lot...And Mat Latos' Wife Says She Got Attacked...

((HT: MLB.com))

Did you see this last night on the broadcast of the Pirates-Reds game...???


But, it was Andrew McCutchen's mom...???
Surely, it was worth television time...

How about Doug Drabek's first pitch strike...???
Nope...??? The video doesn't exist...

How about this...???
A fan jumping off the Clemente bridge after the win...???
((HT: Dafranchize412))


It HAS made the rounds and the cops are investigating. A guy by the name of Dean Pasztor jumped into the water and made it to shore. He is from Ohio, and posted on his Twitter page that he “doesn’t care if people know he jumped off the bridge to celebrate a Buccos win.”

But a lot of the pomp and circumstance was relegated to what Craig Sager did at the statue and tossing to taped pieces- not living in the moment inside the building where 7,660 days of pent up frustration were exorcised in the Wild Card win over Cincinnati.

Evidence here... in part...


PM UPDATE: The wife of Reds pitcher, Mat Latos, Dallas says she got attacked last night at PNC Park...

In a series of Tweets, here's what she says happened...

Got punched in the head at least 3 times by a pirates fan so this has been cool

Pittsburgh police can’t arrest anyone on assault accounts so I’m the one who spent the game talking to law enforcement after being attacked.

Look. Check the police report. I was ambushed in the Budweiser bar, grabbed by the hair, drug down & punched in the head multiple times.

Every opportunity was given to pirates security to deal with this before it happened. Unbelievable.

Thanks to the pirates fan who saw it happen & apologized. Not condemning you as a group at all. That was simply wild.

According to police this morning at a press conference, Latos was asked if she wanted medical treatment and she declined. All PNC Park policies were followed, and unless the Reds and Latos decide to pursue the issue, the matter is closed.

OSG High: 2 Georgia Kids Drafted In The Top 10

((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))

The worst kept secret of the 2013 MLB Draft, other than there actually being a draft, was the story that two kids that grew up playing against each other got drafted in the Top 10.

Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows played at Loganville (GA) High and Grayson (GA) High, respectively.

The one game the two schools played against each other this season (since the schools aren't in the same classification) turned into a traffic nightmare and a standing room only crowd that included guys like Cubs GM Theo Epstein.

Here's the recap on the drafts and the parties from FOSG Cody Chaffins...
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Mark Appel, the hometown kid for the Houston Astros, went first overall from Stanford University.
Don't be surprised if he's up at the parent club very soon- since they need all the help they can get.

The Astros Just Find Ways to Lose

((HT: ROOT Sports/MLB))

Let's face it... the Houston Astros are just a gawdawful baseball team...

The ownership change and the league change are showing a lack of resources either available to the franchise or a lack of resources the ownership group even want to spend in the process...

The team has a salary compilation of less than $30-million and rival the Marlins in only futility...

Last night was no different in the game against the Pirates...
The adjectives start to fail the HQ


Nothing like running a team at a profit...

Aroldis Chapman's room robbed in Pittsburgh and bound woman found

((ht: post-gazette.com))

Aroldis Chapman

Either Aroldis Chapman has some bad mojo surrounding him off the field or he's got some secrets.

The reason we say that; apparently during last night's Pittsburgh Pirates/Cincinnati Reds game in Pittsburgh, someone or ones broke into the big Cuban lefthander's room and robbed him.

And it appears police found out after security guards were alerted by guests at the Omni William Penn hotel that there were screams coming from Chapman's room.

That's where they found a 26-year old woman tied up and crying.

Confused?

Yeah, so are we.

Read more from the Post-Gazette.com RIGHT HERE

The story says police reported "The woman opened the door to the room after a man claiming to be maintenance knocked on the door". The part the police...or this report leaves out was apparently what the woman was doing in Chapman's room.

She is not ID'd.

Chapman has had his fair share of issues the past few weeks. From the $100 million alleged lawsuit from someone in Cuba to his driving and DUI issues, he has not been the model of quiet off-the-field behavior.

There may have been a perfectly rational reason the woman was in his room.

And no, it doesn't explain...or justify the robbery. We hope police are able to catch that clown. But there are a lot of odd, unexplained coincidences here.

Maybe we are just cynical, but we think there is a better explanation for the woman in the room that we haven't and probably won't hear.

We think this whole ESPN/Sports Science thing is kind of stupid, but its good video and a way to show why Chapman has made a name for himself.



UPDATE: Here's coverage from our friends at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh...

"We are aware of the hotel room robbery of one of our players and are working with local law enforcement agencies. Because it is an active police investigation, we have no other comment at this time," Reds spokesman Rob Butcher said in an email.

Reds manager Dusty Baker was found entering a cab on his way to the ballpark and admitted he didn't know much about it and said also that it was a police matter...

Here's early returns from our friends at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati

AJ Burnett Gets Rude Welcome Back To NL

((HT: ESPN))

He got to bunt a ball off his face while taking BP in the cage today...
Not the welcome back he was looking for...


As Ravvy says, Burnett is heading back to Pittsburgh to have his eye looked at...
The HQ, naturally, hopes everything is okay after the shiner disappears...

The Worst Call Ever...???

((HT: MLB/FSNSouth/youtube))

This may go down as two things:

1) The worst call ever in the history of Major League Baseball and,
2) The game that changed the Pittsburgh Pirates season once and for all...

The Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates went at it for 19 innings last night- and it shoud have been, at least, 20...

The game ended at 2AM on one of the worst endings evah...

Here's the call...


"I didn't feel the tag," the Braves Julio Lugo said. "He made the right call. I got in there."

"I saw the tag, but he looked like he oled him and I called him safe for that," home plate ump Jerry Meals said. "I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area. I'm guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when it happened I didn't see a tag.

"I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn't see the glove hit his leg."

One note: The home plate ump should never admit to watching a replay and thinking something was different...