Major League Baseball recently concluded an investigation regarding an SB Nation report that Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera was caught spitting on the baseball during his appearance in Game 3 of the ALCS yesterday. Rivera was seen spitting in the general direction of the ball before the camera cut away to Angels manager Mike Scioscia. Emphasis added:
he initial reaction by the league had been that the video plus still pictures they have of the incident were inconclusive if Rivera actually spit on or near the ball. But after further review of what it had, the Commissioners Office determined that Rivera was not spitting directly on the ball.
On still pictures in MLB’s possession, it apparently looks as if Rivera is spitting near, but not on, the ball. Also, as even the league office is aware, Rivera is a player who spits constantly while in action. NYPost, via SB Nation.
Whatever. Pitchers that cheat are the ones that really do a disservice to the game. You think I want to spend three hours watching a 1-0 game? Actually, I do like those, but the girls I take to the game can never sit still through them. I blame the lack of offense. Or maybe it’s crabs. vid from Deadspin.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Cardinals leading 2-1, Matt Holliday lost a sinking line drive in the lights, couldn’t track the ball, and instead of catching it, appeared to take it square in the nuts. Most reports are saying the ball hit Holliday in the stomach, but I think they are trying to avoid adding insult to injury, because if you watch the above video replay (with bonus Couples Retreat preview! You haven’t seen that before!), it’s pretty clear that the ball drilled him square in the junk. The Dodgers capitalized on the error, scoring two runs, including the game-winning single by Mark Loretta that scored Casey Blake to beat the Cardinals 3-2 and take a 2-0 series lead. The Cardinals are perhaps now drowning their sorrows while Matt Holliday is icing his balls.
In other MLB Division Series playoff action…
Colorado Rockies 5, Philadelphia Phillies 4. The Rockies evened up their matchup with the Phillies at one game apiece as the series heads to chilly Colorado. Speaking of nuts, after pitching five innings and surrendering four earned runs, starter Cole Hamels departed the game and then had to rush to the hospital after his wife went into labor. I hope the Hamels saved some of the placenta to share with the whole team. If you have never sampled placenta, you must. It tastes delightful on a Chicken in a Biskit.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5, Boston Red Sox 0. The Angels appeared to solve their issues with the Red Sox, at least for one game (Boston has beaten Anaheim in three consecutive playoff series), as John Lackey pitched 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing only four singles. Torrii (the extra ‘i’ is for ‘incredible’) Hunter got the scoring started in the fifth inning with a mammoth three-run homer off BoSox lefthander Jon Lester. Kendry Morales added a two-run single in seventh, Darren Oliver retired all five batters he faced in relief and the Angels took a 1-0 series lead. Call it the power of the Rally Monkey, but have no fear, Boston fans. I’m pretty sure the Red Sox will have their own primitive primate of their own cheering them on when they return to Boston.
MORE MLB: The Cleveland Indians are getting rid of manager Eric Wedge. I guess you can’t fire the infantry…
There apparently has been some clamoring about how the Los Angeles California Angels of Anaheim United States North America Earth incorporated the jersey of their late pitcher Nick Adenhart into their champagne-soaked celebration of their AL West title. The jersey of Adenhart, who was killed in a hit-and-run by a driver under the influence earlier in the season, was soaked in champagne and alcohol during the celebration, which angered a lot of people hoping to see laundry treated more humanely. The Angels defended themselves yesterday.
“We wanted to celebrate with him like he was here,” reliever Kevin Jepsen, whose locker is just a few stalls away from Adenhart’s, said Tuesday. “If he was still here with us, we’d be pouring beer on him just like everybody else in here.[..]
Said third baseman Chone Figgins: “He’s our teammate. We’re allowed to do what we want.”
Manager Mike Scioscia said the gesture was meant as nothing more than homage to the 22-year-old…”You have to understand these players and the tribute, what it really means when you pour champagne on somebody,” Scioscia said. “That’s the tribute, not the fact that it was alcohol. It’s like getting a whipped-cream pie in the face after an interview. It’s part of the tribute. . . . I think it was very sincere, very real and I know it was meaningful to us.” via.
The dearth of convictions of “Driving While Pie-Faced” notwithstanding, I’ve never found it appropriate to judge other people’s reactions on how they handle death. Some people want to cry, some people get angry. Others just want to climb back on while the body’s still warm and “pay their final respects.” Pay them all over her chest and face. But that’s why America loves baseball. We still love baseball, right?
We roll out of the weekend with a leadoff post that might irritate some of you, and that’s fine, because it irritated me. Kobe Bryant, the guy that just won a title and a Finals MVP with the NBA’s Lakers, was seen at the Angels game last night, a game that was televised on ESPN. And yeah, it might be a silly thing to get worked up over, especially with all these other sports going on like…uh…
Bryant took in the game with his dad yesterday evening, and that’s cool. It was father’s day, after all, and Kobe deserves a vacation, having played in the Beijing Olympics between NBA seasons last summer. But flipping on a baseball game and seeing a guy that you weren’t expecting back in your living room before October was a little weird (I almost didn’t recognize him without his wife or kids standing grimly at his side). He sat in the front row, in front of the dugout, and even appeared on the videoboard at one point.
I’m not saying that the Kobe should never leave his house; I’m just sick of the jock-sniffing that ESPN heaps upon him, seemingly ignoring what everyone else saw during the playoffs: another petulant athlete that tries way too hard to look like a good guy whenever a camera’s in his face. And the Monolith, with its multi-year contract to broadcast NBA games, can’t seem to shove enough cameras in his general direction. They’re happy to do whatever they think will make Kobe look like a good guy, which is the second-best reason to suspect that he isn’t. In fact, ESPN would seem content showing Kobe mowing his lawn, brushing his teeth, or doing anything that doesn’t resemble anally penetrating a 20-year-old woman in a ski lodge. And yet, whenever Bryant pops up on my TV, that’s the only thing I see…
UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that the Angels’ game against Oakland scheduled for tonight has been postponed.
Getting killed in a felony hit-and-run after the game.
Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was one of three people killed in a three-car accident in Fullerton early this morning. Adenhart pitched six innings for the Angels last night, giving up only seven hits…well, eight now, I guess.
Authorities are blaming the three-vehicle accident on a motorist in a mini-van who ran a red light at East Orangethorpe Avenue and South Lemon Street.
Authorities say the driver of the van fled the scene, was later captured and charged with felony hit-and-run.
I always thought the hit-and-run was more of a National League thing. Adenhart was 22.
|From Your4State, orig. seen on TMZ|
USA Today has a glowing feature on Angels manager Mike Scioscia today — does USA Today do anything but glowing features? — and the former Dodgers catcher deflects his immense success with hearty doses of self-deprecation… And hearty doses of gravy! Fatty!
"I don't wear my World Series rings anymore," says Scioscia, who actually proposed to Anne, his wife of 23 years, over a drive-through dinner at In-N-Out Burger. "I'm too fat. They don't fit."
Awww, give the lardass a break. He deserves to treat himself after recovering from radiation sickness.
[FanHaus]
