Kerrywood Ending

Chances are that Tribe fans remember Kerry Wood and his disappointing year and a half on the lake more for this sort of thing



than for the classy manner in which he went out last night



but cheers to a man who ranks 2nd all time in K/9 (10.3) for pitchers with 1000+ innings.  I will always remember when Wood made his first MLB start in 1998.  I heard a sportscaster quip, "It is appropriate that the man who many expect to resurrect the Cubs franchise is making his debut on Easter Sunday."  Happy trails, Kerry.

Lack Of Oversight

The other day, I expressed a great deal of disdain for MLB official scorers, specifically in reference to error assignment when the defense is shifted for a lefty pull hitter.  That got me to thinking about who these official scorers are and how they obtain their positions.

It turns out that, by rule, Major League Baseball is responsible for the appointment and employment of official scorers.  However, in practice, these individuals are designated by the individual teams and their corresponding chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.  Commonly, two people compose an official scoring dyad and, theoretically, posses a firm experiential understanding of the game and encyclopaedic knowledgability of the rule book.  The appointments are for at least one complete season and, although "the scorer is required to rule in accordance with baseball rules and in agreement with the judgment of the umpires," there is no standardization process at either a team or league level.  A team or player may request a league review of any scoring decision, but this is a cumbersome process that is rarely employed (although the below play was changed from a triple to an error just a week ago).

The long and short of it is that if you don't like a scoring decision, tough shit.  MLB does not care.  This is the way score keeping has been done for the entire history of the league and they shan't be laying any accountability on official scorers anytime soon.  They will remain free to be "super retarded."

Cheers.

Someone Forgot To Check

I'm not a big fan of instant replay, but there is a a phrase for this... um... how you say... indisputable video evidence.  Did you notice that the home plate umpire paused, then called Brendan Ryan out himself, without asking for help?  Did you happen catch how Fox refused to show you any sort of replay?

I was rooting for Humber, but this was as egregious of a missed call as Jason Donald being safe at first.

Bah.

Idolatry

 Yes, that is the recently retired Ivan Rodriguez.  And, yes, behind him is a statue of the recently retired Ivan Rodriguez.  And, naturally, that is the front yard of Ivan Rodriguez.