posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008 1:32 AM
by
Jim
Thome delivery
Jim Thome finally delivered his 500th home run ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
And
some hack covered the event.
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Congratulations to Joe Cowley, who announced he was cancer-free in the wake of Jay Mariotti's resignation from the Chicago Sun-Times.
He also said his melanoma did not spread into his lymph nodes, so that's excellent news as well.
Seriously, the Sun-Times newsroom must look like the scene in
Airplane! where everybody's lining up to knock some sense into the hysterical lady.
Look at everybody who has joined Cowley in sounding off on Mariotti since he left the paper:
It always makes me nervous when journalists write about other journalists, because it seems like the best possible outcome is the public not caring, with a good chance everybody will look like fools. On the other hand, given the troubles of the paper, if
this actually gets people subscribing to the paper, then maybe they should milk it for all it's worth.
Mariotti wasn't on my radar in the first place, and since you could tell the Mariotti headlines from the rest of them, I rarely even clicked on his columns by accident.
However, I'm thrilled that we won't be subjected to any more Hawk Harrelson "hiney bird" rants, which,
as I've argued before, did far more harm than good.
Next up: Getting Hawk off the Minnesota Twins, who had committed six errors in four games before snapping a four-game losing streak Wednesday. They don't
always execute Hawk, and they do occasionally beat themselves, believe it or not.
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Bringing closure to
the second A.J. Pierzynski-Doug Eddings incident, vice president of umpiring Mike Port
said Eddings made an incorrect call after all:
"Looking back at that occurrence, for the first and last time, it was a missed call," Port said. "And it was not because Doug Eddings, an umpire with 10 years experience, and 10 before that in the minor leagues, didn't know the application of the rule, but just that in the moment in applying the rule, he saw something he thought was more than it turned out to be." [...]
Port said that after watching replays, Eddings was "the first to admit" he was wrong and said so to MLB officials who regularly review controversial plays. There is no recourse, however, for the Rays.
If the Sox manage to win the AL Central by one game, this might be the first thing to point to.
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Who isn't bringing closure? Jon Link.
He can take consolation in the fact that the Sox probably wouldn't have had a roster spot for him anyway in September, because he's fallen on hard times as of late.
Link failed to retire any of the three batters he faced tonight, allowing a double, single and walk that resulted in a run. He's managed to only work two innings in his last four outings, allowing eight hits and seven runs over that stretch.
If there's good news, he only allowed one run after allowing two runs in each of his three previous outings. I wonder if he was smiling in his team picture before all this started.
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Minor league roundup:- Birmingham 7, Mobile 6
- Kyle McCulloch scattered 10 hits over seven innings, allowing just two runs.
- Stefan Gartrell went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
- Javier Castillo went 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
- Lee Cruz had a pair of doubles, and Victor Mercedes had a pair of singles.
- Winston-Salem 3, Kinston 1
- Matt Long allowed one run on six hits over six innings, striking out six.
- Fellow Matts Zaleski (1 IP) and Davis kept Kinston scoreless the rest of the way.
- Joe Persichina and C.J. Retherford had two hits apiece.
- Great Falls 9, Helena
- Dexter Carter threw seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six.
- Two of Lyndon Estill's three hits left the yard, good for three RBI.
- Tyler Kuhn drove in four during a 2-for-5 day.
- Kent Gerst went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, walk and three runs scored.
- Drew O'Neil struck out four over two scoreless innings of relief.
- Charlotte vs. Richmond CANCELED
- Kannapolis vs. West Virginia PPD