Sacrilege! Mon Dieu!

My God, isn't it enough that we're living in an age of aggravation and disruption?  Some things are sacrosanct and shouldn't be messed with.  Tradition and long-practice have a stabilizing effect that can't be measured by any known metric.  Yet, Major League Baseball wants to start screwing with the rules.

Major League Baseball plans on testing a rule change in the lowest levels of the minor leagues this season that automatically would place a runner on second base at the start of extra innings, a distinct break from the game’s orthodoxy that nonetheless has wide-ranging support at the highest levels of the league, sources familiar with the plan told Yahoo Sports…

Oh, please.  A free runner on second?  Baseball is still our national past-time.  (Yeah, I know, football is our most popular game).  But baseball is summer afternoons, hot dogs, fresh air, sunshine, and a ballet of magical mysticism.  Messing with baseball is a fools errand.  Having a runner on second, with two out was a drama played out between the runner, the shortstop and the pitcher.  It is a ballet of inches and milliseconds.  Yet, the runner had to earn second base.He had to work to get there.

And MLB wants to give that away.  It's a horrible idea and baseball will be lesser for it.

Heresy!

Surfing around today, I stumbled upon a news article that says my beloved sport, baseball, has adopted some heresy called an instant replay system.  What abomination is this?  It seems that league gurus are sitting in a room with various monitors, prepared to over-rule the officials on the field in the event that they make a bad call.

This whole idea is a bad call.  Baseball is bigger than technology.  It's a game played on a summer field, a ballet of players and sunshine and officials.  It's bad calls, and good calls, and strategy.  It's the roar of the crowd and the heckler in the box seat behind home plate  It's foul balls, or fair, but it decidedly is not a far-away league commissioner deciding whether the guy on second base is safe or out.

It's bad enough that baseball has adopted the designated hitter, but we should leave the game as pristine as possible.  Let tennis balls have boundary sensors, but leave baseball to the officials on the field.  This game isn't a technological marvel, this game is America's past-time.

If anyone from Major League Baseball reads this post, I'm ag'in it.

LSU Baseball

LSU rallied yesterday to beat Alabama in a ninth-inning crunch.  Today, they take on 15th ranked Arkansas at noon.

I'll probably have to watch that game, or at least several innings.  I'd best get started on my chores so I can watch the game.

Basesball

I grew up playing baseball as a kid.  Civitan league, Dixie Youth, just about any place I could find to play baseball, I played.  Now, as an old fart, and especially as a high-school cop I spend a lot of time at the ball park.  Last night I watched a great game.  Bolton hosted Marksville and the game went an extra inning.  Tied at three runs for several innings, we went to the eighth inning.  Marksville batted first, as the visitors do and couldn't get anything going.  Then, Bolton got to bat, loaded the bases with singles, then a strong hit to left-center field brought in the winning run.

It was a little cool last night at the ball park, with temps in the 40s.  The ladies were wrapped up with blankets.  But, everyone had a great time, watched some good baseball, and hot dogs were only a dollar.  When's the last time you saw a $1.00 hot dog at a ball park?  That's a screaming deal.

If you live near a high school, go find their baseball schedule and support your local baseball team.  It's a great way to spend an afternoon and the team could use the money you'll spend on admission and concessions.  Generally, at a high school, you can get an afternoon of baseball for under $10.00, you'll support local kids, and the memories will be so close and so thick, you'll brush them from your face like flies.

I never regret the time I spend at a ball park.

Coffee's Dripping

The coffee is dripping and I'm looking forward to when the pot quits gurgling.  In another hour I'll pull on my boots (well, tennis shoes, actually, that foot isn't ready for boots yet) and head toward the school house.  The weather is calling for sunny skies, moderate temperatures and gentle breezes.  Today we have our first home game for the softball season, so I'll work that game before I head home.  Baseball starts next week.

Good Times.  I grew up playing baseball and I enjoy the time I spend at the ball park.  Of all the extra time I work during the school year, I enjoy this time of year most.

Time to get that cup of Joe.  Y'all have a wonderful day.

Baseball and Softball

This week begins baseball and softball seasons for the high schools in this area. Like many in my generation, I grew up playing baseball. I'm a southpaw, so I played first base and did some relief pitching. There were more than a few summers when my glove was a constant companion.

The girls have a game tonight, and tomorrow night, the boys open their season with a double-header. PawPaw will be at the ball park both nights, so look for blogging to be spotty or non-existent. Duty calls.

Double Play

I watched a home-team baseball game today and saw the damndest double play I've seen in a while. Let me set it up for you.

Bottom of the fourth, one out. Runner on first. Batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop who fields the ball and flips it to second base. Second baseman tags the base, putting the runner out on a force. He takes one step across the base and fires the ball to first. Bad throw. The first baseman misses it, a step ahead of the runner. The runner sees the missed ball and rounds toward second base.

First baseman turns around to retrieve the loose ball. The ball carries past him with enough force to bounce off the infield fence and roll toward his feet. First baseman picks up the ball and fires it to second. Second baseman grabs the ball and tags the runner out two steps from the bag.

How often does a second-baseman get to make a two outs in a double play?

LSU Wins!

LSU won their sixth national championship in Omaha last night. After a disappointing loss to Texas on Tuesday we wondered if our team had taken the night off, but on Wednesday they came back strong, swinging hard against the best pitching staff in the nation.

I played baseball as a kid and I've loved baseball all my life. It's a game of summer fields and marvelous dreams. A football coach remarked to me this spring that the reason he didn't like baseball was that there was no clock. No time limit. In football, basketball, or soccer, you could look at the clock and see how much time was left in the game. Baseball isn't like that. You have a set number of innings and it ain't over until it's over. Depending on the tempo of the pitcher and the individuality of the umpires a game might last two hours or four. It's not over until the last batter swings at the last pitch.

Well, in Omaha, it's over.

LSU advances

LSU advanced to the final series of the College World Series today with a 14-5 victory over Arkansas.

Arizona and Texas are playing currently to decide who'll face the Tigers on Monday for a best-of-three series to decide the race for the national title. It's now the bottom of the third and Texas is tied with Arizona at 1-1. I don't care who wins this game, but as a stalwart Louisiana boy, it's easy to know who I'm rooting for in the series that begins Monday.

Geaux Tigers.