All in all 2010 was a great season—historic you could say! 

Pitchers were once again in control.  The average runs per game for each team in 2010 was nearly a run lower than in 2000 (5.39 compared to 4.44), and an enhanced drug policy enforcing a more regulated testing system has shown the fans that the game can be played clean.  

The playoff chases were in full bloom with the return of the Atlanta Braves taking it down to the wire against the San Diego Padres and the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. 

I couldn’t possibly leave Roy Halladay off the list.  He has proven again that he is arguably the best pitcher in this era.  A perfect game in the regular season and a no-hitter in the playoffs are truly remarkable.  Can you just imagine the damage he would have caused if he played in the National League his whole career instead of battling the American League East for the past 13 years?   

Armando Galarraga’s perfect game that wasn’t will live in infamy forever, but the way both parties handled situation should be equally commended. 

After 22 seasons “the Kid” went gently into retirement.  Known for the smile and the backwards cap, Ken Griffey Jr. played with reckless abandon and never met a wall he didn’t like.  A natural in the field, and a poet at the plate, Jr. will go down as one of the best the game has ever seen. 

Sports are part of our everyday life.  Social media is in full force and without a doubt discussing baseball leads to more arguments than not. 

Even if both parties are right, neither side will admit it, as is the case between Dallas Braden and his misunderstanding (lol) with Alex Rodriguez. 

Considering all of the above, I have to select the “Get off my mound” episode as my highlight of 2010. 

It’s not too often when a non-steroidal episode can make late night television.  Sometimes we really do take the game too seriously and need an incident like this to take the edge off.   

A-Rod violates an unwritten rule, and regardless of what was said, walking over the pitcher’s mound is a no-no.  A-Rod knowing that has done many questionable acts in his day.  The “hey” or “I got it” debacle in Toronto was one, and swiping the ball from Bronson Arroyo’s glove was another. 

And whether it’s good or bad, he drums up publicity for the game.  Any publicity is good publicity right? 

Rodriguez can get under anyone’s skin, and he knows it.  Except this time he picked on the wrong guy.   

Regardless if Braden has peaked with his no-hitter is one thing, the underdog shoving it in the face of Goliath is the underdog story we all love. 

Braden tosses a perfect game on Mother’s Day with his grandmother in the stands, who gives possibly the quote of the year with “Stick it, A-Rod,” and the next thing you know, Braden is reading a top 10 list on David Letterman. 

You cannot write a script that good. 

In all likelihood Braden will drift away into obscurity, and A-Rod will take his place as the game’s home run king, yet for one day Braden v. Rodriguez was the biggest thing going. 

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective

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Tigers RHP Armando Galarraga missed out on a perfect game against the Indians on June 2, 2010 due to a blown call by first-base umpire Jim Joyce with two outs in the ninth inning. Galarraga was perfect through 8.2 innings and coaxed a grounder to first base out of nine-spot hitter Jason Donald. The throw from Miguel Cabrera was on time, but Joyce missed the call and ruled Donald safe.

The perfecto appeared meant to be, as Austin Jackson had potentially made the play of the year for the first out in the ninth by reeling in an over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track.

Galarraga didn’t even make his 2010 Tigers debut until May 16, but he was dominant in his fourth start of the season. He struck out only three, but needed just 88 pitches to complete the game. Jim Joyce immediately apologized, realizing he had blown the call.

Commissioner Bug Selig plans to examine major league baseball’s umpiring system and possible use of expanded instant replay, but will not correct Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base, which prevented Tigers RHP Armando Galarraga from completing a perfect game. His statement read, in part:

“As Jim Joyce said in his postgame comments, there is no dispute that last night’s game should have ended differently. While the human element has always been an integral part of baseball, it is vital that mistakes on the field be addressed. Given last night’s call and other recent events, I will examine our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features. Before I announce any decisions, I will consult with all appropriate parties, including our two unions and the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, which consists of field managers, general managers, club owners and presidents.”

There was no doubt that Donald was out at first—easily by at least half a step—but the fact remains that you cannot go back in time and undo what was done. While Joyce feels regret for blowing the call, it wouldn’t be right for the MLB to go back and change the call. The call was made as a judgment call and cannot be reversed—this is baseball, and human error is a part of the game, and a part of what makes sports so great. Just as umpires make mistakes on balls/strikes, outs, etc., so do managers and players. The same goes for every sport.

There’s no doubt that Galarraga deserves the perfect game. It would’ve been the first of his career and the third of the MLB season—in fact, the third in one month, as A’s RHP Dallas Braden and Phillies RHP Roy Halladay had done it just prior.

I’m glad that the MLB has chosen not to reverse the call—if it’s done now, where does it end? Would all blown calls from the past be under review? It was a terrible call, plain and simple—it isn’t the first and it won’t be the last.

While this circumstance is not commonplace—it is, after all, the 21st perfect game in MLB history—you cannot make an exception to the rule for one case and not for everyone else. Everybody will be crying to have plays reviewed, and before you know it, challenge flags will be issued just like the NFL, and everything will go to instant replay booths like the NHL. Some will argue, “We can’t go back and re-do all blown calls in history, but it has to start now.” While true, the question arises, “Where does it end?” How far back can you go? How can you totally rectify all blown calls in order to right the wrongs?

Many sports have undergone changes over time to improve the game. Tennis has introduced HawkEye, the NFL and NHL have started instant replay and soccer is working on a sensor in the ball to determine if it crosses the goal line. I’m a sports traditionalist and a baseball purist, so I don’t believe that this call should be reversed, or that instant replay should ever be introduced. I understand that sometimes, subjective calls cost games to teams and players, but baseball remains one of the truest sports being played, and I want to keep it that way.

All of that said, Galarraga deserves the perfect game, not just for himself, but for baseball history. Lord knows if he’ll ever come close to throwing another one again. Jim Joyce regrets the decision, he’s aware that he made a bad call. If there was going to ever be a change in a past game, this would be the one here.

Had I been Jim Joyce at that time, I probably would’ve called the runner out even if it was remotely close, just to be a part of MLB history. In addition, a game like this can be totally rectified—since it was the 27th out of the game, all that would need to be done was to call the runner out, give Galarraga the perfecto and have the last batter of the game’s (No. 28) official at-bat removed. This way, all the bases are covered, so to speak.

I realize that I’ve contradicted myself on this, but the truth is that there is no clear-cut right or wrong answer. I believe in human error in every sport, but I believe that this specific circumstance needs to be reviewed. In umpiring school, umpires are told to treat every call like that first one of the game. So let’s say that instead, the blown call was on batter No. 1—this entire ordeal would not have escalated to the level it has now.

If the MLB decides to implement instant replay, it needs to be done with surgical precision. They can’t monitor every baseball game on every day of the schedule, and calls cannot be challenged left and right. There needs to be a perfect balance, and MLB will need to introduce a complex rule that has no loopholes in order for this to work.

Otherwise, leave it be as umpire/human error. It’s gotten us this far. In all likelihood, we will see MLB introduce some form of instant replay over the next five years, much to my dismay.

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Major League Baseball continues to live on the edge of insanity by only having a limited numbers of plays that can be reviewed. The instances where a play can be looked at is on a home run call, and that’s either did the ball go over the yellow line? Did a fan interfere and reach in to grab the ball? Finally, was the ball fair or foul? 

That’s it! Which, is tough to believe because there are so many close plays at any of the bases and with check swings. The two main arguments on why replay has not been expanded is because baseball is already a game that can go for three hours or more and stopping the game to review a play would add onto the time of the game, and the second argument is that baseball has had the human element involved. 

In the game of the Texas Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Maddon was ejected on a blown check swing call. It was obvious that Michael Young who was up with two men on wasn’t able to check his swing, and if the correct call had been made the Rays would have gotten out of the inning only trailing 2-0, instead Young was given a fresh life and on the next pitch from Chad Qualls, Young homered staking the Rangers out to an insurmountable 5-0 lead. 

Check swings should be part of the instant replay expansion. Why? Because the check swings happen so quickly that it’s nearly impossible for the umpire looking at the play to make the correct call, although there are times when it’s clear that a hitter went through the zone, but what happens when a player moves a lot of their body and not the bat, and the hitter is called for the swing even though he never went around? 

In the case of Maddon and the Rays, the argument was that a strikeout with two runners on and Qualls being able to keep the score close could have been a momentum changer for the Rays. Instead it was the Rangers who were the beneficiary of the blown call by Jerry Meals. 

If the call had been in the regular season, it may not have been as big of a deal, but in this case the call has helped the Rangers take control of the series with a 2-0 lead on the Rays. Also, this is the playoffs; this is where only the best umpires should be calling the game, and that big of a blown call reflects on the ignorance of Bud Selig. 

Replay should have been expanded, but again Selig refused. 

Check swings aren’t the only plays that should be eligible to be reviewed. Plays at any base should be reviewed especially the close plays making sure that the runner either beat the throw, the tag was missed, or didn’t leave the base too early when tagging up. Also, if a ball is hit down the right or left field line whether the ball was fair or foul. 

Those would be the most common plays, but others would be making sure a fielder has caught the ball, so if the ball was trapped, if the outfielder goes for a catch but the ball hits the wall before being caught, or if there are runners on base the outfielder makes the catch but on transfer drops the ball, that could be reviewed, in terms of on the bases the play that needs to be reviewed are attempted double plays did the fielder actually have their foot on the bag when the ball was caught or was it in the vicinity of the bag?

Balls and strikes are the only plays that should not be reviewed, but hit by pitches should be. 

Don’t know how many times there’d be a replay in the process of a double play and the second basemen or short stop were nowhere near having the foot on the bag, yet the runner sliding into second is called out because the fielder was close to the bag. 

One of the more interesting plays that happened this year that could have been reviewed was a double play turned by the Oakland Athletics against the Minnesota Twins in Minnesota. Jim Thome was at the plate, and Delmon Young was on first base. 

Thome hit a flyball into left center where Rajai Davis camped underneath the ball, Young went half way and watched Davis because if he dropped the ball he’d easily get to second and if he caught the ball he’d go back to first. 

Davis did catch the ball but in the process of transferring the ball out of his glove, the ball fell. Young went to second without tagging up and was tagged out because he had not tagged up from first base as the ball was caught. 

Confusing play for Young right? From his vantage point he believed that Davis had dropped the ball and therefore did not have to tag up. The replay showed that Davis did in fact catch the ball, but in the process of throwing the ball back is when Davis dropped the ball. 

Even worse was the original ruling on the field that the ball was dropped, so Young was safe at second and Thome as well at first. Of course if that call stood it would have meant an entirely different scenario for the A’s. 

Instead of being two outs with no one on base it would have been no outs and runners on first and second. Bob Geren immediately ran out of the dugout to plead his case with the umpires and after a few minutes checking in with each umpire, the play was finally ruled correct a catch by Davis making Thome out and with Young not tagging up and being tagged out, he was out as well. 

Double play for the A’s. An irate Ron Gardenhire went out to argue his case, but it was too no avail, and eventually he was thrown out of the game. 

Now, if there was replay in baseball all Geren would have had to do is asked the umpire to review the play. Now after watching the replay the umpires could go over to both managers explain what happened and that’s the end of that; Gardenhire would have had the same explanation, and the umpire would have had visual proof that Davis caught the ball. 

The Florida Marlins had a game taken away from them because Bob Davidson made the wrong call. Even worse is the fact that even after watching the replay after the game, Davidson still believed he made the right call. Instead of a game-ending double, the Marlins went into extra innings and lost. 

Derek Jeter showed his true colors a few weeks ago when he pretended like he was hit by a pitch, when the reality was that the ball hit off the handle of the bat. So, instead of a foul ball, he was allowed first base. A few days later Jorge Posada tried doing the same thing, but the umpire wasn’t fooled.

Quite possibly the best example of why baseball needs replay was the perfect game that was lost by Armando Galarraga. Jim Joyce incorrectly ruled that John McDonald was safe on a play where Galarraga had to race over and take the throw for the out. 

Galarraga beat McDonald to first base, caught the ball, and stepped on first for the final out of the ninth inning, but Joyce ruled McDonald safe instead. Jim Leyland came out immediately from the dugout and argued. Joyce patiently let Leyland blow off his steam and didn’t eject him even though there are managers and players that have done far less to be ejected. 

After Joyce saw the replay, he knew that he had missed the call and in one of the best displays of sportsmanship, Galarraga forgave him for his mistake. If replay was available, all Leyland would have had to ask for is the replay, and the call would have been overturned, and Galarraga gets his perfect game. 

Yet, the biggest question that is going to need to be addressed for baseball is how to implement replay without slowing down the game even more? Should time even be a concern since baseball isn’t a game that is played with a time limit so how does a few minutes that fans are waiting for the ruling truly effect the time of the game? Would it be better to have the call made correct and have the game go 10 minutes longer than have a game that lasts for 10 minutes shorter, but the call clearly changes the outcome or momentum of the game? 

What baseball needs to do is grant managers the ability to look at the replay of a close play. There should be no limit of how many replays are used because a manager should not be punished for wanting the correct call to be made, so it’s not like football where if a challenge is lost there’s no more that can be used. 

The only question would be is where to keep the replay personnel unlike football there’s no headsets to radio down the call. Another question that should be asked is should an umpire on the field be the one looking at the replay or should there be a separate umpire in the dugout of the home team who’s role is to be ruling on the replay?

If a call isn’t even that close the umpire has the right to decline looking at the replay, so managers don’t take advantage of the little break to either have a pitcher get loose in the bullpen or to calm the pitcher on the mound down. 

Finally, obvious calls that need to be reviewed should be looked at before a manager even asks, such as on a ball that is down the line or is close at any of the bases. 

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It makes me chuckle.  Really, it does.  I sit back and listen to people, both fans and broadcasters whine and moan about instant replay in baseball. 

They point fingers at Derek Jeter’s infamous home run in 1996 against the Baltimore Orioles.  They cast aspersions at Jim Joyce for blowing the call that cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game.  Then there was the uproar about the ball hit by Gaby Sanchez of the Marlins in the ninth inning of a game against the Phillies that was called foul, but was apparently fair. 

Proponents of instant replay in baseball would tell you that these wrongs—and apparently up to 40 percent of other bad calls by umpires would be righted by instant replay.  That the world would somehow be a better place, there would be peace in the Middle East plus we would get the added bonus or cats and dogs playing nicely together. 

All if only Bud Selig and the rest of the staunch traditionalist baseball executives would let go of their ties to over a hundred years of “we do it this way and that’s it” thinking.

I’m going to say it here and now for everyone to read: instant replay in baseball would ruin the game.  Period. 

And I’m going to give you some really good reasons why.  Not all of this is concrete and logical but take it from me, someone who has played at the professional level and been in championship games—instant replay has no place on the field of play. 

Furthermore, I question its use in the NFL.  Anyone watching the Bears versus Lions game last week will tell you that the pass to Calvin Johnson was caught and touchdown.  Well, everyone except Bears fans—of course.  But instant replay took it away.  The human being on the field made the gut call, the correct call.  But the letter of the law took it away. 

It’s a bad rule and the NFL needs to rethink that rule.  But I digress…

The Umpires

Everyone is so upset at the umpires this season.  I listen to broadcasters complain how bad the umpires are—and maybe they are. 

If they are that bad, the answer here is not instant replay, it is fire the umpires and get better ones.  Stop second-guessing and taking the authority away from the people who are paid to be the authority figures on the field. 

The main side effect of continuing this course of action will be to make players and coaches mouthier towards the umpires, which will result in what we are seeing over the past two months of the season. 

Phillies fans love to point fingers and say that Ryan Howard should never have been tossed from the game for looking crossly at Scott Barry then tossing his helmet and bat.  But doesn’t the baseball fan base see that the umpires feel threatened and are acting-out, not unlike a four year-old who has been scolded for bad behavior. 

They are retaliating against the players because everyone is telling them how bad they are at their jobs.  Again, if the umpires are that bad, then fire them and replace them.  But I offer this up to you: they aren’t that bad.  We simply have the technology to remove the human element from the game. 

I have been hosed on a number of calls during high-pressure, game-changing situations through the years in high school, college, and semi-pro ball.  I’ve had strikes called balls, and even had a perfect game turned into a no-hitter because of a bad call at first base. 

That would be enough to make you angrier than a hornet’s nest. 

But when you step back and look at these things a little more objectively you see that more often than not, bad calls go both ways.  A good umpire will make mistakes but he will do it for everyone, not just the Yankees or the Phillies. 

aseball is a game of humanity; it is a game of getting screwed and having the bad call to go your way.  Take that away and it is a totally different game, one I certainly don’t know if I’d be interested in.

The Rhythm

Like it or not, baseball has a rhythm to it.  Watch a batter when he approached the plate. Most professional hitters have a routine; they approach the plate and each at bat identically.  When that sequence of actions gets interrupted the best in the game will step out.  You will see them put that hand up and leave the batters box.  Then you can see them repeat the process of getting into their individual groove. 

Pitchers are very similar. 

Some pitchers start their process hours before the game, some do it when they step foot on the field and some only do it pitch-to-pitch.  Heck, I remember an interview with Dave Righetti (if you kids don’t know who he is, go Google one of the premier relievers of the 80’s now—ok, you back yet?) who threw a no-hitter for the Yankees on July 4^th, 1983. 

He began his career as a decent starter and when asked what his routine was on gameday, he said his routine started the night before with a bowl of spaghetti and bed by eight. 

Ever notice how often batters step out of the box when a pitcher is throwing a great game?  They try to interrupt the pitcher’s rhythm.  What is the point of my rambling about player routines? 

Has anyone watched what happens to a football game when someone “goes to the replay”?  It stops, sometimes for up to 15 minutes.  Have you ever noticed that any time a rain delay goes on for more than 15 or 20 minutes that whomever was pitching often does not come back out? 

The reasons for this are many, but the most compelling are that their rhythm has been interrupted more than usual and their muscles tighten up.  This is a dangerous and game-changing issue for the pitcher and the team.  Any time you stop a baseball game for any length of time and then expect the athletes to just jump back into the fray you risk serious injury.

Not a compelling enough argument?  OK, let’s take the Gallaraga game for example. 

Take a minute and get inside Armando’s head before the blown call.  He knows he is throwing a perfect game, he knows he is close and he also knows that all he has to do is relax and let it come to him.  Galarraga just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing for the previous eight innings and he knows that. 

He’s got his mindset and his rhythm on the mound.  The ground ball was hit, the bad call gets made and Jim Leyland storms out of the dugout demanding instant replay.  The umpires acquiesce and go to the video tape (extra points if anyone can tell me who that is a shout out to!).  Television goes to commercial.  Galarraga stands chatting with Miguel Cabrera kvetching about the call. 

Ten minutes goes by and Gallaraga is ramped up expecting the call to go against him, maybe soft tossing with Cabrera to try and stay loose. Fifteen minutes later the umpires come back, reverse the call, and Comerica Park erupts in joyous celebration that the perfect game remains intact! 

Now, all Gallaraga has to do is get back on the mound and finish it out.  Wow, did I just make getting back into the mindset of a pitcher in the ninth inning throwing a perfect game sound easy?  It’s not.  The odds of throwing a perfect game are minute at best.  The odds of finishing out that perfect game after that call are next to zero. 

A pitcher’s ability to come down off that emotional rollercoaster, and continue at the same level he was just on with the flip of a switch is impossible.  The best might be able to do it in a pitch or two—but all it takes is one mistake to end that perfect game, as we all know. 

So all you peeved Tiger’s fans, the lesson here is you can’t get it back.  The odds are that instant replay would not have made a difference, the ump blew the call—it happens.

You Can’t Get It Back

That leads me to my last point —some plays cannot be gotten back! 

Unlike football where it’s 15 seconds of action for every 10 minutes of nothing, you can’t get most baseball plays back.  Yes, home runs can be fixed but almost everything else in baseball is not fixable. 

You can’t instant replay balls and strikes, it’s just not possible.  You can fix a percentage of plays at bases—safe and out calls, but as I demonstrated in the Galarraga example, it simply is not worth it.  The odds are that the stoppage of play will do more harm to the game then the bad call. 

The media was all over the umps at that Phillies versus Marlins game, saying instant replay would have corrected the call—how?  The umpire called it foul.  You can’t change the call and give him a base hit, it is just not possible. 

Your best-case scenario is to do the play over again, which takes a strike away but again ask yourself is it worth the 10- to 15-minute stoppage of play or would that change the face of the game too much?

Realistically?

While I am a solid opponent of instant replay in sports, I will concede that it can help umpires out in certain situations.  It can correct home run calls, and that is something MLB has been using since August of 2008.  I stand by my opinion that beyond that it would ruin the game for real fans.  Games move slow enough as it is, is it really worth extending games by another 30 to 45 minutes?  Keep the humanity in baseball!

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Last Week: 3-3
This Week: at NYY (8/16-19); CLE (8/20-22)

So What Happened?

The Tigers began their new role as AL Central spoiler in grand style, taking two of three from the White Sox over the weekend, with both wins being of the come-from-behind variety.

There were also fireworks—and MMM doesn’t mean the kind spewed from the U.S. Cellular Field scoreboard after White Sox home runs.

Tigers starter Armando “Nobody’s Perfect” Galarraga got into a tussle with catchers Alex Avila and Gerald Laird in the dugout Sunday after the first inning.

The incident was captured by Chisox TV while Fox Sports Detroit chose to ignore it, which MMM finds troubling.

“Maybe this is the spark we need,” Laird said afterward about the confrontation, which threatened to turn physical and ugly before peacemakers rushed in.

All parties brushed it off as a “misunderstanding”, or some such rot. Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, “I kind of liked it.”

The Tigers have won three of their last four after starting the week ominously with two losses to Tampa at Comerica Park.

Hero of the Week

MMM has two on its radar.

First, the runner up: Ryan Raburn.

As much as it pains MMM to type this, Raburn is…Raburn is….he’s…ho….ho…HOT.

Whew!

Raburn is on a bit of a tear, slugging home runs and slapping hits and driving in runs.

He’s 8-for-17 with three homers and four RBI in his last four games. His BA is “up to” .238.

But for all that prowess, MMM is going with lefty reliever Phil Coke as its weekly hero.

Coke had to play the part of Jose Valverde in Chicago, recording the final out in both the Tigers’ wins.

Valverde is nursing a sore abdomen.

Coke entered Saturday’s game in the eighth inning, and was the pitcher of record as Avila slammed a stunning two-run homer in the ninth to grab the win.

On Sunday, Coke was set to close the game again, warming up with the Tigers protecting a 9-8 lead in the ninth. As it turned out, the Tigers scored four times, negating a save situation. But Coke pitched the ninth anyway, and after a slow start (a leadoff walk followed by a 3-1 count to the next hitter), he shut the Pale Hose down.

Maybe in some people’s eyes, what Coke did wasn’t as impressive as Raburn’s hot streak. But with your All-Star closer out unexpectedly, it’s nice to be able to turn to Coke, who’s been outstanding this season in his usual role as utility man in the bullpen.

Goat of the Week

First, Jim Leyland nearly landed here.

His decision to pull Johnny Damon for defensive purposes almost came back to haunt him Sunday. Damon delivered a clutch two-out, two-run triple in the eighth inning, nudging the Tigers ahead 8-7. Then he was lifted for Don Kelly.

In the top of the ninth, with the White Sox within 9-8 and the bases loaded, Damon sat helpless on the bench while the light-hitting Kelly batted in his place.

But Kelly stroked a two-run single, giving the Tigers some breathing room.

MMM could almost hear the Tigers fan base screaming at the TV when Kelly came to the plate. Why you’d take a guy with over 2,500 hits out of the game in a slugfest is beyond MMM.

But the goat is Brennan Boesch, who was 0-for-Chicago and who is simply hurting the team right now. MMM feels for the kid, but if Boesch was named Raburn or Kelly or Inge he’d be getting blown up by the fan base for his God awfulness.

Boesch is 13-for-107 after the All-Star break, which just might be one of the worst stretches of 100+ at-bats ever seen from a Tigers player since Ray Oyler circa 1968.

Yet he plays everyday because Leyland has no one else.

Upcoming: Yankees and Indians

MMM thinks the four days the Tigers will spend in the Big Apple this week will either be pleasantly surprising or a freaking nightmare—no in between.

The Yankees look strong in their bid to repeat as World Champs. They are holding off a good Tampa Rays team. They are as talented and as deep as ever. And they play very well at home.

This has four-game sweep written all over it; MMM gets that.

But baseball is a funny game, and it will be interesting to see if Sunday’s dugout skirmish has any effect on the Tigers’ countenance, and whether that translates to success on the diamond.

As for the Indians, what can you say?

The Tribe are who started the Tigers’ freefall, sweeping four games from the Bengals in Cleveland coming out of the break. But they’re still a bad team, made up of AAAA players. Kind of like the Tigers!

The Tigers usually beat the Indians at Detroit; it’s one of the few scenarios where the Tigers are successful within their own division.

BTW, the Tigers optioned 1B-OF-DH Jeff Frazier to Toledo and recalled lefty reliever Daniel Schlereth.

That’s all for MMM this week. See you next Monday!

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Tampa Bay Rays’ Matt Garza just tossed Major League Baseball’s fifth no-hitter of the season.

You have to go back 20 years to 1990 to find a season with more than three no-hitters, when six were thrown.

In MLB history only 20 pitchers have thrown a perfect game. Two of those were thrown this season, and that doesn’t include Armando Galarraga’s gem that would have been perfect if not for that one missed call.

If you have been paying attention, you know what is going on.

The pitching numbers have been absurd this season. It’s no surprise that many people are calling this the new age of pitching.

If you are a baseball purist, you are probably loving it right now. The game at its purest form, with pitching dominating hitting, requiring more strategy when the hits are fewer and far between.

But if you are a fan who likes to see some action in the sports you watch, then you might not be enjoying this Renaissance so much.

Dare I say it: Would some people prefer the excitement that reverberated throughout stadiums when power hitting ruled baseball? Yes, I am referring to the Steroids Era.

If you go back to 1990, the last time so many pitchers threw gems, the game was on pace to hit a lockout and lose a little bit of its luster.

It took the great home run derby between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire to resurrect interest in the sport for much of America.

Looking back on the Steroids Era, many people are horrified at what actually transpired and at how the record books were tarnished by these steroid users.

But, you have to wonder if some fans long for the days of excitement, even at the cost of steroids.

The purists will scoff at those people, saying they are not true fans. But that group will say that a sport needs fans to generate excitement.

It certainly can be a catch-22 of sorts for sports, between the fundamentals and the excitement of seeing professional athletes do what we cannot.

Sure, most of us cannot pitch one of these no-hitters, but is it more exciting for you to watch a pitcher stifle a team into not hitting a single ball or a player smack a few long balls in a game?

Most people will think this is blasphemy, but what is your opinion on the matter? Which form of baseball do you prefer: pitching dominance or hitting power galore? Or is it even a question?

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What an intense summer of sports we have had so far. June and early July were packed full of great sports stories such as the Stanley Cup, World Cup, and NBA Free Agency.

Now that the MLB All-Star game is over and the ESPYS are on television, you know things are going to start simmering down a bit until the pennant chase heats up in September. Because of this sizzling start to summer, I have composed a list of some of the worst feelings of the sports summer. Enjoy.

10. Hitting out of a bunker at St. Andrews – The British Open begins this week and players better be prepared to be patient. The Old Course is infamous for its’ 112 pot bunkers that have ruined so many rounds that might have been. The Road Hole bunker on 17 and the “Hell Bunker” on the par five 14th are two of the scariest places a golfer can find himself. Hitting backwards is often is the safest option on many of these bunkers, some of which have stairs installed in order to enter and exit these enormous sinkholes of sand.

9. Dropping a 138 game fifth set at Wimbledon – In an 11 hour epic game, that will be remembered long after who won and lost, Nicolas Mahut dropped the fifth and final set of his first round match versus American John Isner 70 games to 68. The match featured triple digit aces by both players and 168 consecutive service games held. After 113 aces in the first round epic, Isner recorded none in his straight set defeat in the second round.

8. Losing $750 million in divorce settlement with Elin – Yep, that’s right. Three quarters of a billion dollars straight out of Tiger’s vault to the Swedish supermodel in the couple’s divorce settlement. Good luck finding a new man Elin.

7. Getting passed by Danica Patrick – After watching that GoDaddy number seven car fail to win a race in the IndyCar series, do we really want to see that GoDaddy car making its’ way to NASCAR? In Danica’s first Nationwide series race, the driver finished 24th and seemed to be quite pleased with herself. Yeah I know the car handles differently and switching over is a tough thing to do, but Danica needs to learn how to handle her indycar before she tries multi-tasking. Like your commercial says Danica, you’re no Jaun Pablo. Remember that.

6. Scoring an own goal in the World Cup – There were three own goals in this year’s World Cup (Denmark, South Korea, Brazil) but none were more damaging than Felipe Melo’s in Brazil’s quarterfinal loss to Holland. The Brazilian defender collided with goalkeeper Julio Cesar on a Wesley Sneijder free kick early in the second half to deflect the Sneijder kick into the goal for the equalizer. The mistake gave the Dutch the momentum they needed as they went on to exit Brazil with a 2-1 upset victory.

5. Thinking that Lane Kiffin is making you stay at USC – Luckily for blue chip recruit Seantrel Henderson this is no longer a problem. The nations’ 2009 top recruit signed with the Trojans after discussing with coaches the possibility of probation. Obviously, Lane’s staff wasn’t completely honest with the 6’8, 337 pound monster as he signed a letter of intent to play in Los Angeles on March 23. Upon the news of USC’s probation, reports came out that Kiffin was not going to allow Henderson to leave the Trojans but on July 6, Kiffin did the right thing and allowed Henderson to be like LeBron and take his talents to South Beach.

4. Losing a Perfecto on a blown call – The only man in the world sicker than Armando Galarraga is Jim Joyce. How can you not feel for that guy? On June 2nd you blow the biggest call of your career to lose a perfect game for a kid nobody has ever heard of and you take it like a complete man in extraordinary fashion. Not only did Joyce accept full responsibility for the call but he showed up the next day to umpire behind the plate in Detroit after the commissioner’s office gave him a day off.

3. Getting a DUI with red panties between your legs – This is something that usually would have nothing to do with sports. This is also something you would not expect a big time college athletic director to do. Georgia A.D. Damon Evans was pulled over drunk with a 28-year-old girl who was not his wife on the first night of July. When Evans was asked by the officer why he had red panties between his legs, Evans responded saying “She took them off and I held them because I was just trying to get her home”. Im sure the wifey understood Damon.

2. Being a Cleveland sports fan – The fumble, the drive, the shot, Jose Mesa, Art Modell, and now King James. No title in 46 years and the Browns currently have the most impressive roster in the City of Rock. Good luck with the Delhomme era Clevelanders.

1. Playing for team North Korea and Kim Jong Il – All I have to say about this one is be glad North Korea players that none of you were on this list at number six.

-scf

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Call it the curse of the “Perfect game” Part Deux.

Earlier in the week, Oakland A’s LHP Dallas Braden was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore pitching elbow. Since Braden’s perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays, he is 0-5 with a 4.31 ERA and teams are hitting .304 against him.

Now another “perfect game” brethren is suffering disappointing results.

Armando Galarraga, who threw a “perfect game” against the Cleveland Indians was sent down to the minors yesterday. Though the move is only temporary according to Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowsky, this only adds to Galarraga’s strange year.

Galarraga started the year in the minors, came up in May and won two of his first three decisions; then he threw the most controversial one-hitter in MLB history, went three straight starts after without getting a decision, and now he was sent to the minors again. That is a full year in two months my friends.

Galarraga had a 5.61 ERA since throwing his infamous one-hitter on June 2. He will be replaced on the roster by Robbie Weinhardt.

It could be possible that Galarraga returns to the Tigers for their July 20 series against the Texas Rangers.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Baseball has always had a funny way of uniting its players under a common theme, no matter how similar or distinct they are, throughout its illustrious timeline .  

The 1970 season saw two of the game’s most prolific power hitters, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, record their 3,000th hits.

In 2007, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn, two of the most highly regarded players who spent their entire careers with hometown ball clubs, were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame together.

And, just last year, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, teammates for five seasons and co-contributors to the 2005 White Sox World Series title, hit their career 300th home runs in back-to-back at-bats (a Major League Baseball first). 

On Wednesday, two more players, not very similar at first glance, were seamed together through a twist of fate.

Ken Griffey, Jr., one of the most prominent baseball figures from this generation, announced his retirement after hundreds of home runs, high-flying catches, and outstanding highlights.

That same evening, Armando Galarraga , a Detroit Tigers pitcher with barely two years of Major League experience, nearly threw a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians.

The common thread? Two terrific stories, one spanning 22 years, the other a mere one hour and 44 minutes, finished with very disappointing endings.

As most followers know, Griffey’s career started with a burst, almost as impressive as the ones he used to track down every fly ball zipping through Seattle’s Kingdome .

During his first stint with the Mariners, Ken amassed numbers and accolades in 11 seasons that most players would take in 20. He recorded 398 home runs, ten Gold Gloves, a Most Valuable Player Award, and an induction into MLB’s All-Century Team—all before the age of 30. 

The statistics don’t begin to do justice for what Griffey meant to Seattle baseball, and to the sport as a whole.

His backwards-cap style, silky-smooth swing, and classic ear-to-ear grin were always welcome sights, whether during a Mariners game, as part of the Home Run Derby (which he won three times), or on the Wheaties cereal box.

And Griffey is often credited for saving baseball in Seattle. By most accounts, his contributions to the 1995 playoff run ultimately influenced the construction of Safeco Field, which established the Mariners as a permanent fixture in the state of Washington.   

As the second half of Griffey’s career commenced, however, his luster rapidly declined.

Ravaged by injuries throughout his tenure with the Cincinnati Reds, Griffey’s hopes at eclipsing Aaron (and later Barry Bonds) as the all-time home run record holder were decimated.

Although he had a few decent seasons, Griffey’s career failed to live up to expectations after the 2000 season.

He was traded to the White Sox in 2008, spending half a year there before returning to Seattle for a 2009 swan song with the Mariners. 

Griffey, as he’d done in several previous years, tried to suppress the wrath of Father Time this season. Ken signed another one-year contract with Seattle, only to learn he had had enough.

Galarraga started off just as strong in his tilt against the Indians. In fact, he never skipped a beat through eight and two-thirds innings, retiring 26 straight batters on only 82 pitches. However, the 85th pitch, on a 1-1 count to Tribe shortstop Jason Donald, will be remembered forever.

Donald hit a ground ball to the hole between first and second. Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded it cleanly and fed the ball to Galarraga , who was running to cover the bag.

Galarraga received the ball, touched first, and was ready to celebrate the 21st perfect game in MLB history—and the third this season.

Literally in mid-hop, Galarraga , along with the entire Tigers dugout and home crowd, were stunned to see first base umpire Jim Joyce signal “safe”. As countless replays and even Joyce indicated afterwards, the call was wrong.

Nevertheless, Galarraga was not rewarded for his perfect outing. Sports radio hosts, ESPN analysts, and the like debated endlessly about implementing instant replay and called for a reversal of the botched call.

But it was all to no avail.

Two incredible beginnings and two crushing endings.

Two players who did not deserve the hands they were dealt.

Griffey was tormented by constant trips to the disabled list. Galarraga was torched by a bad call from an otherwise well-respected umpire, who would probably make the correct ruling 99 times out of 100.

If there is a silver lining to this otherwise dreary cloud, it is this. Both players demonstrated absolute class and deference.

Griffey stands out as someone who is widely believed to have succeeded while staying clean of performance-enhancing drug use over the last two decades. While his fellow sluggers (Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, etc.) are repeatedly scrutinized for their alleged acts of cheating, Griffey has earned the general consensus that his high level of play was the result of pure innate ability.

Similarly, Galarraga has since been praised continuously for how he handled the incident. Rather than display much-warranted frustration, he kept his composure, not only to retire Trevor Crowe for the last out of the ballgame, but also to openly accept Joyce’s apology.

“Nobody is perfect,” he said of the umpire’s mistake. (Could there be a more appropriate, bittersweet response to such a situation?)

The following day, Galarraga handed the next game’s lineup card to a teary-eyed Joyce, showing that all was forgiven and it was time to move on.  

And, indeed, it is time to move on, for both Galarraga and Griffey.

The separate epilogues are left to be written—Griffey’s indisputable trip to Cooperstown and the future of instant replay as a result of Galarraga’s misfortune.

But, for now, the stories have come to a close. 

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With one out away from the third perfect game in a month, a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce robbed Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga of his shot at immortality. If recent history is any indication, however, not having that one game may prove beneficial for both Galarraga and the Tigers in the long run.

On May 9, Dallas Braden threw a perfect game on Mother’s Day with his grandmother in attendance. The post-game celebration with his grandmother brought a tear to even the driest eye. That celebration, however, would be the last Braden would have for the next month.

Since that historic day, Braden has gone 0-3 in his last four starts with a 4.45 ERA. 

His team hasn’t been much help to him either. In each of his four starts since his perfect game, the team has supplied him a total of four runs of support.

Fast-forward to May 29.

Roy Halladay throws a perfect game against the Marlins. Both local and national media eat up the achievement as well as the unlikelihood of having two perfect games in the same season, let alone the same month. Baseball pundits laud Halladay as the most dominant NL pitcher since Nolan Ryan.

Those praises seem a bit distant now.

Since Halladay’s perfect game, the Phillies have lost six of their last nine, including a sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves. Though Halladay’s last outing was solid (7 IP, 2 ER, and 7 SO), his team is still scuffling.

Last season, Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game on July 23 against the Tampa Bay Rays. From that game on, he would post a 2-7 record in 14 starts. In that span, he gave up an average of four runs per game and only worked past the seventh inning twice. The team would finish seven and a half games out of first place, and miss the playoffs.  

Over the last 10 years, every pitcher who has thrown a perfect game has failed to make the playoffs. 

What can explain the struggles of pitchers and teams who throw perfect games? When a pitcher who has a history of perfection takes the mound, does he tense up in the attempt to reproduce perfection? Does the defense tend to let up, thinking, “He’ll be able to bail us out of trouble?”

If there really is anything to the recent trend, it may be just as well that the Tigers young pitcher missed his date with destiny. The Tigers currently sit three and a half games behind the Twins for first place in the division, but are 5-5 in their last 10.

Galarraga’s first start since that infamous night was pedestrian: five innings pitched, two runs surrendered, and two strikeouts.

If he showed us anything in that firestorm last week, it was that he can maintain his cool and remain unflappable amid ridiculous circumstances.

Who else could have flashed that sly smile after the blown call at first base to break up history? The grace and understanding he displayed in the aftermath was unfathomable in today’s sports culture.

We all expected Galarraga to blow a gasket, and we wouldn’t have blamed him for doing so. But he didn’t. Instead, he’s shown us that understanding and compassion do still have a place in sport.

With an apparent “perfect game curse” on the rise, perhaps a better fate awaits Armando Galarraga. With the way he handled himself last week, he’s certainly proven he deserves it. 

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