Chuck:

As a native of Youngstown, Ohio (exactly half way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh on the Ohio Turnpike) I have been a New York Yankees fan first, a Cleveland Indians fan second, and a Pittsburgh Pirates fan third. Thanks to division play it is much easier for me to root for both the Yankees and Indians because they can both win the division.

Last night was a good night because the Yankees and Indians both won :D, BUT the dreaded Red Sox won also :mad:.

Have a good weekend and Father's Day!

MTD, Sr.

Hey, I'm still here.....because I actually have something to talk about, finally!

How bout those Washington Nationals? Winners of eight in a row and in third place (read, not in the basement!) They're 4-0 since Ryan Zimmerman came off the DL.

This last week they have been fun to watch as this young team is finally, finally playing up to their potential. Not hitting for avg as a team yet, but they pitch pretty well and ride the long ball. The manager has been batting the pitcher in the eighth spot during this streak and having their normal number three hitter (Jason Werth) lead off. Hey, they're winning......

Playing the O's during "Beltway Series," there are even 35,000 in the seats this weekend which is great for us.

With the US Open also in town, and the weather relatively nice, it's actually a good sports weekend for your Nation's Capital!

Fascinating tidbit of the day.

Red Sox give up the first unearned leadoff homerun in 40 years.

Cardinals - Ouch !!
 

Your Nats certainly took care of my Cards when they were in town. The losses were due more to the fact that I wasn't able to attend this year. :rolleyes: Not so much!! However, I like to see the Nats doing well.

Yahooooooo - my pick for the US Open is Mr. McIlroy!! However, he ain't won nuthin yet. And, neither have I.

The Tribe has resumed their winning ways thanks to Pirates pitching, with (just) 2 in a row. Apparently the wins in this streak must all be earned with a score of 5-1 ;)

Shields with another CG win. And Dempsey didn't miss a wide open net this time.

Catcher Wilson Ramos WHACKS a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, as the NATS beat the Mariners in improbable fashion. This is their largest comeback in the ninth in club history and the closest they've been to .500 ball this late in the season since 2005.

The town is a buzzzzzz! :)

Argh!
 

So, after all these years of futility and embarrassment, we finally appear to have our NATS pointing in the right direction.....and the manager quits in mid-season with the team playing its best ball in years.......go figure! :mad:

Wow, I hadn't even heard that until just now. That's a stunner. How cheap is that team if they won't pick up a $600,000 option for next year?!? Riggleman has done a darn good job there and has been working on a year-to-year basis since he took over 2 years ago -- he's never had a multi-year deal in DC. So he wants a little (and very little, to be honest) security in the form of one more guaranteed year at $600k and the team says no. Wow.

And here I was upset that the Sox lost 2 of 3 to San Diego! :eek:

600K? But hell, that's like 20% of their payroll!

Speaking as one small market fan to another, grune. ;)

As an Expos fan, I have absolutely no sympathy at all. So, there!:p

Who?

Rookie Ump Emasculated Live on TV
 

Nats/Sox game Friday nite. Close, decisive OUT!!! call by 1B ump, PU rushes out and conferences w/ all umps. After a few minutes of browbeating, calling ump sheepishly changes call to SAFE.
Is this an accepted practice in MLB?

Video is here:
Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | 6/24/11: Nationals win in extras for ejected McLaren - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

The accepted practice is to get it right.

Your characterization is misleading: PU runs down the line to the 45' mark as part of his normal mechanic, precisely to be in position to help on the swipe tag, as in this play. He didn't "rush out" to "browbeat" anyone.

U1 made his call, got PU's info, and decided (correctly) to change his call. All in a day's work.

Oh, one more thing: Estabrook has been an MLB fill-in for about 5 seasons now, and has been in Triple A for 7 seasons: hardly a rookie. ;)