October 29, 200619 yr Miami Herald-Kevin Baxter Season was a field of screams By KEVIN BAXTER kbaxter@MiamiHerald.com The Atlanta Braves' division title reign finally came to an end in the regular season, whereas, in the playoffs, it seemed as though the rain would never end. Nine of the National League's 16 teams had losing records and the team it sent to the World Series had the second-worst winning percentage for a league champion in history. And neither league produced a 20-game winner for the first time ever in a full season. But enough negativity; let's accent the positive. Baseball's glass wasn't half empty this season, it was half full -- of rainwater, perhaps, but half full nonetheless. When else have we had pitchers catching fire in the dugout and falling prey to violent salads in the clubhouse? The government declared a disaster at Cincinnati's ballpark, and the Reds weren't even playing that day, and Boston's ''brainpen'' had a collective IQ only slightly higher than its collective ERA. All in all, it was a season to remember. Here are some reasons why: WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S DEREK LOWE Dodgers pitching was so hot down the stretch, one of their starters actually caught fire. It happened in Colorado, where Derek Lowe, standing near a space heater in the visitors' dugout, started smoking. Outfielder Matt Kemp approached Lowe and said, ''Dude, you're on fire.'' Lowe, thinking Kemp was complimenting his pitching, thanked his teammate before he realized Kemp was being literal -- but not before the fire burned holes in his pants and socks. IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I LAUGH No sport has as many bizarre and, well, funny, injuries as baseball. And this season certainly provided its share. Padres reliever Alan Embree, for example, was struck on the pitching hand by a ceremonial first pitch thrown by an overzealous dignitary at Petco Park. And teammate Jake Peavy, who last season broke a rib celebrating the Padres' division title, was spiked on the left foot during a home plate celebration after a game-winning homer. But the injury of the year goes to Milwaukee pitcher Matt Wise, who missed time after cutting the tip of his index finger on aluminum salad tongs while making himself a snack in the Brewers' clubhouse. ''I don't have any problems eating salad,'' Wise said. ``I just have problems getting it out of the bowl.'' This is the same Wise, by the way, who strained his shoulder when his hand slipped on a railing while he was on his way to the bullpen bathroom in San Diego. THE BEST OF THE WORST As the Royals closed in on their fourth 100-loss season in five years, The Kansas City Star started running a daily graphic tracking the competition between the Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays for baseball's worst record -- and the top pick in June's amateur draft. Turns out the Royals couldn't even win that race, finishing a game ahead of the Devil Rays and losing out on the No. 1 selection. THE BOMBING STARTED BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS The Contra Costa Times reported that scientists used the crowd at an Angels-Athletics game in Oakland to see if sophisticated instruments could differentiate between the smell of terrorist chemicals and the popcorn, cigars and scents worn by fans. And the Department of Homeland Security used Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park to simulate a terrorist attack. The nearly 3,000 volunteers who agreed to participate were given two tickets to a game next season, plus Reds promotional items. BEGINNER'S LUCK In June, Washington left-hander Bill Bray earned the win in his major-league debut despite throwing just one pitch. Catcher Bruce Schneider caught that pitch and threw out Milwaukee's Corey Koskie trying to steal to end the inning, then the Nationals scored in their next at-bat, getting Bray the victory. BEGINNER'S BAD LUCK San Francisco's Kevin Frandsen was hit by a pitch in his second big-league at-bat -- then got plunked in three of his next four games. By the end of his first 10 days in the majors, he had gotten a hit on pitches eight times and been hit by them five times. NATIONAL PRIDE After spending nearly 18 hours in a Miami-Dade County Jail on a DUI charge in April, Nationals general manager Jim Bowden still was able to look at the bright side. ''If you have to spend a day in jail,'' he told reporters, ``at least it's an off-day so you don't miss a game.'' DON'T THINK, IT CAN ONLY HURT THE CLUB Mike Marshall, who won the Cy Young Award while with the Dodgers in 1974, had three degrees from Michigan State, including a doctorate in kinesiology, making him perhaps the smartest reliever in history. But this year's Boston Red Sox might have had the smartest bullpen. Left-hander Craig Breslow has a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale, and Javier Lopez has a degree in psychology from the University of Virginia. Two other Red Sox relievers -- Jonathan Papelbon (Mississippi State) and Craig Hansen (St. John's) -- also attended four-year colleges, and even bullpen catcher Jason Larocque is a Harvard man. All that gray matter apparently meant little on the mound, however, since 20 bullpens -- presumably dumber ones -- had better records than Boston's this year.
October 30, 200619 yr kool article BEGINNER'S LUCK In June, Washington left-hander Bill Bray earned the win in his major-league debut despite throwing just one pitch. Catcher Bruce Schneider caught that pitch and threw out Milwaukee's Corey Koskie trying to steal to end the inning, then the Nationals scored in their next at-bat, getting Bray the victory. Lol its Brian http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp...layer_id=150411 :|
November 1, 200619 yr kool article BEGINNER'S LUCK In June, Washington left-hander Bill Bray earned the win in his major-league debut despite throwing just one pitch. Catcher Bruce Schneider caught that pitch and threw out Milwaukee's Corey Koskie trying to steal to end the inning, then the Nationals scored in their next at-bat, getting Bray the victory. Lol its Brian http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp...layer_id=150411 :| I was going to point that out but you beat me too it :lol
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