Deadspin
If it were possible to open the human mind and step inside, to shine a flashlight into the dark corners of the psyche and root around in our deepest anxieties, then you might possibly see what occurred in the left field bleachers of AT&T Park on Tuesday. Mets' fan Matt Murphy, as we all know by now, came up with Barry's 756th home run ball, after surviving what surely was the 10th Circle of Hell.
An eyewitness report on SFGate: Randy Finley of Mountain View, just behind Johnson, said he touched the ball, too. Then he watched in horror as a woman got knocked over and her husband disappeared into the scrum, leaving their 4-year-old son to cower with his teddy bear. Finley said he never found out who they were but that it did not appear to be the pinnacle of responsible parenting. The bleachers during a home run ball scramble are truly a barbarous land, where the laws of human nature are broken down to their most basic, primordial components. There was plenty of heartbreak to go around. One young fan, 15-year-old Mark Jackson of Philadelphia, said he was sure he was the guy with the ball. But Jackson had fallen for the fake ball trick — during big home run scrambles, mischievous fans are known to toss other balls into the area to watch the resulting chaos. I had no idea. Anyway, Barry hit No. 757 in the Giants' 5-0 win over the Nationals on Wednesday, but the battle for that ball was much less chaotic ... the sphere landed in the bay, and a man paddled up to it in a kayak and gently scooped it out of the water. Now that it's all over, sanity and dignity seem to have been restored. Until the next time.
• The Day Boston Won The East. When Red Sox fans look back and discuss the 2007 season — and they will — let it be known that Dustin Pedroia was the hero who staved off the Yankees' final troop surge. Sure it's far from over, but the Sox's current 6-game lead in the East looks a lot better than a 5-spot, or even a 4, which could have happened on Wednesday. Pedroia's tiebreaking home run led a 9-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Mike Lowell went 4-for-4 with three doubles and Hideki Okajima (3-0) went 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. The Yankees, sans A-Rod, lost 15-4 to the Blue Jays, who had a team-record nine doubles. Oy.
• Veni, Vidro, Vici. Meanwhile, Seattle slid ahead of Detroit and New York into first place in the wild card race, as Jose Vidro homered and drove in four runs to lead an 8-4 win over the Orioles.
• Billy Wagner, All-American Hero. With the Mets clinging to a one-run lead, Billy Wagner escaped a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the ninth as New York beat Atlanta 4-3. Moises Alou had a tiebreaking homer in the eighth. It was Wagner's 350th career save and extended his scoreless streak to 21 innings.
• Boom Goes The Dynamite. The Rockies had 23 hits — including four hits and six RBI from Garrett Atkins — in a 19-4 win over the Brewers.
Comments
That's why I stick to tee ball games. Those kids couldn't fight for a ball if it meant their lives.
And the Yankees start a brutal stretch against the Angels, Tigers, and Indians. Meanwhile, the Red Sox play the D-Rays about 20 times in the next 3 weeks.
Gallardowned.
"The Day Boston Won The East"
I'm "marking" this day down in my "calendar" so I know exactly when Rick officially cursed the Sox.
Fake balls? Really? REALLY?
(Other than my shock, I really cannot believe that Lance Armstrong cannot get better seats than the outfield. I thought dopers took care of their own.)
The "fake ball trick" sounds like an A-Rod innovation: He should be plunked again on principle.
Your NL Central first-place Milwaukee Brewers!
In a game between the Mets and Braves, a team loaded the bases with nobody out and didn't score a single run. And somehow, that team wasn't the Mets.
*rub eyes in disbelief*
I kept thinking I'd wake up today and find out that I'd imagined the whole thing.
I would like to thank Juan Uribe in limiting me to about 4.5 hours of restless sleep last night.
... leaving their 4-year-old son to cower with his teddy bear.
What a puss.
Fuck you Andruw Jones.
Now I feel better. Sort of.
I thought the "Big Home Run Scramble" was the latest addition to Denny's breakfast menu?
And if anyone gives a crap, there's a semi-interesting article in today's Daily News about the Queens native who caught the Bonds homer (and was almost murdered by grabby ball-seekers) here.
@Shea Guevara: Ha! It's good to know other team's fans are as pessimistic about bases loaded opportunities.
I knew the only shot for the Braves to get a run home would be either for Francoeur to do it, or for Cox to pinch hit Diaz for Andruw...because Andruw IS going to ground into a double play.
It's like he misses Javy Lopez, so he must do Javy's favorite thing...
Rick, you are a dead man. DEAD.
Mark Jackson easily falls for the "fake ball trick."
This information might have been useful in the 1998 NBA playoffs.
during big home run scrambles, mischievous fans are known to toss other balls into the area to watch the resulting chaos.
This is almost enough to make into a baseball fan.
WHY HASNT BILLY WAGNER BLOWN OUT HIS ELBOW YET?
*As a Met.
@theslacker: Kinda like "Two Moons Over Mike Hampton"
@The Gentleman Masher: Are you kidding? The Indians have left a flotilla of runner on in the past month. Scoring 3 runs a game is not going to get you many wins.
I feel really bad for Tigers fans. As bad as we've been, they've somehow been worse.
@Shea Guevara:
What a pussy - he went to Molloy.
Ahh, yes the old fake ball trick, known to my dog as the
neuticle surprise.
@MitchKayak: He could have said the Cubs. Oops, wait...
grrr. i suck....
to make me into a baseball fan.
@BigTenObsession: Hey, my dad went to Molloy!
My dad was also kind of a pussy.
Billy Wagner: American Hero??
More like "Andruw Jones: Sucks Donkey Balls".
@Matt_T:
That made me feel better. I'd like to give a big Fuck You to Rafael Soriano also.
By the way, I was chatting on AIM with a Mets fan during the game.
Andruw comes up with bases loaded, one out, and I tell him, "6-4-3, game over."
Was off only slightly on that.
@TomahawkFlop:
I ws hoping I'd wake up to see him DFA'd. Guess I shouldn't be so lucky.
@TomahawkFlop: I'd like to know what happened to him. He was unhittable for 2 months.
@TomahawkFlop: My next commenter name will be 'Raphael Soriano's Dead Arm'
@Matt_T: Doesn't he sort of look like Kevin Garnett?
@Afino: I thought about that last night also. Can you DFA someone who BAA is sub .200. Fuck yes, if he's given up 9 HR in 13 outings all of which have seemed to blow a lead.
@Matt_T: I agree with Da Mang here, his fastball was consistently 95-96 early on and now he's topping out at 92-93. Combine that with no movement on the heat, and a floating slider results in lots of bye bye baseballs.
Garrett Atkins passes to the man?
@Matt_T: I'd imagine it's a combo of (A) NL hitters starting to get a book on him, and (B) overuse. For other examples, see: 75% of all relievers in baseball.
I kept thinking I'd wake up today and find out that I'd imagined the whole thing.
Me too, my friend, me too.
And I was offered tix to go to today's game but I've declined, because going would mean having to go with my sister. Who thinks "game time" is the fourth inning. No, thanks.
@Shea Guevara: Hey, my roommate went to Molloy, and he's not a pussy. Which means he's either a dick or an asshole.
/Team America
/Random Queens high school comparison
@Matt_T:
It's called "The Back End of Your Rotation Can't Give You More Than Six Innings a Start" Syndrome. It tends to wear on certain guys in the bullpen arm's.
@Shea Guevara:
We had a saying about Molloy at my high school, but I'm too polite to repeat it.
So the guy was wearing a Mets jersey OVER a Mets tee shirt (to a game in which the Mets weren't even playing)? Was he worried that people might not get the message that he was a Mets fan? Where was his Mets hat? His Mets face paint?
@Flαmεtown: He does.
@TomahawkFlop: @Shea Guevara: @UkraineNotWeak: I was shocked when he came in last night. I thought Bobby misplayed the bullpen last night in general. Moylan is the ground ball guy, should have brought him in instead of Mahay and we wouldn't even be worrying about Soriano.
@Barry Lutz:
His buddy was wearing an A-Rod jersey at the game. I guess that's appropriate for San Francisco.
that scrum was about right. fans fight over the practice balls that get thrown into the bleachers.
that's how we roll at PacBell/SBC/AT&T..oh fuck it: TelecommunicationsConglomerate Park
@Matt_T:
Completely agree with that, and wondered aloud to no one else why moylan wasn't coming in first.
Steely McBeam would prefer balls deep.
@phillas: Just call it the Phone Booth.
@We Are Donyell Marshall: New York had their chance early in the season and blew it. Love it.
@Tobias Funke: It's not "who wants to win it the most", it's "who wants to lose it the least".
So will andruw jones even get a contract next year.
@theslacker: I L'd OL. +1
Chucky Atkins plays baseball too?
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