Clare called and texted
at least four times each during the Cardinals-Red Sox game last night. Father and daughter talk baseball a lot. There it t was close to eleven at night, and
we were arguing whether a base runner going from third to home could be called
out for obstruction.
The conversations
helped take my mind off the “announcing” of Tim McCarver. How do you translate “fingernails on
chalkboard” for a 21st century audience? Let’s see, among the more obvious
McCarverisms were the Red Sox “teeming with team players” and “that’s what
happens when a pitcher gets under it.”
What, does he throw a pop up?
In defense of McCarver,
he wasn’t any worse than the umpires. For
starters, Dana DeMuth’s strike zone was a secret unto itself. And the way the game ended, with Jim Joyce
making an obstruction call on Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks while he was
lying flat on his stomach. Joyce is the
same ump who blew the call at first to cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game
back in 2010. Yes, to err is human, and
so is replacing people with technology.
With a few more games like this, that day—or night—will be coming sooner
than later. From “men in blue” to
cameras in blue. I could live with that.
One more thing on
McCarver. He and his broadcasting
partner Joe Buck kept complimenting starter Jake “I Talk a Great Game” Peavy for his four-inning performance. Not only did Peavy leave his team in a
two-run hole, he forced manager John Farrell to go to his pen far too early. Way to go, Jake. This may be why you’re not missed all that much
on the South Side.
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