55 Yankees came from behind to defeat the Twins 6-4 at Watervliet last night. The Twins had to accept a tough call in the 5th with two outs when, with a runner on first, Wayne Nicholsen, not known for his leg speed, hit a screaming line drive that went over the Yankees left fielders head and rolled under the fence which the left fielder was able to reach and he threw it back in. The umpires said they never saw the ball . What should have been a ground rule double putting runners on second and third was called a single placing Twins at first and second, only one of which scored when the next batter, Stefan Koutsakis, hit a clean single in the left field gap.
Although outhit by a short handed banged up Twins team, the Yankees were able to record a W . At least we got to play a game in good baseball weather. Thats a lot.
A good game and a great night for baseball! Left out from the recap was the major league diving catch in center made by Rick Caruso, the big 2-run hit by Chris Abrams (who also made a running, lunging catch of a hard liner to right), John Weber's continued clutch pitching and hitting and that the Yankees were also a bit depleted.
Also - on the "fence" play, the umpires asked our left-fielder, Craig Miller (who I trust implicitly and without question to tell the truth - and I don't say that about a lot of people) what happened on the play and he told them it hit the post and did not go under the fence.
It was a good night for baseball for both teams. I enjoyed the camaraderie and competition against a great bunch of guys.
-- Edited by rayjdem on Friday 28th of June 2019 10:39:54 AM
Correct me if I am wrong, but the umps should not call a ground rule double unless the outfielder throws his hands up in the air. If your outfielder had tried to get the ball out of the fence, and had difficulty, causing the runner to get 3 bases, the umps would have let that stand, because the outfielder never signaled that the ball was caught in the fence.
Funny and nice twist, Mike, but that was Ringo Starr.
But that you & Tim tie two Brits, Ringo and the Bard, to the game, led me to look for what other common lines Shakespeare created that could work for the Twins-Yanks game, and may be of some consolation to the Twins:
Here are some:
"The game is afoot." (Henry IV)
"As good luck would have it." (Merry Wives of Windsor)
"Foregone conclusion." (Othello)
"Play fast and loose." (King John.)
"Wild goose chase." (Romeo and Juliet)
So, Shakespeare in baseball?
Yes. Actually, that dates back at least as far as the 1950s with that stunningly beautiful actress and wit Tallulah Bankhead (look up her picture) who had one of the great all-time lines about the game.
"There have only been two geniuses in the world: Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare."
She also said, in what could be a great dugout line, "Fill what is empty, empty what is full, and scratch where it itches."
-Mike
-- Edited by mikehart on Saturday 29th of June 2019 09:55:36 AM
