Never Forget

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Out of Left Field

Thirteen years ago, everything changed, and we will never be the same. On September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers in New York City were hit with two hijacked planes, along with a plane that crashed into the Pentagon, and a plane that crashed in a town outside of Pittsburgh , killing almost 3,000 people.

We all remember where we were when we heard the news. Even all these years later, it’s hard to look at pictures from that day without getting a little teary eyed. Luckily, a distant family member who worked in one of the towers, happened to be going into the office late that day. For countless others, they weren’t as lucky.

Baseball, for me, has been a therapy. Whenever things are going wrong, I know I can always count on baseball to make things better. Baseball was put on hold because there are things more important than baseball. When it returned, it was amazing. The first game to be played in New York after the attacks, was on September 21st, with the Mets beating the Atlanta Braves, 2-1 on a 2 run home run by Mike Piazza. 2001 had so many great baseball stories to it. The Seattle Mariners tied an MLB regular season record by winning 116 games, Barry Bonds passing Mark McGwire’s single season home run record, and the New York Yankees going for their fourth straight World Series title.

Over Labor Day weekend, my boyfriend and I went to Arizona for the weekend to visit my mom. While we were there, we went to the Arizona Diamondbacks game. Wes and I got to talking to the guy sitting in front of us, and this guy is my new hero. From 1998-2013, he served as police officer at Yankee Stadium, as well as being a first responder on 9/11. He told us that he lost six buddies, including three that he served in the Marines with, one being his Sergeant. The words “holy shit” just came out. Wes asked him which was harder: losing the 2001 World Series, or losing in the 2004 ALCS to the Boston Red Sox after being up 3-0. “2001. No question.” He explained that after everything that had happened, to lose the World Series was heartbreaking.

The 2001 World Series opened in Arizona, the next time it would open in a National League ballpark would be 2010, before returning to New York for Game 3 on October 30. President George W. Bush threw out the Ceremonial First Pitch, being the first current President since Eisenhower in 1956 to do so in a World Series, while wearing a FDNY sweatshirt. Chants of U-S-A filled the stadium. I remember watching the game at home with my mom getting chills and crying. The saying at the time “United We Stand” was exactly what that moment was. Despite the fact that the Yankees had knocked my A’s out of the playoffs with the infamous Derek Jeter flip just weeks before, and that the Yankees were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks, my National League team, I had to cheer for the Yankees. I wanted them to win, for the same reason as the guy from the game said. That city deserved something great in that moment. Baseball makes everything better, and winning the World Series would have been the biggest lift for that city.

My biggest regret in my two trips to New York in 2012, was that I didn’t get to see the 9/11 memorial. I didn’t have much time, and the thought of rushing through it all didn’t seem right. When I do make it out to New York again, I plan on setting several hours aside to soak it all in.

Umpires

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Out of Left Field

I love writing and I love writing about baseball. Things that excite me in a game, things that get the creative juices flowing. I started this post the day after the “home run that was really a double that was actually a home run” game in Cleveland between the A’s and the Indians. I was still fuming from the night before and was livid with Major League Baseball and the Umpires. I had to hold back because I didn’t want to say something in the heat of the moment, but it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the problem. The umpiring this season is HORRIBLE. Major League Baseball should be embarrassed and ashamed.

May 8, 2013 will forever be the day that proved MLB’s replay system is not up to par and fails in comparison to other professional sports. Adam Rosales hit a game tying home run in Cleveland in the 9th inning, but he didn’t, but he did. Confused? So are we. Watching the live feed, I said it was a home run, Angel Hernandez said it was a double. Bob Melvin, being the amazing manager he is, went out to argue that it was indeed a home run. The good news is that Major League Baseball has a replay system in place for such moments and every time, they have gotten the call right after the review. Well, now that 100% rating has dropped. It was horrible. Angel Hernandez continues to prove why he’s the most hated umpire in baseball, and why Jim Joyce will always be a favorite of mine. At least he admits his mistakes. To make matters worse, Major League Baseball pretty much made things worse for themselves with the way they handled the situation, or lack there of. Here’s what I took away from their response “He messed up, moving on” like it was nothing.

May 9, 2013 the umpire crew in Houston tried to one up Angel Hernandez and company with the worst PR move of all time for baseball. It’s one thing to blow calls in a game, but it’s another thing entirely when you don’t know the rules of the game. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were in Houston taking on the newest member of the American League West, the Houston Astros, when the most shocking of umpire moves happened. Astros manager, Bo Porter, made a pitching change, and then another. The only issue is that the rules state that the pitcher must face at least one batter before he can be replaced. Porter, being a first year manager, might not know that, but that’s why you have umpires there. They are supposed to know the rules and make sure they are upheld. That didn’t happen. As a result, MLB looked stupid two days in a row and put a major magnifying glass on umpires. Crew Chief, Fieldin Culbreth, was suspended for two games and fined. The rest of his crew were also fined for their part as well. At least somebody got suspended.

June 11, 2013 the four strike strikeout. There is nothing nice I can say here. It’s not that hard to count to three. Three strikes and you’re out. It’s even in a song that is sang in every baseball park around the country every night. I don’t understand how you can possibly not get that right. The Arizona Diamondbacks were in Los Angeles taking on the Dodgers in what later became the brawl game when the umpire lost track of the number of strikes. Diamondbacks pitcher, Ian Kennedy, threw four pitches for strikes to get the strikeout recorded. I’d love to tell you more, but there’s very little about the game that’s not fight related. Lucky break for the umpires there. Speaking of the brawls the happened in that game, we all know I love a good baseball brawl and that was a good brawl. However, I do not think Kennedy was trying to hit Puig and I will continue to dislike Greinke now. Greinke threw at Miguel Montero the next inning, hitting him in the back. That, to me, was his way of getting back at the dbacks for Kennedy hitting Puig. The issue is, you intentionally hit a player as payback for an accidental hit batter. No pitcher is ever going to try to hit a batter in the head, not including Roger Clemens because actually threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza. There for, when Kennedy plunked Greinke, that was more payback for Greinke drilling Montero. Either way, that was a lot of BS going down in that game. I guess the umpires got a lucky break because of the fight. I do give them props though for this game. Four guys trying to break up a fight between 50+ guys. That’s not easy.

I think this off-season, Major League Baseball is going to need to do a lot of work to fix the umpiring system. If they want to add more replay systems, they need to fix the one they have in place first and make sure it’s completely fool-proof to avoid another blown call. Also, maybe have extended training to avoid issues like what happened in Houston. No matter what though, they need to make some changes because they are going to lose fans, and that would be a shame.

Heritage vs True Love

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Out of Left Field

Today I spent my afternoon at the ballpark, so it was a good day. The Oakland A’s, with a split squad, played Italia (Italy) as part of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) exhibition games. Being an Italian girl and an A’s fan, I was pretty excited for the game.

When looking at the schedule for the A’s last week while planning this quick trip to Phoenix, I knew I had to go to the this game. It’s not too often you can see your favorite team and a WBC team play, so I would be stupid not to jump at the chance. I brought my funny Italian shirt (Everybody loves an Italian Girl) with me, but opted to wear my funny A’s shirt (Chicks dig diamonds), which everybody always loves.

Like I said, the A’s were playing a split squad, which means half the team is playing one game at home and the other half is playing on the road. Being cursed with bad luck, I figured that I would end up with all the players I wanted to see playing in Surprise against the Royals today, while I was in Phoenix. Much to my surprise, the team in Phoenix had almost all the guys I wanted to see. I brought my A’s playoffs 2012 hat and a sharpie with the hopes of getting some of the guys to sign it. Tried to get Josh Reddick, but the sneaky little devil ducked into the dugout early, but I’m still happy.

2012 Playoff hat signed by: Coco Crisp, Bob Melvin, Brandon Moss and Yoenis Cespedes

Like most of the WBC teams, there is Major League players on the teams representing their home countries, or heritage, but Italy didn’t have too many names we’d know here in the states. Some names you might recognize: Nick Punto (Dodgers), Chris Denorfia (Padres), Anthony Rizzo (Cubs), Alex Liddi (Mariners), Mike Costanzo (Nationals), and Drew Butera (Twins). A lady sitting near by said it best, the last names for team Italia sounds like a romantic poem. Italian names always sound better than what they actually are- my last name, Susini, translates to from the plum-tree, plum or prune.

The A’s got on the board early and played well all day. The scored twice in the first inning and added two more in the third. Italy got on the board in the fourth with a booming home run by the first baseman, Anthony Rizzo. The 9th inning, oh man, was hard to watch as the A’s pitcher, Arnold Leon, struggled to find the strike zone. After giving up two runs, the final out was recorded with a play at the plate, in which Leon tagged the runner out. While I love a play at the plate, one involving the pitcher, not so much.

Either way, it was a great game, with the A’s smacking 12 hits and now I’m actually excited for the WBC. Go USA!