Ump'n Around: Now THIS is an Official Gaffe

You owe me a cold one, Mr. Joyce.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- In the two-man umpiring system...the one you see in most minor-league and high school games...it often feels like baseball is the fastest game on Earth. How could a game that looks so simple, that you've spent thousands of hours watching and a few hundred playing all of a sudden look so foreign; you're like a tourist trying to score breakfast with only"Kornokova" and "EZ Russian for Dummies" to guide you through a quick-talking and impatient shopkeep while two dozen glaring eyes burn you for holding up the line.

Why? Because in two-man, your positioning is the most important thing on your mind. Whatever happens, you have a responsibility for a part of the field and the added responsibility of getting your posterior to a certain piece of real estate. And everything changes depending on the hit, a guy on first, a guy on third, a guy on first and third...at times, you're so happy you hit your spot and claimed your field that you forget to even pay attention to the call you were supposed to be making (cough, cough).

Sure, after a while it becomes natural for the pros. And in the Majors, you even get two more dudes to help out. But positioning and responsibilities remain the first priority for umpires once a ball is in play.

Tonight's Angels-Tigers game provided an example of why this is so...an example of an extremely rare occurence that the MLB umps warned us campers about to no end...don't make a call that isn't yours. If you're at third, don't call a guy safe at first. If you're at second, don't call a play at the plate.

These are obvious, but on the lines, it can get tricky. Balls down the lines are the Home Plate umps call to the base, then they transfer to the baseline ump. Several times at camp we'd get caught excitedly calling a ball fair or foul down the line when the call belonged to our partner. No big deal...so I called it fair before he did. So what?

Quothe the Instructors:

"That's great...until you're at a ballpark full of fans and you've got your arms up because you saw it foul and about 10,000 people start screaming and you look over and see your partner calling it fair. That's not a situation you want to be in."

This grounder went beyond 3rd, and the call belonged to Ump Fav Tim Tschida (4). He called it fair and Detroit's 3B easily threw the runner out. But...uh oh.

"Looks like a dammed Village People concert out there!" -- Possible Clever Comment From Leyland

Home Plate Ump Jim Joyce (66) saw it differently, much to the upset of James Leyland. To his credit, Tschida took it like a pro and managed to exhibit only a mild look of annoyance having been shown up by his partner (see top photo...classic!). Fortunately for everyone, the batter was out two pitches later and all was peaceful in baseball land. But if he had hit a dinger and started a rally. Mama Mia! Like I said, THIS is a real error of officiating and because these guys are so gulldang good, it is extremely rare to see.


POSTSCRIPT: True to form, the announcers brought up instant replay on this play, though not terribly passionately as they were the Angels team. "These kind of plays might one day be up for review," one talker said.

No it wouldn't. Once a foul signal is given, the play is dead. There would be no fair way of overturning the call. And replay is stupid anyway.

Ump Talk: Check Swings...How the Pros Call it

The Question: If you're like me, you've probably always been a bit confused as to why Umps call some check swings swings, and others checks. Well, that's because it's up to Umpire's discretion. (Read: there is no mechanical litmus test for a swing or no swing call.)

The Conventional Wisdom: To hear the TV folks (and most MLB players/coaches for that matter) tell it, this call comes down to a jamboree of cliches like "did he go around" and things about the batter "breaking his wrists" or "breaking the plane of the plate" with the bat. Better yet, since judging whether the batter's bat "went around" is difficult from the home plate Ump's position, we get the drama of the catcher "appealing" to the 1st or 3rd base Ump. So we get that satisfying picture in our minds of the catcher heroically appealing with his glove pointed down the basepath...and then a spirited safe or strike call if the bat swung across the plate. And then we get 2 or 3 replays from the dugout camera to see if the call was correct. Sound about right?

The Latest Example: Well, that's how I always thought it went down, but in reality...that's not the case. Indeed, these rules of thumb we've all heard can often predict the call the 1st or 3rd base Ump will make -- but not all the time.

If you were watching the Cubs v. Mets game on ESPN tonight, Mark DeRosa (2B, Cubs) got hot and bothered about a call like this. He checked his swing as the pitch crossed the plate, but was punched out by home plate Ump Angel Hernandez (55). DeRosa said some choice phrases on his way back to the bench, asking for a second opinion from down the 1st Base line. Hernandez waived him off and reiterated his call.

The TV booth guys all wondered:

1. DeRosa didn't appear to go around, so why was it a strike?
2. Why didn't Hernandez allow the appeal on such a close call?

The Explanation: The answer is that Hernandez had no reason to get the second opinion for the call he made. The test as to "swing or no swing" is whether the batter made any attempt to strike the ball. So listen up, batters...holding up after the fact won't necessarily save you.

Bat is back as the pitch reaches the plate. (click to enlarge)

Hips open, bat checked as ball is in the glove.

1. As you can see from the pics, DeRosa checks his swing pretty much WHILE the ball is crossing the plate. From this angle, it appears DeRosa was pretty well fooled on the pitch and made the decision to hold up when he realized he wouldn't be able to make contact...and he indeed held up the swing and perhaps didn't go around.

Can't get in his head, but it seems the Home Plate Umpire saw a well-timed attempt at the pitch (see how DeRosa is still moving his bat forward as the ball crosses the plate). It doesn't matter whether his bat "goes around" in this case. It really doesn't matter if he's within a nautical mile of hitting the ball. All that matters is if the Umpire believes the batter made an attempt to strike the ball. The rule is made this way to protect a pitcher who makes a good pitch against a batter who is only checking his swing because he misjudged the pitch so badly.

2. Why no appeal? Because it is the Home Plate Ump's call to make. Despite the oft-mentioned catcher "appealing" a call up the line, only the Plate Ump can pass the call to the 1st Base or 3rd Base Ump. The appeal is available TO HIM because the Home Plate Ump is tasked with the all-important ball-or-strike judgement call. He often doesn't have the bandwidth to be fooling around with judging an attempted swing and needs help from time to time. (Don't forget, if the pitch is a strike, the swing or no swing doesn't matter...which is, of course, the reason the Home Plate Ump focuses on that call.)

In this case, the pitch was likely an EASY ball call, allowing Hernandez to get a look at the swing. And with a good look, it's pretty easy to tell DeRosa made an attempt to strike the ball...a ball he realized he wouldn't be able to get around on a split second too late.

White Sox v. Umps 2008

UPDATE: Thome suspended 1 game. He musta said something untoward...

Wish I was a little bit taller...

I'm biased in two places on this one...first, the W. Sox are playing the Tigs. Second, I tend to side with umpires/referees on most things (despite a seething problem with authority, just ask those three cops I got fired in Jackson, Mich...booyah.)

The issue has long been Ozzie Guillen running his mouth about pretty much anything. Add to this, the official "correct" call percentage in MLB hovers at around 95 percent as judged by the video monitoring system the league installed several years back, according to what the MLB veep said at the camp.

So that leaves you with 1 out of 20 pitches being called either a ball or a strike when "by-the-book" it is actually the opposite. (for an amateur, this climbs to well around 6 out of 20) The point is, every game sees more than 10 pitches that are technically called improperly. The best you can do as an Ump is to make sure you're calling the same zone no matter which team is batting. And that's usually what the league, the managers and -- to a lesser extent -- the players hold the Umpires to.


The White Sox are off to a very poor start with Umpires this year with Ozzie loudly getting into a tiff with Phil Cuzzi (10) the other day, saying he calls strikes against the Sox because Cuzzi doesn't like him. Ehh.

But the attitude pervades the organization. Today, Jim Thome was tossed by Home Plate Ump James Hoye (a rookie-ish fellow) for arguing balls and strikes. It happened after Thome sat on a strike out pitch that ate full plate and fronted at the tips of his generously tall knees (the southern border of the strike zone is defined the hollow of the knee, or the top of your shin really). He lost it. The announcers (the hot-and-cold combo of “Hawk” Harrelson and former OF Darrin Jackson) spent the rest of the game complaining about the call, the zone and how the Sox "had the bat taken out of their hands." By the end, the Sox gabbers suggested the Tigers had a different zone (Magglio and Inge both suffered borderline calls late) and that "a strike for us is pretty much anything that hits the glove of Pudge Rodriguez." On and on it went.

The point is...one pitch at one at-bat is not worth this amount of anger. For 100+ years, the league has accepted this -- hence, the reason you get tossed for arguing balls and strikes. If this was allowed, the games would never end. And worrying about it these days with the Umps under video grading is tantamount to giving yourself a complex -- always a no-no for a hitter, pitcher or team.

But it's not just baseball. Those that complain usually only serve to get inside their own heads (Kobe, Mark Cuban, Guillen) and truly lose any sympathy from the Umpire/Referee crews. It seems the Sox are being consumed by this attitude from the top already. I know this much, the Tigers liked seeing Thome leave the game more than any of the Umpires did.


Huddy Extra: If you got to see it, you can really see the difference in an experienced salt like Cuzzi taking flak and a young ump like Hoye. With the old guys, the eyes are bored, the bodies are firm, posture perfect...great body language. With Hoye, his eyes were bright and he had slightly nervous body language. It's subtle, but it's there. When Ted Barrett (65) -- who happened to by on 3rd in this game -- was screaming in my face, playing an irate manager after I blew a call, I had the benefit of sunglasses to hide my nonverbal expression...which was certainly screaming "help" thanks to Barrett's generous height of at least 6' 4" with a build and bark to match. Hoye had no such protection, but fortunately had the full support of his crew in case he was getting nervous.

I saw a clip of the other Umpires in the crew before the game giving Hoye a fist bump on the chest to pump him up before the game. So he must be a real newbie, though I saw he had been behind the plate before from some box scores. He handled himself well, I thought. And he kept his zone the same after the dust up from the normally staid Thome.

Calls: Saturday Offers Dugout Rule Insights, Fox "Wired" Umps

Jim Joyce has a wonderful mustache. (Photo: Boston.com)

As the seaon progresses, I'd like 90 Percent to not only offer up some thoughts on players/teams, but also on the rules and the umpiring. Here's a couple-three (as we'd say in Greenville) items from Saturday.

1. Fox Listens In: I remember something about Umps starting to wear microphones, but I guess I forgot in all the excitement. Today, we listened in to Jim Joyce (66) explaining (to a fan, no less) the call discussed in item two. The cool thing with this is you got to hear the authority in the Umpire voice, they kind of remind you of cops the way they talk. It's startling to hear such a firm voice from these guys you've never heard speak, usually only see while a player is cursing at them and/or an announcer is assuring you they blew a call.

2. The Call that Torre Built: With the Dodgers @ Petco Park taking on the Padres, "parents" catcher Josh Bard -- chased a fly ball into foul territory toward his own dugout. Rafael Furcal was perched on 3rd base, with no outs, if I recall. Padres catcher dives/slides into the dugout and makes the catch as a few coaches give him a hand making sure he doesn't fall asunder on the steps. Furcal tags up, but the catcher is able to compose himself and hold the runner. The Umps called the batter out. Dodgers skip Joe Torre requested an explanation...after a quick consult that apparently included the rule book, the Home Plate Ump Joyce called the out and awarded the runner home plate. Normally, this is where the announcers and all your friends take turns butchering the rules of the game.

But thanks to the in-game talk with Torre and the wired conversation with the fan we heard later, this involved two rules, neither of which involving the helping hands of the coaches. On one hand, a catcher CAN make a legal catch in the dugout IF he maintains his footing. Otherwise, he is out-of-play. In this case he caught the ball legally IN play, but then slid OUT of play. As such, he was under normal rules with the catch and then subject to the special dugout footing rule after the catch. The ball is out-of-play (as if he had thrown it or dropped it in the stands) and the baserunner is awarded a base. Because the catcher was out-of-play and the ball was dead, the assistance of the coaches never affected the play.

Credit to Torre for knowing this rule about the catcher's footing from some corner of his mind. Not sure if the Umps were discussing giving the runner the plate or not before he brought it up.

3. Remember the Name of Timmons: Porsche aficiando and dude who was good enough to say I had an eye for calling the corners, Tim Timmons (95) is a professional official you should PAY to watch call a game, no matter who's playing. And despite this, they called him "Tim Thomas" on SportCenter when one of those crafty Indians tried to insinuate a problem with a particular call. It was like when Steven Cohen had to hear ABC/ESPN's Dave O'Brien announce "Michael Beckham" take the field during the World Cup. That was pretty funny, actually. We eventually just had to turn the volume off for the poor Brit to finish watching the England match in peace.

Frank Thomas Tossed -- Here's Why

Big Hurt Takes a Big Shower -- Pic = NYT.com

In the NYY/TOR game today, Frank Thomas got tossed in record time right after (the very topic we broached in the previous post) a Strike Three call from Home Plate Ump...UCLA Alum Bill Miller (26) that the Big Hurt thought was an obvious Ball Four.

While I personally TiVo'd the pitch several times and still don't understand how a veteran like FT could both take this pitch on a full count and then dart down the line the moment the ball hit Jose Molina's glove...the larger point for moi is this...

Q: How Could FT Get Tossed So Quick?

A: The Golden Rule of Tossin' as I know it has two main parts...(1) if the word "You" is included in the tirade from the player/manager (2) if a player/manager argues balls and strikes. It's automatic, baby!

Thomas was still angry after the game, saying the call was terrible. Again...that's a tough argument considering it ate a good part of the plate at FT's belt, but more importantly...Thomas has been around long enough to know he needed to just swallow it, especially with his total salary this year dependent on his total AB count. I don't have access to his contract, but I'm pretty sure Miller gets the same salary either way.

Two ejections so far! What a season.

2008 is Grrrrrreat!

Whatever, dude.

Here's a few things on my mind.

1. Shutout? If it weren't for Edgar Renteria (aka "the other guy we got" in Detroit) the Tigers would have been NO HIT by the combined pitching power of the Kansas City Royals. Three hits and no runs? I hate to care this much about Game #2 (Game #1 was awesome, despite the loss...) but the 2008 Detroit Tigers should be able to put up at least one against Koufax on his finest day. Land!

2. Reyes of Confusion: Those ads for MLB 2K8 with Jose Reyes and the disembodied voice of Denis Leary just don't make any sense. I get a guy smashing a cheap little boom box with a bat that he'd just been stroking with a towel (should be funny, but I don't get it.) And we even get Mr. Met with his head in an ice bucket (this should be better even than the WKU red lump). But I don't get it. I miss the Baseball Tonight guys playing out classic scenes from baseball movies.

3. Fukudome Me? Fukudome You, Pal! What a debut for everyone's (read: my) favorite rookie...3 for 3, with a bunch of RBIs, 8 total bases and an entire stadium of drunks still thinking they won that game.

4. Larry Bowa v. Ed Montague: I've gotta say...seeing a guy get his stir-ups in a bunch on April 1 is kind of a new thing for me. But Larry Bowa was born angry and the sun never sets on his temper, I'm gathering. As reported on this blog earlier this spring, MLB wants base coaches in their designated boxes in addition to wearing their hard hats. With a runner on 2nd, that puts 3rd Base coaches like Bowa in a tough spot because of the angle required to judge balls to the outfield. Long story short, Montague (11) wanted Bowa in the box, Bowa wanted Montague to clam up. I love every part of this and I'm sure both gents would agree over a brew in a month or two...each did their jobs. But beyond the greatness of seeing a base coach care enough to hoot and holler and get tossed this early over a minor issue...appreciate the professional job done by Montague...having a tough nut like Bowa screaming at you like a crazy person is more rattling than I care to imagine. But with 31 years under his belt, Montague doesn't break character, wince or even afford Bowa the satisfaction of even a decent frown. He just tosses the old salt and walks right back to his position without batting an eye. BAD ASS!

5. Wait For It: The big leaguers like to tell young Umps to take their time making a call. You build the anticipation of the call (my theory) and then deliver it. Either way, they consider it good form to pause a moment after the ball hits the glove -- lest you risk calling what you were anticipating the pitch to be. Tim Welke (3) took his sweet time making the ball or strike call in Detroit on Opening Day and caught a number of batters ushering themselves to 1st thinking they'd earned a walk only to be punched out or otherwise detained by a "late" right-hand strike call. This starting off to first whenever a ball on the corners passes by on a 3 ball count seems new to me...did guys always do this? It really honks Umps off. So why are more guys doing it?

Friday Flexin': Indians, Mets, Kruk 'n' More

"Yeah, but it's my plate, A.J."

GLENDALE, Calif. -- There's no reason for me to say this, but I really like Angel Pagan, utility OF for the NY Mets (came over from the Cubs). His stats are fairly sterling and his numbers this spring (hitting around .400+) bolster my thinking. But even before I looked it up, he's one of these guys that seems to be everywhere when the Mets are on TV. Plus that name is kind of enjoyable, like a character in an hour-long drama about a biker with sci-fi religious undertones.

As I wrote this, he crushed a double off the left field wall (followed up by a sweet, run scoring double by the Sexy Killer Tomato.) Howdy! So keep your eyes open. (Ugh, Charlie Weiss is apparently a Yankee fan, too...barely squeezing his ample carriage into a luxury box seat at Legends Field. And he had the nerve to ask the Yankees staff why ND, NYY and the Patriots are so "hated for doing things the right way." I'm surprised Steinbrenner didn't turn the hounds on him for that crack.)

Today we had:

Cleveland Tribe v. NY Mets (ESPN-HD, Lee v. Perez)
NY Yanks v. Houston Astros (YES-HD, Pettitte v. Chacon)

Top 5

1. The Kruker: When John Kruk joined the Baseball Tonight crew, he seemed more a sweaty, nervous and, well, portly gent than a well-spoken hairdo suited for a seat under the bright glare of set lights and sticky-coating of pancake makeup. Within the year, he'd become a decent commentator, IMHO. I'm happy to say that in 2008, Kruk has clearly become the value-added talent ESPN hired him to become. I really liked his insights on the Mets/Indians game, doing play-by-play with Karl Ravech. (KR For his part was steady as Daysailer, as usual) He pointed out how nervous Killer Tomato should have been standing on third with a right-handed batter and a pitcher throwing cut fastballs on the inside (fat guys get other fat guys). And he deftly handled a "rough" balls-n-strikes call by home plate ump #47 Mark Wegner. With Cliff Lee cruising in the first before the Pagan/Saenz doubles, he got two strikes on Raul Casanova. The next pitch caught a portion of the outside often called a strike, but it was called a ball. The crowd groaned a bit. Instead of "that's a bad call" as we too often hear these days, Krukster went with "that's a tough pitch to take with two strikes." Good insight, doesn't get picky with the ump (who was consistently tight on the corners all day). Casanova ended up walking, and the two-out rally continued. Lee eventually got run after 2/3rds. But Kruk focused on the two doubles as the reason Lee got shaken up and lost his compsure. Kruk/Ravech brought up the tight strike zone later in the game, too, but rightly pointed out the Wegner was consistent -- fi very tight for Spring ball. Real pro moves there. Imagine any call like this during an ESPN College Football game, where you'd swear the entire game hangs on a borderline fumble call replayed 15 times with grunts of disgust from the broadcast team. To me, this always takes away from the enjoyment of the game. And I deeply appreciate those that chose to handle such situations with professionalism and class.

2. Closing Time: Cleveland's favorite dog to kick seems to be closer Joe Borowski. And the Big Burner did himself no favors today by giving up 2 hits, including a HR in 1.0 innings of work...but I still respect his talents, so we'll see. The hometown fans are hardly chanting his name, though.

3. Dodgers Hot Corner: I didn't see this. I haven't read anything but the headline. But the injury to Andy LaRouche seems to improve the chances Brandon Inge will be brought on from the Tigers to backup Nomar. He's a decent pinch hitter (offers some power, but poor average), can play pretty much anywhere and has a lot to offer defensively for the Dodgers. So here's hoping. I think they could use the overall depth and Inge is a truly gifted natural athlete.

4. Slide Step: Andy Pettitte has apparently been working on a new delivery with runners on. Pettitte, who picked off 5 runners last year to lead the league, has one of the best moves to first there is. So good, in fact, Yankees describer Michael Kay postulated that it had been overstudied by opposing players, making it easier for basestealers to crack the code (that kind of makes sense, but kind of doesn't). As such, Pettitte has developed a slide step. After hitting a batter in the 2nd Inning, the NYY talkers eagerly anticipated seeing the new step. And honestly, I was pretty interested at that point, too. Unfortch for everyone, he stuck with his usual high knee action and gave up a dinger on the second pitch to HOU left-fielder Victor Diaz.

5. Sideways Shawny: I don't really mind the sideways-ish cap. Dontrelle Willis (a founding member of this club?) once showed on camera how his cap just simply wouldn't sit straight. He'd put it on and magically with a pitch or two, it would be ever-so-subtleeeeee off kilter. And frankly, C.C. Sabathia (who's mug shows his cap going to the right, not left, BTW) can do whatever he wants if he keeps sitting 'em down faster than a Shoney's on Easter Sunday (more regional/local humor, there). But Shawn Chacon? After a great 2005 with NYY, his ERA was 2.85. Then he dialed a 7 in the front half of '06 with the Yanks and a 5.48 after being sent down in the second half to Four-A PIT. He came back the next year and notched a very respectable 3.94 in '07 in 90+ innings with a dismal Pirates squad. But I think his cap twist should have been temporarily revoked about 18 months ago. Tiger reliever Fernando Rodney had his cap cocked very, very sideways through the Magical Summer of 2006, but it came as little surprise to me that the cap started finding it's way back toward to the plate when 2007 bit him in the keister with a string of rough outings. Once he calmed down (his ERA settled in to a 4.26 in '07, up from 3.52 in '06 and 2.86 in '05), the crunked hat found its way back to his bandana'd head. Who knows where the Crooked Hat Club will draw the line. But I think Chacon should still be on probation. And I think Marino Rivera, saw three up and three down in his first action of the Spring, should consider pushing his hat a half inch the the left. He'd be pretty bad looking with that going.


FUKUDOME WATCH:

The buzz is building around our hero, with MLB.com (a site with so many freakin' scripts running that its crashing my Mac at the moment) doing a feature on how he is outperforming Ichiro...so far this Spring, anyway. Even we shudder at the comparison so early. Anywho, the Fukster was 1 for 3, with a double, a walk and a run scored. That earns a happy :P sign.

Thursday Wrap: Draining the TiVo

"You know...I'm starting to hate baseball."

GLENDALE, Calif. -- Good land-o-goshin!

I've got Mariners Report Daily, Royals Weekly and enough Red Sox Spring segments to make Roger Angell start longing for the NFL on Fox crew. But I press ahead...winning the benefit of tidbits like Riverdance-ing closer Jonathan Papelbon dressed in a see-thru shirt at a charity dance contest in Bumbledip, Fla.

On tap:

Dodgers v. Red Sox (ESPN-HD, Penny v. Wakefield)
White Sox v. Rangers (ComcastSportsChi. Haeger v.Padilla)
Yankees v. Twins (ESPN-HD, Kennedy v. Slowey)

Top 5:


1. Dodger Power/Seven-Run 9th: Game-winning Grand Slam from Dodger Jason Repko in garbage time against the Saux. This after a three-run shot from Lucas May in the same frame. Earlier, we saw an impressive Matt Kemp blast on an outside corner pitch from Mike Timlin.

2. At 41 and still in his prime? Tim Wakefield is proving that the knuckleball is truly the fountain of youth. He tied up more than a few big-league bats with that wicked googly. Kinda makes me wonder why we don't see more of this nasty pitch -- where has Steve Sparks gone? Want your kid in the NFL...teach 'em to long snap. Want 'em in MLB for 30 years? Have 'em pitch with no spin. (Although White Sox AAA knuckler Charlie Haeger got a bit touched up, watching three score on 5 hits in 3 innings of work today...but got a few "He gone"s for his efforts.)

3. The Cheetah! As we mentioned before, it's Spring for the umps, too. One thing that the 90 Percent baseball blog will offer you is top-flight umpire discussion. And I was lucky enough to have umpiring legend #4 Tim Tschida manning first to start the Dodgers game today. Not much more to say than he did swimmingly. Did you know...umps must rotate in Spring games, as Chester Cheetah was seen at 2nd base...executing that patented high-knee fist-pump to call the top end of a double-play.

4. Plus Free Use of the Clubhouse: Speaking of Papelbon, he's going to make $755K this year instead of the $450K range he made last year, thanks to the generosity of the Red Sox ownership. For the record, Mssr. Gagne signed a contract for $10 million with the Brewers in December, three days before the Mitchell Report was released. Sorry, Game Over. We'll always have 2004...

5. The New Hunter? Delmon Young, the Twins new hope in the outfield after Torii left for the Big A, c-r-u-s-h-e-d an Ian Kennedy hanger over the 408 foot center field fence against the Yanks in the top of the 2nd. They're crazy for him in St. Paul. (Local reference!) No bats where thrown at umps in his three ABs.


Honorable Mention: CWS big dude Jermaine Dye crashed into the right field wall of Tuscon Electric Park on a wind-driven fly ball. He appears to be fine, but took an awkward bump and fall. Left Fielder Brian Anderson made up for it by gunning down Babe-Ruth-of-the-Month Winner and former-Tiger Chris Shelton at home plate. "He gone" apparently also applies to such plays.