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    • players hit the deck in rockies - padres spring training game in peoria, az to avoid swarm of bees. the bees hung around for a couple minutes before going to where ever it is that bees go to.

      [IMG:http://www.9news.com/img/resize/content.9news.com/photo/2017/03/30/Still0330_00002_1490913698199_9080585_ver1.0.jpg?preset=video-still]


      some of the bees hung out by the crowd mic.

      [IMG:http://www.9news.com/img/resize/content.9news.com/photo/2017/03/30/Still0330_00003_1490914200601_9082204_ver1.0.jpg?preset=video-still]
      2,000 miler

    • I read an interesting profile of Kris Bryant in SI yesterday while waiting for my oil change.

      He's on quite a roll. 4 years ago he won the award for best college player. 3 years ago he won for best minor league player. 2 years ago he wins rookie of the year. Last year he wins MVP and World Series.

      Also his father was drafted by the Red Sox and played in their minor league for a few years before getting cut (never made it to the majors). But at that time, Ted Williams was coaching for Boston and would go around to the farm teams for batting practice. Williams worked with Kris' dad quite a bit. Kris the learned that from his dad. So when people marvel at Bryant's beautiful swimg, it's probably because there a bit of Ted Williams in it.

    • odd man out wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      gotta favorite baseball team? here's why they won't win the world series.

      espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/Seas…ontent=link&ICID=ref_fark
      I saw that article. The author must feel good knowing that he will be correct 29 out of 30 times. That's pretty good odds for sports prognosticators. After all, 29 team WON'T win the world series this year.
      as coach would say -- eggszactly!
      2,000 miler

    • odd man out wrote:

      I read an interesting profile of Kris Bryant in SI yesterday while waiting for my oil change.

      He's on quite a roll. 4 years ago he won the award for best college player. 3 years ago he won for best minor league player. 2 years ago he wins rookie of the year. Last year he wins MVP and World Series.
      so where does he go from here...wrestlemania?
      2,000 miler

    • max.patch wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      I read an interesting profile of Kris Bryant in SI yesterday while waiting for my oil change.

      He's on quite a roll. 4 years ago he won the award for best college player. 3 years ago he won for best minor league player. 2 years ago he wins rookie of the year. Last year he wins MVP and World Series.
      so where does he go from here...wrestlemania?
      he could repeat as WS champ. According to your ESPN article that just doesn't happen.

    • odd man out wrote:

      I read an interesting profile of Kris Bryant in SI yesterday while waiting for my oil change.

      He's on quite a roll. 4 years ago he won the award for best college player. 3 years ago he won for best minor league player. 2 years ago he wins rookie of the year. Last year he wins MVP and World Series.

      Also his father was drafted by the Red Sox and played in their minor league for a few years before getting cut (never made it to the majors). But at that time, Ted Williams was coaching for Boston and would go around to the farm teams for batting practice. Williams worked with Kris' dad quite a bit. Kris the learned that from his dad. So when people marvel at Bryant's beautiful swimg, it's probably because there a bit of Ted Williams in it.
      Shame the Astros went with the home town talent of Mark Appeal with the top pick over Bryant. As Peter Gammons said Astros probably have a ring now, and Appeal still in minors with Cubs as the curse continues. :(
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      I read Ted would become angry when folks referred to his excellent vision as the reason for his hitting ability. He claimed not enough credit was given for him studying opposing pitchers.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • Dan76 wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      I read Ted would become angry when folks referred to his excellent vision as the reason for his hitting ability. He claimed not enough credit was given for him studying opposing pitchers.
      the article I read discussed his scintific study of the mechanics of the swing. Basically it was everything.

    • odd man out wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      I read Ted would become angry when folks referred to his excellent vision as the reason for his hitting ability. He claimed not enough credit was given for him studying opposing pitchers.
      the article I read discussed his scintific study of the mechanics of the swing. Basically it was everything.
      i can't wait til they unfreeze him and we get to see him play again. at todays pay scale,can you imagine the size of the contract he's gonna get?
      2,000 miler

    • My favorite Ted Williams story was told by a catcher. He was new to the league at the time and complained to the ump about a close pitch being a strike and not a ball. He said the Ump leaned forward and said, "Son, if Mr. Williams doesn't believe it was a strike then neither do I" :D

      That was in a book I had that was all umpire stories. Another I remember was a runner stealing second in the world series, I believe, and the ump gave the safe sign, but called the runner out. The second baseman and the runner both looked at him wondering which it was....

      "well, you both know he was out and you both heard me call him out, but 50,000 folks saw me call him safe sooooo.......safe it is".
      If your Doctor is a tree, you're on acid.

    • Youngest son's team won State Championship today. He had only extra-base hit with a double.
      They lost in semi-finals last year (to eventual champ) when he was a freshman, so nice to see them finish it this year. Best thing is they only loose one senior so go great chance to win again next year.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • odd man out wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      They say TW could count the stitches on the ball as it was coming to the plate.
      Babe Ruth could read the label on a record being played at 78rpm.

      No matter what anyone says, vision is 90 percent of successful hitting. If you can't see it, you can't hit it....

      Now, where and how hard you hit it are purely mechanical. But putting wood on the ball is purely vision, IMHO.

      Congrats on the State Champ. It took 4 years, but my son finally won the championship on his select team at age 17.

    • Astro wrote:

      Although they blew a win tonight, Atlanta Braves are in second place behind Washington!
      The rebuild appears to be working.
      Well, in the NL East, there's Washington and then there's the teams with losing seasons. I'll be happy if the Braves break the .500 mark and stay there for awhile. Lowered expectations are a bitch!

    • chief wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Although they blew a win tonight, Atlanta Braves are in second place behind Washington!
      The rebuild appears to be working.
      Well, in the NL East, there's Washington and then there's the teams with losing seasons. I'll be happy if the Braves break the .500 mark and stay there for awhile. Lowered expectations are a bitch!
      Progress is still progress. Next year will be the key one with Freddie Freeman back for the entire year, and more of the farm system hopefully mature enough to take over, especially for the current geriatric stop gap starting pitching.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • ScareBear wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      They say TW could count the stitches on the ball as it was coming to the plate.
      Babe Ruth could read the label on a record being played at 78rpm.
      No matter what anyone says, vision is 90 percent of successful hitting. If you can't see it, you can't hit it....

      Now, where and how hard you hit it are purely mechanical. But putting wood on the ball is purely vision, IMHO.

      Congrats on the State Champ. It took 4 years, but my son finally won the championship on his select team at age 17.
      Ted Williams reportedly would get furious when a reporter would write his batting success was due to extraordinary vision. He claimed study and analysis of opposing pitchers was mainly the reason.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • Dan76 wrote:

      ScareBear wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Tommy Lasorda once got Ted Williams to come see Mike Piazza hit in the cage at his house when he was a teenager.

      My son wears 9 like the Splendid Splinter, and has a pretty left handed swing, but doesn't have that 20-10 fighter pilot vision.
      They say TW could count the stitches on the ball as it was coming to the plate.
      Babe Ruth could read the label on a record being played at 78rpm.No matter what anyone says, vision is 90 percent of successful hitting. If you can't see it, you can't hit it....

      Now, where and how hard you hit it are purely mechanical. But putting wood on the ball is purely vision, IMHO.

      Congrats on the State Champ. It took 4 years, but my son finally won the championship on his select team at age 17.
      Ted Williams reportedly would get furious when a reporter would write his batting success was due to extraordinary vision. He claimed study and analysis of opposing pitchers was mainly the reason.
      As with most great successful people in life, I would say it was a combination of both. God given talent plus a lot of hard work to refine your skills. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      strike 3.

      ump calls it by the book.

      i.imgur.com/wMALTep.gifv
      Hey, the rules the rules, and that is what he gets paid for. :)
      I recall a player years ago (it might have been Mark Grace) who had a habit of casually dropping his bat off his shoulder just as pitch that was obviously out of the strike zone came by the plate. I always thought that someday an ump was going to call a strike for that.

      I have wondered if anyone ever tried to get to first on a dropped third strike by swinging at a wild pitch over the catchers head.

      Actually my favorite two rules of baseball:
      1) The strike zone is defined by what the ump says it is.
      2) You can't argue about rule 1)
      I wish more sport had rules like that.

    • odd man out wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      strike 3.

      ump calls it by the book.

      i.imgur.com/wMALTep.gifv
      Hey, the rules the rules, and that is what he gets paid for. :)
      I recall a player years ago (it might have been Mark Grace) who had a habit of casually dropping his bat off his shoulder just as pitch that was obviously out of the strike zone came by the plate. I always thought that someday an ump was going to call a strike for that.
      I have wondered if anyone ever tried to get to first on a dropped third strike by swinging at a wild pitch over the catchers head.

      Actually my favorite two rules of baseball:
      1) The strike zone is defined by what the ump says it is.
      2) You can't argue about rule 1)
      I wish more sport had rules like that.
      Which is really nice if you are the umpire.

      It's job my youngest son loves, getting paid for being in charge. Of course the downside is all the yelling fans (parents, coaches, etc..), which is my second son was never interested in doing it.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • odd man out wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      strike 3.

      ump calls it by the book.

      i.imgur.com/wMALTep.gifv
      Hey, the rules the rules, and that is what he gets paid for. :)
      I recall a player years ago (it might have been Mark Grace) who had a habit of casually dropping his bat off his shoulder just as pitch that was obviously out of the strike zone came by the plate. I always thought that someday an ump was going to call a strike for that.
      I have wondered if anyone ever tried to get to first on a dropped third strike by swinging at a wild pitch over the catchers head.

      Actually my favorite two rules of baseball:
      1) The strike zone is defined by what the ump says it is.
      2) You can't argue about rule 1)
      I wish more sport had rules like that.
      Nobody in MLB has ever reached first by swinging at a s3wp. However, more than 10 players have either reached base or scored an RBI when hitting a deliberate walk pitch. Yogi Berra hit a homer on a pitch that first bounced in the dirt, but that is perfectly legal and it wasn't an intentional pass pitch. So is taking the base after being hit by a pitch that hit the dirt first! And, it isn't a PB or WP so long as the batter makes contact with the ball. Remember, you cannot step across the plate and make contact...it's an automatic out for making contact with the ball outside the batter's box. You also cannot step on the plate when squaring for a bunt, if you make contact it's an automatic out.

      IIRC, Rod Carew swung once or twice at a deliberate pass to try and force the pitcher to throw to him. The pitcher wouldn't...Carew was a great contact hitter and even with two strikes on him was a serious threat to reach first...

      BTW, Yogi was the best bad-ball hitter in MLB history. Ty Cobb was second. Ty Cobb was the toughest out in baseball.

      My son has scored from third on a dropped third strike when the catcher made the mistake of trying to throw the batter out. But that's just bad catching/coaching...

      What's fun is when the bases are loaded and full count and the batter s3's at a WP that isn't caught....

    • odd man out wrote:

      I recall seeing a baseball blooper video where the catcher was signaling for a pitch out. As the pitcher delivered the catcher jumped out to the side. But the pitcher was watching the runner on first and missed the sign and delivered a fastball right into the umps chest protector.
      This is the ultimate umpire test question. Imagine your scenario as follows:
      Count is 3-2 with the bases loaded.
      Pitcher sends 100mph fastball as pitch to batter.
      Catcher sneezes and makes no play for the pitch, no time called
      The batter does not swing
      The ball strikes the umpire in the cajones and caroms off him in foul territory all the way down to the third base coach's box
      The umpire calls a strike 3, from his knees in a high pitched squeal
      The runner at third easily touches home plate
      The runner at second rounds third and no play is made on the ball which is still lying in foul territory, the runner reaches home and touches home plate
      The runner at first finally rounds third and the pitcher grabs the ball in foul territory and throws to the catcher at home plate
      The ball passes the catcher and hits the same home plate umpire, again in the cajones and the runner from first touches home plate
      The batter now approaches third base and the catcher grabs the ball in foul territory and throws to the third baseman but hits the third base umpire first, after the batter had rounded third but after he had stopped to look at the third base umpire.
      What the hell just happened, is any of it legal, and how do you score it?

      Hint...Rule 5 (now Rule 6) in all it's glory with some Rule 2!

    • The score would look like this, I think...:
      Strikeout and a passed ball(when the ball passes a player first and then hits the ump, it is in play).
      All runs score. No RBI. No earned runs. E1 for the errant throw to home. E2 for the errant throw to third. The batter is awarded home as the ball is now dead since the throw from catcher to 3B did not pass a player before striking the umpire. It doesn't matter that batter wasn't making a move for home, he was off the bag when the throw hit the umpire so he is awarded home without argument.

      Both the pitcher and the batter are given a strikeout in their record, even though no out was recorded on the play.

      The catcher is demoted to the bush leagues...the umpire gets a disability pension...

    • Looks like Sports Illustrated had it right with the Astros in 2017. At the 1/3 mark they by far have the best record, and are on pace to win 114 games, hottest team now (9-1, with 7 straight wins), and an 11 game lead in their division. On Monday they were down 8-2 in the 8th to the Twins and came back to win 16-8!

      Yeah, I am enjoying it. :thumbup:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      Looks like Sports Illustrated had it right with the Astros in 2017. At the 1/3 mark they by far have the best record, and are on pace to win 114 games, hottest team now (9-1, with 7 straight wins), and an 11 game lead in their division. On Monday they were down 8-2 in the 8th to the Twins and came back to win 16-8!

      Yeah, I am enjoying it. :thumbup:
      you should...
      i generally pay no mind to AL teams until playoff time, but when the braves played the astros, i was mightily impressed. now if i could just get past the DH thing, i might be a fan. nope, ain't gonna happen!