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Under the Microscope  METS' knuckleballer R.A. Dickey |
Three ball games in May:
Something old and ???
of TheColumnists.com
The idea for this week’s column effort revolved around the baseball adage that in almost every game you will see something occur that you have never seen before. So I monitored the three-game Phillies at Mets series May 25, 26, 27 to test that belief.
The viewing developed into free association reactions to the game, to the Philadelphia telecast--while looking for a unique happening.
Mets rookie pitcher R.A. Dickey is a central figure in the first game because he throws knuckleballs, the second knuckleballer in a row for the Phillies. Knuckleballs often are so hard to hit-and catch that they inspired these lines. Comedic catcher Bob Uecker said, “It’s easy to catch a knuckleball; just wait until it stops rolling--and pick it up.” Hitting coach Charlie Lau said, “There are two theories to hitting the knuckleball; neither of them works.”
The announcers keep referring to him by his initials, R.A. I look it up; he is Richard Allen Dickey, and he looks like actor Russell Crowe. And Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who will pitch the third game of the series, looks to me like the long-ago actor John Carradine.
Phils third baseman Placido Polanco has one of the most euphonious names in baseball…Umpire Tim McClellan is the worst umpire of all for TV viewers, because he is so slow to raise his right hand when indicating strikes…The Citi Field fans solidify their ranking as idiots with constant shouts of the chorus “Phillies Suck” to greet Phils’ mishaps.
Ecstasy is the look of joy on a fan coming up with a baseball. It is always fun to see the cameras catch this. By my lights, it is not much of an achievement when a front-row seat customer is rewarded with a ball by the ball boy. I give only a few points for foul balls caught in the stands. The true achievement is grabbing a home run ball. Best of all, actually catching a home run ball hit by one of your team’s players. I think, too, that the cameras cut too quickly off foul balls rolling toward the stands.
Announcer Chris Wheeler says one-time Met Choo Choo Coleman “was a bad ball player.” Ouch. Choo Choo was a beloved original Met whom Casey Stengel adopted as an ingenuous, lovable character. When teammate Charlie Neal kidded Coleman one day, saying, “I’ll bet you don’t know who I am,” Coleman answered, “Yes, I do. You No. 4” (which was Neal’s uniform number).
When Phils pitcher Joe Blanton is in a jam, the camera shows pitching coach Rich Doobie. I would give him the nickname, “Oobie.” Hence, “Rich (Oobie) Doobie.”… Goatees are the style with ball players these days. All are ugly; one of the worst is Blanton’s, which looks like a mouse’s nest…Dickey, the Mets’ Ike Davis, Jeff Francoeur, and the Phils’ Jason Werth have beards. The slumping Werth shaves his thick beard before the third game---and strikes out three times and hits into a double play…I learn the Mets have players from Japan, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico.
The Phils’ away uniforms do not fully acknowledge the city that supports them. They say, “Phillies” rather than “Philadelphia.”…I am always fascinated by uniform numbers; the first game Phillie starting lineup numbers add up to 208, Mets to 178, Which means nothing, but passes time during commercials….Jose Reyes is a potent force as a lead-off hitter in all three Mets victories, which underscores the foolishness of manager Jerry Manuel having him hit third earlier in the season. Manuel, a likeable guy, admits his error.
Like all teams, the Mets employ an overshift to the right on Phils’ slugger Ryan Howard. This was first tried by Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau on Ted Williams, who, for a long time, stubbornly tried to hit through the shift. This cost the Red Sox until Williams smartened up and stroked some balls to the opposite field. Howard is too often just as stubborn. In the sixth inning of the third game, Howard is up with men on first and third, two out and the Phils behind, 1-0. A hit to the wide open opposite field would tie the game, but Howard slams a ball into the shift and grounds out to the second baseman.
There is only one home run-by Reyes--in the three games. This illustrates anew what a fan-friendly disaster this (government-bond-aided) new ball park is for the Mets. Low-scoring games don’t usually make for excitement. The Phils’ band-box park produces home run festivals in which teams can come from behind. Boston’s Fenway Park and Chicago’s Wrigley Field have endured as favorites for ages because the ball park dimensions allow trailing teams to overcome disadvantages. The Mets have the biggest drop in attendance from last year.
The Phils are shut out in all three games, 8-0, 5-0, 3-0.
I must report that not once in the three games do I see an unusual play or action or development that I can say I never saw before in a ball game. So much for the baseball adage.
©2010 by Stan Isaacs. The Stan Isaacs caricature is ©2001 by Jim Hummel. This column first posted May 31, 2010.
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