Don’t you hate it when you get dirt in your pants? (It makes you do a funny dance…) And pants… ugh… they’re so oppressive.

Steve “Psycho” Lyons, a major league baseball player for the Red Sox, White Sox, and Expos, among others from 1985-1993, had quite the relationship with infield dirt, it seems. He is said to have gotten his nickname, “Psycho,” for playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt with his spikes during games. But what made Psycho a truly memorable baseball player, worthy of his very own Throwback Thursday post?

It happened one night in Detroit, 1990. Psycho slid head first into first base after a bunt. The ump called him safe, but he was out. So ump and coach went for it, naturally. And Psycho, for sliding, had some dirt in his britches… so while standing by the base, he casually unbuckled his belt and subsequently dropped trou to loosen up those pesky dirt clods.

The moon shone out brightly over Tiger Stadium. We all got a glimpse of his white under-things, until suddenly, Psycho Steve “realized” he had exposed himself to a crowd of 14,000 never-to-be-the-same-again men, women, and children, and Psycho Steve awkwardly pulled his culottes back up again.

No no, Psycho Steve, we do not take our pants off at first base. Maybe at third… but please, this is a family event, and what’s more, you’re on television (Not HBO).

You’re not going to believe it until you see it, so here it is…

Check out the video of the blooper here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhWEqWHllQA

And watch it again with commentary by Steve Lyons here:

Do you have a favorite baseball tradition? Is there a particular ghost of baseball past you would like to revisit? Ever wonder why they do what they do, and when they started doing it? If you have a suggestion, question, or submission for Throwback Thursday, contact Elise by tweeting @Elise_Myers.

Find out who will win tonight at 6 p.m. EST

It’s time for the managers to be awarded for their work this season. All three managers had teams that did better than expected and a couple of those teams really shocked the hell out of people.

Let’s start with Bob Melvin who helped guide the Oakland A’s to a last minute American League West Division victory.

The Oakland A’s were the anti New York Yankees of the American League with a paltry $55 million payroll and yet Melvin was able to lead those A’s to a 94-68 record and to the American League West title.

Oakland kicked it into high gear after July 1st. Entering play on that day they were 13 games behind the Texas Rangers who were leading the Division. And while things were going well for the A’s as they cut Texas’s lead, things also started taking a bad turn.

First on August 22, Bartolo Colon was suspended 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Then poor Brandon McCarthy nearly died after he was hit in the head by a line drive in September.

Despite all of this, the A’s found themselves in play for the Division with a week left to play. And what did they do? They won their last six games of the regular season, including a sweep of the Rangers – who were looking for a wire to wire Division win – in the final series of the season to steal the division title and shock the hell out of everyone.

» Continue reading “The AL Manager of the Year or The Who Did The Most With The Least Award”

The AL Central has always been noted as one of the worst divisions in baseball, but in the next month there could be a lot of AL Central talk.  With three of the five teams in the division close in record and conveniently all playing each other in the next few weeks, teams could be shifting daily.  For now, this how the AL Central stands.

Detroit Tigers

Dave Dombrowski and the Detroit Tigers made some huge moves before the trade deadline on Monday night on their off day while sitting in first place.

The Tigers picked up Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante from the Florida Marlins for pitching prospect Jacob Turner, who just picked up his first win as a Tiger a couple of days prior.

Omar Infante left Detroit five years ago after shifting to the Atlanta Braves and then down to Miami.  Infante was the second baseman years ago with Carlos Guillen at shortstop and Brandon Inge at third.  Needless to say a lot has changed in five years, but Infante is back at second base for the Tigers.

Since the All-Star break Detroit has come back hot, going 8-3.  Batters three through six in the lineup have been unstoppable.  Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry are getting on base and Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch have been moving everyone around.

Detroit’s pitching staff is coming together a little more than during the first half.  Justin Verlander leads the squad with 11 wins, Scherzer has nine and Porcello has seven.

As long as the Detroit Tigers lineup stays hot and the pitching staff can keep striking out the opposing team like they have been best in baseball at doing, Detroit will be okay.

To keep up with the Tigers, visit Motown Lowdown.

» Continue reading “AL Central Recap: Let the Shakeup Begin”

So the American League Central standings are the same as they were two weeks ago, at least in terms of the order of the teams but some things have changed. The White Sox are still in first place and the Twins are still bringing up the rear but the Twins have picked it up a bit are now only a half a game out of last place.

Anyway, let’s get to the division recap and see what’s happening in the middle of the country, shall we?

Chicago White Sox

The South Siders are still on top of the division standings with despite being only 5-5 in their last 10 games. They have actually lost two out of the first three series this month. They won their first series against Seattle but then lost two out of three to both the Blue Jays and to the Houston Astros this past weekend. They’re in the midst of a series with the St Louis Cardinals this week and won the first contest.

The big story so far this season for the White Sox? Well, there are several: Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn and Chris Sale. Paul Konerko is winning a battle against Father Time, Adam Dunn is winning a battle against the Grimm Reaper — he has pretty much come back from the dead — and Chris Sale is mowing people down whenever he pitches.

Want to find out more about the pale Sox? Visit South Side Hit Girl.

Cleveland Indians

Hanging in there in second place is Cleveland. They are also 5-5 in their last 10 but only have one series loss so far this month. This weekend they took two out of three from the St Louis Cardinals behind good pitching. Even in their one loss on Saturday, they held the Cardinals to two runs. Unfortunately for the Indians, they didn’t score any and were shut out by Kyle Loshe. But there is good news for Cleveland. They’re in the midst of a nine game road trip and are 4-3 so far. They have two more games against the Cincinnati Reds before they finish up their road trip. After that, they will be welcoming the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three game set and will have a rematch against the Reds at home.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are definitely the team who has not lived up to expectations so far this season. They’re in third place, they’re five games under .500 and are currently six games back in the standings. After dropping their first two series of the month to the New York Yankees and Indians, they were able to win two out of three this weekend against the Reds. Including a big win on Sunday that saw the Tigers rally from a 6-3 deficit to win 7-6. The big story of that game was their ability to score runs late against hard throwing Aroldis Chapman which resulted in his second loss of the season.

One would think a win like that would spark a team but the Tigers ended up losing to the Chicago Cubs  last night at Wrigley. To be fair, the Tigers are dealing with their fair share of injuries this season but as they say, it’s getting late early.

To read up on everything Tigers, please visit Motown Lowdown

Kansas City Royals

Poor Kansas City. They are dreadful at home. They are 9-20 at Kauffman Stadium which is by far the worst home record in the majors and they’re 4-6 in their last 10 games.

You know things are rough for your team when this is what gets you headlines:

Screencap from mlb.com

That’s Bruce Chen being interviewed while teammate Humberto Quintero is, well, he’s doing something that you usually see children doing because they don’t know any better.

At least started this week off right for the Royals, with a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at home last night.

For everything royal blue, visit Drinking the Royals Blue Aid

Minnesota Twins

The Twins who are still in last place, have made a bit of a run in the past week winning seven of their last 10 games. In fact, of all the teams in the AL Central, they’ve had the best run so far in June. How about that? Despite that ran, they’re five games under .500 and still eight and a half games out of first place but they are only half a game behind the Royals in a battle of the cellar dwellers.

The Twins beat the Phillies last night with a 17-hit barrage that included home runs from Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham. With any luck, the Twins will beat up on the equally hapless Phillies and maybe move up into fourth place!

When last we looked at the standings, the order of the AL Central was Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City and Minnesota.

Things have shuffled again and are definitely getting interesting. A sign that the AL Central is the worst division in baseball or that it is most competitive? You decide.

American League Central standings via MLB.com

Chicago White Sox:

The Sox have been the hottest offense in all of baseball of late. The team has also finally started winning games at home. On their most recent homestand, the team went 5-1, including a sweep of the then division-leading Indians. They are briefly on the road where they so far have taken two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays. » Continue reading “AL Central Recap: Worst Division In Baseball? Or Most Competitive?”

Standings via MLB.com

Once again, we see a bit of a shakeup in the AL Central.

Cleveland Indians

The Tribe has settled into a good rhythm, taking two of three from the powerhouse Angels and Rangers over the past couple weeks. They’ve also done well within their division, dominating the White Sox in a pair of series. Swinging the bat particularly well is young second baseman, Jason Kipnis, who is sporting a .274/.352/.487 line so far in 2012. His 150 wRC+ is third among Major League second basemen.

The Indians are also encouraged by starter Ubaldo Jimenez’ progress after making some changes to his mechanics. In his most recent start against the Rangers, Jimenez threw seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball. He did scatter five walks, but was able to escape jams with the aid of a season-high six Ks. Collectively, Indians pitching have posted a respectable 3.36 ERA over the past two weeks.

» Continue reading “AL Central Recap: More Shuffling”

The question of the checked swing became particularly relevant right around Philip Humber’s perfect game. If you watch the 27th out (around 6:05 in the video), you’ll see Brendan Ryan hold up on a 3-2 pitch that was far enough outside to actually get past catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Home plate umpire Brian Runge signaled that Ryan had swung, and Pierzynski threw the ball to Paul Konerko to wrap up the perfecto. Of course, the call was not without controversy. Had Ryan really offered at the pitch? Was anyone in that scenario really objective enough to make an impartial decision?

Exacerbating the problem is the fact that MLB on FOX never (to my knowledge) aired a side-view replay of Ryan’s swing, making it hard to tell for sure.

So, what does the rulebook say about a checked swing? As it turns out… nothing. In a recent article for Baseball Prospectus, MLB umpire supervisor Charlie Reliford explains:

We often hear phrases such as, “the batter broke his wrist,” “the bat crossed the plate,” “the bat crossed the foul line,” “the bat crossed the batter’s front leg,” and many others. None of these are definitions or phrases from the rulebook. While any of these acts may constitute a swing on one occasion, it is possible to demonstrate any of these acts in a fashion that would not be ruled a swing.

So all those criteria that broadcasters tend to look for in replays of check-swing situations? None of them are officially-codified rules. A check-swing call ultimately rests entirely on the umpire’s subjective judgment of whether the batter offered at the pitch.

Of course, as we often see on such calls, the catcher (or the manager) can ask the home plate umpire to get help on a check-swing call from the first or third base umpire (Rule 9.02(c) Comment). Such an “appeal” can only come on a called ball – if the pitch is called a strike, the point is moot, and players and managers aren’t allowed to argue ball/strike calls anyway.

So, did Brendan Ryan swing?

Brian Runge said he did. Therefore: yes.

Have a question for Ask the Umpire? Leave a comment! You can also submit questions to Megan or just chat with her if you’re feeling sociable over at @Cubsessed on Twitter.

Standings via MLB.com

These standings look decidedly different than they did two weeks ago.

Cleveland Indians

The Tribe have risen to first place, largely on the strength of winning series against the scuffling Royals, Marlins, and A’s. The series in Kansas City saw a bit of drama when Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez plunked Cleveland outfielder Shin-Soo Choo in the knee. The hit brought back bad memories, as it was Sanchez, pitching for the Giants at the time, who broke Choo’s thumb with a pitch and sent him to the DL for six and a half weeks last season. Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez earned an ejection and a five-game suspension when he retaliated.

The other bit of excitement out of Cleveland is the signing of ex-Ray and 3,000th-hit-chaser Johnny Damon. The veteran will DH at first, but is ultimately expected to play left field. Damon is working out at the Indians’ Spring Training complex in Arizona, and is on track to join the team in the next couple of weeks.

» Continue reading “AL Central Recap: Cleveland On Top, But Not By Much”

AL Central standings as of April 10th, via MLB.com

Much like the recent AL East division standings, the AL Central has a couple surprises for us during our first week of the season.

Detroit Tigers

So far, the dominant Central team continues to dominate, as-yet undefeated at 4-0. Last year’s Tigers had superb pitching and a strong offense. This year, with Prince Fielder adding his bat to the mix, “strong” is an understatement. Detroit has scored more than 10 runs in two of their games so far: a 10-0 shellacking of Boston’s Josh Beckett, and a 13-12 extra-inning walkoff, anchored by a Miguel Cabrera long ball.

Speaking of Miggy, there were concerns about his defense as he moved to third to make room for Prince Fielder. In spring training, we saw him injured when a ground ball hit him in the face. But so far, he’s committed only one error, and definitely hasn’t been the disaster the skeptics were expecting. And he’s more than making up for it with the bat: so far he’s hit .462/.579/1.231 with three home runs and eight RBI, garnering him AL Player of the Week honors.

For more on the Tigers, visit Motown Lowdown.

» Continue reading “AL Central Recap: And So It Begins”

Spring training is on the airwaves, and spring is even in the air here in Chicago. Pretty soon it might actually be baseball weather. Or it’ll snow on opening day. You know, whatever.

• Lefty reliever Glen Perkins signed an extension with the Twins, adding 3 years, $10.3 million, and an option for 2016 to his contract. Perkins had a strong 2011 in Minnesota, posting a 2.48 ERA/2.41 FIP.
• The Cubs officially announced their deal with Cuban lefty Gerardo Concepcion, a 5-year, $6 million Major League contract. Concepcion, 20, will report to a minor league team to start off the season.
• Chicago GM Jed Hoyer would not, on the other hand, comment on the status of negotiations with Concepcion’s fellow Cuban prospect Jorge Soler. Common wisdom suggests that the Cubs will land him, but the young slugger still has not been declared a free agent.
• The Nationals have been asking after Astros outfielder Jason Bourgeois, despite manager Davey Johnson’s insistence that he’s happy with his current outfield.
• Free agent lefty Mike Gonzalez has drawn interest from both the White Sox – although nothing is in the works – and the Rangers. He turned down a non-roster invite from Texas, and is holding out for a better option.
• Also from the link above, the White Sox are kicking the tires on lefty Arthur Rhodes, proving that if you’re lucky enough to be left-handed, you can play baseball literally forever (*cough*Jamie Moyer*cough*).
• Speak of the devil: Jamie Moyer is making a comeback bid with the Rockies, and hurled three scoreless on Sunday. Dude is 49. I wish him luck.
• The Giants and starter Matt Cain are getting closer on a contract extension. Cain would be a free agent at the end of the season if San Francisco isn’t able to lock him up.
• NOT close to an extension are Cole Hamels and the Phillies. Hamel’s agent met with Phillies brass last week, but Ken Rosenthal tweets that the sides aren’t close.

For more transaction news, such as there is these days, check out MLB Trade Rumors, their Twitter account, and their Free Agent Tracker. You should also stop by MLB’s Hot Stove blog. And when you’re not doing those things, go watch baseball, already! It’s what I’ll be doing.