Friday, February 15, 2008

Pitchers and Catchers Reported Yesterday!

Oh, thank God. Do you smell it? Yep, there it is, grass, dirt, sweat, human growth hormone . . .

A side note here - I spotted a brief story yesterday that Roger Clemens may get a presidential pardon.

I don't care. Yes, the Mitchell report came out and everybody was shocked. C'mon, really? If you are a fan of baseball, you knew that something had to be happened. These guys just got caught. And let's be clear, the use is rampant, but it's what the fans want out of the game these days.

But the baseball season ramps up this week. Opening day at the new Nationals Stadium is a little more than a month and a half away. Haven't missed a Nationals opening day yet and I won't this year either. Mrs. OSG scored some seats for OSG and the Brave Astronaut. OSG is sure to be conflicted as the Nationals will open the season against the Atlanta Braves.

To commemorate the return of baseball, here is a quiz just for ADR. Anyone else may offer, but I expect him to get them all. Now, no cheating, but here's the link to the page with the answers.
  1. Is there such a thing as a ground rule triple?

  2. There are 23 different ways to get a man to first base. Name them.

  3. If there is a man on base and another player hits a homerun - what happens if the man on base cannot get to home plate (injury), what happens if the injury happens to the man who hit the home run? The answer lies in this rule.

  4. Can a team "hit" into a triple play if the ball is never touched by a fielder?

  5. What are the 16 ways for a pitcher to balk?

  6. What happened that made it mandatory for the Commissioner of Baseball to sign off on all contracts before a player can appear in a game? Hint: It happened on August 19, 1951 in a game between the St. Louis Browns and the Detroit Tigers.

  7. Name the principals involved in the "Pine Tar Home Run."

6 comments:

Amy said...

I, too, am excited about pitchers and catchers reporting. Go Tribe!

Your quiz reminds me of my friend Joe in college. When he was dating my friend Amy, he used to give her sports-related quizzes and assignments. He's a huuuuge sports fan, and he wanted his girlfriend to know at least the basic things like the teams in each league, their key players, their nicknames, etc. I distinctly remember him drilling her about the different collegiate leagues when we were all hanging out once, watching an Ohio State game. I don't remember if he had rules-related tests, but knowing him, he probably did.

She passed, obviously, since she's now his wife and the mother of his children. They're a mixed marriage, though: She's an Indians fan and he lives and dies by the Reds.

Anyhow: Pat and Mike is on TCM right now. Classic!

Lana Gramlich said...

I can't answer those questions (I'm not truly a fan of any pro-sports anymore.) I know about pine tar, however. There are still pine tar kilns in the woods not far from my house. It's part of the reason that 97% of America's longleaf pine savannas are gone now. That was eye opening for me. Let's hear it for The Nature Conservancy, who have bought up almost 1000 acres in my area alone to protect for at least 50 years.

Archivalist said...

Hmmm....well, it's Saturday night and I'm feeling reallly lazy, so I'll let someone else handle the "16 ways" and "23 ways" questions. (Except one answer for #5 is to refuse to testify before Congress.)

But #6 was probably the Eddie Gaedel (sp?) incident -- Bill Veeck signing a circus midget to pinch hit for a game. Veeck knew how to do P.R. And #7 is obviously George Brett and Billy Martin. The pitcher? Was it Gossage? The ump? Um...

Anna van Schurman said...

When we were stumped at seven, we found this which argues with your 23 ways to reach first. But then baseball is only just above basketball in my book. (Saving grace: sitting outside and drinking beer.)

Brave Astronaut said...

Amy - it's good to have high hopes at the beginning of the season . . . but it will only make it hurt more at the end. :)

Mrs. BA went to Bryn Mawr and prefers the Philadelphia Story. I caught most of "Woman of the Year" on the TCM movie marathon.

Lana - Pine tar also has a nice smell, unless you're George Brett (only a few people will get that joke - so it's OK)

AT - I think I need to put you and ADR in a room together. We worked on the quiz today at lunch and I asked him about #6 and without batting an eye, he says "Sure, that's Bill Veeck and the Eddie Gaedel incident." He disputes the 23 ways, though, but he did nail the 23rd way of "get on first, game gets suspended, you get traded, game resumes, and new person on first. And the pitcher was Gossage and the ump was Bill McClelland.

AvSBecause of best pal, I will overlook the insult of America's pastime. But the beer thing is definitely a good add-on.

Amy said...

Hey! </insulted tone after she realized that you were casting aspersions on her 2007 Central Division Champion Cleveland Indians>

What I came here to do was make a comment somewhere about an idea for a theme week. Picture it* — A whole week of entries counting down our top college drinking stories.

On second thought, maybe not. First of all, I could probably file a month's worth of posts on this topic alone. I mean, I thought of three more just while I was typing the previous paragraph: Circle K elections 1995; Teeter-Totter Marathon 1993; and Halloween 1992.

Secondly, it might give off the wrong impression.

Thoughts?



* "Sicily, 1901 . . ." </Sophia>