Batter's Box

Yesterday I watched some of the White Sox home opener against the Tigers. I turned the game on and there was a delay in the first inning; it turned out that Miguel Cabrera had noticed that something was wrong with the location of the batter's box. From what I understood as I was watching the game, the batter's box was too close to the pitcher; I imagine Miggy going up to the batter's box and noticing that Jake Peavy was a lot closer than he should have been. Here's a play by play of what happened.

Later in the game, the White Sox announcers Steve Stone and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson both admitted they had never witnessed a redrawing of the batter's box before. And then later at night, Detroit announcer Rod Allen tweeted that he has been in "Pro Ball for 35 years and have never seen anything like what I witnessed today with Cabby. That's why he's a 'BEAST'". MLB Network people were remarking on what happened as well. Harold Reynolds noted that Miggy stands really far back in the batter's box, which may explain this photo, taken from the comments section of the SB Nation link. 

Even with the box redrawn, Miggy's foot is on the line. Now I wonder what it would be like to stand in a batter's box, especially where he stands. Or, I wonder what it's like to stand on any part of the field. On White Sox Dog Day where you bring your dog to the park, you can apparently partake in the parade where you get to walk your dog with many others on the field. I guess you need a special pass for this, in addition to general admission to Dog Day. I'm starting to digress here, but I need to announce that Mitsu Scheckter will not be attending White Sox Dog Day this year due to her owners being out of the country at the time. I'm sorry, White Sox fans, and I'm sorry, Mitsu! Next year we'll go, and maybe we can parade on the field. 

Anyway, it's interesting that Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch missed the detail before Miggy. Since they're more veteran-ish, I wonder if A.J. Pierzynski or Jake Peavy noticed anything. 

Baseball moves on quickly so I will try to as well. The Sox won yesterday's and today's game; the Tigers are slowing down a bit here in Chicago. Aside from the Marlins losing to the Astros tonight, and David Wright having a monster day after coming back from pinky injury, the only thing noteworthy that comes to my mind right now is Yu Darvish, who had another good enough but not quality start (maybe one day I can provide good enough but not quality translations of his blog posts/tweets). I hope everyone is enjoying whatever games they're watching this weekend!

Peace? Two? Reverse Peace?

Yup.

All Star 2010 Home Run Derby

Miguel Cabrera looks so cool in this picture.

A string of good news: Justin Morneau's back is eating away at his soul so he has become unable to participate in the All-Star game. That means MIGGY will start 1B for the AL, and PAULIE steps up as reserve. (At least I think this is how it works.) I've never really cared too much about the All-Star game. Last year, it made me kind of sad because it meant that baseball season is halfway over, which means that summer is halfway over, which means that my break is halfway over, which means basically life is downhill from here until next spring. I also normally don't care about the AL-NL rivalry, and don't care about how it determines the home field advantage of the World Series. But with Miggy in the starting lineup for the AL, I could give a Twinkie about the NL. And I'll definitely be watching Miggy mashing away tonight. MLB took Vanessa Williams' advice and are SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST! MASH MIGGY MASH!

#VotePK #VoteCarGo

Today is the last day of the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote! MLB.com reports that Nick Swisher and Kevin Youkilis are more or less tied for the AL Final Vote, with Paul Konerko in third. This is a travesty. While I'm all about Nick Swisher and his vibrant personality, PAULIE IS CAPTAIN. Not just of the White Sox, but of Life. So I've decided to spend all day today voting for Paulie, even though realistically, I should be voting against Disgustingilis by voting for Swisher. I'm sure the Yankees fans are going to take care of that; hopefully Youkilis' failing ankle will keep him behind.

On the NL front, Joey Votto leads. I read some tweets about how he should've been selected in the first place for his contributions to the Reds' surprising success thus far. But again: travesty. We all know Carlos Gonzalez is the true hero of our epoch! He mashes the ball despite being mildly injured on and off the season. Also, he was in my dreams last night. Mordecai and I hung out with him all night long, and CarGo was a total pothead. I was really concerned for his tests and considered talking to him about it, but he had such a pleasant personality that I didn't feel like bringing it up.

So, if you're by a computer with internet, and you have time on your hands today, #VotePK, #VoteCarGo, and #VoteOften!!!

My Miggy Moment

On Tuesday night, Mordecai and I attended the White Sox game. The promotion was a "Hawkisms" t-shirt to honor White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. If you've never heard Hawk call a game, I suggest you tune in. His overt bias towards the White Sox is amusing, if not entirely endearing. This anti-Hawk site is actually really informative; it even has audio clips of the Hawkisms that are on the back of my new t-shirt. The Sox were also scheduled to play the Tigers, so Mordecai and I got tickets kind of spontaneously. Little did I know, not only would I get my awesome t-shirt, but I'd experience one of the greatest moments of my life. Read on!

I was anxious to get to U.S. Cellular Field early to secure our Hawkisms t-shirt (only 10,000 of them!). It had been raining all day, too, so I was afraid that the game would be postponed as well as the t-shirt giveaway. We were like, 20 boxes of Hawkism t-shirts away from not getting one. I saw Tigers fans using it to wipe their wet seats. Anyway, we got to the park around 5:30PM for a 7:10PM game. We were wandering around the 500 sections, upper deck, looking for food, when we remembered hearing about a new Wow Bao concession stand. Mordecai decided to ask Guest Relations since our memory kicked in right in front of their booth. They knew about Wow Bao and recommended Burger Barn as well, and they gave us an elevator pass to the field-level area. 

When we got down there, I noticed that no one was checking tickets for people who wanted to linger near the White Sox or Tigers dugouts. I remember Mordecai asking me if I wanted to go, and I said, "...nah, it's OK." But there weren't a lot of people, so I was like why not, and we trotted down to the front row seats. There were about ten other young boys dressed in navy and orange, waiting for Tigers players with baseballs, autograph books, and Sharpies in hand. No one was out in the field except for crew members pulling the tarp off of the field. But then I noticed a Jose Valverde-like person at the opposite end of the dugout, listening to music on earphones, all "in the zone." 

Then I saw catcher Alex Avila look out on the field briefly before going back into the dungeon.

Before I could start thinking about how long I'd have to stand around until someone from the Tigers hitting well below .200 or with an embarrassing ERA equivalent to my perceived or actual age would come around, my peripheral vision sensed movement from the White Sox dugout. It was none other than MIGUEL CABRERA. My most favorite baseball player was walking towards me (or his dugout) and he was smiling (or laughing at Valverde).

 

Once he saw us asking for autographs, he stopped smiling. But he diligently signed baseballs, autograph books, and my card. When I was in Japan recently, I carried his and Felix Hernandez's card with me in my purse every day for two weeks. I almost brought my 2010 Finest red refractor of Miggy to the game, which I recently got in the mail, but I made a last minute switch and brought one of my favorites, Miggy's 2008 Stadium Club base card. I have many Miggy relic cards (jersey swatches and morsels of bats), but I don't have any autographed cards. This is my first one!

Mordecai kept egging me on to say something. What does a mere commoner like myself say to THE LORD MIGGY? Especially an idiot commoner decked out in White Sox gear? (I had briefly contemplated stacking my White Sox and Tigers hats to the game. For Mordecai's sake, I decided against it.) I had nothing to say except that I was totally starstruck, shaking, and fearful. When you're in the presence of someone you admire so much that you don't even think to soil their presence with your own pathetic existence, you tremble. Tremble I did, but mixed with a kind of rare, pure elation.

I believe it was Ryan Raburn who had also emerged from somewhere by the time Miggy signed my card, and then they started walking into their dugout. Mordecai said Miggy didn't sign very much after my card. On the way down the stairs, they stopped and started pointing at Valverde, laughing and making jokes (above). Then they disappeared. We went to Burger Barn, decided against Wow Bao, and returned the elevator pass to Guest Relations.

I AM SO BLESSED.

Remembrance of Things Past

Last year, during our blog's rookie season, Sam and I co-hosted a trip to a Staten Island Yankees game. We made t-shirts and ate a lot of hamburgers.


This year, we're upgrading to the big leagues (if it doesn't rain). I'm sorry that we didn't have time to invite you. After future podcast producer and longtime reader Phil wouldn't pick up his phone, we got discouraged and bought the e-tickets alone. White Sox-Yankees! Buehrle v. Hughes! This game was made for us!

I spent approximately 10 minutes this morning trying to rationally dissect my love for Burls and Hughes and decided that I like them for the same reason: they both look like they spend a lot of time thinking about dogs and Proust. Me too! Dogs and Proust and baseball. Why do dogs exist? Why do people read Proust? WHEN CAN I WATCH MORE BASEBALL? This blog post has put me behind schedule. Sam, wait for me at Union Square! Forever 21, second floor?

Loveable Loser

Mark Buerhle, along with stupid Chad Billingsley, you blew up my ERA in both of my Fantasy leagues this week. Because you are so adorable, though, I forgive you.


I'm going to use this face the next time I break the photocopier at work. Better yet, I'll get this photo printed on business cards to hand out or mail after committing social blunders. I'll also make a set for Phil so that he can formally apologize for all of the terrible things he did and said at dinner last Monday.

More Opening Day Memories

Jenni's Opening Day Memories were quite inspiring, so I thought I'd share some of my own through photos I've saved from Yahoo's photo gallery. These photos are not related to the actual playing of baseball. To be honest, I'm kind of overwhelmed by the start of baseball and managing four fantasy leagues (two of which are daily), so my thoughts are quite disorganized and more incoherent than usual. It appears that I'm also coming down with a bug of sorts, which may have added to the frenzy. Jenni and I are twins, after all--though I have yet to take black capsule pills to get better. Anyway, here are my favorite images from Opening Day and some rambling commentary.

Pedro looks so happy.

I don't know much about this tradition of singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" at sporting events, but I do know that Puck sang it to Rachel on "Glee." I was incredibly pleased to hear Diamond singing it live at the game during the radio broadcast of the Yankees vs. Red Sox game.

I like the use of quotes on the guy's sweatshirt.

LOS METS! It's telling that the guy's hand is totally obscuring Jose Reyes. Let's hope he has a good, healthy return tomorrow. Los Mets can't be competing for second-to-last place against the Nationals. That's just too sad.

Are those CRUSTACEANS on the grill? What?

I don't like the Cubs, but damn, I felt really sorry for them when Jason Heyward did the MASHY on Zambrano. Jenni sent me this good article about Heyward. When the Braves come to Wrigley, I'll be sure to hide the car by going somewhere on the south side. Lawrence's Fisheries, anyone?

The caption for this photo read something like, "A band performs at the Kansas City Royals game." A BAND.

Here are the Royals dancers. I wish the girls in the front would be a little more coordinated.

Yeah BOSS DALEY! Who runs the best city in the world? A White Sox fan.

Best mascot ever. This image fills me with hope--not for the White Sox, not for baseball, but for humanity. THIS IS BEYOND BASEBALL.

Bonus image from MLB.TV: a nice view of Chone Figgin's head.

Bonus images (or penalty images, depending on your disposition towards the Marlins) for the Marlins' home opener (I realize there are many home openers that were not on Opening Day, but in my being overwhelmed, and in Yahoo not having photographic records of all home openers, this is what I have so far):

MERMAIDS!

Jenni also had sent me this article about Hanely Ramirez's necklace. There were no images of the necklace itself, so I was very glad to see this picture. I appreciate the photographer using the flash so we can all get a glimpse of the teal diamond as a decimal point.

This is really a penalty image; sorry. Creed's singer, Scott Something, sang the national anthem at the Marlins' home opener tonight. Do I need to say that the Dodgers beat the Marlins, 7-3? The Fish are doomed ￣︿￣

More rambling reports form my frazzled but excited brain to come!

Opening Day Memories

I thought about baseball so much this weekend that my brain caught on fire and I had to stay home from work with a fever today. Never fear...I went to my doctor and she gave me a bottle of BLACK CAPSULE PILLS to take twice daily, so it's likely that no permanent damage will occur. The upside of spending all of yesterday in a sickly haze is that I watched large segments of five different opening day games, as well as the Duke v. Butler game and Sunday night's Yankees-Red Sox beat down. Here are some highlights (in roughly chronological order):

1. BASEBALL STARTS....


2. ...hi Derek Jeter!!!!!!!


I was unhappy that the Yankees lost to the Red Sox on Sunday night. Red Sox fan Reid texted me on Monday morning to ask, "Are the Yankees going to win any games this year? Sure doesn't look like it now." To which I could only respond, "Yeah, probably only 103 like last year, starting some time in late May." It's important to remember that every team in the Major Leagues lost at least 59 games last year...that's a lot of losing!!!

3. Obama in the booth at the Phillies-Nationals game:

Obama threw his pitch high and outside, then he got in the booth and made fun of the Chicago Cubs. You can watch the video on MLB.tv, or you can just read the funniest part, which I transcribed below.

"The nice thing about the Sox is that it's a real blue collar baseball team. We always tease about the Cubs that they're up at Wrigley, sipping wine, playing day games...they're having a good time."

At first, I thought that it was rude of Obama to wear a White Sox hat while pitching for the Nationals, especially since the Nats are awful and need as much fan love as possible. But then I was reminded that the most important thing in baseball-- even beyond not making losers feel bad about being losers-- is being true to your team. This is why I will wear a Yankees hat when I'm inevitably asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the I-Cubs.

4. Roy Halladay Lights Out

7 innings pitched, 12 strikeouts, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and he got a single!

5. Mark Buehrle Lights Out

7 innings pitched, 3 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP...AND HE MADE THE DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE CENTURY!! You might not be able to imagine it from the above photo, but Mark Buehrle is a total babe. These posts from the archive prove it.

6. Hi Johnny Damon!

I like him so much more now that he's on the Tigers. I don't know why.

7. Did Kung Fu Panda gain or lose weight?

San Fransisco fan MBW said that the panda looked larger than last year. But the New York Times claims that he's lost weight. You can read more about his diet, OPERATION PANDA, here. Mom's special lasagna...hahahahaha.

8. HI GRIFFEY!!!!

What's up, friend? Nice double. Don't get injured! We love you.

Miggy Miggy Miggy

On Friday, the White Sox played the Tigers in Detroit. The White Sox won behind Jake Peavy, 8-0. Nice investment. Anyway, later that evening, reports are saying that Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera went out "partying" with the White Sox. He then seems to have gone home smashed early in the morning. His wife called the police, who arrived at Miggy's home for a "family disturbance." Miggy went downtown, where Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski later picked him up. The Free Press says that since both Miggy and his wife were "aggressors," he was released. I knew that the only person who would attack a 6'4", 240lb professional athlete would be his wife. What idiot in the Detroit area would and could attack Miggy at the facial range!? *Screams like Carleton Banks*

I have to say, I'm somewhat surprised at the fact that all of this doesn't bother me so much. I think the scars will go away, thank goodness, but I tend to think that what Miggy does in his own Birmingham home is his business, and what we know of his business comes from vague police reports and speculations. If the drama at home affects his at-bats, and he, for instance, goes 0-7 in the next two games against the White Sox, that's disappointing. But it's not disappointing because he may have hit his wife or his wife clearly cut him up real good and his soul may be in pain, it's disappointing because it's for sure an OH-FER-SEVEN when the Tigers needed to win both of those games to clinch the AL Central. Now they're going to waste a perfectly good outing from Ricky P (Rick Porcello) against the Twinkies tomorrow.

I'll get back to the Twins in a minute. I want to know which White Sox players count as his "buddies." It must be the older folks, even Ozzie? And maybe Gordon Beckham got to come out because he's a monster-in-training at third, just as Miggy once was. I'm mad that I was not invited to party with the White Sox and Miguel Cabrera in Detroit. That's messed up that I wasn't present. I was just sleeving and collating baseball cards, watching a very mediocre Martin Lawrence stand-up movie with Mordecai and Joe! Coulda called us up! If the party didn't end until the wee hours of the morning, we would've made it to Detroit in time! I know my way around (sort of)!

But the more I think about how things turned out, the more suspicious I become. Here comes my speculation. The Twins are evil. Look at these faces.

Look at his smirk; Kubel is pure evil. Cuddyer looks like a rosy-cheeked, chipper dude, but look at those glassy eyes. Oh hell no. And Ron Gardenhire? He's an agent of the devil, the mastermind behind all of this. He is the Darth Vader of baseball. He probably eats babies for breakfast. OK, maybe I'm pushing this a little too far.

Obviously, someone fixed the nature of things to ensure that Miggy's White Sox "buddies" would go out with him the night after the first game and the night before the last two all-important games. Having somehow triumphed over The Zack Greinke, the Twins knew they were merely stanky-ass-breaths away from a chance at the AL Central. It's the Royals. THIS WAS FIXED, I KNOW IT!!! THE TWINKIES MUST BE STOPPED!!! Everyone, make some noise for the handsome rookie Ricky P (Rick Porcello) on Tuesday!!! GO TIGERS, EVEN IF THEY MAKE IT PAST THE EVIL TWINS AND GET OBLITERATED IN THE POSTSEASON!

Sans Beckham

It's probably because I was still subconsciously mourning formerly awesome third baseman Joe Crede, but rookie Gordon Beckham who is the starting third baseman for the White Sox deserves some attention.

Only a year ago he was playing in the college world series for Georgia and now the 22, 23 year old is starting in the majors. And if you don't believe that he is basically an overgrown kid check out this video of him fooling around the Georgia clubhouse. Pretty candidly bizarro:



I especially like the part when he confesses to that other guy that he got a B in real estate and then the professor asked him for his autograph.

And if that video didn't convince you that he is way younger than you are, he has an official blog on the mlb site! He hasn't written a lot, in fact, it looks like he might of gotten off the hook when they figured out that he wasn't really a prospect, but going to play in the majors this year. But, the posts that he did write are references to older SNL skits like "more cowbell" or "The Japanese Game Show".

He writes about giving autographs:

I try to sign as many autographs as I can each day. Problem is, sometimes it just isn't going to happen. There are days where it's impossible. I feel bad when I can't sign every autograph but the fact is, I have a job to do. If I pull a hamstring because I was not loose for the game, I am blamed for that. I think there are moments when people forget that. There is another problem which a lot of players keep in mind when signing autographs. There are some people out there that try to profit off your signature. THAT'S PRETTY SAD.

That *is* pretty sad Gordon Beckham. But you also get paid obscene amounts of money to play baseball. He also writes about getting razed by AJ Pierzenski:

While the baseball seems to be coming relatively easy, the clubhouse ribbing seems to get even tougher. Lately, the border war between AJ and I has become relatively heated. I have hit two homeruns this spring training and the next day is always a rough one. AJ claims that my bag is on his side of the "border". I walk in and he asks why I placed my bag inside of his locker. He insists that I purposely threw my bag in his locker to mock him. I think we all know that is the last thing I want.

And on the South:

I will be heading east, back to my southern roots, on Saturday. Back where people drink sweet tea, say "ya'll" and "yes ma'am". Where there is more green than concrete and skyscrapers aren't always metal. Where there are actually trees, big majestic two-hundred year old oak trees entrenched in southern soil. Where the writings of Pat Conroy float through the marsh breeze on the coast of the southern shore. Where thunderstorms are actually welcomed after two months of no clouds. But mainly, where baseball parks light up the bright red marinated sunset.

Kind of a funny passage, right? He really kind of hams it up. And Pat Conroy??? What is he talking about?

But more importantly, a blogger for the Times identified some of the comparisons that have been drawn between Beckham and Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs.

Greg Walker, the White Sox’ batting coach, played with Sandberg in the Phillies organization in 1979.

“They’re both pretty easygoing guys, but there are not a lot of similarities in their swings,” Walker said. “Their mechanics are not the same at all.”

Initially projected to have more modest power numbers, Beckham is slightly shorter but more powerfully built than Sandberg. He has shown that he could eventually approach the slugging numbers put up by Sandberg, a Hall of Famer.

“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves with Gordon,” Walker said. “If you want to be talked about in the same breath as Ryne Sandberg, you’ve got to do it over a long period of time. But he understands that. He’s getting a lot of media attention right now, but he’s a pretty level-headed kid.”

I can't vouch for that swing comparison nonsense, or talk about them being born under the same astrological sign, but looking at pictures of young Sandberg and Beckham their necks both look similarly large - almost like football players. Unfortunately, neither of them is at all similar to the real Beckham, who has quite the monopoly on google image searches for "beckham"

On the plus side he already has a pair of those sweet Sandberg-esque flip sunglasses that were all the rage when I was playing little league.

Wanged

Rather than gloat about Dwayne Wise's clutch hitting, or the newest holiday in Illinois, I thought it was worth mentioning that my favorite Yankees pitcher (read: not a loser) and Taiwan's favorite son is out for the season!


Via AP:

Noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure Wednesday to repair what Yankees manager Joe Girardi said was a tear in the capsule. The team is awaiting reports from the surgery before setting a potential timetable for Wang's return next year.

Get well! At he's not vomiting constantly like some people.

***

From the Buerhle article: apparently to serve in the Illinois State Legislature all you have to be is a "modest, hardworking team-player". Tell that to Barack Obama, jerk.

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrls

Mark Buerhle pitched a perfect game today. Can you imagine what it's like to be A.J., who did not catch Buerhle today? What's it like to be Josh Fields, losing third base to Gordon Beckham everyday, but taking over Captain Paulie for today, and then hitting that grand slam and later holding the ball that Alexei threw to get the third out in the 9th? What if BRIAN ANDERSON was in center field in lieu of Dewayne Wise? Did Ken "Hawk" Harrelson explode while announcing the game? WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE SOUTHPAW (see middle right edge of photo; I realize Mordecai beat me to in his rarely-used Twitter, but only by a minute)?

White Sox Meet & Greet

Mordecai, Joe, and some other friends and I were able to attend the First Annual FansEdge Sports Memorabilia Show out in Rosemont, Illinois yesterday. There was free admission, a chance to win a free Pete Rose autograph, and it was White Sox Day! Mordecai and I had decided earlier in the week to get Harold Baines, Josh Fields, and Alexei Ramirez autographs, and I decided at the last minute to get Chris Getz's autograph because he's adorable. Mordecai also won the green Pete Rose ticket and got an autograph on a baseball. Anyway, I felt it was my duty to report to TBB readers what these folks looked like in person.

Alexei is not that weird-looking off the field. His proportions are still kind of off--you can't tell in the photo above, but his head looked small while his shoulders looked kind of broad and muscular, and then his forearms looked kind of short, but not gangly like one might think judging from his looks on the field. I guess that sounds like he's categorically weird-looking, but he didn't look like an alien, a lizard, or a chipmunk. He just looked like a thin Cuban dude, I guess. I think he'd look good in a white suit and matching fedora. I forgot to tell him that I like how he spins before he throws, though I'm not sure he would've understood me.

Oh wait, he looks totally alien/lizard/chipmunk-like here! And I shook his hand. He had a cool, reptilian, weak handshake!

That's Dan, asking if he can take a photo with him. Communication was successful! Mordecai just took pictures without waiting for a response.

Here I am with second baseman Chris Getz. He had a strange shirt on, like he was gonna go clubbing after the signing. I think he looks a lot better than Gordon Beckham, who looks like a combination of Seann William Scott, a.k.a. Stifler from "American Pie," and Ben McKenzie of "The O.C." fame. A bad combination, in my opinion.

Speaking of Gordon Beckham, who was not present at this event, here I am with Josh Fields. Josh Fields doesn't get as much playing time anymore because Our Supposed Savior, Gordon Beckham, is here to lead the White Sox into the glory days.

While I'm at it, I should post this funny picture of first base coach Harold Baines looking at me.

And finally, here is Pete Rose and his girlfriend from the Josh Fields line:

I found it strange and interesting that she looked better the closer you got to her. I hope Pete is happy. I know I'm happy with all these autos, photos, and baseball cards!

Ejected!

The White Sox played the Indians early today, around 11:00AM CST. That means batting practice and warming up takes place well before 11:00AM, which sounds really early for a baseball game. Perhaps the White Sox players are a little jetlagged, even if only by one hour and despite having been in Cleveland for at least a day already. That might explain why some people got crabby and then...ejected!

"WHAT GAME ARE YOU WATCHIN'?"

JERMAINE DYE EMOTES!

Even when JD is putting his life into catching a ball out in the right field, he always looks so nonchalant, emotion-less, and subsequently makes everything seem so effortless. He got ejected today for arguing a called strike. I'm not sure if he was already ejected at the time this photo was taken, or if the ejection occurred after this photo was taken, because I read he flipped his helmet and bat "in disgust" and the helmet hit the umpire or something. The only other time I've seen him emote, at least as of late, was when he got hit by a pitch last week by some piece of shit Texas Ranger pitcher.

JD looks like he's in some horrible pain. This is exactly why Bobby Jenks threw a butt-pitch at Ian Kinsler in the same series but in a later game. Jenks then admitted to the "message" pitch after the game, and then got fined for a pathetic $750. Why bother? Does Ian Kinsler need a counseling session? A lot of people say Bobby should have kept his mouth closed even if everyone knew it was a purpose pitch, but I don't see any reason to censor him. There are numbers to prove his point. White Sox pitchers don't hit people, but CQ gets hit pretty much every game, and there is no justification for hitting Paulie or JD. Paulie has a growing bald spot, and JD is a gentleman, even with the mysterious scar. Jenks should pay the MLB in pennies.