“My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st Century.”
Woe be the New York Yankees, who today learned that staff ace Chien-Ming Wang will likely be sidelined until September after injuring his foot running the bases in Houston last weekend. Now I’ve never been one to editorialize, and I certainly don’t have the man-sack to stand up to 100 mph heat, but I can’t help but feel like this is stupid.
Surely it isn’t wrong to expect a ‘Professional Athlete’ be able to run 90 feet, largely in a straight line. Is it a muscle memory thing? Can you honestly tell me that Wang’s injury was the product of infrequent practice, and if so, can you honestly expect me to feel sorry for the guy? Do they let him go up and down the clubhouse stairs without a spotter?
Just today I saw this 400 pound guy totally get up from his desk, walk around two chairs and a copy machine, speak to several co-workers, procure a delicious snack and return without incident.
And speaking of David Ortiz, before he injured his wrist, the ‘robust’ Bostonian managed to trot around the bases – sometimes several times in an evening – without crippling himself. Then again, as a DH, he might owe his good base-running fortune to the fact that his job – again as a ‘professional athlete’ – involves only minimal amounts of running and serious exertion.
And while I’m ripping on the MLB, can we just admit that baseball players aren’t ‘tough’? I’m sorry guys, but the occasional Molina Moment aside, you don’t play a contact sport.
“I’m all about protecting my players,” Rays pitcher James Shields said.
Shut up James. You throw a ball towards a guy forced to stand inside a little box. And if you hit him, you get thrown out of the game. In fact, the only time you or your teammates interact with the other guys is when somebody takes 5 minutes to run – who am I kidding, to walk – around the bases.
In a pre-determined path.
With rules and penalties preventing the defense from getting in their way.
With more penalties to prevent them from making physical contact.
Good lord: Is that William Perry in a Sox jersey?
Nah, it’s star reliever Rich ‘El Guapo’ Garces. You have no idea the options available to me after putting “Red Sox, Fat” into the old Google Machine.