"The Streak" -- Miguel Tejada, Dave Trembley and Respectability, Plus the Sancitity of the Game...
Once again, the Baltimore Orioles will probably make the news, if they have not already, because of the stunt by the team this afternoon.
As "The Oriole Way" has gone the way of the dodo bird and Cal Ripken is retired and gone, the team has never been looked at the same way.
It WILL NOT change after today, in fact, it may be worse now...
Well, last night Miguel Tejada got drilled in the wrist thanks to a Doug Brocail pitch and was take to the hospital for a check-up. He was perhaps hurting today, but decided to play.
Since, Miguel Tejada's has the longest consecutive games streak in baseball right now, he felt he needed to protect it (although in the past he's not made a big deal out of it).
It's a big deal to him.
It's still alive as Miggy felt well enough to play. Except he only got one at bat, and the team slugger bunted!
After he attempted to bunt (?) and got on, he was removed for a pinch-runner not more than a second he got on to keep his streak alive.
Here are words of wisdom from Mr. Trembley: "We all know the importance of what's going on in baseball, and Miggy and the streak," said interim manager Dave Trembley. "I asked him last night before I left, and he asked me, 'Don't you do anything until you talk to me.' He's earned that, and I told him, 'You've already seen the lineup. I've already posted it for tomorrow.'
Well, Mr. Trembley, thanks for completely bastardizing the game.
To be quite honest, Miguel should HAVE PLAYED ALL NINE INNINGS, not just an at bat.
Yes, the O's won; however, we will once again be the butt of jokes and endless criticism by the media because we "so-called" needed to protect "the Streak"...
The Orioles MLB site gets some words from Trembley and tries to report on it objectively, while Roch Kubatko, Mike from Oriole Magic and East Coast Bias call the stunt for what it really was...
And now Bedard may possibly be injured (hamstring)???
It looks like Dusty Baker isn't interested in the manager's job, although he said:
"To me, the Orioles are a great organization and everything, and my passion is baseball," Baker said. "I want to get back into managing, but only if the right situation comes. Right now, it's a bit early for me. At this point, I would probably say it's not the right fit right now. I'd like to fulfill my commitment with ESPN."
Baker said out clauses in his ESPN contract would complicate matters, too. But if the Orioles did contact him more formally, he would not need to interview for the position, he said.
"For me to get into the interview, my interview was my last four years with the Cubs," Baker said. "Why should I get an interview when I was with the Cubs [under MacPhail]? We agreed upon that."
Asked how he would respond if the Orioles showed serious interest in him, Baker was unsure. "I don't know," Baker said. "I'm just living my life, enjoying what I'm doing. It'll work out the way God wants it to." (Washington Post)...
7 comments:
Before you get worried about the way the Orioles will be perceived for protecting Tejada's streak, take a look at Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak. Things like this happened multiple times - including, I believe, an instance where the Yankees called a game on account of rain despite the fact that there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Like Tejada, Gehrig also had at least a couple of incidents in which he played just long enough to extend the streak. Once, if memory serves, they listed him at shortstop, batting leadoff, then pulled him immediately following his first at-bat.
It's just one game. I remember once Ripken started arguing balls and strikes so vehemently in the first inning of a game, that the umpire finally had to throw him out. The umpire said he'd never seen Ripken do anything like this. Obviously, Ripken needed a day off. And now it looks like Tejada is out anyhow.
I concur with the rest. Ripken would also often play games in pain where he could barely swing the bat even if he could field.
I didn't jump on Cal for it and I sure won't worry about Miggy trying to do it for one game. Far more important things to worry about with this team.
No offense Anthony but I find people who are outraged about things that hurt the integrity of the game haven't read a lot about the history of baseball, it ain't all pretty.
For the outraged:
http://dempseysarmy.blogspot.com/2007/06/miguel-tejada-and-integrity-of-game.html
HRB, et. al -- you all have made some very good points. I guess I was just angry in respect that I wish he could have gone deeper into the game, but if he was injured, he was injured...
there are two big problems here:
1) HE'S HURT! he shouldn't be playing injured. period.
2) no one in charge would stand up to him and tell him to sit down. further evidence that no manager that takes himself seriously would have anything to do with this backward organization that allows the players to call the shots.
Gee, Dave, maybe someone should have told Willis Reed about that not playing if you're injured thing. Not missing a game for 7 years means nothing, but having "Baltimore" on the raod jerseys means everything, right? Why doesn't someone ask Cal, I'll bet he says he would have done the same thing
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