Yes He Can!

I rearranged my entire evening last night to be in front of the television at 7pm. I don't do this often. As a sports fan, I like to be close to the game. Ideally I would like to be sitting behind home plate, but often resort to Plan B, aka my couch. Fifty inches of stunning high definition leave little to be desired. If I'm in the car I'll pop on the radio and get my fix there. Worst case scenario, I follow the box score on my BlackBerry. I like to know what's going on but I don't always need to be watching.

But not last night.

Aside from Jesus himself coming back to Earth, I was not missing the Washington Nationals game. I made sure dinner was already prepared and the dog had been emptied. I turned the ringer on my phone off and left my laptop upstairs in my office. I wanted an uninfluenced account to the Major League debut of pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg. We've been hearing the hype since his final days at San Diego State. It was a foregone conclusion that Strasburg would be drafted first overall. After a few minor league starts the legend began to build. I felt there were unjust expectations on this kid. He played in to it as well. When asked by the Nationals if he would like to throw out the first pitch the day after he was drafted he declined. His rationale was that the first time he stepped on the mound at Nationals Park he wanted it to be his first start. I knew on that day that he had a good head on his shoulders. But still, there was no way he could live up to the hype. A dismal franchise that has regularly finished last in the NL East was grooming this kid as a the savior: the pitcher who would turn around the franchise and establish them as a force to be reckoned with. I thought the pressure was unfair. No one player could do that, no matter how good they were projected to be.

The Nationals had issues well beyond the disastrous product they were putting on the field. A former GM was investigated for skimming a percentage of the signing bonuses given to Latin players and pocketing the cash. They played in a ballpark that was never meant to house baseball and their best player was refusing to report to the outfield after the manager determined he could no longer adequately play second base any longer. Last year, the team wore jersey's with Natinals draped across the front. Pretty sure there is an 'o' missing somewhere in there. One kid could never change this team.

Enter Stephen Strasburg.

The eyes' of the baseball world were focused on the nation's capital last night as Strasburg took the bump. What ensued is difficult to properly describe with words. Let's start with the stuff you can measure. Seven innings, two earned runs on four hits, one of which was a long home run off the bat of Delwyn Young. He didn't walk a batter and worked extremely quickly, not wasting time between pitches. Oh and he struck out 14 batters. The first start of his career and he struck out 14 batters.

Now let's get to the intangibles. His mound presence was menacing. He's 6'4'' but looked like Randy Johnson up there. His fastball, which topped out at 100 mph, was dynamic. We've all seen what Ubaldo Jimenez has done with a 100 mph fastball this season, but Strasburg's has movement. That's right, 100 mph with movement. I've never seen velocity and movement combined like that. His change-up appeared to be the pitch he had the least confidence in and still got batters to miss. He throws a slider-curve hybrid that goes 3-8 on the clock. He threw it at the heads of right handed batters and it ends up on the outside corner at their knees. On top of that he has a heavy 2-seamer with late-breaking sink. All of these pitches thrown with superb command. He didn't seem affected after surrendering the home run. As a matter of fact he seemed to pitch better striking out the side in his final two innings.

You can't give him a Cy Young after one start but there's reason to be excited in DC. The naysayers will tell you it came against the Pirates and that once the league gets some video tape on him they'll make adjustments. Well the Pirates have a pretty good line-up and the league has had videotape on Roy Halladay for ten years and still can't hit him. He's only 21 so things can change. Like any young pitcher he'll have his struggles. But keep on eye on Washington every fifth day for the rest of this season. You might just see something you've never seen before.

No One's Perfect

I can't stop thinking about this missed perfect game. Even with an excellent Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals and a mediocre but still entertaining Game 1 of the NBA Finals, my mind remains in Motown. Commissioner Selig made the right decision in not reversing the call. While it was a rare and special circumstance, the legitimacy of the game was at stake. Had he reversed the call, the entire umpire's union would be undermined and lacked any sense of authority going forward. The only reason I thought Selig might reverse it was because the call in question had zero impact on the outcome of the game. The only thing that would have changed is Galarraga's WHIP and Jason Donald's batting average. All things considered, Bud did the right thing.

As I thought more about it, I began to realize some of the subtleties that may be overlooked by a casual fan. A perfect game isn't just something accomplished and celebrated by a pitcher. It's effects loom large organizationally. Tigers' catcher Alex Avila would be able to add catching a perfect game to his resume. Announcers for both Detroit and Cleveland would always have the distinction of calling a perfect game. These are things that get you remembered forever. While Galarraga and everyone who watched know in their hearts that he was perfect for 27 outs, the accolades his supporting cast would have received will be lost to the wayside.

The scene at home plate yesterday was what makes baseball the greatest sport on the planet. Galarraga walked to home plate where the umpires were gathered and presented Jim Joyce with the day's line-up card. Joyce was visibly emotionally, wiping away tears as he accepted the line-up card olive branch. Noticing the sensitive moment, Galarragga reached out and patted Joyce on the back, reassuring him that everything would be alright. After collecting himself, Joyce returned the smack on the back and baseball was played. While the boos from the fans poured down for Joyce, the overall tone was one of empathy. It was a great lesson for little leaguers to take note of. Amid travesty, the game prevailed and brought together an elite fraternity of Major Leaguers. No one is bigger than the game and at the end of the day, we're all people. I was truly impressed with the compassion showed by the Tigers and especially Galarraga. That man has reached a level of respect in my book that is not easily ascertained. Everyone's opinions will be different, but we can move on and get excited for what promises to be another outstanding year of baseball.

Not Envious of Bud Selig Right Now

Wow! Still trying to find the words to properly express my feelings on last night's game in Detroit. Tigers' starter Armando Gallaraga retired the first 26 batters he faced before Indians short stop Jason Donald reached base on a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce. Donald hustled hard down the line after chopping a ball near the hole between first baseman Miguel Cabrera and second baseman Carlos Guillen. Cabrera got to it and after settling himself fired a perfect strike to Gallaraga who was covering the bag. Joyce was in position, yet ruled Donald safe when clearly he was out by one-half step. The term 'bang-bang' is used to describe a play close enough to go either way. This was no such play. Donald was out and it wasn't close.

While Tigers skipper Jim Leyland argued profusely after the game concluded, it was too late for anything to be done. Gallaraga admitted his disappointment but also recognized that umpires are human and mistakes are made. Joyce ran back to the clubhouse and watched the replay. Upon realizing his error he apologized immediately and publicly. The emotion in his voice was genuine and sincere. No one feels worse than Joyce that he robbed this kid of something that only 20 men have done in the lengthy history of this game. Leyland even admitted that Joyce is one of the better umpires in the game and he was merely protecting his player and venting his frustration when he confronted Joyce after the game.

Today, every media outlet that covers sports is talking about this tragedy. As I'm writing this, Commissioner Bud Selig is discussing the possibility of reversing the call. This is a dicey situation. First of all, the main glory in tossing a perfect game is being mobbed by your teammates and receiving a standing ovation from the fans. Reversed call or not, Gallaraga will never have that feeling. Secondly, while I think all of Major League Baseball would agree that reversing the call is the right thing to do to get this kid what he deserves, the precedent being set is volatile. This is a very special circumstance where an epically historical moment took place. The call in question didn't happen in the third inning or sixth inning, or even on the first batter in the ninth inning. It happened on the the would-be 27th out. Had the call been made correctly, the game is over and history is made. In this circumstance alone, I agree with over-turning the call and making things right. However, this should not and cannot be an everyday thing. When video footage clearly shows a call was kicked, the Commissioner cannot reverse every ruling. I fear that teams will get too loose with their requests for review. That will ruin the game of baseball.

The kid pitched one hell of a game; an absolute gem. He deserves to have his performance recognized as perfect. Selig has to make a tremendously difficult decision. I just hope this phenomenal moment doesn't alter the way games are officiated from here on out.