Milwaukee Brewers need to quit crying

The Milwaukee Brewers need to quit crying over whether CC Sabathia pitched a no-hitter Sunday in Pittsburgh.

There are two reasons Andy LaRoche’s leadoff single in the fifth inning deserved to be called an infield hit:

No. 1: Sabathia tried to bare-hand the ball. Whenever somebody does that, it means they know there is a 50-50 chance at best of getting the runner.

If every player was given an error who tries to bare-hand a ball, Major League Baseball would need to change its scoring rules and call hundreds of more errors each season on such plays.

No. 2: Sabathia is left-handed. He not only needed to pick up the ball; he needed to turn his body to make the throw (it would have been much easier for a right-hander.)

There’s even a third compelling reason not to change the call. Had the play been ruled an error, the Pirates may have played the game differently from then on in an attempt to get a hit.

(Perhaps someone could have tried for a bunt single to break up a no-hitter; such as Ben Davis of the Padres did years ago vs. Curt Schilling of the Padres; or Steve Garvey of the Dodgers did vs. San Diego’s Bob Owchinko in the late 1970s.)

The Brewers are a great team. Here’s hoping they win the World Series ... and quit crying about a one-hitter by Sabathia that should stay that way!

Let's hear less from ex-athletes on TV

Jeanne Zelasko deserves credit for standing up for what’s right.

During the pregame show on Fox-TV’s baseball Game of the Week, the topic of comments Curt Schilling from the Red Sox made recently about Barry Bonds arose.

Kevin Kennedy, being an ex-player, stood up for Bonds and said Schilling was way out of line for his comments (who cares if Schilling told the truth originally, before retracting his statement?)

Zelasko responded it’s a fact that Bonds took steroids … and let’s move on to another conversation.

Good for her!

It’s about time we hear more from “people who never played the game” such as Zelasko and Ken Rosenthal on Fox baseball, or football analysts such as Chris Mortensen (ESPN) and Adam Schechter (NFL Network.)

For most of us, it’s getting old hearing athletes … or ex-athletes … defend the poor behavior of other athletes.

What we need are more people like Zelasko, who will stand up to the excuse-making athletes covering for the shame of others.

Randy Johnson: Is He Washed Up?

Is Randy Johnson washed up at age 43?
We’ll begin to find out tonight when Johnson makes his season debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the San Diego Padres.
You could argue that Johnson won 17 games each of the past two seasons for the New York Yankees. To counter that, consider that Johnson’s ERA has risen from 2.60 in 2004 with the Diamondbacks to 3.79 and 5.00 in the past two respective seasons with the Yankees.
Certainly, the Big Unit benefited from a Yankees lineup that is as potent as any around. He won’t enjoy the same luxury with an Arizona team that has lost four straight and scored three runs in its last three games.
Johnson made three rehabilitation starts in the minor leagues this year while working his way back from offseason back surgery. He’s a hero in Arizona, where he won four of his five Cy Young awards from 1999 to 2002 and was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series along with Diamondbacks teammate Curt Schilling.
Arizona is certainly banking on Johnson to still be the Big Unit, as opposed to a smaller unit. The Diamondbacks signed him in January to a two-year, $26 million contract. He’s being paid $4 million this year, $10 million next year and has a $12 million signing bonus payable through 2010.
Even if he is not the same this time around, the Diamondbacks will consider him a good investment because of what he brought to them in the past and what he brings in present marketing value.
Johnson pitches tonight against San Diego’s David Wells, another 43-year-old. In fact, their combined ages will be the oldest in history of two major league left-handed starting pitchers facing each other.
Both still have that competitive fire, but are they still competitive at age 43? We’ll know by September.