Nearing the end of the first playoff game of the 2012 MLB postseason, one of baseball’s historically most controversial calls was made…
With 1 out and 2 base runners, the Atlanta Braves were threatening the 3 run lead of the St. Louis Cardinals. A ball was then hit to short left field, where the shortstop ran backwards quickly to make the catch while the left fielder also sprinted in. At the last moment, the shortstop backed away, and the ball hit the ground. No catch. The crowd went wild! The bases were now loaded. Except…
Lost in the crowd’s newfound exuberance was that the left field line umpire had called the Texas-league-looking blooper an ‘infield fly,’ meaning the hitter was out and no runners may advance. The rule exists so that a defensive player doesn’t allow the ball to drop intentionally, in order to catch the runners in a double play. Hence, after the call, there was little more threatening of the Cardinals’ lead.
As said multiple times recently amidst these posts, this is not a sports blog. We will not be dissecting the perils and pitfalls of the infield fly rule. Instead, my desire this day is to focus on the crowd’s reaction. What did they do? What every disappointed, discouraged, and semi-organized group of people seems to do these days… as for 19 minutes, play was halted.
Bottles and cans went flying on the field. The crowd went wild once more.
People were throwing trash — passionately dispensing their litter all over the field.
Here’s today’s zillion dollar question: when do we ‘throw trash’?
When do we dispense litter — all in the name of passion? … emotion?
After Wednesday night’s presidential candidate debate, we witnessed a lot of trash….
“That moderator was terrible… he lied… how dare he pick on Big Bird… the altitude — that’s what caused the problem — that’s why the President looked so incredibly inarticulate…”
Yes, when we can’t logic our way out of things, we throw our trash on the field.
Watch out, friends, I have bad news for you…
When people can’t win on the objective alone, they become emotional; they begin to play dirty; they start throwing trash.
After the initial presidential debate — when by all accounts, Gov. Romney soared and Pres. Obama looked lost in thumbing through economic explanation — the Intramuralist sadly predicts, we will be encouraged to throw more trash. The campaigns are about to start playing dirty.
News alert: if you think that only the Obama campaign will play dirty, you are naive.
Also: if you think that only the Romney campaign will play dirty, you are equally naive.
This is the dire state that the American political process has evolved into. Both the Obama and Romney campaigns will now play dirty. The President looked terrible on Wednesday. He looked as if he had little comprehension of economic issues — seemingly articulately lost without without a teleprompter and script; my sense is his campaign will subtly suggest he has little other choice. The Governor will most likely play equally dirty. The reality is that dirty, character-smearing politics works. That’s sad. It’s sad that the watching public succumbs so easily.
Here we go, friends… a month ‘til we vote. Thank God it will soon be over. No longer will have to listen to our Facebook friends justify calling one or another any derogatory part of the human anatomy. I have trouble with that. It’s disrespectful. It’s most representative of the name-caller’s own foolishness. Egad.
Watch out. Just like in Atlanta, self-serving, political operatives will be encouraging us to delay the game… shout profanities… and throw our trash.
Respectfully,
AR