Blind Squirrels
Even they find nuts. But who knew they officiated MLB games?
The Ameeker Pitch zone showed that all three of Felix Hernandez’s pitches to Adrian Beltre in the second inning were strikes, but Beltre stood in the box in disbelief. Rookie umpire Dan Bellino, who was filling in for Rob Drake, probably didn’t take kindly to Beltre’s display.
Beltre and Hernandez, friends since they played together in Seattle, engaged in some between innings smack talk. The pitcher bet that he would strike Beltre out three times and the hitter bet that he would take Hernandez deep. Bellino ejected the Red Sox third baseman because of the conversation.
Beltre tried to get Bellino to explain why he was ejected but the official wouldn’t tell him. Terry Francona joined in the conversation but didn’t get Bellino’s reasoning, either. Veteran umpire Angel Hernandez went so far as to protect Bellino, inserting himself between the seething skipper and the inexperienced arbitrator. Francona was ejected but it didn’t fire up the bats.
There’s 16 Dan Bellinos on Facebook. The first one I found had the profile picture you see to the right. I can’t tell if the same man who ejected Beltre is in the picture, but it is good propaganda.
| Game 128: August 25, 2010 | ||
 Mariners50-77 | 4 | W: Felix Hernandez (10-10) S: Brandon League (4) |
| 2B: Jose Lopez (24), Josh Wilson (12), Russell Branyan (16), Casey Kotchman (18), Matt Tuiasosopo (4) | ||
| Red Sox 73-55 | 2 | L: Tim Wakefield (3-10) |
| 2B: Ryan Kalish (3), Bill Hall (9) HR: J.D. Drew (17) | ||
