Empyreal Environs

Brad Ausmus, manager of the Tigers, 18-year veteran of the MLB, and Ivy Leaguer, learned something new in the seventh inning. According to 6.05(h), a batter is out when:

After hitting or bunting a fair ball, his bat hits the ball a second time in fair territory. The ball is dead and no runners may advance. If the batter-runner drops his bat and the ball rolls against the bat in fair territory and, in the umpire’s judgment, there was no intention to interfere with the course of the ball, the ball is alive and in play. If the batter is in a legal position in the batter’s box, see Rule 6.03, and, in the umpire’s judgment, there was no intention to interfere with the course of the ball, a batted ball that strikes the batter or his bat shall be ruled a foul ball

The italicized part was added in 2010 so perhaps Ausmus hadn’t noticed this clarification. Dustin Pedroia knew the rule and hung around the dish, hoping to get the better of Al Alburquerque. But Pedroia ended up popping out to his counterpart Ian Kinsler to lead off the seventh inning.

Ruben Lipszyc, a visitor from Ruben’s Baseball, e-mailed me about the interference call on Shane Victorino in Saturday night’s game. Ruben is an umpire and he said that the call on Victorino in Saturday night’s game looked right to him. It was incumbent on the runner to get out of the fielder’s way and he didn’t.

This is what a struggling offense will do to a team’s record.

Mookie Betts, the Red Sox prospect who reached base 66 games in a row, played his first game in center field yesterday. Are the Red Sox attempting to acclimate Betts to center field with an eye towards having the Portland Sea Dog shore up the major league team this season? Betts already talks like a big leaguer: “I know that the Red Sox know how to run their system, and I trust in whatever they do. If I play second base, I play second base. If not, I’m ready to move whenever they are.”

If only building a team were as easy as building Fenway with Lego.

Game 43: May 18, 2014
Detroit Tigers 27-12	6	W: Anibal Sanchez (1-2) H: Robbie Ray (1), Evan Reed (4)
		2B: Miguel Cabrera (13), J.D. Martinez (4), Ian Kinsler (11), Austin Jackson (10) HR: Victor Martinez (10), Torii Hunter (5)
Boston Red Sox 20-23	2	L: Jake Peavy (1-2)
		No extra base hits