Why do they call it a foul pole, yet when a ball hits the
pole, it’s ruled fair?
Why do they refer to the baseball skipper as a manager but
most other sports have a head coach?
While we’re on the subject of managers and head coaches, why
does the manager in baseball wear a jersey and the head coaches of other sports
wear street clothes? Can you see Phil Jackson or Bill Belichick wearing a team jersey
while arguing with a referee?
Why is an umpire known for having a wide strike zone or
perhaps a high strike zone? You never hear anyone refer to a referee in
football as having a wide sideline or deep end zone?
Also regarding umpires, why does the home plate umpire get
to ring up a batter on a called third strike with fervor and hype? Can you
picture a hockey official signaling goal while dancing or sliding all over the
ice?
And while we’re speaking of fervor and hype, why does a
football player go nuts after making a simple tackle? Not a forced fumble or a
tackle for a loss, but just an ordinary tackle, sometimes even on a kick-off.
Don’t tackles happen on virtually every play in football? Isn’t that supposed
to be your job? Can you picture Albert Pujols dancing down to first base after
blooping a single to right?
Why are there ties in hockey games and yes, Donovan McNabb,
even in some football games? Shouldn’t there always be a winner and a loser in
a team sport?
Why does a field goal count for three points but a safety
only count for two? Isn’t a safety rarer and much harder to come by? What’s
easier, a 30 yard field goal, or stopping an offensive player in his own end
zone? You would think a safety would be worth more.
And on the subject of football calls, why does an NFL game
have a defensive pass interference penalized at the spot of the foul yet
whenever pass interference is called on the offense, it’s only a 10 yard
penalty?
Back to baseball, has anyone noticed the unfair advantage American
League teams have in winning the wild card? Sixteen NL teams are fighting for
the division, three will win, which means one NL wildcard team will outlast
twelve other teams. In the American League, the wildcard winning team will only
outlast ten other teams. How is that just?
Speaking of division winners, the NL Central has six teams
in the division. Every year the division winner has to finish ahead of five
other teams. Meanwhile, in the American League West, a division with only four
teams, the division winner has to finish ahead of only three other teams. How
is that fair?
Why does an NFL receiver have to show possession of the ball
and two feet in the end zone to score a touchdown, while a quarterback or
running back can just hang the ball over the very beginning of the goal line
for a split second? How does that make sense?
Here’s one for the stat rats: Baseball has the sacrifice
fly, when a batter hits the ball in the air with less than two outs and after
it’s caught, the runner from 3rd base tags up and scores. The at bat
does not count against the hitter’s batting average. However, when a batter
hits a ground ball to an infielder with less than two outs and gets thrown out
at first, the at bat counts against his average but yet the runner can still
score from 3rd base. What’s the logic behind that?
And
finally, soccer is a great team sport, the best in world according to most
outside the United States. Why would you decide a match of a great team sport,
especially a championship match, with something so individual, so one-on-one as
penalty kicks? What is so wrong with sudden death?
A run BATTED IN with out registering an "At Bat".
ReplyDeleteYou know my rant about the QB Sack/Fumble rule on the same play. A QB sack is where the QB is tackled (down by contact), a fumble is where the ball is held in possession and knocked out prior to be down by contact. By NFL definitions, a QB cannot have a Sack/Fumble on the same play...LAME!!
Let's break this down one-by-one:
ReplyDeletePoint #1 - Agreed, should be the fair pole.
Point #2 - Not sure, just that way, who really cares . . . in football and basketball, the manager is someone who is basically a gofer.
Point #3 - The baseball uniform is conservative enough for anyone to look respectable and still do their job in this arena. Not so with the basketball uniform or football uniform. Football - too bulky, basketball - inappropriate. Also, the setting for baseball, with the manager in the dugout, requires less dress.
Point #4 - Really, this is one of your questions. How about the fact that the strike zone is subjective while sidelines and end lines are objective. For the same reason an umpire may have a high strike zone but will never have wide foul lines.
Point #5 - Though I do not agree with the flamboyant umpires, it is the same reasoning as above - objective vs subjective.
Point #6 - Agreed, those celebrations are stupid.
Point #7 - Yes, there should always be a winner and a loser.
Point #8 - Interesting take, but the scoring system is designed to reward scoring while in the possession of the ball, thus lesser emphasis on a score without possession of the ball.
Point #9 - Offensive pass interference is not just a 10-yard penalty, but also a loss of down. Actually a big penalty - and spot of the foul would only reward the offense.
Point #10-11 - It is not just, it is not fair, so in this way, baseball mirrors life.
Point #12 - If a running back was to CATCH the ball in the end zone, he would also have to show possession with two feet in bounds. If a receiver possessed the ball before reaching the end line, he would only have to break the plane. It is a question of possession, not a manner of how you reach the end zone.
Point #13 - Agreed, the fielder's choice that scores a run should not count against the batter.
Point #14 - Bring back the Golden Goal!!!