The Detroit Tigers faced the Houston Astros today in the opening game of Spring Training in Lakeland, and boy, were there doings.
Things were going along as expected in a ST game: Verlander pitched two whole solid innings, Norichika Aoki was starting with a new team, and Nick Castellanos was out due to “flu-like symptoms.”
Things got interesting in the 3rd, however, whent Edison Frias replaced Brad Peacock for the Astros.
Frias walked Juan Perez (!); then, Andrew Romine hit a homer. Wooooo!!!!! First of the season! Yes!!!
Next Ian Kinsler came to the plate. He hit a home run! Woooo!!!!!
After a short break for a coaching visit to the mound, it was V-Mart’s turn to bat. He hit a home run!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!! Back-to-back-to-back!!!!! Yeeeeeessss!!!!!!
The crowd was joyous as Miggy the Mighty strode to the plate. The Maestro of Mash settled in to take his turn…and got hit by a pitch!
Retaliation in Spring Training???!!!! What???!!!! You gotta be kidding me!
Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt immediately ejected Frias from the game, but the Tigers announcers were quick to note that anyone who’d been watching would know Frias had no control on his pitches. The HBP was not intentional — Frias was just having a terrible, no good, horrible, bad day.
Still and all, it’s the first ejection of the season. 2017, y’all!!!!
Fan Interference 
As an aside, congratulations to Anibal Sanchez for being granted citizenship. Hooray, Anibal.
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Dern ferriners, taking our citizenships!
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And our’n jobs, too. Don’t forgot that. Damned furriners.
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“The umps need to settle in.”
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A bit of a bad news/good news situation as far as umps go this season…
Four veterans are hanging up their ball/strike counters after some pretty long careers. John Hirschbeck is retiring after a 33-year career, as is Tim Welke. Interestingly, both men have brothers who were/are also MLB umpires. John’s brother Mark worked his last game in 2003, and Tim’s brother Bill is still active.
The other two make me very sad/happy…
29-year veteran Jim Joyce — he of the distinctive “striEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!” call and genuine remorse over the blown call at first that took away poor Armando Galarraga’s perfect game — was, in my opinion, one of the best MLB umps out there. I will miss him.
The other, 28-year ump “Balkin’ Bob” Davidson… not so much.
A quick encapsulation of their post-season and ASG work shows quite starkly why one of these things is not like the others…
Hirschbeck — 5 World Series, crew chief for 3 of them. Regular season crew chief.
Welke — 4 World Series, crew chief for 1 of them. Regular season crew chief.
Joyce — 3 World Series. Regular season crew chief.
Davidson — 1 All-Star Game.
Now if we could only convince Joe West, Angel Hernandez, Laz Diaz, and the other “look at me” umps to do the same.
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Amusingly, West and Diaz were both on the crew for this game.
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Julian Castro, the pitch framer clubbed a two run spring game dinger, who knew? There ain’t no snow on the ground to note where I sit, although I must note that some several miles south of here they did get some. Looking out my window right now looks like a dirty April.
Baseball begins anew, as do my children and grand children.
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