Enjoy the Game

So, pick a team, any team. Usually, you should pick one from your home town or close by. Team stuff is easier to come by, and you won't get beat up if you go to a game. I picked the Cardinals, since they're the closest team. The Cards were a good team for much of the Midwest because KMOX used to broadcast their games with jigawatts of power. I even used to hear the station in Florida, way back when. I'm not sure how that's going since the Cards have a new radio station now.

Anyway, you can pick up on team happenings by listening occassionally to the news, or getting email feeds from CBSSportsline. I use that services to get the final score for the Cards games.

Anyway, picking one team personalizes the game for you; gives you some stake in the game. You don't have to get a tattoo or anything, just last year's T-shirt (usually cheaper in the off season).

Basic Rules

So it seems like baseball players HAVE to be smarter than football players, right? When was the last time a baseball team was punished for having too many men on the field.

Anyway, just nine men on the field at a time for the team pitching. They are on the defense and position themselves according to what they think is going to happen. Sometimes the infielders come in closer if they expect a bunt, sometimes they stay back -- something to watch for.

So the team at bat is on the offense trying to score runs by advancing runners around the bases. Only the nine guys who are playing "the field" are allowed to bat. Substitutions are made when the team is at bat, with the exception of the pitcher. The "call to the bull pen" signifies the team in the field is going to change pitchers for one reason or the other. Either because his arm is shot, or they want a better match up between the pitcher and the batter (right hander vs left hander).

What's in a name?

So you probably have seen a baseball game a time or two, but have you really enjoyed it? It took me a while to find something I liked about the game. I read the book "Three Nights in August" which was about Tony L, and his team several years ago during a Cubs/Cardinals series of games. It gave me a new insight into the game. You might enjoy it. Don't get it for the character development, pithy dialogue or anything like that. Just expect to learn about baseball from the inside out.

The Catcher

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina will be sidelined four to six weeks with a fractured left wrist.

The catcher is an important part of the team for a lot of reasons. As you can guess, the pitcher/catcher combination is the most active during the game. The catcher usually stays in the whole game and plays something like 3 games and rests for a game. The catcher helps the pitcher decide what pitch to throw, but also keeps a 90 mile an hour pitch in play by either catching it, blocking it from going past him or running after it. He keeps runners from advancing to second base if they try to "steal" second (advance after the pitcher starts to deliver the pitch and the batter doesn't hit it). Molina has a great arm and is incredibly fast, so not many guys steal bases off of him.

Molina's been playing with the Cardinals for a few years and is an integral part of the team. He plays more than anybody else. The impact of him being sidelined is significant.