Thursday, September 23, 2004
Let's take a few moments to discuss Sammy Sosa's catch in the 8th inning of last night's 1-0 Cubs victory over the Pirates, because it was truly a remarkable catch.
The Cubs have a lot more baseball to play, and this catch could wind up as nothing but an afterthought if they fail--as they well may--to reach this year's postseason. But if they somehow manage to win the NL wild card, this catch will become legend: The One Where Sammy Saved the Season.
Let's be frank: it was probably the most unexpected catch anyone has ever seen. Sammy has been slowing down for years, and his range in right is roughly the size of my cube at work. The ball was hit to shallow right-center, and I really expected Corey Patterson to have a play on the ball if anyone was going to have a play on it.
I initially heard the play on radio, and Pat Hughes made it sound like Sammy had at least an outside shot at it the whole time. I ran to the downstairs TV, though, after he exclaimed "That's the best play I've ever seen Sammy make," and sure enough that statement is totally accurate. There is no fucking way was the thought that sprang immediately to mind after seeing ball hit bat on the replay. It was not a cheap catch by any means. Not like those catches that Alou makes and everybody applauds for when really they should be cursing him for being so damn slow he makes easy plays look hard. No. This was a legitimately difficult play, on which Sammy got a great jump, appeared to be moving faster than I've seen him move in years, and took a great dive without regard for his body. The sweet play was made even sweeter when the camera cut to a joyful Carlos Zambrano jumping for joy in the dugout. I've been waiting for these guys to play balls out. Finally! They're still dead to me.
The Cubs have a lot more baseball to play, and this catch could wind up as nothing but an afterthought if they fail--as they well may--to reach this year's postseason. But if they somehow manage to win the NL wild card, this catch will become legend: The One Where Sammy Saved the Season.
Let's be frank: it was probably the most unexpected catch anyone has ever seen. Sammy has been slowing down for years, and his range in right is roughly the size of my cube at work. The ball was hit to shallow right-center, and I really expected Corey Patterson to have a play on the ball if anyone was going to have a play on it.
I initially heard the play on radio, and Pat Hughes made it sound like Sammy had at least an outside shot at it the whole time. I ran to the downstairs TV, though, after he exclaimed "That's the best play I've ever seen Sammy make," and sure enough that statement is totally accurate. There is no fucking way was the thought that sprang immediately to mind after seeing ball hit bat on the replay. It was not a cheap catch by any means. Not like those catches that Alou makes and everybody applauds for when really they should be cursing him for being so damn slow he makes easy plays look hard. No. This was a legitimately difficult play, on which Sammy got a great jump, appeared to be moving faster than I've seen him move in years, and took a great dive without regard for his body. The sweet play was made even sweeter when the camera cut to a joyful Carlos Zambrano jumping for joy in the dugout. I've been waiting for these guys to play balls out. Finally! They're still dead to me.
