April 17, 2014
STEVE’S SHOW
The Central Sports & Business Report airs tonight, 5:30pm—6:30pm, broadcasting live from Johnny’s Pizza House, Wax Road, in Central, on WPFC, 1550AM, Baton Rouge and on the Internet at JonFineProductions.com. Host Steve Johnson will be joined by the Central HS Bowling team, with coaches Scott Credeur and Phil Godley.
BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, April 17: 5:30pm—6:30pm… with Steve Johnson … broadcasting live from Johnny’s Pizza House in Central
WPFC, 1550AM, BR
Internet: JonFineProductions.com
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com:
Saturday, April 19: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, April 21: 8AM—10AM: The Locker Room with John Goodman and Jim Gazzolo
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High School
We are half way through the SEC baseball, and the teams are about as close as they can be from top to bottom. Last year, LSU and Vanderbilt put up record setting regular seasons winning well over 20 games each. This year, the league champion may not win 20 games (at this point only Alabama is on pace).
So what is going on this year? Is the league better from top to bottom or are there a ton of really good teams, but no great teams? As best as I can tell, the SEC is missing a great team. I think all the top teams have the pitching, but at this point the offenses appear to be lacking. Some will say it is because of the great pitching, but I think that side gives a little too much credit to the pitchers.
It reminds me of the football season. The offenses were exploding and it was easy to look around at the talent and think the offenses were just that good. As the bowl games showed, the offenses were very good, but the defenses were very susceptible as well.
As for the Tigers, it is been a team that does some things really well and other things very poorly. The stats in SEC games support what I am saying.
On the positive side, the offense strikes out the least, walks the third most, and is 7th in HBP. That would seem to be a very good formula for an offense that has a few very fast players to be getting on base and putting balls in play. Unfortunately, a few other statistics have prevented those base runners and balls in play from producing runs.
LSU is 13th in batting average at.231, last in doubles, and have hit into a SEC leading 16 double plays (more than one a game). One could look at those numbers and say the Tigers have had bad baseball fortune to hit in that many double plays. Another person could look at those numbers and think that the team has done a great job to stay in the SEC hunt, and look out if things turn around offensively.
As we know, the pitching has been stellar, but that is skewed a bit by Nola and Broussard. LSU is actually in the middle of the pack in ERA at 3.68 (Ole Miss leads at 2.42) mostly because when things go bad they have gone really bad. Still, LSU leads the league by only giving up a.215 batting average and is near the top in strikeouts.
So how is LSU giving up so many runs? Like I said, when they go bad, they go really bad. LSU is last in walks surrendered, next to last in doubles, near the bottom in home runs allowed, last in double plays turned and has given up the most stolen bases.
The Tigers have 5 more SEC series to figure out how to take advantage of free bases on offense and limit runs since they don’t allow many hits. Three of those series are on the road though, and LSU has only won one of six SEC road games to date. I have read and heard many people saying they like LSU’s schedule the rest of the way. I have also read and heard a lot of blame put on the Sunday starting situation.
In my mind, LSU a bit like Texas A&M in football this year that rode the backs of Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans to every victory they earned. At this point, Aaron Nola has carried LSU every step of the way. The rest of the team is going to have to start producing for LSU to keep pace.
HEY REF
This past week a good friend of mine “riddled” this question to me: Is it possible for a MLB pitcher to record FOUR strikeouts in a single inning, giving him credit for 28 outs during a nine inning game? Roy Lang, lll a diehard baseball fan and fellow sports writer had me stumped. I gave it some very heavy thought for nearly five minutes then gave him my answer; NO!
I figured after a fifteen year career calling all levels of baseball in this state from little league, high school and semi-pro that I couldn’t be wrong. Well, wrong I was, am, is. I checked with the MLB record book and found out that at least 61 times this has happened. But how, I was still confused on this really being in all the record books.
I mean my entire career I was under the impression you got three strikes before you’re out. Also only three outs per inning making it impossible for anything more than 27 outs to be recorded in an official game. Well, there is your KEY word: RECORDED! The pitcher IS credited with the fourth out of the inning ONLY in the statistics but not as part of the OFFICIAL game… …
He’s right because in today’s world of multi-million dollar contracts the only thing that agents can rely on when negotiating any new deal for their client is his stats. So the pitchers wanting credit for every out got this written into the record books. His next question was even more confusing; does a batter get credit for all runs scored after the game ends?
This is the example: home team down by one run, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth and the ball is hit out of the park. And yes we as umpires end the game when at least one more run is scored by the home team BUT the batter is credited with four RBI’s not just the two that won them the game. I answered that since the game (officially) ended with the two runs being scored that no he didn’t get the two extra RBI’s. And again, I was wrong but educated that according to the keeper of the books that the batter gets all four runs!
With all that I figured I’d try and riddle him one better so I asked “Does a TIE go to the runner”? I was just waiting for his answer because it’s one of those things you hear all the time at just about every game. Of course the answer is NO!! There are ONLY two things a runner can be: out or safe. No debate, no thinking about it that’s the only thing in the rule book.
But here’s why I’m bringing this up, another baseball umpire chimed in that if it were the home team’s runner then he gives a safe call. I’m just siting a little numb when he explains that he doesn’t want the home crowd being upset with him. WHAT, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If there are any umpires out there that call their games this way do everybody a favor and QUIT immediately!!!
You are doing a huge disservice not only to the teams but to the game itself. I was and am truly horrified that someone calling balls and strikes would admit to giving any credit to either team just to keep the crowd from booing him. Umpiring is an extremely tough job and if you’re considering whose at bat and then alter your calls accordingly then it’s just 1,000% WRONG!!
Anyone considering getting behind the plate or on the field can only call the game one way and that is straight down the middle. NEVER give a player or team any benefit of the doubt. Either you saw the play this way or the other but to say that you give the home team an advantage is something that never should be allowed. As an umpire I can tell you I’ve made numerous mistakes in some games. I’ve missed calls that weren’t close but I’ve never thought to myself; well that’s a home runner so he’s safe.
You can only call ‘em like you see ‘em. Not the way you want it to be but how you saw it. Be a man and suck it up when you “blow” one. It’s going to happen; you can never call a perfect game. The best advice I ever got from an old timer was “if you think you’ve called a perfect game; RETIRE! Cause you’ll never call two perfect games”. We strive to be perfect but we aren’t so admit when you’ve flat out missed the call.
The coaches from both dugouts will respect you more if you admit you’re wrong. It’s part of life, it’s part of the game. Work harder to reduce your mistakes but don’t add to the pressure of the job by giving an advantage when it wasn’t earned. And that’s the key word in administering a game, EARNED! If a team earns a strikeout, an extra base or an extra run then give it to ‘em. But in no way give anything away to anybody.
Just think how much better off our country and our lives would be if when we’ve earned something it was given to us! When you’re walking off the diamond ask yourself this one question “what did I learn in today’s game”? If you answer; nothing, it’s time to walk away from the game. If any umpire and/or referee ever answers “nothing” you’ll be doing the game a service by hanging it up and buying a ticket to sit in the stands because that’s exactly where you belong!!
Till next week…
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-LAKE CHARLES, IN ESTABLSHING THE “DOLLAR A HOLLER” MARKETING PROGRAM AND HELPING SELL SULPHUR HS FOOTBALL BROADCASTS AND BARBE HS BASEBALL PLAYOFF BROADCASTS.