AL Central: The aftermath of the Call Heard 'Round the World

Baseball Betting Lines

06/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball's latest, and perhaps most compelling, argument for more instant replay came during the ninth inning of Detroit's 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night.

Tigers' right-hander Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game when Indians' shortstop Jason Donald dribbled a ground ball to the right side of the infield. First baseman Miguel Cabrera went to his right, fielded the grounder and flipped it to Galarraga, who clearly tagged the bag a step ahead of the runner.

Cabrera, Galarraga, and 17,000-plus fans at Comerica Park began to celebrate -- until Joyce shook the baseball world by signaling Donald safe, thus ending Galarraga's bid for perfection.

While Joyce's blown call will go down in baseball history, Galarraga's gem, unfortunately, will not. Still, to truly appreciate what transpired on that epic night in Detroit, you have to look at the path Galarraga traveled leading up to Wednesday's performance.

That journey began in 2008, when he led the team in wins as a rookie. But the next season he struggled mightily, and by the fall he was out of the rotation altogether. Entering Spring Training this season, the team's fifth starter spot was a battle between Galarraga, Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson.

However, Galarraga's struggles continued and he was the first candidate sent to Triple-A Toledo, where he spent the first five weeks of the season until being recalled on May 16. Meanwhile Willis, who eventually won the job, was dealt to Arizona this past Tuesday. That move opened the door for Galarraga to rejoin the rotation for another chance to prove himself.

Mind you, Galarraga had never even pitched nine full innings in any of his previous 56 starts. But armed with a more crisp slider and pinpoint control of his fastball, he went right to work on the Indians' lineup.

When all is said and done, one could argue that Galarraga will be better remembered for the events of Wednesday night, more so than had he became the 21st big league pitcher to record a perfect game. After all, we're talking about what is already widely regarded as one of the most controversial blown calls in the history of the game. Then again, don't try to sell that to Galarraga.

All throughout Detroit, and most of the country for that matter, he will be remembered as the only pitcher to toss a 28-out perfect game.

Unfortunately for the 28-year-old Venezuelan, that asterisk-laden honor will have to be his consolation prize. Well that, and a new cherry red Corvette, which was presented to him prior to Thursday's game from the folks at Chevrolet for his performance and sportsmanship in handling the gaffe. As a show of class and compassion, Galarraga presented the lineup card for Thursday's matinee to an emotional Joyce, who was working the game as scheduled as the home-plate umpire. The previous night, after watching the replays in the umpires room, Joyce offered a personal apology to Galarraga, which the Tigers' right-hander graciously accepted.

Now the buck is passed to commissioner Bud Selig, who joined the masses in acknowledging the game should have ended differently. Selig released a statement on Thursday that read, "Given last night's call and other recent events, I will examine our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features."

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.