The best laid plans of mice and men:
For those wondering … Pence bobble head giveaway is still on as scheduled Aug. 21.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) July 31, 2012
I don’t think anyone cares, do they? People love their bobbleheads, even if the player is gone. And given how crappy the Phillies should be by then, at least it will give people a reason to go to the ballpark.
Pirates outfielder Starling Marte was hit on the hand by a Jack Flaherty pitch in the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Cardinals. Rather than take first base, Marte — who came to the plate with a runner on first base — insisted to home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman that the ball hit the knob of the bat, not his hand. Marte was allowed to continue his at-bat, though manager Clint Hurdle came out to discuss the ruling with Dreckman. Marte eventually grounded into a fielder’s choice. He then got caught attempting to steal second base and the Pirates scored zero runs in the inning.
According to Baseball Prospectus, a team that has runners on first and second with no outs is expected to score 1.55 runs. Having a runner on first base with one out yields 0.56 expected runs. Marte essentially cost his team a run by rejecting first base. Oops.
