Chris

The stolen base was one of many awkward moments last night by the umpiring crew. The guy was 1/3 of the way before the pitcher threw to home and he was laying on the base when the ball finally arrived. Apparently the umpire felt that he took something off the base while the fielder held the tag on him. I guess he didn't grant time. Don't forget the other play at second where the Smokies got a terrible call. The SS had to range, fell down and flipped to the 2B. The runner was clearly there before the ball yet he was called out. FWIW I also didn't understand a "foul tip" the umpire called as well. Clearly appeared to be a swing and miss with no sound at all. Rather than a 3rd strike it leads to another pitch and a single. The guys in blue made the game a lot more difficult that it needed to be. Disappointing to see what the Jaxx organization has become. Hard to imagine how few people would've been there had Sandberg not been at the game. They have a few prospects of note. OF Greg Halman (Mariners' top prospect according to BA, #2 prospect according to Sickels) C Adam Moore (#6 Mariners prospect according to BA, #7 according to Sickels) RP Josh Fields (first rounder last season) Recap: The field was in terrible condition. Down here our lawns are bermuda grass. The grass goes dormant in the winter. It's just now coming back to life. Last night it looked like they were playing on brown billiard felt. Jay Jackson's fastball was very hittable and he didn't have good command of his breaking pitches, he was in trouble all night, however, the umpire behind home plate had a postage stamp strike zone (for both teams). The umpiring was pretty terrible. West Tenn had a guy thrown out at second on a steal attempt who was clearly safe, it wasn't even close. I think Sandberg got tossed for arguing balls and strikes on his way back to the dugout after a mound conference. The umpire actually followed him back to the dugout. I think he wanted to toss Sandberg. As soon as Sandberg got tossed I started laughing really hard. My wife asked what was so funny and I said to her, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice". She didn't get it. Greg Halman is a man amongst boys. He's a physical beast. He looks like a young Frank Thomas. At Pringles park dead center field is 395 with a 30 foot hight fence. He hit a ball right over the 395 sign with about 10 feet to spare. That ball easily went 420 feet and that was his second HR of the night. No one on the Smokies stood out in any way. They have Fat Tire on tap! That alone was worth the trip.

Thought it would be fun to head to Jackson to see the Jaxx host the Smokies. Got great seats for the game behind home plate. These proved useful in that we got a great look at Sandberg as he was getting ejected. Ugh. Not sure what Ryne said to set the umpire off. The SP was getting shelled and he went out for a meeting on the mound. Considering that nobody was even stretching in the bullpen it wasn't that he was stalling before bringing in a reliever. On the way to the bullpen he exchanged some words with teh umpire and that was that. FWIW a lot of bickering between the umpire and visiting dugout. The home plate umpire must've had a hot date after the game. Not often you see an umpire get to the mound within 5-10 seconds of the catcher getting there to talk to the pitcher telling the duo to hurry it up.

Ron is no longer with the Jaxx unfortunately.

Quick reminder that the Q & A with Len will be posted in the Chat Schedule/Questions for Guests forum at noon. Hope everyone is having a great day!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/DJAXXFAN/lenguitar.jpg Welcome to the 2009 season! Len Kasper, who enters his fifth year as Broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs, has graciously agreed for a fourth time to answer questions from posters on NSBB! If you would like to send a comment to Len, or if you would like to ask Len a question, here is your opportunity! The time for submitting questions will be Monday, April 6 at 12:00 P.M. Central time through Sunday, April 19 at 11:00 P.M. Central time. Once Len has had an opportunity to respond, his responses will be posted. This session will be coordinated as in accordance with The NSBB Q & A Guidelines. With respect for Len’s time, we do ask that everyone limit their interaction to one or two questions. Thank you to Len for again taking the time to interact with us on such an up close and personal level. In addition, thank you to Len for his references to NSBB both during broadcasts and the WGN Sports Baseball Blog, and for his help in raising funds for the American Red Cross with his donated 2005 Spring Training Scorecards. Congratulations to Len on his contract extension with the Cubs through the 2011 season. As always, thank you to all of you for making NSBB such a wonderful community!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/DJAXXFAN/lenguitar.jpg Welcome to the 2009 season! Len Kasper, who will enter his fifth year as Broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs, has graciously agreed for a fourth time to answer questions from posters on NSBB! If you would like to send a comment to Len, or if you would like to ask Len a question, you will have the opportunity starting on Opening Day 2009 for the Chicago Cubs. The time for submitting questions will be Monday, April 6 at 12:00 P.M. Central time through Sunday, April 19 at 11:00 P.M. Central time. Once Len has had an opportunity to answer them, the responses will be posted. This session will be coordinated as in accordance with The NSBB Q & A Guidelines. With respect for Len’s time, we do ask that everyone limit their interaction to one or two questions. Thank you to Len for again taking the time to interact with us on such an up close and personal level. In addition, thank you to Len for his references to NSBB both during broadcasts and the WGN Sports Baseball Blog, and for his help in raising funds for the American Red Cross with his donated 2005 Spring Training Scorecards. Congratulations to Len on his contract extension with the Cubs through the 2011 season. As always, thank you to all of you for making NSBB such a wonderful community!

Thanks for the concern. When I disappeared the last time, it had a lot to do with family issues that deserved my attention. This time, I had a rather unexpected situation with my job. Nothing major, but what was supposed to be a smaller task of a few days turned into me being away for over 2 weeks. By the time I got back, I had learned that the secretary had taken a new job somewhere else and I had to take care of the transition to the new secretary. Working in Ministry can be pretty extreme to say the least. I guess I don't have to ask how my team did.

Good to see the Smokies in person, but yikes to the bullpen.

You should upload them, I'd love to see them. They had the highlights available on mlb.com for awhile but they don't work anymore. Is that legal? Either way, I started recording from the time the Cubs clinched. I still enjoy watching the Sosa HR from game 1 of the NLCS, especially since I was there.

That's not a bad suggestion. I hit a set of X-12 knock offs. I wouldn't trade the pitching wedge from that set for anything but would like some newer clubs from the 3-9 irons. Considering that I plan on average twice a week I can try to justify it.

I'm in the market for some new irons as well. I love the Callaway irons and would love to get a set of fusion wide soles. If you're interested in Callaway, they sell pre-owned clubs. I have bought from them in the past and have enjoyed what I got. It doesn't offend me at all to get used clubs and avoid having to pay SRP. You can find them at Callawaypreowned.com

Somewhere in the house I have every game of the '03 playoff run on tape.

I need more injuries

Furcal to the DL. :( I made a FA addition to make up for the spot. Can I move Riot to SS and use a FA in the 2B spot or does the FA addition have to go in the SS spot? If it's not legal and I don't get the roster fixed in time, we can take the points away.

This may be the most points I've got in a day since joining. Doesn't erase a 1-5 record, but it sure is fun.