Longball Ties, Littleball Wins, Indians Whine. Halolinks

Kendrick's bunt single in 9th helps Angels win - Sporting News
"I was looking at the infield and they were all back - even the third baseman," said Kendrick, who has a grand total of four sacrifice bunts in 379 big league games and none this season. "So right there I had it in my mind that in that situation, he was probably going to try to throw a strike on the first pitch.""The pitch was away, so I just went with it," Kendrick said. "The biggest thing is just to make sure you bunt it hard enough to get it past the pitcher. If you get it down and it works, then it looks great. If it doesn't work, then everybody's going, 'Hey, what's he doing?' But it worked today and we got the win." Video of the game's final play - Kendrick bunts home the winning run

And then there's this...

Kendrick gives Indians the short shrift - angelsbaseball.com
Kendrick's maneuver didn't sit well, though, with (Indians closer, Chris) Perez, who threw just one pitch and was the third Indians pitcher used in the inning. Joe Smith took the loss in his first decision of the year. "It was a bad baseball play that happened to work out," Perez said. "I don't want to say it was bush league. But you never see that. Ninety-nine percent of hitters in that situation would rather win the game with a hit, not a bunt. It was a stupid play that just happened to work."

I find Perez's quote perplexing. How could a play be a "bad baseball play" and be called "stupid" when it wins the game for your team? What would he say if he were on the other side of the bunt play? "Yeah, Valbuena laid down a nice bunt to win the game for us, but that was bush league. We shouldn't win games like that. In fact, I'd rather lose than win on a stupid play that just happens to work. Remember, it's more important to look cool, than win."

Mike Scioscia calls disputed call involving Hideki Matsui ‘mind-boggling’ - latimes.com
Mike Scioscia said he had never seen anything like it. No, the Angels manager wasn't talking about Howie Kendrick's ninth-inning walk-off bunt Wednesday at Angel Stadium, something of a novelty in itself. He was referring to a second-inning called strike on a pitch by Cleveland's Jake Westbrook that bounced and nearly hit Hideki Matsui. Matsui nearly fell down trying to get out of the way of the pitch, and replays appeared to show his bat crossing the plate. Home plate umpire Joe West asked for help from third-base counterpart Rob Drake, who ruled that Matsui had swung at the pitch. "He's jumping out of the way of it trying to get his balance and that was somehow construed as a swing," Scioscia said. " … That call was mind-boggling."

That was a weird call (here's the video from MLB.com - Scioscia is ejected for arguing with umps). The description for this video is "Mike Scioscia is ejected for arguing with the umpires whether or not Hideki Matsui was hit by a pitch", which is also what the Angels broadcasting crew thinks. Probably because it'd be too mind-boggling for the pitch to be called a strike.

Oh yeah, and Torii Hunter had a good game...
Torii Hunter crushes a three-run homer to left in the sixth inning, tying the game at 3 with his second homer of the season - Hunter blasts a three-run homer in the sixth - Video - MLB.com

I suppose not all calls can go against the Halos. Fortunately, this one lead to the game winning run - Hunter is called safe at second - Video - MLB.com

Los Angeles Dodgers' Ned Colletti, Matt Kemp discuss comments - ESPN Los Angeles
Ned Colletti and Matt Kemp spoke briefly after the game about comments Colletti had made to a Los Angeles radio station the previous day in which he said Kemp's defense and baserunning were below average and wondered aloud whether Kemp might be too comfortable now that he has a new two-year, $10.95 million contract. Kemp, who has been noticeably prickly with the media all season, declined to discuss his conversation with Colletti or even to acknowledge that it took place. "I ain't got nothing to say about that," he said. Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, reacted with shock on Wednesday to Colletti's comments. "When it comes time for Matt to arbitrate two years from now, we're going to look at that situation and do what's best for Matt," he said on The Mason and Ireland Show on 710 ESPN Los Angeles. "When it comes time for Matt to be a free agent three years from now, we're going to look at that situation in the same way as I would with Chad Billingsley, my other client on that ballclub.

What a mess. Within this article, Colletti says he wasn't singling out Kemp. That makes his comments better? Why would a GM make any negative comment about a player to the press? One reason...Colletti's a moron.

DH to be used every year in All-Star game - FOX Sports on MSN
There will be two extra All-Stars this summer. Rosters have been expanded again by commissioner Bud Selig's special committee for on-field matters, with each team bringing 34 players to the July 13 game in Anaheim, Calif., part of several changes coming to the summer showcase."I think they're serious about it being a true competition. To do that, if the game goes extra innings you have to be able to compete,'' said St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, a member of the committee. "This way you've got an extra guy you can protect.''

Holy crap, are the dugouts in Anaheim large enough to hold all those guys?

April 29 - BR Bullpen
1902 - Baltimore Orioles infielder John McGraw is hit by pitches five times, but home plate umpire Jack Sheridan refuses to allow him to take first base. In the ninth inning, McGraw is hit for the last time and sits down in the batter's box in protest. American League president Ban Johnson will suspend McGraw for five games. Does anyone know the story behind this bizarre game? I bet it's a really good one.
1997 - Chili Davis of the Kansas City Royals becomes the 75th major leaguer to hit 300 home runs.
Happy b-day to Gary's brother...
1970 - Glenn DiSarcina, minor league infielder

Hey, did you hear? Umpire "Cowboy" Joe West has a music CD out!