Around the horn

Did anyone see that catch Jim Edmonds made yesterday to rob Hunter Pence of extra bases and the Asstros of a run? Guy looks strange in a Chub$ uniform, but that was vintage Edmonds out there up on that stupid hill they have in Houston.

I watched The Zen of Bobby V yesterday on E$PN 2. Excellent, excellent film. That man is a brilliant ambassador not just for the game, but for humanity. How many Americans would go to work in a foreign country and not bother to learn the language? (Most) Bobby V seemed to have a good command of Japanese but a better cultural awareness. And that fire! Oh, that fire is what a team like the Reds could use. Losing is not an option with him. If you haven't seen the film, try to watch it next time it's on.

What does E$PN get out of pushing for instant replay? Are their humanoid talking heads the ones who started the drive towards what is probably inevitable? One of the great things about baseball is the human element of the game. The little guy can play just as big a role in a win as your big slugger. Umpires are human. They will make mistakes. It's part of the game. Sometimes the mistakes go your way, sometimes they don't, but don't mess with that. Besides, we'd all miss Sweet Lou coming out to toss some bases. How can you argue with a rewind button?

When did Orel Hershiser get so bad at announcing? It sounds like he's been taking lessons from Joe Morgan. Everything was about when HE played. They brought up J.R. Richard for some reason - I can't remember exactly why - but Hershiser had to say something about how when HE was in the minors, HE faced Richard who threw "really hard" despite the fact that Richard never again threw another Major League pitch. Just one example of him injecting some non-relevant anecdote into the broadcast. Orel also had to make sure people knew he had a 2.03 ERA one year. But what do you expect from E$PN announcers? Are any of them NOT annoying?

E$PN Classic showed Kerry Wood's 20 K game in 1998. The rookie threw 122 pitches that game, the first of eight times he threw 120+ in a game (the high was 133). Guess who wasn't the manager of the Chub$ at that time?

Congrats to Jon Lester. Feel good story, isn't it?