Live from the ballyard: Call Thumb No. 158 and win a T-shirt!
I’d all but abandoned hope. There Bobby Cox was, 32 games remaining as a big-league manager, and he was stuck on 156 ejections. My sweet dream was that the Thumb King would reach 162 before he retires, which would make him the only man who could ever truthfully say, “I wasn’t around for the end a season’s worth of games.”
Forget Cy Young and his 511 wins. Forget Joe D. and 56 straight. I was thinking 162 ejections would be the standard to end standards. I was thinking 162 heave-hos would impel the folks in Cooperstown to waive the waiting period and induct the crusty skipper posthaste..
But I had, as noted, begun to doubt the great man. His once-furious pursuit of history had slowed to a crawl. He was tossed only three times through 129 games, and I’d begun to think our roaring lion had resigned himself to going out with a whimper.
Then he got tossed Sunday, which was nice. But even with No. 157 in the book, my spirits were so low as to be a flickering ember.
Then I walked into the Braves’ clubhouse Monday and saw this written on a whiteboard:
“HP – B. Davidson.”
And hope sprang anew. Bob Davidson, known variously as Balkin’ Bob or Balk-a-day Bob, is famous for his quick trigger, and he, as noted last month by Atlanta writer Thomas Lake in a fine profile of Cox for Sports Illustrated, shares the record for most Cox ejections with six.
And here I’m thinking: Balk-a-day Bob in town for four games … two ejections easy, possibly three … Cox then has 159 with 28 pressurized games remaining. In sum, I’m thinking:
There’s still a shot.
And with that, I’ll open the figurative floor for questions, comments and ejection projections. Let the record show that yours truly has “bottom of the fourth” in tonight’s Thumb Pool. But I’m not, as you might have heard, much good at predicting. So I’m asking you to step right and make your picks. And I thank you, as ever, in advance.
Oh, and by popular demand: We’ve made this a contest. Call the correct half-inning — we’ll cut off entries after the third, but you can predict a early ejection now — and WIN A T-SHIRT! (Of some sort.)
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936 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:38 pm
You know, Sonny, I thought about snapping a photo of the Buck Commander mat in front of Chipper Jones’ locker the other night. But cameras are banned in the clubhouse.
Jesse Stone
August 30th, 2010
6:38 pm
Are you sure Digger wasn’t just making fun of your Kentucky upbringing?
todd grantham
August 30th, 2010
6:38 pm
the old dependable Doug Harvey must be one of the tops on Bobby’s toss list.
5150 P.O.A.D
August 30th, 2010
6:38 pm
FIRST!!! I am FIRST to say Mark Bradley is the SEXIEST AJC Blog MAN. HAHHAHAHAHA. KICK A$$ BRAVES. We fans need some Baseball CRAKK to get us juices into the post season and the kickoff of college football.
Ban “FIREMARKBRADLEY”.
Digger Phelps
August 30th, 2010
6:38 pm
I then gave him some colored markers and stickers to play with.
Bad Umpire Magazine
August 30th, 2010
6:40 pm
C.B. Bucknor is on the cover this month.
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:40 pm
We’re thinking Wednesday is D-Day for FF, Chip Shot.
If you’re interested, here’s a post from earlier today regarding young Mr. Freeman.
Jesse Stone
August 30th, 2010
6:40 pm
Leaving for Tijuana Flats to watch the game. My pick to click: Derrek Lee
Chip Shot
August 30th, 2010
6:40 pm
8 reasons the braves will not squander this lead lol, ROFL
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:41 pm
Good one, Digger.
todd grantham
August 30th, 2010
6:41 pm
the story goes that some guy asked Eric to have dinner with him and was never heard from again.
Chip Shot
August 30th, 2010
6:41 pm
yea i read everything on the blogs MB, EVERYTHING.
Jesse Stone
August 30th, 2010
6:41 pm
Bad Umpire Magazine- Rather C.B bucknor on the cover than Bruce Froemming the centerfold.
Jo-Bu
August 30th, 2010
6:41 pm
Sure hope so, Jesse. DLee needs to get going in a hurry around here.
Signs you're 12 years old
August 30th, 2010
6:42 pm
You use lol and rofl
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:42 pm
Digger was in a good mood that night he got inquisitive about my scribbling. His team — Kelly Tripucka and Duck Williams and Orlando Woolridge and Jon Paxson and Tim Andree — had just beaten Kentucky. December 1980 it was.
Digger didn’t beat Kentucky often, I should note.
Tijuana Flats waitress
August 30th, 2010
6:42 pm
Great, Jesse Stone is about to show up. Another $2 tip and laughing at his jokes all night long. Sigh.
Jo-Bu
August 30th, 2010
6:43 pm
Bad Umpire Magazine- Rather C.B bucknor on the cover than Bruce Froemming the centerfold.
Froemning is retired and works as some sort of MLB umpire consultant these days, right? No wonder we’ve seen so many horrible calls this season.
todd grantham
August 30th, 2010
6:43 pm
what time is the first balk?
Chip Shot
August 30th, 2010
6:43 pm
@Signs you’re 12 years old
would haha and i just pi.s.sed my pants suit you?
Sonny Clusters
August 30th, 2010
6:44 pm
We was told that Buck Commanders wear deer scent when they go out at night and we was wondering if that is true? Mark, have you ever heard two Buck Commanders talking to one another and do they do deer talk? Deer talk is grunting and snorting and we was thinking that explains a lot about some of Chipper’s interviews. Go Braves.
Chip Shot's mother
August 30th, 2010
6:45 pm
Leave him alone…ALL OF YOU…leave him ALONE!
Chip Shot
August 30th, 2010
6:46 pm
Freemans D-Day better be tomorrow. Gwinnett ends their home season tonight. if they dont call him up Wren WILL be fired.
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:46 pm
Speaking of John McSherry: The Pirates insist to this day that they would have been 1992 National League champions if McSherry hadn’t gotten light-headed during Game 7. You’ll recall that Randy Marsh replaced him behind home. You’ll also recall that the Pirates felt Marsh squeezed Stan Belinda on a walk to Damon Berryhill in the ninth inning.
chalkdawg4
August 30th, 2010
6:46 pm
Here at the game and Lady GaGa is singing the national anthem. Red, white, and blue hair. No pants.
Chip Shot's father
August 30th, 2010
6:47 pm
My son is right!!! Free Freddie NOW!!!
Jo-Bu
August 30th, 2010
6:47 pm
MB: Are you from Kentucky? I grew up in Louisville a wildcats fan (just the opposite of you I suppose). Strange how that works in Louisville.
Toyt Like A Tiger
August 30th, 2010
6:48 pm
yea Chip Shot i agree, Freeman should be called up tomorrow.
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:48 pm
I am from Kentucky, Jo-Bu. Born and raised in Maysville. Went to UK but was a Louisville fan because my dad graduated from U of L’s dental school.
Chip Shot's mother
August 30th, 2010
6:48 pm
They’re all gonna laugh at you! They’re all gonna laugh at you!
Bob Horners texting while driving issues
August 30th, 2010
6:49 pm
Even when we dont laugh, Clusters always at least makes us smile a little.
Phredd
August 30th, 2010
6:49 pm
I heard Lowe had a sore arm. I wonder why that affected the location, but not the velocity
jon
August 30th, 2010
6:49 pm
What ever happened to Dutch Renart? Best strike caller of all time!
University of Louisville campaign slogan
August 30th, 2010
6:49 pm
Well, if dental school doesn’t make you a fan, what will?
todd grantham
August 30th, 2010
6:50 pm
think about all the ways what a pitcher does between pitches is described. mind boggling.
Chip Shot
August 30th, 2010
6:50 pm
woa this is getting out of hand children.
Chip Shot
August 30th, 2010
6:50 pm
i heard Lowe makes excuses for him s.u.c.king 24/7
Frank Drebin
August 30th, 2010
6:51 pm
Sorry, jon. I was better than Dutch. Did I mention they also let me sing the National Anthem once?
Sonny Clusters
August 30th, 2010
6:51 pm
We was caught in the filter!
Jo-Bu
August 30th, 2010
6:52 pm
I was born and raised in the west-end of Louisville. I had thoughts of attending J.B. Speed for EE but opted not.
Good to know that there are some great Kentucky connections here with you, Jeff Van Note and a few others. Great place to retire to but not to make a living for us techies.
todd grantham
August 30th, 2010
6:52 pm
from memory didnt Big John collapse and die on an opening day when the braves were in cincinnati?
Mark Bradley
August 30th, 2010
6:52 pm
Van Note is from Bardstown. Went to St. Joseph’s High there. Great guy.
TM
August 30th, 2010
6:53 pm
I got the 2nd inning for the first balk call.
C’mon Bob… don’t let me down now!
todd grantham
August 30th, 2010
6:53 pm
jon, dutch was great from a fan’s perspective but i expect the players hated him.
Toyt Like A Tiger
August 30th, 2010
6:53 pm
I Love Gooooooooooold!
jon
August 30th, 2010
6:53 pm
I like the guy now who goes SSSTTRRIK EEEEEEEEEEE. But i don’t know his name!
curtis jones
August 30th, 2010
6:54 pm
I’m always shocked when I see Bob Davidson or Bill Hohn (or Angel Hernandez for that matter) umpiring a game. The fact they still have ML umpiring jobs is proof that the so-called “umpire evaluations” are a joke. Like we used to say in high school, “we didn’t pay to see you, blue!”
Dr. Rosenrosen
August 30th, 2010
6:54 pm
Heard Mitch Williams today on JRIB: said he believes pitchers are mainly injured on one particular pitch, not based on the popularized theory of a pitch count.
Sonny Clusters
August 30th, 2010
6:54 pm
That wold be Derrick Lee.
Phredd
August 30th, 2010
6:54 pm
he does it with such style. I think it’s time for him to pay back his bailout