JUSTICE SERVED PART 4: Phil Cuzzi With A Heroic Balk Call

Think you'll try a funky windup to throw the hitter's timing? Not on Phil Cuzzi's watch!

On Sunday, Phil Cuzzi stomped the yard and issued a balk to Astros pitcher Matt Gage. You gotta respect the way he handles this type of thing and doesn't draw attention to himself, he's such a pro about it. Everyone knows it's a shame when the Ump Show takes over and the players get upstaged, nobody wants to see that happen. This time, Phil was simply demonstrating why the balk was called and flipping it into a teaching moment for a young pitcher. Really quite thoughtful of him.  

Y'all remember Phil Cuzzi, right? 

He's the ump who tossed Max Scherzer last month for having a case of the sticky hands. Scherzer swore up and down that his hand was mega tacky from a mixture of sweat and rosin. It was a good try by "Max" to pull the wool over his eyes, but Phil wasn't phooled. Not his first rodeo and he's something of a sticky stuff expert, maybe the foremost official in all of MLB. After some quick forensic testing, Phil made the call and exercised his umpire rights. Scherzer was ejected and received a suspension. Justice served once again.

The foreign substance ejections are rare - there were zero last season and just two the year before when the rule went into effect. Phil Cuzzi was responsible for both of those ejections in 2021. It seems as though his personal radar for this kinda stuff is highly sensitive and he can sniff out foreign substances from anywhere on the diamond.

Consider the integrity of the game safe under Phil's watchful eye. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jeff Goodman Is A Loser

Image
I've been at war with the national media for almost 7 years. It's not a big deal, but I've been fighting the good fight ever since "Schiano Sunday" in late 2017 when my eyes were opened to the shit that happens when media members "befriend" coaches and athletic directors. It's a dangerous game and there's a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering to make sure stories break the way that people want them to.  Whenever you're reading anything that's written by these select few, just know that they're very sensitive, fragile individuals. Jeff Goodman, Pat Forde, Dan Wolken, Dennis Dodd... they're all hyper-sensitive and soft. If a coach/AD is friendly and makes these dorks feel important, then they generally act nicer and will even volunteer to carry their water. If a coach/AD is mean to them in a presser or ignores calls and doesn't scratch their belly, then they tend to become very fussy and resort to hit pieces. This is the way t...
Read more

2023 Fantasy Football Boys Superlatives

Image
I'm a little sad writing this because it's the first week back after the New Year and we've reached "resting starters" territory for this week's NFL games. This signals the beginning of the end of the 2023 season, so make sure you don't take a second for granted.  With that said, these games are gonna suck out loud. Here's a teaser: Carson Wentz is starting for the Rams.  While the NFL schedule still draws breath, the 2023 fantasy football season has officially gone dormant. With this period of hibernation comes a flurry of expert rankings, recaps, and end-of-the-year musings. On behalf of the fantasy football department, welcome to the Fantasy Football Boys 2023 superlatives , honoring 2023's best and worst.  1. ⭐ Overall Shining Star Best Boy MVP ⭐ - Given to the best overall fantasy player in the whole wide world.  WINNER: Christian McCaffrey This one's easy. He's solely responsible for something like 30% of the fantasy championships ou...
Read more

FFB WEEK 3: TWELVE TAKEAWAYS

Image
Welcome to a Wednesday edition of Twelve Takeaways. Apologies for the tardiness.   1. The Titans once again have a problem at quarterback. I said he was fit for a demotion last week , and I can't believe he wasn't benched in their loss to the Packers, but one thing's clear at this point: Will Levis is not the guy and he's not set up to succeed as a Titan. On Sunday, he was 26/34 for 260 yards and 2 TDs (hey, not bad!) but committed costly 3 turnovers (again? shit).   What else is there to say? The bad has vastly outweighed the good, his ball security and inconsistency is an issue, and any time he does takes a baby step forward he finds new and inventive ways to take multiple steps back.    I've previously referred to Levis as a "charity draft pick"  and I stand by that. In the 2023 draft, the Titans front office said "Sure, why not? Could be fun!" to a career-subpar quarterback. They could've drafted ancillary pieces and planned ahead for wha...
Read more