The players were happy to explain the rules and techniques of the historical game.

Each vintage baseball club models a specific year of play. The Grays emulate a championship 1884 team. The Atlantics emulate a championship 1864 team. This means different rules. In the doubleheader, the first game was played by 1864 rules, the second by 1884 rules. Most dramatically this meant one slow pitch game and one fast pitch game.

In 1864, pitching was underhand, the ball was quite soft, and an out was recorded if the ball was caught on the first bounce or on the fly.

In 1884, pitching was overhand, the ball was harder, though still softer than the current ball, and the one-bounce out rule was no longer in effect.

Catchers had masks, pads, and very small gloves.

Providence RI, neighbor to my current home town of Pawtucket, has a somewhat more glorious baseball past as home to the Providence Grays, a member of the National League and winner of the first World’s Championship:

[The 1884 Providence Grays] were led by ace pitcher Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn, who is still remembered for winning a record 59 games that year and leading the Grays to the pennant. When the team’s other pitcher defected to a rival league in July, it looked like the Grays’ season was over, but “Old Hoss” offered to pitch the rest of the team’s games. The Grays went on a twenty-game winning streak and blew past their hated rivals, the Boston Red Stockings.

When the season was over, the Grays had won the league title by five games. They then played the New York Metropolitans, champions of the rival American Association, in a three-game championship series, and won all three games. It wasn’t officially called the “World Series”, but the Grays became undisputed world champions.

The Providence Grays Vintage Base Ball Club recreates that 1884 team, playing to the rules of the time.

(h/t KidoInfo)

Joe Castiglione says something like “The rookie pitcher has some moxie.”

I don’t think Bard is shaking off Jason Varitek.

Red Sox pitchers fanned 20 in 15 innings. Bard struck out three in the 15th (plus a hit batter) to close out the game and earn the save. (Castiglione mispeaks, saying “Bard strikes out three in the ninth.”)

In the fifth inning Saturday, Cabrera sent a drive to left field with the bases loaded, two out and Zach Miner pitching. Left fielder Ryan Raburn broke in on the play, slipped to one knee, righted himself and gave chase.

He put a glove on the ball at the warning track, but dropped it. Official scorer Ron Kleinfelter originally called it a double and credited Cabrera with three RBI. Official scorers have 24 hours to change a call and just before gametime Sunday it was announced that Kleinfelter had changed the call to an error.

This happens, but it’s rare for a scorer to take that long to make up his mind.

In the Mynci, a 24-24 tie between the Maniacs and Corn on Sunday night became a 24-21 point for the Corn Monday morning.

Most know that Maddux broke in with the Chicago Cubs. Question: How did he make his first appearance?

Answer here.

Despite growing concerns with Billy Wagner’s elbow, Maine is not being considered for the closer’s role, manager Jerry Manuel told Newsday.

Thanks Jerry. Anything else Maine isn’t being considered for?

I had my moving plan: I would pack as much as I could possibly carry on the flight to Chicago, then clear out my apartment and jam everything I could into my car. Then, on the Cubs next trip to Houston, I would catch a plane to Dallas, meet up with an auto shipping company and have my car shipped to Chicago. Amazingly, it all went off without a glitch.

I assume he was single at the time.

He was okay for average and great for OBP, if you played with OBP. And even if (in past years) he didn’t hit for power, the Boston Red Sox offense give him lots of opportunities to score and drive in runs.

This season, everyone knows about Kevin Youkilis. If you need a good average

Braves manager Bobby Cox was desperate, and he was plotting an ingenious plan. He was nearly out of right-handed pitchers, and players can’t re-enter a game after they’ve been removed. If Mr. Resop, a righty, could play the outfield, that would allow Mr. Cox to replace him on the mound temporarily — and use a lefty specialist to pitch to Adam LaRoche — without losing him entirely. So after Mr. Resop pitched to three batters in the top of the 10th inning, Mr. Cox had him go to left field. When Mr. Resop returned to the pitcher’s mound one batter later, it marked the first time a pitcher had pitched, played the field and pitched again in the same game since Jeff Nelson of the Seattle Mariners in 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Interesting reading.

Update: I’m not actually calling Bobby Cox stupid. I’m referencing this Weird Al Yankovic album. Genius starts with the willingness to look dumb. That’s what the article is about.