Sure, blame it on the coach...

Yesterday in the top of the first inning with one out in Detroit, Texas Rangers slugger, Josh Hamilton was on 3rd base when a pop foul ball was caught in front of the Tigers dugout. The Texas Ranger's 3rd base coach noticed that nobody was covering home plate and told his player to go.

I have been watching Major League Baseball for a little over thirty years and I have NEVER seen a sacrifice that was caught in FRONT of the runner in the infield.... NEVER!

Josh left 3rd when the ball was caught and slid head first into home as the Tigers catcher Victor Martinez (a member of my fantasy team by the way) tagged him out.

That's is not the story... the story is that Josh fractured a bone in his upper right arm. Now... because of a dumb decision, he will miss the next six to eight weeks.

In a post game interview, Josh stated that the call to send him home, made by the 3rd base coach was a "stupid play".  "The whole time I was watching the play and I was listening. I was like, 'Dude, I don't want to go. Something is going to happen.' But I listened to my coach and I went."
Um... excuse me.. Dude, who's brain is Josh's body attached to? How do you blame your coach for YOUR injury? If you didn't want to go, why did you go??? I hate to sound like my Mom but, if he told you to jump off a cliff... would you do that too?

Josh is bitter and I COMPLETELY understand that.... but Josh, YOU left third! You decided to be as aggressive as your coach! You decided to break one of the biggest rules of base running which is not to make the 3rd out of an inning at or from 3rd base!

I feel bad about the injury to one of the games' best hitters but what's even MORE pathetic and sad is the public blaming by Josh of his coach for the injury.  This is a man's game... be one!

                                                   Special to the S-T/Louis DeLuca