Since yesterday's game was rained out...

I don't have any recaps. Instead, I'll be playing around with a new gimmick: Mythbusters. Today's myth - Chicks dig the long ball.

Now, don't get me wrong - home runs are great. They are exciting, give you instant runs, and generally get the crowd even more pumped up or bring them back to the game. But where the hell did this urban legend COME from?!? I don't understand how the art of the infield hit and scratching out runs got lost in the baseball shuffle. It is clearly more stressful when your team relies on such things to score runs, but isn't it also more exciting in its own way? I appreciate the hustle and determination needed to piece together runs. Shouldn't we expect (or even demand) these things from every player on our teams? I know I do. Nothing makes me happier than Jose Reyes beating out a throw for an infield single... and then watching him wreak havoc on the bases. You're trying to tell me Jose "stealing" a run against the Braves on Sunday wasn't exciting?? (Side note here - I'm aware that Jose is not always playing alertly when he makes these plays... I've said before that he really just has the ability to outrun his mental mistakes, which is fairly impressive considering he seems to make a lot of them.)

I'll leave you with this quote from Ichiro, probably the coolest (or at least most quotable) player in the majors today:
Chicks who dig home runs aren't the ones who appeal to me. I think there's sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I'd rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.

The chicks who dig infield hits are out there, Ichiro. I promise.