It is my humble (and obviously correct) opinion that Thursday is the best day for baseball. Why? Well, reader, it’s because baseball is literally on all day. It starts with the day games at 1:00 EST-ish and ends at almost 1:00 am, depending on the west coast games. Thursday is better than Sunday (a day with lots of games during the day) because there are multiple games at night, instead of one Sunday Night Game that force-feeds you Alex Rodriguez’s awful opinions. And, who isn’t going to stay up for an Ohtani missile or a Mike Trout AB at 10:30 pm EST?
Yesterday, it was more of the same. We had some Soto shuffling, an Ohtani bomb, and more. How can you not be romantic about Thursday?
The Soto Semi-Shuffle
https://gfycat.com/secretfatburro-washington-nationals-baseball-atlanta-braves-2021
Luke Jackson threw an absolute airbender here. Sorry, I know it’s not the Nastiest Pitches article, but this pitch can definitely use some more appreciation. I mean, look at how it moves!
You could probably say the same thing about Juan Soto. I think Soto was practicing his footwork for the upcoming ballroom dance competition in Washington, D.C. He was probably thinking about winning first place in the competition and decided to bust out some of those moves for a wider audience. Or, perhaps Soto was so shocked by the pitch Jackson threw that it put Soto out of his rhythm. Either way, it seemed to work, because Soto lined out to Marcell Ozuna to end the AB.
Tony Kemp is Big Mad™️
Tony Kemp is how every baseball fan feels about umpires this year
— Very Baseball Moments (@verymlb) May 7, 2021
“Ump, you suck! Nyeh! Have some ice!” I can say — with the utmost certainty — that had Tony Kemp been mic’d up, that’s exactly what we would’ve heard. Kemp struck out on the following pitch:
Tony Kemp throwing ice on the field after striking out 😂 pic.twitter.com/2DfGy6iflf
— Baseball Doesn't Exist (@BaseballDoesnt) May 6, 2021
Pretty fair to say that one was a strike. Or, if not 100% a strike, it was such a borderline call that Kemp probably had no business being this upset over the call. Either way, icing the ump is simply not the way to go. How’s he going to call balls and strikes if he’s cold? What if he’s wet? It’s just not ideal.
Happy Birthday, José Altuve!
"What a way to be serenaded on your birthday…" pic.twitter.com/3mzcJmltCK
— 2021 Astros Shame Tour (@AsteriskTour) May 6, 2021
José “Tiny” Altuve celebrated his 31st birthday today. Congrats, Tuve!
Unfortunately, the Yankees fans were quite rude to him today. The nerve of these people. The nerve!
And, Michael Kay summed it up pretty nicely, as Altuve walked up to the plate. The real winner here, aside from the fans who got to boo their hearts out, was actually José Altuve himself! Altuve would come back to the plate in a key at-bat in the 8th inning. With one out and runners on first and third, Altuve took a pitch from Chad Green and blasted it into the left-field seats.
It’s been hard to watch Jose Altuve struggle like this. Yankee fans are relentless. https://t.co/ntnKx5SJfz
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 6, 2021
Tough luck, Yankees fans. At least you got to take the first two games of the series.
Gleyber Torres Really Hustles
Sorry, readers, but it’s another one from the Evil Empire vs. the New Evil Empire game.
Question his defense. Question his hitting (at times). But do NOT question Gleyber Torres’s situational awareness!
Gleyber Torres with one of the most incredible hustle runs you will ever see in a baseball game! pic.twitter.com/5EoPN52whr
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 6, 2021
I’ve got nothing to add here, except that Torres really did everything he could to score this run and put the Yankees within one run.
Important Off the Field Baseball News
Well, friends, the Angels have officially decided to designate Albert Pujols for assignment. That means Pujols is free to become a free agent if he passes through all of the necessary waiver processes. Albert wanted to keep playing at a nearly full-time clip, but the Angels have Jared Walsh ready to play a whole lot of first base (spoiler: he’s pretty good at it) and Shohei Ohtani ready to take up a whole lot of DH opportunities (spoiler: he’s very good at it). So, Albert found himself being squeezed out of a lot of playing time.
But before he agreed to part ways with the Angels, he was able to get a picture with last night’s bulk innings-eater, Josh Fleming. Fleming grew up idolizing Pujols as a kid:
So this is cool: Before pitching against the Angels tomorrow night, Josh Fleming got a chance to meet Albert Pujols. Fleming said Pujols was his favorite player growing up in the St. Louis area, “and he will be forever.”
(photo via Rays PR) pic.twitter.com/vMTIjVnWKU
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) May 5, 2021
Bally Sports West paid a nice tribute to Pujols before last night’s game:
Here is the Albert Pujols video that @BallySportWest showed at the introduction for today’s game pic.twitter.com/5vTxLzqDat
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) May 7, 2021
The video sums up his work as an Angel really well: milestone chasing, and not a whole lot else. But, don’t let his subpar (to put it generously) Angels career distract you from the fact that he was absolutely the best hitter of the 2000s and is, without a doubt, a Hall-of-Famer. You don’t really need to remind Brad Lidge of that:
Still my favorite home run of all time. Albert Pujols is a legend forever. pic.twitter.com/PrXCd55kTP
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 6, 2021
Pujols kept on mashing and Lidge went 41/41 on save opportunities en route to a World Championship in 2008, so everything turned out alright. Although Astros fans haven’t forgotten, choosing to boo Pujols (irony!) every at-bat he has in Minute Maid Park.
Hopefully, he gets a chance to do some more milestone-chasing, whether that be with his old pal Tony La Russa in Chicago, or with a team that can afford to give Pujols full-time reps. Godspeed, Albert.
Daily Shohei Content
Shohei Ohtani, President, Pitchers Who Rake Club.💣
Nice job Mark Gubicza on the prediction. pic.twitter.com/dW64vNYl09
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 7, 2021
There is simply never enough appreciation for Shohei Ohtani.
Now, get out there and watch some high-quality Friday baseball!
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)