Tuesday, July 8, 2008  I'm a catcher, ma'am. It's what I do.
Catchers have a rough go of it. They get hit by foul tips. They
get run over. They get jawed at by batters, umps, and sometimes
even their own pitchers. They have to squat uncomfortably for an
hour and a half every day. They take such punishment even though
they are more often than not the smartest guy on their team.
It's hard, often thankless work.  But sometimes they get the
glory, like Max Ramirez did last night. You've probably seen the
play already (if you haven't, it can be seen as the last play on
the embedded highlight reel here), but here's a first hand
account from ShysterBall's Texas Bureau Chief, Royce the Hack,
who was live on the scene:  OK, the Rangers lose tonight in
Arlington to the Mighty Angels, 9-6. The box score will reveal
some ugly business from Louis Mendoza, including three home
runs. Two of them were waaaay over 400 ft - including one from
Guerrero that was into the upper deck - 450 ft. plus. Impressive
offense, but butt u