Recapping the weekend’s Cubs/White Sox series, The Sun-Times’ Jay Mariotti mentions a case of dubious gamesmanship from Sunday afternoon.
Sox shortstop Juan Uribe embarrassing Derrek Lee in the first by yelling ”foul ball” as Lee rounded second base — when, in truth, Jeromy Burnitz’s liner was caroming around the right-field corner like a pinball. Lee, who should know better than to fall for such chirpy nonsense, might have scored on the play if he hadn’t stopped briefly at second before scrambling to third.
”We’re not taught to play that way,” Baker grumbled. ”You don’t tell a guy, ‘Foul ball, foul ball.’ He actually stood in front of the base and told Lee, ‘Foul ball.’ That’s not proper etiquette, if there is such a thing.”
I wonder where paying attention to the third base coach instead of the advice of an opposing fielder fits in Dusty’s etiquette handbook?