Oh jeez. Must we

Nationals' Dunn visits Brewers broadcaster Uecker in 2nd inning - Big League Stew - MLB� - Yahoo! Sports

get our fruit of the looms in a twist over this.

Ohhhhh. It's a GAME. A sacred and holy GAME.

Think about that for a minute. It's not surgery or nuclear power plant operations. It was a GAME. Played for sport and entertainment value.

And people go ans ascribe all kinds of meaning to it. Oh, the guy is disrespecting the GAME. He's being insubordinate and is clearly showing his disdain for the progress of his contact talks.

Dave Cameron over at USS Mariner wrote a piece today about the flare up in the Mariners dugout over the weekend. His main point: beat reporters and obsessive bloggers are terrible

amateur psychologists. They don't know what's going on iin the heads of people they cover on a regular basis. And you know what: neither does anyone who is freaking out over this situation.

How many times does a hall of fame broadcaster return from serious heart surgery? A broadcaster beloved (I assume) inside baseball. And one who clearly had a rapport with a visiting player who just happened to not be playing that day. A confluence of events almost impossible to imagine. And I continue, not likely to manifest itself again.

So, to show a true mark of respect, the players, who is NOT playing and could have been asleep in the clubhouse for all you knew, went to pay public homage to a beloved broadcaster and friend on the air. Three words: BFD!

I'm sure Uecker loved it and I'll bet the fans listening got a kick out of it too. The sum total of enjoyment for baseball is increased. I find it impossible to care for the critics and their narrow view of baseball purity. Make the GAME as accessable and fun as possible and maybe you can save yourself from falling further and further behind football.

I also see where the Nats as "listening" to offers for Matt Capps. They aren't making calls but a listening. My advise: listen harder. Capps has been a far cry from last year's bullpen by gasoline can disaster but what really is his long term value and how much will it help next year when he's twice the price? The Yanks offered Jesus Montero for Joakim Soria!!! Got to be someone halfway decent in the Yanks system for a "proven closer tm"