WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, JOE DiMAGGIO?:

A's blow another lead, lose to Indians: Rhodes melts in 2nd straight game as Cleveland sweeps (Josh Suchon, May 31, 2004, )

Pitcher Arthur Rhodes thought it was the third sign. Catcher Adam Melhuse thought it was the second sign. Rhodes threw a hard slider. Melhuse expected a cut fastball.

By the time Melhuse realized a different pitch was coming, it was too late. The ball was past him at the backstop, the winning run sliding home, and the Oakland Athletics found another painful way to lose a game.

In a game of bullpen meltdowns, the A's were handed two runs in their half of the ninth, then Rhodes gave two back as the Cleveland Indians completed a weekend sweep in their final at-bat to win 4-3 on Sunday before 24,005 fans at Jacobs Field. [...]

Rhodes' history with Vizquel may have played a role in his emotions. Three years ago, Vizquel asked Rhodes, then with Seattle, to remove his earring because the glare made it tough to see.

During a heated argument, Rhodes called Vizquel "a little midget" and was ejected. Rhodes later told reporters, "I'm not going to let a guy weighing 125 pounds tell me that I have to take off my earring."

That's just not a sentence you can sound macho while speaking.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 31, 2004 11:14 AM