The truth is out there, Jeff

Two of the last three posts on Jeff Johnson's Diamonds and Ice blog at the Cedar Rapids Gazette bring up conspiracies.

First there was the one from August 25

Doug Eddings = White Sox fan

Let me preface this by saying I am a Minnesota Twins fan. Believe it or not, there are folks around these parts who root for a baseball team other than the Chicago Cubs. It was great to see a plethora of Twins hats and shirts in the crowd at the Cedar Rapids Kernels-Beloit Snappers game last week. But I digress ….

Anyway, somehow a fielder’s interference was called on Tampa’s Willy Aybar in the bottom of the 10th inning of a tie game when he was alleged to have interfered with A.J. Pierzynski (the man you love to hate) during a rundown between second and third. Never mind that Aybar immediately turned out of the baseline after tossing the ball to a teammate at second base. Never mind that Pierzynski intentionally stuck his elbow out to try and touch Aybar … and missed!

Where I’m going with this, other than to vent about one HORRIBLE umpire’s call that directly decided the outcome of a big game, is that the umpire involved was Doug Eddings. You might remember him as the umpire who somehow allowed Pierzynski to reach first base after striking out in the 2005 ALCS. It was a call that turned the entire series around and led to the White Sox’ gift World Series championship. So I ask you, conspiracy theorists out there, if there should be an investigation into Eddings and whether or not he’s on the take.

Whoa!

Then, there is this post from this morning:

Why isn’t this guy with the Kernels?

Lopez is a soon-to-be 23-year old who played college baseball with Kernels second baseman Hector Estrella at the University of Southern California. So why the heck isn’t he helping the Kernels in the upcoming Midwest League playoffs?

He’s too old for the level he is at, essentially a college player in a league full of high school guys. Yes, the Kernels already have a capable first baseman in Gabe Jacobo. But perhaps Lopez could do some DHing or something.

There’s long been this conspiracy theory in Cedar Rapids about how Orem is stacked every season to appease longtime scout and manager Tom Kotchman, at the expense of the Kernels. That a guy like Lopez is hitting almost .400 and is still playing in Utah supports that theory.

Whoa!