Posted by Steve
I realize this happened a couple days ago, but this is the first chance I’ve had to weigh in on Rickie Weeks taking an Edinson Volquez 94 mph heater off the face. I was scoring the Blue Jays Twins game when the guy doing the Brewer game yelled, “OH! OH GOD!” I turned and saw Weeks face down on the ground and motionless.
I immediately felt sick to my stomach. The thoughts were already flying through my head. ’Are you kidding me? This guy has had the worst luck with odd injuries, and this could derail his career.’
I was first relieved to even see he was conscious and able to sit up, and was even more relieved to see him walk down to first base. I was completely stunned that he stayed in the game.
What a beast. Are you kidding me? Volquez has one of the hardest fastballs in the game, and he took it off the face! And stayed in the game! I just can’t get over it. The FACE! He got lucky (relatively speaking) that it wasn’t a little higher, because I’m sure it would have shattered his cheekbone. Instead, he didn’t miss any playing time at all. The legend grows.
And how are you feeling if you’re Volquez? I’m sure at first you’re terrified that you may have almost killed someone, and then relieved to see he’s alright, but at some point don’t you think, “I threw that as hard as I can, hit the guy in the face, and it didn’t even take him out of the game? What’s WRONG with me?”
And check out that picture, huh? Yikes! That’s like the slow motion shot of the sprinters when their faces get all contorted and jiggly.
I actually didn’t catch this the first time, but I later watched the replay in slow motion and was able to read Weeks’ lips. After he stood up, he turned to Volquez, spit out a mixture of blood and teeth and said, “Hey Ed. Thanks for helping my on-base percentage.”
Ah, that Rickie. He sure has the key to my heart.
