When JuJu Gods Collide

Don't you love it when two or three fielders on the other team collide? Not so they get hurt. Or maybe not so they collide at all, but pull up juuuust short at the last moment, and let the ball fall in?

That's what happened on the JuJu Olympus last night.

There was, I dunno, Dr. Bogadun, waving yet ANOTHER front of cold, wet weather into the New York area. Tight shoulders, aching elbows, pulled whammies, knee-wrecking slides were all in the lineup, just waiting to happen.

But wait a minute! Dr. Bogadun had misread the schedule. ODUMODU already had the Yankees winging their way toward L.A., for that first, awful, West Coast road trip.

But wait! Here comes ANOTHER JuJu god, say, Baron Samedi or Mr. Scratch or Roger Stone, rushing in from centerfield, waving his arms and yelling at the top of his voice, "I got it! I got it! A four-game suspension for your hottest hitter! Neil Walker is playing!"

Well, you know what happened. All three agents of chaos pulled up short at the last moment, and that wonderfully weird little win in Anaheim just dropped right in.

Why, Walker even hit a near-home run—kind of like near-beer—and drove in a run!!

That makes all of four RBI for him in 72 plate appearances this year.

Need further proof that something truly strange and marvelous was going on last night? As Leinstery noted, look at that Rob Refsnyder game up in Boston!

Believe it or not, Refsnyder had an even worse season than Neil W. last year. NOT ONE RBI in 98 plate appearances! Counting this season, he had 123 straight appearances, and not so much as a sac fly.

But there he was, with a home run in the Fens.  While the Communion of Saints ended the game with Babe Benitendi taking a big, fat, called strike three right down the middle.

Tonight had "loss" written all over it, an almost perfect combination of bad luck, bad clutch hitting, great plays by the Angels, and shattered bat pieces from Ohtani flying just past our ace's head.

It was one big, can o' corn disaster, hangin' up there for anybody to catch. And then it was on the grass.

Right now, all the JuJu gods are standing there in the outfield, giving each other the stink eye.

Oh, for sure they'll make us pay for it soon. But then, they would anyway.