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Play Involving Paul Is One for the Books
Umpire Doug Eddings is followed by Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar and catcher Josh Paul during the disputed play in Game 2 of the ALCS.
(By Charles Rex Arbogast -- Associated Press)
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Still, in places other than Southern California and the Chicago suburbs, Paul is taking almost as much heat for the Angels' loss as Eddings, whose possibly errant ruling that the pitch was in the dirt (video replays were inconclusive) was compounded by the fact he made the signal for "you're out" -- a raised fist -- which the Angels took to mean he had called Pierzynski out.
With so much ambiguity, Paul, according to the critics, should have just tagged Pierzynski immediately -- even if there was only the slightest bit of question whether he had caught the ball above the ground.
"If anybody's putting the blame on [Paul], that's unfair," said White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, Paul's former teammate, on Thursday. "He's as innocent as the guy playing right field. Any catcher in the league, they're going to do the same thing."
However, when Pierzynski was asked what he would do in a similar situation as the one that Paul faced, he said, "Usually, you'd tag the guy, or whatever."
It was almost comical that the other protagonist in this drama was Pierzynski, himself a catcher, with a personality that is the polar opposite of Paul's. While Pierzynski often grates on opponents and teammates alike with his annoying chatter and mannerisms -- a Pierzynski specialty is elbowing batters and stepping on their bat as they leave the batter's box -- Paul is universally beloved by anyone he comes in contact with.
The first time Paul was invited to an interview room for a postgame news conference -- after hitting his first big league homer on April 24, 2000 -- Paul told the assembled media that he had an opening statement he'd like to make, then, looking straight into the cameras, said, "I am not a crook."
In later years with the White Sox, Paul grew to be so popular with fans and left so many tickets for friends and family, he became known, mockingly, as "Pope Josh Paul." He also wrote a touching piece for the Chicago Tribune when a former Vanderbilt teammate died in the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City.
The events of Wednesday night's wild ninth inning may not have done much for Paul's catching career, but for a writer there is nothing like a wealth of good material to make a story sing.
