Sometimes, when you write for a newspaper, you can't always get certain specific game details into a game story because of space constraints, deadlines or story angle.
That happened Sunday afternoon, when the Orioles rallied in the ninth inning on an Adam Jones homer off the great Mariano Rivera and the embattled Jim Johnson closed the door to secure the 2-1 victory.
What happened in the ninth inning became my story angle for Monday's newspaper – and some other game details that were included in the original online story had to be cut.
So one of the better defensive plays made this year wasn't mentioned in the final version of my game story because it had no real bearing on the outcome of the Orioles' win.
In the sixth inning, Yankees third baseman Luis Cruz hit a ball that was tailing down the third base line. Manny Machado tried to backhand it, got his glove on it, but the ball started to bounce away. Machado bobbled and then grabbed the ball with his right hand and as momentum was carrying him toward the stands – maybe six, eight, 10 feet into foul territory – he turned and rifled a throw off his back foot to get Cruz at first base.
The throw was unbelievable. And Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who's not often overly impressed, was even a little stunned by that one.
"Oh my gosh," Showalter said. "When you can shake hands with the beer man in the front row after you get through with a play, you know it's pretty challenging."
The amazing thing is I'm not even sure where that one ranks in Machado's plays at third. Top five I'd imagine, but there have been so many it's hard to put them in order.