Jake Fox

Here's the situation: Jake Fox of the Baltimore Orioles came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with his team up by 10 in a spring training game on Monday.

The Orioles' catcher, who had not made the team at the time, had the audacity to swing at a 3-0 pitch with runners on second and third and no outs.

In general, unwritten rules are stupid. That’s why no one took the time to write them down. Think about it. If something really needs to be a rule—and it’s widely agreed that it needs to be a rule—it’s going to be documented, set in stone and thumb tacked to the wall of every minor league clubhouse.

By not making something an official rule, Major League Baseball is officially saying that it is okay, allowable and within the realm of acceptability.

Anyone who has read my very first post to B/R knows that I am not a fan of the unwritten rules of baseball. I am even less a fan of these idioms during a spring training game.

On Monday, Baltimore Orioles catcher Jake Fox incurred the wrath of his own manager, Buck Showalter, as well as the ire of Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

Jake Fox has been battling many others for a backup job with the Baltimore Orioles this spring.

His primary competition is incumbent backup catcher Craig Tatum, who was very solid for the Birds last year, both at the plate and behind it.

This spring, however, Fox is blowing Tatum (and the rest of the team) away, with a .356 batting average and a major league spring training-leading seven home runs in 45 at-bats. Two such swings were hit in yesterday's contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Oakland A's are currently in a battle between two other teams for the American League West title. The A's have some things that they need to work out to even consider being in contention for the division.

So, here are the seven things the A's must do in order to win the American League West division.

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