Not a bad time to go to pieces

Memo to Orioles: If you want to complain about guys pimping homers and not playing the game correctly, don’t give up eight homers and 20 runs in two games and lose a million games every year. Memo to David Ortiz: Style at your own risk. Old-schoolers like me believe it’s not the way you play the game. Act like you’ve been there before. If you’re going to admire homers, stare at a guy who throws a first pitch a little inside, swing at 3-0 pitch with a 10-3 lead in the eighth, and fail to run out your popups and grounders, somebody might call you on it. We all applauded madly when Carlton Fisk called Deion Sanders a “piece of [expletive]’’ and told him to run out a popup. How is this different?

A favorite Dick Williams moment came in the 1972 World Series. As manager of the A’s, he went to the mound to talk to Rollie Fingers, who had a 3-2 count on Johnny Bench. Williams pretended to order an intentional walk. Oakland catcher Gene Tenace stood up, gave the intentional walk signal, then went back into position as Fingers buzzed strike three past an embarrassed Bench. Bill Belichick must have been watching.

Can’t wait to see Bill Buckner on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.’’

Leave it to the wildly talented Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated) to tell us that Derek Jeter has used the same model bat (Louisville Slugger P72) for every one of his professional at-bats since 1992.

Blocking the plate is great when Jason Varitek sticks his leg across the dish and keeps Edwin Encarnacion from scoring the tying run. But when Scott Cousins demolishes Buster Posey, scores the run, and Posey is lost for the season, blocking the plate is a bad thing and home-plate collisions should be outlawed. Varitek is a brave guy. But if I’m a big league manager, I teach my players to go through the catcher if he’s willing to stand in the path. Backstops beware. You block the plate at the risk of your career. Put it this way: Frank Robinson would have scored the tying run at Fenway Tuesday night.