MLB.com thought it would be fun to look closely at Kagan's Batting Stance

[Are_grits_groceries]

Elena Kagan will be scrutinized about her stance on everything in the coming weeks, now that President Barack Obama has nominated her for a spot on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Without taking sides on the matter, we at MLB.com thought it would be fun to look closely at another stance. A 1993 black-and-white photo of Kagan, from the University of Chicago Law School, was published on the front of Tuesday's Wall Street Journal with the headline, "Court Nominee Comes to the Plate." It shows her standing in the right-hand batter's box choking up on a bat and waiting with a smile for the pitch.

It made sense to ask around the clubhouses at Tuesday night's game between the Nationals and Mets at Citi Field, because (a) she could become a member of the most powerful bench in Washington and (b) she grew up in New York and is a Mets fan. The reviews by Major League Baseball players were mixed, even yielding some astute advice.

"It actually looks good," Mets catcher Rod Barajas said, holding the newspaper at his locker. "It looks like her weight's distributed evenly. Her hands are up. She's holding the bat the right way. That's something you could work with. That's something I could go out there and feel comfortable getting in the batter's box, looking like that."

Ryan Zimmerman was sitting in front of his locker before batting practice, clearly not prepared to adopt that form. "I don't know. She's got the Barry Bonds choke-up working, maybe that's two strikes on her. I don't know. She doesn't look too aggressive. She doesn't have a very intimidating face working, either. It looks like she's friends with the pitcher or something.

"It's not terrible, though. It's not great, but it's not terrible. It's not looking too aggressive. She's not looking ready to hit. She definitely looks like a Punch-and-Judy hitter, not really a power hitter."
there's a lot more:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100511&content_id=9967722&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Haha. meh! It's not funny to me for a couple of reasons.

I didn't see anything in the same universe with this when other nominees were picked. Nobody bothered to look at their OLD games of any type.

This may just be a byproduct of all the hooha in the news. It also be that someone with MLB knows why the softball hooha is being brought up and decided to keep the story going. Farfetched? Maybe. However, these are bitter and strange times.

[SidDithers]

1. Funny stuff from Zimmerman...

"She doesn't have a very intimidating face working, either. It looks like she's friends with the pitcher or something."

:rofl:

Sid

[Rex]

2. She looks like she is having fun, I'm sure that is forbidden since

people on the SCOTUS are supposed to be intimidating and humorless.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. Doesn't look hostile or agenda-ish for me.

If anything, it pokes fun at the anal-retentiveness of the RW "no" crowd.

Disclaimer: a number of baseball/softball jargon went right over my head.

[EFerrari]

5. What is a "punch and judy" hitter?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. Well, there's one example for my disclaimer. -nt

[SidDithers]

9. A singles hitter...

not much power but sprays the ball around for lots of singles.

No idea where the term originated.

Sid

[EFerrari]

11. Thanks. I'd never heard that one before. n/t

[unpossibles]

6. I thought it was a dig about her implied sexuality nt

[tallahasseedem]

4. I thought it was funny...

She looks great in the pic!

[EFerrari]

7. Imo, it deflates the right wing cr@p by treating softball as softball

and not code.

[BootinUp]

10. oh geez, lighten up a little

I kind of think its fun. I didn't read the whole thing though.

[Enrique]

12. she played 16 inch softball

totally different game, so take what these MLB players are saying with a grain of salt.

[AngryAmish]

13. It's cool she is using a real 16 inch softball bat

I always tried to use a baseball bat until I get caught. Those softball bats are too long and heavy for me.

[madrchsod]

14. i just wiki`d 16 in softball-softball was invented in chicago....

yup friendly game of 16in on the south side

[gratuitous]

15. Well! It's pretty obvious from that photo

She should have her right elbow raised a little more, parallel to the ground. It's pretty clear, and Glenn Beck will probably be covering this on one of his shows very soon, that she's keeping her right wing down, so to speak. Her batting stance is a very clear indication to those in the know that she will be an activist judge, siding with the liberals, and pretty soon we're all going to be speaking Russian or Chinese and working in collectives!

Let's get this photo to Sen. Coburn, stat! He'll know what to do. Filibuster, filibuster, filibuster! Or we're all dooooomed!

[BootinUp]

16. The reason she is smiling

is that she is happy to hit sacrifice fly ball as the coach has called for (per my secret sources), a clear indication she is a bleeding heart liberal.

[gratuitous]

19. Oh, and the way she's choked up on the bat?

Her left hand is supplanting the right hand from its normal, natural position! Could Kagan's not-so-hidden agenda be any clearer? Glenn Beck is gonna have a field day with this!

[MilesColtrane]

17. Asking the Washington Nationals about hitting is like asking George Rekers about...

proper baggage handling technique.

[old mark]

18. Right - They are real "experts".....Besides, she' a Mets' fan....nt