Mound Visits: Citi Field is on fire and a goose is causing havoc, so now it’s a party

Welcome to Mound Visits, your weekly recap of the best things you might have missed in baseball every week. This week brings us another big baseball bird, Rudy Giuliani getting booed, and STILL NO VLAD. So it’s a real mix of emotions.

Have a favorite Mound Visit? Tweet it at me, and I’ll include it in next week’s column.

In the last week, Phillies’ rookie Rhys Hoskins was slumping and now will miss a few weeks thanks to a broken jaw, Ronald Acuña is on the disabled list with an ACL strain and a back bruise, and even though Josh Donaldson has missed the last few games with calf tightness Vlad Guerrero, Jr. still hasn’t gotten a call up to the majors. Or even to Triple A Buffalo.

This is a collective tragedy (as much as sports can be a tragedy), as so much of what was exciting about the end of last year and beginning of this season revolved around these players.

Protect Ozzie Albies, Juan Soto, and Rafael Devers at all costs. And bring us Vlad.

Jose Altuve got hot(ter than normal) and had a 10-for-10 hitting stretch, which set an Astros’ franchise record and then improved on it. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t do this in a batting cage. I’ll fully admit I probably couldn’t do this with a tetherball. Maybe I could do it off a tee but I know, deep down, that I’ll klutz it up and trip one time or something.

Anyway, this is impressive and especially so because he did it over multiple games against the Indians.

The Mets aren’t even making us work for the jokes anymore. It’s nice of them, really.

This is the part where I am forced to admit that Yankees fans can be good sometimes, because earlier this week they booed the hell out of one-time “America’s Mayor” Rudy Giuliani. At Yankee Stadium. On his birthday. Well done!

Later, he tried to make the situation look better for him by saying “they boo you when they love you” which is about the level of hilarious ignorance we can expect from Giuliani in 2018. This is almost too easy, but:

Pablo Sandoval has been playing a bit of second base for the Giants this week, which is a big deal both because he’s not a second baseman and also because he’s not someone anyone would say has a, um, “second baseman’s body.”

But Sandoval sees you doubting him, and he gives you a diving play and throw to first PLUS THE FINGER WAG. The finger wag! They started him at second again after this happened, which he earned even if it meant Giants fans were panicking about it all over again.

He might be getting paid by Boston while he plays out the string in San Francisco, but that charm will work in any city.

This is Eric Jenkins, Rangers prospect. You might say he ... has the range.

The landing-into-immediate-throw might be more impressive than the flip itself. The flip is practically instinct, the landing is skill.

There was a goose at the Tigers-Angels game on Wednesday night and he was having a heck of a time eluding capture and touring the ballpark. His night out at the game ended with him smashing into a video board, losing some feathers in the process, and being rescued by a local vet. But before that it looked fun before that!

There are three reasons that Johan Camargo’s mom can crash the celebration of his walk-off home run with her own spontaneous interview:

1. She’s his mom.

2. It’s her birthday.

3. She’s his mom.

Moms can do whatever they want. Especially on their birthday.

She seems so fun.

Happy Friday. Hopefully your weekend is worthy of this Ohtani celebration.