During an intentional walk, Kevin Jepsen learns the best laid plans of pitchers sometimes go awry

A wise poet once said, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" … or something like that. However the saying goes, it's good to remember the message when you're, say, planning a vacation with your family or attempting to intentionally walk an All-Star outfielder.

Right, Kevin Jepsen?

While intentionally walking Michael Brantley in the ninth inning, the Rays reliever threw a pitch that strayed awfully close to the plate. Closer, certainly, than pitches during an intentional walk typically go:

Fortunately for Jepsen, the pitch was still called a ball -- but it was probably not where he'd intended to throw it. Which goes to show, you can plan to throw a pitch far from the strike zone, but that doesn't mean it won't end up there. Maybe Jepsen was simply too used to throwing pitches over the plate -- his intentional walk of Brantley was Jepsen's first of the season.

Brantley was walked, in the end, but David Murphy's sacrifice fly gave the Indians the walk-off win, 1-0, before Jepsen could work his way out of the inning. Again, the best laid plans, etc.

It's OK, though. For consolation, I (and Robert Burns) wrote you a poem:

To Kevin Jepsen, on intentionally walking Michael Brantley, June, 2015

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim'rous Jepsen,

O, what a panic's in thy hand

When close to the zone runs the pitch you sent…