Over Reactions To Hard Play

I am a Cardinal fan at heart. I love my team. When someone does something obviously wrong and overly aggressive against one of the team members wearing the Birds on the Bat, you can bet I get fired up.

This past week, during a game with the Washington Nationals, Nyjer Morgan gave an aggressive shove to Bryan Anderson as he crossed the plate. Anderson was standing a step in front of the plate, without the ball, and not blocking it at all. I was livid and wanted Morgan's head on a platter.


Later in the week, Morgan would connect with a catcher in a game against the Florida Marlins. This time, the catcher, Brett Hayes, had the ball and was blocking the plate. In a hard nosed play, Morgan lowered his shoulder and knocked Hayes in a massive collision that would separate the catcher's left shoulder and end his season.

When I heard of the incident, I was immediately upset. I started rambling about how Morgan was going to cause issues across the league and had to be stopped. When I arrived at home and watched the replay I quickly changed my mind. This was a hard nosed, old school, baseball play.

The next game the Marlins played to the crowd and addressed the situation the way most Major League teams would - they hit Morgan with a pitch in the fourth inning. The Marlins, who were up by 11 runs, felt they had handled the issue sufficiently. The umpires warned both benches, Morgan quietly took his place at first base, and play resumed.

Morgan, obviously upset, felt it best to take his aggression out through his abilities on the field. He immediately stole second base. This is another old school move that many players of yesterday would do after being hit by a pitch to prove that they were not hurt. Message sent and received. Then Morgan stole third. This was more than a player stating that he was not hurt. This was a player saying, "I am going to make you pay". He would later score.

Now, somewhere in the Florida dugout, the players decided that the issue was not over with. In the sixth, when Morgan came back to the plate, he was hit again. Enough was enough and Morgan charged the mound, setting off one of the largest base-brawls in recent memory. The scene would end with Morgan leaving the field, yelling at the crowd, and looking like he was at a tryout for professional wrestling.

Morgan has been suspended for this and many other issues over the last few weeks. The league has dealt with him in what they feel was an appropriate manner and I agree. But this column is seldom interesting if all I do is agree, now is it?

What do I disagree with? The Florida Marlins over reacted and put themselves in a position for this to happen, not to mention put Morgan in a position to retaliate.

Yeah, I said it, the Marlins were not held accountable for their actions. Sure, there were suspensions. Seriously, though, this team needs to reevaluate their feeling of what they do and what stresses them out.

You are baseball players. You are competitive by nature and hard working, I get that. One of your players was severely hurt in an incident you did not agree with. I get that too.

All things considered, Hayes was hurt on a play that was very clean by most standards. If you disagree, you hit him the next time it is possible. You did that. He stole two bases while down by eleven and you decided to hit him again. I get....wait....no, I do not get that. He closed the lead from eleven to ten by aggressive play after being hit by a pitch. Where in the unwritten codes of baseball do you feel this went wrong? Are you just ticked off that the player you now hate can still run the bases and is sticking it to you? Tough. Hitting him a second time was basically sending the message that the first time was not enough because he did not charge the mound. The first time was excusable and part of the game. The second time was irresponsible and borderline childish.

Nyjer Morgan has done a lot of things wrong and deserves what baseball does with him. His reaction to the Marlins was simply that of a player who had enough and was not going to stand there and allow someone to hurt him simply because they were upset at his aggressive play.

Keep knocking catchers down, Mr. Morgan, I miss a player that feels he should play as hard as possible within the rules and welcome your aggressive nature.

Bill Ivie is the editor for i70baseball.com and hosts i70baseball radio every Monday night on BlogTalkRadio.com.

A Fun September

September is my 2nd favorite month of the baseball season, April being my 1st love because it means the sport I devote my life to is back on the big stage. Anyway, September is great for call-ups as the rosters expand up to 40 players and the hunt for October playoffs is a win-or-go-home scenario.

Today I want to focus on the quest for the postseason. The Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers each hold an 8 game lead in their division with the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics barely hanging on by a string. The other division are a far more highly contested battle. In the AL East you have the New York Yankees holding it down while the Tampa Bay Rays are 2.5 back. Both teams seem destined for the playoffs, but each would like to claim the division title. In the AL Central the Minnesota Twins are 3.5 up on the Chicago White Sox, but don't be so quick to hand it over to the Twinkies just yet because the new Manny Ramirez spearheaded offensive attack of the Pale Booties ain't ready to give up. Then there's the NL East with the Philadelphia Phillies trailing the sentimental Atlanta Braves (bye-bye Bobby Cox!) by a game. My guess is both teams make the playoffs, with the Phils finally overcoming the Braves in the final series of the season (Phils have a 3 game advantage in the Wild Card). Then the NL West has become closer over the past week due to the San Diego Padres going on a huge slide (9 straight losses) and the San Francisco Giants continuing to play well...now only 2 back. The Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Colorado Rockies hold on to a slim chance for the Wild Cards, but would need a miracle to reach the postseason.

Told ya September is fun.

*Remember those douchey Dane Cook "There's Only One October" commercials? Awful.

Politics and Baseball

Here's an article that caught my eye on Deadspin.

According to an article on this website called "The Daily Caller", people who lean towards the conservative end of the political spectrum, love baseball!

The article states that conservative-leaning individuals, particularly elite conservatives like Charlie Krauthammer and George Will, tend to like baseball more that other American sports because it's merit-based and the rules haven't changed all that much in the 100+ years that baseball has existed in this great country.

But that's not to say that ALL baseball fans are conservative! Like all sports, baseball's fans share a variety of political beliefs, but individuals political views are but a minute trifle in the greater scheme of things. What unites all baseball fans is the fact that we go to baseball games because, well, it's fun! It's a great way to spend the afternoon with friends and family, away from the crazy hustle-bustle of the world. We go to baseball games to GET AWAY FROM politics, and when the two cross paths, the result is often an ugly mess.

With that in mind, have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!
tamtam

Washington Reacts to Strasburg Sorrows

The Powers That Be: Jose Bautista

40 homeruns is by no means any modern day achievement in the game of baseball. Though this season it is. The Season of the Pitcher Part Deux has witnessed longballs across the great country of America, and that itty-bitty neck of the woods up in Canada decrease drastically from seasons past. Yet, an unsuspecting masher has been the only player to reach the 40 milestone and he is the Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista. The right-handed batting 3B/OF has never hit more than 16 bombs in a season before this year. In fact, he's a lifetime .242 hitter with only 99 homeruns in 7 seasons, and that includes his 40 dingers this year. Any way you look at it, he's playing himself into a lucrative contract. He has a year of arbitration remaining, so a hefty raise is coming from his bargain basement $2.4M salary of 2010. At 29 years old he may just be a late bloomer and the Blue Birds might want to look into extending him on a 3 year $27M deal. .258/.970, 83 r, 40 hr, 95 rbi with roughly 40 games to go is pretty damn impressive.

Checking In At The Bottom

It is almost the end of August. Less than 50 games left in the season and everyone wants to know who is winning the division, who is in line for the wild card, and who will be winning the whole ball of wax?

When you stop by More Hardball on Monday mornings, you do not want to read about the same drivel that every so called "baseball nut" is telling you on all the other websites. Face it, friends, if that is what you found here this week, I may never see you again. We would not want that, would we? Good. Glad you agree. Now that we are on the same page, follow me as I journey through some things happening with the teams in last place in each division in baseball and we will try to spend some time together talking about the stories from the teams the other guys do not think you would find interesting. As always, I've got your back, don't worry about those fools...

The American League East - Baltimore Orioles
His name is Kevin Millwood and, on Sunday, he started the 400th game of his career. You read that correctly, 400 starts in his career. Despite having a tough year this season, posting a 2-14 record to date and win-less since June 24, he has been serviceable overall in his career. A lifetime record of 157-135 with a 4.11 earned run average, the veteran has played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball for five teams. A constant trade rumor, Millwood will find himself a free agent during this offseason.

The American League Central - Cleveland Indians
In the first inning of the Sunday game against the Tigers, Cleveland third baseman Jayson Nix tracked a foul ball near the railing of the camera well off the bat of Don Kelly. As he got to the railing, running full speed, he reached over and made the great catch. Later in the game, in the seventh inning, lightning would strike twice. On a foul ball from Kelly that held up in the air a little longer this time, and required Nix to stretch further into the same location, effecting his balance in the process. This time as Nix made the catch he tumbled into the camera well, displaying a head-over-heels play that invited injury to strike. Nix was not injured on the play, but had made a second amazing play at the exact same spot against the same hitter in the same game. Both plays can be seen on MLB's website here.

The American League West - Seattle Mariners
In the first inning of Saturday night's game with the powerhouse New York Yankees, Ichiro Suzuki hit his first of two home runs on the night, only the fifth time in his career that he would have a multi-homerun game. But it was Russell Branyan that would do something that had never been done in the history of the new Yankee stadium. On a Javier Vazquez 3-1 delivery, Branyan would launch the ball deep into the upper deck, the first time that feat has occurred.

The National League East - Washington Nationals
You have heard of Stephen Strasburg and new draftee Bryce Harper, but have you paid any attention to Tyler Moore? Who, you ask? The Class-A first baseman is setting records in the Carolina League. Over his last 36 games, he has hit 18 home runs, 17 doubles and 55 runs batted in. That brings his season totals to 28 home runs and 102 runs batted in. The 28 home runs are equal to the franchise record and only the sixth player to reach 100 runs batted in during a season. There are 15 games left in the season and Moore is 11 runs batted in off of the franchise record.

The National League Central - Pittsburgh Pirates
Something may need to be said to Andrew McCutchen about his somewhat dubious home run production. You see, while not a record or unprecedented at the major league level, McCutchen has hit 12 home runs this year, all of them without a runner on. For whatever reason, the young outfielder has yet to hit a ball out of the yard this season that would produce more than one run batted in. Whether that is a shortcoming of his, or the team's lack of ability to get on base, remains to be seen.

The National League West - Arizona Diamondbacks
It is not often that a last place team will sign a veteran player with very little time left in a season. That is exactly what the Diamondbacks did this weekend by signing Mike Hampton to a minor league deal as a relief pitcher. The goal is for him to pitch in the bullpen for the Diamondbacks prior to the end of 2010, but neither the team nor Hampton are commenting on the 2011 season, but it seems to be a useless signing if neither side has next year in mind.

Bill Ivie is the editor for i70baseball.com and hosts i70baseball radio every Monday night on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Sunday is Piniella's Final Game

Lou Piniella was already set to retire from managing at the end of the 2010 season, but it turns out he just doesn't have enough left in the tank to make it the final month and a half. He's trading in his Chicago Cubs uniform for some lounge clothes that he'll be wearing while hopefully relaxing with his family. The fiery skipper said he is no longer interested in the daily grind of the game, but may be open to consulting for the Cubbies or another organization in the future. Most experts would agree that Sweet Lou has a spot reserved for him in the Hall of Fame, as he's one of the best managers this fine game of baseball has ever seen. 18 years playing and 23 years managing, and today is the final game Lou Piniella participates in one capacity or another. Have fun in retirement Lou, you've earned it.

Player Stats:
(with Orioles, Indians, Royals, and Yankees)
1787 G, 651 R, 1705 H, 305 2B, 41 3B, 102 HR, 766 RBI, 32 SB, .291/.333/.409, predominately as a leftfielder.

Managerial Stats:
(with Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Rays, and Cubs)
1835-1712, 1 World Series Ring (1990 Reds), 6 division titles.

Lou Gehrig's Disease?

Baseball purists might get the shock of their lives when a new scientific paper comes out on Wednesday, basically saying that the late, great Lou Gehrig may have been misdiagnosed of the disease that carries his name.

It's true that Gehrig suffered from muscle weakness, sluggishness, and loss of muscle coordination towards the end of his career, eventually forcing him into early retirement at age 35. But according to this paper, those symptoms may have been attributed to brain trauma that resulted from untreated head concussions.

And for an alternative view of this shocking revelation, The Dugout takes this bit of news for a spin 'round the blogosphere.

Shocking indeed.

Tamtam