MLB '09

[bobbob1313]

And a nice performance after he got tossed. Guess he was pissed he got thrown out of the game when his family had driven six hours from New Jersey to watch him pitch. Note to Rick Porcello: if you don't want to get thrown out of the game, don't try to hit two opposing batters.

 

There's a thing in baseball where if one of your teammates gets hit and stuff.

 

Shouldn't we be applauding him for "playing the game the right way"?

[Lammycat]

The helmet was slowing Youk's time he had to get to the mound, particularly since Porcello was inching backwards while Youk progressed on him. The helmet had to be jettisoned and what better place to jettison it than at the douche who just plunked you?

 

A little much, of course, but entertaining.On the NESN feed it came the second after a loooong commercial for a casino. As soon as they cut back to the game the pitch was in the air and sailing to Youk's shoulder/back. That was almost as funny as the helmet toss.

[Lammycat]

There's a thing in baseball where if one of your teammates gets hit and stuff.

 

Shouldn't we be applauding him for "playing the game the right way"?

 

But the thing is that this had carried over from the night before's game. The team's were square so there was no need to plunk another Sox player. Especially Youks, who was plunked the night before. So really, he wasn't playing the game "the right way."

 

ed. Not to mention he had come way inside on several pitches on several players previously to hitting Youkilis last night.

[MattZ]

People get way too bent out of shape over HBPs. It's part of the game. Man up.

[caliber66]

There's a thing in baseball where if one of your teammates gets hit and stuff.

 

Shouldn't we be applauding him for "playing the game the right way"?

 

 

But the thing is that this had carried over from the night before's game. The team's were square so there was no need to plunk another Sox player. Especially Youks, who was plunked the night before. So really, he wasn't playing the game "the right way."

 

ed. Not to mention he had come way inside on several pitches on several players previously to hitting Youkilis last night.

The beaning of Youkilis was (direct) retaliation for Tazawa hitting Miguel Cabrera on the hand in the first inning, and his (Cabrera's) subsequent exit from the game. Youkilis was also plunked last night in retaliation for Cabrera being hit. The thing is, both times Cabrera was hit, it was good baseball - i.e., pitching inside to keep Cabrera from crowding the plate. Cabrera stands close and dives in, so he was unable to get out of the way of two pitches which weren't that far inside. Youkilis was intentionally hit both times in retaliation for the accidental Cabrera HBPs. Sure, pitchers have to protect their hitters, but the balance here is in the Red Sox's favor, IMO.

 

It's also been noted, on another board I frequent, that the umpires screwed up last night by not warning both benches after Porcello tried to hit Victor Martinez in the second inning. A warning likely would have averted the brawl in the third.

[Guest Jules]

Bunch of meatheads I tell ya.

[bobbob1313]

The beaning of Youkilis was (direct) retaliation for Tazawa hitting Miguel Cabrera on the hand in the first inning, and his (Cabrera's) subsequent exit from the game. Youkilis was also plunked last night in retaliation for Cabrera being hit. The thing is, both times Cabrera was hit, it was good baseball - i.e., pitching inside to keep Cabrera from crowding the plate. Cabrera stands close and dives in, so he was unable to get out of the way of two pitches which weren't that far inside. Youkilis was intentionally hit both times in retaliation for the accidental Cabrera HBPs. Sure, pitchers have to protect their hitters, but the balance here is in the Red Sox's favor, IMO.

 

It's also been noted, on another board I frequent, that the umpires screwed up last night by not warning both benches after Porcello tried to hit Victor Martinez in the second inning. A warning likely would have averted the brawl in the third.

 

I don't really see how you can say that one guy getting hit is good baseball and then another isn't, except that you are a fan of the team playing the good baseball.

 

Why can't both have been good baseball? If you throw at my guy, I'll throw at you. Good baseball.

 

Burke Badenhop threw at Orlando Hudson because Hanley Ramirez got hit earlier in the game. He was ejected and then given high fives by everyone in the clubhouse (Along with a three game suspension). That is good baseball to me.

 

Youk reacted like a fucking psycho. Imagine if Milton Bradley had done what Youk did; 10 game suspension?

[Guest Jules]

Youk reacted like a fucking psycho. Imagine if Milton Bradley had done with Youk did; 10 game suspension?

Well, they do factor in past issues. Plus, he's black.

[MattZ]

Yes, bobbob is right. It is all good baseball. Man up.

[bobbob1313]

Can they factor in that Youk has a feral cat living on his chin?

 

But really, if Magglio Ordonez had charged Clay Buccholz and thrown his helmet at him and the roles were completely reversed in every way, you guys would probably not like what Magglio did in this hypothetical bizarro world.

[Lammycat]

I don't really see how you can say that one guy getting hit is good baseball and then another isn't, except that you are a fan of the team playing the good baseball.

 

Why can't both have been good baseball? If you throw at my guy, I'll throw at you. Good baseball.

 

Burke Badenhop threw at Orlando Hudson because Hanley Ramirez got hit earlier in the game. He was ejected and then given high fives by everyone in the clubhouse (Along with a three game suspension). That is good baseball to me.

 

Youk reacted like a fucking psycho. Imagine if Milton Bradley had done what Youk did; 10 game suspension?

 

The pitch that hit Cabrera was not intentional, though. Porcello went way inside as if to hit Martinez and then clearly went after Youkilis. It was not good baseball because he was going at opposing players intentionally when there was no need to. Cabrera crowds the plate and it was a fastball that was a little inside (in the strike zone). There's a difference.

 

Taken from another site:

Youkilis:

“Two days in a row, and theway it was going, I had enough of it. At some point, you have toprotect yourself as a hitter and your teammates. I felt like I had todo what I had to do.”

 

John Farrell (BOS pitching coach):

"First and foremost,we threw a couple of fastballs up and in to Miguel the last couple ofnights. There's a reason why he wears an arm pad. There's a hole up andin there that many pitchers try to exploit. That's no different thanthis series. The pitch tonight, if you looked at the replay,that was actually between home plate and the batter's box. Yes, it waselevated. But it wasn't like it was thrown at him. It was execution ofa pitch. He's on top of the plate, and, plus, he dives out over theplate. That's his hitting style. We have to pitch accordingly to that.Apparently, there was some thought that we were throwing at him, andthat was the retaliation on their part. But Youk's been hit a lot oftimes, and he felt like enough was enough, and the decision (was) made to go to the mound at that point."

 

Victor Martinez:

"That pitch, did you see that pitch? It was right at his back. That pitch looked like it had some bad intentions."

 

 

In any event, Youkilis will likely be suspended 6-8 games. Which will be appropriate for charging the mound and for tossing a helmet. Not the smartest move on his part, but it is what it is. Nice that his replacement last night had two homers, though.

[caliber66]

I don't really see how you can say that one guy getting hit is good baseball and then another isn't, except that you are a fan of the team playing the good baseball.

 

Why can't both have been good baseball? If you throw at my guy, I'll throw at you. Good baseball.

 

Burke Badenhop threw at Orlando Hudson because Hanley Ramirez got hit earlier in the game. He was ejected and then given high fives by everyone in the clubhouse (Along with a three game suspension). That is good baseball to me.

 

Youk reacted like a fucking psycho. Imagine if Milton Bradley had done what Youk did; 10 game suspension?

Bobbo, you may or may not recall, but I called out Coco Crisp last year for charging the mound after getting hit in the ass, because he was retarded.

 

And the difference between the four HBPs is that two were intentional and two were not, as I explained above. You hit a guy on the other team after the other pitcher hits a guy on your team because somebody else hit a home run and he's pissed, or there's something else going on. If your batter gets hit because he's crowding the plate and can't get out of the way of an inside pitch, it's a different story. Not saying you don't come inside on the next guy, but surely you can see the difference?

 

Youkilis gets a five game suspension, reduced on appeal. He did get intentionally beaned two nights in a row; you have to expect that to be taken into consideration.

 

Bradley would probably get the death penalty.

[Guest Jules]

Bobbo, you may or may not recall, but I called out Coco Crisp last year for charging the mound after getting hit in the ass, because he was retarded.

 

this is offensive

[caliber66]

this is offensive

Would it be less offensive if I said it was because he was black?

[MattZ]

Youkilis got hit two nights in a row, and so he won. He got on base two times for free. The payback is that your teammates drive you in, and/or your pitcher hits someone on their team. If you are a man, that is.

 

Or, the payback can be that you run out to the mound and throw the helmet at the pitcher, I guess. In which case you get suspended, and possibly hurt your team. Because you weren't a man.

 

Man up.

[bobbob1313]

So the Tigers shouldn't have protected their player?

 

Also, Youk's been hit by 37 pitches in the last 3 years, so he probably crowds the plate quite a bit too. Just saying, he should be used to it.

 

And it's fucking baseball, come on. I'm not a purist by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no problem with throwing at guys, especially not if your guy got hit before. Oh, sorry Youk. You happened to get hit twice in two games. It happens sometimes. Not an excuse to throw a helmet at someone.

 

Also, the fact that Youk threw the helmet in a pretty girly way should factor into the suspension negatively. And then getting tackled by a 17 year old should also factor in.

[caliber66]

Where did I say the Tigers should not protect their player?

[MattZ]

And this is why pitchers need to hit. For the record.

[caliber66]

So the Tigers shouldn't have protected their player?

 

Also, Youk's been hit by 37 pitches in the last 3 years, so he probably crowds the plate quite a bit too. Just saying, he should be used to it.

 

And it's fucking baseball, come on. I'm not a purist by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no problem with throwing at guys, especially not if your guy got hit before. Oh, sorry Youk. You happened to get hit twice in two games. It happens sometimes. Not an excuse to throw a helmet at someone.

 

Also, the fact that Youk threw the helmet in a pretty girly way should factor into the suspension negatively. And then getting tackled by a 17 year old should also factor in.

Youk didn't just get hit twice in two games. He got hit twice on purpose in two games. The two beanings had nothing to do with him standing close to the plate, and he's never charged the mound after getting hit for crowding the plate.

[Guest Jules]

Would it be less offensive if I said it was because he was black?

 

Yes.

[bobbob1313]

Youk didn't just get hit twice in two games. He got hit twice on purpose in two games. The two beanings had nothing to do with him standing close to the plate, and he's never charged the mound after getting hit for crowding the plate.

 

I don't know if I like saying that he definitely got hit on purpose twice.

 

And either way, I still say suck it up. It's baseball.

[Guest Jules]

Let's be honest here; only pussies charge the mound.

[Lammycat]

So the Tigers shouldn't have protected their player?

 

Also, Youk's been hit by 37 pitches in the last 3 years, so he probably crowds the plate quite a bit too. Just saying, he should be used to it.

 

And it's fucking baseball, come on. I'm not a purist by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no problem with throwing at guys, especially not if your guy got hit before. Oh, sorry Youk. You happened to get hit twice in two games. It happens sometimes. Not an excuse to throw a helmet at someone.

 

Also, the fact that Youk threw the helmet in a pretty girly way should factor into the suspension negatively. And then getting tackled by a 17 year old should also factor in.

 

How were the Tigers "protecting" their player? The pitch that hit him (Cabrera) wasn't intentional.

 

Youkilis doesn't crowd the plate. He gets selected for plunks because of his hitting.

 

Throwing at guys is fine when it's called for (imo). This wasn't called for.

 

You're right: no excuse to throw a helmet and yeah, of course it'll factor in to the suspension.

 

If that was a tackle by Porcello then that really is a feral cat on Youkilis' face.

[MattZ]

Let's be honest here; only pussies charge the mound.

 

Man up.

[bobbob1313]

I don't think the pitch that hit Cabrera was intentional, but it doesn't matter. If teams are going to pitch him inside and he's going to get hit, then they need to let teams know that their best hitter will also get hit. That if you are going to pitch inside and hit our player, intentionally or not, these are the consequences.

 

I've always worked under the assumption that's what "protecting" means.

 

It's kind of stupid because it hurts your chances of winning the game, but it is what it is, and I don't have a problem with it. In fact, as much as I dislike it as a competitive strategy, I want my team to do it when Hanley gets hit. I'm not saying if Jeremy Hermida gets hit you have to throw at the other team's player, but yeah, other teams need to know they should shy away from pitching my guy inside. It's also a competitive strategy because concievably, you are getting your guy better pitches to hit.