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Posted 08/07/2009 at 03:49 AM
Payback. It exists in some form in nearly every sport. In baseball, it’s called retaliation. Someone on one side is perceived to have been thrown at, and the other side feels it’s necessary to send a message that they’re not about to lay down and take it passively.
Generally speaking, this a non-incident. It’s just part of the game and it’s accepted and understood. But on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, there was an exception to that rule.
The trouble began in the seventh inning when Milwaukee pitcher Chris Smith grazed Dodgers superstar Manny Ramirez with a pitch. I didn’t see this as much of a big deal, but evidently the Dodgers did not feel the same way.
The real trouble began in the top of the ninth, when Guillermo Mota appeared to intentionally throw at Prince Fielder. The hulking Brewers 1B didn’t take it at all well, and was visibly upset. But the situation escalated, at least from Fielder’s perspective, and he reportedly had to be restrained by teammates in an attempt to get into the Dodgers clubhouse for a more personal confrontation with Mota and perhaps others.
Both Fielder and Mota have been fined an undisclosed amount for the their action, and there were no further problems when the teams closed out their series on Wednesday night.
I’d normally get after Fielder for not accepting what is an established part of the game. Some people get all worked up over this stuff and don’t understand why it ever exists in the first place. I’m certainly not in that camp, as I completely understand why these things need to be done.
But in this instance, I’m going to back Fielder and instead rip Mota and the Dodgers. Call it the exception to the unwritten rule. Putting it simply, if the score is 17-4 and the losing team is batting in the top of the ninth inning, it’s simply not the right time to send that message. Either file it in the memory banks for future reference or just let it go. It’s 17-4, and you throw at an already frustrated team’s best player, well, you’re asking for trouble. To be honest, I’m a little surprised this didn’t escalate into a possible brawl when it happened.
I’m certainly not opposed to the eye for an eye philosophy. I just think that in this case, a little discretion on the part of the Dodgers was probably the right move.
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It’s put up or shut up time for Texas as the Rangers open a crucial weekend set with the Angels in Anaheim. The Rangers can’t afford to lose this series if they want to stay close in the AL West chase. I like their chances tonight as Scott Feldman has done yeoman work on the road, while Joe Saunders continues to struggle for the Halos. I’ll lean to the Rangers as road dogs this evening.
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