Wednesday, September 2, 2020

I hate to say it, but Aroldis Chapman was wrong to throw at a player's head


 (With respect to HoraceClarke66, whose opposing views are below...)

For these last four weeks - actually, these last few years - the Tampa Devil Rays have wantonly thrown baseballs at their chosen arch-nemesis, the NY/Tampa Yankees. They "live on the inside of home plate," their manager's poetic way to describe bean balls. But it's not a literary thing. It's a thug thing.

Last night, you could say Aroldis Chapman - our "Water Cannon" - gave the Tampons a taste of their own Lysol. With two outs in the ninth - ("Clobberin' Time," Ben Grimm would say) - El Chapo fired a 101-mph fastball at the head of pinch hitter Mike Brosseau. Somehow, he ducked. From there, the usual events happened: Benches cleared, bullpens emptied, fingers flashed, threats echoed - a mini-COVID super-spreader event. Tonight, they'll probably do it again; that's what helmets are for! Any trip to the 2020 World Series must surely pass through Tampa.

Let's note here that the Rays organization has traditionally hated the Yankees with the heat of a billion suns. We steal their market by playing spring games in their back yard. We broadcast games on Tampa's WHBO (1040 AM), the Yankee radio network driven by Jeep. How galling is that? I still remember the spring of 2008 when a Tampa warm body named Elliot Johnson flattened Francisco Cervelli at home plate in an exhibition game, breaking the young prospect's wrist, an event so foul that MLB later declared it illegal. Yet the Rays horrifically defended it. (Thank God for Shelley Duncan, who came up swinging a few games later, after spiking a Tampa infielder in the balls. It's part of history, folks. We. Never. Forget.)

That said, the Rays last night had a point: There is no reason for a guy like Chapman to throw at someone's head. If Brosseau hadn't ducked, he could now be in a hospital, and - beyond all rightful concerns about his health - the Rays would have a martyr for the 2020 post-season. 

For some time now, I've worried about Chapman. He is a fierce competitor, a warrior, a powerful presence on the mound. But he can unravel at any moment. There's something about his crazed eyes - watching him sweat makes me sweat. Last night, he could have made his point by whacking Brosseau's knees. (The Rays would still squawk; that's what they do.) But throwing at the head is a bad idea, and I'd hate to think of DJ LeMahieu getting drilled tonight.

Baseball doesn't need its version of Kenosha.

26 comments:

  1. You can’t prove that throw was intentional. Pure Chappanstance. I hope we see more of it.

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  2. F’k em, send Cessa out there in the first inning and drill everybody till they throw him out. Then the umps can warn both sides and Tampa can’t retaliate.

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  3. I'm not a fan of throwing at someone's head, but there's no way to know if that's what he did.

    And baseball players are kind of whiny these days, too.

    So, both.

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  4. @el duque...It's in context...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=natkTw2vhQw

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  5. Come on, people now
    Smile on your brother
    Everybody get together
    Try to love one another right now

    uh...I think the Cuban Faucet was just too slippery and the ball got away.

    then again, I am still advocating for a one-day contract for CC NEXT year so that he can come in and hurl balls at the Astros' crotches until he is tossed from the game...

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  6. el duque, I usually agree with you about everything but I think you're wrong on this one. Tampa's been regularly dusting our guys and we've never retaliated. What if one of those balls had hit our guy in the head? We're still not even in my book. They have more coming. Up to now, those Tampa hitters have led charmed lives, knowing that no Yankee pitcher ever pitched inside.

    Second point, I agree with the guys above that Chapman may have just been wild with that one. We all know how wild he can get. He still gets my vote as our player of the year so far.

    The Hammer of God

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  7. Fuck those whining little bitches. Tampa pitchers have been headhunting the Yankees for years, so now they get to feel what it’s like to hear some ear music. Fuck them and their manager (the new boy genius). Get used to it kids. There’s more coming your way. It’s about time the Yankees started playing hardball instead of turning the other cheek.

    In other news, has anyone noticed the guy playing right field? That guy is in line for a gold glove. He is a lot better than that other guy who used to be out there. Man, was he awful.

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  8. Fuck those whining little bitches. Tampa pitchers have been headhunting the Yankees for years, so now they get to feel what it’s like to hear some ear music. Fuck them and their manager (the new boy genius). Get used to it kids. There’s more coming your way. It’s about time the Yankees started playing hardball instead of turning the other cheek.

    In other news, has anyone noticed the guy playing right field? That guy is in line for a gold glove. He is a lot better than that other guy who used to be out there. Man, was he awful.

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  9. Hard to imagine that Chappy has such perfect control that he can throw at a guy's head, while allowing sufficient space for the batter to duck if his reflex to do so kicks in at just the right nano second.

    Which is, thankfully, what happened.

    I am never an advocate of head hunting. It is far more effective to break bones, such as was done with Judge last year. Keep a big star out for 2 months. Hit them in the hands or dick.

    Is that a bone?

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  10. Could be a bone. So could a joint--the kind you smoke.

    Crazy times.

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  11. At least he didn’t go to the guys house and shoot up his garage. It could ALWAYS be worse

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  12. Hey, unlike the rest of the country, at least we can always agree to disagree here.

    And I like the parameters of this argument: The Rays? Hit them in the head, or hit them in the nuts? You be the judge!

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  13. I vote for strike zone in the middle of the ribcage. Makes for a Charlie Brown scene when a tampon tries to avoid the pitch.

    I also think there should be some special bumper music, in an annoying tampon mode. Maybe Alice Cooper, "Only Women Bleed". Kinda like saying "yeah asshole, it WAS intentional you pussy, now stop doing it to us and shut the fuck up" without actually saying it.

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  14. Boone, Kevin Cash, Chapman suspended...

    https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29795477/yankees-aroldis-chapman-aaron-boone-rays-kevin-cash-suspended

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  15. All these geriatric typists cheering on the use of a baseball as a lethal weapon, as though a human life were less important than a pro sports rivalry. Some people on this list need to have a thorough psychiatric workup and get a life.

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  16. oh, aren't your panties in a wad. try leather next time. they don't bunch.

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  17. So...Cash's team has repeatedly hit Yankees batters, and challenged the Yanks verbally. Over and over again. Cash himself, on TV last night, openly threatened to have his pitchers hit more Yankees.

    Ma Boone responded by saying that was a terrible thing to say, and there is not an ounce of evidence that he ordered anybody to hit anybody.

    And...their sentences are the same. Plus the Yanks lose their closer.

    Yeah, makes perfect sense, and I'm sure the fact that one team was from New York had absolutely nothing to do with it.

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  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  19. @ Anon (9/2/20 5:15PM) You do realize that the Rays were throwing at Yankees' heads and any of those could have been lethal? So they're allowed to throw at the Yankees, but as soon as a Yankee pitcher throws anywhere near them, without even hitting them, then it's attempted murder. Nice double standard. So none of the Rays were ever disciplined and they'll continue to do it, unless and until one of our pitchers dusts one of them. That's always been the deterrent to this stuff in baseball. And if you don't deter them, they'll continue to do it.

    And by the way, who are you calling geriatric? Would love to meet you in person.

    The Hammer of God

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  20. Yes, Hammer. So the solution is to unleash the threat of death upon multiple batters on both teams from multiple pitchers rather than growing up and not acting like homicidal freaks over a bat and ball game. Thanks for sharing.

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  21. Players used to police the game, and everyone understood that a tit required a tat. No, they didn't have to engage in a beanball war, but the pitchers could send a message in a more subtle, but recognizable way.
    Case in point. Go back to the first inning Tuesday. Tanaka, a man with impeccable control, struck out the first two Rays. His first pitch to Joey Wendle made him skip rope. His second at 95MPH like a laser hit Wendle in the arm. Wendle's reaction? He smiled at Tanaka on his way to first.
    No one even hinted that it was intentional. If you replay the inning, you might see what I'm talking about. Message sent, message received.

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  22. Players used to police the game, and everyone understood that a tit required a tat.

    Where can I get a tat?

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  23. @Anon (9/3/20 3:31AM) Hey, Tampa started it, they've been doing this for years now. That's why CC was always so angry at them. It ain't going to stop until our pitchers respond in kind. Baseball is a contact sport, no question about it. There's risk of death in all contact sports: hockey, football, boxing, auto racing. Some with higher risk than others. For those who fear death with every pitch, they should probably play a non-contact sport.

    The Hammer of God

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