New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – September 01, 2010 – ESPN.
As I watched a dispirited, going-through-the-motions Mets squad tonight — well, last night, now — I remarked to my brother, “Hey, I’ve seen this team before!” It was the Atlanta Braves, circa 1985 — one depressed-looking righthanded-hitting superstar, an injured star who probably shouldn’t be playing, and six guys who may or may not belong in the big leagues but who in combination are deadly to their team’s chances. Not fun in Flushing, I fear.
The Braves jumped on the Mets early, scoring two in the first as Omar Infante singled, Jason Heyward doubled to the gap, and Martin Prado followed with another double to score both of them. Prado was later thrown out trying to score on a Eric Hinske groundout, but so far, so good. In the second, they scored two again, with Infante singling in Rick Ankiel and then scoring on Heyward’s second double. 4-0.
That was more than enough tonight, as Tommy Hanson finally had some good luck on balls in play. He only struck out three, but was getting a lot of fly balls, mostly routine outs to center. Ankiel made one spectacular catch, but most of the rest was pretty easy. Hanson allowed only one hit, a double by David Wright (“It’s not your fault, David. Relax.”) in the fourth, and walked only one over seven innings.
The Mets got a run against Jonny Venters in the eighth, with a walk, a groundout (which if Venters hadn’t deflected it might have been a GIDP) and a single by, of all people, Luis Hernandez. Billy Wagner got three outs on ten pitches in the ninth for the save.
Heyward was 4-4 again; the Braves had eleven hits in all. They could have scored more, but for a spectacular episode of Snitkering with two out in the fourth, when Rick Ankiel was thrown out trying to score on an Infante single to center. Before the ball even hit the ground, I remarked, “He can’t score on that.” And he couldn’t. With Heyward on deck; did I mention that he was 4-4?
Frank Wren will shock the world by naming Snitker the next Braves manager.
Who is worse at third base? Fredi or Snitker? They are both pretty terrible…
At least by going to the game you missed out on the boys going on and on about Skippy’s good fortunate at going to the Rangers, his Mets teammates heartbreak at seeing him go, what a ‘get’ this was for the Rangers and their playoff hopes. Stomach churning.
They even went through the trouble of putting up the AL West Standings graphic to illustrated to those dim-witted Frenchy fans out there that, yes, it looks pretty good for Golden Boy to get a look at the playoffs.
@2 Next season, we will be finally free of seeing and listening anything related to Jeffrey…hope the Mets or the Nats will not sign him…Dayton, go get your boy.
The magic number drops to 27
A little hilarity from our old friends in Arizona
http://deadspin.com/5627396/at+bat-music-is-ripe-for-a-prank
Having left Mays, Bench, etc. in the dust long ago, Heyward, for the time being, is squeaking past Griffey for the 11th greatest age 20 season of all time.
Rk Player OPS+ Year Age
1 Ty Cobb 167 1907 20
2 Mel Ott 165 1929 20
3 Al Kaline 162 1955 20
4 Mickey Mantle 162 1952 20
5 Alex Rodriguez 160 1996 20
6 Ted Williams 160 1939 20
7 Rogers Hornsby 150 1916 20
8 Jimmie Foxx 148 1928 20
9 Dick Hoblitzell 143 1909 20
10 Frank Robinson 142 1956 20
11 Jason Heyward 136 2010 20
12 Ken Griffey 135 1990 20
Moving up!
Too bad the Braves have to go on the road, especially to Florida.
I’m just wondering what happens if, at the end of the season, both the Braves and Phillies have the playoffs wrapped up and the only issue is who wins the division. How hard do the Braves go for it, considering how much better they are at home?
@7
Great point.I think we have to make a run at home field. We have the best record in the league, that is what we need to push to keep.
On April 1st of this year, someone at my office asked me to predict Heyward’s season. I wrote:
.275/17/75/.340/.450
Looks like he’s gonna eclipse that
Before the season started, I wrote, “I think he could well hit 20-25 homers with a .280-.300 average and a .850+ OPS.”
I might have been right.
if he stays relatively hot for the rest of the season, a .300/.400/.500 year is possible. that would be one hell of a rookie season. he has raised his batting average 30 points in 11 games, his obp 25 points, and his slugging a whopping 54 points. it could happen. it’s no coincidence that the braves have won 5 straight while heywards hitting.
Can we trade for Gaby Sanchez? Please?
Fredi Gonzalez at the top of Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry’s wish list of managers to replace Lou Pinella. Bullet dodged?
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/2660360,CST-SPT-cub01.article
I’m pretty sure that if Fredi is given the choice of managing the Braves or the Cubs, he’s going to pick the Braves. I mean, who wouldn’t?
if i were a betting man, i’d bet troy glaus sees his first action at 3rd tonight with infante moving to cf. bobby’s too old school to not go lefty/right matchup, even though johan pitches better to righties.
my lineup prediction:
infante
heyward
prado
lee
diaz
mccann
glaus
alex g.
huddy
I’d swap Lee and Diaz, but knowing Bobby he’ll swap Diaz and McCann.
Infante
Heyward
Prado
Lee
Diaz
Glaus
Gonzalez
Ross
Hudson
Just my two cents worth.
That clothesline from Sanchez was spectacular. That said…
I understand why Morgan was pissed. Why is it so wrong for him to steal two bases, after getting drilled, when his team is losing? He basically created a run all by himself — and that’s a bad thing? WTF?
Also, watching the carnage on the Deadspin clip, the Marlins’ color guy is horrible. Talk of the first plunking being done “in a professional manner.” Again, I ask, WTF? Are there no good color guys in baseball?
they said last night that Prado’s finger cant handle the throws from second or the double play balls. For some reason it hurt much worse. If thats the case, I dont see Glaus playing much
@19
i didnt know that…
The Morgan thing goes back to the night before when he was trying to score and, instead of sliding, plowed into the rookie catcher and separated the catcher’s shoulder. He was out and the Nats ended up losing 1-0. The Marlins thought it was a dirty play; I don’t know if it was or not, but from a baseball standpoint, he likely would have been safe if he slid. Morgan did something similar over the weekend against the Cardinals.
The other stuff was nonsense; he was trying to steal bases when his team was down by 12 runs. Maybe the Nats’ manager should be angry, but no reason for the Marlins to be.
On the other hand, the pitcher threw the ball waay behind Morgan; there was no way he was going to get hit unless he intentionally ran into the ball. There was no reason (if there is ever any) to charge the mound.
If Jason keeps hitting, the Braves are a dangerous team in the playoffs. And, AAR, I will be glad to have you keep posting my comment if he keeps getting four hits a game.
regarding nyjer…
he deserved what he got.
I mean, I agree that he shouldn’t have charged the mound. And I agree that there was a “reason” for the first plunking. I just don’t think it makes any sense for Volstad to have thrown behind him again, apparently for stealing the bases, and the Marlins’ color guy’s commentary annoyed me enough to post about it.
Marc, I personally want to thank you for the post you made two weeks ago
Nyjer doesn’t seem to be a socially well adjusted person, but throwing at someone because they are supposed to just accept their team is going to lose is ridiculous. In the 4th inning you are supposed to quit? How the hell is that showing anyone up? My brother used to manage Rickwood Field in Birmingham years ago, and I once asked him how much fun was it to hang with ballplayers. He replied “They are the same dumbass jocks you went to high school with, 4 years older and without the benefit of a college education”. I hate it when baseball reminds me of this.
Ever try to interview these guys? It’ll drive you to writing about music.
I don’t have a problem with what Nyjer did. He stole two bases. So stop him.
Morgan deserved an ass kicking for running into the catchers. Glad Gaby Sanchez and friends gave it to him.
@25,
Good point. Other than making a lot more money, they haven’t changed all that much from how Jim Bouton portrayed ballplayers in “Ball Four.”
What’s been crazy about this pennant race has been how closely our streaks have correllated. The entire month of August, the team was never more than three games up, but it was also never less than one game up.
Apparently, the Marlins were upset that Morgan didn’t show remorse/take his medicine. Throwing at him once was justifiable. Throwing at him twice was just as crazy as Nyjer himself.
Nyjer Morgan has some serious issues. Not only has he had 2 unnecessary collisions with catchers in a week, but he threw a ball at a fan in the crowd in Philadelphia and was caught on camera yelling obscenities at another fan a couple of days ago.
we’ve got 14 home games left and 15 on the road….
we need a 10-4 stretch at home and something like a 7-8 or 8-7 road trips
If the team just plays .500 ball, we’ll be fine.
@34, I’ll go so far as to say if we play .500 ball against the Phillies we’ll be okay. I think August has proven that we can’t rely on other teams to help us pick up ground.
The Braves’ next road trip is Florida for 3, then Pittsburgh for 3. If we could go 3 – 3 on the trip (say, win 1 in FLA and 2 in PIT) I’d take that, though I think we could potentially do better, as well as this team has been hitting recently.
I don’t want to jinx us, but the Braves’ September schedule looks pretty soft right now. The series at Philly is the only one where we’re real underdogs (though the Cardinals @ ATL might be dangerous if they turn things around). On the other hand, the Phillies’ September schedule looks to be just as easy as ours, so it really might come down to how the Braves do in their remaining 6 games vs. the Phils.
“Speaking of future Royals, one NL official guaranteed to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff that Jeff Francoeur will play for Kansas City in 2011. The Rangers technically control Francoeur’s right’s next year, but they’ll likely non-tender him, so the Royals, who have appeared interested before, will likely have a shot at signing the outfielder.”
One NL club official, on Francoeur in ’11: “He’ll be a #Royal. Guaranteed.”
The Mets beat writer called Francoeur “affable but ultimately underwhelming.” I love it.
Really, if the Cards don’t sweep this weekend, they will be very close to done. Hopefully they will continue to not start Rasmus, improving the chances of their schedule being cleared up for the October rally season.
The Morgan situation would have been over had he taken his medicine and just gone quietly THAT INNING. Everyone understood he was going to get hit for the catcher issue the night before, so he should have just gone to first and stayed there. If he got on base later in the game, then all bets are off. But that inning he was supposed to get hit and sit there in time out like the misbehaving child he is. I’m all for competitiveness and all that, but they were 11 runs down and neither team is going nowhere. I highly suspect Morgan was probably out there running his mouth anyway, and I’m sure his teammates were thrilled with his antics. Maybe he, Yunel, Carl Everett & Carlos Zambrano need to get into some kind of therapy together.
I am torn on the Rasmus issue. He’s on my fantasy team and really good, so I want him to start. On the other hand, I want the Cardinals to lose.
Oh well, I have other players on my team.
Nice write up–even though I am actually in Pirate country (Chautauqua, NY) I could not get the game because of the blackout–which seems nicely absurd in this part of the world.
Anyway, is is possible to be nostalgic for the 1985 Braves? The teams for the rest of the decade were equally tests of loyalty for Braves’ fans.
Looking forward to seeing Freemen get some more ABs….
@40, but they already DID hit him. that should have ended it right there. His stealing, while poor strategy and mildly provocative, I suppose, doesn’t warrant a second pitch, and behind him at that.
If he got on base later in the game, then all bets are off. But that inning he was supposed to get hit and sit there in time out like the misbehaving child he is.
I disagree. I don’t care if my team is down 100 points, I don’t want anybody just sitting on the bases, especially if they’re one of the fastest guys in the league. Morgan’s actions the other night with the catcher might have been unwarranted (I don’t know, I haven’t seen it), but intentionally putting him on base just sets them up for getting stole on.
I’m personally not a fan of all these “gentleman’s agreements” and the idea of baseball as being a personality contest first and a sport second. I want everybody on my team to play with that Ty Cobb mentality of doing whatever it takes to win. If you’re only chance at scoring at home is by knocking the ball out of the catcher’s glove, then by all means drop the shoulder. Don’t just take your licks and go “Aw shucks. Maybe next time.”
http://www.talkingchop.com/2010/9/2/1665300/peace-out-dibs
he deserved it also.
Nice column by Posnanski on the Padres.
http://tinyurl.com/2faeezd
It has this nugget… The Atlanta Braves did not lose seven in a row from 1991-2005
Wow… i mean, best team of the 90’s and all of that, but i did not realize such consistency.
As someone cleverly noted the other day, a look at the Pad’s record against sub- and over- .500 teams explains much, and the strength of their remaining schedule should give one pause.
You guys defending the Marlins in the Morgan/Volstad brawl are just nuts. Volstad needs to be suspended for 10 games, and Sanchez deserves 20. Morgan still hasn’t done anything notably wrong to the Marlins.
The play the previous night, where Hayes got hurt, was a standard baseball play. Collisions at the plate happen. Catchers sometimes get hurt. News at 11. Even though the play was mostly routine Morgan took the HBP well enough (he didn’t deserve it.) Took his base without comment. Then played baseball.
The Marlins didn’t like that he had the nerve to continue to play baseball, so they threw at him again. He had every right to charge Volstad for that, and Sanchez’ WWE routine from 1B deserves as harsh a suspension as possible from the commissioner’s office.
That entire debacle is on the Marlins, and no one wiht a lick of sense would argue otherwise.
No way MLB can punish Morgan for stealing bases even if it was not smart baseball
As a matter of pure strategy, if you’re gonna charge the mound, you should yell and gesture a bit before hand so your teammates have a chance to get out of the dugout. Morgan just immediately sprinted at top speed, practically guaranteeing that he would end up being the mustard in a Gaby Sanchez sandwich.
Pretty much the entire Marlins roster needs to be suspended for that dogpile. If Volstad wants to randomly throw at batters he should have to defend himself.
But that inning he was supposed to get hit and sit there in time out like the misbehaving child he is
Both wrong and brutally phrased.
I saw the play and, while I don’t think he was trying to hurt the guy, he would likely have been safe if he had slid. Still, in the heat of the moment, I can understand him thinking his only chance was to knock the ball out.
The problem with these unwritten rules is that they are so vague (which is why they are unwritten, I guess). I think the Marlins’ complaint about him stealing while 12 runs down is that it is such poor strategy that the only reason he did it was to show up the Marlins. Absent everything else, I doubt he would have tried to steal in that situation. At least, I assume that’s what the Marlins were thinking.
But, even if he was trying to show them up, so what? If I was behind by 12 runs, I could see being pissed, but under the circumstances, they should have just laughed. I hear ex-players saying they should just let the players enforce things like this and everything would be ok. But it’s sort of like letting kindergartners take care of things. I think the managers should be held responsible for things like this. I know some of them (in other sports as well) think that fights and other incidents are helpful because they “bring the team together” but it should not be tolerated. Players should be automatically suspended if they charge the mound; I don’t care what the provocation is.
#48
But what about the yelling/signaling/bickering at the fans?
The guy has anger problems. I agree that the Marlins deserve a lot of the blame prior to Morgan’s gesturing to the fans.
I side with Morgan and the Nationals in this one too.
@54,
Doesn’t matter. The Marlin players aren’t there to protect the fans from gestures. (Although given how few there are, maybe each fan should be personally protected by a Marlin player.)
But what about the yelling/signaling/bickering at the fans?
I suspect that if I had spent the night being hit by a pitch for no good reason, then thrown at again for even less of one, and then blind-sided by a 250 lb 1B (in what looked very much to have been a set-up by Volstad and Sanchez) and THEN dogpiled by the entire opposing team, and then was getting grief from the opposing fans, I might give a little back to them too. Dude was just mass-assaulted by the entire Marlins team. I don’t begrudge him parting hand gestures to the hostile crowd.
Morgan’s actions Tuesday night (running over the Marlins catcher) didn’t happen in a vacuum. Once you take into account the collision with the Cards catcher over the weekend, the Marlins had a reason to think twice about his intent, especially considering he was likely safe had he decided to slide. I don’t disagree with him subsequently stealing two bases, but I wouldn’t have blamed the Marlins for throwing at him the rest of the night simply for the way he approaches collisions at the plate and the resulting injury to their catcher.
#48
Your assessment of Gaby Sanchez’s actions last night are beyond any boundaries of common sense. How else is an infielder supposed to deal with someone (who is increasingly proving to be a lunatic) charging your pitcher?
@48
that’s crap. i have sense and i’ll argue otherwise when i get the time.
I saw the play and, while I don’t think he was trying to hurt the guy, he would likely have been safe if he had slid. Still, in the heat of the moment, I can understand him thinking his only chance was to knock the ball out.
On the previous night’s play at the plate, Morgan would have been safe if he had hook slid around Hayes, but he had no way of knowing that at the point in the play where he had to make the slide/collide decision. He’s the lead runner on 2B with a trailing runner on 1B, less than two outs. The batter hits a hard chopper straight to the SS, Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez runs the ball to 2B while Morgan takes 3B and rounds for home. At this point, Morgan is thinking Ramirez is going to throw to 1B for the double play. For some reason Ramirez doesn’t make that throw. A couple clicks later both Morgan and Ramirez realize that he’s halfway home and a dead duck at the plate.
At that point, Morgan makes his decision to run threw the catcher. It’s a perfectly reasonable choice. He’s a dead duck at home with even a moderately decent throw from Hanley. Ramirez triple-clutches the throw and then sails it high. Because of Ramirez playing the throw so poorly, Morgan could have slid around Hayes, who would not have been able to put the tag down in time. But he’s already heads down into the bull rush, assuming Ramirez doesn’t misplay the ball so badly. (And from the replay, he was actually still safe at home, though he was called out on the collision.)
Hayes got hurt. That’s unfortunate. But there’s nothing dirty about the play by Morgan, a fact that even the Marlins agreed to in quotes after the game. The only reason they thought it was “dirty” was because of the play against STL the week before. There’s no real reason that STL play should be considered at all. It was a clean play. The catcher got hurt. That’s baseball.
For playing baseball, Morgan got plunked in his first at bat. He then stole 2B and 3B and scored on a sac fly. In his next AB Volstad threw behind him again. That’s the point where Morgan rightfully charged the mound. Sanchez then comes flying in like some sort of maniac and all hell breaks loose.
All of it is on the Marlins, and Volstad and Sanchez need to be suspended for a long time.
I thnk the Marlins should be forced to forefit their next four games.
The second time throwing at him was total horse crap, no doubt. You hit me, I’m mad, I steal the base. That’s baseball. Happens, literally, all the time. That has nothing to do with the game score.
From Nyjer Morgan’s perspective: Do you want to play winning baseball, or do you want to have revenge on me? Because you can’t have both. Putting me on base is bad strategy, because you can’t stop me from stealing those bases.
However, once you charge the mound, regardless of right or wrong, you’re in for what you get. There’s 9 guys out there. You saw them when you took off, you have every reason to assume every one of those 9 is going to take turns kicking your brains in.
If you’re really that made, take first, and then steal two more bases. That seems like a good revenge. Sure seemed to make them mad the last time you did it.
I suspect that the Marlins were simply going to throw at Morgan until he reacted. Surprisingly considering his temperament, it took two PAs to get it done. The Marlins got to extract their pound of flesh for their fallen teammate and now we are even up again.
Seriously, if a guy runs over one of your teammates and injures him – part of the game or not – and you don’t want a get back, you are not a very good teammate.
@58 & 59:
You guys are free to your opinions, of course. I’m sure it will be neither the first nor last time you’re completely wrong on some issue or another.
Once you take into account the collision with the Cards catcher over the weekend, the Marlins had a reason to think twice about his intent
The play with Anderson in the STL is for the Cardinals and Nationals to work out. Clearly Morgan isn’t the most fundamentally sound of baserunners (either in general or at the plate) but the Marlins had absolutely no reason to retaliate against him for a run-of-the-mill collision at home plate.
@ Sam Hutcheson
Let me get this straight, you’re complaining about the unwritten rules that led to Morgan getting hit in the first (and second) place (I don’t disagree with this), and then you think Gaby Sanchez violated some other unwritten rule once Morgan charged the mound and the gloves came off?
That’s the point where Morgan rightfully charged the mound. Sanchez then comes flying in like some sort of maniac and all hell breaks loose.
The idea that the rest of the Marlins should stand around while Morgan throws haymakers at their pitcher…well, that some Grade A Sam H crazy right there. Couldn’t be anyone else.
I suspect that the Marlins were simply going to throw at Morgan until he reacted.
I agree. And it’s this that should bring down the hammer from MLB. Morgan had done nothing to deserve being baited into a gang assault on the infield.
I’m trying to figure out how a player obstructs a base, in clear violation of the rules, and when he gets run into it’s the baserunner’s fault.
I don’t really care about this issue in the slightest, but that wasn’t an ordinary collision at the plate. Morgan went out of his way to hit him.
61 — Good idea!
Let me get this straight, you’re complaining about the unwritten rules that led to Morgan getting hit in the first (and second)place, and then you think Gaby Sanchez violated some other unwritten rule once Morgan charged the mound and the gloves came off?
No, I’m watching the video and stating that the Marlins should be punished for inciting a brawl because Nyjer Morgan had the audacity to play baseball against them.
The idea that the rest of the Marlins should stand around while Morgan throws haymakers at their pitcher
If Chris Volstad isn’t man enough to take the charging batsman he’s not man enough to throw at him.
Seriously, there’s just no way to defend this from the Marlins side. They got their fee fees hurt because their catcher got injured on a routine play at the plate, so they started a brawl. That’s horseshit.
I don’t really care about this issue in the slightest, but that wasn’t an ordinary collision at the plate. Morgan went out of his way to hit him.
I suggest you watch the video.
Was it a total obstruction or just a partial one (leg)?
Sam,
I saw it several times. I also played a ton of baseball in my life. I also coached & umpired quite a bit. He didn’t have to hit the guy.
why do we care about a fight between the Marlins and Nats? they both are irrelevant
I saw it several times. I also played a ton of baseball in my life. I also coached & umpired quite a bit. He didn’t have to hit the guy.
Didn’t have to. Borderline call. But it wasn’t dirty either. Chad Tracy said as much after the game. The only reason people are on the “that’s a dirty play” bandwagon is because of the play against STL. The Marlins had no reason to throw at Nyjer Morgan.
Looking at video and being in the moment are two entirely different scenarios. There’s no possible way Morgan could have known how the play would have gone down, especially if he wasn’t watching the play (which he shouldn’t have been, once he rounded third).
@74
Hayes was standing at the top of the plate (closest to the pitcher), but clearly on/blocking it. Morgan could have either
1) slid wide to the dugout side and slapped the plate as he passed,
2) slid thru the plate and catcher, or
3) run thru him
He chose option 3. As it worked out, option 1 or 2 would have gotten him in safe because Ramirez threw high, but Morgan couldn’t have known that when he made his decision. In addition, if he had chosen option 2 he would have been getting the same grief he’s getting now for “dangerously taking out the catcher’s legs.” And if he tries to slide thru and the throw is on target, he’s out by a mile and getting crap for sliding spikes first into the catcher.
In short, because of the play against STL people would have been whinging about Morgan regardless of what he did.
It was a clean, hard baseball play. It’s regrettable the kid got hurt on it, but that’s baseball.
@76, Well, for Heyward’s sake, let’s hope they throw the book at Gaby while Jason rampages on to the ROY.
Catcher should have tagged Morgan in face. He would slide from then on.
All he had to do was slide right into the plate. When a catcher is standing straight up he can’t block the plate, even if he has a foot on it. The only time you have to run into a catcher there is if he is crouched and is able to use more of his leg to block the plate. There was no excuse for what he did, and it was obviously stupid, as it resulted in him getting thrown out unnecessarily when he quite clearly could have made it if he slid.
Whether or not it was “dirty” is subjective. I don’t think he was intentionally trying to hurt the guy, but it wasn’t necessary to complete his objective. I can certainly understand why players would be upset at their teammate being subjected to possible serious injury for no reason.
Heyward keeps doing what he does, he wins ROY and Braves pennant.
A good base runner is trying to read the defender. He’ll tell you if the throw is high, low, in or out by the way he reacts to it. That’s why you SEE good hook slides, slides past the plate and all that.
Take for example Heyward’s slide home the other day, going out around the plate and catching it with his hand on the way by. He didn’t have any more time than Morgan. Both plays were bang-bang.
But Heyward is a good baseball player. Nyjer Morgan is a guy who runs fast. It’s true, he could have scored if he hadn’t hit him. But he’s not very good. I don’t think that can really enter in to it.
@82 Runners get hurt by sliding too late
@85 As opposed to running full speed into a guy in hard protective gear? C’mon, he had more than enough time to slide without getting hurt. He could read the guy was going high with 1/3rd of the distance left to go.
Just because Morgan made a worse decision and Heyward made a better one doesn’t mean that his decision was inherently malicious. It just means that Heyward is a smarter baseball player than Morgan.
About why this is so much of an issue, I think Dan LeBatard said it well in connection with Kevin Garnett celebrating the Celtics championship last year. Some people act in the heat of a moment in a way that make many of us instinctively recoil, and we feel an urge to lash back in anger. Resentful of having had one’s fight-or-flight instinct aroused, we then seek to re-establish internal stasis by asserting moral superiority.
Nyjer Morgan is batshit insane. This has been out in the open since his tantrum earlier in the season that resulted in an inside the park home run. The last two weeks, he’s acted nuttier than Milton Bradley ever was. Of course other teams are noticing this, and will correctly view every one of his actions through the “we’re dealing with a crazy person” lens.
If Chris Volstad isn’t man enough to take the charging batsman he’s not man enough to throw at him.
Well here’s the fallacy. It’s highly unlikely this was Volstad acting alone, he was likely encouraged by his teammates or manager to do what he did. So then it becomes his responsibility to go toe to toe with a guy coming at him 100 miles an hour?
That’s silly. If you are going to charge the mound, you get your one free shot at the pitcher and then you get your ass kicked. That’s the deal.
I would love to see the reaction here if someone charged Tim Hudson and McCann and Derrek Lee stood to the side a said ‘you hit him Timmy, you handle it’. I don’t think it would be well received.
@87, that’s what I said.
Ball had barely left HR’s hand second before collision. He only had time after ball reached home to make different decision. Heyward is a star and he knows not to make stupid decisions
The bulk of human conflict can be adequately explained as being a combination of the survival instinct and fundamental attribution error.
I would love to see the reaction here if someone charged Tim Hudson and McCann and Derrek Lee stood to the side a said ‘you hit him Timmy, you handle it’. I don’t think it would be well received.
Of course not. Which is why Bobby Cox’ teams don’t start this sort of stupid shit to start with.
When was the last time you saw a Brave charge the mound?
Galarraga?
I wish I could have seen Kyle Farnsworth’s reaction to that dogpile. I bet he was sore as hell that he couldn’t climb in there and beat the crap out of both teams.
I wish David Ross would charge the mound once. I get the impression that he would pick the pitcher up and snap his back over his knee like Bane did to Batman (spoilers). Then he would probably bite him.
Just the image I get when I think of David Ross though.
I remember Yunel Escobar doing a lot of pointing and staring and making that “Just give me one reason,” face… But I can’t remember a recent player going out there.
I think Hinske would be the best Brave in a fight. I also think Huddy would go nuts.
@100
All 165 lbs of him. Then again, he must be pure gristle to get 93 mph out of that frame.
The bulk of human conflict can be adequately explained as being a combination of the survival instinct and fundamental attribution error.
ooooh I am so stealing this – nice turn of phrase
Brooks Conrad would probably break someone’s nose with a headbutt.
Who would be the WORST Brave in a fight? For some reason I get the feeling that Tommy Hanson fights like a girl. No offense to Bethany or any other female lurkers.
Having seen both plays, I thought the St. Louis one was more egregiously stupid in terms of baseball. In that one, he actually side-swiped the catcher and missed touching the plate. In this one, he may have been stupid, but he wasn’t malicious. Morgan is not a particularly good player; he has speed and that’s about it. He has done some bizaare things on the field and also complained about being moved out of the leadoff spot when he was hitting nothing.
The Marlins shouldn’t have thrown behind him. He shouldn’t have charged the mound. Let’s at least try to pretend we’re adults. Of course, adults haven’t done so well running the world either.
I understand the concept of protecting your teammate if you think someone has tried to hurt him. But this seemed to be more a matter of it being “Nyjer is a pain in the ass, let’s get him.”
I wish someone would charge the mound at Farnsworthless, but they know he’ll throw a 92 mile an hour fastball straight down the middle, so why bother.
I suspect that our bullpen would lay waste to any other bullpen in baseball. Wagner, Venters, O’Flaherty, and Moylan — and we know about Farnsworth — all look like fighters, to me.
Oh man and O’Flaherty is Irish too.
I agree on Hanson, really don’t think he would be able to hold his own in a brawl.
Yawn.
Moylan would be my pick. Aussies in general are pretty ok with that sort of activity, and Aussies with full sleeve tattoos more specifically.
103 & 107—I dunno. I bet Hanson would carry Medlen around on his shoulders, and, together, they’d be rather formidable.
Oh for the days of Wickman, Paronto, Gryboski, McBride and Yates…
They weren’t any good, but those bullpens were built to fight. Or anchor a tug-o-war team.
They probably would have won more if it was tug-o-war..
Get a few drinks in Moylan and O’Flaherty beforehand and it would be game over.
Otis Nixon went to the mound once
I would take Diaz, Heyward, Moylan, Hinske, Wagner and the Farnz come fight time.
I think McCann is a little slow, that could hurt him in a fight. AAR probably can’t fight either.
O’Flaherty = Priest Vallon from Gangs of New York, imo.
Farnsworth = The Butcher
Melky would fall asleep on his way to the mound.
I think Eddie Perez actually started our last fight. It was back in the summer of ’99. I forget all of the details, but I know Paul Byrd (who was a Phillie at the time) was involved.
Per DOB Twitter
Braves lineup: 1. Infante 2B, 2. Heyward RF, 3. Prado 3B, 4. Lee 1B, 5. McCann C, 6. Diaz LF, 7. Gonzalez SS, 8. Cabrera CF, 9. Hudson P
ryan would’ve lost his money.
Thread time.
I knew Bobby wouldn’t bat Diaz before McCann. =/
I missed this if someone already posted it, but here’s a story on Wagner’s strikeout record: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/08/28/billy-wagner-sets-strikeout-record-declares-it-stupid/?ncid=edlinkusspor00000004
A couple of commenters went after him…
@93
“The bulk of human conflict can be adequately explained as being a combination of the survival instinct and fundamental attribution error.”
I had to look up “fundamental attribution error” and you accused me of brutal phrasing.
Yeah, sorry about that. I was in a bad mood earlier.