Well, I was going to joke about morning baseball and four day games in a row in Chicago, but then the Dodgers and Padres took over the news last night, so I think I’ll just make a few comments bout what happened there.
• I’m not going to cheer a Dodger player getting hurt. I don’t like seeing anyone getting injured, and I’d rather beat the Dodgers when they’re at full strength.
• That said, what was Zack Greinke thinking? He looks like a scrawny surfer boy, and Carlos Quentin is built like a fullback. Did Greinke really think that a shoulder block, or any form of direct contact, was a good idea? I respect the guy for standing his ground, but even Nolan Ryan found ways to get the upper hand rather than resort to brute strength.
• Carlos Quentin is a moron. No one gets hit in baseball more than he does, considering how he stands over the plate. And no pitcher is going to go after a batter to lead off an inning, even for retaliation. Especially when that team is trying to keep pace with the first place Giants </smile>. Plus, frankly, if I’m going to get retaliation for my big star getting thrown at, there are better targets than Quentin. Even on the Padres.
• If the Dodgers are going to answer questions about their clubhouse, they need a leader. Matt Kemp is the closest thing they have to a veteran leader, with the swagger to back it up, but Kemp was the 2nd-most immature player on the field last night, behind Quentin but only slightly ahead of Jerry Hairston Jr.
• Mattingly bringing together the team for a word while the replacement pitcher was warming up was a move of a smart manager, however. He worries me, as a Giants fan.
• I’m sure there will be calls for baseball to find a way to better police and prevent fights thanks to a $147 million investment being lost for an extended period of time. And I’m sure Bud Selig will call a blue ribbon committee to address the issue. And if we’re lucky, we’ll have their solutions about the time that baseball players can just send their robotic batboys to do battle in their stead.
No one deserves to get injured, but this one happened because of a lot of stupid, stupid people acting very stupidly.
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