Red Sox vs. Yankees: I apologize Baseball Gods

[Dirty Water]

Great win today, I was there. Pedroia is an absolute beast.

[Bleeding Green]

What a bush league play by Lowell. Arod does something like this and he gets killed in the media.

No. And I agree.

[JohnnyK]

Lowell hits Cano in the basepath => perfectly legal
A-Rod intentionally overstretches 2nd base to hit Pedroia => debatable

Comparing the two plays is like comparing apples and oranges...

And now for something completely different: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feBzndgxAHg

[Rondo_Fan]

I think that you guys are missing the main point.

Lowell gets drilled the day before in the hand, and then Proctor throws at Youkilis's head.

Obviously, there was an element of Lowell getting back at the Yankees the next day, and I say more power to him. We lost Nomar for most of a year because of a hit by pitch on the hand. It's not a minor thing.

The thing with A-Rod is, the perception that he is a poor sport. With the Pedroia play, he was going after a little guy, with no element of payback involved, and he overran the base and threw his elbow out to the side. You can add that in to the history of slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove, calling "mine" on the Toronto's infield popup, etc.

With that said, it is true that A-Rod gets more than his share of criticism.

[sunshinekids99]

What a bush league play by Lowell. Arod does something like this and he gets killed in the media.

Give me a break, Cano was in the baseline and Lowell did what he was suppose to do. He didn't go out of his way to make contract like Arod did on Pedroia.

[Dirty Water]

Jeez, for the last time... the rule is people: If the fielder is in the line of the basepath you have every right to run him over. Why do you think it's legal to nail the catcher on a play at the plate? Please stop acting like every collision involves some kind of bush league play on one end.

[Rondo_Fan]

Jeez, for the last time... the rule is people: If the fielder is in the line of the basepath you have every right to run him over.

Yes, but the fact that it's legal doesn't mean that you do it all the time. Theoretically you play as hard as you can all the time and against all teams and players but we all know that in reality that isn't true.

Do we see Lowell taking out the second baseman with a football block if it's a meaningless game at the end of the season against Kansas City? Probably not.

So if you believe that he wouldn't do it all the time, as I do, then you have to consider why he did it.

If you tell me that it was an important game against the Yankees and he was doing everything that he could to win, I'll buy that. But I think that there is more to the story. I think that a little bit of it was getting back at the Yankees for bush league play the day before, specifically hitting him with a pitch and hitting Youkilis in the head. Somebody (Doug Mirabelli? Please don't ask me to look up the quote) once said that the best way to get back at a pitcher who threw at you is to swing hard and "accidentally" let the bat go so that it went through the pitcher's mound. The players definitely think about stuff like that. So playing as rough as you can within the rules is not a bad way to send the Yankees a message not to escalate. In fact, it is 100% equivalent in intent and effect to a pitcher protecting his hitters by throwing inside.

So... Lowell gets hit by a pitch... then Youkilis, and the benches clear... then, "coincidentally" the next day Lowell is involved in two big collisions and also makes his point that he is pissed off by having a fantastic hitting day. I'm not saying that Mike Lowell doesn't play with intensity all of the time, but just that maybe that something extra that he put into hitting Cano had a message behind it.

Anyway, it was all legal and not bush league in any way. I 100% agree with that premise. I also applaud Lowell for doing it. I'm just saying, the fact that it is legal within the rules doesn't mean that he had to do it, and since he probably wouldn't do it all of the time, it's not ridiculous to look at his motive.

[Basketball Jesus]

Glad to see Chris Guccione Jr. inheriting the "Make Yourself Part of the Game" card from John Hirschbeck.

[cmaff051]

So much for locking up the division in Early june... see you in August

[Bleeding Green]

12.5.

I'll take it.

[BS007]

We need another reliever: Okijima is going to wear down, and Papelbon isn't "lights out" anymore. We need another solid option to give these two guys a break. Who cares if Wily Mo goes, .225 average isn't impressive at all, Hinske could do that

[sunshinekids99]

I know Paps is not at his 0.92 ERA of last year, but it's not like 2.11 is anything bad.

And everything about Hinske has been terrible this season. Although I do agree another reliever would be nice.

[Basketball Jesus]

*cough*rememberme?*cough*

[sunshinekids99]

He has pitched well, but he wasn't making the roster this season if they kept him or not.

[Chach]

See, this is what hubris brings to you. ****. mahalo
~Chach~

[VinnyTheMick]

12.5.

I'll take it.

10 days later its about to be 7.5



take that take that

[Chach]

I did my part, come on Baseball Gods, forgive us for our sins. mahalo
~Chach~