BigbadB

I think guys who develop a home run ritual may receive an exemption from a wrath from the opponent, as long as the other team doesn't find it all that offensive.. I don't really recall too many people getting upset with the Sammy hop.

It isn't just Cardinals fans that are saying it was showboating. I've said it as well. Yes, guys showboat all the time. And I'd say that everytime someone does it, you risk you or one of your teammates getting thrown at. Young was wrong to throw it where he did, but if Soriano just runs the bases, Lee isn't tossed for fighting. Showboating creates tension and anomosity. You're welcome to do it, but be prepared for consequences. I don't really see it as being much different than sticking your finger in a pot of boiling water. You can try it, but you're probably going to get burned. Pujols is guilty of admiring his home runs. Gary Bennett (when he was with San Diego) and Pujols had a big blow up a few years back when Pujols purposely took out the starting catcher (Ramon Hernandez?) unnecessarily. Every team has their showboats and everytime they pull a stunt, there is a high probability of retaliation. What gets overlooked here is that Soriano's actions could have done even more damage. What if Lee does get hit in the head there? Young was in the wrong for what he did, no doubt. But, Young wouldn't have thrown at Lee at all if Soriano wasn't showing up Wells the day before. Who exactly is the player trying to cater to when they trot backwards or stand there and admire the shot? The fan? Personally, I just like the fact the ball went over the fence. Doesn't really matter to me how he gets around the bases, it's a home run regardless. His manager and/or his teammates? They've seen home runs everyday of their playing careers, another one where you stand there waiting for a show of appreciation from your teammates shouldn't create that much of a rise? A guy really has zero reason to stand there and watch their home run. That's what ESPN is for. That's what the big SuperTron screen in most parks is for. The only real reaction one should expect from admiring your shot or showboating is a negative reaction from the other team. It's just not professional to show up the opponent. And the opposing team will likely resort to something unprofessional in return to make their point.

Maybe because he was only the GM for two years of his tenure here? Get your facts straight. You definetly work for the Tribune company. Why, because I told him to get his facts straight? Those are the facts. MacPhail was Cubs GM from July 2000 to July 2002...TWO years. I just happen to pay more attention to the business side of the game because it fascinates me. That doesn't mean that I work for Tribune Company. I think the responses to my post shows why I don't have a lot of posts for the number of years that I have been a member of this community. CARRIE! or Sharon! It's one or the other. No fishing expeditions, please.

Post something controversial and you'll get all kinds of responses. Post something that most agree with, and very few will have much to add. "Get your facts straight" is controversial. There ya go. People are responding.

Have you seen their line up and rotation? They seem to like getting rid of the good players and keeping the marginal players. Not sure how Young and Tex have managed to keep their jobs in Texas this long. This is the same team that traded Travis Hafner and Aaron Myette for Einar Diaz and Ryan Drese. It's the same team that signed Chan Ho Park for a ridiculous amount of money. Traded Alex Rodriguez for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias.

Yeah, I never overcame a horrendous start by Paul Byrd. I do have favorable match ups this week and next, and my pitchers are scheduled against some really weak hitting teams this week and double starts for my best pitchers next week, but you just never know what's going to happen on a given week.

Yeah, I'd rather see Griffey on Cincinnati's DL, not the Cubs DL.

How well does Gagne handle the bat?

Yeah, good one. There haven't been 749 complete games during this entire decade, including every pitcher.

There are a lot of records that will never be broken, but the 56 game hitting streak isn't one that I label as unbreakable. Maybe it will never be broken, but guys can at least come close to breaking it compared to Cy Young's career wins.

$12.5 mil through '08, $16.5 mil club option in '09 ($4 mil buyout). So he'd be roughly $18 mil through '08 it seems. I thought for sure I saw somewhere that Griffey's contract was deferred and that he'd be getting paid yearly all the way through 2024.

Yeah, I really don't understand that part. I don't know if the Padres could have telegraphed it any more obviously.

He doesn't have to do his own laundry. :wink:

Considering what Peavy said in the paper the previous day, warnings probably should have been issued before the game even started. Maybe all 4 umps were completely unaware of the remarks made by Peavy, but someone could have mentioned it at one point or another. Maybe Lou could have said something to the umpiring crew during the exchange of line up cards or even during BP. Of course, the warnings may not have prevented what happened from actually happening, but maybe Young's suspension might be lengthened by disregarding an umpire's warning.

Is this 15 days out of baseball long enough to make him eligible for HOF consideration?

I doubt he wanted to hit Lee in the head either. But I do think he was wanting to hit him high in the ribs and the ball got away from him a little bit. When making a point, it would be best to throw at a hip so if you miss by a little it will hit the ribs or thigh. That was at least the way I was taught. It is surprising how much harder it is to throw a ball that far out of the strike zone where you want it to go than one thrown in the strike zone. I never had the best control to start out with though so maybe that just applied to me :) Exactly. It's actually quite entertaining sometimes watching a pitcher intentionally walk a guy. They couldn't hit the catcher's mitt from 10 feet away. It was definitely a purpose pitch. The umps should have tossed Young on the spot. Young's 95 MPH heater at Lee's head was much worse than Lilly's 83 MPH curve ball off of Renteria's shin.

Nah. They are pretty happy with Napoli. Oakland hasn't been happy with Kendall, but I think they're kind of stuck with him.

I doubt that Young really wanted to hit Lee in the head. It's possible he just wanted to send a message by making him hit the deck, and the pitch went further inside than he planned. It's also possible that he meant to hit him in the rib cage and the pitch ended up higher than he planned. I have no doubt it was a purpose pitch. I just doubt he really went head hunting. But, that's what ended up happening and the unfortunate thing is that Lee's suspension will be more damaging than Young's. And that's just wrong.

I admire you for remembering what Jacque Jones home run routine looks like. It's been so long, I completely forgot.

I'm not saying a guy can't stand there and admire their handiwork. But, if they show up a pitcher, expect and accept the retaliation and the consequences that follow. If Gonzalez stands there admiring a home run today, I hope someone sticks him in the backside on his next at bat. What Soriano did was disrespectful of the opposing team. I doubt Young really meant to throw it at his head, but he did and now Lee is probably facing a suspension that he wouldn't be facing if Soriano just ran the bases.

I agree. While what Soriano did was wrong, but it was so much less than several other people around the league. He looked at it for a second or two, trotted backwards for another couple seconds, and then started on a pretty quick jog around the bases. If the Padres are going to start throwing at people because of what Soriano did, they are going to have starting beanball wars every couple weeks. Since they aren't, I don't know why they were so upset in this case. The Cubs just lost a whole game from one of their very own starters after plunking a Braves player in what the umpire believed to be a retaliatory purpose pitch. This stuff goes on all the time. If Soriano runs the bases like a mature professional athlete, we aren't having this discussion today.

Pujols also started a bench clearing brawl once after standing their admiring a home run.

Really? Why did Young throw at Lee today? Because Young didn't like the color of Lee's shoes? No Because he doesn't like Derrek Lee's player number? No Because Soriano showed up his teammate yesterday? Yes

No, they don't. But I watched that game, and each time he bitched, it was on a pitch I would have called a strike. In fact, the first one that Wells eventually had a cow over, I was absolutely shocked the umpire called the pitch a ball. Nah, the Cubs have never had a pitcher complain about the strike zone. But, standing there admiring a home run is not comparable to being upset with the umpire. A better comparison would be if the pitcher walked back to the dugout with the guy he just struck out and asked him how he liked that last pitch.

And Peavy isn't alone in his belief. Most pitchers don't like to be shown up.