Kershaw vs Trout. Reigning MVPs hit each other for the first time, it seems. Scoscia has already been ejected.
Go, Blue!
Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino stepping down
As a Red Sox fan, I have mixed feelings about this guy. They’ve won 3 World Series with him in this position and it’s hard to make a dent in that record, but. . .I’ve just never liked him, somehow. I never really forgave him for the horrible mess with Theo Epstein in the '05 offseason, I haven’t liked about 70% of his comments in the media, he comes off as controlling, scheming and difficult to work under in all the “behind the scenes” Red Sox books I’ve read, and I have this belief, based on nothing at all, that he was somehow behind that story about Francona and the painkillers. Meh.
Ridiculous ejection of Melancon in the Pit-Cin game today.
Top 8: Reds pitcher hits McCutcheon in apparent retaliation for last night.
Bottom 8: Watson plunks Brandon Phillips in retaliation for McCutcheon. Benches clear.
Bottom 9: Bucs up 3-0, runner on 2nd, one out. Inside pitch hits the batter. Melancon ejected.
No way is he trying to hit the batter. Bring the tying run to the plate? Get ejected and lose the all star closer?
If the umpires are taking a zero tolerance policy, why wasn’t Watson or the first Reds pitcher ejected? Is there no discretion at all, or do the umpires have their heads up their asses? What’s the rule once there is a brawl? No more inside pitching?
Matt Williams is the Manager of the DC Nats. He intentionally walked Yoenis Cespedes to pitch to Lucas Duda - who is on a home run tear. He hit a run-scoring double.
Mets can tie the Gnats for first if they sweep tonight!
Nice walk of win for the Dodgers tonight. Latos had good stuff and I’m much happier about the trade after seeing him pitch. Now we just need a real bullpen.
Man, what an amazing series between the Royals and the Blue Jays this week. A 4 game series, with both teams featuring some major trade deadline deals. The Blue Jays dominated the series 3-1 with some very impressive offense, knocking not just the Royals’ starters around, but their dominate bullpen around as well. Taking Wade Davis yard after something like 120+ IP of no allowed home runs is really impressive. As a Royals fan, I was disappointed in today’s display - a few stray pitches, some questionable umpiring, and enthusiastic players on both ends may have escalated some HBPs that led to ejections and bench-clearing. I’m not looking forward to the possibility of playing that offense in the post-season, and I doubt they’re looking forward to facing the Royals’ defense and bullpen either. It’s a great matchup - teams very well crafted in extremely opposite directions. I’d like to remove the bad blood from the equation and just watch some great baseball.
Mets swept the Nationals tonight. For a share of 1st place.
From Newsday: The Mets still are a bit behind the Nationals in winning percentage, .52427 to .52381. Still, by sweeping the Nationals in a three-game series for the first time since 2009, they are in a virtual tie for first place.
Royals pitchers are punks.
Oh yeah, Lucas Duda hit his 8th home run in 7 games. Baseball has been berry berry good to him 
The Royals-Jays beanball fight was so badly umpired I though the home plate ump was Stevie Wonder. Or even worse, Angel Hernandez. But actually it was Jim Wolf.
I do not for the life of me understand what the hell he was doing.
Meh. I watched the game - a pitcher doesn’t intentionally start throwing at someone when the count’s 2-2. That Tulo HBP just got away from Madson. They certainly were aggressively trying to take the inside of the plate, but the only intentional beans were Donaldson in the 1st (by the Royals), and Escobar in the 8th (by the Jays). If the Royals pitchers were punks, you’d think they’d rank a little higher than 22th in the league in HBPs.
I’m surprised Donaldson didn’t get tossed after he started barking at the ump because he was being pitched to inside.
Lame. Sanchez shouldn’t have been tossed out of the game. For what, hitting the batter on the shoe?
I was at the 2000 World Series game where Roger Clemens shattered Piazza’s bat and then threw half of it at him. Clemens (now we know he was all 'roided up) didn’t get tossed. Piazza should have charged the mound and clobbered Clemens, like any good catcher (Yogi, Carter, Fisk, Campanella, Bench) would have done. But I digress.
Millionaire baseball players don’t fight anymore. Sure, the benches clear. But nothing happens. Maybe that’s a good thing. “I went to a baseball game and a boxing match broke out”.
1986, Eric Davis steals third and slides hard into Ray Knight.
Ray Knight was an amateur boxer. And he clocks Davis on the chin. Benches cleared. Also in the brawl was Kevin Mitchell, a black belt in Karate.Bud Harrelson -v- Pete Rose:
Not a guy you want to take on.
ETA: I mistook the 1986 Reds pitcher John Denny - the Karate expert - who was fighting Kevin Mitchell (of the Mets). Lots of fisticuffs for those 1986 Mets. They were called Arrogant. As if that’s a bad thing. They could not beat “all roided up” Rogah Clemens in the World Series that year.
The benches were warned in the first inning, and that was an intentional hit. Of course he’s going to get tossed - he knew that when he did it. Doesn’t matter where he got hit, and it never has.
If memory serves, the Mets won the 1986 World Series, Roger Clemens did not win OR lose a game, and the Mets did in fact win one of Clemens’s starts.
Speaking of millionaire baseball players fighting: today is the 22nd anniversary of the famous (infamous?) Robin Ventura-Nolan Ryan fight.
Ryan was 46 years old when that incident happened. They just don’t make 'em like that any more.
Clemens started Game 2, a Red Sox win, but was pulled after 4.1 innings. He started the infamous Game 6 and left with a lead after the 7th. In both games, his ERA was higher than his regular season average. Bruce Hurst was the Red Sox’s most effective starting pitcher in that series.
Thanks for that. Just as awesome now as it was then. What was Ventura thinking? It was the ultimate lose/lose situation.
Indeed, Hurst was named the WS MVP and everything.
Sanchez got suspended for his HBP. That’s a garbage ruling. It was intentional, but it clearly wasn’t malicious. You can’t have these BS “unwritten rules” and crack down on them harshly at the same time.
I’m pretty sure anabolic steroids are still being made.