He complains about every strike. I have only seen him playing vs the Rangers so maybe he does not do that all the time. But he does all the time with the Rangers, so to me he’s a big baby.
Bartolo Colon takes even longer, and he’s practically a god right now.
No, not just that. Bautista is not only among the worst crybabies, but also one of the biggest showboats. I read an article today that said he’s respected by other players, but not liked. Can’t find it now or I’d link.
And I don’t think everyone loves Big Papi, either.
Well, we Yankees fans hate him, mostly because he’s hit at least 375 ninth inning home runs against us. But Yankee players seem to really like and respect the guy. I’m guessing that if he’s liked by his biggest rivals, then he’s probably pretty popular throughout the sport.
I hate the bat flip. I did so before the playoffs last year. People get seriously injured by flying bats so, hey, let’s inject some FUN into watching the game by tossing a potentially deadly projectile into the air for no good reason other than it “looks cool”. NO. Stop it. Grow up. It’s so patently unnecessary. It serves no purpose. The defenders and proponents tend to be the sort of big ego buttheads I have disliked regardless of who they play for.
I can say that part of the bad blood comes from the fact that the fans in Toronto last November were throwing bottles and other debris onto the field.
In any other game at any other time of the year, those actions would have meant a forfeit to Texas. Imagine calling your lawyer to bail you out because you threw a beer can and narrowly missed a baby:
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25340596/blue-jays-fan-arrested-after-hitting-baby-with-beer-during-game-5-fracas
I suppose someone might sidearm a throw in an attempt to get an interference call.
Wouldn’t work. For an umpire to call interference with a throw, he has to judge that the runner *intentionally *interfered (eg, stuck out an arm and knocked it down). Getting drilled with a throw isn’t sufficient.
To be fair, Bartolo’s opportunities have been pretty limited compared to Big Papi. Or to any player ever, really. 
Well they probably didn’t develop the schedule 20 minutes before it was announced. Planning a schedule is hard and time consuming. They need to consider other stadium events, weather, union restrictions, and player travel among other things. I doubt out of division rivalries is one of their top ten concerns. Besides baseball is more than capable in producing drama in unexpected places like the Astros/Rangers finale last year or the Mets vs Royals opening day.
Has anyone ever got injured on a bat flip? You know is dangerous though. Punching a guy in the head.
Oh and the purpose is that it is entertaining, at least to many. As baseball is in the business of entertainment that seems a reasonable purpose.
I never said punching someone was commendable. It’s a suspendable offense, and it’s going to hurt my team. I think the bat flip should be disallowed as well. It’s stupid, juvenile, and pointless. I keep seeing that excuse that it’s entertaining for younger game goers. I’m not buying it.
Throwing things onto the field is disallowed and the only person who was penalized for that was the one who got arrested for nearly hitting a child in the stands.
I think the bat flip was kinda bush league but you have to allow for the fact that it was an extremely dramatic postseason moment and they should have cut him some slack. But, if something had to be done, then throw a pitch at his thigh the first time you see him next season, don’t cowardly wait until the last at bat that you’ll see him all year. The slide was terribly offensive in my view, he could have gone in spikes first but he didn’t and the fielder wasn’t hit in any way. So why throw the punch? And for heaven’s sake, when a Dominican and a Venezuelan mix it up, why does the crowd go USA USA! I know, Texas v Toronto, but seriously it’s supposed to be an American pride thing?
The problem with “Disallowing” the bat flip is that you now have to write into the Official Rules a definition of what constitutes allowable celebration after hitting a home run and what doesn’t. How far, how high, or in what manner is an allowable disposal of one’s bat? Can you physically define for us what an allowable home run reaction is, and what isn’t? Should we have rules on what manner of high fives are allowed? What about the speed and nature of the home run trot?
It’s a terrible idea, really. You’re going to get into the most ridiculous judgment calls and… for what? What problem does baseball face as a sport? Are bat flips interfering with the game? (People get injured by bat flips? Since when?) No, they’re not, so why change the rules?
Now, by comparison, I personally am in favour of the new rules concerning sliding into second base (rules under which Bautista was caught earlier in the year - justifiably, IMHO.) Those rules serve a purpose; they clarify an area of the Official Rules which was not being consistently or correctly enforced, and in so doing enhance player safety, without (in my opinion) really having any significant negative effect on the game.
[QUOTE=kayT]
crabbing about balls and strikes (supposed to be forbidden?)
[/QUOTE]
Players can whine about balls and strikes, to a point. For managers, however, it’s an automatic ejection.
I think they should hire Goose Gossage to make these decisions.
In trade news, it looks like Tim Lincecum is headed for the Angels.
Poor guy, it will be sad to see him get hurt again.
Free agent news, actually.
I’m okay with this move, personally. While I’d love to see him get his ability back to where is was, it’s perfectly okay with me if he does it with a team that the Cubs won’t face much - if at all - this season.
Interestingly, the Cubs have signed Joe Nathan to a major league deal. He’s recovering from his 2nd Tommy John surgery.
The Cubs expect him to contribute during the 2nd half of the season. He was immediately placed on the 60-day DL. Due to that, no corresponding roster move had to be made.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
As expected, Odor headlines the suspensions with eight games. Story.
I think at least 15 games would have been more appropriate, maybe ever 20 or 25. Odor punched someone else when he was in the minors. Dude’s got self-control issues.
I am rather surprised that Bush, Chavez and Bautista all escaped suspension.