Well, that was a good old fashioned baseball brawl between the Nats and Giants. It will be interesting to see who all gets suspended and for how long. According to this story, Buster Posey thinks his teammate went a bit far.
Something Yankees and Red Sox fans can both agree on.
On the Harper-Strickland brawl, I keep reading articles that say Harper “badly missed” when trying to throw his helmet at Strickland.
I’ve watched video a couple of times, now, and I don’t believe for a second that Harper intended to hit Strickland with that helmet. At the very least, by the time he’d fully wound up, he changed his mind and threw in a different direction. Or perhaps he never had the intent and only wound up to throw in anger/disgust. I don’t believe for one second that he aimed at Strickland and missed.
Am I the only one who sees it that way? I have to believe that even as angry as Harper was in that moment, he knew how bad it would be to bean someone with his helmet like that.
I mean if you’re throwing punches, why not throw the helmet? Honestly, first time I saw it I thought, “oh, that was an embarrassing miss.” But I don’t know. Maybe he intentionally threw it that way.
I think the lip of the helmet just got hooked on his thumb or something. Like if you were bull-charging and tried to throw a Frisbee or something overhanded. No real control over where it would go.
But along those lines, one of these days I expect the batter to charge the mound with bat in hand AND commence to whaling on the pitcher with the bat. Now THAT would make a pitcher think twice about deliberately throwing at someone!
As many have pointed out, it was interesting that Buster Posey avoided the skirmish.
See: Five theories on why Buster Posey avoided the Bryce Harper-Hunter Strickland brawl - CBSSports.com
I thought maybe at first Bryce didn’t intend to charge the mound, but then they traded words that pissed him off even more. He points the bat at Strickland and seems to be moving towards first base until further provoked?
But I mean . . . really . . . retaliation for something that happened 2 1/2 yrs ago?? (full disclosure - big Nats fan here).
Maybe Harper thought that if he could distract Strickland and get him to duck out of the way of an imaginary helmet, that would give Harper a chance to move in and land a couple of solid punches.
Because in a game where unwritten rules are so important to so many, it’s not a “fair fight” if you attack someone with a weapon they don’t have (and yes, I get that one could say Strickland did that first, but of course, that’s exactly what Harper wanted to fight about). I viewed it as Harper preferring to go mano-a-mano. Again, just my theory.
I was and am surprised at how many view that as an unintentional miss, but I appear to be in the minority.
I completely agree with you. I reckon there’s no way in the world that Harper intended to actually throw his helmet at the Strickland. It was, at most, an effort at distracting him.
Bert Campaneris threw his bat at the pitcher. In the playoffs! It didn’t change anything.
I’m not surprised about being wrong. Happens to me all the time. I did not, however, expect to be proven wrong by…Bryce Harper!
(emphasis added)
Dammit, Bryce.
The Brewers were in first place on Memorial Day. Color me shocked by that.
Now, it’s also true that the Brew Crew is (barely) the only NL Central team over .500, and that they only have a 3.5 game lead over last-place Pittsburgh…but, still!
Our division is very mediocre this season so far.
Read an article today that made a compelling point that Posey will be the one to take the bean ball tonight.
Why?
'Cause Posey will take the hit, go to first, and end the ‘feud’. It’s a face-saving gesture for the 'Nats that will be designed to avoid long-term consequences.
Be interested to see if it pans out that way or if this is headed to BoSox/Orioles territory…
Sometimes the “unspoken rules of baseball” are such bullshit. I mean, I get it: they’re designed to show respect, preserve someone’s dignity, whatever.
Ultimately though, as history has shown, these grudges carry over, in direct violation of the so-called “unwritten rules” and result in more “bloodshed”. Just let the two chief infractors fight it out like in hockey, decide the victor, and move on. Fuck saving face. It’s stupid in professional sports.
The etiquette of the game is what makes baseball…baseball.
https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/05/23/curveball-clayton-kershaw-lance-mccullers
Interesting article on the return of the curve ball. Kinda reminds me of how ‘small ball’ returned a few years ago. Proof that the game evolves and goes through cycles.
Living in Japan, nothing is subject to blackout here. I follow every game of my hometown Dodgers LIVE with the AtBat package. They are usually playing during our lunch time here in Tokyo. 
And the Dodgers now lead the NL West, which is their rightful place.
It’s fucking bullshit is what it is. I despise unnecessary violence in sports - jail them both on assault charges and everyone else who retaliates in turn. That will put an end to it. Fuck tradition.