I was among those who felt that Roberts yanked his starter a bit early in game 2, but I at least understand the thought process and it almost worked. Roberts thought he could go to Maeda and then his pen to preserve the lead, go up 2-0, give his staff some rest and then have it set up to have a rested staff going into game 3, 4, and 5. If it works, it’s genius; if it doesn’t, it looks terrible.
I admit I haven’t really watched either team throughout the year though I’ve seen them both during the playoffs. One thing that stands out to me is how the Dodgers hitters tend to swing up at the ball. They can lift the ball if they don’t get on top of it, but the Astros pitchers have done a great job of either fooling them into getting under the ball or on top of the ball - or just missing altogether. The Dodgers in some ways remind me a little bit of the 1988 Athletics. Awesome power but perhaps a little reliant on long ball. The Astros also go yard but they seem a little bit better at scoring runs with RBI singles and doubles.
So where are you getting your inside knowledge?! And, are the Astros going to take the series? It would relieve some of the tension for the next couple of days if I knew ahead of time.
Some are reporting that Gurriel could be suspended for the rest of the series after making a racial gesture towards Darvish from the dugout after his home run. MLB is said to be meeting with him today and he could face disciplinary action includes a suspension from the series.
Really stupid, really ugly. But I can’t see him getting suspended from the World Series. MLB isn’t going to want to have that kind of impact on the series. I’m assuming a fine, and, at the most, a postponed suspension for 2018. But I doubt any suspension at all, honestly.
I agree, although they have been coming down a bit harder on this sort of thing in recent years. I could see them suspending him for one or two games in the series, simple because this wasn’t a regular season game; this has a much bigger spotlight on it. They may take that into consideration. if for no other reason than to minimize the distraction.
Either way, I hope it serves as a cloud over the rest of the series for him, regardless of the outcome. And if he is in the lineup today, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an opposing pitcher experience some up-and-in control issues.
MLB would not be making an impact on the Series. Yuli Gurriel would.
It will be an act of the most odious cowardice if Gurriel is NOT suspended. He should be off the team for the rest of the Houston games at a minimum, and the Astros should not be permitted to add anyone to the roster to replace him. His disgraced himself, his team, and MLB, and a suspension is the only acceptable consequence. He did it in the World Series and so should be suspended from the World Series.
It’s time we stopped coming up with excuses for this shit and started hammering on them, every single time. No exceptions, no excuses. Gurriel acted like a pig and should be treated accordingly.
If Gurriel were to be suspended (although I expect MLB to take the coward’s way here), couldn’t he just appeal it and keep playing anyway? Would MLB wind up hearing the appeal in time for any suspension to apply to the WS?
If you read the link above you will see that Darvish suggests that it was a mistake and we should all learn from it. Also you will see that Gurriel is extremely apologetic, and as well that he refers to cultural differences. Do all those things mean nothing to you guys? Do we still need to hang Gurriel? Jeez. I think I am finding myself agreeing with Clothahump, and I doubt that has happened before. Sometimes we should let people settle their own issues instead of leaping into action.
Absolute bullshit for a suspension. Both Yu and Yuli worked it out in statements. It’s immature, definitely, but it’s more Yuli’s disdain for a former Rangers pitcher who always got the best of him until last night. Why the Japanese-eyes move was his choice of celebration, I don’t know.
Maybe what we should look at is that a dude named Yu and another named Yuli worked it out on their own in statements without a racial war starting.
With all due respect, the fact that someone apologizes doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be any punishment. I think it’s very nice that Darvish took the high road in his response. I’m also glad that Gurriel apologized “if anybody got offended over there.” You and I both might be colored by our particular fandom in this instance, but I don’t think I’d be saying that MLB shouldn’t take any action if the teams were reversed, here. He admits knowing what he was doing was offensive. If it violates MLB policy, I think it’s well within MLB’s right to deal with it.
You could be right in that I am rooting for the Astros right now (although I lived in LA for 35 years and seeing Vin throw out the first pitch almost made me back into a Dodger fan!) But I do think very often things should be settled by the people involved and that should be the end of it. And I guess I think that before the league gets involved in this, they ought to talk to Darvish before they do anything. If it were me that was insulted or mocked I would for sure want to settle it myself, and I suspect Darvish would agree with that.
I believe both men are quite sincere. Gurriel must still be suspended.
Actions have consequences and racism has to be stamped out. Gurriel did not merely insult Yu Darvish, he insulted all people of Asian descent and he disgraced his team. No one is suggesting Gurriel be thrown out of baseball for life, but the action deserves a suspension.
Delaying the suspension to the regular season was cowardly.
No, they did not.
Maybe Yu Darvish is fine with Gurriel’s apology or maybe he’s just trying to be the better man - I don’t know, you don’t know, and to be honest I don’t care much. But this isn’t just between them. It’s a racist insult in the workplace. It creates the impression that racism is okay. “Just work it out between you” is how this disgusting shit, and stuff like sexual harassment, becomes an entrenched fact.
In no decent place of employment would such a disgusting thing NOT merit a suspension, and frankly what the insulted person says has pretty limited effect on the consequences. If someone under me makes a racist comment, they’re going home for a week without pay. They may apologize sincerely, and that apology might me taken quite sincerely, but they’re suspended - for the first offense. Nicest guy in the world otherwise? That’s fine but you’re suspended for a week. Tolerating this shit or taking the dumb “let 'em sort it out” approach** is how this crap remains an issue.**
Racist insults and harassment are on the rise BECAUSE there’s been a recent shift towards it seeming more okay to do. If you want racism to continue by all means “let them sort it out.” If you want it finally gone, you need to smash it hard and smash it fast every single time.
“Oh he said sorry” or “let them work it out” is cowardice. It’s sweeping it under the rug. It’s chickenshit. It’s time for that to end.
ETA: Blank Slate is completely correct. If the Astros want to do the right thing they should bench him of their own accord. But I doubt they have the stones.
As others have said, this is not just about Gurriel and Darvish, so Darvish’s reaction doesn’t really control. And it would have been more forgivable if he hadn’t already known it was offensive.
But, the deed is done and, as expected, it will not impact the Astros for this series.