Folks were actually talking about the White Sox. Yeah, that team that everybody loves to forget about, including me. I don’t talk much about them, but yes, they do play here in Chicago in front of typically modest crowds. But White Sox fans have reason for optimism. Moncada is tearing it up so far, Jimenez is playing well for being a highly touted rookie, and Tim Anderson is making folks forget about Manny Machado. Yeah, the record may not look it, but the arrow is pointed up at Guaranteed Rate Field. It won’t be all about wins and losses this year, just continued progress. Next year will be the year… or maybe the following one. But back to this year.
It was the bat flip heard round the world. It wasn’t really even a flip. After a monster home run, Anderson threw his bat down the line and shouted into the Sox dugout. It was in the 4th inning; it gave the Sox a 2-0 lead. The next time up, he got hit in the ass. Benches cleared, and the discussion over the bat flip vs old school baseball commenced. Also, Joe West, a well known ump round these parts, tossed Anderson after getting hit; don’t get that at all, but… back to the action that started it all.
I love to see the guys have fun out there. Being a Cubs fan, we have some guys that wear it on their sleeve; Baez, Contreras, Strop for starters. They show a lot of emotion; I enjoy it. They’re having fun. I am all for that. Does it sometimes get to be too much? Well, that is a matter of opinion. Sure, when your team is having fun, doing the celebrating, taunting the opponent, it’s all good. But like everything, there is always another side of the story. Everybody is different; the line between having fun and taunting is not a clear one. Sometimes the “fun” rubs folks the wrong way. How do you feel when an opponent is out there celebrating?
Sure, if you want to stop them from celebrating, get them out, or if it’s the opposing pitcher, get a hit off of them. Doing that, winning the game, is the ultimate score settler. But, there are other ways that the players try to “police” the game. Again, there is no black and white answer. There may be more to a situation than meets the eye. The timing of the celebration could lead to a larger degree of annoyance. Getting a big hit, getting a big out, sure… let it loose. You don’t want to pump up your opponent, but sure, celebrate that big moment in the game. Celebrating like crazy after a home run in the 4th inning is like when NFL players jump up after making a tackle in the first quarter on first down and do a little dance. Again, I’m all for fun… but based on the situation, and based on the degree of “fun” you’re having at someone else’s expense, could lead to anger, get it?
When we hear the term supplements, the very first thing that you should look at here buying cialis from canada consider well is regarding the dying for a pee, particularly at night. online levitra All of these downlines intertwine into a vast network. They no longer have to deny the actual cialis cheap online habit and protect the individual or substance. You should not take this levitra professional online medicine more than once a day.In baseball, this is policed by the pitcher throwing at a hitter. Definitely not the safest way to go. Ball is coming pretty fast; ball is pretty hard. Sure, you’d like to hit them in the ass like what happened to Anderson this time, but what if you miss? What if your “message” turns into a serious injury? That’s the risk; that makes it really questionable in my eyes. Yet, this is no secret. So if you over celebrate a situation that most folks don’t think calls for it, you have to know what may be coming next. Should that stop you from trying to pump yourself, your team, and your fans up? Does that mean players can’t have fun?
There’s a middle ground here, as there usually is. What exactly it is, I can’t tell you. Making the price to pay for throwing at a hitter greater, a longer suspension, a bigger fine, could help. How do you prove somebody was throwing at you? There’s always that argument, but a hearing should settle that. So if the price to pay for taunting an opponent is getting plunked, then the price of plunking someone should be increased. The potential plunking should make both batters and pitchers think twice. The game can be both fun and safe without rubbing your opponent’s face in it. Taunting is a penalty in the so called “No Fun League” that is the NFL; a late hit is also a penalty. What should be the result of these actions in the MLB?
This won’t be the last discussion on this topic, that I can assure you. Again, I’m all for fun. I’m also against potentially injuring players on purpose. What should be done? Well, how about thinking about the other person in the situation? How would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot in either action? Would you be OK with it? Would you like how your own medicine tastes? You have to be able to take it as well as you give it. Will we start seeing hitters celebrate every home run like crazy? Will we start seeing pitchers celebrate every strikeout like crazy? Will we see players get hurt by the plunking? Maybe we’ll see everybody exercising a little common courtesy while they’re having fun. Maybe that’s all it would take to stop this from getting stupid, and having people like me write 1,000 words about the topic. Maybe this provides for good banter. Maybe this provides for good attention for a team that doesn’t get much of it. Maybe this was just a young guy trying to pump his team up. Maybe this was just a guy having fun. Or maybe it was a guy going too far for a 4th inning home run. You make the call.
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