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Originally Posted by Ilow
It is some sort of unwritten rule that whoever is covering second on a throw from the catcher doesn't put their knee in front of the bag, because when guys slide in headfirst they can break their fingers on the knee. Hence coco going in hard, feet first on the next slide to send a message, put you knee down and the next time it will be spikes, not fingers that get there first. All of that stuff is pretty much accepted practice, but the manager Maddon got his panties in a twist and began the verbal crap between him and coco, which led to the beanball and the mound charge (which are pretty much also relatively accepted--get hit, charge the mound, whatever) The biggest issue was all of the cheap shots that the Rays players took after coco was subdued and they were "protecting their pitcher." Never mind the fact that Shields is 6'4" 215 and Coco is about 6' 180 and Shields didn't look like he needed much protecting, jumping in 6 on 1 was completely bush league. That team is full of losers with bad attitudes, so it isn't really surprising, I guess.
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First, if you protect the bag from the runner with any part of your body, ask any catcher, 3b, 2b, ss who has ever played the game. Bartlett was playing ball the way he should be. To say "well he may break fingers".... is the equivelant to saying, "spikes first at your knee". Both are the WRONG attitude. It should be "let's play ball the way it should be played hard and earn our money".
Ty Cobb used to sharpen his spikes before every game so when he stole a base if someone tried to get in his way they got a message. Pete Rose when he started in the majors and played 2b would almost be like a catcher guarding the plate.
Secondly, throwing at someone's hip is far from a "beanball".
Thirdly, YES the field position players run out and protect their pitcher.
I remember as a kid watching Johnny Carson, he had on Yogi Berra. Johnny asked Yogi about the brawls in baseball..... Yogi said this (paraphrased) "You ever watch a baseball brawl, we hit like women. We go ut and pile up and swing with stiff arms, we don't want to truly hurt anyone, because we have to play those guys again and if we hurt one of them this game..... they'll hurt one of us next game."
Have you watched the brawl? Sheilds missed his punch on Coco quite easily. Some of it was for show, some to say "don't fuck with me". The brawl afterward..... come on that was far from a street fight. Was Coco seriously injured?
Come on, now. For the love of God brawls and this stuff has always been a part of baseball's charm for many of us. Crying over it and saying "they started it".... is petty little league bullshit.