David Ortiz yesterday said the talented right-hander should avoid using Kevin Youkilis' head as a bull's-eye."None of that, man -- just play the game the way it's supposed to be, and that's about it," Ortiz said, referring to Chamberlain.
"This is a guy, as good as he is, the next step for him will be to earn respect from everybody in the league. He's not a bad guy, but when things like that happen, people get the wrong idea."
Hmmm. Perhaps Ortiz should have a talk with Josh Beckett about how to play the game the right way. If you'll remember, last week Beckett celebrated Easter Sunday last week by:
1) Taking forever in a Red Sox-Angels game to throw a pitch,
2) Getting irritated when Bobby Abreu called for time,
3) Throwing the ball inches above Abreu's head,
4) Storming off the mound and walking towards home plate to argue when the usually unflappable Abreu took offense,
5) Getting to stay in the game despite all this, when Angels who argued with him were thrown out,
6) Griping that anybody would read anything untoward into what he did,
7) Suggesting the Angels' angry reaction had to do with the death of Nick Adenhart,
8) Complaining over getting disciplined at all, even when his six-game suspension was reduced to five games.
Then again, I'm quite sure that Big Papi has had a stern talk with the Big Twit - Beckett - about just playing the game ''the way it's supposed to be," right? After all, "when things like that happen," like at that Easter Sunday game, "people get the wrong idea."
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
23 comments:
So you're implying that not publicly decrying Beckett's actions amounts to tacit approval? In that case, maybe you should call out your blogging buddy Jon, too.
Take comfort Lisa,
At least your team will play in a full stadium this weekend where the likes of Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle played.
NAM - Ouch, but you're right! My brother mentioned the same thing last night, and how different it will be to see a full house, with enthusiastic fans.
As for calling out my blogging buddy, Jon, I'd love to! Jon, you're on notice! Just because.
Oh Lisa, you dare speak of a RS player without comparing him to the sun, or naming a star after him, especailly St. Beckett. The keyboard warriors of Red Sox Nation were ready to declare war after the whole Papelbon the Whining Elf Incident. I fear we may have to put you in a blogger protection program.
RE: Ortiz and Beckett--as they say--you can't shine s h i t!
hey listen, i bet the yankees would sell out games if they played at a little league field with 36,000 seats too
Big Papi has ZERO home runs in 59 at bats, who cares what he has to say about an incident in '07?
little papi is over the hill, and without manny hitting behind him, his daze are numbered.
"hey listen, i bet the yankees would sell out games if they played at a little league field with 36,000 seats too"
Are they even getting 36,000 into their stadium now?
Joba will throw at Youk when he gets to the bottom of the fifth.
Didn't realize "taking too long in between pitches" was disrespectful to the game. You probably spent TONS of time from 2001-2008 calling out Mussina for the same thing, though. I'm sure of it. So sure that I won't even go through your archives to look it up.
Fenway seats over 38,000. And I believe your lovely new humongous stadium seats over 57,000, less than the old one. And I believe I heard when watching a Yankee game the other day you had a little over 37,000 in attendance. But the powers that be in NY must have figured, with the way the Yankees have been playing this century, they don't need as many seats. You must be so proud. How much did that stadium cost your team and city?
As for Beckett, I'm sure he could care less if bitter Yankee fans think he is a punk. His biggest problem is deciding what watch to wear with which WS ring.
hey listen, i bet the yankees would sell out games if they played at a little league field with 36,000 seats too I know, and having a city population of 8+ Million compared to Boston at 600,000 shouldn't account for this difference at all... I would think with 7+ Million of "The World's Greatest Fans" that they could sell a few thousand more tickets... only when they're winning, I suppose.
Okay, that's it: We can now officially lose all respect for David Ortiz. If he rips Joba for doing less than Super Punk Beckett, then he's not the good guy we grudgingly presumed him to be. He's just another Chowdahead, and if one of theirs throws at one of ours, then Ortiz is the obvious target -- even if he is a big fat shell of his former intimidating self.
They want to send a message, let's show enough spine to send one right back: We're as mad as hell, and we're not going to take your crap anymore.
Rob is right: Beckett was a punk before he became a Sock. Put them together, and it's like giving a drunk a line of cocaine. Not that I'm accusing Beckett of being on drugs -- he's bad enough clean and sober.
Anon: Big Papi's "daze" are numbered? Considering what he's saying, I'm not sure you misspelled that. Maybe it was a "Freudian typo"!
Yes, NAM, Fenway Park will be full this weekend. And if you're lucky, half of those fans still there at the 7th inning stretch will be rooting for the Red Sox.
And it's not "could care less," it's "couldn't care less!" (That drives everybody in my family crazy. My late Grandma, the Dodger-turned-Met fan from Queens, really hated when people got that wrong.
NeverNude: You want to compare city size? How about market size?
According to 2007 population estimates, the six New England States have 14.3 million people. Take out the two Counties of Connecticut that tilt more toward New York than Boston, Fairfield and New Haven, and you've got 12.6 million. Compared to some actual "Nations" on this planet, that's not insubstantial.
The New York Tri-State Area, including the City, Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley, the previously mentioned part of Connecticut, and North and Central New Jersey, has about 18.9 million. Now, if we presume that it's divided 50/50 between Yankee Fans and Met fans (stop laughing), that's about 9 million per team -- compared to a market of over 12 million for the Red Sox.
For the Yankees to have as big a fan base as the Red Sox -- not counting fans living outside the respective home regions -- the Yankees would have to have two-thirds of the baseball fans in the Tri-State Area rooting for them. Do they? I doubt it. So the Sox' market really is bigger, even without the help of your network, "NESPN."
And, of course, while the Red Sox hadn't exactly "just sucked for 86 years" as the T-shirts on River Avenue say, and were competitive more often than not over the 1918 to 2003 period, there were times not all that long ago, even in the 1990s before Nomah Gahciahpahwah and Pedro the Punk arrived, when they couldn't draw flies unless the Yankees were in town. So both teams' fans can say to the other, in the tradition of English "football"...
Where were you?
Where were you?
Where were you when you were s---?
I saw six games at Yankee Stadium in 1990, when we finished last and the Sox won the Division. The first was the home opener, and we clobbered Cleveland. I think we lost the other five, including the finale, when Cecil Fielder hit homers 50 and 51 and the Tigers embarrassed us. The Sox' last truly bad season was 1992, when they finished last. Presuming you were old enough to go on your own, how many games did you see at Fenway that season?
that would be gripe*
mdalianis: Beckett doesn't just "throw at another team," and it doesn't happen "once." He throws at whoever he feels like throwing at, because he's an immature brat. And we do not "grip like whiny bitches." If we have a gripe (Are you Dan Quayle?), it's because Sox pitchers have thrown at Yankee batters so many times over the last 10 years and actually put our guys on the disabled list that we'd have a harder time catching up with your total of HBPs than you'll have of catching up to our total of World Championships. And you call us "such losers."
We're not scared of the Boston Fat Man or anybody else you got "shelling" Joba or anyone else. What you should be scared of is the Yankees, as in days of yore (and not that long ago, either), turing Fenway Park into their own personal pinball machine.
Uncle Mike:
I'd say living in Northern Vermont and being included in the fan base of Sox Nation, while being an 8 hour drive from the ballpark is a pretty irrelevant point when it comes to attendance of games (if you wanted to use this fact to talk about TV viewership, I'd agree).
Very generous "50/50" split of Mets/Yankees fans as well. But anywho, obviously you are a loyal Yankee fan, there for the bad times, as I was there for the Pre-2003 Sox as well. I'm sure both fans have many examples of bandwagon and loyal fanships.
As for the topic of this post, I'm a die hard sox fan, and I find Beckett hard to tolerate at times (Angels game was one of those times), but I am not able to look over the hypocrisy of Yankees fans on this matter. I'm pretty sure no Yankee called out Clemens when he threw close to Manny's head in 2003, or during a frequend roid rage throwing the bat at Piazza.
Fact of the matter is its your job to defend your teammates in all instances. So take offense to Ortiz calling out a drunk driving overrated, overweight POS that hasn't earned what he think he is due in terms of respect in the MLB if you wish, but greater crimes against humanity have occurred.
Welcome, all our new readers, even if you do root for the Red Sox.
Just wanted to comment on one thing:
NeverNude writes:
"I'm pretty sure no Yankee called out Clemens when he threw close to Manny's head in 2003, or during a frequend roid rage throwing the bat at Piazza."
I gotta say something here. Clemens didn't even come close to hitting Manny in that game. Besides, this was the same game where Pedro 1) Hit Karim Garcia, and 2) Threw Don Zimmer to the ground. Clemens was - for once -restrained.
And funny, I don't remember Ortiz lecturing about Pedro, or any of the other Sox figures who used the Yankees for target practice over the years.
As for Clemens and Piazza - point taken. Some fans (and his own manager) did defend him at the time, which was idiotic. That was an embarrassment.
Wow! A Yankees fan complaining about what happened in 2003. Some things will never change.
Here's a news flash for you Yankees fans. Pedro hasn't played for the RS in 4+ YEARS!! Get over it! What Pedro did was wrong but it happened a long time ago. Do you really think Joba is thinking "Pedro threw Zimmer to the ground so I need to throw at Youk"? Please.
What Pedro did is no justification for what Joba the Punk does now. And for reasons known only to Joba, he's wants to see Youk injured. What's his problem? It's not as if Youk has roughed him up. He has thrown at Youk at least 3 times that I can remember (including twice in one at-bat over Youk's head). If you think that's acceptable, then you must be one bitter, pathetic individual. Clearly, the Yankees' collapse in the 2004 ALCS continues to haunt Yankees fans.
Having said that, I doubt anything will happen tonight. Everyone is watching this game and expecting something to happen. I can't imagine that Joba the Punk would be that stupid given the level of scrutiny not to mention the fact that Wang is on the DL and CC isn't looking impressive. So the last thing the Yankees need is a starting pitcher to get suspended.
Fred
Uncle Mike,
I accept your grammer correction. Your Grandma was right as rain.
And if I were (gag)a Yankee fan, I wouldn't be worrying about other team's fans being there in the 7th inning, I'd be wondering why my team's fans weren't there in the first inning.
And a correction for you: The only star doing any singing in the 1936 classic film San Francisco was Jeanette MacDonald.
You're a little late, NAM. Jonmouk already corrected me as to the film in which Clark Gable sang (for want of a better word) "Puttin' On the Ritz." But then, I didn't see it when it was first out. Contrary to what a certain Met fan thinks, I'm not THAT old.
Fred: Bringing up Pedro the Punk is very much valid, because Ortiz seemed to think it was all right. It's like politics: If my party does it, it's "bringing home the bacon" or "judicial review"; if the other party does it, it's "pork-barrel spending" or "judicial activism" and it's out of control. There's always going to be hypocrisy.
But as long as Major League Baseball treats the Red Sox with a "Boys will be boys" attitude, when in fact it is the Sox, not the Yankees, who are the true "evil empire," it makes the fact that the Yankees have the moral high ground even more obvious. Or do you really think George Mitchell told everything he knew? Yes, "greater crimes against humanity have occurred." Including Pedro's crimes -- plural -- at Fenway on October 11, 2003.
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