Ohhhh baseball...
If you haven't been following the Giants-Rockies rivalry, join the club. But do start watching.
So you might wonder what's the bad blood between the teams. The answer? Nothing, really. The rivalry is really Omar Vizquel-Jose Mesa. And that really boils down to Jose Mesa being pissed at Omar's autobiography, where Omar (quite rightly) stated Mesa "choked" in the deciding game of the 1997 World Series (back when they were teammates). I hate to say it, Mesa, but you choked as a Giant, too. I remember you walking in the winning runs against the Rockies. Mesa's reaction to this statement? He said he was going to kill Omar. He said if he faced Omar 10 times, he would bean Omar 10 times.
He's faced him 3 times since. Yeah, 3 bean balls.
#3 came late in Saturday night's game. The umpires THEN warn both benches against retaliation. They also claim that when Alou came out of the dugout to say "aren't you aware of what Mesa has said"...well, they claim they had no idea. Are you joking. I mean, seriously. The pre-game show today is saying that, yes, it's the fault of the umpires, but also mostly the fault of the man in MLB who is basically the manager of all umpires. (Although Greg did point out that Alou probably should have also made sure they knew.) I would like to point out that there is a system set up for security at each ballpark to communicate along the trail of Giants' away games so they can appropriately staff themselves for the Barry effect. Let's see...throwing a syringe on field and catcalling Bonds v. throwing a ball that could have hit Omar in the face. I wonder which is more dangerous. If you're going to keep that close an eye on Bonds....
Anyways, the immediate warnings to both benches and the close game didn't allow for retaliation. But Morris, in the first inning of Sunday's game, beans a Colorado player. Immediate warnings to both sides. Unfortunately, that run ended up scoring, which sucked. And then another batter made it up to second and then Morris lost control of another pitch and hit another player. He was immediately tossed (the umpires said that with first open, he'd clearly decided to try and get more revenge), and Alou automatically went with him. Righetti, coach down in the bullpen, threw his pitch counter on the field in disgust and also got the thumb. So apparently all hit batsmen are intentional. Got it.
Later in the game, one of the Rockies pitchers hit Steve Finley. And was ejected. Oh, wait, no. He wasn't. Because clearly, THAT one wasn't intentional. Ummm....guys? No one was on base ahead of Finley and I think the Rockies may have been ahead at this point and they'd been beaned twice. You trying to tell me Morris wants to get more baserunners on when we're behind and lose, but clearly the Rockies are the only team that came to win and they wouldn't hit someone intentionally? You're crazy. But then another Giant gets beaned and the pitcher and manager are subsequently tossed. AND the umpire (who himself was just brought up from Triple-A) gets in the face of the pitcher, as if trying to set him off.
So, let's recap. Mesa threatens in advance to hit Omar, but the umpires don't know so they don't tell Mesa ahead of time that he's out. So when Morris comes back the next day and hits two players (one intentional, one not) HE gets ejected, could be suspended and fined, same with Alou and Righetti and THEIR pitcher and manager.
But the one who threatens to kill a player and attempts to follow through doesn't get punished at all.
You know the funny part is there's no bad blood between the players (except Mesa/Omar). The Rockies' pitcher has said Morris didn't deserve to be ejected. They understood the first beaning was intentional, but that it was payback and part of the game. They KNOW that there was no way in hell he would have intentionally hit someone else. They know that the umpires blew it Saturday and then tried to make up for it Sunday and blew it even worse then and it cost everyone a fair game.
Quote of the Broadcast:
So if you're keeping score, it's 2-1 Rockies. Ejections: 3-2. The Rockies are currently on a power play. Yes, during the NHL playoffs, they seem to have found their way into the national pastime..
So you might wonder what's the bad blood between the teams. The answer? Nothing, really. The rivalry is really Omar Vizquel-Jose Mesa. And that really boils down to Jose Mesa being pissed at Omar's autobiography, where Omar (quite rightly) stated Mesa "choked" in the deciding game of the 1997 World Series (back when they were teammates). I hate to say it, Mesa, but you choked as a Giant, too. I remember you walking in the winning runs against the Rockies. Mesa's reaction to this statement? He said he was going to kill Omar. He said if he faced Omar 10 times, he would bean Omar 10 times.
He's faced him 3 times since. Yeah, 3 bean balls.
#3 came late in Saturday night's game. The umpires THEN warn both benches against retaliation. They also claim that when Alou came out of the dugout to say "aren't you aware of what Mesa has said"...well, they claim they had no idea. Are you joking. I mean, seriously. The pre-game show today is saying that, yes, it's the fault of the umpires, but also mostly the fault of the man in MLB who is basically the manager of all umpires. (Although Greg did point out that Alou probably should have also made sure they knew.) I would like to point out that there is a system set up for security at each ballpark to communicate along the trail of Giants' away games so they can appropriately staff themselves for the Barry effect. Let's see...throwing a syringe on field and catcalling Bonds v. throwing a ball that could have hit Omar in the face. I wonder which is more dangerous. If you're going to keep that close an eye on Bonds....
Anyways, the immediate warnings to both benches and the close game didn't allow for retaliation. But Morris, in the first inning of Sunday's game, beans a Colorado player. Immediate warnings to both sides. Unfortunately, that run ended up scoring, which sucked. And then another batter made it up to second and then Morris lost control of another pitch and hit another player. He was immediately tossed (the umpires said that with first open, he'd clearly decided to try and get more revenge), and Alou automatically went with him. Righetti, coach down in the bullpen, threw his pitch counter on the field in disgust and also got the thumb. So apparently all hit batsmen are intentional. Got it.
Later in the game, one of the Rockies pitchers hit Steve Finley. And was ejected. Oh, wait, no. He wasn't. Because clearly, THAT one wasn't intentional. Ummm....guys? No one was on base ahead of Finley and I think the Rockies may have been ahead at this point and they'd been beaned twice. You trying to tell me Morris wants to get more baserunners on when we're behind and lose, but clearly the Rockies are the only team that came to win and they wouldn't hit someone intentionally? You're crazy. But then another Giant gets beaned and the pitcher and manager are subsequently tossed. AND the umpire (who himself was just brought up from Triple-A) gets in the face of the pitcher, as if trying to set him off.
So, let's recap. Mesa threatens in advance to hit Omar, but the umpires don't know so they don't tell Mesa ahead of time that he's out. So when Morris comes back the next day and hits two players (one intentional, one not) HE gets ejected, could be suspended and fined, same with Alou and Righetti and THEIR pitcher and manager.
But the one who threatens to kill a player and attempts to follow through doesn't get punished at all.
You know the funny part is there's no bad blood between the players (except Mesa/Omar). The Rockies' pitcher has said Morris didn't deserve to be ejected. They understood the first beaning was intentional, but that it was payback and part of the game. They KNOW that there was no way in hell he would have intentionally hit someone else. They know that the umpires blew it Saturday and then tried to make up for it Sunday and blew it even worse then and it cost everyone a fair game.
Quote of the Broadcast:
So if you're keeping score, it's 2-1 Rockies. Ejections: 3-2. The Rockies are currently on a power play. Yes, during the NHL playoffs, they seem to have found their way into the national pastime..